Evergreen Fields: Operation Angelica - AAR 2

Hi guys,
I played another game earlier this week. It was rather large and to keep it interesting, involved the introduction of elite foreign fighters on the rebel's side and a tank (yes, a tank) in the arsenal of Slovenes.

Following the ambush of Slovenes [look at the last post], more similar attacks on the international and government forces were carried out in the capital. The attacks in the North of the city were so fierce and numerous, that the rebels were able to fortify themselves in the area and do not plan to be moved from there.

As a result, Operation Angelica was devised with hopes of clearing this large pocket of resistance and to establish a firm governmental control of the capital again. Once the capital will be secured, recapturing of the inland will be made possible. Attacking from several lanes of approach, the IIF (International Intervention Force) will push into the territory and clear it. It is hoped that sheer strength and determination of the attack will break the rebellion, but the fighting could just as well bog down to a costly street fighting.

Assault at the Cedar lane will be spearheaded by the Slovenes. The road is blocked and covered by fire from the near-by houses turned strongpoints, overlooking the position. Slovenes have to make their way to the barricade and check it for any signs of explosives [a fair roll of 4+ on D6]. If the barricade is mined, EOD team has to be called in [arrives next turn on the roll of 6, then 5+, 4+ on any other turn] and cleared by the EOD technician [roll of 4+].
Once the barricade is safe to be removed, an M-84 tank will assist in pushing open the road for the reinforcements to advance.

Beware: Damage to property must be minimal, so tank's main gun is not to be used, unless against enemy armour - if it appears.
For the same reason, artillery or air support will not be available for the attacking troops.

SAF Force: Three fire teams (Ankaran, Bled, Celje), supported by a MMG team for the initial assault.

An M84 tank is to join the attack for the push past the barricade. It is vital that the tank is not exposed to unnecessary fire and - when engaged - that it is fully supported by the infantry.

If the attack bogs down, SAF troops on the flanks might send additional men to make sure the attack goes well.

Rebel force:
One group of foreign fighters, well equipped with an RPG (Group Arnold).
Three groups of local fighters, armed with automatic weapons (Groups Brad, Charles, Duncan) [low rolls so no RPGs here]
Sniper.
MMG team.

Starting set up:

SAF in left side, bottom up: Team Ankaran behind a grey house, MMG team at the concrete wall, Team Bled behind the trees, Team Celje behind the terracotta  house.


Rebels from right to left, bottom up: MMG team on top of the super market, Foreign fighters Group Arnold behind the sand bags, Sniper on top of  the motel, Group Brad in blue semi-detached house, Charles in light blue house, Duncan behind white house on top.

Opening Operation Angelica, Slovenes pushed rather reluctantly.

Team Ankaran ran to the green house in an attempt to secure barricade's right flank.
Team Celje pushed in the larger house in the orchard and opened fire at rebel Group Charles, scoring one hit that suppressed one of the rebels. The rebels were rather passive and even the fearsome foreign fighters decided to wait to see how the attack unfolds before they join the fight.

Team Celje managed to keep the steady rate of fire and scored another hit against Group Charles, slowly reducing their numbers.

Team Bled joined in the firefight against Group Charles, but contributed little more than just a sound.
Team Celje kept their fire going and scored another lethal hit against the same target.

In the mean time, team Ankaran surged to the other side of the house and opened fire at Group Brad, scoring a hit.  The return fire from well entrenched rebels was devastating, leaving two soldiers suppressed! Luckily, SAF MMG team was well positioned and sprayed Group Arnold through the barricade, scoring a hit!

Further north, Group Duncan - lead by the infamous Yellow Jacket - took on the initiative and moved towards the orchard where Teams Bled and Celje are positioned. They opened fire at team Bled, hoping to aid their comrades of the Group Charles, suppressing  two Slovenes and scoring a lethal shot on the SAW gunner. Judging by the recent events [Every single modern game I played so far], carrying a SAW brings a curse and a bullseye on you. The return fire of Slovenes was not effective.

Combat continued, bullets flew everywhere, but still - nobody was able to obtain any form of superiority.

Targeted by Group Brad, Team Ankaran suffered a heavily wounded, that had to be escorted to the back - but how, when the fire by the rebels is so heavy?

Things were going even worse for Team Bled, that lost another soldier to the rebels of the Group Duncan. Luckily, team Celje's aim was accurate and they scored two kills and a suppression on team Duncan - is the luck for the Slovenes starting to turn?

