Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: Widows Son on January 04, 2017, 09:18:56 PM
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Overview
This was a follow up game to the Sudan battle/AAR that I posted recently here:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=96475.0
If anyone that did not read that AAR wishes to know a little about our gaming group, please visit the link and read the Overview section, as all is explained there. The difference with this game was the absence of Larry (due to being on holiday).
The scenario was another one that I designed, as opposed to using one from the TMWWBKs rule book. As per the previous game, the players each received a background briefing and a mission specific briefing, and those are set out below.
Once again the background to the scenario was more inspired by historical events rather than based on any specific time/place/action, and, as mentioned, is a follow up game to our ‘Rains, Mule Trains and Delayed Steam Trains’ battle. Historical dates are again slightly ‘elastic’.
Background to Scenario - The Sudan 1884
General Gordon continues to be under siege by Mahdist forces in the city of Khartoum. Various attempts to provide a rescue have come to nothing and as a consequence, the British decided to extend the railway down to Khartoum in order to best move their forces for the relief attack. The problem with that plan was that those building the railroad underestimated the weather and the terrain; depressions in the ground that were dry and benign, quickly turned into gullies filled with raging floodwaters when it rained, and entire sections of the railroad were swept away and ruined.
After that, recce parties in force pushed out across the countryside, whose purpose it was to find a safe route for the railway to be taken. Weeks later - and after some tough fighting at El Biir (see previous AAR) - those issues are now resolved, and the British and Egyptian main forces continue their advance towards Khartoum. The Mahdist forces are squeezing the defences of that city relentlessly.
Scenario
Krebs is a small Egyptian fort built many years ago on one of the main caravan routes between Cairo and Khartoum, and a garrison of Bashi-Bazouks mans it.
British and Egyptian Mission
The main force is moving towards Krebs, and you command the advance guard (you are
one day ahead of the main force)
Intelligence informs you - and experience has shown you - that the Dervishes are
still active in your area. Somehow (and goodness knows how…) they managed to
persuade more tribes that they have inflicted recent defeats on the British and
those tribes have now also joined the Mahdi. Numbers are starting to stack up heavily
against the Empire…
Your mission is to move to Krebs and set it up as a forward base ready for the main
Force to transit through. You cannot afford to wait for reinforcements from the main
force as the CinC has already briefed all Officers that he believes that time is
dangerously close to running out for General Gordon.
You are not expecting any trouble, other than perhaps the odd skirmish, on the way to
Krebs. Once there, the Bashi-Bazouks will be able to assist you in setting up the base.
Mahdists Mission
Three days ago your force wiped out the garrison of Basi-Bazouks at Krebs, and
captured the fort. As far as you are aware, there were no survivors.
Your scouts report that a force of British and Egyptians are moving towards
Krebs, while another much larger force is a day behind it. Occasionally a tribe has
attacked the British and Egyptians, but more as a hit-and-run skirmish than anything
serious.
Your mission is to ensure that the advance enemy force does not capture Krebs. You
may do this by defending Krebs, by attacking the force in the field, or by a combination
of those two methods.
Remember that the capture of Khartoum - and causing a wider uprising - both depend
on the success of your actions.
Initial Set Up - Mahdists
Once again the Mahdist units were:
• 2 x Veteran Cavalry - Discipline +1
• 2 x Emir Guard Infantry - Discipline +2 and Fierce
• 2 x Slave Artillery - poorly trained
• 3 x Tribal Warrior units
• 3 x Rifle Armed units - Discipline +1
The cavalry units had been made smaller (down to 8 figures per unit from 12). This was so that I could release some figures to act as an allied tribal cavalry unit for the British. The Mahdist player did not know that, and was told that the reduced unit size was a reflection of previous hard fighting.
The Mahdist players - Tom and Ben again - had all units physically off table at the start of the game, to represent units hidden in cover and dips in the terrain. In order to make a very quick, but accurate record of where the units were on the table, I printed off pictures of the various unit types (rifles, tribal warriors, etc) and all that Ben and Tom had to do was to place the picture on a piece of terrain and I took quick photos with my Ipad and then referred to that during the game when they wanted to place a unit down. They also had a rough map sketch with the units on, but the picture/photo system (which I trialled for the first time) certainly worked well, and I think it allowed them an easy visual reference when planning their set up. I attach a photo so you can see what I am talking about.
The British and Egyptians (under Clive and Nik (Bens younger brother)), had an easy to use spotting chart, with each terrain piece that could contain a Mahdist unit, being rolled for at the start of a turn, and once in spotting range. If spotted, a Mahdist unit had to be placed down, and in any case Mahdist units were automatically seen and placed on the table when within 12 inches.
Finally, the line of hills and ridges that cut across the table from about 2/3rds of the way up, meant that terrain features could not be seen by the British and Egyptians until they had crossed the line of those hills and ridges. As a consequence the fort, some scrub, and a set of trenches, were all not placed on the table until the line had been crossed. So to summarise, the British and Egyptians started with a table that was empty of Mahdists and an uncertain destination.
Initial Set Up - British and Egyptians
Clive and Nik were given the following forces:
• 2 x Veteran British Infantry - Discipline +2
• 2 x Regular British Infantry - Discipline +1 (Naval Brigade and General Post Office Rifles)
• 1 x Naval Brigade Gatling gun - Discipline 0
• 1 x Egyptian artillery piece - poorly trained
• 2 x Regular Egyptian Infantry - Discipline +1
• 1 x Tribal Warrior Infantry - Discipline 0 (a small unit of 10 figures representing allied tribal forces)
• 1 x Cavalry unit - (a small unit of 8 figures representing allied tribal forces)
True to my word after the last game, I gave the Egyptian Infantry a well-deserved upgrade to ‘Regular’, from the unenthusiastic and poor shots that they were. The Reporter from The Morning Post was on the field again, giving a bonus for Morale Tests of 1 to any unit Leader that he was adjacent to.
