Biggarsberg Pass - Scenario

The British are in column of march wending their way through the Biggarsberg Mountain pass in the hope of reaching the safety of Ladysmith. They have no idea that the Boers are occupying the high ground on either side of the pass and are about to ambush them.

The British column about to enter the Biggarsberg Pass

The Boer reception committee

"I don't like it sir, it's too quiet!"
"I know what you mean sergeant..."

Special Rules

1. The British do not spot the Boers until they open fire. Once spotted they may not return fire until they have deployed from column of march. Roll 1 x D6 each turn to see when the Boers open fire, first turn they do so on a 6, second turn 5 or 6 etc.

2. British officers have learnt to hide their marks of rank and the standard fallen leader rules apply.

3. None of the Boer units have been in action yet so the 'first time under fire' rule applies.

4. The British command have learnt their lesson and all troops will deploy into extended order.

Order of Battle

British

C-in-C Brigadier-General James Yule

1st King's Royal Rifles (22)

53rd Field Artillery

1 x Maxim Gun

Colonel Ian Hamilton

1st King's Liverpool Regiment (21)

1st Gloucestershire Regiment (20)

69th Field Artillery

1 x Maxim Gun

Boers

C-in-C General Lucas Meyer

Vryheid Commando

Piet Retief Commando

Utrecht Commando

1 x Krupp Field Gun

1 x Pom Pom

Numbers is brackets are current unit strength.

Victory Conditions

To win the British must force two Boer Commandos to flee. The British will lose if they receive 32 infantry casualties (50%).

21 October 1899 - Turn 4

Intelligence

News of Yule's defeat at Glencoe has reached White in Ladysmith where it has caused much consternation both there and around the world. At the same time a rumour has arrived that the enemy have occupied Harrismith.

Orders

White orders Penn Symons to send French's brigade north to make contact with Yule and help him to extract his force from Dundee and fall back to either Ladysmith or Helpmakaar depending on the dispositions and intent of the enemy. White fails his command die roll (I'm now only testing when orders are sent and not when receiving them) so the movement does not occur this turn.

White orders Colonel Chisholm to take the Imperial Light Horse from Ladysmith along the line of the railway towards Harrismith to reconnoitre for the enemy.

Yule decides that he should retreat through the Biggarsberg Mountain pass to circumvent Joubert's force at Glencoe. 

Joubert orders Kock to probe south towards Wessels Nek where he will be in a position to intercept any movement of British troops from Helpmakaar towards Ladysmith.

Movement

Yule moves 2 hexes but is stopped at hex 1506

King moves 2 hexes to Wessels Nek

Chisholm moves 1 hex to hex 0909

Kock moves 2 hexes to Wessels Nek

De Wet moves 3 hexes to Harrismith

The situation at the end of turn 4

There are two contacts this turn, the first is between Yule and Meyer at hex 1506. These are the options:

1 = Yule is alerted that Meyer's force is blocking the mountain pass and retires back to Dundee.

2, 3, 4 or 5 = Yule's column is ambushed in the Biggarsberg Mountains pass.

6 = Meyer withdraws to hex 1407 and allows Yule to pass.

The die roll is a 3 so there will be an ambush game.

The second is an encounter contact between King and Kock at Wessels Nek and these are the options I came up with:

1 or 2 = King retires to Elandslaagte

3 or 4 = Skirmish game fought out on the table.

5 or 6 = Kock retires to Washbank

The die roll was a 6 so Kock retires in the face of pressure from the 5th Lancers.

20 October 1899 - Turn 3

Intelligence

Boers - All British forces are located.

British - No Boer forces detected this turn (except that the locations of Joubert & Kock are known to Yule).

Although White has received no direct information on the movement and locations of the Boers he is concerned that the telegraph line to Dundee has gone dead.

Orders

White orders Major King to take the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers up the line of the railway to investigate the cause of the break in communications with Yule at Dundee.

Yule finally receives his order to retire to Ladysmith but cannot act this turn due to the compulsory move to Dundee. 

Symons begins constructing defences at Helpmakaar.

Joubert successfully orders Meyer to move south of the Biggarsberg Pass and cut the British line of retreat from Dundee.

Movement

Yule must remain in Dundee

Symons remains in Helpmakaar

King (5th Lancers) moves 1 hex to Modder Spruit

Joubert remains at Glencoe

Meyer moves 2 hexes to hex 1507

De Wet moves 2 hexes to 0306

Botha moves 3 hexes to Harrismith

Yule is now in a tricky situation at Dundee with his direct line of retreat south blocked by two Boer forces although he is not yet aware of the presence of Meyer's force.

