The League of Extraordinary Kriegspielers presents........

[Ignatieff]

....Our last but one outing.  A short campaign that kicked off end of October by email, and ended up with the usual three day lead carnage at the end of November at Ignatieff Towers...

Read on, dear reader, and prepare to be afraid, very afraid....


           Durchfall.
Gotterundamerung in Urga
22-25th November 2012

“There's a one-eyed yellow idol
To the north of Kathmandu;
There's a little marble cross below the town;
And a brokenhearted woman
Tends the grave of 'Mad' Carew,
While the yellow god for ever gazes down”

(J.Milton Hayes 1911)

‘Mad Jack’ Carew did exist, was a British officer, was murdered, but was never officially seconded to Nepal.  The idol in the poem disappeared from the north of Kathmandu in 192?.......

[Poliorketes]

Can't wait for more!

[ardbeg]

more madness to come from the masters of BoB! I'm so impatient ;-)

[Bugsda]

I say! Bravo that man 

[Ignatieff]

And yes, before you ask, we do know what 'Durchfall' means.  Its a phonetic play on 'Downfall', as the game is centred on Der Baron's last stand in Urga....

More in a minute....

[coggon]

And yes, before you ask, we do know what 'Durchfall' means.  Its a phonetic play on 'Downfall', as the game is centred on Der Baron's last stand in Urga....

More in a minute....

At last!  Can't wait to see more.

[Ignatieff]

Durchfall – Der Baron’s Objectives & Army Lists

Background

After your crushing defeat at Chang Chun, there is an urgent need to restore order and reassert your authority.  All the widely scattered forces of your Empire will need to be mobilized for the defence of Urga and the Fatherland!

Fortunately you have spent the ‘Years of Victory’ fortifying and modernizing your capital, and re-equipping your armies with the latest technologies. It is now time to declare total war on the Chinese Monkeys who won their lucky victory solely on the treachery of that swine Smirnoff.  Oh how you look forward to devising a particularly creative and slow end to that miserable slug!

As you sat at your desk tending to your Bonsai plants on the third floor of the Imperial Palace, you momentarily wondered what those files were doing fluttering down from the surrounding government buildings.  And from somewhere nearby, the sporadic sound of automatic gunfire punctured the otherwise still and bright October Sunday afternoon.  Nothing too unusual in any of this you reasoned.  ‘Teapot’ up to a bit of ‘house keeping’ no doubt. Somewhere in the far distance you heard what might be the crump of artillery.  More likely it was a thunderstorm, much prevalent at this time of year.

The bronze doors of your office swung open rather too quickly.  There was a sound of a commotion, over which the distinctive bull-dog growl of the British Ambassador, Sir Redvers Bullingdon, could be heard barking “I will see him now!”..Bullingdon and his military attaché in a smart Royal Navy uniform marched the full length of your office without the usual kowtow or formalities.

‘Your Excellency, I must speak with you now on a matter of the utmost importance and urgency’.  Bullingdon’s face was crimson, never a good sign.

‘I am afraid, Herr Baron, the games up.  The Chinese have invaded Mongolia from Manchuria in overwhelming force.  HMG have it on good authority that a Bolshevik task force in poised near Irkutsk.  Your armies are melting away, and HMG cannot stand idly by and watch the wanton slaughter of innocent civilians whilst your crazed cabal of advisors and psychopaths  continue to delude you as to the real situation.  I must therefore demand that you announce your abdication today, in return for which HMG will offer you a generous pension and an estate in Yorkshire’.

You knew for a fact that there were only some 150 British nationals in Urga, and maybe the same again throughout Mongolia.  You also knew that the high profile Sir Harry ‘Boy’ Flashman had just arrived on a trade mission for his ‘Flashman Rubber Coy’ enterprise.  Useful pawns all……


Urga in happier times....


