Wargaming The Defence of Duffer's Drift using Jacklex Miniatures

Mark Lodge of Jacklex Miniatures https://www.jacklexminiatures.com/colonial-nineteenth-century came to see me a week or so ago and was telling Bob and I about Duffers Drift.  He sent me a description of the scenarios and some pictures and has kindly agree to allow me to publish the various scenarios.  All the scenarios were all fought using Andy Callan's Magdala to Mafeking' old school set.

'The Defence of Duffer's Drift' (Major General Sir Ernest Swinton KBE, CB, DSO) has been a staple of military instruction since it appeared in 1907 in the 'United Service Magazine'.  Although the setting is the turn of century Anglo Boer War in South Africa, the story is universal in the dilemma it poses to any lieutenant (or wargamer!) in any war - how one adapts a piece of terrain to the accomplishment of a different mission with limited manpower, weaponry and communication.

Lieutenant Backsight Foresight (BF to his friends - also an acronym for bloody fool) has been left in charge to hold Duffers Drift, the only ford on the Silliassvogel River available to wheeled traffic .  It is his first independent command.  Here is his chance for fame and glory! 

SITUATION

Ground. The river is a sluggish stream crawling along the very bottom of its bed with steep banks covered with dense thorn bushes.  2000 yards to the north of the drift is a flat topped , rocky mountain (Regret Table Mountain) and about a mile to the north east is a sugar loaf kopje (incidentamba) with a farm on its near side.  About 1000 yards to the south of the drift is a convex smooth hill (Waschout Hill) with a native kraal on top.  The ground between these features is flat open veld.

Enemy.  The enemy (up to 500) might possibly attack from the north but no enemy were known to be within a hundred miles.  The enemy has no guns.

Friendly Forces. 50 NCOs and men off the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (the Dukes) equipped with magazine rifles.

Mission.  Hold the drift at all costs in order to stop the enemy crossing south of the Silliassvigel River.

FIRST SCENARIO

After a long march to the drift Lieutenant BF pitched a small tented camp just south of the drift, leaving defensive arrangements to the morning when the men would be less tired.  He trudged with field glasses and Kodak to the gleaming white walls of the little Dutch farm nestling under the kopje to the north east to meet the owner Mr Andreas Brink and his family.

Informed of the British presence by Brink, the Boers surround the camp in the night and at dawn killed the sentries and rushed the camp from three sides taking the little garrison by surprise.  The Dukes had 10 killed and 21 wounded.  The Boer convoy with guns easily crossed the drift.

Lesson's learnt (according to the book).

1. Do not put off taking defensive measures
2. Do not let civilians see your positions
3. Do not let sentries advertise their positions
4. Do not be in tents when the bullets are flying

SECOND SCENARIO

The camp was now fortified with a shallow trench all round.  Brink was not allowed to visit the camp and two four man posts were placed on Waschout Hill and 1000 years to the north.

The Boers again used darkness to approach the British camp, neutralised the two examining posts and fired at short range into the camp from all sides.  The defenders could see no one eventually the position became hopeless and Lieutenant BF with casualties mounting (24 killed and 6 wounded) hoisted the white flag. 

Lessons learnt

1. Do not have to sit on top of position to defend it and poor entrenchments are no defence against close range rifle fire.
2. Do not let civilians roam free to report your positions
3. Use native labour if it is available

THIRD SCENARIO

Considering the lessons of the last two engagements, Lieutenant BF moved his position 700-800 years south of the drift and dug a shallow trench 50 yards long broken at a slight angle facing north.  He secured Brink in the camp and placed an entrenched guard of six men on Waschout Hill.  

The lookout on Waschout Hill reported Boer movement near Incidentamba Farm  and soon after the British position was under artillery fire and then rifle fire from east, west and south.  The combination rendered the defenders powerless and Lieutenant BF reluctantly put up the white flag. 

Lesson's learnt

1. If you want surprise you must gather in all the civilians
2. A shallow trench even with a bullet proof parapet is no use against plunging artillery fire
3. Protection from artillery requires a different type of defensive position

FOURTH SCENARIO 

All natives and civilians were secured in the camp.  The existing trench was narrowed and deepened to 3'6" with a parapet 12" high and an area hollowed out to give some overhead cover.  All looked well for the fight.  

