In 1979, the Wessex Military Society took a trip to South Africa, where we saw many of the major fields of the First and Second Boer Wars, besides most of the battlefields of the Zulu War, has inspired a great enthusiasm for wargaming one of the few conflicts of the Victorian Era where British troops encountered white opponents. The natural ability of those foes allied to their life-long experience on the terrain and their chameleon-like ability to adapt themselves to it, made them an enemy of truly formidable proportions. Thus it is recorded that during the course of the war about a quarter of a million British troops were used to subdue the Boers who were never able to put more than 40,000 men in the field at any one time. Nevertheless, they gave commanders and men steeped in an aura of relatively easy Colonial victories, an extremely bad time; however, with British Victorian ingenuity, these lessons were learned and turned into advantages without which we might well have lost World War One in its first few weeks.

The Boer War was not a conflict of massed battalions, of might columns, corps and divisions manoeuvring over vast battlefields - repeatedly unconvincingly simulated by the average wargamer. Rather, the Boer War (or as they prefer to call it, the Second War for Independence) was a relatively small-scale affair where limited numbers of highly mobile Boers used first-class marksmanship and good use of imported artillery sited in the most natural defensive positions, took on forces in far great numbers. commanded and manocuvred in a manner that played into the enemy's hands.

With the price of model soldiers increasing rapidly, a strong point in favour of building armies for any period is to choose an era where the numbers involved were relatively low, and they don't come much better than the Boer War so far as this is concemed. Here in Southampton, I have built-up a Boer Army consisting of about 180 foot figures and just over 100 mounted men. At no time do the two ever take to the field together, all Boer movements are done on horseback, naturally covering greater areas of the wargames table and/or the campaign map, with the horsemen, dismounting and acting as first-class light infantrymen from He cover of rock schantzes (sangars made of rocks, usually ironstone which abounds in the area) amid the small, but commanding kopjes which dot the South African landscape. My British Colonial force has been in existence for many years, fighting valiantly at varying times against North-West Frontier tribesmen, Dervishes and Fuzzy-Wuzzies, Zulus, and other native opponents, sometimes fancifully backed by Russians who, in the Victorian period seemed to be the most threatening nation. To take on my Boer force, which is also armed with two or Tree Creusot field-guns and half a dozen 1 pdr Pom-poms, the British have two or three batteries of field artillery, plus a 4.7 naval gun and crew landed from HMS Terrible; together with Maxim machine-guns. We usually endeavor to give the British, who always seem to be unfortunates who attack, a superiority of about 3:2, plus two or three squadrons of cavalry, usually lancers.

If the rules and conditions controlling a wargame take into account the contact between He two sides and make allowances for their strengths and weaknesses, then what follows should be a reasonably authentic simulation of the battle we are attempting to reconstruct. Thus, the following factors must be considered and steps taken to ensure that they have the desired effect upon the conduct of the game.

THE BOERS: Superior marksmen who did not relish hand-to-hand fighting against bayonets. They were more mobile and were superior in their use of deployment and cover. They seemed to be able to drag their field-guns anywhere and to site them in well-concealed positions; because they were the most modem artillery (superior to that used by the British) they did not reveal their position by any smoke or other telltale signs. Their Pom-poms were most effective both from a firepower and morale viewpoint. the British soldier had a distinct distaste for the whip-crack of these little 1 pdr shells as they arrived in rapid succession among the fairly close-ranks in which he fought. Our system of play allows Boer horses to be kept near the firing-line (assumed and accepted by all wargamers in the game to be out of sight); readily available so that when a Boer burgher decides to move, the distance is measured from his position to the horse; if within a normal move-distance then the burgher can mount and ride off without taking anything from their move distance. It is the practice in our Southampton wargaming circles to use distance as time - thus if a man has an 8" move and wishes to mount or dismount a horse. it may take him an inch or two inches off his move to do so. Boers can fire from horseback. either moving or stationary, but with prescribed penalties that usually result in causing less casualties.

