45 Pesetas – A Crossfire Battle Report in the Spanish Civil War

Andrew Fisher played my 45 Pesetas – A Crossfire Scenario in the Spanish Civil War, which is very good of him since it is quite draft.


Andrew’s Battle Report

Played this scenario last night.

As Steven didn’t publish a map I improvised something with a series of hills forming a ridge close to the Nationalist baseline, an area of woods, fields and shell holes stretching back to the Republican baseline, and a few buildings for variety.

I have just one photo, but I have tried to mark out the various stages of the fight using the same photo. Hope this helps.

AF45 Table
AF45 Table

I set up the Republicans with a couple of individual rifle squads in shell holes on the ridge, and the main defensive line quite far forward, concentrated around a gap between hills that seemed to me the most likely route into the position. These proved to be both good and poor tactics.

AF45 The attack plan
AF45 The attack plan

On the one hand the enemy did indeed enter my trap and came under heavy rifle and MG fire from front and flanks. On the other I realised the unveiling so many troops, the bunker, and some wire had cost me more VP than my opponent was losing in casualties (especially as the Nationalists are veteran, and therefore very hard to kill just by shooting at them). I made poor use of my artillery support which should have been able to do substantial damage without costing me so many VP.

AF45 The defensive plan
AF45 The defensive plan
AF45 The outcome
AF45 The outcome

I think this is an interesting scenario, and far better balanced than it looks. However the defending player really needs to get set-up right as they will likely not get to do much moving. It therefore needs a map and some time taken in advance by the defender to work well. Not so suitable for a hastily-created table as I tried.

Thanks for writing the scenario.

Steven’s Comments

I like the idea behind 45 Pesetas as it makes an unusual scenario. Basically the attacker is trying to steal a tank. However, I didn’t want to just focus on that because such a sneaky mission could involve just a couple of guys. So I have added in elements of a reconnaissance into the mix. For those who have read my Musing on Reconnaissance Scenarios for Crossfire this can introduce some challenges – this type of scenario is not well understood yet. Having said that, I can imagine the Moroccans spontaneously going over to that attack if a recon mission looks promising. So, perhaps, this is particularly appropriate for this setting.

Despite any reservations I have Andrew seemed to have a successful game. Okay, I have some homework to do:

  • A map
  • Refining victory conditions
  • Sneakiness of the Moroccans
  • Restrictions on where the T-26 can go

2 thoughts on “45 Pesetas – A Crossfire Battle Report in the Spanish Civil War”

  1. As much as it is a pain in the neck (I, actually, have a much lower opinion of it) a map is essential to every scenario, even if untested. It is necessary so that beginners can try the scenario. Few beginners in CF have a clue as to how to set up a map for this game, even if they have a lot of experience in other games.

    Reply
    • Agreed Dick. I just didn’t get around to doing the map when I wrote the scenario back in 2008.

      Reply

Leave a Reply