"1st Puebla - The Rain?" Topic

You could make a good argument that the winner of the battle was not the French or the Mexicans, but the god of weather! It was said to be a sudden downpour that turned the slopes to mud, condemning the French assault on the hill forts.

If you were to refight the battle, how would you handle the rain?

* rains happens right on schedule, as it did historically
* random chance of rain at random moment
* no chance of rain, making the scenario more balanced
etc.

We do this every year. The rain hits mid-morning just as the French approach the base of the slope.

It's pretty simple to implement. The slope just has larger effects on mobility and coordination than it would otherwise.

There was a lot more to the loss than the rain. A number of factors converged to create the French defeat, several of which were within Lorencez' control.

link

But … if you want a more balanced scenario, fight a different battle. And probably, avoid frontal assaults to fortified positions.

The rain hits mid-morning just as the French approach the base of the slope.

Why? Not saying you're wrong, there is no wrong, just wondering what your thinking is.

I would probably make the rain random, if I could figure out the likelihood of it occurring.

I'm never going to paint the figures for this, ergo:

* However the GM decides to handle it.

The rationale is that the key drivers are:

* the French are running out of artillery ammo
* the French believe the Mexicans don't have cavlary
* the French expect the Army to fold and run
* the French expect the citizen of Puebla to support them

The three misconceptions were created by two Mexican generals who defected to the French after being pushed back several times.

The rain was a factor. It did slow the advance. But it wasn't a major factor. Making it a random factor doesn't seem (to me) to enhance putting you in the commanders' mindset.

What I do randomize is when the French will run out of artillery. While the sergeants at the guns and maybe some lieutenants know exactly what the shot count is, to the commanders, they know they are light and need to conserve, but really don't have a min-max mindset on that.

Oh, duh. Also, the rain started before the first assault up the hills, so it really wasn't a random factor in the decision processes, just something they had to deal with.