Saturday, 4 April 2026

The North Durhams at the Wadi of Shadows

THE NORTH DURHAM'S FIELD COLUMN
A Sudan Campaign


VOLUME I – SUDAN 1884–85

“Sketch Map – For Field Use Only”

The campaign follows the map from north to south along the Nile, touching each inset in turn.

SCENARIO I

“The Wadi of Shadows”

(Opening March Contact)

Situation

The column advances inland, leaving the Nile behind. Progress is slow through a dry wadi — steep banks, broken ground, and too many blind corners.

They are being watched.

Then the firing starts.

Table

  • A winding wadi running diagonally across table (counts as broken ground)
  • Steep banks (block LOS unless within 3” of edge)
  • Rocky ridges overlooking sections
  • Sparse scrub

A Rokcky Amubush, far worse than jusf a rocky one!

Objectives

British

  • Exit at least 60% of force off far table edge
  • Keep formation intact (no more than 2 broken units)

Mahdists

  • Inflict casualties (break 2 units OR kill officer)
  • Withdraw at least half force

Special Rules

Hidden Enemy
Mahdists deploy hidden along wadi edges and ridges.

Confined Column
British begin in march column:

  • No firing Turn 1
  • Must spend 1 turn to deploy into line

Ambush Fire
First Mahdist volley gains:

  • +1 to hit OR reroll misses

Campaign Effect

  • If British badly mauled → start Scenario II with Disorder
  • If Mahdists fail to inflict damage → British gain +1 Confidence

The North Durhams column, lead by Egyptian Fellahin

I need to do a basing session with some major texturing to go in these.

These are my Perry version of the Durhams

Game in.  The Mahdists come in off table.

I used three groups of 12 melee warriors and 3 x 8 rifle/musket warriors. 

And the Durhams volley but the Mahdists close in 



View from above.

Some of the Durhams fire knocks the enemy back.

The charge falters.


But in they come and the Durhams lose half a platoon.

Meanwhile my Egyptian's knees are knocking


The Egyptians rout.

And they are destroyed.

But the Durhams volley repeatedly.

We are down to two groups, or one and a half more accurately.

The Mahdists riflemen have a try.

But the Durhams kill some of them first.

I check the casualty pile for the Mahdists.  It's well over 50%
They fail the strike test.
The Mahdists melt away into the desert.

Losses
Seven Durhams
All of my Egyptian auxiliaries.

Nearly 75% of the Dervish.

British gain +1 Confidence

The Colonel of the Durhams now plans to mount his lads on Camels as the North Durham Camel Corps!



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Thursday, 26 February 2026

The Sudan Posting, 1884–1885

📖 A Regimental History of The North Durham Rifles, 1884 to 1914.

VOLUME I

The Sudan Posting, 1884–1885

1st Battalion, Queen’s North Durham Rifles (89th Foot)

Opponents throughout: Mahdist tribal forces
(use Afghans as add-ons to my Perry Mahdists)

British force on table:

  • Usually 3 Rifle  Companies
  • Battalion Command (CO + subalterns)
  • Optional Maxim (scarce ammunition)
My campaign map shows the River War. The river is a spine, rocky hills, dunes, Fort Karad, brackish water, the besieged town.

The campaign should feel like it literally unfolds along the map.


VOLUME I – SUDAN 1884–85

“Sketch Map – For Field Use Only”

The campaign follows the map from north to south along the Nile, touching each inset in turn.

THE NORTH DURHAM FIELD COLUMN
A Sudan Campaign

SCENARIO I

“The Wadi of Shadows”

(Opening March Contact)

Situation

The column advances inland, leaving the Nile behind. Progress is slow through a dry wadi — steep banks, broken ground, and too many blind corners.

They are being watched.

Then the firing starts.