Objectives

1.   Destroy the invading armies and reassert your authority in the region.  Your hero, ‘Alt Fritz’, had faced much worse odds in his reign and had always prevailed.  You will do likewise.
2.   Protect your world famous ‘eight wonders of the modern world’ collection from marauding armies. These are scattered around Urga to impress your populace and awe visiting dignitaries. These are as follows:

-   The Buddha of Kathmandu.  A 12’ high metal idol of great age gifted to you by the people of Nepal
-   The Tusks of Jonah’s whale.  A present to you from a grateful Haile Selassie
-   The real tomb of Genghis Khan.  Recovered from a secret location south of Urga
-   Sarcophagus of Ramesis II. A trophy from your successful Egyptian expedition a few years back.  An object of great mystical power.
-   The Kaiser’s Imperial train.  Purchased from the German government in 191?. A lesson in hubris.
-   ‘Kosmotechnische Gesellschaft’. An ancient meteor crystal, presented to you by Professor Houston Stewart Chamberlin, in which you believe that the theory of ‘Cosmic Ice’ will be proven before too long.
-   The Spear of Destiny (naturlich!)
-   The Ark of the Covenant.  On loan from your good friend Halie Selassie.

(All of the above is curated for you by the esteemed British scientist, Houston Stewart Chamberlin)  

3. Capture Smirnoff alive (and then the fun really begins!)


Armies

Army organization and movement: Note that the ‘Brigade’ is the smallest unit of manoeuvre on the map.  All Brigades are assumed to take appropriate precautions on the march, at camp and for reconnaissance, etc.  Army Groups are purely administrative units, and do not need to be kept together.

Total Army strength:  c.14,000.  Broken down: 6,100 infantry; 3,300 cavalry; 42 field guns; 42 HMGs; 8 tanks; 14 armoured cars; 8 un-armoured cars; 5 aircraft


1.   Army Group West (3 Brigades).

Location: Kashgar.  CinC: Chuffer Campbell. Morale: excellent

1st Asiatic cavalry Brigade: 800 sabres.  Mixed regular white and irregular
Khirgiz horsemen. 1 battery of horse artillery (six guns).

103rd Infantry Brigade: 800 rifle in 3 battalions.  One regular white officer,
one conscript Mongolian, one Chinese. 1 battery of HMG’s (six guns).

17th Shock Brigade: 600 rifles in 3 battalions. Two regular white officer,
one ex-German POWs.  2 batteries of HMGs (12 guns)

1st air reconnaissance squadron: three mono/bi planes.  Fighters/light
bombers. Ex German and White pilots.


2.   Army Group Centre (4 Brigades)

     Location: Urga.  CinC: Der Baron.  Morale: Good

     3rd Imperial Guard Brigade: 500 rifles in 2 battalions.  Two white officer
     battalions. 1 battery of HMG’s (6 guns).  1 battery of field artillery (six guns,
     vehicle towed). 1 attached company of ‘cider men’.

    101st Asiatic Cavalry Brigade: 600 sabres in three regiments.  1 Tibetan
    Bodyguard regiment, 1 Chahar Mongol regiment, 1 mounted white officers
    regiment. 1 battery of horse artillery (six guns). 2 batteries of tchankas
    (eight carts).

    32nd Combined Mechanised Brigade: 24 armoured vehicles, split (roughly)
    1/3 steam tanks, 1/3 armoured cars, 1/3 unarmoured cars.

    Colonel Panasonics Brigade of Observation (Shep): 500 rifles in 2
    battalions (one marine, one regular infantry). 1 Cavalry Regiment (200
    sabres). 3 armoured cars, 1 battery of field guns (six guns), 1 battery of
    HMG’s (six guns). One aircraft (fighter/bomber).


3.   Army Group North (2 Brigades)

Location: Kiakhta (due north of Urga on the Russian border). CinC: Colonel Lamas. Morale: Good

13th Border Brigade: 1000 rifles in four battalions. 2 Regular white Russian, 2 irregular Mongolians. 1 battery of field guns (six guns) 1 battery of HMGs (six guns)

77th Asiatic Cavalry Brigade: 500 sabres in 2 regiments. 1 white Russian, 1 irregular Tartar.


4. Army Group East (4 Brigades)

Location: Ude (SE of Urga). CinC: Colonel Alexitov. Morale: Good

11th Chinese Volunteer Brigade: 600 rifles in three regular battalions. 1 battery of HMG’s (six guns).