This time the Boers artillery had much less effect on the position.  However, the Boers still managed to fire into the trench, enfilading the right half and managing to work their way into the rear of the position after destroying the lookout on Waschout Hill.  After 3 hours of firing the Dukes had 25 killed and 17 wounded.  It was time to surrender. 

Lessons learnt 

1. For a small isolated post there is a front all round
2. Beware of being taken in reverse
3. Beware of being enfiladed even from long range fire
4. Do not have your trench near rising ground over which you cannot see
5. Space out your men
6. Cover from sight is often better than cover from bullets
7. Surprise is a great advantage
8. Conceal your position
9. Look at your position from the enemy's point of view

FIFTH SCENARIO

After much contemplation Lieutenant BF decided that control of the high ground was the key to any future engagement.  The position was moved to Waschout Hill with short lengths of deep firing trench each holding five men dug around the native kraal.  Firing positions in the native huts for 3 men were also constructed.  All was well concealed.

AS the Boers approached Lieutenant BF realised to his horror than the convexity of the hill hid the drift and the road running west from his position.  However, the Dukes managed to surprise a party of Boers scouting south of the drift within 250 yards of the position.  Unfortunately the Boers moved their wagons in dead ground under mutually supporting fire of guns and rifles.  There were few British casualties but the Drift had not been secured.  

Lessons learnt

1. Beware of convex hills and dead ground
2. A hill may not be the best place to hold
3. A conspicuous bluff trench may draw fire away from manned positions

SIXTH AND FINAL SCENARIO

An idea against all the tenants of his training now began to formulate in Lieutenant BF's mind.  It was to hold the river bed and banks on each side of the drift.  The advantage were, perfect concealment and cover from sight; trenches and protection against rifle fire and gun fire; practically ready made communications under good cover; the enemy in full view and good fields of fire.

The Boers were again surprised and an advance party lost 9 men to British rifle fire from the river banks,  Boer artillery burst all along the river, but the gunners could not identify their targets.  A Boer approach from the south was stopped by the detachment on Washout Hill.  The fight went into a second day and in the night 20-30 Boers were killed.  The Boers could not achieve a crossing and retired.  The Duke's casualties were 11 killed and 15 wounded but they and their young Subaltern had held the drift and won a victory. 

The figures used in the games were Jacklex Miniatures from the Boer War , Confederate Army and Colonial British Army ranges.  All the figures and many more are available from Jacklex Miniatures at www.jacklexminiatures.com.    The rules were Andy Callan's 'Magdala to Mafeking' old school set and are available as a free download on the www.jacklexminiatures.com site.  The scenery was supplied by 'S&A Scenic' and the buildings are by Hovels.  The references is 'The Defence of Duffer's Drift' E.D. Swinton, George Ronald 1949.

Battle of Chongzhou: - a mostly Jacklex 20mm game

When I first got my diagnosis of cancer and was given ‘months’ I thought it was time to have a sort out of the figures and down size.  Jack had made me a number of ships over the years which were really great but difficult to sell on line because of their fragility and subsequent packaging.

I contacted gamers who I had been in touch with over time to see if they were interested in the models and more importantly could they physically collect them from my home.  Payment was a voluntary contribution to Cancer Research UK of what they thought the models and figures were worth.

One gamer Richard Wells came up from Kent to collect some ships and other bits and I have stayed in touch with him and his progress towards getting his table sorted out.  I am delighted to say that the models have finally hit the table and Richard has kindly sent me some pictures and a description of his game which he has agreed that I can post on my blog.

So I give you the Battle of Chongzhou:

A British force under the command of General Wells were instructed to relief a German and French force, running out of supplies and tied up in a fort next to the River Sonlung very close to the Chinese held town of Chongzhou.

