ZULU our 2015 Chuckadice Christmas Game

ZULU's SIR FOUSAND's of THEM...

This year saw me running the Christmas game for our Monday night game group of friends (Chuckadice Group) which have met every Monday night for the last 32years from what I can remember, scary eh boys?...
The older members of the group have gamed for even longer than that!!

This years all day event was held on Bank Holiday Monday 28th December 2015 at the Zaple abode, as usual we gathered in the morning with terrain, figures, our left overs from Chrimbo, and a host of beverages of varying degrees, some of us not able to partake in alcohol!

The Motley Crew "Chuckadice" 

Top Left to right  Paul "Panjo", Andy "Pink Fluffy Bunny", Colin "Edgecombe", Rob "Zob"...

Bottom Left to right Me... Nathan "Stumpy", Jason "Taffy/Grasshopper...

We had decided to refight the Rorke's Drift game in 28mm, using the "Boys from Isandlwana" rules, the below is a picture history of what occurred throughout the day...

The scene is set, terrain was laid out on a 6'x4' board

Andy, as Lt.Chard, Zob as  Lt.Bromhead, and Colin as Colour Sgt Bourne, each with 2 x 8 men sections and various other characters, such as Sgt.Reynolds, Henry Hook, Commissary Doulton, Surgeon Reynolds, Cpl.Scheiss, Lt. Ardendorf, Pip the dog, and various NPC's as ammo and water carriers, making 63 figures...

Panjo and Jas are playing the Zulus with 15 x 16 man units, and 4 x 8 man rifle units, each being recycled three times making 816 potential figures for battle, and me running the game...

Zulus in the distance, defenders manning the barricades, with one eight man section out in fore ground retrieving a wagon, one section building a redoubt in front of surgeon group in the middle of the defences, and one section at the back of the defences clearing the camp/tented area...

There would be 12 turns of daylight and D6 turns of twilight, where two waves would be available to use, and then darkness would fall and the third wave would be available for a final attack. 

Zulus at the barricades... Hold Em.... In these rules British fire is devastating, and HtoH fighting is bitter...

Bleedin Zulu in the camp....

As normal the day was filled with good humour, loads of friendly abuse and a good deal of laughter and friendly bickering.. 

although it looks overwhelming for the gallant defenders the rules give the advantage to the lesser numbers, but the Brits do have the advantage of the defences and the terrain, making it hard for the Zulus to break in, twice they managed to get in over the wall at the Krall area, but the Brits fell back to the storehouse and the biscuit box defences.

Holding the Storehouse was a hard fought battle and the Zulus swept around both areas coming in both sides, semi co-ordinated...

The Brits held off the Zulu force until dusk...

When the Induna seeing his dead lying on the field and the faces of his defeated men he felt he would not be able to break in the defences and sending a small force to sing honour to the valiant defenders of  KwaJim's Land, the Zulu Impi turned and left the area in search of death and honour elsewhere...

My thanks to all the Chuckadice boys, your company and gaming was exceptional as always, like herding cats..

In a few weeks we will fight another Zulu game but on a more open battle field, how will the British Forces handle the Zulu without defences?

We shall have to wait and see?