Battle of Kalu Khan, AKA: The Black Sheep Incident

This post will focus on the first of 3 games played at the "Bachelor Wars" mini-con.

This one was played at my place on the morning and afternoon of June 7th, 2024, one day, it must be noted, after the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings.

I was the GM, Nick Stern commanded the Yusufzai defenders of Kalu Khan village, and Daryl Haselton led the Waziri raiding party, dispatched at the behest of notorious Mulehead Khan, whose own center of power was located approximately 360 miles to the South-West.

The game was generated by the "Never Trust Anyone on the Frontier!" North-West Frontier campaign over on The Lead Adventure Forum, which I've been playing in for the past 3 years (!!!).

(If you're interested in said campaign, here's a LINK to its most recent page: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131610.870 ... and a LINK to its starting-point a little more than 3 years ago, on June 4th, 2021 -- https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131610.0 -- 59 post filled pages & 107,000 views earlier!)

 CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND

The "Big Picture" of  the campaign includes both the to-be-expected struggle between the local Tribal forces and British Imperial forces maintaining control of the Frontier and a parallel struggle amongst those same Tribal forces -- with an occasional appearance from Afghan government forces.

Over the course of the campaign the various Tribes -- of their own accord, not in any pre-programmed way -- have split into 2 rival factions.  The first is led by Mulehead Khan, Chief of the Waziris an Italian gamer named Giorgio).  Mulehead and his followers are believers in the "New Faith" on the Frontier AKA: TMWWBK ("The Men Who Would Be King" rules by Daniel Mersey, first published by Osprey in 2016).  Mulehead has followers and acolytes, foremost among whom are Hashim Ali Khan of the Black Hills (this is how I met my good friend Shawn, who's in Texas), and Mir Mahommed Shan -- AKA: Bad Ass Shah -- of Badakhshan (my buddy Bob who I met on TMP).

Opposing them are a triumvirate of equals: Umra Khan, Chief of the Afridis (an Italian gamer named Piero), Ali Rajah Khan, Chief of the Chitralis (my brother-from-another-mother Jeff Baumal AKA Sgt. Guinness), and Malik Mansur Khan, Chief of the Yusufzais (me).  All of us pledge never-ending faith, trust, loyalty and utmost belief in that most Holy of Holies, TSATF (The Sword And The Flame rules by Larry Brom, first published in 1979).

The two rival factions both see the British as foreign interlopers to be generally ignored and -- when occasion merits & the odds are in their own favor -- fought, but... truth is they generally have more bad things to say about each other and almost as many armed conflicts amongst themselves as with the Feringhee AKA: British.

Here's the scenario...

THE BLACK SHEEP INCIDENT

On or about the 13th of December, 1891, for some reason lost to the dustbin of history, the Great & Evil Mulehead himself was traveling near the edge of my environs, passing through Kalu Khan village, on the bank of the Kabul River...

6' x 8' table layout...

The village of Kalu Khan astride the Kabul River...

The Rocky Hilltop "Tower of Rabble" that anchors the village defenses...

Kalu Khan's watermill and its wood & rope foot bridge*

which allows daily life to proceed with relative ease during

rainy season, when the river is too deep to safely ford...

(*NOTE: The previous post on this blog shows how I

made the modest footbridge needed for this scenario)

Some snapshots of daily life in Kalu Khan...

While taking a roundabout route back to Waziristan, after whatever shadowy malfeasance he'd been busy plotting or committing or both, Mulehead Khan and his escort happened to cross paths with "Black Sheep" Ali, and his herd of -- you guessed it -- sheep.  Black Sheep Ali was himself a near-legendary figure in and around Kalu Khan, for the good nature, high health, and handsome appearance of his flock.  This fateful day when their paths crossed was no different, for amongst Ali's flock, Mulehead Khan laid eyes upon the most comely and benevolent sheep he'd ever seen...

