Battle Chronicles - Retreat from Moscow - Batrep - Bridge of Ice & Smoke - Game 4

Paul, Lee and myself got together mid week in Posties shed to playtest the last scenario in the up and coming Battle Chronicles - The Retreat from Moscow book, we ironed out a few problems, added and took away bits and pieces as the game went on. 

At the end of the evening Lee took home a few of my figures and some of our terrain and posed some figures, for pics in the ruleset. The pic above is one. I have to admit, it looks Good!!!

Obviously, Lee took a million photos during the game.

The idea of this game was to get the French survivors and any civilians they picked up on the way in the first 3 games over one or more of the 3 bridges on the tabletop, avoiding any Russians, the red rings are wound markers, each French figure has 4 wounds. Our wounded are in a bad way, they will move slower than the fit and strong. 

Do we leave them behind?

Do we sacrifice them for the good of the company?

Will they drag us down with them?

Will they sacrifice themselves?

What to do?

Two of the bridges on the far side of the 4 foot square table top.

The 3rd bridge, off to the French right.

Inevitably, with some Cossacks on the hunt. 

My initial plan was to move diagonally across the table to the bridge on the bend of the river.

But now with the Cossacks on our right, I decided to hug the left side of the table. Which I didn't really want to do, as the green arrows are possible Russian entry points onto the table.

A close up of the third bridge on the right of the French.

And the main bridge, which the French will now be heading for.

Here come the Cossacks!

They are looking rather angry!

And very pretty too!

Lee sure made a good job, painting these.

Russian Infantry, make it on the table.

A healthy Frenchman can help along their wounded friends, but we've started to break up already.

And it doesn't help that the Cossacks and Infantry are hot on our heals either!

Its looking chilly out there.

The Cossacks can smell blood!

They move up there full move of 14 inches.

To make matters worse, Russian infantry appear on our flank.

We deal with two of them, but one still remains and the group scatters.

Some have decided to leave their friends and run!

The bridge isn't far away now, but is it safe to cross?

The French dispatch the lone Infantryman, but more appear in front of them.

It's a race against the elements and time.

More Russian's enter the table, on our flank once again. It's a throw of a dice where they enter the game and Lee was throwing well!

I had to try and remove the threat, but this would slow me down again.

Mean while, I'd reached the bridge. It didn't look good, there was a danger it might collapse as I crossed. The more who crossed the worse it would get. For every person who crossed at the same time gave you a minus 1 on a D6. So if all 5 went to cross I'd need a 5 or 6. I didn't like the odds, so 1 man crossed to safety.

 

Another group rushed to the second bridge on the corner, they made it to the bridge, I was running out of time so took a chance for all 4 to cross at once, it was a disaster, halfway across the bridge collapsed and all four fell into the freezing water, none made it back to the shore.

In a cruel twist, the four wounded Frenchmen we're left behind, to cover their friends escape.

They we're cruelly cut down to the man, but everyone else escaped with their lives and the French had won the battle and the campaign.

Look out for more of these battles, we will be playtesting them again soon. Here's a few more shots of some of the figures to finish this post.

AHPC 16 - Retreat from Moscow - Survivors

 

Its back to the Retreat from Moscow once again for my next entry into the Challenge.

Yet more bedraggled French foot figures!

The 16 figures on show are a mixed bag of manufacturers.

Mainly being Perry Miniatures with a smattering on Murawski Miniatures just to make up the numbers.

Me and Lee were busy this week building more terrain for this period, including some ice, as seen in the pics above.

The figures are mainly from Perry's Dismounted cavalry marching, pack FN174 and I thought I'd go for something different and bought a pack of  Armed Russian Peasants pack RN58. The fleeing French would pick up anything they could be keep warm, so why not a peasant coat or hat?

There are 4 Murawski figures in the group 2 Officers and 2 Sappers, which were spare figures.

Added to this post are 3 small barricade bases from Ironclad Miniatures

Just to help fill the battlefield with.

16 figures@ 5pts each gives me a total of 80pts, plus whatever Dave gives me for the barricades.

AHPC16 - Russo-Finnish Winter War - Kaukopartio Squad

During the Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939–1940, the Finnish Kaukopartio (“long-distance patrol”) units served as elite reconnaissance and harassment forces operating deep behind Soviet lines. Although they became formally organized and widely known later in the Continuation War, their tactics and missions were already in use during the Winter War through ad-hoc patrols attached to Finnish divisions and corps. These patrols were small—typically 4 to 12 men—and composed of experienced soldiers, hunters, skiers, and woodsmen skilled in skiing, navigation, camouflage, survival, and independent decision-making. They operated for days or even weeks with minimal support in some of the harshest winter conditions imaginable.

Their primary role was deep reconnaissance, providing intelligence that Finland critically needed due to being heavily outnumbered. Kaukopartio patrols identified Soviet troop concentrations, supply routes, roads and rail lines, artillery positions, and command posts, and tracked enemy movement patterns through dense forests. This intelligence was essential because Soviet forces were often constrained to narrow roads, making them vulnerable to isolation and encirclement. The information gathered by these patrols directly supported Finland’s effective use of motti tactics, in which large Soviet formations were split into smaller, manageable pockets.

In addition to reconnaissance, Kaukopartio patrols conducted harassment and disruption operations. These included ambushing supply columns, sabotaging communications such as telephone lines, sniping, and conducting small raids. While not designed as assault units, their constant presence behind Soviet lines strained enemy logistics and morale, creating the psychological effect that Soviet troops were under continual observation. They also played a key role in target acquisition and fire direction, helping guide Finnish artillery, support counterattacks, and confirm the results of engagements—an especially valuable function in forested terrain where visibility was limited.

Operating at temperatures of −30 to −40°C, Kaukopartio patrols exemplified Finland’s adaptation to winter warfare. They moved silently on skis, crossed frozen lakes and forests, survived on limited rations, and often functioned without radio contact. Although these small units could not alter the overall strategic imbalance of the war, they significantly enhanced Finnish situational awareness, disrupted Soviet logistics, and supported major successes such as those at Suomussalmi and along the Raate Road. Their Winter War experience laid the foundation for later, formally organized long-range patrol units and influenced modern Finnish special forces doctrine, earning the Kaukopartio a lasting reputation as the “eyes and ears” of the Finnish Army in the wilderness.

More great figures from Parkfield Miniatures to add to the collection, this is a 10 man unit, some of which can to used as an addition to the normal rifle armed units.

10 figures @ 5pts each gives me a total of 50 pts!