First the much larger Chinese navy had to be defeated, before a dangerous landing could be attempted. The British navy consisted of HMS Daring and HMS Endeavour and a machine gun armed launch. Against them were arrayed 6 Chinese junks and 3 smaller dhows. Alas the Chinese navy proved no match for the much better armed British boats and after some extraordinary dice throwing the entire Chinese fleet was sunk in 3 moves, with very little damage to the British ships.

  

Landing boats with the Marines were then launched to make a bridgehead.

The Chinese commander  General XunTsu realising it was imperative to stop the landing sent all his cavalry and a unit of boxers to drive the Marines back into the sea before they could establish the bridgehead.

Richard's son Sebastian looks on as the Marines land.

The Marines and their Gardner gun only had time to clamber out of their landing craft and fire one volley before they were hit by the charging Chinese cavalry. That one volley managed to sweep away nearly half of the Chinese cavalry at close range but the charge was carried through and the Marines were beaten back into the sea, although they caused much damage to the cavalry, which was also forced to retire and re-group.

Two Highland regiments were fast approaching the shore, while the Boxers were closing in on the beach. The Marines in a dis-organised state were driven back a second time into the Scots whose firepower made some holes in the Chinese attackers. The Scots managed to land and the Boxers after one round of fighting fled.

Meanwhile the Germans and the French, despite being low on rations decided to launch their own  attack on Chongzhou - a risky operation at best. Chinese fire from the perimeter houses was highly inaccurate, as it was prove to be throughout the battle. The French and Germans fought their way through the houses forcing the Boxers into the open, but they had not realised that a unit of the crack Tigermen were waiting on the other side. These charged forward and despite loses forced the French and Germans back with their own heavy loses.

The patrol boat that General Wells had sent up the muddy river was now approaching the fort and relief was at hand. The British infantry started their advance on Chongzhou with a regiment of cavalry in support. The Navy’s ships poured fire into Chongzhou taking a particularly heavy toll of the Chinese gunners and guns on the battlements.

The regrouped Chinese cavalry decided to give it one more go and moved forward to meet the British cavalry. In a battle that seesawed backwards and forwards the British Cavalry eventually got the upper hand although both Cavalry forces were forced to regroup after 2 rounds of combat.

A small force of German snipers who had been ashore on the right side of the battlefield had now advanced within range of the town’s fortifications and started to lay down a withering fire.

While the Germans and French were fighting in Chongzhou, a small group of Chinese attacked the fort and one of them managed to force his way in killing the last French soldier.

Unfortunately for him the naval launch had by now arrived at the fort and it’s commander plus one rating confronted the Chinese and killed him after 2 rounds of combat.

Things were looking grim for the Chinese commander, so he decided to launch an attack against the German snipers

 His artillery were hopelessly inaccurate and were starting to take hits from both the naval launch’s machine gun and the approaching British infantry as well as a well placed German artillery piece which was firing from the fort. The Chinese stormed out and managed to finish off the remaining Germans before turning their attention to the Navy’s Gardner gun, which had started raking the city’s battlements. Despite taking what they thought was good cover they were mown down by the Gardner gun in two rounds of deadly fire, failing to score a single hit themselves.

 

General Wells now decided to go for the kill and sent his remaining Cavalry and himself up to the City’s main gate, armed surprisingly with previously unknown explosives. They received casualties from the Chinese defenders, but were able to lay the charges and then detonated them successfully. The Chinese commander realised the situation was now utterly hopeless and was forced to surrender.

I think we will be having a review of the rules next time to ensure the allied force do not have too many machine guns and artillery as these were an overwhelming factor in their victory. Although this was combined with some exceptional rifle fire by the British and a worse than expected performance by the Chinese infantry. In hand to hand battle they generally did quite well, but in a gun battle they were beaten every time.

However, it was a very enjoyable game and the buildings looked magnificent.

Most of the British figures are Jacklex 20mm available from Jacklex Miniatures  https://www.jacklexminiatures.com/ .  The Boxers are mainly plastic figures from Orion, there are also some 20mm metal figures, including the Tiger Men but the make is unknown. 

Jacklex Russo Japanese game the outcome.

