Battle of Harat-Sudan 1897

Unfortunately I have to start this blog on a "downer"-due to on going health problems,Brian has decided that,for the forseeable future,he can no longer come along to the club-this is a real shame,he is a valued member of the club,and a good friend-we all wish him well,and hope that he will keep in touch(we certainly will!) via the blog,and phone-you'll be a miss Brian.

What is it about Colonial games that blend nail-biting tension and loads of laughs at the same time?-Paul,Dave and I had such a game last night.......

This is the scenario-Paul was in charge of the British and Egyptians,Dave was in charge of the Haddendowah,which left me in charge of the Dervish troops attacking the village of Harat.

This is how the table looked before any movement-I actually took this photo suspended from the rafters by a block and tackle-the things I do for my wargaming!!!!
Paul had elected to keep his square marching towards the village,rather than deploying it to face the threat from Dave-this was sound,in that it steadied the Egyptians,and also gave him a secure right flank-however it also meant that he didn't do any long range shooting at the Haddendowah-this was to prove costly in the long run-hurrah!!

I started the game by attacking the whole village-Paul cut down hundreds of my warriors with rifle and gatling gun fire as I charged in,but I managed to get into contact with two warbands,and my cavalry have driven off the Egyptian cavalry-another hurrah!!

This is about move number 4 or 5-Paul has reached his intended position,with his flank neatly resting on the village,and Dave's troops are coming on fairly swiftly(to say the least)-he had 13 warbands plus a couple of camel units-the first line troops are nearly always destroyed(as expected with" modern" weapons) but the second line-now that's a different kettle of fish!!!!

This shot(excuse the pun!) shows Dave's magnificent attack in progress-by this time Paul was trying to negotiate terms!!-However,his short range shooting from his artillery(cannister) and rifles,was devastating,and the first line of the Haddendowah attack faltered-oh dear-come on Dave,show us what you're made of!!!!

This is another shot of Dave's attack-the camel units can just be seen on the far right of the picture-it must be said that these were a great disappointment,although they did manage to eventually get into the rear of the square(but then were driven off again!!)

"There is a green hill far away"-two of my warbands have by-passed the village(aka "the death trap") and are attacking the Egyptian gun position-I,obviously have the game won,with this wonderful move-hurrah!!

Desperate times for the British-is that an omen poking from Dave's hooded top-a skull???
The melees were really tough here-Paul was,as usual throwing wonderful dice,but was being matched by Dave's wonderful dice throwing-tense stuff!!

Hurrah,the camels are here!!-however they were met with a hail of lead,and decided to go home!!-worse than elephants!!
But things are looking bad for the British-the Haddendowah are all over them-British "pluck" had better stand forward now,or it's all over-but what of the village,and my brilliant out-flanking attack on the gun position??Well,..............

The sneaky Egyptian cavalry and an infantry unit have circumnavigated(that's quite a word for a Geordie lad!!) the village and wiped out my last troops,and are now attacking what is left of Dave's troops on that bloody hill-and are,in fact,about to threaten the whole of Dave's line!!
This is not looking good at all-every one of Dave's units are badly "damaged" and too weak to put any sort of fight now-the village is still in Egyptian hands,and I have no troops left at all-oh dear,it was all going so well!!

Final photo-the bloody British lancers are now joining in the fun,and are about to attack what is left of the Haddendowah.Although the square was soundly beaten(eventually) the village was still in Egyptian hands,and both Dave and I were exhausted,so we generously gave the victory to Paul-well done to all of us for a good game-roll on Thursday,no idea what we'll be playing yet though.
We have decided that the game we will be putting on at "Carronade"(Falkirk) in May,will be our 54mm plastic Medievals.