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

[Mad Guru]

bc99: On behalf of all my beloved friends & besmirched frenemies in this campaign, you are very welcome indeed -- and THANK YOU for taking the time to post your comment!

BTW, if you don't mind me asking, what part of our rather vast state of California are you located in?

[gringo]

Mad Guru fascinating campaign!
trust all is well!
regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com

[giorgio]

This skirmish was played with Garibaldi club home rules with game mechanic inspired by “Space Weirdos” rule set
 
 


The Coward of Sharif’s village
as remembered by Mortimer Harrington, special correspondent for The Peshawar Tribune
 

Lieutenant Robert Caldwin had volunteered for the mission — though why, he could not have said, even with a bottle of brandy and the lights turned low. He had long held that a gentleman’s batman required three qualities: decorum, dedication, and, above all else, discretion. Dashing into musket fire like a cavalry fool was never in the Queen’s handbook for valets. And yet, there he stood, sand in his boots and sweat in his eyes, disguised in savage garb, among seven others no less mad.
 

They had followed the so-called young mules, those native guides with teeth too white and loyal-ties too pliable. He trusted them no more than he trusted boiled mutton at a frontier outpost. The Highland sergeant had already informed him, in terms unfit for church, that he would take no or-ders from a slip of a boy in polished boots. The two Gurkha non-coms, silent as jungle cats, and the solemn sepoys of the 3rd Sikh Native Infantry — proud men of Punjab, blades like scripture in hand — followed their own code, and it did not speak Caldwin’s tongue.
 

Robert’s plan had been admirably cautious: observe, wait, act. But the Scotsman — Sergeant MacRaith, a red-bearded incarnation of Mars — had no such patience. He had hurled himself into the village like a thunderclap, his bayonet preaching havoc in narrow alleys and shadowed rooms.
 

Caldwin, meanwhile, had tried to direct fire toward the tall one in the embroidered cloak — per-haps their leader, perhaps just well-dressed. The Pashtun replied in kind. The air became a hive of bullets and shouted prayers. His men fell — the brave ones, the brown-skinned ones, the ones who bled without medals.
 

Then came the horsemen, silent at first, like ghosts. That was when Robert moved — at last. Not out of command or glory, but fear sharpened by shame. And then, as per the Colonel’s grand de-sign, the hidden company of the King’s Regiment emerged like thunder from the hills. Too late to rewrite the beginning, but in time to rescue the end.
 

He ran, stumbling toward General Furtinghs, who lay bound in the dust like some shabby Crusader relic. The general was wounded, shouting orders that no one obeyed. Caldwin untied him with trembling hands. They moved together, slow as sinners in a storm. Then the general was struck — a cruel ricochet that found his rear with unerring spite. It was not a noble wound, but it silenced him.
 

Corporal Sullivan of the King's — wild-eyed and laughing — dropped a third man with his Marti-ni-Henry, just before a Pashtun ball claimed his ear and his skull nearly with it. Still he grinned, bleeding and victorious, tallying kills with his thumbnail on the butt of his rifle.
 

At last it was over. The enemy broken, the general breathing, and Robert still standing. Or sitting, rather — in the back of a British cart, beside the moaning Sullivan and his morbid arithmetic. Around him, officers shook hands. A rescue pulled from the teeth of ruin. No English losses, they said.
 

They did not count the four native sons of Empire, gone without pageantry. No bugles for them, no mentions in dispatches. But they had died facing the foe. The Gurkha with his curved blade, the Sikh who did not flinch before fire. Men of iron, whose blood soaked the same ground as kings and cowards.
And the general? He said nothing. Just stared. A long, measured gaze that pinned Caldwin like a butterfly in glass.
No reprimand. No court-martial. Just silence. But even silence, in the Raj, can taste like ash.
They called it a success.
And perhaps it was.
But they did not speak of Lieutenant Robert Caldwin.
The man who ran.
 

