Back of Beyond Campaign - Autumn 1919

Autumn 1919 - the final campaigning round of 1919 - everyone was on the move!

Well... Almost everyone. 

The Battle of Bakunin

 Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House, followed the Guard of the White King's all the way back to their regional capital at Bakunin, after the latter's defeat at Kroptkand in the summer. 

Arriving before Bakunin, the Bolsheviks found their opponents well dug in and ready to defend their regional capital! 

The Bolsheviks unleashed a devastating preparatory barrage on the White Russian lines - focusing on the Heavy Infantry and Artillery.  

The Bolsheviks began a slow and steady advance. The first few turns of the game involved a brutal artillery duel as each side tried to silence the others guns. 

Eventually the White Russians guns were silenced and the Bolshevik advance proceeded with artillery support. 

The White Russian Cossack Cavalry galloped out to meet the Bolshevik Cavlary and tried to disrupt and slow the Bolshevik advance! 

While the Cavalry battle raged in the centre of the battlefield, the Bolshevik infantry (with artillery support!) started rolling up the White Russian lines from the West 

The White Russians put up a stiff defence - despite their lack of numbers - and they  sold themselves dearly! 

But with such dwindling numbers to hold those trenches and under relentless pounding of the Bolshevik artillery, the White Russians were obliged to cede the day. 

The tattered remains of the White Russian army retreated to Englelsk, leaving much of their equipment and many of their wounded behind in the route. 

The Siege of Kubassa

After hearing the Bolsheviks had departed their regional capitol and marched on Kroptkand to relieve the siege by the White Russians,  Win-Cao Lo-Fat, The Most Illustrious Beacon of Celestial Light and Commander of the Arm of Earthly Might, led The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals out of Holopchi and marched on Kubassa! There they enveloped the town, but not long after the siege works were completed that chill winter winds came howling down from the north and the Chinese decided to give up the siege and march back to Holopchi. 

The Third Battle of Stlojia

Altan Baatar Kahnspent most of the spring and summer of 1919 communing with his ancestors, waiting for a sign on how to proceed. When Altan Baatar Kahn awoke from his opium indusced stupor, he led The Red Horde out of Bashkent and marched to Stlojia, hoping to march on Druitsek (not realizing he'd not the time to get there before winter). It mattered not, however, as it happened that the Margrave  von Eggenberg ALSO decided now was the time to lead his East Asia Cavalry Division back to Stlojia and retake the town!? 

The Chinese arrived at Stlojia to find the White Russians under Hedwig Markus von Eggenberg, Margrave of Grosswardein and his East Asian Cavalry Division

Besieging Russians pivot to face the advancing Chinese of the Red Horde! 

White Russian reinforcements arrive - including the Margraves own 38th Hussars on the left flank and his Mongolian Cavalry on the right. 

The Battle was desperate and brutal. 

Mongol Cavalry charging Chinese infantry

The 38th Hussars also charging Chinese infantry!

White Russian and Mongol Cavalry is driven back, but recovers and prepares to charge again. 

Flanking Chinese cavalry arrives on the Russians flank.

Soon the Margrave and his Hussars found themselves along on the battlefield - the rest of his force having abandoned him! 

The Hussars made one more insane charge and saw off a battalion of Chinese Heavy Infantry, before themselves being driven off by the combined fire of the other Chinese Infantry battalions and their artillery! 

The White Russian force returned to Gura for another winter of heavy drinking. 

The Second Siege of Borschka

In a near beat-for-beat repeat of the previous falls campaigning, the Canadians of the 14th Allied Eastern Expeditionary Army marched on Borschka. They'd expected to fight the Ist Babushka Army Corps, but instead arrived to find the Bolshevik army had departed to points westward, leaving only a small garrison to defend the ancient walled city. So, once again, the Canadians enveloped the town, digging tidy, well-sighted trenches all around and settled in for a siege! After about a month of occasional skirmishes, a tragically comical attempt at storming the towns defenses and sporadic bombardment, the winter winds began sweeping in from the north and with it came snow. With that, the Western Interventionists packed up and marched back to Canuckand.

