We're off to South Africa now & the Battle of Laings Nek 1881. No sooner has our intrepid British forces dealt with the Zulu, then the nasty Boers are raising a stink. General Colley raises a force of heroic troops & sets off to give the Boers a sound thrashing.
DBC rules, Amy took the Boers & yours truly the Brits. We gave the British a 16 point army & the Boers had a proportionate 12 point. Historically the Boers had a lot more men & gave the British a severe butt kicking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Laing's_Nek
To add a bit of spice to the game, we decided that the Boers would remain hidden from view, a British unit would have to get within 400 paces & achieve a die roll to spot them. Amy had a battle map & eagerly marked her units down, including a sneak mounted Boer attack. All the Boer troops were 'Elite', costing extra but having an additional modifier. The mission, General Colley had to take the two hills across the Buffalo River. Army break point were, Boers 4 Brits 6.
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| Soldiers of the Queen |
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| Somewhere out there hide the Boers... |
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| Overview of the Battlefield. |
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| Skirmishers & Light Cavalry to the front! |
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| The mounted Coppers go scouting... |
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| Colley leads the chaps forward. |
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| Ouch! The Brits get a shock... |
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| Soon the Boers open up... |
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| Vicious firepower from Amys troops.. |
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| Aarrghh! |
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| Bullets fly.... |
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| The main body forces the river, this is going to be a tough fight... |
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| Casualties begin to mount, notice the markers. |
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| Bah.. Why did I put the Artillery at the back of the column..? D'oh! |
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| Forward! |
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| An impressive sight, Victorian British Troops advancing! |
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| Who could get the most troops in position? |
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| Recoil Recoil Recoil |
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| At last a Boer casualty! |
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| Bah! |
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| Forward! |
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| Amy's reserves return from a flank attack to block the road. |
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| British Troops are formed to take the hill. |
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| Both sides have taken casualties. |
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| The first attempt is forced back... |
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| Ohhhh. I'm tempted to launch the Cavalry on the Boers, but I know they'll be shot to bits. |
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| Another attack is readied... |
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| Ha Ha! success at last... |
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| The Boers dismount. |
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| Rahoo! Amy's laughing another attack is repulsed... |
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| Come on lads, you can do it! |
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| Oh the fortunes of war! NO, it's just that I rolled 6's on the last round... |
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| A superb round of firepower... |
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| .....truly superb! |
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| The Brits take the day..! |
Well, well that was a tough one. I'm very impressed with the Boers, they have been the toughest colonial army by far. Not the historical outcome, but to be fair, if Amy had put more Boers on the hills & massed her firepower, I don't think I would of stood a chance. Those two mounted Boer units would of made a big difference if they could have been involved earlier. The points balance was just right, the DBC rules do seem to have caught the flavour of the period, well done to KISR. Future Boer Battles should be very interesting once we add some fortifications & Artillery.......
8 comments:
Great batrep and photos!!
Yet another great battle report!
I love the Colonial era, but have never had a Boer army ... but this has convinced me that I should.
All the best,
Bob
Cheers fella's thanks for the nice comments.
I've just finished the 1900 Victorian Brits for the 2nd Boer War. Ohhh I hate painting white crossbelts!
I was very impressed with the Boers, they were a tough opponent.
Cheers
MrF
The Boer Wars were not the Empire's finest hours. The Boers were underestimated by the British Army Commanders and it took a few good lickings from the Boers for the Brits to realise that this was not a bunch of Fuzzy Wuzzies that could be swept aside with impunity.
Great Report, I haven't played DBA with anything but Ancients so to see the rules adapted to Colonial period is very interesting (and tempting but I must resist!!)
Very nice photos and an enjoyable read.
Cheers fella's, I must admit we do like KISR's Colonial Rules, they do capture the essence of the period. I was 'pleasantly' surprised that the Boers were not a push over. Given that we'll try to run some of the early 2nd Boer War Battles in future, I reckon it could be a British Bloodbath...ooohh. Boers in cover with Artillery & trenches will be a hard act to overcome.
MrF
Hi MrF, very inspiring 15mm Battle. I did Laing's Neck way back in about 1986 in 1/72nd using ESCI -Zulu War British and Converted ACW figures for the Boars. From memory the confrontation certainly went the British way...as I had few Boars to field. Thankyou for Posting this great article - it may certainly result in me giving DBC and 15mm for the Boar War a real go! I would certainly enjoy that. Regards. KEV.
Now then Kev
The DBC rules are well worth it. The play balance was just right, the ARMY lists that the KISR people put together do work.
All the Best
Paul F
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