co-o inatot of the vntorian Military Sociely, opposite & above: Two shotsol Sudangames staged RaJBoyles, u/aryames

bJ) "Patizan in Neh'atk.

SOLO COIONIAI.II
by Mark R. Elwen
The Zulu commander seen carnage massed has the that fire powercan do to his warriors;he is therefore prepared nor to The following scenarios are designed for the solo colonial sacrifice in one madrushai the defenders. all Time is not the wargamer although they couldbe quiteeasily adapted two enemy he isprepared keep for and 1o the Britishguessingwhen and players and/orotherperiods. The soloplayercontrols side at whicbpointshiswarriors one willstrike. whilstcertainchance facton determine when,whereandhow manyofhis opponents take part.The aim is thateachscenaio TheGam the ofdefenders shake canbeplayed numberoftimes, three6-sided dice any butthateach timethings can To determine number (D6) and add 25 to the resuk.Add one nore to this for the go quitedifferently. figwerepresenting yourself theofficer.(TheBoerscouts have headed backforthe maincolumn).Itis up royoutodecidewhat perimeteris most suitable your needsand sizedefensive for SCENAIIO1- ZIJLUDAWN'TlL DUSK(Fig.l) numberof men. Whateversize perimeteryou decideupon, Setting therewillbesufficient mealie bags it to be waisthigh the for all Zululand,1879. smallmission a station-cum-farm whichstands

INTRODUCTION

on a supply routefor oneofthe Bitish colunnswhichhasnow Roll 1D6 to seeat what time o{ day the Zulus anive (1 = ground a hahafterthe to disaster Isandhlwana. missionis at The 10am,2: 11am,3: l2noonandsoon upto3pm) thenroll lD6 situated far from a drift andconsists small not ofa house. barn a and multiply by ten to determine how many Zulus arrive. I anda kraalwith alow stonewall. The house been has Ioopholed wouldsuggest arming approximately thirdof theZuluswith one perimeter anda defensive ofmealiebags been has constructed. firearms, thoughthe rulesshouldtakeinto account their poor Thebuildingcan easily adapted useasa hospital be for although accuracy. ManyZuluspreferred fire holding rifleat arm's to the so far it hasnot received any casualties. smallnumberof A lengthbecause theydislikedthe recoil.For ease, the Zulus as troops havebeenleft to defend station the undercommand ofa take casualties they advance,I alwaysassume as that the lieutenant. However,a force of Zulus, who havemanaaed to proportion of Zulus carying rifles remains same.It also the avoidthe cavalr]scouts from the marn column. considerihis ro prevents the Britishjusi attempting pick off thesenen as to bea suitable taqet on whihto strike;not heavily delended and targets, whichwouldbe unrealistic. far enoughawayfrom the main column for reinforcementsnot UseD20 (numbered to 20) to seeat whichpoint the Zulus 1 tobe aconcem. onerespect In thoughtheyounglieutenanr has enterthe board. (The drift doesnot affetmovement, a but beenfortunate:the Zulus were spottedby two Boer scouts, figurecrossingat otherpoint moves halfrate.)On move any at who, seeing way the Zuluswereheading the havebeenableto move pick one card from a well givea waming.The Britishnow awaitthe affivalof the Zulus one and every subsequent packofards.If a Jokerispickednore Zulusappear, shuffled whosenumbershave been estimated aroundone to two at so reDeatthe Droedure carried out for the first arrivals. hundred.

