Major Elliott Naple-Cooper Stone of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) has been given the local rank of Colonel and has been put in charge of disrupting the Russian supply lines by seizing a critical railroad bridge. Let the fun begin with rules The Men Who Would be Kings.
The deployment and the terrain. The British Indian army as the attackers will go first. (Note: the British Indian Army unit on the left flank should say 14th Sikhs; I'm just to lazy to make the slide again since I did not save it.)
Turn 1 of a 12 turn game. Victory points for each player are +5 if holding the objective when the game ends and +1 for every enemy unit destroyed or forced off the table.
The Maxim machine gun is the slowest moving unit in the army and they successfully move their 4 inches.
The 19th Punjabis move an incredible 12 inches At The Double.
The rest of the army moves out successfully at the double to get across the open engagement area as quickly as possible.
The Naval Brigade moves to the objective but cannot occupy it yet. Since it is an Obstacle they will have to wait until next turn before they can move onto the bridge.
The 21st Frontier Guards take up position behind the rail line as it too is an Obstacle. Both the bridge and the rail line provide soft cover. The Maxim just stays in place.
The British Indian Army continues to move At The Double.
The Maxim even moving at their maximum speed are starting to fall behind.
The 21st moves into Skirmish order as they cross the rails and fire at the 19th Punjabis . . .
. . . and inflicts one casualty.
The 19th Punjabis are pinned and must attempt to rally next turn.
The Naval Brigade successfully occupies the objective . . . but can they hold?
Oh dear, I am somewhat concerned about how this is going to go for Tommy and his native mates......
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a lot about the Russo-Japanese War and it is amazing how all major powers missed the lesson of the machine gun - but no spoilers.
DeleteGreat report, Neil!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris! I have as much fun playing as writing the reports. Well . . . not as much fun but it keeps me occupied!
DeleteNeil
A really nice looking action and a great narrative so far!
ReplyDeleteGonsalvo,
ReplyDeleteThank you. In the posts to come you'll see even more action. This was an extremely enjoyable and nail-biting game.
Neil
Great start to the battle! Too bad the Brits couldn’t soften up the target with artillery fire before attacking.
ReplyDeleteSgt. Guinness - thanks. Unfortunately I broke my Sikh Mountain gun from Artizan Designs beyond my ability to repair. One of these days I'm going to reorder and also get some artillery for the Russians.
DeleteNeil
Sounds like a great plan sir!
Delete