RM6.2

“What are your orders sir?” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe asks Sir John Napier as they stand beside the twisted wreckage of the Signals Vehicle.
Sir John takes his time to light his pipe. Frowning he turns to James Cartwright who is standing nearby, curiously watching George Macarthur tinkering with Daniel Mansfield’s rocket-pack.
”What do you say Cartwright? How can the Bolshies be so far south already?”
“Obviously they’ve taken control of the upper Kunduz Valley. I’m not a military man, but I suppose this means you’ll have to fight your way through them.”
“They had prepared positions this far south” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe interjects. “It will be even worse further north...”
Sir John nods absently. “We could engage them of course, but in doing so we risk losing our tanks faster than we can get to Korsakov’s main base. We’ll be down to rifles and beans by the time we get out of this mess.” Producing a map from his pocket he unfolds it and places it on the ground, weighing the corners down with stones.
“What we need is a way to circumvent the Upper Kunduz valley, a pass through these mountains to our east for example would be very useful, but according to this map there doesn’t seem to be one... I think we need a native guide.”
“That’s my job” Cartwright replies. "Give me a few hours and I’ll see if I can find a willing local.”
“You can have a day” the General replies. “It’s going to take us at least that long to reorganise ourselves. We need to fall back to some defendable terrain and establish a defensible position... we also need to set up a field hospital for all these wounded men... that reminds me. How many prisoners did we take?”
“Just a few Sir” Lt Leftbridge-Smythe replies.
“Start some interrogations. Try and find out what kind of strength they’ve got.”
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe salutes and Sir John saunters over to where ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell and Daniel Mansfield are watching George Macarthur.
“Can you get it to work again?” he asks as Mitchell offers a pack of Dunhill’s around the group.
“Oh yes Sir” George replies as he lights Daniel Mansfield’s cigarette. “I’m getting to be a dab hand at bringing Daniel’s rocket back to life. You wouldn’t believe how often it gets bent out of shape”
“I’m amazed you dare go up in the thing” Sir John exclaims as he regards the dangerous looking contraption. “What do all these wires and tubes do?”
“They regulate the flow of fuel mostly, the Prof is working on a new design too, and soon Daniel will be able to hover, like a Falcon”.
Sir John turns to look at Mitchell who shrugs sympathetically.
“Yeah, it beats the hell outta me too” the Texan drawls.

Over the course of the evening the British Indian force consolidates its position, building enfilading trenches and firing positions to protect a central staging camp. As the last of the heavy tank transporters finally arrives, Sir John and his staff watch from a map tent which has been pitched on a small hillock in the centre of the camp. Cartwright and a tall old Afghan arrive trailing a laden mule.
“Sir John. I’d like to introduce Amu. He’s a local trader, a Pashtun. He knows a way through the mountains, and he speaks English.”
“Is this correct?” Sir John takes his measure of the lean bearded fellow, noting the long barrelled flintlock rifle on his back.
“Yes Sahib. I know the road to Wadi Suhib very well.”
Sir John consults his map.
“Where is Wadi Sahib? I don’t see it on the map any where.”
The Pashtun turns and points to the distant mountains. “Over there” he replies.
The British exchange bemused glances and Sir John smiles. “On the far side of those hills?,”
“Yes Sahib.
“Very well then. Our maps indicate the train line ends at an old chromite mine in a remote valley near Qala I Zal. Can we reach there from Wadi Suhib?”
“Yes, there is a direct route, a road which runs along the northern edge of the mountains and close to the railway line.”
“How well known is this mountain pass to Wadi Suhib?”
Amu cocks his head to one side and squints at the sun. “Most of the local tribes know of it, but when the Russians and Uzbeks came they bombed the villages and drove the people out. No one lives at Wadi Suhib any more.”
“Still” Sir John decides, “Korsakov’s troops know of the village and the pass may be guarded. We shall have to move fast and in force. Lieutenant Leftbridge-Smythe...”
“Yes Sir?”
“Have them prepare my personal tank at once!”
“Yes Sir!”
Sir John turns to Daniel Mansfield. “You’re not the only one with specialized equipment Captain Mansfield!”

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Starting

Players One, Two and Three arrive off table, with the first elements being placed within six inches of the edge of the table. Marching order is determined by Player Two.

Players four and five begin encamped in the main plaza, before the ruined mosque.

Player Six begins off table, to the East and may begin to deploy five elements per round once the game begins.

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Player one; Rasmus

Command;
Rocketman
George Macarthur
’Mad Dog’ Mitchell
One Morris C4 15-CWT Light Truck
5 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers & RAA
One Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank.
Two Rolls-Royce Fordson Armoured Cars (RAA).

