Rublishlandia

 Welcome to the second installment of a closer look at the nations of Eurica.  Today we feature Rubishlandia.    Below is the entry from the 1985 CIA* Sourcebook.  As with any Intelligence document, the below information is based on the data available at the time of publication (January 1, 1985) and subject to revision.

* Conceptual Imagination Assessment

This nation is still a work in progress.  As you will, see most of their units still need to painted.  But, rumor has it their media is ramping up the propaganda war.

 

National History

Where does one start when describing Rubishlandia?  Located in Western Africa, somewhere between Morocco and Nambia, Rubishlandia is an enigma.   Like its neighbor Gardenstan Rubishlandia is a former British Colony.  The first Englishman to explore the region took one look at the baren, rocky, scrub covered terrain and commented, “this land is a load of rubbish”.  Unfortunately, the name stuck.  Having nothing to offer other than poverty, strife, and constant internal warfare for the most part it has been ignored by the rest of the World. 

 

The Soviet Union seeing a nation ripe for the picking, began providing limited aid to Rubishlandia to further tighten the grip on the region and secure the flank of their satellite Gardenstan.  After Gardenstan’s failed unauthorized attack on Wihelmsland, Rubishlandia became the main beneficiary to the Soviet largesse in the region.

 

Following the discovery of large reserves of Iron Ore and Bauxite in the late 1960’s, followed by the discovery of significant oil reserves in the early 1970’s  the Soviets have begun to invest heavily in the region.  

 

 

Geography

Rubishlandia and its immediate neighbors are located in a geographic anomaly on the continent.   Unlike its two neighbors (Gardenstan and Weilhelmsland) the mountain ranges of the area make Rubishlandia a dry and somewhat baren land.    However, the geography also sports a larger than expected  number of rivers, with one being navigable well into the continental interior.  As with Gardenstan, it was this river and its ability to control the waterway into the interior that first caught the eye of the Soviets.

 

Industry

Rubishlandia has limited to no real heavy industry.  They have a large but inefficient mining operation that is rife with corruption.  Their Oil industry continues to expand, however they have no domestic refining capability and roughly 85% of the production is exported to Warsaw Pact nations or other Soviet client States.

 

 

Production

Most of the production efforts in Rubishlandia are centered on state run collective farms.  While considerable resources are invested in these efforts, due to the poor soil and climate conditions, combined with the inevitable corruption Rublishlandia is still not self-sufficient in food production.  Over the last 10 years they have even implemented various forced relocation programs from the cities to the rural areas in an attempt to ‘throw more bodies’ at the agricultural shortfall.  To date, those efforts have not proved successful.

 

 

Society

Rubishlandia is a Fascist military state with an extremely unpopular government that is viewed as illegitimate by a majority of the population.  Corruption is wide spread with the ruling elite living in the height of luxury while the common people barely have enough food to eat.  Perhaps of this disparity, the leadership of Rubishlandia could best be described as paranoid.

The main concern of the common man in Rubishlandia aside from where their next meal will come from is fear of the government and by extension the military.  

There is little to no cultural cohesion in Rubishlandia, which serves the State well as it makes an organized uprising of the Citizens nearly impossible.  This combined with a willingness of the military to crack down brutely on any organized opposition ensures the population behaves.

There are 3 distinct “classes” within Rubishlandia Society, the ruling elite, the military, and everyone else.

The official language of Rubishlandia remains English, just as it was when they were still an British Colony.

Rubishlandia is ruled by President for life Idi Sanford and his family.  It is safe to say the land of Rubbish is firmly controlled by Sanford and Son.

 

Military

Rubishlandia has a large military, organized loosely on the Soviet model.  Their equipment is fairly modern, although the state of readiness it is maintained at is questionable.  The Air Force is small and unfocused, with significant maintenance issues.  

