Giglamps' Kraal

The Doctor had told Lt. Giglamps that he was lucky to be alive. The Lt. wasn't so sure. 

The months it took for Lt. Giglamp's multiple stab wounds to heal, were also a time of healing for the Albion army in Naal. All offensive action had been halted after the disaster at the Fords of Isandlwana. Troops were weekly arriving from Albion as Lord Chumpsford gathered strength to crush the Halfling  impis of Shaka Sackville-Baggins and so redeem his Lordship's own fortunes.

Among the new arrivals were Giglamp's own regiment, the 17th Heavy Dragoons, better known as "The Sewon and Soforths". Yet if Giggers had expected a warm reunion he was sadly disappointed. Apparently when one loses the Kyng's Colours it is bad form to survive the incident, and Giggers was now shunned for being "the Orc who Lived".

But Giglamps had a plan for redemption. Even before he could walk he engaged a local  HEVC nurse to teach him "Biltu", the Halflings' native tongue. In fact the Lieutenent absorbed all aspects of Halfling culture like some sort of big cultural spongy thingamajig.

By the time he was able to walk again, he was ready. Stealing away from the hospital, Giglamps replaced his  Albion uniform with the trappings of the uNodproudfoot regiment and disappeared into the veldt.

It was roundly believed that Giggers had deserted but events were to prove otherwise...

Lt. Giglamps may be seen blending in with uNodproudfoot right horn.

 Following on from the events in "Giglamps at Fugitives Drift", "Giglamp's Honour" starts with the plucky Lieutenant, disguised as a halfling warrior, seeking to recover the colour he lost at the Drift. Having  ascertained that the colour was being held at the kraal of the uNodproudfoot, Giggers infiltrated the regiment and has been waiting for an opportune moment to recover the Kyng's Colour of the "Eyes in Gourds". As a mounted column of orcs, hobgoblins, and goblins approached the Kraal, Giggers knew the moment had arrived.


The Scenario

This game is based on an actual incident from the Zulu War of 1879, laced with adventure films such as "Gunga Din" and "The Four Feathers". A mounted column is approaching the halfling kraal with the intention of destroying it. However the halflings are ready and lying in wait, ready to charge once the column has ridden into their trap. 

Giglamps provides a twist in what would otherwise be a standard raid/ambush game. The Lieutenant needs to spoil the halflings' ambush and make his way to the large hut in the center of the kraal to regain the Colours. The effects of all this are noted below.


Forces

Albion:

C in C: General Hom Jones, Rep 5 Hobgoblin mounted on a ram.

Naal Mounted Goblin Contingent, 10x Rep 4 goblins mounted on giant lizards, carbine, sword. One figure is an officer.

Ram Border Guard, 10x Rep 4 hobgoblins mounted on rams, carbine, sword. One figure is a Rep 5 officer.

17th "Sewon and Soforths" Heavy Dragoons, 10x Rep 5 orcs mounted on horses, carbine, sword. One figure is an officer.

Lt. Giglamps, Rep 6 Orc, iklwa, shield. His sword, pistol, carbine, and uniform are hidden behind the large hut!

uNodproudfoot:

Odocewayo Proudfoot, Rep 5 leader.

Loins, 10x Rep 5 halfling warriors.

Chest right, 10x Rep 4 halfing warriors.

Chest left, 10x Rep 4 halfling warriors.

Right horn, 9x Rep 4 halfling warriors (Giglamps is with this unit).

Left horn, 10x Rep 4 halfling warriors.

All halflings carry a shield, iklwa or knobkerry, and throwing spears.

The Right Horn lurks in the scrub. Note wily Giggers hanging back.

 The Table

The game was played on an 8x4 foot surface. The kraal is on a hill near one of the short sides. There are areas of scrub and gullies along the long sides. A nice open area leads from the kraal to the opposite short side of the table.

Deployment

The halflings begin the game with the horns and chest hidden in the scrub and gullies. The loins are arrayed on the hill just outside the kraal facing the opposite short side of the table.

The Albion forces enter from the short side opposite the kraal.

General Jones advances with goblin scouts, followed by the rest of the NMGC, Ram  Border Guard, and the 17th .

 Special Rules


Gigger's Giglamps: Needless to say  Giggers has had to hide his spectacles lest the halflings find him out. Without his glasses, Giggers is woefully short sighted. He may not use any ranged weapons until he sheds his disguise. It takes one activation for Giggers to reveal that he is in fact, an orc and not a halfling at all.


'Alfings! Fousands of 'em: The fifty halflings that start on the table are only a fraction of the numbers the uNodproudfoot can field. In fact the best warriors are currently off hunting Olephants and Woozils. Each time halfing casualties reach 10 in number, the figures may be returned to play in the form of a new REP 5 unit. The unit enters play along the long table edge just beyond either side of kraal hill. Halfling losses (OOF, OD, and Runaway) will continue to be replaced in this fashion until either the kraal has been destroyed or the Albion flag is seen flying above the kraal.


The Kyng's Colours of the 21st: are kept in the large hut in the center of kraal hill. Giglamps may recover the colours and fly them above the kraal simply by entering the tent and spending an action to drop his disguise and grab the flag. The entrance to the hut is guarded by two rep 5 halfling warriors equipped with iklwa and shield. Giggers must kill, incapacitate or drive off the guards before he may enter the hut. Should the Colours be raised on kraal hill, all Albion forces immediately increase their Rep by 1 while all halfling forces suffer from a reduction of Rep by 1 for the remainder of the game.


The Warning: Play starts when Giggers calls out a warning to the approaching raiders. At that time Giglamps must fight two of the halflings in his unit while the chest and horns charge from cover, their ambush foiled. After the combat and halfling move, the Albion forces take a turn. Thereafter the game is played according the usual turn sequence of the rules in use.


