Graspan – Scenario

On the day following the Battle of Belmont Methuen’s force continued its march north following the route of the railway line. 9th Brigade led the advance while the Guards were allowed to bring up the rear because of the heavy casualties they had suffered the previous day. The following morning (25th November 1899) 9th Brigade reported that the Boers had occupied a line of low hills east of the railway covering the approach to Enslin Station.

The Boer force was not the same one that Methuen had faced at Belmont and included Transvaal Boers with strong artillery support under Commandant Roos de la Ray. Methuen deployed his artillery and commenced a heavy fire on the Boer positions whilst summoning the Guard units forward to support an attack by 9th Brigade.

This scenario focuses on the action on the British right involving the North Lancs, the KOYLI and the Naval Brigade.

Initial deployments - the game will be played using the full width of my 6' x 4' table.

Special Rules

1. Methuen began the battle with a heavy artillery barrage to try to knock out the Boer guns. Rule: The game starts with an additional two turns of counter battery fire, the guns on either side may only fire at the enemy artillery.

2. The field officers in the British Regiments had learnt by now to remove any signs of rank that might attract the fire of Boer marksmen however the Navy personnel did not have the same experience. Rule: The Naval Brigade testing for fallen officers lose their officer on a die roll of 1, 2 or 3.

3. The Naval Brigade showed great elan at the real battle and successfully stormed a kopje. Rule: The Naval Brigade adds +1 to any melee die roll.

4. The Guards were assigned to protect the camp and were called forward in a hurry when battle commenced. Rule: The Scots Guards arrive on turn 3 and the Grenadier Guards on turn 5, they arrive deployed in line on the British base line.

The Boers occupying the high ground at Graspan.

Order of Battle

British C in C Lord Methuen

Guards Brigade (Colville)

Grenadier Guards

Scots Guards

9th Brigade (Featherstonehaugh)

North Lancashire Regiment

Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

1 x Maxim Gun

2 x Batteries Royal Field Artillery (75 & 18 batteries)

Naval Brigade

9th Lancers

Boers C in C Commandant Koos de la Ray

Jacklex Commando

Ross Commando

Newline Commando

2 x Field Artillery

1 x Pom Pom

The KOYLI prepare to advance. These are more very nice Jacklex figures efficiently supplied to me earlier this year by Mark of Jacklex.

Victory Conditions

To win the British must force two of the three Boers Commandos to flee by the end of Turn 12. The Boers win if they can reduce the British force to below 50% strength.

On to Kimberley

 Following the Battle of Belmont the British continue their advance to relieve Kimberley.

Lord Methuen's column continues north along the route of the railway line towards Kimberley. 9th Brigade are in the lead with flanking cover provided by the 9th Lancers.

"I say Colville old chap, your Guards can take the day off after the terrific show yesterday!"
"Yes Sir, we need some time to lick our wounds."

"Featherstonehaugh's 9th Brigade chaps should easily brush off any Boers we encounter although I doubt very much they'll make a showing again this side of Kimberley!"
"I'm sure you're right Sir."

The sailors from HMS Doris are glad to be in the advance guard having missed the action at Belmont. Captain Prothero is in full Naval Dress in the best traditions of the service with a conspicuous shiny scabbard and pistol, he can't understand why those scruffy army officers have ditched their swords and taken up rifles like mere rankers!

Next up will be the Battle of Graspan.

Naval Brigade

To refight the Battle of Graspan I need some figures to represent the Naval Brigade. This was a small unit comprised of Sailors and Royal Marines from HMS Doris (what a great name for a ship) who played a significant part in the action.  The force had a strength of less than 400 men so they will be represented by a half-unit of 12 figures in my game.

The figures are all by Jacklex and are really meant for a slightly earlier period, but they will suit my needs.

Belmont – The Game

The Guards get the ball rolling by beginning a steady advance in close order against the Boer position on Gun Hill. Scots Guards on the left, Grenadier Guards on the right.

On Turn 1 the British Field Artillery manage to spot the Boers on Gun Hill and actually score a hit.

The Boers roll a fluky 1 for morale and the whole Ross Commando flees the field, this is a dream start for Lord Methuen.

The Boers on Table Mountain, somewhat perturbed by this, open rapid fire to their front.

The Guards start to climb up Gun Hill. In the background 9th Brigade have begun to advance on Table Mountain.

The Guards crest Gun Hill and get their first view of Mont Blanc beyond.

Seeing that the British have occupied Gun Hill the Boer Pom Pom springs into action.

9th Brigade reach the bottom of Table Mountain and start to climb. The Northumberland Fusiliers are in the lead with the KOYLI coming up in support.

With the Guards on Gun Hill the scenario rules call for the Jacklex Commando to retire back to the safety of the Mont Blanc position.

The Guards descend Gun Hill and set off across the valley towards Mont Blanc. The Boer Pom Pom and artillery are starting to cause casualties but nothing that will slow their advance yet.

9th Brigade occupy Table Mountain. This is the end of Turn 6 and so far the whole battle is just like manoeuvres on Hounslow Heath. It couldn't be going any better for the British.

The situation at the end of Turn 6.

As the British close the range the Boers on Mont Blanc lay down fire with their rifles. The Newline Commando has been forced to move slightly to its left to plug the gap left by the Ross Commando.

On come the Guards although the Mausers are exacting a terrible price for the ground gained.

9th Brigade are also moving forward although they too are taking casualties now.

The British Field Artillery has come up and is now in a position to support the attack on Mont Blanc.

The Maxim has advance on the left and starts to lay down suppressing fire on the Boer position.

Casualties mount but the British advance continues.

Finally, it's all too much for the Boers who take to their ponies and flee.

