Spacehusky
Nope, my handiness with modifying the game falls apart when adding into partisan effects, partisan armies, and editing in-game saves (I think my efforts trying to fix my previous save when it crapped out damaged the file even more). The Moro Rebellion story is just something to fill up my time till I get real action effecting the PI.
Hannibal Barca2
We'll see.
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Padre Manuel's War: Part II - September - November 1939
Philippine Constabulary troops had been issued 'new' M1903 Springfield Rifle's by the Commonwealth Government to replace their old M1899 Constabulary Carbines. The M1899 was a licensed version of the Krag-Jørgensen Rifle designed in the year 1886. The M1899 had the bad habit of rusting up in tropical climates, a trait which the newly issued M1903 shared. But the adopting the M1903 was deemed cost effective; the US was phasing in M1 'Garand' rifles and ammunition for M1899s could be purchased at rockbottom prices. The M1899 had a faster rate of fire than the M1899 but its action was not as smooth as the M1899's which brought loud complaints from Constabulary and Militiamen to whom the rifle was issued too. This combined with the rust related issues reduced the effectiveness of Commonwealth forces early in the rebellion. Only a stroke of luck would spare the regular army from being issued with antiquated weaponry.
Krag-Jørgensen M1899 Carbine
Springfield M1903
Field Marshal of the Commonwealth, Douglas MacArthur in one of his moments of clarity demanded that regular forces be issued the M1 Garand so that its effectiveness could be evaluated in the field. Quezon was convinced that it would be prudent to allow the US to evaluate new service rifle that they would be using in the Pacific should war with Japan break out. Initial shortages in weapons were overcome by the Commonwealth purchasing a license to build the weapon in the Government owned 'National Arsenal'. The M1 would be issued to all regular service troops assigned to Mindanao and select groups of Constabulary; Militia would have to be content with M1903 that had their barrels lacquered to protect them from rust. The scene now shifted to those down range, it would be on their backs, not the political hacks in Manila that the fate of the war would be decided.
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The boondocks, 70 miles inland from Cagayan de Misamis, Northern Mindanao
"So did you hear about that chap from Company D who got carried off by a Golden Eagle? I mean the thing was huge and..."
Months of being in the field encouraged tall tales and in rare cases insanity but none the less Lieutenant Borbón wouldn't tolerate it in his platoon. "The Philippine Eagle is large yes but at most it'll only carry off monkeys; not humans. If you're going to tell a bloody tall-tale at least grant it some narrative fidelity... yesterday you mentioned a Brown Bear carrying off that same private from Company D. I can understand that you gents are treating Mindanao as some foreign land that you can write home about, but it is not foreign enough to possess flora and fauna native only to the Americas and Eurasia. In any case, let's stay sharp chaps! Keep up the scan! You never know when the Moros will be popping out from the hillside and to fall upon us!"
Luis Álvarez Borbón y Zúñiga, Lieutenant in the Commonwealth Army, was a descendant in the male line of King Felipe V of Spain. Rather bad asset management, extravagance and backing the wrong side in the Carlist Wars had ensured his ancestors being exiled to the Captaincy-General of the Philippine Islands in the 1840s. None the less, the family established itself as one of the more respectable beacons of colonial society. Though backing Aguinaldo's rebels and siding against the Americans in 1898 had cost the family its lands and fortune. All that remained in their possession was their honor and reputation intact; something that still carried weight in the post-Spanish era. That reputation and the help of connected relatives allowed Luis the necessary funds to spend his college days in Iberia. He signed up for courses at the University of Salamanca but saw his term cut short by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. On his 18th birthday he volunteered for Republican Army and was baptized by fire during the November 1936 Siege of Madrid. Serving on the Staff of General José Miaja Menant he witnessed first hand the dangers of allowing politicians, in this case Communists, from meddling with affairs on the field. Though the Nationalists were repulsed that November, Luis came away with a deep seated hatred of the Communists and Soviet Advisers that were a hurdle to the Republican Command's attempt at controlling the militia; which constituted 90% of the defenders of Madrid.
Whatever his misgivings were about the Republican cause Luis did find some like minded souls during his service. He made friends with Major and later General Vicente Rojo Lluch whose cool composure and professionalism under fire from Nationalists and Communists alike earned him Luis' profound admiration. The Catholicism and Conservatism both men shared were common among most professional officers in the Republican Army; though their gap in age was great, Luis and Vicente shared the same political views and thoughts about the direction of the conflict. When Vicente was promoted to General and given the task of moving the Republican Government to Valencia he asked Luis to join him in his staff. Luis used General Rojo as an example of a what a model officer should constitute and via his efforts at adopting the methods of General Rojo, gained a reputation for combining a sense of honor with the pragmatism that comes with duty.
