Desert Disaster!

 GHQ Irregular Paul paid his first visit for a game after our complex summer hiatus. We had settled on a Sudan War game using Black Powder 2 as the rules driver once again. Paul would command the British Desert Column and could call on his cavalry force after three turns, arriving simply by passing an order test, and his infantry reinforcements from the zariba surrounded camp after six turns. The Desert Column consisted of four infantry regiments and the Heavy Camel Corps, supported by a Screw gun. I took command of the Mahdist force, fielding a wing of Nile Arabs and Bagarra Horse with a captured Egyptian Krupp gun and crew, while the centre and right of my force consisted of the Fuzzy-Wuzzys, more correctly Beja warriors on foot and on camel. These were supported by a captured Gardener gun with reduced capacity due to adjusting the necessary dice required to fire, to jam and to repair. As ever, a photomontage to give a sense of the action ~

The Bagarra Horse and Nile Arabs assault the Imperial infantry's leading regiments forcing them into a square.

They beat off the horse easily while on the left the Staffordshire regiment forms line to meet the onslaught of the Beja hordes.

The Beja warriors fall in droves before the British volleys which seems to cause the supporting Rhubs to falter in their advance.

The Heavy Camel Corps defeats the remaining Bagarra Horse preserving the Imperial flank from disaster as the Nile Arabs beat the Royal Surreys and break the square!

The stout hearts of the Black Watch are not dismayed by the Surreys fate and their brisk volleys drive off the Arabs!

Losses mount and discipline fails all along the Beja lines. Commanders just cannot get their men through the hail of fire from the British infantry!

The Heavy Camel Corps has destroyed the Mahdist left flank while the infantry have shattered the Beja on the other flank. The British cavalry arrive just as the victory is secured! It was all Too Much for the Mahdi as he slinks away defeated by British pluck!

As ever Black Powder gave a good game where fortunes ebbed and flowed bringing tension and uncertainty to the fore. For those interested in such things the figures are mostly from the Perry Miniatures Sudan War range with a few baggage camels from Castaway Arts and Essex Miniatures. The wadhi is made by The Last Valley and the Palm Trees are from S&A I recall. 

A First Class Fighting Man...

 For this week's game here in GHQ Phil wanted to play a Sudan War game, so, ever eager to despatch the unbeliever, The Barmy Bhykli rallied his forces ready for action! The scene is set, ready for the action to unfold ~

The fortress is rather dated and run down, occupied by an Egyptian force awaiting reinforcement. In a nearby deserted Sudanese village some Bashi-Basooks have encamped. Their role is to keep open the likely approach of the British relieving column. 

Meanwhile, the cunning Bhykli has mustered his army determined to defeat the Egyptian occupiers and deny the fortress to the British.

Speed is of the essence for the Mahdists! The relief column can arrive after 3 Turns, so an all out assault is the order of the day. The crumbling ruins provide hard cover from rifle fire, but not from artillery fire. Read on to see how the action unfolded ~

Mahdist artillery is directed to fire on the Egyptians cowering behind the crumbling fortifications, covering the advance of the first of the rifle armed Fuzzies! The Rubs advance fearlessly and take what cover they can in the wahdi.

 On the Mahdists' right flank all does not go according to plan from the first moments! The camelry refuse to advance, bogged in soft sands no doubt! The Arab horsemen are strung out along the rigde and only one element can engage the enemy! If the village is not captured swiftly the Relief Column may sweep in on the undefended flank of the Mahdist attackers!

Far from cowering in fact the Egyptian artillery pound the attacking Fuzzies, although without inflicting many casualties. Combined with the rifle fire of the Egyptian infantry the effect is to force the heads of the riflemen down. For now the walls are safe from attack!

While the rifle armed Fuzzies are exchanging fire with the Egyptians in the fortress the first of the supporting Rubs advances rather disjointedly towards the assault. Surprisingly the wahdi proves more of an obstacle than expected and the attack becomes disjointed.

The Egyptians' mounted force leaves the safety of the fortress and takes up a position to deter the Rubs in the wahdi from any impetuous assault on the crumbling walls! Meanwhile, the Arab horsemen have driven the Bashi-Basooks' cavalry back into the safety of the fortress and look to sweep the remaining occupiers from the deserted village.

Before they can sweep into the village though they are charged by the Egyptians and engaged in a ferocious melee of swirling steel!

The Arabs are sent fleeing to the rear, Broken by the fierce charge and furious melee! With the way clear the Relief Column headed by the sailors of 'HMS Repulsive' with their machine guns, marches directly into action. There is no sign of the force sent to shadow their approach!

Having finally mustered for the assault the Fuzzies are halted short of the walls by the heavy fire from the defenders lining the parapets! In Disorder and with their morale Shaken they are a sitting target for the naval gunners and riflemen who decimate them in no time at all. 