I'm finding that the intelligence and orders system is getting a bit clunky and I may have to relax things a bit to keep the game moving. One great thing about a solo game is that I can change the rules whenever I want and nobody will complain!

Glencoe - The Aftermath

Following the battle I rolled dice for casualty recovery as outlined in the campaign rules. The Royal Irish Fusiliers were so reduced that Yule disbanded them and sent the survivors to make up the numbers in Hamilton's brigade. The new strengths of the units that took part in the fighting are as below:

Next I needed to decide the most likely course of action for the British to take using a D6 roll against the following list of options.

1 = Yule is so demoralised he surrenders his whole force to Joubert.

2 = Yule surrenders his brigade to Joubert but Hamilton is so disgusted that he takes his own brigade and escapes south across the Biggarsberg mountain pass in the direction of Helpmakaar.

3 = The whole British force retreats to Dundee.

4, 5 or 6 = The whole British force retreats south across the Biggarsberg mountain pass in the direction of Helpmakaar.

The result is a roll of 3 so the British will retreat back to Dundee.

Glencoe - The Game

 

Turn 1 and both British brigades failed their Command die test but the Boers had no such problems and immediately opened up with the Long Tom.

The result was a spectacular hit on the Royal Irish Fusiliers that brought down 5 men.

No worries, I ordered the British artillery to reply, except that due to my brilliant generalship I had deployed them 1" short of the maximum range they needed to return fire on the Long Tom! Cries of 'bring up the limbers' rang out.

Hamilton's brigade finally move forward but start to take casualties due to some very jammy die rolls for the Boers.

The view from behind One Tree Hill at the end of turn 2. Both British brigades are now on the move.

The Boer Krupp gun springs into action while the Long Tom is reloading.

The British artillery try to correct their mistake by moving forward and while doing so, the 53rd battery take a hit from the Long Tom. Fortunately this only resulted in the loss of two guns.

Hamilton's lead brigade, the King's Liverpool's, continue to take substantial casualties and by now have two PINs slowing their advance to a mere 2".

The position of the British infantry at the end of turn 3. They are advancing but the boys are beginning to drop like flies.

The Boers on the other hand are yet to lose a single man. The German Corps on the right of the line have extended to bring more fire power to bear.

Ah, that seems to be the end of the Royal Irish. Damn those Boer dice rolls!

By the end of turn 4 the Boers are sitting pretty enjoying something of a turkey shoot (did they have turkeys in 19c South Africa?).

The King's Liverpool's have accumulated 3 PINs so can neither move or shoot this also forces them to go prone (blue marker). All their officers have been hit too!

The Gloucestershire's are moving up behind them while their supporting Maxim is about to go into action.

Things are looking impossible on the British right so I order the King's Royal Rifles to extend their line and lie down.

Everything now hinges on the Gloucestershire's as they pass through the ranks of the Liverpool's in an effort to get within charging distance of the Boer line. They receive devastating short range fire from the Mausers and Pom Pom collecting 2 PINs for their trouble. The British casualties have now exceed 48 figures so the game is called for the Boers. 

This is a pity as the Boers are just starting to show some shaky morale in places with a steady drip of burghers heading for home. 

And finally a few casualties as well.

But the day belongs to 'Long Tom' who thoroughly messed things up for the British.

The table at the end of turn 5 - the British attack has run out of steam. Yule orders the army to retire to Dundee.

The game turned out to be a bit of a shambles for the British and although I can partly blame this on some shocking die rolls, I have to take responsibility for some poor generalship too! My decision to move the artillery forward meant that they didn't fire a shot until turn 4. In reality the Long Tom was not all that effective (it only fires every other turn) but that initial lucky shot got me rattled. The guns could have fired on the Boer infantry from their initial position forcing tests for 'first time under fire' which would have weakened their line and possibly caused at least one Commando to flee.

The casualties for the action were as follows:

Next I need to roll for casualty recovery and then see how the outcome of the battle will effect the campaign.

Battle of Glencoe - Scenario

General Yule is more than a little alarmed that the Boers have suddenly appeared in his rear cutting his line of communication to Ladysmith. However, he consoles himself by thinking that they are just a rag-tag of farmers and will surely disperse at the first sight of British cold steel.

The Boers have occupied two Kopje's near Glencoe overlooking the railway line to Ladysmith and he determines to oust them and restore communications. An immediate attack is to be made at first light on the morning of 20 October 1899.

Kock's command have occupied One Tree Hill.

Yule has his men lined up nice and tidy in close order.

The battlefield - zoom in for a good look.

Overview of the table from behind the British lines.

