"Never trust anyone on the Frontier" an ...epic NWF Campaign

[Mad Guru]

HERE LIES TRUTH IN PICTORIAL FORM:

EVIDENCE OF SIKANDER KHAN'S DEEP OFFENSE TAKEN AT THE ONCE-GREAT-MIGHTY-&-RESPECTED (in some quarters) MULEHEAD KHAN'S EMBRACE OF THE PAGAN IDOLATRY KNOWN AS "BLOOD & STEEL" AKA...

B.S.

A WISE GAMER ONCE ASKED: WHEN DOES ONE EQUAL THREE?

WITNESS NOW, SEE TOMORROW & REMEMBER YESTERDAY...

THE "ONE" SOLUTION TO WHICH SIKANDER KHAN REFERS:

THREE BLACK HILLS ASSASSINS.....

By name: Huey-Khan, Dewey-Khan, & Louie-Khan.

Three more deadly killers have not graced the Frontier since the days of yore when Nadir Shah marched from Persia to conquer Afghanistan and was served by the future Amir & founder of the Durrani Empire, Ahmad Shah Durrani... his brother Zulfiqar... and legendary Peshawar Malik, Muhammad Hashim Afridi!

To gaze upon them now is to know fear at the depths of your soul in the past, present & future...

Our best advice to Mulehead Khan -- sent with the purest Peace & Love -- is to get thyself upon a sabbatical, perhaps to Xanadu... or Isfahan... or the Wakhan Corridor, whereupon yea may "chill out for a spell" as the Ferrenghi Youth are wont to say, & pray this whole "Assassinate the Promoter of Pagan Idolatry!" wave blows over.

[borriste]

*The weapon of the Righteous is the warrior's sword, not the assassin's dagger.*

The corruption of the warrior's path will be repaid tenfold by divin providence, so that no dice can ever smile on the corrupt again.


Mulehead knows where lies and truth are (...he or soon his Moscow friends will know)

[Umra Khan]

Mulehead doesn't know where the truth is, he doesn't have a sense of respect and honor, he's a miserable ruffian  who wanders the Frontier in search of opportunity. His transition to the new Creed does not surprise me. Is body will end up feeding the jackals in the plains.
The righteous end of all traitors.
There are no more enemies than there used to be !


Excerpt from an interview by Umra Khan with journalist Theodor McCluskey of the Morning Post.

[Mad Guru]

NOTE: Umra Khan was known to refuse to allow Infidels to gaze upon his person beyond a short span of time, so for this extended interview, he sat behind the aforementioned journalist.

(PHOTO BY THE RENOWN KODAK EFFENDI)

[Mad Guru]

THE SECOND BATTLE OF ALI MASJID

(Originally fought in the Fall of 1879, refought as a game on June 28, 2024)

"ONE LADDER AND ALLAH'S BLESSING"

—The untold story of the SECOND Battle of Ali Masjid...
& the first-ever meeting of Mulehead and Umra Khan—

The 1878 battle of Ali Masjid is known to history as the first action of the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878-1880...

...but hidden until now has been the tale of the Second Battle of Ali Masjid, fought approximately one year later, when a coordinated attack was launched by combined regular, tribal and ghazi forces on the Afghan mountain fort occupied by a British brigade and also on the division strength column dispatched to relieve them.

This battle holds added significance for players in (and followers of!) the "NEVER TRUST ANYONE ON THE FRONTIER" campaign, as it was where the two most noteworthy figures on the entire frontier — the ever evil Mulehead Khan of the Waziris (my hated foe!) and the ever enlightened Umra Khan of the Afridis (my honored friend!) — first crossed paths.

In Sept. 1879, following the massacre of Major Cavagnari and his Guides escort in Kabul, Afghan Regular Army forces launched an attack on Ali Masjid as briefly described above, under Gholam Hyder Khan, the same general who had commanded the defense of the fort a year earlier, this time in coordination with local Tribal and Ghazi forces led by Mullah Musk-i-Alam.

The battlefield:

The fort was defended by Brigadier General Browne (unrelated to Lt. Gnl. Browne, V.C.) and his FOURTH INFANTRY BRIGADE, with a battery of 2 INDIAN SCREW-GUNS in support...



A strong British relief column comprising the rest of the Division-strength Peshawar Field Force -- 3 x Inf. Brigades of 3 battalions each, 1 x cavalry Brigade of 3 Regts. & 1 x Artillery Brigade -- is advancing up the road from Jamrud, to the South, led by Lieutenant General Sam Browne, V.C. and his dashing cavalry commander, Brigadier General Charles Gough, V.C...



