Broadside and Boarding: Small scale action in the Age of Fighting Sail

by Antoine Vanner

Forgotten epics of the Age of Fighting Sail, 1740-1815 There were few great fleet battles such as Trafalgar during the total forty years of naval warfare waged by Britain across this era. Between these major encounters, however, were myriads of desperate but small-scale actions. Each in isolation could be local in its impact but they were, in aggregate, influential at the wider strategic level.

This collection of over 80 articles deals with such actions, from furious duels between frigates to ‘cutting out’ raids, battles with privateers and assaults on land targets. And always, whether in war or peace, the struggle was constant against the fiercest enemy of all, the elements themselves. The heroes are mainly ambitious young officers and their crews, all marked by professionalism, courage, dogged endurance and will to prevail against all odds.

This is a book that can be dipped into at any point to read as much or as little as one wishes. Individual articles vary in reading time from ten to fifteen minutes. As such, it’s ideal for coffee or tea breaks, for when one is waiting for a train or flight, for delays of all kinds and when mood precludes a prolonged reading session. Broadside and Boarding deserves to be at hand when you may have little time available but want to escape into another age, a heroic and inspirational one, if only for a few minutes.

Though Antoine Vanner’s Dawlish Chronicles series of naval adventure novels is set in the later Victorian period, he has always been fascinated by warfare under sail in earlier times. Broadside and Boarding is his first non-fiction work. It builds on insights gained from extensive reading of contemporary accounts, often-obscure publications and formal histories written in the 19th Century.

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2024

About the author

Antoine Vanner has survived military coups, a guerrilla war, storms at sea and life in mangrove swamps, tropical forest, offshore oil-platforms and the boardroom. He has lived and worked long-term in eight countries, has travelled widely in all continents except Antarctica and is fluent in three languages. He has a passion for nineteenth-century political and military history and has a deep understanding of what was the cutting-edge technology of the time. His knowledge of human nature and his first-hand experience of the locales – often surprising – of the most important conflicts of the period provide the impetus for his chronicling of the life of the Royal Navy officer Nicholas Dawlish and his wife Florence. The first five novels in the Dawlish Chronicles series are:

"Britannia's Wolf", set in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877/78,

"Britannia's Reach", set in Paraguay in 1879-80

"Britannia's Shark", set in the Americas in 1881.

"Britannia's Spartan" set in Korea in 1882

"Britannia's Amazon", set in England in 1882

“I’m fascinated by the Victorian period,” Vanner says, “for not only was it one of colonial expansion and of Great Power rivalry that often came to the brink of war, but it was also one of unprecedented social, political, technological and scientific change. Britain’s power may have been at an apogee but it was under constant threat and would demand constant adaptation from those who aspired to shape events. Many born in the 1840s would not only play significant roles in the later decades of the century but be key players in the maelstrom that would engulf the world in 1914. The Dawlish Chronicles are set in that world of change, uncertainty and risk and they involve projection of naval power to meet complex social, political and diplomatic challenges.”

Find out more on www.dawlishchronicles.com

Weekly blog: http://dawlishchronicles.blogspot.co.uk/

Reviews

[Patricia Furstenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broadside and Boarding is a treasure of forgotten naval fury, shedding light on the minor but ferocious battles that built empires during the Age of Fighting Sail. Rather than huge fleets at Trafalgar, Vanner presents raw realism, frigates in lonely duels, cutting-out raids by lantern light, seafarers battling not only foes, but also sea, storm, and themselves.
Each of the 80+ stories is a self-contained explosion of salt and powder. The heroes are lieutenants, midshipmen, and gun crews, determined, and frequently half-mad from duty. Vanner's research is rigorous, drawing on ancient logs and lost diaries, but his storytelling is quick and powerful. This is splintered history, in which triumph is achieved inch by inch, by smoke, blood, and iron.
I appreciated the striking contrast of spirit and steel in HMS Santa Margarita vs L'Amazone, when the captain's bravery transformed retreat into chase; outnumbered, he might have fled, but decided to charge, resulting in a vicious close-quarters battle in which British practice and sheer will outlasted the French. The Moonlit Duel: HMS Blanche vs Pique was equally compelling, with the commander, haunted but unyielding, rejecting beautiful maneuvers in favor of savage collision and pistol fire. It was not a genteel exchange of broadsides, but rather a frantic, shackled struggle, murder in moonlight.
Ideal for readers who enjoy actual stories of daring at sea—and those brief, scorching moments when a single broadside can change the fate of nations.

[Phillip Mclaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanner writes great sea stories, and because he writes Naval officers so well it stands to reason he has researched the British Navy during the age of sail and into the age of steam.
A grand set of individual ship actions from 1740 thru the dawn of propulsion.
Easy to read when short segments are available.
Recommend

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reference for all lovers of the age of sail. Read on ebook then immediately went out and bought one to keep on my desk with the dictionary and thesaurus. (Dating myself)

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about some of the important battles involving British ships in the 1700's and 1800's.