Showing posts with label Road to Baghdad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Road to Baghdad. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Library of Force on Force AARs
If you're reading this in the full web site version, you should see a listing, "Force on Force: Theaters of Conflict." Within each of these links is a brief description of the eleven Force on Force games I've played over the last year or so. For those of you reading this in the mobile version of this blog, I'm duplicating the directory below:
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Medal of Honor, Iraq, 4 April 2003
Had a good game with CSGA again, running a scenario from the Road to Baghdad book. The background:
In real life, SFC Paul R. Smith gave his life in heroic fashion, manning a machine gun atop an M113 armored personnel carrier until felled by enemy fire. To replicate the dire situation that SFC Smith and his men faced, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) loses a die of firepower for every 1 rolled when it fired, and it has to retreat when out of ammo or damaged. Three large insurgent cells attacked the US forces from prepared positions, and the game went until the Americans were defeated, insurgents pushed South across the board, or the insurgents suffered 100 casualties. Insurgents receive reinforcements on a roll of 4 or less on 1d6. The Americans had only the BFV, 2 x M113, two understrength fire teams, and the company first sergeant and a medic to hold back the horde. The initial setup:
Though not noted in the truncated play-by-play for this game, the overwhelming firepower from the US vehicles had wiped out all insurgent RPG gunners and inflicted horrific casualties on the insurgent force as a whole. When we finally called the game - the insurgents didn't have anything that could hurt the vehicles - the Victory Point tally ran to 55 points for the Americans, 12 for the insurgents.
The Fog of War-spawned tank completely changed the course of the game. I wouldn't expect a replay to come out the same way.
Scenario 13: Medal of Honor
Near the Baghdad International Airport, April 4 2003
Lead elements of the US 3rd Infantry Division have taken Baghdad International Airport, and have established blocking positions on the main highway linking it with the Iraqi capital. 2nd Platoon, B Company, 11th Engineers have been tasked with creating a holding area for the large number of detainees expected in the next few days. A suitable location has been found, and preparations are under way when a large enemy force is spotted attempting to outflank the American position. Calling for reinforcements, the Engineers prepare to make a stand.
In real life, SFC Paul R. Smith gave his life in heroic fashion, manning a machine gun atop an M113 armored personnel carrier until felled by enemy fire. To replicate the dire situation that SFC Smith and his men faced, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) loses a die of firepower for every 1 rolled when it fired, and it has to retreat when out of ammo or damaged. Three large insurgent cells attacked the US forces from prepared positions, and the game went until the Americans were defeated, insurgents pushed South across the board, or the insurgents suffered 100 casualties. Insurgents receive reinforcements on a roll of 4 or less on 1d6. The Americans had only the BFV, 2 x M113, two understrength fire teams, and the company first sergeant and a medic to hold back the horde. The initial setup:
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| SFC Smith is with Fire Team A. A courtyard of insurgents against the few Americans in contact. |
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| View from the enemy side of the courtyard. |
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| Turn 1: The initial exchange of fire proved brutal to the exposed Americans. Fire Team A took a number of casualties, SFC Smith among them (a serious wound). The first sergeant and medic rush to the aid of the beleaguered fire team while the BFV laid down some fire and inflicted a few casualties. |
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| Turn 2: Both sides take casualties from small arms fire exchanged, and an RPG bounces off of the BFV's armor. Fog of War cards give the insurgents a technical and keep US forces stationary for the turn. |
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| Another Fog of War card gives the Americans an M1 Abrams tank as reinforcement. Next to the tank is a fire team of reinforcements triggered by the first US casualties. |
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| Turn 3: As the M113s, M1, and dismounted US forces move to reinforce the BFV, they find Fire Team A and most of Fire Team B dead or seriously wounded. Unlucky rolls continue to hamper insurgent success with RPG fire, but the BFV has been reduced from 5 to 2 dice in its main gun. The US vehicular reinforcements start to inflict serious casualties on the insurgents. |
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| Turn 4: US forces continue to whittle down the insurgents. The lead M113 gunner is shot out of the turret, killed instantly. The BFV blew up the insurgent technical. |
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| Turn 5: The BFV, having run out of ammunition, pulls out and leaves the infantry exposed. Luckily, two Fog of War cards gave both remaining fire teams Excellent Position - an additional die of cover. |
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| Turn 6-7: The overwhelming firepower of the vehicles and the outstanding positions that the US forces found wore down the insurgents. The Americans were eventually able to load casualties into the M113s. |
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| Turn 7 or 8: An insurgent RPG gunner took a shot at the M1 from the roof of this building, and insurgent Hot Spot. The M1 responded 120mm HE tough love, dropping the building. |
Though not noted in the truncated play-by-play for this game, the overwhelming firepower from the US vehicles had wiped out all insurgent RPG gunners and inflicted horrific casualties on the insurgent force as a whole. When we finally called the game - the insurgents didn't have anything that could hurt the vehicles - the Victory Point tally ran to 55 points for the Americans, 12 for the insurgents.
