To say that I my interest was piqued by Archduke Piccolo's recent 'Hundred Minutes Campaign' is an understatement; I was inspired and decided to try out this concept as soon as I possibly could. I adapted the rules in Archduke Piccolo's blog post* ... and the result was the Second Stalbanian-Khakistan War. (The first was fought out in January 2022 using the Snakes & Ladders Campaign system.)
Taking the end of the last war as my starting point, I put together the terrain that I needed. It represented the area between the Stalbanian-Khakistan border and the capital of Stalbania, Stirana.
Please click on the image to see an enlarged version of the map.
Please click on the image to see an enlarged version of the photograph.
Instead of using Army Corps as my manoeuvre units, I used the entire Belle Époque Stalbanian Army as the defenders and two Army Divisions drawn from the Khakistani Army as the invasion force. The Stalbanians were deployed in two defensive positions (Fort Ridoni and Fort Stelbasan) defending the Banik Pass and the invaders advanced up parallel roads to the junction at the mouth of the pass.
The defenders
The Stalbanian Army was deployed as follows:
- Fort Ridoni
- Infantry
- 1/1st and 2/1st Infantry Regiment
- Artillery
- 1st Field Artillery Regiment
- General
- Fort Stelbasan
- Infantry
- 1st Machine Gun Battalion
- Engineers
- Train
The Stalbanian troops in Fort Ridoni.
The Stalbanian troops in Fort Stelbasan.
The attackers
The Khakistani Army was deployed as follows:
- 1st Division
- Infantry
- 1/1st and 2/1st Infantry Regiment
- 1/2nd and 2/2nd Infantry Regiment
- Artillery
- 1st Field Artillery Regiment
- General
The 1st Khakistani Division.
- 2nd Division
- Infantry
- 1/3rd and 2/3rd Infantry Regiment
- 1/4th and 2/4th Infantry Regiment
- Artillery
- 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
- General
The 2nd Khakistani Division.
Turn 1: Day 1: Morning
The Khakistani 1st and 2nd Divisions advanced towards the Banik Pass.
The situation at the end of Turn 1.
Turn 2: Day 1: Afternoon
The Khakistani 1st and 2nd Divisions reached the villages of Burrat and Mirat respectively ... which they then occupied overnight.
The situation at the end of Turn 2.
Turn 3: Day 2: Morning
The Khakistani 1st Division moved forward and assaulted Fort Ridoni.
The Khakistani 1st Division's assault on Fort Ridoni.
The Khakistani 1st Division rolled 5D6s. (If the fighting had been in the open, they would have rolled 9D6s, 1D6 die for each base, plus 1D6 die for each different type of unit in the Division (4 x infantry, 1 x artillery, and 1 x General = 6) plus 1D6 for each of the three different types of unit present = 9. Because they were attacking an enemy that was in fortifications, the number of D6 dice rolled was halved, with any fractions being rounded up.)
Their D6 dice roll scores were 1, 3, 5, 5, and 5.
In reply, the Stalbanian defenders rolled 7D6s. (1D6 die for each base, plus 1 D6 die for each different type of unit in the fort (2 x infantry, 1 x artillery, and 1 x General = 4) plus 1D6 die for each of the three different types of unit present = 7.)
Their D6 dice roll scores were 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, and 6.
(NB. All Stalbanian dice roll scores are shown underlined so that readers can distinguish them from the Khakistani dice roll scores.)
When the two sets of dice roll scores were compared:
- 1 vs. no score results in the destruction of the Stalbanian artillery.
- 2 vs. no score would have resulted in the destruction of a Khakistani cavalry unit, had one been present.
- 2 vs. no score would have resulted in the destruction of a Khakistani cavalry unit, had one been present.
- 3 vs. 3 cancel each other out.
- 4 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 4 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 4 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 5 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Stalbanian infantry unit.
- 5 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Stalbanian infantry unit
- 6 vs. no score results in the death of the Khakistani General.
All-in-all, a rather bloody outcome for both sides!
Having lost so many units, the Khakistani 1st Division fell back to Burrat to regroup.
The remnants of the Khakistani 1st Division return to Burrat to lick their wounds.
The Khakistani 2nd Division moved forward to the junction of the two roads.
The Khakistani 2nd Division move up the road towards the road junction near Fort Ridoni.
Seeing that there was no point in remaining in Fort Ridoni, the Stalbanian General fell back to Fort Stelbasan.
The situation at the end of Turn 3.
Turn 4: Day 2: Afternoon
The Khakistani 2nd Division began its assault on Fort Stelbasan.
The Khakistani 2nd Division's assault on Fort Stelbasan.
