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Friday 28 January 2022

The Stalbanian-Khakistan War: The opening moves

Stalbania had once been part of the Khakistani Empire and had only gained its independence after a long and bitterly fought war. Khakistan had always resented the loss of Stalbania, and it was inevitable that one day they might seek to re-establish Khakistani rule over their former province.

An argument over the Stalbanian government’s introduction of tariffs on certain Khakistani products led to heightened tension along their mutual border, and eventually this led to several small cross-border skirmishes. After one particularly nasty incident, the Khakistanis issued an ultimatum … remove the tariffs or prepare for war! When the Stalbanians refused to acquiesce, the Khakistanis began to mobilise, and war became inevitable.


Both armies started in the 'Start' box on the campaign map.

Please click on the map to enlarge it.

Turn 1

Both sides threw a D6 die. The Khakistanis threw a 3, which took them to the 'Reserves have been called up' box and thence up the blue arrow. The Stalbanians threw 2, and advanced two boxes along the map.

Please click on the map to enlarge it.

Turn 2

Both sides threw a D6 die. The Khakistanis threw a 3, and advanced three boxes along the map. The Stalbanians threw 5, and advanced five boxes along the map.

Please click on the map to enlarge it.

Turn 3

Both sides threw a D6 die. The Khakistanis threw a 1, which took them to the 'Supply lines are broken' box and thence down the red arrow. The Stalbanians threw 4, and advanced along the map until it reached the Battle box.

Please click on the map to enlarge it.

The stage was now set for the first battle of the campaign.

14 comments:

  1. OK, this gives me a better idea of how this matrix works. Does Stalbania become the attacker, since they reached the battle first?

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    Replies
    1. Jennifer,

      It is a very simple system, but playing through a few moves really helps one to understand how it works.

      I’m going to rule that the Stalbanians will be the defenders as they have occupied the battlefield first.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Hi Bob,

    I follow the 54mm or Fight blog. John started using your portable wargame rules to fight WW2 battles. He also adopted the quick version of the Portable Wargame rules for WW2: https://54mmorfight.blogspot.com/

    I thought you would find this of interest.

    Scott

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Scott,

      Thanks very much for the link. I have just read the relevant blog post and was blown away by what John has done with the 3 x 3 PW concept. It’s something that I will be following up.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. I like the rule that the first army to the battle square takes on the role of defender. Good luck with your campaign.

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    Replies
    1. Peter,

      Cheers! It sort of made sense to me that the side that reached the battle box first would defend it.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Fairly eventful already. On the whole I'd be more inclined to make the first army to occupy a battle square in the schematic the attacker - as the one bringing on the battle. But I guess it is an arbitrary decision either way.

    Myself, I haven't yet tried out a battle, having become sidelined buffing up my Mediaeval armies a bit, and thinking about this four - make it a five-way campaign. This has the Byzantine Empire surrounded by enemies, one of which is also Byzantine, a revolting Duke (Yevgenes Apostas) from somewhere around Antioch.

    But I thought it would be amusing if two pairs of the 'barbaric hordes' might (be induced to) turn upon each other: in the west, Pechenegs vs Bulgars; and in the east, Abasgians (Georgians) against the Ducate of Antioch.

    Could be ... entertaining...
    Cheers,
    Ion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo (Ion),

      Things do seem to be cracking along at a fair pace, and I hope to fight the first battle of the campaign later today.

      I did debate with myself about whether or not the side that reached the battle box first should be the defender or the attacker, and decided that the first to arrive would be in possession of 'the ground' and would therefore be the defender. (I blame this on my having recently watched GETTYSBURG and the action taken by General John Buford.)

      I like the idea of your four/five-way campaign, especially as it gives you an opportunity to dust off some of your Medieval collection and get them onto the tabletop. The addition of some barbaric hordes will make it even more interesting!

      Good luck with what looks like becoming your next project.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  5. Great start Bob. If both sides missed a Battle square due to going up a "ladder" (blue line), would the battle be ignored?

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    Replies
    1. Maudlin Jack Tar,

      Cheers! If both sides had missed entering the first battle box, it would have been ignored and the campaign would have moved on.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. Maudlin Jack Tar,

      It was my pleasure.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. A great start to the campaign Bob and nice to see the build up to the first battle:).

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    Replies
    1. Steve J.,

      Cheers! I hope to fight the first battle later today.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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