Monday, March 27, 2023

Back of Beyond - Summer 1920

As the summer wore on, both Bolshevik armies found themselves fighting desperately for their very survival. 

Further south on the edge of the desert, others to a more sedate approach to realizing their imperial ambitions. 

Second Battle of Pyrohy

 Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House, did not even bother retreating all the way to Kroptkand to resupply for another expedition to Pyrohy. There was not point to doing so as there was no supplies there to be attained. Rather, Kombrig Mahat Mikhan rallied what forces he could and wheeled back to attack Pyrohy again, hoping to catch the Chinese off balance - or perhaps sneak back in and steal back the city if, in fact, they had vacated to march on the Bolshevik's capital at Kubassa!

The 5th Cavalry Regiment, scouting ahead of the army, found The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals still in attendance at Pyrohy and quite well entrenched! 

Teh Bolsheviks opened up with a devastating barrage! 

The Chinese artillery, in the meantime, drove off the Bolshevik Cavalry

The rest of the Bolshevik column arrived and advanced on the city! 

After a brief artillery duel, the Chinese guns were silenced - to the Bolsheviks could advance without at least that... 

Two battalions crossed at the bridge and the other two crossed at a ford further north. 

The Bolsheviks came under fire from the entrenched Chinese infantry and approaching tanks as they deployed. 

Despite the artillery support, the Bolsheviks were not doing well against the entrenched Chinese. 

Despite driving both the Heavy Battalions of Chinese infantry from their trenches before the city, the remaining Bolshevik battalion found itself beset on all sides by enemy infantry, cavalry and tanks! The were obliged to retire from the field of battle and Pyrohy remained in the hands of The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals! 


Second Battle of Borshka

(y'know, if we're not counting sieges...)

The Canadians of the Western Interventionist forces arrived before Borschka to find the Ist Babushka Army Corps well entrenched and ready for them. 

This battle likewise began with an artillery duel between the howitzers on both sides.

 The Bolsheviks were hopelessly outnumbered and their guns quickly fell silent. 

The Canadian advance was ponderous at best, waiting for their artillery to pound the Bolsheviks right out of their trenches. 

The Bolshevik cavalry tired of this and skirmished ahead to engage the slowly advancing Canadian battalions. After a brief skirmish, they were driven off by the combined firepower of two Canadian battalions, bristling with machine-guns! 

The Canadian advance resumed as their artillery continued to deliver their punishing cannonade. 

The 4th Transuralian Peoples Battalion was the last of the Bolsheviks to give up the field, and they sold themselves dearly! But the day was not theirs and eventually they joined their surviving comrades in the long march back to Baboushka. 


Siege of Wurumchi

The siege of Wurumchi dragged on through the summer. The Baron had too few men to storm the city and so remained encamped in the hills nearby raiding any trading cavavans that attempted to enter or leave the city and harrassing the peasants in the surrounding fields. 

The citizens of Wurumchi held on, certain their Khan would come to their aid and drive off the Russian and Mongol bandits (and terrified of his certain reprisals against the population should they capitulate)... but that relief never came.  

Situation at the end of Summer 1920 

Looks like this might be the death knell of both Russian Imperialism AND Bolshevism in the East... 


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 (11)
  • 5th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders  (15)
  • 2nd Battalion, Regina Rifles - Heavy Infantry Battalion (12)
  • 105th Canadian Fusiliers - Heavy Infantry Battalion (12)
  • 8th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles - Cavalry (15)
  • 37th Field Artillery (11)
  • 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) (13)
  • Mongolian Cavalry (9)
  • 38th Hussars Cavalry (7)
  • 77th Imperial Artillery Regiment (10) 


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 (9)
  • 2nd Heavy Infantry Battalion (5) 
  • 3rd Infantry Battalion (7)
  • 4th Infantry Battalion (10)
  • Cavalry Regiment (14)
  • Artillery Regiment (4)
  • Tank Regiment (14)


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)(2)
  • 3rd Infantry Battalion (2)
  • 4th Infantry Battalion (1)
  • 5th Cavalry Regiment (3)
  • 6th Artillery Regiment (7)


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: Vlodkask
  • Resource Points: 5
  • Field Army:
  • 1st Transuralian Peoples Infantry Battalion (Heavy)  (10)
  • 2nd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (Heavy) (10)
  • 3rd Transuralian Peoples Battalion (12)
  • 4th Transuralian Peoples Battalion (10)
  • 1st Babushka Cavalry Regiment (12)
  • 1st Borschka Artillery Regiment (11)


2 comments:

  1. Yes, at this rate, the eastern seaboard will end up under Chines rather than Russian, sovereignty! Great stories as always, this is a cracking campaign to follow along with, from the side lines!

    ReplyDelete