Table

  • A winding wadi running diagonally across table (counts as broken ground)
  • Steep banks (block LOS unless within 3” of edge)
  • Rocky ridges overlooking sections
  • Sparse scrub

Objectives

British

  • Exit at least 60% of force off far table edge
  • Keep formation intact (no more than 2 broken units)

Mahdists

  • Inflict casualties (break 2 units OR kill officer)
  • Withdraw at least half force

Special Rules

Hidden Enemy
Mahdists deploy hidden along wadi edges and ridges.

Confined Column
British begin in march column:

  • No firing Turn 1
  • Must spend 1 turn to deploy into line

Ambush Fire
First Mahdist volley gains:

  • +1 to hit OR reroll misses

Campaign Effect

  • If British badly mauled → start Scenario II with Disorder
  • If Mahdists fail to inflict damage → British gain +1 Confidence

SCENARIO II

“The Abandoned Village”

(The False Refuge)

Situation

After the ambush, the column reaches a mud village. It appears deserted.

It is not.

Snipers, hidden fighters, and sudden close assaults erupt as the British attempt to rest and resupply.

Table

  • Mud-hut village (clustered buildings, tight alleys)
  • Palm trees / enclosures
  • Low walls and animal pens
  • Open desert around

Objectives

British

  • Clear the village
  • Locate hidden supplies (2 markers)

Mahdists

  • Kill an officer OR
  • Keep at least one supply cache hidden
  • Withdraw 50% of force

Special Rules

Hidden Cells
Mahdists placed as markers:

  • Reveal when British within 6” or they fire

Sniper Fire
First 2 turns:

  • Mahdists firing from buildings count as hard cover

False Security
British units inside buildings:

  • Cannot react to attacks from outside on same turn

Campaign Effect

  • If supplies found → ignore fatigue penalties next game
  • If not → Scenario III begins with reduced ammo / supply

SCENARIO III

“Broken Ground at Jebel Rahma”

(Rocky Ambush Battle)

Situation

The column pushes into high rocky ground. The terrain fractures into ridges, gullies, and stone outcrops.

Perfect ground for a decisive ambush.

The Mahdists intend to fix and destroy the column here.

Table

  • Rocky hills and ridgelines dominating table
  • Narrow passes between rocks
  • No flat open ground
  • Scattered boulders (cover everywhere, but broken LOS)

Objectives

British

  • Break through to far edge
  • Keep artillery / Maxim operational

Mahdists

  • Disable British firepower (Maxim/artillery)
  • Inflict 40% casualties

Special Rules

Fragmented Battlefield
No unit may move more than 8” in a straight line without obstruction.

Close Assault Terrain
Charges from within 6” of rocks gain:

  • +1 combat bonus

Command Breakdown
Officers must test to issue orders beyond 12”

Campaign Effect

  • If British guns lost → final scenario begins at severe disadvantage
  • If Mahdists fail → final scenario British gain fire superiority

SCENARIO IV

“The Last Wells”

(Final Battle – Survival Fight)

Situation

The column reaches a vital desert well — the only water for miles.

Both sides know: Whoever holds it decides everything.

This is not a siege.
This is exhaustion, thirst, and the final clash.

Table

  • Central well / water source
  • Low rocky rises around
  • Open desert approaches
  • Optional small ruined structure or shrine

Objectives

British

  • Control the well by Turn 8
  • Maintain at least 2 formed units

Mahdists

  • Deny the well
  • Break British force OR control water

Special Rules

Thirst
From Turn 4:

  • Units not within 12” of well suffer fatigue penalties

Desperate Charges
Mahdist units below half strength gain:

  • +1 in melee

Last Reserves
Each side may hold 1 unit off-table:

  • Arrives Turn 5 on a random edge

Campaign Resolution

  • British Victory → Column survives, battered but intact
  • Mahdist Victory → Column destroyed in desert
  • Draw → Survivors stagger back to Nile — campaign inconclusive

Campaign Flow – Following the Map

1️⃣ Secure the River
↓
2️⃣ Silence Fort Karad
↓
3️⃣ Survive the Inland March
↓
4️⃣ Relieve the Town

The map is now the campaign spine.

