Introduction
Today I unexpectedly found time for a game so went with a Portable Wargame based on Scenario 17 of Scenarios for All Ages by Grant & Asquith.
Setting
The Albionian colony of Uqbal has been increasingly suffering attacks by indigenous hill tribes. Suspecting involvement by a foreign power, a spy is put ashore from His Majesty's Gun Boat, Kobayashi Maru, and sent deep into the hill territories to find proof. The Spy has sent a communication by carrier pigeon that he has succeeded in his task but is trapped. Captain Pine is determined to get the evidence back to the War Ministry and leads a force in land. They reach the Spy's last location, a ruined compound, but find that he has been killed and that the relief force is itself now surrounded by a larger enemy force. "It's a trap", says the Captain, mixing his Sci-Fi metaphors. As dawn beaks the enemy are poised to attack...
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| The gunboat Kobayashi Maru (image from the internet) |
Rules
Normal Portable Wargame rules apply, except I have excluded Exhaustion Point as both sides will fight to the end. At least one of the defenders must survive until turn 15 when he or they can escape under cover of darkness. The attackers must destroy all of the relief force to win. The Albionian force consists of a company of Hibernians who, being tough elite veterans, have an SP of 5 and a company of sailors from the gunboat, who have an SP of 4. The Tribesmen are a mix of musket armed men and sword wielding men. They are led by a Swarzlandian Colonel accompanied by a unit of hussars.
Game
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| The hill tribes start their attack on the compound |
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| The Defenders |
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| Battle commences at the walls |
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| The exposed tribesmen take hits |
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| The compound holds |
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| The Hibernians are caught in a relentless crossfire |
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| The enemy closes in on the defenders |
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| The Swarzlandian Colonel watches as his men breach the walls |
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| The Hibernians just before their last glorious bayonet charge |
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| The Navy's last stand |
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| Captain Pine's end |
Swarzlandia's involvement in Uqbal remains a secret, but for how long?
