1st Campaign Battle Fought!

note -- game was played August 8, 2011 with Murdock playing the British and Alex running the M'tubel (who look surprisingly like Zulus).

(Also note that Murdock has posted his own account of the battle on his Murdock's Mauraders blog.)

The word along the river was that the main focus of strife and discontent within the District was a certain Chief M'Shoota (shown with rifle and yellow plume in image -- click for larger view). This was confirmed by Reverend Wilfred Vernon, the head of the mission in M'tubel,

Chief M'Shoota was ruler of the village of M'Eezee, so Captain McMurdock determined to burn that village to the ground. He therefor set out with his entire command to do just that. His command consisted of:

• Capt. McMurdock and Lt. Sharpe
• Lt. MacDavid and 18 other ranks of the 92nd Foot
• Sgt. Woodley and 9 other ranks of the 58th Foot
• Lt. Cosgrove and 19 Sepoys of the 21st NMI
• Havildar Sonam and 8 Gurkhas of the 4th Gurkha
• 6 mules and muleteers and two wounded

While relatively flat, the terrain was heavily forested with tropical plants (dark green areas were heavier jungle than the tall grasses of the lighter green areas), making movement difficult.

The "jungle telegraph" had obviously preceded them because M'Eezee had been cleared of all except warriors by the time the British reached it.

However before they could, in fact, reach M'Eezee, a band of black shield M'tubel charged the Gurkhas (who were scouting ahead of the main body) from the cover of the jungle.

While the Gurkhas rifle fire dropped a number of the M'tubel, disrupting their throwing spears, it was the work of the Gurkhas kukris that ended the fight. This was especially effective when Havildar Sonam took the head off of the black shield's leader with a single blow.

Still, the black shields outnumbered the Gurkhas by two to one, so the fight was not all one-sided. Gurkha Gurung (#5) went down with a thrown spear to his chest in the initial charge; and Gurkhas Limbu and Kunal (#6 & #9) were killed. And before the fight was won both the Havildar and Gurkha Rai (#3) were also seriously wounded.

Nevertheless, the bulk of the black shields lay dead or dying and only a fraction were left to flee.

As the rest of the company closed up to tend to the wounded, a band of white shield M'tubel also attacked the column's left flank from cover hitting the Madras Pioneers (21st NMI). Sadly Havildar Bama (#2) and Sepoy Hati (#19) were slain in the resulting hand-to-hand fighting; and Sepoys Gauri (#3) and Bhanu (#20) were wounded.

But the Pioneers held . . . chiefly because Sepoy Lakshmi (#5) personally slew at least four of the white shields while protecting Lt. Cosgrove from their spears. With the death of Havildar Bama, Gosgrove promoted Lakshmi to the rank of Havildar as his new second-in-command.

As this fight was ending, a band of red shield M'tubel made a huge charge that ended just short of hitting the 58th and part of the 92nd in the rear. (see image -- and click as always for larger view).

Fortunately the British units were able to turn about and deliver deadly volleys into the red shields.

Indeed, between the Brits, Highlanders and four remaining Gurkhas, the 19 of the 20 red shields fell from the withering fire over the next several minutes without ever successfully closing to hand-to-hand.

With all three M'tubel bands broken (and the leaders of each unit dead) the survivors gathered in the village of M'Eezee for a last stand. But as an Imperial volley dropped more of the warriors, the remaining white shields routed and the rest of the prepared to run as well.

At this point the saddest event of the day occurred. Chief M'Shoota, who had remained at a distance throughout the running battle fired his only shot . . . indeed it was the very last shot of the battle . . . and dropped Lt. Cosgrove with a bullet to the side of his head.

With that the M'tubel having lost fully three quarters of their warriors, abandoned the village and Captain McMurdock's forces then burned it to the ground.

================== XXX ==================

Notes from the battle:

• rules were "The Sword and the Flame: 20th Anniversary Edition"
• we used one of the Virtual Armchair General's TSATF card decks
• the huge red-shield "charge" mentioned above was not a charge in rulebook terms. It was a normal 3d6 move for which Alex rolled 15" plus an extra 3d6 bonus due to a special event card from the above-mentioned deck and he again rolled 15" for a total move of 30"!
• at one point, the 92nd Highlanders drew a "bad ammo" event from the deck above and the only shot from the unit that struck home was from Lt. McDavid's pistol.
  

