The Spanish-American War
With the beginning of a new year, the Spanish-American War experienced a burst of renewed activity from both sides, as the Americans sought to finish off the wounded Spanish and secure the lands they had occupied. The Spanish meanwhile, were aiming to make the invaders pay for every inch of ground they took. Both sides were tired of war, having been involved in other recent conflicts, but neither side was willing to give up the fight yet.
The Philippines, theatre of the biggest US success so far in the war, experienced little action. Some Spanish officers and men were sent to provoke an insurgency against the Americans, but none were successful, either giving up en route, being intercepted by US patrols of the islands or killed by the Filipinos they tried to recruit, who gave a clear message that they would tolerate no foreign ruler, no matter their nationality. All was not good news for the US however, as they suffered a large setback in the form of native Filipino guerilla action against them. The US forces tried to set up a military governorship to start the process of integrating the islands into the US, but met with severe resistance from the Filipino people, who, using both traditional weapons and those looted from the dead, struck at isolated patrols and outposts. Casualties were light for the US occupation forces, but they lost effective control of much of the countryside, and many of the smaller and more remote islands were under local control. [-1,000 Regulars from the United States, Philippines mostly under local control]
1. As the US death toll increases, coffins pile up in a Manila warehouse
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, the war was becoming more bloody by the day. The first action of the year took place off the coast of Puerto Rico, whilst the thick mud which coated the island of Cuba was still not dry enough for ground warfare. A US fleet, on it's way East to bring the war uncomfortably close to the Spanish mainland, delayed it's journey in order to shoot up the Spanish shipping which was sailing around the coast or anchored in the harbour. After sinking the local naval force that tried to stop them, they proceeded to spend the remainder of the day firing shells into the harbour, setting it ablaze and denying its use to the Spanish. The US fleet was not unharmed however, as fire from a fort overlooking the harbour put a well aimed shot through the stern of the USS Independence, destroying her steering gear and causing her to tear out her hull on some rocks. [-1 Small ship from the US, -2 Small ships from Spain, San Juan harbour unusable]
The US fleet then continued on across the Atlantic, with the goal of attacking the Canary islands. The American plan was certainly daring, and they committed a large portion of their naval strength to the enterprise, in a move clearly designed to strike fear into the hearts of the Spanish people and end their will to support the war. The US fleet of 10 large and 29 small ships reached the Canaries on the 23rd of April, and proceeded to put ashore their marines, who sacked the towns and loaded their ships full of plunder. The Spanish governor, who bravely led his guards and other forces in a final charge against the US marines was found with 9 musket balls in his body. With the islands resistance broken and the ships loaded with as many valuables as they could carry, the US troops boarded their ships and prepared to set sail back to America. Unfortunately, they had spent too long on the islands looting, and in that time, a small fishing boat, which had fled the islands on the day the Americans arrived, managed to bring word to the mainland about the invasion. Mustering as many ships as he could, the Spanish Admiral Mirandez sailed south with all haste, hoping to catch the US fleet by surprise. Arriving just as the US ships set sail, the Spanish formed up for battle, causing the startled Americans to do likewise.
The Spanish fleet, made up of 8 large and 40 small ships, outnumbered the American one, they had the wind on their side, and were not weighed down by loot as the American ships were. However, many of the Spanish ships were highly out of date, and their crews lacked the quality of the Americans. Both fleets formed into several columns, then proceeded to sail directly at each other, neither willing to turn and have his line broken. On the US ships, the vast amount of loot taken caused problems, and some captains ordered it dumped overboard, much to the annoyance of their crew. The battle that followed was incredibly bloody, with the thick smoke causing many collisions and incidents of friendly fire. Spanish and US marines and sailors fought hand to hand, cannons thundered and individual captains, quickly loosing track of the big picture, forgot about trying to follow orders and instead focused on winning their own little battles.
In one strange incident, in which the USS Defender boarded the Spanish ship Carlos II, the crews found themselves in command of the others ship, both sides having been successful in their assault. The Spanish crew, now in control of a better ship and outnumbered by the Americans, quickly broke off the boarding action and proceeded to make for port with their prize. Unfortunately, they forgot to lower the US ensign which was flying from the ship, and many were killed by their own guns before they could hoist a makeshift Spanish flag.
