The TransCaspian Episode - a LoEK battle report

[Ignatieff]

British heavy weapons (minus the flattened Punjabis) open up on the red train, with little effect this move (move 5)

[Ignatieff]

Meanwhile, Red Ted digs in, thus relieving pressure on the thinly held allied left flank. He claimed as he had taken his objective he wanted to prepare for the potential arrival of the white armoured train from Krasnavodsk, when in fact one final push would have in all likelihood collapsed the allied left...

[Ignatieff]

Allied 18pdr rounds slam into the armoured train as all hell breaks loose around the railway junction. Bolo railway workers called upon their Social Revolutionary Comrades to defect, and with cries of 'Death to the Counter Revolution and a Living Wage for all Railway workers with three weeks holiday and a turkey at Christmas!" they poured over to the Reds.  Much cheering on the red side of the table!

Turn 7 sees the allied reserve cavalry, the 27th Punjabis and the South Notts Hussars, enter just at the critical moment.  Perhaps General Malleson was not as hung over as he looked and acted....


Turn 8 sees them launch a series of desperate charges into the mayhem around the railway junction, and despite huge casualties, they repel the Bolo attacks...As night falls the battle for the railway junction takes on a macabre vision as the burning buildings frame the increasingly desperate struggle....

[Ignatieff]

Turn 8 also sees the entry of the white train (at speed), which the reds hit with all they've got, but still suffer a catastrophic hit on their lead railway wagon....



White reservists rally and push back into the fray.


Zimmerman steadies the Bolo line.....

[Ignatieff]

The game ended on move 8.  The Bolos were too shattered to continue their attacks, and had started digging in.  The allies had suffered heavily, but still held the vital central rail junction.  Red Ted held the other railway bridge, so all-in-all a draw was a fair result.  Draws are rarely satisfying, but this one was.  Everyone had had a bloody good fight, and the casualty toll was enormous, particularly on the Bolo side.  The white commander in the centre did a body count afterwards, and it was truly astonishing.....

"Kill count for the coal bunker

Allies:

35 infantry KIA
1 armoured car abandoned
7 cavalry KIA
1 HMG knocked out


Reds:

156 infantry KIA
3 armoured cars knocked out
12 cavalry KIA
1 HMG knocked out

Why?  why? "

A cracking game, followed by the traditional League Apres Party....

[Ignatieff]

The Red Dalai poses before more Bolo propaganda.  What was it Stalin said about if you tell a big enough lie enough times?



The Red Dalai in full dress moustache and the Turcoman commander in his 'undress' hat and sans moustache....

[Ignatieff]

Happy Kriegspielers


Lord Grey in full Turcoman head gear (I brought this one back from Khiva in the summer)



A close look at Zimmerman's face shows the terrible scars of the flamethrower explosion.  His top lip and eyebrows appear to have melted...


'Black Ken' Kurnilov shares a weak peasant joke with a rich fella. Ignatieff arrives in the background, replete in his traditional central asian outfit...

[Ignatieff]

And so The League celebrated, with the usual exaggerated tales of daring do, of honour challenged (there were three duels) and cigars smoked (20 Cohiba Robustos....a record!).  We sat from 8.00 till 2.30am at the table, the longest that most of us had sat still anywhere ever.  Such is the unique camaraderie of this great club



Player of the game was Red Ted, for his comprehensive demolition of the White left flank (it really does pay to read the rules), followed in second place by young Rory Langan, who came of age in his heroic defence of the coal bunker as the White Russian commander.

A real classic League weekend.

Thank you for reading this far.  Next up for The League, 'Wake Island, Battlefield 192?' at the York war-games show in early February.  If anyone can make it let us know.

[OSHIROmodels]

Inspiring as always chaps 

cheers

James

[Furt]

This all looks so much fun! 

From the copious amounts of alcohol and funny hats, to the beautiful minis and table - this has to be wargaming at it's best!

[Turbo-Ben]

I'd love to have a silly hat too. (And a collection of painted minis half as big as yours, and half the space for a gaming table, and a game master... )

[Phil Robinson]

Excellent conclusion, look forward to seeing the York game.

[FramFramson]

My god, that shot of the chaos around the railway station.     ...   

[gamer Mac]

Lovely stuff all round. The stuff of legends
Always one of the most entertaining threads on the LAF.
Can't wait on the next one already

[WuZhuiQiu]

Great stuff! Which rule set did you use, by the way?