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| Turn 3 and the Boksburg Commando come under shrapnel fire for the first time. Their 'flee' test saw the maximum 6 figures take to their ponies and together with casualties this reduced them to break-point. One Commando down two more to go! |
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| Heartened by events French pushes forward urging the Manchester's on. |
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| Meanwhile White's command fails to activate for a third turn although they are taking a steady stream of casualties. |
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| The two British Brigades that have managed to activate are gradually closing the distance with the Boer lines. |
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| At the foot of the kopje the Manchester's come under heavy fire that forces them to stop and lie down. |
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| Hamilton's Brigade are also out of steam and have ground to a halt. |
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| But on the plus side the Naval Gun and British field artillery have knocked out both Long Tom and one of the pom-poms. |
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| The Utretch Commando are reduced to break-point and withdraw. Two Commandos down and one to go. |
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| Although reduced in strength Hamilton's men are hanging in there and delivering withering rifle fire back at the Boers. |
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| The Black Watch have now passed through the prone ranks of the Manchester's and are within striking distance of the Boers atop the kopje. |
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| A round of firing from the German Corps fails to inflict any PINs on the Black Watch. |
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| And then it happens! The Commandant of the Pretoria Commando fails his 'fallen leader' test by rolling a 1. Because their Commandant is down the whole Commando must take a special morale test - another 1 will see them all flee, well you guessed it! Three Commando's down and a British victory. |
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| As French's men were so close I couldn't resist playing the Melee phase of the next turn and a die roll of 6 meant a spectacular bayonet charge by the Black Watch cleared the kopje of the enemy. |
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| A great victory for the British although you have to feel a bit sorry for the lads in White's command who failed five activation die rolls. |
The way I see it is that White's Brigade altruistically sacrificed their share of dice luck to boost the die rolls elsewhere and, judging by the kommando collapses, boer leader losses and even the final highland charge, it was a very successful ploy. No doubt others will pooh-pooh this and put it all down to the pluck of beskirted devils.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that the Gordon Highlanders felt it was worth standing under long-range Mauser fire all day!
DeleteIt is uncanny how your campaign matches history. Early clumsy frontal assaults leading to total defeats and now the British are getting the idea of fire and movement (and big guns!). Still the sight of British steel is the only sure fire way to drive the message home.
ReplyDeleteI think the wily Boer may have to think of a different way of fighting this war.
To be honest Matt I think the British has a good run with the dice and things could easily have gone the other way. However, a win is a win!
DeleteExcellent report Ian! Your table and figures look great! There is nothing better to see than fleeing Boer Commandos and victorious British troops in command of the battlefield! Thank you for giving the Black Watch a chance to clear that kopje, they earned it!
ReplyDeleteThat final turn certainly couldn't have gone any better for the British and amazingly casualties were relatively light.
DeleteGreat photos there of the action IAN. Nice to hear your enjoying the battles of the Boer War. Regards. KEV.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kev, yes these battles are always fun to play.
DeleteA cracking victory for the British… Hurrah!
ReplyDeleteAll the best. Aly
Thanks Aly, the British are certainly in an upbeat mood now!
DeleteGreat game with a sterling result! So what's next for the British?
ReplyDeleteI think the lads will need a bit of r&r after all that effort!
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