Preveza 1538

The new gaming season begins with a naval clash between the fleet of the Holy League and the ottomans in the coasts of Greece. ¿Will Andrea Doria defeat the fearsome pirate Barbarossa, or it is the forces of Islam that will emerge triumphant this day?

The christians are caught by the turks while retreating from the failed siege of Preveza and turn about in haste to respond to the surprise attack of Barbarossa, who has come from the gulf guarded by the city

Meanwhile the ottomans have come into range of the allied fleet

And open a brisk fire that punishes the formidable venetian galleass (a galleon irl) moving ponderously in the allied vanguard

The christians complete their movement and engage the enemies of the faith

Foremost amongst them the imposing venetian vessel, that blazes in all directions with her massive bronze cannons

Undaunted, janissaries and corsairs come to grips with the first infidel line

Unleashing a devastating salvo at close range that cripples several christian vessels

Not even the Galleass can sustain such terrible fire, and most of her guns are dismounted amongst the bloody puddles of what once were sailors and gunners

In the left flank two matched forces maintain a tense standoff trading long ranged shot

Aboard his gilded galley Barbarossa orders his crew of cutthroats to jump aboard the massive vessel, with help from a nearby galiot and aided by the close ranged fire from a second galley

The turks on the left finally close distances and unleash hell on the christian galleys

The furious engagement on the center keeps going, with the turks managing to outflank the enemy with their superior numbers

But then the christian reserves come into play, entering the fray with fresh vessels and vengeful crews

Whose fire destroys the lone turk galley that was flanking the main line

Thankfully for the ottomans Barbarossa has finished off the galleass, and redeploys his victorious vessels to counter the new christian threat

In the left the battle finally turns in favour of the muslims, that capture  a genoese warship

Even Andrea Doria falls to the Turk, killed by a deadly volley fired from a nimble galiot

The reserves come too late for the christians, that have suffered appalling losses in the first clash

The remaining ships of the Holy League retreat, leaving half of their fleet in ottoman hands

Lepanto 1571

 

So last thursday was 450 years of the battle of Lepanto, and this weekend we have managed to play it at 1:10 scale. The rules were my own Empire of the Seas, and the objective quite straightforward: destroy more vessels than the enemy to win!

The christians got the initiative, and led by the formidable galleass they moved to engage the turks

As both fleets close the muslims attack with both their wings leaving the center behind

Happy to take advantage of such a blunder the Holy League masses their ships against the flanks 

Don Juan de Austria aboard la Real (gold edged red galley, second by the left) leds the attack on the enemy in this day that will decide the fate of the Mediterranean

Close range volleys cause mayheim on the ottoman decks 

Closer to the foe the artillery is twice as effective, giving quite an edge to the first side to come within pistol shot of the enemy

Realizing his mistake the ottoman player moves the reserve, clashing with the galleass and her escorts

Now all vessels are engaged with the exception of the galiots from the turkish rearguard, that jockey for position behind the battleline

First to strike is a muslim galley, boarded by venetian sailors and captured

The redoubtable tercio marines also join the battle, boarding and ravaging the foe from the spanish (red) vessels, their superior training and equipment proving to be the decisive factor in many a combat

The cowardly ottoman admiral Ali Baja backs oars after suffering at the hands of the galleass

Meanwhile the fresh muslim galleys begin to gang up on the depleted vessels of the center, throwing  the christians against the ropes

However the galleass proves to be a devastating weapon of war, punishing the muslims with her fire and repulsing a desperate boarding action

As the quality of the spanish soldiers and the weight of fire begins to tell, galley after galley are captured by the victorious Holy league

Most of the ottoman right has been destroyed, with the desperate corsair Sirocco (left) locked in combat with a far supperior genoese vessel

With their job done the christian left wing sails around the line of captured hulks

Things aren't looking that good in the center, where a mass of turks attack the galleass, while on the right a lone galley must face a vengeful squadron of galiots 

After finishing their opponents the galleys weel and come to the rescue of their beleguarded companions, weakening the boarders with close range fire

Undaunted and undefeated the christian MVP charges on her own against the foe, blasting front, left and right with all three batteries

After some rounds of fire Don Juan and his men board the ravaged muslim galleys to wrap up the game

There had to be some loss however, and a venetian galley is overpowered by Ali Reis

Far from the main action two vessels engage in a brutal close quarter battle that, despite being a sideshow to the clash of both fleets, is no less important for those involved

Reluctant to let the enemy admiral escape the spanish pursue his flagship, the Sultana

However a nearby galley explodes, showering the spaniards with burning remains and parts of bodies

Another muslim hulk blows up

Luckily all vessels had retreated from the vicinity to watch the fireworks from a safe distance

Venetian arrogance is a bit too much and the galleass is grievously wounded by the cannonade

Some muslims try to escape to fight another day, but are mercilessly hunted down by the enemy

The turk center is also surrounded and cut to pieces

Finally Ali Baja mets his doom, killed by grapeshot from a blazing spanish galley

In comparison Don Juan's Real hasn't suffered any damage, and even captures an enemy vessel

The second christian galley to be destroyed, all alone without friendly help

But nothing can turn the tide now, and after the death of their admiral a couple of muslim vessels give up the fight and are boarded, much to the rejoicing of the christians enslaved on board

¡And so the battle ends in a resounding catholic victory!

Non nobis domine, non nobis, sed ad nomine tuo da gloriam

Next day we went to the naval museum to see the awesome replica of la Real built in 1971. You don't realize how big this ships were until you are in front of one

The vessel was profusely decorated with paintings and reliefs evocative of don Juan's inminent victory

Travelling in style

The museum is actually located on the sheds were the galleys and other vessels were built, encompassing a long period from the middle and ages until the middle of the 18th century.