After tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878 Congress of Berlin, Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul. Sher Ali Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, tried unsuccessfully to keep them out. Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August, the British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too.
The Amir not only refused to receive a British mission under Neville Bowles Chamberlain, but threatened to stop it if it were dispatched. Lord Lytton, the viceroy, ordered a diplomatic mission to set out for Kabul in September 1878 but the mission was turned back as it approached the eastern entrance of the Khyber Pass, triggering the Second Anglo-Afghan War. -Wikipedia
British cavalry bear down on the dismounted Afghans
Afghan sharpshooters take aim, while allied infantry charge the Sikhs...
More British cavalry with pack guns in the rear
I got into a pretty massive (and fun) historical game the other night at Bob "Might of Arms" Bryant's house. We were playing an unpublished variant of his Might of Arms rules called Clans and Companies. A pretty versatile rules set which also powered this awesome fantasy game a while back. There were no undead or Elves this time around however.
I gotta admit, when Bob sent out the email and said "northwest frontier madness" I was thinking colonial America, haha. I was in for a surprise when I got there however. The terrain was stunning, the armies looked great, and the gameplay went fast. Most of all, we had fun. We were a little shorthanded, just three of us, so Bob and I defended as the Afghans, and Tom took the offensive with his British and Indian forces.
Spring Fever 2011 has already come and gone by the time this posts, but this was the game Bob ran in it and this evening we were just trying to 'break it' from a con point-of-view. Hopefully we were able to do enough damage for Bob to make his necessary tweaks.
Nice write up, and good to see con games being playtested.
ReplyDeleteWhere'd the figures come from btw?
Wow, looks like an awesome game.
ReplyDelete@Tenzing: It's always a treat to roll with these guys. The figs were all from Bob's collection, I don't know who made them though, I'll ask.
ReplyDelete@Flounder: I'll try to give you a heads up when there's another big historical game on tap, it's usually on a Friday night, so maybe with advanced notice?
Holy moly! That's a really impressive setup and collection of minis, looks like it would a lot of fun to play... I hope the game went well at the convention.
ReplyDelete