"Do You Game the Spanish-American War?" Topic

Remember the Maine? Charge up San Juan Hill?

I probably would if someone made figures for it in a scale I play.

I'd do the Naval campaign

I would if someone else did all the heavy lifting. "Who am I? Which are my troops? Charge!"

I would happily play if someone else had the figures etc.

Played in a game of San Juan Hill at WD's Conference of Wargamers 5 years ago: link

There are also army lists and scenarios in the RFCM rule set "Square Bashing".

The naval aspect is covered in numerous scales. For the ground war I know of 15mm, 15/18mm, and 25/28mm.

There is also a Yahoo group for this:
link

So yes, I game it, kinda. I have ships for Manila Bay, and have had figures as well. I find the land battles a bit more difficult to balance. But Manila Bay, with a chance for the batteries to be more active, could be a near run thing for the Americans.

I have some Spanish figures bought for 19th century colonial Imagi-nations. No real interest in the actual conflict though.

I have had interested and at one time considered 28mm but now I would like to collect in 10mm

Yes, naval only.

Another naval player here

Nanal only in miniatures. Both in boardgame form.

Yet another naval gamer.

If there isn't a board I vote against it. If there already is one I vote to get rid of it.

No, I don't game it. The only Spanish-American gaming done where I live has been Naval games. Even though they tend to be one sided.

If someone else wants to do the heavy lifting I certainly would participate.

Naval only.

Twice I started to collect armies in 15mm but became distacted and sold them off. I now have a unit each of Americans and Spanish in my Little Britons collection.

Yes in 28mm. Old Glory and a few Tiger miniatures from Recreational Conflict.

I have a uniform book from my youth that had several pages on the Spanish American war. I held out until someone put some used figures out for a song at a local shop several years ago…

I use a modified TSATF for rules. I enjoy Spanish vs. Cuban actions more than the major battles with the US.

I gamed it once, the Battle of Santiago.
I used Houstons Ships, 1/1000 scale.
A fun game with the Spanish coming out, trying to make a getaway while the Americans rushed to get up to speed and chase them down, which they did for all but one.
Joep

Want to but it fell off the list of what I could paint and play in a probable maximum of 14 to 19 years I expect to live.

As an American of Spanish (plus Cherokee and other) ethnic origin I have always been fascinated and yet put off of the idea of shooting the "good guys" no matter which side I played. No other war has so conflicted my war gaming interest. Yeah, weird, I know.

Nope.

Did some Spanish and Cuban/Phillipino up quite while back. 15mm for TSATF. Have the American figs somewhere but the project withered <sigh>

I have played both land and naval SAW games, but using other people's stuff.

Not a period which interests me enough to buy it myself.

Game Span-AM? Rarely. Collect? But of course! 28mm for the land actions and 1/1100 for the naval actions.

Didn't Old Glory make a line of figures for it and produce a rule book? If so, based on the above, must not of sold very well.

Inkpaduta, the Old Glory line of 25mm SAW figures, in my opinion, is one of their finest lines. Excellent figures!

Yes, game it when I can (then again, I can game very little of anything while operating a business in the hobby), and have done a lot of research to help develop "Rough Riders" for author Chris Ferree.

It may be the least understood of all American wars due to the appearance of it's lop-sided results. The seeming ease of our victories suggests to most that we simply overwhelmed the Spanish by our "superiority."

The fact is, Spain gave up any hope of "victory" at the moment of the declaration of war. Their naval effort was half hearted at best, leading to strategic decisions that produced pretty much hopeless tactical situations that would have ended as badly for any other navy in the same circumstances.

In Cuba, small numbers of Spanish soldiers inflicted terrific casualties on an inept, inexperienced, horde of Yanquis. At San Juan Heights, 1,200 of their infantry held up some 8,500 Americans for hours, inflicting five times as many casualties as they suffered, for a total of 12% of the attacking force, and a disproportionate loss of senior officers due to the practice of targeting them in action.

And this with some 20,000 Spanish troops (supported by 24 Nordenfelt MG's from the sheltering fleet) kept in Santiago who never fired a shot during the war.

Any war game that fairly treats the veteran Spanish Troops, as well as the utterly "green" US Troops, shows that the SP-AM War was anything but one-sided.

Ideally, the war would be fought as a campaign where the battles, land and sea, would not be based on the historical decisions of Spanish authorities unwilling to contest the US, but rather a war gamer seeking to use Spain's actual advantages and options to make them howl.

Even fictional, "pick-up" games should demonstrate that any victory won by the Yanks would have to be EARNED, and that the war could as easily have been a disaster.

In short, it's a helluva great subject for a war game!

TVAG

Exactly. But I still find I can't get heart into it. Mental, no doubt about it.

We have over 500 28mm Sp-Am War figures that we have used twice in the last 20 years. Actually that's pretty good for our group, even though we game every week.

We used the Americans to fight off the invading Germans (1870 figures) in our brief 1902 campaign.

So far just 28mm Land.

Nope but wouldn't mind.

Bought the figures and the ships, still have not painted them.

Nope. Too one sided.

If you play the Spanish aggressively the US will have a hard time of it both on land and at sea. The problem was the Spanish government was just not committed to the war.

Look at the number of Spanish troops present as compared to engaged.

If the Spanish fleet had come out of Santiago harbor earlier if may have been thier victory.

Dear basileus66,

Beg to differ, Sir!

Would love to read your reasons for believing so.

TVAG

I'm with Jon Frietag! I love those 25mm Old Glory SAW figures too. Over the past year, I've painted up 2 companies of Americans and Spaniards for skirmish gaming.

Did this ever turn into a poll? I do not recollect seeing one.

Played it at conventions. In my locale there is more interest in the naval side of the war. I would be happy to be in a game but it is a low priority for me.

No, but I thought about it once.

It's more on the "I'd totally play if someone was into it" list than the "I should order some mini's tomorrow"