Turning the Flank at Reval: Turn 3

The situation at the start of Turn 3:


The Freikorps and the Estonians spent the turn manoeuvring for position. It is clear now that the Freikorps are led by Rommel-esque men of action. Their intent can only be to drive northwards as fast as they can. Meanwhile the Estonians are busily surrounding the Freikorps, cutting off their supply lines and generally making things uncomfortable for them.

(Click the map for a larger version)

Turning the Flank at Reval: Turn 2, Part 2

The Freikorps forces waste no time in trying to exploit their advantage. Force B moves to Prnovo to join with Force A and both forces then advance northwards to T3 The Small Farms.

Meanwhile, Estonian reinforcements appear to the north and march southwards to Nurgeyev Quarry (Estonian Force B).

There is no fighting this turn as both sides manoeuvre for position.

Dodgson's World: The Hellfire Campaign (Part 3)

D-Day+2, morning.
Chastity GHQ
"General, 36R Airmobile and the Alacrity Gendarmerie were engaged on a recon in force. They report an encounter with a large rebel infantry force north of the Thrift Mountains. Initial reports suggest light casualties on the part of our troops and much heavier casualties for the rebels. Our force has withdrawn from the field. They claim to have identified a doolie wagon carrying Prince Bishopette Athaniel Moor."
"That's good news, Comms. Get me Ops on the line and we'll soon have this rebellion crushed."

The Company had deployed two small units to the north-west of Alacrity to scout a single possible enemy force. They found the entirety of 127 Mobile Brigade comprising the 44th (Whistling Joeys) Battalion and the 45th (Staunch in Righteousness) Battalion. The rebel forces deployed quickly in the abundant bad going in the foothills of the Thrift Mountains and waited for the Company forces to come. The Company entered from off table with the gendarmerie marching as fast as they could for the nearest cover. The Airmobile unit dropped its passengers off behind some convenient cover and the transports skedaddled. Steve was taking no chances with his vehicles in this game! His troops took fire from early on, especially from the rebel artillery but the rebels might as well have been firing blanks for all the good it did them. The rebel infantry closed on the Company forces and opened fire. A few casualties were caused but they took many times more in the process. As the rebels massed to assault, the Company forces pulled back. They had done what they came to do. Time to let command know and for GHQ to task a larger force to wipe out these pesky rebels.

The battlefield. Rebel positions marked in blue. Company forces marked in Red

The Gendarmerie retreated in some disarray. I think Steve did not realise half his unit was pointing the wrong way!

The biggest problem that the rebels faced (apart from my dice) was that many were equipped with energy weapons and the Company forces were wearing ablat armour which is designed to stop energy weapons. The other problem they had was that half of them had no armour while the other half were wearing flak armour which is ineffective versus energy weapons. The Company had no such problems. This made this apparently uneven battle much more even.

The situation at the end of the morning turn on Day 2

ShortCom Forces (Yellow)
1 26T Infantry Battalion
2 Spaceport Defence Company
3 36R Airmobile Battalion
4 Salvation gendarmerie (1 company)
5 Alacrity gendarmerie (1 company)
6 Joados Marauders (1 company of mercenary Thaugs)
7 Jessop's Regiment (2 troops of armoured infantry with artillery support)

Insurgents (White)
1 Dedicationalist Sect, Fidelis Guard (1 infantry battalion)
2 Liberty Battalion (1 improvised armoured battalion)
3 127 Mobile Brigade (2 infantry battalions)
? Unidentified forces

Dodgson's World: The Hellfire Campaign (The Battle for Salvation)

Meanwhile in Salvation ...

"Sir, there's a motorised column of rebels heading our way."

"Don't worry, lieutenant, The Salvation Town Militia is more than a match for a bunch of scruffy rebels."

"Sir, they outnumber us!"
"I said not to worry, lieutenant. They'll never take the town. We'll fort up here and pick them off as they approach. We have the advantage of terrain and morale. What could they possibly have that could defeat that combination?"

"Sir, the perimeter guards report heavy casualties. The enemy is standing off and shelling us from across the river. We have nothing that can touch them at that range."
"Don't worry, lieutenant. We'll just pull back further into the town. That will negate their advantage and then we can pick them off in the streets."

The comms officer at Chastity GHQ turned to the heavily be-ribboned officer behind him. He licked his lips. The sight of an officer with that much gold braid on him was intimidating and he was not happy to be reporting bad news.

"General, reports are coming in of heavy casualties in Salvation. The town has fallen and the local militia are in full flight. Indications are that the rebels attacked in full strength with a large contingent of heavily armed technicals. They shelled the town from a distance and then drove in to pick up the pieces. The militia took heavy casualties before fleeing. They claim to have put up a brave fight and damaged the rebels badly but the satellite imagery suggests otherwise."

"Thank you, Comms. Get me ADC Kurz. I think we need to do something about these people."

Turning the Flank at Reval: Victory will soon be ours!

Most Noble warriors of the Freikorps.

