"We are the boys from Isandhlwana" - Zulu Battle cry at Khambula, March 29, 1879 INTRODUCTION These rules are intended for 15-28mm figures based individually on penny-sized bases. All dice rolls use a d 10 to generate numbers from 1 to 10 (not 0-9). Unlike most rule sets these were designed to be used for both skirmishes and larger battles. Thus there is no set number of men represented by each figure, this can be adjusted according to the number of figures available and the number of troops involved in whatever battle is depicted. Similarly there is no particular ground scale or a particular length of time represented by each turn. While this may seem like an unconventional approach to game design, weapons ranges have been adjusted to create a game that feels right for both smaller battles like Rorke's Drift and larger engagements like Khambula. My aim was to be able to use the same rule set to play either of these battles using all of my Zulu figures. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to write me at cpagano@clemson.edu or 211 Shaftsbury Rd., Clemson, SC 2963 1. ZULU ORGANIZATION The Zulu force must be divided up into "izigaba" of twenty figures each. (An isigaba, pl. izigaba, is a division or group of related companies.) These izigaba may then be grouped into amabutho (regiments, singular = ibutho) or otherwise according to the order of battle for the specific scenarios you may come up with. One or more Zulu isigaba may be designated as sharpshooters. Indunas, the Zulu commanders, are represented by individual figures that operate independently of the izigaba. BRITISH ORGANIZATION Brits fall into the following categories: rankers, artillery crews, officers, non-combatants, and medical corps. Casualties are 'eliminated' Brits awaiting treatment from the medical corps. Wounded are those that have received treatment from the medical corps and have been patched up well enough to return to combat. (Invalids are a separate category of noncombatants that can be used in some scenarios such as Rorke's Drift to represent hospitalized soldiers who are not well enough to fight.) Rankers will typically be armed with the Martini-Henry if foot, and some type of carbine if mounted. Cannons, gattling guns, and rockets are depicted by a single figure representing 1-2 cannon, 1-2 gattling guns, or 1-3 rocket tubes, plus 2-3 figures used for the crews. There are no other rules concerning British organization except for whatever may be indicated by the specific scenarios you may come up with. SEQUENCE of PLAY 1) Zulu Movement 2) Brit Missile Fire 3) Zulu Morale 4) Zulu Melee 5) Brit Movement 6) Brit Medical 7) Zulu Missile Fire 8) Brit Melee MOVEMENT Foot 6" Mounted 12" Cannon, Gattling Guns & Wagons: Limbered 8" By Hand 3" Foot Unless beginning or ending movement prone, each Zulu isigaba rolls a d 10 and adds half to its movement. Round fractions down. Movement is halved if it: Crosses a normal wall or barricade that is defended by the enemy. Crosses deep water Goes up a steep slope Goes up or down a donga edge or terrace Begins and ends prone Involves assisting casualties or invalids Note that a full move is required to cross two obstacles set in combination (such as a barricade on top of a terrace or a double barricade such as the mealie-bag redoubt). Zulu movement is halved if it involves a building (even if unoccupied). Mounted Movement is halved over rough or swampy ground and is reduced to one third for moving up or down a donga edge, rocky slope, or terrace. A half move is required to mount or dismount. When dismounting outside of a fortified position one figure must be used as a horse holder for every four mounted figures (round down; e.g., 10 figures would become 8 foot and 2 horse holders). Movement when dismounted is as foot. Rocket Rockets may be considered either mounted or foot. Half a move is needed to 'limber' or 'unlimber', with an additional half move required to mount or dismount. Cannons, Gattling Guns, & Wagons Unless via a good dirt track, cannons, gattling guns, & wagons may not traverse any of the terrain listed above for foot or mounted. Movement is halved for cannons, gattling guns, & wagons while crossing a donga or water coarse via a good dirt track. A fall movement phase is required for cannons and gattling guns to limber or unlimber. Movement & Melee Melee may not be initiated while in square or prone (the troops must end their movement upright if they wish to initiate melee). Zulu isigaba may not interpenetrate each other during movement or to engage in melee. At the end of movement each isigaba must occupy a frontage of at least 4". In order to engage in melee with an enemy that has cover, one must have enough movement to traverse the cover. (For example, Zulus move to contact Brits that are behind a barricade. The Zulus may immediately engage in melee this turn if they have at east half of their movement remaining when they reach the barricade. If the Zulus have less than half of their movement remaiming then they will have to stop at