Apparently not, as Team Ankaran just lost three men, 4th being heavily wounded and waiting for extraction to medevac.
The success of whole assault in jeopardy, an M-84 tank was called in to intervene.

[Out of interest: In  the next turn, the initiative was rolled as follows: 1-1; 5-5; 1-1; 6-6; 6-6 and finally 3-2 for the Rebels]

Cavalry arrived! Cautiously, an M-84 rolled down the street, stopped and opened fire at the Group Charles. Still respecting the ROE, it sprayed the house Group Charles has turned into a fort with HMG fire and has failed to leave an impact.

The arrival of the tank meant the foreigners better go in action, they tried hitting the tank with an RPG across the barricade. The rocket flew in the gap between the trucks and scored a hit,  badly shaking the crew, but otherwise not damaging the tank.
Second shot was more accurate and exploded near the tank's main gun, destroying it. There goes the temptation to use the main gun!

SAF MMG team kept firing at Group Brad in an attempt to keep them away from the wounded mate. Up north Teams Bled and Celje were still exchanging fire with Group Duncan, killing one of theirs but losing another one of Bled's to a heavy injury.

To help evacuate bleeding member of the Team Ankaran, another team was been sent in - designated Team Drava. Joined by a combat medic, their mission is to stabilise the wounded and escort him back for medevac.

In the orchard, Team Celje eliminated Group Duncan and moved on to engage Group Charles. The rest of the battle was at a stalemate.

Medical team reached the wounded soldier and medic immediately started escorting him back to the casevac [Medic became a separate group in game]. The rest of the team divided their tasks, rifleman checked the barricade for explosives , but thankfully the rebels did not plan them [Lost another chance to use my EOD team in game!]. Team's SAW gunner and Grenadier opened fire at Group Brad and scoring 2 kills in their quest for vengeance.

Team Celje moved forward and engaged Group Charles, scoring two hits. This got them in the range of the sniper on top of the apartment blocks, but he failed to hit any of them. Team Bled retreated in the back to bring the wounded to the casevac.

As the medic was escorting the wounded member of team Ankaran to the back, the rest of his team opened fire at Group Brad, completely obliterating it, but was in turn suppressed by the rebel MMG team.
In the orchard, team Celje completely demolished Group Charles.

Foreign fighters' RPG gunner kept firing at the tank, scoring a good hit on the tracks and thus immobilising it. The assault will have to be carried out on the flanks of the barricade, after all!

Rebel sniper has managed to get a hit on team Celje's infantryman, who was saved by the armour plate.

Crew in M84, while immobilised, turned their attention to the foreigners and sprayed them with HMG fire, suppressing a rifleman and killing a RPG gunner [as per dice rolls! - but I later realised elite rebels can have more than one person suppressed.]

Dropping his friend at the casevac, Bled's team lone survivor caught up with Team Celje and attached himself to them.

With the RPG gone, M84 crew started firing at Rebel MMG on top of the market store, suppressing the gunner. Team Drava, the three man team that joined the fight with the medic, exchanged some fire with the Foreign fighters, but without any effect.

 Out of targets, SAF MMG team pushed forward to engage from a closer range.

The sniper aimed was on point now, scoring a heavy wounded in team Celje!

After dropping wounded man at the casevac, medic returned to battle and was on his way to rejoin Team Drava. His team divided fire between MMG team and Group Arnold, suppressing two of the latter and killing one of the former.

The joy was short lived as rebel MMG sprayed them, causing a heavily wounded.

 Team Celje split as wounded man was escorted to the back, while the rest of the team moved forward.

Accurate fire from rebel MMG suppressed SAF MMG team.

Team Celje engaged the sniper, suppresing him and in eventually killing him, while also engaging Foreign fighters. The assault was closing to an end.

In a subsequent fighting, M84 managed to destory the rebel MMG team and SAF MMG team moved forward, just to lose an assistant gunner to the Foreign fighters.

It was then just a matter of time, before the last of the rebels were destroyed and the battle was won.

Post game thoughts:

Initially, I imagined that the only way forward would be through barricade, but I am quite satisfied that I left the gaps open for infantry. Infantry can, after all, move rather freely.

I fed Slovenes a tank and an extra fire team, that I believe saved them from suffering a retreat. This isn't totally fair to rebels, that got no extra troops, but I did say the games would be rather biased.  The idea was that this game was just a part of a larger battle, where attack would not be started without a decent numerical superiority and being surrounded, the rebels couldn't quite get relieved. Also, three mediocre SAF teams and a MMG team were up against three bad an an elite Rebel teams, supported by MMG team and a sniper. The worse problem than team composition is the unintentional fact that I think about what to do with my Slovenes and less so about what to do with the Rebels. To remedy this, I will try to shift my AARs into more story-like posts as who shot at whom makes for a rather dull read.