Addendum, never printed
From the unsent notes of Mortimer Harrington, late Correspondent of the Peshawar Tribune
They wrote it up fine, of course — tight columns in serif type, heavy with glory and the weight of Her Majesty’s Honour.
“A gallant sortie,” said the Major-General.
“A daring rescue,” said The Times.
Even Punch ran a cartoon: Furtinghs hoisted high by a bayonet, trousers in tatters but Union Jack intact.
But the hills don’t read newspapers. They remember differently.
There was a whisper from the camel-men near Jandola. A knowing nod from the boy who brought my tea in Tank. Word came piecemeal, dust-wrapped and sun-seared, but the story was always the same:
The rescue had been arranged.
Mulehead Khan — the same great ox-headed devil who had raided the munitions train at Daraban, who spat at treaties and made war like a poet — had, it seemed, grown wary of vengeance. Not the sword vengeance of tribes, which comes clean and fast, but the slow, choking kind of Empire — the kind that burns fields and strings up cousins to teach a lesson.
He knew what would come if Furtinghs died in Waziri hands.
Guns on Wana.
Blockades.
Civilians flogged in courtyards.
The red rain of retribution.
So Mulehead did what only a great enemy could do: he ended the war before it began.
He gave up the general. Quietly. Cleverly. No white flag, no handshake. Just a trail laid false and a village dressed for drama. His men played their parts — just enough gunfire to justify the fuss, just enough bodies to make it bitter. And he made sure the rescue looked earned. Heroism, but second-hand.
The dead were real. Sikh and Gurkha blood watered the dust that day, honorable and spent without question. The general took a bullet in the backside — no great loss, save to dignity. And young Caldwin, bless him, ran like a goose from a musket, only to be called a hero by supper.
But the truth, if truth still matters west of the Indus, is this:
The general was let go.
Let go by a khan who hated the British, aye — but loved his mountains more. Mulehead saved the Empire’s face by letting it believes its own lie.
And no one thanked him.
They never do.

[Rhingyll]

After failing to stop the British Column (Chitral Relief Column) under the command of General Horatio McGuinness, General Skobelev has sent out a re-con patrol, under the command of Captain Alexander Sirotkin (Semenoski Lifeguards), to track the British column as it heads northeast up the Kunar River valley towards Chitral. At the same time, the ever-cautious McGuinness sent out a patrol, commanded by Lt. Arthur Daily (2nd Gurkhas), to make sure that the Russians are not up to any shenanigans and have not followed in pursuit.
Russian Patrol:
1st Troop Ural Cossacks - Lt. Bohdan Orel
2nd Troop Ural Cossacks - Lt. Petro Vedmid
1st Troop Stavropol Cossacks - Lt. Yemelyan Hrbuz
Platoon  of 12th East Siberian Rifle Regiment - Lt. Pavel Batov
Platoon of Semenoski Lifeguards - Capt. Alexander Sirotkin (a nephew of General Skobelev

Captain Sirotkin:
 
British Patrol:
1st Troop 10th Hussars – Sgt. William Greenstreet
2nd Troop 10th Hussars – Sub Lt Francis Hervey Harford
3rd Troop 10th Hussars – Sgt. Henry Dagenham
Platoon of Queen’s Own Corps of Guides -  Subhedar Ali Ashgar
Platoon of 2nd Gurkhas - Lt. Arthur Daily

Lt. Daily


The opposing patrols are both approaching the small settlement of Buri Bala. Sub Lt Francis Hervey Harford and his troop moved at the double and quickly occupied a walled enclosure,
They were able to dismount just in time to fight off a charge by Lt. Petro Vedmid’s Ural Cossacks. Vedmid was wounded during the attack and had to leave the field of battle.


Meanwhile on the western edge of the town, the Stavropol Cossacks charged the 10th Hussars under the command of Sgt Greenstreet, The Hussars were totally overpowered by the Cossacks and retreated with heavy losses. The Cossacks continued to press their attack into the Guides infantry. The Guides were driven back and Subhedar Ali Ashgar suffered a wound that caused him to head for medical attention. At this point in the encounter, except for the Hussars solid resistance against a Cossack charge in the walled enclosure, the momentum seems to favor the Russians.

Effective fire from Lt Arthur Daily’s Gurkhas drove Orel’s Ural Cossacks back. At the same time the 10th Hussars behind the walled enclosure halted the advance of the East Siberians and wounded their commander Lt Batov.


Dagenham’s Hussars charged Hrbuz’s Cossacks and were driven back and at the same time fired upon by the advancing Semenoski Lifeguards, and were subsequently wiped out with Sgt Dagenham being taken captive.

Hrbuz’s Stavropol Cossacks rallied and charged again at the guides infantry and drove them further back.

Harford’s Hussars remounted and left the walled enclosure. Upon seeing the advancing Gurkhas, both the East Siberian Rifles and the remainder of Orel’s Ural Cossacks retreated and left the field of battle.




With the Gurkha’s advancing on his flank, Sorotkin decides that he has had enough of this re-con mission and withdraws his Semenoski Liferguards along with Orel’s Cossacks and what is left of the courageous Stavropol Cossacks. They take along with them the captured Henry Dagenham, Sgt 10th Hussars and make their way south to Skobelev’s encampment.