if on ol Therefore. a Jokeris picked mo\e one.nlo groups Darkncs!$ill fall at 6pm, and in SouthAfrica falls quit Zuluswill arri!'e.Eachcardas it is pickedis pul faceup on a rapidl\. Ii lou hale rulesfor nightfightingall well andgood,if pilc; whenboth Jokershavebeenrurnedreplace all not shake3D6. this givesthe maximumvisibilityin inches separalc if cardsinthc pack.shufileandstartagain. plaling in 20mm or 15mm.in centimelres in 6mm. All if The occasion arisewherelbereareno longeranyZulus movement athalfrate.No onenay i;e beyond maxinum may is the on the boardithe onesthal wcrc iherc havingbecn killcd or visibilityandall shooling penaUsed -1 at shortrangeand is by comeon. If thisdoes -2 if anvfurther.Dawnbreaks 5am. retreated andDoncw arivals having off. at -a the have decided The battlecontinues happenthenthisisa'lull timewhen Zulus until rhepostis overrun orrhe Zulusfail to lakc a breather, tendtheirwounded just takestockof the to retumafter lull. or a Eachmovein the lull is assumed lastonehour.On to silualion. Comments thetuslmoveofthe lullthe Britishmayattempt carefor their 10 games Manyskirmish whencompleted the moves and counled \rounded. eachcasualtlr For shake1D6:a 1 or 2 andtheymay up translate into just a coupleof minures acrionon the table. wounded mustbe and returnto thewallrI or4 theyareseriouslf' This scenarioattemptsto try and aller this so that al rbe cared in themakeshift lor hospilal:5or 6 andthefigureisdead. you conclusion may "feel'as if your litile men havebeen lf rhereare any seriously wounded then one fit manmust be withor wirhoutsuccess, severalhours. boldingout. for Thiswill ihem.Ifany designated medicalorderl)ieDd asa lo furlher lulls not happen everylime. indeed maywellbeall overin less it than on occurrepeatthis procedure the firsl inoveof the lull. Any a minute. depcnds youanda little (alright, lor) ofluck. lf it on a wounded men are not shaken again.i.e. for aheady seriously the Zulus keep on comingand neverstop you will surelybe 1be of theycannot recoverduring course ihe batile. defeated. Nevenheless canbe very entertaining it waitingand for this After checking casualties is the endofthe first hour. hoping that thcrewill be a lull in thefightingandlhat with a bit Picka cardfor Zulu arrivals; nonearrivethenthisis a second if of luck the Zuluswill not be returning. The mainpriorityis to hourofno fighting. Repeal a third. fourthandfifth time.lf. this concenlrate firepower1o rry and siop the Zulus reaching the however. the fifth attenpt no Zulus appearthen thef' are on wallandhereiswhere decisions to bemade:canyouspare have assumed haveslippedawayand will not be returning. to This menfrom one\rall to helpdefend another? meansthe lullcanlasino longerthanfour hours. Keepa noreof how long the pausehaslastedto work out the time of day. game spentfighting,asin a skirmish Ignoreanytirneactually SCENARIO 2-GUERRILLARAID(Fig.2) thisusually translates no morethana fewninutes-Soiflbe inlo threehoursit is now Setting batdebegan llam andlhe firstlulllasted at South Africa 1901.The Boer War has entered its guerrilla war 2pm.

l8 stage as oposedto the large battles of earlier. A small comnandoof "Bitter Enders"are short of ammunition and food; their only hope is to attemptto stealsupplies from a Britishdepotbeside nearby a railwaytrack.A quickreccehas shownthe depot to be only lightly defended, but armoured trains frequently travel up and down the track. The Boer commander cannotrisk delaying attackuntil nightfallfor his fearofbeingdiscovered bymounted infantrypatroh,sohemust actimmediately.

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Th Game You commandthe Boercommandowhich numbers menplus 30 th score 3D6. All menare mounted. of Your smallforcewill enterthe boardat section sixteen. Your aim is to overun the Britishdepot and stealat leasttwo of the four wagons there without losingrnorethan 50y" of your men. The wagons will eachtakefour rnenfivemovestohitchuDthe horsevmules and will requirea maneachto drivethem.The Boerswill leave the Figl. "Zulu Dawn'til Dusk . Obviou:lythenumber sections of tableby the shortest possible routes. theperimeterof thetableb dbided into canbe tailorcd to suitthe ThenumberofBritish guarding wagons the numbersten men size of yow table. Othet scenerl, tees, rocks bushescan be pluslD6. Thecamp consistsofjustone buildinganda defensive perirneter ofsandbags wall around campandwagons. the There is also stone a kraalwherethewagon horses tethered. are Allow only onelhird ofthe Britishto be readyfor actionon the first move,thisincludes figures two who may be on picketduty on oneof the fourhills.To determine whichhill shake 1D6,ifthe score 5 or6 thereareno pickets. is Each movepick a card ftom a full set which includes the

