Georgia Jubilant! 4th Battle of Samtredia (BoB Campaign)
Church bells rang out in Tiflis, with crowds celebrating in the streets, following a critical Georgian and Allied victory over the Ottoman Turks. The weekend of 7-8 February 2026 witnessed one of the best games in our Back of Beyond campaign so far.
An allied army of Georgians (Trevor and Brian), Poles (me), and British (Patrick), with help from Richard G. on Saturday, decisively defeated the Turks (under Mark, assisted by Alex, Doug on day 1, and Paul S. on day 2). The result was to dislodge the Turks from Samtredia Junction in western Georgia, where three previous battles had been fought, liberating a large part of Georgia from Turkish occupation.
Battlefield
The Armies
Turks
10 Infantry brigades, 4 cavalry brigades, 1 artillery brigade. A strong force in field defences, with 1 heavy field gun, 7 light guns, 14 machine guns, 7 heavy mortars, 3 light mortars, 5 anti-tank guns, a Mark V tank, 2 armoured cars, and 1 heavy bomber
Georgians
8 infantry brigades (with 4 units in each), 5 cavalry brigades, 9 artillery pieces (5 of them Mountain guns), 2 tanks (Beast and A7V), an armoured car, and 2 planes
Poles
13 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigades, 1 heavy field gun, 1 light field gun, 1 tank, 1 armoured car
British
2 infantry brigades
DAY ONE
T1: A Tough Opponent
Defences on the Turkish left, facing the Poles
The game began around 12pm after we set up behind the screen. Unfortunately the allies had not had a chance to see where the Turks had set up their field works. When the screen was removed, it became apparent that the Poles were deployed too far forward, and came under immediate MG and artillery fire by Alex’s defenders, losing a machine gun destroyed and another suppressed.
Patrick, assisting on the Polish left, lost 7 casualties to Turkish MGs and artillery.
The Turks continued their blizzard of fire along the line, Trevor taking some casualties too.
Brian’s Georgians advance on the left
The Allies began their advance along the front – me on the Polish right and centre (while Patrick initially pulled back on the Polish left), Brian on the Georgian left and Trevor in the Georgian centre.
The Georgians brought on a fighter and a bomber.
T2: A Foolhardy Advance
Allied initiative. Patrick had to pass three morale tests but one Polish MG fell back 6″. The Polish heavy field gun inflicted 2 casualties on Alex’s infantry in field defences, and a Polish MG hit another Turkish unit of infantry. I added another hit to Alex’s men with my light gun ensconced in a farm.
The Georgian attack on the left and centre was unfolding. Trevor had already knocked out three Turkish artillery pieces in Mark’s position!
I pushed up a brigade of Cossacks and an infantry brigade on the right, but soon lost 12 cavalry and 9 infantry from Alex’s MG, tank and infantry firing twice (using an HQ order). I’d blame vodka, but I’m teetotal! I lost an MG, and it was becoming apparent that the Poles were facing a sealed flank and had to attack frontally, while the Georgians could exploit the weaker Turkish right where the field defences petered out…
T3: Poles on the Back Foot
We restarted the game after lunch. The remaining infantry from the unit decimated last turn on my flank routed after failing a morale test. I was facing a reinforced Turkish line with multiple guns, MGs, mortars, a tank, and at least four brigades of infantry in field defences, and I soon lost 2 MGs and several other casualties, just standing still.
I fired my heavy weapons but elected to stand off, foreseeing a massacre if I tried to edge forward into an assault. At least I was pinning the Turks, and so helping to tie down their resources while the Georgians made more progress…
Elsewhere, Trevor’s planes attacked and damaged the Turks in the farm on the far Turkish right.
Richard G. arrived and took charge of some infantry in the Polish centre, moving them up behind the hill in front of the farm there.
T4: Turkish Artillery Devastated
Turkish infantry on the centre-right of their line
The allies had a conflab in the garden. I suggested a general advance: if we could pressure all along the line, they should break somewhere. The Georgians were making further progress, using HQ orders to good effect and firing twice to inflict heavy losses on the Turks facing them.
Empty gun positions on the Turkish right
Trevor’s fighter bomber caused more casualties on the Turkish right. By now Mark had lost 4 light field guns and 1 heavy field gun, severely weakening his frontline on the right and centre-right.
Georgians advance in the Allied centre
The Allies moved forward on all fronts to add pressure to the Turks.
Richard beat off a Turkish armoured car threatening the Polish centre-right. Polish frustration mounted however when I tested morale for 12 units which had been in the vicinity of my routing cavalry and infantry on the right flank last turn. Four of these units routed, which added a further 9 blue markers for future morale tests. The Poles were not disintegrating but it felt like a disproportionate result, leading to murmurs of displeasure and rumbles of wrath!
Day one of the game ended with Trevor having cleared much of the Turkish centre of troops and guns with accurate fire from the artillery based in the farm in the Georgian centre. Mark’s artillery had been largely obliterated, although an initial Georgian infantry advance had been repelled. Elsewhere on the front, the Poles were unable to make progress, but Brian’s Georgians were advancing against the Turkish right flank, albeit not yet near the action.
DAY TWO
T5: Georgians Threaten the Centre
Turkish forces holding Samtredia town at end of day one
The Allies planned to assault the Turkish right and centre today, while I decided to withdraw 3 infantry brigades from the right flank in order to assist the main attack in the centre.
I was lucky to destroy Alex’s armoured car with my heavy gun.
Brian destroyed another Turkish armoured car on his flank, and eroded the Turkish cavalry in the farm on their right flank.
Trevor began to advance in the centre with infantry, cavalry, and 2 tanks. He faced fire from the town as he did so. Paul S. took over from Doug in the Turkish centre.
