Wargames Weekend: The Mad Baron & the Living Buddha

For our first game using the extended table we chose a scenario from the Too Fat Lardies' 2010 Summer Special which used their Through the Mud & the Blood rules for the Back of Beyond.  This was a chance for Lenin to get some of his extensive collection of Copplestone Castings figures out again.

Somewhere in Mongolia, January 1921, Baron Stengern von Underberg (do see what they did there?) leads an attack on Kahke Bator to free Chaka Khan, the Tibetan Lama of dance from the clutches of the Chinese warlord, Wang Chung.

With a mixed force of Mongolians, White Russians, Chinese and German mercenaries along with his occasional bouts of madness the Baron had his work cut out.  Wang Chung had just taken delivery of some machine guns to reinforce his Chinese troops.

The Baron split his force, sending his second in command, Major Smirnoff, with the best troops to pin down the town's defenders whilst he moved attack from the North with his Mongol cavalry and his somewhat less reliable troops.

Things began well with Smirnoff engaging one of the machine guns and gradually whittling them down whilst the Baron conducted his flanking manoeuver.

With the first machine gun taken care of Smirnoff moved towards the second but Wang Chung had sent a unit to reinforce the machine gun's position (too late as it turned out) which then began to engage the Baron.  The Baron's troops soon put paid to the Chinese reinforcements and the Baron sent his own Chinese troops to occupy the building.  Meanwhile he thought he had spotted a damned Bolshevik amongst the Russian unit and promptly dealt with him.  Shortly afterward he spotted a good omen and ordered an advance on another occupied building.

Unfortunately the building was occupied by heavily armed Dare to Die troops and bloody hand to hand fighting ensued.  The Russians were thrown back but not before inflicting some heavy casualties on Wang Chung's men.

The Baron then sent his Mongol cavalry to sweep through the centre of the town to engage the remainder of Wang Chung's troops.  This was a little unwise and the cavalry swept majestically into some withering cross fire.

With Smirnoff not moving quickly enough for the Baron's liking he rode around the town to them and took command personally - sending the Major to command the Chinese troops.  The Baron then eliminated the machine gun and began an assault on Wang Chung's headquarters.

The firefight took its toll on both sides but the Baron eventually prevailed and took the HQ but not before Wang Chung had made good his escape with Chaka Khan - if only the Mongol cavalry had been around to cut them off...