Breakout At Dawn

Dawn arrives in the Sudan

The scouting patrol settled down for the night at the Oasis of El-Dubie. A thorny zeriba protected the perimeter on three sides, while a collection of mud huts provided a barricade for the fourth side of the rectangular perimeter.

The men rested uneasy as the Dervish peppered the Oasis with rifle fire all through the night, their objective being to keep the British awake and sleep deprived.

Dervish rife fire has kept the men on alert all night.

It was clear to Colonel Burnaby that the Dervish would likely test the British resolve with an attack, probably at dawn.

"I'd expect the Dervish to attack us from the east so that we have the sun in our eyes," said Burnaby to Major Angus Dundee, the commander of the three companies of the Surrey Regiment (khaki).

EDITOR's NOTE: I forgot to assign a commander of the patrol column. Initially it was supposed to be Captain Nolan of the Sikh Regiment, but as the size of the column grew, it was clear to me that a higher ranking officer, at least a major, should be in command. Colonel Sinclair would have remained back at the camp at Dongola since he is in charge of the whole brigade therein. Colonel Burnaby is an unassigned officer so technically he is not in charge, although he is along for the ride. So the column's commander will be Major Angus Dundee of the Surrey Regiment.

Colonel Burnaby (left) and Captain Nolan (right)

"Aye, no doubt you are correct Freddie," replied Dundee. "We have to get Colonel Barlow out of here and on his way to Dongala before the Dervish attack or cut us off from our base camp."

" Angus, I would like to volunteer to lead a small number of men to take Barlow back to Dongala, before the sun rises," said Burnaby.

"I was thinking the same thing," replied Dundee. "We will send off the Camel Corps under Lt. Simon Ward to take Barlow back to Dongala. At the same time, Freddie, you will take a company of the Surrey's and all of the 21st Lancers out of the perimeter and form a skirmish line to cover the escape of the Camel Corps."

" You know me, Angus, I'm always game for an adventure," blusterd Burnaby.

" All well and good, Freddie, and I respect your courage, but don't get into a fight with the Dervish. You are just to screen them off from Ward so that he and his men can gain a head start on the Dervish. Use the Lancers to make a feint at any Dervish horsemen out there, you know, just drive them off, but do not charge them. Understand?" said Dundee.

"Sure, I have got it," answered Burnaby, ("in a pig's eye!" he muttered to himself.

"Did you say something Freddie?"

"I said bye bye," replied Burnaby as he slapped Dundee playfully on the shoulder. " time is wasting, I must get going."

Lt. Simon Ward leads his troop of the Camel Corps (carrying Colonel Barlow)  away from the Oasis, while  Burnaby leads the Surreys on foot into the brush, supported by a squadron of lancers.

Will Lt. Ward gain enough of a head start to get his troop of Camel Corps back to Dongola before the Dervish get wise to the escape plan? Will Colonel Burnaby get himself into trouble, as is his want? And will the Dervish attack the Oasis, which is now depleted in strength now that several sections have been dispatched out of the camp?

Come back and visit tomorrow for the answer, or should I say "ansar"

They Find Barlow

Colonel Burnaby dashes ahead of the point company of Sikhs to investigate the visitors at the Oasis of El-Dubie.

In our last episode, the British patrol column arrived in front of the Oasis of El-Dubie and spied a European officer in red tunic, seemingly a prisoner of the mysterious Red Arab and his two bodyguards. Colonel Freddy Burnaby, ever impetuous, ran ahead of the advance company of Sikhs to get a closer look.

"Bloody Hell!" exclaimed Burnaby, "is that you Barlow?"

Barlow said nothing, merely nodding his head to affirm the question. He looked at the Red Arab as if to seek permission to speak. (Indeed, it was Barlow and he was most certainly alive. The Dice Gods had seen to it that he had survived the battle somehow).

The mysterious Red Arab stepped in between Burnaby and Barlow and the two Dervish guards noticeably tightened their grip on Colonel Barlow's arms.