Patrick was also taking heavy losses from the Turkish in the town, who struck the 17th Polish Brigade (Kielce) losing men and an MG.
However, Trevor now moved one unit over the Turkish defences in the centre. It was a symbolic moment, and suggested that we could win the game, despite the very strong Turkish line studded with an astronomical number of heavy weapons.
T6: Turkish Army Ruptured
Mark now unleashed the Turkish bomber, armed not with MGs but multiple bombs.
Centre of the Turkish defensive line
The Turks were also redeploying men from their centre-left into the threatened centre.
The Poles, settling for a ranged duel since a frontal attack was impossible, upped their game, targeting and forcing some of Alex’s infantry on the far Turkish left to retreat after a failed morale test. I soon added more casualties to another infantry unit with targeted MG fire.
I passed some morale tests incurred in previous turns, but failed 3, which led to 6 more blue markers on other units. My army was too densely deployed, and I should have left some brigades off table to prevent this sort of outcome. I sent a few more brigades on a march to the Allied centre.
The British (finally) arrived between the Georgian and Polish armies! Patrick had done well to manage the Polish left, and now it seemed that two British brigades would be in the thick of the fight…
Brian passed through 2 woods on the Georgian left, and inflicted 6 casualties on the Turks in Mark’s defences on the Turkish right. He began his surge against the flank.
Turkish centre breaks
As Trevor pushed more units across the Turkish line in the centre, the Turkish 2nd brigade broke. Mark’s right and left wings were separated and isolated.
T7: Turkish Right Disintegrating
Polish pressure was slowly impacting the Turkish defences. One of Alex’s infantry units facing me routed after a failed morale test.
The Turkish right now unravelled. An infantry regiment broke there, to add to 2 cavalry brigades which had already been lost. There was now a gaping hole in the Turkish line on the right, as well as in the centre, though an isolated enclave of Turkish infantry was still holding out.
The Turks played two cards to stop one Georgian and one Polish brigade from advancing. But it wasn’t enough. I killed another 5 of Alex’s infantry, and Patrick fired a Polish MG to knock out an HMG near the town.
Allies Converge on the Centre
Patrick’s British brigades advanced on the Turkish centre. Elsewhere Mark’s infantry holding out on the centre-right lost 4 men to Trevor’s artillery fire.
My redeployed Polish brigades were arriving near the centre, massing behind the wood. The Allies could sense that a concerted effort would most probably rout the remainder of the Turkish army.
As Brian’s infantry reached the Turkish defences, the Turks nearby were facing three ways in a desperate bid to hold out.
Trevor’s cavalry forayed into the town and won a melee with a mortar but were eventually wiped out by another Turkish unit in the town. Mark’s bomber flew over Brian’s infantry and evaded AA fire.
T8: Mounting Turkish Losses
I accelerated the withdrawal of the Polish infantry from the right to the centre, losing my FT17 tank to Alex’s MKV tank fire.
Patrick managed to knock out a Turkish gun on their centre-left with a Polish MG. The Turks lost two guns this turn, for a total of 7 artillery lost in total, including a complete artillery brigade.
The Turkish bomber killed 3 of Brian’s infantry. Overall game losses so far stood as 4 Turkish brigades lost, 1 Polish, and no Georgian
T9: Allies force an Army Morale Test
As the final turn arrived, the Turks had now lost 5 brigades, including 7 out of 8 guns.
Brian’s Georgians swept onto the Turkish right flank/rear. There were large gaps in the Turkish line, and the end could not be delayed for much longer.
Brian and Trevor assaulted the remaining Turkish infantry pocket. They destroyed the remaining 2 Turkish infantry units, clearing the entire Turkish right and centre.
Although Mark’s bomber plane destroyed a Georgian gun, I managed to blow up the Mark V tank on Alex’s left flank with my heavy gun. This forced a morale test on one of Alex’s brigades, which broke!
The Turks had lost 8 brigades routed by end of turn. Mark took an army morale test, and the gallant but outmatched Turkish Army took to its heels!
Conclusion
An excellent game and a decisive Allied victory, marked by good teamwork and communication. The operational plan was worked out by Trevor, Patrick and me in collaboration well in advance of the game by email, as we concentrated all our available assets in Sukumi, central Georgia and Tiflis for an attack against the Turks’ Samtredia position.
At times it seemed that the Allies were not going to manage it, but the friction of battle added to the satisfaction of the result. Tactically, the combination of an open Turkish right flank, a powerful flank attack by Brian and targeted artillery fire in the centre by Trevor’s Georgians, and the Poles pinning half the Turkish force, resulted in success. The Georgians had large brigades based on the Russian Imperial Army order of battle, which made them resilient. I managed to restrain my impulse to attack frontally and had made progress against a defensively astute Alex by the end of the game with my heavy weapons. The Poles lost a brigade of infantry and 36 more casualties, besides a light gun, 6 MGs, and two cavalry units. The Georgians lost 79 infantry, 17 cavalry, a light gun, a mountain gun, and an armoured car. Mark fought skilfully with a strong army in field defences, and we could not but admire the tenacity of the Turkish defenders. But he was outnumbered 2-1 which was very challenging to say the least. Nevertheless, he is a worthy opponent and an honourable man who showed classy dignity throughout.
Many thanks to Rob for the time and effort he put into setting up, hospitality, umpiring, and a delicious steak dinner (Mrs. W.!) on the Saturday evening (not to mention running the campaign). The terrain and figures (largely from Rob’s collection) were marvellous, and with 43 brigades deployed, looked even more magnificent. This was one of the most decisive games of the campaign, enjoyed by all. Thanks to Phil for game help and casualty counts, and to all who played. A most memorable Heston & Ealing Wargamers experience!
