"Prelude - The Battle of Three-Stripe Hill" Topic
10 Posts
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Just Jack | 16 Jun 2016 2:32 p.m. PST |
All, Finally, the long awaited (by Kyote at least) first batrep for Sgt Rock. In mid-November 1942 Easy Company came ashore in Oran, Algeria, too late for the fighting, such as it was. Since then they'd been on one dusty road or trail, marching east to the sound of gunfire. They'd been bombed, strafed, and bombarded, but so far the GIs of Easy Company had yet to see the enemy. The Vichy French had been a relative push over in and around the invasion beaches, and then quickly surrendered and joined the Allies. Allied armor quickly put ashore and then brushed the Italians back on their way into Tunisia. But Tunisia was where the British and US armored formations finally encountered Rommel's famed Afrika Korps, and things were not going well. Allied forces, previously racing for Tunis and Bizerte, switched over to the defensive, which finally allowed the footsore dogfaces of Easy Company to catch up to the frontline. Allied armor pulled back to form a mobile reserve, while the infantry pushed forward to seize strong defensive positions on hilltops and near rivers. The Skipper of Easy Company received his orders: the company was to move forward and seize the crest of Hill 302, and word was the Germans were thinking the same thing. The Skipper studied the map, thinking it's gonna be quite a hike, but the slope of the hill is pretty gentle before leveling of to a small saucer of a plateau a hundred or so yards across, with a small pimple in the center being the highest point on Hill 302. The crest should be easy to spot, what with the rubble of an old temple sitting atop it. The Skipper issued his orders, and junior officers and NCOs set about getting the green troops of Easy Company ready for their task, and their first fight, against hardened German panzer grenadiers no less! Easy formed up in route column and set off in the cool morning dark, and a 90-minute hump saw them on a rock strewn trail a couple hundred yards from the base of Hill 302. And that's when it started: "INCOMING!!!" The Skipper and other leaders of Easy Company pressed the men forward, but scores were dropped by the ferocious German artillery barrage. "Keep pushing!" The men of Easy Company struggled under the weight of the gear, weapons, and ammunition, as well against the fear wrought by the sharp crack of enemy artillery impacts and shrapnel whizzing by. But the Skipper kept pushing, and in the lead, he soon broke out onto the plateau, with the crest not thirty yards away. "Double time!"
A lone GI stands against overwhelming odds, firing a Browning .30 caliber machine gun from the hip, belts of ammunition slung over his neck. To see how the fight went, please check the blog at: linkPlease forgive the ultra simple table. I was more focused on seeing if I could actually do something on a 12" x 12" board, rather than dressing it up. The whole point was to play a quick game with minimal set up and figures, and I think it worked. Having said that, I will try to do better in the future in making the board a bit more appealing. What I need from you guys is scenario ideas. We're talking about 5-8 GIs vs 6-12 Germans in North Africa; Mr. Rod Robertson has already provided a few good ideas, I'd love to see if anyone has more. Pvt Rock recuperated quickly and rejoined his unit. There he was offered a battlefield commission, but he turned it down, instead accepting meritorious promotion to Master Sergeant, becoming the "Top Sergeant" in Easy Company, which had just had its ranks brought back to full strength by cleaning out the misfits and rear echelon troops from various headquarters and service companies. More to follow. V/R, Jack |
Extra Crispy | 16 Jun 2016 3:03 p.m. PST |
Fun little write up. If you need/want to fast little games in a small space, make yourself a BattleBox: link
Scenario Idea: Trapped far behind enemy lines (vicious counter attack drove US back) Sgt. Rock needs to get home, fast! Low on supplies, what they need is transport. Mission: find and steal an enemy half track/truck. Break in at night, kills the guards, then get away. Being sure to disable other vehicles that might be used for pursuit. Forces: Sgt Rock and his team (6 or 7). Germans: the motor pool guards (4 or 5) Motor Pool: 4 or 5 vehicles in a fenced in area Night game so limited visibility. |
Oberlindes Sol LIC | 16 Jun 2016 4:29 p.m. PST |
