THROUGH THE MUD AND THE BLOOD ESCENARIOS

SCENARIO ONE: GUMATTI´S AFFAIR.

In March 1917, Sailgi Akhbar Khan, an Afghan bandit very active during the past months in the area of Bannu, finally attracted the attention of the British District Officer, who sent against him a small punitive expedition with forces taken from the meager resources he had. Sailgi and his band of outlaws had a small and old fort as their main base in Gumatti, a village sited eight miles from Bannu, in the middle of a tribal area that could become a potential powder keg.

British Briefing.Captain Walter Hamilton, officer in the 20th Duke of Cambridge Own Infantry (Brownlow´s Punjabis), has received the order to march with a small column to Gumatti, a small and normally quiet village in the Frontier, to kill or capture an irritating local bandit. This one appeared to have fortified an old compound in the outskirts of the village, so the column will have a mountain gun to support the attack.The idea is to attack swiftly the fort, before the local tribesmen have time to disturb the column or reinforce Sailgi. A quick and aggressive action can save men and time, and can also win the day; faced with a determined foe, the Afghan will lose their resolve quickly…

- Big Men: Captain Hamilton, Level II Lieutenant Martin, Level I (a rookie) Havildar Massud Khan, Level II

- Infantry Platoon: HQ element: 2 rifle armed runners LMG Section: 1 Hotchkiss LMG gunner, 6 riflemen Rifle Section: 9 riflemen Rifle Section: 8 riflemen Rifle Section: 8 riflemen

- Mountain Gun: Light mountain gun with three crews

- Baggage element: 2 pack mules

1

THROUGH THE MUD AND THE BLOOD ESCENARIOS

The British forces are Experience: Regular, Moral: Good.The artillery uses the rules from point 8.2.5 of the rulebook, and is treated as a 6pdr gun.

Afghan Briefing.Sailgi Akhbar Khan has had a “brilliant” career as a bandit until now but, finally, the British District Officer in Bannu has decided to destroy him. Sailgi must now to resist the attack and, if it is Allah´s wish, he will send the British running back to Bannu. At least, he must win time to allow the tribesmen to come and attack the hated angrezi.

- Big Men: Sailgi, Level II Mahmud Saif, Level I

- Bandits: 6 bandits with Martini-Henry 6 bandits with old muskets and jezzails

The Afghan forces are Experience; Green, Moral: Good.This is a group of outlaws, and not a regular force, so their weapons will be mixed and not too modern. The Martini-Henry applies an additional -1 modifier to the score and the older weapons need a complete turn to reload and they treat the target as in a level of cover worse (for the firer) than normal.

Map of the Game.The map represents an old compound or small fort placed in the outskirts of Gumatti. The terrain is a mix of open ground and a scattering of rough ground which offers light cover. The fort has a five foot wall which provides hard cover from small arms and medium cover from artillery shots. The buildings provide the same amount of cover (in fact, the fort is no more than a typical qalat).

The British enter on the table on the southern edge, from any point of it. The Afghan may begin the game into the fort or anywhere no more than 12” from its walls.

The table represents an area of 6´ x 5´.

Blinds.2

Old Fort

Vegetation

Walls

Road

House

THROUGH THE MUD AND THE BLOOD ESCENARIOS

The British player begins the game with one Blind per Infantry section and other 1 D3 Blinds used as dummies. The Afghan player has two Blinds plus 1 D6 additional Blinds which operate as Peacocks (see Special Rules).

Cards.The Game Deck is composed of the next cards:

British CardsBig Man 1, Captain Hamilton (Level II)Big Man 2, Lieutenant Martin (Level I)

Big Man 3, Havildar Massud Khan (Level II)Command Initiative I

British RallyUp and at´Em!

Heroic Leader (Lt. Martin only)Support Unit (mountain gun)

Afghan CardsBig Man 1, Sailgi (Level II)

Big Man 2, Mahmud Saif (Level I)Command Initiative I

Hesitant TroopsAmmunition Shortage

Game CardsTime for a Sniffer

British BlindAfghan Blind

Victory Conditions.The British player must take the fort and destroy the outlaws, capturing or killing Sailgi in the process. The Afghan player must hold his position, surviving to the game with Sailgi.

This scenario has 8 turns of game time. Special Rules.1.- PEACOCKS.The Afghan forces are supplemented by other hangers-on, tribesmen looking for a bit of action or loot. These are essentially a rag-tag bunch who will turn up whenever there is any fighting, taking only a few pot-shot from a safe distance, without actually committing themselves to the fight.

All Afghan Blinds will initially operate as Peacocks, counting as four men with older weapons which may fire from Blinds without deploying on the table. When a Blind is spotted, if it contains Afghan troops, they will be deployed on the table but if it is a dummy, it will be retired from the table, assuming the Peacocks have had enough “glory”.

In this way, the British player will have very difficult to know where the real enemies are.

2.- LOOT.

3

THROUGH THE MUD AND THE BLOOD ESCENARIOS

At each “Time for a Sniffer” card, the Afghan player may add one additional figure for every two KIA on the British force, representing in this way the increased confidence of the locals. These figures may be placed on existing Blinds situated within 12” of the fort, and are armed with old weapons.

Note: This scenario is based in the one written by Max Maxwell as a part of his “Insurrection in Mesopotamia” article.

4