1936. Bombay, India.
General Sir Michael Keating, head of the Imperial Afghanistan Operations Department sits at his desk, reading a report with a heavy frown on his face. One hand smoothes his moustache obsessively as his eyes dart back and forth from the papers before him, to a large map of India and Afghanistan pinned to the wall.
There is a knock at the door and the General raises sad and weary eyes. ”Come in”. The door is opened by his young secretary Gladys who looks noticeably flushed.
”There is a gentleman to see you Sir.” She announces.
Before the General can ask who, a tall and well built man enters the room and upon seeing the old army officer strides forward and extends his hand. ”General Keating Sir! It’s been a long while!”
Keating stares at the hand in astonishment, but only for a second. Standing abruptly he lets out a exclamation of surprise. ”Great Scott! Young Mansfield! ...but what the deuce are you doing here?”
Mansfield smiles broadly as they shake hands vigorously (the General wincing slightly). ”Orders sir. Sir Hugh sent us a wire and told us to report to you at the first possible opportunity, seems you’re having problems with our old friend Korsakov.”
The Generals eyes flicker to the report lying upon his desk and come alive.
”My God!” he cries out suddenly. ”You don’t mean to tell me you’re the secret agent Sinclair promised me!”
”The very same!” Mansfield chuckles.
”You’re the rocket man?”
”Yes, but...” Mansfield glances over his shoulder theatrically,”It’s all a bit hush hush you know.”
General Keating nods gravely. ”Of course, of course. I didn’t mean to burst out like that, but I didn’t have the first notion of what Sinclair meant when he wired he was sending a ‘rocket man’, some sort of dashed code word I assumed, I certainly didn’t expect to see you walking into my office as proud as Punch.”
Mansfield walks over to the map of Afghanistan and after offering a cigarette to the General, lights a Pall Mall.
”So what’s afoot Sir?”
”Well, you may know more about the business than I do seeing as you’ve apparently had dealings with this fellow before!”
”Korsakov?”
”Yes indeed. It seems this damned Bolshevik’s taken up residence in Northern Afghanistan and he’s making a big stink with King Shah and some of the northern tribes. Our man in Afghanistan, Cartwright, has sent me this report and I’ve been turning the whole thing over and over in my mind and I can’t for the life of me make head or tail of it. It’s a rum business d’you see? ...and London wants it dealt with in double quick time.”
”Why doesn’t the King just chase him out then?”
The General sighs and passes a sheet of paper to Mansfield. ”Look at the numbers. This Korsakov fellow has his own private army, with tanks, armoured cars and even a bally armoured train!”
”No aircraft though?”
”No... Not that we know of but our information is sketchy. Here’s what we know so far; some time earlier this year Korsakov came down south through Uzbekistan to the Afghan border on an armoured train. None of the locals had ever seen such an item and it naturally got around. Our man in Kabul decided to go north and find out more but he had no luck. He returned to Kabul only to find that in his absence the King had learned that Alim Khan had...”
“Alim Khan?”
”The old ruler of Bukhara, he was ousted by the Bolsheviks in 1920 and he’s been living in Kabul ever since. I understand he’s something of a thorn in the Kings side, but too rich and influential with the northern tribes to risk alienating. According to Cartwright, Alim Khan is some how involved with Korsakov, but we don’t know exactly how. We think Korsakov may be getting ready to take over Afghanistan and use Alim Khan as a proxy ruler, but we can’t be sure. Alim Khan is a cunning devil and he could simply be milking the Russian for funding, selling him favours with the Northern Tribes.”
”Who are the northern tribes?”
”There are quite a few, mostly Turcoman, but with a few Pashtun scattered amongst them. We’re not sure where Korsakov is, but he seems to be operating some where in the Kunduz region.”
The two men regard the map doubtfully.
”It’s a quite a distance from Bombay” Mansfield notes.
”Quite, and I haven’t got the first idea what to do about it. If Korsakov is as well armed as he appears to be, then he may very well upset the balance of power in Afghanistan and things could get a bit sticky for all of us. The Communists won’t allow Afghanistan to become a threat to their southern border, and I’ve no doubt they’ll attack and take the whole country for themselves.”
”That could be what Korsakov is counting on” Mansfield replies. The General glances at the younger man sharply.
”What do you mean? Who is this Korsakov fellow anyway? The only thing Hugh Sinclair’s told me is that he used to be head of some kind of special experimental military project called ONB7. I’ll be blessed if I know what that is”
”He’s a dangerous character” Mansfield replies as he shakes his head ruefully. ”He had an entire army at his disposal in Kazakhstan, light and heavy armour units, special guards, aircraft, and some kind of death ray he was preparing to use against Moscow:”
”A death ray?”
”Yes. Thankfully we put an end to it, but Heaven only knows what else the man has up his sleeve. He was impossible to kill you know. He was wearing a suit of bullet proof armour would you believe!?”.
”A what?”
”Like a sort of motorized knight in plate armour”
”The Devil you say!” General Keating pours himself a stiff glass of whiskey and settles down behind his desk. ”That settles it. You’ll have to go up there and deal with him again, but I won’t send you alone. As it happens, Sir John Napier is in Lahore with his special operations boys. They’ve been dealing with a nasty Thuggee cult but I gather that’s all done with now. I’ll drop him a line and let him know your own your way.”
”Excellent” Mansfield stubs out his cigarette. ”I’ll gather my lot and we’ll fly up there at once”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So, let me get this straight...” Mitchell aims a finger at Mansfield as they recline on padded seats in the back of a chartered de Havilland Dragon. “...that damned Bolshie jumped on a train with a load of tanks n’ men, and headed south to another secret base, in Afghanistan?” Mansfield nods as he lights a Pall Mall.
“Correct”
“And now we’re being asked to stop him, again?” George interjects from his seat behind Mitchell.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Mansfield smiles slowly. “Oh, I’m sure we can think of something. This chap we’re to meet, Sir John Napier, has a few resources up his sleeve I believe. We won’t be going in alone and we won’t have to rely on a few Russian soldiers this time either.”
“What’s he got, that’s so special this here Napier fellah?”
Mansfield turns to grin at the big Texan.
“Tanks”
“Tanks?”
“Tanks. Four of them to be precise. Vickers, Mark II’s. They’re not the latest thing, but they’re better than anything the Afghans have and they’ll give Korsakov a run for his money if we use them right.”
“Tanks is good” Mitchell concedes, “But we need troops as well.”
“We’ll have them. Napier runs some kind of local operations group and they specialise at solving awkward situations along the frontier. They’re going in as our main force. The tanks are their support.”
“British soldiers?” George asks
“Locals from Lahore, but with a few specialists too. Colonials mostly I expect.”
Twelve hours later the Dragon lands on a dusty airstrip just north of Peshawar. Mansfield peers out of the window at as the plane taxis towards a hanger. A tall fair haired man in a colonial uniform is standing on the turret of a Rolls Royce armoured car watching with one hand shading his eyes from the setting sun.
“We there?” Mitchell mutters opening his eyes and peering about.
Mansfield leaves his friends gathering the baggage and as the Dragons engines splutter into silence, he strides across the dusty airfield. The fair haired man hops down fro his vantage point and saunters closer.
“Captain Mansfield?” he asks in a clearly British accent.
“The same” Mansfield shakes the offered hand.
“Pleased to meet you” the other man is taller and stands with the causal air of the English gentry abroad. “I’m Gerald Leftbridge-Smythe, but usually every one just calls me Lefty”.
Mansfield nods, noting the polished lieutenant’s pips on Leftbridge-Smythe’s shoulders. “It’s been a while since I was addressed as Captain” he smiles.
“Those were days eh?” Leftbridge-Smythe smiles thinly as he watches the plane being unloaded. “Tell you what. Why don’t you let my chaps help yours and I’ll give you a ride back to the camp?”
Mansfield glances over at the Rolls Royce and Leftbridge-Smythe catches his eye. “Oh, not in the Roller. We have a slightly more comfortable conveyance for officers, what d’you say?” Mansfield smiles as he notes a dull grey touring car parked beside a nearby hanger. “Certainly. I’m sure George and Mitchell can manage without me”
“That’s the spirit. So tell me, where did they call you Captain then?”
Leftbridge-Smythe drives the anonymous car across the airfield to where a small military camp has been set up amongst a grove of tall trees. Daniel Mansfield, having dozed for the last few hours feels the tiredness growing upon him again regardless but just as he begins to yearn for a comfortable bed, his fatigue evaporates as four Vickers Mk II tanks come abruptly into view, he is about to comment on the sight when his eye catches three smaller tanks beyond them. Noting the abrupt change in his companion’s posture, Leftbridge-Smythe smirks well naturedly. “Warms the heart eh?”
Mansfield nods and the car suddenly swerves to halt before a large tent with a heavy set man in a khaki uniform standing before it.
“Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier” Leftbridge-Smythe introduces the man who lifts his hat to Mansfield revealing close cropped iron grey hair above a kindly face.
“Captain Daniel Mansfield, former fighter pilot in France and later Iraq and now... how shall we say it? A specialist working for her Majesty?” Napier opens the flap of his tent to reveal comfortable seats and a table of food.
Mansfield shrugs and enters the tent. “Perhaps Sir we shouldn’t mention it?”
Napier laughs as he follows the younger men into the tent. “Perhaps your right. I’m sure Keating wasn’t exaggerating when he said we might need you, and I understand you’ve had dealings with this Korsakov fellow before?”
“You could say that. He kidnapped my fiancé so I destroyed his death ray and scuppered his plan to obliterate Moscow.”
Mansfield sits at the table as a small Indian man-servant begins to open and proffer various exotic dishes. Napier and Leftbridge-Smythe glance at each other in astonishment.
Later, after Mitchell and George have arrived, Sir John gathers his most trusted men about him to go over the mission.
“Gentlemen, tomorrow we begin a most hazardous endeavour. Our orders are to enter Afghanistan and make our way to Kabul. There we will rendezvous with a local regiment of the Kings guards, and together we will make our way to Kunduz. Once in Kunduz we will conduct operations against a renegade Bolshevik named Korsakov, and his private army... Yes Rogers?”
At the back of the tent, a short, dark haired man with a stumpy beard stands up.
“Pardon me sir, but will we driving north or taking a train?”
“We shall have to drive north I’m afraid. Once we’re in Afghanistan we have to be as inconspicuous as possible, so no trains or major roads. Not that there are any. It’s going to be hard slog but with luck we should be able to reach Kabul quickly.”
“Welcome gentlemen, welcome to the Court of His Most August Majesty, King Mohammed Zahir Shah. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mohammed Ali Gahar, Advisor to his Majesty on Foreign Affairs. His Majesty has asked me to deal with this small matter of the Bolshevik renegade, Korsakov.”
Lieutenant Colonel, Sir John Napier steps forward and bows courteously. Behind him, his officers and Daniel Mansfield do likewise.
“We are pleased to meet you Your Excellency, if I may take the liberty of calling you so.”
“Indeed you may” purrs the well dressed Afghan.
“Thank you Your Excellency, but I must admit that I am some what puzzled. My orders led me to expect a meeting with some gentleman named Mohammed Akka Khan... “
“Ah yes, most unfortunately, Mister Khan is no longer with us.”
“I see. Well I hope nothing unfortunate has happened to him?”
The heavily built, well fed Advisor to the King smiles happily.
“Mister Khan displeased His Majesty and so he was sent back to his tribe in disgrace. I was appointed in his stead”.
“Very well then. I suppose you are aware of the arrangement His Majesty has undertaken with Sir Michael?”
“To some degree yes, but I am afraid that circumstances have changed some what since the previous agreement was brokered.”
“Previous agreement?” Sir John’s voice drops in both tone and temperature. “I am not aware of any other...”
“Ah, General, rest assured that I have not dishonoured the agreement, merely adapted it to the current situation.”
Sir John is about to reply when a door opens at the far end of the hall and several figures step into view. One in European garb. Mohammed Ali Gahar smiles and gestures with a bejewelled hand.
“Mister James Cartwright.”
Sir John examines the approaching man. He is middle aged, with few distinguishing features beyond a brown moustache and a receding hair line. There is no outward indication that this man might be an agent of the highest order, rather he resembles a draughtsman or the ubiquitous clerk.
“Sir John I presume?” the man asks with the voice of an introvert attempting to create a good impression.
“Yes. Very good to meet you Cartwright” Sir John replies in an off hand manner. He turns to the Royal Advisor on Foreign Affairs but is surprised to see the blue robed official turning to leave.
“Your Excellency...?”
“I shall give you some time to confer” the other replies smoothly. “Actually, it is also almost time for prayer.”
The finality of this statement is unmistakable and the Afghan advisor turns to the other men who entered with Cartwright. After a few muttered words, they leave as a group, ignoring the surprised indignation of the British officers.
“What the devil is going on?” Sir John asks James Cartwright.
“Come with me Sir John the palace isn’t a place where one loiters to unburden one’s self, if you catch my meaning...”
Sir John is nobodies fool, so with his officers he follows Cartwright, out into the courtyard then through a gate out onto a large open area where five dusty armoured cars are parked amid a small crowd of Afghans.
“This will do” Cartwright mutters. Out in the open and in plain view is the safest place here. I suppose I’d better fill you in on the details as time has become a factor we can’t ignore”
“Yes. What on Earth is going on?”
“I’m afraid we’ve been out manoeuvred by the Bolsheviks”
“What?”
“It’s really rather simple, our previous agreement with Mohammed Akka Khan got buried when he did. The Bolshevik’s moved south a lot faster than we’d anticipated and as you might imagine, this didn’t sit well with the King at all. He executed Akka Khan and replaced him with Ali Gahar. Ali Gahar sent the Kings army north into the Kunduz Valley two days ago.”
“But we were supposed to rendezvous with the Afghans and provide them with armoured support. Are you telling me they’ve marched into battle without us?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, but it gets worse I’m afraid.”
“How?” Sir John asks with incredulity written on his features.
“Do you see those armoured cars?”
All heads turn to face the five battered old vehicles.
“Yes”
“They make up the Kings entire armoured force, and Ali Gahar has left them here for you, which means the Afghan army has no mobile armoured support what so ever. They did bring a few field guns, but I didn’t see any ammunition wagons, just a few mules, and if the information I’ve received regarding Korsakov’s army is anything to go by, the Afghans are about to get massacred.”
“Dear God, what a bloody shambles!” He turns to his men. “Rogers, inspect those Rollers and let me know if they’re of any use”
“Sir!” The bearded fellow named Rogers strides off towards the armoured cars.
“Good man Rogers. An excellent mechanic. Seconded to us from the Eight Royal Dragoon Guards”. Cartwright nods absently. It is obvious that Sir John is deep in thought and speaking at random. His eyes dart back and forth for a several minutes until finally they come to rest on Cartwright’s own. Cartwright is suddenly struck by the force of character that lurks behind those grey blue eyes. He feels an unbidden enthusiasm building as Sir John begins to speak.
“Two days for a walking army isn’t much of a start. We’ll dismount the tanks from the transporters at once, divide the column into two, and move up the Kunduz Valley at speed with the heavy units. The supply group will follow and we’ll leave most our infantry with them to ensure their security. Without misfortune, we might be able to reach the Afghan’s before they reach the Russians... what do we know of Korsakov’s strength?”
“He has a large field army, larger than we’d previously thought. The good news is, he’s been clearing out the locals and this means we have a lot of new friends in this part of the world.”
“Has he concentrated his forces?”
“I don’t know because I don’t know how many allies he’s brought south with him. What I do know is, he had a field army roaming north of Kunduz about ten days ago, and he has supply difficulties for his armoured units.”
“Cut off from his factories eh?”
“That’s right sir.”
“Good. Serves him right the bastard. Rogers, what about those cars?”
Rogers looks up from beneath a running board. “This one is almost useless sir, but the other four are ready to go.”
“Excellent, we’ll use them for reconnaissance instead of the Mark VI’s and move them into the main armoured squadrons. One per group. To act as support.”
“That leaves Denton in the Mark VIc, what should we do with him?” Lieutenant Leftbridge-Smyth interjects.
“Keep him where he is, Denton is a good scout commander and that fifteen millimetre might come in handy. Now. Let’s see about getting our tanks on the road before tea time shall we?”
Player Five deploys his on-table elements by marking their hidden locations on his map. Players Four and Six follow Player Fives orders and deploy where he commands them to. Players Four and Six must also mark the locations of their hidden elements on their maps.
Note, players Four, Five and Six may ‘store’ elements off the western edge of the table as reserves but once these have entered the table top they may not leave again without being counted as downed.
Player Two then decides the marching order of the British column prior to beginning the game, and then once the position of the British elements has been established, the following paragraphs are read out loud.* Note the Mark VIc must be placed at the head of the column.
* Added after the game
Having split into two groups, Sir John’s armoured column moves up the Kunduz Valley at speed. Around two pm on the second day. Smoke is sighted on the horizon and not longer after this; the British pass the first groups of wounded Afghan troops sitting at the side of the road.
“Not long now” Sir John shouts from the forward passenger seat of his staff car as the column moves through a shallow valley. He turns to talk to Cartwright who is sitting behind him when suddenly there is a loud explosion from the head of the column.
“What the devil?” Sir John exclaims as the British force grinds to a halt. He steps from his car to see a dust cloud rising in the air from the head of the column. Denton in the turret of his Mark VIc, turns to shout back, but his voice is obscured by the noise of the tank engines.
“What?” Sir John strides up along the road, as the dust settles he can see none of his vehicles have been hit, but a small bridge has been blown up. Suddenly he realises what Denton is shouting, the column has been bottled! To the left is a rocky slope, almost impassable for tanks. To the right a gully runs parallel with the road. He glances about; looking for an enemy, and there is movement in the rocks to the left. He turns and is about to order his men to take positions against ambush when several artillery rounds land on the column and the signals truck is instantly destroyed. As gun fire begins to erupt around him, the tanks begin to turn to engage the hidden enemy.
“Correct”
“And now we’re being asked to stop him, again?” George interjects from his seat behind Mitchell.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Mansfield smiles slowly. “Oh, I’m sure we can think of something. This chap we’re to meet, Sir John Napier, has a few resources up his sleeve I believe. We won’t be going in alone and we won’t have to rely on a few Russian soldiers this time either.”
“What’s he got, that’s so special this here Napier fellah?”
Mansfield turns to grin at the big Texan.
“Tanks”
“Tanks?”
“Tanks. Four of them to be precise. Vickers, Mark II’s. They’re not the latest thing, but they’re better than anything the Afghans have and they’ll give Korsakov a run for his money if we use them right.”
“Tanks is good” Mitchell concedes, “But we need troops as well.”
“We’ll have them. Napier runs some kind of local operations group and they specialise at solving awkward situations along the frontier. They’re going in as our main force. The tanks are their support.”
“British soldiers?” George asks
“Locals from Lahore, but with a few specialists too. Colonials mostly I expect.”
Twelve hours later the Dragon lands on a dusty airstrip just north of Peshawar. Mansfield peers out of the window at as the plane taxis towards a hanger. A tall fair haired man in a colonial uniform is standing on the turret of a Rolls Royce armoured car watching with one hand shading his eyes from the setting sun.
“We there?” Mitchell mutters opening his eyes and peering about.
Mansfield leaves his friends gathering the baggage and as the Dragons engines splutter into silence, he strides across the dusty airfield. The fair haired man hops down fro his vantage point and saunters closer.
“Captain Mansfield?” he asks in a clearly British accent.
“The same” Mansfield shakes the offered hand.
“Pleased to meet you” the other man is taller and stands with the causal air of the English gentry abroad. “I’m Gerald Leftbridge-Smythe, but usually every one just calls me Lefty”.
Mansfield nods, noting the polished lieutenant’s pips on Leftbridge-Smythe’s shoulders. “It’s been a while since I was addressed as Captain” he smiles.
“Those were days eh?” Leftbridge-Smythe smiles thinly as he watches the plane being unloaded. “Tell you what. Why don’t you let my chaps help yours and I’ll give you a ride back to the camp?”
Mansfield glances over at the Rolls Royce and Leftbridge-Smythe catches his eye. “Oh, not in the Roller. We have a slightly more comfortable conveyance for officers, what d’you say?” Mansfield smiles as he notes a dull grey touring car parked beside a nearby hanger. “Certainly. I’m sure George and Mitchell can manage without me”
“That’s the spirit. So tell me, where did they call you Captain then?”
Leftbridge-Smythe drives the anonymous car across the airfield to where a small military camp has been set up amongst a grove of tall trees. Daniel Mansfield, having dozed for the last few hours feels the tiredness growing upon him again regardless but just as he begins to yearn for a comfortable bed, his fatigue evaporates as four Vickers Mk II tanks come abruptly into view, he is about to comment on the sight when his eye catches three smaller tanks beyond them. Noting the abrupt change in his companion’s posture, Leftbridge-Smythe smirks well naturedly. “Warms the heart eh?”
Mansfield nods and the car suddenly swerves to halt before a large tent with a heavy set man in a khaki uniform standing before it.
“Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier” Leftbridge-Smythe introduces the man who lifts his hat to Mansfield revealing close cropped iron grey hair above a kindly face.
“Captain Daniel Mansfield, former fighter pilot in France and later Iraq and now... how shall we say it? A specialist working for her Majesty?” Napier opens the flap of his tent to reveal comfortable seats and a table of food.
Mansfield shrugs and enters the tent. “Perhaps Sir we shouldn’t mention it?”
Napier laughs as he follows the younger men into the tent. “Perhaps your right. I’m sure Keating wasn’t exaggerating when he said we might need you, and I understand you’ve had dealings with this Korsakov fellow before?”
