Atlantis campaign begins...

[Froggy the Great]

From a scrap of journal discovered during the battle in the cavern - found by by Private Willoughby, formerly of the H.M.S. St. George:

X56, the third Fhloo of circadian 5994: From the journal of The Honorable Kro, once Vizier of this province of the Thulcandra colonies
"It is now the fifth cycle underground with this insufferable Thulcandrian ape.  It used to be that these primitive creatures could recognize their betters and offer proper obesience.  No more, it appears.  Whatever changed the stars three months ago appears to have given these natives not only a spine but frightfully efficient weaponry, the likes of which we have not seen since the initial conquest.

It is most curious.  For the first three cycles of interrogation, the ape calling himself "Raw burtdela broe" made no response as we prodded him through the bars of his cell.  Instead he sat and studied us, his head cocked slightly in the manner of the native felines.  Two cycles ago he abruptly began conversing with us in our own speech with a highly noble accent and idiom.  This was of course markedly shocking, especially when Cleandra mistook his voice for mine and nearly unlocked the cell on his word.

I must have a word with that girl, for though her training is of course flawless, there is something lacking of the warrior in her.  Her sister Delzedra of course carries my complete confidence.  I doubt that she has a polite word for anyone but me and her sister.  This is as it should be.

I must now turn this journal to the matter at hand, being these very caverns in which we are momentarily interred until I decide the disposition of our prisoner.  Feeding him to the scuttlers seems almost too easy, yet I must admit great amusement at their eagerness to attack him given any opportunity at all.

These caverns long predate any Perelandrian conquest.  The glyphs carven in living rock tell of marvels, but in a cipher I cannot yet penetrate.  It hints of an Atlantean golden age - I here use the natives' own name for this province of Thulcandra - replete with wonders whose origins I cannot fathom.  It may be that they are of technological, magical, or both.  There is a strong sense of superstitial occult over all of it, and further hints of something lurking deeper in the network of caverns.

I must here point out that Delzedra has heard me muttering and assets her dominance in the matter of lurking in the deeps.  Having seen her fight on my behalf innumerable times I must agree more than a little.

The girls and the scuttlers are searching deeper in the caverns for more carvings.  I must send them outside next - I have heard screaming from the apes I thought we killed. . ."

More now is known of the mysterious assailants besetting the ill-fated Delabrough expedition.  Following my own capture of the Venusian known in this aforeseen journal as "Cleandra" - an achievement I hope will in due course earn me a promotion - , interrogations and fact-finding are in progress while we investigate a curious wreck in the jungle.  This wreck appears to be a quadrupedal steam-conveyance, used by a former British expedition to explore the swampland - though there is no swampland nearby.  Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice once said...
--From the journal of Private Willoughby.

[ushistoryprof]

General Communiqué from His Imperial Majesty Tsar Alexandrovich III’s Colony of Vodkaland-

It has been necessary to discipline the native serf population of His Imperial Majesties new port city of Smirnoff, formerly know as port #15.  The foolish serfs refused the commands of his Imperial Majesties provisional mayor-Colonel Demetri Durmnitt, 2nd Guards Mechanical Cavalry. After a brief but successful engagement between the 2nd Guards Mechanical Cavalry, 17th and 92nd Line Infantry Regiments, 4th Naval Brigade and the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment vs. undisciplined native serfs. Colonel Demetri reluctantly called upon the services of the 3rd Imperial Aeroneff Bombardment Squadron to level a portion of the native quarter.  In the Captains words, “it was necessary to destroy the root of the evil to save the natives from themselves.”  The area bombarded is scheduled to be rebuilt with a series of Dacha’s for the Governor his staff and assorted dignitaries.  A valuable lesson has been learned by the serfs-obedience is the only option.

On a more pleasant note, scientists from the St. Petersburg Institute of Discoveries and Advancements have announced the finding of a hitherto unknown temple site in …censored… section of Vodkaland.  New wonders have been discovered and will soon be shared with the world.


