TMWWBK Zulu War Pt. 2

Turns 3 and 4 are going the Colonial troops way...so far. Hearing rifle fire and war cries on on their right, and not having any targets to shoot at since the Zulus "went to ground", the Native Horse pulled out of the rough terrain to regroup. A good thing. Just as they moved, the Zulus, or Mr. Babbage, made a dash at them. Luckily for the Native Horse troopers, the Zulus did not have enough steam to make contact. Probably the cattle in between the forces slowed the warriors down.

On the right, the Zulus felt bold enough to charge the NMP. However, their enthusiasm was cut short by stiff resistance and loss of warriors, 2 to 4 to the NMP. And seeing NNC troops and Naval Brigade infantry rushing to aid their friends, the Zulus retreated back to the brush and rocks.

Again, no appearance of Zulus to the center of the column.  Mr. Babbage rolled low again. So far a clear track to ford. The Zulus definitely need some reinforcements soon.

TMWWBK Zulu War

I always start off a new year motivated to post more of my modeling projects and wargames then enthusiasm wanes. This year maybe no different, but I'll take shot and see what happens. 

In honor/remembrance of the Battle of Islandlwana, I recently played a game using Black Powder Rules, It surprisingly worked out really well. I used the scenario in the Warlord Games Zulu War supplement. Naturally it was a Zulu victory, but the "victory" points" (I'd preferred calling them 'honor points') earnings gave each colonial unit an incentive to stay and fight while supporting their brother units. It gave the game more flavor with a tad more tactical decision making.

Fighting a controlled withdrawal was harder than I thought. The Brits, with their native allies, fought hard but the never ending recycling of Zulu forces was too great. Some heroic last stands, and a Double 6 Blunder, forced a Brit company to make a sacrificial bayonet charge to allow other companies a game turn to get one step ahead of the Zulus. I did manage to get 2 of the 6 colonial units off board without too much damage.

Anyway, with that inspiring game, I am motivated to stick with this period theme. I really like the Osprey blue book series of games. 'The Men Who Would Be Kings', is a good set of rules. Rather quick and bloody mechanics and easy to grasp.

I'm using a made up scenario. It's pretty simple. The Brit/Colonial forces are tasked to secure a ford and get a foothold on the base of a hill, that will likely be used as a signal station, either for a heliogrph or wig-wag flags.

The ground is broken on both sides of a worn trail with dongas, brush and rock outcroppings.

The Colonial force consist of units from the Native Horse, Natal Mounted Police, rifled armed NNC and a unit from the Naval Brigade.

For those familiar with TMWWBK rules, Mr. Babbage will be my opponent. I played him once before but wasn't satisfied with experience. I am going to give him another try. I don't mind playing solo and being my own opponent. To me, it's about immersion, not "winning". But having a Mr. Babbage AI mechanic can give the battle some juice.

First two turns have started out to be somewhat exciting. The Native Horse have spotted cattle unattended in a donga. Being suspicious, the troop advances cautiously. Once in full view of the cattle and what lays beyond them, a group of Zulus open fire on the Horse inflicting one casualty. On the other side of the column, sensing ambush, the NMP scan the broken ground to their right. So far quiet. Actually, Mr. Babbage rolled low and decided to stay out of site.

Turn two: the full compliment of Native Horse return fire on Zulus with no result. The NMP however were getting stuck in right off with Mr. Babbage deciding to appear at short range and charging. The results forthcoming. 

Oops, photos posted out of order.  Start with bottom up.

French v. Brits & Allies Part 2

 Starting from the Allied left. One independent cavalry unit from the Kings German Legion. A Brunswick infantry battalion with a Brunswick jeager skirmish unit. One Belgian infantry battalion that I classed as "inferior". The Dutch-Belgian carabiniers (gorgeous Front Rank miniatures) giving an extra punch to the brigade. All supported by a Brunswick Horse Artillery gun. The Allied brigade commander is classed as "Steady".

The center is four battalions of British infantry. One classed (23rd Regiment of Foot) as " Superior". The commander is classed as "Steady "

The cavalry brigade (The Blues, Scots Grey's and Inniskillings) are not fairing well with a "Dithering" commander. The Duke of Boots will have to keep an eye on them. All supported by a gun from the Royal Horse Artillery. 

The far right is an independent cavalry unit of British hussars. 

The defending French are positioned as follows. Starting from their left. An independent cavalry Lancer unit. I believe the 5th Line. A brigade of cavalry consisting of Chassuers, Empress Dragoons ( classed as "Superior ") and the Dutch Red lancers. Commander in "Steady".

The center is being held by four infantry units. Two from the Guards, both classed as "Superior ". Chassuers of the Guard and a Battalion of Middle Guard occupying the walled farm. Supported by a gun from the horse artillery. The commander is classed "Steady ".

The right is four battalions of infantry with a small voltiguers skirmish unit. One artillery piece and an independent cavalry unit. The commander rolled poorly and was classed as "Dithering". I'm pretty sure this same fellow commanded this brigade with Poles and Swiss, the last game I had. Time to split them up next time!

Napoleon himself is on the field to command and hold the crossroads.

I put small white dice on the "Dithering " classed brigade commanders base just as a reminder.

French v. Brit and Allies Part 1

 Setting up another Napoleonic wargame using Osprey's 'Honours Of War' by Keith Flint. It's another fictional scenario.  This time using my British and Allied forces against my much used French.

I used a card driven, random terrain generator.  I've used this "function" in the past and has yielded some interesting battlefield features. I'll show how I use these cards and their makeup in a future game.

Once the terrain was laid out, I rolled to see who would be the defender. Thankfully, the French won. I really didn't want the Allies to be the defender...it would look too Hundred Days campaign.

Another game of Honours of War

 This is a repeat of the last game, but this time the field works on the Russo-Austrian positions were taken out of this scenario.

The French unfortunately and uncharacteristically, rolled two "Dithering" leadership qualities. One for the brigade commander of cavalry on the left flank and the infantry brigade on the right. Needless to say the army commander was busy to upgrade a notch during the activation phases.

The French drove onto the Russian occupied  hills hard and suffered horrendous losses. The cavalry on left, despite poor leadership,  had no problem defeating the Russian cavalry, thus adding to the threat of the Russian right flank for the remainder of the game.

The same result happened on the Russo-Austrian left. Their cavalry destroyed and driven away with the infantry center collapsed.  The game was really a tit for tat engagement.  Both sides really could not claim victory. With the scenario calling for a "Last Stand ", it was oddly the result for both antagonist. It just became a fight to the last unit standing. Which became rather ridiculous towards the end. This being my fourth game, its pretty clear that units can get eaten up rather quickly.  Pulling units out of line to rally off "hits" can become a never ending chore. I'll continue to play this rule system because it has promise. To be honest, I played the units fairly vanilla.  This rule system require various troop quantity types and clear objectives to scratch the itch and make the game engaging.