DBH Japanese vs Russians 1905

Timeline 1905...the place somewhere in Manchuria. A beat up Japanese Division has been tasked with holding a vital Road/Rail crossing. Overlooking this position are two hills, the Japanese set up some earthworks on the hills. The Russians attack with a Division level force.


Game on, our 'try out' of the De Bellis Horribilis rules. I would be the Russians while General Amy took the Japanese. A straight forward enough game, one side defends, one side attacks.

To be fair, the battle was only half the size of picture below & concentrated on the Russians attacking the left hill.

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The Battlefield, the Russian attack would hammer the left hill.

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5 Japanese Infantry stands & one Machine Gun stand.

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Hordes of Russians ready to go.

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Russian Cavalry wait for the breakthrough

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On they go, the advance was a bit congested.
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The Russian Artillery advances, they would be in range next turn.

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Steady fire from the Japanese forces back some Russians.

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More Japanese fire destroys a Russian stand.

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Russian Artillery fire, forces back the Japanese.

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Russian attackers are repulsed

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I send the third Russian Battalion off to the flank
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Forward go the Russian Cavalry.

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A bad round for the Russians!

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At last one of the Japanese defenders is destroyed.

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Russian attackers gain a foothold on the hill.

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NO! They are forced back by Japanese heroics & Amy's dice throws.

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Another Russian bites the dust.

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Numbers start to count, some Japanese units withdraw.

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HooRah! Crack Russian troops beat back the Japanese.

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SLOWLY... the Russian Machine Guns are dragged up the hill.

The Cavalry reach a support position.

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The Russian Artillery woefully under performed.

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The Russian General looks on from his safe position in the rough terrain.

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HooRah! The Russian flag is hoisted on the hill, the Japanese safely retire.

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A victory for the Russians but with VERY heavy losses.
Mmmmm... What did we get from that. Well I must admit, the game didn't seem to flow. Whether it was the scenario or the rules, I don't know. The Russian attack seemed to be a little 'crammed', keeping the units in the radius of the Divisional Command. Ranges for the Artillery were quite short & the guns had to be moved very close to the enemy. Overall I reckon more questions than answers.

One big thing, Amy got bored, which hasn't happened in any of our other games before. Maybe that was me, trying to be a bit ambitious. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of things that I like about DBH, we just probably need to tweak it to suit our DBA style. Never mind, we'll give them another try out using WW1 armies.


STOP PRESS....... I've also come across a WW1 variant of the HOTT rules called 'Hordes in the Trenches', which after a brief read look rather good. Another excuse to have a game!

Plus Ospreys 'The Arab Revolt 1916-18' has just dropped through the post. Looks good & a Lawrence of Arabia Campaign is on the cards.... Bizarre, I've gone World War One Mad at the moment, now to build some more armies!