Saving Private Smith (and Corporal Brown)

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Overview

It is early April 2007. For two weeks, no usable trace of Private Smith and Corporal Brown of the RSR has been found. But now, thanks to French UAV assets, they have been located in the isolated hamlet of Tel Ame. The prisoners' compatriots in the Royal Sherwood Rangers claim right of assault and 3 Platoon, Coruna Company drives out from Talavera Base to rescue them. Due to the presence of civilians, heavy air and artillery assets are restricted, so it is down to these light role infantrymen to save their friends from further mistreatment at the hands of the Milice Internale.

As the assault is about to begin, two pieces of information come through from Talavera: a civilian convoy has arrived at the hamlet, clearly bringing supplies for the insurgents; and more importantly, Commander Bartholomew Fasiq has been spotted. Such a high-ranking MI officer can only be present to interrogate the captured British – here is the Coalition's chance to turn the tables...

Victory Points

British:

+5pts per prisoner rescued

+3pts per leader killed

+5pts for Fasiq's death

+10pts for Fasiq's capture

Milice Internale:

+5pts per prisoner led off the board.

+3pts per British death

+2pts per British heavy wound

+1pt per British light wound

+2pts for each civilian casualty

The Battle

On viewing the ground, Lieutenant Konwe decided on a "sneaky-beaky approach". Leaving the Land Rovers behind for the present, two fire teams encircled the buildings, approaching through the surrounding woods.

The Brits entered north and south respectively.

The northern fire team edged up to the nearest building, intending to swiftly overcome the occupants. It was a textbook entry, but little did Corporal Stone know that the enemy had seen him leave the woods. As the fire team entered the room and began to sweep it with fire, a hail of bullets came back at them, and within seconds, three British lay dead on the floor, a fourth wounded and prisoner at the enemy's feet.

The ill-fated assault.

The hamlet came alive with voices and gunfire, and at the LT's command, Land Rover WMIKs swept in from the south, spraying the buildings with gunfire. Williams led a large aggregate team against the closest building, swiftly overcoming the occupants.

Too swiftly...

As they searched the building, Williams realised that the enemy was retreating, prisoners in hand. The Land Rovers were shooting past the hamlet now, over the heads of the cowering traders, mowing down the Milice trying to make it up the hillside. They were taking fire in return, but the swaying corn they'd parked among was throwing off the enemy's ill-trained aim.

It was a chase now for the British, and a race against firepower for the Milice. Fasiq too was fleeing, acutely aware of his own sense of self-importance and kicking a hooded figure in battered fatigues in front of him. It was to be his last act of cruelty. Fire came from the hamlet, fire and lead and death, and the last thing he saw was his bodyguard melting away around him.

The other squad of Milice lasted longer, the last man getting halfway up the hillside with his prisoner before he went down, but his escape was not to be.

It was a case of mopping up now, and quickly. The initial firefight had taken minutes, but the weight of it would attract the enemy. They were already arriving in dribs and drabs, here and there on the battlefield, slowing the evacuation. A sudden screaming RPG round blew out the engine on Konwe's WMIK, and he scrambled from the driver's seat to take the main gun.

A man was injured in the hamlet, severely so. His squadmates tended to him as they waited for the fire to die down, then ran him and the newly freed Private Smith to the Land Rover where Brown was waiting for him.

A charge was laid on the immobilised Land Rover, and the whole party, some onboard a battered WMIK, some escorting it on foot, made their way east towards the extraction point, where more vehicles waited to take them to Talavera. 

Today in a daring assault, the Royal Sherwood Rangers rescued their companions, lost on the 19^th of March this year. Though casualties are yet to be confirmed by the MOD, they are thought to have been light compared to the enemy's, whose losses apparently number over seventy, including wanted Milice Internale officer Commander Bartholomew Fasiq and several of his local lieutenants. This will surely be a great blow to Jonathan Nbeke's fading resistance movement to the legal government of Jebel Hadr. More on this story as it comes in.

