solo colonial ii

8/3/2019 Solo Colonial II

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opposite & above: Two shots ol Sudan games taged J) RaJ Boyles, u/aryames o-o inatot of the vntorian Military Sociely,"Patizan in Neh'atk.

SOLOCOIONIAI.IIby Mark R. Elwen

INTRODUCTIONThe following scenarios are designed for the solo colonialwargamer lthough hey could be quite easily dapted or twoplayers nd/orother periods. he soloplayercontrols ne sidewhilstcertain hance acton determine hen, where and howmany ofhis opponents ake part. The aim s hat each cenaiocan e played nynumberoftimes, utthateach ime hings ango quitedifferently.

SCENAIIO 1- ZIJLUDAWN TlL DUSK Fig.l)

SettingZululand, 879. small mission tation-cum-farm hich tandson a supply oute or one ofthe Bitish colunns whichhas nowground o a hahafterthe isaster t sandhlwana. he missionissituated ot ar rom a drift and consists fa small ouse. barnand a kraal withalow stonewall. he house as een oopholedand a defensive erimeter fmealie bags as been onstructed.The buildingcan asily e adapted or use s a hospital lthoughso far it has not received ny casualties. small number oftroops ave been eft o defend he station ndercommand falieutenant. owever, a force of Zulus, who have manaaed oavoid he cavalr]scouts rom he marn olumn. onsiderihis obe a suitable aqet on whih o strike; ot heavily elended ndfar enough away rom the main column for reinforcements nottobe aconcem. n one espect hough he young ieutenanr asbeen ortunate: he Zulus were spotted by two Boer scouts,who, seeing he way he Zulus were heading ave been able ogivea waming. The British now await he affival of the Zuluswhose numbers ave been estimated t around one to twohundred.

The Zulu commander as seen he carnage hat massed irepower can do to his warriors; he s therefore or prepared osacrifice ll in one mad ush ai the defenders. ime s not theenemy nd he s prepared o eep he Britishguessingwhen ndat whicb points is warriorswillstrike.

The GamTo determine he number fdefenders hake hree 6-sided ice(D6) and add 25 to the resuk. Add one nore to this or thefigwe epresenting ourself the officer. TheBoer scouts aveheaded ack orthe main column).It s up oyou odecidewhatsize defensive erimeter s most suitable or your needs ndnumber of men. Whatever ize perimeter ou decide upon,therewillbe sufficientmealie ags or it to be waisthigh ll he

Roll 1D6 o see at what ime o{ day he Zulus anive (1 =10am,2: 11am,3: 2noon ndsoon pto3pm) henroll D6and multiply by ten to determine ow many Zulus arrive.would uggest rming pproximately ne hird of the Zuluswithfirearms, hough he rules should ake nto account heir pooraccuracy. any Zuluspreferred o fire holding he ifle at arm'slengthbecause hey disliked he recoil. For ease, s he Zulustake casualties s they advance, always assume hat theproportion of Zulus carying rifles emains he same. t alsoprevents he British usi attempting o pick off these nen astargets, hich wouldbe unrealistic.

Use D20 (numbered to 20) o see at which point he Zulusenter he board. The drift does not affet movement, ut afigurecrossingat nyother point moves t halfrate.) On moveone and every subsequent ove pick one card from a wellshuffled ack ofards. f a Jokeris pickednore Zulus appear,so reDeat he Droedure arried out for the first arrivals.


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Therefore. f a Joker s picked n mo\e one. nlo groups lZulus willarri!'e.Each card as t is picked s pul face up on aseparalc ilc; when both Jokers have been urned eplace llcardsin hc pack. hufileand start again.

