We recently were messing around with using the point system for a The Men Who Would Be King scenario. My son Justin commanded the Imperial forces while my friends Jim and Mike commanded the Fuzzies. I was the fame master but also commanded the bonus gunboat.
Here's the list for the Imperials:
3 Irregular Infantry (fellahin), modern rifles, poor shots at 4 points each = 12 points
1 Regular Infantry, modern rifles, (Turk or Sudanese) at 6 points
1 Regular Infantry (British, RM), sharpshooters at 7 points
1 Gardner or Gatling (British RN), well drilled at 6 points.
31 points
I do not have the detailed list my friend Jim put together. The army consisted of fierce Hadendowa Beja and numerous Ansar units. The army totaled 48 points and neither side had any mounted units.
The idea was to test play balance with the points.
The game was third in a trilogy I had planned. The Fuzzies under Osman Digna won the first two against Egyptian forces and pushed on to the canal (hypothetical) where they ran into an outpost garrisoned by the above Egyptian\Anglo force. The gunboat was supposed to be insurance that the post would not be overrun. It did not count in points.
As you can see from the pictures the outpost consisted an outer defense of zereba (a type of thorny hedge hard to penetrate). That line would be held by the Egyptian companies who had orders to fall back into the second line if things got too hot.
The second line consisted of earthworks held by a company of RMLI, the Turkish company and a Gardner gun.
A small redoubt was on the edge of the water should anyone survive long enough to take final refuge there under the guns of the gunboat.
I'll make some comments in the caption sections in the pics below.
 |
| Homemade gunboat by my friend Jim. |
 |
| Just thought I'd try a few black and white pics for period atmosphere. |
 |
| It's a neat little model! |
 |
| The defenses |
 |
| Ansar on the move! |
 |
| Lots of Ansar on the move with a unit of Fuzzies in support |
 |
| Osman's forces used cover when they could. |
 |
| The Egyptians stand ready. They were a mixed bag but as a whole did as well as could be expected. The arena certainly helped! |
 |
| The RMLI and the Gardner. A Turkish unit is adjacent. |
 |
| The Turks are a bit tougher than the standard Egyptian Fellahin. |
 |
| Close |
 |
| Getting Closer! |
 |
| You do not want these fellows to close with your line! |
 |
| Egyptians are starting to back away from the Zareba. |
 |
| The breakthrough! The first line is collapsing but it cost Osman quite a few casualties. |
 |
| The flanking force hits the Gardner and RMLI. The RMLI would destroy three units before dying to a man. Had anyone lived a VC or two would be in order. |
 |
| The remaining Egyptians, Turks and gunboat were enough to achieve a victory but it was a near run thing as Wellington once said. |