Each scenario:

  • Tied to a visible feature
  • Uses map annotations as rules
  • Feels geographically connected

Scenarios V–VIII — are smaller, sharper, more personal engagements I can insert between the map-linked battles.

They follow a second map, set further south than the original


SCENARIO V

“The Inland Convoy”

December 1884
“The men were untried. The officers more so.”

(Smaller action derived from The March Inland)

Forces (Up to 20 per side)

British (18–20 figures)

  • 1 Captain
  • 2 Subalterns
  • 2 Sections (6–8 men each)
  • 2–3 Supply markers (mule teams)

Mahdists (15–20 figures)

  • 1 local Emir
  • 3–5 riflemen
  • Remainder spear-armed warriors

Table

  • 4x4 recommended
  • Dry wadi crossing centre
  • Low scrub patches
  • Long sight lines

Situation

A reduced column escorts critical supplies away from the Nile.
No one is certain the enemy is nearby.

That certainty does not last.

Objectives

British

  • Escort at least 2 supply markers off-table
  • Keep officers alive

Mahdists

  • Destroy or capture 1 supply marker
  • Wound or kill an officer

Special Rules

Heat & Dust (Tight Table Version) After Turn 4:

  • Running causes automatic fatigue test.

Officer Exposure Both subalterns must:

  • Issue at least one order during the game.

Uncertain Contact Mahdists deploy hidden beyond 12”.

Campaign Consequences

  • Any officer wounded: mark against his name.
  • If supplies lost: Battalion Fatigue +1.
  • If no officer casualty: one subaltern gains “Steady Under Fire.”

This establishes personal reputations.

SCENARIO VI

“Sunset at the Cut-Off Fort”

January 1885
“Relieved at sunset. Attacked at nightfall.”

(Smaller action from The Fort at Dusk)

Forces

British Relief (18–20)

  • 1 Subaltern commanding
  • 2 Sections
  • Optional small Maxim detachment (3 crew)

Mahdists (15–20)

  • 1 leader
  • Mix of rifle & melee

Fort Garrison

  • 4–6 exhausted defenders inside fort

Table

  • Small mud fort centre
  • Broken ground & scrub
  • Narrow approach

Situation

The relief column is small.
The fort is already under pressure.

This is not a grand assault — it’s a desperate link-up.

Objectives

British

  • Enter fort with at least 6 men
  • Hold until Turn 8

Mahdists

  • Prevent link-up
  • Kill relief commander

Special Rules

Fading Light After Turn 3:

  • Visibility 18” After Turn 6:
  • Visibility 12”

Command Responsibility The subaltern in command:

  • Must be within 6” of majority of troops to avoid confusion penalty.

Exhausted Garrison Fort defenders:

  • -1 in melee first round only.

Campaign Consequences

  • Fort lost: Battalion Fatigue +1
  • Fort held: commanding subaltern eligible for promotion note
  • If commander fails 2+ morale tests: “Uncertain in Crisis” tag

SCENARIO VII

“Shots in the Dark”

February 1885
“Firing was heard in the dark. It was not all ours.”

(Scaled from The Night Alarm)

Forces

British (16–20)

  • 1 Captain
  • 1 Subaltern
  • 2 Understrength Sections

Mahdists (15–20)

  • Infiltration force
  • Mostly melee, few rifles

Table

  • Camp layout (tents, crates, wagons)
  • Low visibility entire game
  • 4x4 ideal

Situation

Night infiltration.
No grand battle lines — just confusion.

Objectives

British

  • Maintain unit cohesion
  • Avoid panic

Mahdists

  • Kill officer
  • Break 1 section

Special Rules

Limited Visibility Maximum 12”. Beyond 6” requires spotting roll.

Confusion If a British unit fails morale:

  • Roll D6:
    • 1 = fires at nearest friendly unit.

Officer Exposure Any officer issuing an order:

  • Must roll Exposure test (risking becoming target).

Campaign Consequences

  • Friendly fire incident: permanent -1 Battalion Morale next game.
  • Calm defence (no section breaks): Captain gains “Night Steady.”

This one is psychological.