Rubishlandia has a sizable infantry force, primarly optimized for domestic security and crowd control, with a significant portion of them being Truck borne.  Their armored force is comprised primarily of T-72 tanks and BMP-1’s.   The armored forces are at an acceptable level of training, while it is unclear if the infantry would be able to stand up to an organized force, but in a full scale conflict at least a portion of the Security forces would be deployed to assist the line military units.

The military of Rubishlandia continues to grow as the Soviet’s continue to provide more and newer equipment to them.  There are rumors that they will soon be adding a battalion of SP 122mm artillery and anti-aircraft artillery.

It should be noted the security forces mentioned below reflect the known uniformed  para-military security force.  There is a sizeable non-uniformed security force of unknown number that is nearly as effective as the Stasi.

 

As of current (January 1985) the Rubishlandia military consists of the following:

 

Rubishlandian 1^st Motorized Rifle Regiment

Headquarters

Recon section  BRDM-2, PT76

Anti-tank battery, BRDM-2 AT

1^st Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

2^nd  Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

3^rd  Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

Tank Battalion

            3 companies T-72 Tanks

  

The Rubishlandia 1st MRR on parade

And the obligatory view from the air

 

 

Rubishlandian 2nd Motorized Rifle Regiment

Headquarters

Recon section  BRDM-2, PT76

Anti-tank battery, BRDM-2 AT

1^st Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

2^nd  Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

3^rd  Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

Tank Battalion

            3 companies T-72 Tanks

 

 

 

1^st Rubishlandian Tank Regiment

Headquarters

Recon section  BRDM-2, PT76

1/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-72 Tanks

2/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-72 Tanks

3/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-72 Tanks

4^th Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

 

2^nd Rubishlandian Tank Regiment

Headquarters

Recon section  BRDM-2, PT76

1/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-55 Tanks

2/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-55 Tanks

3/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-55 Tanks

4^th Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

 

 

 

Internal Security Forces

1^st Security Infantry Battalion

            3 companies of BTR-60

2^nd Security Infantry Battalion

            3 companies of KrAZ Truck

3^rd Security Infantry Battalion

            3 companies of Truck

4^th Security Infantry Battalion

            3 companies of Truck

Security Tank Detachment

            T-55 and PT-76 Tanks

 

Airforce

 

Mi-8 HIP Helicopters

MiG 19

MiG-19's of the Peoples Air Force

Up next, Wilhelmsland.

So much lead, so little time

Gardenstan

 Welcome to the first installment of a closer look at the nations of Eurica.  Today we start with the smallest of the three nations.  Below is the entry from the 1985 CIA* Sourcebook.  As with any Intelligence document, the below information is based on the data available at the time of publication (January 1, 1985) and subject to revision.

* Conceptual Imagination Assessment

We'll start off with Gardenstan, as almost all of their units have been painted.

Gardenstan

Formerly a British colony, the tiny nation of Gardenstan is famous for it’s uncharacteristically rich, productive soil and exotic plant life.   The Nation is rich in waterways, which drain the interior of the continent.   It was their control of the these major waterways combined with their surplus agriculture output that  initially caught the eye of the Soviet Union and resulted in their ultimately being cultivated as a Soviet client State in the early 1950’s.  

 

Unfortunately, in their new found Communist zeal, and the influx of the Soviet military equipment, the leadership of Gardenstan lauched an unsanctioned attack on the neighboring nation of Willhelmsland.  Had the attack been successful, all would have probably been forgiven.  Unfortunately the attack failed miserably.  And to add insult to the Soviet pride, it was predominantly upgraded WWII area German equipment that defeated their ally.  With their attack stalled and their new shinny Soviet equipment in flames, the leadership of Gardenstan quickly reached a peace agreement with Willhelmsland that still stands (tenuously) to this day.

 

Following their failed, unauthorized attack on Wilhelmsland, Gardenstan fell out of favor with the Soviets.  Many speculate were it not for their control of the major rivers, the Soviets may have abandoned them completely.  With the discovery of oil in Rubishlandia the Soviets redirected much of the efforts and resources in the area from Gradenstan to Rubishlandia.  The Soviets provided just enough support to keep the Gardenstan leadership (and river access) firmly in their camp.  But their military support is still minimal, as the Politburo does not tolerate unauthorized military action, especially when it results in embarrassment to the Communist cause as well.