Colonel Burnaby and the Sikhs find Colonel Barlow

"Stand Down Freddy!" shouted the Red Arab in perfect English.

"Who in blazes are you," asked Burnaby, "and what is an Englishman doing out here in this God foresaken place?"

"I rescued your Colonel Barlow from the battle and dragged him into the village for his own safety." replied the Red Arab.

"Faversham, Harry Faversham at your service."

Burnaby squinted his eyes to get a closer look at the mysterious Red Arab, who spoke perfect English, and claimed to be a noted British officer in Her Majesty's Army. The Red Arab pulled back his scarf so that Burnaby could get a better look at his face, but still nothing registered with him.

"your Colonel Barlow was trampled by a camel in the melee and fell to the ground, unconscious, beneath a Gatling Gun," explained Faversham. " My associates over there (pointing to the two Dervish) found Colonel Barlow and carried him back to the village. In all the swirling dust and excitement nobody - not British or Dervish - seemed to notice or even care."

The Sikhs surround the mysterious Arab in the red scarf.

Meanwhile, Captain Nolan of the Bombay Sikhs motioned to his men to surround the Red Arab and his entourage. At the same time, the troop of Camel Corps rode past the village to keep an eye on the horizon for Dervish activity.

The Camel Corps scouts ride beyond the Oasis to secure the perimeter. The infantry follows up from behind and heads to the Oasis

The Camel Corps and 21st Lancers secure the perimeter while the infantry forms up in square.

The infantry quickly set to the task of chopping down Mimosa bushes to form a zeriba around the perimeter of the Oasis, incorporating the village as part of the defensive barrier. Once completed, the troop of 21st Lancers retired from beyond the zeriba and took up positions inside the completed square. The Camel Corps scouts remained on duty outside the square.

A zeriba is quickly constructed from thorny Mimosa bushes.

The 21st Lancers fall back from the perimeter and deploy inside the square.

A look inside the square.

"Who the Devil are you Faversham and how did you get here, with Colonel Barlow no less," inquired Burnaby.

"I'm one of Major Kitchener's scouts," replied Faversham. "I've gone native some time ago, a year or more I believe. A little bit of dirt on the face, a sun tan, some robes and a talent for picking up languages allow me to pass for one of the Dervish. My associates and I move freely about the desert. We watched your squares approach the Oasis during the battle and managed to stay out of sight while we watched Colonel Barlow's brigade get anihilated by the Dervish. After the battle was over and the Derivish had left the field, we poked around the ground to see if there were any survivors. That's when we found your Colonel Barlow."

"It's all true" rasped Barlow, " I don't have much of my voice right now after taking a camel's hoof in the throat, but I'm indebted to Faversham for saving my life."

"Freddy, I suggest that you make camp here for the evening and return to Dongola in the morning. The Dervish have been watching your patrol column all day and they probably have a mind to attack and slit all of your throats during the night." explained Faversham.

"I remember you now Faversham, said Burnaby, "some would call you a coward, but I can see that it was all a ruse. I had no idea that you were one of Kitchener's lads."

"I'd take it kindly if you not speak of me to anyone," said Faversham.

"I understand" replied Burnaby. " Well then, we will turn the colonel over to Doctor McCoy for his good care and get on with the building of a zeriba. We are indebted to you Faversham -- if there is ever anything that I can do for you..."

Faversham reached into his robes and pulled out a small envelope, handing it to Freddy Burnaby.

" I believe that the Surreys are posed back at Dongala aren't they? There is a Lieutenant Trench in the Surreys and I'd appreciate it if you would give him this envelope. Tell him it's a gift from his old friend Harry."

"Certainly will Faversham, certainly will," said Burnaby.

Little time for a quick reunion as the British must prepare defenses for the evening's camp at the Oasis.

 Captain Nolan was already climbing up onto the roof of one of the mud huts to get a better view. Burnaby was getting ready to follow him and he looked up to see that Nolan was a bit agitated and waving his hands to get attention.

