Indian Mutiny

Rules: Black Powder
Scale: 28mm
GM: Jim Ferich

The Indian mutineers are trying to stop a column of British troops from exiting the the board to continue their relief efforts. The rebels have amassed an impressive force to meet the British. They construct a fortification on the raod and deploy to defend their position. The 4 units of cavalry are deployed to the far right flank of the mutineers. Infantry and artillery deploy along the road while peasants emerge from a town on the far left. Most of the leadership of the mutineers is 7 and the peasants are a 5.



Peasant mobs emerge....poor leadership will keep them static.




Mutineers hold the center




The fortifications block the road and more mutineers arrive




The mutineer cavalry

  The British set up off table. Soon the skirling of pipes is heard coming down the road. Then the ground shakes as the thunderous advance of British cavalry is felt. The cavalry rolls extemely well with 3 moves. This takes them far ahead to meet the mutineer cavalry in turn 1 and set up a melee very early in the game. Another good roll brings Sikh and loyal Sepoy infantry to within rifle range. Sadly the British main force blunders and marches left. The pipers must have taken the wrong road during their confident advance which delayed the attack another turn.



Some British forces move fast and prepare to engage on turn 1

 The British and allied cavalry make quick work of the fragile mutineer units. The British cavalry wins the initial combat and is eligible for a sweeping advance. A second mutineer cavalry unit is caught in column and quickly destroyed on the continuing combat round. Mutineer cavalry had a good morale but given a poor stamina of 2.



2 mutineer cavalry units are disordered and 1 is shaken (blue chip)



The British left keeps pace with the advance

 With the destruction of the mutineer cavalry the Britsh horse sweeps around the flank and approaches the road. Mutineer infantry units are dispatched to guard the flank. These British trained Indians form square to block the approach. British guns are brought up with the cavalry to make a hole. The cavalry is kept at bay by the infantry square through the game. Eventually the cannon fire will break the infantry square at the end of the game.



Oh crap

 The British right flank blundered a second time which again delayed the attack. The British left flank moves to the center to attack the fortifications. The club record for blunders in a single game belongs to me, which is 3. This night the record was to be tested by another valiant opponent.



Mutineers block the way



The main road with the British center making it to the board edge after several blunders



 Then the Highlanders in the center finally arrive to pressure the center of the field. Cheers go up from the mutineers as 3 units of Sepoys arrive on the left flank to put the battle in doubt. This bolsters the defenders spirits after seeing the cavalry swept from the field so quickly by Loyalist Indians and British.



3 units of Mutineer reinforcements arrive.

  With a poor roll of initiative the left flank  British infantry fail to move. The Highlanders gain a good result and get 3 moves. The aggressive Scots take cannon and musket fire and several of their number fall. Finally they reach the defenders when they emerge from the torrent of fire in a disordered state.
A melee ensues and the result is a draw. The Mutineers have support and the Highlanders do not.



Highlanders arrive in a disordered state

  The rest of the British units slowly navigate the field with little or no movement. British canons supporting the attack are in medium range and open fire with some effect.


The British Infantry is stalled for now

  In a daring move a unit of mutineers exposes their flank to british artillery and advances on the Highlanders. The flank attack will help pressure the stubborn Scots to rethink their attack plans but it does sacrifice the unit of Sepoys in the process. In a stunning result the highlanders are finally repulsed and forced back in disorder after taking a high number of hits from several directions.



The Scots retire in disorder after being flanked




Supporting troops are now close as another assault is planned. Once more into the breech.

  Finally the Naval Brigade moves into position with supporting artillery. The Mutineer unit of Sepoys that flanked the Scots is destroyed. The steady Scots continue to take casualties as the assault is prepared. The slow advance by rolling poorly causes casualties on the British. At this point the British commander in the center had accumulated 3 blunders which equalled my record in a previous Civil War game.



Jack Tar at the ready!

  Rifle and canon fire are exchanged in an attempt to soften each other for hand to hand. We all know what is coming as we try to dish out more than we take.



Mutineers face off against the coming storm.

  The British infantry finally gains intitative to advance on the fortified position. The Mutineers become desperate. Soon the defenders on the road are broken after taking high casualties from accurate fire. More British advance to support and the supporting artillery makes the difference.



Every rifle is brought to bear  on the attackers

  The British announce the charge. Bugles sound and men scream and run forward. The highlanders work on eliminating the supporting infatry outside of the fortification in an attempt to even the odds. Another mutineer unit is shaken as the Scots pour fire into their ranks. In a streak of luch for the rebels the Highlander unit is also shaken and rolls poorly on their break test, they are finally broken and flee the field!



The assault on the fortifications




The assault on the fortification sans Scots

  The melee in the fortification goes poorly for the mutineers as the center is now broken. The British forces rush into the fortification and open the road. The game is then called.



The final result is the taking of the fortifications.


The game took three and a half hours. We did need to look up a few rules but overall we played without being slowed down be tedious rules. We did have some problem deciding how to treat fortifications, which will be considered as occupying buildings in the future.