33rd Mongol Brigade: 800 rifles in two irregular battalions

2nd Asiatic Cavalry Brigade: 600 sabres in three regiments. 1 regular white officers, 1 regular Chahar Mongol, 1 irregular Mongol.  3 armoured cars. One battery of field artillery (six guns)  1 attached recon biplane.


4.   Army Group South (3 Brigades)

    Location: Nom (c.500 miles south west of Urga).  CinC: Colonel Xin.
    Morale: poor

   1st Chinese Volunteer Brigade: 500 rifles in two regular battalions.  1 battery
   of field guns (six guns).

   2nd Chinese ‘Red Spear’ Gang Brigade: 800 mixed armed irregulars in 2
   battalions.

   Gobi Golden Horde: 600 sabres of 3 irregular Mongol cavalry regiments. 1
   attached battery of HMG’s (six guns)


Der Baron in Asiatic Cavalry Division uniform...
Intelligence

You estimate the Chinese army coming from Chang Chun to be 10-15,000 strong.  It has a powerful mechanised component and a strong air-force.

You have less knowledge of what might be coming from Russia, and from what direction, but an army of c.10,000 is possible.  Rumour is that the army is largely made up of released convicts and poorly motivated conscripts.

The Dalai Lama may still be a friend, though he has retreated to Lhasa after the bruising defeat at Chang Chun. He will take some coaxing to play his part in propping up your regime.  He may be able to deploy a quick reaction force (via zeppelin) of c.5,000 men.

The British have one company of Sikhs (c.120 men) plus a few machine gunsdeployed in and around their compound in Urga.


Der Baron on manoeuvres....

[Ignatieff]

Durchfall – British Objectives and Forces

Background

Brigadier Linn’s tale….

You travelled down to London on the overnight from Glasgow Central. By the time you stepped off at Kings Cross, London was in a regular summer drizzle.

The taxi took you straight to the Foreign Office. Sir Walter did not keep you waiting long. But when his secretary took you to his room you would not have recognized the man you had last known eighteen months before.

His big frame seemed to have dropped flesh and there was a stoop in the square shoulders. His face had lost its rosiness and was red in patches, like that of a man who gets too little fresh air. His hair was much greyer and very thin about the temples, and there were lines of overwork below the eyes. But the eyes were the same as before, keen and kindly and shrewd, and there was no change in the firm set of the jaw.

'We must on no account be disturbed for the next hour,' he told his secretary. When the young man had gone he went across to both doors and turned the keys in them.

'Well, Brigadier Linn,' he said, flinging himself into a chair beside the fire. 'How do you like farming?'

'Right enough,' you said, 'though this isn't just the kind of profession I would have picked myself. It's a comfortless, muddy business. But it keeps me outdoors and fit.  I do miss the old days however'.

Sir Walter Bullivant was looking unusually worried.  On his desk you noticed three files. Yours you recognised.  Beside it was an enormously thick file with the name 'Lord Gordon Grey - Top Secret', as well as a well thumbed copy of the pornographic novel, '50 shades of Hodden' that he was widely thought to have authored.  The third one Sir Walter picked up and handed to you.  'Captain Jack Carew, R.N.' You noticed it had been red inked, indicating a closed case or deceased agent.

'We thought we would never have to reopen this case.  However intelligence brought to us by our pundits' - he gestured to a shadowy figure squatting in the corner. 'Good God, a Pathan!' you thought to yourself - 'has made us think again.  You see Carew was on the trail of a rumoured new technology, which would have changed the course of the war. However he was murdered north of Kathmandu  before he could report back, and the case lapsed'.

He walked across to a cabinet and took out what looked like a dull grey piece of metal. 'We've just had this sent to us by our man in Manchuria'.

He tossed it onto the desk. You noticed it made no sound when it landed. 'Go on, pick it up'. He sounded strangely irritable.  The metal was remarkably light, paper thin and incredibly flexible.  Like aluminium, but much more so.  