I am satisfied that I escorted all the heavily wounded soldiers to the back, as in the last game my wounded soldier was just waiting for the game to end.

Tank proved to be a rather fun addition. The rules are so simple, anything heavier than small arms and HMGs can penetrate the tank - so there is no difference between a RPG of this or that description. I simply used tank as a Medium tank, giving it a 3+ save. With my bad rolls, this made it rather vulnerable - as it should be. Bringing a tank in town is never really a good idea. Other than that, I think I had too many teams on board and I got lost in knowing who was activated and who was not (which is also due to fact I was not concentrated on the game, which is a side product of playing alone).

Furthermore, I made a bucket load of mistakes during the game. While the rules are really minimal, I kept realising I forgot about several things. Other than that, I am growing to like he system.

All summed up, at least I am continuing with the "campaign" and using my miniatures. I expect to play more games eventually, but have currently been struck by a painting mojo, so I am working on some of my other projects.

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Evergreen Fields: The rebels introduce themselves - AAR1

Downtown Evergreen, Evergreen Fields.
March, 2016.

As part of the International Intervention Force (IIF) a small contingent of Slovenes was sent to the island. After the contingent established a base just outside the capital, they started patrolling the streets to assess the security situation, get used to their new lives and to make them known to the local population.

SAF force size: A convoy of two humvees, armed with HMGs. Each carries one fire-team.

Enemy size: Contact not expected. Evergreen is firmly in governmental hands.

(But there are 4 groups of untrained militia, armed with AKs and an RPG) with an IED and a PK team.)

[Patrol has to follow main road through Evergreen. Unknown to the patrol, rebels have infiltrated this neighbourhood and are setting up an ambush. There are three IED markers on the road. On a roll of 1-2 the marker is real. If first one is fake, roll of 1-3 makes it real and so on. If it blows, it blows. If  SAF troops manage to spot it, an IED team has to be called in. Ambushing troops will start their attack when the real IED detonates or based on a roll while patrol waits for the IED team]

As soon as the patrol entered the ambush zone, the gunner in the lead Humvee spotted something on the road, but it turns out it was only a pothole.

Moving on, gunner in the lead humvee spotted something again, but it turned to be false alarm again - we are deep in the friendly territory, after all.

Losing his edge after two false alarms, team in the lead Humvee failed to spot the real IED that detonated when they came close! While Humvee's armour is nothing to brag about, luckily, the vehicle only lost its mobility. The passengers were shook up, but other than that, nobody got hurt.

They got to their senses very fast. They had to call in someone to come pick them up and secure the area. The team in lead humvee disembarked, leaving a rifleman in the position of a HMG gunner on the vehicle and after slightly reparking their vehicle, second team did the same.

Meanwhile, the ambush has started, but only one rebel team, armed with six rifles, managed to get in contact and suppressed Team2's SAW gunner and the designated marksman!

Due to incoming fire, Team2 was unable react afterwards, while Team1 kept scanning their sector.

The incoming fire from the rebel team, now safe behind house walls, however, intensified and resulted in two more hits on the Team2. Gunner in Humvee was luckily just lightly wounded and would continue to fight, but the SAW gunner was in need of immediate medical attention and evacuation. SAF's return fire was less than accurate, but they did succeed in hitting one.
Patrol leader has called in for QRF, but unfortunately there can be no air support due to civilian casualties that it would cause!

The success made the rebels even more daring and they even hauled in a PK team in an immediate vicinity of the Team2, while a group of riflemen, lead by the notorious Yellow jacket started moving in from the north-east.

 As if things weren't bad enough for Team2, a foreign fighter squad, armed with a RPG (the only one the ambushing forces have!) has started moving in from North-West!

The rebels, realising their advantages, pressed forward! Again the group in the house fired at Team2, but this time the hit they did was saved by armour. The return fire of Team2's HMG and designated marksman was, however, deadly and resulted in four dead.

The foreign fighters team moved up and took cover behind the small wall. They managed to put two rifles and an RPG in the LOS of their targets and fired at Team2. The RPG gunner aimed for the humvee and hit it. Lightly armoured vehicle had no chance against a direct hit and gunner had to bail. Luckily, he made it out in time and, cooperating with the designated marksman, returned fire. They managed to hit and suppress the gunner!