“You could say that. He kidnapped my fiancé so I destroyed his death ray and scuppered his plan to obliterate Moscow.”
Mansfield sits at the table as a small Indian man-servant begins to open and proffer various exotic dishes. Napier and Leftbridge-Smythe glance at each other in astonishment.
Later, after Mitchell and George have arrived, Sir John gathers his most trusted men about him to go over the mission.
“Gentlemen, tomorrow we begin a most hazardous endeavour. Our orders are to enter Afghanistan and make our way to Kabul. There we will rendezvous with a local regiment of the Kings guards, and together we will make our way to Kunduz. Once in Kunduz we will conduct operations against a renegade Bolshevik named Korsakov, and his private army... Yes Rogers?”
At the back of the tent, a short, dark haired man with a stumpy beard stands up.
“Pardon me sir, but will we driving north or taking a train?”
“We shall have to drive north I’m afraid. Once we’re in Afghanistan we have to be as inconspicuous as possible, so no trains or major roads. Not that there are any. It’s going to be hard slog but with luck we should be able to reach Kabul quickly.”
“Welcome gentlemen, welcome to the Court of His Most August Majesty, King Mohammed Zahir Shah. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mohammed Ali Gahar, Advisor to his Majesty on Foreign Affairs. His Majesty has asked me to deal with this small matter of the Bolshevik renegade, Korsakov.”
Lieutenant Colonel, Sir John Napier steps forward and bows courteously. Behind him, his officers and Daniel Mansfield do likewise.
“We are pleased to meet you Your Excellency, if I may take the liberty of calling you so.”
“Indeed you may” purrs the well dressed Afghan.
“Thank you Your Excellency, but I must admit that I am some what puzzled. My orders led me to expect a meeting with some gentleman named Mohammed Akka Khan... “
“Ah yes, most unfortunately, Mister Khan is no longer with us.”
“I see. Well I hope nothing unfortunate has happened to him?”
The heavily built, well fed Advisor to the King smiles happily.
“Mister Khan displeased His Majesty and so he was sent back to his tribe in disgrace. I was appointed in his stead”.
“Very well then. I suppose you are aware of the arrangement His Majesty has undertaken with Sir Michael?”
“To some degree yes, but I am afraid that circumstances have changed some what since the previous agreement was brokered.”
“Previous agreement?” Sir John’s voice drops in both tone and temperature. “I am not aware of any other...”
“Ah, General, rest assured that I have not dishonoured the agreement, merely adapted it to the current situation.”
Sir John is about to reply when a door opens at the far end of the hall and several figures step into view. One in European garb. Mohammed Ali Gahar smiles and gestures with a bejewelled hand.
“Mister James Cartwright.”
Sir John examines the approaching man. He is middle aged, with few distinguishing features beyond a brown moustache and a receding hair line. There is no outward indication that this man might be an agent of the highest order, rather he resembles a draughtsman or the ubiquitous clerk.
“Sir John I presume?” the man asks with the voice of an introvert attempting to create a good impression.
“Yes. Very good to meet you Cartwright” Sir John replies in an off hand manner. He turns to the Royal Advisor on Foreign Affairs but is surprised to see the blue robed official turning to leave.
“Your Excellency...?”
“I shall give you some time to confer” the other replies smoothly. “Actually, it is also almost time for prayer.”
The finality of this statement is unmistakable and the Afghan advisor turns to the other men who entered with Cartwright. After a few muttered words, they leave as a group, ignoring the surprised indignation of the British officers.
“What the devil is going on?” Sir John asks James Cartwright.
“Come with me Sir John the palace isn’t a place where one loiters to unburden one’s self, if you catch my meaning...”
Sir John is nobodies fool, so with his officers he follows Cartwright, out into the courtyard then through a gate out onto a large open area where five dusty armoured cars are parked amid a small crowd of Afghans.
“This will do” Cartwright mutters. Out in the open and in plain view is the safest place here. I suppose I’d better fill you in on the details as time has become a factor we can’t ignore”
“Yes. What on Earth is going on?”
“I’m afraid we’ve been out manoeuvred by the Bolsheviks”
“What?”
“It’s really rather simple, our previous agreement with Mohammed Akka Khan got buried when he did. The Bolshevik’s moved south a lot faster than we’d anticipated and as you might imagine, this didn’t sit well with the King at all. He executed Akka Khan and replaced him with Ali Gahar. Ali Gahar sent the Kings army north into the Kunduz Valley two days ago.”
“But we were supposed to rendezvous with the Afghans and provide them with armoured support. Are you telling me they’ve marched into battle without us?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, but it gets worse I’m afraid.”
“How?” Sir John asks with incredulity written on his features.
“Do you see those armoured cars?”
All heads turn to face the five battered old vehicles.
“Yes”
“They make up the Kings entire armoured force, and Ali Gahar has left them here for you, which means the Afghan army has no mobile armoured support what so ever. They did bring a few field guns, but I didn’t see any ammunition wagons, just a few mules, and if the information I’ve received regarding Korsakov’s army is anything to go by, the Afghans are about to get massacred.”
“Dear God, what a bloody shambles!” He turns to his men. “Rogers, inspect those Rollers and let me know if they’re of any use”
“Sir!” The bearded fellow named Rogers strides off towards the armoured cars.
“Good man Rogers. An excellent mechanic. Seconded to us from the Eight Royal Dragoon Guards”. Cartwright nods absently. It is obvious that Sir John is deep in thought and speaking at random. His eyes dart back and forth for a several minutes until finally they come to rest on Cartwright’s own. Cartwright is suddenly struck by the force of character that lurks behind those grey blue eyes. He feels an unbidden enthusiasm building as Sir John begins to speak.
“Two days for a walking army isn’t much of a start. We’ll dismount the tanks from the transporters at once, divide the column into two, and move up the Kunduz Valley at speed with the heavy units. The supply group will follow and we’ll leave most our infantry with them to ensure their security. Without misfortune, we might be able to reach the Afghan’s before they reach the Russians... what do we know of Korsakov’s strength?”
“He has a large field army, larger than we’d previously thought. The good news is, he’s been clearing out the locals and this means we have a lot of new friends in this part of the world.”
“Has he concentrated his forces?”
“I don’t know because I don’t know how many allies he’s brought south with him. What I do know is, he had a field army roaming north of Kunduz about ten days ago, and he has supply difficulties for his armoured units.”
“Cut off from his factories eh?”
“That’s right sir.”
“Good. Serves him right the bastard. Rogers, what about those cars?”
Rogers looks up from beneath a running board. “This one is almost useless sir, but the other four are ready to go.”
“Excellent, we’ll use them for reconnaissance instead of the Mark VI’s and move them into the main armoured squadrons. One per group. To act as support.”
“That leaves Denton in the Mark VIc, what should we do with him?” Lieutenant Leftbridge-Smyth interjects.
“Keep him where he is, Denton is a good scout commander and that fifteen millimetre might come in handy. Now. Let’s see about getting our tanks on the road before tea time shall we?”
Starting
Player Five deploys his on-table elements by marking their hidden locations on his map. Players Four and Six follow Player Fives orders and deploy where he commands them to. Players Four and Six must also mark the locations of their hidden elements on their maps.
Note, players Four, Five and Six may ‘store’ elements off the western edge of the table as reserves but once these have entered the table top they may not leave again without being counted as downed.
Player Two then decides the marching order of the British column prior to beginning the game, and then once the position of the British elements has been established, the following paragraphs are read out loud.* Note the Mark VIc must be placed at the head of the column.
* Added after the game
Having split into two groups, Sir John’s armoured column moves up the Kunduz Valley at speed. Around two pm on the second day. Smoke is sighted on the horizon and not longer after this; the British pass the first groups of wounded Afghan troops sitting at the side of the road.
“Not long now” Sir John shouts from the forward passenger seat of his staff car as the column moves through a shallow valley. He turns to talk to Cartwright who is sitting behind him when suddenly there is a loud explosion from the head of the column.
“What the devil?” Sir John exclaims as the British force grinds to a halt. He steps from his car to see a dust cloud rising in the air from the head of the column. Denton in the turret of his Mark VIc, turns to shout back, but his voice is obscured by the noise of the tank engines.
“What?” Sir John strides up along the road, as the dust settles he can see none of his vehicles have been hit, but a small bridge has been blown up. Suddenly he realises what Denton is shouting, the column has been bottled! To the left is a rocky slope, almost impassable for tanks. To the right a gully runs parallel with the road. He glances about; looking for an enemy, and there is movement in the rocks to the left. He turns and is about to order his men to take positions against ambush when several artillery rounds land on the column and the signals truck is instantly destroyed. As gun fire begins to erupt around him, the tanks begin to turn to engage the hidden enemy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player One; Rasmus
Command
Rocketman
George Macarthur & ’Mad Dog’ MitchellOne Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & Royal Afghan Army
One Vickers Mk VIc light tank.
Two Rolls-Royce Fordson Armoured cars (RAA).
Comrade Sgt Nagovitsin
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
1st Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
Comrade Major Kapustin
Comrade Captain Yankov; Radio Signals Officer
Comrade Sgt Timorov; Sniper
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
1st Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (1 HMG)
1st Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns
2nd Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns (Off Table)
3rd Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns (Off Table)
The dawn rises on a town in chaos. As smoke billows from the shunting yards and industrial sector, the workers living on the higher slopes pack their belongings as best they can and flee into the surrounding mountains. The Black Guards, defeated and disorganised, pull the broken body of their leader from the burning wreckage of his armour and replace it with the corpse of a dead soldier.
As the British consolidate their victory, their reinforcements begin to arrive. A regiment of Sikh's marches up the valley, followed by the Royal Afghan army and Lt Col Sir John Napier gathers his officers around a makeshift headquarters in an old administration building. As the Afghan's press into the town, hunting down renegade Turcomen and their Uzbek communist allies, the British engineers quietly inspect the factories and workshops.
By the time the sun has set, the Royal Army Service Corps have already brought up heavy load trucks and the engineers of the 8th Royal Dragoon Guards are busy dismantling the infrastructure and exotic machinery of Korsakov's hidden town.
"Do we have an idea what any of this stuff is?" Sir John asks James Cartwright. The civilian nods thoughtfully, his gaze resting speculatively on the wreckage of Korsakov's armoured suit which has been loaded on to the back of a truck and is about to join a heavily armed convoy back to India.
"The future I would say"
Sir John follows his adviser's gaze, but shrugs and lights a pipe. Walking tanks? Not likely he thinks to himself. He looks about and spies Daniel Mansfield and his companions resting on the back of a Morris truck, eating, drinking and laughing as they watch a team of engineers setting up a wireless they have liberated from the Bolsheviks. Leaving James Cartwright to his musing, the British commander strides across just in time for a warbling voice to intrude into the Afghan night. To the sounds of distant gunfire, explosions and the occasional scream, a Jazz combo accompanies a female singer as she laments the loss of love.
"Well met Sir John!" Mansfield smiles as he passes a mug of steaming tea.
"Thank you... Rocketman" Sir John chuckles.
"Why General, don't you fancy something with a little more bite?" Mitchell asks in a hoarse voice as he offers a bottle of amber fluid. Sir John eyes the bottle which catches the light of the wireless dials revealing some kind of turgid sediment discolouring what ever the drink is.
"Ah... I'm quite alright with my tea thank you"
"Quite right" Daniel Mansfield smiles as Mad Dog Mitchell shrugs. "Tea is the foundation of the Empire!"
The music slides into static and one of the engineers fiddles with the dial. A plate of corned beef sandwiches is passed around and George Macarthur sets about lighting a camp fire. Suddenly the static is replaced with a crisp voice that elicits a small cheer from the surrounding Britons.
"...o'clock news, this is the BBC World Service from London. Here are the headlines. In the United State of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been reelected to a second term as President, in a landslide victory over the Republican candidate Alf Landon.
World leaders are to meet in Paris to discuss the recent upheaval in Germany following the death of Adolf Hitler in a car crash and whether or not any intervention under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles should be attempted. Authorities in Berlin have rejected any notion of an international intervention under the authority of the League of Nations. A spokesman for acting Chancellor Hess has said that Germany will continue along the path of National Socialism established by Adolf Hitler.
In London the BBC have launched the world's first regular television service..."
"How about some more music?" Mad Dog Mitchell grumbles. "To hell with politics. What we need is some dames!"
The Engineer grins and turns the dial further and the sound of a classical concert suddenly booms from the speakers. Sir John smiles broadly and holds up an appreciative finger. "Ahhh, Wagner!"
Mitchells face falls and he turns his attention to his bottle.
Meanwhile, in the back of a truck rushing blindly through a mountain pass, Olga, Uighur bandit Queen and leader of Korsakov's Chinese connection sits beside the cot which holds her lover's feverish form. Beside her, a bandaged head and swollen cheek making him look strangely menacing, sits Korsakov's second in command, the enigmatic Yuri.
"Miserable British..." Korsakov mutters in his delerium. Olga gazes upon him with a face devoid of emotion. Yuri clenches and unclenches his fists.
"They will pay for this!" He swears. "This is the second time that Swine has crossed us. the second time the British have interrupted our plans but I swear to God that there will not be a third!"
"God?" Olga turns her cold communist eyes on the Russian.
Yuri shrugs. "A figure of speech. Nothing more."
Olga stares at him for a long uncomfortable moment and Yuri has the distinct impression he is sitting in the immediate vicinity of a great and growing danger. As Olga's attention is drawn to Korsakov's shivering rambling, he realises that heading east into Olga's domain, with the Black Guards defeated and scattered, he must tread carefully. If Korsakov should die, what would become of him? How long would Olga tolerate his presence and where else could he go? Surreptitiously he moves his hand over his 7.62mm Tokarev to check it is still on his hip. The temptation to rid himself of this competitor is strong, but he realises that as distasteful as it is, he needs Olga if the Black Guards are to be resurrected.
Olga ignores Yuri. She reaches down to Korsakov and strokes his face gently.
"Rest easy my love" she whispers. "Your time has yet to come"
Three weeks later, Daniel Mansfield re-enters the office of General Sir Michael Keating and smiling at the astonished officer places a burnt and broken helmet of unusual design on his desk. The head of the Imperial Afghanistan Operations Department stares at the heavy object which is making something of a mess of his paper work. "What the deuce is this?"
"General, may I introduce you to the remains of Viktor Korsakov?"
"My God! You mean to say he's dead!"
"So it would seem. I destroyed his armour with a timely grenade, and unless some one else was in the damned contraption, all that was left were some charred bones and that."
General Keating examines the helmet. It is a curious artifact with a heavy visor and deep lens, cracked and broken by the fire. Around and within it are small copper pipes and wires.
"So he may still be alive?"
"I don't see how, but I suppose its possible" Mansfield concedes. He flops into an offered chair and accepts a glass of Scotch as the old General chortles to himself. "Its the damnest thing, but I didn't think it could be done. When we heard that the Afghan's had shot their wad and gone off into battle without you, I felt sure you'd be returning with no results to speak of".
"Quite the contrary as it happens" Mansfield lights a Pall Mall. "Sir John was hell for leather about it. He took us over the mountains and we fought our way to Korsakov's lair, which transpired to be a hidden town with no name that I could find. The details are all in the report to London.
Sir Michael nods enthusiastically and claps the younger man on the shoulder.
"My God Daniel. Well Done! Well done indeed. It is the most complete thing I've heard in a long time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear you receive some token of His Majesty's appreciation for this!"
"Merry Christmas Sir Samuel." Sir Hugh Sinclair greets his guest as he joins him in a dark metal lined chamber. The 1st Viscount Templewood turns from a viewing port with a shocked face.
"Sir Hugh" He replies.
"What do you think of our guest?"
Sir Samuel looks back through the viewing port and swallows nervously.
"To be honest with you. I don't know what to think of it"
"They called it Johann. Do you see the suppurating arm stump. It used to end in a flame thrower that was fed by the organisms bodily waste."
Sir Samuel regards the great supine body, its head lolling slightly. What ever it is, its arms and legs have been removed and a chain has been fastened about its neck.
"But what the devil is it?" he demands in a querulous voice.
"I don't think it has a name" Sir Hugh casually offers a cigarette then lights his own when Sir Samuel shakes head. "The German scientist Metzger built it from the remains of several dead soldiers".
"Do you mean to say its some kind of Frankenstein's monster?"
"I suppose that's the closest description possible" Sir Hugh replies as he walks to the steel door set into the bulk-head like wall and knocks on it. A black armour clad guard opens it from outside and the two men exit into a long corridor with a strangely curved outer wall.
"What will you do with it?"
"Its already dying and we don't know why. Even if we did, would we even want to save it?"
The corridor ends in the door way to an elevator and Sir Hugh presses a button. Far away a bell rings dimly.
"When you asked me to take control of the island I wasn't expecting anything like this."
"Quite" Sir Hugh mutters.
Sir Samuel glances down the corridor as several men in long white coats exit a door, dragging a man in a strait jacket between them as they move off in the other direction. The man in the strait jacket is gagged but his wild eyes catch sight of the two men and he struggles helplessly against his captors.
"What about Doctor Metzger?"
"He has been removed to a safe place" Sir Hugh replies. we're not sure what to do with him. Frankly I'd just as soon have him executed, but some on the Temporal Council think he may be useful."
Sir Samuel Hoare, First Lord of the Admiralty of the United Kingdom widens his eyes nervously at the mention of the High Council of the secretive Lords Temporal. He has known for some time that Sir Hugh operates with a higher mandate than from the British government, but only now does he fully appreciate the scale of Sir Hugh Sinclair's power. Awed into silence He rides the elevator to the surface deep in thought. On the surface, the elevator ends in a room occupied by four men dressed in the dirty smocks of gardeners. As the two men exit the elevator, the four men stand to attention. One of them holds a sub-machine gun. Sir Hugh ignores the men, leading the way to a second door which leads out to blessed sunlight. Standing by a small brick building in Kew Gardens, Sir Samuel breathes a sigh of relief and shakes Sir Hugh's offered hand.
There is no need for Sir Hugh to impress the necessity for silence upon Sir Samuel. Having risen up through the ranks of government, with years of military and highly sensitive secret service to the British Crown (he once recruited Benito Mussolini for MI5), Sir Samuel is aware of the existence of the Most Noble Order of Ouroboros. The secret, all powerful, shadow government of the British Empire. This is the first time he has been made aware of it first hand however. Standing in the cold winter sunlight he feels a thrill pass through his aging body. Nothing in his career has brought him this close to eternity. With a furtive glance back at the small brick building that marks the entrance to the underground fortress below Kew Gardens, he turns and makes his way to his waiting car.
Back in his office, Sir Hugh finds a large portly man waiting for him.
"Samuel Hoare's a good man, despite his support for Chamberlain. He'll stay quiet. He's ambitious too"
"I know" the other man replies absently as he enjoys a large cigar.
Sir Hugh sits behind his desk. He yawns and stretches. Lying before him is Daniel Mansfield's report.
"What did you think?"
"I think Captain Mansfield needs to curb his enthusiasm. Viktor Korsakov is not dead"
Sir Hugh nods, neither surprised nor dismayed.
"Where is he now?"
"Northern China."
"Of course."
"He is not our greater concern however. Baron Von Schöenberg has issued an ultimatum which we cannot afford to ignore. He claims his super weapon is nearing completion and he demands a seat on the High Council or else he will be forced to use it."
Sir Hugh's eyebrow's rise in amazement.
"You can see his point. He knows that we can eventually destroy him, no matter where he is hiding, so his best option is force a union of necessity. Naturally he'll keep his ace in his sleeve to prevent us from acting against him."
Sir Hugh says nothing. His mind is racing through various possibilities. A union with the Baron is almost unthinkable, no foreigner has ever sat on the High Council, at least not since it was founded".
The other man watches Sir Hugh's face.
"We still have no idea where exactly New Prussia is?"
Its some where in South America is all we know. Any reference to it had been erased from Farquhar Island and the Bremen's logs make no mention of it".
Sir Hugh leans forward.
"Winston, we cannot tolerate this threat. We have to find New Prussia and destroy the Silbervogel before it is operational!"
The man named Winston nods slowly. He exhales a long stream of smoke from his lips. "It won't be easy" he replies, "but neither was killing Hitler. I'll put Carter onto it. If any one can do it. He can."
Rocketman
George Macarthur & ’Mad Dog’ MitchellOne Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & Royal Afghan Army
One Vickers Mk VIc light tank.
Two Rolls-Royce Fordson Armoured cars (RAA).
Player Two; Palle
Command
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
One Staff Car
One Signals vehicle (RCS)
1 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Two Vickers Mk II medium tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI light tank.
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
1st Platoon (Mechanised).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
Three Crossley Light Trucks
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps
One Support Vehicle; Crossley Light Truck (Ammunition)
One Support Vehicles; Crossley Light Truck (Provisions)
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
One Heavy Recovery Vehicle
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
One Staff Car
One Signals vehicle (RCS)
1 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Two Vickers Mk II medium tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI light tank.
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
1st Platoon (Mechanised).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
Three Crossley Light Trucks
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps
One Support Vehicle; Crossley Light Truck (Ammunition)
One Support Vehicles; Crossley Light Truck (Provisions)
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
One Heavy Recovery Vehicle
Player Three; Jan
Command
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
2 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Two Vickers Mk II medium tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI light tank.
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
1st Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules)
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
2 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Two Vickers Mk II medium tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI light tank.
