We arrived at Tabletop Hobbies at 78th & Quivera in Lenexa Kan. for the Tabletop Tuesdays Historical Night gaming from 6:30-10-ish and as the game-masters were setting up their games, we went thru the store and made purchases of new items in the store since last week - I bought one of those "Tabletactics" Axis & Allies add-ons of new pieces to play a different version of the Axis & Allies game!
The games presented were Fire & Fury 15mm "American Civil War" and "Russian Civil War" battle. I’d brought my "Roman Ramming Galleys" game to give it a "run-thru" before the "Recruits-Con" Sept. 17/18th at Lees Summit High School but the lower than average turn-out meant that my game stayed in the car - maybe next time. I decided to play the Russian Civil War as I’d never played this rules-set before.
The game was using Chad Gilbert’s "Red Hordes/White Hopes" 1-pager front & back rules-set which allowed many battles of this period to be fought using WW1 era weapons (infantry, cavalry, artillery, tanks, machine guns, and even airplanes). Most units were made up of 5 stands of troops unless it was a "special" type unit (tanks, AC’s, artillery, Guards Cavalry or Infantry) had more (10) or less (2 or 3) stands! Movement was by die-roll + "a set rate" with machines (tanks/AC’s) having a "breakdown die"! In Combat each weapon type had a "range’ and "bonus" with each stand rolling 2D6 at the target and needing an "8 for a pinned" and a "9 or higher for a kill"! Units taking "hits or kills" had to pass a D6 "morale roll" as combat wore down units till they flee the battlefield!
The Battle for Veliki - the situation was the Committee of Defense had sent Commissar Morganski west of Moscow to organize an attack on the railroad station village of Veliki held by the Whites! The Whites could use control of the railroad there to move up White troops closer to Moscow and it was needed to push them back in this area at this time. There were many White units operating in this area under the White’s General Seanski and his underling the notorious Col. Lawrey. I took control of the local forces in the area under Comrade Fieldskov and we made plans to take the village.
The village of Veliki was a clump of 4 central buildings with an out-laying train station and barn to the south, and a farm barn off to the east by the woods & swamps. To the west of Veliki was a low hill running north/south and a rail-line ran east/west across the middle of the table. The game-master said the winning side would control "4 of the 7 buildings" on the table at the end of battle (10pm).
On recon of the village area to the east were a series of woods and swamps that would make fine defensive terrain if the Whites got there first so we looked elsewhere for more favorable terrain for our attack. The direct advance on Veliki from the south would be across open fields with very little cover so we chose to go around the left flank behind a low hill cutting the rail-line to the west and turn in toward Veliki coming over the hill! I would lead the attack with 3 dual MG armored cars, a militia cavalry unit and 1 militia infantry - Fieldskov was to follow my lead with 4 more militia infantry units then turn and attack the village from the west flank! Going behind the hill would give us cover till we were close to town and would "flank" a lot of the defensive buildings & stone walls we expected the Whites to defend!
The village of Veliki was defended by the Whites with 1 militia infantry unit raised by local villagers defending their town, and two veteran infantry units garrisoning there. They had set up in the 4 buildings in the central group and behind the stone walls facing south as they expected us to attack there! The Whites had reinforcing units off table that would arrive on later turns of battle - these units included a battery of 2 artillery guns towed by trucks, an infantry unit of veterans (a double-strength unit - 10 stands), a regular cavalry unit (5 stands), and the Imperial Cossacks Cavalry (a double-strength unit - 10 stands), the Whites also had a "wagon-mounted machine gun" that was horse-drawn!
The battle opened with the Reds (us) moving up the west flank behind the hill - my units (AC’s, Cav. & Inf.) arrived at the "turning point" where I’d march over the hill next turn to attack the town. Fieldskov was supposed to "follow my column" then turn into their flank but as I watched in horror, Fieldskov had turned his 4 militia infantry units right and was marching across the open fields in-line toward the out-laying railroad station and the defended stone walls on the south side of Veliki just north of the railroad tracks! I’d have him shot after this battle for "failure to follow orders"! As he marched across the open fields, the White’s defending rifles & machine guns opened up on the Reds militia infantry line marching directly into the fire! Two of our 4 units there were "butchered" by 50% and "pinned" there (could not advance or fire next turn). The other 2 Reds infantry militia there moved to the out-laying railroad station building where there was some cover behind machinery and a water tower and exchanged fire across the railroad tracks!
