"Fire and Sword in the
Sudan" is a simple campaign game built around the Mahdist uprising in the
Sudan. It is not meant to be a simulation of those events, but rather to
capture the atmosphere of that campaign. There is no definite time scale; the
war lasted 18 years, from the first bloodshed on Abba Island to the death of
the Khalifa less than 50 miles from the island where the revolt began.
All players in the game assume
command of some portion of the Anglo-Egyptian forces. Players can divvy up the
units equally, they can command by committee, or each can assume command over
all Anglo-Egyptian troops in one region. In any case, when battles occur,
players whose forces are not engaged take command of the Mahdists.
I have made modifications to Steve
Winters original rules, which can be found at http://home.comcast.net/~theangle/FireSwrd/FirSrdpg.htm. These changes were made to reflect the rules
that we use, Fire and Fury, and other changes that I have found that needed
some additional explanation.
The Map
The map divides the Sudan into five
regions: Egypt, the Northern (Military) Sudan, Southern Sudan (Omdurman and
Khartoum, the Ghezira, and the banks of the White and Blue Niles), Western
Sudan (Kordofan and Darfur), and Eastern Sudan (the Atbara river, Abyssinian
frontier, and Red Sea Littoral).
Squares on the map are garrison
towns. Dots are other villages, wells, or waypoints.
Set-Up
The Anglo-Egyptians have about 50
(depending on how you count the artillery and Cavalry) "basic units"
to use in the game. The size of a basic unit is determined by the rules you’re
using—platoons in TS&TF, companies in Soldier’s Companion, etc. Throughout
these rules, the term "company" is used to designate a basic unit.
At least 20, but not more than 25 units,
not including Commanders, must be distributed by the Anglo-Egyptian players
among the garrison towns (those marked with a number in a square). Every
garrison town must have at least 1 unit in it at the start of the campaign. A
full battalion of Egyptian or Sudanese infantry may be split between 2 locations;
this is only allowed during the setup. Example the 1st Egyptian
Regiment is split between El Fasher - 8 stands, and Dara – 7 stands. If there is a battle, the units’ rating is
based on unit’s strength at that time. The unit at El Fasher would be 8/7/5 and
the unit at Dara would be 7/6/4. Both with morale of Trained.
All of these garrisons must be
Egyptian or Sudanese units, or gunboats.
Every unit that is not placed in a
garrison town is held off-map either in Alexandria, England, or India.
There is no Dervish set-up.
Revolt Indexes
Each area except Egypt has a
"revolt index," reflecting how much of the populace has risen against
the government and gone over to the Mahdi. The indexes vary from 0 to 10.
At the start of the game, their
values are determined randomly. Roll 1d6+2 for the Southern Sudan, and roll 1d6
each for the Eastern, Western, and Northern Sudan. Record these values
someplace where you can keep track of them—right on the map is a good place.
Once it revolts, a region remains in
revolt until its revolt index is driven back to 0 or less.
(For a less random start, use these
revolt indexes: Southern Sudan, 6; Eastern Sudan, 4; Western Sudan, 3; Northern
Sudan, 2).
Turn Sequence
1 Dervish revolts and surprise
attacks: If any region has not yet revolted, roll to determine whether it does
so.
2 Anglo-Egyptian movement
3 Battle resolution4 Supply, revolt index, and victory point adjustment; reinforcements
Dervish Revolts
Roll one die for each region. If the
result is equal to or less than the region’s revolt index, then revolt has
broken out or spread to that region, and that region is officially "in
revolt."
f no regions revolt on the first
turn, roll again for each region. Keep doing this until at least one region
revolts (this shouldn’t take long).
Surprise Attacks
On the turn when a region revolts,
Dervishes may capture its garrison towns and field forces by surprise.
The basic chance for a surprise
attack to capture a garrison town equals the regions’ revolt index. This is
modified as follows:
-1 per unit beyond the first stationed
in the town
-1 town is Wadi Halfa, Suakin, or El
Obeid-3 town is Khartoum
Roll 1d6 for each garrison town in
the revolting region, and 1d6 for each Anglo-Egyptian force that is not in a
garrison town. If the roll is equal to or less than the modified surprise
chance, the town is captured by surprise and its garrison is lost, or the force
outside a town is overwhelmed and destroyed.
