Incompetent Imperial Chinese forces, supported by the 'Ever Victorious Army', somehow managed to defeat waves of fanatical Taiping Brethren. Ultimately, better firepower from the EVA decimated the ranks of assaulting brave Taiping rebels to deliver a reasonable victory.
'Chinese Gordon' was appalled to witness the wilful ignorance of the Qing Dynasty military in every single aspect of warfare.
In this game, loosely based on the Battle of Gamonal, the French, under Soult, repeated history and broke the Spanish line. The Spanish flanks held well, but the French - despite being held up by Spanish light infantry and guerrillas hidden amongst the light woods, located in the middle of the battlefield - concentrated their assault on the centre of the line, breaking a number of weaker Spanish battalions.
The Spanish commander, Conde de Belvedere, shamefully left the field as his army crumbled. It was said of the Spanish general that he was "... a rash and headstrong young aristocrat with no military experience whatever. His family influence had made him a general at an age when he might reasonably have expected to lead a company and he found himself by chance the interim commander of an army: hence came the astonishing series of blunders that led to the combat of Gamonal."
This was the first time that the Taiping Rebellion has made an appearance at the club. This horrendous conflict, that resulted in between 20-30 million deaths, is largely ignored by wargamers, despite the fact that it offers a number of interesting troop types, weapon combinations, larger-than-life characters and scenario possibilities.
In this game the followers of the Heavenly Kingdom swept most of the Imperial Chinese forces from the battlefield with fanatical charges. Only units of the 'Ever Victorious Army', under the command of Charles 'Chinese' Gordon, held their positions. Indeed Gordon was appalled by the ineptitude and cowardice demonstrated by the Qing Dynasty conscripts!