With his forces completely Broken, and with no sign of the Shadowing forces, the Bhykli is forced to abandon the assault. A stunning victory for Robinson Pasha!

The Sands of the Desert...

...are red with blood, etc. In other words, a return to the Sudan War, pitting the Barmy Bykli against Robinson Pasha. First off, an overview of the table, less Mahdists obviously ~

A British column sets forth to relieve the beleaguered Egyptian garrison defending El Zbelz. The Mahdists can appear after Turn 1from either table edge on a random dice throw, with the chance increasing in every turn. All obstacles for movement cause a reduction in move distance, 12" for the Anglo-Egyptian units and 6" for any Mounted Mahdists. The rocky outcrops are impassable to the Anglo-Egyptian forces, the Mahdists may cross them at a movement loss of 12". They may also occupy them and thus cannot be engaged hand-to-hand. Otherwise we used the rules from Black Powder and the supplement Blood on the Nile as given. On to the action ~

The relief column organises itself to march to the relief of the garrison of El Zlelz.

The Camel Corps advance towards a rocky outcrop searching for the Mahdists (who had failed to appear in Turn 2.)

While the Naval contingent accompanying the machine guns struggle across the desert sands the detachment from the Indian Army, led by the Tandoori Horse, move forward to support the Camel Corps.

Turn 3 and the Mahdists make a surprise appearance on the flank of the column. The Tandoori Rifles form a firing line and prepare to repel charges by the Beja camelry. Meanwhile the rifle armed warriors advance to occupy the rocky outcrops threatening the flank of the Camel Corps.

An overview of the developing battle hopefully giving a sense of the difficult decisions facing Robinson Pasha. The Naval detachment are still struggling in the soft sands of the dunes and the deployed machine guns have both jammed after one turn of firing!

With disciplined fire power, backed up by cold steel and pluck, the Tandoori Rifles Drive off the Bejac camelry under the eyes of Robinson Pasha and his Staff Officers.

More Mahdists now flood into the action, taking advantage of the cover provided by the Wadi, to rush towards the Tandoori Horse who have formed up to protect the approaches to the fort at El Zbelz.

As the Beja hordes sweep forward to the attack they are supported by their allied Bagarra horsemen sweeping around the flank of the fort and so surprising the Egyptian garrison that they omitted to fire on them!

As the Beja warriors sweep forward on the relief column a second wave of sword and spear armed fanatics are rushing to their support.

The Tandoori Horse stray themselves ready to charge the onrushing warriors, but ever wary of the threat posed by the sudden appearance of the Bagarra horsemen to their front.

With Lances lowered for the charge the Tandoori Horse crash into the mass of Beja warriors whose wicked swords hack and slash in response.

On the opposite flank of the wadi the dismounted Camel Corps troopers receive the Beja warriors charging them. A volley of devastating Closing Fire, backed up by a touch of the cold steel, sees off the Beja. Two 1s thrown in a Morale save would seem to suggest, "They don't like it up 'em, Sir, they do not like it up'em!"

Although the first wave of Beja fanatics are beaten off the Tandoori Horse have no time to reform before the Bagarra horsemen crash into them.

Steel crashes on steel, horse and men scream and fall, but again the Tandoori Horse are victorious!

As fresh elements of Bagarra allied horsemen, backed up by more Beja fanatical warriors, appear in the column's rear the Egyptian garrison's cavalry finally responds to frantic heliograph signalling and charges out on the enemy!

It's had been a desperate struggle over 11 Turns, but the morale of the Mahdist army is finally broken. The surviving warriors withdraw from the field of battle leaving many a brave man's corpse for the vultures circling overhead already!

All the figures are from my collection of Perry Miniatures, supported by odd bits from Essex and Castaway Arts. The fort walls and towers are from the old hard foam Battleground range made by Ian Weekley and are 15mm really but look fine to me! Phil scratch built the various buildings you see and the resin pieces are from the Hovels range. The mat is from Tiny Wargames Mats I believe.

The Trouncing of Bhykli Pasha...

For our regular Monday game earlier this week with Phil I tweaked the desert table laid out for last Wednesday’s Sudan War game between Jon and yours truly. I replaced the Mahdist forces with my motley crew of Egyptian Regulars and irregulars, bolstered by some Baggara Horse roped in for the game. The British, under Lord Rawnsley, must drive through the Egyptian lines of defence if they are to win the game, the Egyptians just have to hold their ground if they are to win. As ever, an annotated photomontage to bring you the nub of events~

The Egyptian right rested on a small walled farm, fronting on

to the opening of the wadi to their front. The far right was held

by three units of irregular Arab horse, supported by one of

regular Gendarmes.

As Fanatics the Irregulars must try to charge the enemy in

sight. Sadly their Command Rolls did not reflect their ardour!

The Hussars and Dragoons holding the British left moved

forward cautiously, supporting the infantry who must storm

the Egyptian lines to win the battle!

