Campaign Game 2 - Ol' Bob's Place

This is the background of the second of the seven scenarios of the Russian Invasion of the Colony of South Australia campaign game:

Ol' Bob's Place

The fear of a Russian invasion of the Australian Colonies escalated with the Russo-Turkish war that started in 1877. With such an attack in mind and knowing good infrastructure would be crucial in repelling any threat the South Australian military command led by Lieutenant-Colonel Downes wisely selected several homesteads surrounding the city of Adelaide and had them furnished with the most modern telegraph and heliograph apparatus. This equipment would be deployed when necessary giving the local defence forces the ability to communicate readily allowing for a closely co-ordinated strategy to be implemented.

Unfortunately for the South Australians Russian sympathisers had come across this plan and Lieutenant-General Lazarev was quickly made aware of the existence of these communication centres. These local traitors and spies had been embedded among the local populace in the early 1870s by the Russian ‘Third Section’, the dreaded secret police lead by General of Infantry Alexander Romanovich Drentlin a brilliant spymaster but a man of unscrupulous character! Lazarev on hearing of these important bases decided they must be neutralised with haste! With the Cossacks busy probing the South Australians defences and foraging he selected platoons from the well trained 36th Divisions rifle companies to complete the mission. Each of these were allocated one of the locations listed and given the task of penetrating deep behind the current front line raiding the farmsteads and destroying the paraphernalia concerned before it could be arrayed by the locals.

Using maps supplied by the sympathizers the raiding parties set off in the dark to find their targets and launch dawn attacks on them.

As day broke on Wednesday the 20th of August 1879 a platoon of riflemen from the 1st battalion, 143rd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 36th Infantry Division led by Captain Klebb were in position to raid a quiet farmstead north of the city of Adelaide. Klebb squinted into the rising sun and despite this disadvantage blew his whistle and moved forward with his men toward their objective for Mother Russia!

Captain Alfred Searcy and his group of men from the Port Adelaide Volunteer Rifle Company had been ordered to guard Bob Menzies homestead where they were told vital secret apparatus was stored. After spending a quiet and cool night sleeping under the stars these brave defenders were preparing breakfast and boiling a billy when the lookout shouted “Oi Ruskies on the way!”. They picked up their arms ran to their allotted positions and steeled themselves for action...

AAR and scenario forces, set up, special rules and victory conditions to come!