Clive and Nik were asked to design their order of march that would traverse the table, and they decided upon three columns (a good decision on their part). They were told that overnight their local scouts had all deserted them, but that their force was in a very wide valley that contained numerous hills, cliffs and pieces of scrub, and that they knew that the fort at Krebs was somewhere down the end of the valley (thought to be a half days march away).
How the Battle Played Out
Understandably, the British and Egyptians did not buy into the briefing of ‘its all quiet out there’, and they sensibly advanced with their three columns screened by the Tribal Infantry and the Tribal Cavalry. Their spotting was wholly unsuccessful, which added some tension to their advance…
Eventually however Mahdist units were either spotted, or decided to fire, or to move in order to close in for a charge, and the British / Egyptian advance gradually slowed as they had to deal with the multiple threats. The photos that follow this show the course of the fighting. The allied Tribal Cavalry were a huge let down for the British and Egyptians, twice failing to charge a ‘sitting target’ Mahdist unit in the open, before packing up and trotting off home! (Routed).
The Mahdist artillery under Hadendowa leadership performed extremely well for the second battle running; in fact so much so that I have reduced the Leadership value from 7 to 6 for the next battle (a ‘promotion’ for the gun crew leader). Their high point came when hitting a British Veteran Infantry unit that was in close order and inflicting four casualties in one turn.
The RN Gatling gun crew were once again feeling the cumulative effects of rum and sun, and failed - AGAIN - to fire a single shot in anger (for the second battle running). They spent a large part of the battle trying (in vain) to stop their mules from stampeding off with the Gatling gun! (Failed rally results). As a consequence of two battles without firing a shot - and for having the bare-faced-cheek to ask the Quartermaster for more rum - they have been downgraded to unenthusiastic and poor shots for future battles. A dark blot on the reputation of the Royal Navy indeed!
At the end of the battle the British and Egyptians were just a move, or so, away from launching an assault on the fort walls, but they had not captured it. However… over the course of the game I slipped up with the rules and omitted to call for tests on units that were within 12 inches of seeing a unit removed, and hence I called the battle a draw (the decent thing to do, I felt). The Mahdists had lost eight out of twelve units and therefore not having to test for each of those may (may…) have made an important difference to the battle. I believe that the cool kids expression for such a thing is… ‘my bad’!
We tried out some pack mule rules for the Naval Brigade Gatling gun and the Egyptian artillery, and whilst they certainly added some flavour, we shall adjust them for the next game.
Conclusion
This was another great and narrative driven game, with many small, characterful vignettes within the battle that caused tension or laughter. We all agreed that the rules give a game full of period flavour and are easy to use. A great success then, and thanks to Dan Mersey for producing such a fine system.
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The pre game system that we used for the fast placement of units that would be hidden at the start of the game.
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This unit of Mahdist rifles started the fighting and performed really well. They fell back from their first position to a scrub covered hill, and then defended that to the last (earning the unit Leader an upgrade for the next game in the process). In the background the British and Egyptian units can be seen fanning out from their columns and then advancing.
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The view from the Mahdist rifle unit main position. The advance rolls on towards them...
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A view of the advance showing the screen of Tribal Infantry and Tribal Cavalry.
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A unit of elite Emir Guard Infantry launch an attack from a clump of trees into the flank of the advance.
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Mahdist Cavalry launch an ambush from behind a set of cliffs. Meanwhile the allied Tribal Cavalry of the British delay and stall.
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The Emir Guard launch their charge but they did not reckon with the Egyptian Infantry delivering a devastating fire into their flank. As a result of that fire they failed to make contact and... ended up routing! o_o
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The last few men left in the Mahdist Rifle unit. They delayed the advance and cut down quite a few of the enemy. A very good performance by them and fine tactical handling by Ben.
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The Hadendowa gun crew leader, Kateb, administers 'instruction and encouragement' to his slave gun crew. Despite that handling, they performed outstandingly throughout the battle.
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A close up of the advance. Mr Kipling, the reporter from The Morning Post, can be seen with the front unit.
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The Nile Arab artillery mounted on the roof of Fort Krebs opens up on the advancing units.
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The right hook of the advance starts to swing in towards the fort, having disposed of the Hadendowa gun crew.
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Mahdist Cavalry launch a furious charge across the gun position at the Egyptian Infantry.
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Having won the first round of melee, the Mahdist Cavalry conduct a follow up attack on the Egyptians.
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Tribal Infantry in the trenches outside the fort. The trench came as a nasty surprise to the advance and complicated the attack on the fort as a consequence.
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The right hook punches in towards Fort Krebs. After several turns of inactivity, the allied Tribal Infantry mount the final hill...
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The British Infantry take up positions in cover close to the fort, and begin to pour in an accurate fire on the defenders manning the walls.
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Looks like an excellent game. :D
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Hadendowa rifles on the roof of the fort engage in a firefight with the British. At the end of the battle this unit was pinned and the British poised to launch their assault on the fort. This is the last picture of the battle.
The game played out well and all participants performed with great tactical nouse and within the spirit of the game - huge credit to all concerned!
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Wow, great game!
Doing hidden set-up with markers and a photo is a great idea.
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Many thanks Sunjester and Ivan - very kind of you! :)
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Another great battle report mate, really enjoying reading these and some cracking ideas for my own games of tmwwbk
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Warm thanks for the kind comments W! :). We had the final game of the mini-campaign yesterday, so I shall try to post the report next weekend. Cheers!