BBC News, 4^th April 2007

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Conclusion

This game could have gone either way, despite the steep MI death toll: just a few pips more during any of the hits on a Land Rover would have made a massive difference, as would have skating off the board with a prisoner, which nearly happened several times. The final score was 36-11 to the RSR, but was very nearly the opposite. Iskander was very pleased to get his men back, if a little gutted at the result of the first contact/melee of the game.

A thoroughly fun game, and Man of the Match I think goes to Sergeant Williams, who led his men with superb aplomb within Tel Ame and led them out again with both prisoners and the wounded member of the first fireteam.

The Royal Sherwood Rangers will be known now in Jebel Hadr, and 3 Platoon is now at around 60% effectives, so will probably be rotated home for a while. But no doubt Konwe and Williams will be back, ready to fight the good fight wherever Her Majesty should need them...

 

Code Zulu: Battle on Highway Six

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We regret to report the deaths of six soldiers of the Royal Sherwood Rangers today in Jebel Hadr following an attack by the Milice Internale on a routine patrol of Highway Six. The MOD has not yet named the fallen.

BBC News, 19^th March 2007

It was, Brown realised, sheer luck that he was alive. The WMIK had bounced a good ten feet up in the air when the bomb went off, and landed again in a crater of churned mud and shattered brick. The highway was severed... and a severed hand lay in his lap.

The inside of the Land Rover was a charnel house of burnt and broken flesh, of men moaning and groaning as they realised they weren't dead yet.

The board. British in the centre, enemy all around.

Brown got on the radio. “Talavera, do you copy, do you copy?” was met only by static. The damn set had been damaged in the attack. Smith, his helmet torn away, came over to help, and together they tried to get the set working.

As they did, they heard the throaty chug of the .50 cal up top opening up on someone. The faster chatter of the GPMG joined it as they desperately pounded with the radio.

All around now, they could hear the warcries of the Milice Internale, the whiz and clink of bullets and ricochets. The radio wasn't bloody working, and the enemy were getting closer. Dozens of them were massing in the woods. Smith came back to say that Perkins and Gonno were the ones still alive and firing, the other four were dead, and then a grenade went off in the cab.

All was bright light and thunder, and then the radio was forgotten as Brown went to his mates' aid. Gonno was slack-eyed and bleeding from the ears: they propped him up in the back. Perkins and Smith had flesh wounds, and Brown had just finished putting the tourniquets on when he realised he too was bleeding. Smith took over the radio as Brown slumped back to stem the blood.

“Four Squad, this is Talavera: help is on the way.”

A bit of tar, and Brown went back to work. Gonno's injuries left the GPMG unmanned, so he opened up on the enemy. They'd got their courage up now, charging across the open ground toward the cab with murder in their eyes. But he and Perkins had the guns, and the courage, and they'd be damned if the MI would get their skins.

*

“Sergeant Williams, do you copy?”

“Copy sir.”

“I'll take one up to the bomb site, you debus the others to secure our exit.”

“Wilco.”

The WMIKs of 3 Platoon screamed down the highway. They'd been out of base when the call came through from Talavera that an ambush had occurred, and they could hear the gunfire now. A storm had kicked up, whipping the dry prairie dust into a haze that stretched across the horizon. Revving up, Lieutenant Konwe's driver hurtled his Land Rover down the road and into the maelstrom, jolting over the badly-laid slabs.

A rush of fire tore through a gap in the treeline mere metres from the smoking wreck, and the .50 gunner dropped into the main car. Behind them, men were spilling out of the other two WMIKs as the cars manoeuvred for a base of fire against the enemy. Gunfire was everywhere now, the air thick with noise.

The gunner signalled his okay, then checked his position: the gun was ruined, shattered by the impact of heavy rounds from the ruins on the hill. Konwe and his men got out, and started the grisly task of removing the bodies from the Land Rover.

Konwe and the men at work.

