Lt. Pike's Plan

Lt. Pike is a man of letters, and he's examined the situation in Yabhouti - as far as it's known - closely. He's decided the key to the town lies in the tower on the ridge. Located S-W of the township, the tower dominates the urban area and environs. Any ordnance mounted therein will need to be dealt with if the town is to be taken and held.

To this end Pike has decided to go for the throat and make a direct attack on the tower.

Two slaver dhows have been captured, and will be used to convey his platoon and the mountain gun to Yabhouti. The Flatiron gunboat HMS Arthur will accompany the dhows, and the whole force will stand offshore until two hours before dawn to avoid raising the alarm ashore. At this point the dhows, being of shallow draught, will close safely with the shore and the platoon landed in darkness on the beach south of the town. 

HMS Arthur's deeper draught prevents her from venturing into the unknown inshore waters until there's sufficient light to navigate safely. She will close with the shore at sunrise to provide naval gunfire support if needed, the sun behind her getting in the eyes of enemy gunners.

Pike and HMS Arthur's captain are under orders to limit structural damage to a minimum. The aim is to capture the port with as much of its infrastructure intact as possible. The gunboat will use her aft 4.7" gun in preference to the main 6" gun. The 4.7" is heavy enough to get the message across without flattening the town with just a couple of shots. If the shore party is repulsed from the tower, then the big gun will come into play.   

Once ashore, Pike will lead his platoon directly toward the tower. 3 Section and the mountain gun will split off to screen the right flank of the other two sections from any assault from the town. The mountain gun cannot damage the tower's thick masonry, but it can help suppress its defenders.   

Two petards have been prepared for use against the tower's reinforced door, and men instructed in their use. Once the door has been blown in, the main body of the platoon will enter at the run to clear the tower. With the tower in British hands, it's unlikely the Yabhouti garrison will offer further resistance.

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That's the plan - it remains to be seen how long it survives contact with reality. Hopefully I'll be able to play out the game to Sharp Practice rules sometime in the next couple of weeks.