Zulus at Historicon 2012

I have always wanted to run a game at Historicon. So, when my friend Rusty wanted to run his Myer's Drift scenario there and asked me to assist him, I said yes! The game ran Friday evening and we had a great bunch of gamers playing.  There were several no shows, but we still ended up having to turn away some who wanted to play.  Sorry guys, next time.

The main forces facing off across the Intombi River.

Our glorious GM "Sir Albert" surveys the pre game troop deployment.

The field of battle with assistant GM and one of our intrepid player.

 The scenario was based loosely on events along the Intombi River on 12 March, 1879.  For those not familiar with the situation the British, with wagons, were hit in camp at the ford, but some troops managed to get away and take cove at a local farm.  In this scenario they take cover at Myers station near the river, while the Zulus loot the camp. The British relief force arrives as the Zulus decide to attack rather than fall back as they did historically.  There was cover for the Zulus to sneak up on the Brits so there were some hidden units involved.  We were using the tried and true The Sword and the Flame rules, modified somewhat of course.

The opening moves...Both Zulu Horns attack.

Both sides were allowed to move all troops simultaneously for the first turn as opposed to the usual card based initiative. This had the players literally thinking on their feet for the first movement turn, and made sure the action started immediately. Both Zulu horns and the Zulu body rushed forward and the British relief force advanced.  The initial volley by the Brits was quite devastating, but the Zulu Impis persevered and actually returned some rather devastating fire on the Boers out on the British right flank.  After that we returned to the usual card initiative of TSATF.  Thanks to good initiative draws and high movement rolls by the Zulu they immediately closed the gap with their lead units to go after both flanks and the center almost simultaneously.

Impis swarm Myers station and advance on the British center.

Zulu luck continued and the British right flank began to crumble, due in part to some unfortunate rolls by the Boer commander.  The Brits coolly reformed as the Zulu abandoned their assault on the buildings and started coming for the infantry in the open.  The problem the Zulus faced was one of driving the Brits back too quickly which created a gap between the lines where British firepower quickly came into play.

The British reform and get ready for a fight!

There was a slight lull on the battlefield as the Brits re-dressed their lines, and the Zulu concentrated for the next big push.  The Zulu advance began to slow, and British marksmanship started to take its toll, but the Zulu commanders pushed forward despite their mounting losses.  

The Gatling gun never jammed once!

 The Naval Brigade and Gatling gun formed an important part of the line as victorious Zulus from the fight on the flanks caught up with their steadily advancing Body.  However, it began to look bad for the Zulu as British rifles did their work.  However, the Zulus again persevered and crashed into the British. They hit first on the British right flank, then on their left, all the while keeping the building occupied and threatening the center.  The hand to hand fighting became intense along the entire line as both sides hoped for victory.  Ultimately, the Zulus swarmed the British left, fought ferociously, and washed their spears in British blood! The result of this can be best seen in the photo below.

The British left is crushed!

By the time the British left failed, our time was about up so we had to call the game.  It was a Zulu victory, but the British still had some teeth left and might have pulled victory from what looked like certain defeat.  Still, the survivors were facing a rather large number of Zulu who had not been in action yet! 

In all, it was an intense, eventful, and extremely bloody affair!  At any given time it was uncertain who might win.  In fact, it turned into such a confused fight for survival that one British player did not realize the Zulu that charged him had been hidden. There were so many Zulu coming at him all he noticed was more enemies in his sights.  All our players were relatively new to the period, and the rules, but they enjoyed themselves immensely to a man! I have to say, Rusty and I had a great time too!  The credit for that goes to Rusty and his devious scenario planning, love for the period, and thorough play testing.

A grizzled survivor surveys the field.

Of course the (by now infamous) acoustics of the Fredericksburg Convention Center, and my penchant for talking, made sure I had lost my voice by the end of the night.  That said, it was a much roomier place to run a game than GMs usually get, and a more than adequate venue in my opinion.  I had a great time at Historicon, and I want to thank my friend Rusty for inviting me along and providing these photos.