Tommy Atkins Puts Paid To Johnny Zulu! Zulu Find The Thin Red Line Unbreachable! Captain Woolstonecraft And His Boys Feted in Helpmaeker!

Captain Woolstonecraft cleverly set up his boys from the 1/13th Light Infantry, 90th Foot, and the Naval Brigade in an abandoned cattle enclosure, and let the wave of Zulus come to him.  The almighty Martini-Henry in the hands of our troops proved too much for the Zulus.

British:
1/13th Light Infantry: Rep 5 with a Rep 5 Lt. 1 Rep 4 Sgt, and 2 Rep 3 NCO's
90th Foot: Rep 5 with a Rep 5 Lt., 1 Rep 4 Sgt and 2 Rep 3 NCO's
Naval Brigade: Rep 5 with a Rep 5 Lt, 1 Rep 4 PO and 2 Rep 3 PO's.
Royal Artillery:  Rep 5 with Rep 5 Sgt.
Frontier Light Horse/Natal Carbineers: Rep 5 with a Rep 4 officer and a Rep 3 NCO.
Irregular Horse: Rep 4 with Rep 5 officer and a REp 3 NCO.
Natal Native Contigent:  Rep 3 with Rep 3 officer and NCO.
Captain Woolstonecraft:  Rep 5.

Zulu:
White dots: Rep 5 with a Rep 4 Leader.
Blue dots: Rep 5 with a Rep 3 leader.
Red dots: Rep 5 with a Rep 3 leader.
Orange dots: Rep 5 with a Rep 4 leader.
Yellow dots: Rep 5 with a Rep 4 leader.
Purple dots: Rep 5 with a Rep 4 leader.
Mounted InDuna: Rep 5.
All Zulu are Ferocious and shielded.

The center and right of the main line.

The center and left of the main line with supports visible.

Right flank support

Left flank support

Turn 1: British 6 Zulu 2

The Zulu move into sight in 2 wings.

Turn 2:  British 5 Zulu 2
The Irregular Horse moves to extreme range and fires at the Orange Zulu, who sustain no hits, and move to within 12" of the Irregular Horse, who prepare for the soon-to-follow charge.

Turn 3:  British 1  Zulu 3
The Orange Zulu charge the Irregular Horse and catch them as they volley fire from horseback, knocking down 1 Zulu.  The hit is ignored and the Orange Zulu catch them, and kill 3.  The rest Runaway, leaving the right flank exposed.

As soon as the Irregular Horse run, the Royal Artillery fires into them, causing 1 hit and going Low On Ammo.
The 90th fires at the Red dot Zulu, but their fire control is poor, as they miss, and go low on ammo.  They send a runner for more.
The Frontier Light Horse/Natal Carbineers fire at the Red dot Zulu, and knock one down.  They Carry On.

Turn 4: British 5 Zulu 4
The 90th Foot fire at the White dot Zulu, and miss.  The White dots charge in response, the 90th volleys, misses again,  but kill 2 Zulu in the melee.  They Carry On.  The FLH/NC turn to their right and fire into the unengaged White dots, causing 2 casualties and 1 Runaway.  The White dot Zulus steady themselves and remain at the wall.
The Orange Zulu charge the gun taking 3 hits and 4 Runaways before they kill the gunners.  (They finally passed 2d6) .
The White dot kill 4 of the 90th Foot, but they are unshaken and Carry On, as do the Zulu.
The death of the Royal Artillery causes a Test of Will for the 1/13th and they hold and prepare for volley fire.
The Blue dots advance, causing a Test of Wills for the FLH/NC.  They also hold and prepare for volley fire.

Turn 5: British 1 Zulu 3
The Orange Zulu charge the 1/13th, who volley fire, causing 2 hits, and in the excitement go Low On Ammo.  However, the 1/13th outnumbers the Orange Zulu by 2:1, and they begin to filter away, until they have all Runaway.
The Purple dots ignore their fleeing cousins and advance on the 1/13th, causing a Test of Will.  The 1/13th volley at them, doing only 1 hit, which the Zulu shake off.
The White dots melee the 90th Foot, who lose 2 more soldiers, but both side Carry On.
The 1/13th retires and volley fires on the Purple dots, hit 2 and 7 Runaway.