Burnaby looked back to say something to Faversham, but he and his two Dervish had simply vanished.

" Where in the deuce did they go?" wondered Burnaby.

Colonel Burnaby (with binoculars) and Captain Nolan (Sikh infantry) go up on the roof of one of the mud huts to watch for any Dervish that might be nearby.

 Burnaby scampered up onto the roof and slipped his binoculars out of its case. He looked to the south, where Nolan was pointing. There, he espied a small group of camelmen and horse, probably Dervish scouts.

There's trouble ahead...

He then looked in the other direction and could see a larger group of Dervish horse cutting between the Oasis and the trail back to Dongala. It looked like things were going to get pretty hot by morning, if not sooner.

...and trouble behind!

**********
Come back and visit the blog again to find out what happened to the patrol column as they made camp at the Oasis of El-Dubie.

Rules for Engagement 1898 Omdurman Campaign

I found this interesting excerpt in a book titled, Khartoum Campaign 1898 by Bennet Burleigh, in which the author discusses the preparations that the British army made for its campaign to capture Khartoum/Omdurman in 1898. While Kitchener was the overall commander, he delegated command of the British brigade in his army to Major-General William Forbes Gatacre, who brought his command into such a great state of fitness and preparedness that it was able to march 140 miles in a week.

Click on the link below to read the on-line version of the book:

Khartoum Campaign 1898

To prepare for eventualities, and clench the special training he had bestowed upon his men, Major-General Gatacre issued a printed slip of notes, or hints, to his men. I give the salient points of that production:—

"1. As the strength of a European force lies in the occupation of and in movement over open ground, which gives it advantage of fire, so the strength of a dervish force lies in fighting in depressions of the ground, or in a jungle country out of which they can pour suddenly and quickly their thousands of spear-armed warriors, who, unless checked by a murderous fire, constitute a grave danger, even to a perfectly disciplined force.

"It follows, then, that a force halted for the night must always be protected where possible by a zereba, which will check under fire the attacking dervishes.

"2. That a cleared zone be prepared along outer edge of the zereba.

"3. That a force, when moving, should march at a respectful distance from jungle cover.

[Pg 25]"4. It should have the ground in its front and on its flanks searched out by cavalry, mounted infantry, or native levies.

"5. That when mounted troops have found the enemy, they must invariably clear the front of the infantry to enable the latter to use their rifles.

"6. That brigades must be so trained that each battalion and individual soldier must know how to get into the best formation with the least possible delay for meeting the attack of the spearmen, who, it must be remembered, can move at least three times as quickly as a British soldier can double.

"To carry out the above, a high standard of training and steadiness is required, and battalions must be provided with a liberal supply of cutting tools, felling axes, hand axes and bill hooks to enable them, the instant the battalion marches into bivouac, to cut down small trees or strong branches of prickly trees with which to construct a thorn fence.

"Piquets must be withdrawn at dusk, otherwise they might get surrounded and cut off, or, in falling back, would possibly suffer from the defenders of the zereba.

"The protection of the zereba against surprise must depend on the vigilance of its sentries and piquets which line the fence, and whose strength will naturally depend on the proximity of the dervishes to the force. With reliable information, and the ground properly reconnoitred, a patrol of ten men per company, patrolling constantly and noiselessly along the inner edge of the zereba, is adequate, so long as the enemy's dem is say 15 miles distant (a day's march); when nearer than[Pg 26] this, the strength of the piquets to remain awake and under arms will depend upon the circumstances of the moment.

"All night duties of this nature should be found by companies, so that portions of the line along its whole length shall be on duty. Words of command and orders must be given in a low tone; there must be no shouting and no fires burning till the hour arrives for making the morning tea. Men should always be allowed to smoke, but should be warned of the danger of fire in zereba by a cigarette or match-end thrown into dry grass.

"Officers must sleep immediately behind their men; a certain number will always be on duty.