While the Afghan Regulars were deployed for all to see, the location of their tribal and Ghazi brothers-in-arms remained unknown to the British until they were either spotted or revealed themselves during the battle...

DEPLOYMENT MAP FOR HIDDEN TRIBAL & GHAZI UNITS

We shall return to the narrative of the battle, but first we must describe the first intersection of the paths of the future Mulehead Khan and Umra Khan, as inscribed in the Chronicle of Legend:

"Though they'd never met before, young MULEHEAD and the even younger UMRA both heeded the call for Jihad and arrived at Ali Masjid ready and eager to do battle.

"Thanks to family connections back in Waziristan, Mulehead was bestowed the rank of MALIK and -- despite his youth (though he was a bit older than Umra) -- was given command of the Kabul Ghazi Band under their purple-edged-green banner.

"Umra had his heart set on serving under the black banner of the Kandahar Ghazi Band, but -- hailing as he did from his Afridi homeland in Tirah -- found himself assigned to Umra's Kabul group.

"Some say young Mulehead and even younger Umra saw in each other Holy Warriors who -- while counting themselves devout Muslims -- had answered the call to Jihad as much for adventure... loot... and a chance at earthly, as opposed to holy, glory.  These same sources claim that in the few days leading up to the great conflagration, Mulehead and Umra became not just newfound brothers-in-arms, but fast friends.

"Other sources note that as an Afridi himself, Umra may have taken some personal offense at the idea of serving under a Waziri such as Mulehead, especially as the Kyber Pass region where they had both arrived was largely populated by Afridis.

"Lastly, it has also been noted that Mulehead -- like other Waziri, Ysufzai, Mohmand, etc. warriors who answered the call and travelled from afar for this battle, may have had a chip on his shoulder vis-a-vis any and all Afridis, as the year before, the Afridis of the Khyber region had taken British gold in exchange for remaining on the sidelines instead of supporting the Afghan Army in the first battle of Ali Masjid."

Fate has Blessed us with an artist's rendering of this momentous meeting of the two future giants of the Frontier, in a quiet moment prior to the commencement of battle:



We return now to that same battle, which began with much tumult as a vast array of Afghan Regular Infantry & Artillery commenced bombardment and volley upon the 2 Indian and 1 British Infantry battalions and 2 Indian mountain guns which comprised the garrison...



The garrison benefited from being CLASS IV Targets (inside building or fort) while their opponents on the flanking high ground were only CLASS III (Rough Terrain) BUT they were vastly outnumbered, so over the course of time their ranks began to thin...



MEANWHILE at the other end of the battlefield, 3 Inf. brigades, 1 Cav. brigade and 1 Art. brigade struggled to move North along the Khyber River, with only one passable road along its East bank, and a short stub of a road which dead-ended into Lala Cheena village to the West...

The only Afghan Regular unit deployed South of Rhotas Ridge was the "Kizilbash Horse" -- a 12-figure unit of cavalry.  They had 9 men dismounted inside a Watchtower and 3 horse-holders maintaining their ability to remount for either a quick escape to the North or perhaps a Forlorn Hope charge at the approaching Infidel army...



Only one Afghan gun was able to deploy -- with no hint of cover or entrenchment -- before the fort's gate...



The crew heroically kept firing on the gate, inflicting damage points which when and if they totaled 24 would DESTROY the doors, allowing the Afghan Regular Infantry to try their hand at close assault...



But alas, the Afghan crew was silenced by rifle and screw-gun fire before racking up the required damage, and the Afghan commander determined it was worth it to send infantrymen to reinforce for the crew, so the gun was silenced...



In addition to the constricted space, British progress on both flanks was slowed even more by a series of crafty ambushes sprung by the Tribesmen on the hills to the East and Lala Cheena village to the West...



Back at the Ali Masjid Fort the intense firefight between the outnumbered garrison and their opponents on the surrounding heights continued to inflict casualties on both sides -- but the attacking commander had "The Way" with the shooting dice, truly "The Baraka Was With Him" as his infantry volleys and cannonade took a terrible toll, despite the CLASS IV category of their targets...



To the South, more than once, Tribal ambushers declared CHARGES, but after being hit by punishing rifle fire failed to close...



