The Tennessee Army National Guard happened to have a handful of units of the 278th ACR on maneuver training at Fort Hood at the time. RSTA elements quickly made contact with the defenders of the Alamo, who were nearly as shocked as the Guardsmen by the 187-year time discrepancy. However, primary combat elements were still en route to the area, unable to match the speed of the reconnaissance units.
We started the game with the following units on each side:
Mexican Army
6 Infantry squads (Mexican Army, 1836)
4 Gun Teams (Mexican Army, 1836)
When wiped out, the Mexican infantry respawn at the first line of three silos (The Alamo popped up in the middle of 2023 San Antonio).
The Texans
2 Infantry squads (Texan Army, 1836)
1 Gun Team (Texan Army, 1836)
The Texans receive no reinforcements until the end of Turn 4, at which point three a platoon of Tennessee mechanized infantry comes in from the bottom side of the board. All Texan units are in cover on the wall of the Alamo.
With the rather lousy Accuracy (5+) of their muskets, both sides can expect a lot of lead to fly before casualties start occurring. Especially so for the Mexicans; the fortified Texan positions are only hit on a roll of a 6.
Objectives
Mexican:
-Occupy the Alamo with at least two squads of infantry for at least one turn (15 VP)
-No Texans are permitted to survive (5 VP per stand killed)
Texan:
-Do not allow the Mexicans to capture the Alamo (10 VP)
Tennessee National Guard:
-Enter the Alamo to assist survivors (5 VP)
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| Pregame shot. The Mexicans have taken up a rough line-abreast formation. |
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| End of Turn 1 |
In hindsight, positioning the JLTV to spot the left wing's artillery for the Texans was a terrible idea. The vehicle was knocked out by solid shot in the opening activations of the game. The Mexicans advanced, and took a handful of casualties from Texan cannon fire. A lucky shot from Mexican artillery knocked the gun out, however.
Approximately forty Mexican infantry move towards the primary axis of assault. The Texans kill one infantry squad and manage to inflict a few Stress Points, but not enough to cause a retreat or even a pause. The maneuvering Mexicans stay just out of carbine range of the Guardsmen, who can do little but sit back and watch the battle unfold, their sophisticated infrared and laser spotting and observation equipment of little use to the Texans.
The Mexican assault begins to clump up directly in front of the Alamo. Stress Points begin to build on the Texans as several stands of Mexican infantry remain stationary to increase their rate of fire. Sporadic defensive fire does little to break the Mexican morale, and the Texans are down to their final seven men out of twenty initial.
By partway through Turn 4, the remaining Texans are dispatched by excellent Mexican artillery gunnery. Though in its final minutes the Texan defense destroyed another squad, it is for naught. The Mexicans begin to move forward and attempt to capture the Alamo, as the few survivors are unable to offer much in the way of resistance. However, the relief force finally arrives from Fort Hood, offering a glimmer of hope to the civilians and wounded left in the Alamo.
The Bradleys move up and dismount their infantry, a squad of which dispatches the would-be assault team in a storm of M4 fire. The squad takes a direct hit from an artillery shell, but continues on with four casualties. M242 chain gun and M240 fire proves to be of only moderate use against the massed Mexicans, leaving the real work to the dismounts. The other squad disembarks straight into close combat, losing several men to an impromptu bayonet charge by the depleted Mexican infantry. However, the Guardsmen fight back, killing or wounding three Mexicans. The HQ Bradley remains stationary, allowing it to take a TOW missile shot which knocks out one of the right wing's guns.
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| End of Turn 2 |
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| End of Turn 3 |
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| End of Turn 4 |
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| End of Turn 5 |
Meanwhile, the left wing's artillery limbers up and prepares to re-position for shots against the second mechanized squad.
The Mexicans attempt a counterattack, damaging one Bradley with artillery fire that damages several exposed systems and badly smashes armor in one location. However, it is too little, too late. The right wing loses its final gun to the HQ Bradley, and the second squad routs the depleted remains of the Mexican infantry. In a suicidal last-ditch maneuver, one of the artillery crews attempts to hand-deliver shells to the second Bradley and its dismounts. This backfires, as the crew are mowed down by fire from the chain gun, M4s, two M249s, and a lucky grenade from an M320.
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| End of Turn 6 (Game) |
Finally, the first Guard infantry squad enters the Alamo, recovering over a dozen wounded as well as the untouched civilian refugees.
Final Results
The Second Battle of the Alamo proved to be a close game. Let's examine our objectives...
Mexican:
-Occupy the Alamo with at least two squads of infantry for at least one turn. Failed.
-No Texans are permitted to survive. Met! Three stands killed; 15VP
Texan:
-Do not allow the Mexicans to capture the Alamo. Met! 10VP
Tennessee National Guard:
-Enter the Alamo to assist survivors Met! 5VP
Overall, we wind up with a 15-15 Draw. Although the Mexicans killed or wounded all defenders of the Alamo, their half-hearted final assault was turned back by the valiant efforts of the Guard. The vast majority of Texan wounded pulled through, thanks to modern medical expertise and combat-lifesaving techniques.
Terrified by this new force, Santa Anna issued the order to pull back. However, this retreat will take the 1836 soldiers through the modern-day Mexican state of Coahuila, where local support against the US is nearly a given. With Guard and active-duty units in hot pursuit after securing the area, a confrontation is inevitable...
Evaluation
Time-space warping aside, the Tennessee Army National Guard is a respectable military organization. Accordingly, it's only fitting and natural to issue a report about what went right, wrong, and wacky.
What Went Right:
Mechanized Infantry suffers from a lack of firepower the moment it dismounts, as the majority of its weapons are too cumbersome to fire immediately. However, the M4 has the Carbine trait, permitting it to be fired upon disembarking. This encourages planned assaults instead of rash reactions, as a prepared fireteam can lay down more than twice the firepower. Mechanized infantry went just as planned. A!
19th-century infantry operates in large clumps that took a while to whittle down without high-ex artillery. Their staying power vis a vis modern forces in the open was quite appropriate. B!
What Went Wrong:
The Stress Point System totally failed. Totally. Not a single unit was suppressed throughout the entire game when some most definitely should have. I am reducing the Motivation of all units such that suppression is actually a reasonable goal. Additionally, HE weapons will automatically suppress on a 4+. Nothing to get you running for cover like a 12-pounder cannon shell exploding fifty yards from your face. F.
Bradley Fighting Vehicles did not have appropriate anti-infantry firepower. I was a bit tentative about giving the M242 Bushmaster chain gun the HE trait, but it really should have it. Killing exposed, unarmored infantry one or two at a time with a 25mm autocannon just doesn't hit the 'realism' button for me. C.
What Went Wacky:
I have to say, I did not expect to have suicidal Mexican artillery crewmen running at my BFVs. That was a seriously interesting surprise, and one that would have annihilated my second infantry squad had proper, concentrated defensive fires not dropped the lot in short order.
The artillery misfire rules we improvised (Roll a 1 to hit, roll for a random result) were certainly...interesting. Somehow, we decided that it made sense for the round to be fired completely wild and impact the battlespace in the next turn. It wound up destroying the only Texan cannon, which was probably the end for the defenders. Granted, it just as easily could have been a complete misfire and blown up the gun, so who am I to complain?
