Sharp Practice in the Sudan (update 15 August)

[TacticalPainter]

A Sudan variant of the Too Fat Lardies' Sharp Practice rules was published in the recent 2021 Lard Magazine and I've been eager to try it out. Having enjoyed Sharp Practice for horse & musket and having tried The Men Who Would Be Kings for the Sudan I was interested to see whether Sharp Practice could deliver a good game with a suitable period feel. I played two games in quick succession, one in 15mm and one in 28mm. To be honest the scale was irrelevant, that was just a matter of circumstance, as the rules work just as well in either. I thought the variant worked very well and I'm keen to play it again. I've written a longer blog post that will give a better impression of how the various games played out which you can find here https://thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2022/05/sharp-practice-in-sudan.html

[MaleGriffin]

Excellent looking game! I hadn't seen a Sudan scenario!

[Grumpy Gnome]

Thanks for the reports. As always a pleasure to read. Great looking games and it sounds like it was fun!

[TacticalPainter]

Really enjoying how the Sharp Practice variant is working in this setting and I've been busy making more themed game aids and desert terrain. There's a long blog post that goes into more detail on how they were made which you can find here https://thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2022/06/terrain-bases-and-leader-markers-for.html

There are a few more items of terrain including an attempt at making acacia trees using Woodland Scenics armatures:





All my sabot bases and leader bases are made for a North American setting and so I've put some together that are more appropriate to the arid terrain:





Put them all to good use in another game last week. Once again it was a close run thing with an Egyptian victory but their force morale was getting precariously low.

[MaleGriffin]

More great shots! Fantastic work!

[Umra Khan]

Great paint work, compliments !

[JBaumal]

Beautiful collection, outstanding brush work and basing!

[TacticalPainter]

 A few more recent additions. I wanted something to represent a baggage train or similar for an escort scenario and I thought these lovely camels and baggage from Empress would work well. The two handlers are Indian or Afghan but I think they will work in the Sudan.









This Perry 7pdr screw gun and crew has been primed and waiting for paint for a while now and so that's now ready.





Last, these Perry Beja casualties were also waiting patiently in the paint queue and so they are now ready.

[giorgio]

AMAZING !!! I love those camels! Great paintwork

[OSHIROmodels]

Great stuff 

[Galloping Major]

Very 'andsome.

www.gallopingmajorwargames.co.uk

[TacticalPainter]

Our initial games have featured the Egyptians and we imagined they made a better match for the Beja than the British who have the ability to unleash some devastating firepower. Despite our misgivings we've ended up playing several games that have been very closely contested and not the walkover you might have imagined. I've written a detailed AAR of one of those games that I hope gives a good feel for how the rules play out in the context of Sudan. You can read the full AAR here http://thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2022/08/i-hear-camel-train-comin-sharp-practice.html

[MaleGriffin]

More absolutely fantastic figures and terrain!

[Shahbahraz]

Now I have Credence Clearwater Revival as an earworm...      Thanks for the report, cracking stuff, as always.

[TacticalPainter]

While up until now our Sudan games have focussed on the conflict between the Mahdists and the Anglo-Egyptians one of the guys at the club suggested we try a game with his Force Publique from the Belgian Congo. This opened up a whole new aspect of the war in the Sudan that I knew very little about and sheds more light on why Kitchener was so eager to get to Foshoda after the victory at Omdurman.

We played a game last night that was very loosely based on the Battle of Rejaf where the Belgians forced the Mahdists from a position on a ridge. Another very enjoyable game although in hindsight we may have needed to increase the size of the Belgian force given the Mahdists held such a strong position. Essentially it allowed the bulk of the Mahdists spearmen to remain concealed in the rocks and behind the ridge before bursting out onto the plain once the Belgians had come closer. It meant the Mahdists could use all their advantages of speed to get into fisticuffs quickly before the Force Publique could make good use of their range and firepower.