Over the years, I have enjoyed many a fun Sudan game, using The Sword and the Flame. But I hadn't played TSATF for several years and was surprised when my friend Dave Smith told me I had to go out and buy the latest 20th anniversary edition. I thought to myself, "Yeah right, that Larry Brom guy is going to get more of my money. Don't I already have at least two editions of this game in my library?" But Dave Smith is always right so I ordered a copy. I am very happy I got these rules. There are many improvements over previous editions. Some of the language is improved and simplified. The firing is improved by using D20s for all. But most important of all, Larry Brom has provided us with a set of cards in which all the various characteristics of a unit are set out. No more looking through tables and charts. This speeds up the game tremendously. I think it is a great testament to a game when I can go several turns without looking up something in the rulebook or on a chart. This makes the system ideal for introducing new players to gaming or for running games at conventions. Just hand them the cards for their units. Within a couple of turns the players can shoot and move without help from the umpire. Larry also sent along a set of The Sword in Aftica, that can be used for skirmishing with those wonderful African figures, animals, and scenery that have been released by various suppliers in the past couple years. TSATF is only available on the internet: go to Amazon.com zShops and enter the words "Sword Flame 20th." Also, check the TSATF website: http://www.zeitcom.com/majgen/923newsword.html. The first game we tried with the new edition was Dave Smith's scenario for the 1885 Northwest Rebellion in Canada. Then we tried Firket. Both games were fun and exciting. I highly recommend the new edition of this old classic! Now, on to our scenario... Sirdar Kitchener's Dongola campaign to build a military railroad into the Sudan got underway in 1896, two years before Omdurman. The bulk of his forces in 1896 were the newly rebuilt Egyptian and Sudanese battalions. These were trained and led by British officers. At Firket, they proved to the world (via the British press correspondents) that they were excellent fighting men, greatly improved from the old Egyptian army that was defeated by the Mahdi in the Sudan and by the British at Tel-El-Kebir. Utman Al Azraq's 3,000 men in fortified Firket stood in the way of the railroad. The Sirdar has assigned 7,000 men to eliminate this Mahdist force. Historically, the Anglo-Egyptian forces surprised the garrison with a dawn strike. While the Malidists put up a stiff resistance, it was over pretty quickly. This scenario assumes that the Mahdist forces have been patrolling and are aware that they are about to be attacked. The British plan was to send a fast column deep into the desert to attack from the South, while the main body attacked from the North. The two attacks were timed to coincide at dawn. I used Sword and the Flame for this scenario, but any rule set for the period should work equally well. A great source for the layout and order of battle for both sides is Omdurman 1898, an Osprey Campaign Series book by Donald Featherstone. For those of you with modeling skills, it has pictures from the British newspapers showing how Firket looked during the fight. The order of battle was scaled down quite a bit to make a "bathtub" version of the battle. Enjoy! Order of Battle Nile Column (Hunter) 1st Bgde (Lewis): 2 units of Egyptian infantry and one Egyptian field gun 2nd Bgde (MacDonald): 2 units of Sudanese infantry and one Egyptian field gun 3rd Bgde (Maxwell): 2 units of Egyptian infantry and one Egyptian field gun One gunboat Desert Column (Bum-Murdoch) One unit of British Camel Corps, one unit of mounted Egyptian infantry, one Maxim gun, and one British RHA field gun Firket Garrison (Utman al-Azbag) 4 units of Dervish rifles and 2 Dervish field guns. 1 unit of Dervish cavalry, armed with spears and swords. Special Rules Starting positions are shown on the map. Dervish forces (except for the cavalry) start in Firket. The gunboats were brand new in this part of the campaign and subject to breakdown. At the start of the game, the British player rolls a d6: on a 1, 2, or 3, the gunboats is broken down and cannot be used. If the gunboat is available, it may move 4d6 per turn and may either fire a Maxim gun or a Field gun at Firket. The shot will always fall at long range, on hard cover. When shooting at Firket, fire is placed randomly on figures in a 12" zone of the wall. This makes it more difficult to silence the batteries. Firket is fortified and all figures within are in hard cover. There is a low wall around the town. Dervish rifles may be fired from the wall or over the wall from the buildings and rooftops in the town. The Dervish cavalry unit is in the game to ensure that the Anglo-Egyptian troops carry their wounded along with them. They will only appear when wounded are left behind. They appear anywhere on the East edge of the table on a Dervish move card and may take their full move in that phase. There is a time limit! This ensures that the war correspondents give to the British public a good impression of the efficiency of the new Egyptian army. It is quite unlikely that the British government will fund further expeditions into the Sudan if they cannot rely upon these fellows. Firket must fall in 10 turns. This also ensures that the British commander does not win by just staying out of rifle range and pounding Firket. Back to MWAN #112 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum 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