Firing Procedures - Small arms

Marksmen encounter the 28th Bombay Native Infantry  "A" Company.

Firing Procedures

When researching everything Gilder for these rules the most frustrating aspect was not having the Firing Range charts for both small arms and artillery.  The methodology was there, just not the actual ranges etc. Then when re-reading some old Miniature Wargames magazines harking back to the mid 1980’s (yes I really am that old!) Peter Gilder mentioned that he had taken his casualty chart as a direct lift of the chart from TJ Halsalls’ “Rules for Colonial Wargames: The Colonial Wars” published by Newbury Rules in 1978.  Remembering that I once had a copy of those rules, a bit of searching found that was indeed the case and then the parts of the puzzle started to fit. 

It appeared that Peter Gilder wanted his Colonial games to be a far simpler and quicker game than the Newbury rules but he had taken the liberty of taking some of their excellent charts etc for his own workings.  Looking through his notes and reference sheets the range bands for artillery and small arms married up very well to what charts were in the rules by Mr Halsall.  The fact that Peter Gilder mentions a six range artillery chart in his sheets and the Newbury rules had their artillery chart in a six range band as well was good enough for me. 

We transferred the same small arms range chart over as well as this also suits the six range band methodology that Peter Gilder used in these rules.  Remember that only the ranges have been used, the factors to hit themselves are directly from the original Sudan rules from the WHC.  We hope you also find that suitable as well. 

Following all Imperial and Mahdist movements, firing is determined and calculated.

This is the fifth part of the turn sequence and is considered to be simultaneous.

Highlanders prepare for action!

Troops entitled to fire

Two ranks of Imperials are permitted to fire at up to 30 degrees from the edge of their base.  Artillery also have the same angle of fire.  Mahdist Riflemen fire the number of figures they have on their base (5) but cannot fire overhead.  A formation of four bases of Mahdist riflemen with two bases in the front rank and two bases in the rear would therefore only be permitted to fire 10 figures.

Moving and Firing

Infantry (including skirmishers) may only move up to 6” and still fire that turn.

A screw gun takes a full move to be assembled or taken apart.  Once it is fully assembled it can be moved 6” a move and still fired without any movement penalties.

A Field Gun takes ½ a move to unlimber/limber.  It may move ½ a move unlimber and fire.  A field Gun may be man-handled 3” and still fire fully.

Machine guns, if drawn by a limber, may also take a ½ move to limber/unlimber.  It may also take a ½ move, unlimber and fire.  However machine guns may be man-handled 6” and still fire.

Overhead Fire

This is allowed by Imperial troops only if the target is clearly visible.  As a common sense approach there should be at least a 6” gap between the target and other friendly imperial troops.

Procedures

Declare the units firing and determine ranges and correct firing arcs.  When declaring fire from Imperial Troops, please also declare which companies will be firing in advance.

Range is determined by measuring from the centre of the unit firing to the nearest figure of the enemy. 

These should be conducted by company if at different ranges however gentlemen always prefer to take the policy that the majority of figures at a particular range should mean all fire at the same range. 

Once this is done, roll a ten sided dice (d10).  The minimum number required to hit is detailed in the table.  For example, three companies of the Cameron’s totalling 36 figures at 15” from an enemy foot formation require a minimum roll on a d10 of a 5 to hit.

SMALL ARMS FIRE TABLE

Range	0 - 1"	1 - 3"	3 - 7"	7 -12"	12 - 20"	20 - 30"
	Close	Medium	Medium	Medium	Long	Long
To Hit (d10)	1	2	3	4	5	6

Imperial Troops to hit modifiers – all factors are cumulative and +/-  to the raw dice result
Egyptians or Sudanese		- 1
Officer Lost		- 1
Firing at Foot charging		- 1
Firing into cover		- 2
Firing at open order troops                                                                      - 2
Firing at Mounted Charging                                                                     - 2
Firing from a prepared position                                                               +1

Mahdists to hit modifiers - all factors are cumulative and +/- to the raw dice result
Firing at an open order target	- 3
Firing on charging enemy	- 1
Troops are designated as marksmen		+ 1
Firing from a prepared position                                                               + 1

Fuzzy Wuzzies view the enemy and prepare for battle.

Mahdist firing at some skirmishing Sudanese regular troops to their front 6“ away would normally require a 3 on a d10 but since the target is open order the minimum roll required to achieve a hit would be a 6 as a -3 modifier needs to be applied.  If those same Mahdist Riflemen were marksmen they would receive a +1 bonus meaning they would only need to roll a 5 on a d10.

Determining Casualties

Once we have established if a hit has been made we then need to work out just how effective that fire was.

All troops in The Sands of the Sudan have a fire factor which is a method of determining their training, weapon type and general ability to lay down fire of varying degrees of effectiveness upon the enemy.

You would have noticed that in the Firing Range Table beneath the inch graduations on the chart there was a definition of which range was considered to be close, medium or long. 

The following table determines what their base fire factor is at that range as well as further factors which either enhance or reduce the effectiveness of that fire.

IMPERIAL TROOPS SMALL ARMS FIRE FACTOR TABLE

Troop Type and Opponent	Close	Medium	Long
Foot v Foot	4	0	-2
Foot v Mounted	5	1	-2
Mounted v Mounted	3	-1	-4
Mounted v Foot	2	-2	-5

MAHDIST TROOPS SMALL ARMS FIRE FACTOR TABLE

Troop Type and Opponent	Close	Medium	Long
Foot	3	-1	-3
Skirmishers	1	-3	-5
Mounted	2	-2	-5
Troops in Improvised cover	0	-2	-6
Troops in Prepared cover	-1	-4	-8

Carrying on with our example, those Cameron’s have hit and now need to see how effective their volley was.  At 15” the range is considered to be “medium” so their base fire factor is 0 against foot.  The target is not in open order, charging etc so the base factor remains at 0.

Firing and Melee Table - can someone tell me how to post a PDF???

We would then roll a d6 on the random fire and melee table to get a final factor to cross reference on the casualty table.  A roll of 1 would give a plus 2 result making the final equation 36 figures firing at factor 2 for a total of 90 casualties on the enemy.  9 figures would be removed or simply marked off their roster box (see Appendix).

Highlanders prepare to volley fire at the enemy!

Random Fire and Melee Factors

We as wargamers always need the luck element – the extraordinary event which can turn certain defeat into a magnificent victory.  Sands of the Sudan is no different.

For every fire or melee result roll a six sided dice and cross reference the troop type and situation.  This will then give you a number which you can add to your result.

Random Fire and Melee Table
Dice Roll	European	Egyptian/ Sudanese	Mahdist	Mahdist
(d6)	Fire/Melee	Fire/Melee	Fire	Melee
1	2	2	2	2
2	1	1	1	1
3	1	0	0	0
4	0	-1	-1	0
5	-1	-2	-2	-1
6	-2	-2	-3	-2

Next post - Artillery Fire.