RM 11.01. The Tangtse Incident.

22nd. December. 1936.
In reaction to reported incidents of border skirmishing between the armed forces of The Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu and unknown armoured elements operating in the district of Aksai Chin. Selected units from 17/21st Lancers and 8th Royal Dragoon Guards have been despatched to assist His Highness Maharaja Hari Singh. Unconfirmed reports indicate Bolshevik forces, possibly remants of the Russian warlord Viktor Korsakov may be operating in Aksai Chin along side Uighur communist forces under the patronage of Sheng Shicai, Warlord of Xinjiang (formerly known as Chinese Turkestan).

Due to his recent experience in campaigning against Bolshevik armoured units in Afghanistan Colonel Sir John Napier has been asked to take command of the British relief force and assess how great a threat the situation in Aksai Chin has become.

7th. January. 1937.
Kashmiri forces are patrolling in coordination with Colonel Sir John Napier when they come under sustained heavy fire in the hills north of Tangtse. Retreating to defensive positions in the ruins of an old village they send a runner back down the valley. Two heavy tanks assisted by secondary vehicles and heavily armed infantry have been sighted moving south west against the Kashmiri position. Sir John immediately sends a relief force of four British tanks to assist but the Kasmhiri’s have almost been destroyed by the time the British arrive.

Forces

Player One. Oleg.
Lt Leftbridge-Smythe
One Vikckers Mk II Medium Tank
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
One Infantry support section, with Lewis Light Machine Gun.
Five Kashmiri Rifle’s, and one Vickers Maxim Heavy Machine Gun

Player Two. Goeg.
Sgt Harding
One Vikckers Mk II Medium Tank
One Vickers Mk VI Light Tank
One Infantry support section, with Lewis Light Machine Gun.

Player Three. Palle.
Comrade Sgt Mosolov
One K4 Heavy Tank
One Infantry support section, with Lewis Light Machine Gun.
Seven Uighur Rifles.
One Uighur Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.

Player Four. Jan.
Comrade Sgt Kazyansky
One K4 Heavy Tank.
One K1 Light tank
One Infantry support section, with Lewis Light Machine Gun.

Starting

Payer one deploys his Kashmiri’s in their defensive position at the western end of the table whilst player three deploys all his forces at the eastern end. Neither force may intrude on the opposite side of the table. The game begins with all British reinforcements arriving along the road in round one. Players one and two decide their own marching order.

Player four arrives on the eastern edge of the table one d6 rounds after round one.

Victory Conditions

Either side wins by defeating two thirds, or both officers of the opposing force.

Special notes

The idea behind this particular game is to allow the players of RM6 the chance to acquaint themselves with the elements used by their opponents, specifically the tanks.

Due to the speedy nature of this game, there is no preprepared map. All terrain outside the boundary of the village is rough. All terrain within the boundry of the village is difficult. Rocks, burning vehicles and large debris counters are impassable and the road is good. Windows and low walls require a roll against 3 to cross. High walls require a roll against 4 to cross.

Combat has already taken place so the table top will be set up accordingly. Wind direction and smoke will be determined by a spinning pencil at the beginning of the game. Each player may position one smoke cloud.

Conclusion

This game was played on thursday 3oth September 2010.
The players were Oleg & Goeg vs Palle & Jan (moif).

Starting positions

This was a very quick and easy game, set up at short notice, using prepared stats from RM6. The idea was for a simple tank and infantry skirmish without any changes from the last RM6 game to allow each player to experience playing with the tanks used by their opponents in RM6.

The game was quickly set up and things would have gone a lot smoother if I hadn't been left with both children to look after (Mette had to go to a parents meeting at Magne's day care centre) and said children hadn't taken it upon themselves to kick up a fuss. Once Magne was in bed however things moved easier.

Sgt Harding (Goeg) advances into the northern half of the village

Lt Leftbridge-Smythe (Oleg) advances into the southern half of the village

Palle, Oleg and Goeg all deployed their forces and the Brits began to move forward into the ruined village. This initial stage of the game was characterized by caution and a long run of 1's on Oleg's dice. Consequently, Sgt Harding and his men managed to get into good positions whilst Lt Leftbridge-Smythe and his forces dithered some what.

Sgt Kazayansky came on in round four, having divided his forces into three groups. One group of infantry and a supporting light tank approached the northern flank of the village and faced Sgt Harding, another infantry group approached the centre of the village and headed for the main road, whilst a K4 heavy tank moved at full speed around the southern flank of the village to engage the British armour concentrated there under Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's command.

Round four and Sgt Kazayansky (Jan) arrives on the table top with a K1 light tank and infantry support to the north...

...and a K4 heavy tank to the south

Comrade Sgt Mosolov and his Uighur communist irregulars remained on the eastern half of the village, holding their ground whilst the second K4 sped around to the south of the village. The idea was loosely to trap Lt leftbridge-Smythe between the two heavy tanks, but things didn't go quite to plan. As the K4 sped through the bushes, running over a British soldier along the way, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe moved his Vickers Mk II up the main road, using the smoke from the burning vehicles there to mask his movements. His supporting Vickers MkVI was still a possible target for the K4, but Oleg pulled a daring move and using the lighter tanks greater speed he zoomed past the lumbering Bolshevik behemoth and began to out flank the Bolsheviks in the opposite direction.