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
1st Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player Four; Goeg
CommandComrade Sgt Nagovitsin
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
1st Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
Player Five; Oleg
CommandComrade Major Kapustin
Comrade Captain Yankov; Radio Signals Officer
Comrade Sgt Timorov; Sniper
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
1st Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (1 HMG)
1st Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns
2nd Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns (Off Table)
3rd Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns (Off Table)
Player Six; Tracey
Either side wins by defeating 75%, or all three command elements of the opposing force.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vehicles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The British start with all their vehicle elements hidden out of sight in the crater shaped valley.
The Bolsheviks start on board the train.
Players two; Palle
Player Six; Tracey
All terrain is Difficult
Encouraged by having advanced so easily, Rocketman now attempted to come to grips with some of the Bolsheviks who were attempting to out flank the Sihk's... at least I think thats what they were trying to do. Rocketman engaged them in hand to hand combat, but soon foundhimself being swarmed by several Reds and with one unscrupulous Chinese bandit lurking above him with a grenade.
The rear gun carriage proved quite difficult to destroy, not least once it began to return fire. Unable to bring more than one other gun to bear, it had a difficult time destroying the British armour, but it did manage to take out the last of the British Mk VI's before it was itself finally destroyed. I'm a little unsure as to the sequence of events at this point, but once the rear gun carriage was downed the British armour advanced as fast as possible to engage the forward gun carriage.
Rocketman survived his fisticuffs, and thanks to his rockets, manage to break away before he was overwhelmed. . After a brief pause to gather his wits he flew over the train and landed under cover of some rocks behind the Bolsheviks. Kapustin and his men immediately went on the attack but Rocketman was relentless. Tossing a grenade he bounded over and past the confused Russians and their Asian allies and broke his way into the carriage. Despite using all three hero points, the grenade didn't have much effect, alas, but Rocketman didn't have time to worry about that!
Goeg got adventurous but it was too late in the game. He rallied his men for a desperate charge against the Sihks on the ridgeline, several of whom were suppressed by the foreward gun carriage.
Mitchell had also gotten adventurous and had run up to support the Sihk's. A blast from the gun carriage knocked him senseless (thus fulfilling a Rocketman tradition as Mitchell nearly always gets downed).
Rocketman penetrated the carriage and began to clear it. The Bolsheviks tried to stop him, with several running into beat him up, but despite their best effots Daniel Mansfield held his ground. With time running out he beat each and every Bolshie sensless until 11 o'clock put a stop to the game and there was still one Bolshevik left standing in the carriage. Thus, by the narrowest of margins, the Bolsheviks won the game having prevented the British from capturing the train.
The game was mostly fun, but I think I made it too structured. There weren't that many chances for the Bolsheviks to move out of cover and perhaps they could have had reinforcements or something. Having said that, the game did run its course and we did finish in time and with a reasonable result. Another five minutes would have seen a British victory I think, but such is the whim of fortune!
“Great Scott! They’re running away! The train is ours!”
Lt Col Sir John Napier stares in amazement as the last of the Bolsheviks flees across the barren floor of the valley. Behind him, several of the British soldiers cheer lustily and some of the Sikh’s set to dancing victoriously.
“Your orders sir?” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe asks coolly.
“My orders?” Sir John replies absent minded. For a moment he gazes at the armoured train, the locomotive still venting steam. His eyes un-focus for a moment or two and then he grins broadly. “The train is ours” he repeats.
“Yes sir” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe replies uncertain as to what the general is getting at.
“Don’t you see?” Sir John chuckles. “We’ll drive it ahead of us and turn its guns on the Bolsheviks!”
“Ahead of us...” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe shades his eyes as he peers down the valley. From their vantage point the British cannot see the hidden town of which Daniel Mansfield has spoken. “Are we not going to Qala I Zal?”
Sir John shakes his head “No. This is the hidden base. It must be. The only thing we knew about Qala I Zal was the train line ended there at an old mine... well obviously the train line also runs to this hidden town, and an entire industrial town seems far more likely to be Korsakov’s base of operations than an old Chromite mine!
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe nods in agreement. “I suppose there is no time to waste then. We have to get the track fixed before night falls!”
Daniel Mansfield approaches the two British officers, George Macarthur and ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell following close behind him.
“What’s the game Sir?” Mansfield asks as Lt Leftbridge-Smythe salutes and hurries to organise a work detail. “We’re taking the train with us?”
Sir John nods with a big smile and ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell lets out a whoop of triumph. “Hot Dog! That’ll teach ‘em Bolshies a lesson!”
It eventually takes several hours to get the train running again, but as dusk begins to the fall the huge armoured behemoth begins to roll along the tracks quickly over taking the British armoured column which has gone on ahead. As night falls, the distant lights of the hidden town appear on the horizon and Sir John orders the train to stop and wait for the tanks. As his personal Mark III draws up along side the locomotive, he turns to the engineers from the 8th Royal Dragoon Guards. You pave the way and I’ll follow you in. Be careful though. They’ll be waiting for us...”
The British start with the train halted at the station with their remaining armoured and infantry units following from the northern end of the table. The train carriage may be filled with as many infantry elements as it can carry.
Viktor Korsakov starts in the large workshop building along with as many infantry elements as desired by player five. All the remaining Bolsheviks may arrive on table, from round three onwards in which ever order and from with ever direction except north, as decided by each Bolshevik player. Note advance warning must be given by one round if an AFV is about to enter the table top. This can be done by placing the element on the edge of table in suppression.
Player Six; Tracey
All terrain is rough except the rail tracks, water tower and within the train which are difficult and the roads and station platform which are good.
This game takes place at night, so visibility is reduced. Elements hiding in the dark receive a +1 bonus to Stealth and +2 if they are more than 12 inches from any enemy element or a source of light. Command range is halved for infantry elements.
If Korsakov’s full armoured suit is downed, then player five may roll a die to determine whether or not Korsakov has been injured. 1 or 2 will see the Russian unable to continue the fight. 3 to 6 will see Korsakov emerge from the wreckage of his full armour, in his body armour and able to continue fighting. Essentially this gives Korsakov the possibility of a second life, albeit with a lesser combat capability.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter for every four infantry elements.
Rocketman has eight hero points in this game.
Part one of this game was played on Thursday 10th June 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg.
The British infantry rush to take control of the station building
The Sihk infantry take control of the work shops
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's scouts take up positions in the darkness
The first Black Guard K4 trundles forward to hold the barricade
This was meant to be the last game of the campaign, but we were apparently too slow for we ran out of time before we'd reached anything resembling a conclusion. Subsequently there will be another write up following this one.
The game began with the British forces having arrived at the station and disembarking when they realised the tracks ahead of them had been blocked with barricades. The British infantry quickly moved to take control of the station building. I had intended to make some cardboard buildings for this game, but as is often the case, other interests and considerations took precendence so we made do with various other models instead. I had envisioned a proper staion building with multiple windows and rooms, but instead the British found themselves holding a single roomed affair without even a ticket office. Lt Col Napier and his tanks brought up the rear. Palle placed his tanks in a single block and moved slowly up the road to the east of the train.
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and the Sikh's (Jan) deployed to the west of the train, moving up behind two workshop buildings before taking possession of them.
It didn't take long for the firing to begin. Viktor Korsakov (Oleg) was visible in the smaller rail workshop and Lt Leftbridge-Smythe opened fire on him supported by the rear gun carriage on the train. Visibility was very poor however and the British were unable to damage the strange armoured machine which was waddling about in the lights of the workshop. Korsakov, armoured but not invulnerable quickly cut the lights then ripped his way out of the workshop, the claws of his walking armoured suit ripping aside the walls with relative ease. Moving onto the tracks that ran between the two rail workshops he hunkered down behind the barricade there and lurked...
Meanwhile the Bolsheviks brought up their first K4 heavy tank (Oleg) and parked it behind the other barricade, directly in front of the armoured train. Two more Bolshevik heavy tanks (Goeg) then trundled out of the darkness and parked themselves directly beside the forward gun carriage, effectively bottling in the British tanks under Lt Col Napier and sheltering from any supporting fire offered by Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and his tanks. A K1 light tank and an Austin Putilov Armoured Car flanked them, the latter parking itself directly opposite the station building and in front of Lt Col Napier's three tanks. Now the big guns spoke and it didn't take long for the forward gun carriage to be silenced. Suddenly the train had become a liability; a big metal wall cutting the British force in half.
The Sikh's were largely unconcerned however and fanned out to cover their fire base, as they did, the first K4 took a pot shot at the two storey workshop, killing two Sikh's within. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe was unable to return fire as the water tower and various rubble obscured the Bolshevik tank, helped along by the darkness. Rocketman decided it was time to act however and took to the air in his usual off-the-table pattern, flying around to seek out Korsakov.
The two K4's which had parked themselves beside the burning gun carriage began to fire into the station, whilst Lt Col Napier fired on the Austin Putilov. At first they merely blew out its engine, cracking its axle and turning it into a barricade with turrets intact, but another volley or two silenced it and Sir John began to push the wreck ahead of him as he tried to make his way forward. Bolshevik troops had moved forward to the station building and a fire fight had taken its toll of the British inside. The K4's were using high explosive shells to spray deadly shrapnel in all directions, even to the point of killing their own men.
Having dealt death the two K4's parked by the forward gun carriage now began to jostle for advantage. Sir John was still a serious threat, his modern specialist tank being the toughest on the table top. One of the K4's turned to face the approaching British general and the other moved around the front of the train to face the Sikh's.
Rocketman in the mean time had swung about the rear of the Bolsheviks and dropped in through an open cargo door in the top of the big rail workshop... and then the game ended with in stalemate, as can be seen here. If all goes to plan the next game should be on wednesday 16th.
Korsakov forces his way out of the rail workshop to hold the second barricade
The Bolsheviks move their heavy tanks forward and take out the forward gun carriage
The Gods of war discuss Lt Col Napier's situation
Rocketman flies into the fray
With Lt Col Napier bottled behind the station, the Bolsheviks turn their attention to the Sikh's
Command
Olga (Uighur Bandit Queen & unscrupulous arms dealer)
Bandits & Anarchists
Nikolai Dargomyzhsky; Anarchist Hero
Silent Wu; Explosives expert
Ten Uighur Bandits (Rifles)
Four Anarchists (Rifles)
Either side wins automatically by defeating two thirds of the enemy’s on-table elements, or by downing all three of the opposing forces commanders. If time runs out before either of these happens, then the points system decides the winners of the game.
The Bridge is destroyed and cannot be forded by a vehicle.
In the first round of firing, players four, five and six may take advantage of surprise, but there after this advantage is lost to all elements (though not concealment). Naturally this advantage is lost once the advantage of concealment has been conceded.
The Bolsheviks have two off-table artillery batteries, which may fire once every fifth round in order to hit their targets, which are dangerously close to the Bolshevik force; they must receive fire coordination from the Signals Officer. If this element is downed, Player Five loses his off-table artillery support. The off-table artillery fires slowly due to the precision required to avoid hitting its own side.
The slope is steep, but not so steep as to prohibit elements from firing upon each other.
Rocketman has 3 hero points in this game.
“What are your orders sir?” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe asks Sir John Napier as they stand beside the twisted wreckage of the Signals Vehicle.
Sir John takes his time to light his pipe. Frowning he turns to James Cartwright who is standing nearby, curiously watching George Macarthur tinkering with Daniel Mansfield’s rocket-pack.
”What do you say Cartwright? How can the Bolshies be so far south already?”
“Obviously they’ve taken control of the upper Kunduz Valley. I’m not a military man, but I suppose this means you’ll have to fight your way through them.”
“They had prepared positions this far south” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe interjects. “It will be even worse further north...”
Sir John nods absently. “We could engage them of course, but in doing so we risk losing our tanks faster than we can get to Korsakov’s main base. We’ll be down to rifles and beans by the time we get out of this mess.” Producing a map from his pocket he unfolds it and places it on the ground, weighing the corners down with stones.
“What we need is a way to circumvent the Upper Kunduz valley, a pass through these mountains to our east for example would be very useful, but according to this map there doesn’t seem to be one... I think we need a native guide.”
“That’s my job” Cartwright replies. "Give me a few hours and I’ll see if I can find a willing local.”
“You can have a day” the General replies. “It’s going to take us at least that long to reorganise ourselves. We need to fall back to some defendable terrain and establish a defensible position... we also need to set up a field hospital for all these wounded men... that reminds me. How many prisoners did we take?”
“Just a few Sir” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe replies.
“Start some interrogations. Try and find out what kind of strength they’ve got.”
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe salutes and Sir John saunters over to where ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell and Daniel Mansfield are watching George Macarthur.
“Can you get it to work again?” he asks as Mitchell offers a pack of Dunhill’s around the group.
“Oh yes Sir” George replies as he lights Daniel Mansfield’s cigarette. “I’m getting to be a dab hand at bringing Daniel’s rocket back to life. You wouldn’t believe how often it gets bent out of shape”
“I’m amazed you dare go up in the thing” Sir John exclaims as he regards the dangerous looking contraption. “What do all these wires and tubes do?”
“They regulate the flow of fuel mostly, the Prof is working on a new design too, and soon Daniel will be able to hover, like a Falcon”.
Sir John turns to look at Mitchell who shrugs sympathetically.
“Yeah, it beats the hell outta me too” the Texan drawls.
Over the course of the evening the British Indian force consolidates its position, building enfilading trenches and firing positions to protect a central staging camp. As the last of the heavy tank transporters finally arrives, Sir John and his staff watch from a map tent which has been pitched on a small hillock in the centre of the camp. Cartwright and a tall old Afghan arrive trailing a laden mule.
“Sir John. I’d like to introduce Amu. He’s a local trader, a Pashtun. He knows a way through the mountains, and he speaks English.”
“Is this correct?” Sir John takes his measure of the lean bearded fellow, noting the long barrelled flintlock rifle on his back.
“Yes Sahib. I know the road to Wadi Suhib very well.”
Sir John consults his map.
“Where is Wadi Sahib? I don’t see it on the map any where.”
The Pashtun turns and points to the distant mountains. “Over there” he replies.
The British exchange bemused glances and Sir John smiles. “On the far side of those hills?,”
“Yes Sahib.
“Very well then. Our maps indicate the train line ends at an old chromite mine in a remote valley near Qala I Zal. Can we reach there from Wadi Suhib?”
“Yes, there is a direct route, a road which runs along the northern edge of the mountains and close to the railway line.”
“How well known is this mountain pass to Wadi Suhib?”
Amu cocks his head to one side and squints at the sun. “Most of the local tribes know of it, but when the Russians and Uzbeks came they bombed the villages and drove the people out. No one lives at Wadi Suhib any more.”
“Still” Sir John decides, “Korsakov’s troops know of the village and the pass may be guarded. We shall have to move fast and in force. Lieutenant Leftbridge-Smythe...”
“Yes Sir?”
“Have them prepare my personal tank at once!”
“Yes Sir!”
Sir John turns to Daniel Mansfield. “You’re not the only one with specialized equipment Captain Mansfield!”
Players One, Two and Three arrive off table, with the first elements being placed within six inches of the edge of the table. Marching order is determined by Player Two.
Players four and five begin encamped in the main plaza, before the ruined mosque.
Player Six begins off table, to the East and may begin to deploy five elements per round once the game begins.
Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA
One Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank.
Two Rolls-Royce Fordson Armoured Cars (RAA).
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Ali Mohammed Jahangir (Local guide)
One Staff Car
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
One Vickers Medium Mk III Medium Tank.
Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank.
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
2nd Platoon (Mechanised).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
Three Crossley Light Trucks
3rd Platoon (Mechanised). (Off table).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
Three Crossley Light Trucks (Off table)
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps
One Support Vehicle (Ammunition) (Off table)
One Support Vehicles (Provisions) (Off table)
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
One Heavy Recovery Vehicle (Off table)
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank.
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
2nd Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules)
3rd Platoon. (Off table)
1st Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules) (Off table)
Comrade Polkovnik 'Yuri'
ONB-7 Independent Guards Tank Battalion
12th Squadron
Three K4 Heavy Tanks
One RK16 ’Motor Tachanka’, Reconnaissance Vehicle
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
5th Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section. (2 Scout Snipers & 1 HMG)
17th Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns
Either side wins by defeating 75%, or all three command elements of the opposing force.
In the event of a player not being able to attend, that player’s elements may be reallocated to their allies. To assist in the burden of extra elements, the remaining players receive a +1 movement pip per roll. Players Two and Five may also reallocate vehicle elements prior to the beginning of the game if this is required to balance movement pips against heavy elements.
Due to having been stationary for more than two days, the three K4 Heavy Tanks must first be started before they can drive. In order to do this a 6 must be rolled on a d6, per tank element per round. Once an engine has started however, there is a risk of the engine quitting and in the subsequent round a die must be rolled to ensure the engine is working. If a 1 rolled, then the engine stalls and another six must be rolled in subsequent rounds. If a 2 is rolled there is still a risk of stalling in the next round again. All three tanks are parked in the plaza before the mosque, facing the bridge.
Due to the nature of urban combat in ruins, all elements receive an automatic +1 defence bonus when fired upon beyond the range of 12 inches, even if they are fired upon from behind. This bonus is designed to reflect the level of debris independently of the models.
Barricades; these are made of piles of rubble and debris and form solid immovable barriers. Player Five may place any available barricades around his camp. These provide +2 cover for any element using them effectively. The barricades can stop wheeled vehicles but not tracked vehicles. When a tracked vehicle passes over a barricade, the barricade model remains in place.
Land mines; Henri Stolz (Player Six) has 1 d6 anti-personnel land mines and two anti-tank land mines in his possession. These have not been deployed at the beginning of the game however.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter per infantry element.
Rocketman has eight hero points in this game.
Vickers Medium Mk III Tank
Vickers Mk II Medium Tank
Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank
Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car
K4 Heavy Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the International Mk VIII)
K1 Light Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the Renault FT17 )
Austin-Putilov Armoured car
RK16 'Motor Tachanka' Long Range Reconnaisance Vehicle
20mm ShVAK Anti Aircraft Gun mounted on Gaz AA Truck
Part One of this game was played on Thursday 11 March 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg, Oleg and Tracey
The Black Guard K4's at the beginning of the game (seen from the east)
The British coming on to the table top (seen from the south)
The British coming on to the table top (seen from the west)
Rocketman in his initial upper story vantage point (seen from the north)
A doomed Uzbeck sniper atop the minaret (seen from the east)
Setting up the table top took slightly longer than usual due to the amount of models. Most of the table top was covered in ruined buildings and these had to be positioned in the most advantagous manner according to the Special Rules.
The game began with Lt Col Sir John Napier's tanks and men deploying along the edge of the table. Palle brought all his elements on in the first round, with his infantry moving forwards in ranks. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and his Sikh's followed, but where as Sir John's infantry were moving independently of his tanks, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's men were following his medium tanks in loose groups of ten, with ten held in reserve. Sir John moved into the smaller plaza and took up positions covering the two roads, whilst Lt Leftbridge-Smythe moved to cover the donkey path that runs beside the gully.
Rocketman came on in the air and landed in an upper story ruin, but although he was bravely moving forwards, his loud and smoking rockets easily gave him away and when he hopped forward to another spot he had two Black Guard grenades chucked at him and one of Goeg's Uzbeck LMG's shooting at his back. Only by burning half his hero points did he manage to survive to jump back to his previous position.
Rocketman sets himself up.
The blue counter marks a grenade (seen from the north)
The Bolsehviks had begun the game slightly surprised, and Oleg was soon rolling futile dice to get his tanks started, as per the Special Rules. One did after a few rounds, trundled forwards but then stalled again in the next round, right in line of sight of Sir John Napier in his 'special tank'*. In the mean time Tracey and Goeg were moving to cover the southern road (which runs along the high ground at the base of the cliff). Goeg had put some Uzbek's up in the minaret also, but this proved dangerous as Sir John opened fire on it as a matter of principle, in case of snipers. Thus Goeg lost the first element of the game.
A lot of the early game was characterized by attempts at tank sniping and it quickly became apparent that line of sight was difficult to establish through so many ruins. Deciding therefore that it was unlikely that a tank would be able to engage another tank through an entire village, I decided to impose a new rule limiting line of sight through the ruins to 24 inches. The reasoning for this is the same as the 12 inch rule which gave players a bonus for being shot at. The models on the table cannot show the true amount of debris, for that I would need a true 3d table top and a lot more storage space.
It also became apparent that under our new rules one tank couldn't really kill another, though there is still some debate about this and I think we shall either have to upgrade anti armour guns, reconsider armour values, or take anti tank rounds into effect (my favourite option). On the whole, there was a lot of new stuff in this game and it wasn't just the rules. We've never done tank vs tank combat like this and we've never done a Rocketman game on this scale either. With Rasmus not present, I had 31 infantry elements, 5 AFV's, Rocketman, Mitchell (with truck), George Macarthur and two mules. I rolled good movement dice all through the evening, but I hadn't gotten very far by the end of the evening. A lot of the initial phase of the game was posturing, a few feints and moving into position.
Oleg's second K4 trundles into position in front of the first which remained stalled for the rest of the game
(seen from the east)
Caught by suprise a Black Guard 76mm field gun is destroyed (seen from the south east)
The Bolsheviks had already taken up positions in the rubble along the edge of their camp so they had a slight advantage which was counter balanced by the amount of British troops they faced. Oleg had less luck with his movement dice however and both his field guns were picked off before he could bring them to bear. His appaling dice rolls also kept his heavy tanks silent until about three quarters of the way through the evening when a second K4 spluttered to life and moved in front of the first which was still stalled. Both these tanks exchanged shots with Sir John and his wing man, but to no great effect.
