I was home sick today, so instead of doing nothing, I decided to be productive and play a solo game using Chris' battle matrix game. The game was played in a small space using 6mm figures. I used cm instead of inches for my game. Perfect sickbed type game. Middle Eastern Hostage Crisis, 1889 This scenario developed from a Matrix game which was run by Chris Engle in the MatrixGamer e-group. The game started with an Anglo- French invasion of the country of Dar As Salam, in an effort by these countries to get the government to pay off their Bonds. When the invasion force appeared, the citizens of Dar As Salam (the capital) stormed the residence which housed the besieged Europeans. In an unsucessful attempt to escape, the Europeans raced for the beach, only to be captured by the most fierce rogue the country had ever seen, Ali Baba, so called Sublime Patriot, but really only a common bandit thief. A rescue mission was dispatched by the British to save the European hostages and bring the thief to justice. Scenario Setup A 3 foot by 3 foot ground cloth. The board is divided into thirds. The bottom third consists of mostly low lying dunes, but basically smooth terrain, the middle consists of hills broken ground which is the begining of the plateau that houses the the village that Ali Baba's tribe. The Bandit starts out with 4 stands of infantry + Ali Baba 1 Stand of European Hostages The Village: roll 2D6 to see how many of the Villagers come out to support Ali Baba. The British/Emirs forces may use a counter argument. The British 4 Stands of Mounted Infantry 3 stands of the Emir's Infantry When the crisis started, Ali Baba armed his men with European Mausers. Legally bought and paid for, or so he says. At the start of the game Ali Baba shows up in his village with the hostages. A fierce exchange ensues between the Ali Baba and the Sheik. The Sheik though sensing the support of his village for Ali Baba's action decides to support him. A die roll is thrown and 6 stands are recruited to the cause. Ali Baba returns to the hills where he left his men, along with the new recruits. He positions the tribes men at the back of the hills to hide them from direct fire. His men meanwhile start taking aim at the arriving rescue force. First moving towards the hill is a squadron of mounted infantry. The first few rounds from Ali Baba's men while close prove ineffective. The soldiers dismount and advance across the broken terrain. Ali Baba curses, at his men telling them to show some restraint. The British return fire and disorder the pickets hiding in the broken ground in front of them. The tribesmen make a saving argument, take light casualties and withdraw. The Emir's forces move into position advancing toward the right of the hills, only to be caught in the withering fire of Ali Baba's snipers. THe Emir's troops poorly trained and worse led panic and retreat. Ali Baba argues that all the Emirs forces bolt the field. The British using an emergency argument save the day with a last minute rally. The Emirs troops proceed much more cautiously against the right flank. The British put down supporting fire for the Emir's troops, but given the rough terrain, the distance and concealement it has realtively little effect on the tribes men. The British dismounted cavalry advance slowly across the broken terrain, coming under harrassing fire from the withdrawing tribesmen, whose morale remains unbroken. The next two squadrons of British cavalry, successfully argue that they find a path up the hill that allows them to charge. The argument succeeds, and before anyone knows what hit them, the cavalry are on top of hill. One rank stand of Ali Baba's men rout, but Ali Baba calls in the villagers who pop up out of no where and attack the calvalry. The calvary discover that they have bitten off more than they can chew, and wisely retreat in the face of the hordes. The retreating British cavalry retreat in good order, but the Emir's troops become unnerved and retreat, leaving the two stands of dismounted cavalry to fend for themselves. They argue to form a square and prepare for the villagers assault. The British are hit by 6 stands on three sides of the square. A fierce melee insues. Much blood is drawn, officers fight heroicaly. The native heedless of casaulties throw themselves not once but twice on the British. More furious fighting, finally the Tribesmen withdraw to an appalling loss of life, but remain unbroken. The British not knowing the size of the oppossing force withdraw in good order, leaving the hostages to the fate of Allah. The game took about an hour to play. There were many arguments, back and forth, this battle seemed to revolve more on morale than withering rifle fire. Ali Baba had both numerical superiority, terrain and decent riflemen. The Emir's troops were worse than useless. The British saved themselves with pluck, discipline and steady nerves. What stopped the British, besides muy anti-colonial bias was the success of two waves of attacks in engaging the British force. It was rare for a British column to be defeated outright, (like never I think), but given enough fatigue the British would be unable to accomplish their mission. In another game the opposite occurred, there was a heavy exchange of gunfire, but the British and Emir's force held the field, eventually breaking the Tribesmen morale. Ali Baba's head was displayed in the Capital.) Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #27 To Matrix Gamer List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Chris Engle. 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