As the war began to turn against the Republicans in 1939, Luis was given the task of taking command of a mixed Brigade of Internationals for the purpose of marching them Alicante for evacuation. After accepting promotion to Major from General Miaja himself and parting words of advice from General Rojo not take a gamble as he and waste an entire army in one go; the lessons of the Ebro campaign would never be far from Luis' mind. Having bid farewell to Spain, he traveled back to the Philippines a wiser and more skilled man.
Upon arriving back in Manila he received word that the Commonwealth Army was recruiting officers for the growing campaign in Mindanao. With impeccable credentials Luis Borbón was accepted into the Commonwealth Army at the rank of Lieutenant and given a platoon command in the I. Corps. It was a step down from his rating as a Major in the Republican Army but Luis did not complain. Instead he rather enjoyed the thought of less paperwork and more action in the field. A notion he would have to take back upon landing in Mindanao.
His platoon was mixed; regulars and militia. You could tell the regulars apart from the militiamen on the basis of their stride. Militia simply walked, regulars paced themselves to avoid blisters and the other effects of sore feet. But technique did not help one bit in the flats and the monotony was beginning to get to the men. So it could be viewed as a blessing that Lieutanant Borbón’s platoon was bumrushed by Moros as they crossed a rather rickety bridge over the Rio Grande de Mindanao. Borbón’s 4 squads of 9 men each, totaling 36 infantry, had been caught by surprised by around 200 Moros covered in Rattan body armor, ‘Kris’ long daggers, farming implements, and the occasional colonial era flintlock rifle. Though Borbón ordered his men to hold ground and continue firing 2 squads, which constituted the militia element began to fall-back towards the ‘safety’ of the bridge; the end from which the platoon came from seemed devoid of insurgents. It fool’s deliverance and as Borbón correctly guessed insurgents emerged from the water to cut them down. Seven militiamen met their end this way and the rest quickly rejoined Borbón and the rest of his men holding off the Moros.
“Men! don’t waste your shots! Aim for the head! The head!”
Borbón had read and witnessed the Moro’s absolute tenacity in battle; even wounded they continued to charge headlong into the ranks of their enemies. The long range of the Commonwealth rifles enable the platoon to hold the enemy at bay but the heat of the moment was causing some men to become sloppy in their shooting. “Private Jurado! Have some purpose when you select your target. Let me give you an example.”
Without hesitation Borbón ejected the empty clip of his M1911 pistol, grabbed a new clip from his kit, reloaded, and took aim at the head of a warrior who had his breastplate decorated with US Morgan Silver Dollars and fired; all in one clean, precise action. The Moro fell right then and there; his head transformed into a pile of goo. Luis repeated this action seven times, each shot killing one Moro cleanly. “Keep it up! They’ll run off eventually!”
The Moros had numbers on their side and this eight minute engagement was beginning to take its toll on the Commonwealth fighters. As long as they have enough ammunition they could keep the enemy at bay. Once the fighting turned hand to hand the situation would become grim. Bayonnets would be no match for the Kris, expertly wielded by Moro fighters who had ancestral memory on their side. But as luck would have it Borbón’s platoon was not the only Commonwealth force patrolling this stretch of road. The sounds of a Vickers-Maxim QF 2.95 inch mountain gun raining death on the Moros who held the side from which Borbón’s platoon came from enbolded the Commonwealth troops. Having heard gunfire in front of them, 3 platoons of mixed militia and regulars had rushed to the banks of the Rio Grande de Mindanao to act as a relief force. They were led by a Lieutenant by whose uniform indicated he came from the Ilocos Volunteer Group, that and Ilocos Militiamen were notorious for their steadiness in the line of fire. Now thoroughly overwhelmed the Moros evaporated into the countryside, having lost around 80 men to the Commonwealth.
After the bodies on both sides had been given proper burial and all valuables accounted for Lieutenant Borbón approached the Lieutenant who led the relief column to thank him for his efforts.
“Comrade, that was mighty fine work. And it is a pleasure to meet you; I am Lieutenant Luis Álvarez Borbón y Zúñiga, I. Corps. It’s hard to believe but I fought in Spain during the Civil War and those Falangists and Moroccan Scouts were tame compared to the average Moro warrior! But of course forgive my manners and my boasting! May I have the pleasure of knowing your name and command so that I may congratulate you on a splendid fight?”
“The feeling is mutual good sir. I am a Lieutenant in the Volunteer Militia. My name is Ferdinand Edralín Marcos, native of Ilocos Norte, and I have never, never in my short stint as a militiaman witnessed Commonwealth troops hold their own against such great odds! Once again Sir, it is a pleasure to meet such a distinguished war hero! And one at such a young age!”