All,
AKA, Operation Cro-Wings #2
It's 1805 on 29 June 1990 and Team 3 of Lt Trojas' ODA 626 is sitting atop Hill 850. They had been performing surveillance, from Hill 781 to the northeast, on a nearby road networks, serving as a tripwire to warn TF Galban mechanized forces of enemy counterattack. They spotted enemy armor moving in, reported it to TF HQ, and coordinated air strikes (some enemy forces still got through; that's actually the next fight, TF Aguilera fighting off the enemy counterattack near Pisa). However, enemy radio direction finding efforts triangulated the team's position and vectored Communist militia into the area. Team 3 was able to get the drop on the bad guys, but there were simply too many, and so the Cubans abandoned their positions and moved to Hill 850 in a running firefight. The team suffered one man seriously wounded (he has to be carried in this game) and three lightly wounded (for game purposes these men are now back to full strength for this fight).
Upon reaching the crest of Hill 850 the team made comms with TF HQ. They were informed Battlegroup Elias was standing by as QRF to get them out, but the team needs to continue moving southeast to Hill 825, which has a Helicopter Landing Zone (HLZ) just east of it which is suitable for extraction. The radioman informed the team leader, GySgt "Turk" Dos Santos of this development. "Uhh, fellas, I got bad news." Everyone turned to look as Turk showed them the problem: the team's back was to a 30 foot cliff; with enemy troops coming from the north, northeast, and southwest, the only avenue of escape was down the cliff, across a draw, and up Hill 825 to the southeast.
Overview, north is left. Hill 850, where the team is starting, is at bottom left, while the rally point is at top right, on the crest of Hill 825. Again a draw runs across the board, with a stream cut into it. The team is on the board, atop Hill 850 at bottom left, trading fire with more than 60 enemy troops (off camera to bottom left) moving up, hoping to encircle and eliminate the Cuban Special Forces team.
The team, having to carry one of its seriously wounded members while under fire from three directions, has scampered down Hill 850 (off camera to bottom left) and has begun its climb up Hill 825 (off camera to top right), trying to get to the LZ before being overrun by bad guys. To see how it turned out, please check the blog at:
linkThe third fight of Operation Cro-Wings is coming up soon, but up next is actually the fight at the town of Pisa as Battlegroup Aguilera tries to fight off the Communist armored elements that fought their way through the Cuban airstrikes called in just prior to the first fight of Op. Stay tuned!
V/R,
Jack
