Everybody's got something to hide 'cept for me and my War Elephant - The Battle of Nowshera 1823

Sikh Akalis (Wikipedia) 

Behold their fancy hats! What kind of battle has Sikh holy warriors (Akali) and a personal War Elephant? Only the best kind of battle. 

Ever since I read Ian Hernon's "Britain's Forgotten Wars" as a young man, I've been fascinated by the Sikh Wars and by the Sikhs. They're such a contradictory, decent, turbulent and interesting people that they repay study. I've wanted to play out some of their battles on the wargames table for ages and I had the chance to yesterday.

I picked up Tim Tilson's Colonial Campaigns - Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire book years ago and I've had mixed success in getting it to the table. But a hefty Newline Miniatures order and a willing confederate in the person of the Welsh Wizard has presented a golden opportunity to make 2024 the year of the Sikhs.


Tilson's Book is a supplement for Larry Brom's classic The Sword and the Flame colonial rules, but rejigged for big battles. It's one of those curious things that shouldn't work, but really does. We're still getting to grips with the rules as neither of us had played them in years, but Tilson's amendments are actually quite small and work well.

Ranjit Singh - a pretty tough customer 

But what of the battle of Nowshera? 

This was a battle between the nascent Sikh Empire and the Afghans.  The Sikh's were led by a chap called Ranjit Sikh, a tough, one eyed general who built an army that married European style infantry to Sikh cavalry and an impressive artillery arm. Eager to expand his territory, he pushed into that part of Afghanistan held by the Durrani Empire and took Peshawar. 

After conquering the territory, he withdrew after leaving a small garrison.  The governor of Peshwar, an Afghan fella named Azim Khan (half brother of Dost Muhammed Khan of whom you may have heard), got understandably shirty about this. Khan gathered an army, proclaimed a jihad and made his way to Nowshera where the Singh had built a fort.  

Ranjit Singh countered by deploying his own forces to Nowshera and fell upon that part of the Afghan army that had arrived there. Khan had not yet reached Nowshera and his allies had taken up a defensive position there. 

Singh attacked this isolated part of the Afghan army and crushed it, storming the Afghan entrenchments after a powerful artillery bombardment. 

Khan fell back and Singh retook Peshwar, razed it and broke the Durrani power in the region.  Khan withdrew, possibly to see off a leadership challenger, but would soon die of cholera.

  

The Welsh Wizard contemplates his deployment, I'd sent him pics the day before so that we could get started quickly. 

The Durrani Afghan's put everything in the shop window, lining the walls with their infantry and keeping only their cavalry in reserve.  Both sides were awaiting reinforcements, but how long would it take them to arrive? 

I began the game with only my regular European trained infantry present, but I decided to drive on.  My plan was to refuse the right flank and press hard on the left, concentrating my best and most disciplined infantry there to crush that part of the line and roll up the position. 

The Sikh figures are almost all Newline, while the Durrani Afghans are a mix of Hagen Mahrattas, converted Cossacks and later period Afghans.  

The Durrani position was strong, but I had the qualitive edge in infantry, which I hoped would would prove decisive. One thing about Tilon's rules is that musketry was well modelled.  We thought the hit rate was quite low, but it seemed to work well and gave the right feel as units could move, but would be ground down over time. 

The musketry duel between my lads and the Afghans started to take effect. 

I used my Hagen Mahrattas (painted by Krizstian Takacs) as Durrani.  The Welsh Wizard used his fire cleverly, inflicting casualties that while they didn't wipe out units, slowed them down and made them linger longer under their guns. 

The Teddy Bear stuffing marks units that have fired their muskets and therefore need to reload. 

I concentrated my attack on the angle of the position on the grounds that it would put me in dead ground from the Afghan guns. Attacking a position held by greater numbers even of inferior troops is no joke and my reinforcements were nowhere to be seen...

I spread my fire evenly across the defending troops and managed to bait some of them into charging out of their position (this is reflected in a special rule in the scenario and did actually happen in reality) to attack my troops toiling up the slope. 

This ended predictably as the leading paltan of Sikh troops let the charging Durrani get within pistol shot and then gave them a volley at point blank range.  

With predictable results. The Durrani were broken and started running. Unfortunately for me, the Welsh Wizard brought his reinforcements in just in the nick of time and before my troops could get themselves organised and push on to solidify their hold on the position, he had managed to bring up several units of Ghazi, ferocious Sons of the Prophet, fired with religious zeal. 