*

Looks like we're damned then, Brown thought. He was bleeding from the head, staggering as he was dragged through the fields. Heavy fire just hadn't been enough – they'd swamped the car, stabbed Perkins and finished off Gonno. It was just him and Smith now, battered but still standing. Still stumbling into captivity. But the battle hadn't ended – he could still here fire behind him. Talavera's help must have turned up just too late for the others, but if he shouted, they might be in time for him and Smith.

*

It was, Sergeant Williams reflected, a bizarre place for an ambush. Sure there were hills overlooking the road, but this was one of the few places where the highway sank into an embankment and provided cover for defenders. One fireteam was exchanging fire militants bare metres away on the other side of said embankment, furiously pouring lead into their position.

A clank and whoosh, and he realised fire was hitting the Land Rovers from the other side. He led his fire team against them, opening up with everything they had. Most went down, and the others retreated into the woods. He followed them up. Talavera had warned of mortar fire before the storm hit, and the operator was likely hiding somewhere in the brush. At the very least, they could scare him off.

Incoming fire. Drop. Assess. Return fire. Silence.

Lucky Ahmed faces his pursuers from behind a tree.

They fired again. It was a pistol. Williams turned around the bole of a great redwood, saw the enemy and fired three rounds from his SA80. The man dropped. Cautiously, he went over to investigate, and as he did, fire came from behind him. He turned, and the men showed him the insurgent they'd just shot, weighed down with radio equipment. His own kill had a familiar face – Ahmed “Lucky Ahmed” Al-ansar. Score one for the playing card deck.

*

The Land Rovers were full now, and Konwe started pulling back towards Williams' positions. Enemy fire had slackened off now, but even as they reversed down the highway, something hit the engine and slowed them down. Williams' men reembarked, one WMIK leading out on point when flame and greasy smoke erupted from another. “Engine's f@£$ed, debussing” came over the radio, and eight men piled out. As Konwe's Land Rover came past, some hopped on, the others running to catch up with Williams'. Behind them, the Land Rover blew up as the laid charge went off.

As 3 Platoon drove away down Highway Six and out of the storm, they counted themselves lucky. A full-on engagement with the enemy, without air support. Total casualties: one WMIK. All six bodies had been recovered.

*

The MOD regrets to announce that in yesterday's action on Highway Six, in which 3 Platoon of the Royal Sherwood Rangers distinguished themselves in a hard fought action against nearly a hundred Milice Internale fighters, two soldiers were taken prisoner: Cpl Jackson Brown and Pvt Laurence Smith. Their families have been informed, and all efforts are being made to locate and secure them.

BBC News, 20^th March 2007

Conclusion

Me and Iskander played this, and predictably, he won. It was tighter than usual though, despite the end score being 37-23. There were several fog of war cards, and the whole affair had a tense and frantic feel. Lucky Ahmed got his name because he single-handedly survived two rounds of fire with a 6-man team (with 3 special weapon dice), getting the drop on them each time.

Man of the Match would be “Indestructible” Brown, who despite receiving two light wounds kept the enemy at bay almost exactly long enough to be rescued: he was captured at the end of one turn, and they arrived at the start of the next.

Iskander is a little upset that he left men behind, and is hoping for a rescue mission some time soon.

He enjoyed the political ramifications of the game so much that he's asked for a chance to play Charlie Don't Surf, a game I was thinking of picking up anyway in the Too Fat Lardies Jubilee sale. So that should be happened soon...

EDIT: The sequel to this game was played out here. Enjoy.

Force on Force Status Markers

One thing that annoys me when I'm playing Force on Force is trying to keep track of who's pinned, who's suppressed, who's on overwatch, and who's injured.

Cotton wool only takes you so far, and knocking over seriously injured and just-shot models alike is confusing. The answer?

Pushpins.

Pushpins.

When stuck in a lump of blu-tac on a penny (English penny!) and painted, they're awesome little status markers. I have First Aid, Pinned (two for suppressed) and Overwatch markers, and red and green beads to mark the bases of seriously and lightly wounded models.

Orange is overwatch, Red Cross is First Aid.

These yellow explosion guys are "pinned". Click for a better image.

