19th October 2014 face to face game at Little Gaddesdon

Dear all

The June game will be a North West Frontier colonial game set against the uprisings of 1897.
Players will take command of British or tribal forces equivalent to Brigade level strengths.

I can vary the size of the game dependant on numbers attending so please sign up asap with your preferred role here -

http://doodle.com/t48tcxp8am2msuz2

So, can you prevent the jewel in the empires Crown from falling or oust the colonial oppressors?  Sign up to find out?

Cheers

Steve

This game has now been switched to Sunday 19th October.

The above doodle is still live however, so please complete that, particularly if you are planning to come.

Martin (J)

Dear all

So, we have seven attendees for next week and I'm planning on that number based on the doodle poll replies.

Usual start time of 1100 so if people can be there a little before we can kick off on time.

Any volunteers to bring tea, coffee, milk etc?

Cheers

Steve

Sorry Steve, I'd completely forgotten about this. I'll be there. I'm happy to be a player or assist the umpire team. I can bring CAKE.

Cake or death.

Really good game on Sunday, and many thanks to Steve for running it.  Splendid role-playing from the players too.

It featured one day’s events in a particular valley during the 1897 tribal rebellion in the NW Provinces.  A charismatic leader called Saidullah (and referred to disparagingly by the British as 'The Mad Mullah') was leading the rebels.  To counter him, the Brits had raised the mobile Malakand Field Force under the rather splendidly-named Sir Bindon Blood.  Blood had some early success, and was continuing to pursue the rebels, leaving a brigade-sized force in our valley to secure the loyalty of the local Khan.  Unbeknownst to either the British or the Khan however, Saidullah’s army of 9,000 had slipped back into the valley, intending to win over the Khan and his armed followers, and also score a success against the detached British force.

As well as having troops, the Khan was a man of influence with the rulers of neighbouring valleys.  He wished to remain neutral, or preferably to join the winning side.  If he could also extract gold from the British, so much the better.  The British were prepared to pay him, but didn’t really trust him.  Neither did Saidullah.  Some time was spent by both the British and Saidullah in trying to locate the slippery Khan, who was initially successful in keeping one step ahead of both.

Applying the stick as well as the carrot, the bulk of the British force marched several miles north to the nearest of the Khan’s villages, and threatened to attack it.  The village, as all those in the valley, was fortified.  It was also held by several hundred men.  Much of the British baggage, plus a guard of 800 men was left at the British overnight camp at the southern entrance to the valley.

Saidullah had sent many of his men to various parts of the valley to confuse the British, but kept 5,500 with him.  He finally located the Khan and moved with this large force to join him.  A good move because the jig was now up for the Khan, who was forced off the fence.  Having reluctantly decided not to kill him on the spot, Saidullah resolved not to let the Khan out of his sight.  This was easier said than done, as he also wanted to avoid a fight with the Khan’s loyal followers.  With this in mind, Saidullah also made a series of threats, including incarceration in a cage, and the removal of various of the khan’s extremities.  In response the Khan smiled (rather sweetly) and humbly expressed support.  Together with the Khan’s immediate following, Saidullah now had around 7,000 men just across a large wadi from the Khan’s threatened village.  

With no positive response from the village, the British finally bombarded it, and followed this with an infantry attack which overran it and killed some hundreds of the khan’s men.  Seeing this from high ground across the wadi, the khan yelled an inspiring battle-cry, and led over a thousand of his men towards the village.  To the Saidullah’s dismay, a similar number of his own men followed, assuming that he had ordered the advance.  It later transpired that the khan had initially hoped to join the British at this point, but the unforeseen presence of so many of Saidullah's men torpedoed this plan, and he was forced to halt just outside rifle range of the British infantry in the village.  

This enabled Saidullah and his remaining men, to catch-up with the Khan.  Saidullah was not a patient man at the best of times, and the Khan had thwarted him yet again, so he drew his scimitar and promptly attacked him.  The Khan defended himself with surprising skill, and the melee soon became general as the supporters of both men joined-in.  All this in full view of the rather bemused British troops on the other side of the wadi!

The Khan’s men were heavily outnumbered, but when both parties regrouped to recover their breath, Saidullah proposed a truce.  This was gratefully accepted by the Khan who withdrew his force back up the valley, and pledged not to interfere with Saidullah’s future operations.  

Meanwhile some of Saidullah’s detached men had launched 2 attacks on the British camp away to the south.  The British had also been concerned to see so many tribesmen across the wadi, and this now confirmed to them that the main rebel forces were in the valley.  But as darkness fell, they espied the Khan’s men moving away, and this may have reassured them that the whole enemy force was withdrawing.  The British evacuated the village and in the darkness shifted about a mile back towards their camp, and bivouacked for the night.

Saidullah had other plans.  He moved his main force out of sight south down the large wadi, towards the main British camp.  This took some while, but about 3 hours after dark, he launched an attack with perhaps 8,000 men.  In the dark, the British camp guard was unable to benefit from their longer range rifles, and with odds of 10 to 1 in their favour Saidullah's forces eventually overran the camp.  This left the main British force without most of their supplies.  

Fate had one further trick to play.  The British had meanwhile sent the Khan a further offer to treat, and he eventually received this about midnight.  He had heard prolonged firing to the south but had no details of the attack on the British camp, or its result.  He decided to accept the British offer, and rode to join them at their bivouac, blissfully unaware of Saidullah’s latest victory.

As the game concluded, the traditional happy search for scapegoats was well underway.  The British commander, with some justice, felt that Sir Bindon Blood had taken his eye of the Saidullah ball.  He also took solace from the fact that had taken the gold with him, rather than leaving it to be captured in the main camp.  He had word too that his superior was belatedly hastening back to his support.  The Khan had joined him of course, but the latter had lost much influence, having both suffered painful losses and joined the losing side!  Saidullah was a clear winner, having scored a significant blow against the British.  Over the next few days many other local tribal leaders would rally to his cause as word spread.

Martin (J)