"Massawa, Eritrea Colony, August 8th 1889
I, the Commander, direct:
- Cpt. Agesilao Fantoni, 7^ Infantry Rgt. “Cuneo”, to take command of the following force:
-- one company of Colonial Infantry “Askari” under the command of Lt. Arrugola;
-- one platoon of Fanteria d’Africa detached from 7^ Rgt. “Cuneo”;
-- an auxiliary detachment of Camel Troops in support. - In the afternoon of Saturday August 8th, the aforementioned force will move to Monkullo, and then proceed northward along the desert trail to the village of Wekiro, where they will camp for the night.
- At dawn on Sunday, the force will march westward in reconnaissance of the adjacent valley. The force will verify reports of activity by local bands of native outlaws, and will eventually proceed in eliminating the threat.
- Maj. Forra, from the Military Institute of Geography, will be attached to the force to map the area.
- At mission accomplished, the force will return to Massaua on Monday.
The Commander
Military Governor of the Eritrea Colony"
The orginal Italian text reads:
"Massaua, Colonia Eritrea, 8 agosto 1889
Dispongo:
- Che il Capitano Agesilao Fantoni, 7^ Rgt. Fanteria “CUNEO”, assuma il comando di una forza cosi’ composta:
-- una compagnia Fanteria Coloniale “Askari”;
-- un plotone di Fanteria d’Africa distaccato dal Rgt. “CUNEO”;
-- un distaccamento ausiliario di truppa cammellata in sostegno logistico. - Nel pomeriggio di sabato 8 Agosto la succitata forza si trasferira’ a Moncullo e proseguira’ a settentrione, via sentiero desertico, fino all’insediamento di Wekiro, ove s’accampera’ per la notte.
- Con le prime luci dell’alba di domenica, la forza procedera’ ad occidente, in ricognizione della valle sovrastante Wekiro.
- La forza accertera’ l’attivita’ di bande brigantesche segnalate in azione nell’area, ed eventualmente ne procedera’ alla eliminazione.
- Se forze indigene in superiore numero saranno identificate, la forza ripieghera’ su Moncullo e tosto riferira’ a questo Comando.
- Il Ten. Arrugola e’ comandato a disposizione del Cap. Fantoni.
- Il Magg. Forra, dell’Istituto Geografico Militare, e’ autorizzato ad unirsi alla forza comandata allo scopo di effettuare rilevazioni topografiche.
- A missione conclusa, la forza rientrera’ a Massaua nella giornata di domenica.
Il Comandante
Governatore Militare della Colonia Eritrea"
NOTES
All is ready. I just finished painting the camels in support of the Italian mission. The mountains are ready, and I hope they will look really good -- hopefully, it will be a surprise to my readers. Miniatures are ready, too: about seven/eight units of Abyssinians/Fuzzy Wuzzies, and two units of askari plus one of Italian infantry. The terrain will be set up tomorrow morning, and I expect the game to take place from noon on. At the last minute, I decided to play the game with TSATF, as I am more familiar with the rules, and I feel more comfortable to experiment a few other ideas moving from a more familiar sets. Time permitting, since I expect this to be a relatively short scenario, I may still play the scenario a second time with "Colonial Adventures", as originally planned. I am still determined to try something new, i.e. to combine TSATF rules for the resolution of the tabletop action with "Mythic Game Master Emulator", in order to add some RPG elements to the game, and produce a nice narrative for the blog. Plus, I believe this would be an interesting "starting scene" for a campaign to follow.
I expect the Mission to Wekiro Valley to be a small affairs, but ideal to test some new arrangements for my games; ideally, this will be an "Italian colonial" equivalent of the mission to Chamla Valley included in TSATF.
2 comments:
Oh I'll just bet that Captain Fantoni just LOVES having an officer who outranks him (Major Forra) "attached" to his command.
(That is sarcasm by the way, since you can't hear my vocal tone across the electronic type).
-- Jeff
Good catch, Jeff!
My original intention was to have a civilian in the role, Prof. Forra from the Regia Accademia Geografica (Royal Geographic Academy.) Unfortunately, I did not paint in time any suitable miniature! Thus, both the geographer and the journalist had to remain back at the base. Instead, I made room for another uniformed miniatures, from Istituto Geografico Militare. As a cartographer, Forra has to be an officer; yet, as an academician, he probably doesn't go any farther than the grade of Major, and i would not expect him to show much leadership on the ground.
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