 

Geography

Gardenlstan and its immediate neighbors are located in a geographic anomaly on the continent.   Gardenstan is a coastal nation but has a minimal fishing industry.  Due to the unique mountain ranges the area is particularly fertile, receiving ample rainfall with a moderate climate allowing most crops to be grown.  Gardenstan is known for diverse medicinal plants and lush ornamental flowers.  The geography also sports a larger than expected  number of rivers, with one being navigable well into the continental interior.  It was this river and its ability to control the waterway into the interior that first caught the eye of the Soviets.

 

Industry

Gardenstan has limited heavy industries, having been primarily and agricultural based nation for most of its existence.  Once they became a Soviet client state, any efforts to develop a more industrial base were frowned upon, thereby increasing their dependence on the Soviets.

 

Production

As noted above, Gardenstan remains a primarily agricultural based country.  They raise a surplus of grains, which are exported to the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations.

Society

The 2.7 million people of Gardenstan are roughly split 50/50 between urban and rural.  The have a one party government that is viewed as being somewhat illegitimate by the populace.  Over the years there has been very little imigrtation into Gardenstan, with only 11% of the population have ancestry from outside of Gardenstan, despite this there is still a lack of cultural cohesion in the nation.  
Gardenstan’s government is unpopular and rife with cronyism, they also are extremely concerned, some would say paranoid,  with the potential foreign sabotage within the nation.The official language of Rubishlandia remains English, just as it was when they were still an British Colony.

 

Military

The Military of Gardenstan follows the Soviet organization for the most part, with a few variations based on equipment availability.  While the Soviet military contributions are limited, Gardenstan continues to have a military force sufficient to deter any would be aggressor in the region with the possible exception of their fellow Soviet Client state and nominally Ally Rubbishlandia, or the pro-west nation of Willhelmsland.

The Infantry is mechanized. The forces are lacking in anti-aircraft assets. They field two batteries of the older BM14 MLRs for indirect support.

 

The Air Force is old, dating back to when Gardenstan was still a priority for the Soviets but it remains the second largest in the region and is maintained at a much higher state of readiness than Rubbishlandia’s.

 

As of current (January 1985) the Gardenstan military consists of the following.  It is worth noting that while small and somewhat dated the overall readiness status of their ground equipment is quite high, while the readiness of the token aircraft is limited.  Due to equipment constraints, some of the unit organizations may seem strange, but as the Gardenstan Military is fond of saying, you make do with what you have.

 

Gardenstan Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment

Headquarters

Recon section  BRDM-2, PT76

Anti-tank battery, BRDM-2 AT

1^st Guard Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BTR60

2^nd  Guard Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BTR60

3^rd  Guard Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BTR60

1^st Guard Tank Battalion

            3 companies T-72 Tanks

Guard Artillery

            1 Battery of BM-14 MLR

 

As always click to enlarge.  These tiny things are a pain to photograph

And the Helicopter eye view

 

1^st Gardenstan Motorized Rifle Regiment

Headquarters

Recon section  BRDM-2, PT76

Anti-tank battery, BRDM-2 AT

1^st Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BTR60

2^nd Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BTR60

3^rd Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BTR60

1^st Tank Company

            3 companies of PT-76

Artillery

            1 Battery of BM-14 MLR

 

Regiment on parade 

And the helicopter view

 

1^st Gardenstan Tank Regiment

Headquarters

Recon section  BRDM-2, PT76

1/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-55 Tanks

2/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-55 Tanks

3/1 Tank Battalion

            3 companies of T-55 Tanks

4^th Motorized Rifle Battalion

            3 companies of BMP-1

 

In the early 1980's the T-55 were still a force to be reckoned with.  That whole quantity vs. quality thing

All of the above photos are GHQ figures, some bought in the 1980's, some last month.

