Bayonets in the Bush
Askaris
by Mark Hannam
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This little 'shake and bake' effort might be just what you are looking for if you own or are thinking about the new Foundry Darkest Africa or 1st Corps Cape Wars figures. I admit, this rather nebulous idea which is going round inside my head is based upon those accounts of Colonial troops clearing out rocky knolls full of snipers, or bush full of spearmen who are harassing the march of Victorian liberal progress. Most Colonial wargame rules are great for standing shoulder to shoulder alongside Wolsey, Chelmsford and Kitchener preaching evangelicalism through the works of Mssrs Martini, Enfield & Metford, but they rarely pay heed to the more rewarding smaller affairs of these wars. Skirmish rules give you individual men with workings for lots of different types of guns and bladed weapons - but generally leave you on your own after that. No, I wanted a system which allowed Carruthers, Flashman, Yound Winston et al, to lead a charge into the bush which might initially scatter the 'golliwogs' like leaves before them, only perhaps to pursue too far, find themselves cut-off, winded and out of support; only to find the natives have run "beyond their fear" and are regrouping menacingly. So, I came up with BiB, which can be a game on it`s own or part of a small action within a larger game. To be honest it has been an effort to put the rules to paper - and what follows barely does the system justice. The full system, if there is such a thing, I keep in my head because there are so many variables depending upon enemies, terrain and level of action, i.e. skirmish or company level. I have cobbled together a quick solo version to explain how BiB works. The basic system is as you guessed it, based on EDNA (see page 59 for more details) which for the sake of Victorian colour we`ll call in this instance - DASH - Die Adjustment for Soldiers Heroism. EDNA or DASH is super because it gives a range of results from each die throw based upon the inital DASH factor given to the troops and can take much of the 'Gods of Olympus' ability to determine every single figure`s actions on the tabletop. This factor can change during the course of the game and therefore so do the chances of achieving or failing increse or decrease. Our red coated heroes, or native Askaris are based singly, or at least so that single figures can be removed from the unit. In a skirmish game - each figure can be given his own DASH factor, but in like to use the actual number of figures in the unit to represent this, excluding officers, personalities etc whose leadership abilities may be used as a modifier on the die rolls. If you want, retain character officers / explorers under your personal control. In BiB, each time the friendlies want to do something they must test against their DASH - to boldly go into the bush / rocks in the first place, to continue the pursuit, to rally and retire, as each requires a separate die roll with 2d6. The result may require the natives to test their reaction which can be modified by the initial result of the Colonial troops / Askaris (Crit.Succ. +2 ; Succ. +1; Fail.-1, Crit.Fail. -2).
Failure also breaks up the cohesion of the pursuers. I make one figure to lag behind on each failure and 2 figures on a Critical Failure. These figures cannot be counted in future tests (until they catch up or are sweeped up in any retirement), affecting the DASH of the remaining troops.
So begin by testing on After the Blighters ! to continue pursuing go to Pursuit and to regain own lines, baggage etc Rally & Fall Back. Colonials / Askaris : After the Blighters
Success: <=Dash: Eager advance in skirmish order. Natives falling to musketry = highest die. Any natives contacted are killed, rest test - if fail they flee. Failure : >Dash: A raggedy volley followed by a hesitant move forward. Natives test - if successful they double firing and / or move closer in cover. Critical Failure: double >Dash: The odd shot rings out from the ranks, uneasy shuffling forward. Natives test, if successful double firing, If Crit.Success - Charge ! Colonials / Askaris : Pursuit
Success : <= : Steady advance from tree to tree / rock to rock. Individual natives / goon squads can rally on a Crit. Success. Failure : > : The pursuit comes to a halt, odd man goes forward, some lagging behind. Natives can rally on a Success and charge or sporadically fire on a Crit.Success. Critical Failure : double > : Men begin to retire on their own accord, firing the odd shot to ward off fear more than natives -1 Dash. Natives test: Crit.Success - Charge, Success - stop fleeing. The 'Scattered' result means that individual natives or native goon squads have scattered to the four winds and run back to their villages / campsites. They will not reappear again today. Fleeing natives can rally and return to either battle the pursuers or harass the main column at a later stage in the game. Colonials / Askaris : Rally & Fallback Critical Success : double < : Men rally in a tight knot and begin an orderly withdrawal, taking a toll of any pursuers with aimed vollies. Retire unmolested. Success : <= : Men are under command but spread out and winded -1 DASH. A Native roll = Critical Success will pin the unit in place. May begin orderly withdrawal turn after next (if pass test). Failure : > : Men begin a panicky withdrawal, -2 leader DRM. Natives test : Crit Succ. = Charge, Succ. = follow closely firing. All fleeing natives rally. Critical Failure : double > : Sauve qui peut! A Hell to Leather dash for safety begins abandoning wounded. Natives charge and try to outflank. Will also charge main body when close enough. All fleeing natives now join in. Back to The Gauntlet No. 14 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
The steady crackle of musketry from the Askaris keeps the native chappies at bay, but they are encroaching ever closer - a charge with fixed bayonets may be needed to force them back and allow the column to continue unmolested. . . .