...but even without getting-to-grips, this further SLOWED THE ADVANCE of the relief force!

The Kizilbash Horse quit the Watchtower, remounted and tried for a Forlorn Hope CHARGE at the approaching Infidel Army... but FAILED TO CLOSE INTO COMBAT and instead went PINNED and retreated to the North...



At this critical point 2 things occured:

(1) With the Inf. & Cav. having cleared Lala Cheena Village and Mill, British Field Guns were able to deploy within range of Rhotas Ridge, and finally put a hurt on the Afghan Regular troops stationed there -- including the guns that had been pounding away at the South-East corner of the Fort!





(2) Mullah Musk-i-Alam decided the time had come to reveal his Kandahar Ghazis who were waiting in the Mosque and send them across the river to aid in an assault on the fort walls -- to be initiated by their Brothers-in-Holy-Warfare, the Kabul Ghazis who were hiding in the scrub-brush smack in front of the fort!







--HERE WE WILL PAUSE TO REMIND THE READERS THAT THE KABUL GHAZI BAND WAS LED BY YOUNG FUTURE MULEHEAD KHAN AND COUNTED AMONGST ITS RANKS THE EVEN YOUNGER FUTURE UMRA KHAN--

And so the table was set for the climactic act of the drama: would the Fort hold against the Ghazi assault...?

Would the Relief Forces on either side of the Khyber River manage to reach the Fort before it fell to the foe...?

The Kabul Ghazis reached the wall and set up their 3 assault ladders...



On the ramparts above the redcoated Tommies of the 51st Foot tried to push said ladders down off the wall...



...AND MORE THAN SUCCEEDED!!!





The British Right Wing cleared the Shagai Heights and made headway towards the Afghan Regulars on Rhotas Ridge, whose guns were now silenced by Royal Artillery counter-battery fire from across the river...







...but even the elephant-drawn heavy guns could not lay a finger upon the Ghazis on the North side of the mountains!

So, at Ali Masjid the Kabul Ghazis gave it another go.  The cry went out in Pashto (from young Malik Mulehead): "Once more into the breach!" -- or in this case, once more up the ladder...





This time the 51st Foot was able to push over only 2 of the 3 ladders -- and one of the Redcoats sadly fell to his own demise in the process.  This of course left ONE LADDER for the Ghazis to ascend, allowing for a limited but still potentially successful attack...

The CLOSE COMBAT proceeds... head-to-head DICE are rolled... and by the end of the desperate struggle... only TWO VICTORIOUS GHAZIS remain standing...



CAN YOU GUESS THEIR NAMES?

Alas, My Children, we have reached the storage limit for this post and so you must proceed to the next installment to learn the answer......

[Mad Guru]

THE SECOND PART OF THE SECOND BATTLE OF ALI MASJID:

Yes, My Children, it was future Mulehead Khan & future Umra Khan, together again for the first (and only) time:





The battle/game reached a vital decision point...



Brigadier Browne (pictured above) declares that with the 2 victorious Ghazis ensconced atop the ramparts and 20 more Ghazis approaching the base of the wall below -- with no remaining British troops to contest their ascent on the North Wall -- and his garrison reduced by fire to a shred of its former self... he is convinced it's no longer possible for him to hold until relieved.

And so the towel of Britannic Majesty was thrown in.

With this, the game was declared a narrow but decisive Afghan victory.

It was also decided that under the circumstances -- with the British "beaten" by the letter of the Victory Conditions, but still having more than a handful of effectives inside the fort, as well as the very strong British relief column close at hand -- that in exchange for an immediate battlefield truce to be observed through sundown (which was negotiated with the senior Lieutenant General Browne via the all present & accounted for British heliograph team still in the fort) Afghan C-in-C Ghulam Haider Khan would grant the remaining garrison SAFE PASSAGE over the Khyber River, together with their personal arms -- but not the 2 screw-guns.

And so the battle ended.

And the legend of Mulehead and Umra's EPIC FEUD began..........

For you see, in the immediate aftermath of victory, Mulehead and Umra's heroism was celebrated by their brothers-in-arms, as was the memorable battle-cry one of them (til this very day no one knows which!) coined at the height of the melee, which was heard from below by the approaching Black banner Kandahar Ghazis, as well as the nearby Afghan Regular Infantry, AND EVEN the last surviving Indian mountain gun crewman, who happened to speak Pashto.

