TF Hawk vs FLA 2nd Company
Bronze Star w/V, Purple Heart, War of Liberation and South Leon campaigns
Silver Star, Bronze Star w/V, Purple Heart, War of Liberation and South Leon campaigns, two Combat Jump (War of Liberation and South Leon)
This is the first fight of Turn 2, where we have 1st Lt Espinale and TF Hawk in a rematch with the FLA 2nd Company's ferocious defenders. TF Hawk was roughly handled in the first fight, losing a tank, an armored personnel carrier, two rifle teams, and having their commander lightly wounded. The Cuban paratroopers, supplemented by commandos from TF Dusty, are singularly focused and seeking retribution. 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 on the eastern end that supports a mid-sized village, as well as several knolls/hillocks. 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.
1st Lt Espinale's force consists of: Command stand, four rifle stands, a Charles Gustav 84mm recoiless rifle, and an M-240G machine gun team. They are supplemented by Captain Villagrosa, commander of TF Dusty, and one team of his commandos. The TF Hawk troops are Minifigs' Modern UK, while the TF Dusty troops are Minifigs' British SAS.
The Task Force Dusty Commander, Captain Villagrosa himself...
Let's see if the Cubans are again willing to run willy-nilly into the FLA ambush. Don't hold your breath!
The Cuban starting positions, from left: the MG team Dusty 01, Hawk 01, the Charlie G team (in front of them), Hawk 02, Hawk 03, Lt Espinale's command team (you can see the base but the troops are hidden by the palm trees, center right), and Hawk 04.
The Communists have rifle teams at far left, two at top center, and two in the trees at right bottom, their recoiless rifle team and commander at left center, their HMG Technical at the crossroads (right top), and their recoiless rifle Technical at bottom center right.
Let us fight! The Cubans push everyone straight ahead.
*Either three or four of the six fights so far have begun with a 'Scurry,' pretty wild, and pretty advantageous to the attacker, in the overall scheme of things.
The FLA Communists hold their positions and open fire, a rifle team (bottom center) leading the way.
Hawk 01 is suppressed (red bead at bottom center) and the Cuban MG team (left, at base of trees) returns fire.
The initiator is suppressed (red bead at right) as some of his comrades come around the right flank (top left, from right).
But the Charlie G team (bottom center) spots them (top left) and opens fire with their personal weapons, suppressing the bad guys and halting them in their tracks!
The enemy commander moves into the street (right, from bottom center), looking to shore up his flagging right flank, where both his teams there are suppressed (center top and top left).
Captain Villagrosa rallies Hawk 01.
*The Cubans rolled another scurry!
Captain Villagrosa takes Dusty 01, the MG team, and the Charlie G team left (far left) as Hawk 01 goes straight up the middle (center) and Lt Espinale takes Hawks 02, 03, and 04 up the hill (right).
The enemy commander dashes the rest of the way to his suppressed troops (far right) and rallies them. They immediately begin eyeballing Dusty 01 (far left)...
And away they go, into close combat!
Dusty 01 goes down in a flurry of AK fire and grenades! The Communist insurgents press ahead, facing off against Captain Villagrosa, the MG team, and the Charlie G team!
The Task Force Dusty commander and the two weapons teams stand their ground (bottom left), forcing the enemy riflemen to fall back (top right)! Then Hawk 01 (center bottom) notices some movement nearby: "Stand to!!!"
Bad guys are on them in an instant, and again there is a flurry of gunfire and grenades!
But the tough Cuban paras easily put them down!
Their fanatical close assaults not proving as effective as last time, the bad guys again set about shoring up their line: the recoiless rifle team moves into the street (bottom center) to help rally the rifle team that was just thrown back by Captain Villagrosa (just off camera to far left), and the enemy CO moves up to rally his suppressed rifle team there (top center left).
The HMG Technical cautiously moves up to get a better field of fire (right).
Lt Espinale (bototm left) looks on as Hawk 01 gets all crazy and decides to charge the Communist recoiless rifle team (right, from center left)!
Their blood up, the paras put the recoiless rifle team out of the fight, then close with the enemy rifle team sheltering behind the still burning Chieftain!
The Commie riflemen are quickly dispatched (left) and Hawk 01 heads into the cover of some nearby trees (top center)!
