Cortes Killed And Three Conquistadors And Their Horses Taken To Temple For Sacrifice!

 Today Mat and I switched roles and I was the Aztecs. The Spaniards did very well to start with, better than I did the previous game as the Spanish. Then numbers began to tell and Cortes, who had attacked ahead of the main army, was filled with arrows.

The scenario was the same as in our last three games. Below, the Aztecs mass among the temples. (One unit is actually made up of Timpo Egyptians) The ones on the hill are in reserve and have to be rolled for, chances of appearing greater each move.

      Spaniards move forward. (As in the previous game ECW and a few knights pretend to be early 16th century Spaniards).

   Aztecs lay an ambush. They were to be less successful than in the last game.

   In fact, confronted by the 'giant stags mounted by metal men' they turned and ran but many were run down. They did manage to turn and fight in the subsequent turn but were wiped out. As in the last game the heavily armoured mounted Spaniards were still faced with many determined Aztec warriors of other units. The cavalry leading the charge were nearly wiped out, with one man escaping and two or three taken prisoner. (Reports vary).The other cavalry, after defeating one unit decided to withdraw.

  Behind the cavalry the ranged weapon men lingered but one unit mounts the steps of the large temple.

  King Jocuma urges his men on and keeps a distance from the Spaniards who would take him prisoner. His bodyguard are shot off the temple. At the rear of the main temple Cortes slices through the Aztecs. His men also turn war dogs, large slavering mastiffs, onto the natives. But his men begin to drop around him.

Matchlock men shoot at the Aztec archers but neither side there is in range. The musketeers then move forward before having a change of heart. It may be that they have heard no word from Cortes. In fact, he has fallen from a hail of arrows and rocks from slings.

  Two or three of the cavalry are captured...

  The other unit of cavalry withdraws to pick a new leader of the expedition. (At least that is their excuse).

  The Aztecs await the cavalry's return but instead the matchlock men who have crept up on the temple fire at them, and scare off half the archers who are terrified of the 'thunder weapons'.

  Two Spaniards led off to the middle temple.

  More Aztecs on the other side of the temples are determined to defend their treasures.

CONCLUSION

The Spanish were initially very successful but then found some of their units cut off and destroyed. Aztec casualties were much higher, as was to be expected. 

The Spanish light cannon did not get close enough to see action.

Spanish matchlocks were causing less damage than last game because they were too far back from the action or line of site was obscured. The buildings hindered the Spanish from getting fields of fire although they could have limited the numbers of Aztecs that could pile in. In reality, as the Spanish pushed the Aztecs back they came within striking range of additional Aztec units lurking in ambush (just as in last game).

As in last game the treasure was kept back from the front temple but unlike in some earlier game the Aztec leader did not let himself be taken prisoner to have treasure extorted from him.

The Aztecs were also able to take aggressive action on turn three as a 12 was secretly rolled on that move. On turn four they began shooting arrows at the invaders.

Technically there was no winner as the Spaniards got no treasure and the Aztecs did not sacrifice anyone. The game went for the customary 12 moves and subsequent dice rolls extended it to move 16 when the Aztecs had their prisoners at the base of the middle pyramid. They intended to sacrifice the prisoners in view of the enemy. (They would have to work out how to remove the metal armour, though). Mat called it as an Aztec victory, which was very sportsman-like of him but I had killed Cortes as well as being on the verge of making the sacrifice to the gods.