Khartoum characters

This was a final check playtest of a scenario we first played back in 2022: Khartoum. (Report here.) Time doesn't allow me to do a very long and detailed report this time, so I just offer 16 photos with some light remarks.

General Gordon is in Khartoum. He has refused to recognise how desperate his situation is. That's right - he is in de-Nile. (Save your groans, there's worse to come.)

Dave T and I commanded the mad Mahdists. I had the right wing, shown here. The orange counter notes a unit of captured Egyptians forced to fight for the Mahdists. Figures are Baccus 6mm from Mark's collection.

Mahdists attack left to right. Khartoum is protected by a line of earthworks, with a belt of obstacles in front of those (the dark felt): barbed wire, broken glass, artillery shells serving as mines. Brown felt at top is where the Nile has flooded, washed away the end of the earthworks, then receded leaving a marshy gap. White counters are objectives: the artillery bastions along the fortified line; various locations in the city (forts, the cathedral, the palace, etc).

Gordon and a big Krupp gun on the roof of the palace. The paddlesteamer gunboat wrought some havoc late in the game.

Mahdist camelry.

Egyptians wait behind their earthen ramparts.

Our cunning plan was for Dave T to surge through the marshy gap. However, see that little barge moored in mid-river to flank the line? The rifle fire from there was exceedingly irksome.

I shifted my weight left from here towards the marshy end so as to marry up with Dave's push on the left. Our rifle fire was effective in the first 3 turns, wiping out a couple of the tiny Egyptian units.

We chose to take a scenario option and launch a landing force across the Nile behind the Egyptian line. Unfortunately some of our troops were slow to embark and cross. That's right - they were not well-en-dhowed. As a result, half of them never got into the fight and were just mown down by the gunboat.

However, the other half of this outflanking contingent did better - it was the only Mahdist unit to get into Khartoum. Here we see it enter the outskirts of the city, having routed some enemy irregulars.

Situation late in the game. Apart from that sole incursion into the city, the rest of Dave's force is bogged down top of pic, while my repeated attempts to storm across the ramparts have all failed and every one of my units is stuck in the obstacle belt.

Gamely our lads go in again. All these charges will likewise bounce off except for my cavalry, upper right, who will push their foes back but then be gunned down as they mill about post-melee.

Similar story for Dave's repeated charges on our left.

Gordon can't afford to get cocky, though, as Dave's city raiders work their way closer to the palace. Next turn they will overrun the palace.

That's right - Gordon and his men will be an-Nile-ated.

With a couple of turns to go, some of mine get over the ramparts at last. This prompts most of the remaining Egyptian defenders to fall back to the city, having successfully bought time.

Game end. The three units in the foreground with green cubes are mine. The one in the palace at the top is Dave's. The other four, though, are Crispin's, still hanging on in objective locations despite being low on ammo (black cubes).

And the bigger picture shows most of Dave's force still trying to finish off one last 2-base Egyptian unit (in the foreground, with the yellow cube).

Skilful defence by Crispin denied us even a draw. We could point to some unkind dice at important times - when we launched so many charges, we could reasonably have expected more to succeed - but sometimes you just have to give credit to the opposition. Regardless, it was a good game that presented challenges and options to both sides. Different plans are possible so it has replay value.

This will be one of the battles in our planned Bloody Big Battles in Africa! scenario book that we hope to complete this year.