It's 0750 on 27 July 1990 and Operation Geronimo has kicked off. The parachute landing went smoothly and Lt Espinale's E Co, 6th Para, AKA Task Force Hawk, quickly formed up and began pushing east, clearing the area of enemy forces and moving to blocking positions to screen the amphibious landings scheduled for later this morning. Earlier the TF Hawk commander, Lt Espinale, ran into enemy forces, insurgents of the Free Leon Army (FLA). The Cubans suffered two very serious casualties, but killed six FLA soldiers, captured one, and destroyed a Technical, thus opening the route east. Then TF Hawk continued east towards its blocking positions, coming across a farm south of the main route that needed to be cleared. Lt Espinale ordered Lt Gonzalez to prepare to clear the farm, but first Lt Candelario was tasked to continue further east to clear some high ground that would threaten Lt Gonzalez' assault on the farm. But Lt Candelario and his men ran into a buzz saw, taking heavy casualties from the high ground and a heavy machine gun mounted on a Technical on the north end of the farm. Lt Candelario and his few remaining men, shocked at the ferocity of the FLA insurgents' resistance, fell back into a hasty defensive perimeter and got on the radio to plead for help.
The commander, Lt Espinale, ordered Lt Gonzalez to assault the farm immediately. "But Sir, that high ground is still in enemy hands, we'll get torn to pieces." "I know, but Candelario is about to be overrun, we've got to do something now. You assault the farm, and as soon as you've got the compound under your control I'll push through on your right to secure the high ground and relieve Candelario and his men. If you can take the north end of the farm, great, if not, we'll handle it. But I need you moving as quickly as possible to take that compound." "Roger, Sir."
Overview, north is RIGHT. The objective, the farm compound is at left/top left, with a small fish farming pond at top center, and the north end of the farm (with the Technical) at top center right. The southern high ground, known as Point 2, is at bottom right, with the canal running north-south (right-left) from the fish farm to the far right.
Lt Gonzalez' men will enter at bottom left, their mission to take the farm compound and, if possible, silence the Technical at the north end. The bad guys will have a group of riflemen (amount unknown) in the farming compound, but they'll also have a rifleman in north end of the farm (he can fire on Lt Gonzalez' men, but the Technical's HMG is firing off screen to the north -right-, keeping Lt Candelario's men pinned down), and the bad guys have a light machine gun atop Point 2. It will be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to kill the enemy soldiers on Point 2 and in the north end of the farm.
The Cuban force: two grenadiers, two SAWs, and four riflemen. All the men pictured here will be in the fight. The force consists of, from top left to bottom right:
Staff Sergeant Munoz
Private Ozuna
Private Rosario
Private Sosa
2nd Lieutenant Gonzalez
Corporal Mejia
Private First Class Mercado
Private Molina
The north end of he farm, where the FLA Technical's HMG is spewing lead to the north (right), keeping Lt Candelario and his men pinned down.
Looking east to west at the farm compound, just as the Cubans will be advancing upon it.
*This setup is new, part of my Christmas presents to myself, some buildings from Crescent Root. Come to think of it, I haven't said anything about all the new trees and hedges, also from Crescent Root.
The north end of the farm, with a rifleman in the pigsty, ready to engage the Cubans, covering the Technical's rear.
A FLA light machine gunner with RPD atop Point 2, ready to engage the Cubans.
Looking south to north at the farm compound. The Cubans got very lucky: two of the enemy riflemen are actually out in the open (bottom right, center bottom), while two more are in the building at left, one on the 2nd floor and one on the 1st. Let's call that building 'The Residence.' The north end of the farm (with the Technical) is off camera to top left, Point 2 is off camera to top right.
The Cubans come on the table, pushing hard to help relieve pressure on Lt Candelario's men. Lt Gonzalez has broken his unit into a base of fire group (bottom right, with two M-203s and two SAWs) and an assault group (he and three riflemen).
The assault group, clockwise from left: SSG Munoz, Pvt Molina, Lt Gonzalez, and Pvt Sosa.
