TF Hawk vs FSNL 7th Company
Bronze Star w/V, Purple Heart, War of Liberation and South Leon campaigns
Silver Star, 2 x Bronze Star w/V, Purple Heart, War of Liberation and South Leon campaigns, two Combat Jump (War of Liberation and South Leon)
TF Hawk is pushing east towards the only bridge over the River Shalabi, but it ran into the FSNL's 7th Company, advancing from its reserve position behind the Communists' initial line of defense. This is a simple attack/defend scenario; the Cuban goal is to crush their enemies on the way to the capital, the Communist goal is to hold the ground.
Overview, north is up. There is a hardball road running west to east, with a fork splitting off to the south, with villages at center and top left, as well as several knolls/hillocks, the most prominent of which is Hill 119 (center). Other than that we've got several cultivated fields and scattered jungle.
The opposing forces, allies on left and Communists on right.
The figures are all 10mm from Pendraken, Minifigs UK, and Butler's Printed Models. I'm using Ivan's "5Core Company Command," playing on a 3' x 2' surface with simple terrain to speed up the process. The hootches are from Jimmi at Flashpoint Minis, the roads are from Fat Frank, the hills are from Warzone, the fences are from Sarissa, the fields are from Hotzmats, the trees are cake toppers, and when you see the rivers, they're from Wargamers Terrain. I'm playing solo and will randomize enemy deployment using a system of blinds borrowed from Joe Legan's "Platoon Forward."
In terms of caliber of forces, the SLA, FSNL, and FLA troops will all be treated equally, except for the fact the FLA troops will be treated as fanatics, in terms of their willingness to advance into close combat. The Cubans are more tactically and technically proficient, and so they will receive extra firing dice, better rallying capability, bonus in close combat, and sometimes will have a second command stand on the table.
Additionally, there are some heroes present in TF Hawk/Dusty:
-Lt Espinale, TF Hawk Commander, Bronze Star w/V
-Hawk 01 Team Leader, Distinguished Service Cross and Bronze Star w/V
-Captain Villagrosa, TF Dusty Commander, Silver Star and 2 x Bronze Star w/V
-Charles Gustav Recoiless Rifle Team Leader, Bronze Star w/V (not present in this battle)
The Task Force Dusty Commander, Captain Villagrosa himself...
With Cuban armor approaching (far left), t
he Communists have two rifle teams at bottom left, two at top center, one atop Hill 119 at center, their CO also on the hill, just above them, and their ATGM team on a knoll at top right.
Let's get ready to rumble!!!! And that rumble is the launch of a Communist missile (launched from bottom right), heading straight for the Cuban armored column (top left)!
And whammo, the Chieftain is become a funeral pyre! Track 01 is pinned by the continuing secondary explosions...
On the enemy far left, two rifle teams (bottom left), somehow posted exactly where TF Dusty's commandos (top left) would pop through, spots the Cubans and opens fire, pinning Dusty 02.
With the TF Dusty commandos taking fire (top right), Track 02 9bottom center left) looks to help out with its GPMG, firing on an enemy rifle team near the road (top center), to no effect.
Track 02 continues firing, finally suppressing the Communist riflemen (bottom right) as it pushes forward (center top).
But an enemy rifle team posted in the village (bottom right, with their CO at bottom left, atop Hill 119), sneaks in and fires an RPG at their tail!
Luckily it smashes harmlessly into some nearby vegetation (bottom left), so the track pushes ahead (center), where it jerks to a halt (was about to type 'screeches,' but tracks don't screech) and kicks out Hawk 02 and 03.
Enemy riflemen atop Hill 119 (bottom left, with their CO at bottom right) spot the movement (top center) and open fire, pinning Hawk 02.
And as Hawk 02 is pinned (top right), Hawk 03 charges the rear of the suppressed enemy rifle team!
Imperiled shouts, the sharp crack of hand grenades, and hurried bursts of automatic gunfire suddenly go quiet as the enemy rifle team is knocked out (casualty figures at center top)! Hawk 03 continues pushing, on to the next enemy rifle team, without missing a beat!
They quickly subdue this Communist rifle team, too (bottom left), then retrace their steps, moving up on Hill 119 (center top), where they rally brethren from Hawk 02.
