The War of the Rhabarberian Succession - the Opening Moves.

The sudden death of the ruler of Rhabarberia had left a problem in the local geo-politics of this part of Mittel Europa. The heir, Prinz Rupert, was not yet of an age to assume the throne and frankly spent most of his time asking Mummy where his chin was. With the two main powers in the region locked in battle in the Austro-Prussian War, the Elector of Prusskia and the Grand-Duke of Ruthenia both saw an opportunity to annexe the Principality of Rhabarberia.

A certain enmity existed between the two States as the Elector hated rhubard, the main export from Rhabarberia, whilst the Grand-Duke liked nothing better to go with his custard. Wishing to protect the lucrative rhubard fields, the Ruthenian Army advanced in to Rhabarberia whilst it helped Prinz Rupert find his chin. The Prusskian Army could not stand idly by and so also advanced, under the guise of protecting Rhabarberian independence, but with the real aim of replacing the rhubard fields with some nice cabbage.

With the broad mechanics of the campaign sorted and the players briefed, it was time to kick things off. Each player gave me a broad guide to their intentions, which can be seen below.

The Army of the Elector of Prusskia (Red)

Standing general Divisional actions on meeting enemy:

• If enemy forces are met, cavalry to chase off enemy light screens. Aggression to be applied to this.
• Light infantry to always be in lead elements of Division to move forward and assist cavalry. Aggression to be applied to this.
• 1st Brigade to Deploy in order to hold current position until enemy can be driven off. Use artillery to chase off enemy.
• On completion of clearing enemy continue to forward movement.
• If main body is met, deploy to engage and win fire fight with all available firepower. 
• Be prepared to take advantage of weak flanks.
• Bull horns, then main body.

The Army of the Grand-Duke of Ruthenia (Blue) 
Strong centre, outflanking on the right, cavalry diversion on the left.

insert keith and daves starting orders/plans here. 

Starting Positions

Each player was asked for their starting positions and first Turn orders of movement. I then simply applied them to the map and moved them to fit in with their orders according to the terrain and their standing orders. Once the moves had been completed, I then updated the players on their troops positions (which did not always correspond to their orders) as well as showing them 'photos and, where appropriate, enemy troops positions. This maintained a true fog of war in the early Turns and as they made contact, more was revealed. Good use of cavalry screens was crucial as not only did it allow the commander to 'see' the enemy, but it also blocked the enemy's view to troops behind the screen etc.

An overview of the Principality of Rharbarberia, with the capital in the middle of the board.

End of Turn 1

Both sides advance as per their orders, with the road network favouring the Ruthenians at this point.
 

End of Turn 2
Cavalry from both sides approaches the capital, Offenburgh, whilst the infantry is still someway back.

Turn 3
As the cavalry started to see enemy troops, the fog of war lifted somewhat, allowing the respective commanders to concentrate their forces as they saw fit. This Turn saw the first engagement, with cavalry meeting to the East of the capital, Offenburgh.

The Prusskian cavalry outnumbers the Ruthenian cavalry.

An AAR of the cavalry clash can be found here. The aftermath of the cavalry clash can be seen below.

Turn 4
Both sides manouevred for position and as they did so, the Prusskian 5th Division caught a detached Brigade from the Ruthenian 2nd Division by surpise as they advanced to the East of Offenburgh.

Both Armies surround Offenburgh, which has closed its gates to both sides.

The action is about to get interesting to the East of Offenburgh.

So this latest battle will be fought over the next day or so and the outcome may or may not have a big influence on the overall campaign.

Campaign Thoughts So Far
I thought I'd jot down some notes on how the campaign has gone so far:

• Ideally it would be good to have the map permanently set up somewhere, so you don't have to keep re-positioning the counters each Turn. Sadly I don't have such a space. 
• When setting out the maps squares, it is important to have a good look at how the road network works in terms of movement etc. Also are the rivers fordable or not, how hilly is the terrain and what effects, if any, might this have on troop movement. I sort of did this when chossing the squares, but would pay more attention next time.
• With the fog of war early on, using your cavalry to scout ahead is an absolute must. With my God like overview, it is interesting to see the orders each Turn and what might unfold when they can 'see' each other.
• Make sure you have plenty of counters that cover various situations, such as detached troops etc. I had some but need more at am currently noting this on my master sheet as it were. 
• You have to interpret both sides orders as best you can when making simultaneous movement and naturally try to be fair and even handed to both sides. Some are easy to do than others, especially when a battle might ensue. So I think what would logically happen given the orders received, the terrain being moved over and the presense of the enemy. 
• Try and give some intel to both sides, especially in the early Turns when they are quite far apart, to aid them in manouevering towards the enemy. Afterall if is no fun for the players if they spend 10 Turns wandering around the countryside! This can take any form you fancy, but I went along the lines of 'enemy cavalry has been spotted a days march from Offenburgh'. Enough to be useful but not so detailed as to provide unrealistic intel.
• Keep the campaign area to a size that allows for some early manouevring, but also means both sides begin to make contact after 2-3 Campaign Turns. With my movement rates, I found a 3x3 square grid perfect for this.

