Libyan Civil War - Zawiya City Center, 8 March 2011

As a follow-up to my previous game covering the Libyan government forces' counteroffensive to retake Zawiya, I played a game involving the 8 March 2011 government push into the city center of Zawiya.  Both sides would get victory points for enemy losses, but decisive victory points for controlling the city center at the end of the game.

The pro-Ghaddafi Libyan Government forces (Govt Forces hereinafter) took to the field with:
1 x T-72
1 x T-55
2 x BMP-1
1 x DShK Technical
1 x Pickup Truck for troop transport
3 x d8 Troop Quality/d10 Morale 7-man infantry squads (from the relatively elite Khamis Brigade)

The Libyan Rebels (Rebel Forces hereinafter) set up first and had the following assets on the board, divided into two separate (but allied) factions to simulate a numerically superior, but not command-unified force that could seize the initiative:

Rebel Force 1:
1 x T-55
1 x BTR-70
1 x DShK Technical
1 x d8 Troop Quality/d/10 Morale 4-man infantry command team
2 x d6 Troop Quality/d10 Morale 7-man infantry squads

Rebel Force 2:
1 x T-55
1 x ZPU-1 23mm AA Gun Technical
1 x 57mm Rocket Pod Technical
1 x d8 Troop Quality/d/10 Morale 4-man infantry command team
1 x d6 Troop Quality/d10 Morale 7-man infantry squads

Initiative in this game was decided, per house rules, on leadership dice rolls.  Both groups of Rebels had designated marksmen that could target Government leaders, lessening the Government leadership dice and possibly allowing the Rebels to seize the initiative.

Turn 1:
The Govt Forces took initiative, and a Rebel rocket launcher technical was squared off with a Govt T-55.  The T-55 wanted to shoot the rocket techie, but lost initiative and the Rebel driver had good sense enough to back up and pull behind a building, taking the truck into cover.

Close call for the Rebel rocket technical. And, yes, a cigar box is serving as a building.

Meanwhile, one of the Govt Forces BMPs advanced and fired on a Rebel position at the top of the mosque overlooking the square.  Unfortunately, the BMP, with four dice of firepower, rolled four 1's - double snake eyes - and didn't hurt anybody.

Lucky dice saved these gents from a world of hurt.  The trees on the right ring in a fountain at the middle of the city center.

Meanwhile, two T-55s - one Govt, one Rebel - squared off across the city center plaza.  The Govt T-55 won initiative, fired, hit, and did no damage.  The Rebel tank fired back and killed its counterpart.

View from the Rebel tank's point of view.

View from the Govt tank's position.

As the Govt T-72 advanced and took aim at a Rebel T-55, but the Rebel tank won initiative and backed up to cover.  The Govt commander called in artillery, but it proved wildly inaccurate and landed behind its intended target, blowing up a Mini Cooper.

Artillery killed this compact car.

The Govt Forces having finished their movement, the Rebels kicked off their portion of the turn by using Out of Contact Movement (where insurgents can move to anywhere that doesn't cross the line of sight of enemy forces) to try to envelope the Govt right flank.

Rebels moving around the Govt right, hoping to catch Khaddafi's forces off guard.

The rest of the Rebel actions bore little fruit.  A Govt BMP and Rebel T-55 exchanged fire, to no result, and Rebel Forces fired an RPG at a Govt BMP but failed to penetrate the armor.

Turn 2:

Insurgents didn't get any reinforcements this turn, and their luck continued to worsen when the Govt T-72 destroyed the T-55 that had been effective in the previous turn.

A Govt T-72 rolls up next to the destroyed T-55, and exacts revenge, visible in the far end of the shot.

Meanwhile, a Govt DShK-equipped technical advanced toward and fired at Rebel positions.  The truck inflicted one casualty, but was immobilized by Rebel return fire.

Govt technical and Rebel forces duke it out.

A Govt BMP advanced and fired on a Rebel technical equipped with a single-barrel ZPU-1 23mm AA gun.  A Govt infantry squad followed up with a decisive strike in the Rebel middle, laying low a 4-man Rebel cell.

 View of the city center from the Rebel side.  The Rebel ZPU-1 technical burns on the left, a T-55 on the right. Rebels lying wounded or dying in the middle. The revolution may not survive to be televised.

Government artillery fire then landed harmlessly away from the fray.  As Rebel forces took over, the flanking force rounded the corner and opened fire on a Govt infantry squad that had yet to disembark from a pickup truck.

