A kick in the Urals

In the summer of 1919, somewhere in the foothills of the Ural mountains, the Reds and Whites clash over a small farmstead.  

This was a quick game to refresh ourselves with the Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles rules.  We kept things very simple to re-learn the rules and try to get the game finished in the evening despite our rusty remembrances.

The scenario was an engagement battle to seize a farm before nightfall. The game would last 8+ turns using the mechanism from scenario 4 in the Bigger Battles rulebook. 

The Reds advanced from the West.  They had a commander on foot, 5 companies of ten regular riflemen, and a machine gun team.  Three companies had a Lewis gun, which we counted as an Assault Rifle.

The Whites met them from the East.  They had a mounted commander, four companies of ten regular riflemen, a machine gun team, and a light field gun.  All their rifle companies had a Lewis gun.  No units on either side had any other traits.

 

I won't do a blow by blow account but essentially the Red Army rushed the farm and the White Guards advanced more cautiously under covering fire.  

There was a furious and bloody firefight followed by some fierce close combat around the farm.  Commissar Trevsky and several of the Bolo companies  ran away regrouped to the rear.  While the Whites were generally left battered but still in the fight.  

We played the rules, to the best of our understanding, as written.  Commanders are very useful, providing a bonus to rallies and allowing re-rolls when attached to a charging unit.  There is a risk to them but with three wounds it is not a massive one, unless the whole unit is destroyed.  Both commanders were hit in the game but did not die. 

The game ended after 9 turns with the Whites' enveloping attack having winkled the Reds out of the large barn but the courtyard and house were still held by the Bolsheviks.

 

The rules certainly give a lot of drama and action.  The cards add plenty of chaos and some difficult game choices.  The fighting is very bloody but we did have all regular units.  Probably we should be using far more Green units and other negative traits.  Green troops use a d8 instead of d10, stripping them of the 9+ double wound results, which would tone things down a fair bit.  Elite units can conversely use a d12, which would potentially allow small numbers of White Officers to see off hordes of Red Conscripts.

I think the only house-rule we used was to increase the MG teams from 3 dice to 6 when shooting.  3 dice for the three figures of an MG team is no better than riflemen would get and seemed anemic, especially given they must spend a turn breaking down and a turn setting up if they move.  The Reds brought their MG up to the house, from where they got in one good round of shooting that inflicted 5 wounds and several shock on a White company advancing in the open.  The White MG was set up on the edge of a wooded ridge and dominated the fields north of the farm preventing a red company from attacking across the open ground.  They also pinned some reds in the courtyard and saw off a fleeing Bolo company late in the game.  They would certainly have been a prime target if the Reds had any artillery or air support.  None of that seemed unreasonable. 

I think we'll play these again soon. 

Wargame Butterflies Anonymous

Looking across at my table I had to smile at what a terrible Wargaming Butterfly I am.  Dancing from one thing to another without a care in the world. 

So here we have the Sopwith Strutter, now waiting for it's decals to be added.  Some 1960s Congo Crisis Simba conversions.  Something totally new with a handful of Balkan bandits and Turkish militia.  Then back to the now undercoated Turkmen for Back of Beyond.

Here are some close ups of the Simbas, pre-undercoat.  They are a mix of Haitians from Old Glory and TAG Modern Africans.  The first two pics are some machete wielding militia. Hopped up and protected by magic they'll be a scary opponent.

Actually, they will probably just end up as FN-FAL fodder for the Wild Geese to gun down but might cause a mess if they get in close.  I will mix them with some more traditional looking Congolese tribesmen and maybe add a pack or two of these Mau Mau from UHURU Miniatures, which nicely have spearmen in modern clothes.  Some of the Brits look useful as a basis for more mercs and Congolese army troopers too.

 

 

I took advantage of the Foundry summer sale to pick up some Pygmies and other darkest Africa figures.  Some of them can be used straight as many Congolese still lived very traditional lives in the remoter parts of the country.  Others, I might convert a bit.

 

  

  

Next are some early 20th century 'Balkan Wars' figures from Tiger Miniatures.  Inspired by this great thread of LAF, I added them to my order when I picked up the Turkmen just because I liked the look of them.  I'm a big Ottomanophile anyway and I thought they might be fun for a skirmish games in Greece and Bulgaria using Fistful of Lead or One Hour Skirmish Wargames. 

 

This first pack are Albanian bandits.  They should look quite bad-ass with their fustanella kilts, bullet belts, and impressive mustaches.

 

To face them I have the long arm of the law.  In this case some Ottoman Redif to serve as local militia or armed constabulary.  They will be suitably painted up as be boys in blue.  

Besides, as we all know, Fezzes are cool!