Major General Colville steadies the Grenadier Guards who have collected 3 PIN markers. However, they have done enough and the British have secured a text book victory.

The situation at the end of play (Turn 9). The Grenadier Guards are outlined in yellow to show they have three PIN's. The two remaining Boer Commandos are outlined in white to show they are fleeing.

This game played out in a similar fashion to the real battle with a relatively easy win for the British albeit with some lucky die rolls. The Guards however did take quite a hammering with both battalions down to half strength by the end of the game.

I’ve had to tweak the morale rules again slightly as a result of this game as it has proved hard to balance them in a way that makes sure neither side has too much of an advantage. I think I’m pretty much there now.

Next up will be Graspan but I have to paint some Naval Brigade figures first before I can play that one.

Belmont – Scenario

Lord Methuen was tasked with marching from the Orange River along the line of the Cape Town to Bulawayo Railway and relieve Kimberley some 75 miles to his north. Both he and Buller were confident this could be achieved quickly, and that the Boers would not put up any stiff resistance when faced with British regulars.

As his column began to advance reports soon arrived that the Boers were occupying a line of Kopjes at Belmont. Methuen did not believe that the Boers were present in any significant numbers and rejected the suggestion that he should outflank the enemy resolving instead to carry the position by a frontal attack.

This scenario recreates part of the resulting battle on 23rd November 1899 and concentrates on the action to take Mont Blanc.

The table showing the main terrain features. The Boers have two lines of defence, the first anchored on Table Mountain and Gun Hill and the second on Mont Blanc.

Special Rules

1. The Orange Free State Boers were reluctant to stay put under shrapnel fire, and many left the battle early once fired upon. Rule: On the first turn that the British artillery fires on a Commando roll 1xD6, the result is the number of Boers who panic and flee.

2. During their night march to the start line the Guards became bunched up losing their extended order formation. Rule: The Guards may not fight in extended order.

3. 9th Brigade was ordered to wait until the Guards attacked Gun Hill before advancing. Rule: 9th Brigade may not advance or fire until the turn after the Boers open fire on the Guards.

4. When the British reached the dead ground in front of Table Mountain and Gun Hill, the Boers lost heart and retired to Mont Blanc. Rule: if a British battalion makes it to the dead ground in front of either of these Kopjes the Boers will abandon both positions and retire to Mont Blanc. This rule applies even if the British infantry are pinned.

The table layout showing the initial dispositions of the troops.

Order of Battle

British C in C Lord Methuen

Guards Brigade (Colville)

Grenadier Guards

Scots Guards

9^th Brigade (Featherstonehaugh)

Northumberland Fusiliers

Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

1 x Maxim Gun

2 x Batteries Royal Field Artillery (75th & 18th batteries)

Boers C in C Commandant Prinsloo

Jacklex Commando

Ross Commando

Newline Commando

1 x Field Artillery

1 x Pom Pom

9th Brigade prepare to advance. Their objective is to take Table Mountain before joining with the Guards for an assault on Mont Blanc.

Lord Methuen examines the Boer positions prior to ordering the attack to commence.

Victory Conditions

To win the British must occupy Mont Blanc with at least one unit by the end of Turn 12. The Boers win if they can reduce the British force to below 50% strength or prevent the British occupying Mont Blanc.

1st Devonshire Regiment (again)

I’ve just completed this unit of Jacklex British infantry which has prompted me to carry out a small reorganisation of the British forces. This unit will now be designated as the 1st Devonshire Regiment and my previous unit to carry this name (click here) has been promoted to the Guards.

It seemed like a good idea to use my two Raventhorpe units as Guards because the figures are slightly bigger and chunkier than Jacklex figures.

The Battle of Belmont will be along shortly.

Ladysmith - The Game

Their ranks dressed, Col. Hamilton's Brigade prepares to advance.

The Colonel is not sure of the wisdom of a frontal attack on the Boers after his experiences at Elandslagaate but "orders is orders".

As well as the Long Tom the Boers have a 75mm Cresout gun on Pepworth Hill. This became an early target of the British Field Artillery although scoring hits on it was hard at long range.

On come the Gordon's - so far so good. 

The Boers let the British advance to medium range and then...

...the crack of their rifles rings out and the first men start to drop.

However, despite this the casualties were surprisingly light and I was starting to get optimistic about the chances of the British as they closed on the Boer position.

But then things started to unravel a little as more men fell and the Gordons received a pin which broke up the neat Brigade line of advance.

The Maxim finally came in to action but by now had already been reduced to one SP (strength point) so was pretty ineffective.

But it wasn't all one-way traffic as the Boers were taking hits too.

Turn 5 and some devastating fire from the Mausers caused severe losses and PINs amongst the British battalions. Things were not looking good.

The Boers defending the Long Tom started to take a few hits...

...but Hamliton and his men were in a desperate position.

The Devons and the Manchesters were worn down and fell below 9 figures so were forced to retire.

Only the Gordons remained unpinned and in reasonable condition but it was too late now as the army had fallen below 50% strength - a Boer victory was declared.

The one good result for the British was the failure of  'Long Tom' to cause any serious damage to Ladysmith. The three blue counters record the only hits on the town! 

This was a difficult scenario for the British to win so there was no real surprise at the result. There was a point though where the British rallied off all their PIN markers in one turn and I thought they may be in with a shout to make a charge, but the following round of Boer firing put paid to that idea.

The British may have been able to win if I’d played a more tactical game and bombarded with the artillery for a few turns before advancing and possibly stacked up two units on the right opposite the Long Tom, but I wanted to go with the historical deployment.

The British forces are now bottled up in Ladysmith so the action will move next to the Orange Free State and the advance of Lord Methuen’s column.