Alexander and I used our Victoria Cross rules, from MWAN # 105, to fight out this battle in the Sudanese desert. The scenario called for the two British forces to arrive from the south, and for the land force to exit as many troops as possible off the northern board edge. (Sailors could disembark to assist their chums, but had to leave their artillery aboard.) Whenever a British soldier or sailor came within 18 inches of any of the 6 areas in which Dervishes might be concealed, the British rolled 3 six-sided dice. If the roll was equal to or greater than the distance to the area in inches, something was seen. Then percentile dice were rolled. If the roll was 51 or higher, it was "just a rabbit." If lower, Dervishes were spotted! The variety was determined by the next roll. Garden variety Dervishes on 4-10, and Beja tribesmen (fuzzy-wuzzies to the British) on a 1-3. Finally, the number of hostiles appearing was calculated by throwing one sixsided die and one ten-sided die and multiplying their faces. The total tribesmen popping up in the area could therefore be as little as 1 (1 x 1) and as many as 60 (6 x 10). Once there were Dervishes on the field, the cards employed in the Victoria Cross system came into play, and created enormous tension. Would the British get to bring their firepower into play before the Mahdists rushed home their attack? Once, three "British Fire" cards were drawn in a row. This was balanced out by another occasion when three "Dervish Movement" cards turned up one after another, allowing a mob to overcome the redcoats in a flurry of melees. The machine gun must have been jammed, for it never got to fire at all. The scenario arguably calls for luck as much as skill, but, as Napoleon taught us, luck is by far the more important attribute in the real world! A Special Dispatch from the Seat of War Back to MWAN #115 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2002 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