On the donkey path, Sir John's recon tank, a Vickers Mk VI saw and engaged the first of the two 76mm field guns guarding the bridge. At first the shot missed and the gunners were merely suppressed, but the next round destroyed the gun and shortly there after the second gun was taken out by Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's Infantry Support tank, a Vickers Mk VIc which was guarding the donkey path as the Sikh's moved up.
Rocketman was at this point hiding in the upper storey of the ruined house he had begun the game in, but now his position was known and a Bolshevik machine gun opened up on him and rolling poorly he fled ignomiously from the building. A part of Rocketman's problems lie in the fact that he has not been upgraded in the new Bayonet++ rules and his previous extra bonus's don't provide all that much cover from the new machine gun bonus's. He is particulrly weak when being engaged from the rear (just wait until Professor Summers invents a new binary fuel that doesn't explode by being shot).
As the evening drew to a close, neither side had gained any significant advantage over the other. The Bolsheviks had penetrated further into the ruins, but they'd lost more elements (the British had lost only one rifleman). The British had taken their time to probe the Bolsheviks and get into initial positions. The game stopped until next week with the Bolsheviks controlling more of the table top but facing daunting odds. These odds will diminish as the campaign runs its course because the British don't get any reinforcements in this or subsequent games and any tanks lost cannot be replaced (though a slightly damaged tank can be repaired). The Bolsheviks start each game with a fresh force, reflecting the nature of the British 'lightning attack' through enemy held territory.
I thought, all things considered, the game went well, but there was so much preperation and time invested into this game that problems were inevitable. Not only are the rules slightly different from preious campaigns, but only four elements on the table were not brand new. Almost everything was either made or bought just for this game. I wish I had the time and space to do the game justice, but as it was, it just about held together, though at one point I was so stressed that I had to go out into the kitchen and take a deep breath. Luckily Mette was there and gave me a magic hug.
* Sir John's tank is special because its been kept in perfect working order and has an experienced crew.
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's Sihk's head up the donkey path,
in the lead is Lt Col Napier's Mk VI recon tank (seen from the north)
To get out of the Sihk's way the Mk VI turns into an alley and runs over a Bolshevik sniper.
Oops. (seen from the south)
Fighting for the Empire, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and a Sikh infantry section.
Behind them is the Vickers Mk VIc (seen from the north)
Some of Palle's Brits watching Jan's Sikh's shunting into a start position
(seen from the west)
Oleg took the photo's
Part Two of this game was played on Thursday 18 March 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg, Oleg and Tracey
Setting up the tabletop to carry on from last week took time, but was made all the easier by Oleg's pictures and laptop and once we'd gotten everything where it was before, the game could resume. The British, who had spent most of the previous week getting into initial positions, had the first round and their infantry continued to infiltrate the ruins in order to support the advancing armour, most of which was hampered by the narrow roads. The main road was especially difficult as two of Oleg's K4 heavy tanks had moved to control it. Oleg began the game with only one moving tank, but the second K4 soon managed to get its engine going and moved up beside the first (see image below). In the mean time, Palle's tanks were firing on Goeg's K1 light tank as it crawled over the barricade on the southern road. An attempt to shoot it in the belly as it climbed up the barricade failed however and the K1 moved forward undetered.
Goeg's Uzbek infantry and Tracey's anarchists were already in advantagous positions to cover the southern side of the table, but as the game progressed they moved forward under a steady supporting hail of 20mm AA rounds as Tracey used her truck mounted ShVAK Anti Aircraft gun to suppress Palle's infantry (see image below). Goeg decided the Southern Road was too unhealthy however and moved his K1 into the ruins for cover (see image below).
Trying to place the last British infantryman, Magne wasn't much help
Oleg's elements in the first few rounds (seen from the north)
The Motor-Tachanka tries to take cover from the advancing British armour,
but discovers crumbling walls provide little protection from tank fire (seen from the north)
Palle's Brits, pinned down by a barrage of 20mm anti-aircraft gun fire (seen from the South)
Goeg takes evasive action (seen from the north)
Tracey's Anarchist vehicles providing cover along the southern road (seen from the south)
It became apparent to the British that their initial plan was flawed so a quick modification was put into play. At the same time, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's second Mk II medium tank had moved far enough along the donkey track on the northern edge of the table to threaten the Motor-Tachanka which had been hiding in an alley and which then promptly moved into the ruined compound building directly in front of the British tank, to take cover (see image above). This tactic proved ineffective when the British tank began firing through the crumbling wall and the Tachanka attempted to retreat, but was hit and destroyed by the tank as it re-entered the alley. The Bolshevik vehicle exploded and soon smoke was billowing down wind (see image below). The Sihk rifle section which was supporting the Mk II moved up and lobbing grenades ahead of them attempted to take control of the compound building. In doing so they met some resistance but a classic bayonet duel put an end to that.
In the mean while Oleg's third tank had coughed into life and moved to take up a position at the end of the donkey path. This put Jan's Mk II in line of fire, with only the barrier of smoke from the burning Motor-Tachanka providing cover, so the Mk II moved into the ruins of the Compound building where the smoke was thicker. A supporting Mk VI which had been following the MK was left on the donkey path whilst the Sikh's advanced.
At the same time, Palle's main armoured units had withdrawn from the central road and moved up to the southern road whilst his British infantry exchanged ineffective small arms fire with Goeg's Uzbek's and Tracey's Anarchists. Tracy had moved up a small assault team, armed with anti-tank landmines and as the tanks approached, she hatched a plan to plant a mine in front of the nearest tank. This plan came to nothing however, and Palle's tanks and supporting infantry defeated the assault group.
Throughout the game, both Oleg and Tracey had poured long range fire onto the British rear and even with decent movement rolls there just never was the chance to move the reserve forces out of way, consequently the British suffered some heavy losses in their rear and Jan lost more than half of his reserve force to Oleg's K4 tanks.
The evening ended with the players deciding to carry on the game to a conclusion, next week.
Since last week, Oleg had adjusted and fine tuned the rules and the game seemed to flow well enough even though the players had to constantly double check the various bonus's and penalties. The game is moving slow, but this is to be expected given the size of the forces employed and the urban combat setting.
Sihks advancing
The Motor-Tachanka burns, providing cover for the advancing Sikh's.
Blue markers indicate grenades (seen from the north)
Tracey's assault group moves forward with anti tank mines,
the white marker indicates they are taking cover to hide (seen from the south)
The massacre of Jan's Sikh reserve (seen from the west)
Oleg's K4 heavy tanks, all in position and threatening to advance. (seen from the North)
Palle moving up the southern road in force, pauses to defeat Tracey's Anarchist assault group
(Seen from the South)
Part Three of this game was played on Thursday 1 April 2010.
Players were Jan, Goeg and Oleg
The table top in the initial rounds (seen from the West)
Note Oleg has moved the destroyed fieldgun which was blocking the donkey path
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's second Mk II makes a break for it
trying unsuccessfully to hide in the smoke from the K4 (seen from the North)
Sir John sends a MkII down to tackle the Uzbek K1 which is proving a nuisance for the
advancing British infantry, as the tank moves forward, Goeg activates an anti tank mine counter
(seen from the North)
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and a supporting Vickers Mk VIc move to meet the Bolshevik heavy tank assault
(seen from the North)
Goeg's mine fails to incapacitate the tank and Sir John's armoured flank turns to face the second advancing K4 heavy tank as it moves up to engage the Mk VIc on the main road (seen from theNorth)
The height of the battle and the second K4 defeats the Mk VIc on the Main Road (seen from the East)
Part three began with only three players. Due to Palle's illness and a loss of interest on Tracey's part (and Rasmus still unable to attend), I ended up playing the British side alone whilst Oleg and Goeg played the Bolshevik's. For all that it was a brilliant evening, made all the more pleasant by the lack of diversion. Setting up the table top took the better part of an hour, but since it was Easter, we could start some what earlier and so the game was finished on time (by 23:00).
We had to roll for initiative as we couldn't recall what had been the last move two weeks ago, and Jan won the toss. The British immediately went on the offensive, moving up as many infantry as possible whilst jostling the tanks. The British began to use grenades to clear rooms and any spaces where an enemy might be hiding. This meant the deliberate waste of grenades, but since the British had a large supply of grenades, this didn't signify any great loss of resources, and after all, one prefers to use grenades to clear rooms and spaces in urban combat.
Oleg also decided to begin the game in a hefty fashion and began firing down the obscured-by-smoke donkey trail with the 60mm guns on his K4 tank, he managed to defeat several Sikh infantry who were moving up. Firing blind however, he was unable to disable the Vickers VI which was guarding the trail. Pausing only to move the damaged field gun which was blocking the head of the donkey path (See images above), he then began moving one of his K4 heavy tanks along it. This caused the British to take counter measures and the Vickers Mk VI which was guarding the donkey path and a Vickers Mk II belonging to Lt Leftbridge-Smythe (which was lurking in a ruin off to one side of the donkey trail) were forced to move to avoid being blown to bits. The Mk VI fled into the forecourt of the compound ruin, where it joined the other Mk VI and the Vickers MkII attempted to drive through the smoke, in the opposite direction as the same time as the K4.
Two of Jan's Sikh's had moved along the donkey trail and penetrated the veil of smoke issuing from the Motor Tachanaka. One of these was defeated but the other ran back to warn his companions of the approaching Bolshevik Heavy Tank. Alas, he met a Black Guard rifleman in the smoke and got into a bayonet duel. Both rolled ones and so were left standing in the path of the smoke blinded MkII as it sought to evade the K4. End result; both were flattened by British tank. Alas for the Brits, the move failed to evade the K4 which opened fire on the smaller tank. The MkII was partially knocked out (mobility kill; disables the tracks but leaves the turret working) but able to return fire for a round or so before the Bolshevik infantry nobbled it. With its last round and with a little help from the surrounding Sikh infantry who were lobbing grenades for all they were worth, the Bolshevik Black Guards lost their first heavy tank.
With the donkey path now well and truly blocked, the gravity of the game shifted towards the main road and upper road and Jan moved multiple armoured vehicles in an attempt to dillute Oleg's fire by giving him multiple targets.
Palle had outlined his plan of action against Goeg as the weakest link in the Bolshevik force, so Jan followed the plan and began to attack with everything possible. Sir John Napier had three medium tanks on the upper road and Jan moved these to cover the small path which led across the centre of the map to the donkey path. This path was the only way for a tank to move across the middle of the map and it was guarded by Goeg's Uzbeck K1 Light Tank. Sir John's tanks tried to dislodge the K1 which was sheltering behind a wall but despite several well placed shots, the wall gave plenty of cover. Sir John's infantry however, backed by a section of Sihk's, moved forward through the ruins to bring grenades to bear and a Royal Afghan Rolls-Royce Fordson positioned itself in the midst of the ruins to provide more covering fire against the Uzbek and Anarchist forces.
After a short while, Oleg moved a second K1 forward along the main road and Sir John's medium tanks tried desperately to maneuvre themselves into an advantageous firing position, but to no avail. Jan had moved Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's Vickers Mk II to the head of the main road, but now facing the advancing K4 Leftbridge-Smythe retreated out of the line of fire. This left a single Vickers Mk VIc guarding the main road and the inevitable happened, Oleg blew it away with the K4 as he moved forward faster than Sir John's tanks could bring their guns to bear.
At this point, Rocketman (supported by various other elements) used his remaining four Hero Points and lobbed a grenade onto the back of the K4, defeating it. Effectively, this was Oleg's own idea as he got slightly carried away I think, but I was happy to use the idea (I might have thought of it myself once I'd considered the options) and in effect win the game with a flourish of unrealistic heroism!
With the loss of the K4, the unstoppable tide had turned and the Uzbek and Anarchists began to fall back. Goeg moved the K1 forward in a vain attempt to block the advance of Sir John's armour, but the upper road was left wide open and Sir John headed for the Bolshevik rear. The game finally ended at this point with victory being awarded the the British. The post game damage rolls showed that about half of the British losses were permanent but only one light tannk was ultimately lost.
On the whole, I have to say that this game lived up to my expectations. As usual there were any number of things I'd over looked but on the whole the game, played over the course of three evenings was fantastic. Oleg's enthusiasm helped move things along considerably and heres a big thank you for helping out!
Goeg sacrifices the K1 to block the path of Sir John's advance but ultimately to no avail (seen from the North)
Rockeman takes out the second K4, with a little help from his friends (seen from the North)
A concealed Uzbeck tosses a grenade at an advancing Sikh section (seen from the West)
A. Defeated British Vickers Mk II Medium Tank(Element survived to next chapter as damaged)
B. First defeated Black Guards K4 Heavy Tank.
C. Second defeated Black Guards K4 Heavy Tank.
D. Defeated Uzbeck K1 Light Tank
E. Lt Col Sir John Napier in his Vickers Medium Mk III Tank.
F. Retreating Anarchist vehicles
G. Surviving Black Guards K4 Heavy Tank.
H. Defeated British Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank (Element destroyed)
I. 'Mad Dog' Mitchell's truck.
J. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe in his Vickers Mk II Medium Tank,
followed by a Royal Afghan Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car.
K. Second Royal Afghan Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car.
L. British Vickers Mk II Medium Tank.
M. Two British Vickers Mk VI Light Tanks (One has been defeated, but survived to next chapter as damaged)
N. Rocketman lurking in an alley
O. Yuri, Commander of the Black Guards.
Game Over!
Three days after the Battle of Wadi Suhib finds Sir John Napier’s Special Operations Group holding up in a bombed out Afghan compound some twelve miles from the broken village. Daniel Mansfield sits with the General and James Cartwright drinking tea as an engineer from the 8th Royal Dragoon Guards explains the condition of the group’s vehicles. All the fighting vehicles of the British force, but one are present, Denton’s Vickers Mk VIc having been destroyed. Two further tanks are under repairs in the compound.
Suddenly a sentry reports armour approaching from the east...
The British start in and around the ruined compound (within 12 of the outer walls)
The Bolsheviks start on the western side of the ridge.
Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
3rd Platoon (Mechanised).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps;
One Support Vehicle (Ammunition)
One Support Vehicles (Provisions)
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
One Heavy Recovery Vehicle
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
3rd Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules)
Comrade Sgt Dargomyzhsky
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment
6th Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
One Renault FT17 Light Tank.
One K4 Heavy Tank
Comrade Polkovnik ’Yuri’
Comrade Captain Glinka; Radio Signals Officer
ONB-7 Independent Guards Tank Battalion
10th Squadron
One K4 Heavy Tank
One RK16 ’Motor Tachanka’, Reconnaissance Vehicle
One Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
4th Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section. (2 Scout Snipers & 1 HMG)
All terrain is Rough except the road which is Good.
Olga (Uighur Bandit Queen & unscrupulous arms dealer)
Bandits & Anarchists
Nikolai Dargomyzhsky; Anarchist Hero
Silent Wu; Explosives expert
Ten Uighur Bandits (Rifles)
Four Anarchists (Rifles)
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Map
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Victory conditions
Either side wins automatically by defeating two thirds of the enemy’s on-table elements, or by downing all three of the opposing forces commanders. If time runs out before either of these happens, then the points system decides the winners of the game.
Special notes
The Bridge is destroyed and cannot be forded by a vehicle.
In the first round of firing, players four, five and six may take advantage of surprise, but there after this advantage is lost to all elements (though not concealment). Naturally this advantage is lost once the advantage of concealment has been conceded.
The Bolsheviks have two off-table artillery batteries, which may fire once every fifth round in order to hit their targets, which are dangerously close to the Bolshevik force; they must receive fire coordination from the Signals Officer. If this element is downed, Player Five loses his off-table artillery support. The off-table artillery fires slowly due to the precision required to avoid hitting its own side.
The slope is steep, but not so steep as to prohibit elements from firing upon each other.
Rocketman has 3 hero points in this game.
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Vehicles
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This game was played on Thursday 25 February 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg, Oleg and Tracey
When Mitchell's truck was downed (with George copping it) he jumped out and took cover. Rocketman who had been sitting in the back, immediately blasted into the sky and moved off the table. His idea was to come around in a long arc and drop down onto the enemy from behind...
Round One and the stationary soft vehicles get blasted.
Toilet paper equals smoke as I'd forgotten to buy cotton wool.
Despite months of time to prepare, some of the figures and models were still unfinished alas
The Sikh's, who were deployed on foot at the rear of the column were luckier and quickly made for cover (see image above). As rifle and LMG fire came from the bushes and slit trenches on the hillside, they organised a skirmish line and began a charge up the hill, no sooner had the first group reached the first heavy cover than a line of Bolsheviks opened fire on them but failed to kill a single Sikh. After that it was all bayonet work along that line.
Whilst this was going on, the Recon Unit at the head of the column was moving into a better position with Denton in the Mk VIc moving half way up the slope in a bid to survey the area. The Rolls-Royce Fordson's moved up behind the light tank in order to provide cover. During this time, the Bolsheviks found they were hampered by their lack of heavy gunfire against the tanks and Armoured Cars whilst the British were hampered by the fact that they couldn't see most of the Bolshevik's at all. This became blindlingly obvious when the two Bolshevik field guns on the table opened fire and destroyed Denton's Mk VIc and yet none of the British were able to accurately pin-point the location of the Field Guns, so well were they camoflaged. With hindsight, I think perhaps the smoke from cannon fire would have given their position away, but never mind. A lot of this game was experimental, as Oleg has revamped the Bayonet rules to speed up the games, creating Bayonet+ and Bayonet++ and we've not had the time to test run them. We were using Bayonet++ which runs at roughly ten tmes the speed of the original Bayonet rules, (which we used in RM5). Essentially this game became something of a test bed for the big battle of Chapter Two, and I found the results were very encouraging.
The Sikh's charge up hill with bayonets attached
The British main force pinned down and burning
Vickers Mk VIc 'brewing up'
Sir John's infantry paid a hefty price for being at the centre of the battle, but his tanks repaid the damage. Once they'd got a vague idea of where the Bolshevik Field Guns were, they opened up on them, supported by Lt Leftbridge-Smythe. Both guns were quickly destroyed, but not before the Black Guards had brought in a carefully coordinated artillery strike with three rounds targetting a group of Sikh's and the fourth hitting the supply trucks. In both instances area effect did a lot of damage. The Sikh's had been following a Vickers Mk VI up the hill and the tank survived the artillery strike, but the shrapnel dropped three Sikh riflemen and took out the supply trucks.
Mad Dog Mitchell had been taking cover practically the whole game. This was a consequence of my playing two groups and I kept forgetting about him. Once the arty strike had taken out the supply trucks, Mitchell suddenly charged across the open ground in a bid to find and destroy an enemy. Instead, he got taken out by Goeg's Uzbeck Bolshevik's who had spent most of the game in concealed positions some where across the gully. With multiple machine guns they were able to enfilade the entire British line and Mitchell provided an excellent example of just how deadly machine gun fire has become in Bayonet++. He didn't stand a chance.
...Rocketman had been hampered by bad movement die so by the time he reached the Bolshevik rear, he found both field guns already destroyed. Spotting a lone LMG gunner, he dropped on him instead and engaged him in hand to hand. The LMG gunner was not a problem for the dashing hero, but the five Bolshevik Black Guards (including their commander Major Kapustin) who had been cowering in a trench beneath a nearby bush were. Rocketman was rushed and beaten to the ground faster than you can shout "Look Out!" and consequently this was the first Rocketman adventure I can remember where all Rocketman and his supporting cast of friends were downed. Thus ended the game as time had run out.
On the whole it was a good game I thought, a little slow still, but this was partly due to the fact that the rules were slightly different and more players and elements are bound to impact on the speed of the game.
Vehicles
Vickers Mk II Medium Tank
Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
Vickers Mark VIc Light Tank
Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car
Crossley Light Truck
Vauxhall staff car
Heavy Recovery Vehicle
Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
Vickers Mark VIc Light Tank
Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car
Crossley Light Truck
Vauxhall staff car
Heavy Recovery Vehicle
Conclusion
This game was played on Thursday 25 February 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg, Oleg and Tracey
A. Rasmus's recon unit (played by Jan in Rasmus's absence); two Rolls-Royce Fordson armour cars backed up by a Vickers VIc Light Tank.With the destruction of the Signals Vehicle (J), the British column came under withering fire from the hill side. The Bolsheviks had gone to great pains concealing themselves and as the British Infantry deployed from their trucks (C) those vehicles were quickly downed by concentrated rifle fire. Several British soldiers were killed outright. Sir John (Palle) then ordered his remaining vulnerable supply vehicles to come up and position themselves behind the destroyed trucks and tanks, in order to give them some cover.
B. Palle's units;, beginning with a single Vickers Mk VI Light Tank.
C. Three Crossley Light Tracks, each containing one British Army Infantry Section
D. Lt Col Sir John Napier, standing at the side of the road looking towards the demolished bridge.
E. Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
F. Sir John Napier's Staff Car, and behind that, Mad Dog Mitchell's Morris Truck, in which Rocketman was sitting.
G. Two supply trucks containing ammunition, fuel and food.
H. The Heavy Recovery Vehicle.
I. Jan's units; Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
J. The wreckage of the Signals Vehicle.
K. A Vickers Mk VI Light Tank followed by a Company of Sihk Infantry (marching)
M. The location of the hidden Bolshevik Field Guns
When Mitchell's truck was downed (with George copping it) he jumped out and took cover. Rocketman who had been sitting in the back, immediately blasted into the sky and moved off the table. His idea was to come around in a long arc and drop down onto the enemy from behind...
Round One and the stationary soft vehicles get blasted.Toilet paper equals smoke as I'd forgotten to buy cotton wool.