This was a turning point in the game as we could hold this part of the entrenchments, Ranjit Singh would be well on the way to a victory.

Fresco in Jammu depicting Akali Phula Singh and his Akali-Nihang warriors making a last stand against Afghan Ghazi warriors in the Battle of Nowshera (Wikipedia)

This led to a turn where there were good decisions and mistakes on both sides and which was so exciting that I completely forgot to take pictures.  In brief; 

- the Ghazis faced with two disorganised Sikh paltans coming over the wall decided to stand and fire rather than charge in. 

- my reinforcements finally arrived, two units of Gorachurra (traditional Sikh armoured cavalry) and two mobs of Akali (the Sikh equivalent of Ghazi, religious warriors with giant hats and killer Frisbees) led by Poona Singh on his personal War Elephant.  I ran these lads forward as fast as I could, trying to take the weakly held left flank of the Durrani position. 

- Afghan cavalry made an attempt to flank the advancing Sikh infantry by jumping the entrenchments and swooping into their flank only to get enfiladed by the Sikh artillery who punished them severely and sent them scurrying to the rear. 

The Afghan fire hurt the Sikh regulars, but not enough. 

Meanwhile, my Gorachurras decided to chase the fleeing Durrani cavalry, supported by the Akali, who were spoiling for a fight. 

(Angry Punjabi Elephant noises)

The Durrani defenders managed to shoot up the Gorachurras on the way in and broke one unit of them and sent them fleeing to the rear, but the remainder got stuck into the rallying Afghan cavalry who attempted a counter charge, only to be simultaneously hit by Poona Singh and the Akalis. 

(Sounds of Punjabi chanting "Na na na na, Na na na na Wahey Goodbye!")

Meanwhile on the other flank, the Sikh regulars took a risk and dropped their muskets.  Drawing their tulwars they went straight in at the Ghazis.  One lot of Ghazis took one look at the line of ferocious looking beards and blades coming towards them at speed and decided that they had urgent business elsewhere.  They were chased down and butchered to a man. 

And here is where the battle took a fatal turn. My regulars took on the second unit of Ghazis and a fierce battle ensued. Tulwars clashed and bayonets flashed and the screams of the dying rent the air.  

The Ghazs either fled to the rear or fell wounded, all except their leader.  History does not record this doughty warriors name but he ended up fighting on alone.  He struck down three Sikh warriors and ended up facing General Hari Singh*.  General Singh here being played by an Ottoman mounted leader from Zvesda's Turkish Cavalry set because I haven't painted my Sikh generals yet. 

Now, I had thrown General Singh into the fray because if I'd managed to destroy this unit of Ghazis it would have meant that I would have secured one third of the trenches (worth victory points), I would have destroyed another Ghazi unit (also worth victory points) and I would have been poised to completely dislocate the entire Afghan position. 

We rolled and the result was a draw. 

We rolled again and not only did I lose the combat, but I also rolled a one, which meant that General Singh was not only defeated, but he was dead. 

Down he goes.   This provoked a round of morale tests throughout the army and badly shaken by the loss of their leader, the Sikhs began to withdraw.  With the Sikh position unravelling and the Welsh Wizard needing to return to his Tin Mine, we called the game there. 

This was a hard fought game that went all the way to the second last turn and which could have gone either way until the end game.  I've always enjoyed The Sword and the Flame because it creates these moments of drama. The heroic last stand of the unnamed Afghan leader shall live on in story and song. 

It's been a real pleasure to get back to gaming with the Wizard, a reminder of times when we were both teenagers and playing Warhammer Panzer Battles with Airfix figures.  It was also good to get my Sikhs on the table, I'm looking forward to maybe getting a few more Sikh games in this year. 

Fingers crossed. 

*This leader is listed in Tilson as General Blabharda...which I'm assuming is a joke.  I mean really.  Blab Harder?

Afghan Artillery

Afghan guns captured at Ali Masjid

I was looking into Afghan guns recently and was given some very sage advice by Sgt. Guinness and the Mad Guru.  I thought that there was little point in keeping such good stuff to myself, so I thought I'd share it here.

From my Sgt. Guinness. 

Your question peaked my interest in the Afghan artillery. I simply painted mine brown, however that may not be correct. I'd sent you the photo of the rows of guns captured at Ali Masjid. These are typical of the types af artillery they fielded. 

According to what the Mad Guru has told me the majority of the artillery came from the British with a little from the Turks, thus them being the regular British Blue Grey. You could also have some painted green as if the Russians has provided some. 

