Chinese Generals

It was time to create the command element for my second Chinese army, and another general as well...got these guys finished up and ready for action.

Now, back to the rank and file...

Pulse of Battle Three Kingdoms

Matt was over this past Sunday, so we were able to get the Chinese on the table for another Pulse of Battle play test. My daughter, Jessica, joined us as well as another friend, Desmond. The teams were Matt and Jessica against Desmond and Tony.

We deployed the forces using the new deployment system, it was (again) fast and good. Matt commented that he liked it. Matt and Jessica had 11 units and 10 morale points. Desmond and I had 12 units and 14 morale points. Matt/Jess had an exceptional sequence deck and command ratings and Desmond/I had an abysmal sequence deck and command ratings. Desmond/I had an edge in horse units and Matt/Jess had an edge in missile units.

So, having a crappily-generalled army means one of two things:

1. Be conservative, let the battle come to you. 
2. Be bold and try to mitigate some advantages. In either case, you must have a little luck on your side and you'll still have a challenge to handle...but...the first option gives all of the initiative to the enemy (See Cornell, I *was* listening!). 

So, I opted for the second option. But, the second option only became apparent to me during the deployment phase as the enemy was having to deploy commands before we did, giving us a little reactionary advantage. Now, our hand of deployment cards was not great - hence the need for a little luck.

As the enemy deployed in a even line across their edge of the tabletop, it gave us an opportunity to deploy more strongly to one side, and if the aforementioned luck was with us they would not be able to counter it! So, I had Desmond deploy some foot units about 4" short of their deployment limit - planning to redeploy my horse units in front of them during the redeployment action. If the enemy got tricky and fouled that plan, then we could simply redeploy Desmond's units forward the last 4".

Well, luck was not with us. We had to make our redeployment action before the enemy did (in this game, each side had only one redeployment action due to the small number of units involved.). So, Desmond and I consulted and said, "screw it", redeploy the horse to the front of the foot. They'll be facing some non-missile foot units. If the enemy reacts by moving over some missile troops they will have to deploy to the rear of the target line...if we can get there first and fast, we got 'em!

So, that's exactly what happened. The enemy missile units redeployed to the rear of our targets. But, the game was to play out differently than we hoped. You see, we made two errors in hoping that we could get into grips with them before their missile troops moved up:

1. There was a waterway in the path of the advance, this will slow us down.
2. The commanding general of the mounted forces is a D8 Leadership. Uh, he sucks and his command will likely not enjoy tons of opportunity to befuddle the enemy.

Our horsemen died gallantly on the assault with only one of the three units successfully crossing the waterway. The missile troops, including two light bolt throwers, tore us up.

However, the rest of the battle was a real slobber-knocker. There were two villages on the table and they changed hands a couple times before the matter was resolved. Our forces had to contend with some wooded areas and the leftmost extent of the waterway, but we managed. On our extreme left flank, we had a crossbow unit a little exposed and they were driven off the table and pursued off the table by a unit of enemy medium horse - interesting and cool.

At the end of the game Matt had four chips and I had one, I surrendered with the situation being hopeless and the arrival of BBQ. The game took three hours, but we had two rookie players and did everything sequentially. Also, we laid out a lot of terrain, that'll delay the movement times of some units.

We had a fun time and really enjoy the rules. The BBQ was good too, good rations to be issued after a tough battle!

Pulse of Battle, October 22, 2012

Two more Pulse of Battle games played last Saturday...the first game again pitted the mighty Romans against the Macedonians. The winner of this battle would take on the Three Kingdoms Chinese.

We deployed the forces and realized that both armies had a certain affinity for the same half of the battlefield! Both sides had packed their armies into opposing halves of the table. We Macedonians, Chris and I, did deploy our mounted force on our far right, being the only forces from either army on that half of the table. We had dreams of galloping into the flanks of the Romans! Our phalanx held the center firm and our left was held by our allied forces and a unit of war elephants. Our light troops were arrayed to the front of our formation.

The Romans, Greg, Greg and Terry, deployed in their lines, using their horsemen on their right - opposing our allies. Their light troops fronting the lines. Signifying to us that they were gonna come on.

