Fire&Sword Original Rules

7/25/2019 Fire&Sword Original Rules

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Fire & Sword in the Sudan

Wargaming the Mahdist Uprising

By Steve Winter

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 theatmosphere of that campaign. There is no definite time scale; the war lasted ! "ears, from the

first bloodshed on #bba Island to the death of the $halifa less than %& miles from the islandwhere the revolt began.

#ll pla"ers in the game assume command of some portion of the #nglo'(g"ptian forces. )la"ers

can divv" up the units e*uall", the" can command b" committee, or each can assume commandover all #nglo'(g"ptian troops in one region. In an" case, when battles occur, pla"ers whose

forces are not engaged ta+e command of the Mahdists.

The Map

The map divides the Sudan into five regions (g"pt, the -orthern Militar"/ Sudan, Southern

Sudan 0mdurman and $hartoum, the 1he2ira, and the ban+s of the 3hite and 4lue -iles/,3estern Sudan $ordofan and 5arfur/, and (astern Sudan the #tbara river, #b"ssinian frontier,

and 6ed Sea 7ittoral/.

S*uares on the map are garrison towns. 5ots are other villages, wells, or wa"points.

Set-Up

The #nglo'(g"ptians have about 8& depending on how "ou count the artiller"/ basic units touse in the game. The si2e of a basic unit is determined b" the rules "ou9re using:platoons in


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TSTF, companies in Soldier9s andria ?olding 4o>/.

There is no 5ervish set'up.

Anglo-Egyptian Order o Battle

st(g"ptian 6egiment ! companies infantr"

=nd(g"ptian 6egiment ! companies infantr"

@rd(g"ptian peditionar" Force E companies 4ritish infantr", = companies 4ritish cavalr",

compan" 4ritish cept (g"pt has a revolt inde>, reflecting how much of the populace has risen

against the government and gone over to the Mahdi. The inde>es var" from & to &.

#t the start of the game, their values are determined randoml". 6oll dE= for the SouthernSudan, and roll dE each for the (astern, 3estern, and -orthern Sudan. 6ecord these values

someplace where "ou can +eep trac+ of them:right on the map is a good place.

For a less random start, use these revolt inde>es Southern Sudan, E; (astern Sudan, 8; 3esternSudan, @; -orthern Sudan, =/.

0nce it revolts, a region remains in revolt until its revolt inde> is driven bac+ to & or less.

Turn Se$uen%e

. 5ervish revolts and surprise attac+s If an" region has not "et revolted, roll to determine

whether it does so.=. #nglo'(g"ptian movement

@. 4attle resolution8. Suppl", revolt inde>, and victor" point adDustment; reinforcements

ervish !evolts

6oll one die for each region. If the result is e*ual to or less than the region9s revolt inde>, thenrevolt has bro+en out or spread to that region, and that region is officiall" in revolt.

If no regions revolt on the first turn, roll again for each region. $eep doing this until at least oneregion revolts this shouldn9t ta+e long/.


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Surprise Atta%'s

0n the turn when a region revolts, 5ervishes ma" capture its garrison towns and field forces b"

surprise.

The basic chance for a surprise attac+ to capture a garrison town e*uals the regions9 revolt

inde>. This is modified as follows' per compan" be"ond the first stationed in the town

' town is 3adi ?alfa, Sua+in, or (l 0beid'@ town is $hartoum

6oll dE for each garrison town in the revolting region, and dE for each #nglo'(g"ptian forcethat is not in a garrison town. If the roll is e*ual to or less than the modified surprise chance, the

town is captured b" surprise and its garrison is lost, or the force outside a town is overwhelmedand destro"ed.

#n" garrison town that is not captured b" surprise comes under siege. 6oll dE for the

number of turns the town can hold out before supplies are e>hausted.

Movement

0nl" #nglo'(g"ptian forces actuall" move on the map. 5ervish forces are ubi*uitous and appear

randoml".

Movement is from point to point along the communication routes, which are the -ile and #tbararivers, the 5esert 6ailwa", and an assortment of desert routes that follow the few lines of wells.

#nglo'(g"ptian units can move two spaces per turn if the" are following a river and the" are not

overstac+ed. The" can move onl" one space per turn awa" from the rivers or if the" areoverstac+ed. Gnits must stop moving for the turn if the" are engaged in a battle. #ll #nglo'

(g"ptian units are free to move beginning on turn , even if their region is not in revolt.

# force along a river but not in a garrison town can remain in place indefinitel". If the region is in

revolt, roll ever" second turn to see if the unit is attac+ed, the same as if it moved into the space.This battle is handled as a dervish attac+ against a 4ritish camp roll '8 on dE/ or a surpriseattac+ roll %'E on dE/. # surprise attac+ is identical to a normal attac+ against a camp e>cept

the dervishes are allowed to snea+ up to within = inches or about one move/ of the 2eribabefore being spotted.

#wa" from the river, a force cannot remain in place unless it occupies a garrison town. The force

must move ever" turn until it reaches a river or a garrison town. For e>ample, a fl"ing columnmoving from $orti to Metemma cannot rest at #bu $lea. 0n the turn after it moves to #bu $lea, it

must either advance or retreat; it cannot remain stationar".

(un)oats

The two gunboats must sta" along the -ile 6iver. The" can move three spaces per turn. The"must roll for 5ervish attac+s in each space, Dust li+e other units. The" can also be stopped b"

cataracts. 3hen a gunboat tries to pass a cataract in either direction, roll dE; on a roll of % or E,the gunboat cannot pass the cataract and must go bac+ to the previous space.

