Hunt for the Mad Trapper of Rat River

St Matthew's church and cemetery in Fort McPherson, NWT.

Arthur and I learned the story of the Mad Trapper of Rat River during our recent Epic Arctic Adventure of Epicness.  We even bought a book about the event from Maximilian's Emporium in Dawson! Coincidentally, Dan Mersey wrote a series of scenarios for gaming the events of the chase in the January 2025 issue of Wargames Illustrated.  All of this came together, and so we decided to put on our own version of the hunt as a tabletop game at the August Bonsor meeting of the Trumpeters.

The background for these games is that in December 1931, First Nations trappers complained to the RCMP detachment in Arctic Red River (now known as Tsiigehtchic, NWT)  that their traplines had been torn out.  This was serious to the trappers, as their livelihood depended on them.  The available evidence pointed to a white trapper, Albert Johnson, who had arrived in the region the previous summer.  Constable King and Special Constable Joe Bernard were dispatched to Johnson's cabin on the Rat River to find out more. Johnson refused to speak to the constables, so they went to Aklavik, NWT obtained a warrant from RCMP Inspector Alexander Eames.  The patrol was increased to four men - Constables King and McDowell plus Special Constables Joe Bernard and Lazarus Sittichiulis. When Constable King approached the cabin this time, Johnson fired through the door, seriously wounding the constable. Special Constable Bernard dragged King to safety, and the patrol rushed him back to the hospital in Aklavik, where Dr Urquhart found that the bullet basely missed King's heart.

The Mounties now had a much more serious matter to deal with than vandalism of traplines.  Inspector Eames organised a patrol to arrest Albert Johnson, consisting of himself and Constables Millen and McDowell; Special Constables Bernard and Sittichinli; Knute Lang, Ernest Sutherland and Karl Gardlund; and First Nations guide Charlie Rat.  This is where we started the first scenario.

As these scenarios each featured a single character (Johnson) against multiple police and their associates, it was necessary to buff up Johnson much more than normal for a single figure in a skirmish game.  In Fistful of Lead terms, Johnson is rated as a Veteran (rolling d12 instead of the d10 used by standard characters).  He has the 9 Lives trait, to prevent the scenario ending prematurely as a result of a lucky shot.  He is Steady, allowing him to ignore the effects of wounds or shock on his shooting rolls.  As he was noted to be carrying multiple weapons and lots of ammunition, he has the Loads of Ammo trait so he can ignore the effects of an out of ammo roll.  Finally, in Scenario 1, he was inside his small 8' by 10' cabin, which was basically a tiny fortress, loopholed to allow him to shoot out in any direction.  To account for this, as long as he was inside the cabin he got both heavy cover (-2 to shoot at him) and heavy armour, which gave him a 6+ save on any successful hits.

The cabin in the woods.  Felt marks areas of difficult terrain, where movement is halved.  Open area around the cabin allows normal movement.

Against Johnson were Inspector Alexander Eames (veteran, leader, pistol), Constable Edgar Millen (loyal, nerves of steel, modern rifle), Constable R.G.McDowell (loyal, modern rifle), Special Constables Joe Bernard and Lazerus Sittichiulis (loyal, modern rifle) and three trappers, Ernest Sutherland, Carl Gardlund and Knut Lang, all with modern rifles.  

Lang also has two charges of dynamite.  The dynamite charges are thrown as grenades.  If the centre of the blast lands on the cabin, make a wound roll.  On a shaken result, the cabin shakes but remains intact.  On a wound, cover is reduced from heavy to light (and Johnson's save is reduced from 6+ to 8+).  On out of action, the cabin is destroyed and there is a wound roll for Johnson.  If the template only touches the wall of the cabin, then on a wound or out of action roll, cover is reduced only on that side of the cabin.

Inspector Eames and his men arrived at the cabin on 7 January, 1932.  Temperatures had dropped to -40C. To reflect the limited time that the men could work in the cold temperatures, the game is limited to 8 turns, after which the police will withdraw to warm up.  I added another consideration - the police are not fanatics, and this is not a 'do or die' military solution.  The police rate their own lives and those of their colleagues.  To measure this, every turn after the police have taken casualties, the leader must roll a d10.  If the number is equal to or less than the number of casualties, the police will withdraw to tend to their casualties.

