The British campaign in Mesopotamia, during the First World War, may seem to be a rather poor subject for colonial style gaming; but a closer inspection reveals a war with riverboats, amphibious assaults, cavalry battles, armored cars, airplanes, machine guns, and camels. The battles are fought with Arabs, Turks, Indians, British, Bolsheviks, and others. Author's scratch-built Turkish gunboat. The campaigns would be fought under some of the most physically trying and harsh conditions imaginable. A British officer stated the case simply, "An old Arab saying is that when Allah had made Hell he found it was not bad enough. So He made Iraq and added flies." Extreme temperatures of hot and cold occur within the year. Flying in the summer months was difficult during the day time due to the super heating effect of ground radiation. Mirage's and dust storms caused breakdowns in visual communications and mistaken reports of troop activity. Flooding during the rainy season (October to April) made the ground into a morass. The Arab population was as likely to attack the Turks as the British, depending upon circumstances and payment. All the aforementioned factors could be used to create some really challenging scenarios. The British campaign need not be described in any detail here. Suffice it to say that it was a campaign that began with limited objectives and which grew and grew and grew, haphazardly, until the end of the war. There were brilliant maneuvers by the British; but there were also fiascoes like the one that led to the surrender of an entire British force at Kut. Later, during the early stages of the Russian Civil War, the British also used a portion of their Mesopotamian army to intervene at oil rich Baku. An Vol. IX, No. 4, some adaptations of TSATF for use in WWI/colonial scenarios were presented. This time I would like to offer some scenarios based on the experience of the Mesopotamian campaign. I have fought these scenarios using OVER THERE, so I will include information for both TSATF and OVER THERE. Action #1, Reconnaissance to Nukhaila, 3 March, 1915. The British command ordered a reconnaissance to the village of Nukhaila by a mounted force. These troops were to be followed 1/2 hour later by an infantry unit. As the mounted force neared Nukhaila they were met by 1,500 to 2,000 Arab cavalry. The British force retired until they neared Barjisiya woods. Deep sand slowed the retreat, and a second force of Arabs attacked out of the woods onto the British flank. A swirling cavalry battle was fought. Fortunately for the mounted troops, the infantry had occupied a ridge to the rear of the Indian horsemen. British rifle fire and machine guns drove the Arabs off after a two hour skirmish. 1. The British and Indian cavalry start at Point I marked on the map. 2. The Arab cavalry will enter one or two turns behind the British cavalry at Point 1. A roll of 1-3 on a 6d = a one turn delay. A roll of 4-6 on a 6d = a two turn delay. 3. Arabs in the woods may NOT begin any action until Turn Five. 4. The area of the map marked soft sand will halve all movement for cavalry and quarter all movement for guns. Further, guns will become stuck in the sand on a roll of 6 on a 6d. Guns will become unstuck on a roll of 1-2. 5. Arabs win if they drive the British forces off the field. If using OVER THERE. 4 squadrons of Indian cavalry 24 castings 1 section of RHA 1 gun, 2 gunners Arriving on turn 6 at Point #2 2 companies of infantry 18 castings plus I HMG 1 section of field artillery 1 gun, 2 gunners Arab forces made up of 15 units of 10 each in front of Nukhaila and 3 units of 6 each in Barjisiya woods. TSATF A ratio of 2 Arab units for every British unit will work out to a nice level. The British may only have two artillery pieces and one machine gun. The British should have a two to one force of cavalry to infantry in their army. It is recommended that at least four basic groups of cavalry be used, and therefore two platoons of infantry. If your resources allow more British troops, then by all means use them. Action #2, The Turkish Assault at the Siege of Kut, 24 December, 1915 After retreating from the Battle of Ctesiphon, the British forces were soon besieged at the city of Kut. The weakest portion of the defense was recognized to be on the northeast side. There an old, run down fort was held by the British. The Turks had occupied a ditch within 400 yards, and had sapped closer, as close as 150 yards. By 23 December, most of the wire in front of the British position was down. The British had dug entrenchments and low-level loopholes just inside the fort's crumbling walls. On Christmas Eve day the Turks began the bombardment of the fort. Having battered down