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?  

Jhamjar Lancers

 I've had these Brigade Games Indian Lancers in my collection for nearly 20 years, so this post is a bit of a cheat as they aren't actually new, but they've been retouched.  The main problem I've had is figuring out the lances.  I've previously used copper wire and later styrene rod.  Neither of these stood up to regular use - the copper wire bent, and the styrene rod just snapped.  So as I am hoping to start up my Jhamjar campaign, I re-armed them with metal wire spears from North Star.  I clipped off the sharp points to save myself and my gaming mates from injury, though!

First up, here is the new wire spear lance on the right, and the old styrene rod lance on the left.  I decided not to paint on the simulated bamboo segmentation on the new lances that I did on the left.

Here is the full contingent of 22, including an officer in sun helmet and three Daffadars (sergeants).

A close up of the three Daffadars.

Jhamjar Insurgents

I've been very much enjoying the Star Wars series Andor, as it traces the journey of Cassian Andor from petty criminal to completely committed rebel against the Galactic Empire.  Naturally, I have been drawn to starting a series of games based on a rebellion against the empire, but rather than dive into the Star Wars universe, I will resume my long-lapsed plans for my Jhamjar campaign. 

I will use the Too Fat Lardies' Dawns and Departures to build the campaign.  I haven't decided which rules for fighting the actual battles that will be set up, but am looking at Fistful of Lead Bigger Battles (and possibly standard FFoL for skirmishes), Bolt Action, and The Men Who Would Be Kings.  Who knows, with the second edition of Chain of Command coming out soon, I might add CoC2 into the mix.  Hanging on in the background there will still be GDW's Soldiers' Companion and the venerable Sword and the Flame.  Most likely I'll plan games with each of these rules.

I already have established armies for both the Djelli of Jhamjar and for the British Raj.  However armies are never complete!  In addition to his uniformed army, the common people of Jhamjar may get involved in the fight.  Inspired by Indian activists like the famous revolutionary M.N.Roy, groups of insurgents may appear to ambush the Imperial forces.

These figures are from Pulp Figures.  I did careful research on their clothing (aka I rewatched RRR) and decided to add a bit more colour, plus use of red highlights with turbans, belts and sashes to represent their revolutionary inspiration.  The lady on the end is from Eureka Miniatures.

Now if I can only find a suitable mini of these two!

Dangerous Dames 3

Here is 'The Maharani' from Pulp Figures Dangerous Dames.  Bob has included her in the Daughters of the Empire set, but in my games she'll be one of the leaders of the Djelli of Jhamjar's army.  

Jhamjar Rising - background information

As a diversion from COVID19 isolation, I am planning for a wargaming campaign to be set in the Salute State of Jhamjar, as a gaming event or series of events to play once restrictions on gatherings are lifted. 

Jhamjar is a princely state governed by a hereditary prince known as the Djelli.  The current Djelli, as with all stereotypical Indian princes from the movies, was educated at Eton and Cambridge.  However, rather than learning about his place in the British Empire, he instead returned home to Jhamjar with ideas, thanks to President Wilson, of self-determination for Jhamjar.  Now, in 1919, the Djelli has determined that the time has come for Jhamjar to set its own path in the world.  He has decided that the time has come for the British to 'quit Jhamjar'.  He started recruiting Indian veterans of the Great War to Jhamjar's army.  This army, which was supposed to be little more than a police force and a ceremonial bodyguard for the Djelli, gradually grew into a sophisticated military force, manned by veterans of the recent Great War and equipped with modern weaponry.  After the notorious Amritsar Massacre, the Djelli determined that the time had come to declare his independence from the British Raj.

While my focus so far has been on the actions involving the Army of the Djelli, I can see this overall alternate history as being a sort of Second Great Indian Rebellion, the first being the one in 1857, variously known as the Sepoy Mutiny, the First War of Independence and by other terms as well.  I envision The Second Great Rebellion as an alternate history where Gandhi's ideas of non-violence were overtaken by a combination of nationalist forces, Communist agitators, and more.  The inspiration is sort of a Very British Civil War by way of Carry On Up the Khyber and Peter Hopkirk's books Setting the East Ablaze and The Great Game.