The base of fire group, clockwise from left: Pvt Rosario, Cpl Mejia, PFC Mercado, and Pvt Ozuna.
Lt Gonzalez had briefed his men on exactly what to expect: move fast, shoot straight, get into the cover of those stone buildings as quick as possible as the fire from the north end of the farm and Point 2 is likely to be murderous.
And he was right...
The fight begins with the base of fire element moving up the road. Cpl Mejia (bottom center) spots movement at the north end of the farm (top left). As soon as he and the enemy soldier there locked eyes, Cpl Mejia raised his SAW and opened fire, sending a stream of 5.56mm rounds towards the outbuilding the enemy soldier was sheltering in.
Cpl Mejia then moves up (center), while PFC Mercado dashed past him (top left).
And that is when the enemy rifleman (bottom center, with the Technical next to him, firing on Lt Candelario's troops off camera) shouldered his AK and returned fire.
Knocking Mercado down (white bead at top left)! Pvt Rosario dashes past Cpl Mejia, to help Mercado (top left)...
But the enemy machine gunner atop Point 2 (bottom left) joined the fight. Hunkered down behind a rock outcropping on the hill, he racked the bolt on his RPD and opened fire on the Cuban base of fire element (top center).
Driving Rosario back, suppressed (red bead at left, from center). Pvt Ozuna, the other SAW gunner, moves up next to Cpl Mejia (right).
Where he (bottom right) turns his light machine gun on the enemy machine gunner atop Point 2 (top center) and returns fire.
The young Cuban's rounds have no effect on the enemy gunner (bottom left), who calmly shifts his point of aim and returns fire...
Pinning Ozuna (yellow bead at bottom center).
With the base of fire element (Rosario and his red bead visible at far right, the rest just off camera to right) absorbing the enemy's attention from the northern outbuilding and Point 2 (off camera to top right and far right, respectively), Lt Gonzalez (bottom center left) pushes the assault element forward. Suddenly, an insurgent appears directly in front of them (top center left): Pvt Molina (bottom left) quickly shoulders his rifle and opens fire...
Knocking the enemy soldier down!
And with that, SSG Munoz (far left), Lt Gonzalez (center), and Pvt Sosa (top center, up against the wall of the building, with Rosario suppressed at far right) dash ahead towards the farm compound.
But as the base of fire element (top left) is getting beat up and the assault element (top right) is scooting forward, AK fire suddenly erupts from the second story of The Residence (bottom center). He doesn't hit anything, but he captures the attention of the assault group long enough for the bad guy behind the wall center...
To dash down to the guy Molina just knocked down, check him over, and get him back in the fight!
The FLA gunner atop Point 2 (bottom right) racks his RPD again and opens fire on the Cuban assault group (top left), which is getting closer to entering the farming compound than he'd like...
And Sosa goes down in a hail of gunfire...
As Sosa (far left) falls, Lt Gonzales (bottom center left) returns fire on Point 2 (top right), but it's all bark and no bite. Meanwhile, the north end of the farm (top center left)...
Gets in on the act. The enemy rifleman there (bottom center, covering the Technical's backside) rips another burst of fire at the base of fire group (top center)...
Rounds snap and zip by his head, but Cpl Mejia rattles a burst off from his SAW in return, but the farmhouse readily absorbs the bullets with no ill effect to the enemy soldier sheltering there.
Back in the south, enemy fire erupts from the objective area (bottom left), taking the base of fire element (top right) in the flank...
But they hold their ground (bottom right) and do their job, with Pvt Ozuna continuing to lay down fire with his SAW on the enemy gunner atop Point 2 (top right, north end at far left)...
Pinning him!
With fire slackening from Point 2 (off camera to far right) and his fire on the north end of the farm (off camera to top right) not producing, Cpl Mejia (bottom center) turns his SAW on the objective and cuts loose with a long burst...
Suppressing the insurgent on the ground floor (red bead at center right) and pinning the guy on the 2nd floor (yellow bead at left)!
Cpl Mejia then scoots up to check PFC Mercado...