The empty half of the table was a real mystery for us, as it offered a flanking maneuver to our horsemen. We Greeks were pleased that the Romans were going to come smashing directly into our forces and not try to flank our phalanx.

Well, yep, on came the Romans. Wow! Greg, Greg and Terry did once heck of a job in this game! The Romans got up and got up quick and pounded us. It was one of the nights for the Greeks. Our Allies got flanked and rolled up and our horsemen on the open flank manged only to move within threatening distance of threatening distance. We had lost 15 or our 17 morale points and the Romans had only lost 3 of their 15!

With a total butt-kicking going on and being down so much, we Greeks capitulated with the two chips remaining. Our Phalanx was about to join battle on the offense, but too much damage had already been inflicted on us, the battle was irretrievable.

Again, really nice job fellas!

So, the Roman powerhouse was now set to take on the Three Kingdoms Chinese (3KC). The armies of the 3KC are half crap - the force we fielded was just under half "regular" troops of the standing army of the Kingdom of Wei. The bulk of the force was conscript footmen and then rounded out by a little barbarian horse archers and foot warbands as well as a unit of peasant levies. Lastly, Terry provided two units of heavy chariots to the army and we had two units of light bolt throwers.

Given the comparatively crappy quality of the Chinese, we expected another Roman smashing.

This battle's setup in most ways mimicked the first one. Half the battlefield was in use and the Romans deployed almost identically. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We Chinese, Chris and I again, placed our chariots in the center and supported their flanks with footmen and bolt throwers - each flank included a generous amount of crossbowmen. Our tribal allies and the peasants were deployed to our far left.  

The 3KC advanced to begin the battle. We drew an early Move card and used a Command Movement to move the entire army. What this is is an opportunity to move the army using the C-in-C's Leadership rating rather than the individual commander ratings. Pretty cool if you have some questionable leaders! So, we did this and got three movement segments and won with an "even" roll. So we could initiate melee!


So, we said, what the hell, send out the chariots! They crashed headlong into the Roman line, shattering the unit they encountered! Awesome! But, they would be "stuck in" for the remainder of the battle. One of the units would be lost in the fight but the other would survive...and...they tied up an entire Roman command in the center of the field for the entire action.

This meant that our flanks would be where the battle would be won or lost, so we advanced into the fray. With two commands on our left flank, Chris bore the brunt of the fighting - and he fought magnificently! Especially considering the conscripts and junk he had in part of his force.

Chris had to make good decisions with his men and make careful attacks, the Romans were the superior force on the table...they just continuously ground forward a few inches at a time through what seemed like an endless stream of melee combat. Hats off to Chris on his work!

My little right flank force was man-handled by the superior Romans and driven back but not without loss to the Romans.

The battle ended when we had lost the last of our 17 chips and failed on a subsequent Army Morale Card. When we lost our last point, the Romans were down to 4 points left themselves. So, the Chinese gave them a much more difficult fight than we thought they would have - and even in defeat covered themselves with glory!

Some great rules adjustments came out of the evening's games about light troops, shock and melee in general. The game is really taking shape!
Thanks again to Brent for his monthly hospitality and thanks to the gang for being fun and excellent gamers!

Chinese Tribal Allies

Well, the batch of minis from Curtey's arrived and I quickly cranked out a unit of tribal allies for the Three Kingdoms armies and Pulse of Battle.

This unit is a "warband" unit. So they could be a little fierce! Of course, from a quality perspective they could be anywhere. So, opponents will never know what to expect!

The flag is much later than my period, about 1181AD, and is of The Cham Kingdom (Vietnam)...but I think it looks really cool!

OK, back to the painting. I want to have my peasant units ready for action this Saturday! More Pulse of Battle play testing!

The Forces of the Three Kingdoms

To play Three Kingdoms games, you need to be able to create army lists that reflect what we think we understand. So, based on readings of various sources, the below is the basis of our army lists for generating 3K forces.
 

The Forces of the Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms (3K) period, generally considered to over the years 220 to 280, provides wargamers with a vast palette from which to color our tabletop games! It should be noted that the although the Han dynasty officially ended in 220, wargaming this period could begin around 189 when things really started going bad for the Han and the land became fractured with the fighting against Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao’s machinations and his battles to gain control in the northlands, and the battles fought trying save the Han dynasty. The famous Battle of the Red Cliffs was fought in 208.