Despite months of time to prepare, some of the figures and models were still unfinished alasThe Sikh's, who were deployed on foot at the rear of the column were luckier and quickly made for cover (see image above). As rifle and LMG fire came from the bushes and slit trenches on the hillside, they organised a skirmish line and began a charge up the hill, no sooner had the first group reached the first heavy cover than a line of Bolsheviks opened fire on them but failed to kill a single Sikh. After that it was all bayonet work along that line.
Whilst this was going on, the Recon Unit at the head of the column was moving into a better position with Denton in the Mk VIc moving half way up the slope in a bid to survey the area. The Rolls-Royce Fordson's moved up behind the light tank in order to provide cover. During this time, the Bolsheviks found they were hampered by their lack of heavy gunfire against the tanks and Armoured Cars whilst the British were hampered by the fact that they couldn't see most of the Bolshevik's at all. This became blindlingly obvious when the two Bolshevik field guns on the table opened fire and destroyed Denton's Mk VIc and yet none of the British were able to accurately pin-point the location of the Field Guns, so well were they camoflaged. With hindsight, I think perhaps the smoke from cannon fire would have given their position away, but never mind. A lot of this game was experimental, as Oleg has revamped the Bayonet rules to speed up the games, creating Bayonet+ and Bayonet++ and we've not had the time to test run them. We were using Bayonet++ which runs at roughly ten tmes the speed of the original Bayonet rules, (which we used in RM5). Essentially this game became something of a test bed for the big battle of Chapter Two, and I found the results were very encouraging.
The Sikh's charge up hill with bayonets attached
The British main force pinned down and burning
Vickers Mk VIc 'brewing up'Sir John's infantry paid a hefty price for being at the centre of the battle, but his tanks repaid the damage. Once they'd got a vague idea of where the Bolshevik Field Guns were, they opened up on them, supported by Lt Leftbridge-Smythe. Both guns were quickly destroyed, but not before the Black Guards had brought in a carefully coordinated artillery strike with three rounds targetting a group of Sikh's and the fourth hitting the supply trucks. In both instances area effect did a lot of damage. The Sikh's had been following a Vickers Mk VI up the hill and the tank survived the artillery strike, but the shrapnel dropped three Sikh riflemen and took out the supply trucks.
Mad Dog Mitchell had been taking cover practically the whole game. This was a consequence of my playing two groups and I kept forgetting about him. Once the arty strike had taken out the supply trucks, Mitchell suddenly charged across the open ground in a bid to find and destroy an enemy. Instead, he got taken out by Goeg's Uzbeck Bolshevik's who had spent most of the game in concealed positions some where across the gully. With multiple machine guns they were able to enfilade the entire British line and Mitchell provided an excellent example of just how deadly machine gun fire has become in Bayonet++. He didn't stand a chance.
...Rocketman had been hampered by bad movement die so by the time he reached the Bolshevik rear, he found both field guns already destroyed. Spotting a lone LMG gunner, he dropped on him instead and engaged him in hand to hand. The LMG gunner was not a problem for the dashing hero, but the five Bolshevik Black Guards (including their commander Major Kapustin) who had been cowering in a trench beneath a nearby bush were. Rocketman was rushed and beaten to the ground faster than you can shout "Look Out!" and consequently this was the first Rocketman adventure I can remember where all Rocketman and his supporting cast of friends were downed. Thus ended the game as time had run out.
On the whole it was a good game I thought, a little slow still, but this was partly due to the fact that the rules were slightly different and more players and elements are bound to impact on the speed of the game.
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“What are your orders sir?” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe asks Sir John Napier as they stand beside the twisted wreckage of the Signals Vehicle.
Sir John takes his time to light his pipe. Frowning he turns to James Cartwright who is standing nearby, curiously watching George Macarthur tinkering with Daniel Mansfield’s rocket-pack.
”What do you say Cartwright? How can the Bolshies be so far south already?”
“Obviously they’ve taken control of the upper Kunduz Valley. I’m not a military man, but I suppose this means you’ll have to fight your way through them.”
“They had prepared positions this far south” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe interjects. “It will be even worse further north...”
Sir John nods absently. “We could engage them of course, but in doing so we risk losing our tanks faster than we can get to Korsakov’s main base. We’ll be down to rifles and beans by the time we get out of this mess.” Producing a map from his pocket he unfolds it and places it on the ground, weighing the corners down with stones.
“What we need is a way to circumvent the Upper Kunduz valley, a pass through these mountains to our east for example would be very useful, but according to this map there doesn’t seem to be one... I think we need a native guide.”
“That’s my job” Cartwright replies. "Give me a few hours and I’ll see if I can find a willing local.”
“You can have a day” the General replies. “It’s going to take us at least that long to reorganise ourselves. We need to fall back to some defendable terrain and establish a defensible position... we also need to set up a field hospital for all these wounded men... that reminds me. How many prisoners did we take?”
“Just a few Sir” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe replies.
“Start some interrogations. Try and find out what kind of strength they’ve got.”
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe salutes and Sir John saunters over to where ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell and Daniel Mansfield are watching George Macarthur.
“Can you get it to work again?” he asks as Mitchell offers a pack of Dunhill’s around the group.
“Oh yes Sir” George replies as he lights Daniel Mansfield’s cigarette. “I’m getting to be a dab hand at bringing Daniel’s rocket back to life. You wouldn’t believe how often it gets bent out of shape”
“I’m amazed you dare go up in the thing” Sir John exclaims as he regards the dangerous looking contraption. “What do all these wires and tubes do?”
“They regulate the flow of fuel mostly, the Prof is working on a new design too, and soon Daniel will be able to hover, like a Falcon”.
Sir John turns to look at Mitchell who shrugs sympathetically.
“Yeah, it beats the hell outta me too” the Texan drawls.
Over the course of the evening the British Indian force consolidates its position, building enfilading trenches and firing positions to protect a central staging camp. As the last of the heavy tank transporters finally arrives, Sir John and his staff watch from a map tent which has been pitched on a small hillock in the centre of the camp. Cartwright and a tall old Afghan arrive trailing a laden mule.
“Sir John. I’d like to introduce Amu. He’s a local trader, a Pashtun. He knows a way through the mountains, and he speaks English.”
“Is this correct?” Sir John takes his measure of the lean bearded fellow, noting the long barrelled flintlock rifle on his back.
“Yes Sahib. I know the road to Wadi Suhib very well.”
Sir John consults his map.
“Where is Wadi Sahib? I don’t see it on the map any where.”
The Pashtun turns and points to the distant mountains. “Over there” he replies.
The British exchange bemused glances and Sir John smiles. “On the far side of those hills?,”
“Yes Sahib.
“Very well then. Our maps indicate the train line ends at an old chromite mine in a remote valley near Qala I Zal. Can we reach there from Wadi Suhib?”
“Yes, there is a direct route, a road which runs along the northern edge of the mountains and close to the railway line.”
“How well known is this mountain pass to Wadi Suhib?”
Amu cocks his head to one side and squints at the sun. “Most of the local tribes know of it, but when the Russians and Uzbeks came they bombed the villages and drove the people out. No one lives at Wadi Suhib any more.”
“Still” Sir John decides, “Korsakov’s troops know of the village and the pass may be guarded. We shall have to move fast and in force. Lieutenant Leftbridge-Smythe...”
“Yes Sir?”
“Have them prepare my personal tank at once!”
“Yes Sir!”
Sir John turns to Daniel Mansfield. “You’re not the only one with specialized equipment Captain Mansfield!”
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Starting
Players One, Two and Three arrive off table, with the first elements being placed within six inches of the edge of the table. Marching order is determined by Player Two.
Players four and five begin encamped in the main plaza, before the ruined mosque.
Player Six begins off table, to the East and may begin to deploy five elements per round once the game begins.
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Player one; Rasmus
Command;Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA
One Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank.
Two Rolls-Royce Fordson Armoured Cars (RAA).
Players two; Palle
Command;Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Ali Mohammed Jahangir (Local guide)
One Staff Car
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
One Vickers Medium Mk III Medium Tank.
Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank.
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
2nd Platoon (Mechanised).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
Three Crossley Light Trucks
3rd Platoon (Mechanised). (Off table).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
Three Crossley Light Trucks (Off table)
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps
One Support Vehicle (Ammunition) (Off table)
One Support Vehicles (Provisions) (Off table)
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
One Heavy Recovery Vehicle (Off table)
Player Three; Jan
Command;Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank.
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
2nd Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules)
3rd Platoon. (Off table)
1st Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules) (Off table)
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Player four; Goeg
Command
Comrade Sgt Legenko
Sergei Babakov (Political officer)
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
3rd Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
One K1 Light Tank.
Comrade Sgt Legenko
Sergei Babakov (Political officer)
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
3rd Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
One K1 Light Tank.
Player five; Oleg
CommandComrade Polkovnik 'Yuri'
ONB-7 Independent Guards Tank Battalion
12th Squadron
Three K4 Heavy Tanks
One RK16 ’Motor Tachanka’, Reconnaissance Vehicle
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
5th Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section. (2 Scout Snipers & 1 HMG)
17th Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns
Player Six; Tracey
Command
Dimtriy Ostrowski (Anarchist Hero)
Anarchists
Leon Stetsenko; Anarchist Machine Gunner.
Mykola Glazunov; Anarchist Sniper.
Henri Stolz; Anarchist Engineer.
Ten Anarchists (Rifles)
One Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.
Dimtriy Ostrowski (Anarchist Hero)
Anarchists
Leon Stetsenko; Anarchist Machine Gunner.
Mykola Glazunov; Anarchist Sniper.
Henri Stolz; Anarchist Engineer.
Ten Anarchists (Rifles)
One Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.
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Map
1. Market plaza. This is the starting point for the Black guards and their allies.
2. The bridge.
3. Ruined mosque.
4. Ruined houses. This is the starting point for Lt Col Sir John Napier
5. The mountain pass. This is the starting point for Lt Leftbridge
Every where on the table top is Difficult except the road and open area’s which are Rough. The surrounding hillside and cliffs count as Impassable Terrain.
2. The bridge.
3. Ruined mosque.
4. Ruined houses. This is the starting point for Lt Col Sir John Napier
5. The mountain pass. This is the starting point for Lt Leftbridge
Every where on the table top is Difficult except the road and open area’s which are Rough. The surrounding hillside and cliffs count as Impassable Terrain.
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Victory conditions
Either side wins by defeating 75%, or all three command elements of the opposing force.
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Special notes
In the event of a player not being able to attend, that player’s elements may be reallocated to their allies. To assist in the burden of extra elements, the remaining players receive a +1 movement pip per roll. Players Two and Five may also reallocate vehicle elements prior to the beginning of the game if this is required to balance movement pips against heavy elements.
Due to having been stationary for more than two days, the three K4 Heavy Tanks must first be started before they can drive. In order to do this a 6 must be rolled on a d6, per tank element per round. Once an engine has started however, there is a risk of the engine quitting and in the subsequent round a die must be rolled to ensure the engine is working. If a 1 rolled, then the engine stalls and another six must be rolled in subsequent rounds. If a 2 is rolled there is still a risk of stalling in the next round again. All three tanks are parked in the plaza before the mosque, facing the bridge.
Due to the nature of urban combat in ruins, all elements receive an automatic +1 defence bonus when fired upon beyond the range of 12 inches, even if they are fired upon from behind. This bonus is designed to reflect the level of debris independently of the models.
Barricades; these are made of piles of rubble and debris and form solid immovable barriers. Player Five may place any available barricades around his camp. These provide +2 cover for any element using them effectively. The barricades can stop wheeled vehicles but not tracked vehicles. When a tracked vehicle passes over a barricade, the barricade model remains in place.
Land mines; Henri Stolz (Player Six) has 1 d6 anti-personnel land mines and two anti-tank land mines in his possession. These have not been deployed at the beginning of the game however.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter per infantry element.
Rocketman has eight hero points in this game.
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Vehicles
Vickers Medium Mk III Tank
Vickers Mk II Medium Tank
Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank
Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car
K4 Heavy Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the International Mk VIII)
K1 Light Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the Renault FT17 )
Austin-Putilov Armoured car
RK16 'Motor Tachanka' Long Range Reconnaisance Vehicle
20mm ShVAK Anti Aircraft Gun mounted on Gaz AA Truck
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Conclusion
Part One of this game was played on Thursday 11 March 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg, Oleg and Tracey
The Black Guard K4's at the beginning of the game (seen from the east)
The British coming on to the table top (seen from the south)
The British coming on to the table top (seen from the west)
Rocketman in his initial upper story vantage point (seen from the north)
A doomed Uzbeck sniper atop the minaret (seen from the east)Setting up the table top took slightly longer than usual due to the amount of models. Most of the table top was covered in ruined buildings and these had to be positioned in the most advantagous manner according to the Special Rules.
The game began with Lt Col Sir John Napier's tanks and men deploying along the edge of the table. Palle brought all his elements on in the first round, with his infantry moving forwards in ranks. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and his Sikh's followed, but where as Sir John's infantry were moving independently of his tanks, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's men were following his medium tanks in loose groups of ten, with ten held in reserve. Sir John moved into the smaller plaza and took up positions covering the two roads, whilst Lt Leftbridge-Smythe moved to cover the donkey path that runs beside the gully.
Rocketman came on in the air and landed in an upper story ruin, but although he was bravely moving forwards, his loud and smoking rockets easily gave him away and when he hopped forward to another spot he had two Black Guard grenades chucked at him and one of Goeg's Uzbeck LMG's shooting at his back. Only by burning half his hero points did he manage to survive to jump back to his previous position.
Rocketman sets himself up.The blue counter marks a grenade (seen from the north)
The Bolsehviks had begun the game slightly surprised, and Oleg was soon rolling futile dice to get his tanks started, as per the Special Rules. One did after a few rounds, trundled forwards but then stalled again in the next round, right in line of sight of Sir John Napier in his 'special tank'*. In the mean time Tracey and Goeg were moving to cover the southern road (which runs along the high ground at the base of the cliff). Goeg had put some Uzbek's up in the minaret also, but this proved dangerous as Sir John opened fire on it as a matter of principle, in case of snipers. Thus Goeg lost the first element of the game.
A lot of the early game was characterized by attempts at tank sniping and it quickly became apparent that line of sight was difficult to establish through so many ruins. Deciding therefore that it was unlikely that a tank would be able to engage another tank through an entire village, I decided to impose a new rule limiting line of sight through the ruins to 24 inches. The reasoning for this is the same as the 12 inch rule which gave players a bonus for being shot at. The models on the table cannot show the true amount of debris, for that I would need a true 3d table top and a lot more storage space.
It also became apparent that under our new rules one tank couldn't really kill another, though there is still some debate about this and I think we shall either have to upgrade anti armour guns, reconsider armour values, or take anti tank rounds into effect (my favourite option). On the whole, there was a lot of new stuff in this game and it wasn't just the rules. We've never done tank vs tank combat like this and we've never done a Rocketman game on this scale either. With Rasmus not present, I had 31 infantry elements, 5 AFV's, Rocketman, Mitchell (with truck), George Macarthur and two mules. I rolled good movement dice all through the evening, but I hadn't gotten very far by the end of the evening. A lot of the initial phase of the game was posturing, a few feints and moving into position.
Oleg's second K4 trundles into position in front of the first which remained stalled for the rest of the game(seen from the east)
Caught by suprise a Black Guard 76mm field gun is destroyed (seen from the south east)The Bolsheviks had already taken up positions in the rubble along the edge of their camp so they had a slight advantage which was counter balanced by the amount of British troops they faced. Oleg had less luck with his movement dice however and both his field guns were picked off before he could bring them to bear. His appaling dice rolls also kept his heavy tanks silent until about three quarters of the way through the evening when a second K4 spluttered to life and moved in front of the first which was still stalled. Both these tanks exchanged shots with Sir John and his wing man, but to no great effect.
On the donkey path, Sir John's recon tank, a Vickers Mk VI saw and engaged the first of the two 76mm field guns guarding the bridge. At first the shot missed and the gunners were merely suppressed, but the next round destroyed the gun and shortly there after the second gun was taken out by Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's Infantry Support tank, a Vickers Mk VIc which was guarding the donkey path as the Sikh's moved up.
Rocketman was at this point hiding in the upper storey of the ruined house he had begun the game in, but now his position was known and a Bolshevik machine gun opened up on him and rolling poorly he fled ignomiously from the building. A part of Rocketman's problems lie in the fact that he has not been upgraded in the new Bayonet++ rules and his previous extra bonus's don't provide all that much cover from the new machine gun bonus's. He is particulrly weak when being engaged from the rear (just wait until Professor Summers invents a new binary fuel that doesn't explode by being shot).
As the evening drew to a close, neither side had gained any significant advantage over the other. The Bolsheviks had penetrated further into the ruins, but they'd lost more elements (the British had lost only one rifleman). The British had taken their time to probe the Bolsheviks and get into initial positions. The game stopped until next week with the Bolsheviks controlling more of the table top but facing daunting odds. These odds will diminish as the campaign runs its course because the British don't get any reinforcements in this or subsequent games and any tanks lost cannot be replaced (though a slightly damaged tank can be repaired). The Bolsheviks start each game with a fresh force, reflecting the nature of the British 'lightning attack' through enemy held territory.
I thought, all things considered, the game went well, but there was so much preperation and time invested into this game that problems were inevitable. Not only are the rules slightly different from preious campaigns, but only four elements on the table were not brand new. Almost everything was either made or bought just for this game. I wish I had the time and space to do the game justice, but as it was, it just about held together, though at one point I was so stressed that I had to go out into the kitchen and take a deep breath. Luckily Mette was there and gave me a magic hug.
* Sir John's tank is special because its been kept in perfect working order and has an experienced crew.
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's Sihk's head up the donkey path,in the lead is Lt Col Napier's Mk VI recon tank (seen from the north)
To get out of the Sihk's way the Mk VI turns into an alley and runs over a Bolshevik sniper.Oops. (seen from the south)
Fighting for the Empire, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and a Sikh infantry section.Behind them is the Vickers Mk VIc (seen from the north)
Some of Palle's Brits watching Jan's Sikh's shunting into a start position(seen from the west)
Oleg took the photo's
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Part Two of this game was played on Thursday 18 March 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg, Oleg and Tracey
Setting up the tabletop to carry on from last week took time, but was made all the easier by Oleg's pictures and laptop and once we'd gotten everything where it was before, the game could resume. The British, who had spent most of the previous week getting into initial positions, had the first round and their infantry continued to infiltrate the ruins in order to support the advancing armour, most of which was hampered by the narrow roads. The main road was especially difficult as two of Oleg's K4 heavy tanks had moved to control it. Oleg began the game with only one moving tank, but the second K4 soon managed to get its engine going and moved up beside the first (see image below). In the mean time, Palle's tanks were firing on Goeg's K1 light tank as it crawled over the barricade on the southern road. An attempt to shoot it in the belly as it climbed up the barricade failed however and the K1 moved forward undetered.
Goeg's Uzbek infantry and Tracey's anarchists were already in advantagous positions to cover the southern side of the table, but as the game progressed they moved forward under a steady supporting hail of 20mm AA rounds as Tracey used her truck mounted ShVAK Anti Aircraft gun to suppress Palle's infantry (see image below). Goeg decided the Southern Road was too unhealthy however and moved his K1 into the ruins for cover (see image below).
Trying to place the last British infantryman, Magne wasn't much help 
Oleg's elements in the first few rounds (seen from the north)
The Motor-Tachanka tries to take cover from the advancing British armour,but discovers crumbling walls provide little protection from tank fire (seen from the north)
Palle's Brits, pinned down by a barrage of 20mm anti-aircraft gun fire (seen from the South)
Goeg takes evasive action (seen from the north)
Tracey's Anarchist vehicles providing cover along the southern road (seen from the south)It became apparent to the British that their initial plan was flawed so a quick modification was put into play. At the same time, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's second Mk II medium tank had moved far enough along the donkey track on the northern edge of the table to threaten the Motor-Tachanka which had been hiding in an alley and which then promptly moved into the ruined compound building directly in front of the British tank, to take cover (see image above). This tactic proved ineffective when the British tank began firing through the crumbling wall and the Tachanka attempted to retreat, but was hit and destroyed by the tank as it re-entered the alley. The Bolshevik vehicle exploded and soon smoke was billowing down wind (see image below). The Sihk rifle section which was supporting the Mk II moved up and lobbing grenades ahead of them attempted to take control of the compound building. In doing so they met some resistance but a classic bayonet duel put an end to that.
In the mean while Oleg's third tank had coughed into life and moved to take up a position at the end of the donkey path. This put Jan's Mk II in line of fire, with only the barrier of smoke from the burning Motor-Tachanka providing cover, so the Mk II moved into the ruins of the Compound building where the smoke was thicker. A supporting Mk VI which had been following the MK was left on the donkey path whilst the Sikh's advanced.
At the same time, Palle's main armoured units had withdrawn from the central road and moved up to the southern road whilst his British infantry exchanged ineffective small arms fire with Goeg's Uzbek's and Tracey's Anarchists. Tracy had moved up a small assault team, armed with anti-tank landmines and as the tanks approached, she hatched a plan to plant a mine in front of the nearest tank. This plan came to nothing however, and Palle's tanks and supporting infantry defeated the assault group.
Throughout the game, both Oleg and Tracey had poured long range fire onto the British rear and even with decent movement rolls there just never was the chance to move the reserve forces out of way, consequently the British suffered some heavy losses in their rear and Jan lost more than half of his reserve force to Oleg's K4 tanks.
The evening ended with the players deciding to carry on the game to a conclusion, next week.
Since last week, Oleg had adjusted and fine tuned the rules and the game seemed to flow well enough even though the players had to constantly double check the various bonus's and penalties. The game is moving slow, but this is to be expected given the size of the forces employed and the urban combat setting.
