Zulu War Rules
By Steve Burt (shubniggurath@fluffycat.co.uk)
Introduction
This set of rules gives a fast game playable in an evening. The
rules are designed for 20/25mm figures as they stand, but can be
adapted to 15mm with appropriate changes to base sizes and move
distances: halving the base sizes and using Centimetres instead
of inches should do the trick.
My own figures are mostly 20mm ESCI with a few metal figures from
RSM, Jacklex and Rose thrown in. The Gatling guin and its crew
and the Frontier Light horse are (plastic) conversions.
For a bit of extra 'character', you can put a number on the
bottom of each British figure and give them all names, allowing
you to follow their fortunes from battle to battle.
The rules can be used for solo play by using the 'random Zulu
appearance' rules, or can be played with an umpire controlling
the Zulus, and one or more players taking command of the
British.
In addition to the figures, you will require some 'order
counters' for the British, one per sub-unit, with 'MOVE, FIRE,
REFORM, and CHANGE FORMATION' (1p pieces with stickers on both
sides make good durable counters). You will also need markers
(small pebbles are fine) to record loss of order.
Organisation
Figure scale is approximately 1 figure to 10 men
British units are organised into Companies of 12 figures; 10
other ranks, a lieutentant (with pistol and sword) and a bugler
(sergeant). Four companies make a battalion, with the addition
of two ensigns (a captain and a sergeant-major) and a mounted
major. Infantry are on bases 15mm square.
Cavalry are in troops of 6; 5 other ranks and 1 lieutenant.
Cavalry are on bases 20mmx40mm.
The British also have a Gatling gun with a crew of three, led by
a sergeant. This is on a base 40mmx60mm, and has a two-horse
limber.
This force of one infantry battalion, one cavalry troop, and a
gatling gun, will be found quite enough for an evening's play.
Zulu units are rifles (12 figures) or Impis (24 figures), in
blocks of 6 figures (3 wide, 2 deep) on bases 60mmx40mm. For the
British force listed above, about 2 units of rifles and 8 Impis
give a balanced game if the Zulu Reinforcement rules are used.
Turn Sequence
1 Zulu appearance
2 British order placement
3 Zulu placement
4 British turn
5 Zulu turn
6 Mele
7 British check morale
8 Zulu recycling
Zulu Appearance
If there is an umpire, he should place a 'dust-cloud' marker for
each concealed Zulu unit which has been sighted by British units.
He should also roll a dice for each real dust-cloud, and on a
roll of 5 or 6 place a 'dummy' dust-cloud wherever he thinks it
will cause most consternation to the British player(s); placing
them somewhere where there couldn't possibly be real Zulus is
seldom effective unless the British players haven't been paying
attention. Even if there are no real dust-clouds to place, the
referee should roll a dice and place a dummy on a roll of 6.
Units will be spotted when 24" away if in clear ground, 12" if
in bush or scrub, 6" if concealed in a river or behind a hill.
Units which move will be spotted at double the above distances.
Once spotted, a unit is left on the table until it is destroyed.
The British player is at liberty to send out scouts (probably
mounted) to flush out Zulus, but should realise that they will
have a low life expectancy.
Random Zulu Appearance
(for use in solo play)
Roll a dice each move. Dust cloud sighted on 5,6. If you roll a
6, roll again. A 4 means two dust clouds are sighted, a 5 three,
and a 6 four (get those wagons in a circle, Sergeant Jones).
Roll for distance from the British - 5d6 inches, and direction
(1d8) - 1 is in front, 2 front right, and so on clockwise. Place
'dust cloud' markers and let the British react.
British Order Placement
A unit may normally take two actions per move. If the officer
has been killed, it may only take one action. If the bugler has
been killed, both actions must be the same; cavalry and the
Gatling gun, which don't have a bugler, ignore this rule.
An ensign, or the regimental commander, may substitute for a dead
officer. If officer and sergeant are lost, a unit must roll 4-6
to accomplish an action; it may then only take one action per
move.
Actions are:
Move Fire Change formation Reform
The British player(s) must place order counters beside each sub-
unit to show what it will do this move.
If individual figures have become detached from their sub-unit,
they need not pre-declare their actions. However, they must roll
a dice in the British turn to see what they are able to do. An
individual figure must roll anything but a 1 to accomplish his
first action. and a 4-6 to accomplish his second. Officers may
always perform two actions without rolling.
Zulu Placement
Once British orders have been placed, dust clouds are replaced
with Zulus (or removed if they were dummies). If using the
random Zulu placement rules, each cloud is diced for to see what
it is:
1 - false alarm
2 - Rifles
3-6 - Impi
British Turn
The British player(s) now execute their orders in whatever
sequence they see fit. Individuals are diced for as described
under 'order placement'.
Remember that a unit normally has two orders.