So far all has broadly gone to plan and I think Dave and Keith are enjoying themselves. I'm certainly having fun, even though it does take a fair amount of work. Right, time to go and sort out the latest battle. So until next time...

The War of the Rhabarberian Succession - Turn 3 Cavalry Clash

For the first battle of the campaign, the action took place across the junction of two squares, so I simply took the most likely area where the engagement would take place and transfered it to the table. The layout was dictated by this and the detailed notes that accompany the boards squares, as to what was in each square: for example here the river is deep and so is not fordable.

Both sides deployed as per the campaign map and I rolled to see who would go first, with the Prusskians (red) winning. I decided to use Black Powder II for the game, but had toyed with the idea of Rebels & Patriots, but went with the former as it was a while since I had played the latter and would also keep continuity across the campaign.

Deployment
The Ruthenia 1st cavalry Regiment was guarding the bridge, with the 6th Division's cavalry squadron approaching from the South West. The Prusskian 4th Cavalry Regiment was in the North West corner, with the 6th Cavalry Regiment coming in from the East.

Turn 1

The Prusskian 4th Cav. got 3 moves on their die roll and advanced to threaten the bridge as well as protecting their flank. The Prusskian 6th Cav. only managed one move, but it was enough to deploy into line, ready to charge or counter-charge the enemy.

The Ruthenian squadron seeing it was outnumbered, simply advanced to 'observe' the Prusskian 4th Cav. The Ruthenian 1st Cav., seeing their rear threatened, turned about and charged the enemy, who counter-charged them as well.

The opening moves.

The cavalry clash to the East of the bridge.

Both sides take hits and Disorder.

Both sides have units that have to retreat and the enemy follows up.

In the centre it is a draw and both sides withdraw.

Turn 2

The Prusskian 4th Cav. perfectly poised to attack over the bridge, Blundered and moved to their left. In the melee by the bridge, both sides lost a unit, whilst one Prusskian unit could not charge due to being Disordered. In the Ruthenian Turn, one unit made an Initiative charge whilst the other could due to being Disordered.

The Prusskian Turn and both sides lose cavalry units.

The irregularly arranged blocks are the broken units.

The Ruthenian cavalry charge in and the Prusskians counter-charge.

The combat ends in a draw and both sides retreat one move.

Turn 3

The Prusskian cavalry made a mix of Initiative and Ordered charges, with the Prusskian 4th Cav. coming in over the bridge. Outnumbered and having already taken hits, the Ruthenian 1st Cavalry Regiment broke and fled the battlefield. Seeing this the Ruthenian cavalry squadron quietly withdrew back towards its parent unit.

The Prusskian cavalry have the upper hand.

One Ruthenian cavalry unit outflanked and attacked in the rear.

The Ruthenian cavalry Shaken and Disordered

The Ruthenian cavalry breaks and the other retreats but is followed up by the Prusskian cavalry.

The end of the action.

The destruction of the Ruthenian 1st Cavalry Regiment.

End of the Game

A short, sharp action that ended up with a convincing Prusskian win. As this was a campaign game, I made a simple roll to see if any 'lost' units would 'survive' ready for the next Campaign Turn. The sole Prusskian loss returned as did two of the three Ruthenian losses. It could have been worse. The Prusskian cavalry now has the upper hand, but the Ruthenian 1st Cavalry Regmiment still poses a threat. We will have to wait and see how this may or may not affect Campaign Turn 4.

Post Game Thoughts
As always a few thought on the game:

• This was more closely fought than the outcome at first suggests. It could have easily gone the other way or ended up in mutually assured destruction.
• I thought BPII worked really well for this little clash and it did feel like a cavalry engagement, with the action ebbing and flowing and not being drawn out.
• Allowing units to possibly recover post-game felt right, reflecting the dispersed and disordered units reforming and making their way back to their respective sides . It also meant that one loss might not affect the balance of the campaign too much, leading to it being over before it had begun.
• I enjoyed getting my blocks out again as I like the old school look of them and it makes it easier to see what is going on on the table when playing solo.

So now onto Turn 4 and it remains to be seen what action, if any, might unfold. So until next time...

