HOLF Players' Guild Forum

(Registrar's note: The Tartar nation enjoyed more success than any other team in the Great Northern War. Because they were a GA-operated 'white-cell' nation, they were ineligible for victory in the game. GA John Sanders provides a short synopsis of the Tartar path to game success).

The Tartar nation was unique in that it was part of the scenario "white cell" (forces controlled by the GA). The purpose of the Tartars were to give the Russians a threat to their southern border so they would not strip out their garrisons & expose the Dnieper basin to Tartar incursions. Additionally, the Tartars were a threat to the Ukrainians also --- who operated as a Russian "protectorate" just south of the Poland-Muscovy border.

The Tartar nation started the scenario with approximately 15,000 Cossacks in light cavalry units and two artillery batteries to shell fortified cities. The treasury was limited to funds for one campaign season - 10 war turns. The Tartars stayed idle in inactive status except for one cavalry unit that scouted the Russian southernmost garrison at Poltava. When that garrison pulled out & headed north, the Tartar Hetman declared jihad & the Horde was on the prowl. After capturing Poltava, Kursk & Kharkov, the Tartars entered into an agreement with an alleged Swedish agent to send forces into Poland to distract that nation from entering the war to aid the Russians. The Tartar formation promptly captured Bobruisk and Minsk without serious opposition. Meanwhile along the Dnieper, the Ukrainians liberated Poltava and the Russians re-took Kursk once it was abandoned by the Horde. At this point, the scenario ended.

While the Tartars were ineligible to compete for winning the scenario due to being part of the "white cell" they were able to to gain 727 VPs or increase their base score by 48% -- a higher rate than any other Scenario B participant.