Seizing the initiative, Lt Espinale leads Hawk 03 and 04 up the middle (center, from left), as Captain Villagrosa grabs the Charlie G team and moves up to the knoll (center top, from trees at left). The MG team began packing up to displace forward, but Captain Villagrosa told them to stay put and keep on the enemy teams hovering around on the left flank (top center).
Captain Vilalgrosa (far left) halts the Charlie G team and orders them to fire...
*I didn't cheat here by not allowing the HMG Technical to react fire when Captain Villagrosa and the Charlie G moved up; the bad guys rolled a 'scurry' (that's what all that movement was about) and the good guys got to react once the bad guys were finished, which is how Lt Espinale was able to move up with Hawk 03 and 04 (bottom right) and Captain Villagrosa and the Charlie G team were able to move up, and then the good guys rolled up a normal activation, so the Charlie G team gets to fire unmolested. If they miss the Technical will get to return fire.
But they don't miss, they turn that Toyota Hilux into a blazing, twisted mass of man and metal.
And then the Cuban MG team cuts loose on those bad guys on the left flank.
The rifle team is gunned down and the enemy commander is suppressed.
Hawk 01 (bottom left) opens fire on the enemy treeline (top right, where they still have two rifle teams and the recoiless rifle Technical).
The Technical is suppressed (bottom center) and a rifle team (center) returns fire on Hawk 01 (top left).
But they miss and Hawk 01 darts into the village, looking to use the shanties as cover to envelop the FLA defensive positions (top center, from bottom left).
Alone and cut off from the rest of his men, the enemy commander (top center, with Captain Villagrosa and the Charlie G team at center an the MG team at bottom left) attempts to self rally...
But the men of his command team panic and they all fall back (top right, from top left)!
While back at the treeline, one rifle team moves down (bottom center) to try and rally the suppressed Technical, as the other rifle team dashes into the village (far right, from center) to try and prevent Hawk 01 (top center) from flanking them.
But Hawk 01 goes straight at them!
*The bad guys rolled another Scurry, and now the good guys are reacting to it.
Lt Espinale leads Hawk 02, 03, and 04 forward.
The MG team moves up (bottom left) as Captain Villagrosa and the Charlie G team go chasing (center top) after the enemy commander (top right)!
While Hawk 01 cuts loose on the nearby enemy rifle team at point blank range, suppressing them...
And jumping straight in to finish them off!
They press ahead...
Where the last enemy rifle team and the Technical crew both surrender!
Captain Villagrosa graciously accepts the surrender of the enemy commander, as the Charlie G team holds their weapons on them, just in case...
TF Hawk's attack was successful, and the Free Leon Army's 2nd Company was eliminated as an effective fighting force and removed from the campaign map. TF Hawk holds in place (D3) and is free to act in the next turn.
Well, that went a lot better than the first go round. Part of that was the Cubans being ready for a fight this time, but part of it was also the Communists running themselves out of the fight in a series of 'banzai charges' that failed. Having said that, they took out Dusty 01 in one of these charges, and if they were a hair from doing the same to Captain Villagrosa, the Charlie G team, and the MG team, which would have destroyed the Cuban left and possibly allowed the bad guys to roll the Cubans right up, and they were a hair from another rifle team beating Hawk 01 and causing some serious trouble in the Cuban center. So not as lop-sided as it may seem. As it was, they turned Captain Villagrosa, the Charlie G team, and Hawk 01 into bona fide heroes!
Casualties:
Cuban: ~10 men
Communist: ~30 men, with another ~15 captured
Decorations:
For the second fight in a row, the Hawk 01 Team Leader awarded for valor. This time he was given the Distinguished Service Cross for defeating three Communist rifle teams and one recoiless rifle team in close combat, splitting the enemy position and then enveloping it, capturing a rifle team and 'Technical' in the process.
Captain Villagrosa was awarded the Bronze Star w/V for fighting off an enemy assault and then leading a counterattack to knock out an enemy 'Technical' and capture the enemy commander.
The Charles Gustav Team Leader was awarded the Bronze Star w/V for fighting off an enemy assault and then participating in a counterattack to knock out an enemy 'Technical' and capture the enemy commander.
Next up we have the South Leon Army's D Company, buttressed by one team from Task Force 23, defending against the FSNL's 1st Company.
Excellente! Those irregulars are great little figures. Love the technical.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim!
DeleteV/R,
Jack