During the3K period, the kingdoms not only fought each other but various tribesmen on their borders. From the generals and the soldiers to the intrigue of the internal and external politics to the guile employed by famous military strategists, the period is pretty wide open for creative gamers. This is true whether you enjoy the history of the period with or without the historical-romance flavor of the great novel.

With regard to relative national strengths, the Kingdom of Wei comes in first, having the largest population, with Wu ranking second and Shu third. However, the armies of each of the three kingdoms were likely very similar in construct. Although Wei appears to have had a larger standing army, all 3K forces seem to be a mixture of standing armies, paramilitary forces (warlords and feudal barons), conscripts/levies and various tribal and barbarian allies. Generally speaking, tribal alliances could be fleeting and often these soldiers were thought of as unruly and unreliable. This would, naturally, provide a great variance in the moral quality of the units within the armies – as it was in the later Han period.

Mounted troops of the standing armies and paramilitary organizations, that have had some training, can be thought of as being of higher quality soldiers given the expense of their training and equipment – but this need not always be the case. Many of the allied nomad and barbarian horsemen are fine riders and raiders, dangerous in battle, but not employed is the traditional battle cavalry of the 3K armies. The halberd with a sword-like tip is the most common cavalry weapon of the main forces – but many employ smaller crossbows or bows and were able to fight on foot as well. As in Han times, cavalry remained an important arm in 3K armies although it is thought that their use began to decline near the end of the period due to the loss of northwestern provinces. 

Chariots had passed out of general use in battle but still could be seen as the mount of important generals. But, we feel that it would not be completely out of context to field a chariot unit once in a great while, most likely with Wei’s forces.

On foot, the typical Han 5-rank deployment likely remained the norm. Unless armored, in Pulse of Battle terms most Chinese units will be rated as “medium foot”. The typical Chinese combat weapon was the halberd with a sword-like tip. Chinese armies did not typically deploy throwing spears other than some javelin-armed light foot, although allied auxiliaries may have employed some throwing spears. Crossbows and bows were most often used in mass “indirect” shooting, like artillery is used today. It is conceivable that a minimum of half of the units in our tabletop armies could be crossbow or bow armed – including the horsemen!

Individual units probably varied in uniform, color and armor. It is thought that the primary color of Wei was black, Wu green and Shu red. It is likely, especially in the conscript and levy units, that these colors would appear in the banners flown by the unit while the soldiers wore various clothing.

Wei
With around 60% of the Chinese population at the time, Wei is set up as the most powerful state of the three kingdoms. Given the proximity to the horse tribes of the north, Wei has an advantage over its enemies in acquiring horses and mounted allies, making them able to field powerful mounted forces.

On our tabletops, the forces of Wei could consist of up to half of the units in the army being mounted units. Typically this force would be a mixture of Chinese cavalry and allied light horsemen. The remaining units typically being a mixture of heavy and medium foot with few if any light foot troops. Naturally, smart generals tailor their forces to meet the expected conditions of the campaign, so we don't consider these suggested proportions a requirement!

It seems that the Kingdom of Wei had a large standing army; some sources say Cao Cao had 1,000,000 men under arms before his death in 220. Regardless of the actual number, the point is clear, the army of Wei could have a fairly large percentage of trained men in most forces - with the remainder filled out by conscripts and tribal allies.

Wu
Sometimes allied with Shu against Wei, Wu uses its many rivers to provide natural defensive positions and obstacles to enemy maneuver. A large portion of the kingdom is tropical and this terrain is often unsuitable for cavalry armies. As a result, Wu fields little cavalry, what cavalry it does present would likely be light Chinese cavalry.

Trained men certainly would be available, but we consider that the majority of Wu’s forces are conscript footmen (heavy, medium and light) with auxiliaries from the southern tribes. The terrain making it practical to employ a larger number of light foot than the other armies of the period. An alliance with the Kingdom of Annam (modern day Vietnam) can add both medium and light footmen as well as elephants to their armies. In addition, Wu has strong naval forces.

