I am one of those people that flits around from period to period, largely due to the fact that I have read something or seen something and thought to myself, "I fancy having a go at that". The inspiration for what follows comes from two sources, the first being the Flashman books by George MacDonald-Fraser, the second being a chapter in Donald Featherstone's classic; Solo Wargaming. What follows is the background to a campaign which will begin, hopefully, soon. You never know, I may even send in one or two reports from Dhunda Province once I get going.
Prologue. Dhunda Province is a small part of the North West Frontier, nominally under the protection of Her Gracious Majesty, Victoria, Empress of India. The local tribes have yet to fully acknowledge her sovereignty! The British Government are concerned to curb Russian interest in India and, as with the rest of the North West Frontier, here is an important buffer zone. The province is run by a Governor and is policed by a small military contingent under General Pierce, based on Dhunda City somewhere to the South of the area of operations covered on the map.
The General's task is clear. He is to maintain a presence in the area, thus dissuading the Russians from seeking to enter India through Dhunda. He is to keep the mountain passes open and maintain communications with the five forts in the area to the north. The region has yet to be properly "pacified". A number of tribes inhabit the mountains. Mostly they squabble and kill one another if they so choose. If, on the other hand, they should interfere with his supply trains, they can expect swift retribution. The tribes are aware of this and have yet to test his resolve. The military establishment based on Dhunda is as follows:
-
Northamptonshire Foot (Lt Col Ogilvie)
Cambridgeshire Yeomanry (Lt Col Taylor)
Sikhs
2 Squadrons of Cavalry - to be despatched
1 Battery RA - to be despatched
1 Battery Mountain Train - to be despatched
The Governor of Dhunda, Sir Henry Calendar-Smythe, is a career diplomat and politician. He has no background in the Army and dislikes the military. He sees the Army as a necessary evil. He generally works through his liaison officer, Major Tiverton. The Governor is keen to see a lasting peace established in the area. This would be a feather in his cap and would lead to a posting to a much better job. Major Tiverton is an able officer and travels freely in the mountainous region to the north covered by the map, sometimes in disguise. He is much admired by General Pierce who can't understand why he won't leave "the damned politicos" and act as the General's staff officer. Major Tiverton is probably the only army officer who has the complete confidence of the Governor.
Game Mechanics
Logistics and Map Movement. There are five forts which have sufficient supplies to last them one month. Regular supply trains are expected to arrive to keep the garrisons alive. Water is drawn from local rivers. Should the tribes rise up against the British, supply trains are bound to be a target. Major Tiverton reports that most of the tribes are aware of the importance of the supply trains to the forts. Weekly moves on the map are as follows:
| Unit type | Normal | Forced |
|---|---|---|
| Infantry | 3 | 5 |
| Cavalry | 6 | 9 |
| Artillery | 3 | 5 |
| Supply Train | 3 | 5 |
All rivers are fordable unless an event card says otherwise (see Event Table).
Turn Order
-
1 Move Week Number Marker
2 Move Supply Train Marker
3 Check for Events
Events
Every fourth week draw a playing card. Spades = Events.
| Card | Occurrence |
|---|---|
| A 2 3 4 | Ambush/raid on supply column* |
| 5 6 7 | River impassable for two weeks* |
| 8 9 10 | Negotiate a treaty |
| J Q K | Attack a fort* |
| * Dice to identify. | |
| Die | River | Fort/Supply Train |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choti | Lahl |
| 2 | Bali/Amprat | Nash |
| 3 | Ghota | Jimni |
| 4 | Fahni | Roper |
| 5 | Enki | Ashe |
| 6 | Dibna | Throw again |
Each campaign move is a week and events are generated by the drawing of card. Because I didn't want to clutter up the map with too many markers I move the supply trains on a separate track (see diagram). The numbers are the numbers of weeks it takes for a supply train to reach its destination. The campaign is going to revolve around the logistical problems of keeping the various forts in supply. I guess it won't be many weeks before some action is required on the part of the Brits!
| Supply Train Routes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhunda | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Fort Lahl |
| Dhunda | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Fort Nash |
| Dhunda | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | Fort Jimni | |
| Dhunda | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | Fort Roper | ||
| Dhunda | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | Fort Ashe | ||
As I said at the beginning this is the background to a forthcoming campaign. I am a died in the wool 20mm scale man as this is how I started out in the hobby back in the 70's. That means at the moment I am short of one or two troop types. These are the ones that have yet "to be despatched" to the theatre of operations.
I would be grateful for any info on the whereabouts of Bengal Lancers or any other cavalry for that matter in this scale; likewise artillery and crew. It would be great to have one or two Russian units of the period just in case the Tsar did decide to invade! One of the reasons I largely use plastic is because it's cheap! Esci have provided all the figures so far, but I'd be glad to hear from anyone who may have ideas about other figure sources or potential conversions.
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