(Chicka-Zulu Campaign) #1 - Sihayo's Kraal

Some time ago, "Award-Winning GM" and Friend of the Bog, Mike Lung gifted me with some fabulous Easter chicks from Michael's.  He fashioned pipe-cleaners, feathers, and tiny spears to them for form the "Chicka Zulu."  This weekend was the first opportunity I had to officially put them on the table.

I used Colonial Campaigns: The Zulu War, 1879 by Roy Jones and Mark Fastoso.  The scenarios are statted out to The Sword and the Flame, and I sort of created a hybrid of that and Gnome Wars (Gnome and the Flame?  Sword and the Gnome?).  I've also replaced the British with German gnomes, as they are the baddies in the world.  It also allows me, if the mood strikes right, to expand the game into Herero scenarios.  

Background: What was first thought as an unsteady alliance with the Chicka Zulu completely unruffled, Sihayo, the Zulu warlord, had brought war to the Germans, and the Germans had arrived with a healthy force Native Natal Chicks (NNC), armed with spears, the burn down his Kraal, and seize his animals.  

Sihayo's forces had other ideas, and most of them involved the surprise collection of muskets they were armed with.

British Objective:  Move as many units (unit = at least 50% of the unit remaining) off the top of the hill. Clear/occupy the Zulu huts.  

Zulu Objective:  Prevent as much of this from happening.

Special Rules:  Hills represented by the lines of black counters across the board.  German and NNC units must use the trails to scale the hills.   Zulu may move up and down the hills without issue.

Turn One: The Germans stall realizing the limited options of climbing up the hill to reach Sihayo's Kraal. As they plan to assault the rocky areas the Zulus were hiding, the German commander pondering firing all his scouting officers for omitting the treacherous trails in their reports.

Turn Two: The mass group of NNC on the German left flank charge the Chicka Zulus. The Chicka Zulu counterattack fails, but the Chick Zulu rifles above on the hills rains down musket fire that wipes out everything in the area.

The line of black tokens represent elevation changes.  Germans and the NNC can only use trails to move up the hills.

On the right flank the NNC cower amongst the rocks, forcing the 134th Germans (Sommer-Radlers) to advance. A single volley of fire is enough to flush the Chicka Zulus out of their position, and send the survivors scrambling to the safety of the nearby hut.

Blue chips are activation, orange are morale/rally checks, and black checks with them represent reloading units.

Meanwhile, in the center of the formation, the depleted German cavalry prepares for a charge.

Turn 3. The German initiative is stellar. The German cav charges up the trail and strikes at the Chicka Zulus. It is apparently a trap as few feathers fly, Chicka Zulus counter the charge, and pull the surviving gnomes off their bunnies to an even worse, possibly unspeakable fate, we're not telling.

The Chicka Zulu reign supreme over the undermanned cavalry!

Up the center of the board, the cavalry charges uphill at the Zulu mast at the top of the hill feathers fly in the end the Zulu’s counter the charge and drag the last Germans off their bunnies suffering great casualties on their own the other leading force of NNC on the left flank engage, depleted Zulu in the rocks is hiding in the rocks. On the right flag, the NNC scurry up to find a trail

Left Flank: A full NNC unit assaults a position with weakened Chicka Zulus and is repulsed!

Right Flank:  The Sommer Radlers and the emboldened NNC unit are slowed down by the trail leading up to the next hill.

Turn four: The German left flank collapses as the Chicka Zulus use muskets to eliminate any further NNC threats. Most of the natives retreat directly up the hill beyond the bottleneck up the main trail.

In the center German Greys try to dislodge the Zulu at the top of the hill, but are completely unsuccessful as a point-blank barrage yields zero casualties!

The Sommer-Radlers on the left flank only clear out Chicka-Zulu stragglers, but not those hiding in the huts. Their eyes are up the hill at the top of the trail!

The Germans sweeping the flank and heading down the trail.  

Turn Five: The German right flank moves as fast as they can up the trail. They are left exposed to some healthy Chicka-Zulu fire at the top of the hills, but it appears all of them fired the previous turn, forcing a mandatory reload phase for everyone!

The Chicka Zulu resistance is futi.... waitaminute

Turn Six: Chicka-Zulu forces mop up the NNC charge in the center of the attack. They then met face-to-face with the muscles of the German Grey's rifles and the great cacophony of sound. But no one falls!

On the German right flank , the Chicka Zulu muskets hit true, forcing the surviving Germans to hide behind some rocks, allowing the NNC behind them to charge up the hill with great speed.

Sensing victory, the Chicka Zulus shift towards the German right.

Turn Seven: Seizing the initiative, the NNC on the right flank fly up the hill and off the board. The remaining Sommer Radlers in hiding are trapped behind the rocks, unable to move, too scared to attack, too scared to flee, hoping the Chicka-Zulus don’t see their bright white picklehaub hovering over the rocks!

The NNC try (and succeed in) passing the Chicka Zulu resistance.

The German Greys, moving up the main trail, dispatch the remaining Zulus in front of them and head towards the Zulu on the middle on the higher hill.

Turn Eight (final turn!): The Germans cannot get a good initiative to literally save their lives. The Sommer-Radlers survived multiple volleys of Chicka-Zulu muskets Another Chicka-Zulu unit charges across the battlefield, but the Germans fight valiantly, causing far more losses on the Chick-Zulus, then their insignificant lives.

The Chicka Zulu tales recount the bravery of the three Germans who would not be taken alive.

Finally, the Germans trudging their way through the carnage on the main trail. apparently had enough of their enemies and hastily withdrew back from whence they came.

All in all, a fun time for a first foray into Gnome Colonialism.  I don't think I'll be doing Isandlwana (I've already down Rorke's Drift), and it appears Mike provided me with just enough figures to represent the Zulus and NNC in further games.

Carnage!