What happened next almost finished you off.  You heard a click and looked up to see Sir Walter Bullivant, Head of the British Secret Service, pointing a .455 Webley revolver straight at your chest. Before you could react he pulled the trigger. You felt a slight shudder as the bullet hit the metal,which you held instinctively in from of your chest.  But nothing else.  Once you recovered your self composure (apart from a slight moistness 'fore and aft'),  and realised that you weren't dead, you noticed that the metal had gone rock hard and stiff, and what looked like a copper splodge had appeared where the slug had hit it. 'Good God!' you muttered.  

'God has nothing to do it' came a well educated voice from the Pathan who was now standing next to you.  'Lord Gordon Grey, at your service'. His hand was slightly clammy, but in the circumstances you barely noticed. He had a whiff of the night about him, and made you feel damned uneasy.

Bullivant coughed. 'Lord Grey here was on the trail of the original source, which was meant to be a strange statue - of the music hall ditty fame - near where Carew was murdered.  But when he got there it had gone.  Bought by none other than Baron Ungern Von Sternberg, the Monster of Mongolia himself.  Locals said it was an offering to the new Ghengis Khan, and that Sternberg's agents paid handsomely for it'.

Grey place a small scrap of paper on the desk.

'They said it was 12 feet tall and looked like this'.  It was charcoal sketch of a queer, ancient looking thing, yellowish grey, with just one large green eye in the centre of its head. It looked Mesopotamian or Summerian to you. 'And it was made of the metal that just saved your life'. You noticed the metal had returned to its previous flimsy state.

'We have to get our hands on it, or stop anyone else doing the same' said Bullivant, sounding purposeful.  'The Bolsheviks, or the Germans, would pay a fortune for this. The worrying thing is that we fear the Germans may already have.  This piece of metal came from the remains of a new type of multi-barralled mortar that our old friend Von Stauffenberg deployed for the first time at the Battle of Chang Chun. He disappeared shortly afterward, and hasn't been heard of since'.

You asked the obvious question.  'How am I....'

'we' interjected Grey - you really weren't sure about this odd cove.

'How are we meant to get to Outer Mongolia, which is currently in the throws of a vicious war with its Chinese neighbours, and gain access to Urga, the most desolate and dangerous city on this earth, and return with a 20' high metal statue?'.

Bullivant smiled.  'we shall have to manufacture an...'incident'.  Our ambassador there, Sir Redvers Bullingdon, has been given instructions to demand that Ungern Von Sternberg abdicate immediately to avert a bloody Civil War.  We know this will throw the Monster into a rage, and he will seize Sir Redvers and the embassy staff and hold them hostage - or worse.  We will, reluctantly, need to respond. Honour of the Empire and all that.  Conveniently we have a crack Brigade of Indian Army troops just recently arrived in Shanghai from Calcutta. There's plenty of motor transport, the terrain once you are out of China is as flat as a pancake, and here are the necessary passes to clear the various warlord factions'. He laid down a fan of elaborately embroidered, tasseled and sealed documents.  '20,000 gold sovereigns should also ease your passage, and Lord Grey here knows the lay of the land, lingo and the natives like his own Aberdeenshire estate'.  Grey stayed silent.

This was now beginning to sound like your kind of adventure. 'One thing however'. Sir Walter was putting on his Crombie coat by this point. 'You will need to get in, free the hostages and seize the statue before it all kicks off'.

'Kicks off?' you asked.

'Yes, there are rumoured to be 20,000 Chinese and White Russians advancing from Manchuria, and half that number again of Bolsheviks heading over the western border.  Looks like it'll be a proper scrum.  Goodbye'.  The door closed, and you were left with that leering loon Grey and the most madcap scheme of your career so far......


Linn inspects the RGH

Your objectives

1.  Recover the statue and bring it safely back into British hands.
2.  If necessary, free the British hostages, and get them to safety.
3.  Minimise British military casualties.

Your forces

'Task force Achilles' c.1,000 men all in..

CinC, Brigadier Donald Linn
2IC, Lord Gordon Grey


Linn in the flesh...(behind him, probably picking his pocket, is Count Neri Cappone, the Italian adventurer.  Any resemblance between him and Paul Eaglestone of Empress Miniatures is purely coincidental...)