They advance, the 1/13th takes a Test of Wills, volleys at the Purple dots, taking 2 down and 1 Runaway.
The Naval Brigade fires at the Red dot Zulu, who have now reached the wall, do 3 hits in volley fire, and the Red dots Runaway.  The White dots are wetting their spears and ignore the cowardly Red dots.
The FLH/NC fire at the Blue dots, and miss.  The Blue dots stare at them.

Turn 6:  British 4 Zulu 3
The 1/13th fire at the Purple dots, casuing 1 hit, and the Purple dots Runaway!
The 90th backs away and fires at the White dot, causing 1 hit, but they Carry On.
The FLH/NC fire at the Blue dots, causing them to charge, but the horsemen do not stand the charge and Runaway.

Here is the situation before Zulu activation.  The are 2 Zulu units in good shape on the table and 1 below half strength.  The Blue dots are facing away from the enclosure, and must activate to turn around.  The Blue dots have a Rep 3 leader.  The untouched Yellow dots, with a Rep 4 leader are more than a foot away from the 1/13th, so chances are very good that the 1/13th will get to fire at them andthen get a favorable result on the Test of Will.  The White dots are below 1/2 strength.

We decided that though we could play out the game, the Zulu were to seperated to make any deadly attacks.  The InDuna is in an unfortunate position where he is only helping a 1/2 strength unit with his Rep 5.

Playing the Received Casualty as Ed intended it changes the game completely.  I now do not have enough Zulu to give the British force a run for it's money.  The breech-loading rifle is now queen of the battlefield.  We were both very happy with the result, feeling that the results were "historical."  The Zulu had a very difficult time defeating entrenched British.

Perhaps a few words about how I paly the light horse are in order.  Basically, I treat them as Mounted Infantry firing from horseback.  The time it would take for them to dismount, fire, and remount will result in them dieing in the second turn.  I try to reflect thier fighting method by treating them as infantry if they would charge, infantry if they would fire in the crises tables, and mounted if they would Runaway.  I feel this reflects their fighting style more than treating them either as cavalry or mounted infantry.  These were small local volunteer units, equiped with carbines, and no melee weapons other than a bowie knife, no match for a shield and spear.  Most were excellent horsemen, and able to fire from the saddle.  At Ulundi, they stood on their horses backs and added their fire by firing over the ranks of the square. Since they have no sabres, they do not get the mounted +1 in melee.  They are a brittle unit who's purpose is to get the Zulu out of position to help in the all-important main charge.

You can see that in this game they did this, adding turns before the Zulu units distracted by them could attack the British firing line.

Colonial Adventures and casualties

Ed of Two Hour Wargames recently explained that I was doing casualties incorrectly.  The side suffering casualties rolls a Received Casualty test for each casualty they received, and if this causes Runaways, they are also considered casualties, who then each take a Received Casualties test.  Ed calls this the Spiral of Death!

So I ran a test of 1 Zulu band attacking 1 British platoon.  The Zulu band is Rep 5 with a Rep 4 leader, Ferocious, and shielded, in a mob.  The Brits are Rep 5 with a Rep 5 leader, and stationed behind a wall, in close order.  Both are 20 man units.  Sorry, no photos, since one unit on one unit doesn't lend itself to good photos.

This a bit dry, but really important to understanding the power of the Europeans in Colonial Adventures.  I will use RC to stand for the Received Casualty test, since it shows up so frequently.

Turn 1:  British 3, Zulu 5
The Zulus move to 23" from the British.
The British volley fire 8d6, causing 1 hit.
The Zulu passes 2d6 RC test - Carry On.
At the end of the turn the British have 20 men, Zulu 19.

