Captain Manuel de Camarero blamed everyone around him for the fiasco. Yes he'd won the first round, but at what a cost, the Sloop "Sirena" lost, the rest of his ships badly damaged to some degree, and far to many casualties than was necessary. Capturing English captain was an upside, if he would impart his knowledge of the island and forces on it, but he was still unconscious and not likely to be co-operative anyway...
He knew he couldn't leave without at least trying to establish a forward base, to lose face in this manner was unthinkable. Once he'd gotten ashore and a defensible base going then he could send for reinforcements.
To make matters worse only one long boat remained between the two seaworthy ships. Not enough to get his remaining men ashore. As he scanned the Island shore he spotted the two long boats the fleeing English had abandoned, and a couple of the native canoes on the beach. An idea began to form in his head, " Get Captain Santos over here!!!"
Captain Pedro Santos was angry too, command of the fleet should have been his by right of experience, but no, this green, preening aristocrat fresh from Spain had been put in command. And his limited experience showed, as he had ordered Santos to sail into the inner lagoon in his ship, the Brigantine "San Pedro".
Problem was, the draft on the Brig was to great to get over the inner reef and as such would probably rip the bottom out of her..But it was, according to Camarero, the only way to get the men close enough to shore to swim. Santos had argued to either send for reinforcements or at least wait until the English sloop "Lion's Whelp" had been re-floated, but to no avail...
Rules-
Brig will start 10 inches off-shore
Men will be able to swim ashore 4" like walking
Night fight: Shooting up to 12" only... (Alas, it was late in the game when we discovered Flintlock armed Spanish were visible further away)
Sentries: Random movement, if enemy starts of ends activation within 12", can raise alarm
Row boat will carry all weapons, bar bows and melee weapons, which can be collected when within 3" of longboat
Weather will be rolled at beginning of battle.
As part of a narrative campaign, the points weren't exactly balanced, and the mission was more objective based than working off strike points. The Spanish had 44 men, with circa 230pts against 40 Caribbean Tribesmen at 187 pts...
THE SPANISH
Captain Santos, Experienced Militia Commander
2 x 10 inexperienced Milicianos
2 x 5 Lanceros
1 x 5 Milicianos Indios
1 x 8 Marineros
1 x Swivel gun with 4 Marineros crew
The San Pedro, bottomed just offshore...
The boats and canoes the Spanish wanted, to allow for an easier disembarkation...
The "Mangroves" Chris is finishing off
Despite only one longboat being left to their ships, there were few volunteers to swim ashore
THE NATIVES
Kabyn is the 3rd son of Chief Kathi and it was his job to protect the village while his father and older brother were away at the great meeting of all the villages on the Island.
He'd seen the battle unfold in the bay, seen the English ships burn, and helped the survivors head over land for reinforcements. He knew the hated Spanish would now be looking to come ashore and wipe them out according to his English friends, he just didn't know when.
For the next few nights, sentries would be posted to watch the Spaniards and see what their next move would be. Runners had already been sent to the meeting but he knew it would be a few days until help arrives and a lot of the warriors were with his father.The English soldiers who'd come ashore promised that help would arrive soon, but for now they had left and Kabyn would have to keep the Spanish at bay...
The Native Caribbeans:
Kabyn, Untested Southern Tribe Commander
2 x 8 Young Warriors
3 x 5 Warrior Archers
2 x 6 African Warriors
As the bulk of his forces stayed off the beaches, resting, Kabyn had some sentries patrol the shoreline...
Quite a distance to cover, given the limited visibility of the night...
Warrior archers on the rise...
More warrior archers, with a stray African Warrior...
Face paint is still awaiting application, along with arms, legs, torso's etc..
The Spanish prepare to set off...
Hope they don't drop that swivel gun...
A reindeer attacks the Warrior Archers... No, wait, wrong game!!!
The sentries have taken their stations, and given my lack of weapons, would be a real problem to deal with...
Guarding the cove from the rocks...
First target has to be the sentry nearest my Brigantine...
As if I don't, and a sentry sounds the alarm, the Natives can activate and move down to the beach...
Of course, they can probably hear the firebrand Spanish priest urging the men on in the name of God!!!
TURN 1
As the only "armed" unit at present, and being recent converts to Christianity, the Milicianos Indios were the obvious initial activation, with two arrows striking home on the closest sentry, who dropped silently...
The beach is clear for turn 1...
The Spanish close in...
The Lanceros push on through the dark and the water, splashing as they go and alerting the sentry on the rock with the noise...
As it's late in turn 1, Chris brought forward a unit of young warriors down of the hill as they were furthest from the beach...
TURN 2
As the Caribs rouse themselves, Captain Santos and his Milicianos land first, with the swivel gun to assist in securing the boats...
The tribesmen gather in the dark, as the Spaniards holler down at the waterfront...
The bulk of the Spaniards gather around the long boat t get their weapons, as the Indios get ready to heave off with a canoe...
Knowing the area allows the Caribs to move swiftly and close in on the invaders...
However, unsure of their numbers prevailing against so many Spaniards, the closest African Warrios wait for back up...
Besides, my Indios have already shown their proficiency with bows...
The swivel gun gets redeployed in some scrub, to await the expected native charge...
The natives are still holding back, content to loose a few arrows in the general direction of the beach but not even coming close...
Kabyn, and his warrior archers, urge on the young warriors...
Captain Santos moves his Milicianos around, aiming to secure the longboat but holding fire on the dark shapes ahead of him, as they cant quite be sure of their targets...