SCENARIO VIII

“The Wells at Abu Rahman”

March 1885
“The Battalion formed square under severe pressure.”

(Smaller-scale square action)

Forces

British (20 max)

  • 1 Captain
  • 1 Subaltern
  • 2 Sections
  • Optional small Maxim team

Mahdists (20, recycling in waves of 6–8)

Table

  • Open desert
  • Central well marker
  • Minimal scrub

Situation

Cut off from water, small detachment forced to form square.

This is not a brigade square.

It is a fragile box of exhausted men.

Objectives

British

  • Hold square until Turn 8
  • Keep at least 1 officer alive

Mahdists

  • Break square
  • Enter square interior

Special Rules

Improvised Square Forming square costs one full turn. If charged before completion:

  • -1 melee first round.

Wave Assault Mahdists return in small waves until morale collapse.

Colours (Optional) If present:

  • Officer must be in base contact or morale penalty applies.

Campaign Consequences

If square breaks:

  • Formal Inquiry triggered (one officer disgraced).

If square holds:

  • Battalion Reputation permanently increases.
  • One officer gains “Mentioned in Dispatches.”

This is the legend-maker.

How These Function

Scenarios V–VIII are:

  • Smaller
  • Officer-focused
  • Insertable between the major map-linked actions
  • Designed for 4x4 table, 90–120 minutes play
  • Character-driven rather than tactical grind

They preserve the narrative tone:

  • Exposure
  • Reputation
  • Fatigue
  • Political consequence

CLOSE OF VOLUME I (1885)

After the last Scenario :

For each surviving subaltern:

  • Roll for Wounds / Fever
  • Roll for Promotion or Stagnation
  • Add one permanent descriptor:
    • “Steady under Fire”
    • “Reckless”
    • “Quietly Reliable”
    • “Unfit for Independent Command”

Those labels will follow them for 30 years.


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The Queen’s North Durham Rifles (89th Foot)

The Regimental files of the 1st Bn North Durham Rifles.

A BLOOD & STEEL CAMPAIGN


1884–1914

A 30-year officer career campaign beginning in 1884.

My 30 Wolseley-helmet regulars represent the 1st Battalion, 89th Foot, The North Durham Rifles on overseas service.

Four young lieutenants join in 1884.

One may rise to Colonel by 1914.

One may die obscurely.

One may disgrace the regiment.

One may become a VC winning legend.

If any are killed we get a new draft.

🎖 1884 – The Officers Join

I Rolled for background and personalities.

1️⃣ Lt. Arthur Blackwood

  • Son of a Durham industrialist
  • Bookish but ambitious
  • +1 Tactical planning
  • −1 Personal bravery

Hidden trait: Political climber

2️⃣ Lt. Edward “Ned” Collingwood

  • Minor gentry
  • Popular with the men
  • +1 Morale
  • −1 Discipline

Hidden trait: Gambling debts

3️⃣ Lt. Henry Ashcroft

  • Frontier-obsessed romantic
  • +1 Skirmish combat
  • Reckless in charges

Hidden trait: Seeks glory

4️⃣ Lt. Thomas Wycliffe

  • Quiet, calculating
  • +1 Logistics
  • No natural charisma

Hidden trait: Cold ambition


📜 CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE (30 YEARS IN 6 VOLUMES)

Each Volume = 4–6 linked games.

Officers:

  • Gain promotion rolls
  • Gain wounds
  • Gain reputation
  • Risk scandal

VOLUME I – Sudan, 1884–85

Opponents: Tribal waves (use Matabele or Afghans)

Scenarios:

  1. Desert convoy
  2. River column landing
  3. Fort defence
  4. Set-piece battle

Survival test: Roll for heatstroke, dysentery, wounds.

Promotion possible if:

  • Officer wins a decisive engagement
  • Saves colours
  • Survives last scenario unwounded

🧠 OFFICER PROGRESSION SYSTEM (Simple)

After each Volume:

Roll 1d6 per surviving officer:

1 – Wounded (permanent −1 stat)
2 – Stagnant (no promotion)
3–4 – Steady progress
5 – Promoted
6 – Decorated (extra influence in next theatre)

If scandal event drawn: Re-roll and take worse result.