Any garrison town that is not
captured by surprise comes under siege. Roll 1d6+1 for the number of turns the
town can hold out before supplies are exhausted.
Example: A revolt has broken out in the Western Sudan
with a Revolt Index of 4. The 1st Egyptian Regiment with 8 stands in
El Fasher rolls to determine if they are surprised. They roll a 5, which means the unit survives
the surprise. The remaining unit of the 1St is located in Dara. They
roll a 3 which means the unit is eliminated and removed from the OOB and Dara
falls into the hands of the Dervish
Anglo-Egyptian Movement
Stacking
Stacking limits:
Garrison
town or River Space 9 unitsDesert Space 4 units
Desert Railway 6 units
Leader Stands do not count towards stacking limits.
Movement
Only Anglo-Egyptian forces actually
move on the map. Dervish forces are ubiquitous and appear randomly.
Movement limits:River spaces 2 spaces
River spaces (overstacked) 1 space
Desert Space 1 space
Gunboat 3 spaces
Movement is from point to point
along the communication routes, which are the Nile and Atbara rivers, the
Desert Railway, and an assortment of desert routes that follow the few lines of
wells. All Anglo-Egyptian units are free
to move beginning on turn 1, even if their region is not in revolt.
When moving across the desert, no
more than four units can move as part of a stack, ever.
Up to 6 Anglo-Egyptian units can
move two spaces per turn if they are following a river and they are not
overstacked. They can move only one space per turn away from the rivers or if
they are overstacked. Units must stop moving for the turn if they are engaged
in a battle. A force along a river but not in a garrison town can remain in
place indefinitely. If the region is in revolt, roll every second turn to see
if the unit is attacked, the same as if it moved into the space. This battle is
handled as a dervish attack against a British camp (roll 1-4 on 1d6) or a surprise
attack (roll 5-6 on 1d6). A surprise attack is identical to a normal attack
against a camp except the dervishes are allowed to sneak up to within 12 inches
(or about one move) of the zeriba before being spotted.
Away from the river, a force cannot
remain in place unless it occupies a garrison town. The force must move every
turn until it reaches a river or a garrison town. For example, a flying column
moving from Korti to Metemma cannot rest at Abu Klea. On the turn after it
moves to Abu Klea, it must either advance or retreat; it cannot remain
stationary.
Gunboats
The gunboats must stay along the
Nile River. They can move three spaces per turn. They must roll for Dervish
attacks in each space, just like other units. They can also be stopped by
cataracts. When a gunboat tries to pass a cataract in either direction, roll
1d6; on a roll of 5 or 6, the gunboat cannot pass the cataract and must go back
to the previous space. Gunboats can transport 16 total stands. This can be any
combination of infantry, cavalry, command, or artillery. This reflects the gunboat towing dhows or
barges with the troops loaded onboard. This does count for Stacking purposes.
If a Gunboat is damaged in combat, it must either return to Khartoum, Berber,
Abu Hamed or Wadi Halfa for repair.
Minor repairs will take 1 turn. Major repairs will take 2 turns.
The Desert Railway
The Desert Railway does not exist at
the start of the game. To bring the railway into action, an Anglo-Egyptian
force must ascend the Nile from Wadi Halfa to Abu Hamed and then occupy Abu
Hamed for two turns. Units can move along the railway beginning on the third
turn after the column captures or relieves Abu Hamed. Six units per turn can
use the desert railway. They must begin in Wadi Halfa and stop in Abu Hamed.
Battles
Whenever an Anglo-Egyptian force
enters an empty space or a besieged space in a region that is in revolt, roll
1d6. If the roll is less than the region’s revolt index, Dervishes meet the
force for a battle. The number of Dervish basic units equals the difference
between the die roll and the region’s revolt index. For example, if the revolt
index is 6 and the die roll is 2, the Anglo-Egyptian force encounters four units
of Dervishes.
If the space being entered is a
garrison town, subtract 1 from the die roll for every full 5 points the town is
worth.