Boers may set up ambushes when a number of men are taken from the table and kept on one side - their chosen ambush position must be large enough to give cover to the number of men supposed to be hidden, who are revealed when (A) they are seen or, (B) the ambush is sprung, which may be at any time the ambusher desires. To discover an ambush, a force riding into an area considered suspicious, throw a pair of percentage dice each move and have a 25% chance of seeing the hidden men. If they are fortunate enough to do this, then the men who have been seen are placed in position and both sides carry on in the chosen manner. When Boers (or British cavalry) dismount to engage in a fire-fight or fight on foot, they are not required to leave any men to hold their horses - thus all men fight.

THE BRITISH: Although tardily learning that deployment was essential through the hard experience of taking heavy losses, the British tended to fight in much tighter formations than the Boers. Some commanders (such as General Hart at Colenso) insisted on men advancing in close order column so as to maintain cohesion and improve morale! Not unnaturally, strangers in a strange land, the British were less mobile and were more tied to transport for food, ammunition and other necessities of life. Lacking the lifelong skill in marksmanship enjoyed by the Boers, and as British policy believed that to allow the men to fight independently was to waste ammunition, the British infantry fired in volleys on the orders of their officers.. Not surprisingly, the Boers had a marked aversion to the British bayonet and, as the corporal was want to assert in "Dad's Army" - "They did not like it stuck up them". Therefore, it is unlikely that the Boers will stay to melee with bayonet-armed troops; nor were they any more keen on British cavalry, particularly when armed with lances - the memories of Elandslaagte rankled in Boer minds throughout the entire war. British artillery, although far more numerous, was much less mobile than that of the enemy; it was employed in batteries and sited in the open without concern for cover (as at Colenso when 12 guns were lost). This meant that the gunners were ideal targets for Boer marksmen who could hit them at a thousand yards range. Also, it was said that British guns tended to produce slight haze about their muzzles when they fired, thus revealing their position to the keen-eyed Boers. Despite being regulars, well-trained and disciplined, the British soldier had been weaned on victories against native opponents whose fire-power was but a fraction of that employed by the British against them. For this reason, the almost uncanny marksmanship of the Boers, together with their well hidden artillery and their noisy aggravating little Pom-poms,played havoc with British morale - so that it is a shaking fact that on numerous occasions (as on Tchengeula Hill outside Ladysmith) British troops in numbers rose to their feet and surrendered after their casualties had gone beyond what they considered acceptable levels.

The more obvious aspects of features peculiar to both British and Boers can obviously be handled within the context of the rules but, as done in the case of the Boers above, certain aspects of the British style of fighting should be observed. For instance the British can not move and fire - they fire in volleys and can only do so in groups, exposing themselves to retaliatory fire as they do so. British infantry battalions are divided into four companies which may operate separately, thus allowing one to advance while covered by the fire of another. British cavalry, being more formal than the enemy, take one inch offmove-distances to mount or dismount; they may dismount and fight on foot with carbines, but are not able to fire from horseback. British artillery operate in batteries of two guns, placed alongside each other, usually in the open.

General aspects applicable to both sides: All guns including Pom-poms take one inch to limber or unlimber.

When a target group is pinned down and can not return fire, place a counter beside the group to indicate this fact. Men may lay down and can not be hit, but neither can they fire - some sort of symbol should be placed alongside them to indicate this fact.

An afternoon spent with an experienced local historian as guide on the Battlefield of Elandslaagte convinced us that here was a most suitable battle to be reconstructed on the tabletop. However, quite the most evocative and emotional - even after between 80 and 100 years - were the two British defeats Ont.. He top of Majuba Hill during the First Boer War of 1881, and the almost identical type of battle which took place in 1899 on top of Spion Kop. At a considerable expenditure of energy, both lay empty and desolate beneath the wann South African sun, marked only by white headstones and memorials - yet both are pervaded with a brooding aura which inevitably affects whoever reaches their summits. With hindsight, we know that each could have been avoided and numerous lives saved - including in both cases the British command general - both were won by the British yet seized from them at the last minute by sheer dogged perseverance by the Boers, led by shrewd natural commanders who did not know the meaning of the word defeat. Handicapped by hidebound customs and led by commanders who, like the majority of Victorian generals, were undoubtedly extremely brave but not particularly intelligent nor possessing of any great degree of tactical awareness, the British soldier fought to the end as he always did to try and pull the fat out of the fire. However, it was even too much for him and again we find at Majuba Hill the ignominious knowledge that British soldiers panicked and ran in rout from the enemy. This means that the Colonial rules one usually uses when wargaming, which rarely if ever include any factor which allows British to be routed, must be rapidly overhauled to make this eventuality possible. Equally so, the Boers were capable of being routed and in this, the last ofthe Gentlemen's Wars, both sides displayed a marked reluctance to fight to the death and would surrender or run if things seemed to be getting too hot. This is not unknown amongst relatively untrained although no less courageous soldiers, it happened frequently in the American Civil War, but it was not the thing that one expected in those days from the British Regular soldier.