As such, a variety of factions can be imagined, including, but not limited to, the British Indian Army, the Army of the Djelli of Jhamjar (or other Indian princely states), Pashtun tribesmen, or Indian revolutionaries associated with either the Communist Party (with possible support from Moscow!) or the Indian nationalist movement, or possibly mercenaries, adventurers, thugs, dacoits and other ne'er-do-wells.  Other interested parties are certainly possible, and I'm interested in suggestions!

In Bolt Action terms, Jhamjar can field troops mostly using WWI British army lists as developed by GAJO games, see link here.  Most soldiers are Regulars, but newly raised troops may be Inexperienced.  Jhamjar has infantry, cavalry and artillery.

Many Pashtun tribesmen were drawn to the Djelli's banners.  Pashtun Tribesmen are based on the Native Irregulars from Empires in Flames BA supplement.  They may use 'hidden set-up' or 'setting up observers and snipers' rules from the Scenarios chapter of the BA rulebook (p.131), and when 'outflanking' (p.132) they do NOT suffer a -1 penalty.  Will typically be equipped with rifles.

The British Raj has a mixed bag of soldiers available.  The Djelli's rebellion came as the Third Anglo-Afghan War was beginning, so the Raj needed to scramble to find troops to fight the Djelli's army.  The forces available included British regulars stationed in India, ANZAC veterans of the Great War whose troop ship was intercepted and diverted to Karachi (while the soldiers aboard wanted nothing more than demobilization and repatriation to Australia and New Zealand after enduring war in France, Belgium, Gallipoli and Palestine), Gurkha Rifles, and even a platoon of King's African Rifles.  The British also have access to some armoured vehicles and aircraft.

Other forces that could potentially get involved may include Enver Pasha and his Pan-Turkic Movement, M N Roy and his Bolshevik supporters of a revolt against British rule in India, nationalist revolutionaries eager to disregard Gandhi's call for non-violence and take up arms against the Raj, or other 'interested parties' that could be nominated - let me know what you want to bring to the table and how you can justify their participation in this revolt.  The main restrictions are that forces should have only weapons and equipment suitable for India in 1920, so basically WWI era or earlier.

Mountain Gun for Jhamjar

OK, not just for Jhamjar, but it was the Djelli of Jhamjar's army I was thinking of when I ordered this mountain gun from Brigade Games!  It could also find itself in action in the Indian Army of the First World War, or elsewhere as events require.  

The set includes the BL 2.75" mountain gun with a crew of three gunners.

It also comes with a team of 6 mules to transport the gun.  

As there are only 3 gunners, I've based two of them separately so they can serve as muleteers when they aren't needed as gunners.

This gun will replace Zam Zammah in the Djelli's army.  The mules also serve double duty as needed, such as on my Jump Off Point vignette for Operation Husky.

Bhistis

I had thought to title this post 'Bhisti Boys', playing on the name of the Beastie Boys band, but then realised that calling these bhistis 'boys' might be taken out of context.  Anyway, bhistis or water carriers are and have been for generations very important figures in South Asia.  These figures come from Empress Miniatures' (Iron Duke) Indian Mutiny collection, but in my games might end up supporting my Indian Army in Afghanistan in 1880, or with the Jhamjar army in 1920.

Zam Zammah

"He sat, in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zam-Zammah on her brick platform opposite the old Ajaib-Gher - the Wonder House, as the natives call the Lahore Museum.  Who hold Zam-Zammah, that 'fire-breathing dragon,' hold the Punjab; for the great green-bronze piece is always the first of the conqueror's loot."

That's the opening paragraph of Rudyard Kipling's novel, Kim, and in my opinion one of the greatest beginnings anywhere in English literature.  I suppose Kim has fallen out of favour nowadays, being a relic of a bygone era, but still ranks highly for me.

Here is my new toy, which was briefly mentioned in my last Jhamjar battle report.  I won the model as a door prize, on the same day I realised that I'd forgotten to pack my Jhamjar mountain gun.  Thinking quickly, I improvised:  my new model would proxy in with an impromptu gun crew.

As it happened, the gun crew was quickly eliminated by some sharp rifle fire from Ockerforce.  This was obviously because an unpainted model has no business on the tabletop!  The only possible course of action was now (obviously) to paint the gun.

