Dip 50, Imp 3 Deadline

[Victor Galis]

I might point out that historically the USS Monitor has yet to be built I think I erred on the side of too big, not too small We shall soon see though, after some coastal bombardments, now won't we?

The primary joy of being an imperial nation is having great flexibility in terms of expansion. As long as I pick up Chinese and Prussian SCs I keep growing even if I totally ignore the Americas Which is not to say that I will not frustrate any American attacks on the West Coast of Canada should that become necessary at a future date.

[Victor Galis]

To settle this, I have called upon google to find me a large amount of websites on 1860 technology. This one http://www.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww_one/naval/scnavdes.htm seems to have a nice deal of information.

"By and large, the Armed Services tend to put their trust in tradition, and what they already know. By 1855, however, several new developments had been addressed. The application of steam power had been taken on board, so that 'line-of-battle-ships' still looked much like the Victory, but had a discreet funnel, usually collapsible when under sail. The RN had also conducted tests  literally a tug-of-war  to ascertain the rival merits of paddle and screw-propulsion. The latter won hands-down. During the Crimean War (1853-56), the French had fitted iron plates on the sides of some of their warships, and Russian guns had been unable to damage them. The line-of-battle-ship became the ironclad. The first real battleship was the French La Gloire, 1860, closely followed by the British Warrior and Black Prince, 1861."

"But the much-feared French Navy of the 1860s did little to justify its existence against the distinctly inferior Prussian Navy in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71."

-Note the words much-feared. Luckily an astrologer warned Emperor Victor-Napoleon III of the French Republic about the impending defeat of France at the hands of the Prussians in 1870, and we were saved by our quick assault launched years before the Prussians had a chance to collect their forces.

"Like the Chinese, the French believed that the enemy should be terrified before a battle, and were long pre-occupied with "fierce-face" Â designing their ships to look aggressive, with built up superstructures, funnels & masts."

-We know all about your tactics

"...The guns were 12" rifled muzzle-loaders..."

-About a British ship in 1873... maybe I wasn't too far off with 12" after all

[MDR]

Hmmm...you learn something new everyday.

I knew about the arms race involving Dreadnaughts in the late 1800s\early 1900s, but I had forgotten where it started.

This variant assumes that all nations involved possess both Fighting Sail & Ironclad (good name for a boardgame...have to remember that). As you all know, it all comes down the the strength of equals. That means means that the dual-barrel rapid wombat firing rifled sub-machine cannon the neutrals are armed with stand no chance against the modern tactics of Victorian-era forces. However, if the neutrals were all armed with really sharp mangos...

Catch that reference

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"Guns for show, Knives for a pro..."
Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels

[Scott F]

HMS Dreadnought, the namesake of the ships of the great Anglo-German naval arms race, first put to sea in late 1906.

[His Divine Shadow]

quote: Originally posted by Scott F on 04-03-2001 06:24 PM *notes that the game is being set in the 1860s, when ironclads where a new novelty*

With all due respect to those who have continued this thread, a correction must be pointed out. Ironclad warships were a novelty in the WEST. Korea had ironclads in the 1500s, in the form of turtle ships. As for how effective they were, ask Toyotomi Hideyoshi.


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His Divine Shadow
zeon_archduchy@hotmail.com

[Scott F]

By ironclad I am referring to a steam-powered warship with cannons whose outer hull and surfaces are covered in sections of thick iron plating.

Besides, just how many turtle ships did Korea have during this period? While clad in metal turtle ships were also not designed to resist shot from cannons, the whole purpose of what is generally considered and accepted to be an "ironclad."

[His Divine Shadow]

quote: Originally posted by Scott F on 04-06-2001 11:10 AM By ironclad I am referring to a steam-powered warship with cannons whose outer hull and surfaces are covered in sections of thick iron plating. Besides, just how many turtle ships did Korea have during this period? While clad in metal turtle ships were also not designed to resist shot from cannons, the whole purpose of what is generally considered and accepted to be an "ironclad."

Sail and oar-driven, iron-plated decks, cannon-armed, and blue water-capable. According to Japanese and Korean records of the era, there were approximately one dozen of these design, and only one lost in combat (to Kuroda Nagamasa). This fleet was commanded by Admiral Yi Sun Sin, and its primary purpose was to sever the supply lines for Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa's First and Second divisions, which had begun their assault on the peninsula.

The steam-power, of course, was an impossibility of the age, but nobody's perfect.


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His Divine Shadow
zeon_archduchy@hotmail.com

[Gerwald]

Well, this all is a wonderful discussion and historical debate. I didn't know I was surrounded by such brainy individuals.

[Scott F]

The uncultured and uneducated barbarians from Mexico no doubt can comprehend nothing more than tacos, siestas, and the spreading of their heathen presence.

[Gerwald]

Pardon me, but am I to take that as an insult? Long live the taco! Long live the siesta! Long live Cancun!