Vauban's Wars: 18th Century Siege at Historicon

My freind Eric Burgess ran an 18th century siege game on Saturday afternoon at Historicon using his Vauban's Wars rules. Properly this post should be on his blog, but as he hasn't gotten around to it, and I have photos from several sources, I did it!  :-)

He used his 15 mm figures (I believe British/Hanoverians as besiegers, and French as defenders). 

First line of circumvallation, and the besieger's HQ. The game tracks a number of supply types (food and powder) for both sides; I'm not sure if the wagons or barrels were a miniature representation of those supplies or just generic. 

The fortress is 15mm by Paper Terrain

Sapping forward to start the second line of Circumvallation. 

The third line is now well under way.

Trying to breach the walls...

Trench Raid!

Some stalwart Grenadiers getting ready to assault a breach? 

The Fortress in peril!

    Eric said "My Vauban’s War siege worked out great, but another turnout issue. I had 4, two dropped (unknown to me), then one joined in, then I got a walk-up and got Dan from the Vauban's Wars FaceBook Group to join. (I think he is the president of my Vauban’s Wars fan club! He was very enthusiastic about the game\rules)  Ken graciously allowed half his units to be commanded by Dan. We called it after 5 hours (45 minutes of tutorial as Tom didn’t get any of my pre-convention emails). Rob Dean from the HAWKS group (garrison commander) slid right in like he had played before even though he registered during the convention! I was impressed with his gaming acumen.  Andy and Ken anchored team BESIEGERS, and Andy’s son Sam eventually joined, then Evan joined for the last hour as folks had to drop to go to dinner. Evan ran a Sci-Fi game I played in and just happened to walk by when we lost a player and was a good sport. I believe, based on the response, that everybody had a great time. I gave away the rules (Rob) and Book (Dan) after the game. Some good news is On Military Matters sold out of all copies of VW in less than 24 hours, and PaperTerrain sold more fortresses at a convention than ever before!

Daniel Loych said: "Great game at Historicon! The English did well sapping up to the walls, but we struggled to get our guns up into the forward emplacements due to fierce trench raids from the defenders. By the end, the bastions held but with heavy damage. Eric ran an absolutely fantastic game, and everyone at the table was able to pick up the rules very quickly. "

There is more about Vauban's Wars on Eric's blog (and also here under the Vauban's Wars tag). Highly recommended!

Battle of Pavia, 1525 at Historicon

 

Saturday morning at Historicon I played in the huge Pavia, 1525, game run by Martyn Kelley and W.A.M.P., in celebration of the famous battle's 500th anniversary. 

I believe Martin and company ran this game 5 times over the course of the show. 

There were a staggering number of beautifully painted 25/28 mm figures. 

Completely amazing terrain - virtually all of it scratch built from foam!

The total area covered was roughly `12 feet by 16 feet, with an open area in the center.

Artillery emplacements.

Swiss Pikes and supporting shot. 

Pictures of a near contemporary tapestry commemorating the battle were used to inspire the troops and the terrain!

Little blurry here. 

OMG!

Talk about setting the place and the mood. 

On to the game; the roles were divvied up to the various players. I would up being assigned 2 Spanish Colunellas, which included the famous Sword and Bucklers, and their supporting shot. 

The other Spanish player near me had 2 more Colunellas, some shot, and the heavy arquebuses, which were especially suited to shooting down heavily armed French Gendarmes. 

Our plan was that my units would bear left to support a mass of LC in that direction, which were backed up by a huge Swiss Pike block and some field artillery, and a handful of Elmeti (Italian equivalent of Gendarmes (or maybe they were real Gendarmes!). My fellow Spaniard would send his heavy arquebuses into the woods to his right, and the rest of his forces would advance at a roughly 45 degree angle, ready to support in either direction, and also ready to counter any threat from the Mirabello hunting lodge (the cluster of building seen above). 

First clash of the Light Cavalry (Genitors, Stradiots, etc.) to my front. 

More French LC, and a big, honking Swiss Pike block. 

On the whole, the Spanish LC came of the worse in the exchanges of shooting and melee (they were outnumbered, and the French player was familiar with the rules - simplified Pike and Shotte - which we were not). 

Huge crash as the French Gendarmes slam into the Imperial heavy horse. 

Spanish LC pulls back in some disorder. I prepare to meet the Swiss with a hail of shot, and then charge them. If I time it right, my two Coluneallas together will have equal numbers (or better, after losses to shooting) to the Swiss, and will be hitting on a D6 roll of 2+! Hole-y Swiss cheese!

Imperial Landsknechts prepare to do the tough fighting after the pretty boys grind one another down!

