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.