⚔️ REGIMENTAL CHRONICLE

The Queen’s North Durham Rifles (89th Foot)

1884–1914

📖 VOLUME I

The Desert Posting, 1884–1885

“The Battalion first smelt powder beneath a white sun and upon a waste of sand. There the boys became officers.”
— From the unpublished memoir of 2nd Lt. H. Ashcroft, 1913

The Embarkation

In September 1884 the 1st Battalion, 89th Foot, received orders for service in the Sudan theatre of the ongoing .

Four newly joined subalterns reported to the Colours only weeks before embarkation from England.

They had scarcely learned the mess seating plan.

They would learn other things quickly.

The Four Subalterns (As Recorded in the Battalion Ledger)

Each begins the Volume as Second Lieutenant.

Lt. Arthur Blackwood

Methodical. Industrious. Keeps detailed field notes.
The men are uncertain of him.

Lt. Edward Collingwood

Well-liked. Overconfident. Laughs too loudly.

Lt. Henry Ashcroft

Earnest. Romantic about war.
Speaks of “glory” before the first shot is fired.

Lt. Thomas Wycliffe

Quiet. Observant. Already studies the Colonel’s habits.





📖 The Queen’s North Durham Rifles

The deep archives: (notes for my solo campaigning)


Biographical Files of Officers Joining, 1884

2nd Lieutenant Arthur Henry Blackwood

Born 1862 – Durham

Son of Edmund Blackwood, coal owner and Justice of the Peace. Educated at Durham School; commissioned by purchase following an unremarkable but respectable academic record.

Blackwood arrived at the Depot with immaculate kit, polished boots, and a leather-bound notebook in which he recorded everything: distances marched, rounds expended, remarks made by senior officers. He was quiet in mess, deferential to superiors, and notably stiff with the men.

It was widely understood that his commission had been expected, not earned.
Blackwood himself understood this better than anyone.

He sought not glory, but proof — and feared deeply the moment when it might be demanded.

Private remark recorded by the Adjutant:
“Blackwood is anxious to do right. Whether he can do so under fire remains to be seen.”

Unspoken burden: terror of public failure
Hidden virtue: iron steadiness when plans collapse
Career fault-line: may hesitate when decisiveness is required

2nd Lieutenant Edward James Collingwood

Born 1861 – Northumberland

Second son of a declining county family. Too little money, too much charm. Commissioned through connections rather than means.

Collingwood was instantly popular — with officers, with NCOs, with the men. He laughed easily, drank too freely, and possessed the dangerous confidence of someone who had never yet been tested.

He talked openly of war as “the making of a man”, and privately assumed it would make him.

There were rumours — debts, cards, a discreet loan from a senior cousin — but nothing proven.

Mess note:
“A good fellow. Perhaps too much so.”

Unspoken burden: fear of mediocrity
Hidden vice: gambling, recklessness
Career fault-line: bravery may shade into foolishness

2nd Lieutenant Henry Charles Ashcroft

Born 1863 – Surrey

Educated at a minor public school. A devoted reader of Napier, Oman, and accounts of the Indian Mutiny. Ashcroft had wanted the Army since boyhood and spoke of it in terms usually reserved for religion.

He requested foreign service immediately upon joining.
He requested danger without irony.

Ashcroft believed utterly in courage, sacrifice, and the moral purpose of empire. He expected to distinguish himself quickly — and to be judged harshly if he did not.

From Ashcroft’s own diary, 1884:
“I pray I shall not disgrace myself when the moment comes.”

Unspoken burden: romantic idealism
Hidden danger: contempt for caution
Career fault-line: glory-seeking under fire

2nd Lieutenant Thomas Edward Wycliffe

Born 1860 – Yorkshire

Son of a clergyman. No wealth. No connections. Commissioned through diligence, recommendation, and sheer persistence.