The Fog of War-spawned tank completely changed the course of the game. I wouldn't expect a replay to come out the same way.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Hornet's Nest
I hosted a Force on Force game with the Colorado Springs Gamers Association on Saturday, playing a scenario from the Road to Baghdad supplement, "The Hornet's Nest." The scenario description:
The US player starts with an M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) that has just followed an Iraqi insurgent truck into a courtyard, only to discover that the courtyard is was the center of an insurgent headquarters. An M1A1 Abrams tank backs up the BFV, though it starts the scenario outside of the courtyard.
As with other Force on Force scenarios, this one was exceptionally well balanced. The scenario lasts 8 turns. US victory points as follows: 10 points for keeping the BFV in the courtyard for 4 turns, 5 points for the BFV and the Abrams withdrawing from the table via a marked exit direction. Insurgent victory points as follows: 3 points per US Soldier seriously wounded or KIA, 5 points per US Soldier captured, 5 points if the BFV is immobilized or destroyed, 10 points if the Abrams is immobilized or destroyed.
Turn 1:
The Bradley opened fire on the insurgents n the courtyard, pulping three insurgents from Cell 1; return RPG fire proved ineffective. Cells 2 and 3 opened fire with their own RPGs, but all missed, and the Bradley inflicted 3 more casualties. The Abrams tank moved forward, but Insurgent Cell 4 held its fire, hoping for an easy shot on the tank. All of the insurgent elements made their morale checks.
Turn 2:
The insurgents received reinforcements with both a leader and a Heavy RPG, which allowed them to both move without rolling to activate and bring a big stick to the fight.
In the courtyard, the Bradley was still taking on the world, dishing out three more casualties on Cell 1. The Abrams Main Battle Tank (MBT) moved up even with the opening to the courtyard. The tank had line of sight on the building housing Cell 3 and opened fire with the intent of dropping the building. The building did not drop, but the tank shell killed one insurgent.
The insurgents in Cell 4 had a deck shot on the Abrams, and let loose with two RPGs. Both bounced harmlessly off of the tank. The tank swiveled its turret, returned fire, and dropped the building. All of the insurgents inside, save one of the RPG gunners, were killed in the building collapse.
The insurgent from the hot spot made a rapid move and entered the fray, but ended up adding little to the insurgents' cause.
Turn 3:
The Bradley pivoted back to the wall on its left and continued pouring fire into Insurgent Cell 1, causing 3 more casualties. One was the RPG gunner, but he would shake off the wound in the casualty check at the end of the round. Most likely a rock that hit him when a 25mm round pinged off of the ground. The cleared line of sight allowed the Abrams MBT to level the building housing Insurgent Cell 3, causing 3 insurgent casualties, including the remaining RPG gunner at that location. The insurgents attempting to return fire, and losing, drew a Fog of War card - the Golden BB.