Rebels and Govt forces exchange fire in a flanking action down a back alley.

The exchange of fire ended up evening out - both sides took 4 casualties.  As the round carried on, Rebel luck remained poor.  A Rebel designated marksman took a shot at the T-72 commander, but missed.  A Govt BMP shot down a Rebel RPG gunner that could have destroyed the vehicle.

Turn 3:
As Turn 3 kicked off, we took a quick casualty count.  The Govt forces had taken 9 total casualties at this point, the Rebels 14.
The Govt commander used the main gun on his T-72 to level a building and make casualties of all Rebels inside.

A key part of the Rebel line is reduced to rubble.

As luck would have it, the air war started early - the Rebels drew a Fog of War card that gave them a Hellfire strike, and they used it to destroy the Govt T-72.

The Govt T-72 goes up in flame, depriving them of both their commander and their most powerful armored vehicle.

The Govt forces soldiered on, with a BMP inflicting 3 more casualties on the Rebels. 

With the BMP in the middle of the city center immobilized, the rocket technical moved up to fire.  The BMP won initiative and immobilize the tecchnical.  The rocket techie then fired - and missed, wide right.

A fresh rebel technical showed up at the corner of the city center, engaged in a round of fire with troops across the yard, and lost - immobilized and one crew member KIA.

After several rounds of exchanging fire with the far Govt technical, this Rebel BTR-70 finally knocked it out and raced down the road to start flanking Govt forces.

Turns 4 and 5:

A Govt squad disembarks from this BTR-70 intent on killing the Rebel rocket techie crew, but the crew won initiative and ran into cover in the courtyard.

This Govt BMP took a hit from a Rebel T-55, but was only immobilized.

This Govt squad, moving with casualties, tried to make a rapid move.  They failed a TQ check and only made a tactical move, ending up in the middle of the road.

View from the top of the mosqu, where a Rebel designated marksman took a shot at wounded Govt soldiers that were trying to exit the battlefield.  He hit and caused a casualty.

This squad of Rebels moved into the courtyard of the destroyed building and into contact with the recently-dismounted Govt squad.  The Rebels won initiative and caused 5 casualties on the Govt forces.  This victory on the Rebel right proved decisive.

This squad of Rebels fell to close-range BMP fire.

A Fog of War card set this building on fire, and the Govt squad inside had to flee.  Another thing that went the Rebels' way.

Turn 6:
The Rebels finally won the initiative this turn, and it helped a fair amount.

The Rebel BTR-70 raced up the road to engage this Govt squad, but lost the initiative.  The Govt infantry displaced into this compound, but a Fog of War card that the Rebels drew produced an IED that the Rebel players placed outside the compound entrance, so that the Govt squad was stuck inside the compound.

This Rebel DShK technical pulled around the corner and hit the same group of fleeing Govt casualties that the Rebel designated marksman had shot at.  The machinegun caused three casualties, and no one was there to provide aid.

As the BTR-70 moved to respond to the Rebel DShK technical, the Rebel truck won the initiative and backed off of the corner.

The Government squad that had been trapped inside the large compound got to firing positions and engaged Rebel forces two buildings over.  They knocked out a recent Rebel reinforcement, a relatively skilled RPG team.  The Rebel players are disgruntled in the background.

Rebel view of the RPG crew casualties.

The Govt and Rebel troops at the courtyard entrance exchanged fire again.  The Govt had all but one soldier as a casualty.

This BMP shot across the courtyard and nailed the back end of the BTR-70 across the way, immobilizing it.

View of the city center, wrecked by the heavy combat.  At bottom, the rocket technical crew moved forward to seize the downed Govt infantry squad in close combat.

As the evening grew late, we talled victory points.  84 for the Government, 86 for the Rebels.  Two things proved decisive in getting the Rebel victory:  (1) the outright defeat of the Govt infantry on the Rebel right flank; and (2) the Rebels taking shots at fleeing Govt casualties, gaining a few extra victory points that put them over the top.

The Rebels celebrate victory over Government forces.

Showdown in Baga, Nigeria

Played another game of Force on Force with the good folks at CSGA on Saturday.  We played a scenario I wrote based on current events, the Boko Haram sweep of Baga, Nigeria. 