The War of the Rhabarberian Succession - A PBEM Campaign

One of my aims this year was to get more campaign games in as I find them far more rewarding than one off games. The latter naturally have their place, but a narrative campaign I find hard to beat. A good start was made with Dave and I playing some ACW games and my solo efforts during the Covid-19 lockdown. However I fancied seeing if I could run a PBEM campaign with my friends.

Fortune smiled on me when a fellow gamer kindly sent me some maps that I could use for this and other campaigns. The maps are a joy to behold and also come with detailed information as to what the terrain is like in each square. Dave and Keith my regular gaming chums were up for the challenge and so it was up to me to come up with the detail to get things going.

First off was to sort out a map to play over. This was easier said than done as there are some many possible combinations, but after an hour or so on the lounge floor laying possible options out, I settled on the following:

The map of Rhabarbernland.

The background fluff was fairly easy as Dave and I had started painting up 10mm forces to fight a campaign between the forces of Prusskia (Dave) and the Grand Duchy of Ruthenia (me). Now I love rhubarb and Dave hates it, so this was the tag upon which our campaign would be based (more of which in future posts once the campaign has been completed). The setting is broadly mid-19thC Europe, around the time of the Austro-Prussian War.

Rules wise I wanted to keep things simple as I will be playing the actions solo, with Dave and Keith deciding upon map moves and deployment for each battle. As such I decided to use Black Powder II with the Glory Hallelujah! supplement that has given us great games of late. Sometimes there might be mid-battle decisions that they need to make, but I would make the call as to whether to contact them or not. Hopefully there pre-battle orders would be enough to guide my hand.

Each side would have 3 Division at their disposal, with each Division having 3 Brigades, with each Brigade having 3 Battalions and 1 battery of artillery. Each Division would have 1 Light Infantry unit and 1 Cavalry unit. At Divisional level there would be a Regiment of Cavalry to act as the eyes and ears of the Division, operating forward of the main body (for anyone interested in how cavalry were used around this time, I highly recommend the following book ).

Map moves would be simple too, with Infantry moving two squares per campaign Turn, cavalry four squares, as long as unit remained upon a road. There are opportunities to move cross country as well as forced marches, but with penalties, which I have broadly worked out but will wait and see until they are used and what the terrain is.

Dave and Keith were happy with my humble efforts and orders have already been placed and the respective armies are on the march. Having a God like view of the movements is fascinating and currently both commanders are in a fog of war situation. Some intelligence has been passed on to them as befits the situation and will continue to do so. Hopefully they are enjoying the challenge and will still talk to me when everything is over! 

A full review of the campaign and actions fought will be published once hostilites are finished. I imagine this will take a week or so to conclude, depending upon how many battles I have to fight and how long it takes me to write up. So until next time...

The Battle for San Pietro, Italy 1943 - Game 3: A Tough Nut To Crack

Somewhat later than planned, I managed to get in the final game of my mini-campaign. The Italians having won the last game had had time to make good their defensive postions in and around the town of St Pietro. The British having received a bloody nose last game, assembled as much support as they could muster before making the attack on the town. Whether it would be enough remained to be seen...

Italian OOB
5 x Infantry
2 x MG
1 x Mortar
3 x L3/35's (one with an ATR)
2 x Semovente 75/18's

British OOB
9 x Infantry
2 x MG
1 x Mortar
1 x Honey
3 x Shermans
2 x 25pdr Battery's 
 
Scenario Rules
I thought I'd give the 'Constructions' optional rules from BKCI a go to reflect buildings taking damage and possibly collapsing, but tweaked them slightly for this game:

Hit on 6+, 6+ Save, 6 Hits. Units inside the building take hits if the building fails its save. Once the building has 6 hits, it collapses destroying any units inside.

Table Set Up 
St Pietro dominated the table, sitting in a small valley and surrounded by crops ans stone walls. The Italians had a weaker left flank, with a stronger right and the armour in the town square and on either flank. The British seeing the lie of the land, decided to attack the Italian right flank in force whilst pinning the left.

An overview of St Pietro.

The Italian left flank with L3/35 support.

The Italian right flank, with the Semovente's in the town square.

The British force.

Turn 1
The British pushed their pinning force towards the Italian left flank, deploying to cover the approaches to the town and moving towards the orchard. The Honey spotted the L3/35's and engaged them with mortar support. On the British left flank, the infantry failed to show up but the Shermans pushed forward, before a Blunder saw the CO having some issues, resulting in his CV being -2 for the next Turn. The FAO arrived and moved to support the right flank as they had targets for his 25 pdr's.

The L3/35's used their Initiative Move to beat a hasty retreat away from the Honey and its supporting infantry. The troops on the right flank engaged the British to their front, hitting the mortar unit but not suppressing it. The other Italian units made some minor adjustments to their positions, not wishing to reveal their positions just yet.

