Aliwal Again Again

When I agreed to run this week's game I hadn't realised it was going to be hotter than the Punjab back in Jolly Old Brixworth. Phew wot a scorcher, as the saying goes. So I pinned up some sun curtains in SHQ, opened the windows and doors first thing and put the tower fan in for extra cooling during the game.

Since the last Aliwal playtest a week or two ago I've painted some more Gorchurra so the Sikh flanks have more of a "cloud" of swirling irregular cavalry. I also downgraded their quality to offset their numerical superiority. I want the better quality British/HEIC cavalry to be able to charge through them whilst still suffering casualties.

Compared to the last game I rotated the set up through 180 degrees to give Phil the chance to play with the light cavalry. Chris partnered him with the Sikhs, and Tim and Steve took the Brits.

I didn't have the best evening umpiring. My brain has been full of "From Pike to Bayonet" which has some similar ideas for movement and so on and what with that and trying to sort out the transition to hexes I should have spent a bit more time re-reading the rules and taking some notes, rather than sitting in the garden eating ice cream and drinking cocktails.

Or perhaps not.

Anyhow, Tim and Steve started off with a more direct approach than Chris did for the last game. I did them a disservice by deploying them in line instead of column, which slowed their approach.

With the sun streaming through the windows and into the camera lens they still got stuck in early with the cavalry, and had mixed fortunes.

I was regretting using my camera phone by this point. I really needed the SLR with long lens to pick up on the detail of what was happening.

Steve was wining two of the cavalry fights and losing one. He moved up his horse artillery to enfilade the village prior to an attack with the Gurkhas. Well, at least that's what it looked like.

Which meant I was a bit surprised when he swung the guns round in front of the village at close range, masking the Gurkha rifle fire and their approach to the village. I think this cost him a quick win on this flank.

Phil was doing his best to envelope the British cavalry on his right, as the Lancers drove deep into the Gorchurra, driving them back. The frontal assault on the fortifications was going quite well, with the white capped Gurkhas in the centre leading the way.

Screaming "Ayo Goorkhali" the Gurkhas were over the defences, forcing the Sikhs back.

The cavalry melee at the far end was getting a bit confusing. I really needed to be at that end of the table to keep a grip on it.

Steve had lost badly in two of the cavalry melees on his flank, but the Governor General's Bodyguard were doing the business.

When I called time the Sikhs were probably on top, having got the upper hand on both flanks. On the other hand the British were over the entrenchments, and creating some mayhem.

Not an entirely satisfactory game. I need to refresh my memory on some bits of the rules and write up the scenario notes. The British suffered a high number of officer casualties, and as their command is one of the reasons they prevailed historically I need to look at that. I can't have them hanging back, but I can't have them dropping like flies. I also lost my way a bit with firing arcs and was accused of making things up as I went along. Sometimes a valid comment but in this case not true. It was a bit warm and I just got a bit befuddled.

Still, I got enough to firm this up as a COW session, so not a wasted evening.