Possibly the best thing about pushpins is that the box they came in is perfect for storing the beads! Beads which will, now I think about it, do very well in Volley and Bayonet as Disorder markers too...

FoF Modern British

As requested by Baz over at the AAG Forum, here are some pictures of how the Old Glory UK 15mm Modern British came out.

It was a pretty easy paintjob:
1. Vallejo Iraqi Sand with small stripes of Vallejo English Uniform for the uniforms and webbing.
2. GW Kommando Khaki for the boots.
3. GW Charadon Granite for the guns, GW Catachan Green or the handgrips.

For the land rovers, the only additional steps were GW Adeptus Battlegrey for the windows, GW Camo Green for the foliage, and assorted beiges, browns and greens for the kit in the back.

The pics aren't as good as I was hoping - if anyone has any tips, they'd be greatly appreciated.

Outpost: Slaughter

EDIT: Mistakes fixed in the Outpost: Slaughter scenario file.

More of a modelling than a gaming week this - nearly 80 Mujahideen are an inch from finished, and a platoon of modern British are primed. Three more 15mm buildings are nearly done, and some scifi lamposts and Hotspots are practically done too.

We had a game of Volley and Bayonet last Sunday, an ersatz version of Dennewitz at 4,000 points a side. It was essentially a giant bloody shoving match in the middle of the board. The French lost about 2,500 men, and the Allies (British and German) lost about 8,000. The French were on the back hoof until Turn Five, when they triumphed massively across the whole line, routing whole brigades at every turn. Brigade of the Match goes to the Highland Brigade, who were flank charged by French Cuirassiers and sent them packing.

While no photos were taken of the match itself, Archangel's girlfriend took some amazing photos of the set-up (which she helped with!).

British Advance

Aerial view of the Allies

French Advance

Aerial view of the French

Iskander and I also played a game of Force on Force tonight, using this homebrewed scenario, Outpost: Slaughter. The Canadians of Operation Enduring Freedom took arms against an assault on their platoon house by Jebel Hadr's Milice Internale.

For the first time ever, I won against Iskander (though I can't say I beat him), as he drew a staggering ten Fog of War cards against my one, in just four turns! It was a ludicrous display of luck that saw Delta Force snipers and a medic join the Canadian defence, a sandstorm, two sets of blitzed orders from OEF HQ, two house fires (including the Platoon House, which can no longer happen) and the sudden discovery of architectural flaws in the platoon house's defences. It was neck and neck until the QRF arrived and took a HotSpot-ed Dushka's fire in the flank, whereupon Iskander conceded in exchange for cassoulet and cake. All in all a smashing game that highlighted a lot of what I love about Force on Force. Man of the Match goes to the second Dushka team who scored 4 hits against the Hummer's side armour, causing a Catastrophic kill and taking the score from 13-13 to 37-13 to the Milice Internale insurgents.

Initial board set up.

From the other end.

The village of Kowete (left) and the Platoon House (right)

Everything that was on fire at the end of Turn Four.

If You Go Down To The Woods Today

Tonight's game was a matchup between the 6^th (King's Own) Rangers of Albion, played by MJ Figures' 1980s British, and the invading Vrancu, played by PSC's Soviets. The scenario PDF can be found here. While most of the scenery was scratch-built, this game was a baptism for the first of my Pireme Publishing card buildings, bought on sale the other day.

The board, as set up.

With Albiard (blue) and Vrancu (red) objectives.

Because my Soviets are based for Flames of War, I used different coloured d6 for casualty status. Black was “wiped out/current dead”, red was “survivors pinned” and white was “survivors fine”.

The KOR entered spread out, except for 2 Manoeuvre, who went up the road in file...

Turn One

Vrancu Phase

The Vrancu entered unopposed across most of the board, but were interrupted in two cases by the KOR. The ambushing unit threw a whopping eight dice at one unfortunate Vrancu team, scoring two tens. The Vrancu used their cover as well as their training allowed them, and three of the fireteam went down, while the last member kept his head and fired back, causing no casualties.