Casualty Report :

21st NMI (Madras Pioneers)

• Lt. Neil Cosgrove -- wounded
• Havildar Bama -- dead
• Sepoy Chandrak -- dead
• Sepoy Hati -- dead
• Sepoy Gauri -- seriously wounded
• Sepoy Bhanu -- wounded

4th Gurkhas

• Havildar Sonam -- seriously wounded
• Sepoy Limbu -- dead
• Sepoy Kunal-- dead
• Sepoy Rai -- seriously wounded
• Sepoy Gurung -- seriously wounded

Afristan Map after Victory:

So moves for the March turn are now due.

Remember that you can move into any adjacent District or travel through a maximum of one hex of a District in order to reach another district. An example of this can be found in the Tyger River area.

The Field Force is in Luni. It could move to G'umb . . . or it could travel through one hex of G'umb to either Swati or M'wez (with a slight penalty to the Rebellion die roll).

Of course, if like the Cango River Field Force, you are "on the river", you can move to any District which the river touches.

-- Jeff

Battle vs M'tubel on Monday

Well it now looks like Captain McMurdock will draw "first blood" in the Afristan Campaign . . . and, most likely lose some of his troops as well.

He has been charged with pacifying this rebellious district by burning the village of M'eezee. But whether this will be easy or hard we should find out on this coming Monday afternoon. So in the meantime, I need to paint some Zulus (who will act as M'tubel) and create a village to be burned.

Meanwhile all of the players have made their reinforcement choices. Pete and Alex both chose option four (one Briton and one Gurkha) while Murdock and I both chose option two (one Cavalryman and one Sepoy).

By the way, the available reserves can always be seen by clicking on the appropriate River Valley Command in the top right hand column, then scrolling down to the bottom of the forces list.

-- Jeff

February Results and Reinforcements

Campaign Situation -- March 1st, 1876

Click twice on the map to left for much larger image.

Well as "March comes in like a lion" we have our first confrontation between Native troops and one of our commands.

The Vile River Field Force has met resistance upon entering the district of M'tubel.

Sadly, since I'm only in the process of painting the proper type of troops, we may need to wait a week or two before fighting this out.

Following the "Medical Report" are brief reports from the field relating to the experiences of the various River Commands.

Medical Report:

Pvt. Paul MacArthur of the 72nd Foot (Wazu River Command) has died of the wounds he received from that jungle cat last month.

Gurkha Thapa of the 4th Gurkha's (Vile River Command) has had his condition upgraded from "serious" to "stable".

Sepoy Chand of the 15th Bengali Native Infantry (Wazu River Command) has recovered and has returned to duty.

Cango River:

After the funeral service for Sepoy Japjot, Capt. Davidson's command left the fertile farmlands of Anwaki and hurried across the dry veldt of Tewfiq to the Tewfiq Trading Post. Here they learned that things had indeed gotten much worse at the Jadu Trading Post . . . so Capt. Davidson decided to requisition boat in order to "take to the river" as the quickest way to reach the trouble spot.

While at the Trading Post, Lt. Appleby's "problem child", Sepoy Prakash (#7) somehow manged to knock over a large display of heavy crates which all fell on top of him . . . yet somehow he escaped injury.

Later, when boarding the boats, Prakash managed to upset one of the boats and was not seen again until the boat was successfully righted, when he was found to have been knocked unconscious and had been trapped face-up in the air pocket under the boat. Havildar Granth and several other members of the 2nd "Piffers" now feel that Prakash is a good luck omen . . . he certainly was lucky while at the Trading Post.

Tyger River:

Captain Webley-Grant forced marched his command across the arid grasses of G'umb toward the badlands of Luni. His reception in both Districts was quite hostile, bordering on open rebellion.

While traveling past one of the G'umb villages, some children threw rocks at the troops and Sepoy Kulbir (#19) of the 45th BNI was struck in the head and remains unconscious a few days later. In addition, one of the muleteers received a broken arm from a thrown rock and now has to ride one of his mules.

If possible the atmosphere in Luni was even worse than in G'umb. Webley-Grant's second in command, Lt. Pete Kipling was shot in his right (shooting) arm from ambush. While he seems to be out of danger, he won't be able to use his pistol well for some time (+2 penalty on die roll).

In a similar incident, Pvt. Elliot O'Neill (#6) of the 88th Foot was shot in the leg and is confined to riding a mule; and Sepoy Onkar (#13) of the 45th BNI is in "serious" condition from a bullet wound he received from some camel riders.

