I met up with my old pals for a great game set in the Sudan. Hosted by the Mahdi Master General Del. We use the rules by Dave Bickley a good dusting.
The game story was of a relief column heading to Khartoum up the Nile.
Major General Berry Pomroy decided to stop off to lay in supplies of fuel for the Gunboats and also to teach the local insurgents a lesson!
Leading units were soon streaming ashore, Led by a company of jolly jack Tars and a company of the Royal Tandooris. The whole force was soon forming a bridgehead on land.
Soon however, the local tribesmen appeared at all points of the compass and most alarmingly in the left rear of the column!
The camel corps troopers found themselves outflanked and forced into square. Many men fell under the Beja spears until the Tandooris came to the rescue
On the other flank the devilish Dervishes had infiltrated a dry Donga and were pouring troops towards the British line
The crackle of rifle fire tore into the Mahdist ranks but inspired by the Chosen One the they pressed on..
Soon they crashed into the Rifles and started their butchery! Despite their terrible losses the Rifles held on ... Any slip in morale now would have spelt disaster
The next crisis struck in the centre as wave after wave of Beja spears finally broke the Lincs Battalion! Only a fierce countercharge from the Bengal lancers could reverse British fortunes...
This was the high water mark for the Sudanese however... Their huge losses began to tell and the sustained artillery support from the gun boats had proved a crucial factor. The last straw came when the Mahdi's nephew fell to a volley from the sailors and their Gatling gun, the natives lost heart and started to melt away....
The British force were able to restock and refuel and had reminded the locals that Imperial Might is Right ... But it had been a close run thing.
Thanks to Del and Ingrid, major Kev Tad-Portly of the Rifles, Naval Commander Alan B Jones, Jones-Sahib of the Royal Tandooris, all under the able command of Major General Pomeroy