The British head north out of Buri Bala to catch up with McGuinness’s column as it makes its way to relieve Chitral. A squad of the 2nd Gurkhas will remain in Buri Bala for about a week and after that time head north further up the river valley to Chitral. Sgt Frederick “Tommy” Boston will command the squad along with Naik Khari Rai. Sepoy Samarth Yadav (famous for his fighting skills and use of the kukri) is present as well.

[Mad Guru]

With General Furthings rescued and the sons of the Queen Empress triumphantly holding the field after the cowardly offspring of the Tsar saw fit to retreat, return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear when the Frontier was young and adventure lay at the end of every goat track and the future fortunes of the legendary Frontier titans -- rival tribal leaders Mulehead Khan of the Waziris (devoted acolyte of el Osprey & The Men Who Would Be Kings and therefore my cursed foe!) and Umra Khan of the Afridis (faithful follower of House of Brom & all things The Sword And The Flame and therefore my blessed friend!) -- had yet to be written...

Artist's rendering of Young Mulehead & Young Umra, from the Secret Frontier History of the Second Battle of Ali Masjid*:

[*For those interested in the tale of that long-hidden battle, you will find it here if you scroll down a bit: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131610.885]



Back to the matter at hand, it was April 1879 by the Ferengi calendar, during the lull that followed the first phase of the Second Afghan War, the village of Kam Dakka, located near the South bank of the Kabul River, 7 miles East of the recently occupied British fort at Dakka and 14 miles West of Landi Kotal -- the border town that marked the far Western edge of British India at the top of the strategically vital Khyber Pass -- requested support from the British to help them resist an expected large-scale raid by Mohmand tribesmen gathering on the North side of the river...

OVERHEAD view of Kam Dakka Valley:

As seen above, in addition to the village whose name it bore, the Kam Dakka Valley was also home to a cemetery and a handful of crop-fields, all of which, together with the village, were sited along the Landi Kotal-to-Dakka road.

At this time the road was a vital link in the Khyber Pass Route (Peshawar to Jalabad to Kabul), one of the three Main Supply Routes for anglo-Indian forces remaining in Afghanistan after the initial victories of the war were won, while the boss-wallahs were working out the final disposition of the Afghan "political situation."

Therefore, in response to the request for aid against the Mohmands, a reconnoitering force consisting of 1 squadron 10th Bengal Lancers, 3 companies Mhairwara Battalion (one of the Anglo-Indian Army's "Local Corps," recruited from the Mer people of Gujarat & Rajasthan), and 2 Royal Artillery guns was dispatched from Dakka Fort, but when they reached the village they found no sign of enemy activity.  The residents however were adamant that very large numbers of Mohmands were gathering across the river and begged for the force to remain to help defend them, but with no sign of trouble visible, Major O. Barnes, the commander of Dakka fort who had personally led the reconnoitering force, chose to withdraw back to Dakka, rather than leave the garrison there shorthanded for an extended time.

After returning to Dakka Fort and informing 2nd Division commander, Lt. General Maude at Landi Kotal via telegraph of the intelligence he had received from the residents of Kam Dakka -- on advice of his resident Political Officer, Major E.R. Conolly -- General Maude instructed Major Barnes to despatch 2 companies of the Mhairwaras BACK to Kam Dakka at once, to support the friendly villagers there when and if they found themselves under attack.

So, on 21st of April, 1879, at five o'clock in the evening, 130 men of the Mhairwara Battalion under the command of Captain O'Moore Creagh, taking with them entrenching tools, spare ammunition and rations, left Dakka Fort for the 7 mile trek East to Kam Dakka...

Soldiers of the Mhairwara Battalion:

Unbeknownst to Capt. Creagh and his men, that very same evening someone else set out for the very same village -- albeit, from not so far away.  I speak of the legendary future Afridi chieftain, Umra Khan.  At this early date he was still but a young warrior, yet many already saw him as being marked for greatness, of one sort or another.

What was it that brought young Umra to journey West from his Afridi home on a visit to Kam Dakka?  It's true that from the moment the Ferengi Infidel army took the fort at Ali Masjid and crossed the Khyber the year before, Umra had dreamt of doing battle with them, but... the opportunity to do so had not arrived, and when he left home for Kam Dakka he had no knowledge of the fact that Capt. Creagh and his men were simultaneously heading to the same destination, albeit from further away...



No, it was not bloodlust or dreams of glory that set Umra on the road to Kam Dakka, but something else entirely...