the fort's walls, the Turks began their assault about noon. The 103rd and the 199th MLI Indian infantry beat back the initial assault. The British artillery began to fire concentrations on the Turkish trenches in order to cut off reinforcements for the assault. The battle raged on all day and into the evening, with both side pouring in reinforcements (the 103rd had been nearly grenaded into extinction), until the last Turkish attack withered away about 2:30 Christmas morning. The Turks had been thrown back, and never again tried to take the garrison by storm. The Turks win if, at the end of sixteen turns they are in possession of any portion of the trench system with at least two companies of infantry. When setting up the table, be sure to allow for generous gaps in the British wire. If using OVER THERE 103rd MLI 7 figures plus 1 HMG Volunteer Artillerymen 3 infantry figures 119th MLI 9 figures plus 1 HMG Reinforcements The Oxfords 12 figures plus 1 HMG arriving Turn 4 48th Pioneers 9 figures arrive Turn 8 2 off-table medium batteries Turks 2 battalions (8 companies) at 9 figures each, plus 2 HMG Each company will have a second life. As soon as the first company is wiped out or suffers a morale failure, it will be removed and reconstituted back in the Turkish takeoff spot as a second company. TSATF 103rd MLI Use a standard WWI platoon 119th MLI as above Volunteer Artillerymen a 10 figure group, rifles only The Oxfords Use a standard WW1 platoon 48th Pioneers Use a standard WW1 platoon 4 artillery pieces, sited off board Turks A 3 to 1 advantage, initially, will provide a good game. The Turks, remember, receive only one bombardier in their platoon. The Turkish player will recycle his depleted platoons as described above. Action #3, Naval Pursuit After the Second Battle of Kut, the Turks were in full retreat. The retreat was so quick that British Army Commander, General Maude, requested the Royal Navy's river flotilla assist in the pursuit. The Navy had several warships designed for use in shallow river waters available, and took off after the Turkish army. Immediately, the Navy began rounding up Turkish stragglers and directing them towards the pursuing British cavalry. At about 2:00 p.m., the Royal Navy spotted the Turkish flotilla ahead. After negotiating a tricky hairpin turn, the British were brought under a crossfire from Turkish machine guns. Several British ships were badly shot up while running the gauntlet of Turkish guns; however, the flotilla broke through and began shelling the retreating Turkish Army as the Royal Navy pushed on and brought the Turkish squadron to battle. A quick and decisive fight brought and end to the Turkish flotilla. The river in this scenario should be about 2 feet wide. Starting positions are marked on the map. A three company (OVER THERE), three HMG section Turkish rearguard should be in place on the table as well as a certain number of trucks, wagons, and retreating rabble for the British to shoot at. If using TSATF make the Turks three platoons and three machines guns strong. British flotilla and statistics according to the 1919 Janes: Tarantula, Mantis, and Moth Insect class. Weight: 645 tons. Crew: 50-60 Dimensions: 237'x 36'x 4'. Speed 14 knots Armament: 2 6" guns, 2 12" guns, 6 HMG Gadfly and Butterfly Fly class. Weight: 98 tons. Crew: 22 Dimensions: 125' x 20' x 2'. Speed 9 knots Armament: 1 4" gun, 1 12# gun, 1 3# gun, 1 2# pom-pom and 4 to 5 HMG. Turkish flotilla Sulieman Pak (ex-British ship Firefly of the Fly class). Pioneer, armed tug Sumana, and the transport Basra. With the exception of the Sulieman Pak, it is unclear what the other ships carried or their precise dimensions. While any existing gunboat rules can be used to recreate this exciting little action, the following rules have been created for use with OVER THERE Insect class gunboats. 1 heavy gun, 2 field guns, and 3 HMG - 100 points Fly class gunboats 1 medium gun, 1 field gun, and 2 HMG - 60 points Generic Turkish gunboat 2 medium guns and 2 HMG - 80 points Armed Tugs and transports 1 field gun - 40 points All ships will travel 12" per turn. Gunfire On the OVER THERE firing tables, the Insect and Generic Turkish gunboats are a class C target. The other ships are class B targets. 1. Any indirect fire from other ships or shore guns is done on the next highest target (C becomes a D). 2. If the target is moving, go to the next highest RANGE number. 3. If the target is a British ship and it is hugging the shoreline (due to the shallowness of the craft) go to the next highest RANGE marking. 4. Measure from the nearest point of the firing unit to the target and use the normal OVER THERE field artillery procedures. If a hit is scored: 1. Heavy guns to 10 points of damage. Roll a 6d to determine special damage. 