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The aim of this article is to see how (if?)
the fleet Nelson commanded at Trafalgar would transfer to the game of Battle
Fleet Gothic. I have a keen interest in military history, but ultimately this
experiment is for nothing more than personal interest and amusement.
For reference, I have made exclusive use of The Trafalgar Companion as it is a
fairly exhaustive tome on the subject.
Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar is famous for the success of the British
against a numerically superior force without losing a single ship in return.
The battle itself makes good reading (unless you are French/Spanish -Ed), but
I’ll skip it here as we’re only interested the fleet composition. For
those who are interested there is a good website dedicated to HMS Victory
here: http://www.voodoo.cz/victory/trafalgar.html
Nelson had 33 ships with him when he confronted the Combined Fleet. I have
used ship size and the number of cannon and crew to discover their 41st
millennium counterparts. Luckily, the ships fall into 4 or 5 distinct sizes
and the fleet can be broken down in BFG terms as follows;
3 Battleships
4 Grand Cruisers/Battlecruisers
17 Cruisers
3 Light Cruisers
4 Frigates
For an actual game of BFG this would make for a very large and unwieldy fleet,
not to mention an illegal one as it is well above the permitted maximum of 12
cruisers. I shall return to this problem later, but for now we will
concentrate on converting the original fleet list.
I intend to tackle the list ship by ship as I have tried to give many of them
optional upgrades. They aren’t intended to make the fleet ‘beardy’ in
any way, but rather are an attempt to give each ship some of the individual
character they rightly deserve. As much as possible, I’ve tried to use
historical justification for the additions but as they are ultimately optional
there’s no problem in fielding the ships as basic examples of their class.
Battleships
- Being comprised of vessels with 100 guns or more and commanded by a Flag
Officer.
Victory
Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar, Victory led the 'weather' column
where it took heavy damage. A ship of this stature can only be represented by
a Retribution-class in my opinion - the archetypal battleship. I wanted
something to set her apart from the other vessels, to make her a bit
different. As torpedoes are one of the more traditional elements of the
Imperial Navy I decided to equip the Victory with some special
ammunition, the theory being that Nelson’s ship would be the best equipped
in the fleet. Guided torpedoes would be more generally useful in the game as
the high leadership would make it possible to use them effectively. The melta
warheads, on the other hand, are more characterful - against the wooden ships
of the period fire was a very potent weapon. So, perhaps not strictly
historically accurate then but it does give the Victory some effective
options.
Britannia
The oldest ship present at Trafalgar. As she went into battle in the middle of
one of the columns I decided an Emperor-class was most fitting, offering
support from a distance before closing with her devastating broadsides. As
with all Emperor’s I’ve given Britannia the option of including
Sharks in her arsenal.
As an older ship there are plenty of other upgrades that present themselves
but I’ve decided to leave it is a plain Emperor as it’s already one of the
most effective ships in the game.
Royal Sovereign
Leading the 'lee' column opposite Victory, Royal Sovereign was the
first ship to receive enemy fire and the first British ship open her guns. She
took heavy damage and casualties but gave at least as good as she got. As a
ship that likes to get engaged in the middle of the enemy, I’ve classed this
as an Apocalypse with its short range lance batteries. Described as an
impressive-looking but sluggish ship I’ve decided to leave her as she is;
like the Emperor, the Apocalypse doesn’t really need any additions.
Grand Cruisers & Battlecruisers
- Being comprised of vessels with 98 guns.
Prince
Despite her size, Prince didn’t have much of an impact on the battle
due to her poor speed and therefore late arrival. I’ve classed her as an
Overlord - a good all round vessel capable of long range support. I’ve
represented her sluggishness in the optional rules - hardly enough to have a
major effect on a game but appropriate.
Neptune
Another ship described as ‘an indifferent sailer’, Neptune was
further up in the column than Prince and was therefore able to have a
greater influence on the outcome, trading shots with the giant 136 gun Spanish
battleship. I’ve classed Neptune as a Mars as it is a highly
effective class. Along with the Emperor and, later, the Dictator classes,
aircraft carriers are understandably a bit problematic in trying to fit in
though I’ve tried to use my best judgement.
To set her apart a little more, I’ve offered Neptune the chance to use
torpedo bombers.
