Resistance at Dip yahwalletA traditional Kweeziland song (badly translated) about the U’booti River goes:
Oh river of my fathers, you carry our people out on the tide. Flow unimpeded to the great sea, home to a rich harvest.Well after the French attack on the Zanzibari fleet at Dip yahwallet on the U’booti River the river no longer flowed unimpeded and was home to more than fish, littered as it was by the sunken Zanzibari fleet consigned to the depths by the French action.
As our campaign has spawned a ship building spree we decided to have a naval or at least riverine set of games. Each will pit the colonials against a Zanzibari force. First up it was the French.
The notorious Zanzibari warlord Amir Fyamuni had escaped captivity re-gathered his band of ner’do wells and pirates and set up a new base of operations at the village of Dip Yahwallet on the tidal reaches of the U’booti River.
Dip Yahwallett sitting peacefully on the banks of the U’booti. As peaceful as anywhere can be when home to a vipers nest of cutthroats, slavers and mercenaries
The French (with some US allies) had determined to finish his depredations and gathering a small fleet set off to launch an attack. We adapted some naval actions rules that one of our group had found
https://daftrica.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/rules-amendments-part-v-vessels-upon-sea.htmlThe French had to overcome the Zanzibari fleet and drive the Zanzibaris from the tembe and village.
The French were under the control of Contre Amiral Gualtier with 2iCs Capitaine de Frigate Maurice Carte-blanche and US ally Colonel Saunders. Their leaderships were 6+ with Unlucky (dies on a 2 or 3 rather than just a pair of 1s)- Gaultier had of course no intention of actually fighting. Carte-blanche was a drunk but retained 6+ leadership. Saunders was 7+ but had ‘Favourite nephew’ trait.
Amir F’yahmuni was a 5+ leader with Brave, Jaffar Khazi was a 4+ but with Ugly and the Zanzibari fleet was led by Mah’d Azahatta on 6+ leadership and Bald as a coot.
We pointed up the guns as per TMWWBK rules and boats as per the naval rules. We did adapt the rules to allow for different sizes of guns which could cause differing amounts of damage and used the differing sizes of boats with greater or lesser damage points that they could take before sinking. We didn’t restrict the number of guns per points but allowed the players to pick their forces as they wanted.
The French had 5 boats each carrying some of their troops, the Zanzibaris 3 dhows and a canoe.
Each boat had a gun/guns the French brought a gun to disembark and the Zanzibaris had three shore based guns. The French had 1 x unit of regular Foreign Legion, 2x units of irregular Tirallieurs, 2x units of tribal levy and 1 x unit of regular US marines.
The Zanzibaris had 1x unit of Baluchi matchlocks, 1x unit of Baluchi swordsmen, 1x unit of Zanzibari guard and 1x unit of Zanzibari militia. As in previous games we pointed up the tembe and village.
A close up of the dark hearted Zanzibari craft
And their French opponents allegedly all named after Gaultiers mistresses. From bottom to top (that’s order of boats not Gaultiers proclivities). The Lola, The Lissette , The Lulu, The Leona and the Lulabelle.
As the morning mist cleared the French flotilla hove into sight. Taken by surprise after a heavy night of rapine and looting their neighbours only the Baluchi swordsmen were in a fit state to embark on one of the dhows, the remaining vessels set off to confront the French with just gun crews on board.
Mah’d Azahatta was true to his name and set about a very random target selection on the larger French flotilla causing some damage on the Lola but only a little on the Lulabelle and none elsewhere. The hits to Lulabelle did cause casualties amongst her contingent of marines.
Return fire from the French caused some hits on the dhows and the canoe exploded in spectacular fashion.
Mah’d Azahatta aimed his dhow for the nearest French boat, the Lissette oblivious to the fact she was the biggest vessel and probably carrying the most troops. A boarding action ensued as the Baluchi swordsmen stormed the Lisette. They fought with a unit of native levy and routed them over two rounds of melee. Gaultier who was onboard the Lissette was becoming worried enough to take up a new position at the rear of the vessel almost spilling his cognac in the process and loosing the article he was reading in his copy of ‘The Gay Parisian’.
Gaultier considers his options as some angry men with very large swords board the Lissette.
Zut alors or some similar phrase Gaultier orders his crew to re-arrange his chaise lounge at the rear of the boat.
With the Baluchi onslaught in full flow Gaultier threw the second native levy unit into action and they overcame the by now depleted Baluchis after another two rounds of combat taking the fight on to the Zanzibari flagship and after a further fight with the crew capturing the vessel and scuppering it, sending the dhow to join the canoe in the muddy depths.
The Foreign Legion on board the Lola managed to board the medium dhow and with only the crew to fight soon captured the vessel and scuppered it.
Order is restored and more importantly Gaultier can retake his position up on the foredeck. It only cost two native levy units to achieve.
The final small dhow was targeted by combined French gunnery and sunk giving the French a clear naval victory without loss.
Well almost without loss. Colonel Saunders managed to run the Lulabelle onto the rocks and badly holed had to make for the nearest shore. The US marines stormed up the bank only to be met by sustained and accurate musketry from the Zanzibaris pinning them and causing them to fall back to the cover of the riverbank from a failed rally attempt.
Colonel Saunders managing not to avoid the rocks
Also the French had lost two units of native levy fighting the Baluchi unit and with the losses to the US marines troop casualties were starting to mount before they’d even begun the land assault.
Over the next three rounds the French guns cleared the land based Zanzibari guns and started to cause significant damage to the tembe.
As the French disembarked their troops the Zanzibaris fell back from their river based positions and rallying around Amir Fyahmuni fell back on the village still managing to cause casualties as they skirmished back.
The Tirallieurs storm ashore
The Foreign Legion assault the tembe
Colonel Saunders finds it easier to charge a gun crew rather than units of Zanzibaris
Amir Fyahmuni decides the native huts look somehow more inviting than the tembe full of the French
Though the US marines had taken the gun emplacement they then sustained more casualties to shooting and failing numerous rally attempts fell back to the River bank. This left the Tirallieurs and Foreign Legion to force the assault but they’d also been taking casualties. In particular Jafar Khazi’s Baluchi matchlocks had been a constant source of hits.
Khazi’s boys giving the French a brown trouser moment as they lay down a heavy covering fire.
The French landed their mountain gun but the crew were hit and failed to rally leaving the only French guns to support the assault now the boat based ones which could target the village, ie not all of them.
The Tirallieurs launched two assaults in successive turns only to be beaten back from the walls of the village by the Zanzibaris. Finally the depleted Foreign Legion assaulted a breach in the village walls caused by gunfire from the Lola. In a close fight they could only draw the melee being forced back into the Baluchi field of fire where the French units were sustaining yet more casualties.
The French realising that shock and awe doesn’t equal boots on the ground.
And that was it, the French had sunk the Zanzibari fleet and partly collapsed the tembe but their losses in troops meant they couldn’t continue the assault so ending a very close run game with the French on the balance enjoying a minor victory but with Amir Fyahmuni and Jafar Khazi blowing raspberries at them from the village.
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