The Whites reaction to our advance was to shift their militia infantry on the west flank back behind other stone walls to face my forces and to bring on the table their first reinforcement - the 2-gun artillery battery which truck-towed came over toward my flank to set-up just far enough back behind the village to be out of my range (mg’s fire out 24 inches)! On the next turn I moved my militia Cav. Unit north still behind the hill hoping to get a "big enough" move to get to charge the White’s artillery setting up next turn. I moved my Armored Cars (with duel mg’s) up on top of the hill where I could fire down into the village at their militia line or in the flank of their veteran line units. We killed a few! I moved my militia infantry down the rail-line to take an out-laying farm barn and support Fieldskov’s frontal infantry attack on the village!
Fieldskov must have known "he was a dead man either way" because he "charged" his troops across the rail-line in a frontal attack into the defending White’s veteran infantry & mg’s behind the stone walls! This attack was "very bloody" for both sides and as the Reds fell back south to the train station, the Whites fell back toward the central buildings of the village with what was left of their units. Fieldskov was "killed" leading this attack but his 4 militia infantry units were bloody and useless for the rest of our attack. The remains of his force held the railroad station building and fired across the railroad tracks at defending Whites!
The White’s two Cavalry units and mg wagon (16 stands) came on the north edge and moved over to my flank to "shield" their artillery and threaten my Armored Cars with a "cavalry charge" - I fired my 6 mg’s (3 duel sets) at their cavalry killing a few and forcing them to morale check and re-think their plan! They fell back toward the east side of Veliki to move thru a gap between the village and the woods & swamps off to the east - this would threaten out militia infantry units left at the railroad station with their best "attacking units" (cavalry charge)!
I tried to move my units (AC’s, militia Cav., militia inf.) down off the hill and into the west part of the village to "take buildings" ( the main victory condition). This is when adversity struck - one of my AC’s broke down on top of the hill and if I moved the other AC’s very far away - I’d have to "morale check" each turn! I decided to stay at the bottom of the hill (close - no morale check needed) where I could support my cavalry and infantry trying to take some of the central 4 buildings and wear down the defenders inside those buildings. With cavalry and infantry fighting "hand-to-hand" I was able to take 2 of the 4 central buildings (we controlled 4 of the 7 buildings at this point - this was our "high-water mark")! As I was attacking the town, the Whites artillery was shelling my AC broke-down on top of the hill and shelling my advancing troops - the White’s 2 cavalry units & mg wagon ( about 13 stands) continued moving off to the east flank to set up a "cavalry charge" against the weak Red militia units at the train station! The last (thank God) Whites reinforcing unit (10 stands) entered the table from the north edge and marched toward the north side of the central 4 buildings of Veliki.
We won the "initiative roll" the next turn and decided to make the Whites "move first" so we could move second and react to what they did - if we’d have moved first, they had the movement (cavalry) to leave wherever we went! The Whites "cavalry charged" our weak militia infantry units at the train station supported by their "mg wagon" - I decided to "break up" my Armored Cars unit (would have to morale check) and moved 2 of them from the bottom of the hill over to the train station south of Veliki as I saw this as the critical part of the battle to hold any buildings at all! The Whites artillery again shelled my AC on the hill, their new 10-stand infantry unit started taking the 2 central buildings back that we had captured, and their cavalry charge killed off most of the Red infantry at the train station! My 2 Armored Cars with 4 mg’s fired in support at the train station battle and killed 3 and "pinned" 1 stand! On the following "morale checks" the Whites weakened 2 cavalry units both "routed" from the field (destroyed off the table) and my AC unit "passed" their morale check!
The AC on the hill was finally "fixed" and we moved the AC’s up to the central building group to try and support what infantry & cavalry we had left to try and hold 4 buildings total. We weakened the attacking Whites infantry with our support mg fire but they "wiped out" what was left of our militia & cavalry!! The best we could do was hold only 3 buildings of the 7 (we had been the last to hold the 3 and the Whites couldn’t take them with our AC’s machine guns controlling the streets)! I would have Fieldskov made a "hero" (he was dead anyway) and the party needed heroes (even dead ones) to raise new troops to come back to Veliki the next time!! But as the sun set (9:30 pm real time) we agreed that the Whites had "won" the victory!!!
We look forward to the next Tabletop Tuesday every Tuesday night at Tabletop Hobbies in Lenexa Kans. (6:30-10-ish PM), the Wet powder Wargamers of Lees Summit Monthly game (Western Gunfight next time), the next Ft. Leav. Simsats Sept. 25th at the U.S. Army Museum, the LSHS Recruits-Con Sept. 17th/18th at Lees Summit High School (check out www.recruits-con.com) , Border Wars HAHMGS Con Oct. 1,2,3 at the Best Western on S.W. Trafwy. in K.C.Kan., and Command Con Nov.19-21 in St. Louis at Grant’s Shelter! Till then, good gaming all, Harold (Harold’s Old Games) Morgan in Gladstone Mo. (N.K.C.Mo.)
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