the barricade this turn and use their next turn's movement to traverse the barricade and engage in melee. In another example, if the barricade was at the top of a terrace then the Zulus must first move to contact the cover, and then wait until the next turn to use their full movement to cross the terrace and barricade and engage in melee. This is because a half move is required for each obstacle.) COVER Missile Fire and Melee: Soft Cover = Brush, low dirt mound, wagons, Zulu hut, cattle Regular Cover = Wall, barricade, boulders, palisade Heavy Cover = Building, heavy stone fortifications Missile Fire only Regular Cover = behind donga edge Melee Regular Cover = Deep water course, top of donga edge, or top of terrace Heavy Cover = Barricades forming a raised redoubt or placed in combination with a donga edge or terrace Notes on Cover: For melee, cover is applied only to the defender (the side that did not initiate the melee). Cover does not apply to mounted troops. donga edge provides cover versus missile fire to troops in the donga pressed against the edge when fired upon by troops outside that edge. A donge edge provides cover versus melee to troops outside the donga at the edge defending against troops attacking from within the donga. terrace provides a dead zone. Troops, including a complete isigaba, may crouch against the bottom and thus avoid being fired upon by troops on top and more than 3" away from the edge. MISSILE FIRE Brits roll one d10 each turn for every figure (excluding non-combatants and medical corps). For cannon, gattling guns, and rockets, roll one d 10 for each figure manning the weapon. Cannon, gattling guns, and rockets may continue to fire normally as the crew are eliminated, so long as one crew figure remains to man them. An artillery officer may take the place of an eliminated artillery crew figure but other Brits may not. Each Zulu isigaba may roll one d 10 once during the battle for throwing spears. A Zulu isigaba designated as sharpshooters rolls one d 10 each turn for every 4 figures in that isigaba (round down). Regular izigaba roll one d 10 each turn for every rifleman. To determine how many riflemen a regular isibaba has, roll a dl0 the first time it fires. Use the left d10 column for battles taking place in January (e.g., Isandhlwana, Rorke's Drift, Nyezane). Regular izigaba are reduced to a maximum of 1 rifleman when they have 14 or fewer figures remaining and have no riflemen when they have 8 or fewer figures remaining. The number of riflemen in an isigaba represents its overall firing capability, not necessarily the number or type of guns. d10 Jan Feb Riflemen 9-10 6-10 2 3-8 1-5 1 1-2 - 0 The table below gives the maximum range and the d 10 roll need to 'eliminate' an enemy figure by missile fire. Use the skirmish ranges whenever 1inch of the table top represents 10 yards or less, and use the tactical ranges otherwise. Modifiers: Brit rifles or carbines under 3 +1 Target is prone (no other cover) -1 Target in Soft cover -1 Target in Regular or Heavy Cover -2 Firing while mounted -2 Firing at Induna -2 Weapon Skirmish Range Tactical Range d10 Zulu Throwing Spears 3 2 6+ Zulu Rifles, Muskets, etc 36 24 8+ Brit Martini-Henry rifles 45 30 4+ Brit Carbines & other Brit rifles 36 24 5+ Brit Pistol 9 6 5+ Cannon 96 64 6+ Gattling Gun 54 36 4+ Rockets 63 42 9+ Notes on Missile Fire: The prone modifier is ignored if any other cover also applies. The soft cover modifier is ignored if Regular or Heavy cover also applies. Zulu fire must be directed at the closest target (such as a front rank). Prone Zulus may not use throwing spears. With buildings only one Brit figure may fire through each window, door, breech, or loophole. British formations may fire two ranks deep. Zulus may not fire through each other unless there is an elevation diference. Fire by multiple figures manning a single cannon or rocket battery figure must be directed at a single isigaba. A gattling gun may split its fire between two adjacent izigaba. For gattling guns, a roll of a one on the dIO before modifiers indicates that the gun has jammed. One Brit movement and fire phase must be spent clearing it (with no movement during the movement phase). Zulus and mounted troops may for in any direction. Other Brits have a 180' arc of fire. CASULTIES These rules apply to casualties from either missile fire or melee. When any Zulu (except for the induna) or wounded Brit receives an elimination result it is eliminated permanently. When an unwounded Brit receives an elimination result it is placed alongside the medical corps figure as a casualty. If the medical corps is full, inaccessible, out of range, or not included in the order of battle the figure is eliminated permanently. When a Zulu figure is eliminated it is laid down (or a dead figure or other marker is put in its place). It remains as a marker against its isigaba until the conclusion of the next Zulu morale phase. Remove the markers at the end of the Zulu morale phase. ZULU MORALE Each isigaba that received at least one