The Chinese were 'pre-programmed' in that they were generally in static positions with orders to hold. Those that could be triggered into reacting like the Horse Archers and the Skirmishers depended on a D6 roll, weighted in favour of a logical action. For example the Horse Archers saw their opposite numbers milling around with the flanks to them and therefore a roll of 1 – 5 released them to engage. Had it been a unit of heavy cavalry in good order then perhaps the Chinese would have had second thoughts and the roll could have been 1 – 2 or 1 – 3 in favour of offensive action. It is up to the player to decide but it can take the decision out of their hands. The reinforcements were sent up the hill because the second-in-command won a straight D6 V's D6 roll against his commander to act on his own initiative. Perhaps in the future in such a situation the subordinate should have minus one deducted from his roll because of his 'obedience' factor. The soloist can see what is going on all over the table so the 'instant' reaction to events should be tempered with a realistic approach to what the commander on the ground can actually see. Artillery Yet again the Chinese rockets acted amazingly erratically, makes one wonder whose side they are on! The catapults on both sides were much more effective than in previous battles which was probably due to the fact I recorded on a dry wipe board the ranges they had fired at that turn. Not only handy when 'controlling' 20+ units but also when the game got interrupted by Life, and I was able to get at least a chance of hitting something. Perhaps my estimation of distances is also improving. I use the WAB template but only count half the figures covered by it, rounded down, as possible casualties because it is designed for 25mm and I use 15mm. Rules WAB used as mentioned in the text plus a few solo techniques to make the game playable on a solo basis. I use 15mm figures but use all the ranges, movements rates etc direct from the rules without changing anything and find that I get a good game out of it. Orders The general orders dictate what the individual unit must do. It must act in accordance with its historical role and must definitely be deprived of the use of the 'All Seeing Eye'. I use the order disks available from Donnington's, which I place behind each unit during the initial phase of the game move. This aids me in that when dealing with both sides there can be a time when an action or reaction of what unit may trigger an 'instant' response from their opponents. However, if the unit does not have the appropriate orders for the next move the opportunity will have been lost. An example would be a unit of Horse Archers (I just love them!) is given a 'Hold/Fire' order, when the enemy infantry opposing them turn and flee due to some other occurrence on the battlefield. The 'instant' response would be to charge into the back of them and probably that is what would have happened if the unit had been ready for such a move. However, they were busy loading their bows and firing their arrows, so were totally unprepared to charge. Next game move the cavalry given 'Charge' orders and, of course, the infantry stop turn about and level their spears at the approaching horsemen! Trust you get the idea just how useful these little order counters can be and of course during a break in the battle (Life again) then on resumption you can get straight on with the game without trying to figure out who is supposed to be doing what. Bias I try and control my bias in favour of a particular army/unit etc to the best of my ability but sometimes, only being human, slip up. My advice is to be aware of your favourites and if you don't want them hurt, then keep them in reserve, boring though that maybe. One of my all-time favourite units is a bunch of Confederate Zouaves, who proudly march under a yellow flag with crossed cannons on it ('borrowed' from some Yankees), who always seem to capture an enemy gun or battery during my Fire and Fury battles. Knowing their preference for artillery I often put them in a position to add to their collection but on occasion it has backfired and they suffer at the hands of their intended objectives, without gaining anything. Just have to bite the bullet and wait for the next opportunity. I believe I am right in saying they have 12 guns to their credit at present, which unfortunately they have to hand back at the end of each game! Follow-on My next step in the campaign will be to call on the services of the Solo Wargamers Association Advisers in order to muddy the waters a little. There are certain questions I will be posing them and I will explain how their input effected the campaign as it progresses. My eventual aim is to mount the Invasion of Japan, that is once I, with my Mongols, have conquered China and Korea. Why this campaign? I have always been interested in horse armies and those of the Mongols especially, but having to paint all those horses put me off doing them in 15mm and I raised a 6mm Golden Horde from figures produced by Irregular Miniatures. However, a friend gave me some 15mm figures he had partly painted and from there on I was hooked. My figures are mainly Donnington and Essex, plus others I cannot place, which are quite compatible and I always like to mix and match figures in an irregularly dressed army because I enjoy the visual aspect. With the completion of the Mongols I now had the required forces to attempt a campaign, which will give me lots of diverse military tactical problems over a large area of the world, which is very diverse in its character. I can allow myself the luxury of pitting early Chinese troops with four horse heavy chariots and the like against the Mongols and their allies, with the rational being that that particular province was somewhat conservative in its view of modern military improvements. I have a large 15mm Samurai fleet(s) with a Korean Turtle ship, from Schletrum, which is still short of all their painted rowers (but I am getting there) from Feudal Castings. This will allow me combined operations throughout China and Korea plus the opportunity to re-enact the Invasion of Japan. The final prod to get on with this long-term project was the arrival of some excellent terrain produced for me by Kris Constable. The original terrain tiles he made were sand dunes for my Normandy Invasion, which easily became scenic items for my Egyptian battles. After some discussion and a few scribbled notes he produced three contoured terrain tiles (1' square) with my Arab buildings (Hovels) on, and one with my Roman barracks/fort set-up on it. Purists read no further! I laid out the terrain tiles on my table and at the same time I had my Mongol horde paraded for a review, or in other words I was cataloguing the army. A few city walls were placed around the buildings and the thought was prompted just how would the Mongols, before they 'recruited' Chinese engineers take a walled city? The scenario basically presented itself and the campaign was a natural progression from it. It worries me not that the buildings were of a different period and geographic location, my imagination easily glossed over this minor fact. With the first battle out of the way it is now time to get my thoughts together and involve the Aide de Camps, in the campaign. I have received two, 2' x 2' terrain tiles from Kris on which he has built me a large plateau with a large river on three sides, based on the siege at Nagashino in Japan in 1575. This beautiful piece of craftsmanship will undoubtedly figure in many a battle in the future and we plan to show some photographs of it on the back page of Lone Warrior. Kris is now busy (hopefully) building the terrain tiles that will comprise of my main river, which will be 5" wide at its narrowest point and meander the length of my 6' table. One last point on the terrain side of the campaign is that the terrain tiles will be 1' square and only 2.5" of the river will be on the edge of each tile. This means to get the full river effect I must join the two river sections up but I can also use the tiles side by side to depict either a riverbank on a flank or even classify it as a beach. Adaptable, what! Do not hold your breath waiting for the next battle, this one took about 6 weeks, on and off plus there is a lot of administration to be carried out, including terrain making before the Horde ride again. More Chinese Infantry Chinese Infantry Required: Introduction Chinese Infantry Required: Battle Recap Chinese Infantry Required: Wargaming Points Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #132 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com