SUDAN 54mm Three Battle Campaign Game #1

Date: 16 October 1898/2018
Location: Sudan Seacoast, Bebara River, Mafrica
Situation: Imperial Naval Landing Opposed By Dervishes

Rules: Batailles de le Ancien Régime/Colonial
Miniatures: 54-60mms
Weeknight Game --- Two Hours Duration
Players: Jim P. Der Alte Fritz, John B., Greg B. and me Bill P.

See previous post for set-up explanation and photos
https://generalpettygree.blogspot.com/2018/10/sudan-54mm-three-battle-campaign.html
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PRELUDE

Imperial forces commenced a naval landing on the Sudanese Coast at the mouth of The Bebara River on the imagineered continent of Mafrica. Local Dervish forces immediately launched a counterattack to throw the Imperials back into the sea. This is what happened.

IMPERIAL EXPEDITIONARY FORCE {IEF}

Morning Of The Landing

Northern Flank of the IEF Along The Bebara River

Royal Marines Assemble On The Beach

Naval Detachment Prolongs A Gardner Machine Gun Forward

To Support A More Forward Royal Marine Section Covering

The Most Forward Imperial Position Within A Stone Enclosure

Southern Flank Of The IEF

Dismounted Camel Corps Assembles On The Beach 

And Pushes A Screen Forward

Camelry Moves Inland

Left: Gatling Gun.    Right: Dismounted Camel Corps

NORTHERN FLANK --- DERVISHES APPEAR 

Load

Volley Fire --- Present --- FIRE!

Reload

Independent Fire

HOLD THEM!

Royal Marines and the Gardner Quick March

To Support The Highlanders

Left: Hand to Hand At The Wall

Right: Dervishes Recoil Back 

 Royal Marines Move Forward Firing Into The Dervish Flank

Meanwhile More Dervishes Arrive To Overcome The Highlanders 

And Flank Them On The Left

Will The Oncoming Royal Marines Scare Them Off?

It Doesn't Look Like It!

Both Imperial Flanks Are Lost

Only The Center Holds On

SOUTHERN FLANK--- DERVISHES APPEAR 

The Camel Corps Is Rushed By Dervishes

Heedless Of Losses They Charge Forward

After Initial Melee Successes

They Become Surrounded

Survivors Defiantly Fall Back To Recover

They Fought With Fanatical Ardour!

THE END?

This Looks And Is Dreadfully Bad For The Enclosure

Dervishes Are Within And Behind It!

But....

Our game time was up at 9:20 pm. Many Dervishes had routed from the front of the enclosure and surely (?) the nearing Royal Marines, Gardner and surviving Highlanders would cause the winning Dervishes within to logically retire.

Kudos to the Dervishes (John B. and Greg B.) for putting a huge scare into the two Imperial commanders; Jim and I! Somehow we survived. 

The landing area is secure for the moment and the Dervishes are retiring to regroup and summon hordes of reinforcements for Battle #2.

CLOSING REMARKS

(1) I am gravitating toward issuing game mission orders in the briefest way possible. It seems to help and allows players to use their own wits and intuition a bit more. And it is fast so a game can get underway without more than a few minutes of conversation. In recent years it seems as if lengthy game orders and speeches are not productive. Hence, this is all I gave to our four players.

(2) It helps enormously to use Quick Reference Charts. They are fast and each section has a number.

If you click on the above to make the image larger, notice that each little section is numbered. Thus, during a game all we have to say is, "Charlie the answer is in #19 or #44, etc." It's fast. Fast turn resolution is very important to maximize figuring things out and getting in more game turns.

(3) The enclosure creates an interesting and fun game tension. All of us know about Roarke's Drift. We recreated it a little differently.

(4) Bill's Imperial Roll Call After The Battle:
We should cobble together dice throws for KIA, Lightly Wounded and so on.

Stone Enclosure:
Burnaby Officer Commanding: 1 -0 = 1
Black Watch 42nd. Highlanders: 24 -6 = 18
Gordon Highlanders: 12 -3 = 9
Naval Detachment: 3 -2 =1

Elsewhere:
Officer Commanding and ADC: 2 -0 = 0
Royal Marines: 44 -0 = 44 (a)
Gardner Gun: 9 -0 = 9
Naval Detachment: 5 -0 = 5 (b)

(a)  22 unengaged (beach defense)
(b) 5 unengaged (beach defense)


(5) Jim's Imperial Losses

Major Edwards: 1 -0 = 1
Camel Corps: 50 approx. -6 = 44
Gatling Gun: 3 -0 = 3
Naval Detachment: 7 -0 = 7 (c)

(c) Unengaged (Guarding supplies on beach)

(6) Dervish Losses = ?

(7) Thank you for looking in.

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Sudan 54mm Three Battle Campaign

Proposal: Three Battle Sudan Campaign
Situation: Link Three Battles Together
Miniatures: Britains, John Jenkins and Others from Der Alte Fritz and yours truly

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Jack Scruby's Mafrica Map

Battle #1:
Imperial Naval Descent at the mouth of the Bebara River.
Small numbers encamp along the coast on the south side of the river.
Natives react to throw the foe back into the sea before more arrive.