Not a sheep or a goat or a comely youth, but a woman both beautiful and modest, stubborn and god-fearing, kindly and ferocious.  In short, a lapis lazuli of the frontier -- though rather than blue, she always dressed in black.  And so, for our purposes, we shall call her henceforth Lajwardina -- "the Lapis-hued one"...



Meanwhile life in the rest of Kam Dakka valley went on as usual...























Until, after most of the day had passed, the village Headman, Malak Zan, spied something very unusual indeed approaching from the West...





Capt. Creagh and his men were arriving via Kam Dakka Pass...









Creagh's scouts reported no sign of hostile forces, but he and his men still kept their eyes peeled as they continued towards the village...

END OF PART I -- PART II FOLLOWS IMMEDIATELY BELOW...

[Mad Guru]

PART II

Having arrived at Kam Dakka village, Captain Creigh knocked on the locked front gate and spoke with the Headman, Malak Zan...









...and was quite astonished when the old fellow told him he could not let him in!

"But we're only here because you asked for us to come!" Creagh pointed out to him.

Malak Zan agreed that yes, it was true, he had requested their help, but... since the British in all their wisdom chose to send just a handful of men and no Tota Tota Top (“the piece-by-piece gun” AKA: SCREW-GUN) he and his fellow elders had decided they'd be better off keeping their village gates shut to their would-be British benefactors.

Malak Zan assured Capt. Creagh that when the vast horde of Mohmands on the Jihad warpath arrived in the near-future, he and his village would not left a finger to support their attack on the English and their idol-worshipping lackeys.  But of course... considering how many Mohmands they'd heard were coming, they wouldn't have to.

Despite the dilemma he now found himself in, Creagh did his best to keep calm and carry on.  It was almost nightfall, so he posted piquets and had his men bivouac near the village.  After all, his orders still were to, "help defend it against attack"!

And night fell over Kam Dakka...







Meanwhile, hunkered down in a dark corner of Kam Dakka, young Umra now faced his own dilemma: slip away in the night and make for home...



...or stay and enjoy more of the hospitality of his host, while possibly getting a chance at the other kind of action...



...to wit, COMBAT -- whether against the hated Ferengi, or... maybe by staying hunkered down until the newly-arrived pesky handful of Infidels had been dealt with by the Mohmands and then helping them to take the village of Kam Dakka from the inside?!?!  Who could say what fantastic bounties they would bestow upon an ally who helped deliver such a prize into their hands?  At this point the only thing Umra was sure of was that he had a lot to think about that...



Next morning at the crack of dawn, Captain Creagh knocked on the front gate of Kam Dakka again...



Old Malak Zan repeated his reply: thanks but no thanks.  We are all good in here.



Suddenly the North piquet reported to Creagh: "Mohmands, sir!  Thousands of 'em!"



Creagh had a look and replied: "Not thousands, Havildar.  But quite a few hundred at least."













And who my children was there among that horde of Mohmands, if not that future master of ignominious Evil -- Mulehead Khan!  Having somehow already found a way to get his still youngish self elevated to a leadership position, albeit of just one of the 6 Mohmand clans suddenly visible on the North side of the Kabul river...







Captain Creagh sent a fleet-footed sepoy to inform Dakka Fort that his Kam Dakka detachment would soon be under attack by hundreds -- perhaps a thousand or more -- Mohmands, and urgently request reinforcements...







Next, Creagh surveyed his surroundings...



...and started maneuvering his men towards the one piece of terrain he believed could provide a chance for successful defense against overwhelming numbers: the cemetery located between the river and the road...







The sound of jezail fire rang out from across the river.  Luckily for Creagh and the Mhairwaras they were out of range, but for how long who could say........



As they marched into the coming maelstrom, neither Creagh nor Mulehead knew...





The eyes of Umra were upon them...

TO BE CONTINUED...

PS. Thank you, Gringo, for your kind shout-out!  Hope all is well with you too & congrats on continuing to expand your ranges!

[Apache Jack]

This is one of the best stories I've read lately, I'm really invested in the fate of these soldiers. I look forward to following it.

- Apache Jack

[MaleGriffin]

This thread is EPIC! It's the standard for inspiration and commitment to the genre and the hobby! I salute you!

[Umra Khan]

This thread is EPIC! It's the standard for inspiration and commitment to the genre and the hobby! I salute you!

Thank you MaleGriffin for your very appreciated comments from me and the other boys running this campaign.

[Mad Guru]

Yes, thank you, MaleGriffin, but thanks to you too, Apache Jack -- though we never trust anyone on the Frontier, we leave no LAFer's kind comment behind!!!