The Lanceros suddenly realise they are unarmed, and have swam too far away from their spears as the rest of the Spanish wade up, tired from their swim...
TURN 3
The initial arrow fire was ineffectual from the closest warrior archers against the swivel gun crew last turn, but as both sides closed in, it was time to start unleashing the thunder...
Santos ordered his men to ready, and take aim and
"FIRE"!!! A great mass of leaves were blown off the canopy above the Warrior Archers, as they realised the Inexperienced Milicianos could make the sound of thunder, but not much else...
Smiling gleefully at the Spanish ineptitude, the Warrior archers, using their poisoned arrows, killed a pair of their foe, shaking them...
The Marineros retrieve their pistols and look inland as the first volley is unleashed...
The African warriors add to the arrow fire on the Spanish vanguard...
killing a third Miliciano and inflicting further fatigue on Captain Santos's men...
The swivel gun opens up, but is ineffectual. Although Kabyn does withdraw his Warrior archers as a result...
As the sound of muskets echo over from the far side of the beach, the Indios seek to escape in the tumult...
This emboldens the African warriors and young warriors to advance a bit more...
Kabyn and his entourage also advance up, looking to squeeze the Spanish left...
With the captain taking cover, there is not a lot of organisation at the beach...
TURN 4
With the Indios putting to see, the young warriors, eager to impress, advance up and fire arrows at the wet Milicianos who have taken a longboat, as well as retrieve their weapons. They fire a volley, killing a young warrior near the front of the jeering natives...
With Captain Santos desperately trying to restore a semblance of order on his men, the heavily armed Marineros advance up to cover their Captain, and keep the natives at a distance. The swivel gun has been reduced to two men, but is reloaded and still in the fight, adding its presence to the Marineros and dissuading any assault across the open.
TURN 5
As the natives kept their distance, dropping arrows ineffectually in the previous turn, Captain Santos finally gets his Milicianos in shape, albeit now down to half strength. The Lanceros, hearing the urgency in the Captains shouts, decide retrieving the longboat rather than their weapons is most important, and both units combine to scarper off shore...
Feeling confident now they have amassed their number, the Caribs on their left close up with Kabyn and his right forces, tightening the noose on the Spaniards...
The natives now outnumber the Milicanos on m right in the Longboat, and are raining arrows down on them...
Having spent a turn targeting the larger unit of Marineros in cover with little success, the swivel gun crew are targeted and taken out...
As the arrows continue to rain down, the Milicianos on my right slip away from the swarming natives...
While on my left having lot their swivel gun support, the Marineros run for the last longboat, pushing themselves to push off. Enraged, 4 African warriors run out but their arrows done find targets, only the hull of the boat...
Warrior archers also advance up the beach, dropping more arrows on the right Milicianos unit, who take casualties...
With a few more arrows, the Marineros come close to hitting the deck, thus not rowing, but they hold their nerve and put their backs into it...
TURN 6
The Lanceros and Indios are safely off shore with their boats and skins intact, but the Milicianos are not quite out into the water, badly shaken by arrow fire, down in the boat and not rowing...
As the Marineros shout encouragement while rowing past, Captain Santos and his Milicianos are the only Spaniards left ashore, heroically first ashore and last to leave... If he can!!!
The Carib Natives are ready to pounce if the Spaniards don't activate first...
And if they cant get to the longboat, the tribesmen may get to the Captain, before they grab the canoe!!!
With an 11 spades v 10 spades, the Natives get the drop on the Spanish Milicainos, 5 warrior archers charging into the knee high waves and hacking at the cowering Spaniards...
They kill 3, and as the remaining Spanish throw down their arms, begging for mercy and praying hopelessly to a God the Caribs don't recognise, the Warrior Archers use knives and club to butcher the helpless militia...
The screams of his dying comrades echo over the mangroves, as Captain Santos and his remaining men slip silently past...
The night seems to close in on Santos as the screams tail off to the war songs of the heathens...
The natives rejoice that they have killed so many invaders, unaware of the consequences their butchery will lead to...
And the Spanish lament so many dead, and one less longboat for their impending assault...
Summary
The new Native Caribs have a raft of new rules, at least for Chris as a non-Spanish player (elusive, quick, scouts etc) Add in , Rain of Arrows, Sound of Thunder (they don't like blackpowder weapons, though I don't know why...) and hidden, as well as night-fighting, we had a lot of cat and mouse play going on with the rules we set giving a real tense feel to the affair. I have to say, I was expecting Captain Santos and his Milicianos to plough straight up into the furthest away longboat, but one unit held them off thanks to some horrific saves and even worse fatigue tests. The Caribs may not fair so well in daylight, but the narrative was well served with the rules and restrictions we set, and the game could have ended so differently had I trumped the first card in the last turn...
So hurrah, another, err, Spanish victory??? Although it did feel like a loss... While I did manage to get the two canoes and one of the longboats, not getting the second and losing so many men, that really hurt. The native Caribs are new to Chris, and he was admittedly cagey in their use, with the night fighting rules helping and hindering us both in equal measure. It was actually quite tense and fun, even if the only melee was saved right to the death (of my Milicianos as it happened). Cinematic ending I suppose!!! Still, for the next Chapter, I have no doubt that the natives will suffer as Captain Santos exacts his revenge on the heathens for the savaging of his shipmates, perhaps only exceeded by his hatred of his own commander, Captain Manuel de Camarero...