Fortified guns shot at one another all game long, with little to show for it... pretty much as the siege of Pavia had been going for quite some time before the Spanish/Imperialists broke into the park on a surprise attack and started the battle. HMGS board member and local gaming freind Kevin Carroll helped out with the rules immensely, and played a few minor forces on our part of the battlefield. 

Meanwhile, there was fighting by the town of Pavia as well. 

The heavy cavalry thin one another out as they become mired in the mud; the pikes move in on both sides, preparing to take over when circumstances permit. 

My Arquebusiers get their timing wrong, and get in only a single shot at the Swiss as they charge. The Swiss attack rattled their nerves, and their shooting was notable for its extreme inaccuracy! :-(

 In the melee, the shot are driven back with heavy losses, disordered, and are unlikely to be a factor for the remainder of the battle!

My two colunellas attempt to charge the Swiss, but one balks at engaging the fierce mountain men. If only one of the two engages the Swiss, they will be outnumbered 2:1, and be crushed. Discretion was the better part of valor here! Besides, my fellow Spaniard has determined his colunellas are not needed in the massive Gendarme and Pike scrum, and thus swings over to our left to support me on my right. The Swiss, of course, then oblige by charging my 2 units (their front is so wide they really could do nothing other). 

Back over by Mirabello, it's still Hack! Skewer! Bash!

Between the losses they did take from fire and melee with my Arquebusiers, scant though they were, and my sword and buckler men slipping under the pikes (and some hot die rolling, atoning for the miserable rolling for the shot), the Swiss Pike block took severe losses and failed its break test, dispersing. All of Europe gasped at the defeat of the heretofore seemingly invincible Swiss!  After that, Kevin does an end of game frontal test charge with his heavy cavalry. With their losses from the Swiss melee, they could not resist the shock of the heavily armored horse and are defeated (not an official part of the game, though). 

Landsknecht vs French Pikes at the end of the game - the Imperialists prevail... as they did in actual fact, with King Francis being captured on the battlefield historically. 

I have actually run Pavia myself three times in the past 25 years (with Band of Brothers and [unofficial]  To the Strongest! - Renaissance), and all have been close games. My Pike blocks were a mere 36 figures, though, not 72 to 120 like these monsters! The advantage of the smaller units (and table) was of course more maneuver and more decisions for the players to make. Never the less, the game was successful in allowing everyone to get into combat, roll a LOT of dice, have fun, play with a large crowd of like minded wargamers on a table with hordes of beautiful figures and completely breathtaking terrain, and all in 4 hours. What more could one want?!  The game deservedly won best of show; there was really no possible contest there!

There is much more about this battle and game, and all the work he did over 2 years to prepare for it, at Martyn's blog:  https://www.collegeofkings.com/.

Battle for El Morro & San Juan 1625, and a visit to Puerto Rico!

Friday night I played in one of the four, 3 hour long sessions of  The Battle for San Juan and El Morro, 1625.

The game was sponsored by Firelock games, and used a simplified version of their "Blood and Plunder" rules. In effect, it was 3 simultaneous 2 vs 2 player games - the Naval battle in the harbor, the amphibious assault on San Juan, and the attack on the El Morro fortress. 

Along with another novice player, I played one of the Spanish defenders of El Morro. 

This beautiful game and ambitious game deservedly won one of the PELA awards.

In our game, the Dutch prevailed in all three zones (their troop quality was better, although the Spanish had the less than impressive advantages of their positions. 

Another session of the same game about to get underway. 

One of the reasons for my playing in this game was that we had visited San Juan and El Morro this winter. We had previously only been to San Juan airport to transfer flights to another destination

This was the (nearly successful) attack by the Dutch in 1625 that the game was based upon. 

The water is the large, excellent harbor of San Jaun

The Em\press and the other Dr Anderson in front of the entrance to El Morro

The dry moat was mot modeled in the game... but it might not have been present in 1625, either!

As the placard indicates, El Morro evolved over 290 years!

Puerto Rico became part of the United states as a result of the Spanish - American War of 1898. Cuba was granted independence by Spain (the rebellion there being main origin of the war), and the US also acquired Guam and The Philippines (which revolted against the US just as had against Spain resulting in a brutal war; The Philippines became fully independent of the US in 1946. The center flag is that of Puerto Rico. The population of the Territory Puerto Rico is 3.2 million, which is more than each  the following US states (highest to lowest): Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nebraska, Idaho, West Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming. Indeed, it's population outnumbers the 4 smallest states combined, although it is 3,515 square miles in area - 3 times as large as Rhode Island, the smallest state, and roughly the size of Connecticut. Having visited I can safely say that rush hour traffic in San Juan is best avoided!

About the main plaza of the Fortress. 

The Plaza with the three flags that have flown over the Fort. Puerto Rico voted 57% in favor of Statehood in November 2025, but that would require the US Congress to act, which seems unlikely in the current divisive political climate!

