Category Archives: Back of Beyond

Red Actions! Machine Guns and Artillery

Played Red Actions! with artillery and machine guns earlier this week.

With the exception of the direct hit capability of the artillery, both weapons have the relative firepower of a platoon. My small playing surface (5×5) limits their range and therefore effectiveness.

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I’ll probably abstract indirect fire artillery in the future. Any on-table artillery will have a direct fire role.

Machine guns can be killed relatively quickly (my arty wiped out the machine gun section with a direct hit on the very first roll of the game….reset/reboot), so I will allow them three (3) terror markers – treating them like a two (2) platoon company. This makes them a little more resilient

Next game will include an armored car and cavalry.

Red Actions! Second Try

Really windy here, gusts up at 30 mph.  Riding out of the question, college football schedule marginal, and World Series doesn’t start until 1700.  Decided to get another game in.  Same scenario, and tactics, but with Reds being more aggressive.

An aggressive wargamer really needs good die rolls.  That happened for the Soviets.

There was the usual push and shove between the Soviet company providing the base of fire and the Chinese regulars entrenched on the ridge.  However, the Soviet Sailor company advanced quickly  out of the woods and effectively attacked the Chinese Conscripts in reserve.

The Conscripts acquitted themselves well, maneuvering when called upon (they consistently rolled higher than two (2)),  shrugging off terror markers like regulars.  However, over time they were pushed back, losing one platoon.

Stolid Conscripts Supporting The Regulars
Stolid Conscripts Supporting The Regulars

With the Chinese Regulars also pushed back, and with two (2) terror markers halving their fire strength, the Soviet Regulars advanced towards the ridge, supported by the Cheka company,  engaging in a firefight with the now weakened Chinese.

Cheka In Support
Cheka In Support

The overwhelmed Chinese had no choice but to conduct a fighting withdrawal, with the retreating Regulars covered by the Conscripts!

Soviet Leadership Comes From The Barrel Of A Gun
Soviet Leadership Comes From The Barrel Of A Gun
Chinese Withdrawl
Chinese Withdrawl

Good and quick game with plenty of action.

Next time, machine guns and artillery.

 

Red Actions! – Absolute Beginner

Started playing Red Actions! earlier this week. Since this was my first play-through, the scenario was simple, with just a few units, no machine guns, artillery or AFVs. I wanted to find out how the fire and manuever rules work and what their effects are.

Three Soviet Companies are tasked with taking a entrenched position on a ridge line. The Soviet force is comprised of regular, Cheka, and naval infantry companies. The opposing Chinese force consists of a regular company and conscript company.

The terrain is relatively open, with a wooded area to the east and rough terrain to the south of the ridge. I designated both the entrenched position on the ridge and rough terrain as hard cover, allowing a -1 column shift for the defenders. The intent for the rough terrain is to provide the Soviet force with some cover and concealment. The distance between the ridge and rough terrain allowed for long-range fire at one-half the fire factor.

The tactics are straightforward. The regular Soviet company is to advance and take cover in the rough terrain, and to then provide suppresive fire on the ridge. The naval company is to advance through the wooded area (providing cover and concealment) and attack the ridge from the flank. The Cheka company is in reserve.

The Chinese have their regular company entrenched on the ridge, with the conscripts in reserve behind the ridge. This deployment involved a trade-off. The regular company has a higher fire rating, but the conscripts are rated as a “Mob” and can only charge or fire without taking a special morale check. On a D6 role of 1-2 they will remain in place.

Terrain and Initial Deployments Looking North
Terrain and Initial Deployments Looking North
Chinese Troop On Objective and In Reserve
Chinese Troops On Objective and In Reserve
Soviet Sailors Begin Moving Into The Woods
Soviet Sailors Begin Moving Into The Woods

The first few turns saw sustained firing between the ridge and regular troops in the rough terrain. Both companies were pushed off due to retire results, but quickly returned to their positions. The naval troops worked their way through the woods, and began taking the reserve conscript company under fire. Due to the short range between the units, this developed into a firefight, with both units firing at each other at full strength during each turn, rather than the turn-by-turn long-range fire.

