First Ever Solo Game Part Two

Move 1
Initiative
Mongols 13 (original 9), Kharizmians 10 (original 5). Mongols elect to move second.

The Khwarizmian SkC (Unit 1), advances to give some manoeuvring space for the troops coming over the Pass. The Levy SI (Unit 2) carries on its advance in march column with Abd Ad-Dill. Just behind them the Bodyguard BC (Unit 3) arrives on the field.

Out of sight the Mongols adjust their position slightly. On the left hand hill, Snoopy Bahadur’s 2iC, Temuge, watches the approaching enemy and prepares to spring the ambush.


Move 2
Initiative Mongols 13, Khwarizmians 9. Mongols elect to move second again.

Khwarizmian 1 automatically spots the advancing Mongol Unit A and rolls to react. The random result was Continue with Original Order –which was to scout ahead of the main force. The infantry 2 moves onto the flat ground but cannot deploy yet. Abd Ad-Dill’s Bodyguard moves down the pass.

Mongol A advances and fires at Khwazmian 1 –no effect.


Move 3
Initiative Mongols 10, Khwarizmians 11. Khwarizmians elect to move second.

Mongol Unit A advances to within Close Range of Khwarizmian Unit 1 and fires -no effect. The other Mongol units change formation in preparation for an advance.

Khwarizmain 1 can’t move as it is out of Abd Ad-Dill’s command radius, 2 continues its tentative advance while 3 advances away from the pass and redeploys. The new unit 4, another SkC arrives. 1 fires at Mongol A, again no effect.


Move 4
Initiative Mongols 12, Khwarizmians 8. Mongols elect to move first.

Mongol A initialises a Feigned Retreat Even though Khwarizmian 1 is made of steppe nomads it fails its Competency Roll and gallops off in wild pursuit. B and C move up ready to attack any exposed flanks of Khwarizmian 1. Because of the intervening troops and terrain, the Khwarizmians cannot see any of the Mongol flank movements. Mongol A fires at Khwarizmian 1 and one Base is lost. In the Mongol rear, Snoopy Khan watches intently.

Khwarizmian A is caught up in Feigned Retreat, 2 continues its advance. C forms up alongside B after seeing A inexplicably galloping off. D moves up behind B and Abd Ad-Dill move towards the protection of the remainder of his force. Unit 1 fires ineffectually against Mongol A.


Move 5
Initiative Mongols 13, Khwazmians 10. Mongols decide to move first.

Mongol A disappears over the hill chased by Khwarizmian 1. As they ride past B charges out of concealment into the flank and rear of Khwarizmian 1 and destroys it. C advances, opening formation as it does so.

The Khwarizmian leading units can now see Mongol C as they break cover and B as it rides over their advance guard unit. 2 shakes itself out into a defensive line while 3 moves up onto the right flank. 4 holds its position because it failed its Competency Roll.


Move 6
Initiative Mongols 14, Kharizmians 8. Mongols move second.

Not one of the remaining Khwarizmian units manages to make its Competency Roll so there is no movement. Abd Ad-Dill is beginning to get a little concerned.
Mongol A passes its Competency Roll and halts its Retreat to reform its order. B turns to face the Khwarizmians while C moves slowly up the table towards the left flank of Khwarizmian 2.


As this was just a quick playtest to see if the Feigned Retreat Rule worked -and it did- so I stopped the game at that point.
But here are a few pictures of the troops used.






Some of you may have been wondering about the character Snoopy Bahadur mentioned above and how 'Snoopy' is not really a Mongolian name...well, here he is watching the battle with the reserve from back near the village.

First ever solo game...Part One

This post actually contains several firsts. One is that it is my first ever solo game, second it is my first ever BATREP/AAR (whatever you want to call it), and the third is my first playtest of my very own Far Eastern Medieval Rules, 'The Fury of the Tartars'. Yes, I know I have used the European spelling for Tartars as opposed to Tatars -who really were a nomadic tribe of the time- but it's easier. The rules cover my favourite historical period, that of the Mongol conquests, starting from before the tribes were united under Chinggis Khan and running up the Yuan Dynasty of China, including all campaigns within that time period. So far, the lists are nearly done for the Mongols up until 1237 and the Khwarizmians, so I thought I'd give them a go.

A bit of background on the rules. Alternate move depending upon Initiative. Each army has a Ferocity Factor plus a D6 roll that is instrumental in which army has the Initiative and choice of first or second move for that Move. To move or change formation each unit must pass a Competency Roll -the better the training the easier it is to pass i.e. Superior Trained troops need 2-6 on a D6 to pass whereas Levied troops need a 5 or 6 or they will continue with the current order or just halt. The same is true if troops leave the Control Area of their commander whose status is determined at the start of the game.

Each troop type, Skirmisher, Support or Battle has its own basic move distance augmented by the roll of a D6.

There are three basic factors, Attack, Defend and Firing and these are used in whichever situation is relevant. To cause damage to a unit from Firing the Firing and Defend factors are compared, other factors are then added or minus-ed and each unit rolls a D6. The resulting difference is cross-referenced on a chart to determine the result.

Photo 1
The Khwarizmian Set-up.
Blissfully unaware that the enemy has reached this far into the homeland, Sultan Abd Ad-Dill is responding to Muhammed Shah’s call to arms and has his own bodyguard of Kangli BC, 3 units of SkC and a single unit of untested levy infantry from the outlying villagers of his demesne. He is marching to Masalim to pick up the last contingent of his army before going to Samarkand. Unfortunately, Abu ad-Dill is an Indifferent Commander which allows him to have a 150mm Control Radius. In the top right hand corner can be seen a unit of Mongols in ambush position.



Photo 2
The Mongol Set-up.

One of Snoopy Bahadur's outlying scouts has reported spotting a column of Khwarizmian troops. The scout got close enough to determine that the column consisted of at least 10 hundreds of cavalry and 3 hundreds of infantry. They will soon be passing through the Pass of Abu-Sinbar obviously on their way as reinforcements for Samarkand and will pass closely by the village of Masalim, currently invested by Mongol troops. Leaving a single mingghan to ensure that the villagers do not sortie out, he turns with the rest of his available tumen -2 mingghan of Skirmish Cavalry (SkC) and a single mingghan of Battle cavalry (BC) to set up an ambush for the oblivious Khwarizmians. Snoopy Bahadur has rolled to be a Competent Commander giving him a Control Radius of 300mm.




That's it for Part One, more next time.