This last pack are sold as Turkish Command figures but will make nice civilians with the right paint job.  I'll need to find some suitable women to go with them.  I think the wolf was a freebie extra and would make a good village dog or mount for a 15mm goblin.

I've also bought a new set of Napoleonic rules and have been thinking about playing some WW2 Operational level games in 6mm again.  

My laser-like focus must be why I get so much finished. 

Return to Back of Beyond

After the Samarkand game I have been motivated to do some more Back of Beyond games and I've started on some additional troops.  First up is this Sopwith One and Half Strutter that I am doing to give my Bolos. some air power.

 

 

The Strutter was used historically by the RKKA and I've had this old 1/48 Roden kit sitting in the shed for many years half built.  It had been attacked by cats and several parts were missing , so I've had to rebuild the undercarriage,  struts and add a rear gunner.  It's not quite right anymore but close enough for my RCW/BoB needs.

The aircraft is painted as if it were in the basic colours of doped linen, varnished wood, and unfinished metal.  The only decoration so far is the red tail.

 

  

I have a set of decals on order, so it will eventually have some red stars added to the wings for a little more colour.  

 

The other work in progress I have are these nice Central Asian riflemen from Tiger Miniatures. 

 

I want to use these figures as Turkmen but the ones below came with the Kalpak hats characteristic of the Kyrgyz people, instead of the Sheepskin Telpeks of the Turkmen.  So, I have done a simple conversion to them with a little modelling putty.

I need to do a bit more research on the colours first but I'm thinking they will be painted something like this.

 

These are my first figures from Tiger and I'm quite impressed.  Although maybe not quite a crisp as my trusty Copplestones, they are a nice sculpts, a good match size-wise, and they have lots of character. I will definitely be ordering more in future.

Counter-revolution in Samarkand, Part I

In the early hours of a February morning in 1918, a train of scruffy soldiers pulls into a Bolshevik controlled station outside the ancient city of Samarkand.

This is scenario one, The Mutineers Attack!, from the excellent Red Dawn Rises! supplement for Setting the east Ablaze! rules.  It is certainly dramatic, judging by all the exclamations!

The scenarios in the book are great and inspired by Peter Hopkirk's equally excellent book on the Russian revolution in central Asia.

 

  

We used the third edition of the rules, by the only slightly less excellent Steve Langan, for this game.

 

This is what happened according to the official history.  

The sleepy guards are not expecting trouble but the soldiers disembark fully armed and ready to fight.

 

"MUTINY!" The Mensheviks have turned their former allies against the revolution and they are now fighting for the Whites!  
 

 

The small garrison of red guards run for the relative safety of the coal bunker. 

 

 

"Fire on the traitors, comrades!"

The Bolshevik gunners spring to their work and shells begin to land with pinpoint precision.

 

Chaos reigns in the mutineer ranks.  Their armoured car crashes off the ramp and immediately breaks down.

Some of them run and hide in the railway shed.

Others in the trees.

Captain Pernov pushes his men through a window into the hastily vacated station.

"More shells comrades.  Keep firing…Oh!" The Bolo field gun runs low on ammo. 

But all is not yet lost for the Reds, as their AA gun pours murderous fire into the station killing more of the mutineers.

 

What this defence needs is an inspiring and handsome proletarian hero. 

 

Fortunately, as the Red guards regroup in the coal bunker, they are joined by commissar Totzek after he heroically sneaked out the back of the hotel.  These dogged revolutionaries will be difficult to shift from behind those solid walls.

 

Wait! Stop! Where are you going?  Seduced by more Menshevik lies the guardsmen defect.

It’s okay thinks Totzek to himself, "I will persuade the mutineers over to me, with my deep understanding of class consciousness and dialectical materialism".  "Oh!  That didn’t go well."

 

"It'll be okay.  I’m sure nobody else heard me mess that up, and will therefore abandon me as a result. Oh!"  The Red AA gun also defects to the Whites.

 

Time to run for it.  [Ed: I don't have any pictures of the chase that followed, so you'll just have to imagine a cross between Dr Zhivago, Benny Hill, and the Keystone Cops, all to the soundtrack of Yakkerty Sax.]

Totzek makes it to the field gun and his last remaining comrades.  Who, fortunately, seem to have found some more ammunition.  Making every shell count they blast their former compatriots and send them running but Pernov rallies his men and begins the assault again.

The inept mutineers, driven on by Captain Pernov, struggle up the slope to storm the last Bolshevik redoubt but are thrown back by the stubborn defence.  Totzek empties his pistol into their ranks, killing another mutineer.

 

 

However, the numbers are overwhelming and our scene fades to black as poignant music plays and a battle damaged red flag waves gently in the breeze … 

 

... but what a twist!  The body of the commissar cannot be found! ...