Special Rules

1. Poor British field craft - Only Hamilton's Brigade may operate in extended order.

2. Officers displaying signs of rank - British Officers will become casualties from Boer rifle fire on a die roll of 1, 2 or 3.

3. First time under fire - Roll 1 D6 for each Commando the first time it comes under shrapnel fire, the result is the number of Boers who panic and flee.

4. Brigade Activation - each British brigade must pass a Command die roll to commence advancing. Add 1 to the die roll for each turn they have previously failed to pass the test.

The Boers have a Long Tom - ouch!

Hamilton's men have sensibly adopted extended order.

Order of Battle

British

C-in-C Brigadier-General James Yule

1st Royal Irish Fusiliers

1st King's Royal Rifles

53rd Field Artillery

1 x Maxim Gun

Colonel Ian Hamilton

1st King's Liverpool Regiment

1st Gloucestershire Regiment

69th Field Artillery

1 x Maxim Gun

Transvaal Boers

C-in-C General Piet Joubert

Pretoria Commando

Krugersdorp Commando

1 x Long Tom Gun

1 x Krupp Field Gun

1 x Pom Pom

General Johannes Kock

Johannesburg Corps

German Corps

Victory Conditions

To win the British must force two of the Boer Commandos to flee the field. The British will lose if they receive more than 48 infantry casualties (50%).

19 October 1899 - Turn 2

Intelligence

Boers - successfully passed their die roll and located all the British forces.

British - no Boer forces detected this turn.

Orders

Boers - no new orders issued this turn.

British - no new orders issued this turn.

Both sides continue with their current orders.

Joubert's Boers are on the march - nice to see which side the French are supporting!

Movement

Yule failed his Command die roll and remains in Dundee.

Symons failed his Command die roll so will not attempt to build any defences at Helpmakaar.

Joubert moved a full 3 hexes to Glencoe

Meyer moved 2 hexes crossing Landman's Drift to hex 1605

De Wet failed his Command die roll again(!) and remains at hex 0105

Botha moved a full 3 hexes to hex 0506

The situation at the end of turn 2

We have our first contact of the campaign between Joubert's forces at Glencoe and Yule's forces at Dundee. I drew up the following list of possibilities to be decided by a D6.

1 or 2 = Yule orders Hamilton to make an immediate frontal attack on the Boers at Glencoe. After the first game turn dice each subsequent turn for the arrival of Yule's Brigade on the British table edge on a roll of 5 or 6.

3 or 4 = Yule orders an immediate frontal attack on the Boers at Glencoe with both his Brigades.

5 = Yule orders Hamilton to make a flanking attack on the Boers at Glencoe while his own Brigade fixes their front.

6 = Yule remains at Dundee and starts to prepare defences.

The result was a throw of 4 so there will be a battle with Yule using both his brigades in a frontal assault on the Boers at Glencoe.

It may be a couple of weeks before I can play the game but I'll post on it as soon as possible.

Rule Amendment - It turns out Rob was right that the orders system is a bit harsh on the British so I'm adding the following modifier to the Command die roll:

+1 to the die roll if the same order failed to transmit/receive in the last turn.

18 October 1899 - Turn 1

Initial Orders

White - The garrison at Ladysmith will remain in place.

Yule & Hamilton - You are to withdraw your force along the line of the railway from Dundee to Ladysmith.

Symons & French - Remain in Helpmakaar and prepare to defend the town.

Joubert & Kock - Advance along the line of the railway and engage and destroy the British force at Dundee.

Meyer - Cross the Buffalo River via Landman's Drift then move east of the Biggarsberg Mountains to threaten the British force at Helpmakaar.

De Wet- Advance and secure Harrismith.

Botha - Move to Harrismith and join forces with De Wet.

As these are the initial orders I have assumed that they have been successfully issued without the requirement of a Command die roll. However, all independent forces (those not under the direct control of the C-in-C) must still pass a Command die roll to act on the orders received.

General White at Ladysmith getting slightly nervous.

Movement

Yule failed his Command die roll and therefore remains in Dundee.

Symons failed his Command die roll so will not attempt to build any defences at Helpmakaar.

Joubert moved a full 3 hexes to Ingagne.

Meyer moved only 1 hex and is now at Islandwana (hex 1804)

De Wet failed his Command die roll (he rolled a 1) and remains at hex 0105.

Botha moved 2 hexes along the road to hex 0503

The situation at the end of Turn 1

So it's already a bit nerve racking at General Whites HQ as the Boers bear down on Yule while he fails to act on his orders and retire, although technically White doesn't know this yet!

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.