Still, My Beating Heart! Missilery

 

I continue enthused about my Aztec Game. Today we look at Missilery. Let’s first consider what was flying at the combatants. Above, note 3 Atl-Atl top right, arrows and thrown stones heading into the centre.

Lombards- Initially the cannon used by Cortez were light ships swivel guns (Lombards) mounted upon wheels. The Lombard was loaded with a primed and shotted detachable breach. Shoot once, whip out the breach and lock in a new one.

The Meso-Americans disliked these light cannon and there were occasions when massed formations moved sharply to get out of the line of fire. We need to reflect that. All the same compared to steel clad horsemen and deadly swords the Lombard was a lesser horror.

I’m minded to limit Lombard shot to two firings a game. I could rationalise this by comparing the amount of precious gunpowder needed compared to that used by an arquebus. There is truth in that. There is also the need not to unbalance the game. 

There is no armour defence against Lombard shot.

Arquebus and Crossbows- I’ve decided to group these together. Crossbows were the predominate weapon. Both weapons readily outranged and defeated any armour and weapons the Meso-Americans possessed. I’m opting for 6 shots for soldiers thus armed. 

Note that Spanish practice was for one loader, one firer enabling constant fire. This of course means only half of the shooters shoot but they do so in every turn. 

Players who don’t want to emulate this may fire with all shooters every other turn. 

During close combat shooters support their unit comrades by continuing to shoot.  

Meso-American armour offers no protection against arquebus shot or Crossbow quarrel.

The “Bang” factor is currently on the long finger for me. These shooters will cause enough havoc.

Atl-Atl – An elite weapon not to be found in the hands of rank and file warriors. It could defeat Meso-American armour and might with luck punch through mail. Against plate it accomplished little. Nor did it have a great range. On the plus side its users were expert and could place a dart where armour was not. It could also seriously wound a horse. Mexica and Tlaxcala nobles and Cuachic can shoot Atl-Atl twice.

Meso-American armour whether worn by Mexica, Tlaxcala or Spanish fighters is reduced by 1 when shot at with Atl-Atl.

Bows – the Tlaxcala made great use of the bow. The Mexica much less so. I’m going with 6 shots per game by those bow armed. 

The Meso-American bow did better at close range. All bow men can shoot in each turn.

For the moment I’m ignoring sling stones and hand thrown stones although both occurred. That won’t do for the Inca or City Fighting but we are not there yet.

What does this all mean? Consider this Tlaxcala unit. It contains a base of nobles, they can shoot Atl-Atl twice. It has 6 bow men, they can shoot in every turn. The remaining 6 warriors are close fighters who never shoot.

For convenience I'm minded to use red dice for close combat and Green dice for shooting. Our unit above would get 10 Green dice down to 6 post 2 turns of Atl-Atl shooting. 

For close combat it would have 10 red dice, 4 for the nobles and 6 for the warriors.  Not over complex I hope.

All the same I might complicate it further with 4 distinctive white dice for the nobles. Why? Because they are the superior warriors likely to inflict more damage. The ones the Spanish liked to kill first. Once they are gone their superior abilities are gone too. We will see.

The same unit with stage 1 of the basing done. More sand and the odd tuft to be added.

Conceptually, the above appeals. Instead of removing figures you remove dice. Once removed those dice give a visual on how much fight is left in there Army. 

What of the Mexica? A different proposition. Look at the unit below. 

It is from a wealthy neighbourhood. Lots of nobles and veteran warriors. Twice in a game they can lose a fierce barrage of Atl-Atl. Nine missile dice at a time. After that it is close combat only. Except, they are accompanied by six lesser fellows with bows who skirmish. 

These skirmishers never willingly engage in close combat. They will hang about the main body, or precede it, seeking to provoke the enemy. Only half of them will shoot in any one turn. They are not massed archers.

The figures are all old Minifigs. I'm rather fond of them. That said, as we will shortly see, the the bulk of my collection are from Gladiator.

Here are the (Khurasan) Spanish missilemen. These happen to have arquebus rather than crossbows. They are more properly intended for the Inca campaigns. There are only 6 in this unit and they normally fire at half effect. However their missile can penetrate any armour.

Tucked away safely behind Spanish close fighters they will cause a steady stream of kills. They can also chose their targets.

Next time on Still, My Beating Heart! Close Combat.

 

The Nine Years War 1593-1603- A Review

Dr James O'Neill gives us the first part of his series on the Nine Years War in Ireland. Published by Helion it runs to 151 pages excluding covers. It is well written and hugely informative. As it should be, Dr O'Neill is the foremost authority on the War.

Let’s walk through what we get.

It begins with War in Fermanagh and the West where we are introduced to Hugh O’Neill, Baron of Dungannon. He, a contender for the title of the O’Neill, was intended as an English Agent in efforts to extend London’s control of the Northern Gaels. He, subsequently Earl of Tyrone and the O’Neill, thought otherwise as history records.

In this phase the nominal Irish Leader was Hugh Maguire Lord of Fermanagh. He was Father in Law to Hugh O’Neill. In fact the Irish were already confederated.  Maguire was working to a wider plan.  The forces of the Irish and English are described and the nature of the fighting. The Irish were involved in a military transition. Gallowglass and Scots Mercenaries once the mainstay of Irish Armies sacrificed were sacrificed to preserve the emergent Irish modern army.

When the English met that army it proved a shock. They had not seen the like. Its recruitment, training and equipment are fully described. We are given detailed accounts of the actions at Tulsk, Erne Ford, Enniskillen, Carrickfergus and the Ford of Biscuits. 

If you want to know why the English musketeers did so well at Erne Ford and Enniskillen its here. How the Irish caliver men at Tulsk checked the feared English cavalry that’s here too.

We meet the commanders of both sides and are treated to an extensive quotes and illustrations from contemporary documents. Dr O’Neill is a master of his subject and though I have studied this period well there was, for me, new learning here.

The second part of the book deals with Tyrone’s War in Ulster. We get a detailed analysis of the forces involved. Importantly, we see clearly the new Irish Army. Pen portraits of English and Irish commanders increase or understanding of the dynamics of the conflict. Highlights include extensive treatments of the battles of Clontibret, Carrickfergus and of course The Yellow Ford.

The quality of maps of the battles, including their development are very good. Increasing the readers comprehension of how the actions were fought. Pleasingly, Seán O Brógain supplies the following illustrations: Irish Shot, English Horse, English Musketeer, Irish Horse, Irish Swordsman, Captain Thomas Williams, Hugh O’Neill and Sir Henry Bagenal.

Above, English Captain Tom Lee dressed as a Kern. He appears in Dr O'Neill's book. Note how the Irish soldiers costume simplified as the new Irish Army took the field. 

The above is the briefest of reviews of this excellent work. As you would hope there are 6 pages of sources facilitating further research. 

Helion tend to be a mixed bag but this is a splendid book. Recommended.