Russian Civil War : Battle for the Bridge

My Russian Civil War project has finally reached the point where I have enough to field a reasonable battle. The focus for the project is the southern front mainly so I can model the colourful regiments which operated in that area and also the Don Cossacks. The focus has been getting enough units to get the project on the table and to give me the enthusiasm to flesh out the forces. It is likely battles will remain fairly small but will not be based on any real historical situation. Instead it gives me the option to play interesting little scenarios where armour and guns are not overly powerful. I am working on a number of special rules to give a feel for the period and nature of the conflict.

First up then to get things going the Red forces have captured a small but important river crossing they have also secured fuel supplies which the White forces are keen to take back.

 

The initial setup the Reds on the right. The three objectives are marked with the red dots

The White forces include a mixture of regular infantry in their army green and units from the 1st Gen Markov Officers Regiment. This are particularly strong unit as they consist entirely of officers amalgamated from other disbanded regiments (they play here as veterans)

They have with them the state of the art Austin armoured car !

One of the objectives a fuel tanker 

On the Whites left flank some irregular infantry and a unit of the 1st Gen Alexeyev Partisan Infantry (the guys in white uniforms)

The Reds have dug in along the road, a machine gun operated by the fanatical Russian Sailors, they have also captured a Rolls Royce which they can now turn against the Whites

The whites rush on they only have limited time to capture the objectives, they only need one for a draw two for a win

Another machine gun dug in, in the cornfield

The officers regiment full of enthusiasm rush forward towards the bridge

..........advancing both sides of the church

On the left the fuel dump is protected by not only infantry but a light Howitzer (technically the guns are larger calibre but we wanted to limit them with the size of the table and forces)

After two or three turns the focus of the battle moved to the right, mainly as the White advance had been annihilated in the open ground (photo of blank spaces !)

Things are going better at the bridge where the Officers have reached the objective they have taken casualties but are supported by the Austin and the White Commanding Officer this side of the river

Unfortunately this is a civil war and a group of Partizans hiding in the thatched cottage charge out to slaughter the despised officers, their dead bodies no doubt thrown in the nearby river

It is now getting tight only two objectives are up for grabs. The ‘Red’ sailors exchange fire across the small vegetable field but the whites are not out of the battle yet

Pinned down the officers regiment are holding on, there was some very fierce fighting at this stage as the battle was drawing close to its end

Still a stand off on the right the whites cant quite muster the courage to charge across the field

Still holding the bridge supported by the Austin

....and then they are hit by a mortar shell at least those black uniforms wont show the blood ! Only one objective left to be challenged now

Ha ha last turn and the whites also land a direct hit with a shell killing nearly all the defending sailors who are also heavily pinned down, they must make a morale check to stay and somehow roll a Double 1, humph!!!!!!!!!!

The White Infantry make a last dash for the objective...........

But cant quite make it as the light fades and the assault has to be halted. The Austin is ordered to return to their own lines

We had a lot of fun in this game, the photos dont quite show how the battle swung backwards and forwards towards the end, with both sides desperately pulling any available troops into the combat. But the Reds got it in the end ! I have immediately started working on some more Reds (Elite Infantry). The figures are nearly all Copplestone.