As this action is occurring on and around Hill 119 (bottom right), Track 01 pushes into the village (center top, from far left).
Lt Espinale's command group and Hawk 01 immediately dismount!
Back on Hill 119, the Communist rifle team there again fires downslope, pinning Hawk 03 and putting Hawk 02 'men down'! Their Commander (bottom right) decides it's now or never!
He grabs his riflemen and charges downslope, into close combat!
Hawk 02, already in a very bad way, goes down without much of a fight ('men down,' casualty figures at left), and the Communists close in on Hawk 03, who are pinned!
But the plucky paratroopers (bottom left) hold their ground and see of the enemy rifle team and Command group, flinging them back over the hill (top right), suppressed!
While back in the village, the enemy rifle team there opens fire at point-blank range on Hawk 01...
The Cuban paratrooper team is knocked out and Lt Espinale's command team is 'men down'! The Communists begin to advance, but Track 01 spots them and opens fire with its GPMG...
But the bloodthirsty Commies shrug off the machine gun fire and charge into close combat!
Track 01 is quickly knocked out, then the enemy rifle team closes with Lt Espinale's command team!
Lt Espinale and his command team goes down fighting (far left), and the victorious enemy rifle team presses ahead, climbing Hill 119 (center) to get at Hawk 03 (far right)!
But Hawk 03, undaunted, orders his men to charge into close combat!
The Communist team is knocked out (casualty figures at top left) and Hawk 03 goes down the backside of Hill 119, looking to catch up with the enemy CO and rifle team they'd seen off earlier!
Now some will say that those Communists had thrown down their weapons and were raising their hands in surrender, while the members of Hawk 03 will tell you they fought tooth and nail to the bloody end. Either way, the enemy CO and rifle team were knocked out...
Which was enough to the last enemy rifle team and their ATGM crew to surrender!
TF Hawk decisively defeated the FSNL's 7th Company, destroying it as an effective combat unit. TF Hawk does not advance; they suffered heavy casualties, including their commanding officer, and need to rest and reorganize (D6).
Wow man, just wow. Wild sways of fortune, with the Cuban commandos not even really getting into the fight. The Cuban armor got roughed up, then Hawk 03 went on a rampage (knocked out two rifle teams and fought off the enemy CO and another rifle team), then the Commie team in the village goes on a rampage (knocks out the CO, Hawk 01, and Track 02), and it all really came down to an even-up roll between that team and Hawk 03 on the steps of Hill 119; whomever won that close combat was going to take the game, and luckily it turned out to be the Cubans!
What really sucks is that the Cubans have their first character death of the campaign: 1st Lieutenant Espinale, winner of the Bronze Star w/V and the Purple Heart, veteran of the campaign in South Leon and the War of Liberation, paratrooper with two Combat Jumps, was killed in action. Additionally, the newly minted hero Team Leader of Hawk 01, who'd won the Distinguished Service Cross and Bronze Star w/V, was also killed. Captain Villagrosa now takes command of the combined Task Force Hawk/Dusty; and no, I didn't combine the two task forces because I knew Lt Espinale would end up getting killed, I combined them because 1) TF Dusty is tiny, only about a dozen men, whereas all the other Task Forces in the campaign are reinforced company-sized elements, and 2) I wanted to use Capt Villagrosa as an extra command stand to make TF Hawk even more capable. Guess that's out the window...
Cuban: ~25 men, one Chieftain tank, and one FV-432 APC
Communist: ~25 men, with another ~10 captured
Hawk 03 Team Leader was awarded the Medal of Honor for carrying a close assault that destroyed two enemy units threatening TF Dusty, fighting off a counterattack by the Communist Commander and a rifle team, then facing about the defeat anther enemy counterattack from a different direction. Following this, the Team Leader led his men up and over Hill 119 in pursuit of the enemy Commander and rifle team it had earlier repulsed, defeating them in close combat and capturing another enemy rifle team and anti-tank team.
Next up we have Major Chavez' Task Force Hammer, which has thrust forth like a dagger, seeking to break through the Communists' second line before it's fully formed, and securing the bridge over the River Shalabi at Janaf, where they encounter insurgents of the FLA's 5th Company.
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