Mexican adventure campaign, battle of Fort San Hernandes

Our campaign is played on a fictional map, with fictional forces present.  See earlier posts for more information. The campaign is played by mail, and (large) battles are fought on the tabletop.If you would like to receive the campaign rule used, contact me.

Battle at Fort San Hernandes (G10)

Peter (Col. Peters) had maneuvered himself into a difficult situation. By keeping only one company and one artillery piece in the fort, it was barely defensible. Fortunately for him, his scouting cavalry had spotted the federal army approaching in large numbers.

Just in time, he was able to reach his five other companies, who were hunting down guerrilleros in the hills, and hastily ordered them to return to the fort. However, these units only arrived when the Federal army of Colonel Luis Enrique Emilio Celestial (Thomas), supported by the guerrilleros of Rio Antonio Zuavo "El General de las montañas" (Ronny), also entered the battlefield.

To buy time, Peter had sent his two cavalry units ahead on a suicide mission to delay the enemy as long as possible.

Thomas had not expected this, and his troop organization was not prepared for it (cavalry in the rear). His ten infantry units and two artillery pieces were the first to enter the field. In the second turn, his two regular cavalry units and two veteran cuirassier units joined, accompanied by four guerrillero units (two skirmishers and two “peasant” militia), as well as three irregular guerrillero cavalry units (one of them veteran). This was a ratio of more than two to one against the six zouave infantry units (all veterans), two cavalry (also veterans), and two artillery pieces. A federal victory seemed certain. As campaign leader, I too saw a federal victory with the destruction of Peter’s small army and the end of the campaign.

Thomas’s plan was to have half his army bypass the fort and block the second entrance, so that no French units could escape toward San Hernandes city.

The French cavalry, already nearby in the first turn, caused confusion and hesitation among the federal players. Moreover, the extended range of the cannons quickly brought artillery fire onto the federal units. The federals had not thought to provide siege equipment (ladders), so the artillery had to shoot at the gate (three accumulated flags) to destroy it. A piece of federal artillery was quickly deployed to start firing at the gate, but this hindered the movement of troops on that side of the table. On the other side, the French cavalry had to be dealt with, and the French artillery soon targeted the attacking columns. For the canon from the fort, the federal artillery became the target.

The effectiveness of the French artillery caused even more hesitation on the federal side (columns switching to line formation, position changes with skirmishers). The extra troops arriving in the second turn created chaos and insufficient space for the newly arrived cavalry to deploy. The successive charges of the French cavalry added to the chaos, and any trace of organization on the federal right flank and centre disappeared.

Eventually, the federal regular cavalry managed to scatter the French cavalry. But by then, the battle was already far advanced. The troops that were supposed to move around the fort had barely made progress, and of the troops meant to storm the fort, only three units had come close and had to wait until the gate gave way under cannon fire. These three units then saw a French zouave company appear, which had marched outside the fort and threatened them. The federal units attacked, and completely unexpectedly , the French unit was immediately broken. Would the Mexican Federals succeed after all?

But the three French reinforcement units had reached the fort and taken up positions.

The French artillery continued to inflict losses. Eventually, on the federal right flank, an attack was launched on the French skirmish unit protecting the artillery piece outside the walls. The French held their ground, and the artillery and skirmish units began to retreat in good order to the second entrance of the fort. Guerrilleros attacked again but paid for it with the destruction of one of their units.

The gate of the fort had given way, and the three federal units charged. Initially, they were successful and entered the fort, but the French responded and drove the federals back with heavy losses. Thomas had only one infantry unit in good order left near the walls, facing four veteran French zouave units entrenched in a fort, and judged that further attacks were futile, so he began the withdrawal of the federal army.

A French victory but a costly one. Due to the lack of cavalry at the end of the battle, the recuperation rate for the Mexican federals was better