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.

Zoutpans Campaign - Boer Forces

The Boers will be defending their home turf in this campaign so they will need an experienced and determined leader. Commandant-General Henrick Jacobus Van Rensburg is just such a man.

The following is a breakdown of the troops under his command:

Headquarters Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek Field Army

Commander-in-Chief

Commandant-General Hendrik Jacobus van Rensburg

Heavy Artillery

Long Tom (One 155mm Creusot Gun) - Captain Cornelius Frederik Celliers

Northern Field Force

General Pieter Stephanus du Toit

Brakspruit Commando - Commandant Andries Jacobus Bothma

Klipfontein Commando - Commandant Petrus Daniel Smit

Doornkop Commando - Commandant Jacobus Hendrik Kruger

Rietkuil Commando - Commandant Hermanus Frederik Pretorius

Elandsberg Commando - Commandant Dirk Cornelis Venter

Witkrans Commando - Commandant Carel Johannes Botha

1st Staatsartillerie Battery - Captain Jacobus Frederik Wolmarans

2nd Staatsartillerie Battery - Captain Pieter Hendrik Louw

1st Pom-Pom Section - Lieutenant Gideon Alberts

2nd Pom-Pom Section - Lieutenant Jan Christoffel Swanepoel

Southern Field Force

General Christiaan Johannes Viljoen

Vlakfontein Commando - Commandant Michiel Johannes Coetzee

Zwartkop Commando - Commandant Stephanus Willem Joubert

Welgevonden Commando - Commandant Nicolaas Gert van der Merwe

Blesboklaagte Commando - Commandant Johannes Petrus Erasmus

Roodepoort Commando - Commandant Frans Jacobus de Beer

Buffelshoek Commando - Commandant Willem Hendrik Boshoff

3rd Staatsartillerie Battery - Captain Nicolaas Johannes Grobler

4th Staatsartillerie Battery - Captain Hendrik Stephanus Nel

3rd Pom-Pom Section - Lieutenant Louis Jacob Marais

4th Pom-Pom Section - Lieutenant Barend Johannes Labuschagne

So the forces are all sorted out next I'll move on to creating the scenario.

Zoutpans Campaign - British Forces

As the campaign is to be fictional I thought it would be a bit of fun to get ChatGPT to create a fictional order of battle along with commanders. The British force will be led by General Sir Alistair C. Wetherby KCB.

Here is the detailed order of battle of the troops under General Wetherby's command:

Army Headquarters

Commander-in-Chief

General Sir Alistair C Wetherby, KCB

Chief of Staff

Major-General Henry L. Markham

1st Brigade

Brigadier-General Charles F Hawthorn

1st Rutlandshire Regiment - Colonel Sir Reginald Pemberton

1st North Mercian Regiment - Colonel William Ashford

1st South Wessex Regiment - Colonel George Ravenscroft

56th Battery RFA - Major Edgar H. Sinclair

70th Battery RFA - Major Richard M. Forsyth

No1 Maxim Gun Detachment - Lieutenant Edward P. Langford

2nd Brigade

Brigadier-General Edward M. Ashcombe

1st East March Regiment - Colonel Frederick Lonsdale

1st Bordershire Regiment - Colonel Hugh Canning

1st Fenland Regiment - Colonel Percival Strickland

19th Battery RFA - Major Charles W. Beresford

27th Battery RFA - Major Lionel P. Ashcombe

No2 Maxim Gun Detachment - Lieutenant Frederick J. Calthorpe

3rd (Guards) Brigade

Brigadier-General Sir Lionel Ashburton, KCVO

King's Guards - Colonel Sir Julian Fairfax

Queen Victoria's Guards - Colonel Algernon St. John

29th Battery RFA - Major Frederick G. Carrington

No3 Maxim Gun Detachment - Captain Arthur B. Mowbray

4th (Highland) Brigade

Brigadier-General Fergus MacLeod

1st Strathmore Highlanders - Colonel Malcolm MacNair

1st Braemar Highland Rifles - Colonel Euan Campbell

81st Battery RFA - Major Harold T. Wyndham

No4 Maxim Gun Detachment - Lieutenant Hamish MacDougall

Mounted Brigade

Brigadier-General Arthur G. Lennox

11th Royal Lancers - Colonel Charles Montgomery

Imperial Volunteer Horse - Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril A. Pembroke

Naval Brigade

Naval Brigade Landing Party - Commander William H. Ashburn RN

1st Naval Heavy Battery - Commander Edward H. Somerset RN

I also asked the AI to create a brief description of each commander and to rate them all as either below average, average, above average, or exceptional. This kind of background detail all goes to flesh out the bones of a solo campaign to make it more engaging.

Zoutpans Campaign

I'm very aware that it's two and half years since I last played a game with my Boer War troops. This seems like way too long so I'm intending to do something about it before the end of the year. I enjoyed my last solo campaign and have an idea for another one. This time it will be set in the fictitious Zoutpans District of the Transvaal.

The map is AI generated and should provide a good basis for a campaign. All I need to do now is to put together orders of battle for both sides and then get playing.

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders

We had a trip to Stirling castle today, never been before and I highly recommend it - it's a much bigger site than I thought and you could easily lose four or so hours there. The castle is the home of the Regimental Museum of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and this monument to the men who fell in the Boer War is right by the entrance.

No Boer wargaming going on at the moment but I hope to return to it in the autumn.