I took some license with the facts - the Nigerian Army (NA) showed up with a force roughly equivalent to the Boko Haram (BH) elements in this part of town, and a third faction, the military contractors of Extremis Operations Group (EOG) had their own mission, the retrieval of an executive for OILCO International (the "VIP") who had the misfortune of being in Baga when the BH forces made their move.  The EOG and NA forces were not directly aligned, but wouldn't shoot at each other. 

BH forces had objectives of seizing a Nigerian government center, destroying NA forces, and securing the OILCO VIP for ransom if possible.  NA forces received no points for the VIP's status, only for securing the government center and destroying BH forces.  The EOG contractors, all former SOF operators (TQ d10/Morale d10), were only worried about securing the OILCO VIP.  The EOG team lead bribed the NA commander to secure his acquiescence to the EOG presence on the battlefield.  The OILCO HQ had four poor quality (TQ d6/Morale d8) guards armed with AK-47s holding the fort until the EOG extractino team arrived.  The NA and BH forces were TQ d6/Morale d10 regulars, with Boko Haram irregulars arriving per normal insurgency rules.

View of the board from the Nigerian Army (NA) entry point.  The Extremis Operations Group (EOG) contractors launched their extraction mission to the right of the NA deployment zone.

View of the board from the Boko Haram (BH) entry point.

The Nigerian Army forces:  A T-55, BTR-70, and DShK-equipped technical.  Three-and-a-half squads of infantry.  All Troop Quality d6, except the crews of the armored vehicles, which were d8.

The Extremis Operations Gourp (EOG) contractors, all Troop Quality d10.

 The OILCO VIP ( who looks nothing at all like a downed pilot, my normal extraction subject) and the four untrained and unmotivated guards (TQ d6/Morale d8) who are about to get more than they bargained for with this guard shift.

The Boko Haram forces:  A T-55, two DShK-equipped technicals, and a couple dozen fighters (TQ d6/Morale d10).  They also received reinforcements at two Hotspots at the board's edge that represented the semi-organized nature of an insurgency that is not quite a regularized fighting force.

Turn 1:
Initiative rolls provided the following order of movement:  NA, then EOG, then BH.

The Nigerian Army forces advanced to relieve their comrades currently under siege at the government compound.  The forces at the compound engaged in a firefight with a Boko Haram cell in a nearby building.  Each side took one casualty, but then the NA T-55 weighed in on the matter with its 100mm gun, wiping out the BH fighters.

Wiped out Boko Haram cell.  The Nigerian Army tank that felled them is visible in the distance.

EOG advanced toward their objective and engaged in no fighting.

EOG on the move in a technical and a jeep.  Both had FN MAG medium machineguns, and the gunners were kitted out in mufti to hide the true nature of these mysterious gunmen.

The BH forces advanced as well, with their T-55 moving down the main drag and taking a shot at the NA BTR-70.  It scored a hit that destroyed the vehicle and inflicted 5 x KIA.

 Bail out! Bail out!

The BH technical advancing toward the government compound fared poorly.  It inflicted a couple of casualties with its DShK, but return fire destroyed the vehicle and killed the crew.  Four BH infantry troopers riding in the bed of the truck survived.

Nigerian Army forces under siege at the government compound celebrate the destruction of the Boko Haram technical that had attacked them.

Turn 2:
Initiative came out EOG-BH-NA

EOG continued to drive toward the OILCO headquarters, and made no contact with BH forces.

EOG operators drive toward cover before their final approach.

The BH T-55 fired a round at the government complex, hoping to neutralize resistance prior to their infantry's approach.  The round brought the building down, making all 6 NA soldiers there into casualties.

The Nigerian government complex explodes just as BH forces closes on the entrance at the outer wall.

Reverse angle shot of the BH advance into the Nigerian government compound, well covered by tank fire.

NA forces advanced, and the NA T-55 got a main gun round off at the BH T-55, immobilizing the latter.  The NA armored troopers' higher Troop Quality and the tank commander staying unbuttoned helped one crew beat another to the punch in identical vehicles.

The security guards at the OILCO HQ opt not to engage in the fighting, watching Nigerian Army artillery rounds fall harmlessly on the far side of the compound on the right.

Turn 3:
Initiative went EOG-BH-NA

The EOG operators moved up to the OILCO building's rear entrance and dismounted.
The security guards at OILCO HQ decided that this would be a good time to start engaging BH forces.  After a harmless exchange with one dismounted element, in which the security guards drew the Fog of War card "An Excellent Position" and added a defense die to their perch overlooking the battlefield, the BH T-55 got involved with its main gun and made them all casualties.

Irony can be so... ironic.