Turn 2:  British 4, Zulu 6
The British volley fire 8d6, causing 2 hits, and going low on ammo.  They send a man back for ammo.
The Zulu pass both RC's with 2d6 - Carry on.
British 20 men, Zulu 17

Turn 3: British 6, Zulu 1
Zulu move to 11" from British, who pass Test of Will with 2d6, fire 7d6, and miss. 
The Zulu pass 2d6 on Received Fire and charge.
The British pass 2d6 on Being Charged. and volley 7d6, causing 2 hits, and going low on ammo again.
Zulu 15 men
The Zulu pass 1d6 on both casualties, causing a total of 4 to Runaway.  They pass all 4 of these tests on 2d6, Carry On.
The British have not yet been contacted and whittled the Zulu down to 11 men.
The Zulu close to melee.  Both sides lose 1 man, leaving the British with 20 men and the Zulu with 10 men.
In the melee the Zulu roll 7d6, passing 4, and the British 6d6 (+1 for the wall), passing 3, so they lose a casualty.  The Zulu pass their with 2d6, and the British pass both of theirs with 2d6.
British 18 men, Zulu 10 men.

Turn 4:  British 2 Zulu 3
The Zulu continue the melee.  British 17 men Zulu 9
The Zulu roll 7d6, passing 1.  The British roll 6d6, passing 1.  Its a wash.  Both pass 2d6 on RC.
Although the British unit outnumbers the Zulu 2:1, they don't outnumber them 2:1 in figures in contact, since they are lining the wall.
The British, being in close order, back up 4", and volley fire 6d6 (2 low on ammo markers), causing 1 hit.
British 17 men, Zulu 8
Zulu pass 2d6 RC, but it's considered 1d6 since the firers outnumber them 2:1.  1 in 6 (1) Runaway
Zulu 7 men.  The same result applies to each Runaway.  The Zulu have reached the point in which the remaining figures Runaway 1 by 1, because they can no longer count as passing 2d6 on the Received Casualty test.
So in 4 turns the British have removed the Zulu unit, with the loss of only 3 figures out of 20.

This is a critical change in the way I was doing the Received Casualty check.  Doing it incorrectly, the European fire (hitting only on a 1)was puny, and caused little effect on the charging Tribals.  Now the Europeans have a chance to reduce the Tribals before they can reach the bayonets to half their strength.  It will be even more effective against non-Ferocious Tribals.

We will do one more Zulu game this weekend, and I'll give a full report with photos.

Zulu War

I have determined to my satisifaction that the British cannot defeat the Zulus unless the Brits have superior numbers, so the Zulus go back in the box, never to be seen again.  This follows the 5th game in which the Brits were behind a wall, uphill, with an artillery piece, and still could not kill enough Zulu by firepower to reduce them to the point where the Brits had a 50% chance in melee.

Since I've just read "The Washing of the Spears" and "Brave Men's Blood", I know that entrenched Brits should have a better than even chance of defeating the Zulu with small losses to themselve.

British Roughly Handled By Zulu Again! 24th & 80th Foot Lose Another Platoon! When Will The Shame End?

We decided to do a replay with artillery and doubled light horse.  Here are the stats on the units.
British:
24th Foot: Rep 5, Rep 5 officer, with Rep 4 Sgts.
80th Foot: Rep 5, Rep 4 officer, with 1 Rep 4 Sgt and 2 Rep 3.
Naval Brigade: Rep 5, Rep 4 officer, with 1 Rep 5 PO, and 2 Rep 4.
Royal Artillery: Rep 5, with Rep 5 gun commander.
Frontier Light Horse/Natal Constabulary, Rep 5 , Rep 5 officer, Rep 4 NCO.
Irregular Horse: Rep 5, with Rep 4 commander
Natal Native Contingent:  Rep 3, Rep 5(!) officer, Rep 4 NCO
Note that the NNC uses the Tribal Crises Tests.
Captain McBragg, Rep 4.

Zulu:
White Dot: Rep 5, Rep 3 leader. Ferocious, shielded.
Red Dot: Rep 5, Rep 3 leader. Ferocious, shielded.
Yellow Tails: Rep 5, Rep 4 leader. Ferocious, shielded.
Blue Dot: Rep 5, Rep 4 leader. Ferocious, shielded.
Orange Pompom: Rep 5, Rep 5 leader. Ferocious, shielded.
Black Pompom: Rep 5, Rep 4 leader. Ferocious, shielded.
Detached Rifles: Rep 5, Rep 4 leader. Shielded.
InDuna: Rep 5, mounted, Ferocious.