Wycliffe spoke little, listened much, and observed everything. He learned regimental routine quickly and mastered paperwork without complaint. Senior officers found him “useful” — a word that, in time, may become either compliment or curse.

He did not speak of honour.
He spoke of duty.

Colonel’s marginal note:
“Wycliffe sees things.”

Unspoken burden: ambition without patronage
Hidden strength: clarity under pressure
Career fault-line: moral flexibility in pursuit of command.


Subsequent Volumes

VOLUME II – Frontier War, 1890s

Opponents: Pathans, Afghans

Add:

  • Ambush mechanics
  • Night attacks
  • Convoy escorts

By now:

  • One lieutenant may be Captain.
  • One may have a limp.
  • One may be dead.

VOLUME III – The Capaihn against the Mullah, Somaliland Crisis.

Opponents:

  • Tribals

Political consequence: A defeat may stall promotion for 4 campaign years.

VOLUME IV The Boxer Rebellion

Opponents:

  • Boxers
  • Boxer regulars
  • Possibly USA & French allies

Urban warfare: Machine guns brutal.

This Volume often kills reckless officers.

VOLUME V – The Great Power Crisis (1910–12)

Choose:

  • War with USA (Canada)
  • German clash in Africa
  • Russian clash in Afghanistan

Now: The senior surviving officer is Major or Lt-Colonel.

This is where reputations are cemented.

VOLUME VI – 1914

If one officer survives from 1884:

He may now be:

  • Colonel commanding the battalion
  • Brigadier
  • Or broken and sidelined

Final scenario: A major battle. Win = honoured regiment entering the Great War. Lose = scandal, parliamentary inquiry.


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Battalion Scale Blood and Steel

A battalion-scale Abstraction for Blood & Steel / Blood & Valour

Issued as an appendix to the Regimental History of the Queen’s North Durham Rifles (89th Foot)


Colonel Tiberias Farthingdale inspects the North Durham Rifles at Cestria Barracks prior to their embarkation for Egypt.


And in service during the Gallipoli campaign.

PURPOSE

Battalion Scale allows a full British infantry battalion (c. 800–1,000 men) to be represented on the tabletop using 30–40 figures, without changing core Blood & Steel or Blood & Valour mechanics.

Figures on the table represent:

  • The decisive point of the action
  • Engaged companies
  • Battalion command and support weapons

The full battalion may not be all deployed keeping reserve companies off-table, influencing morale, reinforcement, and reputation.

TABLETOP ESTABLISHMENT

On-Table Force (Typical)

Battalion Command

  • 1 Commanding Officer (Colonel or Lt-Col)
  • 1 Adjutant / Senior Officer
  • Optional Colour Party (2 figures)

Infantry Companies (Abstracted) 

  • Each 2 groups = one full company (c. 200 men)
  • Each group contains:
    • 1 Junior Officer or NCO figure
    • 5–7 riflemen
  • So each Company has a named officer and a Sergeant Major
Under Blood and Steel, each company counts as having the NCO rule.

Support Weapons

  • 1 Maxim MG detachment (1890s onward)
  • 1 Lewis gun (1912–14 only)

Scale Note: Casualties represent disruption, loss of cohesion, and exhaustion — not literal body count.

Around 1900 the revisions that would alter battalion structure from eight to four (stronger) companies began.  Under these abstraction the earlier Battalions count a single group as a company.  Later Battalions count two groups.

THE BATTALION FATIGUE TRACK

The battalion as a whole tracks cumulative strain.

Fresh → Steady → Worn → Exhausted → Shaken

Advance the track when:

  • A rifle group breaks
  • An officer is killed
  • A scenario objective is lost
  • A mass morale test fails

Effects:

  • Worn: −1 to all battalion morale rolls
  • Exhausted: No offensive bonuses; MGs limited ammo
  • Shaken: Any further loss forces withdrawal

Fatigue resets only between Volumes, never between scenarios.

OFFICERS & RISK

Officers are force multipliers and liabilities.

