This game simulates the punitive, genocidal campaign led by Chinggis Khan (Genghis
Khan) in 1220 and 1221CE, against “Shah” Ala ad-Din Muhammad’s, and his son Jalal
ad-Din’s, Khwarazm (modern-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Afghanistan). A
much-studied and key military campaign in history, it is often cited as a significant,
if not the main, inspiration for the German blitzkrieg strategy in World War 2 -
especially for the similarly genocidal Barbarossa campaign against the Soviet Union
in 1941 and 1942.
The game focuses especially on the following key aspects of the conflict:
- Chinggis Khan’s use of multiple flying columns to invade from several directions
at once - throwing the defenders into confusion - and his exploitation of that confusion
by moving rapidly to capture Bukhara, even before its defence could be organised;
- The use of Chinese siege engineers to enable the capture of the other key cities
in the Khwarazm heartland;
- The pursuit, after the back of the defence had been broken, of Ala ad-Din Muhammad
around the Caspian Sea (that turned into the epic “reconnaissance in force” of the
Caucasus, Ukraine and the Russian Steppes), and of Jalal ad-Din through Afghanistan.
The game is designed for solo play (it wouldn’t be much fun for a Khwarazm player!).
Time Scale: 1 month per turn
Ground Scale: ~80x80 kilometres (~50x50 miles) per hex
Unit Scale: 1 leader or 10,000 Mongol cavalry or 3,300 Chinese engineers