AirForce

 

Su7

MiG19

Sorry, no photos of these yet.

Thanks for indulging me on this trip down memory lane.  More foolishness to come. 

So much lead, so little time.

Technical difficulties

 So, for some reason Blogger isn't allowing me to comment on my own post.  They don't seem to think I own my blog?  This is a test to see if I can still post.

I hate technology.

Eurica - was Project X

Project X is ready to go public.  Sort of.

This all started back in January of 2021 (actually it started in 1983 or 1984), when I was going through a box of stuff and found an old modern rule set from my college days.  The rules were crap, but inside were notes on my fictional nation and army (I didn’t know that ImagiNations were a thing back then).  Sooo… I decided to clean up the notes, move the time line forward a bit to coincide with my stint at beautiful Fort Riley, and presto!  The overall concepts remain the same as what I jotted down almost 40 years ago although I did use the Nordic Weasel Games “Not Just a Brush War” rules to help flesh out some of the background. I still need to do a map of the region.

 

I’m about 2/3’s of the way done on painting the troops.  Over the next week or so I’ll post up the 1985 CIA* Sourcebook summaries on the 3 belligerent nations as well as photos of their armed forces, to the extent they’ve been purchased/painted.  These summaries are still in draft form, but I think they’ll convey the overall feel that the nations will have.  As of now I plan to use “Fist Full of Tows III” as the rule set.

*Conceptual ImagiNation Assessment

 

When I started this, I thought the Cold War foolishness with the Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact and US/NATO was behind us, unfortunately, recent events would seem to indicate that is not so.

 

 

May I present to you, the region of Eurica

 

Most people in the West, or the East for that matter, have ever heard of the Eurica region of West Africa. The region is located loosely on the Western African coast, somewhere between Morocco and Namibia.  It’s location on international maps seems to very so much that most cartographers have given up even trying to show the region on maps.  

 

Prior to World War I the region consisted of two British Colonies and one German Colony.  The nations, Gardenstan, Rubishlandia, and Wilhelmsland were all granted their independence following the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.  Exactly what back-room deals were made to obtain that result remains a mystery still today.

 

The region is located in a geographic anomaly on the continent.   Due to the unique mountain ranges the area is particularly fertile, receiving ample rainfall with a moderate climate allowing most crops to be grown.  The geography also sports a larger than expected number of rivers, with one being navigable well into the continental interior.

 

As of January 1, 1985 Gardenstan has a one-party government with no opposition while Rubishlandia is a Fascist military state with all the misery that entails and Wilhelmsland is a functional democracy with a moderate level of corruption that the citizens are comfortable with.

 

Stay tuned for more details on the various nations. 

 

So much lead, so little time

2nd Battle of the Crossroad

Welcome to the second battle of the crossroad.  The latest installment of the foolishness known as the Outlandishian Chronicles.  It took a little longer than I expected when I teased this out back on January 10th.  Actually the battle took a lot less time than I expected, I was just so disgusted I couldn't force myself to write up the report.

The good Earl is getting rather frantic to get a win at this point.  He's already effectively lost control of half of his Realm.  Tax revenues are down, the Peasants are restless, the Wenches are questioning his prowess, and he's had to actually spend some of the gold he's been hoarding for decades.  

As the Earl's forces advanced he could see the Count was prepared, his forces drawn up in battle order astride the road to Bridgeton. This was not going to be the surprise attack he envisioned.   “Curse that Curr,” bellowed the Earl as reached for a fresh skin of wine,  “Deploy per the plan, dress lines and ADVANCE!”.

