Back of beyond adventures

[has.been]

Those pesky blighters need another lesson, what?

Are you volunteering to be the solitary British player James? 

[flatpack]

Hill tribesmen…..thousands of them.

[flatpack]

The ambassador and his family get a bit twitchy.
Call out the guard.


The local’s really aren’t happy.




Where’s the air support I was promised?

[vodkafan]

Ha I don't remember looking up and seeing that  .

[flatpack]

Just a quick recon flight James.
So quick, you missed it 

[flatpack]

Yesterday we played out our next BoB game.
We used FFOL BB rules.

The British ambassador and his family were based at Trifd Serkror station (Rorkes drift backwards  )
British re-enforcements ARE on their way.
Pesky Russians are (once again) stirring up the hill tribes.
The hill tribes plan is to overrun the British compound and cross the river and head South to raid and plunder.


The battlefield.


The ambassador addressing his troops.


Hill tribes massing for the attack.


More and more tribesmen answer the call to arms.


Russian “advisors” arrive, en mass.


More Russian advisors watch on, as the tribesmen throw in wave after wave of men, at the mission.


British and Indian troops are whittled down.
Maybe they should have stayed behind those compound walls ?


The hill tribesmen push the British troops back into the compound.


British troops try to hold the enemy at the gates.


The compound is now being surrounded by tribesmen, and their Russian friends.


Tribesmen break into the compound.
Those gates would never hold them.


The last few defenders try to hold off their attackers.


Lt Algenon Barrington-Smyth finally checks his watch for the last time as he is surrounded by tribesmen. Time to die 


Russian troops about to pour into the compound.
Are there any documents that they would find useful ?
Hold on….wheres the ambassador and his family ?


There they go !
The ambassador  and his family escape along with the Rolls Royce armored car, that was sent to rescue them. You lucky boy 

A really fun game.
Played in the right spirit.
Plenty of laughter.

Many thanks to has.been for organising and umpiring the game.

[has.been]

Trifd Serkror station (Rorkes drift backwards

It's an anagram Bob, not just backwards.  That would be... silly.

Credit to Bob (Flatpack) for hosting, setting up, providing all the scenery, &
figures (apart from the Russians which I brought along, but strangely Bob controlled)
oh and feeding us. Food paid for by the noble JC (John). Thanks both of you.

858 & 9 = Russian advisors arrive.
860/865/867/870/872/875 = To the left of the Russians was one of the Hill Tribes.
                                            Led by JC (John) who was quite happy advancing across the
                                            open terrain to the Mission compound while under fire from
                                            the British Mountain gun.

[has.been]

Meanwhile the other Tribe led by Ian (Westbury) made use of what cover they could,
while they closed in on the British.
861/869/871/873 = Ian's progress.
862 = The British, James (Vodkafan) defending outside the Mission walls ?
           (More about that later)
863 = An overview.

[has.been]

As the game moved on, towards the result that the British feared,
our correspondent caught some good photgraphs.
864 = Brave Cossack Rifles.
876 = Stout hearted Siberian Rifles.
866 = Valiant, but doomed, Mountain Gun.
868 = The Russian A-car finally arrives, attempts to speed up and...breaks down.
877/8 = The final push to the Mission.
The Ambassador & family had tried to escape in  a local vehicle, only for Ian to pepper
it with so much fire that the truck broke down & its driver ran away.

874 = Then when it looked like no rescue was possible, a Roles Royce A-car can hurtling down
          the road, over the bridge & poured accurate fire into Ian's Tribesmen.
879 = Ambassador & family clinging to the running boards the RR a-car heads to safety pursued
          by John's Tribesmen.

Mention should be made of:-
The British Officer's decision to move all the crates etc. OUT of the Mission, rather than using
them to make a firing step.  (Temp. barricade = +1 protection. Mission walls +2 !!!)
But we will never know as he, & his command, fell beneath the enemy's spears & bullets.

At the end of the game (amidst many recriminations) player revealed the briefing notes
they had been given.

Neither tribe trusted the other & both wanted the other to do the fighting. 

The Russians wanted to stir up trouble for the British, but did NOT want get too involved
in the fighting.


As the Russian, Bob was adjudged the winner.
British Military wiped out,
Ambassador ran away with his tail between his legs, & various 'documents' found by the Russians,
John's tribe now the proud owner of a slightly used mountain Gun,
Ian's Tribe covered in the glory of storming the Mission, but took the most casualties, AND
The Russians only fires ONCE in the whole game! (that was when I temporally took over
so that Bob could get on with the essential Bacon butties, sausage butties & hash browns  )

All in a fun day. Thanks all involved.

