"Mayhem in Marjah Ultramodern Battle Afghanistan." Topic

To All:
I play tested a new modern Afghan Scenario yesterday. No pics, I don't do computers well, but here is a brief thumbnail description of the scenario.
The game board was a 5'X7' table with the shorter sides forming the north and south ends of the table. At the north end of the table was a walled Afghan compound measuring 18"x 30" centred on the northern edge of the board, with the long axis of the rectangular compound running east to west. The compound was surrounded on three sides by wheat fields and irrigation ditches lined with trees and bushes. The eastern side of the compound was dominated by light woods and an irrigation ditch bringing water to the fields to the south and west of the compound. South of the fields and the compound were a pair of low-rising hills, one on the eastern side of the table and one on the western side of the table. Between these two hills there was a dirt road running south-southeast from the compound to a T-intersection with a more used major dirt road running west-southwest from the eastern side of the table to the southwestern corner of the table. Along the major dirt road were four ruined afghan building, three clustered around the T-intersection and one further east.
The time of day was very early morning, about 30 minutes after sunrise. Weather was clear dry and warm.
The forces:
Within the compound – 15 unaligned Afghan fighters with one LMG, one RPG with five projectiles, eight AK-47's or AK-74's and five bolt action rifles (one a sniper rifle and four WWII era rifles (British Lee Endfields and Russian Moisin Nagants).
Surrounding and attacking the compound-
3 X 'squads' of Taliban fighters. Each with one leader, one LMG, one RPG with two projectiles each for two squads and only one projectile for the third squad. The other fighters were armed with 8 X AK-47/74's and 2 X bolt action rifles. These were deployed to the west and south of the compound.
1 x Hvy. Weapons and Command group made up of the regional Taliban leader with a cell phone and pistol, 4 X bodyguards with AK-47's, three times two man LMG teams, one two man RPG team with three projectiles and one SPG-9 73mm RCL gun with four crew and a dozen rounds of ammo. These were deployed east of the compound in the light woods.
Detached from the command group were 2 X two man RPG teams with two projectiles each. Each had a cellphone. These were deployed atop the two low-rising hills overlooking the dirt roads and the T- intersection. There was also an unarmed scout ( dickerer) with a cell phone hiding in the ruins around the T-intersection.
Entering the eastern edge of the board. On turn # 1:
One full strength squad of US Marines with one RTO and one medic attached. The marines also have a two-man M240 MG team and a two-man Marine Scout Sniper team attached. The Marines were driving 5 X HUMVEE's (3 with turret mounted M240 MG's, 1 with a turret mounted M2 HMG and 1 With a turret mounted MK19 AGL).
The unaligned Afghans had to hold the compound (100 VP) plus kill Taliban (1 VP per fighter, 10 VP for the Comander or destroying the SPG-9). They also win 5VP for every Marine killed or captured and 5 VP for every HUMVEE they destroy.
The Taliban forces had to take the compound (100 VP plus one VP point for each unaligned Afghan fighter killed and 10 VP for each Marine killed or 25 VP for each HUMVEE destroyed or captured).
The Marines win 80 VP if the unaligned Afghans hold onto the compound, one VP for every Taliban killed or captured, 2 VP for every Taliban LMG captured or destroyed, 5 VP for every Taliban RPG destroyed or captured, 10 VP for destroying or capturing the Taliban SPG-9 RCL, 25 VP for killing the Taliban commander and 50 VP if they should capture the Taliban leader. However they lose 3 VP for every unaligned Afghan they kill and they may not target air strikes or artillery against the compound.
The battle so far (Up to the end of Turn #4):
The Taliban have been attempting to move along the irrigation ditches and bush/tree cover along the ditches to close with the Afghans in the compound. After four turns they have been pretty well pinned down in the southwest and the south. On the eastern side of the compound the SPG-9 RCL has been very effective in wrecking the south eastern corner of the compound killing the sniper, a fighter with a bolt action rifle and one with an AK-47. In the west they are carefully making progress due to good cover.
The unaligned Afghans defending the compound have killed 7 Taliban fighters and one SPG-9 crew member and are holding the Taliban off in the south pretty effectively. However in the west they are having less success stopping the Taliban as they infiltrate fighters towards the compound along the two ditches with heavier vegetation cover.
The Marines entered the table on turn one mounted in HUMVEE's and their second HUMVEE was struck by an RPG grenade which destroyed the front end of the HUMVEE, killing the M240 MG Gunner (of the MG team) and sending the three remaining shaken Marines scurrying for cover among the ruins at the T-intersection. The rest of the squad arrived safely at the intersection and began suppressing the RPG on the southeastern hill and speculatively suppressing the hill in the southwest as well. The Taliban dickerer routed from the ruins and was shot dead in flight by the Marines. By turn four the squad leader decided to send a fire team with two AT-4's and the sniper team forward 150 meters on foot to clear the southwestern hill of Taliban and set up a fire base on the low rise. This would be used to cover a second team with two AT-4 plus the squad leader and the RTO advancing about 200 meters on foot towards the the southeastern hill (they will advance beginning turn five which is the next turn I will play). The M2 HMG and the MK19 AGL are providing the covering fire as there are not enough Marines to man all the heavy weapons on the HUMVEE's! While the compound is visible from the intersection, the low rise of the two hills and the gentle saddle between them makes spotting the Taliban positions impossible from the ruins around the road intersection.
Cheers and good gaming!
Rod Robertson.

