The Last Pack Train Out of Ahoogastan, NWF, 12
September 1879 (Scenario borrowed from Jay Stribling)
Colonel Glenfiddich
halts the column, as the dust settles he peers through his binoculars at the
road ahead, he thinks what a perfect place for an ambush. Through the whiny of
mules and the snorts of angry camels he issues the order to send out scouts to
recon the treacherous path ahead…
The British (mainly
Indian army units) are moving a supply train, out of Ahoogastan, headed for the
Bulgur Pass, thence to Jellybad. These vital supplies must get through to the
fort protecting the Bulgur Pass.
The Pathans of Ahoogastan regard the British Mules as the finest
of animals and feel that Allah created them just for use in the rugged terrain
of Ahoogastan. They aim to steal every mule. The main object of this game is to
have possession of the mules at the game's end.
My interpretation of the scenario, the Game table at our clubhouse in Fort Lauderdale Florida, Das Krieg Haus hosted by the South Florida Miniatures Gamers, SMG (2/27/21).
This is a scenario I’ve wanted to run for a very long
time, I’d just not had enough pack mules or Pathans. Borrowing troops and
buildings from my late friend’s collection, Bill Pritchard, I was armed and
ready to run. My friend Jay Stribling form the long time Jackson Gamers wargames
club ran this scenario for us in South Florida at one of our HMGS-South cons
back in 2005. The game was a big hit and tremendous fun! However, things
in Florida did not go anywhere near as Jay had planned for nor the way this game had
went for him back in Jackson Mississippi.
Here’s the link from Jay's original scenario and AAR
Here's the link for the AAR from the HMGS-South con gam
The main premise of this game is to have more pack
mules at the end than everyone else. The Pathans are every tribe for themselves
while the Anglo-Indian force works together. The Pathans may not fire on each
other outright but may melee with each other to capture the mules.
Scenario Specs:
Here are the scenario briefings for each side. I've altered them very slightly from Jay's original scenario profiles and put them in the same format as the 20th Anniversary The Sword And The Flame scenario book. I put all my TSATF scenarios into this format. I've also altered the map to suit my terrain and vision of the game. This scenario can play out very differently based on the personality's of the players involved.
Anglo-Indian Briefing
Pathan Briefing
As the GM I picked (6) hidden locations on the map as the starting locations for each Pathan command. I allowed hidden Pathan movement and hidden set up. The Anglo-Indian troops enter on one side of the valley and must get the pack train to the fort around the bend to win. The Pathans must capture the mules in the pack train for their victory conditions. The Anglo-Indian force must work together, however each Pathan tribe is on their own, are out for themselves, and must capture more mules than their brethren to win, to the victor, the spoils.
