15 September 2016

"Whats that over there chaps?" - Rescue the Governor Part Two




The advance continues on with the Royal Marine Light Infantry leading the way


From the last posting we can recall that Major General Cole has ordered the general advance and the column, full of confidence and bravado, sets off to ensure no further Gordon of Khartoum disasters for our good Governor Willoughby-Smythe.


One of the very enjoyable aspects of these rules is the fact that the umpire controls all the Mahdist forces via random determination in the old style "Pony Wars" style Reaction Charts, obviously altered for our desert surroundings.  The Imperial players are therefore all working together (supposedly!) against the enemy.


The 9th Bengal Lancers pass upon a nasty surprise


We had decided to give Dave Docherty's "Ambush Deck" a first run this game.  In the original Gilder rules the ambush dice ( percentage dice with a 20% chance of springing some nasty surprise) is rolled by the umpire every time an Imperial unit passes by.  The "Ambush Deck" is pre-loaded by the umpire with both enemy, potential events and blanks and most importantly, is drawn by THE PLAYERS.  They have no-one to blame but themselves for their predicaments and the look on their face as the tentatively draw the card is priceless. 


This innovation will be permanent for our future games and included in the rules as an "Optional Rule" in the future.


As the Bengal Lancers approached the Oasis they came across a well hidden Krupp gun manned by chained captured Egyptian gunners being urged into action by a Mahdist overseer.


28th Bengal Lancers uncover something as well.

At the same time the Bengal Lancers were fired upon by a very keen group of Fuzzy Wuzzy gentlemen with a rescued Nordenfeld gun.  They immediately opened fire on the C" Company  and jammed on their seventh round.  The Indian infantry, relieved that the clearing of this area suddenly became a much easier task than they had fought, immediately charged them and dispatched all the gunners.


The Scottish Field Artillery - need to complete some limber teams.


The 3rd Egyptian Foot start to manouver


"The Friendly Shepherd" arrives in an Ambush Card.  He will answer three questions truthfully...


At this point several bands of Beja and Hadendowah had started to make their way onto the field, not in great numbers however dangerous enough to the point that they had to be dealt with.


The commander of the Yorks and Lancs, Steve Y in the guise of Colonel William Gibson at this point was asked to draw an ambush card and to his delight found it revealed the friendly shepherd who would answer any three questions of him truthfully with a "Yes" or "No" answer.  Much hilarity ensued after Steve asked a very specific question detailing enemy dispositions and was answered with a quick and distinctly happy "YES".  Lots of laughs.


The cavalry ignore the Egyptian gun and carry on up the board.


Whilst the RMLI and Bengal Infantry issue sustained fire to silence the unfortunate crew

Beja spearmen appear suddenly on the British left flank.


What has captured these Egyptian soldiers attention?


Mahdist Camelry, some of the most feared troops in the game, suddenly pop up to the rear...


...and also to the flank.


Mark B was commanding the 3rd Egyptian Foot very well and saw that his forces were being surrounded, having earlier taken care of a small ambush within the scrub to his front.  He turned his companies and prepared to face the enemy.


More Fuzzy spear make their way from the village into the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the
lead regiments of the mighty Gordon Highlanders under Stephen B's command.


Another view of the field of battle


The Naval Escort advance to the rear of the Gordon's who have broken into skirmish order to clear the scrub 



At this point the Imperial column is making good time.


The ambushes that could have caused some significant damage to the column have turned out to be a damp squib and have been dealt with easily by the British and allied players. 


However a key action is about to occur as the Egyptian Foot prepare to take on the camels to the rear of the formation.  If they fail to deal with this very real threat, the column may well be skewered from within.


The moment of truth as two companies prepare to stem the tide to the rear...


...and to the flank!


With Colonel Gadfahi has the fate of the rear elements of the column entirely in his hands, one can only hope that the man is up to the enormous challenge ahead of him.


One can only hope.


30 comments:

  1. Gosh. The fate of the column is in the hands of the Egyptian infantry. They will need more than hope. Can't wait for the next installment.

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    1. The Egyptians can surprise you at times...

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  2. Gosh. The fate of the column is in the hands of the Egyptian infantry. They will need more than hope. Can't wait for the next installment.