casualty since the last Zulu morale phase must roll morale. Roll a d10, add to it the number of figures remaining in the isigaba and subtract the number of figures that were lost since the last Zulu morale phase. Modifiers: + number of figures remaining in isigaba - number of figures lost since last Zulu morale phase +1 if initiating melee +1 if directed by an Induna Result: 21 + : Firm; no effect 12-20 : Stayed; retreat 1 move, go prone, or move to nearest cover 11 or less : Routed; eliminated from battle Notes on Morale: With a 'stayed' result the isigaba must go prone, retreat directly away from the enemy one full move, or move to the nearest cover. It may move sideways to cover but may not move towards the enemy. If it doesn't have enough movement to reach the cover it must retreat directly away from the enemy. With morale the option to go prone may not be used if within 3" of the enemy. If already in cover the isigaba must retreat or go prone. If already prone and in cover the isigaba may either hold firm or retreat and end uptight. Routing isagaba must move at their full rate off the map edge. They may not fire or move towards the enemy. They may not interpenetrate other isigaba. Any non-routing isagabe between them and the board edge must divert their movement or be moved out of the way at the beginning of the movement phase, with this movement counting towards their allowance. There are no lasting effects of a stayed morale result; the isigaba may act normally in subsequent phases. There is no need to 'rally' stayed Zulus and there it is not possible to 'rally' those that have routed. BRITISH MEDICAL CORPS British medical corps are optional, they need not be included in every order of battle. No more than one may be included in the brit order of battle. Medical corps are considered non-combatants, except that they are automatically converted to wounded unpon their first elimination result and they may attempt to patch up Brit casualties. Each turn up to 3 'eliminated' Brits that have not been previously wounded may be placed alongside the medical corp figure as 'casualties.' During the Brit medical phase a d 10 is rolled for each casualty and on a 1-6 the patient is eliminated permanently and on a 8- 10 it is 'wounded' and is no longer considered a casualty figure. Wounded may move and fight norinafly in subsequent phases. The 'eliminated Brits must be within 18" of the medical corps figure for skirmish games, 12" for tactical battles. Casualties awaiting medical care may not move on their own. Each casualty figure may be carried along by another figure moving at half speed. The carrying figure may not engage in melee. Casualties are permanently eliminated if they do not end a movement phase alongside a medical corps figure. Casualties have no effect on combat. Casualties are eliminated permanently if a medical corp figure uses more than half of its movement or is on the losing side of a melee. MELEE 1) Any Zulus in range who have not yet had a chance to use their throwing spears may do so now (even if not initiating melee). 2) The melee for each isigaba is resolved separately. Determine which Brits will fight opposite each Zulu isigaba in contact. Typically Brits within 2" of a Zulu isigaba that has come into contact will also be engaged in a melee. If a figure may be in melee with more than one izagaba then put it against the one that would otherwise have lesser opponents. Separate melees may be resolved in any order, they are considered to occur simultaneously. 3) Count the number of Zulu and Brit figures involved in the melee. Include all Brits; wounded, artillery crews, non-combatants, etc. Do not include casualties or invalids, they are eliminated permanently if the Brits lose the melee. 4) Begin with Table 1 below, and move up or down to a different table according to the modifiers. Both sides roll a number of d10s equal to the number of figures on the smaller side. (For example, if 18 Zulus attack 6 Brits, then both sides roll 6 dice.) Simultaneously apply the effects if each d 10 to a single figure. Do not apply melee effects to invalids or casualties awaiting medical care. When Zulus are attacking Brits in a building the melees ends in a draw when at least half of the Zulus have been eliminated or retreated and the Brits have at least one figure remaining. For other melees repeat steps 3 & 4 until one side has no figures remaining in the melee. 