All units and officers were rolled anew for this battle.
Notes on the figures:  All the figures except the 24th foot, the mounted, the Royal Artillery,the Naval Brigade, the InDuna, and the command figures in the Zulu bands were painted about 25 years ago by Al Rees, Jr., and are on extended loan from him.  All figures are Ral Partha, with the exception of the partially painted (now completed) light horse, and the two Europeans in the NNC, who are all Minifigs.

Note that the weird names for the Zulu bands are simply an effort to distinguish the bands from one another.  After this battle they all got dots on the back of their bases.  In future battles, they will all be (insert color here) dots.

The Zulu player was given the option to remove firearm-equipped figures from his bands and set up a Rep 5 band with muskets, range 20", fire dice 1.  He chose to do so.

The British at the beginning.

The Zulu also at the beginning.

Turn 1: British 6 Zulu 4
British are unable to activate.  The Zulu forces except the White Dot, advance.

Turn 2:  British 6  Zulu 4 (Hmmm, I'm beginning to detect a pattern...)
The British are unable to activate. 
The Zulu head advances, and cause Tests of Will for the 24th, 80th, and Royal Artillery.  Both the 24th and the 80th hold for volley fire.  The artillery fires on the Blue Dot Zulus, causing 1 casualty.  The Blue Dot carries on.

Turn 3:  British 1  Zulu 5
The Zulu head advances, leaving the Red Dots to lag behind.  The Blue Dots charge the 24th, who  fire on the Blue Dots, killing 3, and causing 2 to Runaway.
The Yellow Tails charge the 80th, who fire, lose 3, and have an even melee.

The Frontier Light Horse/Natal Constabulary (hereafter known as the FLH/NC) fire on the Orange and kill 1, causing 3 to Runaway.  The rest Carry On.
The 24th melee the Blue Dots, who lose 2, and both Carry On.
The 80th melee the Yellow Tails, evenly, and both Carry On.
The Irregular Horse advance and fire on the Red Dots to no effect.

Turn 4:  British 6  Zulu 5 (beginning to get the picture?)
The Orange charge the junction of the 24th and the 80th, taking 1 casualty, to British firepower, and 3 to British bayonets, including their leader.  They didn't like him anyway, and carry on.  In this melee the 80th loses 1, but carries on.

Turn 5:  British 6  Zulu 3 (4 failures to activate for the British in the first 5 moves. Sigh)
The Zulu Rifles fire on the FLH/NC and score 1 hit.  The FLH/NC return fire and cause 1 casualty.  Both Carry On.
The Orange melee the 24th, evenly.  Both Carry On.
The Blue Dots melee the 24th, evenly.  Both Carry On.
theThe Yellow Tails melee the 80th, no casualties, but 1 in 6 British Runaway.



 Turn 6:  British 3  Zulu 2

The artillery fires at the Black Pompoms, 2 hits including the leader, and they retire 1 full move.

The 24th steps back, fires at the Blue Dots, who charge, lose 2, and 1 Runaway.

The 80th steps back, fires at the Yellow Tails, misses.  They charge.  80th fires in reaction, misses again, and lose 2 to the assegai.

The Irregular Horse withdraws and fires at the Red Dots, with no hits.  The Red Dots Carry On.

The Balck Pompoms advance on the artillery, who fires, killing 2.  This is too much for the Black Pompoms who fail 2d6 and Runaway.

The Yellow Tails continue their melee with the 80th, who lose 2 more.  Both Carry On.

The Blue Dots melee the 24th, who lose 2.  Both Carry On.

Turn 7:  British 1  Zulu 3

The Zulu Rifles inflict another casualty on the FLH/NC, who pass 2d6, adding 1d6 to the next Being Charged test and volley fire.

The Orange charge the gun, who fire and miss, and lose 2 in the melee, leaving only 1 figure.

The Yellow Tails inflict another casualty on the 80th, and wipe them out.

The Blue Dots lose 3 more to the 24th, reducing them to 2 figures.

The 24th withdraws, exposing the Naval Brigade to a Test of Wills.  They form up for a +1d6 volley fire and Being Charged test.