The Khakistani 2nd Division rolled 5D6s. (Again, if the fighting had been in the open, they would have rolled 9D6s, 1D6 die for each base, plus 1D6 die for each different type of unit in the Division (4 x infantry, 1 x artillery, and 1 x General = 6) plus 1D6 for each of the three different types of unit present = 9]. Because they were attacking an enemy that was in fortifications, the number of D6 dice rolled was halved, with any fractions being rounded up.)
Their D6 dice roll scores were 1, 1, 3, 5, and 6.
In reply, the Stalbanian defenders rolled 7D6s. (1D6 die for each base, plus 1 D6 die for each different type of unit in the fort (2 x infantry/engineers and infantry/machine guns, 1 x supply column, and 1 x General = 4) plus 1D6 die for each of the three different types of unit present = 7.)
Their D6 dice roll scores were 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 4, and 6.
When the two sets of dice rolls were compared:
- 1 vs 1 cancel each other out.
- 1 vs. 1 cancel each other out.
- 1 vs. no score results in the destruction of the Khakistani artillery.
- 3 vs. 3 cancel each other out.
- 3 vs. no score would have resulted in the destruction of a Khakistani cavalry unit, has one been present.
- 4 vs no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 5 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Stalbanian infantry unit.
- 6 vs. no score results in the death of the Khakistani General.
Yet another bloody exchange for both sides!
The Khakistani 2nd Division fell back to the road junction to regroup.
The situation at the end of Turn 4.
The Stalbanians chose to stay where they were.
Turn 5: Day 3: Morning
During the morning, the remnants of the Khakistani 1st Division moved forward and joined the rump of the Khakistani 2nd Division at the road junction.
The newly-combined Khakistani 1st and 2nd Divisions.
Turn 6: Day 3: Afternoon
The Khakistanis were desperate to break through the remaining Stalbanian defences at Fort Stelbasan and mounted a second assault on the fortress.
The newly-combined Khakistani 1st and 2nd Divisions assault Fort Stelbasan.
The Khakistanis rolled 4D6s. (Again, if the fighting had been in the open, they would have rolled 8D6s, 1D6 die for each base, plus 1D6 die for each different type of unit in the Division (5 x infantry and 1 x artillery = 6) plus 1D6 for each of the two different types of unit present = 8. Because they were attacking an enemy that was in fortifications, the number of D6 dice rolled was halved, with any fractions being rounded up.)
Their D6 dice roll scores were 2, 3, 6, and 6.
In reply, the Stalbanian defenders rolled 6D6s. (1D6 die for each base, plus 1 D6 die for each different type of unit in the fort (1 x infantry/engineers, 1 x supply column, and 1 x General = 3) plus 1D6 die for each of the three different types of unit present = 6.)
Their D6 dice roll scores were 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, and 5.
When the two sets of dice rolls were compared:
- 2 vs. 2 cancel each other out.
- 3 vs. 3 cancel each other out.
- 4 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 5 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 5 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 5 vs. no score results in the destruction of a Khakistani infantry unit.
- 6 vs. no score results in the death of the Stalbanian General.
This was a disastrous result for both sides. The Khakistani force was reduced to a mere shadow of its former self and the Stalbanians had only an engineer unit and a supply column left. Even worse for the Stalbanians was the loss of their General ... who also happened to be the heir to the throne!
At this point both sides wanted to sue for peace, and after a short ceasefire a peace treaty was agreed. Almost immediately both sides began rebuilding their shattered armies and buying even more military equipment. This invasion of Stalbania might be over ... but it would probably not be the last!
* Rule changes I made
- Each turn represents a morning or afternoon.
- Troops assaulting an enemy fortification halve the number of D6 dice they roll, with fractions being rounded up.
Some after-battle thoughts
At no point during the campaign did the Stalbanians initiate any combat. This was all done by the Khakistanis. If they had initiated combat, the whole thing might have been over even quicker! However, I looked on this as a 'proof of concept' campaign and an excuse to get some figures out of storage and onto the tabletop ... the latter being something that I have not done for a very long time.
This campaign was fought using a slightly modified version of Archduke Piccolo's recent 'Hundred Minutes Campaign' rules, and as will be obvious from the results, it produces a decisive and bloody set of outcomes. It was a very close-run campaign and was great fun to fight through.
That said:
- I think that I would like to re-fight the whole thing using units whose Strength Points (SPs) are eroded by combat rather than a whole unit being wiped out by a single roll of the die.
- I'd also like to set each side an Exhaustion Point beyond which it will no longer be able to undertake offensive action.
- I'd also like to be able to find a way to use artillery in a support rather than a frontline role.
All-in-all, I think that Archduke Piccolo has come up with an excellent concept that I will look forward to tweaking to suit my particular requirements.
