AAR - Siege of Tecate, day 1

Last weekend, we resumed the campaign for Baja California. This time, we played out the Siege of Tecate, March 19, 1911 (Scenario 7)

In this engagement, 150 volunteers of the PLM's Baja California Division attacked the border town defended by a detachment of 80 Federal soldiers from the 8th Battalion, left behind after the battalion reconquered the town from a small PLM group two days prior. The 8th had taken no prisoners, the only four surviving rebels escaped across the border. Arriving too late, Leyva's Baja California Division found the 80-man federal detachment in possession of Tecate.

Here is our model of Tecate, shown from the north facing south. 

Chris played as the rebels again, and his forces would appear on the hill here on the east edge of the table.

A stream ran through the south edge of the table. Most of John's Federals were to appear within the town limits, save for one outpost of ten, which John chose to hide in ambush (by marking their location on the map).

Mini Makhno and Tiny Durruti took a look at the field before the battle began. For the first time in our campaign, their was no snow or rain storm reducing the visibility. Actually being able to "see" the enemy, as well as our attempt to more-firmly use our Overwatch and Route rules, set this game apart from our previous battles.

The game began early in the morning. John was allowed to fortify the town with barricades during the time it took for Chris to bring his forces onto the table.

The Baja California Division arrived on the hill east of Tecate. The Headquarter group rode up to the peak to take the lay of the land. Chris chose to break up his large cavalry group--consisting of 35 riders--into three squads to attach to the three infantry groups. 

Next, John placed his garrison in the town, including many hidden in the buildings of Tecate. He arranged his defenses around layers of barricade lines, with soldiers hidden in various houses. The government forces had two machine guns at their disposal, which John placed at two crossroads of the main north-south road through town. In  this way, he established kill zones down the long open road to the east, and another in the barnyard.

With the defenders ready, and the anarchists arriving at the top of the hill, the scene was set for another brutal battle. 

Chris won the Round Initiative for the first round. He moved the bulk of his rebels down off the mountain. Group 1's cavalry section crossed the river at a ford, with their infantry running behind them. The Baja Division's Second Group formed a column in the road, with their cavalry section beside them, behind the crescent ridge.

Down the road a bit, the Federal soldiers were waiting behind their barricades. As the rebels drew near, five soldiers fired their rifles, shattering the quiet of the early morning. Four rebels fell, dead, and a fifth was pinned by the barrage.

The 8th Battallion's outpost group came out of hiding, at the center of the south edge of the table. They made their way back into town.

As they crossed the wooden bridge over the stream, the outpost group lit the bridge on fire. His men already where he wanted them, John made no further moves that round.

John won the roll for Initiative for Round Two. He made minor adjustments to his defenses. Three soldiers by the large house near the bridge found horses tied up there, mounted them, and road up toward the frontline.

Next, John moved the outpost group up the south flank, leaving two behind to guard the burning bridge.

Then it was Chris's turn to move his forces. He began by advancing his Second Infantry Group up the road.

 To their left, the Second Cavalry Squad rode to the top of the ridge fo provide some cover fire. The First Infantry Group also advanced on the south flank, taking positions in the woods while their cavalry detachment rode along on the opposite bank of the river. The PLM headquarter section came down out of the mountains to direct the siege, leaving the entire Third Section behind on the high ground, waiting in reserve.

The rebel attack focused on the southeast corner of Tecate. As they advanced, the insurrectos moved into range of some of John's defenders who were waiting on Overwatch. The outpost group fired across the river at the First Cavalry Squad, with little effect.

The horsemen returned fire, aiming at the soldiers crouched in the bushes, killing two. 

Next, Federal soldiers in the buildings at the intersection past the farm fired out the windows at the rebels in the road. Six anarchists, from infantry groups 1 and 2, fell to this barrage, but the eager revolutionists continued their charge. With the Overwatch phase played out, Chris won the Local Initiative roll. The rebels' rifles ripped into the defenders' lines, killing six soldiers. Attempting to light dynamite sticks, Chris lost four straight rolls, and thus couldn't throw his explosives at the buildings where the soldiers were on Overwatch. Tecate's first line of defense, however, was now dangerously thin.

With all of the Federal infantry behind the stone wall dead, the government's three cavalry riders fired desperately at the throng of menacing rabble, but all of their shots missed. In the next round, John won initiative and the cavalry retreated.

The mounted soldiers rode over to the tavern, by the burning bridge, which was now down to 7 health points.

The federal outpost squad advanced further up the south edge, taking cover behind a barricade made of fallen logs.

