All,
Well, this wasn't the original plan, but I had so much fun (and a little unresolved business with regards to tightening up the rules), that I decided to have another go with the Legionnaires in Perplakistan.
Here's the table. I rearranged some terrain, got rid of the hideous wadi I used last time, but the rest of the terrain rules hold the same. The village in the center, Kabalouey, is currently being terrorized by the Army of DUMDUM insurgents. Colonel Louis-Louis has made the decision that Major Lapieux's Legion task force will move on the ville, brush the insurgents back, and evacuate the villagers to a safe haven. The on-table insurgents are starting on blinds, with continuous reinforcements throughout the game, arriving at one of three 'hotspots' (black chips): one on right (the east hotspot, next to the east canal), one at the top (the north hotspot, behind the north hill), and one on the left (the west hotspot, in the grove at left above the west canal).
Each white chip is an insurgent blind, with three real ones and three dummies. There are four buildings,clockwise from bottom right: 1, 2, 4, and 3, each holding a civilian family. The French must enter the building, secure the civilians, then lead them to evacuation.
The French Foreign Legion Task Force: top left is the "Western Force," consisting of a leader, MG team, and rifle teams 5 and 6. The Western Force is charged with moving into the west canal grove and taking up positions to isolate the west hotspot from the village (yes, intel was good enough that the task force can anticipate where enemy reinforcements will arrive from). Top center is S3 (Land Rover with Mk19), V3 (Panhard), and the Milan team. They will move to SE hill and take up positions deliver fire into the village as necessary and interdict north hotspot forces when possible. To their right is V1 and V2 (both Panhards), charged with moving to east hill and taking up positions to isolate the east hotspot from the village. Below them is H1, carrying a leader and teams 1 and 2. H1 will advance to building 1 (lower right) and discharge (via fastrope) it's passengers, who will secure the civilians. H2 is carrying a leader and teams 3 and 4, and carry its passengers to building 2 (lower left), and they will secure the civilians. Both teams 2 and 4 carry explosives to blow a hole in the wall at the southern edge of the village in order speed up and provide cover to the evacuation. The last element (bottom left), consists of S1 and S2 (both soft back Land rovers), one carrying the SAM team (who was left home last mission). S1 and S2 will move to the breach in the southern wall, while the SAM team debarks to escort civilians back to the evac point (the goal is to not have the rifle teams doing this, as they will be the firepower in the village). Once all civilians are evacuated via vehicle to the Landing Zone at the SE corner of the table the helos will be used to evac the civilians and parts of the task force. The remainder of the task force will rendezvous at the LZ (also the Marshaling and Control Point, or MACO), where the remaining infantry will load into vehicles and drive back to base (off the southern edge of the map). As before, any eliminated French team's must be MEDEVACes, either by helo or vehicle.
Insurgents pressing the middle and coming around the right flank.
Tough, disciplined Legionnaires conducing a fighting withdrawal, firing then leapfrogging back past the next, heading for the LZ.
Another fun one, check out the whole report on my blog:
blackhawkhet.blogspot.com
Another fun one, and went faster than yesterday's game with the alterations I made to the fire combat mechanism, which I thought worked well for casualties but seemed to make it a bit hard to pin a team. In the past two games I've had five RPGs strike the Panhards, and one RPG strike a helo, and nothing has been destroyed, and the Technicals have been very easily brushed aside, so I can't fault anyone reading who thinks the AT rules are out of whack, but I'm telling you they're not. First, the Technicals are nothing but normal pickup trucks with weapons mounted, so I think them going down pretty easily is just fine. The only problem I have with the Technicals' performance in the two games is that they haven't really been able to get into action. I think in the future I need to have them moving to cover, pop out, shoot, then get back into cover. Regarding the Panhards and helo getting hit, it's just been very bad die rolls for the bad guys, as opposed to a problem with the mechanism. The hit effect rolls have consistently been 1s, 2s, and 3s, which, as you see, doesn't do a lot (I've had three engine damage, one main gun KO, and one optics/targeting system KO on the Panhards, and one door gunner killed in the helo). So, I'm sticking with the AT rules, need to make it a bit easier to pin a unit I think. The activation system worked pretty well I think, and gives a smooth, clean game. Actually, I need to figure out a way to get the leaders more involved in the game (right now they're just sort of decorative, mostly).
So, that's two games in two days, and I'm looking to get another in tomorrow morning. My plan was to do a FFL in the desert (check, x2 actually), but also do a modern Special Operations raid (which I still want to do), and an All Americans in Sicily (which I also want to do), but this FFL stuff has been so fun I want to keep doing it, and I believe that's what I'm going to do tomorrow. I already have a scenario in mind: General Poupous wasn't happy with Colonel Louis-Louis' decision to evacuate the villagers, believes it sends the wrong message about French strength and resolve in the region, and so he orders Colonel Louis-Louis to reinstate the villagers in the former homes. Once again, Major Lapieux's Legion Task Force gets the call.
But there's a twist: itt's no secret that neighboring Tumoria, a rogue-state/communist/socialist/Marxist/ Lenninist/autocratic dictatorship is backing the AoDD, and so they have provided some older, Warsaw Pact-era armor, which will surely catch the Legionnaires by surprise! Stay tuned, and thanks for reading. As a side note, to check my sanity, is anyone finding these FFL batreps of interest?
V/R,
Jack
