Defeat for the German Imperial Forces !

Having been drive off by the RN a few weeks ago, D'astardlee and his men have crossed the border into Imperial German territory in their search for loot. News that an important artifact from the period of Empire of Kitara was being held at a mission station reached them so they set out to recover it for their own profit.

Table at the outset

German Imperial Intelligence got wind of this attempt to steal the artifact, so Wissman himself lead his Askaris and his best technical aparatus stop D'astardlee and his men.


Yes, our club has Ladies who play IHMN

This time however, D'astardlee's men were a more experienced group equipped with Hunting Rifles and this caused Wissman's lightly armoured Askaris problems from the outset.

Entering from the left of the table, they moved quickly to grab the cart containing the artifact and moved it towards the exit. D'astardlee's men moved around the mission (towards the bottom of the picture above) and from there caught the Askaris in a crossfire. Wissman and the Arc weapons went round the top of the table and were very effective once they started shooting, but elsewhere on the table the Askari's were outshot by the range and power of the hunting rifles.

 

Wissman and his surviving troops beat a dejected retreat, made more bitter by the need to send a report back to Berlin explaining the loss of an important artifact.

More New Science Arrives in The Colony

A new piece of technology arrived in the colony recently.

Oberlt Welte with his Arc Generator

Here we  see Oberleutenant Hans Welte with his experimental self propelled Arc Generator.

Trials so far have been hampered by the harsh jungle environment causing breakdowns, but it is anticipated that these will soon be overcome.

Developed in the Imperial Science Research Facility in Esslingen-am-Neckar this cutting edge development promises to significantly increase the effectiveness of troops equipped with Arc weapons. There are even suggestions that an Imperial Infantry Platoon all of whom are equipped with Arc weapons may soon be sent to the Colony.

No Post Over Easter

No update this week, too busy prepping for a trip to Dublin for Easter.

If you see anything about Vikings and the battle of Clontarf on the TV over the weekend, that's where I am.

Wissmans Company

I finished my second company. Wissmans Company - German East Africa 1896.
 

Hermann von Wissmann was a noted explorer of Central Africa in the 1880s and was appointed as the first Imperial commissioner to the Tanganika colony in February 1888. In 1889 he created the ‘Wissmanntruppe’ of about 700 local troops in 7 companies (6 Sudanese and 1 Zulu) commanded by German officers.

By March 1891 this force was 1700 strong organised into 10 companies, and it had been formally integrated into the Imperial German Armed Forces. In the spring of 1891 the HeHe revolted and massacred a German force of three companies of the Schutztruppe with 13 German officers and NCO's, 320 Askaris, 170 porters, and several machine guns and field guns. Only three Germans, sixty-four Askaris and seventy four porters escaped the debacle. Wissmann was blamed for the debacle and recalled to Germany.

In December 1893, Wissmann returned with a new commission. His mission was to establish a new Spezialbefehlafrika to harrass the British in Kenya and Uganda and to undertake other operations on behalf of the Empire. Here is Wissman with his fellow officers, Doktor Dreis, Askaris and a group of Zulu Scouts.

This company also has some of the first new science weapons in Africa. Wissman carries an Arc Pistol and Doktor Dreis an Arc rifle. Note also that the Arc generator is carried by a Zulu porter.

This tactical innovation allows the Generator to remain slightly to the rear of combat, and thus preserve this vital piece of equipment

I expect this company to action soon


Hurah for the Tars !

Following complaints from villagers about mercenary looters attacking their settlements, Lt Phillips lead his men into the bush to try and flush out the miscreants involved. Native intelligence and guides helped him set an ambush for the gang, led by a certain Richard D'astardlee.

As the villains emerged from the bush to ransack another village, Lt Phillips and his men entered from the other side and engaged them in a fierce fire fight. D'asterdlee and his men were taken by surprise and with men wounded on both sides decided to try close combat as a way to settle the matter.

This proved a mistake as they picked on a man who had something of a reputation as a sabre fencer while at Dartmouth. He cut down three of D'asterdlee's men who unwisely came within reach and at that point the villains beat a hasty retreat.

A sound victory for the Tars, but with Africa seemingly overrun by mercenaries hungry for loot, I think we will see lots more of D'asterdlee's and his men in the future.

Sadly the automatic recording device used on this mission malfunctioned, so there are currently no images of the action. If we are able to recover any, they will be posted here.

First Company - RN Landing Party

I paint quite fast but I won't ever win any competitions. I can however turn out decent tabletop armies in fairly quick time and here is my first Company for IHMN - the Royal Navy Landing Party.

Lt Phillips and Assistant surgeon Ffont-Bittocks lead a party of a Chief Petty Officer (Pertwee) and 9 ratings armed with Martini-Henry rifles and boarding cutlasses. As my first company - and reflecting the traditional conservative approach taken by the RN in all things - this company has no 'new' weapons.

These landing parties were quite common in the 1890's as the Royal Navy worked tirelessly to stamp out the East African slave trade. Ships like HMS Sparrow provided detachments for land raids, as well as long patrols in the ships boats.

In the world of IHMN they also skirmish with illegal treasure seekers, hostile natives and of course the Imperial German Army.

Sometimes several ships would combine their on board Marines an armed ratings to form a Naval Brigade, and these took part in some large actions including the great battle of Omdurman.

As a gamer of a certain age, I take my gaming lightly and love taking inspiration from other genres, and this Company is no different from others. No prizes for spotting the source.

They fight for the first time tomorrow night ....

Going Through The Lead Pile

I'm working on my next company, but I took some time to go through my lead pile to see if there are any figures suitable for IHMN. I found 4 that might fit but none are classic VSF.

One however might just form the basis of a whole new company, but no clues yet.

RN First Draft

This my first attempt at a Company. The RN landing party is based on a regular infantry company but all figures have a cutlass (except the Colonel). For the Lieutenant and the Asst Surgeon this gives the Duellist ability, but for the Ratings it is subsumed into the normal Bayonet Drill.

Lt Phillips (Captain + Inspirational and Duellist) 72pts
Surgeon Ffont-Bittocks (Medic + Duellist) 20pts
Col Entwhistle (rtd) (Great White Hunter) 48pts
CPO Pertwee (Sergant) 29pts
9 x Ratings (Riflemen) 20pts
Total 349pts

Yes, it's a large company, but I plan to run it with two players, each taking half. (The Lt and the Asst Surgeon plus 5 ratings will be one group, the Colonel, the CPO and the other 5 ratings the other.)

What's All This IHMN Then ?

I've become very interested in the game In Her Majesty's Name (IHMN) so I'm going to see if I can keep a blog about my gaming for this system. I'll try to post once a week, but given my past record, no promises.

IHMN is a Victorian Science Fiction skirmish game, in which 'Companys' of 9-12 agents of one of the World powers battle it out for influence, money, control and other arcane purposes.

It attracted me for a number of, most importantly because it's very flexible, it's well supported on a forum here http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?board=82.0 and you can create an army for under £20.

This scores big time over so many game systems (Warhammer, DBMM, FOG, Black Powder) because the outlay required to get an army is several times that of IHMN.

I picked up the rule book and some figures at Cavalier, and already have ideas for a couple of companies, so time to get things going.