Back in January 2022 I started a Campaign that was, I thought, going to easily brought to a conclusion as it was going to be played in a series of small games using my Risk figures. Quick and easy to set up, play and put away etc... Of course I got distracted. To cut a tedious story short, I've played a couple more games.
To summarize earlier events; in the Spring of 1845 Rubiria invaded Northern Amethysia. Amberil, allied to Amethysia declared war on Rubiria. During the Summer of that year, Rubiria gained full control of the region having defeated the Amethysian Army that had marched North from their capital. The Rubirian Third Army replaced the Second in Northern Amethysia.
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Situation in Autumn 1845 |
As Summer turned to Autumn, Amberil joined the war, attacking the Rubirian third army.
For this battle I used a scenario that Ross Mac has recently played here. The road North passes through a gap between two impassable terrain features; a bog to the West and densely forested hills to the East. To achieve victory, Rubiria (red) must hold back the attacking Amberil (yellow) force. Yellow must get at least two units to exit the board via the Northern edge.
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Green and orange zones are impassable |
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Initial positions - the farms act as BUAs |
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Yellow's fierce attack on the gap |
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Mid-day, Red is at Exhaustion Point but still holding |
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As Yellow reached EP their 2nd unit exited the board Yellow Victory (just) |
As the Winter of 1845 arrived the battered Rubirian Third Army had retreated back across the border. After the Mid-Winter festivals, protracted negotiations for Peace began between the warring parties, in neutral Obsidia. Events further North were, however, to force the moment to its crisis...
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Situation is Spring 1846 |
In the early Spring of 1846, Azzuros sensing a weakness in their old enemy, invaded Eastern Rubiria on the pretext that this disputed region had once belonged to them. Rubiria's Third Army, mostly raw recruits and conscripts, was rushed East to meet the enemy...
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Control the Village |
For this game I used two forces that were balanced in size and unit type but were of different quality. Azzuros (Blue) had regular (Average) troops, whereas the Army of Rubiria (Red) was of Poor quality, being barely trained. The objective for both sides is complete control of the village and its strategically important crossroads.
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Blue heads straight for the objective |
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As casualties mount on both sides Blue gets a toehold on the Village |
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Red reaches Exhaustion Point |
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Late in the day, Blue controls the village, Red concedes defeat |
With the defeat of Rubiria's Third Army, Azzuros now controlled Eastern Rubiria.
Having been forced to an early, and costly, Peace with its Southern neighbours, Rubiria now faced either a new war with Azzuros, or the prospect of ceding territory...
I have been thinking of an imagination wargame involving several countries to use with my 30mm semiflats. Your map is truly inspiring. I will have to revisit your campaign. I look forward to more of this campaign.
ReplyDeleteThanks John. Creating the setting is a large part of the enjoyment of wargaming for me.
DeleteCampaign games are always much more satisfying than simple one-off battles. The outcome of campaign battles will have consequences for further campaign battles - units destroyed/lost, potential replacements (new recruits maybe?), objectives achieved etc ⚔️⚔️
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
Thanks Geoff. Agreed, and I find that running a Campaign encourages me to make the time for games, even though sometimes there are rather large gaps between them!
DeleteI really enjoy your games. Things are looking grim for Rubiria as her neighbors engage in a game of pile on the bunny. It will be interesting to see if they can reverse their fortunes.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mark. The danger here is things escalating as States see opportunities to settle old scores!
DeleteI like the campaign map. How do you go about selecting the scenarios for the campaign games, randomly or picking one that best fits the situation?
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter. Generally I try to tailor scenarios to fit the narrative, or geography if I'm using a map with physical features. I have played campaigns with predetermined scenarios too. I'm yet to try random selection campaign suggested by Neil Thomas in OHW, but its on my To Do list.
DeleteGreat to see this campaign revived. (I missed it very much when it went dormant). Lovely map, well presented battles and a narrative to tie them all together. Thanks for posting!! 🙂👍👍👍⚔️⚔️⚔️🎲🎲🎲
ReplyDeleteThanks Martin; more to follow, hopefully soon!
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