Turn 10
Headlines from the London Times News – “The North Sudan
is free of Revolt, only Khartoum remains!” which is not quite true and the
whole of the West, most of the South and Kassala in the East still need to be
cleared. Some journalists may be sent south to report the truth!
The West: Again with no forces in the West there is
nothing here for the Allies to do but wait for reinforcements to arrive from
the north. Once Khartoum is relieved then the West can be cleared.
The East: With the Revolt index in the east at 1 and only
Kassala left there is no rush to push to this town until the North is
cleared. The British force at Trinkitat
and Suakin continues reinforcing the defenses.
No rush to face a defeated enemy and have unnecessary casualties. Further
south though the Egyptian force at E1, consisting of the Cavalry Brigade
Commander, Mounted Bashi Bazooks, 2nd and 3rd Cavalry
squadrons, 1st Camel Company, 2nd Brigade Commander, 5th
and 6th Egyptians, Xth and XIth Sudanese, and 6th
Artillery continues its advance up the Atbara River. The next stop is where the track from Kassala
meets the Atbara River. Again there are
no Dervish forces here defending the crossing.
Word has reached the column from the scouting Bashi Bazooks that Osma
Digna is gathering forces at Kassala so maybe the wily veteran has one last
fight left in him.
The North: The force at Metemma has only the 6th
cataract and Wadi Hamed to pass through and the Nile will be open to
Khartoum. At the 6th cataract
the steamer Hermes passes with no issue as the river is flowing high this time
of the year. At Wadi Hamed, there are no
Dervish forces to stop the British Column so on to Khartoum.
The force at Abu Klea advances on to Metemma across the
desert to provide support for the advancing columns. With the Desert Railway now open all
reinforcements advance on to Abu Hamed cutting several turns off their journey.
This vital link will keep the Allied column well supplied for the final push.
The South: And so it begins the relief of Khartoum
Relief of Khartoum: (6 – 1 - 5, 10 units
of Dervish, 1 Band of Dervish Cavalry, 1 band of Armored Cavalry, 2 Jihadiya
Rifle, 2 Rubs of Western Ansar, 4 rubs of Nile Ansar, and 2 Cannons, Allied
attack to relieve a siege) The attacking force consists of the following: 1st
Infantry Brigade Commander, the 75th Gordon Highlanders, 89th
Royal Irish, Camel Corp Commander and the Guard Camel Regiment, the 3rd
Infantry Brigade Commander, consisting of the 2nd Battalion 46th
and the 1st battalion 79th, along with the Mounted
Infantry and 3rd Royal Artillery 7pdr Mountain Screw Battery. The
steamer Hermes is providing fire support and transporting supplies for
Khartoum. The defenders of Khartoum include the following: Egyptian Overall
Commander, IXth Sudanese Infantry, 1st Egyptian Gendarme, 1st
Bashi Bazooks, Turkish Battalion, and Section B of the 5th Artillery.
In Khartoum, the outer defenses are manned by the Bashi
Bazooks, the Gendarme, and the Turkish Battalion. The IXth Sudanese lines the North wall and
acts as a reserve.
What the Allies did not count on was that most of the
Dervish Army would lien p outside the town in an attempt to storm Khartoum
The initial volley from the defenders did inflict
casualties across the front but this would be only one of 2 highlights in the
defense of the town. First to fall was
the Bashi Bazooks. They fought to the man and the unit was completely wiped
out.
Next was the Gendarme. There were just too many Dervish
and they finally fell. They did have 3
stands break and run to the Nile but with nowhere to go, last report was they
surrendered to the Dervish. The Artillery was able to retreat out of the line
and form up with the Sudanese flank, but were also assaulted and fell..
One of the highlights was the Turkish Battalion. They
held out to the frontal assault but finally fell to attacks from the rear and
flank.
The Sudanese reformed in the last main structure and held
out against multiple assaults but in the end Pasha Hicks was mortally wounded
and the Sudanese fought to the last.
In the mean time the Dervish Cavalry and 1 rub was tasked
to hold off the British advance up the Nile. Somehow a Dervish unit advanced
behind the main British line and attacked a section of the Artillery causing
damage and causalities amongst the crew.
The Guard Heavy Camel Regiment did clear the Dervish
zeriba and ran off the Cavalry and Armored Cavalry.
On the Nile at this time of the year the current on the
Nile was at its peak and the steamer Hermes had a difficult time against the
current. It did provide long range support against the Dervish outside the
walls of Khartoum.
The British Mounted Infantry fought against several
Dervish units and eventually followed them so far off the table that some of
the troopers never returned to the retreat back to Wad Hamed.
As the lead British Brigade made it to the Rivers edge,
they realized that the city had fallen and the best course of action was to
retreat back to Wad Hamed.
Khartoum had fallen. This is a serious blow to the allied
cause.
Next at Kosti the Egyptian forces here continue resting
and begin reinforcing the defenses here so the when the British advance up the
Nile they have a base to operate from. There are rumblings that the Ruby T and
the Egyptians may try for Fashoda when the British arrive which is not sitting
well with the Egyptians that have been fighting here for the last couple of
months. They want to take out their
revenge against the Dervish after the loss at El Obeid and being forced back to
the Nile. 1st Brigade Commander has his work cut out for him,
letting his troops know that they will be in the fight to take back the West.
The supply situation in Kosti has 3 turns so the
Egyptians there may rest for a turn before advancing back out or until word of
the Fall of Khartoum.
With the Revolt in the North crushed and the East only 1
turn away. No reinforcements are available. But word of the fall of Khartoum
may change the mind of those in charge in Alexandria. There is a rumor of
unrest in the North West Frontier so some troops may be needed there and in
South African the Boers are starting to act up again.
Closing out the turn The North with an index of 0, has
had the Revolt crushed in this section.
The East goes up to 3. In the South it goes up to 8 with the fall of
Khartoum. While in the West it goes up to 8 since there are no Allies present
anywhere in the West. The Mahdist gains 53
points this turn for a total of 362 points, only 38 points away from winning
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