Dreadnaught & Temeraire
These two ships were virtually identical in terms of volume and placement of
guns. During the battle, both ships were deep in the melee, dealing out heavy
broadsides. Dreadnaught arrived later in the conflict as she was one of
the rearmost ships, although she forced one Spaniard to surrender after just
10 minutes of firing. Temeraire joined with Victory in the
middle of the melee and although was crippled and wallowing by the end, had
succeeded in capturing two enemy vessels.
I’ve classed both as Avenger-class Grand Cruisers, described as solid line
breakers capable of surviving in the middle of a heavy firefight. As they are
sister ships I haven’t offered any improvements to either of the pair so
they will always be fielded the same.
Cruisers
- Being comprised of vessels with 74 guns or more
As the cruisers form by far the biggest bulk of the fleet list, I’ve tackled
them a little differently.
I feel I should also add a quick note about how I have assigned the various
classes - as most of the British ships at Trafalgar were 74 gun, two decked
ships of the line I could have opted to class them all as Lunars. However,
there are enough differences between ships (the amount of crew present,
placement of guns and carronades for example) to justify a mixture. Besides,
the Imperial fleet in Gothic has some fine ships to offer and it would be a
shame not to use them!
Nonetheless, I have made the Lunar class the most prominent and so I shall
begin with them;
Lunar class:
Orion, Minotaur, Spartiate, Defiance & Bellerophon.
Out of all the ships, two decisions were already made for me - the BFG
background mentions Minotaur and Orion both as being Lunar class
cruisers. Minotaur benefits from the optional Nova Cannon in the main
rulebook. Orion entered the thick of the fighting and although she went
on to have a distinguished career, at Trafalgar she was somewhat lost in the
crowd hence the lack of options. Minotaur was one of the last ships to
engage and, along with Spartiate intercepted the vanguard of the
Combined Fleet as they tried to join the battle.
Spartiate was originally a French vessel captured some years prior to
Trafalgar. As a result, she was slightly larger than most cruisers and
regarded as a fine sailor, represented here by the optional thrusters.
Defiance sailed into the heavy melee about midway through the battle
where she forced a French counterpart to surrender after more than half an
hour of firing. I’ve given her the common Lunar upgrade of a Nova Cannon.
Bellerophon has a distinguished history and saw a great deal of action
immediately prior to, and shortly after Trafalgar. During the battle she
suffered heavy casualties in the thick of the fighting and fought off three
attempts to board her. Although an experienced ship and an experienced crew do
not necessarily go hand in hand I have nonetheless decided to represent this
advantage with the Disciplined Crew as the end result is the most appropriate.
Gothic class:
Leviathan, Mars, Belleisle & Achille.
Leviathan had a reputation for getting into the thick of combat even
before Trafalgar where she took surprisingly light damage. To help her get
stuck in with minimum interference, I’ve opted for an extra turret.
Mars suffered badly at Trafalgar both in terms of damage and
casualties, including her captain. She was another ship regarded as a poor
sailer and this was partly responsible for her damage as she tried to
manoeuvre through the enemy line. I’ve represented this lack of agility in
her rules.
Another former French ship, Belleisle also suffered badly in the
battle. One of the earliest ships into action she took a pounding from the
enemy for over 3 hours yet managed to remain firing even when little more than
a floating hulk. The addition of an extra shield is an apt way to display her
impressive survivability.
Achille spent the battle duelling with several enemy vessels, moving
around and through the melee. To enable her to push through the smoke and
debris of the 40k universe I’ve offered Navigational Shields.
Dominator class:
Conqueror, Colossus & Revenge.
One of the newest ships at Trafalgar, Conqueror had yet to prove
herself in any decisive action. Although she made some valuable contributions
to the battle nothing stands out enough to warrant special rules.
Colossus carried a very substantial arsenal of heavy carronades that
resulted in her broadsides being capable of delivering over twice the weight
of shot as Victory. To give some indication of this firepower in BFG she can
be upgraded to make her Lock On orders more effective.
Unlike the other two ships, Revenge was an older vessel. Badly mauled
during the fighting she was noted for her fine gunnery. Revenge carried
more than her normal quota of naval marines and their ability to fight off
boarding parties is represented in the rules.
Tyrant class:
Ajax & Tonnant.
Another youthful ship, Ajax carried slightly heavier guns than her
companions hence her classification as a Tyrant. She also carried an
excessive amount of marines - more in keeping with the compliment of a
battleship. I’ve taken a liberty by assuming the marines were onboard for a
reason and given Ajax the option to carry boarding torpedoes.
