The Sun Never Sets - week 4

With seven players available this week we went for three games. All played the Sigh of Relief scenario where the western forces had some troops guarding an immovable object while the rest try to relive them.

Game 1 - 20mm Sudan.

The Imperial forces opted to sit well back from the objective, swapping the VPs for an improved field of fire and the chance to be closer to the reinforcements. 

The Mahdists sought to gradually surround the British / Egyptian units rather than making an early dash for the objective across open ground.  

Once the encirclement was complete they launched an all-out attack. Some stout defence saw heavily losses for the Ansar but they were able to capture the gun for a win, despite more limited casualties for the Imperials than usual.  Mahdist win.

Game 2 - 28mm fantasy Sudan

The fantasy element here as that the Russians were the Imperial forces using the Theoretical Russians list. As you can see they are more dressed for the NWF than the desert.

The Mahdists launched a strong attack against the troops guarding the wagon and smaller force including the cavalry tried to prevent the reinforcements from breaking through. 

Early action saw the Mahdists attack the guns and Cossacks trying to break through to the wagon. The camels did well, breaking two batteries before finally being defeated.  

The Mahdists launched a series of attacks against the wagon guards, gradually whittling them away and finally capturing the wagon. The survivors pulled back with the Beja in hot pursuit. a Mahdist win.

Game 3 - 28mm Civil war in the NWF 

This game had two British forces, one rag tag rebels and the other the Queens men. The attacking rebels advanced slowly, seeking to maximise their shooting time

This worked well with the defenders coming on is detail and being defeated by the superior shooitng of the attackers. Rebel British win.   

So this week a clean sweep for the attackers in all three games.

    

The sun Never Sets - Colonial campaign week 3

Two games this week, both Sudan. The scenario was Seek and Destroy in which the Imperial forces must destroy a series of native buildings in order to win the game.

Table 1 - 20mm

The small Imperial force deployed pretty centrally with the aim of advancing rapidly on the enemy. The Mahdists adopted a pretty defensive posture, looking to draw the enemy into the village.   

The Imperial advance was rapid, aided by the C-in-C having a trait that allowed the possibility of a double activation each turn. 

Playing on the other table I missed most of the action but the game was a blood one with the Imperial units routing the Mahdists. Imperial Win.  

Table 2 - 28mm

The British deployed to the centre and the east, with cavalry covering one flank and the Egyptians in the centre. The Mahdists deployed with strong flanks, hoping to envelope the Imperial troops before they could damage the village. I was the Mahdi on this occasion.     

The British advance began well as they pushed onto the hill and came in range of the village. the Mahdists moved through cover in an attempt to surround them, whilst looking to snipe away at the attackers. 

The early turns favoured the British as they managed to pin down the Mahdists riflemen and cause some damage on the village. Their Hussars were successful in routing a group of Beja camel riders seeking to  outflank the lines.

In the second half of the game the Mahdists managed to launch a strong attack into the western flank of the British line. The Egyptian unit panicked and fired high, allowing the Mahdists to overwhelm them roll up the flanks of both British infantry units.  

The last unit of Egyptians was hit from two sides despite a valiant fight they routed. Mahdist win. 

  

The Sun Never Sets - colonial campaign week 2

Just the two games with week with me umpiring a couple of players new to the rules as they missed last weeks game. Both played To the last bullet - where the defender loses 25% of their troops but gains some harder cover and slightly easier victory conditions. 

Table 1 - 28mm NWF, Russians vs British

The British attacked with a good quality force of mostly Indian troops  and so numbers were fairly even die to the lower quality of the Russian infantry. 

Great game Russians 

The Russians initially deployed quite far back but then decided to push forward into the terrain in front of the hard cover.  The British moved forward with the Bengal Lancers but their attempted charge  fell short, opening them to Russian fire and counter attack by the Cossacks. 

Bengal Lancers vs Cossacks

With the Lancers destroyed the Russians pressed forward and began a protected shooting battle with the British, which they initially did well in as the 23rd Foot and Mouth were pushed from the table, The doughty Indians rallied though and began routing the Russians.    

In the end the Russians fell back into the cover and the British were too badly damaged to really threaten them. Russian Win

Table 2 - 20mm, British vs Mahdists

This was a larger game than the first with the British on the defensive They deployed in a shallow arc centred on the fortifications, with Lancers on their left. The Mahdists simply filled the board edge.

 

The British sat back behind the cover as the Mahdist advanced, until they decided to launch a spoiling attack with their Lancers. This routed a couple of units but unsupported was soon cut-off and overwhelmed.    

British Lancers atttack

That treat dealt with the Mahdists continued to carefully encircle the British before launching their own attack.  Too spread-out the British were pushed-back and badly damaged, but did manage to prevent the Mahdists capturing the  fortification. Mahdist Win 

The Beja turn the flank

So the leader Board has been updated using a weighted average and giving credit for more battle fought.  

More 28mm ACW

I've managed to complete a couple more units for my ACW skirmish force. This time another Green line unit and some sharpshooters.

All are 28mm plastics from Perry

This is about half the units done now - just a couple of veteran line units and a gun then the force is done with some options available to vary the force. 

The Sun never sets - colonial campaign week

Our latest venture is a colonial campaign using The Men Who Would Be Kings. The plan is to fight a specific scenario each and carry forward officer traits for the CinCs from week-to-week. 

This week  we had three tables running Just Passing By, where the two sides must try to break through each others lines and get as many units off as possible. All three games were Sudan, two 28mm and one 20mm.

The results after week 1 are

Table 1 - 28mm / 24 points

The Mahdists moved quickly to grab the central building and flank the British unit, looking to attack the naval brigade who lead the advance. 

Once in position they charged over the hill and were able to score heavy damage before exiting the table. Mahdist win. 

Table 2 - 28mm / 18 points

I was in command of the Mahdists on this table. My plan was to block the Imperial advance with some rifles and cavalry, whilst pushing most of my infantry towards the exit - essentially the British would have to block me or I'd win as I had more scoring units.    

I was able to get into position fairly quickly and so even had the option to envelop the British columns rear as well as block their front. 

In the end in opted to sacrifice the blocking forces in a suicidal charge to slow the British and simply snuck most of my units off the table. Mahdist wins.  

Table 3 - 20mm / 38 points

Our largest game featured some wargaming antiques with Roys 1960s Jacklex figures. In this game the players misread the scenario rules and though that they had to exit the table from their opponents starting point rather than one the short edge opposite their deployment zone. So the tactics were affected by this on both sides.

The British advanced a little way into the table before setting up a defensive position based around some  low hills. The Mahdists made a large flanking manoeuvre as they looked to get most of their forces opposite the exit point. 

The Mahdists then launched a series of fierce attacks against the British as they sought to hold the line. 

Losses were fairly light on both sides and no-one was able to get any units off the table. British wins