Some last minute revision

I've not been around a lot recently, as you will have noticed. June got crazy-busy, for a number of reasons, including a week in Croatia and a number of important events with the battlefields society. I gave a couple of lectures, too, and left the work on them a bit late, so I was beavering away to get the slides done and sort out in my head what I was going to say. Not necessarily in that order.

That's left me running a bit short of time ahead of COW this weekend coming. I'm taking "It Rolls for Ivan", and I really needed to playtest a scenario and also top up my rules awareness. The scenario needs to cope with up to six players and also run with less. It needs to run for a double session, which is about 4 1/2 hours. I also want it to showcase all the bits of IRFI which are different to FWTDR. So that means loads of cavalry, an armoured train, some armoured cars, troops that will fail their NYET/DA! tests and finally some CHEKA. 

I put something together which looked like it might answer, but ideally it needed a playtest. Hence this Tuesday's game. Turnout was a bit thin. Well, just me and Richard, actually, but that meant I got to push around more of my toys than usual. I gave Richard the Reds, as they had the train, and I also know he hates having the CHEKA about, because he hasn't worked out what they're for yet. Well, he thinks he has, doesn't like it, and keeps trying to get them into places where they'll be shot, so he doesn't have to worry about them anymore.

The Reds are to the right, and the Whites to the left.

I started on my left, pushing up my cavalry ahead of a bold sweep to roll up the Reds.

I had gambled with using a whole load of NYET/DA! cards in the opening move. This included one for an armoured car, and I got a "Gunner skill" outcome, that allows the car to move and fire without spending extra activations, and also without reducing effect for moving. Richard complained that he never gets that sort of result, and when he tried it both his tanks blew up. He might have a point.

He responded by uncharacteristically moving his armoured train into the centre of the table. You can see the sheer joy on his face as he pushed it forwards whilst making choo-choo noises. A brave move or a foolish gamble?

He was rewarded by being able to target my artillery and forcing it off the table. Ah. That's my main weapon to deal with his train. I need a plan B.

To give me time to think I played a joker. This brought on some extra cavalry on Richard's left flank.

I used it to charge one of his conscript infantry battalions. Due to some poor dice rolling whilst I beat his unit, I was unable to destroy it. This caused me issues as it meant I would need another activation to finish the job.

So, here we are several impulses into the game. The cavalry in the distance is shaping up for a fight. My infantry are moving up in the centre. I'm formulating a plan to do a co-ordinated rush on it whilst it is stationary .

Richard brings up his motorised infantry battalion to bolster this flank, as he is outnumbered in cavalry units.

He spots that one of my units has used two activations, and he has one that has used only one. That means he can charge, then follow up if things go well for him.

They do, and he breaks one of my Cossack units with the second contact. 

On my right, my reserve cavalry sweep through the woods, routing their previous opponents. My charge on a second unit results in them running for it as I emerge from the woods, and I can't catch them. I might have over extended myself here.

The CHEKA open fire with their assorted machine pistols and so on. A lot of damage is inflicted.

I can't shift that wretched train. One of my armoured cars has taken a couple of hits and is limping a bit (metaphorically speaking), and its MGs can't scratch the train's armour.

So much so that I had to bring my other car up. That, likewise, couldn't do any damage.

Bloody chaos, literally, as I launch a counter attack at the other end of the table.

I lose the turn initiative, which means I'm unable to extract that cavalry unit before it is overwhelmed.

Damn. Lost another cavalry unit. However, I have an infantry unit in a firing line which shoots up their opponents fairly efficiently.

Richard then gets a real stroke of luck. His joker brings in to play the heavy companion to his on table train. It zeros in on my Officer battalion before I can attack the on table train with it. They attempt to get out from under the bombardment, but are caught again. 

But not before the ranging shots go a little awry.

Without the Officers, I'm forced to send in a couple of conscript battalions, urged on by Colonel Nastikov.

It's a close run thing, but they are repulsed. I think that's nearly it for me.

Sure enough a unit of brave workers counter attack, scattering my chaps.

Buoyed by their success they follow up on to the other unit.

They wallop them too.

A slight glimmer of hope, as my cavalry break the last unit of Red Horse.

Alas it's all too little, too late. My army has reached its break point, and Richard is able to pull his train into the objective.

Phew! That was a bit hectic. I thought I had it won, even after I lost my artillery, but my luck ran out, and I had no answer to the train. Richard's off table artillery intervention came just at the right time. The involvement of the Officer battalion would have tipped the attack on the train in my favour.

The scenario worked pretty well. There were some slight issues, which I have tidied up for the weekend, otherwise I'm good to go.