Guide to visiting El Morro. 

Sample barracks accommodations. 

Strategic importance of Puerto Rico and San Juan top Spain. I was struck by the enormous amount of money it must have cost to construct and maintain this fortress so far from Europe!

Early history of the SPanish presence in Puerto Rico. 

Evolution of the Fortress over time. 

Looking down on the lower portion of the Fort from above; plenty of gun emplacements!

Life in San Juan - like most US National Parks, there is a great deal of information presented to place things in context. 

The central role of Puerto Rico and San Juan in the control of the Caribbean. 

Guard duty by Spanish troops

and, by the mid 1800's, mostly locally recruited units. 

Following the Napoleonic Wars, Spain's vast empire in the New World progressively eroded, starting with the revolutions in South  and Central America, Mexico, and then the Spanish American War

More modern equipment as the centuries passed. 

Sea facing bastion. 

Both Spanish and English are official languages of Puerto Rico, and English is taught as a second language in Public schools there, but the best estimates are that only about 20% of the population is reasonably fluent in English, while almost everyone is fluent in Spanish. I certainly had more than one occasion to use my basic knowledge of Spanish during our visit there!

American garrison at El Morro. 

Another century, yet still relevant. 

with u[dated defenses to match!

Puerto Rican soldiers in US service. 

Lower gun emplacements guarding he harbor entrance. 

One of the distinctive Sentry boxes of El Morro. 

A are shot of yours truly for scale; the bag has our water bottles; even in mid February it is quite hot in San Juan!

Looking back towards San Juan... off in the distance is the second main fortress of San Juan, Castle San Cristóbal, built to protect Sam Juan from land attack. 

Exploring a sentry box (garita). 

The Castle top of El Morro (which cannot ordinarily be visited). 

All about Mortars,

long guns,

and some examples of same. 

Looking down to the lowest accessible level (of 5 total) of the Fortress. 

More ordinance. 

and more about them. 

Note the bar shot!

Types of gunpowder era ammunition. 

Some flags associated with past garrisons. 

Explaining the hows and whys of Fortress design...

with a cool model of El Morro!

More about exploring the Fort.

No smoking allowed!

More then one fortress fell after its magazine exploded!

Mortat shells

View of San Juan harbor from the upper level of the fort. 

plenty more gun emplacements!

View down to the oldest and lowest accessible level. 

Entrance to San Juan harbor. 

Highest accessible level; the central plaza is where the yellow walls are showing. 

The boys gotta eat!

Note the power wagon

The fortress projected an image of Spanish power as well as practical defense. 

parts of a fortress gun carriage

Soldiers over the centuries!

For 

For Bombshells

This  ramp (steeper than it looks- you cannot walk on it for safety reasons) was how guns and munitions got from one level of the fort top another. Just imagine hauling a 1 ton gun up that!

More gun emplacemnts

This shot gives a sense of the multiple levels. 

As does this one. 

The Santa Barbara battery has a container ship in its sights! 

San Juan remains an important harbor today. 

Those walls are TALL!

Looking out of a sentry box. 

Looking down on the level closest to the sea. 

Our shots must have missed their target!

I would not fancy landing on those rocks and tryin to assault the fort from there!

Looking back up towards the upper levels. 

More about the garistas. 

This shows some off the early 20th century modifications for more modern artillery emplacements

Yep, those walls ARE tall!. 

Passageway down to the original 2nd level of the fort. 

Looking out there from!

About the earliest years of El Morro. 

Looking further down. 

Vault of level 2. 

Looking back up the ramp to level 3. 

Couldn't have been too pleasant!@

Another shot to convey the height of the fort.

Not exactly Cuthroat Kitchen!

Touring level 3. 

Leaving El Morro and looking back towards Old San Juan. 

One of many plazas. 

More walls as we walked from El Moro down towards the harbor area.

Sculpture honoring the races that have made up Puerto Rico, including the Taino Indians. 

Still more walls as we walk to the Harbor. 

They were serious about defending this place!

Abstract sculpture in a plaza along the harbor. 

Approaching the main harbor area. 

Another view of the waterway leading to the harbor. 

One of the interesting boats in port. 

Cruise ship in the background. 

The sailing ship is a floating, world traveling school!

Modern naval vessel. 

More harbor views. 

View from the condo where we stayed; the roof (of a sports facility type hanger partially obscures the view of the fantastic beach just beyond it. 

The usual site for pick up and drop off to visit El Morro, the Plaza del V Centenario (Plaza of the 500th anniversary [of the European "discovery" of the  New World, erected in 1992]), popularly referred to as Plaza del Tótem. The ceramic "Totem Pole" reflects the turbulent history for the settlement and the conflict with the Taino Indians.