Additional from the Mad Guru: 

A combination of British military aid and buying new high tech RBL Armstrongs through Turkey. There are no pics of the RBL Armstrongs that I know of - also I don't think there was any difference in paint scheme of Afghan guns based on their origin - whether gifted by Britishs or purchased on their own from European or Ottoman suppliers by Afghans. I think they were all painted in British style colors. There is a pic showing dozens. unto hundreds of captured Afghan cannon, abandoned at Ali Masjid I think - maybe another one inside Bala Hissar But only b&w of course Sadly! Lots of small mountain guns, up to field pieces. My educated guess is yes - blue grey. I have never read any different description. The Second Afghan War started over anti Russian fears of a Russian rapprochement with Sher Ali - you could always give your afghan regulars a battery of green Russian style guns.

The March to Kandahar

The March to Kandahar: Roberts in Afghanistan by Rodney Atwood is handsome perfect bound paperback of about 200 pages. In it the author describes the part played by Lord Frederick Roberts (famous from Kiplings poem "Bobs") in the Second Afghan War of 1878-80. The book begins with a brief summary of of the First Afghan War, the Indian Mutiny and the internecine struggles of the Afghan court prior to the war and continues with an outline of events prior to Roberts arrival.  Where the book really hits its stride is in giving a pen picture of Roberts contradictory but often admirable character and in describing the desperate nature of the fighting in Afghanistan. The result is an approachable history which is accessible to the layman.  Atwood also grapples with the thorny problem summary executions which dogged Roberts Afghan expedition and the opprobrium those attracted in the British press.

I did not come away with a definite understanding of where the author stood on this point, though he seemed to state the case fairly for both sites.

The author style is light and readable, combining the clarity of non-fiction with a novelists eye for detail and character.  

Lastly, the maps provided are clear and have sufficient detail to allow the reader to follow the narrative scattered as it is with unfamiliar names and geography.  I found it easier to follow the written account of battles by sketching the main features of the map on paper as I read. It saved me constantly flicking back and forth.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend it to any newcomer to the subject.  

Three little maids...

...from Kabul are we. 

These are without doubt probably the simplest figures I've ever had to paint. Lovely little sculpts from Elheim miniatures from their modern Afghan range. I got these through the good offices of my pal Mike Embree and hopefully they will be adorning an Afghan village before too long. 

Full to the brim with girlish glee. 

The painting itself was terribly simple. A simple wash of blue with some grey on the trousers and GW tallarn flesh on the hands. Bases were Vallejo Khaki with a British Armour Uniform highlight. 

All in all I think the entire process took about forty minutes. The internet seems to indicate that blue is the preferred colour of ladies from Kabul, while green and brown is preferred in the provinces. However, the look of the blue was too striking to mess with, so in this as in all things I painted the legend rather than the reality.  

In other news, I found these strange marks on the chimney breast recently. I was baffled. 

Until I looked a little closer and realised that they were paw prints. Which raises the question, why is Flashman trying to get into the chimney? I don't have an answer for this one, but I can't help but feel that it may have something to do with M-Isis. 

Indian Pondering

Sikhs charging tribesmen in Afghanistan

From Great Battles of the 19th Century

(click to embiggen)

So I've been thinking about the order of battle required for Afghanistan.  The Sword and the Flame doesn't actually require that many figures and I've managed to get by with only one unit of Indian infantry so far, the Ludhiana Sikhs. 

Looking through my boxes of toys, I've found a box of HAT Indian Infantry, which would give me another two TSATF platoons worth. If I use half units for the Second Afghan War, that should put me well on the way to filling the requirement for Indian troops. 

Picture by S. Mannix from Hat Website

Uniformed as the 3rd Sikhs of the Punjab Field Force

The trick is of course, how to get them on the table relatively sharpish. I found this on the Hat website and it looks like it could be very easy to replicate quickly. Once based and given a coat of PVA, a spray of Army Builder Desert Yellow should do the trick for the basic colour of the uniform.

Then it's a matter of detailing.

This is what I think of when I think of Afghanistan

Now, I'm not that punctilious about uniforms, I intend to use my reassuringly red coated Zulu War British infantry for Afghanistan. Firstly it seems silly not to, I have them already and secondly, while I know that the British soldier of the late Victorian age wore khaki as often as he wore red, I always think of them as redcoats.

To misquote "The Man who shot Liberty Valance", when the legend becomes fact, wargame the legend. 

