The Defense of Tsarasaotra Post

I hosted a scenario from Askari’s upcoming Madagascar campaign book based on an Osprey rule book by Daniel Mersey, The Men Who Would Be Kings.

Following the French occupation of the Mevatanana–Suberbieville plateau, during the French invasion of Madagascar in 1895, General Duchesne established a forward post at Tsarasaotra, roughly 20 kilometers east. It’s a lonely outcrop—exposed, lightly manned, and surrounded by scrub, dry gullies, and the looming silhouette of Mount Beritza.

Manned by Algerian Turcos, with some French support, the village was attacked at night by a large band of Hova soldiers. They managed to clear the hasty trenches the Turcos had dug, and pushed the French side back out of the village.

Dawn came and with it reinforcement by the French 40e Chasseurs, who stabilized the position by the end of Turn 16. Outnumbered 5:1 and surprised, the French managed to hang on as they historically did.

The successful defense of this outpost leaves the way open for the advance to Andriba and Madagascar’s mountainous central plateau.