Howdy,
On Saturday, August 24th played the latest campaign battle from the ongoing "In the Stans" campaign at the Hobbytown in Frederick, Maryland. Probably not the best battle for the tabletop, with the Muffintops outnumbered 2:1; using the alternative battle resolution would probably have made more sense. Summer had put a hiatus on the campaign, and playing this battle on the table-top was a way to step in where we had left off.
The battle took place in the northern village in the Valley of Misery (VM-3). The Blue force commander engineered a trap we he sent one platoon airmobile to an LZ north of the village, while another platoon moved north, down the valley, from the south. The Muffintops could have attempted to escape to the east, toward their base, into the long pass toward the Across the Border Valley.
The airmobile platoon reached the village first and began the attack. The arrival of the southern platoon was random, and as it turned out, they arrived early the game, to the chagrin of the Muffintops.
Picture from the game:
Photo 1 – Terrain from the south: the larger stream flows along the bottom of the valley, with steep hillsides above, and the village terraced into mountain side.
Photo 2 – The village.
Photo 3 – Muffintops deployed in the village. Civilian figures are routinely deployed as well to discourage the indiscriminate use of high-explosives. Hearts and Mind points awarded based on game play.
Photo 4 – A squad from the air mobile platoon moves onto the table.
Photo 5 – Muffintops defend a field on the northern approach to the village.
Tough game for the Muffintops, made worse by several poor tactical decisions. The Muffintops should have run, rather the engaged the Blue force. The Muffintops had free-deployment, but abandoned their initial covered positions to redeploy --- one squad got caught in the open by MG fire.
As noted above, the primary reason for the game was to get the players back to the campaign after the summer hiatus. The post-game wrap-up was held at the nearby Analia's Greek Café, yummy.
Ponder on,
JAS
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