Sihks advancing
The Motor-Tachanka burns, providing cover for the advancing Sikh's.Blue markers indicate grenades (seen from the north)
Tracey's assault group moves forward with anti tank mines, the white marker indicates they are taking cover to hide (seen from the south)
The massacre of Jan's Sikh reserve (seen from the west)
Oleg's K4 heavy tanks, all in position and threatening to advance. (seen from the North)
Palle moving up the southern road in force, pauses to defeat Tracey's Anarchist assault group(Seen from the South)
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Part Three of this game was played on Thursday 1 April 2010.
Players were Jan, Goeg and Oleg
The table top in the initial rounds (seen from the West)Note Oleg has moved the destroyed fieldgun which was blocking the donkey path
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's second Mk II makes a break for ittrying unsuccessfully to hide in the smoke from the K4 (seen from the North)
Sir John sends a MkII down to tackle the Uzbek K1 which is proving a nuisance for theadvancing British infantry, as the tank moves forward, Goeg activates an anti tank mine counter
(seen from the North)
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and a supporting Vickers Mk VIc move to meet the Bolshevik heavy tank assault(seen from the North)
Goeg's mine fails to incapacitate the tank and Sir John's armoured flank turns to face the second advancing K4 heavy tank as it moves up to engage the Mk VIc on the main road (seen from theNorth)
The height of the battle and the second K4 defeats the Mk VIc on the Main Road (seen from the East)Part three began with only three players. Due to Palle's illness and a loss of interest on Tracey's part (and Rasmus still unable to attend), I ended up playing the British side alone whilst Oleg and Goeg played the Bolshevik's. For all that it was a brilliant evening, made all the more pleasant by the lack of diversion. Setting up the table top took the better part of an hour, but since it was Easter, we could start some what earlier and so the game was finished on time (by 23:00).
We had to roll for initiative as we couldn't recall what had been the last move two weeks ago, and Jan won the toss. The British immediately went on the offensive, moving up as many infantry as possible whilst jostling the tanks. The British began to use grenades to clear rooms and any spaces where an enemy might be hiding. This meant the deliberate waste of grenades, but since the British had a large supply of grenades, this didn't signify any great loss of resources, and after all, one prefers to use grenades to clear rooms and spaces in urban combat.
Oleg also decided to begin the game in a hefty fashion and began firing down the obscured-by-smoke donkey trail with the 60mm guns on his K4 tank, he managed to defeat several Sikh infantry who were moving up. Firing blind however, he was unable to disable the Vickers VI which was guarding the trail. Pausing only to move the damaged field gun which was blocking the head of the donkey path (See images above), he then began moving one of his K4 heavy tanks along it. This caused the British to take counter measures and the Vickers Mk VI which was guarding the donkey path and a Vickers Mk II belonging to Lt Leftbridge-Smythe (which was lurking in a ruin off to one side of the donkey trail) were forced to move to avoid being blown to bits. The Mk VI fled into the forecourt of the compound ruin, where it joined the other Mk VI and the Vickers MkII attempted to drive through the smoke, in the opposite direction as the same time as the K4.
Two of Jan's Sikh's had moved along the donkey trail and penetrated the veil of smoke issuing from the Motor Tachanaka. One of these was defeated but the other ran back to warn his companions of the approaching Bolshevik Heavy Tank. Alas, he met a Black Guard rifleman in the smoke and got into a bayonet duel. Both rolled ones and so were left standing in the path of the smoke blinded MkII as it sought to evade the K4. End result; both were flattened by British tank. Alas for the Brits, the move failed to evade the K4 which opened fire on the smaller tank. The MkII was partially knocked out (mobility kill; disables the tracks but leaves the turret working) but able to return fire for a round or so before the Bolshevik infantry nobbled it. With its last round and with a little help from the surrounding Sikh infantry who were lobbing grenades for all they were worth, the Bolshevik Black Guards lost their first heavy tank.
With the donkey path now well and truly blocked, the gravity of the game shifted towards the main road and upper road and Jan moved multiple armoured vehicles in an attempt to dillute Oleg's fire by giving him multiple targets.
Palle had outlined his plan of action against Goeg as the weakest link in the Bolshevik force, so Jan followed the plan and began to attack with everything possible. Sir John Napier had three medium tanks on the upper road and Jan moved these to cover the small path which led across the centre of the map to the donkey path. This path was the only way for a tank to move across the middle of the map and it was guarded by Goeg's Uzbeck K1 Light Tank. Sir John's tanks tried to dislodge the K1 which was sheltering behind a wall but despite several well placed shots, the wall gave plenty of cover. Sir John's infantry however, backed by a section of Sihk's, moved forward through the ruins to bring grenades to bear and a Royal Afghan Rolls-Royce Fordson positioned itself in the midst of the ruins to provide more covering fire against the Uzbek and Anarchist forces.
After a short while, Oleg moved a second K1 forward along the main road and Sir John's medium tanks tried desperately to maneuvre themselves into an advantageous firing position, but to no avail. Jan had moved Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's Vickers Mk II to the head of the main road, but now facing the advancing K4 Leftbridge-Smythe retreated out of the line of fire. This left a single Vickers Mk VIc guarding the main road and the inevitable happened, Oleg blew it away with the K4 as he moved forward faster than Sir John's tanks could bring their guns to bear.
At this point, Rocketman (supported by various other elements) used his remaining four Hero Points and lobbed a grenade onto the back of the K4, defeating it. Effectively, this was Oleg's own idea as he got slightly carried away I think, but I was happy to use the idea (I might have thought of it myself once I'd considered the options) and in effect win the game with a flourish of unrealistic heroism!
With the loss of the K4, the unstoppable tide had turned and the Uzbek and Anarchists began to fall back. Goeg moved the K1 forward in a vain attempt to block the advance of Sir John's armour, but the upper road was left wide open and Sir John headed for the Bolshevik rear. The game finally ended at this point with victory being awarded the the British. The post game damage rolls showed that about half of the British losses were permanent but only one light tannk was ultimately lost.
On the whole, I have to say that this game lived up to my expectations. As usual there were any number of things I'd over looked but on the whole the game, played over the course of three evenings was fantastic. Oleg's enthusiasm helped move things along considerably and heres a big thank you for helping out!
Goeg sacrifices the K1 to block the path of Sir John's advance but ultimately to no avail (seen from the North)
Rockeman takes out the second K4, with a little help from his friends (seen from the North)
A concealed Uzbeck tosses a grenade at an advancing Sikh section (seen from the West)
A. Defeated British Vickers Mk II Medium Tank(Element survived to next chapter as damaged)B. First defeated Black Guards K4 Heavy Tank.
C. Second defeated Black Guards K4 Heavy Tank.
D. Defeated Uzbeck K1 Light Tank
E. Lt Col Sir John Napier in his Vickers Medium Mk III Tank.
F. Retreating Anarchist vehicles
G. Surviving Black Guards K4 Heavy Tank.
H. Defeated British Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank (Element destroyed)
I. 'Mad Dog' Mitchell's truck.
J. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe in his Vickers Mk II Medium Tank,
followed by a Royal Afghan Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car.
K. Second Royal Afghan Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car.
L. British Vickers Mk II Medium Tank.
M. Two British Vickers Mk VI Light Tanks (One has been defeated, but survived to next chapter as damaged)
N. Rocketman lurking in an alley
O. Yuri, Commander of the Black Guards.
Game Over!
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Three days after the Battle of Wadi Suhib finds Sir John Napier’s Special Operations Group holding up in a bombed out Afghan compound some twelve miles from the broken village. Daniel Mansfield sits with the General and James Cartwright drinking tea as an engineer from the 8th Royal Dragoon Guards explains the condition of the group’s vehicles. All the fighting vehicles of the British force, but one are present, Denton’s Vickers Mk VIc having been destroyed. Two further tanks are under repairs in the compound.
Suddenly a sentry reports armour approaching from the east...
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Starting
The British start in and around the ruined compound (within 12 of the outer walls)
The Bolsheviks start on the western side of the ridge.
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Player one; Rasmus
CommandRocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
Players two; Palle
CommandLieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
3rd Platoon (Mechanised).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps;
One Support Vehicle (Ammunition)
One Support Vehicles (Provisions)
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
One Heavy Recovery Vehicle
Player Three; Jan
CommandLt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 2
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
3rd Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules)
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Player four; Goeg
CommandComrade Sgt Dargomyzhsky
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment
6th Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
One Renault FT17 Light Tank.
One K4 Heavy Tank
Player five; Oleg
CommandComrade Polkovnik ’Yuri’
Comrade Captain Glinka; Radio Signals Officer
ONB-7 Independent Guards Tank Battalion
10th Squadron
One K4 Heavy Tank
One RK16 ’Motor Tachanka’, Reconnaissance Vehicle
One Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
4th Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section. (2 Scout Snipers & 1 HMG)
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Map
All terrain is Rough except the road which is Good.
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Victory conditions
Either side wins by defeating 75%, or all three command elements of the opposing force.
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Special notes
In the event of a player not being able to attend, that player’s elements may be reallocated to their allies. To assist in the burden of extra elements, the remaining players receive a +1 movement pip per roll. Players Two and Five may also reallocate vehicle elements prior to the beginning of the game if this is required to balance movement pips against heavy elements.
Due to the nature of urban combat in ruins, all elements receive an automatic +1 defence bonus when fired upon beyond the range of 12 inches, even if they are fired upon from behind. This bonus is designed to reflect the level of debris independently of the models.
Windows and climbing obstacles; Due to glass fragments, splinters and other sharp edges in the rubble, elements on foot must roll against a 4 to climb through a ground floor window or 5 to cross a high wall or other obstacle.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter for every three infantry elements.
Rocketman has two hero points in this game.
Due to the nature of urban combat in ruins, all elements receive an automatic +1 defence bonus when fired upon beyond the range of 12 inches, even if they are fired upon from behind. This bonus is designed to reflect the level of debris independently of the models.
Windows and climbing obstacles; Due to glass fragments, splinters and other sharp edges in the rubble, elements on foot must roll against a 4 to climb through a ground floor window or 5 to cross a high wall or other obstacle.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter for every three infantry elements.
Rocketman has two hero points in this game.
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Vehicles
Vickers Medium Mk III Tank
Vickers Mk II Medium Tank
Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank
Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car
K4 Heavy Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the International Mk VIII)
K1 Light Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the Renault FT17 )
Austin-Putilov Armoured car
RK16 'Motor Tachanka' Long Range Reconnaisance Vehicle
Vickers Mk II Medium Tank
Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank
Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car
K4 Heavy Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the International Mk VIII)
K1 Light Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the Renault FT17 )
Austin-Putilov Armoured car
RK16 'Motor Tachanka' Long Range Reconnaisance Vehicle
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RM6.3 was played on Thursday 22nd April. 2010
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg .
This game was designed as a counter point to the previous game, pitting tanks against each other across open ground rather than in a confined urban setting. The idea being to see what happened when the tanks had all the advantages of range and no meddling infantry to worry about. Of course, the table top imposes its own restrictions, so the scenario was contrived accordingly.
Oleg and Goeg won the initiative roll and having approached along the road from the east, spread out along the ridge line bringing all their guns to bear at once. The British, having had some warning due to the distant rumble and dust cloud of the heavy K4 tanks, were not wholly unprepared but were confined to their temporary cover. They took up positions around the ruined compound with two immobile tanks (damaged in the previous game) and the Heavy Recovery Vehicle in the courtyard.
The Bolsheviks began with an opening salvo, concentrating most of their fire on one of the British MkII’s which had moved itself to the south eastern edge of the ruins, and firing random rounds into the ruins with their remaining guns. Nothing happened at first and naturally the British returned fire with all but one of their medium tanks. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe was parked to the rear of the compound along with a MkVI and an Afghan Rolls-Royce Fordson, essentially keeping Jan’s force in reserve whilst Palle (as primary commander of the British force) kept the front line going. Once the firing had begun Lt Leftbridge-Smythe moved his MkII into the centre of the ruined compound, and parked it along side his second MKII (the damaged one). This would have meant an extra British gun, except concentrated fire against the southern British flank took its toll and the MkII lurking there was knocked out whilst Palle’s northern most MkII was pushed back into cover to avoid a similar fate. For a second it looked shaky for the British, their medium tanks with their 47mm guns were out gunned by the heavier K4’s with their triple 60mm guns, but time proved otherwise. Six smaller tanks dillutes fire more than two large ones and when Olegs Motor Tachanka and Goeg’s K4 (within which sat his commanding officer) were hit, the balance of the game began to shift.
The Bolsheviks taking fire
The British under fire; Lt Leftbridge-Smythe having moved up into the centre
Under the cover of the barrage, several of Oleg’s riflemen began to sneak forward over the open ground, but were seen by one of the Sihk riflemen (the only one who’d managed to find enough cover to avoid the barrage) and this brave element (who was later rewarded with a name; Cpl Mahinder) engaged the sneaky Bolshies, dropped one and kept the others pinned down. Whilst this was happening, Rocketman had flown around the Bolsheviks and was acting like a recon unit. Oleg had also moved several of his machine gunners to cover his rear in case Rocketman dropped from above, so just by flying about behind the enemy, Rocketman was tying up their resources.
A MkVI charges bravely forward, but is just too late to do anything
As the game reached its final hour stretch, Jan got adventurous and began to jostle for a charge forward. Palle was more conservative and stayed in his firing line, but with only twenty minutes to go, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe’s MkVI charged forward, using smoke and terrain as cover. Alas, even as Lt Leftbridge-Smythe moved himself to also charge forward, time ran out and the game ended with a technical win for the British. Neither side had a significant advantage over the other, but Goeg had lost his command element.
The British lost one MkVI Light Tank, three Sikh riflemen and one British rifleman.
On the whole a nice quiet game, with fewer details to bog the players down and few distractions once the kids had been put to bed. An interesting detail reflected an earlier debate Oleg and Jan had had regarding why single weapon, lighter tanks proved more popular over heavier multi-turret tanks. This is widely regarded as being due to costs and practicality and I think this was reflected in this game also. For as long as they are operational, the K4's dominate the table top, but the loss of even one is a severe handicap. By contrast, the Vickers Medium and Light tanks are cheaper and thus more numerous, but individually weaker than the K4's. Losing one or two smaller tanks makes little difference though and if both sides are equal in the number of guns, having individual guns on single tanks means a greater number of arcs of fire.
Looking for a chance to be heroic Rocketman vainly reconnoiters the enemy's strength
Next chapter will see the appearance of the armoured train, but I don’t know when next we play as the Viking Re-enactment season begins soon and Oleg, Tracey and Palle will all be busy.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg .
A. Sir John's Medium MkIII tank (Palle)
B. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's Mk II tank (Jan)
C. MkII tank on the southern flank (Palle)
D. MkII tank on the northern flank (Palle)
E. Damaged MkII (Jan)
F. Damaged Mk VI (Palle)
G. MkVI (Jan)
H. Royal Afghan Rolls-Royce Fordson (Palle)
I. Royal Afghan Rolls-Royce Fordson (Jan)
J. Rocketman and companions
A. Putilov Series III Armoured car (Oleg)
B. K4 Heavy Tank, containing Yuri (Oleg)
C. Motor Tachanka (Oleg)
D. K1 Light Tank (Goeg)
E. K4 Heavy Tank containing Sgt Dargomyzhsky (Goeg)
This game was designed as a counter point to the previous game, pitting tanks against each other across open ground rather than in a confined urban setting. The idea being to see what happened when the tanks had all the advantages of range and no meddling infantry to worry about. Of course, the table top imposes its own restrictions, so the scenario was contrived accordingly.
Oleg and Goeg won the initiative roll and having approached along the road from the east, spread out along the ridge line bringing all their guns to bear at once. The British, having had some warning due to the distant rumble and dust cloud of the heavy K4 tanks, were not wholly unprepared but were confined to their temporary cover. They took up positions around the ruined compound with two immobile tanks (damaged in the previous game) and the Heavy Recovery Vehicle in the courtyard.
The Bolsheviks began with an opening salvo, concentrating most of their fire on one of the British MkII’s which had moved itself to the south eastern edge of the ruins, and firing random rounds into the ruins with their remaining guns. Nothing happened at first and naturally the British returned fire with all but one of their medium tanks. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe was parked to the rear of the compound along with a MkVI and an Afghan Rolls-Royce Fordson, essentially keeping Jan’s force in reserve whilst Palle (as primary commander of the British force) kept the front line going. Once the firing had begun Lt Leftbridge-Smythe moved his MkII into the centre of the ruined compound, and parked it along side his second MKII (the damaged one). This would have meant an extra British gun, except concentrated fire against the southern British flank took its toll and the MkII lurking there was knocked out whilst Palle’s northern most MkII was pushed back into cover to avoid a similar fate. For a second it looked shaky for the British, their medium tanks with their 47mm guns were out gunned by the heavier K4’s with their triple 60mm guns, but time proved otherwise. Six smaller tanks dillutes fire more than two large ones and when Olegs Motor Tachanka and Goeg’s K4 (within which sat his commanding officer) were hit, the balance of the game began to shift.
The Bolsheviks taking fire
The British under fire; Lt Leftbridge-Smythe having moved up into the centre
Rocketman and his companions had been sitting in a ruined house drinking tea when the attack began. Taken by surprise they only had enough time to get Rocketman aloft and Jan immediately flew Our Hero off the table to send him around the back of the enemy. Mitchell and George made their way outside where they cowered behind another ruin along with several Sihk’s. most of whom where helpless under the barrage of the tank guns. The K4’s were firing high explosive shells which sprayed shrapnel over a far larger area than the British 47mm guns and the Bolsheviks were able to inflict heavy casualties by indirect damage from engaging tanks and random buildings.
Under the cover of the barrage, several of Oleg’s riflemen began to sneak forward over the open ground, but were seen by one of the Sihk riflemen (the only one who’d managed to find enough cover to avoid the barrage) and this brave element (who was later rewarded with a name; Cpl Mahinder) engaged the sneaky Bolshies, dropped one and kept the others pinned down. Whilst this was happening, Rocketman had flown around the Bolsheviks and was acting like a recon unit. Oleg had also moved several of his machine gunners to cover his rear in case Rocketman dropped from above, so just by flying about behind the enemy, Rocketman was tying up their resources.
A MkVI charges bravely forward, but is just too late to do anythingAs the game reached its final hour stretch, Jan got adventurous and began to jostle for a charge forward. Palle was more conservative and stayed in his firing line, but with only twenty minutes to go, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe’s MkVI charged forward, using smoke and terrain as cover. Alas, even as Lt Leftbridge-Smythe moved himself to also charge forward, time ran out and the game ended with a technical win for the British. Neither side had a significant advantage over the other, but Goeg had lost his command element.
The British lost one MkVI Light Tank, three Sikh riflemen and one British rifleman.
On the whole a nice quiet game, with fewer details to bog the players down and few distractions once the kids had been put to bed. An interesting detail reflected an earlier debate Oleg and Jan had had regarding why single weapon, lighter tanks proved more popular over heavier multi-turret tanks. This is widely regarded as being due to costs and practicality and I think this was reflected in this game also. For as long as they are operational, the K4's dominate the table top, but the loss of even one is a severe handicap. By contrast, the Vickers Medium and Light tanks are cheaper and thus more numerous, but individually weaker than the K4's. Losing one or two smaller tanks makes little difference though and if both sides are equal in the number of guns, having individual guns on single tanks means a greater number of arcs of fire.
Looking for a chance to be heroic Rocketman vainly reconnoiters the enemy's strengthNext chapter will see the appearance of the armoured train, but I don’t know when next we play as the Viking Re-enactment season begins soon and Oleg, Tracey and Palle will all be busy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Halt!”
The British armoured column grinds to a halt as Lt Col Sir John Napier holds up his right hand. Dusty and weary from four days skirmishing along roads barely visible in the barren landscape, the British officer’s eyes are still clear and alert. Glancing back along the line, he can see that his men are tired and the lack of sleep is beginning to take its toll. The Sikh’s in particular, marching on foot, are beginning to look worn down.
James Cartwright jumps down from a truck and jogs to the side of Napier’s tank. Following him is his local guide.
“What is it general?” the civilian asks.
Sir John indicates an approaching duct cloud on the road ahead with a jerk of his chin. “We’re finally leaving the mountains” he adds. Cartwright shields his eyes from the unforgiving sunlight and squints at the approaching vehicle. After a minute or so he realises it is the Morris truck driven by the American. “Mansfield!”
“With luck they’ll have found the road to the mine” Sir John replies.
“We haven’t found a road” Mansfield begins, “but we have found a railway!”
“A railway?” Sir John produces his map and spreads it on the burning hot hood of the Morris.
“It must be the line that runs to the mine” Cartwright says. What else could it be?”
“It can’t be” the general replies. “That’s to the north of us. Here. Show me on this map”.
Daniel Mansfield regards the map for a moment and then points. “Here. In this long thin valley”
They all look at the map in confusion. The indicated valley moves to the south, away from where the railway is marked, and away from the mine.
“What do you sir?” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe asks. Sir John straightens up, his spine popping audibly.
“I think we need to rest. We’ll move to this valley and find a spot to hide the group. From there, we can scout out the terrain and find out where this railway leads to. If it’s a dead end, then we’ve lost a day, but the men will be rested. Come on. Let’s get cracking!”
Several hours later, as the sun begins to slide down the sky, the British finally reach the railway. A single, wide gauged track leads along a barren and largely infertile valley, a dry river bed largely obscured in the distance. Sir John peers along its curving path. There hasn’t been any sight of the Bolsheviks now for over a day. As he stands by the rails, Daniel Mansfield joins him.
