BATTLE OF KANDAHAR +140

I WROTE THIS POST to go up on my new MAIWANDDAY.COM site BUT I've run into problems uploading photos over there, so... in order to put this info out in a timely manner I'm back here on Blogger, where I know the system (and its shortcomings) inside out.  At some point I'll get a handle on how everything works at the new digs but I don't want this post to wait, so here it is...

Hope you and everyone you care about is doing well, keeping healthy, and staying safe and sane.  Today, Saturday August 15th, 2020, we started playing the game I've been prepping with help from friends around the country since the middle of January.  It went pretty well, maybe even very well, despite an unfortunate and unexpected 4-HOUR POWER OUTAGE, caused not as one might expect by the rolling blackouts often put in place by the LADWP to reduce usage at times of extreme heat (Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far, clocking in at 103° Fahrenheit) but by a tree-trimming accident.  Because of those lost 4 hrs we did not finish the game.  Still, when the power came back on we reconvened and I believe all 6 players, playing remotely in time-zones across the country, enjoyed themselves, as did the 3 GMs (myself, my son Skylar, & our good buddy Matthew).  I plan to post a lot of info in future, detailing the final terrain, figures, rules, technical setup for playing the game, and initial army deployments... but right now I just want to post some good pics before the weekend's over.  So here you go:

A goatherd & his trusty hound drive their flock as fast as they can go in an effort get out of there before being caught between an Afghan rock and a British hard place...

British deployment marked on photo map...

3rd Bengal Cavalry (Skinner's Horse) advance to East

end of Baba Wali Pass, followed by 5th Gurkhas...

Afghan Regular Inf. & 2 batteries of guns deployed atop

Kharoti Hill under command of C-in-C Ayub Khan himself...

25th Punjabis take right fork on the road towards Pir Paimal Village...

View from the North-East corner of the table/battlefield...

Looking South at Marza Pass from the North end...

2nd Gurkhas lead 24th Punjabis and 23rd Sikh Pioneers over Marza Kotal...

Panoramic view from the East...

The British C-in-C himself, in all his martial glory...

92nd Highlanders anchor the left flank of 1st Brigade as its

 other 3 Inf. battalions advance over the Marza Pass...

23rd Sikh Pioneers bring up the rear of 1st Brigade's Inf. advance.

The going isn so rough that Cavalry & artillery are

PROHIBITED from crossing Marza Pass...

Towards the South end of the table 72nd Highlanders advance behind the

2nd Sikhs through the narrow gap between Piquet & Karez Hills...

3rd Punjab Cavalry follow Central India Horse along the South edge of the battlefield/table...

At the North end of the table, 1st Brigade advances over Marza Kotal...

40-pdr. Armstrong RBL from the Bombay Division with the 2nd Sikhs

and 72nd Highlanders approach Village G-1 (Gundamullah Sahibdad)...

View from on high just South of Baba Wali Pass, showing the

winding road between the West side of the ridge & Kharoti Hill...

3rd Bangal Cavalry advance behind 3rd Sikhs as they

execute probing fire on hills to their front...

1st Brigade advances over Marza Kotal...

Arghandab Valley locals watch as 2 units of Afghan

Regular Cavalry maneuver just East of Marza Village...

View from above of the main Afghan army camp,

just North of the West end of Baba Wali Pass &

 across the road from Baba Wali Village...

On the East side of the table Ahmed Shah Shrine sits

between the canal and the road to the Baba Wali Pass...

Top of Kharoti Hill visible beyond Rocky Ridge in the foreground...

Resident Holy Man watches as 5th Gurkhas

maneuver past the Ahmed Shah Shrine...

92nd Highlanders anchors 1st brigade's

left as it heads into Marza Kotal...

3rd Brigade goes into action at the South end of the field, with

2 Screw Guns deployed on rooftops of Gundigan Village...

View from the South-West corner of the table...

View from the South end...

Rooftops of Pir Paimal Village brim with Afghan Regular Infantry...

To the North, 9th Lancers and a pair of Screw Guns cover the

Abandoned Outpost & secure the left flank of 1st Brigade...

RA Screw Gun Battery deployed for action...

40-pdr limbered up and advancing via elephant power, 2nd Sikhs

behind them, 72nd Highlanders ahead on the far side of the canal...

Native Officer of the 4th Gurkhas -- last remaining member

of the unit -- fights another round of melee against Tribal Foot

ENTRENCHED in drained and loopholed section of canal...

...which results in him FALLING BACK. 

4th Gurkhas lost the fight, retreated down the road, then failed to rally and routed off the table.  

This was definitely the low point of the day for the British, more so since the 3rd Brigade Commander, Gnl. MacGregor, had ATTACHED himself to the Gurkhas prior to their CHARGE and been killed by Tribal rifle fire while going in.

RIP General MacGregor... and the honor & reputation of the Gurkhas.  Perhaps when the action picks back up the two other Gurkhas units present with the Bengal Division (2nd & 5th) will do something to redeem the legendary reputation of these Nepalese soldiers of the Queen Empress.

View from the other (North) end of the battlefield, showing

Gnl. MacPherson's 1st Brigade advancing over Marza Kotal

into the bucolic Arghandab Valley...