The best scales to use for the Sudan wars are 25mm and 15mm; there are enough manufacturers producing a wide variety of figures in these two scales to make an interesting looking game (see the figure review in THE COURIER V No. 2). It is crucial to avoid too great a uniformity in painting or organizing units. Some figures should have white helmets and belts, while others in the same unit should have buff. Most wargamers -- myself included -- tend to field units that are based on an ideal full-strength regimental roster, as if no one got sick, died, went AWOL or were assigned other duties. The figures given here show how fallacious this approach is, and wargamers might achieve more variety if they fielded different size units in the same game.
For those who prefer to fight with nearly completely British armies, the 1884-5 period is the best bet. During this time the British had only a slight superiority in types of firearms used. Battles would be moderately large (of about 2-4000 on the British side), but rather slow moving and more highly structured. It is important to give the British an objective with a time limit to avoid the danger of the British side just forming square and sitting tight waiting to be attacked.
The 1886-98 period is ideal for skirmishes and small battles with Askari armies. It is possible to have battalion size battles. Even the early battles of the Reconquest involved only small brigades. Atbara and Omdurman were the only truly large battles of this period. There is a great emphasis on maneuver and rapid movement. This period is better suited to those who prefer a more modern flavor to their gaming. It was a time, however, when the technological gap widened between opponents.
By 1898 the Anglo-Egyptian armies were using the same type of weapons which caused so much havoc in the Boer War and World War One, while the Mahdists were still fighting with weapons of the 1870s! It is for that reason that for the purposes of an enjoyable wargame the British contingent in an Anglo-Egyptian force of the late 1890s should be small, or that battalion-size border actions should be set up.
British and Egyptian Forces Sudan 1884-1898
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