Friday 3 and Saturday 4 November 1899

British Sitrep - Recon die roll 2

The British have no firm intelligence on Boer movements following the Battle of Kronenfontein Spruit but General Wetherby knows he must make a determined advance to make amends for the defeat. These are his D6 command decision options:

1 or 2 = Leave 2nd Brigade, Naval Brigade, Mounted Brigade and the Guards Brigade at Steenkampsdrift and march the rest of the army up the route of the railway towards Uitvlugt.

3 or 4 = Leave 2nd Brigade, Naval Brigade and the Mounted Brigade at Steenkampsdrift and march the rest of the army up the route of the railway towards Uitvlugt.

5 = Leave 2nd Brigade and the Mounted Brigade at Steenkampsdrift and march the rest of the army up the route of the railway towards Uitvlugt.

6 = Leave 1st East March Regiment and the Mounted Brigade at Steenkampsdrift and march the rest of the army up the route of the railway towards Uitvlugt.

Wetherby rolls a 6 and the whole army move off except for 1st East March Regiment and the Mounted Brigade who remain behind to recuperate and guard the camp.

The British force prepares to move out of Steenkampsdrift.

Boer Sitrep - Recon die roll 1

The Boers fail to spot that the British are advancing in strength towards Uitvlugt. Commandant-General Rensburg has the following D6 command decision options:

1 or 2 = Order the Roodeport and Buffelshoek commandos to withdraw to the high gound south of Tweefontein and order General Viljoen to concentrate the Southern Field Force at Kaalplaats.

3 or 4 = Order the Roodeport and Buffelshoek commandos to withdraw to the high gound south of Tweefontein and order the Welgevonden Commando to join with them there. Order General Viljoen to concentrate the Southern Field Force at Kaalplaats.

5 or 6 = Order the Roodeport and Buffelshoek commandos to withdraw to the high gound south of Tweefontein and order the Welgevonden Commando to join with them there. Order General Viljoen to concentrate the Southern Field Force at Kaalplaats. Order General du Toit to concentrate the Northern Field Force at Grootlaagte.

Rensburg rolls a 6 and orders for the concentration of forces are issued. Meanwhile the Welgevonden Commando move south to the position near Tweefontein. General Viljoen himself rides down to take personal command.

Wetherby leads his force north towards Kaalplaats unimpeded as the Boers fall back allowing him an uncontested crossing of Kronenfontein Spruit. The advance continues the following day until scouts report that the Boers are holding a position on high ground to the west of the railway line. The British halt and Wetherby makes plans for an attack on the Boers the next day.

The situation near Tweefontein on the evening of Saturday 4 November is as below:

It looks likely there will be a battle in the morning.

A bit of a fuss in The Times

The latest copy of The Times has just found its way to the breakfast tables of Britain. It doesn't make good reading.

It would appear that ChatGPT has introduced an element of fake news into the battle report but I guess that's in the tradition of human journalism. 

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.