Officer Attachment

  • Attaching an officer grants:
    • 'NCO' bonus (per core rules)
  • BUT the officer must roll on the Exposure Table if:
    • Section takes fire
    • Section enters melee
    • Position is overrun

Exposure Table (1d6)

1 – Killed 2 – Seriously Wounded (miss remainder of Volume) 3 – Wounded (miss next scenario) 4–5 – Shaken but unharmed 6 – Commended (+Reputation)

Officer loss immediately advances Battalion Fatigue.

OFF-TABLE COMPANIES

The battalion may begin with 2–4 off-table companies.

They may:

  • Feed reinforcements (restore a Spent section to Disordered)
  • Absorb narrative casualties
  • Be lost to disease, detachment, or political interference

At the start of each scenario roll 1d6:

  • 1: One off-table company unavailable
  • 6: One off-table company reinforces (GM discretion)

THE COLOURS

If the Colours are on table:

  • All groups within command range gain +1 Morale

If the Colours are lost or captured:

  • Immediate Battalion Morale test
  • Battalion Fatigue advances by 2 steps

Officers may voluntarily expose themselves to save the Colours.

PERIOD ADAPTATION

1880s–1890s

  • Single Rifle Groups represent a company
  • Maxim rare or scenario-limited
  • Close order doctrine
  • Narrative is derring do!

1900–1908

  • 2 Rifle Groups are a company
  • A Maxim is standard
  • Extended order, entrenchments
  • Narrative is professional detached.

1909–1914

  • 2 Rifle Groups are a company
  • Maxim + Lewis gun
  • Fire superiority doctrine
  • CO often off-table

Models remain unchanged; doctrine shifts narratively to operation orders.


The Campaign segments

I'm using a period style map with campaign game inserts.  Each posting will have a corresponding map, and the Sudan has two!  Each posting/map has  four scenarios.

In some postings, such as the Sudan, i have added several 20 figure smaller scale encounters.  I will stick with Blood and Steel however.

In lower margin, faint and slightly smudged:
“Water worse than reported.”
“Native guide uncertain — or lying.”
“Men steady under fire. Young officers less so.”
“Heat more destructive than the enemy.”
Capt. Henry Markham, Acting Adjutant, 1st Battalion

VICTORY & CONSEQUENCES

Victory is judged at battalion level, not by figures remaining.

A tactical win with heavy fatigue may still count as a strategic failure.

At the close of each Volume:

  • Surviving officers roll for promotion
  • Battalion Reputation adjusts
  • Fatigue effects carry forward

Structure of Infantry Operation Orders 1880s to 1914

Orders generally followed a standard format designed to ensure coordination, often incorporating:

Information of the enemy: Known positions and defenses.
  • Information of friendly troops: Supporting artillery, flanking units, and neighboring battalions.
  • Mission of the battalion: The specific objective (e.g., capture a trench line).
  • Execution: Specific tasks for each company (direction of advance, objectives), artillery barrage timing, and "cleaning up" parties.
  • Administrative/Logistical Details: Rations, ammunition, stretcher bearers, and communication methods (runners, pigeons, flares).
  • Command and Signals: Locations of Brigade and Battalion HQ, and flare signals for identifying advanced positions.

These will be used as Scenario information.


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Friday, 20 February 2026

The Flagstaff Affair

 The Flagstaff Affair  

After an act of defiance as a Maori flag replaces the Union Jack, a small detachment lead by Lieutenant Whitemoore is sent to secure the hilltop flagstaff.



Background & Narrative

Word comes to Colonel Tiberias Farthingdale of the 58th Foot that a small hilltop flagstaff — a key signal and morale position overlooking Kororāreka — has been retaken by local insurgents. They have cut down the union flag and replaced it with a local rag of some sort.  Reinforcements are still days away, but need time to muster.


Ensign Clancy Whitemoore, battered but unbowed by months aboard a frigate getting here, is tasked with taking, replacing and holding the hilltop flagstaff long enough for reinforcements to arrive..

