Encounter in the Ayun Valley

Introduction

High in the Hindu Kush, north of the fortress city of Chitral, on the very edge of the Britannian Raj, there is a deep cut valley which runs up the course of the Ojhore Gol, and higher still into the foothills of the Himalayas. This area is a flash point for Britannian diplomacy with Russian, Chinese and Persian incursions not uncommon. The most recent incursion had been reported by scouts of the 27th Bengali Guides and consequently forces of the Chitral garrison, supported by the mobile airfield Nawaz Khan (on loan to the Maharaja of Chitral) moved inexorably up the valley towards the passes around Tirich Mir.
From the north a Russian “archaeological” expedition investigating the hills and mountains around ancient Ayun fort had come under attack and military support had been requested. Moving swiftly, the military commander in the Tomsk Oblast had sent elements of the 52nd Heavy Support Regiment and their Polish allies (on practice manoeuvres in the local river valleys). With the Land Dreadnought Boris Godunov in the lead, progress was slow but skirmishes with Afghan, Pushtun and Persian tribesmen had been swift and decisive as the indigenous tribesmen had no answer to the armour of the Tsar’s army.
Late in the evening, while preparing bivouacs on the plains south of Ayun, the Russian forces came under long range shell fire. Unbeknownst to either side, the allies of the Grand Coalition had in fact engaged each other. Reconnaissance flights from the Britannian mobile airfield had reported the position of elements of Russian and Polish armour without determining whose side they were on and the large calibre guns of the Nawaz Khan had opened fire at extreme range. Responding swiftly, and without conducting adequate reconnaissance of his own, the Russian commander arrayed his forces and immediately deployed his Vorkuta drills to engage the enemy.

Image 1: The Plains of Ayun, looking south from the fort. The Britannian ridge position is visible in the mid-ground.

The Opposing Forces

Kingdom of Britannia

• Brunel Class Mobile Airfield (Nawaz Khan)
• Sovereign Class Land Ship
• Squadron of 4 Mk II Class Medium Tanks
• Squadron of 3 Cromwell Class Bombards
• Squadron of 4 Terrier Class Small Tanks
• Squadron of 3 Terrier Class Small Tanks
• Eagle Class War Rotor
• Squadron of 2 Hawk Scout Rotors
• 1 Wing of 5 Fighters
• 2 Wings of 5 Dive Bombers
• 1 Recon Flight   

Russian Coalition

• Kursk Class Land Dreadnought (Boris Godunov)
• Belgorod Class Land Ship (Alexeyeva)
• Vorkuta Class Land Drill (Norilsk)
• Vorkuta Class Land Drill (Usinsk)
• Squadron of 4 Kamchatka Class Medium Tanks
• Squadron of 3 Szpada Class Medium Tanks with 2 Palnik Flame Tanks attached
• Squadron of 3 Burza Class Bombards
• Squadron of 5 Rycerz Class Small Tanks
• 1 Wing of 4 Fighters
• 1 Wing of 5 Dive Bombers
• 1 Recon Flight

Astute readers will note that the Britannian list seems a little light. It is. Dave can’t add up to 1250.

Deployment

The Britannian’s deployment was a classic. With most forces behind the reverse slope and light, fast troops on the flanks, the Iron Duke himself would be proud. The aerial support was deployed on the same flank as the Russian drillers, possibly to provide some sort of offensive power against them as only bombs and concussive charges are effective while the drillers are subterranean.
The Russian deployment was slightly more unconventional, with medium forces on the left flank supported by a Belgorod Land Ship. The Vorkuta drillers were fairly centrally deployed, looking to exploit the narrow passes between the hills. The Polish mobile artillery was deployed with light tank support on the right flank.

Image 2: The deployment of the opposing forces. Note that the markers are indicative of position not unit frontage.

Image 3: The Russian deployment on the tabletop...

Image 4: ... and the Kingdom of Britannia deployment

The Battle

The first turn was mainly jockeying for position. The Polish light tanks rushed forward, with some desultory fire on the advancing aerial forces of the Britannian left flank. The other Britannian forces managed to fire off several long range shots with limited effect. Minor damage on the Kamchatka lead tank and one of the Hawks along with some destroyed Rycerz were about all the damage done.

Image 5: Britannnian medium and light assets advance on the Russian lines

In the second turn the Britannian armour advanced from behind the hills and ridges and engaged the Russians where they could. The Cromwells had parked too close to the hill and found themselves confounded by the slope, but the Mk IIs and the Brunel started to lay down some serious fire. A critical on one of the Kamchatkas led to a magazine explosion which seriously damaged the whole squadron. The destructive ordnance of the Brunel’s forward gun destroyed one of the Burzas. In reply the Russians downed a Hawk and started to damage the Eagle.

Image 6: There had been a whole squadron here before the Mk II tanks engaged

The third turn started to tell. The Russian heavy tanks got to RB2 and started to pound the Britannians with masses of ordnance. In short order a proportion of the Mk II squadron was pulverised by the Belgorod, while the Brunel suffered tremendous damage from the Kursk, ultimately suffering from a magazine explosion in turn. On the Russian right flank the Polish artillery and light vehicles with support from a surfaced Vorkuta and its ground support tanks dealt the fatal blow to the remaining Britannian air assets. The Polish medium armour manoeuvred for position intending to use flamethrowers on the small and medium vehicles left but were out-manoeuvred in turn.

Image 7: The war in the air has taken a turn for the worse with severe damage all around and a Vorkuta about to surface

Image 8: The view from the Boris Godunov... choices, choices

The fourth turn was called. With the Britannian right flank in disarray and under intense pressure and the Britannian heavy vehicles and air support practically eliminated and a Russian Vorkuta driller still underground the Britannians claimed discretion as the better part of valour and withdrew.

The Aftermath

The game ended up being a bit one sided because of Dave’s miscalculation, but as the first two turns had the Vorkutas underground the game seemed quite even (neither Dave nor I realised the MFV was wrong until after the game and we were tallying VPs). On the Britannian side the Mk II tanks maintained their fierce reputation and the Brunel was very scary. On the Russian side, the Poles were the better mediums but as RB2 hove into sight the Russian big guns really started to tell.
I don’t think there was anything wrong with either of our deployments or our strategies. My tactical obsession with the Britannian air assets was a bit unnecessary but I find that I can’t help myself (same thing has happened in a couple of naval games). The game would almost certainly have been more of a slog if Dave could count to 1250!