The end of Turn 1.

The Honey and supporting infantry push into the orchard on the outskirts of St Pietro.

The Shermans on the left flank lack support, whilst the infantry on the right flank have come under fire.

The road to St Pietro.

Turn 2
The British right flank used some Initiative fire to try and silence the Italians to their front, which they managed to do when they suppressed an MG unit. The FAO seeing the L3/35's, called in his artillery with devastating effect, knocking out both tankettes, damaging buildings and suppressing the Italian CO! The British right flank failed their command roll and the CO, with his -2CV, failed to get through to them, just when they had a chance to push on against the Italian left flank. As the Shermans advanced, their supporting infantry arrived, with both coming under fire from Semovente's and an MG unit in a building. Both sides took hits and one British Infantry unit was suppressed.

The Italian left flank opened fire on the British to their front once again, causing some hits but Opportunity Fire back suppressed an MG and Infantry unit. The Italian right flank openend up on the British infantry in the open, destroying one unit and suppressing 3 others. The Shermans retaliated, damaging the building and the MG unit inside. With the CO suppressed, the Semovente's were unable to join in the action.

The end of Turn 2.

The British right flank gains fire superiority over the Italians in St Pietro.

The L3/35's burn after the devastating artillery barrage.

The Shermans line up by the vineyard.

The British infantry caught in the open come under sustained fire.

Turn 3
The FAO having moved to support the attack on the Italian left flank, called in his artillery support and only manages to suppress the infantry, but this could be vital to aid the British assault. As the smoke and dust cleared, the Honey and supporting infantry advanced into the orchard and destroyed the MG and Infantry unit which had been holding up their advance. On the left flank the Shermans engaged the Semovente's, destroying one but having one Sherman suppressed by Opportunity Fire. As the infantry moved up in support, they once again came under sustained fire, leading to hits and suppression across the board.

With the Italian left flank in tatters, it was up to the right flank and the Semovente's to rescue the situation. The infantry were targeted again, but Opportunity Fire from the Shermans and the mortar unit saw the building destroyed which contained the MG unit. The Italian CO Blundered, leading to the remaining Semovente coming under fire but luckily taking no hits.

The end of Turn 3.

The British right flank moves towards the undefended part of St Pietro, which the Italians are unable to stop.

The Shermans have provided vital firepower to help with the assault on St Pietro.

A Semovente burns by the church.

The British infantry are taking a bit of a beating.

End of Game

With the Italians already in a precarious position, I started to play Turn 4. The FAO again called in his artillery, which led to the loss of the remaining Semovente and another building destroyed. With this and the previous lossed, the Italians were in no position to hold St Pietro, so they withdrew as quickly as possible.
 

Post Game Thoughts

In the end a rather easy British victory. I had thought that this would be a tough task for the Brits, but why was it not? Some thoughts on the game and the campaign might help explain this:

• This was one of those games where the artillery really made a difference. Knocking out the L3/35's early on then arriving each Turn and doing enough to suppress units or add on a few hits told in the end. As I'm sure many of us have experienced, artillery doesn't always arrive, hit where you want or do any damage. In this game none of these applied. The lack of deviation except for 1D6 due to the British accurate gunnery helped, as did being on a hill. 
• Generally I think the die Gods favoured the British, as as with the artillery, each bit of shooting did enough to add a hit here or there, suppress a unit when it mattered. This got the British onto the front foot early on and the Italians never really recovered.
• The Italians did have chances, especially with the British left flank infantry in the open. Another round of shooting or the odd extra hit here or there might have been enough to turn the tables. I did think of giving the Italians an Infantry Gun or off table artillery support, but I thought that this would have been too much and made it even harder for the British. We will never know.
• As with the previous games, the 2' x 2' table gave a nice game and again one full of action. Certainly being in action straight away gives a very different dynamic to the game.
• I enjoyed the whole campaign and it does give a greater depth and meaning to the games, as they are not stand alone affairs. The only thing I would say is that they probably work better if you can maintain the momentum and play them out in a week or so. I found it a struggle to get the last game in due to various factors. Later on in the year I would like to run another campaign, this time on a 4' x 4' table, but that's for another time.

 

Next up is a (hopefully) simple PBEM campaign that I will be running with a couple of friends who have kindly agreed to take part. Details will naturally be rather sparse until it's all over, so that I can maintain the Fog of War for both players. A fellow Blogger very kindly sent over a wonderful set of maps that I will use to run this, with the players telling me where they would like to move their units etc. Once an engagement beckons, I will play the game out out home, based upon orders received and then feedback the results and await further orders. I'm not sure how long this will last but I hope it will be fun for all involved. So plenty for me to do which I'm looking forward to. So until next time...a