Growing impatient with this back-and-forth, and like an overenthusiastic Lieutenant at The Basic School, I ordered the Checka company to advance along the (Chinese) right flank or west side of the board. Double envelopment Little Schlieffen?

As this advance developed, the Chinese conscripts  sustained losses and were in bad shape morale wise, while the regular troops had retreated (again) from their trenches. The question for the Chinese was whether to fight it out, or retreat. Since I had not set this contingency up (delay/defend with turn limit), and had a good initial feel for rules and effects, I stopped the game.

Chinese Have Been Pushed Off Ridge With Cheka Preparing To Assualt
Chinese Have Been Pushed Off Ridge With Cheka Preparing To Assualt

I like this rule set.  I think the morale rules using terror markers, as well as other outcomes are very playable. Infantry fire at long range is not particularly bloody, but short range fire – and its accompanying firefights- can decimate a unit quickly. Although using 28mm figuures, I kept the 15mm movement scale because of the small size of my “big board”. This scale seemed to work just fine, and made working with the rules easier.  While some folks have mentioned having trouble with the conversational dialogue of the rules, I think they are just fine.

For those of you interested in reading more about Red Actions!, here’s some links that might be of help. I know this is an older system (more on that in another post), but it is good one that can be played without miniatures. The link to the website and rules is here. A couple of viable reviews are here and here. The always entertaining Edinburgh Wargamers have a portions of their site devoted to this period. While they use another rule set, it’s a great source of fun and ideas.

Basing

Last week based up the recently purchased Afghan and Indian Army troops, as well as vehicles for the BoB campaign.  Relying on input from a helpful war gamer, used Noch flowers and grasses, as well as Woodland Scenics turf and talus.  The bases and magnetic base bottoms were from Litko.  This is a real upgrade from my usual metal DBA/DBR bases with a mix of green and brown flock.  Was it expensive?  Yes.  Worth it?  Think so, especially since this will be a low unit density game.

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Matchbox Vehicles For Back of Beyond & Red Actions!

The PKZ-2 tender vehicle in the previous post is one of the Matchbox Models of Yesteryear series.  These can be purchased cheaply (if you’re patient) on E-Bay.  Bought several for the Back of Beyond Campaign, one of which is shown below.

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The problem is that the series is not in a consistent scale.  There are a wide variety of vehicles, in a wide variety of scales.  This page summarizes them by model number, name and scale.  So what scale matches up best with 25/28mm figures?  This page from The Miniatures Page really helped.

Once purchased and primed, I sprayed the vehicles a military green, and then just went crazy with brown and green dry brushing.  Wood blocks and barrels purchased at Hobby Lobby and mounted on bases – pallets –  are cargo used either in vehicles, or on the ground as part of a supply dump.  Machine gun and cannons purchased from Pulp Figures (Bob Murch) mounted as required.

Infernal Machine

I plan to interject an element of Pulp into my upcoming Back of Beyond campaign. This will include not only Bob Murch’s Zeppelin Troops and Soliders of Fortune/Adventurers, but also special equipment.

My first infernal machine is a PKZ-2 helicopter tethered to a Matchbox truck. Built in late World War One and developed in Austria-Hungary, the PKZ-2 is considered the first helicopter. It reportedly flew 36 times, always tethered, but suffered from serious technical problems that precluded operational use.  The observer stood in the cupola above the rotary blades.

 

Helicopter

 

What if some semi-crazed revanchist brought the prototype to Central Asia?  If nothing more than PUB, it might also provide special observation capabilities to the owning unit(s).

Building this Roden kit was not fun. Lots of small bits. I always fool myself that this  will be a smooth process with impressive results. More likely this  is glue smeared fingers, increasingly vulgar language and a product  requiring way too much time and effort to look passable.  Here’s a review and photos of a PKZ-2 by someone who really knows what he’s doing.

Red Actions! – A Start

Finally had the rules and charts for Red Actions! printed out at a local shop.  Plan to start play by the middle of the month.  I have Chinese, Soviets, British, Partisan and German contingents ready to go.  Some bases still need work – seems to be a theme right now.

Here’s a unit capabilities chart I threw together to help organize the first games.  The cards are just too pretty to cut out.