The near-legendary Black Sheep Ali:

The notorious Mulehead Khan:

As one of the most powerful men for hundreds, perhaps a thousand, miles around, Mulehead felt it his prerogative to demand Ali immediately transfer ownership of the sheep in question to him.  But though they were close to the border of Mulehead's Waziri realm they were not within it, and here in Swat, where Malik Mansur Khan reigned supreme and belief in TSATF trumped TMWWBK in every hovel and atop every hill, Black Sheep Ali felt no need to comply.  In fact, they crossed paths right at the foot of the rocky hill atop which sits the formidable fortress tower (at least in local terms) of the headman of Kalu Khan village, Malik Rasa Dir.  As the locals are salt-of-the-earth types, modest and unassuming in their aspect, despite its martial strength, the place is known as "The Tower of Rabble."

Black Sheep Ali was not a complete fool and was acquainted with the fearsome reputation of Mulehead Khan, so he refused in the most diplomatic fashion possible and even offered Mulehead Khan the choice of any of his other fine (but slightly less fine) sheep.  Mulehead Khan however did not take the local shepherd up on this offer.

Some days later, soon after Mulehead and his small entourage had returned home to Miranshah in the foothills of the fastness of the Hindu Kush, "Black Sheep," Ali found himself being forced by some strangers with very long and sharp choras (Khyber knives) to take a long walk off a short cliff, from which he fell to a most definitive demise, after which these shadowy figures slipped away back from whence they came...

In the aftermath of this turn of events, local Malik Rasa Dir hoped against hope that the death of "Black Sheep" Ali would sate the notorious Mulehead's thirst for vengeance... but as he himself was even less of a fool than Black Sheep Ali had been, he prepared for the worst by doubling the watch in his tower and alerting his local warriors to be on guard at any and all times for stealthy infiltrators or outright attackers from the land of the Waziris.  Then he hoped for the best.  And waited.......

The perturbed Malik Rasa Dir:

As it came to pass, he waited nearly 2 full months -- so long that when the bite of the Muleheaded scorpion finally came, Rasa Dir had nearly bought into the idea that nothing more would come of the "The Black Sheep Incident."  But it did.

Mulehead dispatched his notorious nephew, GILZAY AHMED KHAN -- better known as MULE LIVER, courtesy of his irascibility, resentment, and all-around bad temper -- leading a full Tribe of 3 x 20 figure Clans, each with 10 Riflemen & 10 Sword-&-Shield men.  These could all enter the table anywhere along its Eastern edge from the Southern table edge up to the South bank of the Kabul River, where it ran East-to-West...

At first Mule Liver planned to attack under cover of darkness...

But that plan changed when he and his men lost their way in the near pitch blackness of the moonless night...

So Mule Liver and his bold but night-operations-challenged Waziri raiders struck just before dawn.  Their mission: Do as much damage as possible to the village of Kalu Khan, which had the effrontery to withhold from his Legendary Uncle, Mulehead Khan, the Sheep that caught his eye and his fancy.  Key Objectives, destruction of each of which would earn him VICTORY POINTS, included: (a) Farm & Crop Fields (b) South Poppy Fields (c) Kalu Khan Village & its Watermill (d) Orchard (e) the Tower of Rabble, residence of Malik Rasa Dir (f) the all-important SHEEP PENS, and finally (g) North Poppy Fields.

Two more potential objectives/targets for destruction were (g) the rather grandiosely named Shuhada-e Saliheen ("Virtuous Martyrs") Cemetery, located near the South-West corner of the table...

...and Kalu Khan Salee ("Monument") -- a vintage stone marker commemorating the important victory won by General Kalu Khan Yusufzai over the Mughals in the late 16th Century, at the nearby Malandrai Pass...

...but if Mule Liver went for the additional Victory Points he'd earn by destroying the cemetery and/or monument, he would earn the undying wrath of not just the residents of modest size Kalu Khan village, but the entire Yusufzai Tribe, who hold sway over a wide region from Peshawar to Kabul, and wield lesser but still significant influence as far away as Kandahar.

It takes a unit of Tribal Warriors ONE FULL TURN in contact with an objective to DESTROY it.