Forces & Roles

British / Crown Forces (Players)

  • Lieutenant Clancy Whitemoore, 58th The Rutland's, leading a small detachment of 58th Foot 
  • "Captain Quilp Parkour, and his "company" of local Militia with a few forest rangers.
  • A handful of sailors / veterans detailed from HMS Acorn
Insurgent / Rebel Forces
  • The Greater Ariki with small bands of local fighters controlling the hilltop and surrounding scrub
  • A lesser Ariki with his own followers and an improvised cannon salvaged from a wreck.

Map & Terrain

  • Hilltop Flagstaff Location: A raised area in the centre or upper table edge
  • Cover: Bush/scrub around approaches, light woods, rocky outcrops
  • Fields of Fire: Open ground on approaches; rough/uneven terrain slows troop.

The hill itself offers little in terms of defensive advantages.

Deployment

  • Rebels deploy behind the hilltop flagstaff with a single ambush group.
  • British deploy near Thier table edge.

Special Rules & Mechanics

1. Holding the Flagstaff

  • The main objective is control of the flagstaff marker.
  • If any British unit occupies the flagstaff position at the end of a turn, they replace the flag using an action. 
  • If the British still hold the flagstaff at the games end they win outright.

Victory Conditions

British Victory

  • Control the flagstaff at the end of the turn when reinforcements arrive, or
  • Hold it until the game ends.

Rebel Victory

  • Prevent British from holding the flagstaff, or
  • Completely rout British forces before the end turn.

Draw

  • Neither side holds the flagstaff at the end of the final turn.  The Maori may claim a moral victory if their flag still flies.

Scenario Ideas & Twists

  • Fog of War: one Rebel position isn't fully known until discovered by the end of turn one.
  • Limited Ammo: historically both sides may be subject to limited ammunition.

The Game

    The Flagstaff affair commences 

    The view from the Pä

    The Maori advance around the hill

    And the 58th advance


    My shotgun armed Maori poke their heads up and get them shot off.  Three men down, one fatigue marker.

    But the flag yet boldly flies.  I position a group to storm the hill  

    And the 58th send a small group forwards under their Lieutenant.

    I position a second Toa of Maori to assault the far left.

    And the view from the 58th's position.  The Lieutenant prompts his men forwards 

    The Militia "Captain" has a group bogged in the mud of the stream, which counts as a depression 

    The 58th top the hill and spread their replacement flag 

    But my Toa of Maori wait their chance to charge as we try to weaken them.  Four times we shit at these guys!  They shrugged it off!

    On the left I perform a haka and charge.  The 58th are unloaded, and it gets bloody.

    The Greater Ariki prompts the attacking left to attack again.

    On my right the lesser Ariki fights and attritional musket battle with the Militia 

    The view from above as the 58th close in on the flagstaff.

    And they take it!  But can they hold it?



    I charge up, through a hail of incoming fire.  Two are killed but they stand.  They fight back and the Maori dice are terrible.  We take four shock and reel back shaken.  We take our flag with us though!

    And the game ends.  Lieutenant Whitemoore has succeeded. 
    The Colonel promotes him to brevet Captain. 

    The Greater and Lesser Ariki sulk back behind the palisades.


    An artist's depiction the fighting by Van Klomp, presently hanging in the National Gallery.


    A Look Forwards

    The Ōhaeawai Pā Reconnaissance

    “The ground itself seems to be watching us.”

    Narrative Setup

    Colonel Sir Tiberias Farthingdale, 58th Rutland Foot, newly arrived aboard HMS Castor, has taken overall command. Confident, impatient, and already thinking in terms of artillery and assault columns, he orders Lieutenant Cornelius Farthingdale forward with a mixed shore party.  No nepotism in this family!

    Officially, the task is reconnaissance.
    Unofficially, Cornelius is being used to justify a decision already made.

    Unknown to the British, the Pā is no crude stockade. It is a carefully engineered killing ground.

    The Colonels biography "Carry on Tiberias" was published by Rutland Press in 1890.  





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