[Mad Guru]

KAM DAKKA, 1879 - Battle Begins...

TURN 1

Captain Creagh leads his men at full speed towards the cemetery, looking to turn it into a strong defensive position from which his men may manage to withstand the coming fight in which they will be heavily outnumbered...





At the same time the Mohmands are coming full force & without delay, multiple clans using the Native “Human Bridge” method to ford Kabul River without any terrain-related delay.  Doing so they lost a handful of men drowned, but not too many...













The two piquets in the fields will be the only targets within range, though they'll be hard to hit in the walled fields which count as Class III "Rough Terrain"...



The two clans still on the North side of the River OPEN FIRE...





CAMPAIGN NOTE:

Despite being Mohmands, the unit seen above at the Western end of the Mohmand line was under the command of the ambitious (& devious & EVIL!) Waziri called Mulehead, seen here directing their fire across the river.  Was it happenstance that the clan under his command was the only one that did not head for the ford in order to get "stuck in" with the hated Ferengi -- or had he somehow made sure his Waziri throat would not be on the chopping block where those British (or Indian) bayonets could reach it...

RULES NOTE:

In an effort to help address the extreme 6:1 odds (for Brits vs. Pathans, TSATF suggests odds of at most 2:1 for a well-balanced game), I’m using house rules developed by myself & CAPT SHANKS for British WIA:

34% ?? 2-9 stiff upper lip what, what - NO EFFECT

15% ?? A,J,Q,K take a knee lad - FIGURE IS INCAPACITATED 1 TURN

15% ? 2-9 take a knee and drink water lad - FIGURE IS INCAPACITATED 2 TURNS

15% ? 2-9 take a knee, drink water, and see to that wound lad - FIGURE IS INCAPACITATED 3 TURNS

15% ?? A,J,Q,K was a first class fighting man, possible mention in dispatches - FIGURE IS KIA

Mulehead's Hill Chieftain higher echelon commander waves his big black flag as his Waziri underling orders his men to deliver the opening shots of the Battle of Kam Dakka...



The clans on North side of Kabul River inflict 1 WIA + 1 KA on Mhairwaras with some very good die rolling...



Bugler Rama moves to rescue the WIA sepoy, whose WOUNDED DIE marks him as down for 2 TURNS...



The one Sepoy piquet still able to fire at Mulehead's men scores a hit but the round just misses Mulehead himself (!!!), taking out the Sword & Shield warrior right next to him instead* (casualty card flipped was not an Ace -- sadly!)...

*There is a saying on the Frontier that some say began with this unfortunate near-miss, to wit: "The only thing that can kill Mulehead, is Mulehead."





Bugler Rama carries his wounded comrade towards the cemetery, hoping to find safety amongst the dead -- NOTE: at the very end of the turn the MINI DIE used to track the remaining turn-count of the casualty's "Wounded" status has been reduced from 2 to 1...



TURN 4

By the end of Turn 4, five of the six Mohmand clans have crossed or are in the process of crossing Kabul River (all of them using the "Human Bridge" method which allows full movement speed but carries a risk of 1 or 2 figures per group of 6 or less being lost to drowning in the process) though the lead unit has lost its only Leader to British fire... while Capt. Creagh and his entire detachment have reached the relative safety of the cemetery and its solid rock walls...











OVERALL CASUALTIES SO FAR:

19 Mohmand dead or wounded vs. 2 British dead (not counting wounded Brits as they recuperate at end of 1, 2 or 3 turns)

















GM NOTE: This opening portion of the game was played solo by me on the late night of Father's Day, Saturday June 15th & early morning of Sunday June 16th.


Unnoticed amidst the commencement of hostilities, someone or something -- is it man or beast? -- emerged from the tightly clamped-down walls of Kam Dakka village...







Yes my children, it was that pillar of truth, justice and the Frontier Way: none other than the future Umra Khan, still known back in 1879 simply as "Umra."  But what was the devout Umra planning to do...?

At this point the Mohmands have taken far more severe casualties than the British -- at a rate of nearly 10:1...

...BUT:

--The lead unit of Mohmands is getting close to the cemetery walls...

--There are 4 more such units right behind them all at nearly full-strength (having lost only a handful of casualties drowned while fording the river)...

And last but not least:

--Despite their Ferengi foes now being hunkered down in the cemetery and qualifying as Class IV Targets who can only be hit with a 1 or 2 on a D20, the one unit of Mohmands hanging back like cowardly dogs (under leadership of the young version of my nemesis, Mulehead) are actually scoring hits on the British.

So...

...there is no way to know what comes next!

TO BE CONTINUED...