What they all heard was, "Yaw zanbil aw Allah ta barakat!"  Which translates into English as:

ONE LADDER AND ALLAH'S BLESSING!

But somewhere along the way -- as the majority of the Afghan victors picked the fort clean and proceeded to head back home -- this noble utterance, giving due thanks to the Prophet, Blessings be upon Him, for enabling his Faithful Warriors to crown the heights and earn victory with their blood and steel (in a personal sacrifice sense, not a rules title sense!) turned into, "Yaw ghazi aw Allah ta barakat!"  Which translates into English as:

ONE GHAZI AND ALLAH'S BLESSING!

Yes, My Children.... it seems someone was trying to take ALL the credit for the victory and throw his fellow Holy Warrior under the hooves of the camel.

Someone was out to claim he alone was left standing atop the ramparts of Ali Masjid to deliver victory unto the Faithful.

Perhaps there was no "someone."  Perhaps it started as a mere misspoken turn of phrase -- an innocent happenstance... but here on the Frontier, it seems far more likely to have been a purposeful twisting of the truth, committed by Mulehead... or Umra... or some third-party provocateur.

Alas, we do not know, nor may we ever learn, exactly who or what was to blame.

But we do know, My Children, that this IS the heretofore SECRET ORIGIN of the longstanding feud between these two larger-than-life characters of the North-West Frontier.  For each man took EXTREME OFFENSE and blamed the other.  And multiple curses were spat and promises of deadly deeds made and insults to honored ancestors hurled.

Young Umra & Mulehead began
the Second Battle of Ali Masjid
side-by-side like this...

...but ended it like this:

...And a great pity it was to be sure.

And so the lesson for the wise
man, woman, child or beast to be learned
from the origin of their bitter feud is thus:

NEVER AGREE TO A TRUCE WITH THE ENEMY!

For if the battle had been allowed to proceed,
Neither of them would have survived, or
Just one of them would have survived, or
Maybe both still would have survived...
BUT
By then no one would have cared what was said
Upon the ramparts of Ali Masjid or
How those words were later twisted to gain
Blessings... glory... women... gold...
Or all of the above.

So, my children, always fight to the bitter end, and by so doing
You shall avoid such petty, barbarous and cruel matters
Eating away at your honorable soul & reputation.

And last but not least, remember always:

NEVER TRUST ANYONE ON THE FRONTIER!

***NOTE: If even after all of the above you would like to see & read about more of the game, you can find it over on my Maiwand Day blog at:

http://maiwandday.blogspot.com/2024/08/second-battle-of-ali-masjid-june-28.html

-- and THANKS in advance if you choose to do so!***

Last but far from least I want to THANK my buddy Matthew for helping me do some vital play-testing for this game, and also THANK my son Skylar and that same Matthew for helping me run it -- and I also must THANK the 5 players: Chick, Paul, Michael, Mathew, and out-of-town visitor Doug for all being fantastic players with positive attitudes, even in the most dire of straits.  All of you guys made it great fun for us to run this game!

[MaleGriffin]

Yet another fantastic-looking game! Gorgeous terrain! Fantastic troops! Brilliant AAR! Inspirational!

[giorgio]

You know you dont need to await any longer. Umra was never on the wall, they were Mulehead and his cousin Muletooth, the father of Mustafa, the friend of Muletail in his adventures.  I was told Umra was under the ladder crying it is too dangerous, they will kill all of us, bring me back to safe and i will give you real british gold... i cannot say if it is true, just what many waziri distinctly heard that very day!

[Umra Khan]

Dear brother Mad Guru, I remember that glorious day very well, it was the years of my youth.
Mulehead and his plethora of cousins Mules were boasting as usual, promising death to the Feringhi...but in reality they never climbed that ladder.
I went alone with my faithful Zarin Khan,, it was us two , and only us two on that wall.
Mulehead were down there arguing about who should get on first, but in reality they were all afraid.
You know, dear brother, that I am an honest man and from my mouth will never come a lie

[Umra Khan]

Post and photos bloodyfantastic  Mad Guru!
You have raised the level of this humble thread again.
You are the Master of the Frontier and all, including the infidels must give you due honor.
So be it written, so be it done.

[giorgio]

Sometimes it happens that the jackal too says the truth: honor to Mad Guru, best fake fakiri north of Bannu!

[Mad Guru]

@MaleGriffin: Many thanks for your very kind words!  You posted your comment so soon after I put the AAR up, it made me feel like the time & effort spent on it was definitely worthwhile, which was awesome!