 

Phase 1

The Earl won the initiative by 2 and elected to go first.  The first card turned was a Move card.  Wrong-way-Ray on the Earls left flank commanding the cavalry including the Extra Heavy Knights immediately plodded ahead one move segement.  Clearly the spring thaws were impacting his speed.  In the Center of the Earl’s formation Bigus Dikus, the Roamer Mercenary general advanced one segment. (realizing that his commanders are mostly fools, the Earl attached a unit of spear, sword, and longbow to the mercenary center.  And finally Captain A. Noid on the Earl’s right flank moved one segment.

The next card was undisciplined missilery.

 

The Count’s first card was Engines of War reload.  With a maniacal cackle of laughter, the gunners let loose at the Roamer Dense Shock Infantry directly to their front, inflicting a 2 stand loss. And then reloading.  First blood to the Count.

The next card was a Favor of the Gods. Set aside and Remember to use it.

 

End of the first phase

Phase 2

The Count won the second initiative roll by 2 and opted to go first, hoping to get his flank attack under way.  His first card was crushing missilery, rolling a 4 on a D6, all of his gunpowder units can fire up one this phase.  The gunners began giggling hysterically, (possibly due to smoke inhalation from the cloud of black powder), being up 1 for crushing missilery, and remembering to use the favor of the gods card, they had visions of the Roamer unit to their front going ‘poof’.  Sadly, they only won the roll by 1, inflicting another stand loss on the unit.

There next card was a Melee.

 

The Earl Turned an Army Morale and a Melee card.

 

Phase 3

The Earl wins by 4, goes first.  The Count is starting to feel a little unsettled.  While his artillery has been remarkable successful, his flank attacks have refused to commence.

The Earl turns an Army Morale, Missile Reload (nothing in range) Crushing Missilery and Lull.  The Count fails to steal the initiative.

 

The Count turns a Move card.  Maybe all is not lost and his beautiful plan will still work.

Grand Captain Cuss-a-lot on the Count’s right flank wins 2 move segments.  He sends his Mounted Arquebus forward to fire on the Earl’s Extra Heavy Cavalry, hoping to inflict a unformed result.  When the smoke clears the Mounted Arquebusiers have inflicted two stands lost – however since it is skirmish fire the net result is ‘Disordered’, or down two for melee – much better than hoped for!  

Next Cuss-a-lot sends the Fearsome Yellow Shield Knights into contact with the Earl’s Extra Heavy Cavalry.  As the knights advance the Roamer Ballista fires and misses.  Since the Earl’s Extra Heavy Cavalry are disordered, the Yellow Shield Knights can Melee without a melee card.  The combat results are a tie, both sides rolling a 2, however, since the Yellow Shield Knights have a higher Morale Dice, it counts a narrow loss with no stands lost  for the Earl’s Cavalry, but they become disorderd – already being disordered, they Rout.  This is the first time in the campaign that the skirmish fire has actually worked/been effective in degrading a unit.  The rest of the Units in Cuss-a-lots command move forward.

 

The plucky mounted arquequebusier skirmishers give it their all disordering the Knights as the  Yellow Shield Knights follow up.

With the results being what is sadly for the Earl becoming an all too familiar scene for his Extra Heavy Cavalry.

Phase 4

The Earl wins the initiative by 2, and his first card is a Move card!

Wrong-Way-Ray gets one move segment as his blue coated Medium Cavalry focus on the unloaded skirmish Arquebus Cavalry to their front they thunder forward and the light cavalry does a skirmish evade.  Their blood up, the Blue coat cavalry continues forward towards the Whirling Mass bow armed light cavalry who fire doing a nominal one stand loss, which after consoling the skirmish fire table results in the blue coat can being unformed, shrugging off the pin-cushions they mange to just make contact with the light cavalry who skirmish evade away.

The Yellow Shield Knights advance diagonally and make contact with the Count's Yellow Shield Knights.

View from the Earl's perspective Yellow Shirt Medium Cavalry and Yellow Shield Knights in contact.  To the right, the Earl's Swordsmen and Spearmen in contact with the now unloaded Arquebus.

