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Friday, November 17, 2023

Action at Dominica Plantation

As alluded to in a previous post, the Spanish-American War collection took to the field this week.  Twice, in fact!

For today's contest, Mark, Chris, and Tony take command of the three American regiments while David B. (DB) and David C. (DC) maneuver the hidden Spanish contingents.  Neither army knows the composition of the forces they face this day.

Outnumbered and hesitant to draw fire from US warships offshore, the Spanish opt to forego contesting the American landings at Siborney, Juraga, and Daiquiri.  They withdraw inland.  The American objective is to first on drive on Sevilla and then on to Santiago in an attempt to force the Spanish Navy to evacuate Santiago Harbor.

After coming ashore at Siborney, General Wheeler and his cavalry Division organize a push northward into the interior.  Reports suggest that the Spanish have fallen back to the north and are presently situated around the plantation of Dominica.  Wheeler expects the Spanish to fight a delaying action to slow American progress toward its objective.  A fighting withdrawal would likely allow time for Spanish reinforcements at the Sevilla garrison to come up in support.  The route to Dominica passes through the coastal jungle before opening up to the cultivated area at the plantation.  Known for digging in, expectations are high that entrenchments may be encountered.  In addition to dealing with the enemy in defensive positions, Wheeler warns his officers to be vigilant of attacks from the dense jungle on the approach.
Battlefield
By mid-morning on the 24th, the dismounted cavalry began making their way north.  What would they find?  As the Americans make their way north through the jungle Cuban Rebels report that portions of a Spanish brigade lays ahead.  Some are seen entrenching on the high ground.

The stage is set.

The action begins as Wheeler's dismounted cavalry push through the jungle on a broad frontage.  Young (Tony) and the 1st US Cav are on the left, Wheeler (Mark) leads the 10th US Cav in the center, and Woods (Chris) brings the 1st US Volunteer Cav up on the right.

Using hidden movement (no markers on table) and unspotted markers (small colored dice on a base), the Spanish begin their game of hide and seek.  Pareja (DB) commands the Spanish right while Alcanz (DC) guides the Spanish Left.

Shots ring out.
First contact!
Coming under fire from the jungle, the leftmost unit of the 10th is pinned.  With the Spanish Mausers firing smokeless powder, the enemy is unseen until they open fire.  Not wasting a moment, Young brings his men up on the 10th's left.  The Spanish melt back into the jungle.  At this point, the Yankees begin to advance a little more cautiously on a broad front as they push, in unison, toward the creek ahead.  
Young drives off enemy skirmishers.
The Americans advance.
Young advances on the left...
while Woods advances on the right.
As Woods' men approach the creek, they take heavy fire from the jungle just passed!  Casualties are heavy and two troops are pinned at the creek.  While Wheeler and Young's commands continue pressing forward toward the creek, Woods' command must deal with the enemy within. With all available men focusing on the immediate threat, the enemy is dispersed after bringing up the machine gun to offer the final say in the matter.  Woods' advance resumes although G and H troops have been severely mauled. 
Out of nowhere, hit from the rear!
Mopping up action.
Back to the task at hand.
Yankee advance from Spanish perspective.
As the Americans reach the creek, Spanish entrenchments come into view on the high ground to their front on the Dominica Plantation.  Besides the two skirmishes in the bush, the enemy has yet to be seen. Is there no opposition beyond a light skirmish screen?

No!

As the Yankees splash across the creek, fire erupts from the trench in front of the building on the hill.  One unit of the 10th is pinned in the open ground on the trail.  Spanish commander Pareja can be seen behind the trench encouraging his men on.  Wheeler must act quickly to save his lead unit and remove the threat.  Before Wheeler can act, artillery shots ring out as shells fall on Woods. The situation is heating up!
Surprise!
Elements of the 10th pinned on the trail.
Quick action needed to reduce the threat.
Spanish mountain gun opens up on Woods.
Returning to the immediate threat to his front, Wheeler leads a charge up the hill and into the awaiting defenders.  In a shocking result, Wheeler and elements of the 10th clear the trench of enemy without so much of a scratch.  The Spanish defenders, overwhelmed by the Yankees' audacity, fail to put up any meaningful defense and break for the rear.  As the defenders bolt toward the rear, Spanish pioneers pop up from the building and pour a crippling fire into Wheeler and his boys.  The 10th, with Wheeler at the head, give no pause.  Charging on, Wheeler watches as the pioneers melt away as more troopers come up in support.  General Pareja is killed in the fight.  Young's command lends a hand and reinforces the 10th by coming up on its left.  On this front, the Spanish are in full retreat!  More Spanish appear in the trench to the rear and pin the 10th as its works to outflank the strongpoint.    
Spanish defenders break for the rear.
Wheeler clears the trench.
Elements of the 10th are pinned in the open
 as fire erupts from another trench.
With Wheeler and the 10th driving all before them, Wheeler sends two troops of the 10th to deal with the gun harassing Woods.  When the troopers of the 10th move up to screen two troops of the Volunteers, they are met with fire by Spanish infantry in the jungle.  Spanish jump out from cover and charge toward the Americans.  The Yankees counter charge.  The clash is brief and the Spaniards scatter.  

