Here is a report from a solo game I played based on Scenario 3: The Events at Guadalupe
This scenario lays out a game based on 2 battles that occurred between February 11 and 14th, 1911. In the scenario, as in the historic record, three different forces of PLM insurgents descended on the border town of Guadalupe on February 11th. In my game, I split my rebel forces into three groups across the southern edge of the table. The groups would enter quietly, using the low visibility of the torrential rainstorm to cover their approach, and once in place, strike their objectives at the start of round 5.
Lázaro Gutiérrez's forces arrived in the Southeast corner. Their objective was to march on the Plaça, where the landlord's home and the main force of Rurales stood, protecting a supply cache.
Gabino Cano's group appeared south of Guadalupe, with orders to capture the Rurale's station in the center of the town.
Silva's force appeared in the Southwest. Their objective was the border crossing, and to prevent any government forces from escaping to the north or west. This group had the farthest distance to travel.
Silva's group came down out of the mountains, crossing the desert in the morning sunlight, while some shepherds watched, wearily.
Silva's contingent crossed agricultural fields and came upon a farm house sitting right at the border post. The insurrectos took up positions inside the farmhouse and behind a stone wall.
Meanwhile, Gutiérrez's group used the first few turns to organize into three small detachments. Waiting for Silva's force to arrive, Gutiérrez's men slowly moved on the Plaça, where the Landlord's home stood prominently.
One detachment took up firing positions inside the small building in the southeast corner of the plaça, directly facing the Rurale's post in front of the Landlord's home. Another pushed north to cover the other side of the home.
The flanking section came around the side of the house, while Gutiérrez situated his small group between the two other detachments.
Meanwhile, Cano's group, which didn't have far to go, waited three turns before moving into position. Then, they entered the town and gathered a block from the station. Cano himself led a small group right up to the building. Inside were five Rurales, including their chief. Unfortunately for these lawmen, there were no windows on the south side of the building.
All three PLM groups were in position, right on schedule. Cano began the battle by lighting the Rurale's station on fire.
As the fire spread at the Rurale's station, the Magonistas attacked quickly and accurately.
Just up the street from the station, Silva's men in the farmhouse covered the bulk of his group as they charged the guard post.
Two of the five officers fell. The town landlord, having fled the fighting at his house, ran right into the skirmish at the border post. Seeing their boss approaching, the officers refused to surrender. They fired on their captors, taking a few rebels with them as they fell. Silva and his men dragged the landlord away from the border.
Suddenly, the Rurale's station collapsed in a burst of smoke. Two officers managed to escape and flee into the plaça, but their chief was not among them.
With their objectives completed, Silva and Cano's groups turned east, toward the Plaça. There, Rurales fleeing their burning station rushed to the defensive positions of their compatriots. Half of Cano's group had already taken up positioned behind some market stalls on the south of the square.
Meanwhile, two wise shepherds headed to the mountains with their flock. The battle for Guadalupe raged behind them.
Some of Gutiérrez's group, those that flanked the landlord's home, entered the building from the rear.
Meanwhile, the firefight raged in the plaça. The Rurales, though outnumbered, held out behind their strong defenses.
They held out, until the building behind them lit up with the flashes of gunfire.
The few surviving Rurales surrendered to the PLMistas, and the battle for Guadalupe drew to a close. The three insurrecto bands assembled in the square, where they questioned their prisoners, took stock of the captured supplies, and planned their next move. They did not know that Madero and his small force was about to cross the border and complicate their situation.
The five guards Silva left at the border crossing stepped aside to let Madero's group enter Guadalupe. After all, orders from Magón and the PLM Junta back in Los Angeles were explicit about cooperating and even combining forces with the re-electionists in the field.
The liberators of Guadalupe did not, however, intend to join Madero's force and fight under his command. The presidential-hopeful and his men continued on down the path, intent on marching into the desert and facing their enemy. They would soon get their chance.
At that moment, Federal soldiers entered the table in the southwest corner. They had received a tip that Madero would be in the area, and prepared to seek out President Diaz's most successful challenger. The soldiers come down from the mountain and fanned out to comb the desert.
At this same time, Madero's group, having just pushed past the PLM forces, were leaving the town and stepping into the desert. While they could not yet see each other, due to the heavy rain, both sides were about to come face to face on the outskirts of town.
