By 1901, the British had established a colony in the Gold Coast after fighting a number of wars against the indigenous Ashanti/Asante peoples. The British had built a number of railways across the region in order to transport gold and other resources to the coast for export to Britain. This proved to be a lucrative trade route.
At this point, West Africa had been gobbled up by a number of European colonial powers including the Portuguese, Belgians, Germans, and the French. That made control of the air and sea lanes from West Africa back to their colonial overseers a matter of National importance. It was in such regions that Great Power politics tended to rear their head. Mission: Again, we used the random scenario and complication generator to determine today's mission. We rolled up the Convoy Raid scenario. The British were determine to be the defenders, while the French were going to be the Attackers.
The Complications table determined that Cloud Cover was going to be in effect. At Altitude 7, and clouds covered the entire board. That means shots in, out and through the cloud bank can not be made. You can only target ships at Altitude 7 if you are also at Altitude 7 and short range.
Forces: L'Aire National:
Pascal- Commodore Murat
-1 Descartes Cruiser- Command 2
Tangiers- Captain Guy-Victor
-1 D'iberville Cruiser- Command 3
Casablanca- Captain Bayard
-1 Chasseur Destroyer- Command 1
Durandal- Captain Valjean
-1 Voltiguer Destroyer- Command 3
Arc- Captain Danjou
-1 Voltiguer Destroyer- Command 3
British:
HMS Blake- Commodore Boyle
-1 Warrior Cruiser- Command 2
HMS Theseus- Captain Franklin
-1 Active Class Light Cruiser- Command 4
HMS Banshee- Captain Malden
-1 Bull Finch Destroyer- Command 4
HMS Pitt- Captain Horton
-1 Shah Frigate- Command 4
2 Merchant Men- Command 1
- Marie of Liverpool
- African Princess
Set-up:As usual, we are using a 48MU by 48MU board. 1 MU equals 1 inch in this battle.
We randomly determined terrain using the chart in the book. We rolled up Altitude 1 hills x2, and a land feature that plays no impact. Therefore, we set-up a hilly coastline on the west side of the board, the flank of the fleets. This will represent the coast of West Africa near the Gold Coast.
We also rolled up a Cloud Bank which we placed towards the centerline on the East side of the board. It was at altitude 3. Of course, the complication also places cloud cover across the whole board at Alt 7.
The Marie of Liverpool is placed in the center of the board. For the merchant men I am using Dystopian War airships, I believe they were from the American fleet.
Merchant Men
The rest of the Convoy is placed within 12 MU and all facing the North. The HMS Blake is in the lead of the convoy, and the HMS Theseus is in the rear. The Destroyer is on the East side, with the Frigate on the West side of the convoy. The Merchants are at Altitude 4, and the escorts are at Altitude 3-5 depending on the ship. They are at speed 4.
The French ships are coming from the Northeast corner of the board. The Pascal is leading the attack, with the D'iberville on the flank. The Destroyers are grouped together as well into a battle group, coming on the Northern edge of the attack. The French Destroyers are coming in fast and high at Alt 7 and Speed 7. The Cruisers are at Speed 5 and Altitude 5.
You can read the full report at the blog.....
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2021/03/battle-report-castles-in-sky-off-gold.html
