Natal Campaign Rules

 

Intelligence
The Boers have full knowledge of the British strength and deployments unless, at the start of a turn, they roll a 1 in which case they may only act on the previous information received. The British must dice each turn to see what intelligence reports they receive. Roll 1 D6 for each separate Boer map force:

1, 2 or 3 = enemy not detected
4 = enemy is detected but no information available on direction of movement
5 = enemy location and direction of movement reported
6 = enemy location, direction and strength reported
 
+1 to the die roll if the enemy force was detected in the previous turn.
-1 to the die roll if the British troops closest to the Boer force are led by a C rated commander.

Orders

Initial orders for each force are issued at the start of the campaign in line with the strategy that is being followed. To send new orders in response to intelligence received the C-in-C must pass a command die roll. To receive the new orders the commander in receipt must also pass a command die roll to implement them.

The British command die roll required is 4, 5 or 6. Add one to the die roll if the commander is A rated and minus one if he is C rated.

The Boer command die roll required is 3, 4, 5 or 6. Add one to the die roll if the commander is A rated and minus one if he is C rated.

 A rated commanders may use their own initiative and change their orders without waiting for new orders from the C-in-C although they still need to pass a command die roll.

Movement

Boer Forces – die roll 1 = 1 hex, 2 or 3 = 2 hex, 4, 5 or 6 = 3 hex
British Forces – marching along railway line die roll 1 = no movement, 2 or 3 = 1 hex, 4 or 5 = 2 hex, 6 = 3 hex
British Forces – marching along road die roll 1 or 2 = no movement, 3, 4 or 5, = 1 hex, 6 = 2 hex
British Forces – marching in open country die roll 1, 2 or 3 = no movement, 4, 5 or 6 = 1 hex

No forces may enter a hex containing high ground except where it is crossed by a road or railway.

No forces may cross a river except where one is crossed by a road or railway.

Railway Movement
Only British forces may move by rail. Half a battalion or one gun battery may be moved anywhere along the line on a die roll of 4, 5 or 6 (5 or 6 if Ladysmith is under siege). If Boer forces block the line movement must stop at the preceding station.

Battles

When a contact occurs, make a list (1 to 6) of possible actions, and use a D6 to decide which of them is taken. Any resulting battle will then be fought on the table top. After the battle I’ll use the same system to decide how the result affects subsequent actions of both sides.

Only A rated British commanders may operate troops in extended order.

Sieges

Any British force occupying a town, that finds itself with a Boer force in contact to its front and rear, is under siege. To break a siege the British must defeat one of the besieging Boer forces in battle. Trains cannot travel to, from or through a besieged town.

Leader Ratings

C-in-C Lieutenant-General Sir George White (C)
Lieutenant-General Sir William Penn Symons (C)
Major-General French (A)
Brigadier-General James Yule (B)
Colonel Ian Hamilton (A)

C-in-C General Piet Joubert (B)

2i/c General Daniel Erasmus (B)

General Lucas Meyer (B)

General Johannes Kock (C)

General Louis Botha (A)

General Christiaan Rudolph De Wet (A)

Recovery after Battle

After each engagement casualties are restored by rolling 1 D6 per lost figure as follows:

British Troops – 4, 5 or 6

British troops routed off table or otherwise removed – 3, 4, 5, or 6
British Officers – 3, 4, 5 or 6
British Artillery – automatically restored to full strength
Boers – 4, 5 or 6
Boers who fled – 3, 4, 5 or 6
Boer Officers – automatically restored
Boer Artillery – 3, 4, 5, or 6

Following recovery units may be amalgamated to bring them up to full strength but such units may never exceed their original full strength and any extra figures are discarded. Where two Boer Commandos are amalgamated this will count towards the British victory conditions as one destroyed unit.

Victory Conditions

Boers

Decisive Victory = Capture Ladysmith and expel the British from Natal
Marginal Victory = Besiege Ladysmith and expel all other British forces from Natal
 
British
Decisive Victory = Achieve initial strategy and reduce Boer fighting ability by destroying 4 or more Commandos
Marginal Victory = Retain Ladysmith and reduce Boer fighting ability by destroying 4 or more Commandos

Any other result is a draw.