Kronenfontein Spruit - The Game

Although more of a skirmish than a battle, play still ran to 18 turns which is the longest I have played one of these games. It was a gripping fight with a very tight finish so let's get into it.

The Mounted Brigade advanced and immedately came under fire from the Boer artillery and Pom-Pom causing 2 casualties and a PIN in the Imperial Volunteer Horse. I had diced to see if the Boers would hold their fire but they proved trigger-happy on this occasion.

The Mausers of the Buffelshoek Commando were also in range and joined in the rain of fire directed at the Mounted Brigade.

The Imperial Volunteer Horse managed to dismount but couldn't form line because they were carrying PINs - each PIN marker reduces movement by a third and they needed a whole turn to change formation. The Lancers were struggling to dismount as their Colonel was 'old school' and thought cavalry should always fight mounted - he needed to roll a 5 or 6 to order the men to dismount although at least he managed to get them into line.

Finally the lancers manage to dismount but the Mounted Brigade is under severe pressure and could do with some reinforcements.

But the only reinforcements so far are the 3rd Staatsartillerie arriving to bring even more firepower to bear on the British.

Things are going from bad to worse for the Mounted Brigade and Colonel Montgomery of the 11th Lancers is down with a fatal wound. Each red counter is a PIN marker and a unit with 3 x PINs cannot fire. The blue counters show that the troops are lying down.

But it wasn't all one way traffic and the British managed to knock down one Boer along with Commandant Willem Boshoff. It later transpired that Boshoff's wound was not serious.

Finally 19th RFA arrive on the scene but they push too far forward and are already reduced to half strength before they have unlimbered. By now the 11th Lancers have quit the field as they had been reduced to 5 figures. The Imperial Volunteer Horse are clinging on.

Hurrah! The East March Regiment have arrived not a moment too soon.

At last a bit of luck for the British. The 19th RFA get off a round over the heads of the Buffelshoek Commando forcing a 'first time under shrapnel fire' test. Five of the Burghers decide it's time to go home.

Brigadier-General Lennox rides over to the East March Regiment and orders them to form line before advancing any closer to the Boer position. The Imperial Volunteer Horse had now quit the field and 19th RFA has been knocked out. The East March are on their own.

But a last shot from the British artillery has reduced the Buffelshoek Commando to 5 figures and they now flee the field.

However, the Roodeport Commando arrive in the nick of time to take up the Buffelshoek's old position.

Lennox has the East March Regiment form a single line to develop maximum firepower and the men are ordered to lie down. It will now be a long range firefight with each side trying to attrit the other. The British are getting close to their force break point but if they can reduce the Boers to 5 figures it will be a victory.

Tantalisingly some of the Boers are finding the fight too much...

But in the end it is the British that reach their break point first. With a total of thirty casualties the British have lost the game.

As you can see this was a much closer run thing than one might have expected but the Boer artillery was the dominate force. If they'd had only a single gun I think the outcome would have been different.

I did make a big tactical mistake that possibly cost the British a victory. I moved the 19th RFA too far forward forgetting they could still do some damage from further back with the 'first time under shrapnel' rule. This was particulary galling as the battery had an 'A' rated commander who would have known this!

The fact that the Imperial Volunteer Horse were unable to change from column to line was really a glitch in the rules. I have fixed this by allowing Mounted Troops to change formation in half a move rather than a whole move which I think is more realistic.

After casualty recovery the strengths of the combatants are as follows:

11th Royal Lancers - 8 (Colonel Montgomery replaced with Captain Fairburn)

Imperial Volunteer Horse - 7

1st East March Regiment - 19

19th Battery RFA - Destroyed

Buffelshoek Commando - 7

4th Staatsartillerie - Full strength

4th Pom-Pom Section - Full strength

Roodeport Commando - 11

3rd Staatsartillerie - Full Strength

Interestingly, despite many Fallen Lead checks none of the officers of the East March Regiment became casualties. Brigadier-General Lennox also led a charmed life. The only fatal officer casualty was Colonel Montgomery of the 11th Lancers but this may be a blessing in disguise as his replacement Captain Fairburn is 'A' rated.

Kronenfontein Spruit - Scenario

Special Rules

1. 1st East March Regiment have a 'C' rated commander and will not be allowed to operate in extended order. Add +1 to all fallen leader die rolls.

2. 11th Royal Lancers have a 'D' rated commander and will not be allowed to dismount and fight on foot until they roll a 5 or 6.