But the bad guy on the north end (bottom center) spots the movement (top center right), sights in, and fires...
Rounds thud into the nearby hedge and snap past his head (bottom center); Cpl Mejia raises up and returns fire, but the fire continues to be ineffective. Satisfied he at least gave the enemy soldier something to think about, Cpl Mejia again turns his attention to PFC Mercado...
But Mercado (center) is hit bad, and is out of the fight. Looking on, Pvt Rosario (bottom left) panics at the sight of his buddy unconscious and covered in blood...
And he falls back to solid cover behind a boulder (bottom center, from center top).
Pvt Molina (bottom left, with Lt Gonzalez on his right and SSG Munoz on his left) raises his M-16 and opens fire on the two bad guys behind the wall (top center)...
One of them is suppressed and falls back (red bead), but the other stands ready. SSG Munoz, in a stand of nearby trees (off camera to right) can't really see the effects of Molina's fire...
But he decides to blindly go charging ahead anyway!!!
Where the waiting enemy soldier calmly opens fire, dropping the Cuban Staff Sergeant!!! But now his blood is up, too...
The FLA soldier hops the wall and goes charging at Lt Gonzalez, who's taking cover behind a nearby boulder...
The Lieutenant sees the insurgent coming and dashes forward to meet him. The antagonists meet in a violent collision, falling to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs, weapons, and equipment...
After several moments of grappling on the ground, scratching and clawing at one another but unable to do serious damage to the other, the two men find themselves suddenly separated from each other. There's a long, awkward pause as they stare into each other's eyes; then suddenly the din of battle returns. The two men snap out of it, and as they regain their senses they both come to the conclusion they need to get as far away from the other as possible! The Cuban Lieutenant (red bead at center top left) and the insurgent (red bead at top right) each fall back, suppressed (from center)!!!
As the good Lieutenant is having his trials and tribulations (top right), the enemy rifleman at the north end of the farm (bottom center) again fires on the base of fire element (top center)...
Corporal Mejia (bottom left, with Pvt Ozuna to his right) is an absolute stud, icewater in his veins. He pivots and returns fire with his SAW...
Driving the enemy rifleman at the north end back (red bead at center top, from far left). Now we're finally getting somewhere!
In the south, in and around the objective, there are three enemy soldiers suppressed (far left, top left, and center right), and one pinned (far right). Each attempts to get their marbles back, to self rally and get back in the fight...
The bad guy on the 2nd floor of the objective (center left) is good to go, but the other three soldiers all decide falling back is a better option than standing firm!!!
That was truly incredible.
But the bad guy machine gunner atop Point 2 does manage to calm himself down and get back in the fight.
Though it's short lived, as Pvt Ozuna (center right) cuts loose with his SAW on Point 2 (top left)...
Sending the enemy gunner scurrying for safety, down the hill (far right, from far left)!
With Ozuna (bottom right) pounding away at Point 2 (off camera to far right), Cpl Mejia (center bottom) turns his weapon on the one bad guy still in the fight on the objective (top left)...
He doesn't hit anything, but it does buy him time to fall back (bottom center left, from center right) and rally Rosario (red bead). He's still a little shaky ('up' to pinned)...
But he promptly sprints forward (top right, from bottom center right), getting back in the game.
With the maneuver element in a shambles (Lt Gonzalez suppressed at left, SSG Munoz and Pvt Sosa down), Pvt Molina (bottom center) sits tight and plinks away at the bad guy on the 2nd floor of the objective (top center)...
And Molina's fire, combined with the cowardice displayed by all his comrades in the area, is enough to convince the bad guy on the 2nd floor to fall back, where he joins one of his suppressed buddies.
With things suddenly gone quiet, Molina decides to mosey forward (left, from bottom left) to check on Lt Gonzalez. "Hey Sir, if'n you're not too busy, now would be a good time to go ahead and hop back into the thick of it. Sir." Lt Gonzalez looked at Molina, then over at Rosario (top right); "Yeah Molina, I guess you're right. We need to take this damn farm complex so that Lt Espinale can go save Candelario and his boys."
