The League of Extraordinary Kriegspielers proudly presents....Red Dawn Landing

[Ignatieff]

Red Dawn Landing - Tibetan brief

The sickness amongst the monks had lasted for months.  The winter crops rotted inexplicably in the great warehouses. And the snows had not melted in the high passes of the Nyainqentanglha Shan, leaving the people cut off and starving.  Questions were being asked about The Great Buddha's will, and what the people of Tibet had done to offend him.  Prayers and more prayers were offered, the wheels spun unendingly, but still the  Great Sickness rode the land.  There were rumours of great rays of light appearing and disappearing suddenly, deep in the mountains north of Ngamring, but the terrible storms that had lasted for months meant that no zeppelin could come close and no foot expedition could dare to try.  This would normally be a time of looking inward, of ignoring all the Foreign Devils and only healing the people, but Tibet's increased international these last ten years meant that this was not possible anymore.

For there was war and rumour of war in the western lands.  The heathen Bolsheviks had massed against Bukhara. The British had responded and are arming a great expedition to send to eastern Persia. The new King of Afghanistan, Amaullah Khan, whose name means 'snake', was said to harbour great violence against all. And all through India, on your southern border, great civil strife had erupted against the King Emperor's rule.  Then there was strange new state, which was not a state, the so-called 'League of Nations', who was planning to pour more guns and soldiers into the region to 'keep the peace'.

These were worrying times, and Tibet must play its part. As well as healing its people you must choose sides in the coming strife.  Your central role as peace keepr in the region demands it.

Objectives

1. Work out what is happening up in the mountains north of Ngamring, and heal the sickness amongst the people of Tibet that it is causing
2. Play your part in the International drama playing out in Central Asia.

Forces

2,000 elite monks
5,000 British trained regulars
20,000 militia
support weaponry (field guns, machine guns, mortars, etc)
2 super zeppelins
6 transport zeppelins
and in extremis, the 12 commercial zeppelins of 'Yak Air'.

Intelligence

- Bolo forces ranged against north west Bukhara estimated to be c.45,000 men.  Mostly old equipment and poorly trained levies

- Tashkent has a concentration of around 10,000 more modern Bolo troops with armour, etc.

- Bukharan army estimated to be c.20,000 modern troops with armour and heavy weaponry (including modern tanks) and 40,000 reservists and irregular levies.  Mostly concentrated in and around the capital.

- Bolos also trying to recruit an Indian Army with promises of liberating India after vanquishing Bukhara.  A few thousand enthusiastic student types have signed up under Manabendra Nath Roy, mostly from the University of Central Asia in Tashkent.  Roy himself is still thought to be in Moscow

- Amaullah Khan is the cousin of The Beast of Bukhara, though they are said to loathe each other

- Der Baron claiming crown of Afghanistan due to his claimed direct descent from Alexander the Great and Ghengis Khan 

- The Beast is said to be taking to dressing up in disguise as a women for fear of assassination

- Gerkushians increasingly frustrated by Der Baron's 'benign' protectorate in the Ferghana Valley, and in particular his proxy, Von Stauffenberg,  'Germanification' policies 

[Ignatieff]

Red Dawn Landing - Afghan Brief

It was, without a shadow of a doubt, good to be King.

The palaces, the wealth, the Rolls Royce Phantom car in Islamic green, the dancing girls, the page boys, and the marching bands at the daily executions. Rows of modern Afghan soldiers in smart Russian uniforms going 'left right, left right' all day long. And people cheering, everywhere, with little green flags. There is no doubt, this is what being a proper King means.  Not like that paranoid cousin of yours, The Beast of Bukhara, skulking in his capital, too scared to go out in daylight, completely and utterly friendless, and seeing plots in every corner and bazaar. Rumour had it he had taken to dressing as a women, and employed dozens of body doubles.  Oh how you laughed.

You on the other hand had friends, lots of them.  The British liked you, and paid you huge bounties to avoid pillaging their frontier towns.  Which you mostly complied with, until that incident. The Red heathens loved you, and supplied you with guns and bombs and aircraft and artillery and bayonets, and even more money, especially after that insult. And The League of Nations loved you, especially after you had lied about letting their silly little frontier force march through the Khyber Pass en route for Samarkand.

You had never met the new British Resident Lord Grey before.  You had expected the usual deferential English inbreed, all narrow shouldered and long nosed loquacious charm and false flattery.  No this one was different. Especially when he asked for an initial private audience. You should have suspected something, but never this.  You had acceded to his request, and he met you on the battlement walls of the Kabul fortress under a warm moonlit autumn night. If you recalled, before you lost your temper and tried to throw him straight off the wallls, the conversation went something like this. Says he: "You know Amaulluh Khan, we've grown bored with your stone age ways, your lying and your treachery. Britain has a new friend in the region, and his name is Adrian Enver Pasha, your enlightened and progressive cousin". "Really?" says I, utterly taken aback at this affront. "Yes!" says he, all haughty and English. "And the money stops here. No more bribes, no more flattery, no more baksheesh.  His Majesty's Government has had enough. You are yesterday's man, so get used to it". With that, he lit up a cheroot and farted. Very loudly, and with a curious trumpet voluntary arrangement. You lunged for him, but he ran off, just like that.  Well, that was it.  A telegram the following day confirmed what the bastard had said. And then he was recalled back to Delhi. Gone. And therefore how all the sweeter the very next day when you received a telegram from the Red heathens in Moscow, asking to open a 'trade mission'. Well you would show them.  Turns out the 'trade mission' was after your help in a little bit of border raiding into India.  100,000 jihadi warriors worth of help.  With gold to pay for them and the assistance of over 60,000 Bolshevik troops, tanks, aircraft and heavy guns. And the Rolls Royce Phantom.  In Islamic green.  That sealed it.  That and the promise of all of north west India and the title of 'Emperor of the Punjab'  Grey would rue the day when he insulted The Lion of Allah! All this talk in the west of a Bolshevik invasion of Bukhara was a bluff!  But how you would enjoy frightening that loathsome cousin of yours all the same!