From Boris Mollo's "The Indian Army"

(courtesy of Vintage Wargaming)

While the red coated Britishers are troops I have already, the Indians will be new and it makes sense to get them right if I can.  Now, as I lack the appropriate reference material, I asked some of my smarter friends to lend a hand and they responded manfully. 

Clive provided the image above, though it should be noted that the 3rd Sikhs and the 3rd Punjab are not synonymous as I had imagined. There are small differences in the arrangement of the turban. 

1880s Ghurkas dashing into action

Ross was kind enough to forward me this link, which has a huge selection of uniform plate and other resources, all of which are in the New York Public Library from the Vinkhuijzen Collection.  There's plenty to look at there, though the captions can be a bit ropey. However, if you've some idea of what you are looking for, there's a lot of stuff available. 

John chimed in with some additional advice,

"[...]blouse trousers all the same shade of khaki. Puttees normally khaki, green or blue are mentioned. Equipment medium shade brown leather. Pre 1890s blouse has cuffs collar shoulder straps in facing colour also the turban fringe in same facing colour. Medium Brown footwear.  Turban colour- often exactly the same, but there are some watercolours for 1879 which show the 3rd regt with a lighter shade for puttees and turban which looks quite nice, facings mid green.  

And also directed me to this website, the Victorian Wars Forum, which he'd actually sent me to before, but which I'd forgotten about. Now that I've put it here, I won't forget again. 

At least until next time.

Hark! A questioning Scotsman.

Proud son of the glens, Mel Gibson, photographed singing "Scotland the Brave"

Scotland has given the world many great men.  Thinkers, scientists, theologicans, philosophers and engineers. They have brought forth ideas and words that will be remembered for centuries and that have shaped the lives of millions. They are a proud, curious people, given to questioning and inquiry.

Lord Kelvin asked "Jus' how culd is that anae wae?"

Adam Smith asked "What sort of price is tha'? Ar' you fer real mate?"

Thomas Carlyle asked "So you ken yer a big mawn, de ye?" 

But none of these no doubt very important questions, concern us today. 

Nor does the eternal Scottish question, posed by the warrior-philosopher "Franco" Begbie

"Ar' yo' lookin' a' me pal?"

Some frankly gratuitous eye candy from Phil's War Cabinet

Head over there for more. 

 The question that concerns us today was posed by that august son of Scotland, my esteemed colleague, friend and former editor, Mr. Phil Olley of Phil's War Cabinet* posed the question. 

"Do other wargamers and collectors set out a planned order of battle [...] to follow, or is it a case of simply picking whichever unit you fancy painting next?"

I was thinking about Phil's question and pondering how I go about collecting an army.  I think in some ways, I start backwards.  I think about the game or games I want to play and what troops I would need to complete those. I count up the troops needed to play all of those games and make a master list.

That's assuming that I haven't either somehow come into part of a collection or bought a box of plastic soldiers on a whim or because they were cheap. Actually now that I think of it, a number of these incidents have involved OldJohn and a small pile of used readies.

My good pal General Du Gourmand always maintained that the most dangerous box of figures was the first box of a new period. Collect one box of 1879 British infantry and suddenly you're committed to another 300 Zulus. Buy one squadron of 17th lancers because they look nice and before too long you'll be adding your ninth battalion of Russian infantry and worrying about the uniforms of Caucasian Riflemen.

But in a perfect world, where I'm starting from scratch, I tend to make a list based on the scenarios I want to play.

Once that's done, I pick the smallest scenario and aim to collect for that, the idea being to get troops onto the table in as few steps as possible.

Some of Michael's work

(which you can find here) 

I don't have enough projects on the go at present and between maintaining my marriage, work and studying at night, my copious free time is a burden to me.

I've been fighting a losing battle with Michael Dippel's Second Afghan War scenarios on the Battlecry website for a little while now and I think Phil has provided the last shove I needed to finally crack. I've been collecting colonials for The Sword and the Flame for a while now and this would appear to be a good opportunity to use those figures in a larger engagement.  Of course, TSATF is a skirmish game and the larger battles portrayed in Battlecry will require more troops, most notably cavalry, but I should be able to get a workable force relatively quickly.  It's just a matter of working out which of the six scenarios requires the smallest number of new troops.

Looking at the scenarios written so far, the troops required are as follows.