"All, officers and men, must sleep in their clothes, boots and accoutrements, and each man must have his rifle with him. None but sentries' should be loaded, and bayonets should not be fixed, even by the patrols, except when there is expectancy of attack. Under no circumstances should men sleep with their bayonets fixed, or serious accidents will occur.

"And here, one word about 'alarms.' I do not refer to the assembly by bugle sound, but what is ordinarily called a panic, in other words a disgraceful absence of discipline and self-control, which, while ruining the reputation of the corps concerned as a reliable battalion, may be the cause of serious mischief, and must be disastrous to the confidence the General Officer places in its officers and men.

"One of the great advantages accruing to an army on service is the close association of the officer with the[Pg 27] man; each learns something from the other, and the officer will, in after years, appreciate the value of the habit he gets into of talking to his men and of storing up in his mind all sorts of dodges and hints, which assist troops in the field to make themselves comfortable; more than this, it is in the field only that the officer can get the opportunity of instilling into the men's minds the necessity for deliberation under fire, the high standard of the regiment, its past history, its superiority in everything to all other regiments in the division, and his confidence in his men to maintain such a standard of excellence. In many expeditions it has happened that shots have been fired at nothing, night after night, thus disturbing the whole force; such bad habits must be firmly checked."

 

kkll

A Surprise At the Oasis of El-Dubie

The company of Sikhs at the point lead the patrol towards the oasis

We last saw the scouting patrol moving ever so slowly and carefully towards the Oasis of El-Dubie, its mission being to find and recover the body of Colonel Barlow. As the column closed within site of the Oasis they spied what looked like civilians milling about the desert water well. Everyone was on edge as they moved in for a closer look.

Here is what the patrol found at the Oasis of El-Dubie:

Who could that be in the red tunic with his arm in  a sling?

An Arab wearing a red headscarf emerged from the mud hut followed by two burly henchmen, each holding an arm of what appeared to be a hostage. The henchmen wore the brightly colored cloth patches of the Mahdi's Ansar warriors, so caution was taken.


The Arab waved at the patrol as if to indicate that he wanted to talk to the British. The man in the red tunic raised his one good arm over his head and waved to the column.

Colonel Fred Burnaby, the leader of the patrol, looked through his spyglass and exclaimed:

"Good God, it's Barlow, and he's alive!"

(more of the details in our next posting tomorrow)

The Scouting Patrol

The head of the patrol column with one company of Sikhs deployed on the point in skirmish formation.

Colonel Sinclair's patrol column of infantry was surrounded by three layers of protection designed to tripwire any potential Dervish ambush while it made its way towards the Oasis of El-Dubie.


The first ring of protection was the company of Sikhs who were deployed in skirmish order at the head of the column.

The second ring was formed by elements of the Camel Corps, which deployed behind the Sikhs as well as on both flanks of the column.

The 21st Lancers formed the third layer of protection, deployed on the flanks and rear of the column, but not as distant as the Camel Corps troopers.

The general idea was for either the infantry on the point position tor the mounted camel corps on the far outside layer tripping the ambush wire. If the Dervish broke through the first tripwire, then the ring of 21st Lancers would be available to buy enough time for the Sussex Regiment to deploy and fend off any serious attacks on the column.

Overhead view of the column depicting the layers of protection.

Behind them comes elements of the Camel Corps deployed along the flanks of the column.

Next in line are four companies of the Sussex Regiment.

The pack camels with supplies come next.

Looking at the column from the rear.

And finally, bringing up the rear are more of the 21st Lancers.

The infantry companies appear to be fairly well protected from any potential Dervish ambush. However in the Sudan, things are not always the way they look. A quiet and peaceful landscape may be full of unpleasant surprises for the unwary.

All the while, the column is being observed by Beja riflemen hidden in the thickets of Acacia trees and behind rocks. Their commander orders the Beja to let the British column pass unharmed.

dd

Barlow's Square

Barlow's square contracts as its losses pile up. Note that a troop of the 21st Lancers has taken refuge inside the square after losing a melee to the Dervish - it was the only safe place to go. CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE.

