Russian Civil War - the Epic Report of an Epic Game

There is a joke in our group about how many figures you should use in a game. Apparently if you ask Graham, the answer is "all of them". In practice that isn't always the case, but it is true that I don't see the point of leaving stuff in boxes if there's room on the table.

For this quarter's "Shedquarters Day" it was inevitable we'd play "It Rolls for Ivan". Also, due to on-line camera angles and so on, I normally run games on a 6' x 4' table. As an SHQ Day is done in person, I opened up, and went for at least 8' x 5'. If not more. Which meant I could empty some boxes. 

For this game we had two Red infantry regiments (6 battalions), supported by a cavalry division (4 regiments), fighting a White infantry regiment of 4 battalions and two cavalry brigades of 3 regiments each. Then there was some artillery, armoured cars and CHEKA. So it was a busy old table.

The Reds, under the command of Gary & Chris A are to the left, the Whites under other Richard and Phil are to the right.

First or second Impulse, and the Whites get some reinforcements in the shape of a Lanchester armoured car.

Over on his flank, Phil pushed his cavalry up into a wood, and brought up artillery and an armoured car in support.

Richard had cavalry on the other wing, and moved them up too. As everyone was in the room there was no need for activation counters, and the actual cards could be used instead.

Gary had an elite ersatz regiment, consisting of a Naval units, some ChON and some Bolshevik regulars. He started with a bold advance.

The Reds had some Red Guards in the centre. They also advanced boldly, which was nothing to do with the CHEKA company and attached MGs in their rear.

A general view a few impulses in. The Whites have moved up their infantry in the centre, and now both sides are contemplating their options

The Red Guard camped out in the central wood. Phil's armoured car drove up and gave them a burst.

Th some Soviet airmen turned up and machine gunned the Officer Battalion hiding in the woods, prior to an attack by the Naval Battalion.

Alas for the sailors they came under fire from White artillery, which rather unsettled them. Just after this picture was taken they chose to retire out of the artillery barrage.

The other White battery then zeroed in on some of Chris' Red Cavalry.

Gary's Red Guards, rather than just sit there and take it, bravely launched an assault on Phil's armoured car.

And then tried it again. Neither attack was a success.

Although the sailors ducked back out of the bombardment, the CHoN were able to take control of the nearby village.

What's this? The White air force arrived as well. They were targeting the Red Guards on the edge of the wood...

...but overshot and hit their colleagues behind. Which was actually a better target.

Over at the other end we saw the start of a sprawling cavalry melee.

The Reds won the initial contact.

After a bit of too-ing and fro-ing they had seen off one White regiment, but were badly cut up, and were waiting for a fresh White unit to finish them off.

After two futile attacks on the armoured car discussed above, one unit of Red Guards bolted (the one in line in the wood bottom right), never to be seen again, despite having the CHEKA behind them.

Supported by the armoured car, the red cap Officer battalion charged into the wood.

The Red Guards opposing them broke and fled.

The Officers then occupied the wood, only to come under a hail of very effective fire from the CHEKA and their MG company.

More White aircraft turned up. This time it was a couple of bombers. They missed the target, and hit the white cap Officer battalion in the wood.

The other Officer battalion and the CHEKA exchanged fire again. The CHEKA's MGs performed very well, to put it mildly, supported by a Red armoured car, bottom of the picture.

The Reds therefore formed up the Red Guards in the other village, and charged into the wood, attacking before the Officers could reorganise. When the previous hits were allocated, a lot of the White bases were damaged, and some were destroyed. 

It was heroic, but the Whites died to a man.

The Naval infantry - remember them? - had previously withdrawn in open order to escape the bombardment. Richard therefore launched his Cossacks at them. This looked like a good opportunity, depending upon the reaction of the infantry.

The infantry stood their ground, and unleashed a devastating round of firing, obliterating the charging cavalry. Oh dear.

After defeating the Officers, the Red Guards had occupied the wood. However, threatened by White cavalry, they retired in open order, exposing the CHEKA and their MGs.

Phil seems to be gaining the upper hand on this flank, so Chris counter attacks with his cavalry.

Chris' cavalry are repulsed.

His attempt to regain the initiative with an attack out of the far wood is undone by an impromptu mutiny by his cavalry. Not only do they not attack, but half the unit deserts.

Richard tries to hold Gary's Naval infantry in place by pressing them with his armoured car.

At the end of the game the Whites were dominating their right wing, whilst the left had turned into a stalemate. The Red infantry had occupied strong defensive positions, and the Whites were left with only cavalry to try and evict them. The Red centre had collapsed, held mainly by the CHEKA's MG company. They were looking for a way out, as the rules require them not to be the leading infantry unit in the Red army.

Elsewhere in the game we had vehicle break downs and rear area sabotage to add extra spice.

It went really well, considering three of the four players really didn't know the system. We had a lot of action, incident and excitement. This was a BIG game for the rules, and they handled it all very well. For a beginner I wouldn't start this big, and it was a gamble with so many new players, but it was good to see that it ran so well.

And I can't believe I didn't take a single picture with the cover of the rules showing.