User blog:LB&SCR/Thus unto the breach: San Sebastián's Hope vs. Alamo Defenders



''Thus unto the breach, they bravely charged! The defenders fire cut down them in swathes, and yet they still came! ''Today gents, we speak of such heroics. In the Offensive corner, we have the Forlorn Hope of the San Sebastián, the brave men who repeatedly attacked the defended city in an attempt to break the breach, and they finally made it after two days and massive artillery pounding, but with over 600 dead with repeated charging. In the Defensive corner, we have the Defenders of the Alamo, those brave legends and militiamen who defended against the 'Napoleon of the West,' where all of them gave their lives to defend the Alamo, but their stalling action enabled Sam Houston to retreat. When the breach is made and the guns are fired, will the Alamo fall once again? Or will the heroic men of the Alamo be able to beat off an attack from the most experienced army in the world?

San Sebastián's Hope
The Forlorn Hope of San Sebastián were the brave men chosen to be the first to assault the newest hole made in the defended cities' walls. Led by Leiutenant Colin Campbell, the men repeatedly charged into the breach, being beaten back by the fire of the more numerous French defenders. They started attempting charges, but were again cut down by the fire of the French, and were forced to start hugging the Dirt. It was only when 200 men made a diversionary attack on a French island in the harbor, and when British cannons took the risk of firing over the head of their own soldiers, were the Hope able to make it into the breach and hold it against whatever number of the 2,800 French Defenders sent against them until the main british army made it too the breach and the French finally surrendered after 1 month and a day of fighting.

Weapons

 * -| Rifle =

Baker Infantry Rifle




 * Weight: 9 lbs
 * Cartridge: .615 Lead Ball
 * Barrel Length: 30.4 in
 * Rate of Fire: 2-3 rpm
 * Range: 200+
 * -| Musket =

India Pattern Brown Bess




 * Weight: 9.68 lbs
 * Cartridge: .69 Lead Ball
 * Rate of Fire: 3-4 rpm
 * Range: 100 Yards
 * -| Melee =

Bayonet



1796 Pattern British Infantry Officer's Sword
 * Steel
 * Fits on end of Rifle




 * Steel
 * Straight, single edge

Alamo Defenders
The Alamo Defenders were the men who defended the Alamo in probably the most famous last stand in American History. They included legends of the American Frontier such Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, but also faces such as William Travis. Although killed to the last man (the last six by execution), they held up Santa Anna's forces long enough to allow Sam Houston to retreat, and provided a rallying cry for the Texian Revolutionaries during the Battle of San Jacinto, were Santa Anna was captured.

Weapons

 * -| Rifle =

Kentucky Rifle




 * Weight: 10 lbs
 * Cartridge: .48
 * Barrel Length: 48 in
 * Rate of Fire: 2-3 rpm
 * Range: 200+
 * -| Musket =

Springfield Model 1812




 * Weight: 10 lbs
 * Cartridge: .69 Lead Ball
 * Rate of Fire: 2-3
 * Range: 100 yards
 * -| Melee =

Bowie Knife



Tomahawk
 * Steel
 * Clip Point, single edge




 * Steel
 * Single Edge

X-Factors

 * -| Experience =

San Sebastián: 78

Alamo Defenders: 78

The Defenders of the Alamo fought to their deaths against the impossible odds they were given. They fought off the outnumbering Mexican Forces for 13 days, before being overrun and getting everyone killed in the process, but they went down in history. The Hope of San Sebastián also fought against the overwhelming odds of death when they charged the city nearly continuously for two months, suffering a total of about 680 casualties during the entire affair, but in the end, unlike the defenders of the Alamo, they were eventually victorious.


 * -| Training =

San Sebastián: 78

Alamo Defenders: 60

The men of the Alamo, while having some Frontier Legends and professional soldiers, were mostly militiamen and armed civilians fighting the good fight, for the freedom of a nation against the major power. They all died and made a name for themselves. However, the members of the Forlorn Hope were members of the probably the most powerful and professional military of the age, and of course were veterans of the Peninsular War, with Britain, Portugal, and Spain fighting against France and Napoleonic Spain.


 * -| Bravery =

San Sebastián: 74

Alamo Defenders: 82

The men of San Sebast ián's Forlorn Hope showed their bravery by volunteering to charge French Defenses head first, knowing that they would probably die, as the Forlorn Hope didn't have a very good survival rate, but of course they did it as everyone was guaranteed a promotion if they survived. The Defenders of the Alamo on the other hand, knew they were going to die anyway, and they all stayed and fought to the death against Santa Anna. That, is real bravery.

|-| Logistics =

San Sebast ián: 76

Alamo Defenders: 60

The men of the Alamo were cut off and surrounded with no hope of reinforcements or help coming at all, and had only what ammuniton and supplies they had stored at the Alamo. Meanwhile, the people of the Forlorn Hope, everytime a charge failed, they just had to fall back, gather more men and guns, and just charge headfirst again.

Scenario
This is going to be like an actual seige, and be a long slogging affair. The Forlorn Hope will outnumber the Defenders, but not in the way of having more numbers initially, but in the fact that they can get reinforcements. Meanwhile, the Defenders can repair and continue to fortify the Alamo to their liking during the downtime.

If the Men of the Alamo wish to win:


 * 1) They must hold the Alamo.

They must either kill, capture, or drive off the Forlorn Hope.

If the Hope of San Sebastián hope to win:

They must capture the Alamo.

They must kill, capture, or force the surrender of the Defenders. The Alamo will have 180 men defending it, and the first attack by the Hope will number 180 as well.

Other Notes

 * 1) The Forlorn Hope will be lead by Colin Campbell, and the Alamo Defenders will have Colonel Travis.
 * 2) The Alamo will have it's legends. I.E. I mean that Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, etc will be there.
 * 3) The scenario was difficult to create, so I believe that there may be multiple issues with it that I can't see. If you see anything wrong, tell me, and I shall fix it immediately.