Paleontologists Ambushed
by Bandits in the Gobi
A Back of Beyond Game with "Contemptible Little Armies"
Our group recently did a game with "armies" from
Chris Peers' Back of Beyond Army List
for Asia. We played the Contemptable
Little Army rules, with the Ambush scenario from the East Africa army lists.
These are the forces.
The rules call for a 2:1 ratio in favor of the attacker. The attacker is the group moving into the
ambush.
______________________________________
Bandits
Under TouStevWoo
1 infantry bolt action 50 points
1 infantry with single shot rifles 30
1 "regular" soldiers 70
2 (@15 figs) Red Spear/Big Sword each 40
1 Cavalry 70
1 sniper 20
1 HMG 72
Paleontologists
Under command of Rob Chapman Andrews (RCA)
2 armored cars 120
2 HMG cars 100
1 Unit Paleontologists
(6) rifles 84
(2) with Lewis Guns
44
1 Chinese soldiers 80
1 laborers 20
2 snipers 50
2 HMG 144
642 points
The Paleontologists and their supporters were placed on the
table in their line of march. The ambush
rules say to come on one at a time, and that the ambushers can be 12" from
edge of table where they come on, but this is to be a convention game so we
wanted it to be a little more fair. So
Bandits had to be 2 feet from table edge.
The Paleontologists line was
Machine Gun truck, Chinese bodyguards, Americans with baggage, laborers, and the other MG truck; on top (right flank) a HMG, armored car, sniper. On bottom the same
Along the board in front of the expedition were patches of
bad going. RCA sent out the armored cars
to scout the patches. Here one finds a
contingent of bandits.
In the center, a machine gun truck overran a sniper and
then, itself, taken out by a heavy machine gun hidden in a rock formation.
Close up of HMG with bandit leader
On the right flank, the other Armored car flushed out some
more bandits, who fled around the car towards the main column. The AC is completely scratch built by Nick
Nascati.
Late arrivers attacked the column from its right flank. Ex-white Russians and two groups of Big Sword
groups. The expedition's body guard and laborers formed a line to protect the
baggage.
Two views
Close up of the Machine Gun truck (those familiar with our
games will note this is the makeshift truck from Tanga).
The Big Swords attack and are shot to pieces by laborers!
The baggage in the center.
Then on the column's left flank, bandits began to
attack. Cavalry is behind the hill in lower
right.
The cavalry attack and are shot down by the Americans. A Lewis gun and Tommy gun is not that helpful
when group is attacked 1 on 1. Also
"trench brooms" (Tommy guns) get no melee benefit against
cavalry! Cavalry do get +2 vs foot so took a heavy toll of the
explorers.
Expedition sniper hiding behind Old Glory Lanchester Armored
Car. How is the scale match?
All in all a good game, played in 2 ½ hours by 4
players. I spent about ½ hour previous
setting up the game as I will do it at a local convention in January.