In the Earl's center Bigus Dikus surges ahead with 2 move segments.  The Earl's swords, spear and longbow on the center left flank move into contact with the Duke's Arquebusiers, who fire, causing a 2 stand loss on the Swordsmen.  

The 2 units of Roamer Dense Shock Infantry advance their move ending just shy of the unloaded cannon in the Count's center. 

Bigus Dikus apparently has something to prove as he takes his Roamer Legions into the teeth of the (unloaded for now) artillery.

On the Earl's left flank Captain A. Noid, apparently in shock at the rout of the Extra Heavy Cavalry stands fast (rolled a 1) until the Earl intervened and his command sheepishly moved ahead one segment.  Clearly fearing the wrath of the Earl, both Heavy Crossbow units advanced.  The first unit closing to point blank range with the Count's arquebus unit who fired doing one stand of damage to the crossbows.  The crossbows returned the favor doing one stand of damage to the Arquebusiers.  The Earl's remaining Arquebus unit closed on the Count's Light Cavalry, the whirling mass cavalry fired to no effect.  The Heavy crossbowmen set them selves firmly in place and let fly a volley that caused a 3 stand loss on the light cavalry.  The longbow and swordsmen advanced as well.  And finally, the Earl's Right flank Medium Cavalry advanced into contact with the Medium Cavalry opposite them.

The Earl's final card was a Heroic Moment.  (Remember to use it)

The Count starts his turn of phase 4 by a turning a Melee card, opting to only act with his cavalry units.

On the Count's right flank the Yellow Shield Knights vs the Earl's Yellow Shirt Medium Cavalry results in a tie, which the Yellow Shield Knights win due to their higher Morale dice.  The Earl's Yellow Shirt Cavalry are no disordered and the two units remain in contact and must resolve melee again on the next card.  

On the Count's left flank his Green Medium Cavalry vs. the Earl's Green medium Cavalry is won by the Count by 3, inflicting a one stand loss on the Earl's Cavalry and pushing them back 3".

The Counts next card is a Move.  On the Count's right flank his remaining Knights move into contact with the Earl's Blue coat medium cavalry while the skirmish cavalry move forward.

Int he Center Cuirt-the-lesser wins 3 move segments.  His unloaded arquebus unit in contact with the with the Earl's sword and spear unit pulls back, as does the rest of the command.

Captain TBD wins one segment on the Count's left flank and his Red Medium Cavalry move forward to contact the Earl's unloaded heavy crossbowmen as the Earl's Longbowmen behind the crossbows fire overhead fire, doing no damage.  The Count's remaining Medium Cavalry moves into contact with their opposite number.

Cavalry in contact on the Count's right flank.

Cavalry in contact on the Count's left flank

I took a break after phase 4, and the photos are rather sketchy for the rest of the battle, or slaughter, or debacle, or farce, whatever you want to call it.

Phase 5

Phase 5 was uneventful except for the Count turning an Uncontrolled Charge card.  Both of the unloaded Arquebus units charged into contact and resolved Melee.  On the counts center right flank the Arquebusiers melted with a unit of swords and lost, suffering a one stand loss.  On the Center left flank the Arquebus charged into contact with the Earl's heavy crossbow and m managed to infect a whopping 2 stand loss, causing the Crossbows to rout, unreliable (the Count tripled the Earl's die roll). 

Phase 6

Phase 6 resulted in a tie die roll, shuffle the decks.

Phase 7

Phase 7 was uneventful with the Count drawing and passing a Courage card while the Earl turned a Lull card and the Count failed to seize the initiative.

Phase 8

The Count won the initiative and his first card turned was a Melee card.  This could be ugly with the number of units already in contact.

On the Earl's Left flank, The Count's Knights charged into the Earl's Medium Blue Coat cavalry.  The Count by four and double led the Earl, resulting in a two stand loss for the Earl and his Medium Cavalry Rout, unreliable.  The Count's knight pass their check and do not pursue, but are now unformed.

