Square Bashing in 1914

We played another Square Bashing game, but this time in 15mm with early great war armies. Somewhere in southern Belgium the BEF try to stop von Kluck's 1st army as they march to France.  The game was using the quick format, 450 points of 1914 BEF vs 620 points of 1914 Germans.  The BEF abandoned the dead wood in row 5 but garrisoned the other objectives and the villages.

The Germans attacked the Grand Manor objective in force from the flank with support from the front but a mad minute later and they were thrown back in disarray with brutal casualties.

Meanwhile on the other flank the British were pushed back from the crossroads and the village, with their artillery overrun.  Things were looking desperate.

The BEF abandoned their position on the right and regrouped for a last stand behind the village.

Back on the left the German morale has collapsed and their attack disintegrated into ineffective distance shooting.

On the right the Germans surged forward from the crossroads and village to crush the regrouping BEF but the Tommies stood firm and sent them packing.

The British then pressed their advantage and counterattacked, retaking the village and threatening the crossroads.

Outgunned and lacking the numbers to take the Grand Manor the Germans on the left fell back out of range.

Beaten back but not routed, the Germans on the right held the crossroads and retook the village. With dusk falling and ammunition low the battle came to end.

After counting points, the Germans had been held decisively.  Von Kluck had suffered a bloody nose and the Old Contemptibles live to fight another day.

Square Bashing the RCW

For our latest Back of Beyond game we tried the Square Bashing rules from Peter Pig using our Russian Civil War armies.  

This is after the initial set up phase with movement beginning on the right as the Red Sailors advance. There is a quite involved set up where the type of battle is determined, the terrain and objectives are placed, and units can start off table.   Also see Storm of Steel's review and game reports for more on how they work.

The Reds quickly crossed the open steppe into the woods around the villages seizing several objectives.

The Grand Manor was undefended but a White Officer battalion held the village beyond with Cossacks in support.

 

 

The Red sailors rushed forward bravely but came face to face with a British supplied tank! 

The AFSR heavy guns proved much more effective than the Reds,  The Red cavalry, caught in the open, suffered particularly badly.

With reinforcements arriving from the rear the Whites quickly organised a counter attack and re-captured the crossroads and surrounding village.

Bruised, but not yet broken, the Red sailors regrouped for another charge with their own armour in support.

On the left the Red Guards took the grassy knoll and then successfully defended it against an assault by Drozdovsky officers, with Cossacks and an AC in support. Their heroic stand was a pivotal moment of the battle.

Meanwhile, in the centre, the rest of the Bolshevik infantry had held out under intense artillery fire for several turns.  Throwing back a desperate attack by the massed White infantry to secure the woodlands.

The Kronstadt boys’ second assault pushed the White tank out of the village and damaged it. This left them tantalizingly short of the Crossroads they had briefly held but netted them a useful 5 victory points at the end of the game.  

Finally, on the right flank, the remnants of the  Proletarian horse, with supporting field guns firing over open sights, managed to stand against a last ditch white cavalry charge.

After the tally it was a minor victory for the Bolsheviks and the Volunteer army fell back to lick their wounds.