The Pathan Death March

Rules: TSATF
Scale 25mm
Figures: Old Glory, and others.
Game Master : Jim Ferich

On Friday the 13th our group assembled for a game of one TSATF, a favorite rules set of ours. The British had to advance through a valley somewhere in the Northwest frontier to burn a village and make an example of the local population. Hearing that the British were advancing in force the locals took to arms and ran to the hills. The mountains and hills were ripe with Pathans and the British formed their strategy as they entered the rocky wilderness. The two units of Guides from India (commanded by me) supported by a mountain gun were to be a blocking force on the left flank. A force of Ghurkas and Indian Infantry supported by a mountain gun (Leo) advanced in the center and was to be supporting the main attack while watching the flank. On the right flank the British infantry and Lancers (Jerry) were to advance and burn the village.

The Pathans (Jim C. Cliff and Chris) were to prevent the British from burning their village. The Pathans had also constructed a fort overlooking the valley which had a garrison of infantry and an artillery piece. Most of the sneaky cowardly heathen Pathans were deployed as hidden units and refused to present themselves for the slaughter, which is their nature. The cavalry and garrisons were positioned on the board at the start.


The village




The Hill fort...what a model!


The first British and Allied units began to deploy scouts in the first turn. This kept the chance of an ambush in check as the main units followed. In most of our games natives use ambush tactics to slow the British attack. I usually forget about the use of scouts and made a mental note this time.



The Guides advance..less a few poor souls



The Pathans in the hill fort drew first blood against the Guides who advanced in open order. The scout was killed as the dreaded King of Hearts was revealed for the casualty....oh well time to send out another poor bastard. The mountains gave cover to a majority of the British and their allies as the main Britsh column advanced.



The British move with scouts in the lead




The column snakes through the mountain pass

 The Pathans slowly revealed themselves to the advancing column as shots rang out from the village and the hills. Shots were exchanged and a few hits were scored on both sides. The jezails had a longer range but were less accurate. The British betteraccuracy which was countered by the use of cover by the Pathans.



Pathans emerge

 The Lancers made a valiant charge against the Pathan artillery. I use use the word valiant to temper the result which favored the Pathans who were able to shoot the Lancers from their saddles. This was a charge of legends as the unit of cavalry was lost. The British now know the resolve of their foe.


The Charge of the Lancers

 It was at about this time that we hear screaming natives advancing from behind us. The unit of Ghurka infantry had to about face and deal with the new threat in traditional fashion, first with rifle fire then in melee. The Pathans were cut down in the frenzied charge and died like men. With the flank secured the Ghurkas advanced in the following turn looking over their shoulders. Thank goodness we kept units in reserve.


Ghurkas deal with a new threat

 The Guides were in the process of advancing on the hill fort and suppressing the Pathans to eliminate any flanking fire during the assault on the village. It was bloody work but it had to be done. A unit of the Guides advanced to the base of the hill while the second unit climbed up on a nearby ridge to offer supporting fire. The artillery was firing in support. During the action the lead element of guides was reduced to half strength and the wounded was being carried which also reduced firepower. The 10 survivors exchanged fire and gave as good as they got. The Ghurkas (Leo) offered supporting fire as well which made the difference.



Advance to the fort




Guides and Ghurkas giving covering fire

 The Pathan artillery in the fort was suppressed and the supporting infantry took heavy casualties. The lod=ss of the pathan leader (thank you ace of clubs) was too much and the Apthans eventuall gave ground. By this time in the battle the British timetable for the assault was in shambles. The British were held up for 5 turns as they slowly advanced under withering Pathan fire. The Guides finally began advancing past the fort to hold the flank of the assault.




The Guides advance...finally


At this point we were near the end so the British had to make an assault. The British infantry were given orders to charge the village. The British infantry charged in with the support of the Lancers. The British were able to close the charge and the Pathans were able to stand. At this point the killing began.



The charge to the village




The fighting begins




The Pathans have the advantage of terrain



The British are repulsed and retreat behind the cavalry




The supporting troops are discouraged.

 During the melee the British lost almost every die roll. Upon investigation we discovered that the British had a 6 sided die that was numbered 1-3 twice making it a 3 sided die for results. So we had to re-roll the combat and although we fared better we still lost the melee. A morale check of the Pathans gave a retreat result. The village was now open. At this point we called the game. Jim, the GM, decided not to bring in the extra 120 figures of Pathans as he thought it would unbalance the game. The British did hold the field in the end but paid a high price. We finished the game in about 3 hours which is really good for having 6 players. The most memorable event of the night was the die numbered 1-3. This happened before as we had a player rolling a D20 that was numbered 1-10 twice giving him a high success rate during firing.

NJCON 4

Our club took a trip to Edison NJ to participate in the convention NJCON4 on June 8-10. I did not get to go but my son did and he had a great time. Here are the photos.



Entrance to funland




Vendors Area




A satisfactory turn out




More goodies

 There were some really nice games as well



GASLIGHT