Replay

Our replay of Camerone was a desperate affair. Danjou, showing questionable tactical sense, decided to abandon the walls in favour of holding the buildings and massacering Mexicans in the confines of the courtyard. This worked adequately as long as ammo held out and the attackers shot up comprehensively whenever they came through the gates and breach. Once bullets ran low, however, the essential drawback of the scheme became clear; the French couldn't stop the Mexicans getting in, and couldn't make them go away again.

Sgt Major Tonel, having been largely responsible for the whole east wall (with six men) ran out of cartridges, but - being a bold one - led a bayonet charge to clear the southeastern gate; this held up the assault for a couple of turns while the Mexicans chopped him and his lads to mincemeat. We knew things weren't going well when Danjou (in the house) decided that the only way to confer with the men in the stable across the courtyard was to throw a note wrapped in a rock. Alas, he threw with his wooden hand.

THE RULES

The Board is divided into a number of sections, being areas of the hacienda and environs. There is no measurement for shooting, movement etc. The sections are as follows:

North, west, south and east approaches, being long range from the hacienda courtyard walls. North, west, south and east faces, being short range from the walls. North, west, south and east walls, usually defended by legionnaires through loopholes. Three of these walls contain lean-to outbuildings, which are sections in themselves. The central courtyard. The ground floor, upper floor and roof of the house are separate sections.

Deployment: The French set up wherever they like in and around the hacienda. The French have time to make one loophole per man or send a party of at least 6 men to look for debris to cover the open gates and the breech. These men cannot make loopholes. Roll D6: 1-2 no suitable debris; 3-4, enough to fortify one opening; 5-6, enough for two openings. Deduct 1 from roll for each man less than six involved, since they can't carry the stuff. No advantage for extra men!

The Mexican cavalry enters from the western approach on turn 1. The Mexican infantry can be seen approaching from the west on move 3, and arrives on move 4. Mexican units may be recycled to the number of 1,200 infantry and 800 horse, and casualties can be reformed into ad hoc units coming in at any edge of the board. There is a party of 6 Mexican snipers in place in the upper story of the house, though the French don't know it. They are the only Mexicans to get the sniper advantage, and cannot be recycled as such.

Sequence:

French move any squads they choose
Mexicans move
Mexicans shoot
French move remaining squads.
Mexican morale:
Melee.

French firing occurs whenever the players want to, as many shots as they choose. That's right! No, it's not fair --

Move - anywhere within the section or into next section. Cavalry may move two sections in the open. The presence of enemy in the section prevents any further movement through that section, except to retreat.

French Fire - long range; 6 K, into next section 5 B, 6 K, same section. 4, 5 B, 6 K Targets in cover count one range longer. The French must keep track of ammunition used.

Mexican Fire per 5 cavalry firing; target in open, hits on 5, 6; target in cover hit on 6.
per 3 infantry firing; target in open, hits on 5, 6; target in cover hit on 6. per
sniper firing, target in open, hits on 5, 6; target in cover hit on 6.

Shots that miss the walls on a roll of 5 may land in the central courtyard. If anyone is there, re-roll the '5's: 6s hit .

Melee: determine 'advantages', then roll a D6 per contestant.

Advantages (and the opposite)

Legionnaire +1
crossing an obstacle -1
cavalry charging in open +1
'hero' figure +1

At evens or disadvantage: 5 B, 6 K
At advantage of 1: 4,5 B, 6 K
At advantage of 2+: 3,4 B, 5,6 K.

'B' means 'bundled', ie thrown back into section behind. 'K' is killed if Mexicans, (told you it wasn't fair) roll on hit chart for French. A 'bundled' figure with no retreat is killed (Mexican), roll for wounds if French. A figure fighting to cross an obstacle who is not K or B is assumed to have succeeded, and does not count the minus for that subsequently.

French Hit Chart:

1 Saved by the picture of the woman I joined to forget! No damage --
2 A mere scratch! I wound.
3 Je suis bless. 2 wounds.
4 Je suis tres malheureux! 3 wounds.
5 Eu! Ce n'est pas bon. Un coup mortal? 4 wounds.
6 Sacre bleu! I die for France and La Legion

Men with 1-2 wounds fight as gallantly as usual. 3 wounds - fight and fire at -1, but cannot move. 4 wounds, groan piteously but no other actions. One legionnaire can carry a comrade into cover in a turn. A wounded man left in the open loses an extra wound each turn until he hands in his kepi. Dead officers must be moved under cover - it's the Legion way!

Morale: Count number of Mexicans moving into a given section. They must retreat to the section immediately to rear if more than 50% of force in a given section is K or B from French fire prior to melee phase. If 50%+ is K, all Mexicans in that section are removed. Mexican units are not expected to maintain cohesion in this game. Snipers take no morale checks. Legion take no morale checks as long as players keep proper attitude!. If not, umpires use discretion.