1 squadron of Skinners Horse (80 sabres)
1 squadron of Royal Gloucs Hussars (80 sabres)

1 coy of Gordon Highlanders (120 rifles)
1 coy of Argylls (120 rifles)
1 coy of Hampshires (120 rifles)
1 coy of Royal Marines (120 rifles)

1 coy of Royal Engineers (80 men)

(n.b. all infantry and engineers are truck mounted)

1 battery of QF 18 pdrs (six guns)
1 battery of 4" mountain guns (six guns)

2 sections of HMGs (12 vickers)

2 troops of RR armoured cars (Duke of Westminsters own). 6 cars.
2 troops of unarmoured cars (model T's and the like) 6 cars.

2 aircraft (Bristol bullet and Fe2b)

Further Intelligence:

- Lord Grey runs a semi-private 'pundit' system throughout China and east-central asia which if properly interrogated can give you accurate and timely information.


A rare, grainy, snap of Lord Grey...

- Der Baron's total forces are estimated at c.10,000 men, but are widely scattered and of poor quality after his defeat at Chang Chun.  Main concentrations are in Urga and Kashgar, one of his few remaining outposts.
- The Tibetans have pulled support from his cause.
- British Intelligence understand that a number of pseudo-private operations are being mounted to 'rescue' the statue.  Most of these however are state sponsored, in one way or the other.
- You, Lord Grey and Task Force Achilles start in Shanghai, in October 192?

[Sardoo]

Keep the story coming! I need to know what happens next!!!

[doowopapocalypse]

[marianas_gamer]

OK!    Always happy to see the Kriegspielers in action!!

[Hamilkar]

Absolutely love the Kriegspieler's stories.  Surely someone in the UK needs to hire a good accountant, so I can move over there and join this group!!  Keep the narrative coming!!! Great stuff.

[marianas_gamer]

Steve,
Surely this is canon, so we will require a bottle list and a picture of the medal that the Beast awarded himself!!!!
LB

[Ignatieff]

Steve,
Surely this is canon, so we will require a bottle list and a picture of the medal that the Beast awarded himself!!!!
LB

The government changed the law after our last bottle count was posted    , so I'm afraid we cannot reveal the numbers, just to say they are 'modest'.  The Beats wasnt in this game (he was playing his later ego, Col. Panasonic, 'ally' to Der Baron), but I can reveal top secret pics taken of the new Bukharan armoured Brigade on manoeuvre somewhere near Samarkand.....

[Ignatieff]

Durchfall – Chinese objectives and forces

Background

Chang Chun: June 192?

Your bum was getting sore. Sitting on this wooden horse holding a stick skywards for hours on end.  Maybe you should have opted for ‘The Murat of Manchuria’.  It scanned better as well.  However Smirnoff had wanted that title for himself, so you went up a gear: ‘The Napoleon of Manchuria’.  The painting is to be your version of ‘Napoleon crossing the Alps’, or as it is going to be in your case: ‘Wanger wading the Yangtze’, in anticipation of your final triumph.  But before then Mongolia was the prize.  Destroy Der Baron and take Mongolia and all China would prostrate itself before you. It was that simple.  And following the capture of Chang Chun and its fabulous wealth you have been able to put together a modern army the likes of which had not been seen since the greatest days of the Ming dynasty.  You, Hu Jjin Wanger, are the man of the moment.  Time now to seize your destiny!

Objective       

Capture Urga and destroy the forces of Der Baron once and for all.  It would be convenient if Der loony could be included in the collateral damage as well.   

Forces

Army organization and movement: Note that the ‘Brigade’ is the smallest unit of manoeuvre on the map.  All Brigades are assumed to take appropriate precautions on the march, at camp and for reconnaissance, etc.  Larger formations are purely administrative units, and do not need to be kept together.  Movement is ‘a la Kriegspiel’, i.e. variable.

