Great Paraguayan War Game

It has been more than two years since we were last in Paraguay (29 January 2023 to be exact) and I figured it was high time for those armies to see the light of day.

All of our games are multi-player affairs with three or four players a side. The negative of this can be that regardless of the scenario both sides  tend to line up on each side and simply play against the player opposite them. I decided to try something different to encourage manoeuvring. The problem here is that when using a regulated movement rate manoeuvring is difficult. Then I remembered that back in the 1980s we briefly played a set of rules called Empire. They used a concept of grand tactical moves that allowed for two movement rates - a relatively restricted rate for troops that were actually engaged, but a faster rate for those not engaged.

From what I remember the Empire system was quite complex, involving a flowchart. I wanted something simpler. Assuming that not being engaged was the prime factor to permit this free movement, what other factors could influence it? I came up with three factors: leadership, troop quality and whether the march column comes under fire. So my system is that brigades can test to make a March Move if the brigade is formed in a single march column and no part of the intended move will pass within 400mm of a visible enemy or within 200mm of a friendly unit that is engaged with an enemy. The test is pretty simple: roll 1xD6, add 1 for a bold general, subtract 1 for a cautious general, add 1 if half or more of the brigade is veteran or elite, subtract 1 if half or more is raw, subtract 3 if the brigade has been fired on in the immediate preceding player turn. If the result is 0 or less use normal moves, 2 or 3, make two March Moves, 4 or 5 make three March Moves and 6 make four March Moves. A March Move is 400mm for all types and ignores terrain except for rivers and impassable terrain. There are some restrictions around deployment, but a good command has potential to move 1600mm in a turn.

The game was set up with three Paraguayan brigades in a fortress in a gap between two rivers. Opposing them is a Brazilian and an Argentine division, each supported by a cavalry brigade, and a brigade of Uruguayans. The Allied start positions are shown on the map below. The Paraguayans could be positioned between the two rivers, but no further forward than the southern limits of the fortress.

So how did the game run?...well not at all as I expected! I thought that a successful strategy for the Allies would be to throw Argentine division to the west, across the western arm of the river to force the Paraguayans spread themselves and fight on two fronts while the larger Brazilian and Uruguayan force to struck the eastern arm. Meanwhile, the Paraguayans could not afford to sit back in the fortress - for one they couldn't all fit inside - so some sort of sally or spoiling attack was going to be a necessity.

The Paraguayans indeed planned a sally, but the Allies decided to consolidate east of the eastern arm and try to carry the fort from that direction.

The Argentine Division in its start position

A view up the table at the start of the game

One of the big guns

The Argentinians in their new position with the Brazilians beyond

The Brazilian guns in action

Above and below the Uruguayans keen to get into the fight 

Above and below, Brazilian guns beating back some Paraguayan cavalry

The Uruguayan artillery in action

The Brazilian infantry struggle to hold a position across the river

An Argentine battalion advancing

Above and below, in a desperate attack the Paraguayans drive back a Brazilian brigade

 

In the end the Allied attack ground to a halt. One Brazilian brigade was driven off, but their artillery broke up the Paraguayan attack. The other Brazilian brigade managed to hold on by the skin of its teeth, while the Argentine Division was roughly handled. The Uruguayans were hardly engaged, but used their march moves to switch from one side of the table to the other - twice - to cover collapsing Allied fronts. The Paraguayans took losses too, with three of their five cavalry units pummelled and four of their ten battalions either destroyed or in a bad way. The big guns, that looked so intimidating, had little effect, in part due to their forces masking their fire, and in part because they kept running out of ammunition!

Did the march moves idea work? I think so, if only to get troops into action quickly - although the Uruguayans dis use it very effectively to redeploy. Maybe there is a need to try it again.