The Dutch Wars and the Restoration are potentially one of the most colourful, yet most neglected periods of naval warfare and wargaming. Between 1652 And 1674 Britain and the Netherlands fought three naval wars (with the British assisted by the French in the third). The first war (1652 -1654) came about as a result of intense competition over international trade (as well as other factors such as the failed political union of Britain and Holland). The second and third wars (1665 and 1672 took place against differing political backgrounds but were again chiefly centred on trade. For an excellent readable account of the campaigns I would recommend Hainsworth and Churches' "The Anglo Dutch Naval Wars, 1652-1674", recently published by Sutton. Some of the actions of these wars were truly enormous, involving many dozens of ships on each side. In just one example, the battle of the Schoonveld, 76 British and French ships fought against 52 Dutch ships in an action lasting 9 hours. In the course of these campaigns both sides scored amazing victories over their opponents, most notably the Dutch landings at Chatham, a most embarrassing defeat for the British fleet. It is perhaps for this reason that the Dutch Wars have, up until now, tended to be overshadowed by other periods as far as naval wargamers are concerned.
All this will certainly change over the next year or so. Navwar have steadily been releasing 1/1200 Dutch Wars models over the last few years, and Rod Langton has an exquisite new range covering the period ready for release in the second half of 1999.
The following rules should allow the use of "Form Line of Battle 2" for these earlier actions.
Ships of the period were classified by Rate, as they were in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Thus the rating system in FloB can be used "as is". The classification of ships into rates varied across the years. Typical values are given below:
Note that whilst both a 2nd and 3rd rate of 1666 could have 64 guns, the guns on the 2nd rate ship would have been larger and heavier, accounting for her higher Hull and Firepower factors. As ships get older their effectiveness relative to newly built ships reduces by 1 "rate" per period as their armament becomes more dated and their timbers become fatigued and rotten. So, a 1st rate ship of 1666 is treated as a 3rd rate in 1685.
The figures above are "standard" values. I have included some notes on tailoring these for individual nations’ ships below.
Remember of course that FloB deals with RELATIVE strengths. As long as this is remembered the system will work. Please don't think that because a standard first rate ship of 1685 has the same ratings as a first rate of 1815 it is as powerful! It is a powerful ship, but only relative to other ships of its day.
Again, because FloB is based on relative performance we don't need to change scales. Ship design was not as advanced as it was in the later periods and speeds attained were generally slightly less. Similarly gun ranges were generally shorter. As a result there is no need to change the gunnery distances or speeds. There should probably be some changes to the sailing Circle but as these woud probably eb fairly minor I have not assessed them yet.
The gunnery system can be used "as is" with one minor modification. The carronade was still many years away so the significant increase in firepower at very short ranges brought about by this weapon was not a feature of the period. As a result the modifier for gunnery at Point Blank range should be changed from -4 to -2
Ships may be designated as Fireships before the game starts. They are treated in all respects as normal ships except they are unarmed. Fireships may be set on fire at the end of a player's turn. If a fireship comes within 2cm of another vessel that vessel catches fire on a d6 roll of 4+. If the fireship collides with another ship that ship is automatically set on fire.
The values for ships given at the start of this article represent typical ships of the period. These may be tailored to better represent the ships of each of the major nations.
BRITAIN
British ships tended to be more heavily armed than their Continental counterparts. Increase the Firepower Factor by 1 for 3rd rates or 2 for 2nd rates or larger. There was a downside - their heavier guns tended to be closer to the waterline, so reduce the Firepower Factor of any 3rd rate or larger by 3 when firing to leeward in a Wind or stronger.
British ships were often designed with rounded sterns that were stronger than the more usual Continental flat sterns - when stern raked the Stern rake modifier on the Broadside Firing Result table should be changed from -4 to -3.
The rounded stern was hydrodynamically more efficient, so all British ships have the option of increasing their movement rate by 1cm.
NETHERLANDS
Dutch ships were shallower and more stockily built than most. They should have an advantage when fighting in coastal waters, being able to sail in shallower water than ships of similar rates form other nations. Their Hull Factors can be increased by 1 for 4th rates or larger.
FRANCE
French ships were typical of the period, apart from their 1st rates, which were weak in comparison with others; their Hull Factors should be reduced by 1.
DENMARK
Danish ships tended to be lightly armed for their size - reduce Firepower Factors by 1 for 4th Rates and larger vessels.
SPAIN
Spanish ships were well built. Their Hull Factors may be increased by 1 for 3rd and 4th rates or by 2 for 1st and 2nd rates.
References
Frank Fox, "Great Ships. The Battlefleet of King Charles II", Conway Maritime Press, 1980
Roger Hainsworth, Christine Churches, "The Anglo Dutch Naval Wars, 1652-1674", Sutton, 1999