Mad trapper at his cabin.

Inspector Eames and his Mounties move into position.

Trappers on the far side of the clearing move up.

Special Constable Joe Bernard prepares to fire.

Trappers get ready to attack the cabin.

Lang readies his dynamite.  Gardlund however is out of ammo!

Oh, no!  Special Constable Bernard is hit!  The Mounties test their determination, needing a 2 or better on a d10, but roll a 1.  They withdraw to tend to Bernard's wounds - fittingly, as he was the one who saved King's life.

After regrouping, the Mounties returned to the cabin, but found it deserted.  This was the beginning of the manhunt.  Johnson was a very experienced woodsman, and tracking him in the dead of winter was very difficult.  The RCMP posse was joined by Quartermaster Sergeant R.F.Riddell and Staff Sergeant Earl Hersey of the Royal Canadian Signal Corps outpost at Aklavik.  These men brought their radios - marking the first time that the RCMP used radios to coordinate a manhunt.

After weeks of tracking Johnson through the wilderness, the next encounter with him happened on 30 January, when Constable Millen, Carl Gardlund, Noel Verville and Sgt Riddell came across Johnson's camp.  The camp was hidden among boulders and fallen trees, allowing Johnson an 8+ save as long as he remains in the camp.  Another special rule is that Johnson must stay in the area for 6 turns before fleeing (this is a bit arbitrary, to give the Mounties a chance to engage Johnson and not just have him leave the table on the first turn!).  

One more special rule is that Sgt Riddell has his radio.  Each time he activates, he can attempt to call for reinforcements.  Due to the cold, the radio is unreliable, so he needs to pass a normal (5+) test to get a message through.  If he succeeds, then in two turns, Sgt Hersey and Special Constable Sittichiulis will enter the table.

Johnson at his camp.

Millen and Verville advance toward the camp.  Riddell, in the centre with the binoculars, calls for reinforcements.

Johnson moves into cover.

Verville and Gardlund move in the forest.

Millen gets the drop on Johnson.

Vervilles advances toward the fugitive.

Gardlund is out of ammo!

Johnson fires on his attackers, taking down Verville and wounding Millen.  The Mounties fall back to tend to their wounded.

Johnson then disappeared back into the wilds.  Canada's most famous bush pilot, Wop May, was recruited to provide air support, another first for the RCMP. He flew his Bellanca CH300 Pacemaker, assisting the hunt by looking for signs of Johnson's movement through the snow. as well as ferrying supplies and men back and forth from Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchik and the men in the field.  Finally, on 17 February 1932, the hunt caught up with Johnson on the Eagle River in Yukon Territory, approximately 145 km west of his cabin on the Rat River. He had covered the entire distance on foot in the dead of winter, in temperatures below -40C, with almost no supplies, living on small game, unable to light more than the smallest fire in case it was seen by his pursuers.

For Scenario 3, Johnson starts in the middle of the Eagle River, without cover.  He can move full speed on the ice, but must pass a difficult test (8+) to climb the banks, which he needs to do to exit into the woods away from his pursuers.  He retains his 8+ cover save, without any particular justification, except that he needs any advantage he can get in order to have a chance!

There is no turn limit.  Either Johnson leaves the table or he is killed or captured by the Mounties.  The pursuers arrive in different turns throughout the game.  In turn 1, Sgt Hersey arrives on one of the river table edges.  In turn 2, Trapper Noel Verville and RCMP Constable Sidney May enter on the opposite river table edge.  No new arrivals in turn 3, then in Turn 4 Special Constable Sittichiulis, Trappers Gardlund, Lang and Sutherland arrive on one of the riverbanks.  Turn 5 sees Inspector Eames, Sgt Riddell, Special Constable Bernard, Trapper Constant Ethier (a former RCMP constable) on the other river bank.  Finally, on turn 6 Constable McDowell arrives on the river.

Turn 1 - Sgt Hersey finds Johnson on the river and manages to wound him.  Note the broken styrofoam representing broken ice on the riverbank, requiring a test to scramble across it.

Constable May and Noel Verville approach Johnson.  He shoots at May, but only startles him (smoke marker signifying one point of shock).

