"Team Whiskey - Fulda Gap Batrep 5" Topic

All,

It's 1600 on 5 August 1986, and Team Whiskey, as part of 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, has successfully fought its rear-guard action to delay the Soviet advance, allowing it breathing space to fall back to its next defensive positions north of Frankfurt. 11th ACR is reforming and reorganizing, having suffered atrociously at the hands of the Soviets, who also know a thing or two about heavy losses. The Soviets have reorganized and pushed ahead, nipping at the heels of the retreating NATO troops.

Team (or, more appropriately, Task Force, but Team sounds cooler) Whiskey is in the process of reorganizing while serving as 11th ACR's reserve, when Soviet artillery begins falling on the NATO front lines. No one gave much attention to it, having become accustomed to the constant pounding of Soviet artillery, but then 11th ACR outposts began going off the air, and finally a mumbled, confused transmission was picked up that mentioned "…NBC-1…" which sent a chill down everyone's spine (an NBC-1 report is the initial alert sent out by a unit experiencing or witnessing a Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical attack; NBC-2 and 3 reports are typically put out by HQ or NBC units, providing further info friendly casualties, hot zone location, and type of agent, and an NBC-4 report is the 'final' report put out by the HQ NBC unit which consists of the survey of the hot zone).

Team Whiskey's CO, Lt Col Lacy, got off the radio, then turned to Captain Phillips, head of India Company. "The transmission that mentioned NBC-1 came from OP-3, but we can't raise them. Here's their grid," pointing at the map, as Lt Ensmith scribbled down the coordinates. "Get your company out there and figure out what the hell is going. Oh, and have have your men go to MOPP-2." (MOPP-2 is wearing chemical boots and overgarment, but not mask and gloves).

Captain Phillips acknowledged the order, then sprinted to his company and briefed them. "Mount up! And go to MOPP-4, Gas! Gas! Gas!"

The opposing forces: this is a smaller game, and the forces are identical (capability-wise). The big differentiation in the game will be random entry onto the table. Each side will start with their company commander (CC) on the table, but every other unit will have to roll to come on the table, with a 33% chance of success each turn.

For the US, this is Captain Phillips, the India Company commander, with Lt Ensmith's 2nd Platoon and Lt Macot's 3rd Platoon. Both sides have an APC (M-113 for US, BTR-50 for Soviet) carrying their CC's command team, six IFVs( Bradleys for US, BMPs for Soviets), six rifle teams, and an MG team (riding with the PC).

Overview of table, north is up, US baseline on left (west) and Soviet baseline on right (east). You can see the US M-113/CC at bottom left on the road, and the Soviet BTR-50/CC on the road at top right.

The Soviets move up on the right side of the board, catching Lt Macot's Bradley all by its lonesome in the south. Distracted by the BMP at far right, a Soviet rifle team creeps up and launches an RPG. To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
link

That was a fun, quick, sharp fight, and so I was able to get another fight in. Stand by, I'm working on the batrep!

V/R,
Jack

Jack…another cool AAR. MOPP level 4 hampers movement and communication. So, NATO did well to contact two of the three squads. Ben

Gas! Gas! Gas! – that brings back memories.

Be in time – mask in 9.

Another great AAR!

Ahhh, the fun and games:

Unscrewing the canister on the Ops Officers resi and watch it fall off during the donning process.

Having mine on the desk next to me and on the call gas, gas, gas watch the CO grab mine and run for cover, end result me standing on the back steps of the CP shouting, "Colonel, Colonel can I have be respirator back please" to the sound of everyone else laughing

Mind you that last one was actually during ops during OIF..

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.

John – I sent you an e-mail man.

Ben – Yeah, I gave them a 33% chance, perhaps a bit too liberal, and didn't mess with them too much on spotting, movement, or shooting. I could have, and probably should have, made it a bit more difficult. But I was really worried that, even at 33%, I wasn't going to get anyone on the table! ;)

I used to love putting a pine needle in to hold open the canister filter inlet valve, or sprinkling some CS in the ashtray (we used to smoke out in one of the battalion warehouses, using an empty smoke grenade canister as the ash tray). Never did that stuff while deployed, just in training or the rear, Si! ;)

V/R,
Jack