The recent Fall In convention was a great success, and there were certainly a good number of ODMS folks there, playing games, working the dealer hall, shopping, taking pictures, eating, and generally enjoying one of the better autumn gaming conventions on the East Coast.
The big ODMS participation event was a large game of The Sword and the Flame, held on Saturday night in the open gaming section.
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| Pasha Rob - leads the Egyptians. Malcolm commands a tribe of Ansar. |
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| Left to right - Jon leads the British Infantry, John leads the Hadendowah, Chris commands the Imperial Cavalry |
It was a Sudan battle, between a split Anglo-Egyptian relief force and a mixed Dervish force.
The Imperial forces consisted of 1 company of Egyptian infantry (two platoons and a company command section), 1 company of British infantry (two platoons and a company command section), 1 Squadron of Imperial Cavalry (1 troop of Shire Cavalry, and 1 troop of Bengal Lancers), and a Nordenfeldt from the Naval Brigade.
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| Lord Cox-Roberts, and his manservant Percy, lead the British Infantry Column |
The forces of the Mahdi consisted of 1 tribe (3 bands) of Ansar Riflemen, 1 tribe (3 bands) of Ansar Swordsmen, 1 tribe (3 bands) of Ansar Spearmen, and a large tribe (5 bands) of Hadendowah (Fuzzy-Wuzzy) swordsmen. There was also an ancient cannon, that the tribesmen had brought along.
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| Hadendowah (Fuzzy-Wuzzy) Swordsmen surprise the Bengal Lancers! |
The scenario was that the relief columns were settling in on a village, near a mission station, along a graze land fence line. There was light scrub all around, but since it was already late summer, most of it had dried up (the rains were long gone). There were some rocky fields nearby, and the Hadendowah had taken the opportunity to hide amongst the rocks, to commit their usual cunning ambushes on the Imperial forces.
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| Ansar Riflemen, Old Glory figures, painted by Chuck T |
The game went well, and all had a good time, but in the end, there were just too many of the Mahdi's warbands for the Imperial forces to prevail. This scenario certainly calls for a rematch!!
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| The scrubland proved to be a sparse battlefield for the drama of Empire. |
This game was played, in part, as a memory to the passing of the great Larry Brom, author of "The Sword and the Flame" and many other wargames rulesets. He will be missed, by members of our club, and the greater historical miniatures wargaming community.
Walk wide o' the Widow at Windsor,
For 'alf o' Creation she owns:
We 'ave bought 'er the same with the sword an' the flame,
An' we've salted it down with our bones.
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