THAL SIEGE 2 THE STORM
Jammas Zada Khan explained the plan to hìs warriors and choosed four “volunteers”.
“Kumar, Rashid just confessed to me u spoke with Sher Khan’s men about my goats”
“No Khan I just told them that their goats..”
“MY GOATS. You‘d deserve a severe punishment for that but…” No sounds, you could hear distinctively the heavy breath of Kumar “ if u will fulfil this task you will get my pardon and this story will be closed in a way…or in the other. Three cousins of yours will help you in the task, so the honour of your family will be spared”.
The rules are inspired and sometimes copied from “Five minutes with EDNA” appeared last century on W.I: n.38 by Graham Hockley.
For EDNA understanding you can refer in this topic to following link:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131610.210The 4 volunteers have 1 barrel with the powder to use to explode the tower.
The owner of the barrel and the other 3 start with EDNA value of 8 and must run in the night before dawn for 60 cm. Every turn the pathans roll a d10: 1 to 8 they move 8 every point more they decrease accordingly their EDNA. E.G. you roll 5 and move 8, roll 9 decrease edna to 8-1 and move 7, roll 6 move 7 , roll 10 move 7-3 4 etc. at 0 you are dead. Every 10 is a wound to decrease future fight ability by 1.
If Kumar, the barrel owner, dies one friend goes back to take the barrel, pass 1 roll without moving and continues. This procedure can be done also before dying if u want to accelerate the process and fear he is going to be killed anyway.
3 Pathans arrive to the tower, their Edna reduced to 2, 7 and 8. One was killed half way (33 cm run).
Now the 3 survived must place the barrel preparing and packing it with gun cotton, and it takes two full turns to be passed. To pass the turn each roll a d10: 2-9 ok , 1 is killed, 10 wounded and EDNA less 1.
All 3 pass but the barrel owner gets 1 wound and decrease his EDNA to only 1.
Having placed the barrel now they must light the fuse: must roll his Edna value or less, with 10 wounded, repeating the rolls util lights the fuse or die.
With an outstanding 1 also Kumar survives but now they must dive for cover, hoping the fuse has not gone out and he must repeat the process.
The 3 Pathans roll as in the first part against their EDNA, safety is 4 cm away and Kumar fails losing his last Edna value, and falls shot by the sentinels fire..
Last step is to check if the tower blows up. On the 10 on 1 2 3 the fuse has gone out and they must repeat the process rolling versus actual Edna, otherwise it works… and it worked!.
At this point Abu Zar gave the signal firing dozens of torches and the 3 units advanced, Shahid more cautiously moves without doubling while Abu Zar and Ajab doubled at 15 and 14 inches respectively.. On the opposite side the Zakha khel remained paralyzed by the explosion, watching the burning tower.
From the tower emerged Hatton with his NCO and 4 privates, while other 2 remained stubborn for 2 turns, 4 died in the explosion. The fire of the Hampshire despatched the 2 survived afridis , who had fired the tower.
On the opposite side Frock’s rifles killed 5 warriors pinning Abu Zar’s unit, which successfully rallied.
Ajab closed on Khyber rifles in an Afridis carnage, the eclectic Khan fights as a tiger under opium effect and the result are 5 KIA each side, even if Khyber riflemen were under cover. Then the fight involves also rallied Abu Zar, but Khyber rifles win both fight, even if penalized by Shahid's fire.
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In the meantime, Hatton rallies also the 2 stunned privates and pin Jammas Zada nailed on the ground and victim of a devastating fire.
A last firing kills 2 Khyber riflemen and Lt Frock and his Havildar rout and leave the town just before the loop from North is tied.
Hatton fights against arriving Abu Zar losing 1 private and win the melee with Ajab pinning his unit, but losing another man, now only 5 men are with Lt Hatton who shot a killing devastating fire on Abu Zar killing 4 and pinning them but in the mean time Jaddam Zaid succeeds in attacking at double .
Lt Frock routed with his Afridi rifleman: 1 they are shot, 2 captured, 3-4 join Khiber tribes where his soldier can have support, 5 go towards Bannu and 6 towards Fullerton’s relief column..
LT Hatton was not so lucky and after repulsing Jamas Zada attack fell under the thirsty tulwars of the Zhaka Khel leaving his last 4 men at their destiny. In the final carnage two other British were killed by Abu Zar warriors, and last 2 tried to escape.
What a pity, he had all the virtues for a shining career, included the right friendships and protections.
This picture is the artist’s interpretation, on specific input by Reginald Winkie, to have a more dramatic picture to be included in his article on Peshawar Tribune. Actually, LT Hatton fell at the head of his men repulsing the attack by Jamas Zsada’s Zhaka Khel Afridis. As was written in another poem by our Winkie: many thousand pounds education frustrated by few sharp cheap tulwars.
The last 2 private roll for their destiny: 1 is killed by Jamas Zada, 2 by Abu Zar, 3 by Ajab Khan, 4 shot by Shahid’s unit, 5 they join LT Frock and 6 Southwards to join Col Fullerton column and alert him.
First private is shot by the jezail of Shahid’s Khan but the second one disappears with the help of the shadows and confusion generated by the tower fire.
Abu Zar has taken Thal and saved his life and Jammas Zada’s one. Now he can be an actor in the next battle between Col. Fullerton flying devils and Sher Khan’s Kambar Khel warriors with few Orakzai units received by Umra himself for this important task..
Now it is time to celebrate with his khans in a special jirga, enlightened by the still burning tower ruins, where chicken tamarind and lamb kahari will be given with abundance, a well deserved dinner after weeks of Periki filled only with pies flour and water.
Tomorrow they will march to join Sher's army and together destroy once and forever Fullerton, the terror of Afridis, and then conquer all north Waziristan for the great Umra Khan and re establish also in those lands the True Rule.
21 Raj KIA including LT Hatton. The Pathans losses were: 13 Jammas Zada (9 + 4 in the forlorn hope), 12 Ajal and 9 Abu Zar for a total of 34 warriors-
Frock will arrive to Bannu to alert Gen Davenport, while Fullerton is proceeding Northward for a mission already failed, but nor him neither the waiting Sher Khan are aware of that…Will the private Williams arrive in time to alert him?. But this is another story and we will read it later on…
Z FOTO Fullerton map