Back in the plaça, Gutierréz struggled to convince Silva to try and protect Madero from what seemed to them a fool's errand. It took a few turns to roll a 4 on a D6, signaling Silva's change of heart.
Once convinced, Silva raced through the town on his horse. He reached Madero just in the nick of time. Now, it was Silva's turn to do the convincing.
Luckily, Madero consented immediately. He withdrew, with a small group of supporters, back toward the plaça, while the rest of his men lined up behind a stone wall around a farm yard. The Federal soldiers had just come into view on the far side of the yard.
Silva accompanied Madero back to town, to see the politician to safety, and to organize the defense of Guadalupe.
Reinforcements, it turned out, were urgently needed. The south flank of Diaz's soldiers overran the Maderistas position, and an uneven firefight commenced.
Silva ordered his own men to hurry toward the west of the town, while Cano's group guarded the small house where they had stashed the landlord and his Rurales. Gutierréz's forces were busy loading the captured supplies into trucks when Silva returned.
The government forces' lines stretched the width of the town from north to south. As the south flank fired on the Maderistas, the north flank approached the same farm house the PLMistas had earlier used to attack the border post they now guarded.
Silva's group spread out to attempt to hold the line. Madero's forces were falling quickly, while Diaz's loyal solders made steady progress.
Silva, having reached Gutiérrez, passed along news of the developments to the west. Guttierréz's group raced out of the square to meet the army's south flank.
Time was on the essence. The Maderistas were dropping quickly, and the entire south flank was in danger of collapsing. Even worse, the Federals had managed to set up their machine gun behind the stone wall.
On the north flank, soldiers entered the farm house. They took up positions in the windows facing out at Silva's border guards, not yet aware that the town was under attack.
Just south of them, two small sections of Silva's groups attempted to stand in the way of the advancing soldiers. The forces firing across the cow pasture from behind each end of the stone enclosure were too far from each other to do any damage in the blinding rain. But just south of them, Silva's men standing in front of the burning rubble of the Rurale's station took heavy losses.
Further south, Gutiérrez's group arrived to face the flanking platoon. They traded volleys, with casualties on both sides. But the Federal platoon faced twice their number, and their few survivors broke and ran. Just north of them, Silva's men reached the Maderista's position, just in time for the first rounds of the government's machine guns.
Many of these defenders fell dead. Another Federal platoon charged the length of the wall at their positions, but the rebels held strong and fired steadily.
Gutiérrez's forces, having routed the platoon facing off with them, rushed off to attempt to turn the Federal flank.
To the north, the Silva group managed to warn their comrades on the border of the attack. The men rushed into the farm house and fired out the windows at the approaching platoon, but the soldiers fought their way into the building. Men on both sides met brutal deaths in the hand to hand fighting that ensued.
On the south end, the Federal commander was unable to rally the survivors of his right flank. The three soldiers fled past him into the desert.
Gutiérrez and his men charged brazenly at the Federal line. The machine gun landed ever shot, but there were too many rebels to hold back. On the other side of the barn, Madero and Cano's men rushed to flank the other side. The Federal soldiers put up a valiant fight, but most were gunned down where they stood behind the wall. Their commander gave himself up when all hope was lost.
Some of Gutiérrez's group, those that flanked the landlord's home, entered the building from the rear.
Meanwhile, the firefight raged in the plaça. The Rurales, though outnumbered, held out behind their strong defenses.
They held out, until the building behind them lit up with the flashes of gunfire.
The few surviving Rurales surrendered to the PLMistas, and the battle for Guadalupe drew to a close. The three insurrecto bands assembled in the square, where they questioned their prisoners, took stock of the captured supplies, and planned their next move. They did not know that Madero and his small force was about to cross the border and complicate their situation.
The five guards Silva left at the border crossing stepped aside to let Madero's group enter Guadalupe. After all, orders from Magón and the PLM Junta back in Los Angeles were explicit about cooperating and even combining forces with the re-electionists in the field.
The liberators of Guadalupe did not, however, intend to join Madero's force and fight under his command. The presidential-hopeful and his men continued on down the path, intent on marching into the desert and facing their enemy. They would soon get their chance.
At that moment, Federal soldiers entered the table in the southwest corner. They had received a tip that Madero would be in the area, and prepared to seek out President Diaz's most successful challenger. The soldiers come down from the mountain and fanned out to comb the desert.
