In Darkest Aithops - The m'Butuland Expedition: Battle of Limpopo Bend

Something of an encounter battle, both sides advance
the m'Butu perhaps more eagerly...

 As the Azeitonian expeditionary force began to leave the jungle along the Limpopo River trail, they entered a region of scrubland as they approached the great bend in the river.  There awaited the m'Butu army.  Given time, Chief Barra Kuta might perhaps have refused battle, though where he could find a favourable battlefield east of Kachinga Town, might have been problematic, to say the least.  For the moment he could at least count on some superiority in mobility, especially in that final tongue of jungle forest that reached, seemingly, for the road.  But where the regular forces of the Azeitonians might have some difficulty negotiating a patch of scrub, the m'Butu's looser formations could pass through with ease.  

(Note: Although scrub patches offered cover for those within and concealment for those behind, the natives could walk though as if they weren't there.  With one exception, the colonists had to take one turn to enter such a patch.  The exception for the Azeitonians was a bunch of bush-fighting volunteers, who, for celerity of movement through hard country were to be the equal of the m'Butu.  I forgot to remind Paul of this - just this moment remembered it in fact - so I don't know whether that Militia group were these fellows or not).

For their part, a m'Butu regiment - amabutho Wa Nnabe - lay in wait within the jungle, ready to leap upon the flank of the column whilst the remainder of the army - the impi ya masoshe - awaited the enemy in the scrub.  

Campaign area.  The red lightning denotes where the battle
takes place, not far from the great river bend that gives
the battle its name.

Taking no chances, the Colonel brought his forces in a solid body, close by the road and the river.  However, one troop of horse - 'A' troop - rode forward of the main column to reconnoitre, and perhaps to spring any ambush.  Sure enough, the m'Butu responded, a band of about 40 warriors charging around a patch of scrub to engage at close quarters.  Though getting the better of the first clash, the cavalry quickly found themselves in trouble.

'A' Troop runs into warriors coming the other way...

Within moments, a second band burst through the scrub to join their comrades.  To the horror of their fellow soldiery, still barely within rifle range, they saw their lone troop surrounded by five times their numbers.  There was no hacking their way out; the troop died where they stood.  But the losses among the m'Butu were severe enough: 5 SP lost to kill off a 4SP stand.

'A' Troop surrounded by 5 times their numbers.
But the m'Butu are taking heavy losses.

It was probably fortunate that, apart from artillery and machinegun fire, the Azeitonian column was unable effectively to come to the rescue of the doomed 'A' Troop.  The leading units met the warriors' attack in a coordinated line. The m'Butu surged forward in a somewhat ragged line to engage the Colonialists in close combat with assegai and short ranged musketry from Wa Tusi.  Although successfully inflicting losses and driving back parts of the Colonists' line. the m'Butu were taking rather heavier punishment.  Barra Kuta himself took a hit bad enough to knock him back (rolling '11' in the effect dice for Army commander with the band that received incoming rifle fire).

'A' Troop finally overrun, as the m'Butu close with 
the colonialist column.

The action spread along the front as more m'Butu surged out of the jungle.  This brought more of the colonists into the fight - not quite the hoped-for effect, as the warriors found it hard to bring numbers against isolated bodies of troops.  Although the m'Butu were exacting a toll of casualties, they were rather getting the worse of it.  Meanwhile, the river boats continued chunking upriver, where their gunfire, aided by the artillery in the road, chased a native band out of a riverside patch of bushes, and cleared the open ground a considerable distance from the trail.  

Coordinating bush fighting ain't easy, even for the locals. 

Early attacks repulsed, the m'Butu pull back...

The main action going against the m'Butu, Chief Barra Kuta, blood streaming from a shoulder wound, called his men to give back.  This was no rout - rather a coiling back to draw the enemy on.  Fading back into the scrub and jungle, the m'Butu successfully placed some distance between themselves and the enemy.

...putting themselves as much as possible out
of rifle range.