And with that, Lt Gonzalez sprinted forward (center top, from bottom left), determined to take advantage of the lull in the enemy fire.
And lull is right, the bad guys are in a bad way. They have six men still in the fight (one at the north end of the farm, far left, one at Point 2 (top left), and four in and around the objective (center to bottom center and bottom right), but they are all suppressed. The bad guys set about trying to get back into the fight. All are good except...
One guy on the objective that's still pinned (yellow bead at bottom center left)...
And one dude that got spooked by Lt Gonzalez (top right) and fell back again (bottom left).
But the El-Tee is on it (bottom left): he spots one of the recently rallied insurgents (top right) and opens fire...
Dropping him like a sack of potatoes.
Lt Gonzalez then continues up to the objective (left, from bottom center).
And Pvt Molina (left, from bottom left) follows him (top left) as Pvt Rosario (bottom right) takes a breather to get his mind right.
Rosario (top left) is good to go, and Cpl Mejia moves up to rally Pvt Ozuna (right, from bottom left).
Ozuna is solid, and moves up (center, from bottom center right).
Meanwhile, the bad guys decide to re-man their defense. The bad guy that was previously brushed back by Cuban fire from his position on the 2nd floor of the objective building decides to head back upstairs, while his buddy still ain't feelin' it and holds fast (failed self rally and stays pinned).
At the north end of the farm, the enemy rifleman there, freshly rallied, decides he's done hanging around the pig pens, and moves upstairs to get a better look, while the Technical keeps hammering away at Lt Candelario and his shrinking perimeter (off camera to top right).
Over on Point 2, the enemy machine gunner creeps back up the rocky outcropping and takes up position to deliver plunging fire onto the Cubans...
But Rosario (bottom left) spots him (top right) and opens up.
The two trade fire for a minute, with the enemy's RPD (bottom center)...
Beating out Rosario's M-16, pinning him again (yellow bead at top left). But as that's happening, Cpl Mejia (bottom center) and Pvt Ozuna (center right)...
BOTH add their SAWs in response to the enemy gunner on Point 2 (top right)...
Forcing the enemy machine gunner to hustle right back down the hill!
Back on the Cuban left, Pvt Molina dashes forward and joins Lt Gonzalez (far left, from bottom left).
Molina bumps the Lieutenant, who quickly rounds the corner...
Running smack dab into the pinned insurgent cowering at the base of the objective building. The Lieutenant levels his weapon and fires...
And down goes another bad guy! The enemy soldier on the 2nd floor is now incredibly paranoid and wondering what the hell is going on behind him, where it sounds like a Cuban M-16 is firing...
As the Lieutenant whacks his bad guy at the objective building (top right), the enemy rifleman at the north end of the farm (bottom right), who can't see anything happening in and around the objective, again opens fire on the base of fire element (left)....
Knocking Rosario (white bead at left) down!
With the bad guy in the north end of the farm (top left) hammering away with his AK, the enemy gunner on Point 2 (bottom right) successfully self rallies back into the fight.
The FLA soldier on the 2nd floor of the objective building (bottom left) sees Cpl Mejia and Pvt Ozuna in the road (top center) and decides he's gonna have to wait to figure out what's going on behind him. He lays his sights on the road and opens fire
Ozuna goes down (top right), and Cpl Mejia is forced to fall back, diving over the hedge, suppressed. He digs his face into the dirt and looks over at Rosario, realizing he's unconscious.
Just when things were looking up, disaster has struck!
Back at the objective building, Lt Gonzalez and Pvt Molina can hear the AK on the 2nd floor hammering away. They creep towards a window and knock out the glass.
Seemingly surrounded by wounded friends, Cpl Mejia (red bead) can feel the rage welling up inside him. He grabs his SAW, checks his ammo and makes sure the bolt is back, and rises to his knees to find a target.
Feeling quite bold, the enemy machine gunner climbs up to the highest elevation on Point 2, hoping to get a better look.