MOVE:
All distances are per 'move' order, except wagons, which are per
move.
Infantry move 4" in line, 6" in column, 2" in square.
Cavalry move 8" in line, 10" in column.
Gatling guns move 3" if manhandled, 6" if limbered.
Wagons move 8" per move (orders not required).
A column is 2 figures wide. It may wheel freely.
In other formations, anything other than movement straight
forward results in loss of an order point (q.v).
Backward movement may be made at 1/2 speed, again at the expense
of lost order.
Movement in bad terrain (scrub, rocks or rivers) counts double
distance for infantry. British lose 1 order point per move made
in bad terrain. Cavalry and guns may not enter.
FIRE:
Range for British is 24" long, 18" medium, 12" short, 6" point blank.
Zulus have an 18" long range, 12" medium and 6" short
Roll one dice per figure, needing 6 to hit at long range, 5,6 at
medium, 4-6 at short, 3-6 at point blank. Firing into meles is
not allowed.
Up to 2 ranks may fire.
Cavalry and Zulus add one to the scores needed.
Add one to the score needed per lost order point.
Deduct one from the score needed if shooting at stationary
cavalry.
Add one if shooting at cavalry which have moved over 10" or if
shooting at a target in soft cover.
Add two if shooting at a target in hard cover.
(To score 7,8 or 9, you must roll a 6 followed by a 4-6, 5-6 or 6,
respectively).
Gatling guns may roll as many dice as they please. BUT, if
you roll 2 1s, the gun jams for 1 move. If you roll 3 1s, the
gun jams until a 6 is thrown. If you roll 4 or more, the gun is
jammed for the rest of the game. A Gatling scores no hits with a
shot which causes it to jam.
The gun may be fired by two men, but not one. An infantryman may
substitute for a dead gunner, but only if there is at least one
gunner still alive.
Zulus are based in sixes, so any multiple of six casualties causes
a base to be removed. If there is a left-over of less than six
casualties at the END of the British turn, roll a dice for each
unit. If you roll less than or equal to the number of extra
casualties, remove another base (e.g. if 4 casualties had been
caused, a roll of 4 or less would cause an extra base to be
removed).
When taking casualties on the British, dice for each figure - he
is killed on a 1 or 2, otherwise wounded (lie the figure down).
Rules for wounded are in the British Morale section. You will
also need to dice to see which figure is hit.
FORMATION CHANGE:
Formation change is from any formation to any other.
To limber or unlimber the Gatling counts as a formation change.
REFORM:
Reform allows lost order to be regained. One 'lost order' marker
is removed for each 'reform' order.
Zulu Actions
The Zulu move and morale check is all done with a single dice
roll.
Roll 1 dice per base in the unit (4 dice for a full strength
Impi, 2 for a unit of rifles). Deduct 1 per dice for rifles.
If an Impi scores less than 6, or rifles less than 2, the unit has
had enough and is removed for possible recycling. Zulus still in
combat from last move must still roll to see if they suffer loss
of morale.
Otherwise, this is the number of inches of move the unit has.
Impis move until in contact. Rifles move until in rifle range
(18") unless they start in hard cover, in which case they will
normally remain there; if already in range they will fire rather
than move unless they are within 4" of British, in which case
they will retreat. Zulu rifles may not move and fire.
Zulus may move in whatever sequence they please, normally the
rifles first to get any firing out of the way, followed by the
Impis.
Melee
Where figures are in contact, there will be a melee.
Roll 1 dice per figure in contact on each side, plus up to 1
flanking figure on each side. Only front ranks fight.
Troops defending an obstacle subtract 1 per dice from
opponents (2 if a barricade). Cavalry and officers add one per
dice (the major therefore adds two). Wounded deduct 2 per dice.
Pair up dice with same value and remove them.
Then for each mismatched dice pair, remove one figure from the
side with the lower score. If one side has more dice than the
other, the 'extra' dice have no effect UNLESS that side causes
more casualties than it receives, in which case the extra dice
inflict one casualty each (this simualtes breaking through the
enemy line).
An example of melee is included at the end of the rules.
The British lose one order point per casualty taken.
If both lose the same or only 1 difference, melee continues.
Second ranks may be used to plug gaps, and frontage may be
expanded (or lapped round if already overlapping).
If 2 or more difference, opponents rout if Zulus. British just
lose one order point per casualty, but have no other bad effects.
British Morale
Roll two dice whenever a company takes casualties, or one dice
for a cavalry troop.
Halve the dice total if the unit is in hard cover.
Add 1:
per officer killed
per ensign killed (infantry only)
per order point lost
Add 2 if:
CO killed (infantry only)
Colours captured
Add 4 if:
Wounded have been abandoned and killed by the Zulus.
If you score more than there are figures left, the unit has bad
morale and loses an order point.
