Move 1 - North Sudan

There are five garrison towns in the North Sudan area; Wadi Halfa, Dongola, Abu Hamed, Berber and Atbara.

When the North unexpectedly rose, the commander on the spot, the wily Colonel Portphillip Bey determined that all of his garrisons would try to break their own seiges with sallies. The garrisons were quite strong and he thought they stood a good chance of success given the low Revolt Index of the area. Three of the towns actually had garrisons - Abu Hamed, Berber and Atbara. So then the proceedure:

A sortie is handled as if the units were entering their own space; a die is rolled, modified by the size of the garrison town (-1 per 5 points), and compared to the region’s revolt index. The difference determines how many units are participating in the siege. The garrison can call off the sortie after this die roll, but it counts as a lost battle. The Dervishes will have a fortified camp (zeriba, rifle pits) to defend and one cannon per four basic units. If the camp is captured, the Dervishes are driven away, but only temporarily. The garrison can gather 1d6 additional turns’ worth of supplies and settle back into its defenses or it can abandon the garrison, moving one space immediately (and risking another battle). If the garrison town is reoccupied while the region is still in revolt, the siege resumes.

Abu Hamed, 10 points. I roll a 3, -2 for the town size which yields a 1. Remembering the RI of the area is 2, the difference is 1. One unit is beseiging the town. I roll for type and it is a unit of Ansar. I am not going to bother with a game here as there are two units of Egyptian infantry present. I deem the Ansar decide discretion is the better part of valour and they move off, leaving the Egyptians to loot their camp for an additional 3 moves' of supply.

Berber, 5 points. I roll a 2, -1 for the town size which yields a 1. Remembering the RI of the area is 2, the difference is 1. One unit is beseiging the town (again!). I roll for type and it is a unit of Ansar (Again!). Likewise, I am not going to do a game here either as there are two units of Egyptian infantry present. The Egyptians to loot the enemy camp for an additional 3 moves' of supply.

Atbara, 10 points. I roll a 6, -2 for the town size which yields a 4. Remembering the RI of the area is 2, the difference is -2. No enemy units are beseiging the town. The Egyptians gather an additional 2 moves' of supply.

That concludes the fighting for move 1.

In my next post, I shall calculate Supply, Revolt Indexes, Victory Points and reinforcements. I suspect (hope?) North Sudan may no longer be in revolt after this move!