FLH/NC turn and fire at the Orange, who charge.  The FLH/NC (pass 1d6) can see how the wind is blowing, fire 1 shot, and retire off the table.  (They had to retire a full move, 24" for mounted in open order.  My call was not to have them stop at the table, since mounted volunteers only withstood a charge if caught flat-footed.)

The Irregular Horse fire at the White Dots, and miss.  The Natal Native Contingent also fire with 1d6, hit, it's the leader, and 1 in 3 Runaway.

Turn 8:  British 1  Zulu 5
The Blue Dots charge the 24th, who fire and miss.
The Red Dots charge the Naval Brigade, who fire, inflicting 2 casualties.
The 24th fires at the Blue Dots, who charge and wipe out the 24th.
The Irregular Horse fire at the White Dots, who charge, and melee evenly.
The Naval Brigade melee the Red Dots, evenly, but 1 in 3 Ruanway.

Turn 9:  British 3  Zulu 1

Naval Brigade melees the Red Dots, whom they now outnumber 2 to 1, and 3 Runaway.

The last 3 dead 24th foot fire and kill the Yellow Tails (Whoops!  I didn't put the last 3 dead 24th with the rest of the unit, so they moved across the back of the enclosure and fired on the last Yellow Tail.  Zombie British)

The last 2 Blue Dots charge the Naval Brigade, and kill 1.

The Red Dots melee the Naval Brigade, and it's a wash. 

The White Dots charge the Irregular Horse, kill 3, and 1 Runaway.

Turn 10:  British 6  Zulu 2

The Red Dots melee the Naval Brigade, who outnumber them 2 to 1, and kill 3 sailors.

The White Dots wipe out the Irregular Horse.

At this point we called the game a decisive Zulu victory.  They had wiped out or run off all but 2 British units.  The Naval Brigade was down to half strength, and the NNC are only Rep 3.  Even my blatant cheating in turn 8 couldn't defeat the Zulus.

We decided that this wasn't a good indicator of whether the increase in British strength evened the battle.  The British did not activate 5 out of 10 turns, and that was just too much of a handicap to overcome, especially when 2 of the non-activations were in the critical first 2 turns when the British could deal out damage before the Zulus closed.

Kretzmeier farm redux

We played another game with the exact same troops, with pretty much the same results on Sunday.  Tomorrow, we will replay with some changes.  Right now, we have decided that as things are, the Zulu are too strong to be defeated unless the Brits are equal in number.  Tomorrow the Gardiner Gun will be replaced with an artillery piece, the light horse units will be increased to 8 figures, and there will be no Rep 6 Zulu uints nor Rep 4 line infantry.  The light horse will stay as is.

British Defeated Again In Zululand: Casualties Unacceptable! Captain Brightly Sent Home In Disgrace!

A Colonial Adventures Game 

Captain Brightly received word from friendlies that the Kretzmeier farm had a contingent of Zulu near it.  He managed to scrape together a platoon each from the 24th  and 80th foot.  To this he added a detachment from the Royal Navy with a Gardiner gun.  When the locals saw that he was marching out, a small detachment of the Frontier Light Horse and the Border Horse volunteered to help him.  And the local commander of a group of the Natal Native Infantry insisted that he be allowed to come along.  Though Captain Brightly wasn't thrilled with his offer, he felt the NNI has been too idle, and "a walk'll do 'em good".

24th foot, Rep 5 unit, officer Rep 5, with 2 Rep 4 Sgts, and a Rep 3 Cpl.  80th foot, Rep 4 unit, officer Rep 4, with 2 Rep 4 Sgts, and a Rep 3 Cpl.  Naval Brigade, Rep 5 unit, with a Rep 4 officer, and a Rp 5 CPO, and 2 Rep 4 POs.  Gardiner gun manned by 2 Rep ABseamen.  Frontier Light Horse, Rep 4 unit with a Rep 4 leader.  Border Horse, Rep 4 unit with a Rep 5 Leader.  Natal Native Infantry, Rep 3 unit with a Rep 3 officer. Cpt. Brightly is mounted and a Rep 4.

