or: The Phantom Crown.

Right, so we have seen an overview of the conflict, looked at conflict specific rules and mechanisms, so now we get to the fun bit, gaming the war. One of the problems we meet here is the lack of information in the English language. What there is tends to concentrate on the main battles, such as Puebla, and in many ways this does not really give us the true flavour of the conflict. The reality of the war in Mexico was a series of small skirmishes and battles with hundreds rather than thousands of men on each side. French strategy resembled that used in Algeria, flying columns sent out to perform specific tasks before returning to their bases.

In many ways this suits us as wargamers. We have a free hand to devise our own scenarios within the overall context of what was happening at that stage of the war. Personally I found the best solution was to develop what I call a "logical campaign". This involves the controlling player, or umpire, deciding at the end of each game what the next logical step would be, but more on that later. Firstly I want to look specifically at a number of scenarios that will give the flavour of the various stages of the war, along with suitable orders of battle.

With Puebla under siege, the French established a supply line back to Vera Cruz, whence all supplies had to be delivered. To protect these columns troops were assigned both as escorts and to garrison strongpoints along the route. Meanwhile roving bodies of Republican Mexicans sought to harass the French at every step, looking to relieve pressure on their besieged comrades.

This game is set in early 1863, and represents a small supply column protected by three companies of Foreign Legion attempting to cross the table. An old Spanish fort is garrisoned by two more companies of the Legion with a couple of artillery pieces, and is currently being used as a staging post on the journey. The objective of the supply column is to enter the table at A and to leave at D.

To assist them in this a small force of Contra Guerrillas is patrolling the area, starting at point B. with a brief to destroy any Mexican Republican bandits they come across.

As for the Republicans, they've amassed a significant little force, hoping to destroy the supply column and capture the fort. Two battalions of infantry and a mob of mounted irregulars should prove to be a bit of a shock to the French! They enter the table at point C.

The French win if they hold the fort and supplies at the end of the game: actually getting off the table is irrelevant, but the commander should not be told that at the outset. The Mexicans win if they capture the supplies, and win big if they get the fort.

The fort should give two points of cover, and as such will probably be pretty immune to direct attacks, the Mexicans will probably want to lure out the garrison by roughing up the supply column. Other buildings will give a maximum of one point cover and their effect on movement should be diced for as in the rules.

The passes on the south edge of the table are no obstacle to movement, except that troops in them must be in a single column, i.e. may not deploy at all. The exception here is the Contras. Whilst the hills are impassable to all other troops, the mule mounted Contras can happily skulk about in them. (Which will annoy the Republicans!).

The mule train has no fighting ability, the muleteers will leg it if they get a retire shaken morale result, leaving the French to coax their beasts along. This will be quite easily achieved, but will take one turn stationary to organise. If a rout morale result occurs then dice for each mule model (there should be about six), with the foolish beast running off to join the Republicans on a 1 to 3 result.

FRENCH

Fort garrison
Commander		Good DAV +1
1	1st Legion Company	MLR	1 2 3 4 5 6 7* 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
2	2nd Legion Company	MLR	1 2 3 4 5 6 7* 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
3	Medium Gun Section	BRO	1 2 3 4 5 6* 7 8 9 10 11 12

Supply Train
Commander		Good DAV +1
4	3rd Legion Company	MLR	1 2 3 4 5 6 7* 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
5	4th Legion Company	MLR	1 2 3 4 5 6 7* 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
6	5th Legion Company	MLR	1 2 3 4 5 6 7* 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
7	Mule Train	MLR	1 2 3 4 5

Contra~Guerillas
Commander		Good DAV +1
8	1st Company	MLR	1 2 3 4 5 6* 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
9	2nd Company	MLR	1 2 3 4 5 6* 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

REPUBLICAN MEXICAN

Commander-in-Chief		Good DAV +1
1	Irregular Horse	La	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9
2	Irregular Horse	MW	1 2* 3 4 5 6 7 8
3	Irregular Horse	MW	1 2* 3 4 5 6 7 8
4	Irregular Horse	MW	1 2* 3 4 5 6 7 8

1st Battalion
Commander		Average DAV
5	1st Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
6	2nd Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
7	3rd Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
8	4th Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
9	5th Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
10	6th Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

2nd Battalion
Commander		Average DAV
11	1st Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
12	2nd Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
13	3rd Company	MLR	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14	4th Company	SB	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
15	5th Company	SB	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
16	6th Company	SB	1 2 3* 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

I played this game as a first test of the rules and was concerned that it would be too small to fill an evening. It actually turned out to be one of the most entertaining games; when you ain't got a lot you certainly conserve your resources! The French will be deadly in terms of firepower, but the Mexican cavalry, crap as it is, is able to dance around them, frustrating their attempts to move. The French won this one for us, but two thirds of the supply column was destroyed, the last company charging to death or glory through the Republican lines to reach the fort.

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