Mahdis Take On the Brits

As I promised I have posted the photos of the game that we played on the 22 Feb. The players were Scott and Russ, British, Kevin and yours truly Mahdis. The British objective was to take the village, which had been occupied by a small force of Mahdis. This little "band" were supported by two "Brigades" of Mahdis placed behind the village. The first photo shows the Mahdis in the village. The commander is in on the roof of the house in the back ground.


Camel riders, which, as the game progressed were unlucky enough to come up against British cavalry. Yes! you guessed it, they were defeated in melee. They ended up being routing and had to be removed off the table.



This skimishing group taking cover in the rocks were in my force this group were charged by a British unit, who I am glad to say were only pushed back a couple of inches.




Egyptian troops who unfortunately did not get into combat. The unit in front of the Egyrtians were one of Scotts' elite units, who were charged by two units of Mahdis and ended up routing 36" inches back, almost, but not quite off the table. Well done Scott.



Another photo of Kevin's wing. This wing did very well, has they pushed Russ' British flang back to the edge of the table.




Top view of the Russ' cavaly, positioned on the British left flank. It was this unit that forced the Mahdi Camel riders off the table.



Another photo of Russ' British flank. Note; the Scarlet uniforms of the Bitish infantry. Remember this is the early period of the Sudan campaign, when some British units were still in scarlet. Remeber Mr Jones the Butcher (You know, the one who, in every episode had the line "They don't like it up them Mr Mannering") in "Dads Army". If my memory serves me correctly, in one episode, he wears the uniform that he wore in the Suden campaign. It wasn't until about 1881 that the Kakhi uniform began to be introduced as the standard British uniform and then they were still wearing scarlet in the early stages of the "Boer War". Incidently I have read that the scarlet tended to fade to brown.


Cavalry unit in the top of the photo got as far as the centre of the Table. The British units in the foreground ended up in the rocky terrain.
The terrain and figures (apart from the cavalry featured in the last photo) were from Scott's fine collection of Suden miniatures.

It was a victory for the Mahdis, the British having failed to achieve their objective, well they did end up where they started from. The rule set we played with was "Command Piquet" by Brent Oman. These Rules are not everyones "cup of tea" especially for the majority of us gamers who are used to "you move I move" rules and are used to thinking in a linear mode. as for Me I find them some what refeshing.
It was an enjoyable day, made even better, because I had a victory over Scott. Once again many Thanks toScott and the rest of fellows for a day well spent.
Next, will be the report on the "El Cid" game that Russ and I intend to play in about two weeks time.

Medieval Scenics

It has been some time since I have posted anythink, so I thought I will display a few photos of my Medieval figures. as I said at the very beginning this is one of the periods I enjoy gaming. The photos represent a small village at the edge of a Desert. I was going to use this village as a back drop to a future Crusade game, using the suppliment "El Cid" from War Hammer Historical but I have changed my mind and set up a small village, somewhere in Europe in its place. I will post the new layout before the actual game, which may be in 3 weeks time.
The figures are from Mirliton Miniatures which is an Italian company, who produce some very fine miniatures. As you can see, these figures are from their "Diaroma" sets, this group is the the "Black Smith" shop. The Building is from "Conflex".




A Knight taking the blessing from the Town's Priest, before setting off to seek his fortune. His travaling companions are watching the "Smithy" hard at work. Figures by "Crusade" miniatures.




The water fall near the Village. Scratched build by me.



Top view of the "Smithy". Top Left hand corner is a knight waiting for his horse to be shod. If you can use your imagination, you can almost picture him tapping his toes of one of his feet, inpatient to set off with travaling companions.




The actual village on the edge of the Desert. Note: the two European buildings, lending a stark contrast to the Eastern buildings.










Three photos of the same village. The two fields by the river, are that of an Orchard and Olive Grove. Remember there are some fertile ares in the East.
Along with the Historical aspects of this period, these miniatures lend a realistic feel to any Wargame table.
Coming soon! photos of the Suden game, that I and a group of friends played at Scot's house on Sunday 22/02/09 and what an enjoyable day it was, Thanks Scot! Until then "Happy Gaming".

Figures on the Waaay!!!

Not much to report right now but only to write that I have just ordered my first set of Old Glory Japanese Figures from Old Glory, from there Boxer Rebellion range. The order was for 30 infantry and 10 cavalry. They are in the blue uniform they wore during the Boxer Uprising and continued to wear into the Russian-Japanese War of 1905. If anyone saw the film "55 Days At Peking" they would have seen the Japanese Colonal in the film wearing the Blue undress uniform. During the winter months they wore Khaki and inorder to keep warm in winter I believe the infantry wore the blue coat under their Khaki coat.
I intend to paint some units in Blue and some in Khaki, hoping to give the impression that the winter uniforms have not got through to all the infantry in the field. The Russains I intend to do the same some in Khaki and some in their famous white and green uniforms.
These figues will be the first, towards building both the Russian and Japanese Armies in preparartion for gaming the Russian-Japanese War.
If anyone is interested in this period then there is a Russo-Japanese Society on the Web. that covers all aspects of this campaign, well worth a visit. There is some good reading in The Tsar's Last Armada by Constantine Pleshakov. A detailed account of the Russian Fleet sailing from their Home port in the Baltic, through to the South China Sea, only to meet the Japanese Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima. Come to think of it, it was a remarkable feat and don't forget "Rising Sun And Tumbling Bear"
Now I have to wait for the post so I can start painting.