So going into this one, the intent was clear—this was supposed to play out like the Battle of the Little Bighorn. You had your split forces, aggressive cavalry and infantry, “this might go horribly wrong”
Naturally… everyone completely ignored that and did their own thing 😂
Opening Moves
The Spanish set up in a mucho grande fortified camp—solid position, honestly the kind of place you don’t abandon. But confidence is a hell of a drug.
On the right flank, the French allies (our “Reno force”) made up of Poles, Italians, and French light cavalry engaged early. Instead of being overwhelmed and panicked, they held.
And that right there was the first big deviation—it would not be the last.
Meanwhile, the Spanish center gets ambitious.
They push. And push. And push some more—marching all the way up to the high ground on the other side of the table, thinking they’re about to split the French force in two and win this thing outright.
Problem is… it took forever.
By the time they got there, they were stretched thin and hanging out in the open. Instead of the Little Bighorn we had Dan Sickles advancing into Longstreets trap at Gettysburg!
Overextended, exposed, and just waiting to get punished. Which they did.
To their credit though—they recognized it before it became a disaster. They retrograded (look at us being professional), pulled back, and actually stabilized the line before the French could really capitalize.
French tried to exploit… but just couldn’t quite crack it once it firmed up.
Cavalry Clash on the LeftNow over on the Spanish left—this is where things got caliente.
Spanish cavalry goes straight into the French heavies—dragoons and cuirassiers of the 13th, playing the role of Custer’s hammer.
Two melees. Both brutal.
Spanish cav gets mauled!
But they don’t break.
They hang in there just enough to deny the French that clean breakthrough the french heavy cavalry needed..
The Moment It Almost TurnedThe closest we got to “uh oh, this is turning into Little Bighorn” came in the center, but it was the French allies playing the Reno part that almost did it.
The Hussar brigade comes in, backed by the French 40th—two battalions plus a combined grenadier battalion.
They hit the Spanish center hard and do force a regiment back. For a moment it looks like the line is about to unravel.
But—
Spain had a second line.
The battered unit falls back behind it, reforms, and suddenly what could’ve been a cascading collapse just… stops. The line holds.
And that was the turning point that wasn’t.
Because at that moment, instead of pressing into a collapsing enemy like Custer would’ve needed, the French are now staring at a reformed, solid line.
And the French make the smart call. Pulling back to the high ground.
No sense battering themselves against a now-stable Spanish line that’s clearly not going to fold easily. The window had closed.
And just like that… the battle of El Pequeño Cuerno Grande settles into a standstill.
Final ThoughtsSo yeah—this was supposed to be Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Instead, what we got was:
- No reckless annihilation
- No isolated force getting wiped
- No dramatic cavalry overrun
What we did get was:
- Spanish overextension that almost cost them
- Cavalry fights that were absolute meat grinders
- A center that bent but didn’t break
- And a French force that just couldn’t quite land the knockout
In the end, the Spanish regrouped, steadied themselves, and fought the French and their allies to a straight-up stalemate.
Not what was planned… but honestly?
Probably a better game.
Everyone had a blast, nobody got Custer’d, and there were just enough “oh know” moments to keep it interesting the whole way through.
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