Lastly, John moved up a few soldiers around the barn, getting them in position for fire.

Then, it was Chris's turn to move. The PLM's 1st Infantry Group ran forward through the orchard, taking cover on their side of the barricades around the garden. Stragglers of their section were in the woods behind them, the trees affording some cover from the soldiers behind the log barricade who, having already moved this turn, were not on Overwatch.

To the south, the 1st Cavalry Detachment continued its charge, racing toward the back corner of the table. Across the stream, they could see the strong defensive lines. Soldiers on overwatch fired down on them from Tecate's buildings, killing one rider.

Far behind the cavalry, the Headquarters and 3rd Group of the Baja California Division came down out of the hills.

The Third Group joined the charge along the main road, bringing the full weight of the rebel force to bare along Tecate's eastern defensive line.

Just ahead of the Third Group, the anarchists' Second Group continued its reckless advance. As the infantry neared the hayloft by the road, the cavalry began to come up over the small hill behind the barn. John's three soldiers in the barnyard on the east wall fired on the cavalry, killing two riders.

The advancing anarchists responded, killing one of the soldiers and dynamiting the hayloft. 

The roof caught fire while two Federals fled through the yard.

Another rebel tossed his dynamite stick at the soldiers on the north end of the barnyard. The projectile carried too far, however. It landed with a blast right on the U.S. border.

Next, Chris attempted to use a trick he picked up from John. Instead of vaulting the barricade at the cost of 1 turn per unit, Chris used a few rebels to dismantle a barricade with their movement turn, so that the rest of the fighters could continue to charge up the road.

Unfortunately, this was a tough application for such a tactic. John's machine-gun down the road at the next intersection now had a clear line of sight, and opened up on the advancing revolutionaries. Two rebels fell.

The next skirmish John chose to play out was the southern sector. Chris won the roll, but his First Cavalry Squad, having begun the game with low morale already, only scored two hits on the enemy cavalry across the river. 

Five soldiers returned fire, killing four of the horsemen exposed above the ridge.

With only three riders left, Chris had to roll a morale test to determine if the squad would flee. Hampered by already low morale, the horsemen turned their beasts around and hurried away from the town in a route.

Next, John's former Outpost Squad, now behind the log pile by the river, fired their volley over the barricade and into the woods. Three soldiers and their captain unloaded their rounds. They killed two. 

The rebels fought fire with dynamite, successfully lighting and tossing two sticks at the enemy. But Chris had fallen into a streak of bad luck, as he seems to do occasionally in this campaign. His first throw fell short of his target. While the explosion caused some damage to the log pile, it also hit the nearby tractor, which exploded as well. This secondary explosion killed a rebel and pinned six more.

Chris, learning from this blunder, threw the second stick longer. However, a bad roll--a 2--caused the projectile to land three inches shorter than he had hoped. This time, it blew up directly on top of the log pile, inflicting serious damage to the barricade but no casualties. The wooden splinters caused the defenders to hit the ground, pinning all five Federales in the vicinity.

The dice finally rolled Chris's way to start Turn 4, giving him Round Initiative. He was determined to enter the town by any means necessary.

The rebel's Second Group, both infantry and cavalry, headed north to fight for the farm yard.

The two soldiers guarding the northeast corner of the farm property--the last government defenders still holding on at the first line of defense, lost their nerve and lit off back to the second line.

The rebel cavalry squad aimed across the barnyard and gunned down the fleeing soldiers. With the first cavalry squad reduced to only a few routing riders on the south flank, Chris appeared to turn his full attention to the side of town closer to the border. The First Infantry Group ran through the rows of fruit trees toward the road, where the Third Cavalry had just arrived, their own infantry group in tow.

John's many rifles on overwatch rained lead down upon the peasants, Indians, and workers in the fields. Five fired from the one-story, white building between the bridge and the fields, four from the next building to the north, and five more outside, standing below at the barn yard wall. Seven of the PLM's Group One fell dead in the orchard. Then, the Federal machine-gun let loose a burst, killing another rebel. 

But the hail of bullets could not break the tide of the rebel charge. The attackers moved into position to return fire. The seven anarchists of Group One who reached the stone wall at the edge of the field shot at the soldiers behind the barn yard wall, killing two. Their comrades, pinned the previous turn, would be available to join them in firing the next turn.

Rebels from Group Two fired between the farm's outbuildings at a soldier fleeing from the first line, killing him as well. 