The FLA soldier on the north end of the farm (bottom center) keeps firing, but the only one still in the fight there is Cpl Mejia, who's pretty well concealed (top center).
When the bad guy has to reload (top right), Cpl Mejia (bottom center left) pops up and squeezes off several controlled bursts in return...
Driving the enemy rifleman back, suppressed!
Back at the objective building, the bad guy on the 2nd floor can't stand it anymore, knowing there was M-16 fire coming from behind him, so he traipses downstairs.
Just as Lt Gonzalez pops through the window!!! For the second time in the past five minutes, the young Cuban officer finds himself rolling around on the deck with an enemy soldier, struggling to save his own life by taking his adversary's...
And this time the Lieutenant is up to the task! He's exhausted as Pvt Molina pops through the window, then helps him to his feet. The two Cubans clear the objective building, then move back outside, where the Lieutenant fires a green star cluster to signal friendly forces his men have taken the objective.
Lt Gonzalez has no idea of his casualties, so he steps out to check, and to re-form in order to take the north end of the farm, and maybe even Point 2.
But the enemy has surmised that they know longer hold the southern end of the farming complex, and the Technical turns its HMG (bottom right) on the objective building....
Keeping Lt Gonzalez and Pvt Molina bottled up in the lee of the building. The Lieutenant got on his radio to check on the rest of his men.
But Cpl Mejia (top left) was the only one to answer. He informed Lt Gonzalez the enemy had moved more men up onto Point 2 (bottom right), and they were delivering heavy fire to the south. "Sir, we got lots o'guys hit, and there ain't no way we're crossing all that open ground to get at Point 2 or the north end!"
Cpl Mejia grabbed Rosario and drug him back to cover.
"Sorry Sir, but there's no way! Dammit, even Rosario is out! Sir, there's only me, you, and Molina still in the fight, and I gotta tell ya, if we don't get help, we're probably about to get overrun our damn selves!" Cpl Mejia (bottom center right) screamed into his mike.
Lt Gonzalez (top left) let out a long breath, then collected himself. "Roger, I got ya, Cpl Mejia. Go firm, keep any eye out for bad guys trying to snuff us out, and take care of any of our casualties you can, but don't get yourself shot."
Lt Gonzalez then rolled over to the company net and got on with Lt Espinale: "Sir, we took the farm complex at the southern end, but we've got five men out of the fight and we're pinned down. I'm sorry, Sir, but there's nothing we can do about Point 2 or the north end of the farm."
"Lootenat G, it's okay, sit tight man, we'll get this handled, just hang in there, and watch your fire to the east, we're approaching Point 2." And with that, Lt Espinale lead his men forward; they will assault Point 2 (off camera to right) and the north end of the farm (just off camera to top right) from the east (bottom, remember, north is right). By taking out Point 2 and the north end of the farm, Lt Espinale's men would cut the enemy position in two, hopefully relieving pressure on both Lt Gonzalez (top left) and Lt Candelario (off camera to top right).
Damn, what a fight, with Lt Candelario's failure to secure the high ground (Point 2) severely costing Lt Gonzalez' men. Lt Gonzalez can't even get an accurate count on casualties as they're all still lying out in the open, where they fell, as enemy fire is too heavy to risk bringing them in. Two out of the three Cuban elements have heavy casualties and are barely hanging on by a thread, with Lt Espinale and his boys charging in to the center of the scrum to save the day!
Stay tuned, next fight coming right up!
V/R,
Jack
More great stuff Jack. I had noticed the bits and pieces you have had to your set-up, you have it looking really good. And another excellent report - I have been really getting into these Cuban attacks.
ReplyDeleteOne question - forgetting the very minor stuff, what do you think were the main tactical decisions made by the Cubans in this game, ones where there was a real choice?