KingofHearts- An armoured traincomes the board. on King of Diamonds A mountedinfantry patrcl arrives. For theamouredtrainroll aD6: I or 2 it enters DointA: 3 at or 4 point B; 5 or 6 point C. For the numberof troopsit is carrying roll 1D6and add ten. In additionto thison ihe front truckbeingpushed the trainwillbe a Maxin machinegun by or light artillery piece.The numbersfor the mounredinfantry patrol will number the score of 2D6 only. Roll 1D20 to determine wherethey arrive on the board. Onceboth these cards havebeenrevealed nomorecards Dicked. are , If the number Britishdefending wagons of the fallsto five or FiE2."Gueni d Raid" . lessand they are outnumbered and no lrain or mounted 2:1 infantry havearrived lD6eachnove theyarefiredupon.A roll score ofonemeans theywill sufrender. Boers The mayadvance onthe camp, disarm menandsecure the themin the building. Commnts This is probably mostdifficultofthe threescenarios. the Her the decisionhas to be made whether to attack rhe camp straightaway and possiblysuffer heavy casualties, take up positions the surrounding andtry to reduce number in hilh the ofdefenders beforeadvancing, a combination both. The or of longeryoutakethe greater chances havingtotakeon the the o{ train or mountedinfantry without havingeven reached the

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This is a scenario whererulesfor spottingtargetsin cover would be of use.This would be of benefitto the Boers(and possibly mountedinfantry)so that they couldopen fire from cover.Their opponents would haveto discover their position F " s3. KrualRsid" beforebeingable returnfire aswouldbe the casein to reallife. makingtheirtotalnumber25men.Theiraim is to burna small kraal which the latesl scoutingreports have shown to be SCENARIO - KRAAL RAID (Fis.3) 3 virtuallydeserted, men being awaywilh their impi, the ihe Setting womenand childrenseeking refugeat a largersettlement. It Like scenario one, this is set in Zululandin 1879durinerhe shouldbe a case in andout - or so they believe. of However, penodbelween lirsr and \econdinvdrions the The BirLrsh unbeknown the Durbanstheir advance beennotedanda has to forces hakedandthevolunteer are units,especially, making runnersentto close are dtected bythe a byimpi whichhasnotbeen useof the time to burn as manyZulu kraah as possible. One scouts. The impi hassenta smallpartyto try andintercept the suchparty has set out to do just ihis. They arc men of the raiders. The runnerhasalsocomeacross several Zulu foraqinq DurbanMountedRifles tosetherwith a few volunteer Boers Dafiieswho maketheirwavto the kraal. also

