Part II: The Don's Naval Assault

With the Piragua and its crew ordered to land at St. Catherine's dock and then assault Fort Warwick, the Brigantine leads the Galleon towards the harbor, past the guns of Fort Warwick:

As Turn 1 commences, the Dutch Kapers open fire with their 9 lb gun but misses the Piragua! The Spanish return fire with two Swivel guns, but they miss as well! (my Caribbean Waters from Cigar Box doesn't quite cover my 7' table)

Turn 2 sees the Kapers using two actions to reload their 9 lb gun (after guns fire, they need 4 reloads/actions. Swivels and small arms need only two reloads). The Sea Dogs in Fort Warwick will miss with two of their 12 lb guns, so a very slow start for the Buccaneers! On board the Piragua, the Milicanos Piqueros fails to lower their sails while Marineros reload and fire the Swivel guns again, but fails to strike home. 

The Brigantine turns slightly to port towards the dock area following a failed broadside from its five 6 lb guns!:

With Turn 3, The Kapers reload their gun and then move it to bring the Piragua under fire again. The Sea Dogs in Fort Warwick do the same with their 12 lb gun. The Freebooters now draw down on the approaching Piragua and bring down one of the Spanish Pikemen! First blood to the Buccaneers!

The Brigantine again misses completely with it five 9lb gun broadside while turning further to port. Although the Mariners fail their attempt to lower the sails, the Commander gives one of his Command Points to the Spanish sailors who succeed this time to slow down the Brigantine. The Piragua meanwhile, failing to lower its sails, crashes along the dock! The Milicianos Indios lets go with two volleys (bows get to fire twice a turn with no reload, although they are less effective) but the Kapers roll their saves successfully:

Turn 4: The Papers finally get a success blast from their 9 lb gun , three hits which bring down two more Pikemen.

While the Freebooters reload, the Sea Dogs get off a second volley of two 12 lbers and this time are much more successful, scoring three hits inc one Critical on the Brigantine! The Crit results in a leak (which is represented by the Firelock Games red die) while two Marineros are also lost. If that leak isn't repaired there is a chance the ship could sink!

The Milicianos on the Brigantine miss with a volley of their Swivel guns:

The Piragua seems about to pass by the dock due to the failure of lowering their sails, but they are saved when one of their men successfully grapple with the dock to bring them to a stop. Four Marineros quickly disembark to the dock:

The Sea Dogs unsuccessfully fire two more 12 lb guns at the Galleon now coming into range:

But finally, the Galleon has slowly moved into position to give its first broadside, consisting of x2 9lb and x10 12 lbers! It gets 12 hits! (each time a big gun gets an initial hit, additional dice are rolled=6lb get two, 9lb three and 12lb get four) One of the hits is a Critical which results in a gun destroyed. Fortunately for the defenders only one Sea Dog is lost with two Fatigues gained (One fatigue brings no effect, but two results in one lost action, and three will create a Shaken unit)

Turn 5: The Brigantine finally strikes home with its broadside, registering 3 hits inc another Critical which destroys another gun and kills three more sea Dogs. The survivors fail their resolve test and gain 4 fatigues which causes them to go Shaken!

The Freebooters reload their muskets and the Sea Dogs recover half of their fatigue and stop their retreat. The Spanish then draw an Event card that removes a Fatigue from their Milciianos Piqueros from the Piragua.

But now the Brigantine is in trouble having yet again to fail to lower their sails (what's with those Spanish sailors?). They collide with the dock and do some damage to the hull. The only good news, is the crew were able to repair the leaking hull.

Turn 6: The Freebooters (upper right)fire down on the Milicianos Indios, dropping one, but no Fatigue is gained:

The Kapers let lose with their gun against the Spanish pouring onto St. Catherine's dock and brings down two more of the Dons! (upper right of photo)

The Galleon now reloaded, lets lose with another massive broadside. It gets four hits and drops two Trained Sea Dogs and two Fatigues!

