No Diamonds from Morocco…. (A battle report)In 1928 no word ever reached the press in France. Even after WWII, though the archives had been moved, no word got out…
This then is the very secret story of why no diamonds are mined in Morocco….
This is an absolutely true story.Fort Dalwin, East of Asilah, French Morocco, 1928. Major – you have been assigned to take command of the garrison of the fort. Most recently secret reports outline the discovery of diamond deposits in the coastal mountain range south and east of the fort. Parties of geologists and miners, with government blessing, have been dynamiting shafts into the deepest parts of the mountains to find the source of the diamonds….
The local tribesmen have been very restless. Several villages have been entirely abandoned as your patrols have moved through the countryside. You cannot put your finger on it, but simply know, after years in the desert and mountains, that something is amiss.
Few days go by without the jarring reverberation of the dynamite explosions…
Rules:
We used a modified version of The Sword in the Sand – the FFL variant for TSATF. Admittedly this was the first time I have used these, but not the last.
The Map:
This photo shows the salient features…
Fort Dalwin
The village on the water
The ruins
The camp of the Sherif
At start, the French were allowed to place two sangers/ redoubts on the table as well. In this report, they placed one at the bend in the road near the fort, and another on the west edge of the village… more of this later.
The forces of France:
The garrison is disposed inside the fort with one platoon, a field gun, and the FT-17.
The column of reinforcements under LT Schmitt is entering the board from the East. This includes another platoon, a MG detachment, a troop of mounted infantry, and the second field gun.
In the town is SGT Gereau with a squad of soldiers, the second MG team, and two trucks.
(The photo shows the Mounted Infantry – their commander instinctively galloped into town on the first turn)
Potential French reinforcements include:
1 Troop of Native Scout cavalry (12 figs)
1 Platoon of the 2nd Company – coming with the coastal supply steamer coming from Asilah.
1 Platoon, returning in native boats from the patrol to the east
Air Support from Tangier
French Objectives:
1. Ensure the safety of French civilians in the village
2. Teach the local tribes that French forces will not permit armed incursions into the coastal area
3. Maintain the secrecy of the mining exploration – it simply wouldn’t do for anyone to know that there are diamonds here….
Turn 1:
The Sherif surveys his camp, which he mysteriously abandoned before the column arrived… normally he’s very friendly….
Turn 2: A dust cloud develops on the horizon immediately to the south of the fort… the boys brace themselves, knowing that the mass of arab camelry and cavalry must certainly be coming…
The first view of the tribesmen’s scouts are greeted by cannon fire from the fort… The Major was very anxious to draw first blood, and his shells killed a scout and wounded two more….
The scouts veer away from the fort, finding shelter in the ruins…
The dust cloud builds…
Turn 3:
When the enemy arrives, surprise is universal….
Incredible….
Another tunnel appears just in the rear of the column (quite by random die roll…)
(You can see the way the column dispersed as the tunnel entrance opened – the MG crew being a bit aggressive moved away from their comrades… it proved a memorable move…
The Hotchkiss chattered, much lead flew…
Nothing else could be said of their courage….
Meanwhile….
In the fort, the major drew on all of his professional knowledge and experience fighting in the Great War, and against the tribes of these deserts and mountains…
HE RAN for the village….
A turn later the fort looked like this:
(The field gun couldn’t be dismounted from the wall)
From the garrison, one squad stayed in the redoubt on the road… of the six stout hearts that entered the entrenchment… after turn six…
The unnamed private would end the battle with 12 ant carcasses arrayed around his entrenchment…. His player was very pleased, and not a little lucky to win seven consecutive rounds of melee with this figure… a small medal is now painted on his chest!
The native cavalry entered from the West, but was pinned against the coast by the wave of ants coming from the now empty fort – two stayed to melee, the remainder boarded the coastal supply steamer which had just arrived, and now took the survivors to reinforce the village….
The view from the steamer as it docked at the village quay:
Waves of the dark creatures ebbed and flowed around the edge of the village…
You get the idea….
The Climactic scene came when the major could no longer stand the pressure… six tunnel openings marked the landscape, and more than 120 ants had been generated in wave after wave. Around turn 21, after many hilarious incidents of under-valor, the major elected to leave his sub commanders behind, and commandeered their motor transport… leading a column out of the village in a bid to outrun the hordes (Vehicle 5D6 moves, Ants 3D6)
Alas, the final wave of ants generated and moved toward the fleeing vehicles…
On turn 23 the Queen Ant appeared out of the hole near where the lone legionnare had defended his entrenchment to the last…
The biplane, commanded by our youngest player, having already fought and expended ammunition had just returned from Tangiers, and dropped his remaining bomb on the Queen – hitting her directly – much slime ensued…. (We used GW scatter dice for the bombs). A Croix-de-Guerre was of course in order!
The players were exaltant when the bucket of ants was exhausted and it was apparent the remaining hordes lacked the strength to take the village or the motor column… In the final melee, the Major, ahorse, defeated three successive creatures attempting to end his tenure in command…
Needless to say, never again were diamonds mined in Northern Morocco!
Notes:
I am a serious historical gamer…
No Diamonds from Morocco was an effort to engage my young sons and nephews (11, 10, 7, and 6) over the holiday weekend. Need I say they didn’t know what was coming. I pulled out boxes of my tribesmen and conspicuously had them arrayed around the table edge to heighten their belief that camels and marksmen were their greatest threat.
They’ll be back to the house in a few weeks for Christmas, and I’ve ordered another 120 ants. I’ve also ordered the film crew and water rig workers from B&B.
Most figures by B&B, some IT Miniatures (arab irregulars) and Airfix. FFL painted by Tom Reed – though he doesn’t yet know they’ve seen battle here.
Each ant took 3 hits to kill in TSATF.
In melee only one round of melee was fought in turn (instead of fight to the finish) and in melee one hit killed an ant. Ties always went to the ants (they are rather large).
Much fun was had by all.
The grisly faces of the legion:
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