[fred]

What an epic looking table!

[Mad Guru]

Thanks for the kind words, Fred!!!

[Mad Guru]

KAM DAKKA, 1879 -- The Battle Continues...

Before picking back up where we left off heading into Turn 5, I will explain the two Scenario Special Rules I used for this game:

(1) Because all AAR's of the battle of Kam Dakka mention that when the relief force arrived the 2 companies of the Mhairwara Battalion were literally down to their last few rounds of ammunition and Captain Creagh had ordered them to prepare for a bayonet charge out of their defensive position in the cemetery, I felt I should incorporate the element of LIMITED AMMUNITION into the scenario.

Many The Sword And the Flame players will recognize this element as the first of several "Supplementary Ideas" included in the original rule-book, as well as the 20th Anniversary Edition.  Overall I'd say I've seen it used in maybe five to ten percent of the many TSATF games I've played in over the decades.  I've rarely use it for games I GM myself, mostly for the defenders in games involving attacks on forts or other isolated outposts.  Of course this scenario is close to that, with the Brits holed-up behind the stone walls of Kam Dakka cemetery.  So I decided to use the TSATF Limited Ammo rules -- but only for the Mhairwaras, not the attacking Mohmands or the British RELIEF FORCE(s) -- which brings me to the other Scenario Special Rule...

(2) THE RELIEF FORCE(S) which were dispatched almost instantly after receiving news -- via the Sepoy Creagh sent to Dakka Fort -- that the Kam Dakka detachment was under attack.  How many troops would be involved on the table and how to determine exactly when and from what source they would arrive?

After receiving Creagh's request for help, the commander at Dakka Fort, Lt. Colonel Barnes, telegraphed it to General Maude at Landi Kotal and the commander there, General Maude, directed him to immediately send a combined force of infantry and cavalry to relieve Kam Dakka.  At the same time General Maude sent a force of infantry and artillery from his own post at Landi Kotal.  So there were 2 relief forces, one originating 7 miles to the West and the other 14 miles to the East.  The infantry & cavalry from Dakka arrived first, much closer to the action, so close they got engaged by fire almost immediately.  Meanwhile the infantry & mountain guns from Landi Kotal, despite having to travel twice as far, arrived just a little later, in time to open fire on the Mohmands who had begun retreating North across the Kabul river.  General Maude also sent a third relief force from another location to the South, but they didn't reach Kam Dakka until the day after the battle had ended.



ABOVE: Mullah Khalil beseeches the fates: "God who made the lion & the lamb -- would it spoil some great eternal plan... if there was only ONE British Relief Column?!?!?!

In keeping with the same ratio I'd used to scale down the initial forces, I decided the Dakka Fort Relief Force would be:

1 x BENGAL LANCER UNIT (12 figs)

1 x BRITISH INF. UNIT (20 figs)

...and that the Landi Kotal Relief Force:

1 x BRITISH INF. UNIT (20 FIGS)

1 SCREW-GUN BATTERY --  but the battery would have just 2 guns each with 4 crew, instead of the standard TSATF 3 guns, which I felt would through the game balance off too far -- well... if in fact they were able to arrive before the Mohmands wiped out the Mhairwaras!

I used the TSATF limited ammunition rules to determine how many turns worth of ammo the troops defending the cemetery would have with them.  They rolled 2 D6 and got the somewhat low total of 4.  Then they rolled another 2 D6 for their ammunition mule & got the slightly better total of 5.  So a GRAND TOTAL of 9 turns of ammo.  Not terribly low but not enough for the British to relax either.

Knowing the British defenders would run out of ammo on Turn 9, combined with the rule-of-thumb that One Game Turn on the table equates to One Hour of real time on the battlefield, made me decide to start giving the British a chance for their relief to arrive on... TURN 7.

At that point the Kam Dakka Detachment would be down to its last 2 rounds of ammunition and in truly dire need of relief, but... there would be no guarantee it would actually show up on Turn 7, only the guarantee of the chance it could.

I came up with a very simple method to determine when and if Relief arrived: starting at the end of the Movement Phase of TURN 7 I'd cut the card deck once for the British and once for the Afghans.  If the British got the higher card, the first Relief force would arrive at Kam Dakka Pass, close to the cemetery where all the action was.  If the Afghans got the high card, they wouldn't arrive & then we'd do it again the next turn.  And the chances would stay fifty-fifty each turn.  The reason I decided to wait until after all units of both sides had moved before cutting the cards was I did not want either side to know the relief force would be arriving that turn while they were choosing how to move their units.