I was of course inspired by the mighty Zam-Zammah in Kim, even though my gun is not quite as splendid.  This photo is from the Wikipedia page on Zamzama, photo by Khalid Mahmood - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12531919

Kipling refers to Zam-Zammah as a "great, green-bronze piece".  In order to get a sense of the green patina or verdigris, I stopped by my local gaming shop Hammertime Hobbies and asked Mike, the friendly proprietor for advice.  He had just the thing, a GW wash called 'Nihilakh Oxide'.  Bronze basecoat with a nihilakh wash and here's Jhamjar's version of Zam-Zammah!

The mighty 'fire-breathing dragon' might find a home in the centre of a Jhamjar town.  (reminds me that I need to find out the name of Jhamjar's capital.  Suggestions welcome!)

And if necessary, she may once again go to war supported by her powerful gun crew.

An Arresting Situation in Jhamjar (many photos!)

Ockerforce is on the move again!  Vital intelligence has been received (from secret sources) that one of the leaders of the Jhamjar revolt has been located in a small camp in the countryside.  Lt Frank Ocker's platoon of British and ANZAC veterans has been dispatched to apprehend Subedar PBJ Singh Widj, of the Jhamjar Rifles.  If Ockerforce strikes fast, then Singh Widj can be captured (preferably alive) before he can escape or be rescued by other forces loyal to the Djelli of Jhamjar.

To manage this mission, Ockerforce has been reinforced.  Lt F.Ocker's platoon of ANZACs and British soldiers has 4 sections of 10 men each, and 2 of the sections have a Lewis gun to add to their firepower.

Ockerforce has been allocated two armoured vehicles.  They have been assigned a Rolls Royce Armoured Car, with a Vickers machine gun in a rotating turret (it looks like this vehicle was assigned to the Royal Naval Air Service at some point).

They've also been provided with a Medium Mark A "Whippet" light tank.  The Whippet is famous for its speed; it can maintain 8 m.p.h., more than twice as fast as the rhomboid Mark IV or V heavy tanks.  However, in Bolt Action terms, it is still rated "slow"!  The Whippet has 4 Hotchkiss light machine guns, each capable of firing into a different arc to the front, rear, or side of the tank.  While the British never actually sent any Whippets to India, they did sell 4 of them to Japan.  The forces of the Raj intercepted the Whippets en route, and "borrowed" them for the duration, at least until order was restored.

In addition, Ockerforce will be reinforce by 2Lt Peter Ness and two sections of Gurkha Rifles.  They are quite busy chaps and missed out on their pre-action closeup.  Not to worry, they will show up in the report below!

F.Ocker's platoon HQ will be accompanied by an ambulance (acting as a medic under the BA rules).

                                   

Subedar PBJ Singh Widj is joined as usual by his platoon of Sikh and Muslim riflemen, including his platoon HQ with his batman/bugler and the platoon stretcher bearer (treated as a medic per Bolt Action rules) and a single Vickers MMG.

Subedar Singh Widj knows that there is a troop of the Jhamjar Lancers nearby, lead by Risaldar Mahrm el Madhi.  The rear ranks represent dismounted cavalry, and include the two Hotchkiss light machine guns carried by these sowars.

The Djelli was even able to procure a cannon for his forces!  This piece has a slightly silly story behind it:  I have a small mountain gun which includes a mule team to transport it.  When I packed my things for the game, I managed to leave the gun at home!  Scrambling at the hall as I considered options, I made a last-minute decision to substitute the mountain gun with this renaissance cannon that I won as a door prize, supplemented with some of my 1920s pulp fiction characters as a gun crew and an elephant to tow the gun to wherever it might be needed!

For reference, here is an image of the AWOAL mountain gun and mule team!  

This game was my first experience with Bolt Action.  I was referee, which was a bit funny as three of the four players were far more experienced with BA than I!  They all signed up as their experience was with 1st Edition, and they wanted to try 2nd Edition BA.  Many thanks to Jeremy, Tim, Jim and John for make the game a success, and also to Doug for helping out with photos, dice pulling and making the occasional impartial call.

Initial setup.  In the centre, there is a small campsite where Subedar Singh Widj is resting with some of his sepoys.

Initial deployment of two sections of Jhamjar Rifles, the Vickers gun and the cannon.

