Since the previous game, I had managed to paint some extra troops, so the Anglo Indians were joined by a unit of Gurkhas and the Pathans had extra riflemen.
This time, we tried some upgrades, so the British troops had an upgrade to enable them to hit on 4+ in shooting (to represent the magazine rifles they had in the 1897 conflict), the Sikhs had an upgrade to enable them to fight better and the Gurkhas an experimental rule to allow them to ignore difficult ground.
The Pathans had a unit of Ghazis who also were upgraded so they fought better and one riflemen unit was upgraded to shoot better as well.
The scenario saw the Anglo Indian force patrolling the hills and the Pathans trying to prevent them doing it. The Pathans had some clever hidden deployment rules for all bar one riflemen unit.
The leadership rolls saw all the Pathans with ridiculously good leadership and the British with average leadership. This was to make a big difference in the game, as the Pathans resolutely refused to become pinned under British fire, while the constant trickle of casualties from Pathan rifle fire whittled the Anglo-Indians away. Eventually, the Anglo-Indians did manage to patrol 3 out of 6 areas of the board, but were forced into a dramatic last stand, where the British unit, although cut down to the last man, inflicted such casualties on the Pathans that the game result was a draw!!
It was a great game and, although Dan has since tweaked the rules, there were no massive issues. In fact, the tweaks he has made will make the rules even better.
Poor lighting in my kitchen-diner makes the pics a bit rubbish, but here are a few...
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| Set-up...Pathan riflemen left centre. Cattle and small rocky outcrops are the 'patrol areas' the Brits need to check out... |
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| View from behind the Pathan riflemen... |
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| Pathan hidden deployment brings the Ghazis on behind the Sikhs! That cannot be good (if one is a Sikh!) |
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| Pathan riflemen deploy skulking in the rocks overlooking one of the patrol areas...sneaky blighters! |
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| View of the table after a couple of turns... |
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| The Sikhs activate and give the Ghazis a taste of Martini Henry medicine... |
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| View of the table as the Sikhs force the Ghazis back, losing many men in the process. Bottom right, The Gurkhas claim an objective and top right, The Brits do likewise... |
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| ...Success is short-lived, as Pathan reinforcements arrive and put severe pressure on the Gurkhas a Sikhs as they strive for the fourth objective... Two or three turns later, both Indian units were cut down. |
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| The Suffolk Regt face the inevitable, but their Lee Metford volleys cause fearful execution amongst the enemy... |
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| The end is now moments away...another valiant last-stand and more posthumous Victoria Crosses... |
Shortly after the game, the weather cleared, allowing photography outside, so I took several pics of the collection as it stands, minus one unit of Pathans who needed highlights and the final touches to basing, although they had played in the game in their unfinished state...
I'm really pleased with the way the scenery worked out - a bit of delicate balancing of aquarium features and a very large old Last Valley desert hill...
'Pinned' markers (or 'Suppression' markers for Triumph & Tragedy) coming next along with a Mountain gun...