Death by K4. One British soldier flee's whilst his mate is crushed by a charging heavy tank

Audacity pays. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's support tank speed past the K4 which was hunting it

Whilst I was being out-outflanked by Oleg, Goeg was advancing Sgt Harding's Vickers Mk II medium tank against Sgt Kazayansky's K1. Neither tank had the ability to face the other and defeat it without either support or a shot into a lesser armoured area. With the Vickers Mk II this meant the Black Guards had to use grenades on to its upper hull whilst the K1 with its puny 37mmm gun engaged from front. I tried this as Sgt Harding advanced, but the die failed and Sgt Harding responded by annhilating the Black Guard infantry who were supporting the K1, then using the same tactic in reverse to take out the K1. Having advanced parrallel with the Black Guard forward line he also took advantage of the Vickers side mounted machine guns to engage Sgt Mosolov's troops who had been holding the British at bay up until that point.

For a moment, I thought Palle and I had lost the game. With Leftbridge-Smythe's medium tank on the main road. Sgt Harding was now in a position to engage Sgt Mosolov's heavy tank and possibly defeat it whilst Sgt Kazayansky's K4 would have to follow Lt Leftbridge-Smythe up the grenade trap of the main road.

Whilst the Black Guards try to out flank him, Lt Leftbridge-Smythe advances up the main road totry and catch Sgt Mosolov in a pincer


Sgt Harding's support tank and infantry exchange fire with Sgt Mosolov whilst Lt Leftbridge-Smythe advances up the main road


As Lt Leftbridge-Smythe loses his tank on the main road, Sgt Kazyansky's K1 gets knocked out by Sgt Harding.

I need not have worried however. Leftbridge-Smythe didn't survive his impetuous dash up the main road and Mosolov's K4, supported by the Black Guards who were in positions along the main road, defeated the British commander. Sgt Kazayansky's K4 then parked itself at the western edge of the village and engaged those British infantry forces who were hiding there.

Oleg in the meanwhile ran his Vickers Mk VI support tank up around the southern flank eventually and cheekily parked it along side Mosolov's K4 where proximity prevented Palle from engaging it and forced both Bolshevik commanders (who were on foot) to hide. Sgt Mosolov had to jump into a ruin and Sgt Kazayansky had to grovel under a bush.

The game ended at this point however and was declared a draw as neither side had met the victory criteria and both sides had defeated an enemy tank. Personally I think Goeg's moves were the most impressive, especially against my elements on the northern flank which he defeated almost entirely (I had one rifleman left).

The game ends.

A. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's knocked out Vickers Mk II.
B. Lt Leftbridge-Smythe's support tank
C. Sgt Mosolov's K4 heavy tank
D. Sgt Kazayansky hides in the undergrowth
E. Uighur Austin Putilov Series III Armoured Car.
F. Sgt Harding's support tank and infantry
G. Sgt Harding in his Vickers Mk II.
H. Sgt Kazayansky's knocked out K1 light tank
I. Sgt Kazayansky'sK4 heavy tank.

Aftermath.

FLASH COMMUNICATION FROM COMMAND BOMBAY TO GC&CS.
FORWARDED TO CABINET SECRET SERVICES COMMITTEE. 090137
FORWARDED TO KEW. 090137

9th January. 1937.
Selected units from 17/21st Lancers and 8th Royal Dragoon Guards under the command of Colonel Sir John Napier’s Special Operations Group have engaged in sporadic fighting with hostile forces in the Kashmiri border region west of Aksai Chin. The enemy was identified as Russian bolshevik Black Guards, formerly believed to operate as the military wing of the secret research organisation ONB-7. Intelligence is sketchy, but with the former leader of ONB-7, Viktor Korsakov (rank unknown) believed to have perished at a battle near Qala I Zal in Afghanistan, in 1936, it seems as if the remnants of ONB-7 are indeed now affiliated with the Warlord of Xinjiang Sheng Shicai as our Kashmiri friends had reported. Intelligence assets in northern China have been alerted and we await further information with regards to troop and armour strengths.
To date we have no information regarding a motive for Xinjiang to violate either Aksai Chin or Kashmir. Some prisoners have been taken and debriefed by the Kashmiri’s however. These indicate a build up of forces both in Xinjiang and in Aksai Chin may be under way.

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COMMUNICATION FROM ’BLACK BIRD’ TO GC&CS.
FORWARDED TO CABINET SECRET SERVICES COMMITTEE. 100137
FORWARDED TO KEW. 100137

10th January. 1937.
Intercepted communications from NKVD Okhotsk to NKVD Moscow indicate Viktor Korsakov may be alive. Sheng Shicai has expelled several aides sent to him by Joseph Stalin and all diplomatic relations between Xinjiang and the Soviet Union have been severed. My source in NKVD Moscow indicates Stalin is ’livid’ and has ordered the mobilization of Red Army forces currently stationed in Eastern Kazakhstan, as well as deployment of several tank regiments. Rumours amongst RA high command in Moscow are talking about a possible invasion of Northern China, but realistically it will take at least several months to build up the logistics required to stage an invasion from Eastern Kazakhstan.

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PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE FROM SIR HUGH SINCLAIR TO SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

12th January. 1937.
Dear Winston. Please forgive this intrusion, I know you are probably very busy with the new King but as you can see the matter of Viktor Korsakov requires an urgent response and I am afraid that our previous conclusion may have been some what hasty. I advise a meeting of the Council as soon as possible. We really need to establish just who this man Korsakov is, where exactly did he come from and just how great a threat does he constitute?