The occasion ay arisewhere bere are no onger any Zuluson the boardi he ones hal wcrc herc having becn killcd orretreated ff. and Do ncw arivals having ome on. If this doeshappenthenthisisa ' lul l a t imewhen heZulus ave ecidedto lakc a breather, end heir wounded r ust ake stock f thesilualion.Each move n the ull s assumed o last one hour. Onthe uslmove ofthe ullthe British mayattempt 0 are or their\rounded. or each asualtlr hake D6: a 1 or 2 and hey mayreturn o he wallr or4 they are seriouslf' ounded ndmust ecared or in the makeshift ospilal:5 r 6 and he igure sdead.lf rhere are any seriously ounded hen one it man must bedesignated samedicalorderl)o eDd hem.If ny urlher ullsoccur epeat his procedure n the firsl inove of the ull. Anyaheady eriously ounded men are not shaken or again. .e.theycannot ecoverduring be ourse f ihe batile.

After checking or casualties his s he end ofthe first hour.Picka card or Zulu arrivals; f none arrive hen his s a secondhour ofno fighting.Repeal his a hird. ourth and ifth time.lf.however. n the fifth attenpt no Zulus appear hen hef' areassumed o have slipped way and willnot be returning. his

meansthe ullcan asi no onger han our hours. Keep a nore fhow long the pause has asted o work out the time of day.Ignore any irne actually pent ighting, as n a skirmish amethisusually ranslates nlo no more han a few ninutes- So flbebatde began t llam and he irst ulllasted hree ours t is now2pm.

Darkncs! $ill fall at 6pm, and in South Africa falls quitrapidl\. i lou hale rules or night ighting ll well and good, fnot shake D6. this gives he maximum isibility n inches fplaling in 20mm or 15mm. n centimelres f in 6mm. Allmovement s athalfrate. No one nay i;e beyond he maxinumvisibilityand all shooling s penaUsed y -1 at short ange and-2 if anv urther. Dawnbreaks t 5am.

The battle ontinues ntil he post s overrun rrhe Zulus ailto etum fter ull .Comments

Manyskirmish ames hen completed nd he moves ounledup translate nto ust a couple of minures crionon the table.This scenario ttempts o try and aller this so that al rbeconclusion ou may "feel 'as if your i t i le men have beenboldingout.withor wirhout uccess,or severalhours. hiswillnot happen verylime. ndeed t maywellbe all over n ess hana minute. t depcnds nyou and a ittle (alright, or) ofluck. fthe Zulus keep on coming and never stop you will surely bedefeated. evenheless t can be very entertaining aiting andhoping hat hcre willbe a ull n the ighting and hat with a bitof luck he Zulus will not be returning. he main priority s oconcenlrate irepower o ry and siop he Zulus eaching hewalland here swhere ecisions ave o bemade:canyousparemen rom one rall o help defend nother?

SCENARIO -GUERRILLARAID Fig.2)SettingSouth Africa 1901. The Boer War has entered ts guerrilla war


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stage as oposed o the large battles of earlier. A smallcomnando of "Bitter Enders" are short of ammunition ndfood; their only hope s to attempt o steal supplies rom aBritishdepot beside nearby ailway rack. A quick ecce asshown he depot o be only lightly defended, ut armouredtrains frequently travel up and down the track. The Boercommander annot isk delaying is attack until nightfall orfearofbeingdiscovered ymounted nfantrypatroh,sohemustactimmediately.

Th GameYou commandthe oercommandowhich umbers 0men plusth score f 3D6. All men are mounted. Your small orce willenter he board at section ixteen. our aim s to overun theBritishdepot and steal at least wo of the four wagons herewithout osing nore han 50y" of your men. The wagons willeach ake our nen ivemovesto itch uD he horsevmules ndwill require man each o drivethem. The Boerswillleave hetableby he shortest ossible outes.

The numberofBritish uarding he wagons umbersten menplus D6. The camp onsistsofjustone uildinganda efensiveperirneter al lofsandbags round he camp ndwagons. hereis also stone raalwhere he wagon orses re ethered. llowonly one hird ofthe British o be ready or action on the irstmove, his ncludes wo figures who may be on picket duty onone of the ourhills. To determine hich hillshake D6, fthescore s 5 or6 there are no pickets.

