Howdy,
The first miniature battle of the restarted "In the Stans" campaign was fought on Saturday, February 23rd at the Hobbytown in Frederick, Maryland. The battle was part of ongoing playtesting for a set of skirmish rules, So Convenient for Hewing. The game was played with 15mm figures and three players (two red force and one blue).
Photos from the game play follow; the photos are weighted toward set-up and the beginning of play, as once we got into the game, photos got forgotten. My apologies for that oversight.
Background – On campaign turn 4, three battles resulted from Red Force movement. The game is set at the village of VM-5 in the Valley of Misery. Blue forces used airmobile movement and moved into the VM-5 directly from their base. VM-5 was beyond the range of supporting artillery from the base, and the Blue Campaign Commander chose not to commit air to support their probe. A Red Force element was ordered into VM-5 not knowing of the presence of a Blue Force element. A skirmish at contact developed into a general attack on the village, the Red Force Commander perceived an advantage and pressed the attack.
At start, Blue forces had one squad (2nd) in the village proper, 1st squad had hidden deployment on the ridge overlooking the mountain trail. 3rd squad was deployed as security along the Valley. Red forces entered from the table edges along the western side of the map.
Photo 1 – View of the terrain, looking toward game South.
Photo 2 – View of the terrain, looking east. Imagine the wooded areas as mountainsides and ridges with the village built at the base, overlooking the valley stream.
Photo 3 – Looking down at the village. Blue forces, 3 veteran squads, one leader. Shown prior to deployment.
Photo 4 – Red forces prior to deployment, four squads, two leaders.
Photo 5 – Initial contact on the ridge. The Blue 1st squad attempted an ambush along the ridge above the trail from the pass, but was detected by Red scouts. Here the Red forces deploys out of LOS, and await reinforcement for an attack.
Photo 6 – First first, Blue forces in the village open up on Red Forces coming down the trail.
Photo 7 – After taking sniper fire, Blue 1st squad falls back and Red is prepared for an attack.
Photo 8 – Blue 1st squad driven back with loss.
Photo 9 – In the center, Red squad has failed morale due to fire from the village. Another Red squad maneuvers for a different approach on the village.
Photo 10 – Blue squad as base of fire in the village. The Blue 3rd squad, moved from their left, through the village, to support 1st squad. Third squad later fell back to defend the village.
Wrap-up: Blue forces, especially 1st and 2nd squads, sustained heavy losses and were driven from the village. However, the Blue forces gained a Hearts & Mind point, due to the Red Force indiscriminate fire into the village. The Blue Force took two cohesion checks (one for the battle, and one for losing it), while the Red Force took only a single cohesion check. In summary, a tactical defeat for Blue, but perhaps a winning action in the campaign, only time will tell.
Several issues were found in the game which will need to be addressed as we continue play with other table top battles "In the Stans." The two main issues:
(1) The number of firing dice for the RPK (and all LMG in general) should be reduced slightly, from 8d6 to 6d6.
(2) The maximum range of the SAW (M249) should be reduced to intermediate (30-inches) between automatic rifle range (24-inches) and LMG range (36-inches). FYI, HMG range is 48-inches.
(3) The referee modified the campaign OB, to fit the number of players present. The extra leader was a big advantage for the Red force.
It was a fun game, and I believe the players had fun. Upon the conclusion of play, we adjourned to Analia's Greek Café for a post-mortem of the action.
Ponder on,
JAS