5) If the attacking side wins they may take the position vacated by the losers by moving forward up to 2", and their retreated figures rejoin their comrades. When melee involving a building ends in a draw retreated figures from both sides are returned and the Zulu isigaba remains in the position where they initiated the melee Oust outside of the building or room). Regardless of the outcome of the melee, neither side may be engaged in a second melee this phase. Modifiers, begin with Table 1: Brits w/ Martini-Henry rifle & bayonet : +1 Table Brits defending Regular cover or in square : +1 Table Brits defending Heavy cover :+2 Tables Mounted Brits :+2 Tables Zulus defending any cover :-1 Table Melee Effect, use top half of table for d 10s rolled by Zulus and bottom half for d10s rolled by Brits: Notes on Melee: Modifiers are used if they apply to at least half of the figures on a given side. (For example, apply the "Brits w/ Martini-Henry fifle & Bayonet" modifier if at least half of the Brits are so armed.) Mounted troops do not gain additional benefit from cover or square. Troops in square do not gain additional benefit from cover. Retreat = Move back 1 move or to nearest cover, whichever is less. When inside a building retreat to just outside the opposite end of the room via a door, window, or through a breach in a wall. Brits may create a breach in an interior wall in order to retreat. Retreating figures are eliminated if no retreat is possible. Eliminations take precedence over retreats and are applied first. If, for example, 6 Brit figures receive 2 eliminations and 5 retreats, then first eliminate 2 figures and then retreat 4 figures. Apply elimination effects to Brits in the following order: rankers, artillery crews, noncombatants, and finally officers. Apply retreat effects to Brits in the following order: noncombatants, artillery crews, rankers, and finally officers. Apply melee effects to wounded first within each category. (Casualties and invalids are permanently eliminated when all other Brits have retreated or been eliminated.) For Zulus, apply melee effects to an Induna last. Apply melee effects to an isigaba before an induna. Within an isigaba apply effects in any order, but at the conclusion of Melee adjust the composition of the isigaba to reflect the correct number of riflemen. ZULU INDUNA While there were many Zulu induna present at any battle (one for each izigaba and each ibutho, plus senior commanders), in this game 1-5 induna figures are used to represent the senior commanders of the entire Zulu impi. Induna may be mounted or on foot. During each Zulu morale phase each induna may direct one isigaba in order to urge it forward or call it back. The induna morale modifier represents this. For skirmishes the isagaba must be within 36" of the induna and within line of sight, or 18" without line of sight. Use 24" and 12" for tactical battles. Induna may not fire, but may engage in melee. If the Brits have a medical corps figure in their order of battle then when an induna receives its first elimination result roll a d10 and on a 8-10 it is wounded instead. Awoundedinduna may function normally, but a second elimination results in a permanent elimination. If all induna figures are permanently eliminated then subordinate commanders are considered to be directing the battle, but all morale modifiers are lost for the remainder of the battle. MOUNTED BRIT ALLIES Any mounted troops allied with the Brits are treated as regular Brits in all respects, regardless of origin. NATAL NATIVE CONTINGENT The NNC are treated as Zulus in all respects except for the following. NNC "izigaba" always have 1 rifleman. NNC move and fire as Zulus but during the Brit phases. NNC roll for morale at the end of the Zulu Missile Fire phase. All of their morale rolls are made at -2, and ignore the modifiers for initiating melee and directed by an Induna. In melee use Table 0 with the NNC rolling as Brits and ignoring all modifiers. One figure may be painted up as a white officer, but this has no effect on the unit's abilities. DESIGNER NOTES Zulu Organization in 1879: The size of the Zulu units varied greatly. An "ibutho" (pl. "amabutho") was a regiment of anywhere from 500 to 5,000 men, with 1,500 being about average. An "iviyo" (pl. "amaviyo") was a company of around 50 men, but occasionally they had up to 200. An "isagaba" (pl. izagaba) was a division or group of related companies within an ibutho, although this designation was less formal and not used by all amabutho. Tactically each amabutho was divided into a left and fight wing, and the term isagaba may be applied to these wings. Players should feel free to apply any of these terms to the 20-figure unit used in these rules, depending on the scale of the engagement being depicted. In general, each 20-figure unit can be called an "iviyo" if it represents less than 200 men (less than 10 men per figure), an "isagaba" if it represents 200-1,250 men (10-75 men per figure), or an "ibutho" if it represents 500 or more men (25 or more men per figure). None of this affects the game anyway, but I mention it for those concerned with the terminology. Zulu Movement: Often for skirmish games I will use an unmodified d6 for determining Zulu movement. This has the advantage of not requiring the halving and rounding with a dIO. The disadvantage is that something other than d I Os are now needed. Zulu Throwing Spears: The throwing spears were primarily melee weapons. Intheserulesit is considered that both sides would have employed their missile weapons to some degree during melee, so these weapons are taken into account in the melee tables. Because of