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Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 23:21:16 -0700
From: will@tallis.saic.com (Will Scarvie)
To: allen@sequence.stanford.edu, will@kafka.saic.com
Subject: Rencounter scenario

"The Death of Louis, Crown Prince of France"

A skirmish scenario set in Zululand, 1879

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
inelligible 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
demured 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:

   +----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
   |^^        |          |          |          |          |          |
   |  ^^^^^^^ |     ^^^^^^^^^      ^^^^        |    ^^^^^^^^^^       |
   |^^       ^^^^^^^     |   ^^^^^^ |  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^      |   ^^^^^^^|
   |  ^^^^^^^ |     ^^^^^^^^^      ^^^^        |    ^^^^^^^^^^       |
   |         ^^^^^^^     |   ^^^^^^ |  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^      |   ^^^^^^^|
   +----------+----------+--------Donga--------+----------+----------+
   |vvv       |          vvvvvvvvvv |     vvvvvvvvvv      |          |
   |   vvv    |   vvvvvvv|         vvvvvvv     |    vvvvvvv      vvvv|
   |vvv   vvvvvvvv       vvvvvvvvvv |     vvvvvvvvvv      |vvvvvv    |
   |   vvv    |   vvvvvvv|         vvvvvvv     |    vvvvvvv      vvvv|
   |      vvvvvvvv       |          |          |          |vvvvvv    |
   +----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
   |          |          |          |          |          |          |
   |          |          |          |      ::::|          |          |    N
   |          |          |          |     :::: |          |          |    |
   |          |     :::::|          |      ::  |          |          | W--+--E
   |          |   :::::::::         |          |          |          |    |
   +----------+-----::::::::--------+----------+----------+----------+    S
   |:         |         :::         |          |          |          |
   |::        |          |          |          |          |          |
   |::        |          |          |          |          |       :::|
   |:::::     |          |          |          |          |     :::::|
   |::::::::::|          |          |          |          | :::::::::|
   +::::::::::+::--------+----------+----------+--------::+::::::::::+
   |:::::::::::::::      |          |          |      :::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::    |          |          |    :::::::::::::::::|
   |::::::::::::::::::   |          |          |   ::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::::  |          |          |  :::::::::::::   :::|
   |::::   ::::::::::::  |          |          | :::::::::::::: F :::|
   +:::: B :::+::::::::--+----------+----------+::::::::::+::::   :::+
   |::::   ::::::::::::  |          |          | ::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::::  |          |          | ::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::::: |          |          | ::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::::: |        A |          | ::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::::: |          |          | ::::::::::::::::::::|
   +::::::::::+::::::::--+----------+----------+-:::::::::+::::::::::+
   |:::::::::::::::::::  |          |          | ::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::::  |  XXXX    |   XXXX   |  :::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::   :::::::::  |  XXXX    |   XXXX   |  :::::::::::::::::::|
   |::::::: C ::::::::   |          |          |  :::::::   :::::::::|
   |:::::::   ::::::::   XXXX  The Kraal  XXXX |  ::::::: E :::::::::|
   +::::::::::+:::::::---XXXX-------+-----XXXX-+-::::::::   :::::::::+
   |::::::::::::::::::   |          |          |:::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::::: |     XXXX |  XXXX    ::::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::   ::     XXXX |  XXXX    ::::::::::::::::::::::|
   |::::::::::::::::: D :::::::     |        ::::::::::::::::::::::::|
   |:::::::::::::::::   :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::|
   +::::::::::+::::::::::+::::::::::+::::::::::+::::::::::+::::::::::+
   |      ::::|::::::::  |          |          |    :::::::::::::::::|
   |~~~~~     |         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~       |          |
   |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
   |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ityotosi River ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
   |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
   +----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+