With the gun unsupported and the Spanish center gone, what is left of the Spanish blocking force retreats.  This action is over.  The Americans control the plantation.  
Troopers of the 10th offer help to the 1st Volunteers.
The 10th comes under fire...
but dispatches the enemy quickly.
An impressive looking American victory by sweeping away the Spanish defenders.  The victory, by casualty count, looks telling but there was a turn limit on the battle.  The battle was constrained by an eight-turn limit.  The Spanish army fell apart on Turn 8, the very last turn.  

Congratulations to Mark, Chris, and Tony as they ripped apart the Spanish defenders with great skill.  The two Daves put up a good defense with their early surprise attacks in the jungle as they disrupted American progress.

DB suffered in the center by a most unfortunate result in his clash with Wheeler and the 10th.  His Spanish defenders managed to not score a single hit on the Americans while suffering three hits themselves.  Their response?  Rout!  His pioneers suffered just as greatly.

For DC, had his Spanish infantry chosen not to attack on the American Right, he may have held on to scratch out a minor victory.  Alas, that was not to be.

Great game and fun to see the players wrestle with hidden movement, unspotted units, and dummy markers.

Thank you for another very enjoyable game.

50 comments:

  1. With all the hidden units and the smokeless powder, that looked a tense and difficult assignment for the US forces. The Spanish held on well right until the end.

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    1. The hidden movement and smokeless powder gave the Americans to consider as they advanced. I hoped this uncertainty would slow the Americans down just enough but not too much. Had Dave B's Spanish in the center trench not buckled and run at the first shots, the Spanish could have squeaked out a victory.

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  2. Excellent game, the hidden movement adds an extra layer of tension for the attackers, unsure where attacks may come from

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    1. Thank you, Neil! I will be interested to see what the players thought of the hidden movement mechanism and if it added materially to the experience. I thought the Spanish used these tools to good effect.

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  3. A well devised scenario if victory came on the last turn.

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    1. I think the repost to that is the harder I work the luckier I get :-)

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    2. I agree. Sometimes, we make our own luck.

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  4. Excellent write up of a resounding American victory in spite of their rubbish Norwegian rifles!
    Best Iain

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    1. Glad you liked the write-up! Resounding victory, maybe, but it could have easily tipped the other way.

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  5. Super game. Well conceived Jonathan, and well played commanders.

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    1. Thanks, Richard! All players performed well and within the spirit of the game. Who could ask for anything more?

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  6. “It was a harrowing experience for my boys. Never knowing if the Spaniards were lying in wait behind every tree and bush. I was proud of the way they got revenge on those b*****ds sneaking up on my lead company from behind.
    Eat your heart out Teddy!”

    That was a fun game to participate in. Sorry about Colonel Wood butting in there. He thinks this’ll play well with the press back home and boost his chance of getting in the White House.
    Chris/Nundanket

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    1. It will be hard to out spin Teddy in the papers.

      Glad you enjoyed the game, Chris. I am interested in seeing what you fellas thought of the hidden and unspotted movement mechanisms and where improvements can be gained.

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  7. Great scenario and detailed description of play by play action. Very impressive as I can only vaguely recall what actually transpired after finishing a game 😀

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    1. Thank you, Dean! Since I played a second game on the following day, details can get confused although I recall this game like it was yesterday.

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  8. Very well done. Jonathan, great AAR, nice work on the rules for deployment and moving and firing. The game is almost classic black powder and almost more modern skirmish. Asymmetric in tactics, the fight read grippingly and could have gone differently in the details. Clever table as well. Just no place to park the chariots.

