Lorcha
War Junks 1841
Chinese Vessels for WS&IM
(Reprinted from The General, vol. 27, no. 2)
by Thomas M. Kane
Bucknell’s men trembled, hearing curses in a strange tongue. The enemy ship scraped along the hull of Bucknell’s sloop. Half-clad Chinese men sat perched in its sails, not hanging on any proper rigging but along the bamboo slats which flattened the sailcloth. Osprey’s broadsides had ripped those sails in a hundred places, but that seemed to barely slow the attacker. It had turned, tacked almost straight upwind, and slipped behind Osprey. The cannons were silent now, trailing wisps of smoke over the sun-baked sea. All the Europeans were on deck to repel boarders. They faced the dreaded Chinese pirates, who knew no mercy and were unerring in guessing who might make fair prey, falling upon those who could not summon help or demand reprisal. Captain Bucknell looked up mournfully at his own “Jolly Roger.” If his ship was taken, no one would miss it. He’d come East to grow rich by plundering the China Trade. Now it looked like he would lose his gamble.
Old China developed over the centuries a rich naval history with an entirely different technology from that used by the European West. Whole cities, whose citizens lived afloat on moored boats, were founded in the ocean. Most coastal warlords raised navies. Fleets of buccaneers banned from all ports roved the China seas. These dreaded raiders, knowing they would receive no mercy if taken, fought with a fanatic skill and courage. As the colonial period opened in the Far East, intrepid captains from the Western powers came to China’s exotic ports, lured by fabulous trade opportunities. In their wake came the adventurers, warships, and more pirates. China’s coast soon swarmed with all manner of shipping, and East met West with occasional violence. The struggle for dominance eventually climaxed in the “Opium War”.
China’s naval tradition makes fascinating study. For too long it has been ignored by those who enjoy Wooden Ships & Iron Men. The Chinese sailors were as tough and feared as any “iron men” in European waters, and their vessels of teak and bamboo were a match for any of the West’s “wooden ships.” Offered here is my attempt to bring this fascinating facet of naval warfare to the readers.
Chinese Ships
The most obvious difference between Chinese and Western ships is that of size. Even ocean-going war junks were small compared to European ships of the line. Chinese captains insisted that their craft be able to operate in the many rivers, canals, and shallow bays that lined China’s coast. After all, some of the most important water trade took place a thousand miles from the ocean, up the broad Yangtze to the port of Ichang. Ships needed to be small and have shallow draft to navigate these waterways, especially during the winter drought.
Chinese ships evolved with unique means of propulsion. The Chinese shipwrights used square lugsails battened with bamboo and hung from a yardarm roughly two-thirds of the way up the ship’s mast. The bamboo battens held the sails rigid and flat even in high winds, which allowed the ships to tack at angles that amazed European sailors. These battened sails continued to function even when perforated and torn. Sailors climbed the battens without the use of ratlines found on Western ships. And Chinese sails could be raised and lowered rapidly because they simply folded, rather like huge Venetian blinds. Most ships could also be poled in shallow water or driven with sculling oars.
For game purposes, assume that all Chinese ships can sail directly into the wind at a speed of one hex per turn because of their special sails; Chinese ships tacked at such a sharp angle that this is the best way to simulate the effect. Aside from this, wind affects Oriental ships normally. (Note that the “Opium Clipper” does not have Chinese sails and cannot sail directly into the wind.)
All of the ships listed on the table appeared throughout the Far East, often with local variations. A lorca had the body of a Western frigate, brig, or corvette, but with a reinforced hull and Chinese sails. The Kiangsu and Pechilli traders were common merchant ships and also were in common use by Chinese pirates. River junks carried no sails and, despite their label, were often used on the ocean near the coast. The crooked junk was scarcely bigger than a gunboat and was limited to oared movement; its stern was designed to allow for the use of an oar sweep in rapids. Opium clippers are Western-built ships specially designed to smuggle the drug past Chinese government warships. They combined the best of both worlds, being able to out-sail most European vessels and outgun most Chinese in the South China Sea.
The Chinese never developed naval artillery, weaponry, or tactics to any great extent. Most of their combat took place in rivers, where the enemy would lie straight ahead or behind where a “broadside” could not reach. Most Chinese ships that carried cannon had only a few, and these were typically haphazardly placed on the main deck. Instead of cannons, the Orientals developed their own weapons, mostly intended to aid in the boarding actions that usually decided the fight. Stink bombs, fireships and torches, anti-boarding spikes, and mines were common. These devices, which are described in detail below, can be used by any Chinese ship. When constructing scenarios, the number of mines or stink bombs that can be used by a Chinese ship should always be limited. (If using point value calculation, assume that each set of mines for a crew section is worth five points and enough stink bombs to outfit one crew square cost one point.)
Stink Bombs: Chinese sailors made small bombs by packing clay pots with gunpowder, nails, sulfur dust, and any malodorous substance they had available. These were to be thrown onto the decks of enemy ships. Sailors in a boarding action hurled their bombs by hand, making stink bombs useful in WS&IM only against ships in an adjacent hex. The player using stink bombs must assign crew sections to prepare the bombs during the Boarding Preparation Phase (VII). Crew squares assigned to throwing the bombs cannot participate in boarding parties or cannon fire. During the ensuing Combat Phase, the Chinese player can attack on the Rigging Chart of Hit Table 1 by making one roll for every crew square assigned to throwing stink bombs. Not only is normal damage assessed, but the bombs automatically fill the enemy ship with smoke — the stricken ship’s crew can take no further action until the next game turn (may not reload guns, engage in boarding actions, or reset sails), AND no boarders can move onto the ship until the next turn. If stink bombs are thrown into an existing melee, neither side can attack or put more crew onto the ship during that turn.