First the nit-picking, because we do love our nits: "… Easy Company pressed the men forward, but scores were dropped by the ferocious German artillery barrage." A US Army infantry company in 1942 had about 200 officers and men, which is 10 score. You can't lose too many scores out of 10 before the survivors break and run. US Army units in World War 2 actually broke more quickly than any of our allies -- and also rallied more quickly. Now some scenario ideas for infantry squad actions in WW2: Scouting: This is a basic infantry task. It lends itself to cooperative play. Set up a village or forest or whatever and identify things have to be checked. E.g., enter and search every building. The referee has a list of what's in each building, such as booby trap, sniper, civilians, enemy troops in ambush, enemy troops who want to surrender, etc. Note that an urban ambush will typically have units in more than one building. Ambush: An enemy column is expected to come down the road. Destroy as many vehicles (and guns, if they're towing guns) as you can and get away. The enemy should substantially outnumber the ambushers. That puts pressure on the ambushers to hit hard and fast and run away even faster. Take a prisoner: Enemy sets up in bivouac with foxholes, or in a town. Two-thirds are asleep and one-third are on watch. Sneak in, grab one (preferably an officer), and sneak or shoot your way back out. A diversion on the other side of the table may be useful. This is probably a night scenario. Defend a position: The squad is holding part of a defensive line, or possibly holding a small objective, like a fuel dump or a small bridge. The enemy has to be careful not to destroy the objective with artillery fire. Patrol: This is also a basic infantry function -- walk through territory we claim, and deal with any enemies there. "Deal with" can range from eliminate or capture to get basic intel about them and return and report. This scenario lends itself to a two-player game. The table has plenty of terrain that blocks line of sight. Draw a map of the table and divide it into square sections -- 6 to 8 sections would be good. E.g., a 4x8 table would be divided into 6 sections, each 2 x 2. Each side gets a copy of the map. Each side marks a route on the map that will take its squad through all of the sections. The sides enter from opposite sides of the table, but each route enters and leaves the table from about the same place. This last scenario was inspired by SPI's Patrol!. Patrol! and Sniper! are good sources of inspiration for small unit actions. |
Ragbones | 16 Jun 2016 5:20 p.m. PST |
Sgt. Rock…Outstanding!! What a great AAR. I've cheated, too, when it came to keeping the Charlton Heston character alive in my 55 Days At Peking games. The Rock don't die! That's what makes him the Rock! |
Just Jack | 16 Jun 2016 6:10 p.m. PST |
JJ- Thanks man. But it's still cheating ;) Mark – Thanks. I've seen the battle box on your blog, very cool, and I love the scenario. Glenn – Thanks for the scenario ideas. Regarding the nitpick, no problem, but you've got to understand this is based on a comic book, "Sgt Rock." The context is that Rock started as a Private in North Africa, performed some valorous acts, and immediately was promoted to Master Sergeant (E-1 to E-8). While some comic book issues would occasionally show an officer present (usually referred to as "The Skipper"), somehow Rock was basically still in command of Easy Company. And regarding Easy Company itself, it was always referred to as "Easy Company," but you never really saw more than fifteen GIs at any one time. I'm sure it makes no sense, but it's a comic book. In any case, thanks for the scenario ideas; the only issue is that I need stuff for very small units (5-6 US and 6-12 Germans) on a 12" x 12" board. Ragbones – Glad you liked it, it was a lot of fun. But you have to remember, Rock does die (supposedly he was killed on the last day of the war, even though he somehow 'survived' to be in some other comic books that occurred in post-war settings). Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I'll look get some more games in soon. V/R, Jack |
Ben Lacy | 17 Jun 2016 3:56 a.m. PST |
I love it Jack. It read like an action comic. Sounds like a lot of fun. ben |
Just Jack | 17 Jun 2016 11:57 a.m. PST |
Thanks Ben, it was a good time. Stand by for more comic adventures! V/R, Jack |
Weasel | 17 Jun 2016 3:12 p.m. PST |
I don't think in the comics, they even had insignia or anything. It was just "Easy Company", which consisted of whatever grunts happened to be around for that particular fight :-) Apparently, from the original creator, Rock dies from the last bullet fired in the war, but other artists have extended his story. Given how the series would try to be both heroic and a touch anti-war at the same time, i always figured it made sense for him to go out on the last day. |
Joe Legan | 24 Jun 2016 1:52 p.m. PST |
Jack, Glad you are back in the saddle. For scenarios roll em up with Platoon Forward; that is what it is for! I swapped out "recon" with meeting engagement because I hate watching stuff without shooting at it. Joe |
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