Tonnant was larger than most of the other cruisers, carrying 80 guns to
the usual 74, as she was another captured French ship. I’ve given her the
option to upgrade to the longer ranged batteries in the BFG rulebook.
Dictator class:
Swiftsure, Thunderer & Defence.
Swiftsure was a relatively uneventful ship. Arriving well down in the
order of battle she suffered only light damage. She was substantially
undermanned, though, as reflected in her optional rules.
As with the other Dictators, Thunderer was one of the last
British ships to enter combat and suffered lightly. Like Revenge, she
carried more marines than needed giving her an advantage in repelling
boarders.
Defence was the last ship in the lee column although was still able to
take a Spanish ship when she finally engaged. She was the second oldest ship
at Trafalgar and had probably already seen more action than any of the other
vessels involved in the battle. As with Bellerophon, I have opted for a
Disciplined Crew to best reflect the experience of Defence.
Light Cruisers
- Being comprised of vessels with 64 guns.
The 64 gunners were considered outclassed even in 1805 although they were
generally good sailors. As a result, I have classed all three of these smaller
vessels as Dauntless - a fast ship that suffers from a lack of firepower in
BFG.
Polyphemus.
This was an older ship and had seen some combat before Trafalgar. At the
battle she was well down in the order and did little of note. I’ve classed
her as a basic example of a Dauntless.
Agamemnon.
Agamemnon, likewise, had been involved in several other conflicts and
had become regarded as ‘Nelson’s favourite ship’. Another late arrival,
she didn’t have the chance to engage many enemy at the battle. I’ve given
the ship the option to trade her lances for torpedoes.
Africa.
Africa performed surprisingly well at Trafalgar - surprising as she had
drifted away from the British fleet in poor visibility the night prior to the
battle. During the day, on her return to the fleet, she traded broadsides with
six or seven members of the enemy vanguard, became involved in the main melee
and was one of the ships that moved to engage the vanguard as they tried to
return to the fight. As a ship that appeared to be everywhere at Trafalgar, Africa
can benefit from Evasive Jets.
Escorts
- Being comprised of vessels with 36 guns or less.
Nelson made use of several smaller ships at Trafalgar. A squadron of 4
frigates were responsible for monitoring the movement of the Combined fleet
and for repeating signals during the battle. The Naiad, Phoebe, Sirius
& Euryalus are Sword class frigates in BFG.
Nelson also had a cutter and a schooner at his disposal, mostly intended as
fast courier ships. At Trafalgar they assisted in rescuing survivors and, like
the frigates, were not involved in any of the fighting. I’ve classed the Pickle
& Entreprenante as Cobras.
Fleet Commanders & Ship Leadership.
Vice-Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson is the undisputed leader of the Trafalgar
fleet but there were two other admirals present with him, Vice-Admiral Lord
Collingwood & Rear-Admiral the Earl of Northesk. I’ve detailed these
characters in the fleet list itself. As you will see, In the 40k universe I
have unsurprisingly classed Nelson as a Solar Admiral -the highest rank
available. As befits a man of his status I have decided his flagship also
benefits from the Elite Command Crew advantage while he is onboard.
I have also allocated each ship a leadership value based on the experience of
the captain and crews who were present at the battle. These remain optional
and you are, of course, free to roll your own.
Note that all ship profiles are available in the Battlefleet Gothic and
Battlefleet Armageddon rulebooks as appropriate. All ships are assumed to have
any relevant notes that apply to ships of their class (ie; all Dauntless roll
an extra D6 on All Ahead Full special orders).
