Thursday the Corlears Hook Fencibles played a game of the 1862 Battle of Puebla, since it was the 154th anniversary. Heresy alert: the Mexicans look suspiciously like Confederates and their gunners like Union troops. If that doesn't put your knickers in a twist, read on. Otherwise avert your eyes.
Dice determined that Rick played the French while I played the Mexicans, assisted by Ken as Porfirio Diaz. The view from the French side of the table:
French artillery moved into range of the Mexican smoothbores while still limbered. A lucky shot saw one gun hit and silenced. The other guns quickly unlimbered outside of smoothbore range.
It soon became clear that the French were going for the Mexican right, which is where Zaragoza thought the attack would come.
In the center, Fort Guadalupe belched defiance.
After a brief barrage, the French advanced with Zouave battalion going straight for the brickworks, losing to Mexican artillery fire.
The French slowly gained ground in the woods.
Mexican infantry behind the guns in La Ladrillera made a bayonet charge but were chased back behind the guns by French rifle fire. The Zouaves then stormed forward with bayonets. Something went badly wrong with their charge (truly lousy dice) and they were repulsed with losses.
The spent Zoauves moved back and countered a flanking move by Mexican cavalry with their rifles. If that had been a deeper move…
The line unit had a choice: charge the brickworks or fall back.
This relieved the pressure on La Ladrillera.
As the situation grew worse for the Mexicans in the woods, Mexican artillery from other parts of the line deployed to meet the French exit from the woods. The best Mexican unit, the Zapadores, were intact and in cover inside the buildings of Puebla.
At the end of turn 6 (of 8 turns) Rick decided he had little chance of capturing an objective and he threw in the towel. We had played 6 turns in less than 3 hours. The game is always slower when we have less than 4 players. French losses were some 600, about the same as the actual battle. Mexican losses were some 720, much higher than the actual battle. But then the French didn't attack the forts on the hill.
This was the first play test for this scenario. While it went well, I have some ideas about changes to the Mexican order of battle. A two-stand rifle battalion seems a waste. It should be incorporated with other units of the same brigade and that unit should get a skirmisher stand. I'm also not sure if La Ladrillera should count as having artillery positions dug in it.
In any case, that's it for a couple weeks as I'm off to the north country with my wife for a while.