Rod,

Exciting stuff! What rules are you using??

pzivh43:
I am using and learning the Force on Force rules. This scenario is my third crack at the rules. Things are going slow, as I am constantly looking up stuff and have made some significant mistakes to date. The fight between the Taliban and the unaligned Afghans is the toughest part because the numbers of troops are so big and there are too many dice to roll. So, I am breaking it up into sectors and really running four little mini games in parallel. When the Marines get into position it will likely develop into five or six parallel sectors.
The interesting thing about this game is that the Marines have so much kit and so few troops that I can't use them all as foot soldiers. The medic, the surviving MG loader and the third fire team are crewing the remaining four HUMVEE's and that leaves only twelve Marines to take two hills! I am not used to this kind of fire-power heavy but troop-short combat. It is making me very nervous. I have no idea whether the tactics I am using are in anyway realistic but we shall see how things develop.
This is a solo dry run for a game I hope to run I in September or October at my gaming club. I will be trying to get through three to four more turns this evening and will update when that is done.
Cheers and good gaming.
Rod Robertson.

Almost missed this…
Brilliant prose interwoven into an imaginative scenario sprinkled with exciting fairy gaming dust really bring this to life Rod; despite the lack of evidence that this ever Happened :0

I'm looking forward to the rest of the report…

What is your opinion of the rules FoF? Are they just for modern?

I'm a rules hog and I've never used these…

Thanks for posting Rod

War Panda:
The game IS happening but, shame of shames, some of the mini's and the Afghan compound are not fully painted yet. So, even if I was inclined to take photos and capable of posting them, you would be disappointed. I will eventually get everything finished and then will either replay the game as a solo dry-run or run it at my club. Either way, I will take piccies and e-mail them to you to assuage your rampant Irish skepticism.
I beg some leeway in delaying an evaluation on the FoF rules as I am still very much a neophyte with this system. The rules are 224 pages long and full of specific rules for specific events. I am using only the basic infantry rules and vehicle rules at this time so I am dealing with only about 140 pages of rules and I'm in over my head right now! The basic mechanisms are straight forward and quite workable, but I am going slow to learn and refer constantly to the rules before moves are made. Also you will need buckets of dice of various types for this game – I had to make a run downtown to Valet du Couers hobby store to buy loads of 10 and 8 sided dice to play.
Although I am not yet qualified to give an informed opinion, I suspect these rules would work well for conflicts from late WWII to the present. I think that they make good skirmish rules but the jury is still out on larger tactical levels until I get a better understanding of what the heck I'm doing.
The rule book makes for an interesting read on its own and has some scenarios built in. The campaign/scenario supplemental books are outstanding.
Do you have any modern or Cold War era figures, Panda? If not I would not get these rules unless you want to limit your games to late WWII actions alone.
Cheers and good gaming.
Rod Robertson.

