On the 5th November 1854 a smaller British and (yes) French army beat off an assault by the Russians at Inkerman in the Crimea. It was known as “The Soldier’s Battle” as men fought small engagements due to poor visibility in dense fog.
The Russians had massed 32000 men on the Allied flank and headed for the 2700 man 2nd Division, commanded today by the aggressive Pennefather. Instead of falling back in the face of superior numbers, he advanced. The British had their rifles to thank this day as they took a terrible toll on the musket armed Russian Infantry, who were hemmed in by the valley’s bottle neck shape. The British 2nd Division pushed the Russians back onto their reinforcements and should have been routed by the Russians’ numbers, but the fog and the British Light Division saved them. Three successive Russian commanders were killed in this engagement.
The Russians other 15000 men approached and assailed the Sandbag Battery, but they were routed by 300 British defenders vaulting the wall, blunting the lead Battalions, who were then attacked in the flank. More Russian attacks ensured the Battery exchanged hands several times.
The British 4th Division was not as lucky. Arriving on the field, its flanking move was itself flanked and its commander, Cathcart, killed. This enabled the Russians to advance, but not for long. They were soon driven off by French units arriving from their camps and made no more headway.
The battle was lost and they had to withdraw.
This was the last time the Russians tried to defeat the Allied troops in the field. Despite this reverse, however, the Russian attack had seriously stalled the Allies from capturing Sevastopol. They had to instead, spend one harsh winter on the heights overlooking the city, before it fell in September of 1855.
The British suffered 2573 casualties, the French 1800 and the Russians 11959.
Will the allies ever win WWII in newer axis and allies boards?
-
The allies are no fun to play in the newer boards. No room to get creative or to be hyper aggressive like in the older boards.
Newer boards = global, 1941, and 1942.
AA50 is so 2008, if you think that is a newer board, you are so 2000 and late.
-
In Global 1940, It’s a timely art of Defence first, aggression later. If that doesn’t work… Add a Bomber in Moscow, or a Battleship off Hawaii.
-
@Cow:
The allies are no fun to play in the newer boards. No room to get creative or to be hyper aggressive like in the older boards.
What kind of bid (if any) are you playing with in your (AA50) games?
-
For aa50 generally speaking, inf egypt and armor for russia.
AA50 was not so bad, because there were a number of small skirmishes in round 1 for the axis to get diced doing. For dice I usually settle for around 9-10
Global it is sad to see 12 bids for dice games.
For the newer 1941 and 1942 boards… the allies are super sad. I think it is around 12 for those as well.
I just want to see a shift that favors the allies… ever since transports got hit with a nerf bat, the allies are kind of sad. Lost so much flexibility and different strategies were viable. The allies are too dependent on too many things.
-
Maybe you have a romanticized view of Revised. The Allies are not as interesting in Revised as you remember. I suspect that in elite Revised play there is just as much potential for the Allies to be boring as in aa50 or global. From what I remember, elite Allied play involved alot of shucking sz12 and sz2. The Allied fleets were basically unassailable, so Axis needed sophisticated inf/armor strategies to win.
Part of the excitement when AA50 came out was that it was a game where air combat skill is really important, since fleets are no longer as invulnerable.
I agree that Revised was special and had alot going for it–there was alot of strategic variety, including German navy and KJF. But there was just as much variety in aa50, where its feasible to conduct a Pacific war. If you’re a Pacific war fan, aa50 and Global/Pacific have a lot going for them.
I’m not even sure Revised is a better game then the Spring 42 game with aa50 rules. The main thing that makes Revised better is KJF and German navy are more feasible, and these are good strats especially f2f. But Spring 42 tends to play out quicker and KGF can be quite exciting.
Global is a different kind of game, constrained as it is by strict historicity. However, the map and the ruleset are fantastic, so I expect great spin-off games to be developed once the current Global rule set gets old. Allies are also fun in the standalone Europe game.
-
Agreed with Zhukov,
You have to go all the way back to MB to see a strong Allies.
But while I lament the strength of the Axis (especially Japan in AA50) I value the diversity of play in the newer boards. Especially Spring 42 2nd edition. That one is about 50/50 KJF/KGF in my opinion and Japan has to make some tough decisions for the first time since…. ever.
Global 40 is always fun if you can handle the length. My games always go in fun directions. And I think AA50 was a near masterpiece were it not for the monster that Japan becomes.
Go back and play MB if you want a better endowed Allies but my expectation is that you wont be playing for long…
-
I consider AA50 to be old. I am not sure why we making comparisons to two older boards, revised and aa50.
I am talking about global, 1942, and 1941. Have you seen the allies in those boards? They are boring.
-
You referred to defenseless transports, which is a common complaint among those who prefer Revised or Classic.
If it’s just imbalance you are talking about, then that isn’t really a problem. A game with a 12 bid is a better game than one with 0 bid because you’ll have good diversity of bid strats that keep the game fresh.
Its difficult to compare Global to prior versions. It is its own thing. I don’t find Allies boring, though they are more challenging than Axis.
As for 1942, I haven’t played it much, but I don’t see evidence Allies are less interesting then Spring42, Revised etc… As long as Allies get the bid they need, they can challenge Axis, and there seems to be room for strategic variety. Imho the 1942 map is very well drawn and has big advantages in that respect over Revised.
-
@Cow:
I consider AA50 to be old. Â I am not sure why we making comparisons to two older boards, revised and aa50.
I am talking about global, 1942, and 1941. Have you seen the allies in those boards? They are boring.
Good thing I haven’t taken the bait and bought those games :evil:
Suggested Topics