The Brigantine fails to grapple and slides along the dock, but finally one of the Don's gets the grappling hooks into the dock to stop their progress!

de Guzman, with two units of Milicianos, climb down into their Longboat, to join the landing.

Now the Milicianos Indios get lucky and even though the Freebooters have hard cover, two become casualties:

To be continued...

The Spanish Return Part I

Hearing that their garrison on Santa Catalina and Providencia had been destroyed by the Pirates, the local commander, one Don John Perez de Guzman, is leading a strong force to regain the islands. First the garrison:

Two units of Inexperienced English Sea Dogs each of x8 men, will be place in renamed Fort Warwick. Their main duty is to main the five 12 lbers.

Stationed with them will be one unit of Inexperience English Freebooters of x5 men. The unit of Trained Dutch Kapers are manning one of the 9 lbers removed from the Bark that was sent on to Port Royal along with Captain Mansvelt who was seeking reinforcements. This gun was overlooking the narrow channel between St. Catherine and Old Providence.

One unit of Trained French Buccaniers was placed in the large tavern overlooking the dock area, while one unit of English Forlorn Hope was nearby.

A unit of Veteran Dutch Enter Ploeg was further down in the village while a Pressed Men unit ("recruited" from the earlier Spanish garrison) manned another 9 lber overlooking the beach south of town.

Next will be the various positions occupied by the Buccaneers.

This is the renamed Fort Warwick, with its garrison of x8 Inexperienced Sea Dogs and Freebooters. The 5 12 lbers will try to keep ships out of the harbor:

The Dutch Kapers occupy a 6 lb bastion at the northern end of the town, guarding the narrow straits between Old Provence and St. Catherine's Islands. In the background you can make out the x4 Trained French Buccaniers in the major tavern building and to their left, the x4 Trained English Forlorn Hope:

Looking at the south end of the Town, we see the x4 Pressed Men (ex-Spanish) manning a second 9 lb bastion. In the building just across the beach is a unit of x4 Trained Dutch Enter Ploeg:

The view eastward towards the Town, with the Tavern and the Bucanniers and the English Forlorn Hope behind and to the right. Notice the two additional 9 lb bastions overlooking the wharf.

Now the attacking Spanish forces. Coming in through the small strait is a Piragua (with x4 Swivel guns) and crewed by x4 Inexperienced Marineros, x4 Inexperienced Milicianos Piqueros and x4 Trained Milicianos Indios:

Next is the Brigantine which mounts x10 6 lb guns andx4 swivels. On board are a x4 man Trained and a x8 man Inexperienced Marineros unit, along with an x8 man Trained Milicianos unit with the Guards Coasta commander (acting as 2-n-c).

Finally, the flagship, consisting of the Galleon Santa Anna, mounting x20 12 lbers and x4 9 lbers! 

Don John Perez de Guzman commands x8 man Inexperienced Marineros, an x8 Trained Milicianos and x4 man Inexperienced Milicianos. The lower deck guns are manned by enough men to fire the x7 12 lb guns on the starboard OR Port side of the ship. 

Next up will be the Battle Report!

The Battle for Old Providence

So three of my mates and I fought over the islands of Old Providence and St. Catherine's using Firelock Games "Blood and Plunder rule set which I highly recommend. Its based upon the actual attack led by a Dutchman named Mansvelt who was in the pay of the English based on the island of Jamaica.

The Spanish garrison consisted of two Inexperienced and one Trained militia; one unit of Trained Militia Indians; two units of Inexperienced Artillerists; and one unit of Trained Lanceros.

