Re: Search for historical presence: Small vessels and the Wall or Line of Battle

>I assume that in historical times (WWI, WW2, modern, other times), >the

>Line of Battle has fought with smaller vessels. I am interested >in any

>information regarding these events, such as dates, places, >and brief
>recountings of the events. Especially the meeting of two main battle
>lines with the smaller vessels playing any kind of a noteworthy role
>other than dying under the cruiser or BBs guns....

But that's the thing though- main battle fleets rarely EVER engage each 
other. The simple reason is that massive capital ships are very
expensive 
and rather rare. Committing your main battle fleet (like the British
Home 
fleets) is taking a major risk. Winston Churchill once remarked (during
WWI) 
that the British Home fleet commander was the one man who could loose
the 
whole war in one afternoon.

Even in the Pacific, the major fleets didn't clash until things were
very 
desperate (Midway, Coral Sea, etc)... The main fleets just stuck around 
bases and supported invasion force (and only occasionally defended
against 
major invasions). For the most part, naval battles (at least in WWII)
were 
fought by 'popcorn'. It's because these ships were expendable.

So the real question should be, when do CAPITAL ships really see action
;)

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