Objective:

The Big One. Work in top-secret concert with the Bolsheviks to invade India and overthrow the British Empire, extracting as much reward from all sides whilst you are at it.

Forces:

70,000 fanatical Afghan tribesmen, horse and foot, armed with a mixture of modern and obsolete rifles. 
30,000 regular Afghan army. Modern weaponry, field guns, machine guns, armoured cars, and some obsolete WWI aircraft. Split 25,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry.

The Bolsheviks have already deployed some 10,000 of their best troops in Afghanistan involved in training, reconnaissance and logistics (road and river crossing improvements).  They have another 50,000 spread out across Central Asia ready to converge on Afghanistan.

Intelligence

- India is in forment!  Your agents and those of the heathen Reds have bribed every ne'er-do-well and their cousins to put spanners in every possible works.

- Brigadier Linn is being sent out the country with a large army (20,000 of their best troops) to protect the Persian oil fields.  India is therefore almost defenceless apart from a few police battalions and reservists.

- There are strange meteor showers running from west to east and said to be landing high up in the Himalayas.  Hopefully some of them will fall on the head of that bastard Grey who is trying to climb Everest with two other swines called Mallory and Irvine.

- The League of Nations has agreed to send an 18,000 strong field force to sit in-between the Bolos and Bukharans in Samarkand. It is under the command of Smirnoff and comprises French, Austrian, American and White Russian contingents.  It needs to be able to pass through either Persia or Afghanistan to get there. Maybe a chance for some mischief in the Khyber passes?

- Der Baron is claiming that he is the rightful King of Afghanistan due to his 'direct line' descent from Alexander the Great and Ghengis Khan.

- The three Bolo Commanders are Dave Ryan, Iain Blackwood and Paul Eaglestone.  'Red' Ted has defected to the Gerkushians and is now a puppet of Der Baron.  There is a very large price on his head from Moscow, not surprisingly...

- Maps when I get all the briefs out.

Good luck!

Steve

[Ignatieff]

Right. That's all the briefs. Next up, what happened in the four moves leading up to the weekend. Apologies for the lack of photos at this stage. I'm travelling a lot and the plates are at the chemists being developed!

Plus I am flying with my two lads to Tashkent tomorrow for some further recon there and in Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand. Before popping into Tajikistan for a few days next weekend 'in the footsteps of Alexander' Moo-ha-ha!  Moo-ha-ha!   On a serious note, anyone know where the Sogdian Rock actually is???

[marianas_gamer]

Soghdian Rock, right? Ah Roxanne...sigh. So are you planning on fording the Amu Darya via inflated goat bladders?  It is the only way don't you know!  Best if under arrow fire from the opposite bank. So says Arrian or was it Quintus Curtius?
Lon

[Ignatieff]

Soghdian Rock, right? Ah Roxanne...sigh. So are you planning on fording the Amu Darya via inflated goat bladders?  It is the only way don't you know!  Best if under arrow fire from the opposite bank. So says Arrian or was it Quintus Curtius?
Lon

Think it was both Lon. Though wait till you see the picture of Roxanne from the campaign. You'll not be sighing then matey!

[coggon]

I long ago ran out of words for the League's exploits.  Glad to see them back in action.

Bring on the plot twists and pictures!

[Ignatieff]

The shadowy figure on the veranda of the main gate to the Ark is reported to be the last image of the Beast prior to.....

[Patrice]

Fascinating! 

...as usual. 

[FramFramson]

I keep hitting 'refresh'...

[Beast of Bukhara]

And gentlemen in France then -a-field in Agincourt
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not there

Lovely Lovely Lead and buildings

[marianas_gamer]

Shush Adrian Pasha......you're supposed to be dead 

[cardophillipo]

Bloody Marvellous as always. Just had a stint in hospital and been recovering at home (although i'm back in tomorrow!) catching up and what do I find to lift the spirits but some pictures and info on the last 'League' game. What joy, can't wait to see more and more and more pictures.

Cheers

Richard P

[Ignatieff]

apologies for the delay.  Currently 'up country' in Uzbekistan.  Normal service will be resumed at the end of next week.

[Ignatieff]

Ha ha!  Two in a day!!!

And here are the pics....buggered if I can recall all the amazing detail (too many games/too much alcohol/old age.  Take you pick..), but in summary, the Brits were hoodwinked into sending their main army to Persia, The Bolos stormed the passes and got as far as the walls of Delhi.  They also tried a spectacular, but unsuccessful raid on Bombay (it was good to welcome back The Potemkin).  The Reds also had this campaigns secret weapon - the super tank!. Meanehile in Tibet a mysterious flying saucer was the object of much shooting and rocks falling on folks heads.  It was, as I hope you will agree from the pics, a cracker....

and oh the Red's lost.  Badly.  And are high tailing it back to Russia. And they lost Tashkent to Der Baron. And check out The Dalai's new zeppelin in here!!!  Woo hoo!


https://www.flickr.com/photos/leagueextraordinarykriegspielers/albums/72157658746902750

[Metternich]

Fantastic (and I mean that in all senses of the word !) as ever, Gentlemen.  Quite enjoyed the pictures - wonderful collections of well-painted figures.  Austrians posed an interesting choice of post-war peace keepers.