Objectives
Simply put Jones must capture and destroy the kraal, while Odocewayo must prevent that outcome. The game continues until one of  the following occurs: There are no Albion forces left on the table, the kraal is destroyed, or their are no halfling forces left on the table.


Here is how it went:


As the goblin scouts edged nearer, Giglamps knew he had to act to prevent a massacre. He did the only thing he could under the circumstances and shouted the alarm; "There's a halfling on the wall! There's a halfling on the wall"!

The goblins scouts immediately doubled back rejoining their unit, while the halflings, their ambush spoiled, charged!

The two warriors nearest Giggers immediately set about him with iklwa and knobkerry, knocking him senseless.

The trap is sprung!

 Reacting quickly, General Jones ordered a counter charge. The Naal Mounted Goblin Contingent wheeled left to engage the right horn, while the Ram Border Guard wheeled right to engage the left horn. The "Sewon and Soforths" were held back as a reserve.

The counter charge.

Ram meets Horn.

The Ram Border Guard were soon bogged down by the press of halflings. Nearly half the regiment had been unrammed. Yet halfling casualties were mounting.

Doleful slaughter

 In stark contrast the Naal Mounted Goblins made short work of their foe, causing the right horn to flee the field. Meanwhile Giggers, groggy yet undaunted rose shakily to his feet.

The Recall

 Eventually the halfling left horn gave way, taking their wounded with them.

Seeing the chest fast approaching, General Jones sounded the recall and both goblin and hobgoblin cavalry retired to the flanks of the 17th,

Opening volley

 Half of the Ram Border Guard had lost their mounts and formed a thin skirmish line in front of their still mounted comrades. As the chest approached the skirmishers opened fire, checking the charge.

Giggers blends in with the fugitives

 Giglamps joined the mob of disheartened warriors making their way back towards the kraal. In the confusion none could tell it was he who had spoiled the ambush.

A telling fire.

The fire of the hobgoblins killed the induna of the left horn and the warriors fled in dismay.

Odocewayo girded his loin and remaining chest formation and fought a delaying action, awaiting the reinforcements he knew must be even now running to the sound of the fighting.

Giglamps directs the reinforcements.

 On seeing the hunting warriors return, Giggers helpfully directed them to the scene of the fighting...and away from kraal hill.

Giglamps faces Des and Tiny.

 Stealing into the kraal, Giglamps confronted Des and Tiny, the guards of the royal hut. They circled, each seeking advantage.

Sound the Advance.

 Across the field, General Jones dismounted the rest of the Ram Border Guard, and pulled the NMGC out of the line to form a new reserve. With the "Sewon and Soforths" on the left and the Ram Border Guard on the right, Jones began his advance.

Tiny is down and Des is stunned.

 In the kraal, Giggers dodged an attack by Tiny and gutted the warrior in return. Following through with his riposte, Giglamps hit Des with his shield, stunning the little fighter. Being a proper Genteorc, Giggers waited for Des to recover before moving in to re-engage.

RBG enter the gully.

 The Albion forces continued a measured advance, forcing the loins and chest slowly back towards kraal hill. The Ram Border Guard took up a position in the gully ready to support their mounted comrades by fire.

The halflings reform their warriors.

 All the while the newly arriving warriors were making their way forward. Once the loins were joined, the halfling formed up in a dense mass of fur footed fury.

The Colours appear over the kraal.

 Just as the revitalized halfling loins were preparing their thrust, the Kyng's Colour appeared over kraal hill. The Albion forces let out three cheers and...

At them with the sword!

The RBG fired, dropping four of the front rank halfings including Odocewayo.

The Sewon and Soforth's charged!

The uNodproudfoot break!

 The approaching wall of horseflesh was too much for the now leaderless halflings to bear. The loins broke and ran. The Soforth's pursued without pity.

Gigger's honour restored

 One can only imagine the surprised looks from the Soforth's officers on seeing Giglamps, in sole possession of the kraal .

Let slip the dogs of war...

The subsequent pursuit of the uNodproudfoot destroyed the regiment as a fighting force. There would be one less iButho to oppose the force sent to capture the Sackville-Baggins, capitol of Ubagendi.

Game notes

This game was played using the version of Muskets and Mohawks submitted to Two Hour Wargames for publication. As of this time, the rules are being split into two books, "Muskets and Mohawks" and "Long Rifle". M&M will deal with units of about 10 figures each, while LR is intended to be a smaller scale skirmish set of rules. I've not seen the final version of LR yet, but I imagine the game just recounted used rules more like LR than M&M.

Afterward

Well now that Giggers is freed from the stain on his honour caused by the loss of the Colours (and daring to have survived! What cheek!), he is free to join Mungorc Park's expedition to find the source of the Nigella River.

The scenario is an interesting one as the Albion force is not large enough to sustain much loss and retain any real bite. So should Jones launch an all out assault from the start and try to occupy kraal hill before the weight of halfling reinforcements can be felt, or should he wait it out and hope that Giggers succeeds in his mission? Giggers must fight at odds of two to one against him at least twice in order to capture the flag so success is by no means assured.

And what of Odocewayo? Should he try and recall his prematurely launched horns and chest or should he join them in a bid to overwhelm the mounted foe? Indeed even if he only weakens the Albion forces a bit, he is sure to delay them, giving time for his own reinforcements to arrive. The alternative of course is to do as was done here and let the horns and chest destroy themselves in piecemeal attacks so they may sooner return to the fray as fresh and higher Rep reinforcements. Which approach is the correct one?

Well I do hope you have enjoyed the tale and as always, thanks for dropping by!