Assaulting the Walls: The two gates and the breach are open, and can be contested by up to 6 men on each side. The walls can only be scaled by 2 Mexicans helping a 3rd man up, who (probably) then gets shot at and / or fights a melee at 'disadvantage'. If he survives me may either enter the courtyard proper or stay on the wall and pull up another man for free (both being excellent targets, of course --)

Other Shenanigans: Intelligent players on the Mexican side are likely to tire of simply recycling units to get shot up and bayonetted constantly, and who can blame them? Ideas such as 'burning the place down', or 'let's just pull down the wall' should be expected, and permitted if the plan seems rational and the French don't stop them. No particular rules are provided, since each situation will be a bit different. I would suggest that the roofs are dry and half rotten, and the outer walls could be taken down by a party of active senior citizens if allowed to do so. French cannot use Mexican rifles and ammunition. Any Frenchman killed or seriously wounded in melee will lose rifle and ammunition, unless you really want to let the French divide them up (sounds like a pain to me).

The Hospital: If the French create a hospital and actually bother to use healthy legionnaires to tend the sick, wounded men will regain a wound (one only) for a roll of 6 at the end of any turn. Just leaving the wounded alone in a shed does 'em no good at all.

General Appearance and Atmosphere should be of fast, furious and generally brutal thuggery, with Mexicans rushing up, being shot down in vast numbers and hurled back (due to the moronic but effective morale rule). The French will usually shoot like crazy at every chance; smart French players will work out that demanding to shoot after the Mexicans move, but before they shoot, is a good plan (the Mexicans will resent this!), and fire until the 50% mark is reached. All will go well for the French until turn 6 or 7, when ammunition begins to run low. After that, things get hairy -

Victory Conditions: The French win by surviving 10 turns and behaving in a gallant fashion throughout. If they manage 12 turns or more, it's a major victory. If they fail to hold out 10 turns, it is a Mexican victory.

FRENCH BRIEFING

It is April 30, 1863, and you, the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion of the Legion Etrangere are engaged in what looked like a dull assignment as guard for a convoy of bullion moving up the high road (such as it is) from Vera Cruz towards Puebla. The country is fever- ridden and the company down to 62 men and no officers fit for duty; three officers from battalion HQ are serving with the company instead.

As the column halted for morning coffee in heavy brush country, it was attacked by a vast number of the infernal bandits on horseback that pass for irregular cavalry in these parts. Captain Danjou ordered a fall back on an abandoned hacienda known as La Trinidad, passed earlier today, outside a ruined hamlet called Camaron (you call it 'Camerone').

In the withdrawal 16 legionnaires became separated in the scrub, and captured. The mules with the water and extra ammunition bolted (sorry about that!), so the company must rely on the ammunition in cartridge boxes (20 rounds for game purposes, representing 60) and what remains in the canteens. Oh, and the captain has a single bottle of wine.

The hacienda is pretty much a ruin, with 10 foot high walls of crumbling plaster over rubble around the perimeter. The three outbuildings are falling in. There is a well, but no rope or bucket, and probably no water. The house itself is two stories, in better shape, though the roof has big holes in it and the staircase is rotten. There is no furniture, doors or shutters, all thieved long ago...

THE CAST

Captain Jean Danjou: aged 35, veteran of the Crimea, Algeria, Magenta and Solferino. Lost a hand in an accident with a flare pistol , replaced it with a wooden one (like you would). Actually the battalion adjutant, volunteered to lead the company since its own officers are sick. A brave one.

Sous-Lieutenant Napoleon Vilain, 26, an exranker promoted for bravery. Gallant and rakish!

Sous-Lieutenant Clement Maudet, promoted sergeant-major. Veteran of Crimea and Italy.

Sergeant -Major Henri Tonel, the biggest man in the company (at 5'10"). Bluff, hearty, a former actor with a joke on his lips. Fat but ferocious in a fight.

Sergeant Vincent Morzycki. Former student at the university, fittest man in the unit.

Sergeant Evariste Berg. Ex Zouave officer, a 'rich Jew' in many eyes, chose to be demoted in order to see action in Mexico.

Sergeant Jean Germays, tough, by-the-book, typical fighting NCO

Six corporals, thirty four legionaires of the third company, first battalion of the Foreign Legion.

About two thousand Mexicans under Colonel Francisco de Paula Milan, a gentleman.

Name, Nationality, Bullets, wounds

Capt. Jean Danjou French xxx 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Corp. Evariste Berg French 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Drummer Casimir Lai Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Victor Catteau Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg.Johan Reuss German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Ulrich Konrad German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Leon Gorski Pole 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Jean Timmermans Dutch 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!

Sous Lt. Napoleon Vilain French xxx 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Corp. Heinrich Pinzinger German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Peter Dicken British 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Charles Dubois Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg.Hippolyte Kunasseg Swiss 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Gottfried Wenzel German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Katau Pole 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!

Sous Lt.Clement Maudet French xxx 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Corp. Adolfo Delcaretto, Italian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg.Laurent Constantin Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Leonhart Swiss 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Friedrich German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Hipp Swiss 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Bertoletto Italian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!

Sgt Major Henri Tonel French 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT! Corp. Phillippe Maine French 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Andersen Dane 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Gunsales Spanish 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Howard Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Wilsohn German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Merle Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Ludwig Rohr German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!

Sgt Vincent Morzycki French/Polish 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4MORT!
Corp Karl Mangin German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Mueller German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Koopermans Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Weisshaus German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Houston American 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Keepers Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Engel German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!

Sgt. Jean Germays French 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Corporal Lee Irish 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Kruyff Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Casablanca Spanish 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!,
Leg. Mullican Irish 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Lenoir Belgian 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!
Leg. Schmitt German 00000 00000 00000 00000 1 2 3 4 MORT!

Introduction