Mines: These were small gunpowder charges designed to be floated downstream with time fuses. To deploy them, a player must assign one crew section to dropping mines during the Boarding Preparation Phase; this section may take no other action during the turn. Mines may be placed in any hex adjacent to the Chinese ship; if there is a current or wind, they will drift as if a dismasted ship. Use an upside-down gunboat counter to represent mines. The player who placed the mines secretly records whether they are timed to explode in one, two, or three turns. (If players have blank counters available, the counter itself can be numbered 1, 2, or 3, and positioned face down on the board.) At the conclusion of the Movement Execution Phase (V) of the appropriate turn, this is revealed and the attack resolved. All ships adjacent to or in the same hex as a mine must take damage rolled on Hit Table 2 of the Hull Chart. Mines cannot be fired at or attacked, only avoided.
Fireships: The Chinese devised a special form of fireship. Two small boats were tethered to one another by a long length of chain. When an enemy ship struck the chain, the fireships swung in to lay along her hull. Treat Chinese fireships like regular fireships (DYO III) except that they foul the target on a roll of 1-4, cannot be unfouled, and cause twice the usual damage should they explode.
Spikes: Some Oriental ships mounted sharp stakes along the hull to discourage ramming and boarding. The Koreans refined this practice and continued it even after they developed ironclads. Mounting spikes on a Chinese ship increases its point value by 2. Attackers must add +1 to their grappling die roll against a spiked ship. Spikes also give defensive boarding parties (only) a bonus of -1 during the first round of melee. The use of spikes on war junks had been discontinued by this time period.
Rivers
Many Chinese ships never tasted salt water, but sailed the Yangtze river and its tributaries and canals. To a fan of WS&IM, river battles offer interesting tactical options, especially when islands or shallows are present to maneuver around or tributaries are available to hide within. Players can design any pattern of river and its branches using the mapboards. Most waterways would be 2-25 hexes wide and 0-20 feet deep. The Yangtze was often as much as three times deeper during the early summer, in the period following the spring floods.
The current can also provide an interesting tool for the scenario designer, either reducing the effects of an unfavorable wind or exacerbating them. Treat the current like wind for the purpose of movement. All ships drift one hex per turn with the current if they’re not otherwise moving. Add one hex to a ship’s speed because of current when the craft is traveling downstream; subtract one if moving upstream.
The Opium War
The most dramatic encounters between European and Chinese wooden warships happened during the Opium War of 1839-1842. While this time period is later than that covered by WS&IM scenarios, most of the fighting involved the frigates of earlier ages. European naval technology had advanced in the interim, but the Royal Navy was slow to adopt these changes, and even then did not dispatch its newest ships to China. Use the statistics for the Napoleonic period for European ships in any Opium War scenario. The primary British squadron in Chinese water during the war consisted of Alligator (26-gun frigate), Blenheim (74-gun common SQL), Blonde (42-gun frigate), Conway (26-gun frigate), Druid (44-gun frigate), Hellas (an opium clipper chartered by the Royal Navy), Volage (26-gun frigate), and Wellesley (74-gun SOL). When these descriptions cannot be matched precisely with WS&IM’s DYO specifications (page 31), simply round off the number of guns (for example, a 26-gun frigate can be treated as the weakest sort of 32-gun frigate).
In defense of the right of British smugglers to operate, these ships blockaded the Chinese coast and also made forays upriver. The blockade intensified in June 1840 when Captain Smith outlawed all native Chinese navigation and ordered his fleet to seize all Chinese vessels. In reaction, the Chinese government offered bounties on Englishmen. One could claim the equivalent of $100 for a captured sailor ($20 for just his head), $5,000 for an imprisoned ship captain, and up to $10,000 for burning a European ship. Despite this incentive, the English almost always overwhelmed their opponents. Most of the action was confined to desperate, single-ship fighting. The only true battle occurred when Hellas was sweeping the mouth of the Yangtze. Chinese locals had cleverly placed underwater stakes to prevent her from turning. Eight Pechilli junks sallied from the river to attack her with stink bombs and boarding actions. They were driven off, but Hellas also withdrew to replenish her crew.
The rules of Wooden Ships & Iron Men are easily adapted to accommodate Chinese ships in play. You can either select counters to substitute for the Chinese ships or make new, colorful ones. For more technical information on Chinese vessels, consult The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze by G.R.G. Wocester (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1971). For information on the Opium War, I suggest The Chinese Opium War by Jack Beeching (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976). It is hoped that long-time players of my favorite wargame will soon be sailing Chinese waters with me.
Oriental Ships
DYO Specifications Chart
Notes:
* The lorca used a hull from a Western ship and so may be designed with the guns and/or carronades of any frigate, brig, or corvette.
** If playing with the Basic Rules, these ships can fire a broadside every other turn. In the Advanced Rules, do not double the guns. All of these ships except the Opium Clipper may, at the player’s option before set-up, concentrate the guns on one side of the ship, allowing broadsides to be fired every turn, but only from that side of the ship.
+ These ships often moved by oars alone, or used oars along with the sails. They can, therefore, turn and move backward as if they were gunboats (see page 29 of the rulebook).
++ Use a gunboat’s field of fire (page 29).
Speeds: All of these ships have a battle sail speed of 4 and a full sail speed of 7 (except the crooked junk, which cannot use full sail).
Turning Ability: All of these ships have a turning ability of 3. In addition, the river junk, small war junk, and crooked junk often moved by oars alone, or used oars along with sails. They can, therefore, turn and move backward as if they were gunboats (see page 29 of the rulebook).
