13 Apr 2009 Scenario 17. Last Stand

This game was played by Ron Porter and myself using Ron's 25mm Zulu War figures and Colonial Adventures from. 2 Hr Wargames.

I took command of the Zulu forces. Surveying the scene, I decided on a rather conventional deployment sending out 2 units of rifle armed warriors to pin down the fort while 2 horns each of 2 units deployed left and right to encircle the enemy. That left 2 units of White Shields in reserve in the center. Things started off smoothly enough until a company of Ghurka's emerged from the wood on the British left and open up as my impis crossed the river. We fumbled a bit with the rules but eventually settled on interpretations that suited us and settled to it as volleys crashed out, downing a few zulus and driving even more away but they couldn't stop the charges from coming in. They were able to hold them though and it took almost the entire game before the last Zulu was downed. His 1 unit had tied down 3 of mine but for each of us that was about 1/3 of our forces.

In the centre, my rifles proved embarrassingly effective, even against the walls. Due to a quirk in the rules and the numbers and situation etc, the fewer men Ron used to man the walls, the more I was able to hit but those men were needed elsewhere and so eventually the wall was open and I sent in the loins.
On my left, the charges came in as planned and a prolonged melee started. Turn after turn we hammered until finally the last surviving Royal Scot, the company commander, fell under a hail of blows. Actually we found him still standing in a corner of the building when we cleaned up and there was some talk of his having crawled under a table!

This left a company of Sikhs and a gatling gun to defend the last part of the compound. As one unit surged up from the stream, the gun opened up, swathing down great numbers of Zulus and then, jamming just as the charge came in. (typical!).The Sikhs managed to hold the 1st assault on the interior wall but with casualties mounting and Zulus coming in behind them, the remnants made a dash for the Stone House where they grimly held on hoping for relief. The Gurkhas finally having dispatched my right horn, turned and drawing Kukris charged into my riflemen. There was a chance that these would panic but they stood firm and unleashed the most deadly fire of the game and then rolled well in melee.

We drew a veil over the scene as darkness fell.