Imbued with memories of almost reverent pilgrimages to the tops of Majuba and Spion Kop, we of the Wessex Military Society returned to Southampton inspired with the idea of reproducing an action of this type on a table-top battlefield. Our simulation - BATTLE AROUND TUGELA HEIGHTS 1899 - unrolled realistically and satisfactorily on a table 8' X 5' where the actual battle area is that within the oblong. When carrying-out preliminary map-moves, the whole area of the amp was considered visible, allowing for areas hidden behind hills.

These game conditions applied:

All map (off-table) movement will be made at the rate of 3/4's " on map = 12" on the table, in accordance with specified move distances for various arms; Boer infantry will move 1/2" on the map; British infantry 3/8's".

All off-table (map) movement will be charted on the map and on a movement-chart, so that time (number of game move) of arrival on table is known.

Any force coming on the table who might immediately come into action must announce on the previous move that they are on base-line. Thus, a force due to come on to the table on Move 9 will announce at Move 8 that they are on the base-line and will be coming on next move.

Any force surprised by the enemy coming on to the table in their vicinity - taking last paragraph into consideration - will occupy the first half of the move on which the enemy arrive issuing orders and getting over their surprise. Thus' in the example above, such a force can have 1/2 move on Ge-move No. 9.

When map-moves mean that two off-table forces contact each other during some stage of the journey, a reasonable and mutually-agreeable solution will be implemented.
Numbers scale = one man on the table equals ten men in real life.
Respective situations at the start of the game were as per map.

BRITISH: Strength: Naval Bde (with four Maxim guns and 4.7 land-mounted Naval gun sited at Point X on Buller's Knoll). 5 Bns Infantry
3 Squadrons Cavalry
2 Field Guns
Objective: At the start of the battle, the British may be anywhere on or off the map on line extending from Buller's Knoll, westwards through Gatacre's Hill, Methuen Kopje, to Roberts Hill or thereabouts in those areas.

They will attempt to force the pass between Kruger's Kopje and Viljoen Kopje, taking and holding those hills and Smit's Kopje en route.

The Naval Bde, with four Maxim machine guns, will ascend Umtana Kopje by South Eastern route, which takes for game moves (six game moves for field guns).

If resistance is encountered you may heliograph for reinforcements, when the Highland Bde with mountain guns (two) will come up, via S.E. route.

If further assistance is required, the Ist Infantry Bde (Devons and Dorsets) will be sent up, via S.E. route.

No reinforcements will leave camp until those moving up before them have reached the summit.

Enemy numbers and whereabouts is not fully known, except that their laagers are scattered around North, North Western and Southern sides of kopje. It is not known by which routes they will ascend kopje if intending to attack and drive us off. Our objective is to take and hold summit so as to have a commanding position that will prevent enemy movement around base of mountain.

BOERS:

Force is 2,500 men (all mounted) who fight on foot except for necessary movement from one part of the map and table to another. They may fire from horseback if desired. Horses need not be actually in position on the table but Boers are able to mount and move off when required - costs one third game-move to allow for mounts being hidden away from wherever riders are positioned.

Boers also have two Creusot field guns and five Pom=poms.

At the commencement of the battle, Boers may be positioned anywhere (on or off map) NORTH of dotted line.