The GaIn You commandthe forceofmounted rifleswhoenterthe tableat section nine.Therivermayonlybecrossed thed ft. Toclaim at avictoryyoumustdestroy leastseven at ofthe eighthuts inthe kraalandleave tableonlhesame the s;de whichyouentered by with at leasthalfyouroriginalnumber men. of As in theprevious scenarios movetum overa cardfrom each pack.Ifan Ace isdrawna pa(y of Zulusadve. Roll acomplete a D20to establish whichpointtheyenter, at thenroll1D12and 1D6andaddthetwo scores. D6 gives numberwho The the will becarrying firearms. aJokerisdrawnthismeans larger lf a body of Zulushasarrived. .hiscase 1D6,multiplytheresultby In roll ten and add fifty, thereforethe maximumpossible number a[iving is 110.As in scenario one, for simplicity assume one thirdoftheir numberhavefirearms. The kraalwill havejust onegateway, whichin thisgamewill be a simple opening. Whenthe filst riderreaches entrance the turnoveranextracard,ifthe resultis anypicture cardor a. Ace thismeans thereare Zulus lyingin wait in the kraal.For their t{EwADD|T|O STOOUR20nn number the same use method ifan aceis drawnon a normal for BATTLECROU D RAI{GE game move.As in the previous scenario is anotheroccasion this wherea rule for concealmeni/spotting is useful.If you do not t960 !20 50 havesucha rule thenthe followingis a suggestion a sinple for r5B Ru House detac&ue ned wh fr61flmr rcaf;id t960 a0s0 way ofdoing this. Obviously gameyou will know beinga solo !840 tr780 tg Ru indlshalbuidins ned t960 D050 whereany hiddenZulusare. In the kraalthereare eighrhuts 18S R!n!tuctory .himney smal wdr attached buld0s out e890 trg10 givinga totalofnine suitable places andoneanimalenclosure, post?nd padaq phas-add onodeElpto e5 and of orden os 10% Lr( ng 15% @r for theZulusto be concealed. Dividethe Zulus,ifany, amongst Acrlsslie ode6a nbehxed t0eohoned C472 75055? 0r 0n Mon+ri ir-6omplease $ quote exp dateFor I lslotedol2loque !1 00o !s astimo! ord ry our seid theseand give eachhiding placea number,l to 9. For each addressed enope oEEs5customenpseend4 sto Rc trcoDerwho enters kraalrolla D20:thescore the diewill the on HOVEIS,'I8 ROAD, correspond rvhich to hidingplace looksat andspotsaZulu.If he CI.EBE SCAfiHO,GRIHSBY, HU BERSIDE SOUTH DIT352HL thescore l0 to20hespoLsnolhing.Lhe ir On followingmove an) EOyaEsouhtllketovEn ouf cusaomeBHaFpy a chflram2s trooperwho hasspotted is ahidingplace assumed be ableto to point thisout to anyoneofhis comrades who hasnot closeby observed target. this If the extracardtums out to be a joker whenthe first dder 5O,OOO+ SECONDHAND WARGAMESFIGTIRf,S reaches kraal, then usethe D6 x 10 + 50 fornula Gorfy the Alwaysin stock.AII scales. Most manufacturers. partyofZuluswill aboutthealgebra!) except thistimethislarge SAE stating intercsts fot liststo: be waiting, in arnbush. insidethe kraal. In this instance I A.J. Dumlow, wouldn'tworry abouttryingto hidethem.I{rhisdoeshappen, 53 Stanton Road,Stapnhill, you'rein trcuble. Burton-on-Trnt, StaffsDEl5 9RP. you don't come across Once insidethe kraal, assuming a (02E3) Telephone: 530556. hundredveryangry Zulusanddecide is timeto beata hasty this retreat,your purpose to setfire to at leastseven is ofthe hurs. nothing stopyou adapting scenarios fit othercolonial to the to To do thistakesone man,one moveanda score of6 on a D6. theatres.Scenario one could be a French Foreign Lgion Thenall you haveto do is get awayby leaving tableat any outpost Algeriaor Mexicoforexample. the in point alongthe edgewhereyou cameon. But remember you Finally,if you are unluckyand fail to survivethen do not canonlycross rlverat theford. the you're a wargamer, despair: you always live to fight another day! Conmenas This scenario againreliesmoreon luck thanskill, but it canbe quitealot offun. Basically haveto getto the kraaland you back BIBLIOGRAPHY off the table as fast as possible. is a raceagainst It time and against any Zulus who happento be chasing you. There are There are hundreds excellentbooks on all the colonial of somedecisions makethough;will you retum to pick up that theatres. anyone to For wanting depthinformation the Zulu in on trooperwho haslosthishorseorwill you lave him to hisfate? andBoerWars, on colonial or expansion Africa asawhole,l in Will yougetgoingwhen haveonlyfiredsixhutsor will you would suggest followingbookswhich are extremely you lhe well wait,tryingdesperatelyto throwa 6? researched, at thesameiime but eminently readable: TheWashing ofke Speats DonaldR. Morris. TheBoerwar Thomas Pakenham. ANDFINALLY Pakenham. fot I hope,if youarea colonial you wargamer, decide givethese ]:heScronble Africa Thomas to scenarios try. I have playedthem severaltimes and each In addition a thereh aho thenewOspreyCampaign serieswhich occasion hasbeen different,but always entertaining. looks at a particular battle or ampaign.Colonial ones As for rules,well a setappeared the January editionof publishedso far include, flre Zulu War, Omdurman^nd in 94 WI fot usewith 6mm figures(I forgetthe author's name,but they were jolly good!). Thesescenarios shouldbe perfectly For a ontemporary informative, alsolight-hearred, and but suitable anysetofrules, the only alterations for whichmaybe look al tactics the useofcoverandterrainin rhe BoerWar and playing necessaryare haveasmall ifyou area thenyoumayneed DulferyDrift by E.D . Swinron a classic is still, apparently, used to reduce nurnber figures the of involved slightly. Thereis also for rnilitarystudies today.

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