Down the Mississippi !

This game was put on by Rafael on 9th September at his Far Pavilion. 

Federal gun boats and troop carriers are fighting their way past Confederate forts on the Mississippi.

I had the Union boats and Rafael the Confederate defenders.

The winding river with nasty gun forts at every turn

Union gun boats advance cautiously knowing what lies in store for them !

The Rebel guns spot the approaching armada and open fire

The lead boat engages in counter battery fire

After a couple of rounds, a critical hit sees black smoke mushrooming from the top of the fort - one down 

The rest of the boats move up, ready to make the first turn

As they do so, a second fort commences firing

The lead boat has some engine problems so floats to one side, shooting up the Confederate paddle steamer as she sits at anchor

A Confederate supply base hoves into view - this also has gun batteries defending it

The combined fire power of several unit boats sees the second fort go up in flames

The signal goes up for the transports to move up

They turn with Grant's command ship at the rear

One fast gun boat has gone ahead and has the shock of seeing two Confederate boats heading his way !

The rest of the fleet try to catch up and give support

One of the Confederates rams the side of the first Union boat but it stays afloat

A duel between the respective gunners takes place as the other Confederate boat swings into action

However, these Confederate raiders are not made for confrontation with armoured gun boats and they quickly lose heart. Seeing their departure, the Confederate supply base puts up the white flag.

The forts were unable to stem the Union advance after all.

Rules and boats from Peter Pig.

An enjoyable change from our usual wargaming activities !

Donald Featherstone Weekend : Zulus !

 Our much delayed Donald Featherstone Weekend took place, finally, on 20th-22nd August 2021 and Steve Thompson had been busily helping Mark Freeth put this one together.

We had three tables to game over the weekend- the defence of Rorke's Drift at one end of the room, Isandlwana was the big game in the centre and on the right, the Battle of Nyezane. Everyone had a chance to play all three games during the weekend.

There are so many photos, I am not going to put a caption against them - just enjoy the spectacle

Here's a view from the Nyezane end of the room

For the Nyezane game, the British have to cross the river and then drive on to capture the Zulu village at the other end of the table

The Isandlwana table - can the British save the Colours which have been planted near the big mountain

and the Rorke's Drift one - could we repeat history and fight off all those Zulus ?!

On Day 1, I was at Isandlwana, with Durnford out on the right with the rocket battery.

Day 2, I did the Rorke's Drift game. Three players were defending (Sid, Whiskers and I), Mark ran the Zulu attackers

Saturday night was the formal dinner, when we remembered "The Don". Chris Scott gave us a very entertaining talk and then Henry Hyde ran the charity auction with proceeds going to Combat Stress.

Sunday saw Whiskers and I attacking across the Nyezane River, with Steve Thompson playing the Zulus

This year we turned the tables on Mark Freeth and voted HIM, the best gentleman of the weekend in recognition of his years of cheerfully running this fantastic memorial weekend !