@Mulehead AKA (Evil) Giorgio: Setting your kind compliments aside, reading your remembrance of the events from back in the days of your youth most definitely put a smile on my face.... and then, when they were matched like bookends -- or Uzbek wrestlers -- by the utterly opposing remembrances of Umra AKA (Enlightened) Piero... I confess they made me cackle out loud with glee.

@Umra Khan AKA (Enlightened) Piero: Rock On, My Brother from an Italian Mother!  You are so munificent and yet sincere with your praise, it reminds me of the wise and generous nature not only of you, but of your rule in the lands of the Waziri, where truly every devout and upright warrior is the master of his own domain, yet bows his head and swears loyalty to his Khan, out of respect for Your Valorous & Benevolent Reign!

Whatever side of the Frontier you reside in, whether you pledge fealty to the Queen Empress or the Amir in Kabul or a Tribal Khan -- or Bandit Chief -- somewhere in between, whether you swear by Brom's Classic Grassroots TSATF or el Osprey's Global Corporatist TMWWBK, truly these are great and momentous days when the rediscovery of a battle lost to time rekindles fond -- and hateful -- memories in those who fought it... or loitered in the vicinity!

SO MAD GURU PROCLAIMS...

..AND UNION JACK DECREES!

[Mad Guru]

........ WE INTERRUPT THE CAMPAIGN CHRONICLE FOR A BRIEF TERRAIN-MAKING SIDEBAR ......... WE INTERRUPT THE CAMPAIGN CHRONICLE FOR A BRIEF TERRAIN-MAKING SIDEBAR .........

Recently I posted tutorials on two small terrain builds:

(1) a foot bridge made for the recent Battle of Kalu Khan, and...

(2) a waterwheel I built years ago for other purposes but pressed into service for the Second Battle of Ali Masjid.

I think both posts are somewhat related to this campaign -- enough to merit a brief mention here with LINKS for anyone interested enough in the topic(s) to visit them here on LAF's "Workbench" board.

I'm confident my fellow players here at "Never Trust Anyone On The Frontier" will support me in this -- even those on the side of Evil!



LINK to foot bridge post:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=146037.0



LINK to waterwheel post:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=146376.0

........ WE NOW RETURN YOU TO THE FRONTIER, AKA: THE GRIM .........  WE NOW RETURN YOU TO THE FRONTIER, AKA: THE GRIM ......... WE NOW RETURN YOU TO THE FRONTIER, AKA: THE GRIM .........

[giorgio]

Wargame scenarios beauties belong to El Osprey. From His inscrutable wise he decided to gift an exceptional talent even to heretic scum. That is a clear message to True Rule followers: under any rule even a mad follow-er can believe to be able to create nice scenarios, because nothing is impossible to El Osprey and his prophet Mersey , always blessed his name and his books by all wargamers.


That is the Rule followed by Mulehead, torch of light for the pilgrims in the dark of fake rules, safe harbor for the True followers to save from enemies’ hits, Protector of mules and Defensor of goats, defense of weak players.
I do swear to respect and protect any wargamer against injustice, at least until my dice will score one point more than Umra’s ones.

A rare portrait of young Mulehead, from London Illustrated News, when he was in command and Umra Khan doggedly obeyed to his orders:

Hereafter a picture from London Illustrated News, from a sketch by Colonel Walter Fane kindly sent to Peshwar Tribune too (we strongly deny the slander it was stolen). Mulehead, when he was younger, with some other ruffians, pardon, holy warriors, teaching the importance of poverty and of getting always a loaded jezail to a caravan of Afridi merchants in the Kurram valley:

Four Waziri Khans are fiercely debating on last Mulehead’s words: are they sincere? Trustable?

Only on one thing they all agree: you can’t trust anyone on the Frontier!

[borriste]

Here the one and only holy man, bearer of the new True Faith.

The great Imam Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Masīḥ of the rightfull creed, prophet of the Ahmadiyya Way (what the ignorant blind people call the heretical movement of Blood and Steel).

I would like to point out that the prophet's sacred slippers, woven from the golden threads of Eden silkworms, the slippers grant the ability to INSPIRING: Units in command may reroll failed Rally tests during this leader's activation.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad will soon personally lead his warriors in the land of the Paks, the land of the spiritually pure.

Who will clash against his will? ...the lost Waziri
or the corrupt ferenghee?