this each Zulu isigaba gets only a minimal one die role on the missile fire table for their throwing spears. The "Stayed" Result for Zulu Morale: The option to go prone is based upon the fact that several groups of Zulus went prone at Islanhlwana. The retreat option actually simulates two possibilities. The first is what appears on the table; the Zulu isigaba has moved up but then withdrew. The second is the possibility that the effect of the Brit fire held off the movement from actually occurring in the first place. If, for example, a Zulu isigaba may move forward 10" during its movement phase and then retreat 8" during the morale phase, then in some cases this represents the situation where the isigaba could have moved 10" but only moved 2" because of the effects of the Brit fire. So if the Zulus seem to be seesawing forward and back too much, keep this second possibility in mind. British Formations: Brits in square gain some defense in melee (but may not combine this with terrain modifiers) and two ranks of Brits may fire. Other than these two things there are no movement or combat rules for different formations. One could correctly argue that there should be some movement advantage for Brits in column on the road. The advantage, however, would be small and they should still not be able to move faster then the Zulus, so why bother. There weren't any roads in Zululand anyway, just rough dirt tracks that weren't any better than moving in'clear'while passing through terrain that would otherwise be called Yough.' I don't differentiate between open and close formations either. For now I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible. I may add these things if they seem to be needed or if players complain that they like simulating these things. Note that I let two ranks of Brits fire because with figures based individually it's sometimes hard to get all of them in tight spaces behind the barricades. It also allows you to put officers and noncombatants behind so they don't get picked off first (aside from possibly preferring to attack those in red, the Zulus didn't target specific individuals). I wasn't trying to reproduce the two man deep fire and movement from the famous 1964 movie. Note that since each figure represents multiple men, the two man deep formation from the movie can just as easily be represented by a row of single figures. Melee Tables: The melee tables are designed so each die roll can cause a figure from one's own side to retreat. This was done so that morale effects would be built into the outcome. The original plan was to have each side roll on a melee morale table at the outset of melee to determine how many figures fail to close or stand. With the present tables this separate table and die roll is not necessary. Cattle: The use of cattle as light cover versus missile fire is meant to simulate the situation at Khambula where Brit cattle in the cattle pen interfered with firing. Some of the Zulus at Islandhwana drove cattle in front of them as cover as they charged the British positions. In earlier decades some Bantu clans would stampede cattle into their enemies during battle to disrupt the enemy formations. It is unlikely, however, that this is what the Zulus were attempting at Islandhwana, although it remains an intriguing possibility. Whether the cattle were being used as cover, purposely stampeded, or simply running ahead, the end result was the same, all of the cattle were killed or scared off by the concentrated Brit fire before getting anywhere near the Brit positions. To simulate the cattle at Islandhwana place two cattle figures is front of each of a few Zulu isigaba. These cattle move in front of the isigaba when it moves. Do not treat the cattle as cover but instead remove a cattle figure for the first two casualties suffered by that isigaba. These casualties represent the dispersion of the cattle by Brit fire and do not count against Zulu morale (their loss does not result in a morale check), Playtesting: I would like to thank the members of the Upstate South Carolina Wargaming Society and gamers at the annual Battle of Cowpens wargaming convention for their patience with earlier versions of these rules. Bibliography: Barthorp, M. The Zulu War: A Pictorial History, Blanford Press, 1980. Clammer, D. The Zulu War. David and Charles Publishers plc, 1973. Knight, I. British Forces in Zululand 1876 (Elite Series no. 32) Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1991. Knight, I. Rorke's Drift 1879 (Campaign Series no. 41) Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1996. Knight, I. The Zulus (Elite Series no. 21) Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1989. Knight, I. Zulu 1816-1906 (Warrior Series no. 14) Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1995. Knight, I. Zulu War 1879 (Campaign Series no. 14). Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1992. Morris, D. M. The Washing of the Spears, Simon & Shuster Inc. 1965. Back to MWAN #117 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