“My God this is a desolate place”
Mansfield nods and kicks a rail softly with his boot. The rail is polished a dull silver along its upper surface.
“We’ll blow the rails here,” Sir John decides. “...and if any one tries to come along it, we’ll give them what for. There’s some sort of a small valley over there, we’ll hide the group there whilst you scout along the rails and see where they lead.”
That shouldn’t take too long” Mansfield replies. Are you sure you need to set camp?”
“Yes. The men need to rest”.
“Very well then” Mansfield grins and motions to George Macarthur who immediately begins to rummage about in the back of the Morris.
Strapped to the Project Meteor rocket once again, Daniel Mansfield turns to salute the men watching him. He see’s Sir John lift a farewell hand as he presses the ignition button and with a heaving jolt leaps up into the sky. He climbs higher than usual and turns in a lazy arc, levelling out until he can see the tracks below. Then he opens up the throttle and lets the rockets roar louder and faster than ever before. The landscape rushes below him and his head shivers as the air passes by the rudder on his helmet. It takes mere minutes to reach the far end of the long winding valley, and there, to his surprise are buildings. As he climbs higher to get a better view, he sees an entire town huddled in the foothills of the lower valley. Mine head towers, cranes and gantries poke up between dark slag heaps and factory chimneys. As he passes over the settlement, he sees people running to and fro, heavy K4 tanks in rows, and a rail shunting yard. This is no mere mine. It is a secret industrial base.
“Crikey!” he mutters as a black puff of smoke erupts in the air above him. The people on the ground have begun firing an anti aircraft gun at him, but his speed and agility keep him safe. A last stolen glance however and he is off again, heading north with all possible haste.
As he flies back towards the others, he becomes aware of a plume of smoke on the distant horizon. A train is approaching from the head of the valley. He keys his radio transmitter...
The British armoured column grinds to a halt as Lt Col Sir John Napier holds up his right hand. Dusty and weary from four days skirmishing along roads barely visible in the barren landscape, the British officer’s eyes are still clear and alert. Glancing back along the line, he can see that his men are tired and the lack of sleep is beginning to take its toll. The Sikh’s in particular, marching on foot, are beginning to look worn down.
James Cartwright jumps down from a truck and jogs to the side of Napier’s tank. Following him is his local guide.
“What is it general?” the civilian asks.
Sir John indicates an approaching duct cloud on the road ahead with a jerk of his chin. “We’re finally leaving the mountains” he adds. Cartwright shields his eyes from the unforgiving sunlight and squints at the approaching vehicle. After a minute or so he realises it is the Morris truck driven by the American. “Mansfield!”
“With luck they’ll have found the road to the mine” Sir John replies.
“We haven’t found a road” Mansfield begins, “but we have found a railway!”
“A railway?” Sir John produces his map and spreads it on the burning hot hood of the Morris.
“It must be the line that runs to the mine” Cartwright says. What else could it be?”
“It can’t be” the general replies. “That’s to the north of us. Here. Show me on this map”.
Daniel Mansfield regards the map for a moment and then points. “Here. In this long thin valley”
They all look at the map in confusion. The indicated valley moves to the south, away from where the railway is marked, and away from the mine.
“What do you sir?” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe asks. Sir John straightens up, his spine popping audibly.
“I think we need to rest. We’ll move to this valley and find a spot to hide the group. From there, we can scout out the terrain and find out where this railway leads to. If it’s a dead end, then we’ve lost a day, but the men will be rested. Come on. Let’s get cracking!”
Several hours later, as the sun begins to slide down the sky, the British finally reach the railway. A single, wide gauged track leads along a barren and largely infertile valley, a dry river bed largely obscured in the distance. Sir John peers along its curving path. There hasn’t been any sight of the Bolsheviks now for over a day. As he stands by the rails, Daniel Mansfield joins him.
“My God this is a desolate place”
Mansfield nods and kicks a rail softly with his boot. The rail is polished a dull silver along its upper surface.
“We’ll blow the rails here,” Sir John decides. “...and if any one tries to come along it, we’ll give them what for. There’s some sort of a small valley over there, we’ll hide the group there whilst you scout along the rails and see where they lead.”
That shouldn’t take too long” Mansfield replies. Are you sure you need to set camp?”
“Yes. The men need to rest”.
“Very well then” Mansfield grins and motions to George Macarthur who immediately begins to rummage about in the back of the Morris.
Strapped to the Project Meteor rocket once again, Daniel Mansfield turns to salute the men watching him. He see’s Sir John lift a farewell hand as he presses the ignition button and with a heaving jolt leaps up into the sky. He climbs higher than usual and turns in a lazy arc, levelling out until he can see the tracks below. Then he opens up the throttle and lets the rockets roar louder and faster than ever before. The landscape rushes below him and his head shivers as the air passes by the rudder on his helmet. It takes mere minutes to reach the far end of the long winding valley, and there, to his surprise are buildings. As he climbs higher to get a better view, he sees an entire town huddled in the foothills of the lower valley. Mine head towers, cranes and gantries poke up between dark slag heaps and factory chimneys. As he passes over the settlement, he sees people running to and fro, heavy K4 tanks in rows, and a rail shunting yard. This is no mere mine. It is a secret industrial base.
“Crikey!” he mutters as a black puff of smoke erupts in the air above him. The people on the ground have begun firing an anti aircraft gun at him, but his speed and agility keep him safe. A last stolen glance however and he is off again, heading north with all possible haste.
As he flies back towards the others, he becomes aware of a plume of smoke on the distant horizon. A train is approaching from the head of the valley. He keys his radio transmitter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
The British start with all their vehicle elements hidden out of sight in the crater shaped valley.
The Bolsheviks start on board the train.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player one; Rasmus
Command
Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
Players two; Palle
Command
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
3rd Platoon (Mechanised)
Any troops which survived Chapt 3
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
Player Three; JanLieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
3rd Platoon (Mechanised)
Any troops which survived Chapt 3
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
Command
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
3rd Platoon;
Any troops which survived Chapt 3
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 3
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
3rd Platoon;
Any troops which survived Chapt 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player four; Goeg
Command
Comrade Sgt Nagovitsin
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
2nd Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
Comrade Sgt Nagovitsin
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
2nd Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
Player five; Oleg
Command
Comrade Major Kapustin
Comrade Captain Yankov; Radio Signals Officer
Comrade Sgt Timorov; Sniper
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
Any troops which survived Chapt 1
ONB-7 Armoured Train ’Destroyer’
One Armoured Locomotive (No weapons)
Two Gun Carriages (4 76.2mm guns & 4 HMGs)
One Unarmoured Passenger Carriage (No weapons)
Comrade Major Kapustin
Comrade Captain Yankov; Radio Signals Officer
Comrade Sgt Timorov; Sniper
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
Any troops which survived Chapt 1
ONB-7 Armoured Train ’Destroyer’
One Armoured Locomotive (No weapons)
Two Gun Carriages (4 76.2mm guns & 4 HMGs)
One Unarmoured Passenger Carriage (No weapons)
Player Six; Tracey
Command
Olga (Uighur Bandit Queen & unscrupulous weapons dealer)
Bandits & Anarchists
Nikolai Dargomyzhsky; Anarchist Hero
Silent Wu; Explosives expert
Any troops which survived Chapt 1
Olga (Uighur Bandit Queen & unscrupulous weapons dealer)
Bandits & Anarchists
Nikolai Dargomyzhsky; Anarchist Hero
Silent Wu; Explosives expert
Any troops which survived Chapt 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map
All terrain is Difficult
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victory conditions
The British win by capturing the train. In order to do this, they must defeat at least one of the gun carriages and take possession of the carriage.
The Bolsheviks win by preventing the British, or by defeating four armoured vehicles.
Or, either side can gain a technical victory by destroying two thirds of the enemy infantry elements, or both enemy command elements.
The Bolsheviks win by preventing the British, or by defeating four armoured vehicles.
Or, either side can gain a technical victory by destroying two thirds of the enemy infantry elements, or both enemy command elements.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special notes
The train is held together by armoured couplings, but there is enough space for one standard infantry element to move between wagons.
The Carriage gives +2 protection to any one using it as effective cover.
The train is comprised of one unarmed locomotive, one carriage and two gun carriages. The gun carriages can hold four additional infantry, in this case, Black Guard Riflemen.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter for every four infantry elements.
Rocketman has three hero points in this game.
RM6.4 was played on Thursday 13th May. 2010
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg .
The morning after we played this game, I was unfortunate enough to tear off the surface of my cornea. Subsequently the write up got forgotten and now, several weeks later I am no longer certain of the sequence of events.
The game began as planned with the train stuck on the tracks and under fire from the Sikh's. The British armour was still inside the dome shaped valley and this allowed the Bolsheviks to deploy to cover.
As the British began to crawl forward, opening fire from within the valley against the rear gun carriage, Rocketman immediately went on the offensive and flew forward to take cover behind the locomotive. This spawned a discussion as to whether or not the people on the far side of the locomotive could toss grenades over at him, and if they could, what sort of penalties they might encounter. Since I was playing Rocketman, I was opposed to his being blasted with grenades without a penalty for accuracy and the tricky nature of getting a grenade to roll over the top of the locomotive and fall down on top of Rocketman. In the end it all came to naught.
The Carriage gives +2 protection to any one using it as effective cover.
The train is comprised of one unarmed locomotive, one carriage and two gun carriages. The gun carriages can hold four additional infantry, in this case, Black Guard Riflemen.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter for every four infantry elements.
Rocketman has three hero points in this game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RM6.4 was played on Thursday 13th May. 2010
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg .
The morning after we played this game, I was unfortunate enough to tear off the surface of my cornea. Subsequently the write up got forgotten and now, several weeks later I am no longer certain of the sequence of events.
The game began as planned with the train stuck on the tracks and under fire from the Sikh's. The British armour was still inside the dome shaped valley and this allowed the Bolsheviks to deploy to cover.
As the British began to crawl forward, opening fire from within the valley against the rear gun carriage, Rocketman immediately went on the offensive and flew forward to take cover behind the locomotive. This spawned a discussion as to whether or not the people on the far side of the locomotive could toss grenades over at him, and if they could, what sort of penalties they might encounter. Since I was playing Rocketman, I was opposed to his being blasted with grenades without a penalty for accuracy and the tricky nature of getting a grenade to roll over the top of the locomotive and fall down on top of Rocketman. In the end it all came to naught.
Encouraged by having advanced so easily, Rocketman now attempted to come to grips with some of the Bolsheviks who were attempting to out flank the Sihk's... at least I think thats what they were trying to do. Rocketman engaged them in hand to hand combat, but soon foundhimself being swarmed by several Reds and with one unscrupulous Chinese bandit lurking above him with a grenade.
The rear gun carriage proved quite difficult to destroy, not least once it began to return fire. Unable to bring more than one other gun to bear, it had a difficult time destroying the British armour, but it did manage to take out the last of the British Mk VI's before it was itself finally destroyed. I'm a little unsure as to the sequence of events at this point, but once the rear gun carriage was downed the British armour advanced as fast as possible to engage the forward gun carriage.
Rocketman survived his fisticuffs, and thanks to his rockets, manage to break away before he was overwhelmed. . After a brief pause to gather his wits he flew over the train and landed under cover of some rocks behind the Bolsheviks. Kapustin and his men immediately went on the attack but Rocketman was relentless. Tossing a grenade he bounded over and past the confused Russians and their Asian allies and broke his way into the carriage. Despite using all three hero points, the grenade didn't have much effect, alas, but Rocketman didn't have time to worry about that!
Goeg got adventurous but it was too late in the game. He rallied his men for a desperate charge against the Sihks on the ridgeline, several of whom were suppressed by the foreward gun carriage.
Mitchell had also gotten adventurous and had run up to support the Sihk's. A blast from the gun carriage knocked him senseless (thus fulfilling a Rocketman tradition as Mitchell nearly always gets downed).
Rocketman penetrated the carriage and began to clear it. The Bolsheviks tried to stop him, with several running into beat him up, but despite their best effots Daniel Mansfield held his ground. With time running out he beat each and every Bolshie sensless until 11 o'clock put a stop to the game and there was still one Bolshevik left standing in the carriage. Thus, by the narrowest of margins, the Bolsheviks won the game having prevented the British from capturing the train.
The game was mostly fun, but I think I made it too structured. There weren't that many chances for the Bolsheviks to move out of cover and perhaps they could have had reinforcements or something. Having said that, the game did run its course and we did finish in time and with a reasonable result. Another five minutes would have seen a British victory I think, but such is the whim of fortune!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Great Scott! They’re running away! The train is ours!”
Lt Col Sir John Napier stares in amazement as the last of the Bolsheviks flees across the barren floor of the valley. Behind him, several of the British soldiers cheer lustily and some of the Sikh’s set to dancing victoriously.
“Your orders sir?” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe asks coolly.
“My orders?” Sir John replies absent minded. For a moment he gazes at the armoured train, the locomotive still venting steam. His eyes un-focus for a moment or two and then he grins broadly. “The train is ours” he repeats.
“Yes sir” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe replies uncertain as to what the general is getting at.
“Don’t you see?” Sir John chuckles. “We’ll drive it ahead of us and turn its guns on the Bolsheviks!”
“Ahead of us...” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe shades his eyes as he peers down the valley. From their vantage point the British cannot see the hidden town of which Daniel Mansfield has spoken. “Are we not going to Qala I Zal?”
Sir John shakes his head “No. This is the hidden base. It must be. The only thing we knew about Qala I Zal was the train line ended there at an old mine... well obviously the train line also runs to this hidden town, and an entire industrial town seems far more likely to be Korsakov’s base of operations than an old Chromite mine!
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe nods in agreement. “I suppose there is no time to waste then. We have to get the track fixed before night falls!”
Daniel Mansfield approaches the two British officers, George Macarthur and ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell following close behind him.
“What’s the game Sir?” Mansfield asks as Lt Leftbridge-Smythe salutes and hurries to organise a work detail. “We’re taking the train with us?”
Sir John nods with a big smile and ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell lets out a whoop of triumph. “Hot Dog! That’ll teach ‘em Bolshies a lesson!”
It eventually takes several hours to get the train running again, but as dusk begins to the fall the huge armoured behemoth begins to roll along the tracks quickly over taking the British armoured column which has gone on ahead. As night falls, the distant lights of the hidden town appear on the horizon and Sir John orders the train to stop and wait for the tanks. As his personal Mark III draws up along side the locomotive, he turns to the engineers from the 8th Royal Dragoon Guards. You pave the way and I’ll follow you in. Be careful though. They’ll be waiting for us...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
The British start with the train halted at the station with their remaining armoured and infantry units following from the northern end of the table. The train carriage may be filled with as many infantry elements as it can carry.
Viktor Korsakov starts in the large workshop building along with as many infantry elements as desired by player five. All the remaining Bolsheviks may arrive on table, from round three onwards in which ever order and from with ever direction except north, as decided by each Bolshevik player. Note advance warning must be given by one round if an AFV is about to enter the table top. This can be done by placing the element on the edge of table in suppression.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player one; Rasmus
Command
Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA;
Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
Players two; Palle
Command
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
3rd Platoon (Mechanised).
Any troopss which survived Chapt 4
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
ONB-7 Armoured Train ’Destroyer’
Any Carriages which survived Chapt 4
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
3rd Platoon (Mechanised).
Any troopss which survived Chapt 4
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
ONB-7 Armoured Train ’Destroyer’
Any Carriages which survived Chapt 4
Player Three; Jan
Command
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
3rd Platoon.
Any troopss which survived Chapt 4
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Any vehicles which survived Chapt 4
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
3rd Platoon.
Any troopss which survived Chapt 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player four; Goeg
Command
Comrade Major Borodin
Comrade Sgt Dargomyzhsky
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
4th Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
One Renault FT17 Light Tank.
Comrade Major Borodin
Comrade Sgt Dargomyzhsky
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
4th Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
One Renault FT17 Light Tank.
Player five; Oleg
Command
Comrade First Secretary Viktor Korsakov
Comrade Polkovnik ’Yuri’ Commanding
Comrade Captain Glinka; Radio Signals Officer
ONB-7 Independent Guards Tank Battalion;
1st Squadron;
Two K4 Heavy Tanks
One RK16 ’Motor Tachanka’, Reconnaissance Vehicle
1st Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
1st Platoon;
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section. (2 Scout Snipers & 1 HMG)
Comrade First Secretary Viktor Korsakov
Comrade Polkovnik ’Yuri’ Commanding
Comrade Captain Glinka; Radio Signals Officer
ONB-7 Independent Guards Tank Battalion;
1st Squadron;
Two K4 Heavy Tanks
One RK16 ’Motor Tachanka’, Reconnaissance Vehicle
1st Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
1st Platoon;
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section. (2 Scout Snipers & 1 HMG)
Player Six; Tracey
Command
Dimtriy Ostrowski (Anarchist Hero)
Anarchists
Leon Stetsenko; Anarchist Machine Gunner.
Mykola Glazunov; Anarchist Sniper.
Henri Stolz; Anarchist Engineer.
Ten Anarchists (Rifles)
One Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.
One Gaz AA Light Truck with mounted 20mm cannon.
Dimtriy Ostrowski (Anarchist Hero)
Anarchists
Leon Stetsenko; Anarchist Machine Gunner.
Mykola Glazunov; Anarchist Sniper.
Henri Stolz; Anarchist Engineer.
Ten Anarchists (Rifles)
One Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.
One Gaz AA Light Truck with mounted 20mm cannon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map
All terrain is rough except the rail tracks, water tower and within the train which are difficult and the roads and station platform which are good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victory conditions
The British win either by defeating all the Bolshevik AFV’s (this includes Korsakov in full armour), or two thirds of the combined Bolshevik force.
The Bolsheviks win either by defeating all the British AFV’s (this includes both gun carriages), or two thirds of the combined British force.
If none of the previous victory conditions are met, then Rocketman and Viktor Korsakov can win the game by defeating the other.
The Bolsheviks win either by defeating all the British AFV’s (this includes both gun carriages), or two thirds of the combined British force.
If none of the previous victory conditions are met, then Rocketman and Viktor Korsakov can win the game by defeating the other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special notes
This game takes place at night, so visibility is reduced. Elements hiding in the dark receive a +1 bonus to Stealth and +2 if they are more than 12 inches from any enemy element or a source of light. Command range is halved for infantry elements.
If Korsakov’s full armoured suit is downed, then player five may roll a die to determine whether or not Korsakov has been injured. 1 or 2 will see the Russian unable to continue the fight. 3 to 6 will see Korsakov emerge from the wreckage of his full armour, in his body armour and able to continue fighting. Essentially this gives Korsakov the possibility of a second life, albeit with a lesser combat capability.
Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter for every four infantry elements.
Rocketman has eight hero points in this game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conclusion
Part one of this game was played on Thursday 10th June 2010.Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg.
The British infantry rush to take control of the station building
The Sihk infantry take control of the work shops
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's scouts take up positions in the darkness
The first Black Guard K4 trundles forward to hold the barricadeThis was meant to be the last game of the campaign, but we were apparently too slow for we ran out of time before we'd reached anything resembling a conclusion. Subsequently there will be another write up following this one.
The game began with the British forces having arrived at the station and disembarking when they realised the tracks ahead of them had been blocked with barricades. The British infantry quickly moved to take control of the station building. I had intended to make some cardboard buildings for this game, but as is often the case, other interests and considerations took precendence so we made do with various other models instead. I had envisioned a proper staion building with multiple windows and rooms, but instead the British found themselves holding a single roomed affair without even a ticket office. Lt Col Napier and his tanks brought up the rear. Palle placed his tanks in a single block and moved slowly up the road to the east of the train.
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and the Sikh's (Jan) deployed to the west of the train, moving up behind two workshop buildings before taking possession of them.
It didn't take long for the firing to begin. Viktor Korsakov (Oleg) was visible in the smaller rail workshop and Lt Leftbridge-Smythe opened fire on him supported by the rear gun carriage on the train. Visibility was very poor however and the British were unable to damage the strange armoured machine which was waddling about in the lights of the workshop. Korsakov, armoured but not invulnerable quickly cut the lights then ripped his way out of the workshop, the claws of his walking armoured suit ripping aside the walls with relative ease. Moving onto the tracks that ran between the two rail workshops he hunkered down behind the barricade there and lurked...
Meanwhile the Bolsheviks brought up their first K4 heavy tank (Oleg) and parked it behind the other barricade, directly in front of the armoured train. Two more Bolshevik heavy tanks (Goeg) then trundled out of the darkness and parked themselves directly beside the forward gun carriage, effectively bottling in the British tanks under Lt Col Napier and sheltering from any supporting fire offered by Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and his tanks. A K1 light tank and an Austin Putilov Armoured Car flanked them, the latter parking itself directly opposite the station building and in front of Lt Col Napier's three tanks. Now the big guns spoke and it didn't take long for the forward gun carriage to be silenced. Suddenly the train had become a liability; a big metal wall cutting the British force in half.
The Sikh's were largely unconcerned however and fanned out to cover their fire base, as they did, the first K4 took a pot shot at the two storey workshop, killing two Sikh's within. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe was unable to return fire as the water tower and various rubble obscured the Bolshevik tank, helped along by the darkness. Rocketman decided it was time to act however and took to the air in his usual off-the-table pattern, flying around to seek out Korsakov.
The two K4's which had parked themselves beside the burning gun carriage began to fire into the station, whilst Lt Col Napier fired on the Austin Putilov. At first they merely blew out its engine, cracking its axle and turning it into a barricade with turrets intact, but another volley or two silenced it and Sir John began to push the wreck ahead of him as he tried to make his way forward. Bolshevik troops had moved forward to the station building and a fire fight had taken its toll of the British inside. The K4's were using high explosive shells to spray deadly shrapnel in all directions, even to the point of killing their own men.
