Santiago de Cuba 1898 AAR

 

Last week I got my newly painted 1:2400 scale pre dreadnoughts on table for an action based f Santiago in 1898, giving the Spanish a bit more to play with .  Rule were Broadside and Salvo from Long Face games (also check out LFG's campaign sets for the Spanish American, Russo Japanese and Balkan Wars).

At the start, Jeremy in grey and Sylvain in green were the Yanks.  Curt (behind lens) took the Spanish and I was the  GM.

Curt's forces emerge from the harbour between the two freshly painted batteries.

Curt had

• Admiral Cervera's squadron of 4 armoured cruisers (Maria Teresa, Oquendo, Vicaya and Colon) and a torpedo boat flotilla
• Local forces of one old cruiser (Reina Mercedes), a flotilla of old torpedo boats and two forts.  The fort to the right of the entrance had a torpedo battery and an electrically controlled minefield in case the USN got too close.

The blockading Yanks were dispersed, including one flagship and attending TBs off table en route to meet with the Army General.

The US forces were

• Jeremy's Flying Squadron of the armoured cruiser Brooklyn and the obsolete AC Texas.  The battleship Massachusetts was off getting coal and unavailable. 
• Sylvain's Atlantic fleet with the battleships Oregon, Iowa and Indiana and two armed yachts.  His flagship the AC New York and a torpedo boat flotilla were off table.

The local ships are the first to leave to provide distraction. 

The USN reacts.

An armoured yacht got too close to shore and comes under fire.  She also narrowly missed running into the minefield.

Cervera emerges

Jeremy was close to crossing Curt's T and then Curt did a 90 degree turn to starboard to go behind the yanks.

The US squadron's got in each other's way a lot and there were some tense moments.

One of Curt's cruisers rams and sinks JP Morgan's yacht!

In the background a Spanish cruiser attempts to ram a US battleship with much less success, taking damage in the process.

Things were getting chaotic here.  The Spanish have yellow labels and the US light blue which helps a bit, but it was a wild scrum.

Curt had to get two cruisers off table and he is getting close to doing this.

And they've made it!

It was a fun game.  The rules worked well, were really quick to learn and fast to play.  And they gave reasonably realistic results.  I'll have more a review at a later point. 

Santiago Light an After Action Report

 My visit to USS Olympia rekindled my interest in the Spanish American War, so I now have fleets ordered from Tumbling Dive in 1:2400.  However, this week we had a test game using Broadside and Salvo (B&S) from Long Face Games and my 25 year old 1:1200 scratch builds.  Long story short, it was great fun!  The rules played fast, worked well, gave reasonably historical results and were easy to pick up.

It was aa scaled down version of Santiago.  Two Spanish armoured cruisers and a destroyer group were trying to break out past a dispersed US squadron of two battleships and an armoured cruiser.

Sylvain contemplates his moves as he inspects the US fleet blocking his squadron.

US Admiral Curt

Spanish breakout in the background.  USS Indiana moving to counter.  The green mat to the right side is land.

 

Cristobal Colon followed by Vizcaya

TBDs lead the Spanish line while Indiana steams into close range, New York gets closer and Iowa chugs along in the background.

An attempted torpedo run driven off by quick firers!.

A second attempt foiled!

The Colon begins to suffer from the Indiana's big guns.

Vizcaya tries to run but New York moves to counter while the Colon is crippled.

USS Olympia, A Spanish American War Veteran

Last month I visited Philadelphia for a meeting about professional Actuarial exams.  Unlike W C Fields, I quite like Philly which has a lot of history in its downtown core.  This was my second visit and last time I visited many of the museums relating to 1776 and all that.  This time I used a free afternoon to visit the Independence Sea Port Museum.  The big attraction for me wad the Protected Cruiser USS Olympia, Admiral Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manilla in 1989

Gloucester Moose and I looking for Nicholas Cage at Idependence Hall. 

USS New Jersey on the Jersey side of the Delaware River

Olympia looking very smart in her white and buff trim.

Aft superstructure and turret.  Five inch guns in the case mates with light Quick firers above and below.

Wardroom with a 6-pounder QF

My wife sews so I took pictures of the vintage singers on board.  

Close up of the breech of a QF gun.

Loved the story of the quaranteened sailors in the main top. 

A five inches.  Love the brass work and the close proximity to the hammocks.

Another shot of New Jersey from on deck.

View from the bridge over the fore turret and f'csle.

The bridge with Binnacle and engine telegraphs/. Would have been very exposed in battle.

Another shot from the bridge forward.  There's a WW2 sub alongside as part of the musum and a couple of tall ships nearby/

1 pounder QF on the upper deck and looking very exposed/

Exiting the ship a shot of the forecastle and for turret.   There's a pair of 8" guns in each of the two turrets plus 5 5" secondaries in the casemates between them.

This view shows the bridge, pilot house and masts.  Not a lot of room for quarantined sailors in the fighting top.

Barquentine Gazela (1901) tied up close by.  I can remember her visiting Halifax during various Tall Ship tours, and she looks great under sail.

An Actual In Person Miniature Game

I've been rattling on this summer catching up on my paitning production over last winter's callenge becasue paiting since summer began has bascially come to a standstill. There's just too many things to keep me buy and by the time I call it a day it's after nine pm and I don't feel like setting my stuff up. 

 

However, there has been a fair amount of gaming activity thus far in 2021, including some in person gaming at Curt's new clubhouse. Back in June I ran a 1879 War of the Pacific Ironclads game using David Manley's excellent  Dalhgren and Columbiad Rules. This was a repeat of a game first played in November 2020 just before we locked down for the pandemic again. I don't recall enough for a detailed AAR but highlights are as follows.

• The Chilean's had a blockading squadron of wooden vessels commanded by myself keeping tabs on Sylvain's Peruvian force of two ex-US Civil War monitors and two spar torpedo boats.
• Stacy took the receiving Peruvian squadron including the ironclads Huascar and Indepencia and screw sloop Union.
• Curt was coming to my rescue with the two Cochrane class ironclads.
• The Peruvians focused on my squadron aiming to take out as many wooden ships as possible. 
• I randomized the positions and headings of my blockading squadron with scatter dice, with most of them stirring north towards the oncoming Peruvian ironclads.  Scared of Sylvain's torpedo boats I made the mistake of continuing to steam North towards Stacy.
• Stacy sank all of my force, but I at least put up a decent fight.  
• Curt arrived and roughed up the monitors with his much better ironclads.  At this point the Peruvians called it a day to save the Ironclads having inflicted considerable damage while keeping Stacy's sea going squadron in good shape.  Sylvain crept back into port needing some repairs and the Chileans resumed their blockade.
• Once again D&C gave a good quick game that was fun, quick to learn and gave reasonable results.  All ships are 1/2400 from Tumbling Dice.  Good detail and nice little castings.

A typical D&C confused melee!  My Chilean Was up class, Peruvian TBs excited harbour and a Peruvian IC at the top of picture.

Spar torpedo attack.  Stylvain's comment that it was like something that Space Orks would use wasn't far off!

A hit!  A palpable hit (or two)!

Sylvain monitors slowly exiting the port and coming under fire from the Cochrane class ICs.

Another hit and a fire!

The two monitors taking it from both sides as the Cochrane twins split up.  The Chilean vessels closer inshore steered between the shoals to make it safely back out to sea, while the monitors had enough and steamed back home while they could.