I wrote this short little tale a while ago, and I recently took pictures of it so even though it’s a two part AAR, I thought it may entertain some of you. Just something different to Liberation, of course I am still continuing my main AAR though.
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The Tragedy of HMS Oxford
Part 1
The year is 1806, HMS Oxford, a 32-gun ship of the Royal Navy led by Captain William in Admiral Farrington’s fleet has set sail from the large prestigious docks in Portsmouth, heading south from the English Coastline towards the Bay of Biscay with the intent to disrupt the much needed French Trade on the rough seas in Biscay.
Captain William was known by his upbeat crew as a confident but sometimes foolish man, in previous battles he had used the most unorthodox tactics, risking the lives of his crew and ships far more severely than other admirals and officers of the day. Nevertheless, he was always greeted by the senior crewmen with annual courage, placing their pleasant trust into their Captain and his will. The men had accomplished many victories under William as part of the fleet, providing that much needed essence of a brave fighting spirit from the quarterdeck to the lower gun decks of HMS Oxford.
Meanwhile, Admiral Farrington on board HMS Onslaught, a ship with a powerful reputation was leading from the front in a rather irregular formation. The Fleet eventually reached the Bay of Biscay, only to be met with the sight of a French fleet arriving from the French coastline; the glorious French fleet was magnificent, their morale was high, their numbers were overwhelming and their guns were tremendously powerful. Pierre-Charles Kerjulien, the French Admiral in command of the French Fleet stood proudly up on the quarterdeck of his 122 gun ship of line known as Fendant as he eagerly manoeuvred his fleet into an attacking position.
As a result of this, Admiral Farrington quickly mobilised his crewmen, ordering much of his fleet to follow HMS Onslaught towards Kerjulien’s powerful fleet. He also detached five of his best and most experienced ships from the main fleet, including the 32-gun HMS Oxford. Words of encouragement from every ship’s officers could be heard from each deck as crewmen quickly loaded their cannons, as they anxiously sailed towards the French Navy.
Eventually, the main fleet managed reach their opposing foes, and cannon shots were released into the hull of the Fendant, while HMS Onslaught was greeted by a strong mass of the French cannon balls as they ripped through the wooden hull, destroying cannons and men alike. Meanwhile, the detachment of five ships, led by Captain William’s ship was moving around the rear as the cannons from Farrington’s main fleet and the French fired from the broadsides simultaneously. The Royal Navy was under much trouble, many of their cannons had been disabled or destroyed, and their hulls were breached as crewmen on the lower decks were given the tragic death of drowning. It was not long until HMS Onslaught sank, shortly followed by the rest of the smaller ships, Admiral Farrington was killed as the quarterdeck floorboards broke, plunging him into the flooded lower decks.
To be continued