Next the Count's Yellow Shield Knights and the Earl's Yellow Shirt Medium Cavalry have a go at each other.  The Yellow Shield Knights win by 6, inflict a 3 stand loss on the Earl's Yellow Shirt Cavalry who rout.  The Yellow Shield Knights fail their pursuit check and go galloping after the retreating Yellow Shirts.

Situation on the Earl's Left flank at the start of Phase 8

Situation on the Earl's Left flank after the Melee

On the Earl's right flank, the Count's Red Medium Cavalry who was in contact with the Earl's Heavy Crossbow unit initiate Melee.  A massive cloud of dust enveloped the action, horses and Crossbowmen could be heard screaming, and when the dust settled... the result was a tie.  Due to the Medium Cavalry having a higher Morale die, they won the battle, the Crossbows are now unformed, and they are locked in Melee.  Next the Count's Green Medium Cavalry already in contact with the Earl's Medium Green Cavalry initiated melee.  (note the rock and chicken on the Earl's Cavalry in the photo below.  That resulted in a down 2 for being disorders and another down 1 for a one stand loss). The Count's Medium Cavalry wins by 11, destroying the already wounded unit.

Situation on the Earl's Right flank at the start of Phase 8

Situation on the Earl's Right flank after the Melee

The Count next turned a Move card.  Cuss-a-lots Cavalry command on the Earl's Left flank rolled one move segment as the Yellow Shield Knights moved into contact with the mercenary Ballista while the rest of the command moved forward.  

The Center command had one move segment and opted to stay put. 

Captain TBD on the Earl's right flank one two move segments.  The Count's Red medium cavalry used one move segment to continue melee with the Earl's crossbows, winning by 10, causing a 3 stand loss and tripling the Earl's roll, the crossbow route unralliable.  The Count's Green Cavalry used one move segment turn 90 degrees, and another to advance into contact with the Longbow flank.  As a flank attack, melee could be resolved without a melee card.  the Green Medium Cavalry wins by 8, inflicting a 2 stand loss and doubling the defenders roll, the Longbowmen rout.  

At this point the Earl was out of Morale chips.

The view right before crunch time for the Longbow men.

For the Earl's portion of the phase, his first card turned was a Move card.

The routers performed their obligatory move, and the last remnants of the Earl's Left flank trotted off the battlefield.   And in the Center and Right flank more routers streamed to the rear. As the Earl could be heard bellowing "Advance!!, Attack! Attack!  Attack!" from the rear of the formation.

Bigus Dickus, the mercenary commander in the Earl's center looked to his left and noted that there were no friendly units left.  He glanced to his right and saw that the flank had been turned.  Rolling his dice, we won 3 move segments.  Looking around again, he ordered his lead Legion of Roamer Infantry to fire, and a cloud of Pilum filled the air between them and  Count's artillery, inflicting one stand loss.  He the ordered a general withdrawal.

At that point Crom interceded and decreed a freak rain storm was preventing the Count's forces from pursing.

What a train wreck.  I know I create the Earl's character to not be very likable, and an 'old school' solider trusting in arrows and heavy cavalry, but geesh....  When the Earl's Extra Heavy Cavalry routed way back in Phase 2, without even suffering a stand loss, I could tell it was going to be one of those battles.

Fear not!  Bigus Dickus has a dastardly plan to draw off the Count's pesky Cavalry away and make the next battle a proper Infantry slug fest.   Assuming the Earl is willing to part with significant amounts of gold for such a clever plan.  And if that doesn't work... The Hand of Crom may alter the dice... I mean fates... to give that buffoon the Earl a chance.  Or not.

So much lead, so little time.