The remaining insurgent RPG gunner from Cell 4, who survived the building being dropped, passed his morale check after his harrowing experience. He now rolled for initiation, passed, and played the Golden BB card. The Abrams erupted in a ball of flame.
Two of the Abrams crew members survived (two were crispered) and dismounted to the left rear of the vehicle and sought cover. The Abrams wreck was blocking the Bradley's planned route of egress out of the courtyard, so the situation had suddenly become quite dire for the Americans.
Turns 4 and 5:
Insurgent casualties showed up again at the Hot Spot, but would fail to activate because they didn't have a leader. The turn ran rather uneventfully, with the Bradley exchanging fire again with Insurgent Cell 1, inflicting one casualty, and receiving ineffective RPG fire. The insurgents that previously ran into the courtyard from the Hot Spot attempted to close assault the Bradley, but failed the necessary Troop Quality roll and chickened out.
Insurgent Cell 2 rolled successfully to activate and move into the middle of the courtyard. They won initiative, fired an RPG at the Bradley, missed, and saw the Bradley's return fire reduce the RPG gunner to ground chuck.
The insurgents from the hot spot, however, activated and moved to the courtyard. The Bradley reacted to their attempt to open fire and pulped two cell members. Even with the penalty for rapid movement, the Heavy RPG gunnery in the cell, who survived the Bradley's salvo of fire, launched a round into the front of the Bradley and rolled a catastrophic hit, causing the Bradley to brew up, killing 4 of the 5 Soldiers in the vehicle!
The surviving Soldier dismounted out the back of the Bradley. He decided to make a rapid move out of the courtyard and off of the map. As he sprinted out, he came in view of every insurgent element in the courtyard and beat all but a couple in initiative rolls. In one, he drew a Mad Minute card from the Fog of War deck and laid low one of the insurgents. This entails emptying most of your available ammo supply with increased firepower. Not being sure whether the card required him to remain stationary, we rolled a Troop Quality check to see if he could continue his movement out of the courtyard. He succeeded, and ran off.
As the turn wrapped up, the two tankers who escaped the burning Abrams exited the board.
Turn 6:
The remaining Bradley crewman continued his flight off of the board, making an amazing number of save rolls as a group of five insurgents shot at him.
We called the game at this point and tallied victory points. The Americans had 7 (10 for remaining in the courtyard for 4 turns, 3 deducted for a Fog of War card based on bad press from unit actions); the Iraqi insurgents had 33 (10 for destroying the M1 Abrams, 5 for the M2 Bradley, and 18 for the 6 x US KIA). Decisive victory for the Iraqis.
On a closing note, the scenario was actually very well balanced. The Bradley lasted four turns in the courtyard before it finally succumbed to RPG fire. Had the Golden BB card not killed the Abrams and blocked in the Bradley, this could have been a totally different story...
Objective Pistol, Outside As Samawah, March 22
On March 22, 2003, a Hunter Killer Team (HKT) from C/3-7 CAV "Crazy Horse" approached a canal bridge at Objective Pistol. Based on reports from an SOF unit in the area, the team expected to be greeted by Iraqi regulars eager to surrender. Instead, they became embroiled in a fierce firefight with irregular Saddam Fedayeen troops. This would be the Cav's first encounter with fanatical irregular troops in civilian garb, but it would be far from their last.
The US player starts with an M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) that has just followed an Iraqi insurgent truck into a courtyard, only to discover that the courtyard is was the center of an insurgent headquarters. An M1A1 Abrams tank backs up the BFV, though it starts the scenario outside of the courtyard.
