Manuals and paintings can make Age of Sail combat look more rigid than it was. Fleets formed lines because that arrangement brought the greatest number of broadside guns to bear. Commanders still had to depart from formal instructions when wind, sailing mistakes, battle damage, or an opening to cross the enemy's course disrupted the formation. Once a line broke, individual ships pursued targets or closed for boarding, and frigates could enter the melee. Single-ship and small-group actions occurred more often than the fleet battles that dominate popular images of the period. Dogger Bank therefore needs to be understood as fluid sailing combat rather than a fixed drill.
Notable Point · 9:24-11:56
Why battle lines did not remain tidy
The formal line brought the most broadside guns to bear, but wind, sailing errors, and boarding attempts could turn an engagement into a melee.