Nevertheless it seems like the "show of force" has (for the time being at least) quieted the discontent . . . at least enough to delay open rebellion for a while although it seemed like a close-run thing.

Vile River:

Having successfully quieted the discontent in Ghilz, Capt. McMurdock led his troops to the confluence of the White and Blue Viles and crossed the White Vile into the troubled Jungles of M'tubel.

As they crossed the White Vile, they were greeted by a hail of spears and Private Angus Grant was critically wounded with a spear to his stomach. Several volleys into the jungle apparently dispersed these natives . . . although no bodies were found after the encounter. Since then the column has been continuously harassed and a battle seems inevitable.

Wazu River:

The two columns of Captain Ellis and Lieutenant Jeffers crossed their respective West and East branches of the Wazu and re-joined to quiet the discontent surrounding the Fuziwa Trading Post.

While not received exactly warmly by the bushy-haired hill people, Ellis' command encountered no active resistance. Still, Private Gordon Ogilvy (#8) of the 72nd Foot slipped and fell down a hillside and is rather substantially banged up and will be out-of-action for a while.

Following are the current Rebellion Index for the various districts:

• Alex's Cango River districts are in red
• Pete's Tyger River districts are in green
• Murdock's Vile River districts are in purple
• Jeff's Wazu River districts are in blue

The following "codes" will be in effect -- and the die roll in parentheses indicate how many points the Rebellion Index will rise each month if not visited:

• Home Districts are marked with * (d6-4)
  
• Mission Districts are marked # (d6-2)
  
• Trading Post Districts have a $ (d8-4)
  
• Normal Districts are unmarked (d6-3)
  
• "Beja" Districts are marked -- (B)
• "Dervish" Districts are marked -- (D)
  
• "Egyptian" Districts are marked -- (E)
• "Pathan" Districts are marked -- (P)
• "Zulu" Districts are marked -- (Z)
  

CANGO RIVER:

Tewfiq * -- (E) ---- 3
Derf # -- (B) ------- 6
Jadu $ -- (P) ------- 11
Zirak $ -- (P) ------ 3
Anwak -- (D) ------2
Bele -- (Z) ---------- 3
Noair -- (D) ------- 2
Quett -- (P) -------- 4
W'tut -- (Z) -------- 8

TYGER RIVER:

Nukar * -- (E) ---- 4
Ta'ish # -- (D) ---- 4
Afridi $ -- (P) ---- 3
Swati $ -- (P) ----- 4
Dendoa -- (B) ---- 7
G'umb -- (Z) ------ 3
Luni -- (P) --------- 2
M'wez -- (Z) ------ 2
Umma -- (D) ----- 5

VILE RIVER:

Urabbi * -- (E) --- 2
M'tubel # -- (Z) -- ???
Bejj $ -- (B) -------- 5
Dinqa $ -- (D) ---- 6
Alghaz -- (D) ----- 5
Ghilz -- (P) -------- 2
Tarqa -- (P) -------- 5
J'ele -- (Z) ---------- 3
Z'ooli -- (Z) -------- 9

WAZU RIVER:
Kamel * -- (E) ----- 2
Baqqar # -- (D) --- 2
Fuziwa $ -- (B) ---- 2
Shluk $ -- (D) ----- 4
Dwari -- (P) ------- 4
Likaz -- (Z) -------- 6
Mazood -- (P) ---- 5
Ngoon -- (Z) ------ 3
Wazri -- (P) ------- 5

Reinforcements Choices:

All commands will get some reinforcements delivered to their home ports. Each player will have his choice of one of the following options:

1. one Artilleryman
2. one Cavalryman and one Sepoy
3. two "Britons"
4. one "Briton" and one Gurkha
   
5. four Sepoys

Please inform me of your choice of reinforcements as soon as you decide.

-- Jeff

Position Clarification & New Rule

I wish to clarify something. The placement of your Field Force symbol within a District does NOT indicate its actual position.

I simply place the Field Force symbol in a convenient open space within the District.

When you are in a District, you are moving around throughout the whole District and could be anywhere you want in the District at month's end.

I based my campaign rules on the Jarania system, but I've made several changes . . . and now I'm going to make one more.

Instead of only being able to move into a directly adjacent District (or onto the River), I will allow you to travel through one or two hexes only of an intervening District in order to reach your desired District (or the River).