In reviewing some of the photos that I took of the Battle of Tokar, I thought that those of Barlow's square were particularly good and worth a second look. My favorite picture in the series is the one that I posted at the top of the page, as the square began to contract as the losses began to mount up.

A picture of Barlow's full square early in the game:

Barlow's full square early in the battle, consisting of Royal Marines, Sailors and the Black Watch Highlanders (all figures shown are Britains and John Jenkins Designs figures.

The fate of Colonel Barlow's square

The last stand of the Black Watch at Tokar.

Some people have wondered, what happened to Colonel Barlow? Did he perish along with many of his men? That was the conventional wisdom once the remnants of the brigade made it back to the fortified camp at Dongala. However, Major General Pettygree wanted to find out for certain, so he ordered Colonel Sinclair to form a reinforced patrol of horse and foot to make another attempt at reaching the Oasis of El-Dubie. Pettygree's thinking was that perhaps the Dervish would take less notice of a smaller patrol than they would if a whole brigade of the Imperials marched back to the oasis.

The rescue patrol

The picture above illustrates the composition of the rescue patrol.

4 companies of the Sussex Regiment (khaki)
1 company of Sikhs (red coats)

5 Camel Corps mounted troopers - for scouting purposes
1 squadron of the 21st Lancers (approximately 12 figure)


Return or revisit this blog over the next several days to find out what the column found.

Battle of Tokar July 23, 2016

The first game turn commences as the British gain a free move.

A long view of the center game table.

My new basing system for toy soldiers: sticking the figures to MDF bases with tacky mounting putty reduces the number of figures that have to be moved each turn.

We fought our first battle in the Sudan using 54mm toy soldiers for the first time in what proved to be a unique experience for all of us. The large figures provide a new perspective on wargaming that is quite evident in all of the pictures posted on this thread. Please double click each picture to enlarge the view and look at all of the details up close

Major General Pettygree in full 60mm splendor with his escort of Skinner's Horse (figures are from King & Country )

The British Nile River Column had established a base camp at Dongala on the Nile and had orders to advance on the town of Tokar and capture the water wells at El-Dubie.

Two squadrons of the 21st Lancers provide support to the British squares.

Petty rides between the squares and reviews the troops prior to the battle.

I spent several hours the night before cutting up pieces of sticky mounting putty and attaching it to the bottom of many of the figures on the table, but not all of them. The figures were then mounted on temporary MDF wooden bases in groups of 6, 8 or 10 figures in order to reduce the amount of time consumed by moving individual figures all game.

We had problems keeping the horses standing upright throughout the game as the slightest touch seemed to knock them over dominoes style. One of the players stopped trying to pick them up and keep them on their hooves, preferring to lay the horses on their sides on the ground. I need to come up with a solution for mounting the horses to MDF bases for future games.

Winston Churchill, ever seeking the spot light, leads the charge of the 21st Lancers against the Beja.

The 21st Lancers prepare to charge the Yellow Flag hoard of fierce Beja (Fuzzy Wuzzies) warriors and Ansar dressed in jibbahs with brightly colored patches.

Turn 2 and the Dervish get right down to business and charge the 21st Lancers.

 Early in the game, the British squares were making good progress in their advance on Tokar and the El-Dubie Oasis. With Barlow's square leading the way on the right, and Sinclair's brigade following on the left, in tandem the two brigades could support each other with fire. However, Sinclair got distracted by Beja riflemen and a swarm of Arab desert levies that were piling up casualties on his brigade. So Sinclair stopped the forward movement of his brigade and engaged the Arabs, but in doing so, became separated from Barlow's brigade and could not support Barlow when the Dervish cavalry swarmed all over him. I believe that had Sinclari (me) kept pace with Barlow, then the outcome of the battle could have been quite different.

Later in the game, the same group of Beja (now significantly reduced in numbers) charges at the camels of the Camel Corps.

