The Relief of Fort Djeli Belli - TSATF Scenario

A scenario for The Sword and the Flame (TSATF) set in Eastern Sudan during the Mahdist Wars.
Unit sizes are smaller than the standard in the TSATF rules. Infantry units are 12 men including command. Cavalry or camelry are 6 including command. However any number of figures per unit is appropriate so long as consistent across the forces involved. The ratio of forces is roughly 2.25 Empire vs. Natives as recommended.

Background

In the hills above the Port of Suakin, somewhere along the road to Berber lies the outpost of Fort Djeli Belli. Any who have been there will tell you of how it is the most inhospitable place in all of Eastern Sudan. With little water and surrounded by enemies on all sides, the fort is a place where brave men go to die and lesser men go to be forgotten.

For months the fort has been unoccupied apart from the wind and the buzzards. Two weeks ago Lt. Arthur Branston-Pickle was despatched from Port Suakin with a hastily raised militia unit and a Heliograph section, tasked with garrisoning the fort and providing intelligence on the surrounding Mahdist forces. He was to report back on enemy activity or at least signal headquarters from the highest point he could reach. Nothing has been heard since.

Now, with Branston-Pickle and his tiny force unheard of for far longer that was necessary to complete the mission things have reached a crisis. At the time he was dispatched nobody was aware of his family connections, albeit distant.  Recently a reporter at home in London has been poking around and discovered that Branston-Pickle is a second nephew (twice removed) of the gardener at Kitchener’s country estate. He simply cannot be allowed to die alone and unaided. Men such as these keep the Widow at Windsor safe and her Empire intact.

Fortunately, recently returned miraculously alive from the same hills is Captain Hercules Barkingly-Madd, Royal Navy. Despite the fact “HBM” is something of a bounder and a cad, he has been given command of all available forces and sent to find Branston-Pickle before it is too late…

Objectives / Victory Conditions

Empire Forces

1. Relieve Lt. Arthur Branston-Pickle and the garrison before they are wiped out.
2. Clear the surrounding area of Mahdist forces.

Mahdist Forces

1. Eliminate the garrison of Fort Djeli Belli.
2. Eliminate the relief column or prevent it reaching the fort in time to relieve the garrison.

Empire Forces

Fort Djeli Belli Garrison

• Lt. Arthur Branston-Pickle
• Port of Suakin Militia (12 x pressed men including command)
• Heliograph section (1 x heliograph and 4 men)

Suakin Relief Column

• Captain Hercules Barkingly-Madd, Royal Navy
• Naval Brigade Gardener Gun (1 x gun and 4 crew)
• Naval Landing Party (10 x ratings plus Lt. and Sgt.)
• 3rd Battalion 60th Regiment, King's Royal Rifle Corps (10 x infantry plus Lt. and Sgt.)
• 2nd Battalion 89th Regiment, Royal Irish Fusiliers (10 x infantry plus Lt. and Sgt.)

Mahdist Forces

Surrounding Fort Djeli Belli

• Osman (leader)
• Captured Egyptian Krupp field gun (1 x gun and 3 crew plus overseer)
• Beja tribe (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with swords and spears)
• Beja tribe (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with swords and spears)
• Beja tribe (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with captured rifles)

Hidden somewhere along the trail from Port Suakin

• Khalifa (leader)
• Mulazamin (8 x personal bodyguard armed with captured rifles)
• Camelry (6 x camel riders including command, armed with swords and spears)
• Khordofan rebels (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with swords and spears)
• Khordofan rebels (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with swords and spears)
• Khordofan rebels (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with swords and spears)

Reinforcements

Arriving on turns 6+ as required to balance things out if the Empire is winning too easily.
Starting with 1 x d6, roll and a unit arrives on a 5 or 6. Add 1d6 each turn until all units are on the table i.e. turn 2 = 2d6.

• Osman (leader)
• Beja tribe (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with swords and spears)
• Beja tribe (12 x tribesmen including command, armed with swords and spears)

 

Played out on the table top...

Stay tuned for a battle report and plenty of pics as we try this out on the table top. Plenty of new units which have never seen the field for the British. That can only mean one thing when applying Sodd's Law to anything shiny and new in a wargame...