I wanted to try out my newly painted Sincanmo Federation (Trained, 2 detachments of 15TUs each) versus my friend Kevin Dallimore's Alaudae Legion (Elite, 2 detachments of 8Tus each). The Sincanmo had Chief Diabate as a special leader (Leadership 10LPs and we allocated Colonel Dark to the Alaudae (leadership 12LPs and Elite Skill Tactical Genius). We also invoked the Optional Rule Leading from the front as Chief Diabate's vehicle is a bit obvious (and therefore a fire magnet!). This gives him an additional 2 Leadership points.
I used the new scenery I'd just built as a small industrial area in a fairly desert and the Sincanmo deployed in a defensive formation with two hidden snipers and dared the Alaudae to wheedle them out. The elite Alaudae forces won initiative for the first round with one detachment but the Sincanmo forfeited their second unit's initiative to enable them to spring snipers spotting for ATGW teams – this meant that they held their fire but offering up their initiative meant that the Sincanmo lost more than half a dozen TUs in the first turn before they even got to fire. But fire they did and losses the Alaudae took – some 4 TUs due to ATGW fire designated by the hidden snipers.
In doing so, one of the snipers was detected by the Alaudae and paid the price for it – in the second turn he was close assaulted in the undergrowth by Alaudae infantry and killed. But for the first turn the Snipers were invaluable, enabling missile systems they were designating for to remain out of the line of fire.
The Alaudae right wing with its Scarab tank destroyers and Firefly light tanks invoked the ‘Follow Me' optional rule and their leader charged forward with 5 vehicles following him crossing the road and moving across the open ground and shallow water with no penalties to hamper their movement but the Lieutenant in charge paid the ultimate price for it with his vehicle taken out by multiple ATGW hits, so reducing his detachment to a sergeant for leadership: such is the penalty for leading from the front…
The first turn had seen the Aluadae lose their Damselfly ATGW support vehicle and a tank to missile fire plus some infantry but Sincanmo losses were 50% higher.
In the second and third turns, however, the Alaudae used their superior leadership to move forward and destroy any remaining ATGW systems – and even the Sincanmo's Buzzbomb carrying infantry. The Sincanmo ATGW vehicles had been forced to move into better – and more direct – firing positions after losing one of their designating snipers and fell prey to the laser fire of the Alaudae who – although they could keep their light lasers in reserve to take out incoming ATGWs, chose to move and fire first destroying vehicles which had already launched their missiles, forcing them to lose lock when destroyed.
The Sincanmo Buzzbomb teams had taken the main gun off of a tank, the short-range warhead getting past the vehicles Drozd anti-missile defense system but all to no avail.
After more Sincanmo losses in turn 3, finally – at the end of turn 4 – the Sincanmo's morale broke and Chief Diabate beat a hasty retreat taking most of his forces with him. Those they stayed behind surrendered.
Conclusion: the Sincanmo were always on a sticky wicket: they outnumbered the Alaudae but were out pointed by them considerably. If they had achieved more initiative wins they might have made a couple of more kills (and – on that basis – allowing the Alaudae a special leader was probably unnecessary!) but the Sincamo would have had to have been luckier than they were – and, conversely, the Aluadae would have had to have been very unlucky for the result to have turned out any differently.
More pictures here link
John Treadaway
hammers-slammers.com