Segmentum Solar, Trafalgar Sector Fleet List
Fleet Commanders 0-3
| Solar Admiral Lord Nelson |
225pts |
| Ld 10. 3 Fleet
Commander re-rolls. Can only be assigned to the Victory which gains the
Elite Command Crew special ability when he is onboard (automatically
passes one command/leadership check per game, no roll needed). |
| Admiral Lord Collingwood |
125pts |
| Ld 9. 2 Fleet
Commander re-rolls. May only be assigned to the Royal Sovereign. |
| Fleet Admiral the Earl of
Northesk |
50pts |
| Ld 8. 1 Fleet
Commander re-roll. May only be assigned to the Britannia. |
CAPITAL SHIPS
Battleships
You may include up to one battleship in your fleet for every three
cruisers, battlecruisers or grand cruisers. |
| 0-1 Victory Retribution class
battleship (Ld9) |
365pts |
| May be upgraded with
Guided Torpedoes for +25pts OR Melta Torpedoes for +20pts. Note that
Melta Torpedoes are one use only |
| 0-1 Britannia Emperor class
battleship (Ld8) |
345pts |
| May be upgraded to
carry Shark assault boats for +5pts. NB - Increases it’s Ld by +1 (to
9). |
| 0-1 Royal Sovereign Apocalypse
class battleship (Ld9) |
375pts |
Battlecruisers & Grand Cruisers
| You may
include up to one battlecruiser or grand cruiser in your fleet for every
two cruisers. |
| 0-1 Neptune Mars class
battlecruiser (Ld9) |
270pts |
| May be
upgraded with Torpedo Bombers for +40pts. |
| 0-1 Prince Overlord
class battlecruiser (Ld8) |
235pts |
| For -10pts
this ship cannot use the All Ahead Full special order. |
| 0-1 Temeraire Avenger
class grand cruiser (Ld8) |
200pts |
| 0-1 Dreadnaught Avenger
class grand cruiser (Ld8) |
200pts |
Cruisers
| 0-1 Orion Lunar class
cruiser (Ld8) |
180pts |
| 0-1 Minotaur Lunar
class cruiser (Ld7) |
180pts |
| May
replace prow torpedoes with a Nova Cannon for +20pts. |
| 0-1 Spartiate Lunar
class cruiser (Ld8) |
180pts |
| May be
upgraded with Manoeuvring Thrusters for +10pts. |
| 0-1 Defiance Lunar
class cruiser (Ld8) |
180pts |
| May
replace prow torpedoes with a Nova Cannon for +20pts. |
| 0-1 Bellerophon Lunar
class cruiser (Ld9) |
180pts |
| May be
given the Disciplined Crew advantage for +15pts |
| 0-1 Leviathan Gothic
class cruiser (Ld8) |
180pts |
| May
upgrade its turrets from 2 to 3 for +10pts |
| 0-1 Mars Gothic class
cruiser (Ld7) |
180pts |
| For -10pts
this ship cannot use the Come to New Heading special order |
| 0-1 Belleisle Gothic
class cruiser (Ld8) |
180pts |
| May
upgrade its shields from 2 to 3 for +15pts. |
| 0-1 Achille Gothic
class cruiser (Ld8) |
180pts |
| May be
upgraded with Navigational Shields for +15pts. |
| 0-1 Conqueror Dominator
class cruiser (Ld7) |
190pts |
| 0-1 Colossus Dominator
class cruiser (Ld7) |
190pts |
| May be
upgraded with Superior Fire Control for +15pts. |
| 0-1 Revenge Dominator
class cruiser (Ld7) |
190pts |
| For
+10pts, this ship may gain +1 to its dice roll when defending against a
boarding action. |
| 0-1 Ajax Tyrant class
cruiser (Ld7) |
185pts |
| This ship
may be equipped with Boarding Torpedoes for +20pts. |
| 0-1 Tonnant Tyrant
class cruiser (Ld8) |
185pts |
| This ship
can replace its 30cm range batteries with 45cm range batteries for
+10pts. |
| 0-1 Swiftsure Dictator
class cruiser (Ld7) |
220pts |
| For
-10pts, this ship receives -1 to all of its boarding action rolls. |
| 0-1 Thunderer Dictator
class cruiser (Ld7) |
220pts |
| For
+10pts, this ship may gain +1 to its dice roll when defending against a
boarding action. |
| 0-1 Defence Dictator
class cruiser (Ld8) |
220pts |
| May be
given the Disciplined Crew advantage for +15pts |
| 0-1 Polyphemus
Dauntless class light cruiser (Ld7) |
110pts |
| 0-1 Agamemnon
Dauntless class light cruiser (Ld9) |
110pts |
| May
replace its prow lances with a Strength 6 torpedo salvo at no additional
points cost. |
| 0-1 Africa Dauntless
class light cruiser (Ld8) |
110pts |
| May be
upgraded with Evasive Jets for +10pts |
ESCORTS
| 0-1 Squadron of up to 4 Sword class
frigates (Ld8) |
35pts |
| 0-1 Squadron of up to 2 Cobra class
destroyers (Ld7) |
30pts |
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