The Rangers walking down the road reacted as aggressively as they'd been taught when they saw Vrancu ahead, diving for the hedges and opening fire simulataneously. Their reactions did as well as the heavy fire from across the stream, causing another three casualties. This Vranc bottled it, and cowered alongside his mutilated companions among the sycamores.

Albiard Phase

Three casualties was becoming a pattern as 2 Fire Support moved up the right flank and plastered a Vrancu team with fire as it tried to catch them in the open. But 1 Manoeuvre broke it by knocking down an entire fireteam with nothing but rifle fire as they moved towards the stream.

VPs: 0/0

The table as Turn One ended.

Turn Two

Vrancu Phase

Keeping the initiative despite the dreadful beating they took in the previous turn, the Vrancu tested for casualties. Out of their 13 casualties, 5 threw sixes and got up. A few were shot dead, and more fell prey to No Use For The Weak, but overall they only lost five men. Their advance was stalled by the weight of Albiard fire however, and only a couple of fireteams were available for movement.

One brave team dashed for the larger of Herefell's buildings but were caught by 2 Manoeuvre, still prone in the road and lost two men to their superior shooting. Only just passing a TQ check and failing their Morale, they dragged the bodies with them into the longhouse. Upset at their ceorls' awful progress, the Serjeants and their Huscarls moved forwards to support the advance.

Albiard Phase

On the left flank, 1 Fire Support laid down fire to support 1 Manoeuvre's crossing of the stream. Blitzing one Vrancu team, 1 Manoeuvre crossed and took captive the shellshocked ceorls opposite them, taking up a commanding position on the Vrancu's right flank.

Taking advantage of the Vrancu checking their own, 2 Fire Support moved into the other of Herefell's mill and opened fire on the longhouse's shattered inhabitants. Even with a Rapid Move and rolling three 1s, they knocked another casualty off the unfortunate ceorls – but they girded their loins and dug in.

VPs: 2/0 to Albion

Turn Three

Vrancu Phase

Legitimately winning the initiative, the Vrancu got only one fireteam of ceorls to reinforce them, and opened fire with three fireteams at the Rangers in the mill. But their keen eyes gave them the advantage, and their Hoods and Herewards croaked their awful song with terrible efficiency. The ceorls in the woods screamed and died like pigs as the GPMGs sang.

With a bellow and by fine example, a Serjeant led his men in firing at 2 Manoeuvre, still relying on the roadside for protection. Overwhelmed by the past few pounding minutes, still not in cover due to covering their fellows, they suffered three casualties before they knew what had hit them. Their pointman's return fire did nothing to avenge them.

2 Manoeuvre bleeding out...

Albiard Phase

Shocked by the sound of 2 Manoeuvre's screams on the radios, the Albiards were torn by indecision. 1 Manoeuvre descended on more shocked ceorls, and this time did not take them captive.

1 Fire Support finally left their grove of trees, and then realised that the only available cover had a shellshocked ceorl and the bodies of his fireteam. Still enraged over 2M's fate, they charged in (TQ rolled 8!), easily avoiding his defensive fire and taking out his whole team. Their medic, instead of joining them in turning the longhouse to a charnelhouse, went to help 1 Manoeuvre.

VPs: 6/0 to Albion

The table at the end of Turn Three

Turn Four

Vrancu Phase

Somehow maintaining the upper hand, the Vrancu were heartened to hear the sound of a GPMG coughing its way through the woods from Oxene Beach. With their support, the Serjeants led a burst of fire at the longhouse, determined to dislodge the Rangers. Still busy securing the building, they were caught off-guard by the first unco-ordinated hail of fire. Throwing themselves to the floor, they received no casualties – and their return fire was murderous ( including two 9s and a 10!). Before the newly arrived Vrancu could join in, they too were targeted. Despite their stalwart attempts at woodcraft, the whole team were rendered casualties (too many 9s and 10s again!)

2 Fire in the mill were shot at again, and took two casualties from fire before knocking down three of the enemy in response.