Afghan
Rifles 5
Melee (swords) 12
Cavalry 6
Artillery 3
Leader 3

British
British Infantry 7
Indian Infantry 9
Highlanders 2
Sappers 1
Ghurkas 1
Royal Artillery 3
Royal Horse Artillery 2
British Cavalry 1
Indian Cavalry 3

I'll have to post a progress report in the New Year.


*Who I profoundly hope is actually Scottish, rather than just living there, otherwise this joke will have well and truly gone for it's tea. 

Battle in the Chamla Valley - circa 1879

Sir Harry Flashman VC & Lt. St.John Cuthbert De Gormaine 

(De Gormaine on right)

I was lucky enough to enjoy the signal honour of the company of young Du Gourmand, raconteur, pigeon fancier and man about town.  We got a game of The Sword and the Flame in and rather well it went to. As with all wargames, I am still finding parts of the rules that I'm sure I've read, but seem to have no memory of. 

Now as it happened, I discovered that a distant ancestor of Du Gourmands served in the Chamla Valley campaign. Lt. St. John Cuthbert De Gormaine of the Guards was transferred to Afghanistan having made Mayfair to hot to hold him.  The reason for this sudden ejection from the fleshpots of London is not given, though several diarists have recorded it as "unspecified vice." 

Who can say?

Note the careful use of a table cat. 

Now regular readers will be aware that this blog is nothing if not committed to Old School Wargaming at it's heart and while I have noted with considerable pleasure the arrival of the bounce stick, the matchstick firing cannon and the scatter template amongst the blogging fraternity - I have been dismayed at the lack of table cats. 

The table cat, vulgarly called "The Board Moggy" by the uninitiated is an invaluable assistance to the gentleman wargamer. Properly deployed, he can keep key parts of the battlefield warm, ensure that stray dice are batted on the floor where they belong and also serve as a navigational aid. 

An aerial view

The scenario is as follows, after McKenzie's patrol, it was discovered that the Multani outpost was not in sufficiently good repair to act as a base of operations. Consequently, another fortification was constructed, the name of which is lost to history. A local Khan, on the losing side in the latest feud has hitched his wagon to the British star and has agreed to provide a platoon of irregulars to supplement the Crown forces in the valley. The Irregulars are returning from a brief exercise and Lt. De Gormaine has been given the job of drilling them. His objective is to hold the fort.  It would also be politic if the Irregulars did well - but De Gormaine has little faith in those "Hairy Herberts". 

Considering what he calls his own men, the Hairy Herberts isn't actually too bad.  Capability Savage on the other hand is quite capable of coming up with names that would have this blog the subject of a fatwa from The Guardan.

That is if Teh Guardian is still issuing fatwas.

A sentry making for the fort at speed

I took up the cudgels as the wily Pathan, while Du Gourmand planned his defence. He had one platoon of the Royal Mallows, a 7lber manned by the Royal Artillery and a platoon of the Irregulars, who were rated as Egyptian regulars. Capability Savage had originally been nominated to play the Pathans, but was unable to stay.  He made up for it by making up awful names for most of my command (which are thankfully lost to history) and issuing wisdom from on high. 

Probably one of the best (and certainly the cleanest) was; 

"C'mon lads, lets get at 'em - you can't spell Cali-phate without Cali-fight!"

Du Gourmand made use of the Scouts rules to place two sentries outside the fort, something I had not considered when setting up my forces. My original plan called for setting up a Pathan gun overlooking the fort, but masked from the fire of the Royal Artillery.  I would then sting the British into leaving the fort and catch them in the open. My main objective was to ensure the treacherous dogs that allied themselves with the redcoats received condign punishment for their sins. 

The Afghans unmask their gun

Du Gourmands use of scouts exposed my party of swordsmen before I had been able to spring the trap.  With that in mind, I unmasked my gun and began lobbing shells at the Mallows. A thoroughly dismal turn of shooting resulted in one wounded Irishman.  I enquired who had been hit, to which De Gormaine replied. 

"It doesn't do to learn their names.  Start doing that and a chap could get attached to them. Wouldn't do at all. Very upsetting."

It looked like I might be being sued by the Guards Division for libel as well as the Afghan ambassador. Oh dear. 

The Mallows catch some swordsmen taking a liberty

While trying to outflank the fort, my party of swordsmen tried to take a short cut, which left them exposed to the fire of the Mallows. This crushing volley dropped nine out of twenty of my stout sons of the Prophet. Bugger. 

Accurate return fire from the Royal Artillery causes difficulties

Not only that but De Gormaine managed to get the gunners to man handle their 7lber to the other side of the building. This unmasked my gun from their fire and they wasted no time in making their superior skill tell. Double bugger. 