 As it was, Sinclair was busy driving off the Green Banner Desert Arabs, nearly wiping them out, and then a Red Banner of fierce Beja suddenly appeared on this left, while simultaneously, another banner of Arabs suddenly appeared on his right. Sinclair reasoned that if he moved forward to support Barlow, then both brigades could get cut off from the base camp along the Nile.

Another view of Colonel Sinclair's brigade square.

The second British square was comprised of the Marines, the Naval Brigade and some Gordon and Black Watch Highlanders. They are advancing on the Oasis of El-Dubie to capture the water wells.

 Bill P. is the owner of the second brigade of British soldiers - I don't recall the name of his brigade commander so I am just going to call the commander Colonel Barlow

Dervish horsemen converge on Barlow's Brigade, which begins to contract due to casualties.

A band of Ansar over run a 7 pounder of the Royal Artillery late in the game.

Like sharks smelling blood in the water, more and more Dervish cavalry descend upon Barlow's brigade and look to swarm over it.

Some elite Dervish cavalry of the Khalifa launch a charge into Barlow's square and break through

Barlow's brigade was overwhelmed by a sudden onrush of Dervish cavalry and foot. The surviving Marines and Sailors fell back from the broken square and attempted (successfully) to form a new rally square.

However, this left the remaining Gordons - only ten of them - to fend for themselves, as they made a heroic last stand in the Oasis of El-Dubie. This reminds me of the last stand at Maiwand.

The Last Stand of the Gordons at El-Dubie. Quite a stirring and heroic picture.

While Barlow's brigade was in trouble, General Pettygree ordered Sinclair to fall back to the encampment and the protection of the artillery, both on share and from the river gunboat.

So in the end, it was readily apparent to all that the Dervish had won a convincing victory over the Imperials. One brigade was nearly destroyed and Sinclair had lost almost half of his brigade during the fighting withdrawal back to the camp. Undoubtedly, the newspaper headlines were not going to be kind to General Pettygree and his commanders. One suspects that Fleet Street would play up the heroic Last Stand of the Gordons and celebrate heroes rather than dwell on the loss.

Concluding Thoughts About the Game

We used a Colonial variant of Bill Protz's "Batailles dans l'Ancien Regime" or "BAR" for short. All eight players were familiar with the rules and so the game moved along very smoothly, even with several hundred single figures that had to be moved. I was glad that I had used the adhesive putty to mount a number of Dervish and British figures onto movement bases.


The Dervish started the game with approximately 470 figures versus 248 for the British. There were some comments on TMP and on my blog that the Dervish needed a higher ratio of figures to the British contingent, something like 3 to 1 or higher. This is not the case in BAR though, as the rules produce quick and bloody results, which means that an advantage in the size of forces can result in crushing the opponent with relative ease.

I wiped out the Green Flag command early in the game, and so we recycled that command into the game again. Thus the Dervish added another 50 or so figures to their original number. The British needed all the machine guns and cannon and men that they could get their hands on.

One unusual thing happened to me during the game: all three of my machine guns jammed on the same turn, but then all three jams were cleared on the next turn. Really bad dice were mitigated by really good dice.

Please feel free to leave any comments and thoughts that you might have about this game, as I'd love to hear what you think about it.

It is late at night right now and I have to get to bed, but I have more pictures and need more time to tweak the story a bit more, so come back again tomorrow and catch up on the changes.

We all had a blast playing this game. I bet that I hadn't played a game with toy soldiers since I was about 10 to 12 years old. This was the first time that my collection of 54mm figures had ever been in a battle, so it was fun to see them all fighting it out for the first time.

Rest assured that there will be more toy soldier battles in the future and that Pettygree and Sinclair will march again.

UPDATE

Please check out the Campaigns of Major General Pettygree to find out what happened to Colonel Barlow's brigade at the battle of Tokar:

http://generalpettygree.blogspot.com/2016/07/54mm-battle-of-tokar.html