As readers of my AARs must know the exciting writeups tend to follow plays in which the fortunes of the two sides wax and wane mutiple times. I have a tendency to dismiss those scenarios in which one side has a superior position and nothing happens to change that position throughout the play. In those the AAR, like the play, is "mailed in".

As most of my plays have been solo these swings in fortune in my favorite scenarios are relatively emotionless and experienced as more academic exercises than as "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". I guess it was time for one to catch me while playing Daniel and to feel the real impact of these swings on the commander of one side as opposed to both.

Tuljapur Ridge is an imposing edifice with a town stuck in a pass through the ridge (Board 16). This ridge is held by a battalion of Hyderabadi infantry supported by a company of high moralled Razakar and some AT guns. The Indians have advanced with a Gurkha battalion supported by artillery and a company of Shermans. The Hyderabadis dig in on the ridge and garrison the town with exposed positions being supported by Razakars to avoid any Gurkha morale bonuses in assault. The two AT guns are dug in on the peaks of the two hills, the 17 pdr to the south of the road and the 6 pdr to the north of the road. Much of my hopes in "winning" the scenario come from these guns and their ability to cut through the "Ronsons" as they advance. More specifically the 17 pdr with its "88" style firing capability is my one weapon of significance, I need it to hit at least once (in my early calculations) to have a chance in this one.

Of course, Daniel blindly (but with careful assumption) hits the 17 pdr with his on board artillery, its disrupts and (with an effective morale of "6") the crew runs away, never to be seen again. All this by turn 2. Despair encompasses the Hyderabadi camp. The commander is seen muttering tons of imprecations about "lousy dice" as he stalks through the town preparing his men for the Gurkha attack.

The commander's concern over the "dice" is quickly dispersed however as the advancing Gurkhas are savaged by opportunity fire. Indeed, it has been a long time since the Hyderabadi brass had seen anywhere near the number of 1s rolled in opportunity fire. The rapidly lengthening Gurkha casualty list exceeded that of the Hyderabadis throughout the mid-game. 7 steps had been lost by the time that Daniel sent his Shermans forward to enter the fray.

I am not sure what possessed me to do so but as he advanced the Shermans I watched carefully. The route included one hex within the 5 hex range which I could reach with my 6 pdr. It would be a -1 shot given that it was opportunity fire but the Shermans would reach a sheltered area and be out of sight after that so if I was to have a chance to shoot it would have to be now. As the second Sherman moved forward I took the shot. No surprise here it missed, but it was a surprise to Daniel that I would shoot. He, however, sent the third Sherman forward and it was the recipient of an "11" roll, leaving a burning mess on the road along with a DEM group and a major Indian victory was now no longer possible.

Elation took over the Hyderabadis. With the Indian assault held up on the southern hill and in the town, visions of a massive Hyderabadi victory danced in my head. I failed to consider the fact that a minor victory was still possible for the Indians. All that would be necessary would be for my forces to be crushed. This was clearly not a possibility as to the mid point of the game the Gurkha losses continued to exceed mine. Daniel would certainly run out of troops before I did...

That is when the sappers and Shermans took over. Assault after assault calculated out to be on the "30" column while I labored to generate "13" and was far more typically on the "5" column. Even at that I was remarkably successful rolling in the 4-6 range far more often than missing while Daniel seemed to have the 1s nailed down (For those who wonder, we did play with my dice but they are NOT loaded), besides such rolls would be devastating for artillery or direct fire combat, something I believe Daniel would suggest did not happen). Over a period of five turns I lost something like 24 steps. Having succeeded in reaching the Indian loss target my men seemed to think that the victory was won.

Desperation began to take over as the losses left me with very few chances to hold onto the town, the road and the hills. I needed to have an undemoralized unit somewhere in those areas to pull out my own minor victory. With four turns to go, the battle had settled into the hills only as the Indians had secured the town and the road. Small groups of Hyderabadis who had previously routed had recovered on the western edge of the northern hills and dug back in and were desperately trying to keep alive and in some order. One reduced platoon escaped the carnage in the town and led the Gurkhas in a merry chase, ending up on the hill and on the final turn escaped demoralization on a very favorable roll (something like a "4" if I remember correctly) and the victory, such as it was, was mine.

I say the "victory" was mine, but the fact that the unit that did pass that morale check was one of three steps which remained undemoralized on the board for my forces at the end of the game, argues against the victory being anything other than an artifact of the victory conditions. My force had been destroyed. In one turn alone, 10 steps were eliminated. With another turn or two, nothing would have been left on the ridge and only black markers would be seen of my forces. I admit to overconfidence at the halfway point but the strengths of the Indian force were stunning once close combat was initiated.

Both Daniel and I had the same reaction. The scenario had been, and I quote, "fun". That alone is worth a good rating but the swings added on a layer that brings it close to a 5. I believe that our play, with a Hyderabadi victory, however, was an anomaly. Despite great luck in eliminating Indian steps I still only managed a minor victory. With one more Sherman available (I finished off the DEM Sherman with the same 6 pdr the following turn), the Indian player would slice through the Hydreabadi forces quickly. The result is a "4" rating but a highly recommended four.