Having dealt death the two K4's parked by the forward gun carriage now began to jostle for advantage. Sir John was still a serious threat, his modern specialist tank being the toughest on the table top. One of the K4's turned to face the approaching British general and the other moved around the front of the train to face the Sikh's.
Rocketman in the mean time had swung about the rear of the Bolsheviks and dropped in through an open cargo door in the top of the big rail workshop... and then the game ended with in stalemate, as can be seen here. If all goes to plan the next game should be on wednesday 16th.
Korsakov forces his way out of the rail workshop to hold the second barricade
The Bolsheviks move their heavy tanks forward and take out the forward gun carriage
The Gods of war discuss Lt Col Napier's situation
Rocketman flies into the fray
With Lt Col Napier bottled behind the station, the Bolsheviks turn their attention to the Sikh's
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part Two of this game was played on Wednesday 16th June 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg.
Hot for blood, Yuri crosses the barricade
Rocketman is charged by some desperate Uzbeks
Korsakov in his full armour emerges from his lair
Sir John retreats to find a better firing position
As the Bolshevik heavy armour trundles forward,
the Afghan armoured cars retreat to cover
In the heat of the night, the battle approaches its climax
And so we reached the last game in the current Rocketman season! Set up didn't take too long as there weren't as many ruins or buildings, and once an initiative roll had been won by the Bolsheviks the game got under way. Almost immediately the Bolshevik Commander, Yuri (Oleg) moved his tank forward, crossing the barricade to support Goeg's K4 which was lurking at the front of the armoured train and it was pretty obvious that the Bolsheviks were going to concetrate their fire against the Sikh's.
Stuck in a tight bottle neck with diminishing targets, Sir John (Palle) decided it was time to retreat and come around the other end of the train, which would enable him to get back into the fight. Only one K4 remained guarding the station building.
Rocketman, having entered the big railway workshop attic by way of a good doorway, waited patiently for the Bolsheviks below to climb up the staris to attack him. Three Uzbeks obligingly did so and were met with a burst of SMG fire. One dropped and the other two rushed into a fist fight. Rocketman proved too tough however so one of the Uzbeks lobbed a grenade. With his flak jacket, armour and helmet however, Rocketman survived the blast and some what irked at being hit with a grenade in a fist fight, leaped on the Uzbeks and took them both out. Note to future antagonists, henchmen don't do well against hero's in a brawl.
Whilst this was going on Sir John was retreating as fast as possible to bring his tanks to a better firing position, but he wasn't moving fast enough so Lt Leftbridge-Smythe took evasive maneuvers. Blessed with high movement rolls, he moved his second tank to cover himself, and ordered the two Royal Afghan armoured cars to take cover. Facing two K4's, meant six heavy guns could be brought to bear and 'Lefty' wasn't taking any chances.
Then Korsakov ripped his way back into the smaller railway workshop, the K4 guarding the station building began to move forward to get a shot at the retreating british commander and the K1 light tank began to move forward to support the heavier K4's against Lt leftbridge-Smythe's forces. The six guns facing the Leftbridge-Smythe's Sikh's now came into play, firing volleys at Leftbridge-Smythe's second tank which was fast moving towards them along side the armoured train. The dice determined that this tank would prove unstoppable and it eventually came to park itself directly in front of the K4 containing the Uzbeck commander. The battle was heating up. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and his secondary tank were under constant fire but didn't have enough fire power to effectively fight back, upon seeing Korsakov waddle out into the open however (despite the darkness his presence was impossible to conceal) they opened fire on his, supported by the rear gun carriage of the train. Nothing happened. Korsakov's armour shrugged off the British fire with contempt.
At the station building, the K4 chasing Sir John came under fire, both from Sir John's trio of retreating tanks and from grenades tossed by the British soldiers who were still holding grimly on to the station house. As the K4 reached the burning wreckage of the Austin-Putilov armoured car, it was destroyed.
Now Rocketman moved to the other end of the big railway workshop attic to scan for targets and below him he saw Korsakov who was moving forward to use Yuri's K4 as cover. This proved fatal when Rocketman, using all his eight hero points in one go, tossed a grenade from behind. Even rolling a one, Rocketman couldn't fail and when Korsakov failed to survive the blast, unable to get out of his outer armoured hull in his armoured suit, the British had fulfilled the secondary victory criteria. Rocketman had defeated Korsakov in single combat.
Oleg and Goeg decided that the only way to win at this point was to go for the British infantry and defeat two thirds of the British force. With still an hour to go, two K4's a K1 and multiple elements in reserve off table, it didn't look impossible.
When Yuri's K4 was subsequently taken out by the British, the game seemed done, but despite these set backs, the Bolsheviks fought on, with the Tachanka making an appearance on the road to the station building and a full bayonet line (with an HMG) coming out the darkness to attack the Sikh reserve force. The Sikh's responded in kind and despite an interupting shell from the rear gun carriage of the train, set about hand to hand combat with sporadic opportunity fire.
The game ended with a glorious victory for Rocketman not long afterwards.
Played back to back, RM5 and RM6 took quite a while to get through. Planned as ten evenings in total, we actually ended up playing for thirteen as some of the more ambitious tank battles were just too complex to be rushed.
Chasing Sir John one of the K4's advances past the station building...
...but a rain of grenades and fire from the retreating tanks stops the K4 in its tracks!
Looking for targets Rocketman moves forward only to find Korsakov below him
A well placed grenade (and all eight hero points) knocks out Korsakov's armour
The Bolsehviks commit their reserves, but its too little, too late
The Sikh reserve is engaged by a bayonet charge, but time has run out and the battle is done
The inferno rages
Part Two of this game was played on Wednesday 16th June 2010.
Players were Palle, Jan, Goeg and Oleg.
Hot for blood, Yuri crosses the barricade
Rocketman is charged by some desperate Uzbeks
Korsakov in his full armour emerges from his lair
Sir John retreats to find a better firing position
As the Bolshevik heavy armour trundles forward, the Afghan armoured cars retreat to cover
In the heat of the night, the battle approaches its climaxAnd so we reached the last game in the current Rocketman season! Set up didn't take too long as there weren't as many ruins or buildings, and once an initiative roll had been won by the Bolsheviks the game got under way. Almost immediately the Bolshevik Commander, Yuri (Oleg) moved his tank forward, crossing the barricade to support Goeg's K4 which was lurking at the front of the armoured train and it was pretty obvious that the Bolsheviks were going to concetrate their fire against the Sikh's.
Stuck in a tight bottle neck with diminishing targets, Sir John (Palle) decided it was time to retreat and come around the other end of the train, which would enable him to get back into the fight. Only one K4 remained guarding the station building.
Rocketman, having entered the big railway workshop attic by way of a good doorway, waited patiently for the Bolsheviks below to climb up the staris to attack him. Three Uzbeks obligingly did so and were met with a burst of SMG fire. One dropped and the other two rushed into a fist fight. Rocketman proved too tough however so one of the Uzbeks lobbed a grenade. With his flak jacket, armour and helmet however, Rocketman survived the blast and some what irked at being hit with a grenade in a fist fight, leaped on the Uzbeks and took them both out. Note to future antagonists, henchmen don't do well against hero's in a brawl.
Whilst this was going on Sir John was retreating as fast as possible to bring his tanks to a better firing position, but he wasn't moving fast enough so Lt Leftbridge-Smythe took evasive maneuvers. Blessed with high movement rolls, he moved his second tank to cover himself, and ordered the two Royal Afghan armoured cars to take cover. Facing two K4's, meant six heavy guns could be brought to bear and 'Lefty' wasn't taking any chances.
Then Korsakov ripped his way back into the smaller railway workshop, the K4 guarding the station building began to move forward to get a shot at the retreating british commander and the K1 light tank began to move forward to support the heavier K4's against Lt leftbridge-Smythe's forces. The six guns facing the Leftbridge-Smythe's Sikh's now came into play, firing volleys at Leftbridge-Smythe's second tank which was fast moving towards them along side the armoured train. The dice determined that this tank would prove unstoppable and it eventually came to park itself directly in front of the K4 containing the Uzbeck commander. The battle was heating up. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and his secondary tank were under constant fire but didn't have enough fire power to effectively fight back, upon seeing Korsakov waddle out into the open however (despite the darkness his presence was impossible to conceal) they opened fire on his, supported by the rear gun carriage of the train. Nothing happened. Korsakov's armour shrugged off the British fire with contempt.
At the station building, the K4 chasing Sir John came under fire, both from Sir John's trio of retreating tanks and from grenades tossed by the British soldiers who were still holding grimly on to the station house. As the K4 reached the burning wreckage of the Austin-Putilov armoured car, it was destroyed.
Now Rocketman moved to the other end of the big railway workshop attic to scan for targets and below him he saw Korsakov who was moving forward to use Yuri's K4 as cover. This proved fatal when Rocketman, using all his eight hero points in one go, tossed a grenade from behind. Even rolling a one, Rocketman couldn't fail and when Korsakov failed to survive the blast, unable to get out of his outer armoured hull in his armoured suit, the British had fulfilled the secondary victory criteria. Rocketman had defeated Korsakov in single combat.
Oleg and Goeg decided that the only way to win at this point was to go for the British infantry and defeat two thirds of the British force. With still an hour to go, two K4's a K1 and multiple elements in reserve off table, it didn't look impossible.
When Yuri's K4 was subsequently taken out by the British, the game seemed done, but despite these set backs, the Bolsheviks fought on, with the Tachanka making an appearance on the road to the station building and a full bayonet line (with an HMG) coming out the darkness to attack the Sikh reserve force. The Sikh's responded in kind and despite an interupting shell from the rear gun carriage of the train, set about hand to hand combat with sporadic opportunity fire.
The game ended with a glorious victory for Rocketman not long afterwards.
Played back to back, RM5 and RM6 took quite a while to get through. Planned as ten evenings in total, we actually ended up playing for thirteen as some of the more ambitious tank battles were just too complex to be rushed.
Chasing Sir John one of the K4's advances past the station building...
...but a rain of grenades and fire from the retreating tanks stops the K4 in its tracks!
Looking for targets Rocketman moves forward only to find Korsakov below him
A well placed grenade (and all eight hero points) knocks out Korsakov's armour
The Bolsehviks commit their reserves, but its too little, too late
The Sikh reserve is engaged by a bayonet charge, but time has run out and the battle is done
The inferno rages
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Epilogue
The dawn rises on a town in chaos. As smoke billows from the shunting yards and industrial sector, the workers living on the higher slopes pack their belongings as best they can and flee into the surrounding mountains. The Black Guards, defeated and disorganised, pull the broken body of their leader from the burning wreckage of his armour and replace it with the corpse of a dead soldier.
As the British consolidate their victory, their reinforcements begin to arrive. A regiment of Sikh's marches up the valley, followed by the Royal Afghan army and Lt Col Sir John Napier gathers his officers around a makeshift headquarters in an old administration building. As the Afghan's press into the town, hunting down renegade Turcomen and their Uzbek communist allies, the British engineers quietly inspect the factories and workshops.
By the time the sun has set, the Royal Army Service Corps have already brought up heavy load trucks and the engineers of the 8th Royal Dragoon Guards are busy dismantling the infrastructure and exotic machinery of Korsakov's hidden town.
"Do we have an idea what any of this stuff is?" Sir John asks James Cartwright. The civilian nods thoughtfully, his gaze resting speculatively on the wreckage of Korsakov's armoured suit which has been loaded on to the back of a truck and is about to join a heavily armed convoy back to India.
"The future I would say"
Sir John follows his adviser's gaze, but shrugs and lights a pipe. Walking tanks? Not likely he thinks to himself. He looks about and spies Daniel Mansfield and his companions resting on the back of a Morris truck, eating, drinking and laughing as they watch a team of engineers setting up a wireless they have liberated from the Bolsheviks. Leaving James Cartwright to his musing, the British commander strides across just in time for a warbling voice to intrude into the Afghan night. To the sounds of distant gunfire, explosions and the occasional scream, a Jazz combo accompanies a female singer as she laments the loss of love.
"Well met Sir John!" Mansfield smiles as he passes a mug of steaming tea.
"Thank you... Rocketman" Sir John chuckles.
"Why General, don't you fancy something with a little more bite?" Mitchell asks in a hoarse voice as he offers a bottle of amber fluid. Sir John eyes the bottle which catches the light of the wireless dials revealing some kind of turgid sediment discolouring what ever the drink is.
"Ah... I'm quite alright with my tea thank you"
"Quite right" Daniel Mansfield smiles as Mad Dog Mitchell shrugs. "Tea is the foundation of the Empire!"
The music slides into static and one of the engineers fiddles with the dial. A plate of corned beef sandwiches is passed around and George Macarthur sets about lighting a camp fire. Suddenly the static is replaced with a crisp voice that elicits a small cheer from the surrounding Britons.
"...o'clock news, this is the BBC World Service from London. Here are the headlines. In the United State of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been reelected to a second term as President, in a landslide victory over the Republican candidate Alf Landon.
World leaders are to meet in Paris to discuss the recent upheaval in Germany following the death of Adolf Hitler in a car crash and whether or not any intervention under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles should be attempted. Authorities in Berlin have rejected any notion of an international intervention under the authority of the League of Nations. A spokesman for acting Chancellor Hess has said that Germany will continue along the path of National Socialism established by Adolf Hitler.
In London the BBC have launched the world's first regular television service..."
"How about some more music?" Mad Dog Mitchell grumbles. "To hell with politics. What we need is some dames!"
The Engineer grins and turns the dial further and the sound of a classical concert suddenly booms from the speakers. Sir John smiles broadly and holds up an appreciative finger. "Ahhh, Wagner!"
Mitchells face falls and he turns his attention to his bottle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in the back of a truck rushing blindly through a mountain pass, Olga, Uighur bandit Queen and leader of Korsakov's Chinese connection sits beside the cot which holds her lover's feverish form. Beside her, a bandaged head and swollen cheek making him look strangely menacing, sits Korsakov's second in command, the enigmatic Yuri.
"Miserable British..." Korsakov mutters in his delerium. Olga gazes upon him with a face devoid of emotion. Yuri clenches and unclenches his fists.
"They will pay for this!" He swears. "This is the second time that Swine has crossed us. the second time the British have interrupted our plans but I swear to God that there will not be a third!"
"God?" Olga turns her cold communist eyes on the Russian.
Yuri shrugs. "A figure of speech. Nothing more."
Olga stares at him for a long uncomfortable moment and Yuri has the distinct impression he is sitting in the immediate vicinity of a great and growing danger. As Olga's attention is drawn to Korsakov's shivering rambling, he realises that heading east into Olga's domain, with the Black Guards defeated and scattered, he must tread carefully. If Korsakov should die, what would become of him? How long would Olga tolerate his presence and where else could he go? Surreptitiously he moves his hand over his 7.62mm Tokarev to check it is still on his hip. The temptation to rid himself of this competitor is strong, but he realises that as distasteful as it is, he needs Olga if the Black Guards are to be resurrected.
Olga ignores Yuri. She reaches down to Korsakov and strokes his face gently.
"Rest easy my love" she whispers. "Your time has yet to come"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three weeks later, Daniel Mansfield re-enters the office of General Sir Michael Keating and smiling at the astonished officer places a burnt and broken helmet of unusual design on his desk. The head of the Imperial Afghanistan Operations Department stares at the heavy object which is making something of a mess of his paper work. "What the deuce is this?"
"General, may I introduce you to the remains of Viktor Korsakov?"
"My God! You mean to say he's dead!"
"So it would seem. I destroyed his armour with a timely grenade, and unless some one else was in the damned contraption, all that was left were some charred bones and that."
General Keating examines the helmet. It is a curious artifact with a heavy visor and deep lens, cracked and broken by the fire. Around and within it are small copper pipes and wires.
"So he may still be alive?"
"I don't see how, but I suppose its possible" Mansfield concedes. He flops into an offered chair and accepts a glass of Scotch as the old General chortles to himself. "Its the damnest thing, but I didn't think it could be done. When we heard that the Afghan's had shot their wad and gone off into battle without you, I felt sure you'd be returning with no results to speak of".
"Quite the contrary as it happens" Mansfield lights a Pall Mall. "Sir John was hell for leather about it. He took us over the mountains and we fought our way to Korsakov's lair, which transpired to be a hidden town with no name that I could find. The details are all in the report to London.
Sir Michael nods enthusiastically and claps the younger man on the shoulder.
"My God Daniel. Well Done! Well done indeed. It is the most complete thing I've heard in a long time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear you receive some token of His Majesty's appreciation for this!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Merry Christmas Sir Samuel." Sir Hugh Sinclair greets his guest as he joins him in a dark metal lined chamber. The 1st Viscount Templewood turns from a viewing port with a shocked face.
"Sir Hugh" He replies.
"What do you think of our guest?"
Sir Samuel looks back through the viewing port and swallows nervously.
"To be honest with you. I don't know what to think of it"
"They called it Johann. Do you see the suppurating arm stump. It used to end in a flame thrower that was fed by the organisms bodily waste."
Sir Samuel regards the great supine body, its head lolling slightly. What ever it is, its arms and legs have been removed and a chain has been fastened about its neck.
"But what the devil is it?" he demands in a querulous voice.
"I don't think it has a name" Sir Hugh casually offers a cigarette then lights his own when Sir Samuel shakes head. "The German scientist Metzger built it from the remains of several dead soldiers".
"Do you mean to say its some kind of Frankenstein's monster?"
"I suppose that's the closest description possible" Sir Hugh replies as he walks to the steel door set into the bulk-head like wall and knocks on it. A black armour clad guard opens it from outside and the two men exit into a long corridor with a strangely curved outer wall.
"What will you do with it?"
"Its already dying and we don't know why. Even if we did, would we even want to save it?"
The corridor ends in the door way to an elevator and Sir Hugh presses a button. Far away a bell rings dimly.
"When you asked me to take control of the island I wasn't expecting anything like this."
"Quite" Sir Hugh mutters.
Sir Samuel glances down the corridor as several men in long white coats exit a door, dragging a man in a strait jacket between them as they move off in the other direction. The man in the strait jacket is gagged but his wild eyes catch sight of the two men and he struggles helplessly against his captors.
"What about Doctor Metzger?"
"He has been removed to a safe place" Sir Hugh replies. we're not sure what to do with him. Frankly I'd just as soon have him executed, but some on the Temporal Council think he may be useful."
Sir Samuel Hoare, First Lord of the Admiralty of the United Kingdom widens his eyes nervously at the mention of the High Council of the secretive Lords Temporal. He has known for some time that Sir Hugh operates with a higher mandate than from the British government, but only now does he fully appreciate the scale of Sir Hugh Sinclair's power. Awed into silence He rides the elevator to the surface deep in thought. On the surface, the elevator ends in a room occupied by four men dressed in the dirty smocks of gardeners. As the two men exit the elevator, the four men stand to attention. One of them holds a sub-machine gun. Sir Hugh ignores the men, leading the way to a second door which leads out to blessed sunlight. Standing by a small brick building in Kew Gardens, Sir Samuel breathes a sigh of relief and shakes Sir Hugh's offered hand.
There is no need for Sir Hugh to impress the necessity for silence upon Sir Samuel. Having risen up through the ranks of government, with years of military and highly sensitive secret service to the British Crown (he once recruited Benito Mussolini for MI5), Sir Samuel is aware of the existence of the Most Noble Order of Ouroboros. The secret, all powerful, shadow government of the British Empire. This is the first time he has been made aware of it first hand however. Standing in the cold winter sunlight he feels a thrill pass through his aging body. Nothing in his career has brought him this close to eternity. With a furtive glance back at the small brick building that marks the entrance to the underground fortress below Kew Gardens, he turns and makes his way to his waiting car.
Back in his office, Sir Hugh finds a large portly man waiting for him.
"Samuel Hoare's a good man, despite his support for Chamberlain. He'll stay quiet. He's ambitious too"
"I know" the other man replies absently as he enjoys a large cigar.
Sir Hugh sits behind his desk. He yawns and stretches. Lying before him is Daniel Mansfield's report.
"What did you think?"
"I think Captain Mansfield needs to curb his enthusiasm. Viktor Korsakov is not dead"
Sir Hugh nods, neither surprised nor dismayed.
"Where is he now?"
"Northern China."
"Of course."
"He is not our greater concern however. Baron Von Schöenberg has issued an ultimatum which we cannot afford to ignore. He claims his super weapon is nearing completion and he demands a seat on the High Council or else he will be forced to use it."
Sir Hugh's eyebrow's rise in amazement.
"You can see his point. He knows that we can eventually destroy him, no matter where he is hiding, so his best option is force a union of necessity. Naturally he'll keep his ace in his sleeve to prevent us from acting against him."
Sir Hugh says nothing. His mind is racing through various possibilities. A union with the Baron is almost unthinkable, no foreigner has ever sat on the High Council, at least not since it was founded".
The other man watches Sir Hugh's face.
"We still have no idea where exactly New Prussia is?"
Its some where in South America is all we know. Any reference to it had been erased from Farquhar Island and the Bremen's logs make no mention of it".
Sir Hugh leans forward.
"Winston, we cannot tolerate this threat. We have to find New Prussia and destroy the Silbervogel before it is operational!"
The man named Winston nods slowly. He exhales a long stream of smoke from his lips. "It won't be easy" he replies, "but neither was killing Hitler. I'll put Carter onto it. If any one can do it. He can."
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