The river boats advance...

They were not yet done; of that Col. Relaxado was persuaded.  This was the snake coiling for a strike.  On the other hand, there was nothing to be gained by standing still.  If the expedition was to go ahead, the column must advance.  The gun boat led the transport thrashing upriver behind the m'Butu flank.  Once past the riverside brush, the Solenta transport unloaded its cargo of rifle-armed sailors.  Greatly daring, the nearest m'Butu band charged alone through a hail of machinegun fire and chopped down several seamen before themselves finally being scattered.

The Azeitonian column yet to lurch into motion

Sailors disembark,.  The covering gunboat's machine guns
fail to discourage the m'Butu from attacking

This bold, self sacrificing action served to cover the gradual m'Butu withdrawal on the river flank, but, as the colonists slowly followed up, they merely kept their distance out of rifle range.  

General overview of the battlefield late in the action

As time passed, it became clear to Barra Kuta that his army had maybe one more counter-attack left in it.  As the Azeitonian left drew near to the jungle, where the Chief had placed himself in the position most crucial, several bands charged out of the undergrowth and threw themselves upon the lead element that had strayed perhaps too unwarily, and too close.  Or perhaps The Colonel had cannily hoped to draw the warriors out of hiding.

Final counter-attack of the m'Butu.

However it was, the m'Butu did some damage, and received some themselves - enough for them to call it a day.  Thereafter, the warriors made use of their celerity of movement to distance themselves from pursuit, and draw off from the field.

(Poor photo) the m'Butu withdraw 
alogether form the action.

This action was never going to have any other result but an Azeitonian victory.  They had the numbers; they had the firepower; they had the support weapons.  All the same, the m'Butu had given a good account of themselves.  Of 660 warriors who entered the battle, some 160 were killed and wounded.  The Azeitonians had some 900 or more troops, rifles against the few muskets the M'Butu possessed, artillery, machine guns and a gun-armed riverboat.  All the same, they could congratulate themselves upon a fine start to the campaign - the early victory being easy enough to feel this was a great adventure, and hard-fought enough (100 k + w, and no one would soon forget the fate of 'A' Troop) to bring a thrill of jingoistic pride.

(In game terms, the m'Butu had lost 24SP, a little over their 'exhaustion point', the threshold being reached during the final counter-attack.  Of these 8SP are immediately returned to the army (stragglers, grazed and the like; 8 are returned to the army after 1D6 turns (I call them recruits rather than, say, recovered wounded); 8 are lost permanently.  The latter 16 count as battle casualties; at 1SP representing 10 men - 160 men lost.  The Azeitonians lost 15SP up front, they being split 5, 5 and 5.  Ten SPs lost for the moment, the histories will relate how they lost 100 men in the expedition's first fight).

The early pull back enabled the m'Butu to put a few kilometres distance between themselves and the Azeitonians before halting.  Perhaps this made them complacent.  For their dilatoriness subsequently, they were to be asked a high price to pay.  That is to say, the Black card that terminated the Azeitonian moves proved to a string of one only: the Reds that followed went number, king, number, number, number before the next Black card turned up.  This was a fine portent for the colonists' expedition into m'Butuland; and an ill omen for Barra Kuta's realm...

A word on the figures, terrain and the rule set(s) used.

All the figures in this action, apart from the machine gun and the boats, were from Paul's ('Jacko's') collection - ESCI and HaT.  The boats were my scratch-builds, the transport from the fleet I made originally for American Civil War riverine operations about 25 years ago, and the gunboat specifically for this campaign.  The machine gun aboard O Ra Desvairado was a HaT Gardner gun.  The name of the gunboat, by the way, was a nod to the late George Macdonald Fraser: an incarnation of La Grenouille Frenetique, or, in English, the Frantic Frog, that features in The Pyrates.

The Campaign and Battle rule sets were from Bob Cordery's Portable Colonial Wargame - the latter being The Gatling's Jammed... 

To be continued...