An incident from the Rusland Civil War

Thanks to my preparations to take part in yesterday's meeting of the Jockey's Field Irregulars, I had all the stuff needed to mount a wargame out and ready to use. The opportunity to put on a quick wargame was therefore available to me ... and so I took it.

I decided to use the opportunity to try out my newly-acquired playing card tiles for the first time. I think that they are going to be a great aid to my solo wargaming and will probably feature in many of my future games ... if the experiment works!

Scenario
During the Rusland Civil War most of the fighting took place between small forces who were trying to take control of the towns and villages that were spread across the country. A typical small force would comprise six to ten Infantry Units, an Artillery Unit, and other troops that might be available. Such a force would usually be commanded by a Colonel or low-ranking General and could not expect any reinforcements if it found itself fighting an enemy force.

The town of Vilnov was situated in an area of undulating countryside that was dotted with small woods. It had not declared its support for either side in the Civil War and both the Reds and the Whites were determined to take it for themselves. To achieve this both sides sent a small force to seize the town, purge it of any members of the opposition, and construct defences that would ensure that it would be defendable from any possible counter-attack.

The Opposing Forces
The Red column consisted of:

• Six Infantry Units
• An Naval Artillery Unit
• A Commander

The White column consisted of:

• Five Infantry Units
• A Machine Gun Unit
• An Artillery Unit
• A Commander

The opposing side were therefore fairly evenly matched, although the Machine Gun Unit did give the Whites a slight advantage.

The Terrain

Both sides entered from opposite ends of the battlefield. The Red column's first four Unit entered at 8f, 8e, 8d, and 8c, and White's first four Units entered at 1f, 1e, 1d, and 1 c.

Turn 1
The playing card tiles were 'dealt' face down to both Red ...

... and White Units.

These were then turned over by the Reds ...

... and the Whites.

It was clear from this that the Reds would have a slight advantage this turn.

Each side then activated its Units by suit and card value, starting with the Red Unit that had been 'dealt' the Ace (or 1) of Hearts, then the White Unit with the 4 of Spades, then the Red Unit with the 8 of Clubs, etc, etc.

As no Units were in range of each other there was no combat during the turn, and the Units ended up in the following positions:

Turn 2
Further Red ...

... and White Units entered the battlefield.

Playing card tiles were again 'dealt' to each side face down, and then turned over.

Yet again Units were activated in turn by suit and card value.

Both sides moved their forces forward until they clashed in the town of Vilnov ...

... where Infantry Units of both sides became embroiled in a number of Close Combats.

By the end of the turn both sides had Units in the town, but so far the Whites seemed to be in the ascendancy.

Turn 3
The playing cards were 'dealt' out ...

... but before they were turned over, the Red Artillery Unit opened fire on the White Infantry Unit that was directly in front of them in the town. The White Infantry Unit was hit ...

... and was forced to retreat ...

... thus reducing the White hold on Vilnov.

The playing card tile allocated to the Red Artillery Unit was removed and the rest were then turned over and the remaining Units were activated in turn by suit and card value.

The Whites used their advantage to move their Commander forward and then the Machine Gun Unit, which opened fire on a nearby Red Infantry Unit.

The latter was hit and destroyed ...

... which left a gap on the Red force's left wing.

The Reds countered by moving an Infantry Unit forward so that it could attack a White Infantry Unit in the flank, but the Reds threw a very poor die score whereas the Whites threw a high die score, ...

... which resulted in the attacking Red Infantry Unit being destroyed!

This now left a gap on Red's right flank and ...

... and brought them dangerously close to reaching their Exhaustion Point.

The White Infantry Unit that had been forced to retreat due to the very effective firing by Red's Artillery Unit now reoccupied the part of town they had previously vacated and attacked a Red Infantry Unit in the flank.

Their attack was not only successful but also caused the destruction of the Red Infantry Unit.

The Red force had now reached its Exhaustion Point and was no longer able to mount any further attacks.

The Whites, on the other hand, were still able to mount offensive operations and attacked in the flank one of Red Force's right-hand Infantry Units ...

... but the attack was ineffective and both sides were unable to inflict any casualties upon their opponents.

This brought the turn – and the battle – to an end.

The Reds were unable to occupy Vilnov, which was firmly in White hands. Furthermore they had been unable to inflict any serious casualties on the White forces and their Commander knew that he would need reinforcements if he were to capture the town. On the other hand the Whites felt confident that they could fortify and hold the town should the Reds mount a further attack.

Only time will tell which of the opposing sides will be correct ...

Comments
This was a sharp and short battle which proved that the playing card tiles are a simple but effective method of overcoming the problems usually associated with using an 'Igo-Ugo' turn sequence in a solo wargame. Units were activated randomly, which meant that during each turn the initiative ebbed backward and forwards between the two sides. To my mind this enhanced the battle no end, and I will certainly be using the playing card tiles again.