Battle #2:
Assuming the Imperials hold on, more forces come ashore.
The Army marches inland to capture Kharti.
The Bebara River remains navigable for Imperial gunboats.

Battle #3:
If the Imperials are successful, they march deeper inland to Omdurman.
Very large battle.
If Omdurman falls, the war ends.
If not, the Imperials retreat and evacuate the continent.

Caveat:
Depending on results, Battles 2 and 3 might need adjusting.

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Circumstances For Battle #1

A portion of the initial Imperial landing force.

Royal Marines assemble on the beach.

Gardner Gun is being hauled forward.

Forward perimeter manned by more Royal Marines.

Apparently something is in the air!

Highlanders defend a forward enclosure to protect the beach.

The beach is to the left off image.

Stand to!
Volley Fire - Present!

Natives gather in a wooded area.

Hundreds of 'em to the south.

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CLOSING REMARKS

(1) The above offers an outline for three future games.

(2) Sometime in the deep past, the concept of a three battle campaign arose. I can't remember who imagineered this. It might have been Donald Featherstone. Does anyone remember? 

(3) Check back for more.

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Mafrica #1 Van Deers Farm

Date: 10 October 1898/2018
Location: Van Deers Farm
Situation: Imperial Supply Column Moving South

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VAN DEERS FARM ALONG THE SOUK RIVER

"Vader, the English are coming this way again."

"Ja. I see them now Margaretha." We must be pleasant to them."

Vanguard of Lieutenant Hawkings Supply Column

"Lieutenant Hawkings, Sah.' Van Deers Farm is just up ahead."

"Very well Sergeant Hicks. We'll camp there for the night. Pass the word."
"Sah."

"Do you see 'em Nigel?"

"I do my blind friend. Dinner an' make no mistake. 

Our cooking pots will be full tonight Charlie."

All was quiet at the rear of the supply column.
Flankers reported nothing amiss but....
Just as Nigel and Charlie were about to pot a few boars for dinner....

Enemy musket men hidden by vegetation and high stone walls of the Souk River Bridge secretly flanked the Imperial Advance Guard.  

Soon fire was exchanged.

Then they crossed and headed right to harass the Scotsmen and to support native spear and sword armed friends.

Who suddenly appeared in front of the Imperial van. Their shocking appearance and resolute advance found the Imperials just able to form a firing line to oppose them. It was a close run thing.

As these developments occurred, Lt. Hawkings ordered the 24th Foot detachment forward at the double to support the Scots and the 7 Pounder RML cannon to crown the high ground to the upper right. The buffs formed a firing line ahead of the supply wagons.

Next the buffs moved forward whilst the naval detachment double quicked to the hill.

All formed a respectable firing line.

But there was no time for congratulations. Events moved rapidly. The Van Deers Family already cruelly in the path of the foe lost Vader Van Deers and mother suffered a wound. The daughters stoutly stood their ground firing away as the enemy came on.

On they came, foes with throwing and stabbing spears. The two Imperial companies bravely fired, carried wounded to the rear and fought in hand-to-hand combat.

Back on the hill, Lt. Hawkings barked, "Give those poor devils some support! 

But, the end came too soon. There was no time to do more than watch the few minutes in which the gallant defence of the farm ended in favor of the Zulus.

The Rear Guard reformed an all-round defence. They waited for the inevitable turning of the Impi's chest directly toward them and the appearance of the horns encircling them. But this did not happen. The foe was spent.

 Hawkings: "Lt. Wright, we'd better get out of here while we can."

Wright led the decimated command back to the north as Hawkings and the Buffs protected the rear. Some survivors from the farm fight eventually joined the column. 

The Zulus did not pursue. Perhaps they were stunned by losses. We do not know. They were apparently content to have stopped supplies reaching an Imperial garrison to the south.

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CLOSING REMARKS

1. Histori-Figs owner Mike Taber granted us the opportunity to show and use Jack Scruby's Mafrica Map. We show a portion below. The Van Deers Farm action took place on the Souk River just barely north of the lake of the same name in the upper center of the map.

Jack Scruby's concept adapted the Second Period of Colonization on one imagineered continent featuring shifting alliances of native and Imperial powers. Hence in our first game we have Zulus allied with Masai though historically the two were separated by more than 2,500 miles. In Mafrica this does not matter. Plus we adopted the "Old School" principle of use miniatures we have ready.

(2) Natives: Dave G., Chuck L. (The Lucky) and Todd B.

(3) Imperials: Bill K. and yours truly Bill P. (chronicler of the General Pettygree stories)

(4) Design: Dave G. and Bill K.

(5) Terrain: Chuck L. and Bill P.

(6) Mostly 28mm miniatures: Dave G., Chuck L., Todd B. and Bill P.

(7) Rules: The Sword and The Flame 20th edition with aspects of The Africa variant.

(8) Played on a Wednesday evening in 2.5 hours. There may have been tenish turns and we certainly had a ton of fun.

(9) What's next? Mafrica #2 The Imperial Counter-Attack.

(10) See you next time.
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