For the past ten years we've staged widely different demo games at our local Train & Hobby show. This year, it was a ictional battle in the early phase of the Mahdist Wars.
A two day event, the game normally fills the available time but this year we got to play the same game twice. The results were widely different but I will report mainly on the second, Sunday, game in which the Anglo-Egyptians managed a "winning draw".
Our "terrain guy", Daniel, did his usual outstanding effort to create a forbidding desert landscape, fringed by the Nile & largely empty at the beginning of the game.
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The A-E arrive, in a state of nervousness & immediately form square for no good reason.
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The game had two simple goals. The first was to escort a caputured emir down the length of the table for river evacuation. The second was to defend the village & evacuation point.
You can see the far zareeba here & the village in the foreground:
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and the dock:
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The Mahdist entry to the landscape was through an elaborate system of dice throws that deposited them in one of three entry points.
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The plan on Sunday was to use a fast escort…good idea but the Egyptians were cut off & barely managed to return to the zareeba.
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Thwarted, the Mahdists massed to take the village. Our wily opponents, Mal & Daniel were certain they could massacre their foreign opponents.
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The Anglo-Egyptians formed a line in close order.
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They unexpectedly used the evacuation boats as gun platforms to enfilade the Mahdists.
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By using the scrub as cover, the Beja managed to hit the British & destroy two units.
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But British and Egyptian nerve held. Damien & I had kept a reserve & re-enforcements were brought in.
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And the desert again gained its deathly quiet.
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Fortunately the whole event was photographed.
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The photographer later leaving by the late coming train.
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