In the case of the crop-fields, this results in setting THE ONE FIELD the unit is located in ON FIRE; then in each subsequent turn a D6 roll by the GM determines if the fire spreads to an adjacent field.

THE BATTLE OF KALU KHAN

MALIK RASA DIR correctly expected the attack to come from the East.  He remained ensconced in the Tower of Rabble, in order to inspire all his followers, no matter where they might be located on the far-flung battlefield (which covered a very small area indeed) and placed his 3 units with a total of 60 Tribal Warriors accordingly:

1 unit of Tribesmen (10 rifles + 10 sword & shield) hidden atop the large hill at the South end of the table, facing East;

1 unit of Tribesmen (10 rifles + 10 sword & shield) hidden atop the medium hill near the North end of the table, facing South;

1 unit of Tribesmen (10 rifles + 10 sword & shield) SPLIT IN HALF with 50% hidden in Kalu Khan village astride the river & 50% hidden in the nearby orchard.

1 unit of Mounted Tribesmen (6 rifles + 6 sword & shield) IN RESERVE -- Malik Rasa Dir had access to a unit of 12 Tribal cavalry, located in the town of Adina, off-table down the road to the NorthWest.

Starting on TURN #4 he could attempt to summon them at start of the movement phase by rolling a 6 on one D6.  If he failed, on the subsequent turn he would earn a +1 to his roll, making it a 5 or 6, and so on, until in the worse case scenario of terrible die-rolling luck, success of his reinforcement roll would be guaranteed on Turn 9.  But that would never happen... would it?

I used TSATF 20th Anniversary rules, with one RED & one BLACK JOKER in the deck, signifying BONUS movement or fire for that side.  Since both sides were Pathans and there were no British in sight, I assigned the defenders RED and the attackers BLACK.

VIEWS OF THE BATTLEFIELD BEFORE ALL HELL BROKE OUT...

View from the South:

View from the West:

View from the East:

Mule Liver plotted his attack, which would kick under cover of the last shreds of darkness, and be revealed by either the breaking dawn or his men making contact with or being spotted despite the darkness by the defending forces.  He marked points of entry for his own 3 x 20-figure Tribal Warrior units (each of 10 rifles + 10 sword & shield), plus himself as the Big Kahuna, on the map below:

History reveals that Mule Liver added a self-portrait to the map's margins.  Apparently in addition to being a noted leader of raids, he was not the worst sketch artist on the Frontier as well -- though perhaps not the best either:

TURN #1 was PRE-DAWN and superior Attacker vs. Defender die roll determined the Attackers maintained silent stealth and no guards detailed for sentry duty noticed their arrival in the dark...  

Mule Liver's 3 bands of raiders advanced as fast as they could towards (A) the South Poppy Field, (B) the crop fields, and (C) the East-West Tree-Line just South of the Farm, remaining silent and moving as stealthily as possible through the last of the darkness...

Luckily for the defenders my GM D6 "SUNRISE" roll was a "1" -- meaning there would be only that one turn of pre-dawn darkness before the sun rose and lit up the entire battlefield for all to see, enabling Malik Rasa Dir to move any/all of his forces however he saw fit.

Mule Liver's first band of raiders showed themselves, bursting from the East-West tree-line and heading for the bridge...

In response, during the FIRE PHASE, a unit of Defenders (actually HALF of said unit) reveal themselves in the Orchard by OPENING FIRE on them...

No hits were scored and the Raiders fired back and did better -- scoring a number of hits, including the LEADER of the unit in the Orchard...

Meanwhile, a little to the South, Mule Liver's second band had moved into the crop-fields under cover of the Turn #1 darkness, stayed there immobile for Turn #2, and on a black fire card, tried to set it on fire -- AND SUCCEEDED...

Even further to the South, the 3rd band of Raiders entered the Poppy Fields in the crook of the rocky hill...

Turns out Malik Rasa Dir had hidden on his defense units atop the very same rocky hill and they popped up to open freon the Raiders below, before they could even consider spending a full turn in place, undisturbed, in order to harvest the field of Dream Flowers for themselves...