But another shot takes May out of the fight!

More pursuers arrive on the riverbank.

Johnson manages to wound Sutherland, but takes another wound himself.

Beset on all sides, Johnson struggles to hold off his pursuers.  Finally a higher-level photo giving a better view of the table!

But the numbers are against Johnson.  Wop May's Bellanca lands on the Eagle River to pick up the wounded for transportation to the hospital in Aklavik.

The models I used in this game were already in my collection - mostly Pulp Figures Yukon Peril, with a few Tiger Miniatures Mounties and 1919 Winter War figures to make up the numbers.  The orange airplane is new, it is a Sarissa Precision light airplane.  It is a more or less generic light airplane from the early- to mid-20th century, and is certainly a near-enough match to the Bellanca CH300 Pacemaker that Wop May flew.  I painted it orange with the CF-AKI markings of May's Bellanca.

The games played out pretty fast, much quicker than I had anticipated.  In the end, we ended up with the same result, with the stubborn and mysterious Albert Johnson dead on the Eagle River - although in our two playtest runthroughs, we had different results, with Johnson escaping in Scenario 3 in the first attempt, and being mortally wounded in Scenario 1 in the second attempt.  Fistful of Lead gave us a fast and dramatic game, and kept all the players involved.  Thanks to Arthur, Craig, Peter, Oliver, Tyler, Robert, Chris, Lisa, Cameron and Grace for playing!  

An Inciting Incident in Jhamjar!

 In Spring 1919, tensions are rising in the Princely State of Jhamjar. In the market town of Marm-el-Mahdi, a protest is planned in the plaza in front of the residency of the British Resident (aka the senior official of the British Raj in Jhamjar).  Unknown to the British, however, there are some serious troublemakers working to ensure that this protest does not remain peaceful!

This was played out as a multi-player game using Fistful of Lead.  Arthur took the role of Lt F.Ocker, the angry Australian in charge of the British forces at the Residency, and Legion played his assistant Sgt A.Shoal.  Each of the British teams had 4 privates in addition to the leader.  Colin took the protesters - the protest leader Marmiti Ghundi and five mobs of 4 protesters.  Kevin played the rebel Noor Chutneya and her guerillas:  her big bodyguard and three snipers with obsolete firearms.  And Jim was Jemadar Amay Singh of the Jhamjar Rifles - not quite involved with the protesters, but not part of the British forces either.

A view of Marm-el-Mahdi.  The Residency is the white building with the green trim.

Market day goes on regardless of the protest!

Lt Ocker was given a special rule, 'Read the Riot Act' which allowed him to put 1 shock on each of 1d4 bases of protesters if he passed a regular (5+) skill test.  In addition, soldiers were allowed to use rifle butts as clubs with -1 on the wound roll but any wound would add one bonus shock.  Any protester mob with more shock than members automatically disperses.  To counter the Riot Act, Marmati Ghundi had the trait Encouraging: For one action, may remove all shock from a single mob within 12”

In my naïve ambition, I thought there would be some back and forth as the British tried to impose shock on the protesters to disperse them.  Naturally, things unfolded differently :)   

All the military groups had the special rule, 'Wait for it...'  The intent was to allow soldiers to all act together - for example, to advance/move as a unit - but it turned out not to be a popular rule.

Wait for It: leader can command all team members to act together on same card.  The team still receives all cards as normal but the entire team acts on the same card. All team members must take the same action. For special cards (Queen, Jack, 7, 2) only one model gets the benefit. Exception is 6 – all models can reload if appropriate.

The game started with Frank Ocker gamely trying to read the riot act.  A reasonable start, but the mob immediately attacked the British soldiers, and any chance for a peaceful solution was gone!

Note the British Resident standing on the balcony.  He was an NPC, and was going to duck for cover as soon as things kicked off.  This didn't work out either, in the very first shot of the game, a rebel sniper hit him at long range and in cover, and the wound roll was a kill!  (10 followed by a 10, although the sniper rule which allows a reroll for a missed shot helped).

There was some brutal fighting at the entrance to the Residency.  The mobs battled against the outnumbered British soldiers, who desperately held their ground.  Arnie Shoal's team meanwhile were unable to help as the doorway was blocked.