Players two; Palle

Command;
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Napier
Mister James Cartwright (Civilian Advisor)
Ali Mohammed Jahangir (Local guide)
One Staff Car
3 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
One Vickers Medium Mk III Medium Tank.
Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank.
A Company; 17/21st Lancers;
2nd Platoon (Mechanised).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG)
Three Crossley Light Trucks
3rd Platoon (Mechanised). (Off table).
1st Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
2nd Section. (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
3rd Section (7 Rifles & 1 LMG) (Off table)
Three Crossley Light Trucks (Off table)
C Company; Royal Army Service Corps
One Support Vehicle (Ammunition) (Off table)
One Support Vehicles (Provisions) (Off table)
D Company; 8th Royal Dragoon Guards;
Engineering Section;
One Heavy Recovery Vehicle (Off table)

Player Three; Jan

Command;
Lt. Leftbridge-Smythe
4 Squadron; 17/21st Lancers;
Two Vickers Mk II Medium Tanks.
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank.
B Company; 3rd Lahore Division;
2nd Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules)
3rd Platoon. (Off table)
1st Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
3rd Section. (10 Rifles) (Off table)
4th Section (1 HMG & 2 Mules) (Off table)

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Player four; Goeg

Command
Comrade Sgt Legenko
Sergei Babakov (Political officer)
1st Company; 122nd Guards Rifle Red Banner Order of Termez Regiment;
3rd Squad;
Fire Team A (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team B (5 rifles & 1 LMG)
Fire Team C (1 HMG)
One K1 Light Tank.

Player five; Oleg

Command
Comrade Polkovnik 'Yuri'
Comrade Captain Glinka; Radio Signals Officer
ONB-7 Independent Guards Tank Battalion
12th Squadron
Three K4 Heavy Tanks
One RK16 ’Motor Tachanka’, Reconnaissance Vehicle
6th Company; ONB-7 Independent Special-Purpose Rifle Corps;
5th Platoon.
1st Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
2nd Section. (10 Rifles & 1 LMG)
3rd Section. (2 Scout Snipers & 1 HMG)
17th Battery; ONB-7 Independent Artillery Battalion;
Two 76.2mm M1902 guns

Player Six; Tracey

Command
Dimtriy Ostrowski (Anarchist Hero)
Anarchists
Leon Stetsenko; Anarchist Machine Gunner.
Mykola Glazunov; Anarchist Sniper.
Henri Stolz; Anarchist Engineer.
Ten Anarchists (Rifles)
One Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.

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Map

1. Market plaza. This is the starting point for the Black guards and their allies.
2. The bridge.
3. Ruined mosque.
4. Ruined houses. This is the starting point for Lt Col Sir John Napier
5. The mountain pass. This is the starting point for Lt Leftbridge

Every where on the table top is Difficult except the road and open area’s which are Rough. The surrounding hillside and cliffs count as Impassable Terrain.

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Victory conditions

Either side wins by defeating 75%, or all three command elements of the opposing force.

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Special notes

In the event of a player not being able to attend, that player’s elements may be reallocated to their allies. To assist in the burden of extra elements, the remaining players receive a +1 movement pip per roll. Players Two and Five may also reallocate vehicle elements prior to the beginning of the game if this is required to balance movement pips against heavy elements.

Due to having been stationary for more than two days, the three K4 Heavy Tanks must first be started before they can drive. In order to do this a 6 must be rolled on a d6, per tank element per round. Once an engine has started however, there is a risk of the engine quitting and in the subsequent round a die must be rolled to ensure the engine is working. If a 1 rolled, then the engine stalls and another six must be rolled in subsequent rounds. If a 2 is rolled there is still a risk of stalling in the next round again. All three tanks are parked in the plaza before the mosque, facing the bridge.

Due to the nature of urban combat in ruins, all elements receive an automatic +1 defence bonus when fired upon beyond the range of 12 inches, even if they are fired upon from behind. This bonus is designed to reflect the level of debris independently of the models.

Barricades; these are made of piles of rubble and debris and form solid immovable barriers. Player Five may place any available barricades around his camp. These provide +2 cover for any element using them effectively. The barricades can stop wheeled vehicles but not tracked vehicles. When a tracked vehicle passes over a barricade, the barricade model remains in place.

Land mines; Henri Stolz (Player Six) has 1 d6 anti-personnel land mines and two anti-tank land mines in his possession. These have not been deployed at the beginning of the game however.

Grenades. All players receive one grenade counter per infantry element.

Rocketman has eight hero points in this game.

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Vehicles

Vickers Medium Mk III Tank
Vickers Mk II Medium Tank
Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
Vickers Mk VIc Light Tank
Rolls Royce Fordson Armoured Car

K4 Heavy Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the International Mk VIII)
K1 Light Tank (Upgraded ONB7 variant of the Renault FT17 )
Austin-Putilov Armoured car
RK16 'Motor Tachanka' Long Range Reconnaisance Vehicle
20mm ShVAK Anti Aircraft Gun mounted on Gaz AA Truck

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