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| View of the board from the side with elements labeled. |
Turn 1:
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| The view from the US edge of the board at scenario's outset. |
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| The situation from the Bradley IFV's point of view. |
The Bradley opened fire on the insurgents n the courtyard, pulping three insurgents from Cell 1; return RPG fire proved ineffective. Cells 2 and 3 opened fire with their own RPGs, but all missed, and the Bradley inflicted 3 more casualties. The Abrams tank moved forward, but Insurgent Cell 4 held its fire, hoping for an easy shot on the tank. All of the insurgent elements made their morale checks.
Turn 2:
The insurgents received reinforcements with both a leader and a Heavy RPG, which allowed them to both move without rolling to activate and bring a big stick to the fight.
In the courtyard, the Bradley was still taking on the world, dishing out three more casualties on Cell 1. The Abrams Main Battle Tank (MBT) moved up even with the opening to the courtyard. The tank had line of sight on the building housing Cell 3 and opened fire with the intent of dropping the building. The building did not drop, but the tank shell killed one insurgent.
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| The Americans continue to slug it out with a horde of Iraqi insurgents. |
The insurgents in Cell 4 had a deck shot on the Abrams, and let loose with two RPGs. Both bounced harmlessly off of the tank. The tank swiveled its turret, returned fire, and dropped the building. All of the insurgents inside, save one of the RPG gunners, were killed in the building collapse.
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| That used to be a two-story building. Used to be. |
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| The insurgents from the hot spot showed up just in time to bounce an RPG off of the Bradley IFV and get shot up. |
The Bradley pivoted back to the wall on its left and continued pouring fire into Insurgent Cell 1, causing 3 more casualties. One was the RPG gunner, but he would shake off the wound in the casualty check at the end of the round. Most likely a rock that hit him when a 25mm round pinged off of the ground. The cleared line of sight allowed the Abrams MBT to level the building housing Insurgent Cell 3, causing 3 insurgent casualties, including the remaining RPG gunner at that location. The insurgents attempting to return fire, and losing, drew a Fog of War card - the Golden BB.
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| The M1 Abrams blows up the building housing Insurgent Cell 3. |
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| Ouch. That hurts. |
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| View of the Abrams' destruction from the RPG gunner's vantage point. Holy smokes! |
Two of the Abrams crew members survived (two were crispered) and dismounted to the left rear of the vehicle and sought cover. The Abrams wreck was blocking the Bradley's planned route of egress out of the courtyard, so the situation had suddenly become quite dire for the Americans.
Turns 4 and 5:
Insurgent casualties showed up again at the Hot Spot, but would fail to activate because they didn't have a leader. The turn ran rather uneventfully, with the Bradley exchanging fire again with Insurgent Cell 1, inflicting one casualty, and receiving ineffective RPG fire. The insurgents that previously ran into the courtyard from the Hot Spot attempted to close assault the Bradley, but failed the necessary Troop Quality roll and chickened out.
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| Come on, guys, let's assault the Bradley. Guys? Guys? |
Insurgent Cell 2 rolled successfully to activate and move into the middle of the courtyard. They won initiative, fired an RPG at the Bradley, missed, and saw the Bradley's return fire reduce the RPG gunner to ground chuck.
The insurgents from the hot spot, however, activated and moved to the courtyard. The Bradley reacted to their attempt to open fire and pulped two cell members. Even with the penalty for rapid movement, the Heavy RPG gunnery in the cell, who survived the Bradley's salvo of fire, launched a round into the front of the Bradley and rolled a catastrophic hit, causing the Bradley to brew up, killing 4 of the 5 Soldiers in the vehicle!
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| This is going to hurt the American victory point total. A lot. |
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| "Say hello to my little friend!" |
Turn 6:
The remaining Bradley crewman continued his flight off of the board, making an amazing number of save rolls as a group of five insurgents shot at him.
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| Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Especially when you've had your teeth kicked in. |
On a closing note, the scenario was actually very well balanced. The Bradley lasted four turns in the courtyard before it finally succumbed to RPG fire. Had the Golden BB card not killed the Abrams and blocked in the Bradley, this could have been a totally different story...
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