Ockerforce infantry advance toward the JR camp.

The dice are useful to show which units have activated, but they take away a bit from the 'look' of the game.

An unfortunate start for the JR.  The cannon crew is shot down mercilessly by Ockerforce!  I had hoped that the cannon would provide some anti-armour capability for the JR, so I was worried for the rest of the game that things would come undone once the Ockerforce armoured vehicles came on the table.  

Frank Ocker advancing with his infantry and his ambulance.  I think I'd better find a proper medic to accompany Ockerforce in the future.  You can see that the infantry have started to accumulate livestock!  I use sheep and goats as pin markers, so when a unit starts to look like they've taken up a new career in animal husbandry, you know they are not enjoying army life any more!

JR section defending the orchard.

More JR sepoys holding the camp.

JR reserves coming on to help even the odds a bit.

Ockerforce continuing the advance.

JRs in the camp.

The lancers join the battle!

An aerial shot from mid-way through the battle

The Whippet makes an appearance.  Instead of the conventional approach, where the tank advances first to provide cover for infantry, here we see the Gurkha Rifles protecting the tank by bravely putting themselves between the tank and the Jhamjar Rifles.  Note that the tank is bulletproof, but the Gurkhas are not!

Leaving the Whippet behind them, the Gurkhas attack and clear the JRs from the camp.  However, Subdar Singh W has already slipped out the back!

On the Ockerforce right flank, a lonely Lewis gunner considers a career in agriculture.  The sheep and goats show that he has 8 pins on him.  The Rolls Royce is doing fine, however!

The Gurkhas storm the Vickers emplacement.  The camp now belongs to Ockerforce!  But Subedar Singh Widj has escaped.

End of turn 6, also end of the game.  Ockerforce has cleared the camp of Jhamjar forces, but the dismounted Jhamjar Lancers have the camp covered with their rifles and Hotchkiss LMGs.  Subedar Singh Widj has fallen back from the camp but has evaded capture.  

 I have mixed feelings about Bolt Action.  The game managed what I hoped for.  It is a nice, easy to play game that allows multiple players per side and a complete game can be played in the 2-3 hour window available for a club night.  There are a few things that don't quite feel right to me.  Maybe these can be tweaked...

• Order dice.  They look ugly on the table.  I wonder if there's a work-around?  Relying on memory isn't a great suggestion, especially when there are many subunits on the table.
• Figuring out what counts as a unit.  At the start of the game, the medics were separate units with their own order dice.  They seemed (to me at least) to be slowing down the game, so I removed their dice and told the players that medics counted as part of the platoon HQ unit.  I have a feeling that there are too many dice in the bag, as many turns ended up with dice in the bag and the only units that hadn't been activated were officers and medics.
• I'm a bit uncertain about the role of officers.  I see the value of the 'You men, snap to action' rule, but it should be expanded.  A platoon commander should be able to order his whole platoon (3-4 sections plus himself), not just the 2 units that a 1LT can order per the rules.
• Machine guns seem underpowered.  A section of 10 men with rifles has more firepower than a tripod-mounted MMG.  That MMG should dominate the battlefield (and points cost should be increased to recognise that).  LMG should also have more firepower.

I'm going to try some more games of Bolt Action.  Jim wants me to bring my Red Army to face his Germans some time, so once I feel the Soviet forces are ready, I'll set up a game with him.  In the meantime, I'll also try to get in some CoC fun when I can.

Speaking of other fun, the Jhamjar scenario was just one of three games i got in yesterday at Trumpeter Society's Call to Arms one-day mini-con.  I started the day with a Chain of Command game with Craig.  I played a French reconnaissance platoon who were trying to break away from contact with German infantry.  My force included some lovely Panhard armoured cars, and Craig's 1940, Blitzkrieg-era Germans didn't have the right weapons to hurt them.  I was lucky right at the start when my Panhards took out the German senior leader, and Craig was stuck after that as no one else in his force could bring the troops together to respond properly to the French recce forces.

After lunch, I had some fun on the outskirts of Moscow in 1941, when my Russian Valentine joined with some T-34 tanks to hold back German Panzers.    Here are a couple shots from Doug showing my Valentine in action:

Thanks to Terry and the Trumpeter team for making CtA a success!