Signed,
Count Mikhal Brodinoff
Col. Gen. Commanding
15th Territorial Army
Imperial Colony of Vodkaland

The command section of the 23rd Artillery before their successful engagement with the serf natives in Smirnoff.
[/img]

[Red Orc]

  and 

Excellent reporting there chaps! What other secrets will Pvt. Willoughby reveal? How will the native settlement fare when the Tsar's aerofleet (is the word I'm looking for actually 'Aeroflot'?) bombards it?

We await events with much agogness!

[rob_the_robgoblin]

Is it too late for me to join in?

I haven't got a definate gaming group, but I am planning on getting people round my house (girlfriend permitting) and maybe a few games at Scimitar Wargames group. Possibly even Abingdon if Overlord pipes up!

I guess my force will be Prussians, but there is room for:

Anarchist (deserters and pirates)
Russian
French
American
British (veterans from Mars)
Japanese

 

[ushistoryprof]

Is it too late for me to join in?

I haven't got a definate gaming group, but I am planning on getting people round my house (girlfriend permitting) and maybe a few games at Scimitar Wargames group. Possibly even Abingdon if Overlord pipes up!

I guess my force will be Prussians, but there is room for:

Anarchist (deserters and pirates)
Russian
French
American
British (veterans from Mars)
Japanese

 

Come on in Rob the water's fine.  By all means bring your Russians, there is lots of room to expand the Imperial Colony of Vodkaland (the land of Milk & Potatoes).  We are having some problems with the locals, Europeans etc. and your help would be appreciated.

[rob_the_robgoblin]

, atm I only have the Tsar himself and his bodyguard. Half a unit!

They are WIP.

The biggest force so far are the Prussians... 

[ushistoryprof]

, atm I only have the Tsar himself and his bodyguard. Half a unit!

They are WIP.

The biggest force so far are the Prussians... 

No problem Rob, the Russian's will be waiting when ever your ready.  Who knows what stories could come from a visit from the Tsar, attempted kidnaping, crashed flyers who knows.  Anyway there's lots of room for the rest of your forces (I have a group of British and allied scientists running crazy on the Westside of Atlantis too), the more the better.

[Red Orc]

Absolutely there's room and time for you to join in; and that goes for anyone else too. Drop me a PM and we'll start to work out details.

[rob_the_robgoblin]

Just played my first game, now what do I do?

I took pics and everything, but they will have to come later. I'm at my parents'. 

[Froggy the Great]

Post a bit of story here in the form of a game report or somesuch (see prior posts for examples) and then post a battle report thread.  Remember, whatever date the battle happened on, that's the date in 1890 the battle took place in-campaign.

At least, that's what I'd suggest.  I don't know that there are any actual hard and fast rules.

Oh, and due to the scheduling conflicts of the Ineffable Overlords, Lord Delabrough and his surviving men have retreated underground, there to interrogate their prisoner (the Venusian woman Cleandra, responsible for gunning down so many men) and to digest the information thus far received.  This includes the mysterious regeneration of many of the soldiers' lost arms, legs, chests, and in one case, head.

It must be said that The Honorable Kro and Cleandra's sister Delzedra, to say nothing of their scuttling pets, are none too pleased.  Retribution is long-windedly and poetically vowed.

[Red Orc]

@ Rob, exactly as Froggy says - post a report, as if the battle happened exactly 120 years before the date it did.

You can either post a brief skeletal report now, maybe saying that there are unconfirmed reports of an engagement between forces of x and y, then when you get back home and can upload the pics, you can do a full report - 'more details have emerged about the recent clash at such-and-such' or whatever; or you can leave it for the moment, wait a couple of days and do one report with all the info and pics, but explain that it's about a battle that happened a few days ago. Whichever way seems most sensible to you.

When you do though, I think there's definitely an attempt by most of us to do it 'in character', as if it's a newspaper story or an official communique, or as Froggy is doing it,excerpts from people's journals. But you don't have to do it like that if you don't want.

...
It must be said that The Honorable Kro and Cleandra's sister Delzedra, to say nothing of their scuttling pets, are none too pleased.  Retribution is long-windedly and poetically vowed.

