The Bank at Cordoba (part II)
The conclusion to the first battle in the Mexican Revolution campaign.
You can catch up on the background and first part here
As night settled over the town the opposing sides regrouped their positions. As the sun came up the following morning the above map shows the potential starting positions of each side. Vancho Pilla's forces had managed to capture the jail and free the prisoners (adding an additional unit to his available forces). General Omincrom's government forces had managed to defend the bank and also the garrison and artillery park to the south east of the town.
For my free army lists compatible with Chain of Command please use this link.
Patching up his ragtag forces General Omnicrom starts with a force morale of 7 - his men soemwhat rattled by the unexpcted attack and ferocity of the rebel attack. He had the remaining forces available to him:
1 Senior leader Status 3
1 Junior Leader Status 2
Three full squads of regular cavalry
1 Artillery and crew (plus one Junior Officer status 1)
1 Machine gun and crew
1 full squad of militia/police
Vancho Pilla and his forces start with a force morale of 9 - inspired by their gains from the first days attack. Pilla had the following Pillista forces available to him:
1 Senior Office Status 3
2 Junior Officers Status 2
1 Junior Officer Status 1
6 Squads of Cavalry
2 Squad of dismounted infantry (including the recently freed prisoners from the captured jail).
In the opening moves Vancho deployed a squad of mounted and dismounted Pillista's to the south of the town in a bid to strike and capture Omnicrom's artillery capability. In response the Government forces rolled some lucky deployment dice and managed to field two units of regular cavalry and the artillery in an attempt to thwart the Pillista thrust!
The next few turns saw the battle to the south hot up as each side committed more troops. The Government artillery giving effective fire against the Pillista columns - forcing them to split up and take refuge in the buildings and streets.
Meanwhile to the north of the town, Vancho Pillista takes personal control over several of his units as he creates a diversionary attack on the bank - hoping to split the Government forces and draw potential troops away from the fighting in the south.
Pillista troops were having a hard time of it against the accurate Government artillery fire with several units sustaining quite a few casualties and shock. One section was eventually incapacitated to a man by the shelling - dropping the rebel force morale down to 8. Several fresh sections of Villista cavalry were added to the fray in an attempt to push home the attack and silence the enemy guns. Pilla also deployed a junior officer to try and direct the attack and rally off some of the mounting shock. The Pillista forces did also manage to move up one of their deployment points - which they used rather effectively for the rest of the game to get their troops quickly into the fighting.
The baine of the Pillista forces to the south, the government artillery proved both accurate and deadly in the first half of the game. Supported by government regular troops, and a Junior Officer - they formed a powerful defensive line holding the south of the town.
The advancement of the deployment zone started to tip the balance of the fighting towards the Pillista forces. Vancho Pilla was able to use it effectively to get troops into the fighting and advance rapidly on the government positions. The fighting had reached a pivotal moment - would the Pillista cavalry smash through the Government positions or would the Federale forces thwart the attacks?
A crucial moment in the game - the Pillista forces get back to back phases to activate their forces. They press home the attack - led by a Junior Officer several squads charge home from different position against the Government positions - hitting them fornt on and from the rear!
Carnage! Some very good melee dice rolling for the charging Pillista cavaly take out most of the gun crew and force the survivors to rout. The Government Force Morale drops to 5!
Worst still - the remaining Federale squad is badly mauled and loses its junior leader. The Government force morale drops to 3.
Sensing victory - the Pillista forces relentlessly press home their attacks against the weakening Government opposition.
Surrounded and outnumbered the remaining Government cavalry holding the south of the town surrender! This results in a further force morale drop to 2. With no enemy opposing them the Pillista forces quickly overrun the Government deployment point - which effectively wins them the battle!
The remaining Government troops manage to escort the general to escape from the fallen town.
Cordoba now lay in Vancho Pillista's hands. He gained money from the bank for the cause (increasing his supporting points for the next battle) as well as acquiring artillery capability for his troops from now on in. He had lost 12 men (8 of whom would eventually return to fighting capability).
While General Omnicrom had made good his escape - he had lost the town, the money and some of his artillery. His seniors would not be pleased. The only good thing to come from the day was that his requests for reinforcements would now be taken very seriously! He had lost 18 men - casualties and prisoners and would only regain 5 of these. As he sped away in his motor vehicle - he was already plotting his revenge.