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    1. Thank you, Joe! It is almost modern skirmish at the company level and since the 1st US Volunteers carried Springfields, black powder as well. The outcome could have tipped for the Spanish with needing much leap in imagination. And, not good chariot country…

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  9. I do like games with hidden movement. They can go wrong sometimes, but you seem to have worked it out spot on. Great game Jonathan.

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    1. Thanks, Ray! Hidden movement worked mainly due to the players. How well did it model why I hoped? That is up to the players to decide.

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  10. A very different look and pace as the Spanish-American forces rotate into play - very nice and seems particularly suited to remote play.

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    1. This is a lower level of combat than is often seen on my table. Hidden and unspotted movement was helped out by the remote game mode since the Spanish could track those movements out of sight of the US players.

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  11. A very interesting scenario and obviously my army instructors were correct when they said you should always attack into an ambush! It worked a treat. It really was a guessing game at the start with Chris and then myself firing at every bush just in case. The potential balloon would have been very useful!

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    1. Happy to see that the scenario provided an interesting challenge for you. Your play was quite unstoppable. I wonder how the eventual outcome would have changed had Wheeler been repulsed at the trench line in your first charge up the hill?

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  12. A grand report and game, the hidden additions added to the challenge of attacking a dug in enemy admirably.

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    1. Thank you! The Two Daves did a much better job at resisting the Americans than I managed in my game.

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  13. Well, that last comment just spoiled the suspense of the next SAW AAR Jon! A very nice-looking game and hidden movement/ambushes are always fun to try and recreate. The Spanish were unlucky in game terms but from the VERY little I know about this war, the outcome seems believable. Did the US Cav have higher morale values of fire more effectively etc?

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    1. Spanish mausers were superior to most of the American rifles but troop quality generally favored the Americans. Historically, the game result was believable and when tasked with fighting a delaying action, seeing the defenders pull up stakes and skedaddle is not much of a surprise.

      Yes, my attempt at defending was a disaster.

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  14. Loved this! The hidden movement system seems to have worked a treat! House rules?

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    1. Thanks! The hidden/unspotted activities worked or at least seemed to work. The rules are wholly House Rules since they are some of my own doing. I hope to receive feedback from players on what worked snd didn’t.

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  15. Cracking stuff Jonathan…
    The hidden movement seemed to work well… It’s a shame the Spanish turned out to be so brittle.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks! Well, the Spanish main goal was to delay the American advance. They did that until untenable.

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  16. Excellent report Jon - gripping - reads nicely, and fills in a few things I didn't quite understand at the time. My palms are all sweaty again. I am disappointed that on the night I had difficulty thinking about very much beyond getting rid of the jungle, but it was certainly very exciting. Thanks yet again.

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    1. Thank you, Tony, and thank you for taking command of the American Left! Glad you enjoyed the game and I will see you on the battlefield again.

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  17. Something different, entertaining. I have a soft spot for the Spanish as I add them to my Imperial army.

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    1. Something different and something entertaining is a good endorsement, I think. With my work on WAS Spanish, I have a soft spot for them as well.

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  18. Great game there Jon and another one that went down to the wire:)! I do like games with hidden movement, blinds etc, which for me really enriches the experience. A recent one of note is of course Norm's excellent Napoleonic game, where each commander only had a limited knowledge of his part of the battle.

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    1. Thanks, Steve! I hope that the added uncertainty provided a positive impact upon the players. While I did not participate in Norm's Napoleonic game, his Germantown game provided a lot of guessing and second guessing.

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  19. Morale and hidden movement rules seemed to make this a guessing game for both players, especially the yanks.
    Keep players on their toes and as a reader of the writeup, even I was on edge waiting for the next Spanish surprise to pop up from the foliage.

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    1. The hidden aspects of the game (hopefully) provided the Americans with moments of indecision. At first, the Yanks were firing into every treeline to see what could be discovered. Recon by fire was the order of the day!

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    2. Expend a lot of ammo doing that. Maybe another rule to add if those tactics continue? LOL

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    3. I agree. The Yankees did stop using that tactic after the first turn or two. They were on a tight schedule so they did not have the luxury of wasting time (or ammo). Since this tactic was no benefit and actually detrimental, I did not interfere.

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