As I suggested in my previous post, the additional Japanese forces made the defences look at bit too strong.  We therefore decided that 2 units should form a reserve and I diced for what move they would come on – luckily it turned out to be move 3.  Bob also rearranged the Russian cavalry splitting them and pacing regular and Cossack cavalry on each wing.

Given my defensive position it was down to Bob to take the initiative.  He diced for brigade after brigade of Russian infantry and cavalry and not a single unit moved!  Only 2 moves left until my reserves arrived!  His artillery and machine gunners had a bit more like but fortunately I managed to save every hit.

  

Move 2 saw the Russian cavalry on the right wing fail to response whilst the infantry suddenly awoke and surged across the field.  On the left the infantry also charged across the battlefield making the Japanese trenches in a 3 command moves.  

This is one of the odd rules in Black Powder.  But we lived with it.  The Russian cavalry on this flank also decided to hang around and not move!  Again the Russian artillery struck, this time hitting one of the Japanese units and forcing them to retire as part of a Break Test and leaving a section of earthworks undefended.  Fortunately, no Russian infantry were close enough to take advantage of this momentary success.

The Japanese troops opened fire even with a First Fire bonus they were very ineffective and to cap things off the Japanese machine gun on the left flank jammed! On the Japanese right flank closing fire and a heavy skirmish with a large Russian unit saw draw after draw in the skirmishes but the Japanese kept witling away and the Russians were eventually forced to take a Break Test which they failed badly and were destroyed.

A similar outcome occurred in the neighbouring earthworks with another Russian unit broken.

It wasn’t all going my way as the machine gun on the right flank also jammed.  I managed to un-jam it with a D6 only for it to immediately jam again on a D1!!

Another Russian unit on the left flank was hit by artillery and forced to take a Break Test forcing it to fall back.  This left 2 Russian Units who in turn charge the earthworks.  This time despite some initial resistance the already weaken Japanese unit was forced to retire and their accompanying machine gunners cut down.

However, all this had taken time and my infantry reserves arrived one regiment went to bolster the earthworks on the left and the other turned its attention to the right and the Russians who had made it over the earthworks.  The Japanese unit forced from the trenches rallied and returned to the front line.  

Things were looking a bit better.  One of the successful Russian regiments was routed in a subsequent melee and the other facing fresh troops decided to voluntarily retire covered by the Russian cavalry.

What I can hear you wonder was happening on the Russian tight flank?  Frankly 
nothing!  After an initial rush across the battlefield they came to a staggering halt and just exchanged fire with the Japanese.  Neither side causing any significant casualties.  The Russian machine guns which had been successful jammed on the same turn and the Russian gunners suddenly gave up on the idea of hitting anything.

Lessons learnt.  Even allowing for 2 Japanese units to come on as Reserves, the Japanese were too strong behind their earthworks.  We should have allowed the Russians to have recycled the units that were destroyed once from the starting line to increase the number their numbers.  With good command rolls they could have made a difference. We need to look at the Rally to Me orders in the Rules to see if whole brigades could be encouraged to move forward rather than hang about.  An attack on the earthworks by the 4 units on the Russian right might have made it awkward given the jammed machine guns and the lack of Japanese troops.  I only 2 units of infantry and 2 of cavalry until the Reserves arrived.  

I re-based the little command group on a round base as the original square base looked a bit cramped.

There is no Russian General so I used the British Mounted Naval Officer who sports a rather fine beard and cut away the lapels on his jacket.  The standard bearer is the Russian lancer and the Cossack has his lance arm bent upwards to have a raised lance.  

Normal Cossacks

Cossacks Jack made with Lance raised my preference

Jack painted most of the Russian Infantry back in the day and all the Japanese infantry, gunners and cavalry in Khaki.  He scratch built the Russian buildings (with the exception of a couple of 15mm resin buildings and the 20mm American Road Side Chapel) using cocktail sticks and foam board.  The earthworks are my handiwork and made from Rendera gabions, DAS air dry modelling clay and coffee stirers.

It was great to see these figures on the table after all these years and to try our first Russo- Japanese engagement.

Better still, these wonderful Jacklex figures are available again.  You can buy all the original ranges and new figures as well as download the ‘catalogue of figures’ from www.jacklexminiatures.com