At this same time, Madero's group, having just pushed past the PLM forces, were leaving the town and stepping into the desert. While they could not yet see each other, due to the heavy rain, both sides were about to come face to face on the outskirts of town.
Back in the plaça, Gutierréz struggled to convince Silva to try and protect Madero from what seemed to them a fool's errand. It took a few turns to roll a 4 on a D6, signaling Silva's change of heart.
Once convinced, Silva raced through the town on his horse. He reached Madero just in the nick of time. Now, it was Silva's turn to do the convincing.
Luckily, Madero consented immediately. He withdrew, with a small group of supporters, back toward the plaça, while the rest of his men lined up behind a stone wall around a farm yard. The Federal soldiers had just come into view on the far side of the yard.
Silva accompanied Madero back to town, to see the politician to safety, and to organize the defense of Guadalupe.
Reinforcements, it turned out, were urgently needed. The south flank of Diaz's soldiers overran the Maderistas position, and an uneven firefight commenced.
Silva ordered his own men to hurry toward the west of the town, while Cano's group guarded the small house where they had stashed the landlord and his Rurales. Gutierréz's forces were busy loading the captured supplies into trucks when Silva returned.
The government forces' lines stretched the width of the town from north to south. As the south flank fired on the Maderistas, the north flank approached the same farm house the PLMistas had earlier used to attack the border post they now guarded.
Silva's group spread out to attempt to hold the line. Madero's forces were falling quickly, while Diaz's loyal solders made steady progress.
Silva, having reached Gutiérrez, passed along news of the developments to the west. Guttierréz's group raced out of the square to meet the army's south flank.
Time was on the essence. The Maderistas were dropping quickly, and the entire south flank was in danger of collapsing. Even worse, the Federals had managed to set up their machine gun behind the stone wall.
On the north flank, soldiers entered the farm house. They took up positions in the windows facing out at Silva's border guards, not yet aware that the town was under attack.
Just south of them, two small sections of Silva's groups attempted to stand in the way of the advancing soldiers. The forces firing across the cow pasture from behind each end of the stone enclosure were too far from each other to do any damage in the blinding rain. But just south of them, Silva's men standing in front of the burning rubble of the Rurale's station took heavy losses.
Further south, Gutiérrez's group arrived to face the flanking platoon. They traded volleys, with casualties on both sides. But the Federal platoon faced twice their number, and their few survivors broke and ran. Just north of them, Silva's men reached the Maderista's position, just in time for the first rounds of the government's machine guns.
Many of these defenders fell dead. Another Federal platoon charged the length of the wall at their positions, but the rebels held strong and fired steadily.
Gutiérrez's forces, having routed the platoon facing off with them, rushed off to attempt to turn the Federal flank.
To the north, the Silva group managed to warn their comrades on the border of the attack. The men rushed into the farm house and fired out the windows at the approaching platoon, but the soldiers fought their way into the building. Men on both sides met brutal deaths in the hand to hand fighting that ensued.
On the south end, the Federal commander was unable to rally the survivors of his right flank. The three soldiers fled past him into the desert.
Gutiérrez and his men charged brazenly at the Federal line. The machine gun landed ever shot, but there were too many rebels to hold back. On the other side of the barn, Madero and Cano's men rushed to flank the other side. The Federal soldiers put up a valiant fight, but most were gunned down where they stood behind the wall. Their commander gave himself up when all hope was lost.
While the rebels defeated the bulk of the government forces, Federales succeeded in securing the farm house by the border. Now, however, they were entirely isolated. The rebels, now firmly in control of the field, surrounded the building.
Rather than risking more losses by charging the doors, they decided to give the house the same treatment the Rurale's office had received a few days earlier. It was harder to light the matches than during the previous attempt, but with so many hands, soon the insurrectos are burning out their enemies.
The Federals proved less stubborn than those Rurales in the station the other day, and surrendered themselves. They were among the ten Federal soldiers captured by the Liberals that day, joining the four Rurales and the landlord imprisoned in the small house on the Plaça. Other than the three soldiers who fled into the desert, the rest of the government forces fell on the field. Madero lost more than half of his group, and Silva and Gutiérrez's PLM bands also suffered heavy losses. But Madero was safe, and Guadalupe remained in the Liberal's hands. For now. See the bottom of the scenario to see what happened in the historic event: Scenario 3: The Events at Guadalupe
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