Wyre Forest Gamers - Afghans vs British Late 19th Century

Afghans vs British Late 19th Century

"A seven hour game with hot pork rolls for lunch" was how Tom described this large-scale game played at his house in April 2022. Four players were involved, Tom provided the text and photos.

The Afghan Irregulars form up on their left, surrounding the village, with The Afghan Regulars on their right. The British advance onto the table with their Number 2 column on the right, intending to attack the village. The Number 1 Column deploys on the British left with the infantry in the centre while moving their cavalry forward to cover their flank.

The initial advance of the British is slow due to heavy going and a low initiative. The British No 1 Column forms up in the centre with the regular artillery on the hills behind them and get into a long range fire fight with the Afghan tribesmen dug in on the rocky hills opposite. The cavalry move out to the left and discover the Afghan Regular forces advancing against the British left and then slowly fall back on main body followed up by the Afghan regular cavalry.

The Afghan Regular infantry move slowly through the heavy terrain and only manage to put pressure on the British left towards the end of the game by which time the British were beginning to fall back due to the Afghan tribesmen. At the end of the game the Afghans launched a charge of cavalry and Gurkhas against the Afghan regular infantry. But the Afghan infantry hold and their cavalry charge the Indian cavalry in the flank and rout them.

On the British right the two brigades of infantry are slow to form up but manage to force the Afghan Tribal cavalry deployed in front of the village to withdraw. After this they slowly advance, forcing the Afghan tribesmen from out of their first line of defence only to advance into a heavy crossfire from Afghan tribesmen and artillery. After several turns several of the Indian battalions had been wiped out and the columns were forced to withdraw.