However, you will have to take a d20 test against the Rebellion Index of the intervening District and will be stopped there if you face any fighting. But if you make it safely through you will NOT "pacify" that District. It's Rebellion Index will not be altered by your journey.

Additionally, there will be a penalty to the d20 die roll in your eventual target District should you reach it. The penalty will depend upon the number of hexes you needed to travel to your target District:

• if one hex -- d20 test vs Rebellion Index will have a -1 penalty if an even number is rolled on the d20
  
• if two hexes -- the d20 test will have a -2 penalty on the die roll no matter what is rolled -- this represents the reduced time spent in the District.

So, while I do not think that this will change either Pete or Murdock's February moves, they are free to change them if they like -- but let me know soon please; since Alex's move isn't in yet, he will have time to contemplate this rule change before he responds with his move.

-- Jeff

Situation -- February, 1876

Campaign Date -- February, 1876

Click twice on the map to left for much larger image.

First I should point out that we made some different choices as to how we would reinforce our troops in our home ports.

I selected option #2, the other three players selected option #3. Upon reflection, they probably made a wiser choice . . . but I want to build toward a cavalry unit. I suppose that I'd better hope for few casualties, eh?

The red numbers on the map indicate the current Rebellion Index for each region in following the January campaign turn.

The colored squares indicate the current location of each player's Field Force (or forces). So the question is now . . . "where do you want to go in February?"

Remember you may move to any adjacent region (even across the river) OR you may spend February "on the river" (if you are currently in a district bordering your river) and then move into any region that the river touches in March (by which time it is likely that some of the Rebellion Index numbers will have risen).

Following are the current Rebellion Index for the various districts:

• Alex's Cango River districts are in red
• Pete's Tyger River districts are in green
• Murdock's Vile River districts are in purple
• Jeff's Wazu River districts are in blue

The following "codes" will be in effect -- and the die roll in parentheses indicate how many points the Rebellion Index will rise each month if not visited:

• Home Districts are marked with * (d6-4)
  
• Mission Districts are marked # (d6-2)
  
• Trading Post Districts have a $ (d8-4)
  
• Normal Districts are unmarked (d6-3)
  
• "Beja" Districts are marked -- (B)
• "Dervish" Districts are marked -- (D)
  
• "Egyptian" Districts are marked -- (E)
• "Pathan" Districts are marked -- (P)
• "Zulu" Districts are marked -- (Z)
  

CANGO RIVER:

Tewfiq * -- (E) ---- 2
Derf # -- (B) ------- 4
Jadu $ -- (P) ------- 8
Zirak $ -- (P) ------ 3
Anwak -- (D) ------2
Bele -- (Z) ---------- 3
Noair -- (D) ------- 2
Quett -- (P) -------- 4
W'tut -- (Z) -------- 5

TYGER RIVER:

Nukar * -- (E) ---- 4
Ta'ish # -- (D) ---- 4
Afridi $ -- (P) ---- 3
Swati $ -- (P) ----- 2
Dendoa -- (B) ---- 4
G'umb -- (Z) ------ 3
Luni -- (P) --------- 6
M'wez -- (Z) ------ 2
Umma -- (D) ----- 5

VILE RIVER:

Urabbi * -- (E) --- 2
M'tubel # -- (Z) -- 6
Bejj $ -- (B) -------- 5
Dinqa $ -- (D) ---- 5
Alghaz -- (D) ----- 5
Ghilz -- (P) -------- 2
Tarqa -- (P) -------- 5
J'ele -- (Z) ---------- 2
Z'ooli -- (Z) -------- 6

WAZU RIVER:
Kamel * -- (E) ----- 2
Baqqar # -- (D) --- 2
Fuziwa $ -- (B) ---- 8
Shluk $ -- (D) ----- 4
Dwari -- (P) ------- 4
Likaz -- (Z) -------- 3
Mazood -- (P) ---- 5
Ngoon -- (Z) ------ 2
Wazri -- (P) ------- 2

Please note that your "native troops" (Sepoys and Gurkhas) all now have names.

Email me with your with where they are going for your move (or moves if you split forces).

-- Jeff

January Results and Reinforcements

Well as I more-or-less as expected, the initial turn of the Afristan Campaign did not result in any battles but dissatisfaction seems to be growing around the island and fighting may soon result.