The Mansvelt buccaneers consisted of one six-gun Sloop, with the Captain aboard along with a unit of Trained Dutch sailors, one unit of Dutch Boarding Party, one unit of English Forlorn Hope, and one unit of Inexperienced English Sea Dogs. The two units of the Boarding Party and Forlorn Hope started the game already deposited in the ship's Long Boat. A second vessel, a Puragua mounting x4 swivel guns, contained a unit of Trained English Sea Dogs, a unit of Inexperienced Freebooters, and one unit of Trained French Boucanieers. Truly a multi-national band of the Brethren of the Coast!

Turn 1 saw the Long Boat attempt to pass under the guns of the Spanish Fort Libertad (mounting x5 12lbers!) while Mansvelt and the Sloop aimed for the dock area. This would bring it under fire from the Fort's cannon, but it was a risk the Captain was willing to take. Meanwhile, the Piragua initially aimed to beach itself at the southern end of the town.

Turn 2 and the Spanish are able to bring two of their guns to bear. and they gain a hit on the Sloop which eliminates one of the English Sea Dogs! First blood to the Spanish!

The Piragua comes under fire by a 9lber the Spanish have placed at the southern end of the town (just to the right out of photo shot). The shot misses but gives the Dutch Reformado commander aboard something to worry about.

In the background, you can make out the Longboat passing below Fort Libertad, while getting some very lucky hits on the Spaniards with their pistols (needing 9s on d10!)

By Turn 3, the Longboat is passing Fort Libertad while the Sloop now fires its first broadside as well. It strikes home and takes down another Spaniard. The Dons return fire is atrocious and misses completely!

The black marker dice from Firelock Games are used for the reloads of cannons and small arms. After each gun fires it needs four actions to reload while muskets and pistols need two. The red dice is marking Fatigue with the Spaniards already suffering one. At two, the unit will lose an action, while a third will cause the unit to be shaken, and will have to do nothing but attempt to Rally.

Facing fire from the Spanish 9lber has caused the Piragua to change its target to land, aiming now at the dock itself. While it successfully discharged most of the men, half of the Sea Dogs are blasted off the dock by the guns from Fort Libertad, while the French Bucaniers will lose all four of their number to the Indian Militia! What makes matters even worse is they only take out one of their enemy! And this despite they represent the best marksmen of Mansvelt's forces! (sadly, the corresponding photos were accidentally deleted!). Also lost are photos depicting the Sloop coming alongside the Spanish Bark tied up along the dock. A blast of cannon from its 9lbers and English Sea Dogs swarming aboard, quickly wipe out the crew of four. The remaining English and Dutch storm across the dock.

Eventually four Freebooters make it ashore but are charged by five Lanceros. Getting in the first blow, the Lanceros inflict two casualties, and when the English fail their Fatigue test, they are forced to retreat. The Spaniards follow up immediately and wipe out their enemy!

On the two following turns, The English and Dutch sailors overwhelm the Lanceros and push into the town. They will push hard to attack the Spaniards seen at center of photo who are attempting to retire towards the Spanish militia stationed at the southern end of town. They won't make it!

The Dutch and English charge the fatigued Spaniards (center of photo) who break and rout.

At the top left of photo you can make out the Longboat which had eventually pulled up to St Catherine Island's dock where the English Forlorn Hope and Dutch Boarding Party stormed Fort Libertad. Once again, I messed up with the photos (Promise to do better on the next go) and so cannot show the exciting conclusion to our fight. 8 English/Dutch will overwhelm the 12 gunners in the fort and on the last turn, will gain the points necessary for victory and force the Spanish surrender! Everyone agreed it was a great fight and we look forward to a rematch! It fact, Part Two consists of the Spanish returning to attempt to retake the Islands! Historically this occurred numerous times between 1666 and 1668. Will keep you informed, so til then, enjoy of bottle of rum!

Attack on Old Providence

Using Firelock's Blood and Plunder ruleset, the group is going to recreate the Dutch buccaneer Mansvelt's successful conquest of the two islands: Santa Catalina and Provencia. These two had been settled by Puritans sent by Cromwell several years earlier but had been captured by the Spanish. Now a Dutch captain sailing under the English flag wanted to recapture them!