2. Fighting aboard the USS Defender
In a battle that seemed to last an eternity, the 2 fleets exchanged gunfire at extremely close range, until night began to fall, and both sides broke off to lick their wounds. The Americans had taken a rough beating, losing 8 ships to the Spanish 4, and had lost much of their loot. Furthermore, many of their ships were damaged, and a further 2 did not manage to survive the crossing back to America. The Spanish meanwhile, managed to return without further loss to the mainland, and the crews were paraded through Madrid in celebration of the event. In reality however, neither side was as happy as it could be with the events. The Spanish fleet had inflicted heavy losses and proven that they could defend their home waters, but had lost ships that it could ill afford to replace, and had suffered much damage itself. The American fleet had also inflicted losses, had plundered the Canary islands and had shown the Spanish that they could strike at their home waters, but they had paid a heavy price for their bold action. [-3 large ships from USA, - 7 small ships from the USA, -2 large ships from Spain, -2 small ships from Spain, +5 gold to the US]
In the Caribbean, the war didn't pick up pace until June the 7th, when the US fleet in Santiago de Cuba harbour was attacked in the middle of the night. Swimming through the warm water, several hundred Spaniards and Cuban allies boarded ships or placed explosives on their hulls. Fierce close combat on board the ships ensued, lit by the burning ruins of 3 ships which had been hit with explosives. The Spanish were too few to overcome the US crews, even with the advantage of surprise, and the US marines gave a good account of themselves, using any available weapons to drive back the Spanish attackers. As the morning sun began to rise, the daylight revealed the damage of the raid. 3 US ships were wrecked, and due to the position of their anchoring provided a large obstacle to the use of the harbour. Whilst the Spanish had not actually managed to capture any of the ships, the US Admiral, afraid of a repeat of the night's action, took his fleet to sea as a precaution. [-2 large ships from the USA, -1 small ship from the USA]
3. The wreck of the steamer USS Maine in Santiago de Cuba Harbour, after she was destroyed by a Spanish explosive
This good news for the Spanish was severely dampened by the realisation that the US blockade was beginning to take its toll on the defenders of the island. Food was running low, powder and ammunition lower still. Without naval support, they simply could not get the supplies they needed to continue the fight against the Americans. In the East, they did try and mount an assault upon the US positions, opening with a dawn barrage and then mounting a bayonet charge against the dug in US troops. Taking heavy losses against the superior US firepower, they made some progress against the US lines, and brutal trench fighting followed. They were forced to retreat however, and as news reached them of the arrival of 30,000 extra US troops to reinforce their current foothold, as well as a further landing of 40,000 troops on the western end of the island, they fell back to regroup with the other Spanish forces near Havana. [-1,000 Regulars from the USA, -500 Regulars from Spain, -1,500 Conscripts from Spain]
Meanwhile in the west of Cuba, a reserve force of Spanish troops prepared to mount a delaying action against the new threat to allow all Spanish forces to regroup for the defence of Havana. Even as the first US soldiers of the 20th Maine planted their regimental flag on a cliff overlooking the landing grounds, the Spanish forces were setting up traps, preparing to blow up bridges and looking for good ambush sites. As the US forces advanced inland, they were met with fierce guerilla action, both from the Spanish forces and the local populace. In many places, they found themselves pushing artillery across muddy stream beds or throwing themselves into ditches as musket fire ripped from the bushes. Losses were light, but the advance was delayed long enough to allow the Spanish to regroup their entire force near Havana, and there prepare for what looked like their final stand. [-1,000 Regulars from the USA, -500 Conscripts from Spain]
The CSA also decided to get involved in the messy affair which had so far claimed thousands of lives. President Lee ordered General Jackson to take 20,000 volunteers and sail to Cuba, in order to fight under the Spanish flag. Lee had originally planned to unveil his intervention in a speech to Congress, but the information was leaked to a newspaper by one of his household servants, and due to the public outcry against a potential restart to the Civil War that followed, he was forced to withdraw the idea. He did however order the movement of 50,000 Confederate troops to the Union border, in an effort to threaten the US into withdrawing. The US public, annoyed at recent losses, angry at what they perceived as an American attempt at colonialism and also fearing a restart of the Civil War, protests fiercely against any action which could bring conflict with the CSA. It is clear in both the North and the South, that should a war break out again between the Union and Confederacy, so soon after the last one, that the Government would fall. [-1 Stability from the USA, -1 Stability from the CSA]
4. A prominent businessman is attacked by a group of anti-war protestors
Havana, now under siege by 80,000 US soldiers, many ships and hundreds of guns was in a bad situation. The 22,500 strong Spanish garrison was low on supply and the US fleet dominated the sea. Fearing all to be lost, they prepared to make their final stand, aware that the US forces would likely treat any surrender as another trick, and that to do so now simply wasn't an option. Tired, dirty, hungry, wounded and determined, they dug in around Havana, vowing that the American invader would be made to pay for Havana, building by building, street by street, block by block.