Author	wleonard1
Method	Solo
Victor	Cuba, United States
Play Date	2021-09-06
Language	English
Scenario	HwSp001

Rules notes:

Played this using the 2nd Edition IA ruleset. Special rules for the scenario give the US gunboat the +2 Flanking Fire bonus everytime it shoots. But the the flanking fire option was removed in the 2nd Edition rules. So I compromised. I borrowed the crossfire concept from Panzer Grenadier, and awarded a +1 crossfire bonus if the gunboat was involved.

Three companies of US Marines with a little help - very little help - from Cuban militia are trying to take and control one hex - the Cuzco wells - from a slightly larger Spanish regular and militia force. Plus the US Navy contributes a gunboat for offshore but not off board gunfire support. The Marines and Cuban militia approach from the West. They move up to 2-hex range, and trade fire for over an hour with dug-in Spanish defenders in light woods. At the cost of a step of Cuban Militia( the other step never recovers to good order), the US inflicts enough disruptions to let the Marines move adjacent and assault. The gunboat Dolphin successfully disrupts the Spanish attempts to move reinforcements up to the assault. The US north flank reinforcements enter; the troops guarding the wells have tried to move up to reinforce the assault, so the Marine reinforcements try and slip past, but opportunity fire demoralized the leader and the reduced company just before they reach the wells. While the assault continues without losses to either side, machine guns and the gunboat begin to wear down the other Spanish forces,and a very brave Marine LT moves four hexes across the battlefield to get the isolated reduced Marine company moving again. As the reduced Marine company takes the well, the US finally gains the advantage in the assault. With four turns remaining, the surviving Spanish leader finally gets a hold of a good order militia unit, and sends it in to assault the Marines at the Well. And the assault works! The Marine Leader and company demoralize and flee. The Marines then use the gunboat and MG's to fire on the Wells hex with no effect, and the Marine captain moves his one good order company in for an assault. Assault on the next-to-last-turn has no effect.

The game comes down to the last turn. Last chance assault for the US - this is my chance to try out a Cold Steel assault. The Spanish defenders miss their first fire, and the Marines take their 5 factors, shift them up by 4 columns - Leader(1), Morale(1), and Cold Steel(2) - to the 24 column. The defenders lose a militia step, the reduced militia fail their M2 check, and fail their required recovery attempt, fleeing the hex and leaving the US holding the well hex. The US gain a Major Victory, capturing the well hex, and losing only 1 step to 9 step losses for Spain.

Overall, this is a nice intro scenario for the Infantry Attacks system. It was a close scenario - down to the last die roll, and competitive. The low unit and leader count limits both players options, but it is an intro scenario and the low count means you can complete the scenario in one sitting.

PG Uber mechanics adapted easily to Infantry Attacks. Thanks Peter for all of your work! I especially enjoyed the chance to use the ocean board!

This was my first deep dive into IA. It was much bloodier than I had expected. Unfortunately, most of that blood was Spanish.

The scenario opens with the Spanish defending a well, the scenario’s primary objective, on an exposed beach. At first glance, it appears the U.S. Marines advancing along the cost are about to hit a wall. The ace for the Marines is in the gunboat. The Dolphin itself doesn’t do much damage. What it does is give the Marines flank shots against Spanish positions.

The game played out with the marines focusing on successive positions of the Spanish defense. The Dolphin would fire on the position, the next activation had the Marines firing on it. This broke-up the defenses systematically, starting with the north and working their way down the east side. At two times the Spanish almost disrupted the attack. First by demoralizing a marine company before it emerged from the woods. The second time when a machine-gun section was disrupted, breaking up the fire team. Both times, the U.S. troops recovered and the plan moved forward.

Luck went against the Spanish, but not excessively. The butcher’s bill was quite lopsided at 9 to 0. The best plan for Spain is to try run the clock out. The advantage in the game lies with the U.S., the Dolphin tips the scale.