The first cavalry clash of the battle was brutal...

One group of Arab Irregular horse is Routed unceremoniously!

A Sweeping Advance by the victors smashes into the

supporting Irregulars...

Who are beaten soundly and Retire 'Shaken and Disordered'!

Still, with two uncommitted Cavalry units still in place the

British victors sensibly Rally Back.

As the British close on the wadi in their remorsely assault on

the Egyptian lines the second Egyptian Cavalry Brigade is put

to flight.

With their right flank now open, the Egyptian regular infantry

reposition themselves awaiting the inevitable assault.

'Some corner of a foreign field...' as the British Cavalry

commander is killed in a fruitless charge on the Irregular

Infantry in the wadi! It will be up to the Royal Surreys now.

As the British Infantry lines close on the Egyptians, their

Cavalry move to threaten the rear of the Egyptian position.

The remaining Gendarmes are Routed by the Hussars and the

Egyptian army is broken before the infantry can close with

them.

As is generally the case we used the 'old' Black Powder rules, for the last time today as, just before hostilities commenced, the two copies of the Second Edition I’d ordered for us from Caliver Books were delivered to our door. I hope the new version will get as much use as the old over the coming years here in GHQ. I really can’t be bothered now to try to recall the nuances of different sets of rules, even those I’ve written myself, so I think you will get to see ever more Black Powder 2 games on the table here.

I ought finally to say a little about the Tiny Wargames Desert Mat before I close. It was made as 7’ x 6’6” to allow it to lie easily over hills and that it managed quite well. However, the material it’s made from, a synthetic cloth it seems, is quite slippery when figure bases are placed in hill sides, in fact they heavy bases slide every time. The colour is also interesting, looking very green from some angles under my LED lighting and noticeably changing hue when viewed from different angles, something you see readily in the photos I think. But, and it’s a very big but, it is so much better than my old felt cloth that I have to say I’m more than pleased by it.

The Sands of the Desert are Red with Blood...

Earlier this week I received a custom sized Tiny Wargames Desert Mat via Dan at Wargames Illustrated. I’ve had in mind to acquire one of these for a while now, having been impressed with the overall look of the mats I saw in August at The Other Partizan. As Jon was due on Wednesday evening for our regular monthly game I set up a Sudan War game, which collection has not seen over much Table Top time of late. I decided we’d use Black Powder as the rule set, so it was necessary to look into the Blood on the Nile supplement for ideas of how to rate the units.
The scenario sees three Imperial columns advancing on the Mosque at El Pend-Ha, where the leader of the revolt in the area, the Barmy Bhykli, is rumoured to be quartered. Of course, he is far from alone, being escorted by numerous Beja and Nile Arab units. Lord Walton took command of the Imperial columns, personally accompanying the most easterly column and communicating with his subordinates by heliograph - on a Dx6 throw of anything but a 1 that is! The game ebbed and flowed as BP games usually do without either side gaining a decisive edge. As usual, a few pictures to tell the unfolding story of the battle ~

"Oh, My Beloveds, do not fear the bullets of the infidel!"

The Nile Arabs and Beja Camelry sweep forward to attack

Lord Walton's column.

Baggara cavalry sweep across the dunes to confront the 

Imperial Cavalry column on Lord Walton's right flank!

Red with the blood of the square that broke!

The Naval contingent flanks their Gardener gun, which was to

repeatedly jam throughout the game, a great bonus to the Beja

in its line of fire!

With the Imperial cavalry column stalled in the dunes, more

Beja tribesmen surge forward to bolster their fellows.

Lord Walton's Column, or rather its remains, are bolstered by

the arrival of a Highland battalion from the Centre column.

Meanwhile, the Nile Arabs surge forward and the Beja Camelry

move to flank his line.

We called it a draw after eight turns as it was clear the Imperial Force could not win, especially as their western column of cavalry was Broken and most of the eastern column had routed, leaving the main centre column to bear the brunt of the Mahdist attacks. Turning to the Mahdists though, their Baggara Horse were blown and the Beja camelry stalled, so any further fighting would depend on the depleted ranks of Nile Arab spearmen and on the Fuzzy Wuzzy! Needless to say, their chances were not good against steady Imperial infantry so they wisely held their ground!

Lord Walton takes stock of his deteriorating situation.

Arabs surge forward while the Imperial infantry wait full of

apprehension.

"Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!" The Imperial Cavalry Brigade

is Broken and the Mahdist left is secured.

A stand-off in the center, Beja riflemen hold the wadi, with 

Camelry securing their right flank and keeping the South

Staffordshires at bay!

Monday should see a second Desert cloth themed game, this time pitting the British against Egyptians in the theatre of the Anglo-Egyptian War. Can Lord Rawnsley do any better than Lord Walton? We shall have to see, as Bhykli Pasha prepares the Egyptian plan of battle...