TURN 1
Captain Creagh leads his men at full speed towards the cemetery, looking to turn into a strong defensive position from which to withstand the coming fight in which they will be heavily outnumbered...
At the same time the Mohmands are coming full force & without delay, multiple clans using the Native “Human Bridge” method to ford Kabul River without any terrain-related delay. By doing so they lost a handful of men drowned, but not too many...
The two piquets in the fields will be the only targets within range, though they'll be hard to hit in the walled fields which count as Class III "Rough Terrain"...
The two clans still on the North side of the river OPEN FIRE...
CAMPAIGN NOTE: Despite being Mohmands, the unit seen at the Western end of the Mohmand line was under the command of the ambitious (& devious & EVIL!) Waziri called Mulehead, seen here directing their fire across the river. Was it happenstance that the clan under his command was the only one that did not head for the ford in order to get "stuck in" with the hated Ferengi -- or had he somehow made sure his Waziri throat would not be on the chopping block where those British (or Indian) bayonets could reach it...???
In an effort to help address the extreme 6:1 odds (for Brits vs. Pathans, TSATF suggests odds of at most 2:1 for a well-balanced game), I’m using house rules developed by myself & CAPT SHANKS for British WIA:
34% ♤♧ 2-9 stiff upper lip what, what - NO EFFECT
15% ♤♧ A,J,Q,K take a knee lad - FIGURE IS INCAPACITATED 1 TURN
15% ◇ 2-9 take a knee and drink water lad - FIGURE IS INCAPACITATED 2 TURNS
15% ♡ 2-9 take a knee, drink water, and see to that wound lad - FIGURE IS INCAPACITATED 3 TURNS
15% ◇♡ A,J,Q,K was a first class fighting man, possible mention in dispatches - FIGURE IS KIA
Mulehead's Hill Chieftain superior cheers as he orders his men to deliver the opening shots of the Battle of Kam Dakka...
The clans on North side of Kabul River inflict 1 WIA + 1 KA on the Mhairwaras with some very good die rolling...
Bugler Rama moves to rescue the WIA sepoy, whose WOUNDED DIE marks him as down for 2 TURNS...
The one Sepoy piquet still able to fire at Mulehead's men scores a hit but the round just misses Mulehead himself (!!!), taking out the Sword & Shield warrior right next to him instead* (casualty card flipped was not an Ace -- sadly!)...
*There is a saying on the Frontier that some say began with this unfortunate near-miss, to wit: "The only thing that can kill Mulehead, is Mulehead."
Bugler Rama carries his wounded comrade towards the cemetery, hoping to find safety amongst the dead -- NOTE: at the very end of the turn the MINI DIE used to track the remaining turn-count of the casualty's "Wounded" status has been reduced from 2 to 1...
By the end of Turn 4, five of the six Mohmand clans have crossed or are in the process of crossing Kabul River
(all of them using the "Human Bridge" method which allows full movement speed but carries a risk of 1 or 2 figures per group of 6 or less being lost to drowning in the process) though the lead unit has lost its only Leader to British fire... while Capt. Creagh and his entire detachment have reached the relative safety of the cemetery and its solid rock walls...
OVERALL CASUALTIES SO FAR:
19 Mohmand dead or wounded vs. 2 British dead (not counting wounded Brits as they recuperate at end of 1, 2 or 3 turns)
NOTE: THE ABOVE OPENING PORTION OF THIS GAME WAS PLAYED SOLO BY ME ON THE LATE NIGHT OF SATURDAY FATHER'S DAY, JUNE 15TH & EARLY MORNING OF SUNDAY JUNE 16TH
Unnoticed amidst the commencement of hostilities, someone or something -- is it man or beast? -- emerges from the tightly clamped-down walls of Kam Dakka village...
Yes, my children, it is that pillar of truth, justice and the Frontier Way: none other than the future Umra Khan, still known at that time as "Umra." But what was the devout Umra planning to do...?
At this point the Mohmands have taken far more severe casualties than the British -- at a rate of nearly 10:1, BUT...
--The lead unit of Mohmands is getting close to the cemetery walls...
--There are 4 more right behind them all at nearly full-strength (having taken only a handful of casualties drowned while fording the river)...
...And last but not least:
--Despite their Ferengi foes now being hunkered down in the cemetery and qualifying as Class IV Targets who can only be hit with a 1 or 2 on a D20, the one unit of Mohmands hanging back like cowardly dogs (under leadership of the young version of my campaign nemesis, Mulehead) are actually scoring hits on the British, so...
...there is really no way to know what comes next!
TO BE CONTINUED...
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