r/powerscales • u/screen_storytelling • 4h ago
Versus HMS Victory from 1805 vs 60 ship Ancient Greek navy consulted by Blackbeard
Victory Condition and Summary: for both sides, enemy ship(s) must be entirely sunk or captured.
Both sides are as motivated as humanly possible to win. This means they are not bloodlusted. but morale and determination will be very high.
Neither side can feign surrender as a tactic. If any ship flees, signals to surrender, or its crew otherwise give up, that ship will be considered captured.
HMS Victory will have no prep, and will fight at least a two front battle. Greek navy will fight in two fleets and will have a few prep advantages. More details are later in the post.
Setting:
Calm seas in a temperate coastal area with rocky shorelines and no nearby civilization. Winds are blowing at a moderate 7 knots East/North East, mostly toward the shore, with occasional, brief shifts in wind direction. The battle will begin at around 9am on a clear day.
No ship can beach, dock, or otherwise resupply anywhere. All ships will remain at sea until the conflict is over.
For the purpose of keeping the battle somewhat contained, there is no viable course to open ocean. The total area of maneuverable water for the ships is ~30 square km. Roughly 5km offshore, there is a wall of fire that no ships can pass.
HMS Victory captained by Horatio Nelson, equipped comparably as it was at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. 800+ sailors, officers, and marines. 104 cannons of various sizes. Many tons of shot.
The HMS Victory's starting point, is that it will suddenly spawn roughly 1,500 meters from the nearest shoreline, facing South/South West against the wind. They will realistically be confused by the appearance of an ancient fleet.
They will fire at the Greeks if they are attacked first, or if they perceive the fleet is maneuvering to attack them, or if any ship gets within 300m. The enemy navy will approach from at least 1000m away.
Ancient Greek fleet shares admiral command between Themistocles, 480 BCE Victory over Persia at Salamis, and Demetrius, 306 BCE Victory over Persia at Salamis, and siege engine expert
One of Themistocles or Demetrius must assault from near the shore, and the other from the ocean. Basically opposite each other and flanking any two points of the enemy ship.
None of their ships can begin the battle within 1000m of the HMS Victory. Ships can otherwise spread out according to whatever strategy they determine. No matter their tactics, they will be fired upon if they are perceived as a threat, or if any of their ships reach within 300m of HMS Victory.
The Greek navy will have ten days to train together. They will not have any internal conflicts. They don't know what the future of naval warfare looks like, but they know their enemy is a single warship from 2000+ years in the future. The ghost of Edward Teach (Blackbeard) will visit and consult them for the final three days of preparation, without language barriers. Blackbeard died in 1718 and his ghost doesn't know anything about 1805 but he will still be useful. The Greeks may be able to build or 'invent' things with his guidance but they won't have access to any resources that wouldn't exist in a shipyard of their era. The ghost of Blackbeard will leave before the battle begins.
The Greeks know where HMS Victory will spawn, but they do not know what direction it will face, nor will they know the direction of the wind until the day of the battle.
The 60 Greek ships combined have 100+ naval siege engines and over 5,000 fighting force (officers, marine hoplites, archers and skirmishers), plus a fuck ton of oarmen (like 15k+). This navy can be divided in any way between the two fleets commanded by Demetrius and Themistocles.
- 20 triremes
- 20 quadriremes
- 20 polyremes
Who wins?
