Skull Island Natives Attack Beersteiner Expedition

 The Beersteiners had been establishing a base near the Southern beach of Skull Island and by a swift river. Some of the men had caught some very big fish there. The troops were somewhat nervous as they had heard drums in the night. The commander sent his mercenary mounted bowmen to scout into the interior. The cannon was made ready and two units of infantry also moved forward.

  The scouting unit passing an area of jungle were suddenly peppered with spears. men began to fall from horses. The mercenaries shot back with compound bows and some figures fell from branches. But they put some distance between themselves and the vegetation. The natives continued to target them. 

  The point of view of the Eastern archers has not been adequately recorded, mainly due to their lack of good Beersteiner language. However this was not the case among the infantry and a number of them were also literate. The priest and commander also wrote accounts of the battle. Below is the letter from private Johanne Munster to his sister:

   " Dear  Adrienne,

I hope tis letter gets to you eventually. I am writing it and leaving it with the priest in case I perish in this God-forsaken place. Never had I known such heat. The sweat drips from my brow and I brushed at large blood sucking insects. Enormous sounding beasts roared and crashed through the jungle last night. We slept under canvas but I would have felt safer if we had slept on the ship. Javo, the ship's cat, would also have kept me company in my bed; I think I am his favorite as I always have secret tidbits for him.

  Today we had our first action. The yellow, blue tattooed, horse archers were decimated by the natives' spears. The fiends lay hidden in the jungle and then unloosed their volleys. You might remember those men boarding the ship. They wore furs and bright colored clothing. If they get hungry they drink the blood and milk of their horses. Anyway, they usually do well, such good riders and archers are they. The natives are as black as spades. I later saw some of the dead ones and I never saw men like them before. They have strange facial features, with very thick lips. Many have bones through their noses and ear lobes. They also had body and face paint of skulls and demons.

  My unit came under attack from poison darts. A single, lone native was responsible. It took us a while before we saw him but he killed 17 year old, Jurgen Muller. The dart went into his neck and, in seconds, he dropped dead. Our unit charged into the jungle and killed him, each of us competing to get a bayonet into the single enemy. He killed another man, one I did not know well and whose name I forget, with his stone axe. We found his other weapon, a blowpipe with which he had blown his dart.

  The other redcoat infantry moved into position and fired repeated volleys into the jungle. When we moved forward we found more of the virtually naked black bodies. I am slowly becoming used to the sight of dead enemies but my stomach churns a little when I look at their blood, guts and brains spilled on the ground.

  Our mercenaries had been devastated and the remainder made themselves scarce. However our various units we had weakened them so much that they were fleeing. Out gun had also managed to get one shot in killing one or two, but the thick jungle and mud had lessened the impact.

  We chased the fugitives as they crossed the river at the one shallow place. By the time they had crossed they were down to small numbers. We were delayed in our pursuit as we looked for the precise place of crossing.

 Then Satan's beasts made their appearance. They were grey and taller and bigger than the tallest house in our village. I think they were even bigger than those elefonts Uncle Klaus used to tell us about. But instead of long noses these have long necks to reach the treetops. Their legs are thicker than men. We could first see them from their necks as they were on the other side of some forest the natives had just gone through. Then we heard the black men's screams. Not one of them survived, many having been squashed flat and into the mud.

  Love from Johanne

                                BELOW: The setup. Natives began from the foreground.

                                                            The lone blowgun warrior

          The artillery men assemble the cannon and the horse archers ready to scout ahead.

                                         Beersteiner troops pursue the natives across the river.

Our men shot into the jungle. We later found the bodies.

                                                 A behemoth squashes the fleeing natives

GAME SETUP

The game was the result of the random dice rolling to establish the inhabitants of Skull Island. The warriors of one of three villages had watched the tall ships and the 'ghost men' land on the beach. It was felt that they were an affront to Kong, the ape god so they overcame their fears of the strangeness and the fire sticks. The dinosaurs were rolled for and eventually appeared. They were all plant eaters but they could be dangerous. Two brontosauruses appeared.

  Beersteiner forces: Commander General Zachary Bernstoff

                                  Priest, Linus

                                 1 flintlock infantry units  (24 men)

                                 1 flintlock infantry unit  (24 men)

                                 1 mercenary horse archers (14 men)

                                 1 cannon and 4 man crew

Twenty four Stone age NATIVES equipped with throwing spears and stone axes. One of the natives has a blow gun with poison darts and is deployed separately. Their chief is Cumbercue and is known for his skill in battle.

 The natives entered from the Eastern side of the table but did so concealed so long as line of site was blocked to the Beersteiners. (The horse archers passed close to their position and discovered them. The lone blow piper was found later.)

 The Beerstienrs were already in the hex bit it was decided they had not penetrated into the interior. The vegetation alternated between grassy fields and thick forest.

  FIRST MOVE:

Due to his superior Battlefield Intelligence Chief Cumbercue could make the Beersteiner commander reroll for setting up first and first move. As the Beersteiners I rolled lower than mat anyway. The natives remained hidden a couple of moves

 LATER MOVES

The natives reduced the horse archers to two figures but they could not resist the redcoat tide coming their way and they ran for it, keeping a step ahead of the invaders. With heavily reduced numbers they crossed the river and ran through the jungle. but when they emerged an irritable brontosaurus charged and squashed them, their spears ineffectual on its hard skin.

  Another plant eating dinosaur appeared elsewhere. The Beersteiner artillerymen were looking for another place to cross the river when they spied the creature. it was sand colored, the size of a large house with bare skin, except on its back where sprouted an unruly mass of brown hair.  

  The gunners ran back to their cannon and aimed it at the beast. The shot went wide and the enraged beast charged them! A second shot followed but again missed the beast. However, the noise and the rushing of the metal ball past its head disconcerted the beast and it retreated.

END OF MAP MOVE 12

As we ended the game we also rolled for the campaign and it is continuing. Supplies are running low but as yet the troops are unaffected. King Kong is rapidly approaching the Beersteiners who will face his wrath next battle.

  Meanwhile the Fezian Plate cavalry have finally caught up to the kidnapped princess but three more units of Mongol cavalry arrived. The rest of the Fesian Northern expedition is also moving into that hex.

 On Stellar Island the two Fezian armies have converged on the abandoned capital but the Stellars have returned. They are vastly outnumbered and outgunned.

  On Primoridia the Fezian/Bogavanian force attempts to kill the dinosaurs so that they can safely begin controlling the island.