Skirmishing Wargaming

Flashman and the Empress Scenario

by Mike Blake

Let's move to another period and another character. Many of you will have heard of Flashman, I'm sure, Sir Harry Paget Flashman, VC. As the editor of his papers has put it "The nine volumes of his Papers which have been presented to the public....make a scandalous catalogue in which there is little trace of decent feeling...From the day of his expulsion from Rugby School in the late 1830's...Flashman the man fulfilled the disgraceful promise of Flashman the boy; the toadying bounder and bully matured into the cowardly profligate and scoundrel who, by chance and shameless opportunism, became one of the most renowned heroes of the Victorian age, unwilling leader of the Light Brigade, fleeing survivor of Afghanistan and Little Big Horn, tarnished paladin of the Crimea and the Mutiny, and cringing chronicler of many an inglorious conflict, disaster and intrigue in which he bore an inglorious but seldom unprofitable part."

Why is it that this cad attracts such interest and adulation from his many readers? It shows an interesting side to the psyche of those readers, that they enjoy so much the exploits of such an unmitigated bounder! And, as I count myself amongst his most ardent fans, me too!

But what of the incident in Mexico during the French Intervention, when Napoleon III attempted to put the Austrian Maximillian on the throne, and Flashy nearly met his end impersonating the Emperor, [to whom he bore an uncanny resemblance], abducted the Empress Carlota, lost her to Juaristas and then "rescued" her? You haven't read the account? Of course you haven't - it hasn't been published! But I have played Flashman in the wargame and a damn close run thing it was too! Let me explain.

We [a group of One to One wargaming enthusiasts who go under the name of Skirmish Wargamers,] have a campaign or series of linked games going which are set in Mexico in the period. They centre on the exploits of our Wargames alter egos, variously Botch Blake [so named for reasons I shall not explain], Kid Colwill, Long Haired Steve Curtis, Duke Millard, Chiz Chard, Doc Bell, Lucky Pete Reynolds, Crazy Chris Felton, Texas Jack Tipping, Panhandle Pops Herbert, Wild Al Winsbury, and our only female member, Cattle Annie Lofting, and co. One thing I haven't explained yet is that the detailed approach of One to One also lends itself to a unique way of documenting games. There is a very "story based" approach. A couple of weeks before the day of the game, one of us takes responsibility for the scenario. Whoever it was would spend a couple of days cooking up an interesting situation, which might involve all the stock characters we have, [of which more in a moment] and might follow on from a previous game.

Oh, I should also explain that one of the things we have done is created a whole county, Pima County, New Mexico Territory, as the setting for our mythical Old West games. We've mapped it out, with terrain, towns, ranches, Indian encampments etc and we play a long, rambling "campaign" on its plains and mountains.

It's not a campaign as most military historians and wargamers know it - we are quite likely to leap about in time, playing in 1876 in one game, then 1886 and then back to 1866, but games are linked through the stories and characters. That's the important thing about our games, they all have a strong story line which weaves characters, fictional and factual in and out of our games. For example, in a recent game, Chiz Chard and Duke Millard [both mythical] came up against Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson [real, and how!] All these stories, and indeed all the other games, are written up in our Journal, The Annals of Pima County, and sent around to all members of our little band of enthusiasts [and, indeed, any one who's paid the £10/$20 sub.] So there is quite a cast of stock characters who appear regularly and who's pasts and futures we develop as games. What we did was set up a game in which Flashman was embroiled in one of his usual disgraceful situations in Mexico during Maximillian's ill-fated regime. The situation was one that culminated in him leading a night assault on a Juarista encampment in which the Empress Carlota was held captive [actually Flashy was to blame for this sorry state of affairs]. Let us take up the story in Flashman's own words. "So there it is - that's how I came to have my face blacked up like some damn pandy, creeping through the Mexican jungle just before a hot and sweaty dawn, with as bloodthirsty a bunch of cut-throats as I've ever known on my heels as companions, ostensibly on my side but actually out to see poor old Flashy's life brought to an abrupt end at the first chance.

God, I thought, the fixes my rogering gets me into. I had foolishly believed that setting the Emperor's troops onto Elvira, Garcia and that bastard Big Tom was a wonderful way of getting my revenge on them. What I had not reckoned on was that fool Austrian insisting that I lead the whole damn thing personally to ensure its success!

Here we were, going into a nest of Juarista who would love nothing more than to string some Imperialists up by their conjones. Mind you, Elvira and her girls would probably treat me even worse if they caught me first. Suddenly the still of the night was rent with a mournful sound which sent a shiver down my spine and froze me to the spot - 'till a shove in the small of my back moved me on."

What happened? Flashman actually and reluctantly led the charge into the building where Carlota was held, executing a brilliant manoeuvre around a column in the hall which shifted him from first to second place in the assault so that his companion drew the Mexican's fire. Then he fired on one of his own side in a blind funk, missed fortunately and so begged for mercy until the other chap realised who he was, whereupon Flashman conned him into preceding him up the stairs. After the fight was over at the top of the stairs, Flashy rushed up in time to "arrest" Elvira and whisper promises to keep her quiet, which he has no intention of keeping. Then to cap it all he gathered up Carlota, who had really been rescued by one of the others who collapsed due to loss of blood from his wounds, and carried her triumphantly back to the safety of the Imperial lines, to a hero's welcome and a medal from the hands of the Emperor! Amazing how it all went just like one of George Macdonald Fraser's books. It could only be done in a Skirmish Wargame!

I mentioned Sharpe, and it is perfectly feasible with the Skirmish approach, to play games based on Cornwall's excellent books, and whilst we haven't done it, I know of others who have and had great fun.

Skirmish Scenarios

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