Uprising on the North West Frontier
The Rescue of the Political officers at Jalala 29th July 1897
Background
All along the frontier the tribes are rising against British rule, inflamed by their religious leaders. However committment to the cause is not universal. In an effort to avert full scale war officers of the political service sally forth to parley with village elders in a "Durbar". They hope to talk round the elders who alone can prevent their tribesmen from rising in revolt. However, their work is undermined by fanatical Ghazis who travel from village to village stirring up the tribesmen with their religious fervour.
The Outpost at Jalala
Just outside the frontier village of Jalala is a small British outpost garrisoned by a detachment of the 35th Sikhs. The garrison was recently bolstered by a detachment of the East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) including a Maxim machine gun. Sergeant Lington of the Buffs now commands the outpost with Havildar Singh commanding the Sikhs.
On the evening of the 28th July 1897 two political officers, Captain Waterstone and Lieutenant Smythe, ride into the outpost. They immediately send word to the Jalala village elders requesting a "Durbar" (parley) for the next morning.
Morning of the 29th July 1897
Next morning Waterstone and Smythe proceed alone to the junction to await the arrival of the village elders for the Durbar. They take the precaution of arranging for Sergeant Lington to take eight men of the Buffs to a nearby position to assist in case of trouble.
The appointed hour of the Durbar passes and still the elders do not appear. Waterstone suspects that they are arguing amongst themselves over what to do. The experienced Waterstone commands huge respect amongst the frontier tribes but after waiting so long he begins to fear the worst.
Mobs of tribesmen appear from the east and three Ghazis are spotted to the North. Waterstone becomes gravely concerned at the situation but holds out in the hope that the village elders will appear.
As the mob turns angry Waterstone realises the Durbar is a failure and fires a warning shot which acts as a signal to the Buffs.
After Action Report of Sergeant Lington of the Buffs:
On hearing Captain Waterstones warning shot I sent Mack with 3 men into the orchard on our right to secure it to protect our line of retreat. I took 3 men with me and doubled up the south road to join the officers. Shortly after that we received fire from a mob of tribesmen by the house to the east of the road junction. We returned their fire and downed the 2 Ghazis leading them.
Another mob on the east road then charged us and we only had time for a few shots before they slammed into our single rank. Private Well received a serious wound in the ensuing melee and we were forced to retreat down the west road by weight of numbers. The officers were able to drag Well to safety behind our line.
Realising the true nature of the situation Private Mack and his 3 men abandoned their position in the orchard and charged into the rear of the mob assailing us. They felled the rearmost 2 and at this the remaining 3, including 1 Ghazi, surrendered to us.
Fortunately the mob which had previously fired on us did not join this fight and we were able to begin a steady retreat down the west road. As we reached the edge of the village a mob led by a Ghazi charged at us from some nearby rocks to the north of the road.
Macks men were able to pass through my own group and line the hedge to hold back the mob whilst we retreated past them. His group were then able to disengage and we all returned to the safety of the outpost.
Notes and Observations
• Battle fought using quickstart Ambush Alley rules and scenario "contracting trouble" with political officers in trouble instead of contractors.
• Used the rules as they are, reasoning that the firepower of the foes relative to each other was similar in the colonial era to nowadays. (arguable I know)
• Leaders were Ghazis.
• Two groups of 4 British soldiers rather than 3 groups so upgraded their troop quality to d10.
• The battle took less than 2 hours start to finish despite it being my first run of rules I had only read through a couple of times, and I took photos and wrote up the report as I went.
• Very enjoyable, tense game with excellent solo mechanics keeping me guessing alll the way through.
• A real feel for small unit action without any unnecessary detail but with plenty of flavour.
tries out the expansion roads set.