View from the defenders' position on the rocky hilltop above...

Whoops -- looks like another Leader, this time on the attacking side, has fallen as a casualty, in his case KIA...

In smaller TSATF games (and sometimes larger ones too) I keep the black and red jokers in the deck and use them as "BONUS MOVE" or "BONUS FIRE" cards, depending on the phase in which they're drawn...

As the raiders moved West across the bridge, the remaining half of the second unit of Defenders revealed themselves on the rooftops of Kalu Khan village and open fire on them...

Meanwhile the Raiders who had set the crop-field on fire advance, following the band of their comrades who used the East-West tree-line to reach the bridge...

In this wide overhead view we see 3 bands of Waziri Raiders and 2 bands of Yusufzai Defenders -- with one split with half on the Village rooftops and half in the Orchard...

The firefight continues...

The third (and final). unit of on-table Defenders reveal themselves atop the North Rocky Hill & exchange fire with the Raiders paused on the East side of the foot-bridge, which has become something of a bottleneck...

NOTE: From TURN #4 on, at the start of each turn Nick would roll his one D6 for  

OFF-TABLE REINFORCEMENTS -- with a +1 modifier per turn to make success more and more likely... and fail.  Turn after turn, mostly with rolls of 1 or 2...

The follow-on unit of Raiders finally starts crossing the bridge...

BLACK JOKER = bonus move for the Raiders, who use it to reach the Orchard wall and -- come Fire Phase -- blaze away at the defenders, who blaze right back...

Atop the big rocky hill to the South, the Raiders climb up and CHARGE their opponents...

...but they fail to close, so are forced to withdraw 6", go PRONE and become PINNED (!!!)

Meanwhile back at the crop-fields, the fates are with Mule Liver as my GM die rolls enable the fire to SPREAD to adjacent fields...

The thin ranks of Defenders in the Orchard decide discretion if the better part of valor and high-tail it out of there, heading West, away from the Attackers (NOTE: this was not an enforced fall-back or route, but a command decision on Nick's part).  The Raiders do their thing, the lead unit crossing the wall, the follow-up unit skirting the Orchard to chase after the retreating Defenders -- which also brings them closer to the ultimate objective of their entire operation: THE SHEEP PENS...

Leaders are dropping left and right...

Back atop the South hill, the Defenders respond to the Raiders failed charge with a charge of their own!

... Which fails as miserably as the Raiders version did.  Both units now face each other from opposite ends of the contour, prone and pinned (not the finest hour for Pathan tribal warrior pride)...

All but the very last crop-field is now turning to heaps of burned husks and ash...

Both units atop the South hill manage to rally and the determined Raiders launch their second CHARGE... 

...and for the second time FAIL to CLOSE INTO COMBAT (!!!)

BEFORE THE GAME ENDED THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES!!!!  Between them the two opposing units charged each other 3 times and -- due to consistently awful die-rolling on the part of both players -- NEVER MANAGED TO COME TO GRIPS.

Meanwhile to the North, the Raiders overtake the Orchard...

The Raiders emerge from the narrow gap between the Orchard and edge of the Tower Hill and head for the ultimate treasure: THE SHEEP PENS...

...but the remnants of the Band of Defenders who withdrew from the Orchard have turned to make a stand and defend the legacy of the dear departed Black Sheep Ali...

This does not go so well for them, as their Leader (holding the red standard) is killed by fire...

The last band of Defenders have made it to the Eastern bank of the Kabul River, where they can open fire on the Raiders who have ensconced themselves in the Orchard -- making it impossible for said Raiders to torch or harvest the fruit thereof...

The sole remaining Tribal Warrior left standing between the Raiders and the Sheep comes to an accommodation, bids farewell to the Sheep and counts his blessing as the Raiders neither fire at nor charge him, but focus their energies on making their departure down the road at maximum speed...

