Cortes - The Siege of Tenochititlan

This last weekend, I dug deep in the Cave of Unplayed Games and pulled out Cortes. This gem was orignally published in 1993 in Command Magazine, Issue No. 20 and it offers an interesting game of a topic that nobody (to my knowledge) had touched before.

The game system is interesting, the graphics superb, interesting rules and "chrome" to include temple desecration and human scarfice. What's not to love? Well, I played it (or rather, solitaired it) and to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. In the game I played, it was pretty much a slow but steady siege, characterized by a slow grind on the part of the Spaniards and an eventual win. I was very careful to not give the Aztecs and openings and used the Spanish Indian allies as cannon fodder. However, the Aztecs were able to get in some blows in a couple of naval battles on the lake which ultimately wound up in some major losses.

I decided to clear out the south and then make my main effort in the north where two causeways were in close proximtity and there was some clear land on the island where I could bring the Spanish cavalry into full effectiveness. Essentially, the Spaniards were able to attrit the Aztecs from the fortifications blocking the causeways up in the northwest corner with cannon-fire from the fleet (even with the die-roll shift due to firing into fortifications), thus allowing them a toe-hold. The Aztecs were never able to mount a serious conter-attack.

Now, this probably would have been different had I not put so many troops out on the water and tried more of a forward defense. The next time, I'll pile up more of a defense in Tenochititlan itself and abandon the outlying areas (I had left forces there in the hope of slowing the Spaniards down). I think more of a Stalingrad-like defense would do the trick so I'll try this one again. Also, the Spanish Indian Allies with lake crossing ability can be used to turn a flank at the right moment.

One little detail on the rules: Although the rules are silent on this, it seems that cavalry is allowed to assault fortifications and even employ charges. Personally, I would think that cavalry would be prohibited from attacking (or at least charging) Aztec fortifications. Try charging a wall with a horse sometime and see what happens (I have, it hurts). In the end, I instituted a house rule to prohibit cavalry from attacking fortifications.

I'll give this one a try again but it just seemed to be too much of a walkover for the Spaniards.