Gaming an 18-19th century amphibious landing?

[traveller]

I have a lot of unpainted Marines and sailors for a number of 18-19th century conflicts(SYW, Napoleonic, ACW) in the leadpile and whilst I think it would be quite easy to make a visually attractive setup with Marines and sailors storming ashore from longboats etc, I wonder how you would make a fun game out of it. Anyone have any gaming experience to share?

[FreakyFenton]

Hrm, the videogame Holdfast Nations at War has a mode in which you are to storm a defended island. Usually inhabited by either the French or British, leaving the side that stays over to be the attacker. Perhaps a table with a few islands and some sort of napoleonic island hopping could work? Just an idea though.

[traveller]

Thanks for your comment! Forgot to mention that it is 28mm and I play on a 112x224 cm (pool table). In order to fit both some sea and boats there cannot be much more than a port or one island perhaps

[fastolfrus]

Featherstone had a method for amphibious games that basically used small tables/tall stools as movement stands for ships and larger tabletops for islands/landmasses. The ships move by moving the small tables, that way you don't need to use your big table for both land and sea. A bit like flight stands for aircraft in more modern games.

[Emir of Askaristan]

Men O war would deploy as close inshore as possible, supported by smaller shallow draft sloops and bomb ketches whilst longboats were deployed from troopships.  These would form up and row to the landing beach where the troops would disembark. Marines and grenadiers would form the first wave, "shot in" by direct fire from the warships or indirect fire from the ketches.

Fire from shore batteries or forts could cause severe damage to ships so landings were conducted away from defended beaches where possible or took place only when the defences had been suppressed. The advantage often lay with the attacker since many ships could be deployed against a single fort, but as tide, wind etc could affect the ships and not the fort it made it a risky venture.

There were several landings by the British on islands off the French coast, in Canada and in the Caribbean - Martinique, Guadeloupe. They also made landings on Cuba and Manila and other Spanish possessions.

I believe Charles Grant's latest book may have some info or scenarios. I have one in my Wargaming the Sugar Islands Campaign Book, but only the attack on a damaged fort rather than a landing. I'm covering Havana and Manila in my next book.

As to how to fight a landing - I would have the ship/shore firing as one phase with the longboats coming in once the fort was silenced. Fire agains the fort would count as hard cover while fire again the ships from the fort would be more effective. Silencing all the guns allows you to carry out your landing. But too many hits on the ship would drive it off.
You could draw cards or roll for each longboat to see if it made the shore successfully or if it suffered a mishap and lost some of its landing party. Then it would be a fight up the beach using skirmish rules, with the landing party making for shore batteries of fort to ensure any remains guns were slighted or spiked before reinforcements from the enemy arrived. They may then have to fight their way back to the beach or hold the damaged fort til reinforcements arrive.

Hope that helps a bit and gives you some ideas.

[FifteensAway]

I recommend to you the landings preparatory to the 1758 siege of Louisbourg during the French and Indian War.  Half or so of your table can be the landing zone, the other half the sea where the boats are running in from.  At 28 mm scale (I use 15 mm), I'd go with a small bit of the landing - which, as I recall, is pretty doable.  You might also look at the landings at Beauport near Quebec in the same affair.

I have about 52 boats with crews (mostly the crews still need painting) that I will use one day for just these sorts of operations.  I also use the boats to shuttle landing parties to shore for pirate gaming.  Sailors can be a little less time specific than marines so there is a bit more latitude. 

Hope you find a way to make a game out of it!  Good luck.

[traveller]

Thanks for your comments and great ideas!
I plan to make a gaming board with ”water” and fastolfrus comment on the ”Featherstone method” gave me the idea that if I make the sea board to cover most of the table I could make 4-5 terrain sections whereof one with a beach and thus starting with only sea and beach and then moving the beach section and adding more sections once the landing is completed. I would assume that the role of the supporting ships is more or less done once the troops have landed? I have to study the Louisburg landing.

Another option would be to use the port scenery I already have... Is there any historic examples that would allow a landing directly in the port?

[robh]

Another option would be to use the port scenery I already have... Is there any historic examples that would allow a landing directly in the port?

Yes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Santa_Cruz_de_Tenerife_(1797)

But it didn't go well.

[traveller]

Yes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Santa_Cruz_de_Tenerife_(1797)

But it didn't go well.

Very interesting! Many thanks!

[ChrisBBB]

A historical scenario that you could probably adapt to create an interesting game arose in 1799. The French were pushing east along the coast from Genoa. They planned to combine a frontal attack on an Austrian-held coastal town with an amphibious landing in the Austrians' rear. As it happened, the Austrians abandoned the town early enough to escape the trap, and the landing didn't catch any of them. But it would make a good 'what-if' or be adaptable to other times and places.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.com/
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[traveller]

A historical scenario that you could probably adapt to create an interesting game arose in 1799. The French were pushing east along the coast from Genoa. They planned to combine a frontal attack on an Austrian-held coastal town with an amphibious landing in the Austrians' rear. As it happened, the Austrians abandoned the town early enough to escape the trap, and the landing didn't catch any of them. But it would make a good 'what-if' or be adaptable to other times and places.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1412549408869331/

Thanks Chris,

that could be a great scenario. I must see if it will be possible to fit it on my table

[SteveBurt]

There have been a couple of amphibious scenarios for Sharp Practice. We played the one in The Compleat Fondler with sailors and marines storming ashore to assault  a fort in North Africa. Worked very well.

[SteveBurt]

There was also another one in the old Battlegames magazine with British marines sneaking ashore in Gravelines to try and apprehend a French privateer. I think we did that with Legends of the High Seas. Also a good game.

[traveller]

There have been a couple of amphibious scenarios for Sharp Practice. We played the one in The Compleat Fondler with sailors and marines storming ashore to assault  a fort in North Africa. Worked very well.

Thanks SteveBurt, both sounds like suitable scenarios. Were there any special gaming mechanics connected to the approach/landing of the Marines?

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

Somewhere in one of my naval warfare books is an image of an 18th Century British landing craft - not unlike the D-Day version, with with a large frame and drop-down gate at the front, specifically to land guns and horses.  I gather they were only used in Europe, but they took part in the raids on the French coast that became known later as "smashing windows with guineas"!