The Bhyklabad Relief Column

In the last Blog entry I made a week ago I reported at some length on the all day Indian Mutiny game John Aston and I played here in GHQ. Today Jon White and I managed to play part two of the game, in which the relief column attempts to break through to the remnants of the besieged garrison holding out around the Residency and the Great Mosque in Bhyklabad. For this game I handed over command of the HEIC forces to Jon and I took command of the Mutineers and their native allies. The relief column enters the table along the Great Trunk Road which cuts the table in two and leads into Bhyklabad by the Great Gate. The Mutineers are somewhat spread out with some units in the city, some engaging the remnants of the defenders from outside the walls and many drawn up to block the route of the Relief Column, which, if you recall, failed to arrive in the last game! The first photo shows the situation confronting the Relief Column at the end of turn one ~

The Mutineer cavalry gallantly charged the enemy, covering the withdrawal of the exposed horse artillery behind the supporting Mutineer infantry. Meanwhile the Rajah of Rhanlistan's war elephants and supporting troops moved to block the route to the city supported by hordes of Bhurpa warriors from the hills ~

The remnants of the garrison of Bhyklabad can hear the skirl o' the pipes carried by the breezes, but are under heavy fire from numerous mutineers. In the distance local Badmash attempt to break into the Great Mosque with little success ~

Very early in the game things begin to unravel for the Mutineers. The lancers bravely engage their heavy guns before they can be bought to bear on the column's densely packed infantry units while the Horse Artillery attempting to withdraw are caught by the Hussars! The Rajah's troops are finding the going slow as they move into position ~

The desperate defenders still cannot see the column fighting its way towards them, but nor can the nearest Mutineer troops move to aid their comrades against a threat they too cannot yet see ~

The Mutineer line begins to stabilize and even their cavalry are having the best of the fight against the Sikhs. Sadly, they will eventually be defeated but their courageous action has bought the remainder of their force the chance to consolidate along the ridge ~

The Mutineers are well placed to inflict losses on the advancing HEIC infantry and the British Regulars, but they will need luck as the enemy have superior firepower if they can deploy successfully ~

While on the Mutineers' right flank the firefight is proving costly for both sides, in the centre the Gordon Highlanders sweep forward into a charge to carry the enemy works and drive off the Rajah's forces ~

The Gordons' firepower sees off the Rajah's Horse and the war elephants suffer heavy losses from the artillery supporting the Gordons' attack ~

Things suddenly take a turn for the worse for the Mutineers when several units fail their Pluck Tests and flee the field ~

The Relief Column surges forward down the road to Bhyklabad cheered on by the defenders in the city. Mutineer troops flee in all directions to avoid capture and the dreaded fate at the mouth of the guns ~

The Relief Column enters the city via the remnants of the Great Gate ~

The victory was clear after eleven turns with the Mutineer force shattered, mainly in one awful turn of four failed Pluck Tests! It had been a tense and testing time for both sides with many moments when events might have swung towards the Mutineer course, but for the 'Dice Gods' of course! Our next game will be a VBCW game set around 1938 Wolverhampton and the surrounding South Staffs countryside.