Re: strike the colors rule

G'day guys,

Derek was interested to here about this thread as he's been reading some

naval history just recently, so he's asked me to pass this along to you.

Enjoy

Beth

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 >>Striking colours (suggest a check every turn at last hull box and get
 >>damaged - score must equal the number of hull boxes left, but a 6
always
 >>fails)
 >No, no, a thousand times no. I hate this rule. This is not the wooden
 >ships and iron men era. How many ships "struck their colors" in
 >WW1 & WW2? And what do you mean "a 6 always fails"? That
 >they surrender on a 6? This would be way way too often. Our games
 >have had people flee when on the last roll of hull boxes and have a
 >working FTL drive, but this is at the player's discretion and not on a
 >fluke of a die roll. Make it a 2D6 possibility and I MAY accept it.
 >I'm glad it's optional because I ain't playing with it as is.

Recently I just finished reading a book from the state library (sorry I 
forget the title, it was a couple of months before Christmas) on the 
development and evolution of the battle fleet which made a interesting 
observation. At the beginning of the WWI the Royal Navy was surprised by

the behaviour of the German Navy, the British were prepared to accept a 
surrender if the Germans struck their colours during an action. But the 
Germans with something to prove to the Royal Navy weren't about to
strike.

Just because it didn't happen, doesn't mean it never will, but why is
this so?

For instance, one reason the striking of the colours may have become
less 
prevalent was because of the advance in technology, the replacement of 
wooden hulls and solid shot with armour plate and explosive shells.
Ships 
like HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship were difficult to sink. Shot from 
cannon fire would puncture the wooden hull with little structural damage
to 
the ship itself, but the effect of splinters and the like plus the
passage 
of the cannon ball inflicted grievous damage on the crew. Once enough 
causalities were inflicted a captain of a ship wouldn't have enough crew

left to fight the battle, so he had little choice, strike the colours 
withdraw from the fight and tend to the wounded. So through accident or 
design the weapons of Nelson's day were man killers but by WWI they were

designed to defeat the armour plate protecting a enemy hull and explode 
inside it wrecking the ship. Not much chance of surrendering there.

Derek

Derek Fulton
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Australia
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Email; derekfulton@bigpond.com
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