South, East, Logistics, North/Islamic, Field Staff (North), Siberian, AIF, AFSR
Random Events
Armored Train (White Event, placed in Siberia)
White Corruption (Red Event)
Casualties
Summary
While I hate to indulge in spoilers, this turn was devistating for the White forces. I've played enough Reds! to know that the Whites can easily play for time and stall the Red player enough to pull out the win, but it's never a good idea to dig your own grave through over-aggressive play. Confused? Keep reading below and you won't be for long.
Every turn up to this point was dominated by the White player holding initiative. All of that would change on turn four, as the Red player managed to out-roll the white player and seize initiative. Seeing the potential danger of having Tsaritsyn cut off from supply (a danger that the rules actually wouldn't allow- see my Turn Three post for more details), the Red player selected the South front for the first activation.
Despite the precarious position, the Red player had several options for how to attack the AFSR forces threatening Tsaritsyn. The most direct attack would involve surrounding the stack of White units just outside Tsaritsyn with four Red Armies, giving the Red player 2:1 odds, but if the rolls went badly it would spell disaster for this front. (One of the four armies in this proposed plan would be the reduced army sitting in Tsaritsyn- if the attack produced an 'AR' result, Tsaritsyn would be wide open for the White forces to take.)
A less direct method, but one that would open supply to the cut off Tsaritsyn, would involve attacking the Partisans or Don Cossacks on the Volga River- yet this would be only a temporary measure and would do little to actually strike at the real threat, that being the concentrated stack of AFSR White units.
In the end, the Red forces decided to undertake the risky 2:1 attack utilizing four Red Armies.
As you can see, the attack was a resounding success. (This picture actually shows what happened after the AFSR chit was drawn, as the Partisans and Don Cossack units were forced to pull back after the successful Red attack) Red forces rolled a '4', while the White stack rolled a dreaded '1' resulting in an 'DR' outcome. (All 'D'efending units took a step-loss and were forced to 'R'etreat) Not only was the entire stack forced to take a step-loss, but the ensuing retreat through the ZOC of the 9th Army meant that a Don Cossack unit had to be removed as well. The 8th Army advanced into the spot once occupied the, now, retreating White units, and the Red player could breathe a sigh of relief knowing it would take a while before the AFSR forces could recover.
Red luck sustained itself as the next chit pull was that of the East front. Taking advantage of overwhelming numbers and good position, the Red Armies surrounded the stack of Siberian White units outside of Simbirsk and launched another, devastating attack. Managing 3:1 odds and also cutting off any possible retreat paths with ZOC's, the combined Red Armies made short work of the Siberian stack and managed to eliminate three irreplaceable White units- the Armored Train unit, Kappel, and Komuch People's were removed and destined to never return.
Sending so many Red Armies into the East Front payed off, and the attack that removed three White units also put the smaller stack in Simbirsk in real trouble. As you can see, the White units are cut off from supply and were in real danger of being laid low by an early Logistics pull. So it was no surprise when the next chit drawn was...Logistics. All the White units in Simbirsk took a step-loss, adding insult to injury on what was shaping up to be a difficult turn for the Whites.
North/Islamic forces activated next, and the White unit here began moving back to Merv in order to prevent any sort of Red Partisan play there to cut off supply.
Drawing the Field Staff chit, the Red forces decided to activate their North front and use the 14th Army to attack the AIF Onega unit outside of Vologda. Despite having the odds in their favor the Red forces achieved an 'aDR' result, meaning that both the irreplaceable AIF Onega unit and the already reduced 14th Red Army were removed. However, given that the Red forces were about to receive replacement armies on the upcoming 'Strategic Turn B', the attritional trade off of Red Army and irreplaceable White unit was more than acceptable to Red Army commanders.
Finally the White forces received an activation as the Siberian chit came up next. In extreme danger of being eliminated due to lack of supply, the reduced White units in Simbirsk attacked the 1st Red Army in the hex adjacent to Samara and managed to achieve an 'aDR' result. While this meant the 1st Army was forced to retreat, once again opening up the supply line into Simbirsk, it also meant that one of the reduced units in the White stack had to be removed. White forces selected the Orenburg Cossacks for this terrible distinction. Having so many Red Armies in the East meant that the Siberian forces would have to retreat back to Omsk and hope for some sort of counterattack to present itself with the inevitable advance of Red forces.
AIF forces activated next, but did little of consequence. The Archangel unit moved into Kotlas while the Trans-Caspian unit, across the board, followed the lead of its White counterpart and moved closer to Merv.
The final activation for turn four, the AFSR forces, proved to be anticlimactic as White units engaged in a full-out retreat towards Ekaterinodar. While fewer Red Armies were in the 'South' front, as compared to the 'East' front, they nevertheless could still catch White units in the open. Again, a lot would hinge on who gained initiative next turn.
All in all, the Red forces has a tremendous turn. Yet victory is still far from confirmed, as the upcoming 'Strategic Turn B' will open up the Southwest portion of the map and introduce several reinforcements for the, now, depleted White forces. Here is where Reds! really opens up; although the Whites look to be on the ropes now there will be plenty of opportunities to push the Bolsheviks to the breaking point, provided dice and random events go well for the beleaguered anti-communist forces.