If you score double the number of figures, the unit routs;
remove it from the table.
Wounded British
When a British figure is hit, roll a dice. Killed on a 1,2,
otherwise wounded. Lie a wounded figure down. Wounded men may
not move or fire; they can be moved by using one other figure
(who then cannot fire either). Wounded officers may still
continue to give orders.
Zulu recycling
For every 2 Zulus removed, one may be brought on as a
reinforcement. Zulus may only be brought on as complete units
(Impis or rifles). Depending on the scenario, recycled Zulus may
appear at the edge of the table, or as defenders of a Kraal, or
wherever the referee see fit.
Ammunition (optional
rule)
Each figure carries only a limited amount of ammunition.
Supplies are carried in wagons for mobile forces, or are dumped
in stores if the unit is defending a building. If you have
prepared a unit roster, you can simply keep track of each
figure's supply. Each figure can carry up to 10 rounds. Dead
and wounded men can give their supplies to comrtades (this counts
as an action for both figures). Replenishing ammo from stores
counts as an action.
If you want to avoid book-keeping, the following method works
well: Every time a figure fires, anyone who rolls a '1' may be
low on ammunition. Roll again. If you roll 1-4 then that
figure is low on ammunition (put him on a coloured counter to
show this).
Wagons
Mobile British forces will normally have wagons to carry
ammunition and supplies. 4 wagons for a full strength battalion.
Wagons do not take part in combat, but may be used as hard cover
by figures sheltering behind them. This can be extremely useful
when hard pressed. A wagon in contact with Zulus but not with
British is considered destroyed.
Example of play
A full strength British company in column has advanced to within
10" of a suspicious patch of scrub. Sure enough, the umpire
places a dust cloud in the scrub. The British player decides to
deploy into a line and fire; accordingly, he places a CHANGE
FORMATION and a FIRE order. The Dust cloud is removed to reveal
a Zulu Impi.
The company deploys into line and fires. 10" is short range, so
4-6 hits. 11 dice are rolled (the officer does not have a
rifle). The Zulus take 6 casualties and remove a base.
The Zulus now roll for their move. They get 6,4,2 - 12", enough
to get into contact. The Impi (3 bases) crashes into the 2-deep
British line. The Zulus, with 9 men in the front rank, roll 9
dice. The British roll 6, adding one to the Officer's (he is, of
course, in the front rank).
The Zulus roll 6, 5,5,4,3,3,2,2,1
The British roll 6,5(+1),5, 4,3, 2
Pairing off matching values, the Zulus are left with:
5,3,2,1, and the British with 5(+1). The officer, thanks to his
superior courage, kills one Zulu. The extra dice are ignored
because the Zulus did not win the melee. Next round the British
will be able to bring up the second rank to help and the combat
will swing their way. Had things gone slightly differently, they
could have lost 4 or 5 men...
Scenarios
1. Solo scenario.
Terrain should be rocky with hills and a river (with fords)
across the centre of the table. The British must get the length
of the table. They have all the forces listed at the start of
the rules, plus four wagons.
Get 10 points per wagon exited from the end of the table.
Lose one point per man lost (2 per officer, 4 per ensign and 4
for the major)
2. Trouble in the Umphosi valley.
Terrain is a long valley with a river running diagonally across
the table; there are rocks and scrub and a couple of isolated
Kopjes. The British force (complete with 4 wagons) starts at one
end. At the other end is a village with three houses surrounded
by thorn bushes and a Kraal with 6 cattle.
The Zulus have one unit of rifles in the village, one on a
central Kopje. The Impis are deployed behind the hills, 2 on one
side, 6 on the other. Reinforcements will come on behind the
village.
Get 10 points per Zulu house burnt
5 points per cow killed or driven off
Lose one point per man lost (2 per officer, 4 per ensign and 4
for the major)
Lose 5 points for losing the Gatling
Lose 5 points per wagon lost
Lose 10 points per colour lost
3. The defence of the mission
Terrain is a small mission near one end of the table, with two
buildings and low walls near a river. On the far side of the
river is hilly ground. The British relief column enters at the
other end of the table (beyond the hills).
The British have two companies in the mission (with one ensign).
The other two companies, the cavalry and the Gatling comprise the
relief column. Half the zulus are deployed to attack the
mission, half to stop the relief column. Reinforcements can
oppose either British force.
The British get 2 points per man rescued from the Mission (4 per
officer, 10 for the colour).
Lose one point per man lost (2 per officer, 4 per ensign and 4
for the major)
Lose 5 points for losing the Gatling
Lose 5 points per wagon lost
Lose 10 points per colour lost
The Ammunition rule should be played for this scenario - troops
in the Mission must replenish from the boxes in the courtyard.
The companies in the Mission should use the rules for individual
actions while they stay inside the walls, rather than moving as
groups.