2. Medium guns to 5 points of damage. Roll a 6d, a roll of 3-6 means that special damage has occurred. Roll another 6d to determine what kind of damage has been done. 3. Field guns do 4 points of damage. A roll of 4-6 means that the die is rolled again to determine special damage. 4. HMGs do 2 points of damage. A roll of 6 on a 6d will result in a special damage die roll. Special damage 1. Engine hit. 1/4 speed next turn and ship treated as a non-moving target at that time. 2. Engine hit. 1/2 speed next turn, rest as above. 3. Fire Direction Control hit. Ship may NOT fire next turn. 4. Steering hit. Roll another 6d. 1-2, ship travels straight ahead next turn. 3-4, ship turns to port. 5-6, ship turns to starboard. All travel is at full speed. 5. Deckhouse is riddled. No fire next turn plus a steering hit as in #4 above. 6. Fire started. Speed cut in half and no gun fire while ship is burning. Fire may be extinguished next turn on a roll of 1-3. If the fire continues to burn, the next attempt to half the fire on the next turn is successful on a die roll of a 1-2. The third chance to put out the fire occurs on the third turn with a die roll of 1. If all three attempts are unsuccessful, the ship is abandoned. All HMG damage rolls occur with a -1. Any ship which is beached through steering damage, shell damage, or player error is considered to be beached for the remainder of the game. When any ship has suffered a 75% loss of points, it must be beached and abandoned. Models For my river wars I have used the Greenfield 15mm ships and scratch-built ships. GG6017 serves as my Insect class gunboats GG6008 serves as my armed tugs and small rivercraft GG6005 has been pressed into service as my armed transports In addition, Nick Yankosky, author of OVER THERE, has suggested the following changes to his rules: 1. Cavalry a. Eliminate the +20 modifier for small arms fire when the range is 30. 1 " or greater. b. When cavalry is the target of small arms fire as follows: 1) Western Front: under 30.1 +20 over 30.1 +10 2) All other fronts under 30. 1 +10 c. All artillery and mortar fire at cavalry at all ranged should be modified as follows: 1) Western Front +20 2) All other fronts +10 d. For every two casualties due to small arms and artillery, place one dismounted casting on the table. 2. Engineers a. No more than two infantry companies may assist any one engineer company in constructing field works, bridges, etc. Assistance is limited to those units able to physically occupy the area. b. Two engineer companies may combine to construct any field works, bridges, etc. Double all percentages (in classes where the base percentage was less than 10%, add 10%). Triple for three companies, and so forth. 3. Aircraft. There should be a limit of TWO aircraft per scenario for the British in tropical Africa. No other nationality should have aircraft in this theater. 4. Gas. As a general rule, gas projectors should only emit gas for eight turns. 5. Flamethrowers. Flamethrowers should be limited to no more than 20 turns of fire per scenario (that is total, not consecutive, turns). 6.Movement a. Multiply all movement factors by 1.6. Round all fractions to the nearest whole number. All movement modifiers remain the same. b. Aircraft movement remains the same. c. Any unit which moves at the Run/Gallop rate for two consecutive turns MUST halt on the third consecutive turn. These units may not fire but may defend in a melee with a -I modifier. d. Eliminate the Run/Gallop movement rates for Motor Drawn Artillery, Armored Cars, Renault FT, Whippet Tanks, All Heavy Tanks, and A7V Tanks. 7. Overrun Troops which have been overrun must pass a morale check before attempting any movement or fire. Use the routing modifier for this check. 8. Morale a. All irregular Arab units must pass a morale check before charging. Charging units which fail the check but do not rout may still issue fire. b. All irregular Arab units which are charged must immediately check morale. Any unit which fails morale but does not rout must move 2" from the end of the charge and may NOT fire this turn. c. Irregular Arabs with less than 50% casualties which check morale due to a charge have a 10% chance to break. All modifiers apply. d. Change morale modifiers for American/ANZAC/French Foreign Legion/German Stormtroopers to a +10. * TSA TF (The Sword and the Flame) rules are available from Greenfield Hobbies, 2350 Burdett, Feindale, MI 48220. OVER THERE rules are available from RiverTown Hobbies, P.O. Box 54184, Cincinnati, OH 45355. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #62 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com