This game is derived, with
very little change, directly form Patrick Wilson's scenario, The Hun, the
Frog and the Lion, which can be found on his excellent
"By
Jingo" website.
The only major departure from that scenario is
to the name.
Some elements from that scenario are reproduced
here, but for a full explanation please visit "By Jingo"
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Map of Mogador harbor,
select it to go to the original scenario on
the
By Jingo site
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"The Bashaw expresses his deepest regrets
over this incident and solemnly promises to rescue the Kaiser’s
envoy. However, the Bashaw, The Great And Powerful, The Defender Of The
Faithful, also pointedly reminds His Majesty’s Government that any
foreign intervention in Morocco's internal affairs or violation of her
sovereignty will be met with the wrath of Allah."
--Telegram to the German Foreign Ministry, March
18, 1903
"Bei der Herr Gott, vee’ll civilize zese savages
if vee haf to machine gun und bayonet every vun of zem!"
--Kaiser Wilhelm II to a London Times reporter,
March 19, 1903
"It is the sacred duty of France to bring these
misguided children of the desert the blessings of French Culture, Shrapnel,
& Quick Firing Cannon."
--Editorial, Le Petit Parisien, March 20, 1903.
"Any you guys seen my infidel skinning knife?"
--Emir Ali, overheard by an American tourist,
March 21,1903. |
The Situation
It is dawn, March 22, 1903.
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Out
of indigo shadows on the Mediterranean, a small force of elite Marines
in long boats silently rows into the port of Mogador, pirate capitol of
the Moroccan coast. A sun baked hell hole by day, Mogador is the lair of
the infamous brigand Emir Ali who fancies himself the next Bashaw of Morocco. |
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Besides
banditry inland and all along the coast, he has lately begun stopping foreign
shipping and helping himself to such cargoes as serve his schemes for power.
Not incidentally, this has put the legitimate government in danger of being
deposed by any of several European powers looking for an excuse to intervene
and "civilize" the last independent Muslim state west of Constantinople. |
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The pot boiled
over five days ago when the newly appointed German envoy, Graf Manfred
von
Kriegslieber,
Kaiser Wilhelm’s favorite ultimatum delivery boy, was kidnapped off the
packet boat from Marseilles en route to Tangier. Seizing the opportunity
to be a player in |
North
Africa, Berlin made the impossible demand that the Moroccan Government
find and free the envoy in just three days or stand aside while the Kriegsmarine
resolved the problem. The Bashaw in Tangier promised to send a rapid desert
strike force towards Mogador but with a strong statement that Morocco would
defend its sovereignty if need be. Berlin was not impressed--and neither
was Paris. |
Madame La
Republique, already deeply invested in North Africa, was not willing to
share their Empire of sand and scorpions with anyone, least of all the
Germans, and France has long had eyes on Morocco itself. However, as they
have no legal right to forbid unilateral action, Paris has insisted on
a joint operation, sweetening the deal |
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by
offering a force of marines, sailors and transport better suited
to Mogador’s shallow waters. Berlin’s blustering aside, only a small force
of the 1st Seebattaillon is in the Med on a cruiser whose deep draft makes
it discreet to cooperate. Thus an uneasy alliance has been cobbled together
by telephone (French telephone at that!) and the operation has already
begun. |
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Here to the
left is the Pirates main Xebec. One of the minor departures from the original
scenario is that we split the second pirate ship into two, but with the
same number of guns between them as the larger one. The French sternwheeler
became a small coastal turret ship, essentially an Ironclad. |
To
offset this advantage, the pirates also had the assistance of British mercenarys
whose small craft was fitted with a 57 mm hotchkiss revolving cannon. It
is this vessel that can be seen above almost being overrun by German Marines.
The game played out very interestingly except that the Pirates were virtually
annihilated. Muzzle loading cannons and sailing ships being no match for
Iron clad turret ships. The pirates did manage to sink one of the steamboat
landing ships. The Germans actually liberated the fleeing prisoner, but
got themselves into such a pickle that they negotiated with the advancing
Bashaws troops and handed him over to them to secure his safe return to
Tangiers. This resulted in an astounding victory for the Bashaws troops.
The French mange to extricate themselves from the beaches but only after
the abandonment of the Germans. They came second in points and the Germans
third. |
Here
can be seen the Bashaws troops advancing through the town with the Red
Shadow incognito, undercover to ensure that the Bashaws position did not
compromise French interests (well, we had to write him in somehow). |
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The
new Old Glory Boxer rebellion figures proved very useful for this scenario,
as both the French and German marines were from this range, as were the
gun crews for the French ship. |
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