Once the number of Dervish units is
known, roll 1d6 per unit to find its type:
1 1 Rub of Fuzzy-Wuzzy (includes 2
units of Sword/Spear and 1 unit of Rifles)
2 1 band of Cavalry/Camel3 1 band of Jehadia riflemen
4-6 1 Rub of Standard Ansar (includes 2 units of Sword/Spear and 1 unit of Rifles)
Types of Battles
Unless the battle is a sortie to
break a siege, roll again to find out what sort of battle will be fought:
1-2 Anglo-Egyptian attack on a defended
town/zeriba
3-4 Dervish attack on an Anglo-Egyptian
camp/zeriba5 Dervish attack on an Anglo-Egyptian column
6 Dervish ambush of an Anglo-Egyptian column
Attacking a Dervish town: The town will be along the banks of the river or built
around a well or standing pool. It will have defenses of some sort: rifle
pits/trenches, a zeriba, or stone/mud walls. The Dervishes have one artillery
piece per three basic Dervish units. These can be 12-pdr smoothbores or 9-pdr
breech-loaders, at the referee’s discretion. The Anglo-Egyptians win by driving
the Dervishes out of the town.
Attacking a camp: The Anglo-Egyptian units are hunkered down in their camp,
surrounded by a zeriba, when the Dervishes attack at dawn. The Dervishes have
one artillery piece per four basic Dervish units. These can be 12-pdr
smoothbores or 9-pdr breech-loaders, at the referee’s discretion. The
Anglo-Egyptians win by holding the field.
Attacking a column: The Anglo-Egyptian force enters one edge of the table and
moves to the approximate center, with transport animals. They can be in square
or column formation. Dervishes enter in an L-formation from the opposite edge
and one side. Anglo-Egyptians win by holding the field or by getting at least
half their transport off the forward table edge.
Ambushing a column: Anglo-Egyptian set-up is the same as for attacking a column.
Dervishes can enter unseen from any or all sides and are placed within one
charge-move of the enemy column. Victory is the same as for attacking a column.
Steamer on the Nile:
If the Anglo Egyptian force is a Nile Steamer moving through an area under
revolt, then roll for above and is the Dervish do not have any forces that can
damage the steamer, example, Rifles or cannon, then treat as a Allied win and
the steamer can move to the next stop.
If there are units that can cause damage, then play out the battle,
either on the table or using the Quick Play rules. The steamer will win by either eliminating
the units or driving them off which would allow the steamer to pass. If the steamer
does not win, it must return to the previous location, with no battle and stop
or move up to any remaining spaces, fighting battles along the way if
necessary.
Sallying to relieve a siege: A sortie is handled as if the units were entering their own
space; a die is rolled, modified by the size of the garrison town (-1 per 5
points), and compared to the region’s revolt index. The difference determines
how many units are participating in the siege. The garrison can call off the
sortie after this die roll, but it counts as a lost battle. The Dervishes will
have a fortified camp (zeriba, rifle pits) to defend and one cannon per four
basic units. If the camp is captured, the Dervishes are driven away, but only
temporarily. The garrison can gather 1d6 additional turns’ worth of supplies
and settle back into its defenses or it can abandon the garrison, moving one
space immediately (and risking another battle). If the garrison town is
reoccupied while the region is still in revolt, the siege resumes.
Attacking to relieve a siege: This is handled similar to Sallying to relieve a siege, but
the relieving Anglo-Egyptian forces will enter at the appropriate table edge
based on if the battle is along the Nile or out in the desert. If the battle is along the Nile, then the
table needs to be setup with a river and the relieving force will move along
the river to the town. If the battle is
in the desert, then the force will enter from the farthest table edge. The forces in the town can also sally out of
the town to help relieve the siege. A die is rolled, modified by the size of
the garrison town (-1 per 5 points), and compared to the region’s revolt index.
The difference determines how many units are participating in the siege. The
Dervishes will have a fortified camp (zeriba, rifle pits) to defend and one
cannon per four basic units. If the camp is captured, the Dervishes are driven
away, but only temporarily. The relieving force will deliver 1d6 additional
turns’ worth of supplies and enter into its defenses or it can abandon the
garrison, moving one space immediately (and risking another battle). If the
garrison town is reoccupied while the region is still in revolt, the siege
resumes.
Example: The Western Sudan has a Revolt Index of 4.