Outlandishian Chronicles

 It’s campaign season again in the land of Outlandishia.  When last we left our heroes, the Earl was frantically rebuilding his thrice shattered forces and dipping into his treasury to hire some decent mercenaries this time. The Earl has obtained the services of 2 units of Dense Shock Infantry from the fallen Roamer Empire, as well as siege engine.  (These are the best units in the Earl’s forces).  He has also managed to rebuild his Extra Heavy Cavalry  which was obliterated in the 2^nd battle of Bridgeton.   (Unfortunately they rolled… “poorly” for their unit stats.  I rolled 9 times on 3 different D20 dice and the highest roll was a 5 giving the Extra Heavy Cavalry a base die of a D4.   Clearly the dice gods do not favor the Earl and that unit is cursed.  Although given the unit was vaporized in it’s last battle, I guess the poor quality makes sense).

 

Meanwhile in the City of Wander the Capital City of the (once great) Empire of Roamer Dictator Serious Smackdownum was counting the bags of gold that the Earl had paid for the use of his troops.  “That foolish old fraud, paying me to give my Legions battle experience.  If the Count doesn’t kill him, he will rue the day I launch the campaign to restore  the Empire and bring these upstarts to heel”, he cackled as let the gold coins rain down on his head.  “The Intelligence General Bigus Dikus learns on their fighting styles will be well worth any loss of blood for the coming crusade.”

 

The Count spent the off season consolidating his gains.  The Count was able to take control of the now isolated village of Maizeland without a fight, simply by reducing their taxes by 50% from what the Earl had been levying, oh yes, he may also have threatening to burn the village to the ground and sell every female child to the Northern Barbarians if they refused he offer. 

 

 The Spring thaws have abated somewhat, and the Earl seeks to gain a march on the Count and retake Muscato and teach those disloyal upstarts in Maizeland a lesson.  Unfortunately the Count’s light cavalry patrols have spotted them, (rolled a 20 on a d20) and the Count has just finished consolidating his troops at the scene of the last battle as the vanguard of the Earl’s forces come into view. 

 

Let the foolishness commence!

 

 

The table is laid out.  To the left (North) are the forces of the Count, and to the right (South) are the advancing forces of the Earl.  The Earl’s plan is simple… ADVANCE!, and hope his crossbows and bows can whittle down the Count’s forces.  The Count plans to hold his center and hope his firing does the job, while he smashes the flanks.  Given how outlandishly abysmal shooting has proven to be so far in the campaign, I can’t believe either of these bozos would put any faith in shooting.  We shall see.

 

So much lead, so little time

Outlandish Teaser

 Watch this space after the first of the year for the continuation of the Outlandishian Chronicles.  I’m tracking down my notes from earlier in the year to determine just what mercenary forces The Earl D’Greer may have at his disposal as he attempts to salvage his realm (and his life).  Look for Count William to possibly employ some mercenaries to finish off this campaign quickly.  

 

There are rumors that other realms may get involved (only the dice know).  And the Count's spies have reported that the ancient (fallen) realm of Roamers have offered troops as mercenaries to the Earl.  The Roamers are the southern most realm in my poorly sketched world map (not shown).

 

Speaking of maps, below is the regional situation between the Earl and the Count as the campaign ended last season.  The festivities started with the Count controlling everything North of the River, and the Earl everything South of the river.  At the end of the season, the Count had acquired Bridgeton and Muscato, and effectively isolated Maizeland, but didn’t bother to occupy it.

 

 

Red town symbols are the Count.  Purple town symbols are the Earl.  Sorry about the quality of the photo, but apparently HP has decided my 10 year old printer/scanner has met its planned obsolescence date and it refuses to recognize my computer for scanning.  But I can still print to it - strange.

 

And while we're on the topic of maps… Does anyone know of any good (free or inexpensive) mapping software out there?  I’m really tired of using maps that look like a 3^rd grader made them.  

Plus, the Super-Secret-Squirrel Project X is moving along nicely and needs a decent map.  I’ve finished the background on the three protagonists to the point where they are presentable… mostly.   And the painting is starting to kick into high gear.  And a map would be useful.

 

I hope everyone has a great Christmas (or whatever you may celebrate) and a safe fantastic New Year. 

 

So much lead, so little time