Coming Saturday May 21st at HMGS Pacific-Southwest's...
Sand Wars 2023
At the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, AZ:
CAMERONE
“Not Men but Demons!”
On the morning of April 30, 1863, 49 officers and men of the 3rd Co., 1st Batt. Foreign Regt. (AKA: the French Foreign Legion) led by Captain Jean Danjou occupied a decrepit hacienda compound in the abandoned village of Camarón (“Camerone” in English) and fought a 10-hour battle against 2,000 Mexican regulars and guerillas under the command of Colonel Francisco Milan. The compound sat along the “Royal Road” leading from the port of Vera Cruz on the Gulf coast inland to Puebla and Mexico City. When they first encountered the enemy, Danjou and the 3rd Co. were en route to escort a convoy carrying 3,000,000 Francs in gold (approx. $57 Million in 2023 USD). Ten hours later when the fighting stopped, all but one of the Legionnaires had been captured or killed. But though the 3rd Co. no longer existed, it had accomplished its mission: the gold convoy had heard the sound of the ferocious battle up the road, turned around and headed back to safety. After the battle ended and Colonel Milan learned how enemy soldiers his men had actually faced, he declared: “These are not men, they’re demons!”
Join us to commemorate the 160th Anniversary of the battle by honoring the men of Company Danjou fighting for the glory of the Legion, and their Mexican opponents fighting to defeat the French Intervention (1862-67).
As Captain Danjou or one of his lieutenants, can you lead your handful of men to hold out long enough to keep the Mexicans from hitting the convoy…?
As Colonel Milan or one of his deputy commanders, can you coordinate your array of disparate units to overcome the ferocious enemy behind the walls of the Hacienda de la Trinidad fast enough to still be able to ambush the unescorted convoy and score a major victory for your cause…?
This will be a 6-Hour Epic Struggle: 3-hr session I from 9am to 12 Noon--lunch break--3-hr session II from 1pm to 4pm, played with finely painted figures over award-winning terrain, using Osprey’s popular “The Men Who Would Be Kings” colonial rules, with mods for the scenario and to speed up convention play.
Room for up to 3 French & up to 5 Mexican players (combined maximum 8 players).
