"I will call him . . . Mini-Mr. Babagge

"Sir, sorry to bother you, but the men are running low on ammunition."

"Hmmm . . . Well Blythe-Smythe, that is somewhat inconvenient. Quite. Have they been using the ammunition for what it is intended?"

"Yes sir. Quite smashing in fact."

"Hmmm . . . Not good to be low. What would Kipling write about us. Quite a bother."

"Yes sir."

I've been working on some ideas for the Frontier Rebellion of 1897 to 1898 for The Men Who Would be Kings. Of course, any set of popular Colonial rules could be modified using what I write. In researching the uprising, the Tribesmen had more firepower as they had acquired more modern weapons, notably the single shot, bolt action Martini-Henry; either actual rifles or copies.

Indian Army troops, in comparison, were all armed with the Martini-Henry rifle or for cavalry, the Martini-Henry carbine. It had been the policy of the British Raj since the Mutiny that Indian troops would not have a weapon of the same superiority as the British troops in the Indian Army. The British were now armed with the magazine fed Lee-Metford. TMWWBK has a recommendation of giving increased firepower for magazine fed rifles by adding +1 points to a unit. I've taken the opposite approach by giving British units "Modern Rifles" and Indian Troops (-1 point) and Frontier Tribesmen Irregular Infantry an "Obsolete Rifle." Tribesman will still have "Antiquated firearms." This will make it easier to maintain a 24 point Field Force which of course you are not limited to.

By 1897 the firepower of the tribes along the frontier was increasing.

To test this it was time for a, well, play test. I decided to call on Mr. Babbage, and since I did not have enough tribesmen yet, decided to play "Skirmish Kings" using the Mr. Babbage rules included in TMWWBK. To keep unit designations simple for the Indian Army, I'm calling the Regular Infantry Platoons and the Regular Cavalry Troops.

1st Platoon, A Company, 20th (Punjab) Regiment:

Regular Infantry: 6 points

Obsolete Rifle: - 1 point

Total: 5 Points

And now for the Leadership Value (LV) Roll . . . a "2" giving the Jemadar a leadership value of 6+. A good start. Now for his Leadership Trait . . . a "21" which means he is fresh out of the academy and Inexperienced. As a result, the 1st Platoon gets no free actions except "Stand To".

2nd Platoon, A Company, 20th (Punjab) Regiment:

Regular Infantry: 6 points

Obsolete Rifle: - 1 point

Total: 5 Points

The jemadar's important LV roll is a "4" also giving him an LV of 6+. And his Leadership trait is . . . what? Another roll of "21". He is also "Inexperienced." I can see the scenario developing: A simple resupply mission; let's send the most junior and inexperienced officers so they can get some field time in.

And now for the cavalry.

1st Troop, 10th Bengal Lancers:

Regular Cavalry: 6 points

Obsolete Carbine: - 1 point

Lancers: + 2 points

Total: 7 points.

Leading 1st Troop is one of the better British Officers I have painted so let's see if his paint job equals his LV - well he is also 6+. His Leadership Trait is "A Jolly Good Chap" which increases his LV to 5+. Huzzah!

The 2nd Troop, 10th Bengal Lancers

2nd Troop, 10th Bengal Lancers:

Regular Cavalry: 6 points

Obsolete Carbine: - 1 point

Lancers: + 2 points

Total: 7 points.

And the LV is  . . . 7+. Ugh. Hopefully his Leadership Trait will have a saving grace. And the roll is . . . 66! The Leadership Trait is "Hero of the Empire" raising his Leadership Trait to 4+. Take that Mr. Babbage. 2nd Troop will now be commanded by HH Maharjah Sir Gupta Varma.

The Mission: Get the ammunition to Camp Bailey!

No Victory Points in this battle. If the Indian Army gets Billy the Mule to Camp Bailey, they win. If the ammunition doesn't make it, Mr. Babbage wins.

Next:

1. Darn sneaky of the Pashtuns to show up there!

2. Charge!

3. Where did they go?

4. Bayonet vs. Tulwar.