Boer Objective: To silence or capture Naval 4.7 gun firing upon them from marked point (*) on Buller's Knoll.

Have a small force of 50 men on top of Umtana Kopje (situated where desired). Spread out around the base of the hill, in laagers, are the rest of De Wet's force of about 1,700 burghers, with two Creusot guns and three Pom-poms.

When firing breaks out from top of Kopje, the Boers begin ascending the hill by three different routes - either North; N/E; N/W; South; S/W; or West (three will be nominated and forces chosen numerically and with guns). While they are ascending, the 'Boers' will NOT be present in the room, as the British on top of the mountain will be moving also and their movements should not be known to you. Once the first burghers arrive on the crest, then the Boers may be present in the room for the remainder of the battle, as messengers are considered to be sent to meet those climbing by the slower routes, to tell them of the situation.

British strength is not known, nor is it known by which routes they will climb the mountain. Their intention is to take and hold the summit so denying Boers free movement around it - thus they must be driven off.

* There is an intriguing heist in the matter of Boer routes up the mountain - the three respective routes and the forces scaling them must be named BEFORE the battle begins. Thus, say the Boers chose routes South-West, North; and North-West - having named the routes and listed the forces (with guns) that are to ascend each route, a slip of folded paper bearing details of the climb is handed to the Boer commanding the party ascending via the South-West route. He reads: South Western route. Not too difficult and horses may be ridden half way up; it takes four game-moves to ascend to summit. Pom-poms can get up here at half speed (eight game moves) but if you are trying to bring the Creusot guns up here they will take twelve moves.

The wargamer taking up the Northeast party is given a folded slip of paper with the bottom half sealed, it reads: North Route: This is the hardest route but one - and will take you nine game moves to reach He top. At the conclusion of the fifth game-move, open the bottom of this note. If you are trying to get guns up here then you will find they can go no further and will have to go down again, taking five game-moves before beginning to ascend by another route.

The North-Westen party find details more to their liking: North-Western Route: This is the easiest route of all, and you can ride horses halfway up. It takes two game-moves to reach the crest. Guns may be brought up here at half speed (four game-moves).

Had the Boers chosen the Western and North-Eastern routes, they would have discovered them to be as follows: Western Route: Fairly tough - will take seven game- moves to reach the top. At the end of the fourth move, open bottom of this note. "If you are hying to get guns up here by this route, you now find it is impossible and they will have to go down again, talking four moves before hying to get up by another route." North-Eastern Route: This is the toughest route of all and will take you ten game-moves to reach the crest. At the end of the fifth game-move, open the bottom of this note. "If you are hying to get guns up here, then you will find they can go no Further and will have to go down again, taking five game-moves before beginning to ascend by another route."

To keep an adequate check on troop movements, times of arrival on the table, etc., it is necessary to keep Movement Charts - Lose for both sides reveal the interesting course of the action.

-	BRITISH	BOERS
Game Move Number	Events	Events
1	Naval Bde reach summit	-
2	Move	British advance
3	Move; received fire	Boer patrol fire
4	Move	-
5	Move	-
6	Move	NW party arrive on summit
7	Move; enemy sighted on South Ridge	Southern party arrive on summit
8	Move	Guns (NW) arrive
9	Move; fire MG	Guns (S) arrive
10	Move; fire	-
11	Move; heliograph for assistance, Highland Bde & 2 guns	-
12	Move	-
13	Move	NE guns back at base
14	Move	NE party arrive on summit
15	Move	NE guns begin up NW route
16	Move; Highland Bde arrive on Summit	-
17	Move	-
18	Move	-
19	Move; heliograph for assistanc, 1st Inf Bde & two field guns arrive on summit	-
20	Move	NE guns arrive at NW summit
21	Move	-
22	-	-
23	1st Inf Bde should arrive on summit	-

Handled by four wargamers, two to a side, this turned out to be a fascinating, fast- moving and realistic wargame that lasted throughout a single evening. It ended towards midnight, partly because of the late hour, when the British were aware that history had repeated itself and that they were on yet another Majuba/Spion Kop hiding!

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