Long Live the Revolution: The War Against the Raj ...

Midmorning, opening action of the
Revolutionary campaign: 6 June 1945.

The War against Imperial Nippon had still to run its course as, from mild murmurings, the unrest in the Ruberian Empire of Rajistan grew in volume, violence and virulence.  In the western corner of Tchagai, the unrest grew into insurrection, insurrection into insurgency, insurgency into outright revolt.  Under the leadership of one Peenut Buttahjars, a former rissaldar in the Army of Rajistan, there developed a popular movement styling itself the Baluchistan Armed Revolutionary Front (BARF), notorious for acts of sabotage, theft and assassination.


Having rather similar notions of breaking away from the Empire, the regional magnate, the Nabob Maibiwih Khan, was inclined to be sympathetic to towards the BARF movement, but imagined himself to be its inspiration and head.  This upstart, Buttahjars - Colonel, forsooth! - was not one with whom the Nabob wished to be associated, for a good many political reasons.  Not least of which, he had remained Nabob on Ruberian sufferance, and was not desirous of compromising his position whilst there remained any prospect of the Imperium successfully crushing the revolt.

Aircraft view of the field looking towards the northwest
from behind Revolutionary lines.

On balance, the Nabob deemed it meet that he sat on his thumbs for the time being, quietly gathering his own strength, and let the Imperium deal with the immediate problem.

Matters grew to a head in the western region of Madasaiwannabi with the small town given over to riot that was not abated by the imposition of a curfew.  The local Imperial commander, Lieut-Colonel Ebeneser Mugglethwaite, decided to intervene in person.  Gathering together the 22nd Punjanjoodi Infantry Battalion and a squadron of armoured cars from 1st Muddi River Horse, the good Colonel set forth from the provincial capital.

Town Garrison: B Company with MMG platoon,
and the Lieutenant-Colonel's HQ.

Rumour of the Imperialist approach led Colonel Peenut Buttahjars at once to hasten the recruitment and training of his exiguous army, and set out from the northern hills into the Maimajikwand Valley, thence to march up to Madasaiwannabi town.   The Imperialists beat them to it.  Marching into the place, they quickly restored order with a series of shootings and arrests, and ordered, on pain of being shot on sight, the populace to remain indoors until further notice.  The markets and shops were closed, town administration suspended, and and inert silence descended over the place.

From a small tract of rising ground Colonel Buttahjars surveyed through a purloined pair of binoculars the town and the flanking hills, shimmering in the late morning sun.  His plan he quickly formed: to take the hills flanking the town, then a general assault upon the place from three sides.

The forces involved in the coming action were determined as follows:
Government: 18 + 3D6 SPs
Revolutionaries: 18 + 6D6 SPs
As it happened, both rolled low, leaving the Revolutionaries with a mere 37SPs, and the Government with an even more disappointing 25SPs only.  It seems that the former's recruitment and training had been proceeding more slowly than hoped, and that the urgency of the crisis had induced Mugglethwaite not to wait further for reinforcements of problematic provenance.

Opening moves.  The Revolutionary plan takes shape.

Rajistan Government:

C.O. Lt-Col E. Mugglethwaite
HQ: Carrier and small escort.  6SP
22nd Punjanjoodi Battalion
     -  3 Rifle Companies @ 4SP
     -  1 MMG (Vickers) Platoon @ 2SP
     -  1 Mortar Platoon (3-inch mortars) @ 2SP
C/1st Muddi River Horse
     -  1 Daimler MkII Armoured Car, light armour, light AT and co-ax MG.

Totals: 7 units, 25 SPs
Median activation: 4 units.
Exhaustion point: loss of 9SPs

Baluchistan (Brotherhood) Armed Revolutionary Front:

Commander, Colonel Peenut Buttahjars + escorts: 6SP
1st BARF Brigade:
     - 1st Rifle Battalion:
          - 3 Rifle Companies @ 4SP
     - 2nd Rifle Battalion:
          - 3 Rifle Companies @ 4SP
     - 1st MMG Company @ 2SP
     - 1st Infantry Gun Company @ 2SP
     - Attached Light Tank Company:
          - Light MkVI - light armour, MG only @ 3SP

Totals: 10 units, 37SPs
Median activation: 5 units.
Exhaustion point: loss of 13SPs.

All troops were classed as average.  I did toy with making the revolutionaries mainly 'poor', but decided that as the 22nd Battalion, though regular, was pretty much a second line unit, of possibly dubious loyalty anyhow, they weren't likely to be much better, come the crunch.

1st BARF Battalion's concentric attack upon C Company's
Ridge.  Already both sides have taken damage...

To be continued...