Upon reaching the Kretzmeier farm and seeing Zulu in the distance, Cpt. Brightly decided to defend the enclosure behind the farm house, putting the 24th and the Naval Brigade in the front line with the Gardiner gun between them.  He put the 80th in reserve, and sent the horsemen out to the flanks.  He put the NNI in the rear to guard against a possible flanking movement by the Zulu.

The Zulu opposing him consisted of 6 bands in the traditional buffalo horn formation.

Zulu leader Rep 4.  Zulu band 1,  Rep 5 with a Rep 3 leader.  Zulu band 2, Rep 6 with a Rep 4 leader.  Zulu band 3, Rep 5 with a Rep 4 leader.  Zulu band 4, Rep 6 with a Rep 4 leader.  Zulu band 5, Rep 5 with a Rep 5 leader.  Zulu band 6, Rep 5 with a Rep 3 leader.

Here's the look of the table as the two contingents eyed each other.

Turn 1:  British 5, Zulu 6  No activation for the Zulus.  Cpt. Brightly sends the two horsemen units out to the flanks to draw the horns away from the flanks of the main body.

Turn 2:  British 2, Zulu 1.  Frontier Light Horse and Border Horse fire on the bands to their respective front, causing one casualty each.  The wings carry on and advance.  The main Zulu body advances.

Turn 3: British 6, Zulu 4.  Zulu band 3 charges and causes the Border Horse to take a Being Charged test.  They pass 1d6 and fire, and retire.
Zulu band 1 is unable to advance.
Zulu main body advances, and causes the 24th foot and the Gardiner gun to take a Test of Wills on Zulu band 5 only.  Both fire, and cause a total of 6 hits.  The 24th runs low on ammo.  Zulu band 5 carries on.
Zulu band 3's charge leads them still into the Test of Wills area of the Border Horse, who fires again, missing. The ferocious Zulus charge, the Border Horse fires, causing 1 hit, which band 3 shakes off, and the charge just contacts the front of the Border Horse.  Bowie knives against spear and shield shouldn't prevail, but they do, and 1 Zulu goes down. They pass 1d6 on Received Casualty and 1 in 3 Runaway.  (I forgot to remove 1 figure from each side at the beginning of the melee this time only.)

Turn 4: British 5, Zulu 2. 
British Activation:  The 24th sends a runner back to collect ammo, and fires on Zulu band 5, achieving one hit, and another low ammo marker.  The Zulu pass 1d6, and 1 in 6 Runaway.
The Border Horse retreats to its right flank and fires at Zulu band 3, missing, and they pass 1d6, but can only turn 90 degrees to face their enemy.
Zulu Activation:  Zulu band 1 advances and causes a Test of Will for the Frontier Light Horse, who pass 2d6, and stand adding 1d6 to their next Being Charged test.
Zulu band 4 charge the Naval Brigade, who volley fire and miss.  In the melee, the Royal Navy loses 1.  Both units carry on.
Zulu band 5 charges the Gardiner, which wreaks such havoc, that the entire front line is killed.  Remarkably, they carry on.

Zulu bands 2 & 6 follow the bands in front of them.

Turn 5:  (I failed to record the activation dice roll)
British Activation.  The Navy fires, and misses again, and Zulu band 4 carries on.
The Gardiner misses.
The Border Horse fires, misses, is charged and caught by 3 to 1 odds, and ties Zulu band 3 in melee.
The 80th foot turns to face the treat to the rear.

24th foot volley fires, hits and caused 1 in 6 to Runaway on Zulu band 6.
Zulu Activation:  Zulu band 3 destroys the Border Horse.
Zulu band 4 melee the Navy, killing their officer, but they pass with 2d6.
Zulu band 6 charges the 24th, and takes 1 hit, and carries on.
Zulu band 2 charges the Gardiner, the gunners run to the Navy, and they find a gap to get over the wall, but only a few can cross.
Zulu band 1 charges the Frontier Light Horse, receiving a casualty to their fire, closes to melee, and the second band of horsemen falls.

Turn 6:  British 5, Zulus 4
British activation:  The 24th closes ranks, and melees, with no casualties to either side beyond the automatic 1 each.  Both carry on.
Zulu Activation:  Zulu band 2 turns to try to take the 24th in the flank.
Zulu band 6 melees the 24th with only the automatic 1 each.
Zulu band 4 melees the Navy with only the automatic 1 each.
Zulu band 3 charges the poor NNI, who stand, lose 1 and 2, and 5 Runaway.