Your stunning victory at Prnovo has shown that you are true heroes of the German people. Your courage has shown how these Estonian dogs cannot match the fighting spirit of our brothers in arms. The whole nation will remember your names with pride and honour. Songs will be sung in ale houses of how you routed the Estonian scum at the Battle of Prnovo.

As I write this message of congratulations, I shed a tear for those men lost to us but my heart hardens at the thought of the revenge and of the price the enemy will pay for their deaths. We will never waiver in the face of the faithless hordes and of those that would seek to invade our homes. The deaths of these bravest of the brave MUST not be in vain. I urge you to yet another advance and to strike hard once again at the enemy. Make him feel your wrath. Cause him to fear your battle cries and to know that the only hope he has is to surrender or die.

As an example of our might, I order that you put to death every third man captured as an example to the enemy of what will happen. If the enemy surrenders we will cease this slaughter, but if he continues to resist, we shall put more of them to needless death.

General von Nicholson

Turning the Flank at Reval: Turn 2, Part 1

The Freikorps still has the Strategic Initiative.
Estonians gained 3 resource points this turn so they now have 4.
Freikorps gained 5 resource points and now have 10.

Orders by Friday please.

Dodgson's World: The Hellfire Campaign (Turn 1, Part 1)

We began our Hellfire campaign this week. It will probably take a month or two to complete. The goal of the campaign is for the insurgents to capture a city, get Prince Bishopette Athaniel Moor to that city, and to hold it for two days while she kisses babies and has her photograph taken everywhere. This will be a huge boost for the insurgent cause and will go a long way towards forcing Short Company to either leave the planet or to change their working practices. Naturally, ShortCom does not wish this to happen, so their goal is to prevent the insurgents from achieving their goal.

"Sir, the Fidelians are revolting!"
"Come now, lieutenant, they are rather grim by our standards, but that's a bit harsh."
"No, sir, they are revolting. Satellite images indicate six columns of Fidelians coming our way. Scouts on the ground report that the Church of Fidelis has mobilised its Dedicationalist Sect Guard battalion, while the Fidelian resistance movement appears to have dispatched The Liberty Battalion, the 44th Whistling Joeys and the 45th Staunch in Righteousness battalions. This is it, sir. What shall we do?"

General Short examined the map of Fidelis Province and checked the forces available to him. He knew he had the technology and superior firepower. He just needed to deploy it properly.

ShortCom Forces (Yellow)
1 26T Infantry Battalion
2 Spaceport Defence Company
3 36R Airmobile Battalion
4 Rural gendarmerie (1 company)
5 Rural gendarmerie (1 company)
6 Joados Marauders (1 company of mercenary Thaugs)
7 Jessop's Regiment (2 troops of armoured infantry with artillery support)

Insurgents (White)
1 Dedicationalist Sect, Fidelis Guard (1 infantry battalion)
2 Liberty Battalion (1 improvised armoured battalion)
? Unidentified forces

"Tell the garrison companies at Salvation and Alacrity to stand fast. We'll mobilise support for them from Thrift and Chastity. And get Intelligence to scan these movements. We need to work out where their main strike is going to come from."
"Sir, Intelligence says they are struggling to identify anything at the moment. There's too much cover in the mountains."
"Ok. Get me the commander of 36R Airmobile on the blower. We'll send his troops into the mountains to scout that blip in the north. Tell Jessop's Regiment to move out and intercept the other blip just north of Thrift, and get 26T Battalion to move out and intercept the insurgents as they leave the mountains. We'll get them in a vice and crush them."

Later that morning.
"Sir, reports are coming in that 36R has made contact with enemy forces in the mountains. Looks like they've found the Dedicationalists and it's got hot. An insurgent armoured battalion has also attacked Salvation."
"Very good, lieutenant. Keep me apprised of the situation. Once 36R has crushed them, they can scout the others. And let's see what we can do to help the gendarmes at Salvation."
"Sir, update on the situation in the mountains. 36R has met stiff resistance and is taking heavy fire from the insurgents. One fighter from Omega Company is down. No survivors. Alpha company is also reporting heavy casualties."

The battle between 36R Airmobile and the Fidelis Guard was surprisingly one-sided. The ground attack craft were put out of commission in the first turn as ground fire shot one down and destroyed the sensor array on the other, putting it out of action. Half a company of Airmobile infantry was shot out of the sky with no survivors. The remainder managed to land before their craft was destroyed but then they were shot up by the insurgents with no survivors. The remaining company tried a flanking movement but decided to withdraw quickly when the rest of the battalion was so quickly destroyed. In all this, the insurgents lost only one stand of infantry. Steve's dice rolling in this battle was terrible and mine was really good leading to a very one-sided game. Also, I got so involved with the game that I forgot to take any photos of it!

"Sir, reports in from 36R. The support company is out of action and Alpha Company has been destroyed. Beta Company is withdrawing. We're still awaiting reports from Salvation."

Next time we meet, we'll fight the Battle for Salvation and then continue with the campaign. Theoretically, this battle should be fairly one-sided, because the ShortCom forces are so weak, but you never know what the dice will throw at you.