The 1st Egyptian Regiment with 8 stands in El Fasher begins to move
to El Obeid to consolidate with other forces there. Since this movement is across the desert, the
unit can only move 1 space at a time. After the 1st Egyptian plays
out the sally to relive a siege battle, the first stop is at the well between
El Fasher and Foga. The unit rolls a die with the result of 2 which results in
a battle. The unit will face 2 units in
battle: Revolt index of 4 minus the die roll of 2. Now the Dervish force is rolled for with a 4
and a 2. This is a regular Ansar infantry unit and a Ansar Cavalry unit. Now
the type of battle is rolled for with a roll of 3: Dervish attack on
camp/zeriba. This can be quickly played out on the gaming table or using the
Quick Battle Rules. For this example the 1st Egyptian Regiment
successfully defends the camp but with 2 stands lost. They can then proceed to the
well.
Casualties
Wounded Anglo-Egyptians can recover,
but only if their side held the battlefield or they escaped somehow, either by
limping or being carried.
When using the Fire and Fury system,
there are no wound casualties. So to determine how many stands are wounded and
returned to active duty and which stands are removed, use TSATF card system to
determine the outcome. Shuffle the card deck and flip a card for each stand
lost in battle. If the result is a
wound, then it is returned to the unit. If the result is a Kill, then the stand
is permanently removed. Reduce the unit’s strength status on the OOB and the
unit rating accordingly. If a unit also
looses several stands, you can reduce the Morale of the unit.
This does not apply to garrisons
lost to surprise attacks; they are gone completely, either slain or absorbed
into the ranks of the Mahdist.
Example; The 1st Egyptian
Regiment, which lost 2 stands in the battle at W1 needs to determine the status
of the lost stand. The unit rating was 8/7/5 morale of Trained. By using TSATF cards, 2 cards are flipped
with a Unit Killed and a Unit Wound. One stand is permanently removed and the
other stand is returned to the main unit. The unit strength is now recalculated
as 7 stands with a rating of 7/6/4 morale of Trained.
Supply, Revolt, Reinforcement, and
Victory
Supplies
Moving units and units outside towns
are assumed to carry or forage sufficient supplies. Also, as the head of a
column moves from Wadi Halfa up the Nile, it converts the spaces behind it to
friendly territory. Those spaces are no longer considered to be in revolt and
supply can move freely through them to the head of the column. The same applies
to a column advancing from Suakin.
At the end of each turn, reduce the
remaining supply total of each besieged force by one. If supplies drop to 0,
the garrison is forced to surrender and is removed from the game.
Reinforcements can move into a
besieged town if they are not defeated in battle (roll normally for an attack
when the force enters the space). Reinforcements can come from a town that is
not under siege or may be units that slipped out of a besieged town.
Reinforcements bring 1d6 turns’ worth of additional supplies with them.
Adjusting Revolt Indexes
Adjust each region’s index up or
down according to the following list. Only things that happened this turn are
considered.
+1 each garrison town in the region
captured by surprise or abandoned by garrison
+1 each battle won in the region by Mahdist-1 each battle won in the region by Anglo-Egyptians
+1 Khartoum fell this turn (affects all regions)
+1 any adjacent region’s index went up because of battles or captured towns
-1 any adjacent regions’ index went down by two points or more because of battles or captured towns
Reinforcements
The Anglo-Egyptian units that were
held off the map during set-up arrive as reinforcements during the game. For
units arriving at Aswan, the referee rolls 1d6-1 during the reinforcement step
of every turn; that many reinforcing units, of the players’ choice. For units
arriving at Suakin, the referee rolls 1d6-2 during the reinforcement step of
every turn; that many reinforcing units, of the players’ choice, (bringing 1d6
turns’ of supplies, if needed). Conversely, one unit per turn can also be
evacuated from Suakin back to Alexandria, if the commander desires.
There can also be the situation
where units of Gendarme to Bashi Bazooks can be raised at Khartoum. This can be based on a die roll every other
turn with the number of stands equal to the die roll. These could be infantry or Cavalry depending
on the available figures.
Also there is a chance that a 3rd
Gunboat could arrive at Aswan or a damaged Gunboat being repaired at Khartoum.
Again this should be left up to a die roll and if the figure is available.
Victory
Victory points are tallied at the
end of every turn and added to the running total. The Dervishes receive VPs
equal to the value of every garrison town they control, every turn. If the
Dervishes amass 400 or more points, they win.The game ends when all four regions are out of revolt or after 20 turns, whichever comes first.
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