Following are brief accounts from each of the Valley Commands:

Cango River:

Captain Davidson lead his full command west into the rich farmlands of the Anwaki people. They received a rather sullen response as they moved from village to village. The women hiding behind their veils and all encompassing clothing seemed to be fearful of the Scots in their kilts.

Sadly on the night of January 22, Sepoy Japjot (#6) of the 2nd PFF (Punjabi Field Force) snuck out at night after telling his mates that he was going to "have some fun". His body was found the following day with his throat cut . . . but there was no indication of who had done this . . . and the investigation was fruitless.

A few days later word of troubles at the Jadu Trading Post reached them and so they left Anwak short one sepoy.

Tyger River:

Leaving the veldt of Nukar, Captain Webley-Grant's crossed the Tyger from the port of Belhi into the lush jungles of M'wez. Fortuately they were rather well received by the black heathens who inhabit these lands. Indeed they were feasted at every village that they visited. It is hoped that all of their patrols will be as pleasant.

Vile River:

Captain McMurdock lead his command west from Kyro along the north bank of the Vile until he was able to cross into the Ghilz hills. The dark-eyed swarthy folk of those hills were mostly apathetic toward the Field Force.

Unfortunately Ghurka Thapa (#2) was severely incapacitated after being bitten by a viper. The snake was only about two feet long, but there is much doubt as to whether he will survive until he reaches the care of Surgeon Cranbrook back in Kyro.

Wazu River:

Evaluating the problems in Baqqar, Ngoon and Fuziwa, Captain Ellis decided to split his forces. He would take the Black Watch and Gurkhas into Baqqar; while Lt. Jeffers would lead the 72nd and Ludhiana Sikhs south into Ngoon, with both planning to meet up the following month in Fuziwa.

Capt. Ellis lead his troops southeast until he could cross the Wazu into the fertile fields of Baqqar. In general the natives were standoffish and fairly apathetic to their presence. The only notable incident occurred when Sepoy Chand (#6) sprained his left ankle so badly that he has to ride on one of the supply mules (resulting in many crude comments from his fellows).

At the same time Lt. Jeffers marched south to Vart, where his troops crossed into the jungles of Ngoon. The black devils who inhabit that jungle territory were not pleased with their presence. A very cold, hostile reception was met with in almost every village. The elders at those villages received them with scant hospitality but a few demonstration of the efficacy of modern firearms tended to somewhat dampen their animosity.

Sadly Private Paul McArthur of the 72nd was critically injured when he was mauled by a jungle cat. Even if he should recover he will forever speak with a high voice and will forever go without heirs.

Reinforcements Choice:

All commands will get some reinforcements delivered to their home ports. Each player will have his choice of one of the following options:

1. one Cavalryman and one "Briton";
2. one Cavalryman and two Sepoys;
3. two "Britons" and a Sepoy;
4. one "Briton" and three Sepoys;
5. or five Sepoys

Please let me know which option you will select.

Finally, the February Situation will appear soon.

-- Jeff

Accidents Happen

Now that the Afristan Campaign has begun, I should mention that beside the chance of a battle occurring, there is always the possibility of "accidents" happening.

Perhaps not surprisingly, accidents are more likely to occur if the district that a Field Force is traversing is one where the populace is closer to rebellion than it is if they are glad to see the British.

In other words, the closer that the d20 roll vs a district's Rebellion Index is, the greater the chance of accidents . I will not reveal just how this works right now, but the number of "accident die rolls" increases as things get dangerous.

The usual Field Force consists of six "elements" (at least at this point in the campaign):

1. Command -- 2 officers & 1 horse = 3
   
2. British Platoon -- 20 men
3. British Squad -- 10 men
4. Sepoy Platoon -- 20 men
5. Gurkha Squad -- 10 men
6. Supply Train -- 6 men & 6 mules = 12

I will roll 1d6 to determine which of the above units might suffer an accident. Then I will roll 1d30. If that number rolled is greater than the number of targets available, then no accident occurs. If, on the other hand, it falls on a number, then that character number (on the force lists) may suffer an accident:

To determine this, I'll roll 1d12:

• on a 1 -- target dies
• on 2-3 -- serious wound
• on 4-7 -- less serious wound
• on 8-9 -- minor misfortune
• 10-12 -- nothing happens

However with four Field Forces, I expect that there will be the occasional mishap to add "color" to the campaign. Healing of injuries will be as described near the bottom of an earlier post.

-- Jeff