Each move pick a card ftom a full set which ncludes he

KingofHearts- An armoured raincomes n he board.King of Diamonds A mounted nfantry patrcl arrives.For he amoured rain oll aD6: I or 2 t enters t Doint A: 3

or 4 point B; 5 or 6 point C. For the number of troops t iscarrying oll 1D6 and add en. n addition o this on ihe fronttruckbeing ushed y he rain willbe a Maxin machinegun rlight artillery piece. The numbers or the mounred nfantry

patrol will number the score of 2D6 only. Roll 1D20 todetermine where hey arrive on the board. Once both thesecards ave beenrevealed omore cards re Dicked. ,

If the number f Britishdefending he wagons alls o five orless and they are outnumbered :1 and no lrain or mountedinfantry ave arrived oll lD6each nove hey are ired upon. Ascore fone means heywillsufrender. he Boersmay advanceonthe camp, isarm he men and secure hem n the building.CommntsThis s probably he most difficultofthe three scenarios. erthe decision has to be made whether o attack rhe campstraightaway nd possibly uffer heavy casualties, ake uppositions n the surrounding ilh and ry to reduce he number

ofdefenders efore advancing, r a combination f both. Thelonger ou ake he greater he chances { havingto ake on hetrain or mounted nfantry without having even reached he

This s a scenario where ules or spotting argets n coverwould be of use. This would be of benefit o the Boers andpossiblymounted nfantry)so that they could open ire fromcover. Their opponents ould have o discover heir positionbefore eingable o return ire aswould e he casein eallife.

SCENARIO - KRAAL RAID(Fis.3)Setting

Like scenario ne, this s set n Zululand n 1879durine hepenod belween he irsr and econd nvdrions he BirLrshforces re haked nd he volunteer nits, specially, remakinguse of the time to burn as many Zulu kraah as possible. nesuch party has set out to do just ihis. They arc men of theDurban Mounted Rifles osether with a few volunteer Boers

Figl. "ZuluDawn'til Dusk . Obviou:ly he number f sectionstheperimeter of the able b dbided into can be ailorcd to suit hesize of yow table. Othet scenerl, tees, rocks bushes can be

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FiE2."Gueni d Raid"

F s3. "KrualRsid"

making heirtotal number25 men. Theiraim s o burn a smallkraal which the latesl scouting eports have shown o bevirtuallydeserted, he men being away wilh their impi, thewomen and children eeking efuge at a larger settlement. t

shouldbe a case f in and out - or so hey believe. However,unbeknown o the Durbanstheir dvance as been noted and arunnersentto close yimpi whichhas otbeen tected ythescouts. he mpi has sent a small party o try and ntercept heraiders. he unner has also ome across everal ulu foraqinqDafiieswho lso make heirwav o the kraal.

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The GaInYou commandthe orceofmounted ifles whoenterthe able atsection ine. The iver mayonlybe crossed t hed ft. Toclaimavictory you mustdestroy t eastseven fthe eighthuts nthekraal and eave he ableonlhe same ;de y which ou enteredwithat east alfyour original umber f men.

As n the previous cenarios achmove um over a card romacomplete ack. fan Ace s drawna pa(y of Zulus adve. Rolla D20 o establish t which pointtheyenter, hen oll1D12 and1D6 and add he wo scores. he D6 gives he numberwho willbe carrying irearms. f a Joker s drawn his means arger odyof Zulus has arrived. n .his case oll 1D6,multiply he esult yten and add fifty, therefore he maximum possible umbera[iving is 110. As in scenario ne, for simplicity ssume nethirdoftheir number ave irearms.

