Colonial Barracks - Part 2

This is the second and final part of the pictures I took at the Colonial Barracks convention over the November 8-10 weekend in New Orleans.

The first game I will cover took place Saturday night.  Titled "The Colonel's Got to Know," it was run by Gerry Webb of Castaway Arts in Australia using troops provided by Mark Stevens.  It was based on the final scenes of the movie Gunga Din where Gunga Din and the Sergeants 3 are trapped in the Thugee temple and the British column is marching into an ambush.  Can Gunga warn the Colonel before the trap is sprung?

We had four British players and six Thugee players with each having command of a single unit.  I commanded a Thugee unit of riflemen and waited with my troops hidden among the rocks while the British marched singing merrily into our trap.

The unsuspecting British column with a unit of Highlanders, followed by a Gatling carried by an elephant, then another unit of Highlanders, and a unit of Indian cavalry.

Martha, the Thugee commander, sits behind the temple carefully watching and gauging the progress of the British column.  If you look closely you can see Gunga Din with his bugle and the Sergeants 3 on the roof of the temple.  Gunga had to roll a D6 every turn but couldn't sound his bugle until he had reached the "magic number," which I think was 10.  Martha had the Thugee cannon concealed on the platform at the temple entrance, loaded and ready to fire.

The British column plods along, deeper and deeper into the valley.  They had to roll distance dice every turn and move that full distance.

The British column from the viewpoint of my Thugee riflemen.  The column has been warned by Gunga's bugle and the lead unit has faced to either side of the trail, guns ready.

As the Indian cavalry attempt a complicated reverse wheel, the Thugee cavalry charge into their flank.  Only a few Indian cavalrymen could fight so in the ensuing melee, the Thugee cavalry defeated the Indians and sent them reeling.  But they rallied the next turn and came back at the Thugees.

Ross, one of the Thugee commanders, and Gerry Webb, look over the battlefield.  You can see my Thugee riflemen lining the top of the rocky ridge.  The two Highlander units and the Gatling gun have deployed  right in the middle of the "kill zone."

Tim, a British commander if I remember correctly, looks on the dread as the Highlanders start to fall to accurate Thugee rifle fire.

Even though the Thugee cavalry won initially, the rallied Indian cavalry came back and slaughtered the Thugees, forcing them to race away to safety.

Freed of the threat of Thugee cavalry, the Indian cavalry turns to ride to the aid of their Highland infantry who are being attacked by Thugees down in the valley.  Sometime during these initial turns, the British Gatling shot down the Thugee gunners, rendering their gun useless.

John, the British commander in his red "coatee," watches stoically as his men fight for their lives against the Thugee attackers.

Riding over the sabered and bayoneted bodies of the Thugees, the Indian cavalry heads towards my riflemen who have too eagerly come out of the rocks.  Seeing the cavalry, they quickly scampered back and resumed their fire from the safety of the rocky hill.

The Indian cavalry then turned away and headed back into the fray around the Gatling gun.  Another Thugee spear unit has appeared after moving stealthily around the rear of the British.  Trapped in the dusty valley with no cover, the British and Indians died a slow and bloody death underneath the rifles of the "expert" Thugees (our die rolls were really good during this game).

The second game was played Sunday morning.  Titled "The Real Glory," it was run by Mark Stevens and was based on the movie by the same name that starred Gary Cooper.

The Philippine constabulary compound with its walls manned and ready.

The Catholic nun and her orphan charges, escorted by a couple of American freebooters, dash down the trail towards the constabulary compound.

Martha controlled the nun and her detachment (on the trail to the center right).  Several Moro units have appeared and are trying to cut the little band of refugees off while a constabulary patrol advances out of the compound to their succor.

A panorama of the battlefield.  The Moros came into the battlefield from the sides of the table.  John (dark shirt on left) and Ken were constabulary commanders while Walt and Ross (on left) and Bill (standing with camera) and I were the Moro commanders.

John makes a grans gesture as Moros close around the compound entrance.  The nun and her detachment have already gained the shelter of Ken's constabulary patrol who form a battle line, facing the Moro attack.

Suddenly the Moros hear the sounds of boats coming up the river.  The constabulary reinforcements, American Marines and Filipino regulars, are coming to the rescue.  While some Moros head towards the landing, others redouble their efforts to get into the compound.  Unfortunately the constabulary riflemen and Gatling gunners are very accurate and Moro commanders fall right and left.

A few Moros make it to the top of the wall but their ladder was pushed away behind them.  At the compound entrance, the nun and her charges scoot in closely pursued by a Moro juramentado (fanatic).

While the nun and the orphans run into the chapel (lower right), the compound commander and a soldier try to stop the juramentado.  The soldier is killed but the officer puts a .45 caliber slug between the Moro's eyes, ending that threat.  With most of their commanders dead and the Marines and Filipino regulars slowly but steadily advancing, the remaining Moros slip away into the surrounding jungle.  "He who runs away, lives to fight another day."

I hope that you enjoyed the pictures of the various games I posted.  Remember, Colonial Barracks is scheduled next year (2014), tentatively for the second weekend in November.  If you are close enough to New Orleans, please come and join our fun.  Watch for future announcements on www.sergeants3.com and on the Miniatures Page.