Albiard Phase

1 Manoeuvre moved to seize the Herefell LOC, taking control of the road to Oxene Beach. As they did so, they heard the good news – Medic Laverham had saved two of 2 Manoeuvre, though Ranger Callis lay dead, joining the Island's ghosts for ever more.

VPs: 14/1 to Albion

Medic Laverham, flanked by the two men he saved with his Advanced First Aid.

The table at the end of Turn Four.

Turn Five

Albiard Phase

Finally seizing the initiative, the Rangers made some tough decisions. Rushed off his feet, Laverham helped 2 Fire with their casualties, while 2 Manoeuvre did a quick tab to the other side of the field of... whatever it is the locals grow.

Following a successful pattern, 1 Fire laid some pain on the Vrancu Serjeants opposite, while 1 Manoeuvre left their scoring position to remove another Vrancu team from consideration.

Vrancu Phase

The Vrancu have no use for the weak, and it seems that the weak stayed at home, because seven of the ten casualties on their left flank got up scowling. As they did, more reinforcements arrived from Oxene, two teams – one with a GPMG. Using their numerical superiority, they charged 1 Manoeuvre, but glory was not theirs to take. With snarls and long knives, the Rangers caught them in the sycamores and butchered them (with some superlative die rolls, I should add!)

VPs: 8/1 to Albion

Turn Six

Albiard Phase

Wiping the blood from their faces, 1 Manoeuvre continued their rampage through the enemy ranks, slaughtering the casualties in the centre woods. 2 Manoeuvre tried to sneak up the Vrancu flank and do some more damage. Sharp eyed ceorls opened fire while they were out of cover, but their marksmanship was poor, and their only reward was a hail of bullets. 1 Fire used the distraction to sneak from the longhouse to the surrounding hedges.

Vrancu Phase

Reinforcements arrived, and engaged 1 Manoeuvre in a fire fight. It seemed like the big boys had finally arrived, because the lead elements cut right through 1 Manoeuvre's overconfidence with a storm of GPMG fire, knocking out the whole team for one casualty in return. Shocked by this sudden violence against their own men, 1 Fire's covering shots were poorly aimed, and the second Vrancu team survived to add to 1 Manoeuvre's misery, potting their sergeant with a well-aimed bullet.

Covered by woods and hedges, a third team moved in to take them prisoner. Toys, for the pleasure of the Vrancu interrogators at Oxene Beach.

VPs: 8/21 to Albion (Vrancu winning!)

The sergeant stands alone.

Turn Seven

Albiard Phase

Retaining the initiative, and unwilling to risk the survivors (if any) of 1 Manoeuvre with fire, 1 Fire gallantly charged over the hedge to free them, cutting down their two guards with ease and freeing the wounded members of 1 Manoeuvre. Two of them needed serious first aid, and 1 Fire hunkered down to give it.

2 Manoeuvre came forward at the same time to wipe the last Vrancu fireteam off the field and managed to surprise them this time, causing one casualty before the survivor hid among the sycamore trees. Laverham and 2 Fire moved to the longhouse hedges, to support seizure of the LOC.

Vrancu Phase

Reinforcements arrived, and while one 2 Manoeuvre, the other skirted around Herefell to get behind the Rangers – and get a chance at the objective.

VPs: 24/1 to Albion

There being no chance of a Vrancu victory, the game was called at 24-1 in the Rangers' favour.

Conclusion

A fun game, and tighter than the scores would suggest – just look at the turnaround that was Turn Six! The Vrancu need to pool their fire in this game, and the Rangers need to not be reckless!

Overall, luck was the winner in this game. The sheer number of unmatchable 9s and 10s thrown by the Rangers was quite frankly unbelievable, and contributed to the demise of just so many Vrancu teams.

All in all, this was a fun game, and I think the Vrancu hordes will find themselves pitted against the Albiards again in future. Also, points to those who can guess what Vrancu and Ghost Island are derived from!

Ambush the Convoy!