Shu-han

Sometimes allied with Wu against Wei, the western kingdom of Shu was noted as the land of many of the most famous personalities in China.

Shu appears to have been very successful in recruiting the western tribes to their cause. This provided both foot and mounted units for their armies. Shu can field good sized cavalry forces, perhaps up to one-third of a tabletop army could be mounted troops. These troops, like Wei’s, would be of Chinese cavalry and allied light horsemen.

As with Wu, although trained men certainly would be available, we consider that the majority of Shu’s forces would be conscripts, with the armies filled out by allied auxiliaries. Shu’s footmen would be a mixture of heavy, medium and light with the allies usually providing the majority of the light foot.

The Bottom Line

To us, it is this terrific mix of quality and troop types that gives us a lot of potential for wargames that can contain the opportunity for tabletop generalship. Not only do you have to worry about getting the right troops to the right place at the right time, but you must be aware that some portion of both armies on the field are somewhat less reliable than others. Disaster and opportunity dance freely together! 

This equals enjoyment and entertainment for us. Collecting and painting armies and learning about the history is fun. Using them on the tabletop and having fun in that realm closes the loop!

I'll make more posts about troop type distributions that we use and stuff like that. Hopefully, someone will be inspired to look into this colorful period!

Leave a comment if you have information or ideas to contribute to our efforts!

Pulse of Battle - Three Kingdoms

Well, following on from the previous post, Matt and I played a Pulse of Battle game using the 28mm Chinese troops. We set up a nice looking little battlefield and divided the miniatures as evenly as we could.

I have only 16 units painted and based up at the time, so we each took eight units. Each of our armies was divided into 2 commands. Because the battle was small and we wanted it to last as long as it possibly could - we're play testing, so, we wanna play - we gave ourselves the maximum number of army morale points: 10 each.

We deployed the forces using a system Brent is working on possibly for PoB and quickly had troops on the table. So, I took some images (the works are just for show, we did not use them).

We just kept the same sequence decks from yesterday, I ended up with the Poor deck, again. We re-rated our leaders and both commanders ended up as D8 Leadership dice.Matt again represented Wei, and I, Wu.

We also decided to play using all of the rules notes for potential adjustments we discussed the night before in the previous game. This was good, because we refined a few notes, tossed some aside and added more notes. The important thing was experiencing stuff so that we could report data to Brent for his consumption and judgement.

Matt opened the festivities with some light horse coming around but overall was content to sit tight to see what I did. Well, with my right anchored on some woods I decided to launch an assault on Matt's right flank. His flank was also anchored in some woods, but behind those woods was an opening that I thought I could slip some light horse through.

So, I crashed as much as I could onto his line to hold them and swung my light horse around!

They made it around the woods and crashed into the rear of an enemy unit while it was also being hit in front! Destroyed that enemy unit but good! Hey, maybe I'd have my revenge on Matt today?!?!?

Well, Matt is a good soldier. He knows how to handle his troops. He was able to salvage a new line to prevent further havoc from my light horse. The troops on his new line were damaged and disordered, but they were there...we'll see what the sequence deck brings us!

 To counter my move, Matt saw an opportunity on my right to launch his light horse on a death ride into my army - first hitting a foot unit on the flank. This unit was rated as a D12 combat die and a D4 defense die - Matt figured he could cause some damage before the unit was destroyed.

Well, his light horse smashed through than unit and through the gap and into my bolt throwers, taking them out too! As my only reserve unit - a really tough unit of halbardiers - moved to counter them, they withdrew to safety. Once again, Matt schooled me on the use of light horse! I think he rode with Genghis Khan in a past life!

To seal the deal, Matt sent his medium horse forward to clean up the scraps. Meanwhile, encouraged by Matt's light horse, I sent my lights back in for more duty but they got swamped and had to pull out with losses.

At one point, I had Matt down to 1 morale point while I had about 6. Now, I was at 0 and he was back to 5. The battle ended soon thereafter on the appearance of the army morale card. I guess I was not going to get my revenge after all! Well played Matt! Good work!

After the action we had several good notes to send to Brent and the satisfaction of having gotten the 28mm Chinese on the table for the first time and had an awesome fight with them!