John,
DeleteThanks buddy, glad you liked it. I can’t say I’ve put a lot of work into making my table look better, but I have sunk lots of money into it! ;)
Regarding tactical decision-making, well, that’s tough I suppose, and certainly the emphasis is on tactical. With the way I typically game skirmish fights, I mostly do away with the macro decisions. A buddy of mine called it “pizza box gaming.” You speed up the game, and can play in a tiny area because you’re starting the game with troops in contact, doing away with all the pre-battle maneuver. And the way I’m playing (owing to playing solo and my out-sized sense of drama), typically the good guys don’t have anyone not engaged, as I’m starting with them in pretty much the worst possible position (typically they’ve been ambushed, or they are attacking superior numbers in superior positions).
So from there, most all the decisions are micro: where do you push, target selection, who does the small unit leader rally first, when/how do you deal with friendly casualties, and then I add another, RPG-like layer, where I’m doing my best to take into account that particular figure’s situational awareness and character.
E.g., SSG Munoz should never have rushed the enemy position at the wall in the south, but:
1) watching the base of fire element get chewed up by the north end and Point 2, he was getting a bit desperate;
2) he knew Molina was laying heavy fire down on the enemy position (in game terms, he had rolled a ‘firefight’), but he was not in a position to see the effects of Molina’s fire; and
3) SSG Munoz, like all young Staff Sergeants ;) , is a bit brash and fancies himself a hero. So he took off and charged, despite Molina’s fire only suppressing one of the two enemy defenders, and his Lieutenant just kind of sitting there, timidly watching the situation develop.
So, from my standpoint, the choices are countless and non-stop, and I know there are times when there’s not a lot of maneuver, but a lot of trading relatively ineffective fire. I promise you it’s not an issue the game being ‘just line the toys up and roll dice to see who wins.’ To be fair, the defenders don’t have a tremendous amount of leeway/options, but I think that’s true of most attack/defense scenarios. Or, to be even more precise, it’s not a lack of options, but a question of ‘why change?’ The bad guys at the north end of the farm and Point 2 certainly shouldn’t have done anything different, they were (and still are!) in commanding positions to provide flanking fire on the Cubans, and the enemy in and around the objective might have come out to mop up if Cuban fire in that direction hadn’t been so effect and the Cuban Lieutenant hadn’t pushed hard (after SSG Munoz got mowed down) to get into the buildings.
But that in itself was a tough call on whether to push forward alone while the bulk of the enemy in the objective area were suppressed (remember, some timely marksmanship saw the Lt pop a suppressed bad guy, then move up and pop a pinned bad guy), or wait for Molina to come up and support, with the possibility more bad guys would have rallied and been able to effectively engage.
So, from my standpoint, it’s a string of constant choices, and I’m exhausted at the end of a tough game! ;)
I hope that helps, and it’s certainly a very different game (I think) than most people play. From my perspective, the KG Klink games I just played using “I Ain’t Been Shot Mum” are much more in line with ‘normal’ wargaming, and much different than this style of game. But while I like conventional games, this style is by far my favorite. ;)
My issue for this coming weekend is to play some more of these games with TF Hawk, or start WWIII with my Wolverines using IABSM.
V/R,
Jack
Thanks very much Jack. It is interesting that you add a role-playing decision filter to your games as a way of deciding between options for the individual soldiers. I know that some similar mechanics are used, but they seem to be more focused on the non-player side.
DeleteAs an aside, regarding your comments about defence, I read an analysis once of British infantry training for fighting in Berlin, which remarked that they got measurably better at attacking, but stayed the same at defending: that looks to me like a geekier version of the same phenomenon you identified, that the defenders already pick pretty good options and the improvement in the attackers is learning which options to pick (or which ones not to pick, anyway).
John,
DeleteNo sweat man, and I think you're right, most folks are used to 'autonomous actions' on the part of the solo player's enemy, but I do it to myself, too!
From my perspective, the only thing you can really get better at defending is the speed in which you can prepare a defense. A mobile defense for mechanized forces will have more moving parts and certainly take some practice/experience, but if you're doing the defense right (and it's not a hopeless situation to begin with), the hurt should be put on the enemy before they reach you.
V/R,
Jack
Great set up- great game report.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Pete.
Thanks Pete!
DeleteV/R,
Jack