Turn 7 & 8 So messy that I'm combining the 2 turns.
British Activation:  The 24th turns its rear rank to face the threat from Zulu band 2.  Melees are fought, and the 24th does not do well, and are reduced to 2 figures, who retreat to join the 80th.
The Navy loses 5, but holds.
The NNI holds, but 2 Runaway.
The 80th reverses face again, and fires into Zulu band 2, who turn to face them.
Zulu Activation:  Zulu band 4 melees the Navy, killing the last leader, and reducing them to 2 figures, and the gunners.
Zulu band 3 wipes out the NNI.
Zulu band 2 charges the combined 80th & 24th, who both volley fire, and still can't break them.  The melee brings the 24th to its officer only, but both units hold, as do the Zulu.
Zulu bands 1 & 6 were unable to activate.

Turn 9: British 2, Zulu 6:
British Activation:  The Navy pulls back and fires at Zulu band 4, misses, and they charge in reaction.  The Navy volley fires, misses, the charge goes home, the Navy is wiped out, and the gunners Runaway.
The 80th pulls back to the wall, and fires at Zulu band 4, destroying them.

Turn 10:  British 1, Zulus 2
Zulu band 2 melees the officer of the 24th foot, and kills him.  80th foot, as the last surviving British unit, becomes Rep 5.
Zulu band 6 charges the 80th, who volley fire at them, causing 2 hits, one of which is the leader, pass 0d6, and should have Runaway, but I rolled on the Received Casualty table by mistake, so they charged.  In the melee, the 80th loses 2 figures.
Zulu band 1 crosses the wall.
Zulu band 3 moves to the wall.

Trun 11:  British 2, Zulu 4
Zulu Activation: Zulu band 6 melees the 80th, and takes down 2 more.  The 80th carries on.
Zulu band 2 charges the 80th, who volley fire and cause 2 hits, which the band ignores and charges home, taking out 2 more of the 80th, who carry on.
Zulu band 3 throws spears into the rear of the 80th, with no effect.
Zulu band 1 advances, but can't find a way to attack.
British Activation:  The 80th falls back to the edge of the table, and fires into the rear of Zulu band 3, causing no damage, and they turn to face.

Turn 12:  British 4, Zulus 3
British Activation:  The 80th, and Cpt. Brightly retreat off the table.

The Butcher's Bill
British:                                                                              Zulu:
80th foot, 14 men                                                             Band 1, 3 men
24th foot, 20 men, eliminated.                                           Band 2, 16 men
Naval Brigade, 20 men, eliminated                                    Band 3, 16 men
Natal Native Infantry, 20 men, eliminated                          Band 4, 20 men, eliminated
Frontier Light Horse, 4 men, eliminated                             Band 5, 20 men, eliminated
Border Horse, 4 men, eliminated                                       Band 6, 18 men
Gardiner gun, lost, crew Runaway.

My two mistakes really didn't change the outcome very much.  The Border Horse would have still been eliminated.  And Band 6 was nearly eliminated anyway.  Band 1, combined with the remnants of bands 2 & 3 would still have been more than enough to have eliminated the 80th foot.  However, a Zulu unit running away would certainly given heart to the 80th.  They were so diminshed by the time that they should have run that it is unlikely that they would have influenced another unit to have done so.

I was attempting historical tactics, with the light horsemen drawing off the Zulu units by firing on them and retreating.  Obviously, those units need to be stonger, perhaps 8 figures each.  I can see Greater Endeavors will be getting another order.

I played the British, and Ron Gros played the Zulus up to turn 9, when he was called away.  I was rolling better than I ever do, so that the Brits, with 5 dice in melee, where beating or tying the Zulus with 7 or 8 dice in melee.

Ron really enjoyed himself.  He had only played the European troops before and it was early Egyptians verses the Dervish, which is a different kettle of fish altogether.  He wants to play it again.  I may substitue a piece of artillery for the Gardiner, and beef up the light horse.

Any comments, positive or negative, are appreciated.