The esert !ailway

The 5esert 6ailwa" does not e>ist at the start of the game. To bring the railwa" into action, an

#nglo'(g"ptian force must ascend the -ile from 3adi ?alfa to #bu ?amed and then occup" #bu?amed for two turns. Gnits can move along the railwa" beginning on the third turn after the

column captures or relieves #bu ?amed.

Sta%'ing

Gp to nine #nglo'(g"ptian companies can occup" an" garrison town or a space along a river. -omore than four companies can ever occup" a desert space.


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3hen moving along a river, a stac+ of up to si> companies can move normall" two spaces/. #

stac+ containing more than si> companies can move onl" one space.

# gunboat counts as one compan", as does an" amount of artiller".

3hen moving across the desert, no more than four companies can move as part of a stac+, ever.

Si> companies per turn can use the desert railwa". The" must begin in 3adi ?alfa and stop in

#bu ?amed.

Battles

3henever an #nglo'(g"ptian force enters an empt" space or a besieged space in a region that isin revolt, roll dE. If the roll is less than the region9s revolt inde>, 5ervishes meet the force for a

battle. The number of 5ervish basic units e*uals the difference between the die roll and theregion9s revolt inde>. For e>ample, if the revolt inde> is E and the die roll is =, the #nglo'(g"ptian

force encounters four companies of 5ervishes.

If the space being entered is a garrison town, subtract from the die roll for ever" full % pointsthe town is worth.

0nce the number of 5ervish units is +nown, roll dE per unit to find its t"pe subtract one fromthe roll if the battle is occurring in the (astern Sudan/ Fanatics Fu22"'wu22ies/

=


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The garrison can call off the sortie after this die roll, but it counts as a lost battle. The 5ervishes

will have a fortified camp 2eriba, rifle pits, one cannon per three basic units/ to defend. If thecamp is captured, the 5ervishes are driven awa", but onl" temporaril". The garrison can gather

dE additional turns9 worth of supplies and settle bac+ into its defenses or it can abandon thegarrison, moving one space immediatel" and ris+ing another battle/. If the garrison town is

later reoccupied while the region is still in revolt, the siege resumes.

+asualties

3ounded #nglo'(g"ptians can recover, but onl" if their side held the battlefield or the" escaped

somehow, either b" limping or being carried.

0ne'half of a unit9s casualties return to dut" after a battle, the rest are removed. For e>ample, if

using Soldier9s


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i%tory

Jictor" points are tallied at the end of ever" turn and added to the running total. The 5ervishes

receive J)s e*ual to the value of ever" garrison town the" control, ever" turn. If the 5ervishesamass 8&& or more points, the" win.

The game ends when all four regions are out of revolt or after =& turns, whichever comes first.

esigner.s /otesThis game is based ver" closel" on a set of campaign rules for )ontiac9s 6ebellion written b"

1reg -ova+ and published in The es and the wa" the" ma+e it possible for all

pla"ers to be on the same side. 1ames where it9s ever"one against the s"stem alwa"s seem to bemore enDo"able. )la"ers still have plent" of opportunit" to +ic+ each other around. #nd the fact

that no one is concerned about conserving 5ervish manpower for later battles encouragespla"ers to throw native units into the fra" with gusto. It wor+s beautifull" solitaire, too.

3hile this game and the original are similar in their approach, there are man" subtle differences

in the details. 0verall, Fire and Sword in the Sudan is a bit more comple> than )ontiac9s6ebellion it9s alwa"s easier to add comple>it" than it is to ta+e it awa"/. Still, I thin+ the game is

more than simple enough to ma+e it a pleasant e>perience for ever"one, especiall" the referee,whose Dob is often difficult and than+less.

There is nothing magical about the (g"ptian 004. It is far from historical, being based entirel"

on the troops that I have available and what ma+es for an e>citing game. Feel free to tin+er. (venthough the 04 is rather large, "ou never need to field more than nine #nglo'(g"ptian units at

one time. #s man" as 8 5ervish units can appear at one time, but onl" in the worst possiblebattle at 0mdurman. Ten is the more usual ma>imum. So "ou don9t need all that man" figures to

pla" the campaign.

#s in the real war, the river shapes operations. There is no capacit" for clever maneuver. Sinceone never +nows where the 5ervishes are, the" can9t be pinned down, trapped, or screened. It9s

all a matter of assembling a relief force *uic+l" enough to aid the trapped garrisons and assuringthat it is strong enough to survive advancing into enem" territor". It9s shoc+ing what can happen

to an apparentl" strong column when subDected to one or two bad set'up rolls at #bu ?amed or#tbara.

In the end, the #nglo'(g"ptians are going to s*uash the revolt and reta+e $hartoum, as the"

should. 4ut if the pla"ers don9t balance caution and aggression in the earl" turns, the 5ervishescan wrac+ up an insurmountable lead. The map shows a total of && points, and %& of them are

far awa" in Southern and 3estern Sudan. In onl" eight turns, that amounts to 8&& points and a5ervish victor". 3hile assembling "our unbeatable force at #bu ?amed, +eep an e"e on the

score.

#t the same time, an"thing can happen in a game with this sort of random start'up. If the$hartoum is lost and the -orthern Sudan falls to the 5ervishes in the first turns, victor" for the

#nglo'(g"ptians is ver" difficult. 0n the other hand, if revolt in the -orthern Sudan is *uelled*uic+l" and cheapl", victor" is almost assured. I guess that what I9m sa"ing is, +eep an e"e on the

J)s but don9t get too caught up in winning; the real goal is to share a few beers and a few laughs

over the table with "our friends.Steve 3inter

Documents

Fire&Sword Original Rules