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.