Battle of Nhamacurra (1 Jul 1918)

This battle was fought in what is now Mozambique by the remnant of Lettow-Forbach's Schutztruppen as they out-manoeuvred the Allied pursuit, restocking their supplies from Portuguese camps ...

Nationalities: German v Portuguese & KAR

Commanders: 

- Hauptmann David Knight (D10 commander, Superior deck)

- Capitão Douglas Thomson (D8 commander, Poor deck)

Rules: Piquet Field of Battle 2

Game Master: Tim Couper

Place: Falkirk & District Wargames Club

Date: Monday May 8^th May

The setup:

The Germans attacked from the North (left side of picture) in 3 commands (each representing a depleted double company). The most easterly German companies are attacking in and through a (Class III) sisal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisal) plantation .. more of which later ..:

This side of the river, the ground was defended by 2 companies of (poor quality) entrenched Portuguese troops, together with a light field piece:

.. with a third Portuguese company across the river ...

.. supported yet further east by 2 companies of Kings African Rifles, who were charged with defending buildings containing valuable ammo and medical supplies – the target for the Germans:

The first surprise move in the game came from the German commander, who did not like the look of the entrenched opposition in his immediate front, so he decided to change the plan and move eastwards to the sector containing the buildings:

.. this move necessitated all his troops (moving at half speed) through the sisal plantation, which took a great deal of time (especially when 1's are rolled for movement …)

As the Germans cleared this rough terrain, and rounded the river, they were met with accurate MG and light artillery fire from the Allied troops which had had enough time to prepare for their arrival:

In spite of taking some casualties, the German advance was not hindered, (helped by good Leadership rolls to bring the units back to full strength), and they threatened a fearful assault on the Allied first line of defence:

…which soon had had enough from a devastating fire, and routs, leaving only the KAR between the Germans and their objective (oh, and a rather formidable number of MGs :-):

Undaunted by these threats, the Germans challenge the KAR:

but being hit in the flank and front with fire find it hard to made a decisive impact .. However the rear German command moves to deal with the flanking KAR unit, in spite of the presence of its Lewis gun:

... the bigger picture ...

Crucially an Allied MG and the Lewis gun both jam!

.. tipping the balance in favour of the German troops. Time was called after under 3 hours’ play ... with the feeling that the game was still in the balance - and both sides had a few Army Morale Points in hand ...

As usual with Piquet Field of Battle, it was an exciting and engaging game, which was designed for 3 players a side - but did not prove an overwhelming task for the CiCs ...