(Gnome Wars) Battle of Tanga #2 - Leuwan's Holding Attack

Special campaign rules can be found HERE

November 3, 1914, 0500, northern slope of Longido Mountain

Back on the northern slope, Swiss Major Leuwen was ordered to assult the fortifications surrounding the northern wells, acting as a holding attack. It was hoped that this assault would distract the German forces enough to prevent them from reinforcing the Germans at Lt. Colonel Dykstra's main attack. The units had trouble navigating the heavy brush as they neared their objective, and the Germans actually began firing on the troops before they could be organized for a proper assault.

The Swiss are spread out against a vast no-man's land

The Germans at the top of the mountain are ready for target practice

Order of Battle

Germans: Steve and myself again

Orders: Force the Swiss off the slopes (any elevated terrain)

1 unit (Green Germans)

1 unit (Grey Germans)

1 Light Machine Gun

German Variable Attachments (d20):

• 1-3: 2 snipers from the main unit, deployed within 24 inches of the brush line


• 4-9: Teddy Bear Askari unit


• 10-17: 1 unit (Purple Germans)


• 18-20: Heavy Mortar

Swiss: commanded by Nichols and Scott again

Orders: occupy the three German trenches

1 unit (Red Hats)

1 unit (Swiss Engineers)

1 unit (Swiss Rangers)

1 unit of Sikhs (following the poor morale rules from part #0)

Variable attachments:

• 1-10: 1 Irish unit


• 11-14: Nothing


• 15-19: Offboard artillery


• 20: 1 unit of Teddy Bear Askari and roll again!

SPECIAL RULE: The rock walls on various levels were impassable areas of terrain. They blocked line of sight for any unit not in direct contact with it. Troops could occupy the area below them represented by the loose stones and be considered in heavy cover. However, the units firing out of that area did so at a -2 penalty.

Turns 1-3: The German right flank was held by the Grey Germans in a trench that was 24" closer than the other fortifications. However, the Swiss' meandering in the heavy brush negated the opportunity to concentrate their forces on that flank. The German heavy mortar arrived at the last second to support the units and hellfire rained down upon the Swiss, causing significant damage to the Engineers and the densely-packed Sikhs. Just as German rifle fire began to wittle the edges of each unit, a loud angry cheer could be heard from behind the Swiss. With the artillery lost in the brush, a group of Irish, orginally hired as laborers, had been organized to bludgeon the Germans for fun and a healthy bonus.

The Red Hats are gunned down, but the Sikhs keep charging forward

Turns 4-7: The Swiss units, save the Red Hats, charged hard towards the trenches. The Red Hats decided that the best course of action was to fire their blunderbusses at the Germans, halving their movement through the open area. When the Germans had their chance, the return volley created many wounded, but not enough to overwhelm the competent St. Bernard medic! Panic then spread along the German center, as it was discovered that the German light machine gun was already out of ammo!

One of the machine gun team members runs back for more ammo!

The lack of oppressive firepower from the center of the battlefield renewed the Swiss spirit as the gnomes pressed forward:

The Swiss Rangers reach the trench, the Irish right on their heels.

The Rangers tried to flank the German trench with limited success. The Red Hats' recovery seemed to force the Green Germans out of their cozy trench to deal with them, but rather, the riflemen forced their attentions on oblitering the remaining Engineers. Heavy mortar fire throughout the game had made the engineers paper-thin, so a few well-placed shots forced them to rout off the board.

Turns 8-11: The valiant Swiss assualt had stalled on most of the board. The Red Hats and Green Germans were trading shots under heavy cover, with little effect. The Sikhs, the only threat to the German center failed a mandatory morale check and routed, even though the member of the machine gun team had yet to make it back with the replacement ammo. The German right flank then became a house of horrors. The Swiss Rangers finally made it to the Grey German trench, and the Ranger NCO was raring for a fight. the Ranger NCO slew three Germans in hand-to-hand before they even knew he was in the trench! Sergeant Schnitzel, the German Non-Com lead a brilliant counter-attack, shooting two Swiss and pistol whipping another before taking a cowardly pick-axe in the back. With only a freshly commissioned lieutenat to lead the remaining Greys, not even the arrival of some German peasant infantry from the Greens could hold off the devastating onslaught of the Irish.

The Irish killed the Germans to a man and took the trench. With ammo finally arriving at the light machine gun, a heavy mortar waiting to acquire a new target, and the Green German rifles ready to counter-attack, Major Leuwen wisely gave the command to fall back, keeping the Germans engaged long enough to prevent their use as reinforcements during the main attack.

Per the orders for each side, scenario #2 was a considered a draw, however in points it was a solid German 35-23 victory. The Swiss wisely called retreat before things got worse point-wise, while most of the Swiss points came from the the savagery in the trench that annihilated the Grey Germans to a man. Both sides were very happy with their variable attachments. Two perfect shots by the mortar when it needed a 6 to hit on the first two rounds started the inevitable collapse of the Engineers and Sikhs. The Irish were just what the Swiss needed to take the trench and rattle the Germans (as if the machine gun being out of ammo wasn't bad enough).

In the campaign, winning this scenario gives that side some crucial advantages to reinforcements in the final three scenarios. Alas, I play in a group that is fortunate enough to play a lot a draws in their games. Great for self-esteem, horrible for campaign games.

Historically, it was Major Laverton who commanded the British holding attack, but I figured a less-British name was required for the Swiss. The British failed to take the German positions and completely withdrew back to their base camp. The staunch German defenders were actually only 45 askaris with two machine guns who never played a role in reinforcing the main attack.

Current campaign score for Longido Mountain: Germans 59, Swiss 54.