Back of Beyond - Spring 1920

The Battle of Pyrohy

With Archduke Yevgeny Lytton Guard of the White King’s out of the picture, Kombrig Mahat Mikhan led the Bolshevik Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House, back toward their base of operations at Kubassa, expecting the Chinese to have marched back there in the spring. They only got as far as Pyrohy. There they found the Chinese of the The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals and their leader, Win-Cao Lo-Fat, The Most Illustrious Beacon of Celestial Light and Commander of the Arm of Earthly Might, were just down the road , marching on the city! 

The first and Second battalions rushed ahead and dug in on a hill overlooking the road to Pyrohy. 

Soon after they were dug in, the Chinese assault began  after a devastating preliminary barrage. Also, this time the Chinese had TANKS! 

More Chinese arrived, as did the rest of the Russian Column. 

Bolshevik Cavalry rushed up to block the Chinese cavalry trying to flank the Russians' position while the rest of the Chinese advanced under heavy fire from the entrenched Bolsehviks. 

Sustained, combined heavy fire from the Chinese Infantry, tanks and artillery dealt heavy casualties to the Bolshevik 1st battalion and they were obliged to give up their positions. The 2nd battalion maneuvered down the line to replace them! 

The cavalry battle continued on the Bolshevik's left flank, giving the 3rd Battalion time to approach the fortified hill from behind - under cover from the Chinese artillery. 

Bolshevik Artillery initially hammered the Chinese infantry advancing on their positions, but then switched focus to try and silence the the Chinese guns. 

This caused the Chinese to shift their guns to return fire on the Bolsheviks. An artillery duel ensued for some time. Briefly, it looked like the Chinese might win it - but a lucky roll from the Russians (when they had only ONE strength point remaining!) drove off the Chinese before the Russian guns could be obliged to give up the field. 

The Bolshevik cavalry, depite initial success, had a hard time driving off the Chinese Cavlary. As the Bolshevik infantry was moving across the open ground behind the hill, the Chinese Cavalry saw an opportunity and Charged their flank - with devastating effect! 

It wasn't enough to utterly destroy the Bolshevik infantry battalion, though. As the Chinese Cavalry retreated from the Bolshevik infantry, the Bolsevhik Cavalry gave one last charge and finally drove the Chinese off! 

The Bolshevik 3rd Battalion gained the trenches, replacing the two previous battalions' positions... but in their weakened state, their tenure there was short-lived as well 

Under fire from two Chinese infantry battalions and a unit of tanks, there was little they could do. The Bolsehvik Cavalry, however, had galloped BEHIND the Chinese, hoping to take off a bit of the pressure! 

They even managed to charge the exposed flank of one of the Chinese infantry battalion... But they were not able to drive off the nearly full-stregth Infantry Battalion. 

REtreating from the charge, the Bolshevik Cavalry found their Infantry had completely given up the field and they were now surrounded by two Chinese infantry battalions - one of which had just gained the bolsevhiks entrenchments, and the Chinese tanks were just wheeling around to face them. There was nothing for it, but to gallop off and harrass some of the retreating wounded Chinese to their rear before finally returning to their own to screen any attempts at chasing them down as the column retreated back to Kroptkand. 

The Siege of Wurumchi

After much brooding and contemplation through 1919 - and a brief excursion to try and regain Stlojia, Hedwig Markus von Eggenberg, Margrave of Grosswardein decided on a new approach. Over the winter of 1919-1920 he massively reorganized the East Asia Cavalry Division, gathering all the remaining infantry into a single battalion and using what little resources he had at his disposal to acquire the artillery his force had sorely been lacking... 

In the spring the Division deployed to Driutsek and from there marched on Wurumchi and laid siege to the town. His new guns pounded the town mercilessly, but the inhabitants held out - mostly out of fear of reprisal from the slighly unhinged Altan Baatar Kahn, should he return and take back the town! 

The situation at the end of Spring 1920. 

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: 2
• Field Army:
• 3rd Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers (15)
• 5th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders  (15)
• 2nd Battalion, Regina Rifles - Heavy Infantry Battalion (15)
• 105th Canadian Fusiliers - Heavy Infantry Battalion (15)
• 8th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles - Cavalry (15)
• 37th Field Artillery (15)
• 38th Field Artillery (15) 

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:
• 337th Infantry Regiment (Heavy) (15)
• Mongolian Cavalry (13)
• 38th Hussars Cavalry (13)
• 77th Imperial Artillery Regiment (15) 

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 
• Resource Points: 12
• Field Army:15
• Heavy Infantry Battalion (15)
• Heavy Infantry Battalion (15)
• Infantry Battalion (15)
• Infantry Battalion (15)
• Cavalry (15)
• Artillery (15)
• Tank (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, Pyrohy, Holopchi
• Resource Points: 3
• Field Army:
• 1st Heavy Infantry Battalion (13)
• 2nd Heavy Infantry Battalion (8) 
• 3rd Infantry Battalion (11)
• 4th Infantry Battalion (10)
• Cavalry Regiment (14)
• Artillery Regiment (7)
• Tank Regiment (15)

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, Bakunin
• Resource Points: 0
• Field Army:
• 1st Infantry Battalion (Heavy)(8)
• 2nd Infantry Battalion (6)
• 3rd Infantry Battalion (9)
• 4th Infantry Battalion (5)
• 5th Cavalry Regiment (6)
• 6th Artillery Regiment (11)

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: 10
• Field Army:
• 1st Transuralian Peoples Infantry Battalion (Heavy)  (15)
• 2nd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (15)
• 3rd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (15)
• 4th Transuralian Peoples Battalion (15)
• 1st Babushka Cavalry Regiment (15)
• 1st Borschka Artillery Regiment (15)