Meanwhile, the fires around Tecate had only grown. Six more health points burnt off the bridge, leaving just 1 remaining point. The situation with the hayloft fire was identical. The cows in the pasture, terrified by the din of battle, crowded against the far corner of their pen.

The fire at the log pile consumed that barricade, leaving the former Outpost Squad of the 8th Battalion covered only by the smoke. Amidst the flame and smoke, round four came to a close.

Chris won initiative again for Round Five. His forces clung to the eastern edge of Tecate, where they faced a well-dug in enemy with good aim, plenty of ammo, and, with the memory of the massacre of a few days prior still fresh, much desperation.

First, Chris ordered the Second Cavalry to charge up the north flank. The riders set off, galloping between the barnyard and the border, penetrating as far as the second line of defense. Nervous U.S. soldiers guarding the crossing could only watch.

Behind the cavalry, the Second Group infantry dismantled the stone wall between the outhouses and crept carefully into the barn yard. 

Chris brought his third cavalry into the orchard, with the infantry close behind. Riders from the PLM headquarters group had crossed the river to attempt to stop the routing cavalry before they reached the east edge of the table.

Unfortunately for Chris, his low roll meant the three routing riders could not be convinced to rejoin the battle. They raced off the table, and into the sunrise. The Headquarters group reassembled at the pond behind the crescent hill.

Closer to the action, the First Group had already dismantled part of the stone wall, and began to stream into the garden.

John's Federals, however, had the advantage of Overwatch. Five from the white building and seven from the Outpost Squad fired at the attackers amongst the vegetables. These government defenders all had +1 morale from fortuitous rolling before the start of the game. With the enemy at close range, their accuracy was deadly.

Nine of the insurrectos fell to fertilize tomorrow's crops. 18 of the 35 infantry remained of Group One, only 1 casualty short of a morale test.

Then, the MG opened fire. Three more rebels from Group One were slaughtered, and another was pinned. The mounting casualties triggered a morale roll, which Chris failed. The survivors of Group One turned to follow their cavalry squad off back in the direction of Mexicali.

 Back in the barnyard, John's other machine-gun spat metal at the rebels there, killing three more. 

Now, only 13 rebels from Group Two remained alive. Chris was forced to roll his second Route Test that round. He passed with a six.

The determined survivors gathered around their IWW flag, ready to continue the fight.

Sensing he had his enemy own the ropes, John brought his third platoon out of the tavern and into the square.

Chris's Second Cavalry rode toward John's second machine-gun. The rebel volley killed only one soldier, but it was the gunner himself. 

The Federals, unable to fire the MG that round, nevertheless held strong. 

Chris's Second Infantry Group--the one that just survived a morale test--lit two sticks of dynamite and threw them at the MG position. 

The first fell short, damaging the barricade and surrounding buildings, but harming neither the gun nor its crew.

The second stick fell even shorter. This one killed a poor farmer and damaged the fence.

Always happy to toss around explosives, Chris's Third infantry, entering the fray for the first time, lit their own sticks of dynamite. The first failed to get the fuse going, but the second succeeded. The anarchist hurled his projectile at the white building. It landed on the roof, causing three damage points and igniting a fire.

Round Five came to a close, as did our game for the day. It had been another brutal and closely-played contest. John's defenses had proven formidable. His soldiers on Overwatch caused the route of the entire rebel First Group, and greatly reduced the numbers of the Second Group as well. John accomplished these feats while only giving up the agricultural fields on the edge of town, and losing only two outhouses, one of which was about to burn to the ground. Most of John's units remained at their posts inside the town itself.

On the other hand, Chris had caused a lot of damage as well, killing a handful of soldiers and a machine-gunner, setting buildings on fire, and clawing his way into Tecate. While he had lost a cavalry squad, his first and second infantry groups, though badly battered, were still in the field. The second survived a route test at a critical moment, while the first stands poised to flee into the mass of their own Division, making it highly likely that Chris will be able to rally them. Chris's entire third group had only just entered into the fight. He has plenty of brave revolutionaries left at his disposal, ready to liberate Tecate at a later date. But to do so, they will have to fight for each block and building of Tecate, where John's soldiers lay in wait.

It short, after a long morning of carnage, this is still anyone's battle.

Observing the battle, I felt that the inclusion of the Overwatch rule did a lot to improve the gameplay, making the attacker-defender balance feel more real. I bet John found the rule to be fun, though I'm not sure about Chris, who was the overwatched, and never the overwatcher. We'll find out this weekend, when the battle for Tecate resumes.