Had a cracking game at Chris's barn wargames room today, pitching the Red hordes against the White counter revolutionaries.
We use the Two Fat Lardies Triumph of the Will rules, suitably watered down for large tables and large numbers of troops. The table was 14 x 6 and I had designed the game for either 4 or 6 players so 5 worked just fine.
I did promise not to mention that Steve Shann commanded the Red army so hopefully I will remember not to mention his name anywhere.
The premise of the game has a Red army in retreat, a small force of White Guards have blocked their retreat and the Reds must break through before the pursuing Whites catch and destroy them.
The Red forces were split into two Cavalry brigades and 4 foot brigades as follows.
2 X 9 Red Navy, aggressive regulars
2 x 8 Siberian Rifles, marksmen, regulars
1 x MG
3 x 8 Red foot trained
2 x 7 Ex-POWS's trained
1 X MG
9 x 7 Red foot Militia (split into 2 brigades)
3 x 7 Red Cavalry trained
3 X 8 Red Cavalry trained
2 x Guns
1 x Aeroplane on the roll of a six.
1 x Armoured Car
The White Army had 3 foot and 2 Horse Brigades on table with a small Horse and foot brigade off table.
Blocking force
3 x 9 foot regulars aggressive
2 x 8 Polish Lancers
1 x MG
1 Gun
Pursuing Force
3 x 8 foot trained
3 x 8 foot trained
1 x Gun
1 x Tchanka
2 x 8 Cossacks Trained Aggressive
1 x 7 Cossacks Trained Aggressive
Off table
2 x 9 foot regulars aggressive
2 x 7 Mongol Horse Aggressive Militia
1 x armoured car
1 x aeroplane on roll of a six
The Reds elected to leave their two Cavalry Brigades with both guns as rear guard with a Militia Brigade protecting their flanks as they took all their best Infantry bolstered by both MG's and the armoured car in an effort to bulldoze through the defending force.
As the White pursuers swept onto the Red rearguard the Red commander (Steve Shann) looks on pensively wondering if the rear guard has the fire power to slow the Whites.
Move 2 and just as the Reds (Commanded by Steve!) think that things cant get any worse a flanking force of two Mongolian Cavalry units and two white officers units appear on their flank. Oh dear! was the cry.
At this point the Whites depress the reds further by rolling a 6 for their aircraft and a white plane (Yes I know I picked the wrong one up) sweeps into the red ranks, fortunately for the Reds ,Jerry promptly shot it down.
Mean while as the Mongolians sweep onto the defending Militia, the hidden Polish lancers launch an attacked from behind their hill enveloping Chris's poor militia with unsurprising results.
Whilst Jerrys two Brigades steamroller on knocking the odd casualty off the white defenders.
The red left wing attack desolved into small bands of broken troops, however the charge of the various White cavalry sees them gradually shot down to small badly damaged units themselves so something of a stalemate.
John's Polish lancers are reduced from 2 units of 8 to one of 2 and the other of 3, having destroyed three units of red infantry in the process.
Meanwhile the red cavalry has charged into Richards pursuing Cossacks, but the quality of the Cossack Cavalry sees off the reds, the Whites at this point manage to roll for another aircraft and this one is not driven off, leaving the red Cavalry badly mauled.
The patch of green above is the spot where the red cavalry was before the White biplane swooped, meanwhile the White cavalry finds itself sat in front of the red guns at pointblank range, again the results are fairly predictable.
As the clock reaches 3.30 Jerry's Reds finally break through sweeping aside the remnants of Johns White Guards and is ready to march off table with the Whites far behind.
Chris's 2 brigades of Reds are almost annihilated but have held the left flank so that Jerry's troops break through almost untouched.
Johns defenders are reduced to one unit of almost untouched White guards whilst the rest of his cavalry is almost all destroyed.
The Red Cavalry is almost as badly off with only one units from 6 even vaguely capable of fighting, they have however put the pursuing Cossacks beyond the ability to carry the fight on.
Three almost untouched White foot brigades with their supporting Tchanks and Armoured car are still in pursuit but are a good 6 feet behind Jerry's Reds.
Only a third of the Reds will escape, but the remaining Whites are too far away to stop them, a great game thoroughly enjoyed by all, thanks gents.
So there you have it, a very bloody affair and whilst the Reds escaped, for a win I think a couple more units would have needed to escape. A draw? I will leave it to Chris, Jerry, Richard, John and Steve Shann to argue it out.
thanks for reading as ever, next up will be a couple of GNW command bases.
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