The Boko Haram T-55's view of the OILCO HQ.

Boko Haram troops move up to the blockaded entrance of the OILCO HQ building, preparing to hop the compound wall in the next turn.

The Nigerian Army, meanwhile, stayed on the march. The NA technical and pickup truck ferrying troops to the front disgorged their soldiers right at the back end of the government complex.  I ruled that the remnants of the back wall of the collapsed building provided a cover bonus for any unit being engaged by the other side, but that any unit crossing the waist- to shoulder-height pile of rubble separating forces would lose its cover bonus.

NA and BH forces square off across the remnants of the collapsed government center building.  BH forces took out the DShK on the NA technical and one NA soldier.  BH took four casualties.

The Nigerian T-55 fired another shot at the Boko Haram T-55, but only earned a Suppress result.

The NA soldiers who survived the destruction of their BTR-70 had by now moved forward into the fight and engaged the BH forces assembling outside the OILCO HQ compound, inflicting three casualties on BH and receiving none in return.

Turn 4:
Initiative went BH-EOG-NA
The BH T-55 took a shot at the NA T-55 and destroyed it.  Which is only fair, since the NA T-55 had already hit the BH T-55 twice, resulting in an immobilization and suppression, respectively.

Nigerian Army T-55 destroyed, with only the commander (and force commander) surviving.

View from the Boko Haram T-55's vantage point.

Meanwhile, back at the OILCO HQ, the BH troops had scaled the compound wall and engaged in a round of fire with the two EOG operators who had come in to retrieve the OILCO VIP.  Each side took a casualty.

A BH technical peels off three NA soldiers from the outside of the government complex with very effective DShK fire.

NA and BH forces inside the government compound exchange fire, inflicting casualties on both sides.

EOG's initiative comes up, and operators reinforce their comrades inside the building.  They inflict 3 casualties on the BH troopers in the courtyard.

The supporting EOG vehicles fight around the berm next to the OILCO HQ, inflicting casualties on the BH side, but the white EOG truck was immobilized (impacting VIP and operator escape options) and reducing the jeep's machine gun to half firepower.

Nigerian Army forces finally took initiative and advanced over the rubble and into the contested government compound.  Both the Nigerians and Boko Haram forces took a casualty.  The Nigerian Army received another BTR-70 on a lucky Fog of War card.

Turn 5:
Initiative went NA-EOG-BH
Due to a Fog of War card, the Nigerian Army received a DShK-equipped technical.  In the courtyard of the Nigerian governmetn center, another round of fire produced 2 NA and 5 BH casualties.

The fruits of EOG's labors.  The last BH troopers trying to capture the OILCO VIP are down.

EOG took initiative next, and killed the last BH trooper on the far side of the berm from the OILCO HQ, and killed the BH troops in the OILCO HQ courtyard.

The last outside resistance to EOG at the OILCO HQ gets wiped out.

Just as the EOG operators exited the OILCO building, the BH T-55 blew up the EOG truck.

Just as EOG operators were escaping, a Boko Haram tank takes out their pickup truck.  Luckily no one was inside by this point.

As the BH faction took the initiative, the last remaining BH technical fired at an NA technical, missing, and getting immobilized for its trouble.

Boko Haram technical initiates fire against a Nigerian Army technical and loses, getting immobilized.

Turn 6:
Initiative went NA-EOG-BH
The Nigerian Army kicked off the turn by destroying a BH technical.
EOG operators, meanwhile, evacuated the OILCO VIP from the regional HQ.

Go! Go! Go!

As a last deparate act, the BH forces rushed into the Nigerian government compound and took out the NA fire team inside in a brutal exchange of fire.  This gave Boko Haram control of the compound for victory point purposes, which would prove decisive.

We called the game here.  At the end of the game, we tallied the victory points at:
EOG: 20 (maximum)
BH: 48
NA: 47

In the end, it came down to a close game decided in the meatgrinder of the Nigerian government complex.

Lessons Learned:
- New house rule:  12" minimum range for RPGs and grenade launchers.  Reasoning seems obvious.
- The initiative house rules work well.  Each leader gets to roll a die at their quantity and Troop Quality level.  Most successes wins; if tied in successes, compare the numbers rolled.  Anyone except the lowest-rolling faction can put forces on overwatch.  Though not presented by the forces in this scenario, this makes Designated Rifle Marksmen and snipers that much more valuable for their ability to knock out the enemy's ability to gain the initiative.