A rebel sniper looks for a target.

A group of protesters climbs the Residency wall and starts to throw rocks at the soldiers inside.  Rocks were 6"/12", -1 on wound roll.

Hearing gunfire and other noise from the riot, Jemadar Amay Singh and his Jhamjar Rifles move toward the Residency to investigate.

Ocker's men continue to resist the protesters.  Rated as grunts, a single wound is enough to knock one out of the fight.  However Marmati Ghundi made good use of his encouraging trait to remove shock and keep the remaining protesters in action.

Meanwhile more of the protesters have scaled the walls of the Residency, chasing the soldiers inside the main building.  I'd just like to point out the flag carried by the protester in the foreground, which is inspired by the Calcutta flag first unfurled by Indian nationalists in 1906.

Inside the main building:

Meanwhile, at the gate, Jim demonstrated uncharacteristic restraint.  Uncharacteristic for Jim, that is, but now a defining feature for Amay Singh!  His Jhamjar Rifles moved between the protesters and the wounded soldiers, rescuing them and moving them to safety.

A better view of the Calcutta flag as the protesters try to enter through the windows.

The defending British soldiers are wounded and shocked (helmets on rifles each indicate a shock marker).  Lt Ocker blazes away with his revolver at Ghundi, killing him, and with that the remaining protesters lose heart and disperse.

Her task achieved, Noor Chutneya and her accomplice sneak away through the market.

And Jemadar Amay Singh transported the rescued soldiers to safety.

What will happen next?  This day's actions are going to have significant repercussions.  What will be the British response, what next actions will the rebels take, and what side will the Djelli of Jhamjar end up on?  

Battle for Husiatyn - WWI Eastern Front

 Lisa, Arthur and I played scenario 6 from the historical campaign she's preparing based on the service of the Royal Navy's Armoured Car Expeditionary Force on the Eastern Front in 1917.  Today's game is based on action at Husiatyn in Galicia.  The Russians and their British allies want to stop the Germans from crossing the bridge and capturing the town.

We used Fistful of Lead Bigger Battles for this game, same as with the others in this series.

Russians and Brits start on the road across the top of the photo, and the Germans on the lower side of the photo.  Germans want to cross the river, which can be done at the bridge at regular speed or they can wade the river, treating it as difficult terrain. The airplane represents an observation balloon, which the Germans can use to call off-board artillery strikes.  The observer called in shots turn after turn until late in the game, when the Pierce-Arrow armoured car finally knocked it out of the sky.

The day was a foggy one, so every turn a die is rolled to see if the fog settles in, restricting vision to half range.  If it is already foggy, then a test is made to see if the fog lifts.  The fog came in early in the game, which allowed the forces to advance unhindered by their opponent's actions.

Here the German MG has crossed the bridge, but had to deploy quickly, without taking cover, to respond to the Lanchester AC that appeared through the mist.

Other German forces attempted to wade through the river. The two-man sniper team was eliminated by Russian and British fire before it was able to get into position.

In a rare occurrence, the German flamethrower team was able to fire its weapon, at its extreme range.  They only had minimal effect, adding a single point of shock onto the Lanchester. The car immediately returned fire and wiped out the flamethrower.

A firefight developed, between the MG, infantry and two British cars.

My photography was a bit off here - the Russian cavalry charged and eliminated a German infantry unit, and were then driven off by rifle fire from another unit. 

As the Russian cavalry regroups, an infantry unit moves to keep the pressure on the Germans.

After the Germans wading across the river were defeated, the focus turned to the remaining forces at the end of the bridge.  The smoke puff represent shock.

Russian infantry quite sensibly use the Rolls Royce as cover,

Only to be dismayed as the car is taken out by an off-board artillery strike!

Meanwhile the Russian cavalry regrouped, then charged and wiped out an infantry unit and the MG that was adjacent to it.

Glamour shot of the Russian infantry.

Victorious Russian cavalry!

RNAS Pierce-Arrow Armoured Lorry.  This was quite a beast, porting around a 3" QF field gun.

Thanks, Lisa, for writing a great scenario pack.  Looking forward to playtesting the final scenario soon!