15th Sikhs of the Suakin Field Force 1885

15th Sikhs take up the defence of a small settlement on the outskirts of El Teb.

Now that the rules are out and available I thought it might be an idea to put a few of the Sudan units in the collection on display to showcase the lovely Connoisseur figures as well as to provide another insight into the array of troops involved in the campaign.

The first unit comprises the 15th Sikhs which were part of the mixed Indian Brigade which sailed from Bombay following the death of Gordon and the fall of Khartoum in January 1885.  This formation consisted of the 15th Sikhs themselves, 9th Bengal Cavalry, 17th Bengal Infantry, 28th Bombay Infantry and a company of Madras Sapper and Miners.





The skirmishing company head out.  In the rules each battalion can send out a company of skirmishers to see if they can find any hostiles lurking in the mimosa.  Though not necessary to have skirmishing bases I had spare figures and modelled them on the wider bases for purely aesthetic purposes.



British Commanding Officer in the background belting out orders.



Though these are Sikhs by uniform they actually appear in the Connoisseur lists as Indian Infantry and I use them to represent any of the brave Indian forces that fought in the Sudan in much the same manner I will use Yorks and Lancs to represent Kents if required.

This view actually shows how the roof on these Sudan settlements can be taken off so that figures can be paced inside if necessary.  Not essential for "The Sands of Sudan" however pretty useful when fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan using moderns...heaven forbid!!

 

Colour plate from Military Modelling December 1984 from a sensational article by Michael Barthorp on the Suakin Field force 1884-85.  Colour plates by the wonderfully talented R.J.Marion - who else!


These are a unit with an increasingly good history of diligently performing the tasks assigned in our battles.  Lets see if they continue their form in the next game.

Now on Sale - The Sands of Sudan

"Hold the square boys, the rules are on the way!"

Well it has finally happened and I do need to let you know that I am more than a little chuffed!

The rules, a project that I have been working on for quite some time and one which was inspired from my very early days of reading the articles from Peter Gilder and seeing the wonderful photographs of his fantastic desert battles in Wargames World and Illustrated.



The rules in all their full colour glory.



More dramas than a barrel of monkeys ...a deck of Random Events!

 So what do you get for your AUD40.00 (plus the postage)?

The rules are a gloss laminated cover plus 44 pages of rules with all the details you need to play the battles from the WHC brought together for the first time.  The rules contain organisation, basing, movement, fire and melee mechanics, troop roster sheets, campaign rosters and OOB from the Wargames Holiday Centre's olden days as well as some recommended books, sites and figure manufacturers in a range of scales.

These are designed in an oversize format and also contain six blank cards so that your own gaming group can tailor
events and circumstances to suit your own collections and gaming dispositions.


 

Laminated four page Quick Reference sheet slips into the centre of the rules and contains all you need for playing
the game with minimal reference to the rules - at least after a while!

HOW TO ORDER:

The rules are on sale at the moment for AUD40.00 plus AUD10.00 postage WORLDWIDE.

I have woefully under-estimated the postage costs (by 100% believe it or not) however the AUD10.00 postage rate will remain until the end of NOVEMBER 2014.

After that date it will need to increase to AUD16.00.  I am just so keen to get the rules out that a slight postage loss is just one of those things.  We wargamers would rather buy figures than pay silly prices for world postage.




This particular fellow is well out in front of the mob as he races to the post office to pick up his copy!!

Let me also thank the chaps who have already ordered rules from me.  Your faith, words of support and encouragement have been such a wonderful fillip for this old gamer.  Gents I have much pleasure in saying that your rules are in the mail as I type.

Thank you so much.