Against the Assagi - Evesham Wargames Club All Dayer

Last Sunday the Evesham Wargames Club got together for an all day colonial affair, over the last 2 years we have amassed quite a large collection of 28mm Zulu's with everyone completing their fair share of Zulu's to bolster the native ranks.

Each player took command of their own detachment of Britsh Troops and selected their characters.

We used a modifed version of Sharp Practice from the TooFatLArdies with over 50 Bigmen in the deck this was going to be a long day in the field with Dust, Tears & Dice.....

It seemed a suitable adventure for the return of our hero of the hour Ferguson of the 99th

Set out below is an extract from his private diary....

After spending several days holed up at the field hospital at the drift I was passed fit for duty and ordered to return to my old unit, before I set off I heard that a rescue misson was to be mounted for a couple of Boer Farmers who had not been heard from for several days. Zulu activity had been increasing over recent days and these crazy dutchmenn had built their homesteads the wrong side of the river....

We were to cross into Zululand and rescure them and their families.

I had a friend in the Natal Mounted Police and managed to get myself a command of a cavalry detachment which was to lead the river crossing, a chance to show my metal to The Colonel The Rt Hon Basil Sir Gently-Tipping commander of the expedition (Played by Dean.)

View from the high ground before we crossed the river. The homesteads can be seen to NE & NW of the table.

I crossed the river with my two detachments of cavalry crossing at two separate fords. A detachment of Natal Native Horse and a detachment of  Natal Mounted Police, together with A boer farmer De Groot and his Zulu scouts who I posted out front as pickets.



I sent De Groot out scouting for our sneaky Zulu foe, he had orders to push for the high ground in the centre of the table but was also ordered to seek out the forces.





It was only a few turns before Zulu skirmishers were spotted in a small Zulu Farm in the centre of the table, with more warriors flooding the table to the rear of the Kraal.



Having reached the high ground I had the NNH dismount and give fire to the approching Zulu's.







I had the NNP dismount to add weight to the firing line as increasingly more Zulu's began to show themselves.



Meanwhile the column continued to cross the drift marching ever closer to the high ground were I was holding my own against the Zulu's.... Then as soon as they had appeared the Zulu disapeared falling back behind the ridge line which shielded us from the NE Boer homestead.



Flushed with Success and with men from Major Cumming and Captian Lewis's detachment on the hill I set off after the Zulu Skirmishers who were taking the occasional pot shots from the Kraal.



Unfortunately it was at that time that the Zulu left horn showed itself breaking a ridge line to the left of the advancing column and closing off the open ground to my mounted troops.

I under estimated the speed of the Zulu advance and my cavalry detachments were caught in the flank by the aggressive Zulu's with their stabbing Assagi's (Big Choppers under the rules)

The NNH and the NPM were forced to flee from the advancing Zulu's many of them unhorsed. I was forced to watch from the massed ranks of infantry as over half my detachment ran for the safety of the border, with enough shock to keep them out of the encounter for several hours.



The British Infantry held firm and awaited Lewis's order to fire.



Meanwhile artillery fire from Lt Marling added to the Zulu's troubles.





With fire from the blue ranks of the naval brigade under Lt Plumstone firing into the ranks of massed warriors they were forces to retreat with a significant amount of shock.



Meanwhile diaster was to strike in the centre, Captain Lewis was distracted by Zulu's within yards of his firing lines, I had been sent back to calm the nerves of De Groot whose natives had taken flight from the first Zulu attack, when one Zulu warband had advanced through a gap in the firing ranks lines and swamped a unit of British Infantry under Sergeant Hunt, who was forced back to the wagon park. Fortunately fire from Major Cumming's detachment and elements under Sergeant Reagan forced the Zulu to flee.



Just as the day was drawing to a close and the troops were toasting their success the Zulu right horm mad it's appearance to the far right of our column and to the rear of our wagons and artillery who so far had been largely in effect.

(The look of shock across the faces of the British command reminded me of the end of Zulu when the impi's appeared on the hills..... :-) )

Whilst the gunners were forced to flee the guns and in one instance actually defeated the Zulu attackers, they were able to inflect sufficent shock on the Zulu's to stall there advance and with the clock striking 8.30 we called it a day.

We had inflicted a large number of casualties on the Zulu's for the loss of very few regulars. Unfortunately we did not reach the farms and can only hope that the Boers managed to slip across the river. I hope they don't bear any ill's to us in the years ahead.

Any plans I had of a command in the cavalry have probably been dashed, I can't wait to return to my command and the good old fashioned foot sloggers...

Stay tuned for more adventures from Ferguson of the 99th.

Milam County See's the Elephant

Sunday evening saw another engagement in our ACW narrative campaign. For me it tells the story of the men of Milam County after I stumbled across a history of the county and the men who served in the Civil War. A history of the county can be found here. http://jamesewilliams.tripod.com/index-2.html

The scenario was generated using Platoon Forward from the Too Fat Lardies. The Union Player won the last game and was selcted as the attacked and Scenario F was rolled for Platoon Attack.