An aerial view

At this point, the Irregulars having made for the safety of the table cat (removed for ease of photography) were just about to make it inside the fort. The Royal Artillery were pummeling my poor gunners and the Mallows had sloshed by lads on the right rather badly. The wheels were definitely beginning to come off this wagon. 

Concealed riflemen spring a half hearted ambush

So I sprang my ace in the hole, a unit of concealed riflemen who rose up and gave the Irregulars a volley at close range in march column.  

And only managed to score three hits.   I was thoroughly disgusted. I had hoped to pin this unit and finish it off. 

Casualties are not heavy, but critical

A lucky draw on the casualty cards downed the Irregulars leader, wounded, but out of action.  This might just work. 

Hooting from the Afghan lines

Finally things were beginning to go the way of the sons of the Prophet, soon we would send these dogs to the grave. 

Murphy bolts for the wall

Whenwhile, the second sentry from the Mallows decided not to risk running for the gate and started to climb the wall. Meanwhile, the Royal Artillery failed to silence my gun.

De Gormaine was unsurprised, "What does he expect dressing in blue like that? Might as well employ a bloody tradesman."

The second half of the ambush also fails to cut the mustard

But this rally of Afghan luck was short lived.  I sprang my cavalry at the flank of the Irregulars led by none other by than the fierce chieftain (and noted dancer) Ifyacancan Khan. I can only presume that this mighty warrior had indulged in a sneaky bacon sandwich early in the weak, because fortune was not smiling on him today.  A botched charge roll (a total of 8 on 5d6) left him hanging in the air, short of his target and worrying close to the Mallows.

Meanwhile the swordsmen moved around the flank

Bloodied, but unconcerned about those of their fellows that had departed for paradise, the swordsmen moved to outflank the gun.  The Royal Artillery men, tradesmen though they were, had plied their bloody trade well and made mincemeat of my gun before I could withdraw it. 

At least I was now in the dead ground to the gun and would be able to see how the gunners liked a taste of cold steel. 

A lone watcher

Meanwhile, a lone figure watched from the hill (packing material from Mrs. Kinch's steam mop - women ask for the strangest things for Valentines Day), taking careful note of all that occurred.

A remnants of the Afghan cavalry pile in

Ifyacancan Khan pursued the Irregulars into the fort, smashing down the door and massacring the wounded that had been left by the Irregulars who had rushed to stop the swordsmen who were scrambling over the undefended wall.

What isn't pictured is the absolutely hammering they took on the way in.  The Mallows used Independent Fire (using two ammunition tokens) to pour lead into their flank, emptying half the saddles in a single turn. 

Swordsmen cross the wall, the Royal Artillery are shot down

While the Gunners were drawing swords and readying to face the charge, the Afghan Rifles had scurried forward into the crags over looking the fort. They opened fire on the surprised Gunners, laying them all out.  It was a bad day for the Royal Artillery, the sergeant in charge and his corporal were killed.  The other two gunners were wounded, one of whom subsequently died of his wounds and the other had to be shipped home to Blighty. 

As I have aspirations to running a sort of loose campaign, I've been tracking the casualties taken by the Mallows and friends.  I doubt De Gormaine will be in good standing with the Gunners after that display. 

Could lead to a touch of frostiness in the Mess. 

The Afghan cavalry failed their morale and began to withdraw. It was all down to the Swordsmen. 

The Irregulars earn their keep

The Swordsmen faced a fight of almost equal numbers, unfortunately a poor straggling roll and a failure to close left their leader out on his own in advance of the rest of the party. 

He promptly joined the Choir Eternal in a hail of Snider fire, his shattered command were then pinned against the wall by the vengeful Irregulars, who I suspect dealt with them with the gentility and kindness that they are famous for. 

With Ifyacancan Khan fleeing, the gun silenced and the Rifles taking casualties from fire from the Mallows, I decided to withdraw. 

On mature reflection, I think I would call this a minor British victory. The Irregulars took a pasting and were on half strength at the end of the game, one figure away from being broken, which would have taken the game to a draw. The crushing losses of the RA turned what would have been a total washout into a loss, but not a complete disaster for Ifyacancan Khan. 

Du Gourmand summed up the situation with his usual sangfroid. "Well, I'll be writing this one up as a victory."  It was his first game for The Sword and the Flame, which he called "Civilized Force on Force". I am looking forward to the next one.