Total Army strength:  c. 17,000.  Broken down: 8,000 infantry; 4,800 cavalry; 78 field guns/mortars; 54 HMGs; 18 heavy guns; 108 armoured cars; 12 tanks; 12 aircraft


Wanger's army on the march from Chang Chun.  The British resident in the city described it as "An open sewer running through Manchuria.  Each village could smell it several hours before it arrived"


1.   Wanger’s Imperial Guard Division (4 Brigades)     

Location: Chang Chun.  CinC: General Foo Linn.  Morale: excellent

1st Armoured cavalry Brigade: 24 armoured and unarmoured cars.

1st White Russian Bodyguard Brigade: 900 rifles in 3 battalions, 2 field batteries (12 guns), 2 HMG batteries (12 HMGs)

1st Chinese Assault Brigade: 1200 rifles and SMGs in 3 battalions, 2 field batteries (6 guns, 6 mortars), 2 rocket batteries (12 rockets), 2 HMG batteries (12 HMGs)

1st heavy artillery Brigade: 12 x 150mm howitzers, animal towed

1st Guards Air Observation: 6 light bombers/fighters



Wanger takes the salute...

2.   Schneiber’s Chinese Storm Division (5 Brigades)

Location: Kirin.  CinC: Colonel Rudi Schneiber.  Morale: good
 
114th Infantry Brigade: 900 rifles in 3 battalions, 1 HMG battery (6 HMGs)

27th infantry Brigade: 900 rifles in 3 battalions, 1 field battery (6 mortars) 

13th Austrian Brigade: 1200 rifles in three battalions, 1 HMG battery (6 HMGs)

3rd Cavalry Brigade: 900 sabres in three regiments (one camel mounted), 1 attached horse artillery battery (6 guns)

32nd heavy artillery battery (independent): 6 x 200m guns. Animal towed.


3.   13th Division (3 Brigades)

Location: Harbin.  CinC: General Chin.  Morale: fair

35th infantry Brigade: 800 rifles in 3 battalions, 1 HMG battery (6 HMGs)

125th infantry Brigade: 1200 rifles in 4 battalions

Tartar auxilieries: 900 sabres in 3 regiments (irregulars)


4.   Count Pierre Smirnoff’s White Cavalry Division (4 Brigades)

Location: Chang Chun. CinC: Smirnoff himself.  Morale: excellent

Don Cossack Brigade: 1200 sabres in 3 regiments. 2 batteries of tchankas (12 carriages)

White Russian Lieb Cavalry Brigade : 900 sabres in 3 regiments. 1 horse artillery battery (6 guns)

Kazakh Cavalry Brigade: 900 irregular sabres

350th motorised infantry Brigade: 900 White Russian rifles in 3 battalions, in a variety of motorised (and un-motorised) transport, 2 field batteries (12 guns)

Air observation squadron: 3 light aircraft



5.   Count Pierre Smirnoff’s Armoured cavalry Division (4 Brigades)

Location: Chang Chun.  CinC: Col Stefan Von Ravenstien. Morale: excellent

1st Armoured Brigade: 24 assorted armoured and unarmoured vehicles.

2nd Armoured Brigade: 24 assorted armoured and unarmoured vehicles

13th Armoured Brigade: 36 assorted armoured and unarmoured vehicles.

27th Heavy Tank Brigade: 12 tanks, 2 field batteries (12 guns)

Air observation squadron: 3 light aircraft.


Another view of the Urga liberation Army...

Intelligence

Der Baron’s army is rumoured to be in poor morale, dispersed around Mongolia, and short of equipment and ammunition.

His three best forces are in Urga, Ulan Nor and Kashgar, with around 3-4,000 men in each, all dug in.

Urga is rumoured to be being heavily fortified.

The British are rumoured to be allying with Der Baron.  Certainly a British Brigade of c1,000 men ahs set off from Shanghai.

The Trans-Siberian railway line is under Red control as far as Irkutsk.  Irkutsk itself is garrisoned by elements of the Siberian Soviet.  The area east of there, and in particularly Trans Baikalia, is contested territory, with White bandit forces supported by elements of American and Japanese forces much in evidence.

Trotsky has put a bounty of 10,000 gold sovereigns on the head of Smirnoff.

A Red Army of c.25,000 men, well equipped, is assembling in Moscow.



....more soon......