Dannhauser - Scenario

The main reason behind playing out this solo campaign is to come up with a context for game scenarios that I would never normally dream up. As the campaign has progressed things have started to take a life of their own and all the events so far have been building towards this major clash between the two opposing main forces.

Winning this battle will be vital for either side. A win for the Boers could conceivably see them achieving a campaign victory, a win for the British will turn the tide and pull them back from the brink of defeat.

The Battle of Dannhauser - British on the left, Boers on the right. The town of Dannhauser is just off table behind the Boer right flank.

The British deployment. The King's Liverpool Regiment is off table behind the Gloucestershire Regiment. The Black Watch are off table behind the Manchester Regiment.

The Boer deployment. The Boers had a choice of units to field but some of the full-strength commandos had never been in action before. In the end I opted to field just one 'green' unit and the under-strength German Corps to help stiffen morale.

Special Rules

1. In order to commence advancing each British brigade commander must pass a command die roll. For White this is a 5 or 6 and for Hamilton and French a 3,4,5 or 6.

2. A further command die roll is made to see whether the regiments of each brigade are able to deploy in extended order (Hamilton's brigade will automatically deploy in extended order).

3. Hamilton's regiments will be classified as elite for this game as they have already taken part in two battles.

4. Hamilton's field officers will use the standard 'fallen officer' rule but as all other units have not seen combat yet they will +1 to all fallen officer die rolls.

5. The Boksburg commando has not been in action before and will be subject to the 'first time under shrapnel fire' morale rule.

The 5th Lancers finally make it on to the table.

Order of Battle

British

C-in-C Lieutenant-General Sir George White

5th Lancers

2nd Gordon Highlanders

18th Field Artillery

Maxim Gun

Naval Brigade Detachment

4.7" Naval Gun

Major-General John French

1st Manchester Regiment

1st Black Watch

42nd Field Artillery

Maxim Gun

Colonel Ian Hamilton

1st King's Liverpool Regiment (elite, strength 18 figures)

1st Gloucestershire Regiment (elite, strength 20 figures)

69th Field Artillery

Boers

C-in-C General Piet Joubert

Boksburg Commando (green)

Pretoria Commando

Long Tom

Krupp Field Gun

Pom Pom

General Lucas Meyer

Utrecht Commando

Krupp Field Gun

Pom Pom

General Johannes Kock

German Corps (strength 10 figures)

Long Tom is here, I'm already nervous...

Victory Conditions

To win the British must force three Boer commandos to flee. The British will lose if they receive over 67 casualties (50%).