You've got to love theatrical baddies and their tirades against those that interfere with their plots... I think that's why Alan Rickman always likes playing the bad guy, they get the best lines.

[Mansworth]

The Defence of Wolvechapel

A minor skirmish played between the Prussians and the British for the Oxfordshire hamlet of Wolvechapel.

Testimony of the surviving ranking British officer, Sergent Bare Dated 4th April 1890

"So me and the lads were told to hold the town of Whitechapel, or was it Wolvechappe?, never mind, from the Prussians. Sure enough, soon after we arrived we were attacked. The outnumbered us two to one id say, but old Capt Anderson, and Sergeant Perry led from the front. We had a good old Baradly and Kingston stam tank too. But them Prussians had theses amazing clockwork men! And a tank of their own.

Anyway their line advanced towards Wolvechapel. Their officers were nowhere near as good as ours, falling over or dropping their weapons, but still they came on. Our six pounder was brought forward and captain Anderson charged forward. An amazing sight it was. Sergeant Perry and the steam tank charged to our left, with his squad in tow. The mechanised men, led by their captain made slow progress on the left, while their main force and the tank rolled forward towards my unit.

I had the men form up and we exchanged volleys with the enemy ahead of us. Their light infantry took the brunt of the attack, while their tank and ours traded blows. It became clear that neither one had the power to penetrate the others armour.

The Prussian light diverted towards the six pounder as Captain Anderson scaled a tree. Before I could wonder his logic I saw Sergeant Perry get mown down by a jet of hot steam coming from the clockwork men. His squad was in disarray, and scattered. Worse was to come, as the Prussian tank turned its guns on us, and bullets began to fly around us.

Worse was to come as Captain Anderson was felled shooting at the Prussian light from the trees. His sacrifice was not in vain, as the Prussians were distracted long enough for the six pounder crew to load canister and fire. Only two were left standing.

To our left, the clockwork men reached our steam tank and poured fire into it. The tank detonated, killing their commander but leaving them unharmed. At least I think he was killed.

But things got bleak as my own squad broke, and the six pounder was over run. The Prussian tank closed in. Even a suicidal attack by the remainder of Sergeant Perry’s men did nothing. They were just torn apart by the guns of the Prussian infantry.

Inspired by their bravery, several of my men ran to do the same, several fled. But as they attacked the great Aeronef Jack of the Green arrived. Seeing us in the village still, it reigned fire on to the Prussians, and being leaderless they fled. The tank looked to consider overrunning us, but with no support it retreated also.

If was victory and yet felt like not victory for us. We lost brave men in Captain Anderson and Sergeant Perry. The skilled six pounder crew were all dead, but their gun was recovered. The steam tank was not recoverable however. We found several broken clockwork men. They have been sent to the royal society for study. No trace of their dead leader was found, he could have been incinerated by the steam tank blast.

I recommend a posthumous promotion for Anderson and Perry and a monument erected in their honour when time permits.

I hope this report reaches you in good time for it to make a difference.

God Save the Queen!

Sergent Bare"     

[Mansworth]

This was the game Rob played I belive, as I was GMing it 

[Red Orc]

Crickey!  The Prussian attempt to claim Atlantis before the British establish themselves, has spilled over into Oxfordshire! Or more pausibly, knowing the British are extended on all fronts, not only in Atlantis but in India, South Africa and the Caribbean, the sneaky young Kaiser has decided to use these distractions to launch a sneak raid in an attempt to kidnap his grandmother, Queen Victoria - or something!

I await future revelations about how - and why - the Prussians managed to make it to central England with much interest!

[Red Orc]

The latest news from the Atlantean Campaign, where there have been developments in the south-east costal area.

The latest positions are shown on this map of the east coast -



- which shows the Russian expedition to the north-east islands, a Prussian attempt to cut the British supply routes to the south by capturing an island between the Japanese and British zones, and a note that there are persistent rumours that British forces are active in extreme west of this region.

Further rumours about Argentinian, Belgian, Dutch and Italian forces have not been confirmed by this reporter.