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The Death of Louis,
Crown Prince of France

Being a skirmish scenario set in Zululand, 1879,
for the Rencounter rule set by Ed Allen.

Setting

Louis Napoleon, Prince Royal of France, had come to serve as an aide-de-camp to General Chelmsford in africa by way of a long chain of events. His father, Napoleon III, and his family had come to England in exile from France in 1870. Louis was admitted to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (where officers of the Engineers and Artillery were trained) but was ineligible for commission as an officer of the artillery due to his background. Anxious to prove himself in combat, Louis asked to be allowed to go to Africa when reinforcement began to leave for Zululand in February, 1879.

General Chelmsford was understandably nervous about the responsibility of having such a personage on his staff. He gave orders that Louis was never to leave camp without an officer and an escort. Another member of the staff, Lieutenant Carey, had been educated in France and quickly befriended the Prince Royal. Before long the young Napoleon was assigned to help Carey with his task as Deputy-Assistant-Quartermaster-General: the surveying of the terrain in front of the advancing British army.

On one such mission, the pair were met by half of their escort, six colonial mounted infantry. The other half of the escort, six troopers of the Edendale troop, apparently reported to the wrong tent and were not available. Reasoning that a proper escort could be formed by rounding up six troopers from the scouts out in front of the army, the group set out on their mission.

Carey, technically the superior officer of the group, was somewhat overawed by the charisma and natural leadership of Napoleon, and soon demurred command of the patrol to the young Prince. When no scouts were found to add to the escort, Louis decided to continue and Carey said nothing to stop him.

The group rode out to the limit of their assigned reconnaissance and stopped to sketch the terrain. Some distance off there was a small kraal on the north bank of the Ityotosi river, and Louis suggested that they stop there and gather fuel and water so that the men could prepare coffee for themselves. The kraal was surrounded on three sides by close and dense brush, but Carey gave in and the group settled in by the bank for lunch.

Lunch over, the patrol stood by there horses to mount. Louis was about to order the mount when a volley of rifle shots rang out and a group of thirty Zulus charged from the nearby underbrush. This scenario attempts to recreate the situation at that moment. The outcome, hopefully, will be somewhat different from what actually transpired.

Map

Each square in the map above represents 6" x 6" of table space.

Notes on the terrain

The Ityotosi River: The river is wide and fairly deep here. No crossing is possible here, even on horseback, without severe risk. For game purposes, this terrain is not passable.
The Donga: The donga is a gully cut by the flow of water over many years. The bottom is now dry. The sides, while steep, are not impassable. Figures on foot and mounted may move up or down the sides of the donga at half rate. The bottom of the donga is flat and movement is at normal rate there.
Brush: The area surrounding the Kraal is covered with patches of mealies, brush, scattered stones and the occasional tree. Figures move at normal rate through this area, and gain soft cover if kneeling or prone in the brush. If playing by marking an area as brush, prone figures in the brush may not draw line of sight, or been seen, through more than four inches of brush. If the brush is represented by small clumps of model brush, line of sight should be determined using actual line of sight.
The Kraal: The six buildings of the Kraal are sturdy mud huts with few windows.
Open ground: All unmarked areas of ground and the donga should be sparsely populated with boulders, small clumps of brush and occasionally small trees to offer some cover. The areas should, however, be mostly open ground. Any figures behind rocks or trees should, of course, be allowed hard cover.

British Game Information

Victory Conditions

Escape off the North side of the table, taking as few casualties as possible. If five or more British figures (including the guide), or the Prince Royal, are killed or left behind, the game is lost.

Setup

The British forces set up at point A on the map, next to their horses, with the exception of Carey, who is already mounted. Being caught by surprise, all pistols are holstered, and all carbines are slung.

Forces

For this scenario, each British figure acts as an independent unit.

Zulu Game Information

Victory Conditions

Kill as many of the British invaders as possible. If the Zulus kill at least 5 of the British figures (including the guide), they have won.

Setup

The Zulu units set up at the positions indicated with each unit's description.

Forces

Group 1: (Set up at position B)

Group 2: (Set up at position C)

Group 3: (Set up at position D)

Group 4: (Set up at position E)

Group 5: (Set up at position F)

Special Rules

The Zulu units each get one free activation before the normal start of play. The Zulu player may use these activations in any order he chooses.
The sudden appearance of the Zulus and the gunfire spooked the horses. On the first activation of any of the British figures, the respective horse will attempt to bolt on a roll of 6 on 1D6. If this occurs, the figure holding the horse must roll LESS THAN his experience level on 1D6 in order to keep hold of the horse. If Carey's horse bolts, and he fails to control the horse, he is thrown from the horse AND the horse bolts. Any horse which bolts will gallop at full speed for the North edge. In any case, the horses will be difficult to mount. For each attempted mount, the figure must roll LESS THAN his experience level on 1d6 in order to mount. Mounting a horse taken 1 action whether successful or not.

Aftermath

Terrified by the noise, Rogers' mount bolted, and he got off only one shot before being stabbed by an assegai. Carey, already mounted, followed by Willis, Grubb and Cochrane, galloped straight for the donga. Abel managed to mount, but was shot in the back and fell. Le Tocq dropped his carbine, dismounted to retrieve it, and remounted. As he fled he saw Louis running alongside his own horse, trying to get into the saddle. Gripping his saddle by the holster and running with the animal, the leather tore and he fell.

As the horse ran, it's hooves smashed his right hand. Seven Zulus approached and Louis, his sword missing, drew his revolver left-handed and ran to a low mound. He was struck in the thigh by a thrown assegai, which he pulled out. Assegai clutched in his injured hand, he charged the Zulu, firing his pistol twice. He missed, and a second thrown assegai stopped his charge. The Zulus advanced and were seen stabbing over and over again.

When his body was recovered, Louis was found to have seventeen stab wounds, all in front.

Lieutenant Carey was court-martialed for Misbehavior Before the Enemy, but was eventually cleared of the charges.

Notes on Uniforms

Louis Napoleon wore the uniform of the Royal Artillery: blue patrol jacket, blue serge trousers with a single red stripe tucked into black gaiters, and the foreign service helmet.

Staff officers, too, favored the blue patrol jacket and so Lieutenant Carey was probably dressed in similar fashion.

The notes in my reference book are unclear as to the uniforms of the Natal Horse. The troop was formed from the colonial officers and NCOs of the disbanded 3rd Natal Native Contingent, but whether they maintained the same uniforms from their prior service or not is unclear. I would suggest using the uniforms of the Colonial Mounted Infantry: foreign service helmet, scarlet serge frock coat, blue trousers with a single red stripe, and an ammunition bandoleer in place of the infantry's belt pouches.

Source

"The Zulu War: A Pictorial History", Michael Barthorp. Blandford Press, Ltd. 1984, London. ISBN 0-7137-1469-7.

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The Death of Louis, Crown Prince of France

Setting

Map

Notes on the terrain

British Game Information

Victory Conditions

Setup

Forces

Zulu Game Information

Victory Conditions

Setup

Forces

Special Rules

Aftermath

Notes on Uniforms

Source

The Death of Louis,
Crown Prince of France