Turns 5 through 8:
The unaligned Afghans bring troops including the LMG team to bear on the Taliban attacking from the west in order to prepare to repel an assault. This thins the forces on the south and eastern sides. The unaligned Afghans have only 12 fighters left and no reserve. They hunker down and wait. They don't have to wait long.
The Taliban commander, distracted by the American fire on his southern flank relocates his SPG-9 to bring fire on the two hills if necessary. At the same time he sends a two-man LMG team into the breached section of the compound near the southeastern corner of the compound. Two other LMG teams cover the advance, pinning and shaking the last two defenders on the eastern end of the compound. The Taliban LMG deploys in the rubble of the breach. A second LMG team attacks through the breach and enters the compound. The third LMG eliminates one of the pinned and shaken unaligned Afghans on the eastern wall, the other routs and is mowed down by the Taliban LMG in the compound. Then the third LMG moves to join the other two in the compound. The LMG team deployed into the rubble of the breach moves to clear the only intact building left on the eastern edge of the compound; it is empty of defenders. Nine Taliban from the southeastern sector rise from cover and charge the breach in a frenzie. Two are killed and two pinned but five make it to the breach and are in the compound including a fourth LMG team and an RPG gunner with just one round of ammo. Their morale is intact! It's not looking good for the compound's defenders.
At the western end of the compound the Taliban use their only two RPG rounds to try to breach the wall. While they succeed in holing the wall, all they have created is an over-sized loop-hole through which to fire. More explosives are brought up to widen the breach but the carrier is pinned by fire at the head of the ditch. As this happens the unaligned Afghan LMG rips into the Taliban ranks in the other ditch to the north and kills one fighter while pinning four others. The Taliban LMG returns fire and an MG duel begins.
The US Marine fire team and Scout Sniper Team make a hasty advance on the hill to the northwest of the intersection. They take small arms fire from the Taliban on the hill. Two Taliban (a second RPG team) fire on the Marines who suffer no casualties but are pinned and go to ground seeking whatever cover is available. The Humvee mounted Ma Deuce and the MK19 open up on the Taliban and rip the two defenders to pieces with appalling violence. The fire team and the Scout Sniper team rise and advance more cautiously. In two turns they are in position on the hill. The Marine squad commander, his RTO and a second fire team advance on foot and sweep up the gentle slope of the northeastern hill without opposition. Two Taliban bodies and an RPG are found on the hill. However as the Marines creep to the crest, a recoiless rifle round explodes on the hill and pins them. It's going to get hot up here for the Marines.
Turns 9 and more to follow.
Cheers and good gaming.
Rod Robertson.

Rod I'm camping with no Wi-Fi and my 3 year old threw my iPhone into the lake :( so I'm in a restaurant right now so I'll catch up with this when I'm back to civilization

Kyoteblue:
It is posted on TWW in the Afghan Wars – Modern thread. But aside from you it's getting no bites!
Cheers and good gaming.
Rod Robertson.

What is your opinion of the rules FoF? Are they just for modern?

No, Force on Force will work from probably Napoleonics all the way to the Battle for Endor or the Istvaan III dropsite massacre.

You get some oddities in the game when you're playing 1800s Colonial battles, since there is such a difference in weapons tech that FoF usually ignores in favor of troop quality and morale.

But as long as the weapons on each side are broadly comparable (both muskets or both assault rifles), the rules do work pretty well.