[vodkafan]

 Great photos and report already so I will just add a few extra pics and a few words.
 As the British player I feel I should explain my decision to initially defend outside the mission walls. I wanted a good field of fire for the light mountain gun and could not leave them unsupported so I dragged everything I could outside to create barricades for the infantry facing two sides North and East. I planned to retreat inside the mission at the last moment.



 Despite getting off some punishing first volleys straight away I was surprised by the accurate fire of Ian's ferocious attacking tribsemen. He concentrated his fire on my unit of Sikhs which in one turn went down from 10 men to 5 and then 3. 


 In the middle of this hail of lead, Algernon Barrington-Smyth went out personally to rally off their shock and keep them fighting, which he did successfully. Unfortunately he was shot in the middle of this heroic act.
The Warwickshire Regiment dragged his bleeding body inside the Mission gates. By the time they got back outside the Sikhs were all dead and the Sikh crew of the Mountain gun had also taken a casualty.
The Mountain gun had been blowing massive holes in the 3 tribes of Afghans massing on the East but these were large tribes and it was only making them more mad.

The Warwickshire Regiment now took 4 casualties of their own. They retired inside the mission and closed the gates. The mountain gun was also dragged back inside the walls.
A turn was now lost here as efforts to cut firing holes in the walls failed, and the Mountain gun was set up again.

Ian's tribes were now surging outside the gates .
Barrington-Smyth was bleeding out. In the FFOL rules the card that might have saved him is the Queen of Spades but unfortunately I didn't get one. The Warwickshires put his prone form on the steps of the Mission House so he could die in true General Gordon fashion and formed Close Order to face the enemy with fixed bayonets.

At this point things were explained to the Ambassador  (controlled by the Umpire) that it might be wise to evacuate his family.

The faithful driver Omar brought the truck up to the side entrance and the Ambassador's family were bundled quickly inside.


They sped away at top speed!

However another of Ian's tribes had approached from the West and severely shot up the Model T. The family bailed out.


This was high excitement! The Ambassador's wife was close to wetting herself. The Ambassador loaded his pistol in anticipation of having to shoot his wife and daughter to save them from a fate worse than death. But an old lookout fort across the road offered the chance to hold out a while longer.


to be continued

[Westbury]

As the tribal leader that did all the serious fighting; breached the compound, massacred two English battalions and sent the Ambassador scuttling for safety I claim lordship over all the lands to the north - I shall call our forces "The Northern Alliance" As for those perfidious Russians they better not come back in a 150 years time or they will get a right kicking!
I thought of a song we should have sung as the Ambassador fled "One wheel on my wagon and I'm still rolling along...."   

[vodkafan]

 Meanwhile inside the mission the last gunner on the mountain gun was shot with 5 bullets. The tribes on that side were not there yet but time was short. My Sikh infantry while still alive had wiped out half a unit of Russian Cossacks but they had reformed and were advancing too backed up by an unreliable armoured car.
At the North gate Ian's Afghans had still not managed to get over the walls or through the gates. With the Ambassador (as far as they knew) safely gone the Warwickshires made a quick decision to try to escape themselves so carrying the unconscious Barrington-Smyth they made for the back gate.

Here is an exciting ariel shot showing the hordes of enemy outside the Mission!

But it was too late. With a splintering crash of broken timber the Afghans surged through the gate. Dropping their officer the Brits turned and formed up for a bayonet melee.

The Warwicks were wiped out to a man after a quick bloody scrap that also killed 5 tribesmen.
Outside, miracle of miracles! A single Rolls Royce armoured car appeared on the road shooting up Ian's tribesmen that were pursuing the family on the way.


There should have been 2 armoured cars, but Russian interference had accounted for one on the way.
The Ambassador and his family piled aboard under fire.

They made their escape the Vickers MG hot from shooting as they went.


It was a fantastic nail biting game everyone had great fun. Thanks to flatpack for hosting and for the food, JC for the beer and has,been for umpiring and for giving me a lift so I could take part!

[vodkafan]

As the tribal leader that did all the serious fighting; breached the compound, massacred two English battalions and sent the Ambassador scuttling for safety I claim lordship over all the lands to the north - I shall call our forces "The Northern Alliance" As for those perfidious Russians they better not come back in a 150 years time or they will get a right kicking!
I thought of a song we should have sung as the Ambassador fled "One wheel on my wagon and I'm still rolling along...." 

Ha Northern Alliance very good!
And thanks to Westbury for being a formidable opponent.

[flatpack]

Russian advisors - just giving advice 

[vodkafan]

Russian advisors - just giving advice 

And yet almost the first to step into the Mission at the end...