3. Roodeport Commando have a 'D' rated commander and once on table may not deploy forward until they roll a 4, 5 or 6.

4. The Boer units are subject to the 'first time under shrapnel fire' rule.

5. Reinforcement entry will be decided by die roll.

Order of Battle

British

C-in-C Brigadier-General Arthur Lennox (A)

11th Royal Lancers - Colonel Charles Montgomery (D)

Imperial Volunteer Horse - Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril A Pembroke (A)

1st East March Regiment

Colonel Frederick Lonsdale (C)

Major Edmund Carstairs (B)

Major Harold Wentworth (C)

19th Battery RFA - Major Charles W Beresford (A)

Boers

Buffelshoek Commando - Commandant Willem Hendrik Boshoff (B)

4th Staatsartillerie Battery - Captain Hendrik Stephanus Nel (B)

4th Pom-Pom Section - Lieutenant Barend Johannes Labuschagne (B)

Roodeport Commando - Commandant Frans Jacobus de Beer (D)

3rd Staatsartillerie Battery - Captain Nicolaas Johannes Grobler (C)

The Buffelshoek Commando have deployed to cover the approaches to the railway crossing over Kronenfontein Spruit.

Brigadier-General Lennox leads the Mounted Brigade forward.

Reinforcement Table

Roll 1 D6 each turn to see which (if any) reinforcements arrive:

1 = 1st East March Regiment

2 = 19th Battery RFA

3 = Roodeport Commando

4 = 3rd Staatsartillerie Battery

5 or 6 = No reinforcements

Victory Conditions

To win the British must force both Commandos to flee or occupy the railway river crossing and force one Commando to flee. The Boers win if they inflict 30 or more casualties on the British.

Mounted Imperial Light Horse

Way back in 2020 I completed a unit of dismounted Imperial Light Horse for my refight of Elandslagaate. I had always intended to paint up a mounted version of the unit as well and I thought now would be a good time to do so knowing that they will almost certainly have a role in the Zoutpans campaign.

There are 12 troopers and a commander. The Newline Designs pack included another officer and bugler so I have added these to the ranks.

The figures are by Newline Designs and they have been fun to paint. They are actually Frontier Light Horse from the Zulu War range and I have modified their hats so that the left side is turned up. This was quite fiddly but worth it I think.

The old dismounted unit now has the added luxury of a horse holder.

In the campaign they will represent the ficticious Imperial Volunteer Horse led by Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril A. Pembroke "A colonial veteran who knows the veld intimately. Resourceful, fearless and unconventional, he enjoys the complete confidence of his troopers."

Thursday 2 November 1899

British Sitrep - Recon die roll 3
General Wetherby knows he must start his advance along the railway towards Uitvlugt some 5 miles distant from Steenkampsdrift. This is a distance his army should be able to easily march in a day but he has no intelligence about the locations of the Boer forces. He is concerned that the enemy may attempt to block his line of advance where the railway crosses Kronenfontein Spruit just south of Uitvlugt. This is the first D6 command decision he must make:

1 or 2 = Keep the main army at Steenkampsdrift and send the Mounted Brigade up the line on recconassiance.

3 or 4 = Keep the main army at Steenkampsdrift and send the Mounted Brigade, 1st East March Regiment and 19th Battery RFA up the line on recconassiance.

5 = March the army up the line with the Mounted Brigade leading. Leave 2nd Brigade behind to guard Steenkampsdrift.

6 = March the army up the line with the Mounted Brigade leading. Leave 1st Fenland Regiment behind to guard Steenkampsdrift.

Wetherby rolls a 3 and the advance guard moves out. The force rolls a 6 for movement allowing a maximum move of 6 miles. Shortly after 2.00pm the head of the column is nearing the point where the railway crosses Kronenfontein Spruit.

The 11th Royal Lancers lead the reconnassiance column towards Uitvlugt.

Boer Sitrep - Recon die roll 6

The Boers are aware that a British force has left Steenkampsdrift moving in the direction of Uitvlugt. The Buffelshoek Commando (12), 4th Staatsartillerie Battery and 4th Pom-Pom Section are in position to contest any crossing of Kronenfontein Spruit. The Roodepoort Commando (11) with 3rd Staatsartillerie Battery is alerted and Commandant Frans Jacobus de Beer attempts to pass a command die roll and ride to their support. Fortunately he rolls a 6 (he is the only D rated Boer commander) and this is enough see him start moving towards Uitvlugt.

So we have a rather interesting engagement developing that I will move to the table when time allows.

Initial Campaign Deployments

I asked ChatGPT to deploy the Boer forces on the campaign map and it has dispersed the Commandos as follows:

I hadn't considered that the Boers would begin so widely dispersed but this is probably quite realistic given that they must live off the land. The only odd thing is that the Long Tom has mysteriously deployed to the edge of the Klein Winterhoek mountains (13). I'm going to take it that the gun is really situated at Grootlaagte.

Initial Orders

All the Boer Commandos have reconnaissance orders and will remain in their respective areas until further orders are received. The Boers at Uitvlugt (12) are ordered to push out patrols along the railway line towards Steenkampsdrift as this is obviously the most likely route for any British advance.