Set our below is an extract from the diary of J.C. Rogers Commanding Officer of the G Company 5th Texas - "Milam County Guards"

------------------------------------------

Dawn on the 16th we had our orders a galloper had come in overnight we are to hold the ridge line inflicting casualties on the approaching federals, a victory for the confederacy would be the loss of fewer men than those blue bellies who were approaching from the East.

I am a worried man, we are fewer in number, our weapons are not the most modern and over recent weeks the Union forces have started to find their mark, today could be costly for the wives of Milam County.

I decided to amass in the centre, I recall reading a paper at WestPoint before the war about Wellington at Waterloo and how he sheltered behind the ridge line saving his forces until the time was right.

To strike a blow at the French.

I positioned Captain Smith and his Skirmishers in the wooded high ground to my rear to spot the approaching union and inflict the occasional casualty keeping their heads down.

The Union came on, on a broad front; Smith soon spotted several federals on our left advancing through a corn field, his opening volley, killed a number of troops and wounded a giant of a sergeant urging his men on in the front rank.

On the left the Union Commander appeared to have stacked anumber of his troops but I was unable to identify their number or make up.

In the centre, elements of the Union forces approached the crest of the ridge line, I took a gamble that I outnumbered them and if I could crest the hill and defeat them I could swing right and destroy the Union piece meal before the forces on the left could engage.

Cresting the hill, the Union force to my front proved to be nothing more than the occasional skirmisher, if only I had put out pickets to spot the approching Union troops. I was now sandwiched between two Union forces.... the gamble had failed and I am now exposed to my left and right.

I had little choice I could not go back as the Union left was moving fast to out flank me and I could not stay where I was as the hill top was very exposed with scant cover. I ordered the company to wheel right and headed for the right hand union force holed up in the cornfield, they were taking shock and the occasional casualty from Smith and his skirmishers.

I urged Lt Buckholt and his E Coy 4th Texas Cavalry to engage the Union forces in the cornfield. I figured that they would inflict enough disruption on the union line that G Company could drive them off with minimal losses to the Guards.

To my front the blue coated Sergeant in the union line shrugged off another wound and continued to dress the ranks.

Buckholt’s charge went in leaping the picket fence and charging through the waist high corn, however this was not to be my Waterloo, The 1st Squadron failed to close as a crashing volley sent them running to the rear, a few men from the 2nd Squadron managed to engage with the union line but outnumbered 2:1 they too were forces back suffering a number of casualties.

On my left flank I called forward Lt Bean and his two sections to hold up the Union right who were filling the cornfield and cresting the hill. Bean's opening volley inflicted several casualties on the unmasked Union right including what looked to be a senior Officer.

However the weight of the Union army was beginning to tell and with little cover Lt Bean's casualties started to mount. Forcing him to retire behind the crest as more union troops joined the firing line.

With the Union left flank still holding its own in the cornfield I urged Lt Pool forward but his men failed to advance, my own troops were now receiving fire to their front and rear, I was lucky not to be wounded myself.

Union cavalry arrived on the flank of Lt Bean who took a number of volleys and he was forced to retire from the field.

Fearful of losing men in what was now a fruitless task I order the withdrawal of my company to the West. The New Yorkers had secured the high ground; we had inflicted a number of casualties on them but our own losses as the battle drew to a close and provided the Union with victory.

Valuable lessons had been learned today, I need to deploy a pickets to help spot the concentrations of enemy troops sooner and as my opponent stated I was 50 years tolate for Cavalry charges.

Cpt J. C. Rogers
G Company
5th Texas Infantry

Milam County had suffered their first casualties of the War.
6 Killed, 4 Wounded, 11 slightly wounded.
No officer casualties.
Marginal victory to the Union.

Anglo - Zulu War - Frontier Horse

With the Evesham All Dayer a few weeks away, the Colonial Forces need a few extra's to protect them from the Zulu hordes... Looking over the paint table over the last few days and I seem to have very little left that needs completing until of course some thing new comes out (Warlord Plastic Zulu's anyone?)

Recent new recruits for the Crown include the following.

Frontier Horse

I completed the mounted figures several months ago, but Foundry did not produce a dismounted version, as we are going for the concept that less is more. I thought I would produce some foot versions, the figures are made up of Empress Boers with Zulu Heads and a couple of figures from Northstar and their Africa Range.





British Characters

As we are using the Too Fat Lardies Rules where the use of officers or Big Men become important, I have painted up the lead character Ferguson, however in the most recent game he was "killed" - I say killed more likely left for dead in true Hollywood fashion I may have to use the wounded officer from Black Tree Designs.



Zulu Dead.

You can never have enough dead Zulu's so the British commanders tell me, I had a bunch of dead figures from Black Tree so I thought I would paint them up as they are almost the last of Lead Zulu Mountain.
I also finished off a couple of the Foundry characters that were left over.