Rules for Rorke's Drift

[StevieC]

Hi

With the release of the new buildings for Rorke's Drift can anyone suggest a good set of rules for wargaming this action.

Cheers

Steve

[grant]

Black Powder? They are are a terrific set of rules.

[StevieC]

Please excuse my ignorance but would they still be good for the hand to hand fighting around the hospital etc.

I just imagined the rules being used for battles between 2 more well balanced armies if you know what I mean.

[grant]

Please excuse my ignorance but would they still be good for the hand to hand fighting around the hospital etc.

I just imagined the rules being used for battles between 2 more well balanced armies if you know what I mean.

I think they would. The problems with Rorke's Drift are obvious - a bazillion Zulus, and a small number of British.

I would be tempted to do this:

1. Scale the British at platoon level, and allow Chard, Bromhead et al to be Brigade commanders in the rules.
2. Zulus would be as normal.

This would give an impression of the more individual nature of the British vs the 'ordes and 'ordes of Zulus.

[StevieC]

Cheers

[Big Al]

I agree with Grant. Black Powder are the ruleset to use. However, if you are looking to do smaller scale skirmish level games, I would look at Iron Ivan Games' This Very Ground. However, this ruleset is primarily aimed at the French Indian Wars, you could tweak it to cover AZW.

[zedeyejoe]

With the British fighting from defended positions, the Zulus are limited to the number of units they can get into combat and not being able to get onto flanks. So the Zulus should stand no chance, just like the real action.

Don't forget to swap the shooting and HtH stats around, that makes the British best at what they did best, shoot.

There are two more balanced battles of the Zulu war you could fight instead; one a Zulu victory and the other a British victory.

[grant]

With the British fighting from defended positions, the Zulus are limited to the number of units they can get into combat and not being able to get onto flanks. So the Zulus should stand no chance, just like the real action.

Don't forget to swap the shooting and HtH stats around, that makes the British best at what they did best, shoot.

There are two more balanced battles of the Zulu war you could fight instead; one a Zulu victory and the other a British victory.

I think it would be good sport to fight iSandlwana and then Rorke's Drift - the British get massacred, the Zulus get pummeled; at least both players would know what it would be like to experience such a disaster.

[Cubster]

Well RD was no forgone conclusion. There are plenty of tweaks to the scenario that would balance things out.

Had the Zukus managed to coordinate multiple attacks from all directions at once, this would have stretched the defence more.

Had their 'snipers' on the Shyiane Hill moved closer and fired from shorter range ...

Had the hospital not been set alight to handily illumniate Zulu sneak attacks during the night ...

Had Chard not constructed the inner defensive wall by the time the outer cordon was breached ...

Had the ammo run out a little quicker ...

Had Zulu attackers not shied away from the bayonet point at the wall ...

Had the NNC not fled as the Zulus approached then the walls may have been manned by some extremely fragile troops ...

In hindsight it was an 'easy' British victory because they suffered minimal casualties and inflicted enormous ones on their enemy, yet once the inner perimeter had been breached (which was touch and go a few times) then it would have been all over. The men were down to their last few rounds by morning.

[zedeyejoe]

Yes I agree, running out of ammo would have made all the difference.