The British initial orders have already been dealt with via the War Office instructions to General Wetherby so next post we'll be on to the first turn.

Zoutpans 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 or D rated commander.

The British may only detect Boer forces up to a maximum distance of 10 miles.

Initial Deployment

The AI will make the Boer initial deployments. The British will begin concentrated at Steenkampsdrift.

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.
 
The British command die roll required is 4, 5 or 6. Add one to the die roll if the commander is A or B rated (A commander may make 1 reroll) and minus one if he is D rated.
The Boer command die roll required is 3, 4, 5 or 6. Add one to the die roll if the commander is A or B rated (A commander may make 1 reroll) and minus one if he is D 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.
 
The issuing of orders to the Boer forces will be made by a combination of die rolls and AI decisions.

Leader Ratings

Leaders are rated from A to D where A is the highest rating.
 
Movement
Boer Forces – die roll 1 or 2 = 5 miles, 3, 4 or 5 = 10 miles, 6 = 15 miles
British Mounted Forces – die roll 1 = no movement, 2 or 3 = 5 miles, 4, 5 or 6 = 10 miles
British Forces – marching along railway line die roll 1 = no movement, 2, 3 or 4 = 5 miles, 6 = 10 miles
British Forces – marching along road die roll 1 or 2 = no movement, 3 or 4 = 3 miles, 5 = 5 miles, 6 = 7 miles
No forces may enter mountainous terrain 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.
 
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.
 
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 Artillery – no recovery
Boers – 4, 5 or 6
Boers who fled – 3, 4, 5 or 6
Boer Artillery – no recovery
Fallen Officers – for each officer casualty roll 1 D6, 1 – 4 officer has been killed or injured and will be replaced. 5 or 6 just a scratch and the officer returns to his command.

Zoutpans Campaign - Scenario

I asked ChatGPT to make some small amendments to the campaign map, the main one being to reduce the scale so that the map now represents an area approximately 50 x 50 miles which is more manageable for the sort of game I want to play. I have discovered that the AI is not that good at editing a map as it tends to make other little changes you never asked for that can be hard to spot. However, here is the final version of the Campaign Zoutpans map.

Next I fed the AI some criteria for the campaign objectives and asked it to write them up. Initially I received a three page detailed document on strategy, tactics and objectives but this was a bit too much so I asked for versions for each side of no more than 150 words. First the British:

WAR OFFICE — CONFIDENTIAL

London, November 1899

To: General Sir Alistair C. Wetherby, K.C.B.

By direction of the Secretary of State for War, you are instructed to undertake operations against the Boer forces under Commandant-General Hendrik Jacobus van Rensburg in the Zoutpans District.

Your principal object is the defeat and dispersion of the Boer Field Army, thereby preventing it from continuing to threaten British interests and communications in the region.

You will secure the mining towns of Dwaalfontein and Rooipoort, together with the railway connecting these places with Grootlaagte and Steenkampsdrift. Particular care is to be taken to protect the railway, telegraph and other essential communications.

Following the destruction or sufficient disorganisation of the Boer forces, you will advance upon and capture Zoutpansberg, the seat of the Boer administration.

The enemy's mobility and knowledge of the country must be anticipated. You are therefore granted discretion as to the conduct of operations, but the destruction of the Boer military organisation remains your paramount objective.

By Order of the Secretary of State for War

Now the Boers:

GENERAL HEADQUARTERS — ZUID-AFRIKAANSCHE REPUBLIEK

Zoutpansberg, November 1899
CONFIDENTIAL

To: Commandant-General Hendrik Jacobus van Rensburg

You are directed to conduct the defence of the Zoutpans District against the advancing British forces under General Sir Alistair C. Wetherby.

Your principal object is to preserve the Boer Field Army as an effective fighting force, while preventing the British from securing the railway and the principal settlements.

Every effort is to be made to delay and harass the enemy's advance, employing the mobility of the commandos and the broken country to advantage. The mining towns of Dwaalfontein and Rooipoort are to be denied to the enemy for as long as practicable, and the railway is to be disrupted wherever opportunity permits.

The British must be prevented from establishing a secure line of communication between Grootlaagte and Steenkampsdrift.

You will avoid decisive action when the enemy is strongly concentrated, but strike vigorously against isolated columns, communications and detachments.

Above all, the Long Tom and the commandos must be preserved.

Should circumstances permit, the British advance is to be turned into a costly and protracted campaign, until the enemy is compelled to abandon his attempt upon Zoutpansberg.

By Order of the Government of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek

So this all helps me to focus on the way the two armies should behave and using the AI is already taking things out of my hands by giving me some objectives I hadn't considered. In the next post I'll move on to the campaign rules.