The Anglo-Russian War: Caught in the Open, The Conclusion

Rare photograph of Imperial Russian senior leadership during the Anglo-Russian War. From the author's personal collection.

Previously: Unexpectedly, considering the poor quality of the Russian Officer Corps, the battle to capture (I mean provide her the safety and protection of the Tsar during a time of succession in her country) HRH the Princess of the Princely State of Chaimbellistan has not gone well for the Army of Chaimbellistan and some delayed help from the British Indian Army. The Russian Naval Brigade, under the command of Kapitan-leytenant Yury Andreyev, have penetrated the perimeter of the Princess's camp. While the Russian Artillery keeps the reinforcements at bay, the Naval Brigade hangs on desperately as they need another Russian unit to arrive to successfully complete the operation. But disaster may loom for the brave sailors of the Imperial Russian battleship Sissoi Veliky . . . let's finish the battle using The Men Who Would be Kings (paid link).

With a large battle cry that echoes through out the valley, the Tribal Infantry descends from the cover  on the unsuspecting and outnumbered Russian Naval Brigade!

A bloody and desperate melee takes place!

In the fight where no quarter was asked or given,  the Naval Brigade loses 6 figures - but the Tribal Infantry loses 7! They are forced to retreat, fail their role and are now pinned. All of the British Indian and Chaimbellistan units in the Field Force are now pinned.

Turn 8

Though partaking liberally from his bottle of vodka, the officer is able to move the  Izmaylovsky Lifeguards to the Princess's camp. 

In an all too familiar situation, the 19th Punjabis are once again shredded by artillery fire.

Disaster strikes as the valiant Colonel of the 19th Punjabis is mortally wounded by the artillery barrage and the unit receives another pin marker. (Whenever a unit receives a casualty, an additional roll of two dice are made; if it is a double "1", the officer is one of the casualties, and unless playing with optional rules, the Leadership Value of the unit becomes 8+)

The Naval Brigade fires at the tribesman in the hard cover but to no effect.

The 19th Punjabis attempt to rally and fail . . . 

. . . causing the unit to retreat.

The 2nd Regiment also fails to rally and retreats as panic starts to spread throughout the combined Field Force.

The brave men of the mountains rally!!!

Turn 9

Another pin marker.

Victory is almost within the Russian's grasp.

The 2nd Regiment fails to rally and retreats again.

The Punjabis rout off the tabletop.

The Naval Brigade is victorious; they inflict 3 hits and lose 2.

The Tribal Infantry must retreat and they are pinned.

Well that was surprising considering that 50% of the Russian Leadership Traits ("Worthless" and "The Gentleman has a Bottle") were a real concern. The decision by the Russians to use the long edge as their start point kept the 21st Frontier Guards with their "Worthless" officer out of the fight (they moved once); on the other hand, the reinforcements took longer to get to the Princess. Rifle firepower was about equal but the Russian artillery made a difference as enemy units were caught in the open. 

Putilov 76mm Field Gun

The Chaimbellistan/British Indian army forces did not use the terrain to their advantage; for example the 1st Regiment could have easily moved to the hard cover near the objective but failed to do so. Movement of the reinforcements failed to use the terrain to their advantage also. The Russians kept to a simple plan: move fast, move hard and keep the enemy pinned. Of course it did not hurt that the Naval Brigade was led by an officer "Destined for Greatness" and the Chaimbellistan/British Indian had some bad die rolls at critical times. But such is fate.

The HERO!

"Your Highness. We are merely here to escort you to a safe location and free you from the oppression of the British Empire."