BONUS MOVE card for the Defenders -- which they apply to their OFF-TABLE TRIBAL CAVALRY RESERVE which on TURN #8 has FINALLY managed to arrive (!!!!!)...

Cavalry ride to the rescue of the Sheep in the midst of being rustled -- but can they cut the rustlers off at the fork in the road...?

GAMEMASTER'S NOTE: The following events were in no way planned, "curated," or even slightly stage-managed by me.  They simply occurred...

The Raiders held their brief and successful parlay with the sole remaining Defender, broke into the two pens, released the Sheep and started herding them along down the road to the North, planning to break right and head East at the fork...

But before they could reach the fork, the 12 figure Yusufzai Tribal Cavalry reinforcement unit from the town of Adina INTERCEPTED THEM...

HOWEVER, the Cavalry found themselves blocked by the HERD OF SHEEP, which the Raiders/Rustlers were driving before them on the road...

I as the GM decreed that under the circumstances -- surrounded by warring factions of men -- the Sheep would BOLT.  The only question was, in what exact direction.  And so, a D8 was rolled, with one point serving as the compass heading arrow...

And so it was determined the Herd of Sheep bolted towards the approaching Cavalry... resulting in a CLOSE COMBAT (AKA: melee) of man & horse vs. sheep (!!!!)...

As GM I rolled to see if the Sheep would CLOSE INTO COMBAT with the Cavalry -- and they did.  They they suffered casualties but also inflicted several, before continuing on down the road, unencumbered by herders from either the raiding Waziris or the Defending Yusufzai...

For their part the Yusufzai Cavalry emerged with only one or two casualties from the fight with the Sheep and were determined to make Mule Liver and his evil Raiders pay for the chaos they had visited on the village of Kalu Khan, so on what would turn out to be the last turn of the game -- TURN #8 -- they CHARGED...

...into the rifle fire of the Raiders astride the road...

...and failed their CLOSE INTO COMBAT morale check, turning and galloping back the way they came...

One of the few untouched objectives in the game was the poppy field at the North edge of the table.  As GM it was my determination that the Waziri Raiding party -- whose path home ran right past that field -- would set it on fire (not wanting to pause to harvest the Dream Flowers) while making their escape...

Much damage was done to the valley of Kalu Khan but the essence of life there remained intact...

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE BATTLE:

The Waziri Raiders emerged victorious.  But in the village of Kalu Khan the battle is spoken of as a triumph for Yusufzai arms, and perhaps not inaccurately so, as the Defenders retained control of their village and forced the invaders out!

BELOW, Gilzay Ahmed Khan AKA: Mule Liver, ponders the mischief he did and the glory that he won...

...True, he had not succeeded in absconding with the Prime Sheep his notorious uncle Mule Head sent him to retrieve, but still, he had freed the sheep from the grip of their Yusufzai owners, inflicted many casualties on the foe, burned all their crop-fields, burned one of their two poppy fields, and arguably led a humiliating invasion of their lands, right beneath the supposed "Mountain Fastness" of the supposedly impregnable Tower of Rabble -- plus he hadn't done any damage to the cemetery or the Kalu Khan Monument, thereby avoiding sparking full-blown war between his Uncle and the entire Yusufzai Tribal Network.  All in all, not a bad day's work.  Of course, Mule Liver realized his Uncle might see it differently, and so, he decided it would be best to send a messenger to deliver his report on this glorious action.  A messenger whose ongoing presence he didn't find particularly vital.

BELOW, Perhaps the most iconic moment of the Battle of Kalu Khan: whence it went from a battle of two -- albeit modest -- armies, to a battle of THREE: Yusufzais... Waziris... & Sheep:

In the aftermath of the conflagration, Mule Liver (Daryl Haselton) wraps a brotherly arm around his defeated but still standing foe, Mailk Rasa Dir (Nick Stern).  28mm blood has been spilled but friendship remains...

UP NEXT HERE ON MAIWAND DAY: GAME 2 OF BACHELOR WARS...

Will Admiral Seymour's race to Peking be derailed...???