An Unfortunate Oversight leads to defeat

 

The next game on my One Hour Wargames blog - click this link https://btohw.blogspot.com/2020/08/scenario-12-unfortunate-oversight.html

Red/Blue Campaign Turn 8 & The Last Battle

 

Turn 8 was to see the remains of the Bluvian Division C pursue the remnants of the Redinan 2nd Division to the Middle Bridge. Here Army Red turned and gave battle (Game 7).

Red had begun to cross the river but quickly drew up to guard the bridge

Blue stormed forward inflicting casualties from the off

Reds mad cavalry charge attempts to spike Blue's guns

Blue continues to rack up hits on Red's troops..

..and at the end of Turn 4 (!) Red is at Exhaustion Point! Unable to retreat they stand and fight

The battle raged on until..

..at Turn 9 Blue reached EP. Red had stopped the crossing but at a huge price.

The invasion of Bluvia by the Kingdom of Redina had failed. The King was forced to sue for peace. There is talk of Bluvian boffins designing fortifications for the river crossings and the Redinan military investing in pontoon bridges. Both states are hastily building railway connections to the border. How long the shaky peace lasts is debatable.  

Red/Blue Campaign Turn 7

 

Campaign Map - Turn 7

Having been surprised, and defeated, by a Bluvian force whilst probing the way East (see the last blog post), the remnants of a Redinan brigade is falling back to join the battered 2nd Division. Hotly pursuing them are a larger Bluvian force, the Advanced Guard of Blue's Division C. Red has been ordered to give ground slowly and keep Blue occupied to give time for a defense to be pulled together around the Middle Crossing of the Boundary River. Blue is unsure of the numbers of troops in front of them and is advancing cautiously. 

The Scenario is number 5 in the late Stuart Asquith's Military Modelling Guide to Solo Wargaming. To simulate Blue's caution, his force arrives at a rate of 2 units per turn on the Eastern edge of the board. Blue's objective is to either get three units off the West edge or to completely destroy the Red force that is blocking his way. It is highly unlikely that Red can defeat Blue in a straight fight but he can delay him. Game length is 15 turns or when both sides reach Exhaustion Point.

Position at the start

Turn 2 Blue's force slowly arrives

Blue's build up is complete - Red begins to give ground

Blue's cavalry is to the rear of Red's force

Running out of room (and at EP), Red must make a stand

At this point Blue could have got enough units off the table to win..

...but chose instead to destroy the invading Redinan force and win that way. Harsh.

A great scenario and a fun game. 

Red/Blue Campaign Turn 6

 

Campaign Map Turn 6

Whilst Red's Division number 2 attempts to reform what troops it has left after the failed push South, a brigade from Division 3 crosses the river and probes the way East not knowing that Blue is moving Division C Westwards...

The fifth battle in the Campaign just happens to be the next Scenario in One Hour Wargames to be played on my OHW blog - what a coincidence! So to view the battle, please change channels now - here's the link https://btohw.blogspot.com/2020/08/scenario-11-surprise-attack.html (Gratuitous Self-Publicity - Ed.)

Red/Blue Campaign Turn 5

 Turn 5 saw Redina's Division number 2 pushing South towards the Bluvian Capital. Their Advance Guard was to clash with a Bluvian force who had been sent forward to a strategic position. Game 4 in the Campaign was based on the C S Grant Table Top Teaser no. 10, published in Military Modelling in September 1979; Rear-Guard. 

Red's larger force arrives. Blue has some of his force visible on the forward slope

Red pushes forward. Their objective is to get at least three units to exit the North side of the board

Blue's forces on the reverse side of the hill become visible as Red mounts the slope

It immediately becomes clear to Red that this is going to be a tough fight

By Turn 9 Red has command of the right flank and brings up his reserve

Turn 10 - Blue reaches Exhaustion Point but can keep defending

.

Red has managed to exit 1 unit on the right with another following..

..but has reached Exhaustion Point. For now, the way South is shut.

Red/Blue Campaign Turns 2-4

Following their failure to take the left hand bridge, Division 3 of the Redinan Army spent some time reorganizing themselves. In the meantime, a Brigade from Division 2 crossed the centre bridge and moved West to counter the Bluvian force that was hoping to block the crossing (too late). 

Red's plan was to march straight to the Capital and force the President and other elected officials to resign so that a client king could be established. Blue's was simply to drive out the invaders.

Turn 2 moves

 

The second battle in the campaign was joined near a small village in the middle of nowhere. It was a fairly uneventful affair that ground to a halt by turn 11, as both sides reached Exhaustion Point, without any gains being made. Bluvia had failed to stop Redina from establishing a bridgehead. A couple of pics from the "action" follow.

Turn 3 moves

Turn 3 saw the Redinan 2nd Division crossing the Boundary River and the Bluvian Division C marching West to counter them. Blue's B Division moved South East to block the straight route to the Capital.

Turn 4 moves

Turn 4 saw the next battle as elements of the Red Division 2 and Blue Division C clashed.

Blue needed a success here to push Red back towards the River. Again, however, the battle was fairly indecisive as both armies fought to a standstill by the end of the day. Some pics follow.

Bluvia has so far failed to stop Redina, however the invasion is possibly stalling. Both sides are looking for a decisive action in Turn 5.

Opening moves in the Red/Blue Campaign

War has been declared and the first moves take place.

Redina and Bluvia both send forces rushing towards the left hand bridge. For the first game I decided to play a scenario I first read over forty years ago but have never tried; Tabletop Teaser No. 1 by C S Grant, The Bridge Demolition (featured in Battle Magazine Feb 1978).

Bluvia's brigade, arriving first with an Engineers Company set about destroying the crossing.

I gave them 6 turns to set the charge, from when the Engineers got established at the bridge. When the charges were set, and the Blue Commander gave the order, a die roll would decide the outcome as detailed in the Teaser.

The blue defenders await the enemy

Early skirmishing - the Blue C-in-C leads from the front

A cavalry melee

The Engineers get to work

Red's troops arriving piecemeal 

Hussars on the left do not hold back in the race against time

By Turn 4 Red's whole force is on the field

Bluvian forces are being pushed back

A Blue Infantry battalion has been destroyed and The blue Guards are now engaged

The Engineers have completed their work and the Blue C-in-C falls back

The remaining Blue units are unable to extricate themselves - the order is given to blow the bridge

The Bluvian Commander crosses his fingers, and 6! The bridge is destroyed

Once again FX have let me down, but you get the idea

Regrettably, the Bluvian Commander was forced to leave two units of his troops on the enemy's side of the river (having reached Exhaustion Point) but was able to destroy one of the three crossing points. Attention will now turn to the Centre Bridge.