Rising Sun, Tumbling Bear #4 - Turn 3 The attack on Pyongyang - Part 2

A few weeks late, nice to get out of the desert for a while and the road to Pyongyang where a Russian force was attempting to hold back the Japanese attackers.

We tweaked Sharp Practice using John Savage's rule amendments for the later war period for the 1870's and the introduction of mass ranks of breach loaders.

The Russian force, I quite fancy some extra Russians to bolster this force.

The Japanese selected a number of spots on the table for an artillery barrage before the Russians deployed, the shells landed in the and around the village which was lightly held by the Russians which limited the casualties, although the HQ was hit by a shell which knocked the CinC unconscious.

The bulk of the Russian forces were on the far side of the village, the Russian commander having massed all their infantry in a solid block.

The Japanese entered the table at random, most on the far side of the table behind the wooded hill they moved swiftly to line the rise having first to contend with a Russian Cossack attack. The Russians were routed but the Japanese were savaged.

A protracted fire fight with smoke filling the battlefield, the Russian mass despite mounting shock were able to hold the line.

Back to the drawing board for the Japanese.

A fun encounter John's tweaks worked well, the ability to fire twice with the risk of rising smoke and low ammo made you really have to think about the choice between multiple rounds of fire or a more measured pace of aiming and firing.

The improved field craft for the Japanese gave them some advantages, but I need to increase the unit sizes slightly to give them a little more firepower on the table top.

Roll on Wargames Atlantic and their plastics in the coming months.