I also decided that when and if the British got the high card, not only would the Cavalry & Infantry from Dakka arrive from the West but the Infantry & Artillery would arrive simultaneously from the East.  I knew it would take the relief forces from the East at least one or two turns of movement before they could have any impact on the game, so I felt this was the simplest and best way to proceed.  Looking back now, long after the game ended, I think this approach worked well, without giving either side an extreme advantage -- though of course it would have been much advantageous for the Afghans if the British had never managed to cut the high-card.  But we've still got a ways to go before we reach that point!



We now pick back up the tale of the Battle of KAM DAKKA as it headed into...

TURN 5

British got the first movement card, but... they just stayed put behind the walls of the cemetery.  It hit me that such would likely be the case for the remainder of the game -- until they either ran out of ammo and launched a last-ditch bayonet charge OR the relief force arrived at a point where the defenders were already at the edge of utter destruction and Capt Creagh (or if by then he'd fallen in the line of duty, whoever might have taken his place at that point) decided to make a run for the pass.  In fact, one of these two desperate finale plots actually occurred, but I won't reveal which until the time comes...

The lead Mohmand Clan passed its Leaderless Die Roll To Move and advanced towards the cemetery...

Mohmand Clan #2 advanced right behind them... Mohmand Clan #3 took position behind the East wall of the crop-fields...



Clan #4 remained in place on the Western face of the West hill, from where they hoped to bring long-range fire to bear on the British lining the East wall of the cemetery...



Clan #5 advanced behind Clan #2... while Clan #6 -- under command of Mulehead -- snaked its way further West along the South riverbank and up onto a small hill there, in order to avoid being screened from continuing to fire on the British in the cemetery by the friendly forces closing in on them across the river...

Pathans got the first fire card.  First Clan scored 3 hits but after rolling their "wound dice" their effects were all shrugged off by the British targets.

Brits fire next but did very little damage, only scoring 2 hits on the lead Mohmand Clan and WIA 2 x Swordsmen -- but that was enough to bring Clan #1 down to 9 effectives, below 50%, which will force them to CHECK MORALE at the end of this turn...







The Afghans fire their remaining units, inflict 2 WIA on the Mhairwaras -- 1 Sepoy down for 2 turns, 1 down for 3 turns...





Mohmand Clan #1, leading the advance on the cemetery, checks morale: rolls 10 -- which is a big fail -- and ROUTES to the East, along the South riverbank…



TURN 6

Mohmand Clan #1 keeps Routing East along South river bank... Clan #2 extends its Mass Formation into more of a line shape (still counts as "Mass" for target class purposes) in order to bring all rifles to bear on the cemetery... Clan #3 advances along the North crop-field wall & angles its rifles to fire at the southern portion of the East cemetery wall... Clan #4 snakes along the South crop-field wall, keeping its rifles trained on East wall as it closes in on the cemetery itself... Clan #5 remains up on the West hillside... Clan #6 remains on North side of Kabul River to maintain fire on the British lining the North cemetery wall...

Brits fire first.  5 shots at Mulehead's Clan across the river score only 1 x WIA swordsman; 10 shots at Clan #2 right across the wall score 1 x KIA rifleman & WIA rifleman (good casualty card flips)...

Mohmands fire 4 clans of 10 - 8 - 5 - 5 shooters: scoring 2 hits, 1 x WIA but No Effect + 1 x KIA

At this point MULLAH KHALIL (same name as the real Mullah who preached Jihad against the British to the Mohmands in April 1879) crossed the river and rallied the routing Clan #1...







TURN 7

Lead Clan #2 CHARGES the Mhairwaras on the other side of the cemetery wall, rolls 6 for stragglers = best case scenario for them of NO STRAGGLERS...







Clan #3 advances along the West crop-field wall to provide fire support... Clan #4 advances from behind the South Crop-Field wall to do the same... Clan #1 (which was just rallied by Mullah Khalil) advances behind the charging Clan #2; Clan #5 descends the hillside in preparation for advancing on the cemetery, since they are now screened from firing at it... Mulehead and Clan #6 remain on the North side of river, safe and sound, to take more potshots at the enemy while their comrades sacrifice body and soul attempting to get stuck-in...



Brits fire first: score 2 out of 5 hits on Clan #6 across the river, KIA Swordsman + WIA Leader AKA: MULEHEAD!!! (GM NOTE: since he is a main character in our campaign I used the British Wounded Rule system  & Mulehead ended up being out of commission for only 1 Turn) — the Brits also score 4 out of 10 hits on charging Clan that needs a 3 or less on D20 to hit (!!!)... and score ZERO out of 2 hits on charging enemies who are already up on the wall and so need only a 7 or under to hit.  A humbling reminder that the dice have minds of their own...