Situation at the end of August 1919 

ORANGE

• Commander of the Field Army: Lieutenant General Sir Percy Arbuthnot-Worcester-Gruntfuttock-Smythe
• Faction: Western Interventionists
• Army: 14th Allied Eastern Expeditionary Army
• Base of Operations: Canadar 
• Other Cities: Canuckand, Molsensk, Stlojia
• Resource Points: 4
• Field Army:
• 3rd Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers (10)
• 5th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders  (10)
• 2nd Battalion, Regina Rifles - Heavy Infantry Battalion (10)
• 105th Canadian Fusiliers - Heavy Infantry Battalion (11)
• 8th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles - Cavalry (13)
• 37th Field Artillery (9)

YELLOW

• Commander of the Field Army: Hedwig Markus von Eggenberg, Margrave of Grosswardein
• Faction: Tsarist
• Army: East Asia Cavalry Division 
• Base of Operations: Gura
• Other Cities:  Driutsek 
• Resource Points: 0
• Field Army:
• 1st Battalion, 337th Infantry Regiment (Heavy) (5)
• 2nd Battalion, 337th Infantry Regiment (2)
• 1st Battalion, 369th Infantry Regiment (5)
• 2nd Battalion, 369th Infantry Regiment (3)
• Mongolian Cavalry (8)
• 38th Hussars Cavalry (13)

GREEN

• Commander of the Field Army: Altan Baatar Kahn
• Faction: Warlord Chinese
• Army: The Red Horde
• Base of Operations: Lung-Hu
• Other Cities: Wurumchi, Sui-Pei, Bashkent 
• Field Army:
• Heavy Infantry Battalion (11)
• Heavy Infantry Battalion (13)
• Infantry Battalion (15)
• Infantry Battalion (13)
• Cavalry (15)
• Artillery (15)

LIGHT BLUE

• Commander of the Field Army: Win-Cao Lo-Fat, The Most Illustrious Beacon of Celestial Light and Commander of the Arm of Earthly Might
• Faction: Warlord Chinese
• Army: The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals 
• Base of Operations: Wei-Li
• Other Cities: Ching-Ho, Ulaan-Goom, Holopchi
• Resource Points: 2
• Field Army:
• 1st Heavy Infantry Battalion (9)
• 2nd Heavy Infantry Battalion (9) 
• 3rd Infantry Battalion (12)
• 4th Infantry Battalion (14)
• Cavalry Regiment (15)
• Artillery Regiment (12)

DARK BLUE

• Commander of the Field Army: Kombrig Mahat Mikhan
• Faction: Bolshevik
• Army: Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House
• Base of Operations: Kubassa
• Other Cities: Kroptkand, Pyrohy, Bakunin
• Resource Points: 0
• Field Army:
• 1st Infantry Battalion (Heavy )(7)
• 2nd Infantry Battalion (4)
• 3rd Infantry Battalion (8)
• 4th Infantry Battalion (3)
• 5th Cavalry Regiment (6)
• 6th Artillery Regiment (13)

PURPLE

• Commander of the Field Army: Archduke Yevgeny Lytton
• Faction: Tsarist
• Army: Gvardiya Belykh Koroley (Guard of the White King’s)
• Base of Operations: N/A
• Other Cities: Engelsk
• Resource Points: 0
• Field Army:
• 1st Battalion, 437th Infantry Regiment (Heavy) (3)
• 32nd Cossack Cavalry Regiment (5)
• 245th Artillery Regiment(2)

RED (of course) 

• Commander of the Field Army: Commissar-General Lev (Leon) Davidovitch Runstein
• Faction: Bolshevik
• Army: Первый Бабушка Армейский корпус (Ist Babushka Army Corps)
• Base of Operations: Baboushka
• Other Cities: Borschka, Vlodkask
• Resource Points: 0
• Field Army:
• 1st Transuralian Peoples Infantry Battalion (Heavy)  (10)
• 2nd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (12)
• 3rd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (13)
• 4th Transuralian Peoples Battalion (14)
• 1st Babushka Cavalry Regiment (9)
• 1st Borschka Artillery Regiment (12)