"Cuba Libre - Liberation Batrep 27" Topic

All,

It's 0720 on 4 Feb 1990 (D+3), and the CLA's B Company, 3rd Infantry Battalion, supported by tanks of 1st Troop, 5th Tank Battalion, have are clashing with the remnants of the enemy's 2nd Armored Battalion just east of the town of Artemisa, on the approach (of the Western Force) to Havana. The regime's 2nd Armored Battalion has been through hell, fighting valiantly to stop the CLA's Western Force, but they know they are at the end of their rope. The enemy battalion fell back (east) out of the city to reform and regroup, and as the CLA elements cautiously rumbled forward, the regime's 2nd Armored Battalion launched a spoiling attack.

The opposing forces, with CLA on the right and regime on the left. The CLA is made up of Pendraken US troops and M-113 (with Minifigs gunner) from the Vietnam Range, plastic Takara M-48s, and a Pendraken WWII US jeep, while the regime has Minifigs Warsaw Pact infantry (with Pendraken Brits from the Falklands range for their command stand) and BMP-2, and plastic Takara T-72s.

The CLA force has a Command Stand, four rifle stands (bad things seem to happen when we only have four rifle stands), two M-48 tanks, an M-113 (with M2 .50 cal HMG), and a Jeep representing the Battalion Commander.

The regime force has a distinct numerical advantage: a Command Stand, six rifle stands (to the CLA's four), two T-72 tanks (a wash with the CLA's M-48s at such short range), and a BMP2, which is an advantage for the fact the CLA's M-113, armed only with an HMG, cannot defeat tanks, while the BMP's chain gun can. Lastly, RPGs get 12" range, while the CLA's LAWs only get 6" range. An uphill fight right from the start.

Overview of map, north is up, CLA on left (west) and regime on right (east). Hill 30 is at top center, Hill 25 at center right, and Hill 20 at bottom left.

Captain Fordesante's tank is hit, so he dismounts and runs over to take command of the other tank to continue the fight.

I didn't know what to do, no rockets were fired in this game! To see the whole fight, please check the blog at:
link

Thanks everyone, two more batreps to go.

V/R,
Jack

What rules are you using?

Fettster,

I'm using Ivan's (here on TMP, AKA "Weasel") rules, "5Core Company Command," which were an outgrowth from his skirmish rules, "5 Men in Normandy." I've played about a dozen fights with the latter, over fifty with the former. There is also a higher level version called "5Core Brigade Commander."

I love the rules because they have very simple movement, firing, assault, and morale rules, and a very interesting command and control (activation) mechanic which throws friction into the game.

All wargames rules give you too much control, if we are looking from the player's perspective as (depending upon 'echelon' the rules are covering) a squad leader/platoon commander/company commander/etc…, and that really can't be overcome. What I mean is, the company commander shouldn't be choosing who/what an individual rifleman engages, but the player has to because the miniatures are made of lead and can't make their own decisions ;)

My point is, I'm a former US Marine, a former infantryman (0331, machine gunner), and a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and to me these rules are great for hamstringing you (the commander), without making you feel like a spectator to the game, and they do a good job of keeping you out of the micro-decisions (you will say "I want this squad to engage that squad," not "I want that rifleman to fire three rounds at that enemy soldier"). So the player must continually make decisions, and they are usually the best of several bad options, which feels right to me from the aspect of combat leadership.

With everything else in the rules streamlined, it moves quickly (which is personally a big deal for me; these games take a little over an hour to set up, play, and take down) and on a small space (I've played all the Cuba Libre fights on a 2' x 2' board, though I'll be looking to get back to 3' x 3', or even 4' x 4', for some different projects using the same rules). This lets me get lots of games in, which is important to me as I'm a 'campaign' guy.

So I highly recommend them; they're quick, cheap, and easy to get your hands on via PDF. I've talked to quite a few people that read the rules and immediately are not fans of the activation system, particularly the way it ties in with the combat system ("kill" and "shock" dice), and I'll even admit that when I first tried it, I really was not a fan. I even modified the activation and morale rules and played a couple games, but when I did that it finally 'clicked,' and I've been playing it as written ever since.

If you've got any further questions, please let me know, and I'm sure Ivan will along at some point as well.

V/R,
Jack

Nice combined arms battle but the lack of rocket trails is really a disappointment :-)