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  3. Lovely Photo Good Carlo and a cracker of a game report......sadly I can not entice anyone over this side to play a Sudan game on Sunday....very disappointed in the chaps.

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    1. They should have their commissions withdrawn straight away Nathan...not the stiff upper lip at all mate :-). Hope you get another game in before you head back to PNG buddy.

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    2. Indeed they should Carlo or even take away their afternoon champagne ration might do the trick. Playing some Basic Impetvs tonight to fill a small void...but would prefer Sudan.

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    3. Indeed they should Carlo or even take away their afternoon champagne ration might do the trick. Playing some Basic Impetvs tonight to fill a small void...but would prefer Sudan.

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    4. Hope you enjoy it mate - I gave been playing a bit of Simon Millers excellent To The Syrongest rules using my 28mm with Impetus basing. Great fun game.

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    5. Yes I have seen that. I have a copy of the rules as well and might just have to give them a go.

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  4. Doesn't look too good for those Egyptian chaps.
    Cracking game report
    Graham

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    1. Cheers Graham - one wonders if they are up to the challenge. Glad you are enjoying it mate.

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  5. I do enjoy games where you have one side controlled by the umpire through random events versus the rest of the players controlling the other side. The Sudan period I imagine lends itself to this style of play perfectly, helped along using wonderfully painted figures and terrain. Thanks for sharing Carlo.
    Pat.

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    1. Thank you Pat and yes, the "us" versus the umpire psychology takes a lot of beating in a game like this. The fact that the players are not competing against each other allows the umpire a great deal of scope to be a "game master" who can massage events and game rhythm to suit the state of play. I can very much understand why it was so popular at the WHC.

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  6. What a wonderful looking game, this terrain is awesome and the minis (love "The Friendly Shepherd") are splendid!

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    1. Thanks Phil for visiting and all our positive and supportive comments. Always appreciated.

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  7. Cracking stuff, Carlo! Nice to see The Friendly Shepherd deployed. I hope the Egyptian infantry can stem the tide of camelry. They're not the best of troops but like you say, they can surprise at times.

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    1. Dearest AJ if it can play half as well as some of the games you participated in with PG in the day then I am very happy. Still working on getting there I think but little aspects like the friendly shepherd etc. always helps set the scene.

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    2. I'm sure PG would be proud to see how you're carrying on with his Sudan ideas. I do like the idea of the Ambush Deck, and making the players draw the card. The ambush table version in the rules works fine, but there's something appealing in witnessing the players' trepidation when they draw that thin slip of card. =)

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    3. The other plus to it is the ability to easily customise it.. More bad guy cards or other events.. When the caravan turned up on one game I played... They though oh good , no bad guys.. But it caused chaos!

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    4. Perfect example of a slight "massaging" of the original concept by Dave and it working so perfectly that not only does it fit into the game seamlessly it actually lifts the game! Great idea.

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  8. Ooh that's a good one , guns and MG drawn ... And yes the bit that really appealed to me was its the players fault for the drawing the card,.. Evil umpire type cackle!

    Must be time for the friendly caravan to cause chaos soon!

    Look forward to round 3

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  9. Oh yes indeed Dave - the scope for these events and the maniacal laughter of disastrous events befalling our intrepid Military Brass is soooooo much fun!!!

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  10. Great looking game Carlo! The concept of the Ambush Deck is a really good one. I'd love to try something similar with an ancients game featuring a marching column- Romans in Germany or Gaul, perhaps.

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    1. Thanks Simon. I like the idea as well and coud see it work in your TTS games as well.

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  11. Super stuff Carlo. Great 'atmospherics' created by your photos and witty commentary.
    Love the anecdote about the 'faithful shepherd' card. Seems that Stephen did as well as the knights in Python's Grail: 'answer me these questions three'?!!

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    1. I knew they should have asked "What is your favourite colour?"

      Great game and it was fun seeing your Molwitz photos coming through in a "wargame exchange" with Naps!

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  12. Great photos and a fantastic looking game! Will the Egyptians be up to the task.....

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  13. Thanks Larry - lets see in the next instalment!

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