Here are several views of the upcoming conflict: Santa Catalina on the left with Fuerte Libertad (Eng Fort Warwick) holding five 12lb cannons. Old Providence Town center and right of photo with a Spanish Carrack tied up to the dock.

View from the north with Fuerte Libertad on the right

Looking over the top of Fuerte Libertad towards Old Providence 

Looking eastward at Old Providence Town

The Spanish Carrack tied up along the dock.

View to the north and Fuerte Libertad

Looking north over Old Providence town.

The battle report soon to follow.

A Battle for Hoth

 The Imperial Forces are advancing on he Rebel base. The Field Generator is seen at the bottom of the photo. The AT-AT is preceded by x3 AT-STs and plenty of Snowtroopers.

Seemingly unstoppable, the Imperials getting ever closer, while the Rebels push forward their own Walkers...

The Rebels (and perhaps foolishly) advance their own Walkers (x4) but are all brought down at no cost to the Imperials...

After bringing down the Rebels, the first casualty suffered by the Imperials. A speeder is shot to pieces....

When the last Rebel heavy weapon systems are destroyed, and even though they slaughtered the Snowtroopers who rushed their entrenched positions, it was all over...the AT-AT smashed the Generator!

Fight at Tortuga

The pirate town was completed and fought over by numerous teams.

A band of Spanish infiltrators burned a ship, the dock it was tied up to (right/center), then moved on to a couple of buildings as well. In the upper right you can see a small coastal vessel making its escape with a band of Dutch buccaneers.

The red die markers are from Firelock Games who produces the Blood and Plunder game/figures etc. These particular dice are highlighting the fires started by the Spaniards (seen just right of center) heading towards a Piragua and their attempted escape.

PearlHarbor/Hickam 1941

     While not technically a game related project, this is something I'm extremely proud of. In 1991, I started this to remember the fiftieth anniversary and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. This diorama is in 1/700 scale depicting every vessel (and I mean every, from battleship to garbage scow), every Navy and Army aircraft on Ford Island and Hickam (with the exception of the A-12 aircraft, a model I am still searching for). The buildings, setting, etc, has been collected from dozens and dozens of photographs found in book, maps and the internet. While it has probably reached its greater dimensions, now at 18' by 32"!
     Each year about this time (decided by the U.S. History classes and when they begin covering WWII) I travel to Green Mountain High School where I taught for 24 years, located in Lakewood Colorado. I will spend 80 minutes in each of seven classes over two days, to share the incredible individual stories of those who experienced that "Day of Infamy". With the diorama, visual images, music, and the aforementioned stories, I have tried to bring this story to life for every Sophomore that year.
     You will notice some areas that have not completed. While not critical to the presentation, I know I will strife to fill in those small pieces. So here it is:

Largest view could get. It misses the US CL Phoenix, Destroyer Tenders and DD to the left corner. Hickam is seen at top. Ford Island dominating the center with the Navy Yard just above it and Cincpac and the Sub Base to the left of it. The entrance channel leading to the Pacific is in upper right.

Close up of Ford Island from west with Navy Yard to the upper right. Battleship Row is to the top of the Island with US Arizona is second from left of that Row.

The Navy Yard right of center, with the Navy's PBY scout planes defenseless on the tarmac at the tip of Ford Island.

Shifting slightly southward towards Hospital Point (right/center) and the Navy Hospital (large grey building).

Centered now on Hickam Army Air Base. The large grey building is the Hale Kalai, largest military structure in the world in 1941. Still standing today, it was a 3000-man barracks just completed in 1941 for the Air Corps. The Flight Line (in light grey) is packed with the bombers that General Short ordered parked wingtip to wingtip to prevent sabotage! Easy targets they soon became!

The entrance to the harbor is just off to the right of this photo, where the anti-submarined nets were located.

Closeup of that Flight Line.