The kraalwill have ust one gateway, hich n this game willbe a simple pening. When he ilst rider eaches he entranceturnoveran extra ard, fthe result s anypicture ard r a. Acethis means here are Zulus ying n wait n the kraal. For theirnumber se he same method or ifan ace s drawnon a normalgamemove.As n the previous cenario his s anotheroccasionwhere a rule or concealmeni/spotting s useful. f you do not

have uch a rule hen he ollowing s a suggestion or a sinpleway ofdoing this. Obviously eing a solo game ou will knowwhere any hidden Zulus are. n the kraal here are eighrhutsand one animalenclosure, ivinga totalofnine suitable lacesfor the Zulus o be concealed. ivide he Zulus, fany, amongstthese and give each hiding place a number, to 9. For eachtrcoDerwho nters he kraalroll a D20: he score n he diewillcorrespond o rvhich idingplace e ooks t and spotsaZulu.Ifthescore r 0 to20 espoLsnolhing. n Lhe ollowingmoven)trooper who has potted hiding place s assumed o be able opoint hisout to any one ofhis comrades lose y who has notobserved his arget.

If the extra card ums out to be a oker when he irst dderreaches he kraal, hen use he D6 x 10 + 50 ornula Gorfyabout he algebra!) xcept histime his arge artyofZuluswillbe waiting, n arnbush. nside he kraal. In this instancewouldn'tworryabout rying o hide hem. {rhisdoes happen,you're n trcuble.

Once nside he kraal, assuming ou don't come acrosshundredveryangry ulusand decide his s ime o beat a hastyretreat, our purpose s o set ire to at least even fthe hurs.To do this akes ne man, one move and a score f6 on a D6.Then all you have o do s get awayby eaving he able at anypoint along he edge where you came on. But remember oucanonly cross he lver at the ord.ConmenasThis scenario gain elies more on luck han skill, but t can bequitealot offun. Basically ou have o get o the kraaland ackoff the table as ast as possible. t is a race against ime andagainst ny Zulus who happen o be chasing ou. There aresome ecisions o make hough; willyou retum o pickup thattrooper who has ost his horse rwill you ave im o his ate?Will you getgoingwhen ou have nlyfired sixhutsor willyouwait, ryingdesperatelyto hrowa 6?

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5O,OOO+ECONDHANDWARGAMES FIGTIRf,SAlways n stock. AII scales.Most manufacturers.

SAE stating ntercsts ot lists o:A.J. Dumlow,

53 Stanton Road, Stapnhill,Burton-on-Trnt, taffsDEl5 9RP.

Telephone: 02E3) 30556.

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I hope, f you are a colonialwargamer, ou decide o give hesescenarios try. I have played hem several imes and eachoccasion asbeen ifferent, ut always ntertaining.

As for rules, wella set appeared n the January 4 editionofWI fot use with 6mm igures I forget he author's ame, butthey were olly good!). These scenarios hould be perfectlysuitable or any set ofrules, he only alterations hichmay benecessaryare fyou have small laying rea hen youmayneedto reduce he nurnber f figures nvolved lightly. There s also

nothing o stop you adapting he scenarios o fit other colonialtheatres. Scenario ne could be a French Foreign Lgionoutpost n Algeriaor Mexico orexample.

Finally, f you are unlucky and ail to survive hen do notdespair: ou're a wargamer, ou always ive to fight anotherday!

BIBLIOGRAPHYThere are hundreds f excellent books on all the colonialtheatres. or anyone anting n depth nformation n he ZuluandBoerWars, r on colonial xpansion n Africa as awhole,lwould suggest he following books which are extremely wellresearched, ut at the sameiime minently eadable:TheWashing fke Speats Donald R. Morris.TheBoerwar Thomas akenham.]:heScronble ot Africa Thomas akenham.In addition here h aho he new OspreyCampaign erieswhichlooks at a particular battle or ampaign. Colonial ones

published o far include, flre Zulu War, Omdurman ^ndFor a ontemporary nd nformative, ut also ight-hearred,

look al tactics nd he use ofcover and errain n rhe Boer WarDulferyDrift by E.D Swinron s a classic till,apparently, sedfor rnilitary tudies oday.

solo colonial ii

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