This is a Force on Force scenario that I cooked up for a game with some friends a while ago. It's always the NATO guys getting ambushed, so I decided to turn the tables on those wicked Milice Internale!

The PDF can be found here, but for now, some pictures of the set up (the game went too fast for photos!) It was a close-run thing: It looked like Jebel Hadr won 31-10, but when we rolled for the casualties who hadn't been checked by the end of the final turn, it was 31-29. Massive slaughter on both sides as the Milice Internale consistently outmanoeuvred the Americans and the Americans used their superior firepower to good effect.

Midsummer Mortification

I can't believe it's taken this long! Apologies all. There've been many games and much hobbycraft in the last few months.

My Blitzkrieg forces have expanded to battalion-sized forces of British, French and Polish, with a staggering 4,000+ points of German armour and artillery coming up too. The few small games I've played have been seriously fun, so I'm happy =]


Here are some pictures of "The Battle of Wadi Umbek", a search-and-seizure mission for Force on Force played a week or two ago.

 The table layout

 Starting positions

 The Americans might be playing with bigger dice, but with rolls like this I don't think the locals need to worry!

 The Hadrian armour takes a hit from American support.

 The Hadrian M113 Fire-Support goes up in flames as the whole platoon focusses fire on it.

 The General and his guards....

 A storm of bullets later, just the general all on his lonesome...

 Alpha team storm the compound, but the general has already got away,

 Charlie getting stonked by enemy off-table mortar fire 3-4 turns in a row. Blood all over the walls, yeech.

Final dispositions as Alpha team catches up with the general and seizes him in a bitter bout of housefighting.


Until next time folks!

My first Force on Force After Action Report

My First Force-on-Force AAR

         Force on Force is a game by Ambush Alley Games, that represents modern warfare from small-scale clashes between regular armies to intense counter-insurgency operations - AND I LOVE IT! Here's the AAR, and if you don't know the rules but want to get a better grip on what's going on, go here for a free download that explains all the basic rules. At the end of the post is a quick summary of forces and table set-up.

Victory Conditions

If more than half the 13 Private Military Contractors leave by the South board edge, PMC victory. Otherwise, the Jebel Hadr Government Commandos win.

Context

          The country of Jebel Hadr is a tiny, war-torn African nation opposite Aden. In 1998, after years of civil war, the dictator Muawii Koto took control, mostly due to foreign funds and mercenaries. Recently, as part of the War on Terror, Koto was toppled and Imam Hajj Qalid took control. This started a new round of civil war based largely on ethnic lines (Jebel Hadr being entirely Sunni Muslim, religion was not an issue, whereas the Semitic-African blend of the population was). Koto was a southerner of a darker hue, whereas Imam Hajj Qalid is of the northern, more Arab persuasion.

A group of Koto's Private Military Contractors, accused by Qalid of war crimes have been cornered in a ruined farmhouse in the middle of Jebel Hadr's Green Zone – the lush area in the Wadi River Delta so unlike the rest of their arid hilly country. The elite Commandos, drawn almost exclusively from northern clans, have been flown in to arrest them – but when the bullets start flying, who cares how the PMCs are apprehended? The PMCs, realising that the trap is closing, need to break out through LT Abdul-Zariyat's platoon in order to reach a “friendly” airfield, where a tidy bribe will get them out of the country sharpish.

Turn One – JHGC Initiative

Moving into a better position in the woods, Corporal Bakr led his fireteam across a path. Unfortunately for him, an eagle-eyed PMC with an itchy trigger-finger warned his team mates, and all thirteen opened up on his team – which promptly disappeared into a red mist.

Their idiocy was not entirely in vain however, since the PMCs were distracted from everything else that happened. While the carcasses of Bakr's team were being made “extra-dead, Texas style!”, the MG and mortar sections opened up to cover the movement of infantry towards the eastern fields. While the mortar shell clumped harmlessly off the roof, the MG knocked down two of the Westerners looking over the sandbags. Their squadmates' stomachs turned, but calmed when they realised neither were dead – just badly wounded.