Mohmands fire -- Mulehead's Clan #6 across the river scores 1 hit (needing a 2 or less!)... Clan at West crop-field wall scores 3 out of 8 hits needing a 2 or under (!!!!!) - 1 x WIA but no effect, 1 x WIA down for 2 turns, 1 x WIA down for 3 turns... Clan at South Crop-field wall scores ZERO out of 7 hits.







Charging Clan #2 rolls to CLOSE INTO COMBAT -- gets a 5, but needs a 1-4 so FAILS TO CLOSE, retreats 6” and goes PRONE & PINNED.  Then they FAIL critical & pinned morale check, so remain prone & pinned heading into the next turn...



Routed & Rallied Clan #1 passes their Critical Morale check (which they must do each turn from here on despite having Mullah Khalil with them, since they have been reduced to below 50% strength)...

Turn 7 was the first chance for the British Relief Forces to arrive -- but at end of the MOVEMENT PHASE the British lost the card pull to the Afghans, so no relief this turn...

[Mad Guru]

TURN 8

Pathan move first  card — Clan #3 advances to base of East cemetery wall...

Brits move second card — slightly adjust troop positioning to cover more of the South wall...

Mohmands move clans up to South wall and North wall, Clan #1 with Mullah Khalil now serving as Leader advances towards cemetery...

END OF MOVEMENT PHASE - I CUT THE CARDS TWICE AND COMPARE TO SEE IF THE RELIEF FORCE ARRIVES THIS TURN:

Brits pull ACE OF HEARTS vs. Mohmands pull 9 of Spades, so...

RELIEF FORCES ARRIVE RIGHT NOW!!!

From the West, 2 companies 1st Battalion 5th Fusliers (1 x 20 fig. Inf. unit) & 1 Troop 10th Bengal Lancers (1 x 12 fig. Cav. unit) advance through Dakka Pass...

From the East, 2 companies 1st Battalion 12th Foot (1 x 20 fig. Inf. unit) & 11-9th Royal Artillery Mountain Battery (2 guns with 8 crew) move through Lundi Khan Pass...

Both columns advance down their respective roads, the Fusiliers arriving near to the fight changing into Open Order at the foot of the pass with the 10th Bengal Lancers right behind them…

The Mountain Battery rolls 3 dice in order to move as fast as possible (unable to fire that turn), followed by the 12th Foot…

British fire first: Mhaiwaras need 3 or under on D20 and score 1 hit out of 15 -- 1 x WIA Swordsman on East wall (pretty poor shooting but they are virtually surrounded and may still face a melee with overwhelming numbers of the enemy, so perhaps the shakiness of their aim is understandable)...

British fire second - Dakka Inf. Score 5 hits out of 20 shots needing 7- … Leader WIA, Rifle KIA, Sword KIA, Sword WIA, Rifle WIA.

Mohmands fire their 3 units, total of 21 rifles needing 2 or under on D20 to hit and... score ZERO hits (multiple 3’s but no 2’s).

Clan #1 checks Critical Morale (still below 50%) fails and Routes for good, sending 9 figs. run off the table.  But Mullah Khalil remains…

WIA Mhariwara returns to Active Duty... WIA Mulehead returns to Active Duty.

When the Mhairwaras needed another warm body to hold the line, regimental Bhisti, Dharma Grim, had grabbed up a rifle from a downed Sepoy and stepped into the breech…



















While across the river, young Mulehead had fallen wounded, back at Kam Dakka Village, young Umra finally made his move…







Despite having won cutting the cards and so ushered in the arrival of the Relief Forces -- one from the West, close enough to bring shots to bear almost immediately...





...and another from the East, farther afield...





...despite all that -- at this point I had no idea if their arrival would manage to save the day for the British.  In fact my gut feeling at the time was, probably not.

View from down-river of the cemetery, now beset on three of its four sides -- and if you look close, you can see the most high-profile casualty on the table...



Yes, it's none other than the future Mulehead Khan, down on the ground WOUNDED at the East end of his Clan which is stretched out in a rough MASS FORMATION firing line both at the foot of and atop the edge of the low sandy hill across the river from the cemetery...



But moments later, at the very end of Turn 8, what figure would fully recovered from its wounded status and return to Active Duty but that same future Mulehead Khan...



Based on all these circumstances, the cemetery could well fall despite the arrival on the table of both Relief Forces...

TO BE CONTINUED...

(& concluded in the final chapter)