Colonial Games: the Residency at Biltezi

The Residency at Biltezi
Unsecured Losses for Alf Company

This scenario filled the need for a quick-setup game at Steve, Max, and David's combined birthday party. Its general outline was suggested by the attack on the Kabul Residency in the miniseries, "The Far Pavilions." The table was David's round-ended breakfast table, covered with brown wrapping paper which had been crumpled, then smoothed out. The Residency was thrown together from the main building and two towers of the Desert Fort described in the Structures section. The river section was an experimental piece of light blue foil wrapping paper, crumpled and smoothed. David (Nocokepepsi Kahn, lord of the Chizboga) allied with Max (Makkas al Bzil, a.k.a. Beezil the Bandit) to oppose Steve (Maj. Aloisius Bloomham), in command of the Biltezi contingent.

The Tabletop
The Residency building sits by the river at the far end of the table. The town of Biltezi is nearby. The only other terrain is a few palm groves.

Table size is 42 x 58" (1.1 x 1.5m), with round ends.

The Scenario
Near the town of Biltezi, the Residency houses Pontifex Willoughby, regional manager for The Affable East Ouargistan Co., his wife Myrtle, and various employees, both English and Native, as well as the company's warehouses and purchasing office. It is protected by 10 imperial troopers, who are supported by 10 Gurkha auxiliaries and 10 local sepoys of "Alf Company's" private army. Word has reached the Company's extensive intelligence service that two cannon have been hidden in the town for use in a raid on the Residency.

The Battle

At the beginning of the game, the Company's sepoys are in the town buildings, searching for the hidden guns. The Gurkhas are in skirmish order, ready to support them, while the imperial troops watch from the Residency compound.

Suddenly, from behind the dunes the native forces sweep toward the town, two 20-man units of infantry and one unit of 12 camels on the native right, commanded by Makkas, and one unit of spears, one unit of rather poor native rifles, and two gun-crews (with no guns), commanded by Nocokepepsi Khan on the left and center.

The camelry moves rapidly into the town streets, taking casualties from the sepoys' rifles, as the native infantry moves up behind. The sepoys remain in the town buildings, firing from the windows and rooftops, rather than risk being overtaken by the fast-moving camels.

The camels pass straight through the town and hurl themselves at the Gurkha skirmish line. One body of Makkas' spears haul a scaling ladder through the streets as the second unit occupies the attention of the sepoys in the outlying buildings.

Meanwhile, the Chizbogan rifles occupy the largest town building and pour fire into the hapless Sepoys in the town center. The gunners are very slow at advancing towards the town.

The Gurkha left initially falls back before the camels, but soon counterattacks, taking heavy casualties but driving the native riders off in disarray. The Chizbogan infantry now begins to threaten the Gurkhas' right flank. Makkas' spearmen charge the outer town buildings, but their nerve fails and they cravenly go to ground beneath the sepoys' sporadic rifle fire. On the native left, the rifles deploy in front of the town buildings, beginning an irritating, but ineffective fire on the Residency defenders.With the courtyard momentarily clear, the sepoys in the center of town rout into the Residency followed, in more orderly fashion, by the remnants of the Gurkhas, who take up positions in the second story gallery.

Makkas' spearmen throw up their ladder against the front of the main building, while the Chizbogans storm onto the weakly defended left tower -- but the imperials rally and hurl them back over the wall at bayonet point. The Gurkhas in the gallery take casualties but resolutely stand off the natives on the center ladder. Mrs. Willoughby can be seen on the Residency roof, joining the defence with her Victorian lady's singleshot muff-pistol. Elsewhere, the native gun crews finally straggle into town.

GO ON to the Conclusion of the Residency at Biltezi.

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