Turn Two – JHGC Initiative

More commandos moved towards their LT, hoping to catch the mercenaries in a crossfire once they passed the first field. The MG opened up on the team in the west wing of the farmhouse, but since they were hunkering down dealing with the injured, they were spared. They gritted their teeth when they heard the mortar shell whistling towards them, but that fell short too! They'd been damn lucky so far, it could only be hoped that things would keep going their way.

Leaving the remnants of that fireteam to care for the wounded and provide an overwatch, the rest of the mercenaries cautiously moved south, consolidating to the east of the first field.

Turn Three – JHGC Initiative

The commandos moved up to the fields, ready for their pincer movement, but forgot one crucial thing – the team still on overwatch! Two commandos went down to SAW fire, both severely injured. The survivors hugged the edge of the field, all thoughts of assault temporarily forgotten.

The mortar opened up on the offending fireteam, and for the first time, managed to land a shell on target. Right in the middle of their firepit, the shell exploded, killing all four mercenaries instantly.

The survivors heard their friends' guns go quiet, and whispered prayers for them, before girding their loins and legging it south, from one field to the other. As they passed the tractor-gap between the two, they heard heavy automatic fire from the west, but they all made it through okay – only Westermann, at the tail of the column, turned and saw the high calibre bullets whistling through the corn behind them.

At a signal from Lieutenant Keegan, they all hunkered down. Was that... movement a few feet away in the corn?

Turn Four – PMC Initiative!

It was! Keegan jumped to his feet and started running, yelling “Pound the ground lads, you're only 10 inches from victory with a 12” move!” The mercenaries followed him, running like mad and failing all their reaction checks. Mortar shells and gunfire came down all around them, but Keegan kept running, eyes shut. When he felt his feet splash water, he knew he was safe and turned to see how many of his men had made it out with him. Behind him he saw -

Now, at the beginning of the Delta Mile we had nine of the original thirteen alive, facing reactive fire from: a mortar team (7 dice), a full strength fireteam at optimum range (4 dice), and another 2-man team, also at optimum range (3 dice).

The mortar opened up first on the lead fire team, managing, with its second-half performance boost, to blow two guys to Kingdom Come and giving shrapnel scars to the other two. This reduced the mercenaries to 7/13, the exact number needed for a minimal victory.

The wounded commandos at the far edge of the field opened up next, but distracted by their comrade's screams, managed to hit nothing but air, much to Keegan's relief.

Finally, the full fireteam opened up and managed to cause two casualties. The casualty dice came down, bounced, and showed – two light wounds!

- six men, half of those he'd led into this African hellhole. The partners wouldn't be pleased, but if he wasn't wrong, he'd been facing Hajj Qalid's commandos. The faces of the dead would haunt him, sure, but as he boarded the Cessna he was damn pleased that anyone else had made it out at all. As the motors whirred and they took off, he heard two quiet words from Westermann. “Thank you.”

This was my first AAR, but my second game (the first being a different version of this one that had nowhere near enough cover on the table). I think I've fallen in love with FoF (and Tomorrow's War). I've certainly spent this month's gaming budget on a frack-load of new 20mm guys to play with.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I moved house recently and my camera has gone AWOL (grrr).

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Here are extra details for those of you wanting to re-enact the battle.

Forces

PMC UNIT (Troop Quality d10, Morale d10)

Lieutenant Keegan

3 x Fireteam w/ SAW, Grenade launcher + 2 rifles

JEBEL HADR GOVT. COMMANDOS (Troop Quality d10, Morale d10)

Lieutenant Abdul Zariyat

Medic Aren Musa

4 x 3-man rifle fireteam

Mortar section (3 guys)

MG section (2 guys)

Set-Up

2x2 board. NE corner, ruined farmhouse w/ sandbags (solid cover). SW quarter, woodland with paths of open ground (cover, block LOS). Rest of table dominated by four 4”x6” fields (cover, block LOS). PMCs start in the ruined farmhouse. JHGC start anywhere in their (south) half of the table.