New scenario in TOAW Download section - the Zulu War, 1879 AD

[Mark Stevens]

Bit of an unusual one, the whole Zulu War of 1879 AD. Zululand, Imperial British, Colonial and native forces against the Zulus and their allies. PO for both sides. Thirty-two one week turns, regimental level, with the British winning by capturing the Zulu capital of Ulundi AND killing ('capturing') the Zulu King Cetshwayo unit. One or the other is a draw (unless either side suffers disproportionate casualties), British failure to achieve either is a Zulu historical victory. Infantry, cavalry, artillery, impis, terrorising villagers, supply columns, one vessel, limited sea movement. Events include border tribes possibly joining the Zulus, the British establishing new supply bases inside Zululand, and Colonial volunteers withdrawing to defend their homes and farms if the Zulus cross the Natal border. Playtested against both PO and human opponent (thanks Jason). Best of all, no digging-in (neither side did) so the famous 3.4 defensive bug doesn't have any effect. Do watch your Tactical and Local Reserve settings. Comments and criticism welcome, hahaha.

 

[CapitanPiluso]

Mark: May be a dumb question but got the "you are using the wrong .eqpt file" message when the scen begins, any help will be great.Thanks

 

[Mark Stevens]

Hi

You need to download, unzip and rename this variant - the instructions are included. It won't affect your other scenarios. Do revert if it isn't clear, I recall it took me a couple of tries to get it right

http://www.the-strategist.net/RD/scenarii/hosted/19thcentury/index.php

 

[CapitanPiluso]

OK now it works,it is clear that you have put a lot of detail in this scen.
Thanks again.

 

[Mark Stevens]

Sadly not a prerequisite for it being any good, as we can observe from many another scenario.

Usuthu!

 

[CapitanPiluso]

Mark:
I played this scen last days from the Zulu side.There is some kind of magnet that atracts every British force to Ulundi
Although I could make some damage, wasn`t able to stop British forces from South,
they killed every zulu they found.Finally they took Ulundi and then in turn 27 I resigned,
all of my forces where exhausted and unable to go on fighting.
This sounds rather logical because no one can imagine zulus warriors as a serious threat
for the powerful British, and - in my humble opinion- this scen can not be winned playing
the zulu side.
Anyway I plan to give it another try as soon as I can find some time.


Thanks for your work, also the historical work is outstanding.

(Below my situation running turn 27)

View attachment 46387

 

[Mark Stevens]

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply, thanks for the (generally!) positive comments.

It is a difficult war to simulate, as you say the Zulu had no possibility of a strategic victory in the sense of defeating the British Empire and remaining independent. So I've adopted a 'Germans vs Poland 1939' approach, i.e. a Zulu 'victory' is just doing better than they did historically. Do note that even if the British take Ulundi, provided that the Zulu can smuggle Cetshwayo out and into a forest or similar, it will still only count as a draw. That being said, in your example the Zulu do seem to have suffered even more heavily than in other games I've seen.

If ever you have time to try it against a human opponent, I'd be very pleased to play as the Zulu and see whether I can slow up the British a bit more, or at least keep the king on the run until the game ends, and claim a draw. You can contact me directly on markterencedotstevensatntlworlddotcom if you do fancy giving it a try.

And your point about Ulundi being a magnet is correct: the sole British strategy was to advance directly on the royal kraal, defeat any Zulu impis impudent enough to get in their way, and force the king to terms at the point of a gun. Luckily they planned to advance in five converging columns from all along the Zulu border, so it is a bit more interesting than it sounds.

______________________________________________________________________

Mark:
I played this scen last days from the Zulu side.There is some kind of magnet that atracts every British force to Ulundi
Although I could make some damage, wasn`t able to stop British forces from South,
they killed every zulu they found.Finally they took Ulundi and then in turn 27 I resigned,
all of my forces where exhausted and unable to go on fighting.
This sounds rather logical because no one can imagine zulus warriors as a serious threat
for the powerful British, and - in my humble opinion- this scen can not be winned playing
the zulu side.
Anyway I plan to give it another try as soon as I can find some time.


Thanks for your work, also the historical work is outstanding.

(Below my situation running turn 27)

View attachment 46387