Las Guasimas, Day One To Hell With Spain! #2 |
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(Defender) Kingdom of Spain | vs | Cuba (Attacker) |
Formations Involved |
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Overall Rating, 5 votes |
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2.4
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Scenario Rank: 915 of 940 |
Parent Game | To Hell With Spain! |
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Historicity | Historical |
Date | 1898-06-23 |
Start Time | 07:00 |
Turn Count | 16 |
Visibility | Day |
Counters | 13 |
Net Morale | 0 |
Net Initiative | 1 |
Maps | 2: 2 |
Layout Dimensions | 43 x 28 cm 17 x 11 in |
Play Bounty | 151 |
AAR Bounty | 171 |
Total Plays | 3 |
Total AARs | 1 |
Battle Types |
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Road Control |
Conditions |
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Entrenchments |
Terrain Mods |
Scenario Requirements & Playability | |
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Battle of the Bulge | Maps |
To Hell With Spain! | Base Game |
Introduction |
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When Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt stepped off the boat and onto Cuban soil at the head of his Rough Riders, he was greeted not by enemy gunfire but by allies whom he described as “a crew of as utter tatterdemalions as human eyes ever looked upon, armed with every kind of rifle in all stages of dilapidation.” These were the Insurrectos, Cuban rebels led by General Demetrio Castillo. They were hardly the freedom fighters in the mold of George Washington’s Continental Army that the Yellow Press had led the Americans to expect, and soon the rebels fell like “human vultures” on the American supplies being offloaded onto the beach. The Americans quickly dismissed them as good for nothing but scouting, but when they encountered the first real Spanish position on the ridgeline at Las Guasimas, Castillo promised eight hundred of his men for the attack. On the day before the Americans attacked, a rebel force much smaller than 800 tried to encircle the Spanish forward line, which consisted of Puerto Rican militia and Cuban levies. |
Conclusion |
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The rebels under Colonel Carlos Gonzales Clavel made two separate attempts to cut the Puerto Rico Battalion off from the rest of the Spanish force, but both were turned aside. However, his scouts later brought back intelligence that the enemy was busy reinforcing and fortifying the ridgeline at Las Guasimas. Castillo passed this information along to Generals Wheeler and Young, and once again promised 800 men for the battle tomorrow. None of the 800 showed up, as the rebel general decided to sleep in that morning. |
Inept vs. The Unable | ||||||||||||||
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What be comes apparent, very quickly is that neither side is in a condition to decisively fulfill there objective. The Spanish have 4 units and 5 hexes to guard, in a jungle. The Cubans have 5 units, but only 2 leaders, they need to maneuver in a jungle. Oh yeah, the Cubans have rather weak units. This give the Cubans 2 options, rush and try to spill around the Spanish, or try to march around the jungle to jump on the one hex the Spanish cannot guard. Since marching around a jungle is difficult without a good officer contingent, I try the first option. That didn't work. Some well timed rifle fire from the initial contact, demoralizes, then eliminates, a company and disrupts another. The next couple turns are about disengaging and reorganizing. The obvious approach doesn't work. Next plan: Demonstrate and maneuver. Coronel keeps 2 companies in front to harass the Spaniards. Capitán takes the other 2 and marches around their right flank. About then Capitán reaches the end of the Spanish line, Coronel breaks contact and moves on the left. Now the Cubans have an unled company on the end, the Capitán and 1 company on hex further up the line, Coronel and 1 company just behind the crossroad. My luck has other plans. A good Spanish roll leads to a moral check, leading to deomralization of the Capitán's company. The Spanish shift their line toward the center. Now my leaderless company cannot do a lateral move with out getting closer to another enemy (as they're stuck). Then the Coronel's company takes fire (another 11) and becomes demoralized. Now they cannot move on the gap. And time runs out. The Cubans fade into the jungle, leaving the fight to the U.S. army tomorrow. |
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