The Man in Yellow's group decided to rest a bit longer and 4th group of rebels still didn't make it to the scene!

Luckily for ambushed soldiers, a squad arrived in their support and with them, a medic that was desperately needed!

After the arrival of QRF, things have changed a bit for the ambushing rebels. 

Concerned with the questions of life and death, the lone survivor of the group in house started  to flee. With the SAF troops infront and behind them, foreign fighters stopped to rethink the situation, too. PK team was no different, still suppressed, they didn't do much.

Yellow jacket did not stand idle. He moved his group forward and managed to find a good firing position for 4 rifles. They've hit a SAW gunner (everyone targets those!), but failed to do any damage. Team1 was watching their sectors closely and a fire from the mounted .50 cal, SAW and 40mm grenades resulted in one rebel  suppressed and one killed on the spot.
 
By now, the last ambushing group managed to reach the scene as well and they, too spawned up north.

Team1 came back with the vengence and after slightly repositioning of the patrol leader, they opened fire, that resulted in 2 dead.
Team2, still affected by the shock, did not do much but wait and try to regroup.

QRF's Team3 and Team4  also took some time to rethink the situation. Experiencing the first real fire fight was heavy on their nerves.

Few moments later, ambushed teams, Team1 and 2 are still not acting, but QRF's leader and his Team3 moved in to regroup with ambushed team and stabilise the hit SAW gunner. Moving his team's SAW and grenadier to the corner of the house, they opened fire at the rebel group out in the open that was planning on closing in with Team2 and beating it in a close combat! Unfortunately, their fire served little more than making noise. Who  gave them these peashooters!?
Team4 did little better and still sat in cover.

Rebellion's sole survivor, this time enraged by the loss of his friends, turned back and took the fight to the enemy. Running back towards Team4, he took cover behind a car and threw a grenade infront of Team4 leader! Luckily for the Slovenes, his hands were shaking of adrenaline and he missed. Unlucky for him - they didn't miss.

Afraid that they might get outflanked, foreign fighters group took cover behind yard walls and divided its fire between Team2 on the road and Team3 lurking around the corner. Foreign fighters have a fearsome reputation - and for a good reason! They scored two hits on Team2, but they had no effect in the end. Against Team3, they scored three hits - two on SAW gunner and one on the grenadier. Their vests proved useless and if the grenadier was lucky enough to just be lightly wounded, SAW gunner was hit too bad even for the team's medic to help him.

Rebel HMG team gathered courage again and fired a burst, scoring two hits. One for no effect on the marksman and the other as a light wound on the Team2's rifleman. This time, Team2's return fire resulted in assistant gunner being suppressed.


Rebel group just next to HMG team was apparently startled by the inaccurate fire of Team3 enough to wait a bit with their advance.

Yellow jacket's group, horrified by the SAF fire, hunkered down in their cover, too.

Being a bit more optimistic after the arrival of QRF, Team1 opened fire at Yellow jacket again, to try and carry the initiative and end the battle. Their fire completely erased the enemy.
Team 2 failed to regroup and remained in their position without trying to obtain a fire superiority or pretty much do anything else.

After  losing their SAW gunner, Team3 rearranged their position a bit and fired at the same target again, this time with a grenadier and the team leader, while medic remained in cover. They barely managed to suppress one of the rebels and hopefully delay the assault for some more time!

Shocked by their first contact, Team 4 stopped to regroup.

Having lost two whole groups, rebels were a bit tense. They were desperate for at least some prisoners, if not a full blown victory! Their HMG team, however, did not plan on playing part in that plan just yet. Blood thirsty foreign fighters were more zealous and moved in towards the assault. Firing on the go, they scored two hits, that both ended in KIA! With team leader and rifleman dead and marksman suppressed, badly injured SAW gunner did his best to stop the incoming assualt. Due to his injuries, he was unable to put down accurate fire and didn't hit anyone.
[While rules specifically state that ISAF troops have grenades, it doesnt say so for the Taliban. As these are just random militia, I decided against it.]

Rebel group at the building did not move, even by the remarkable show of courage by the foreigners.

SAF Team1, seeing the danger that Team2 was in, turned around and engaged the incoming foreigner fighters. Hitting them with grenades, SAW and HMG fire, they managed to kill 4 and suppress one fighter, stopping the assault dead in its tracks. Adding salt to the wound, Team3 managed to score another kill on the foreign fighters' group, reducing it to a sole survivor.

Team4 finally pressed forward and opened fire on the last remaining large rebel group. Firing very far, they scored 2 hits, downing two rebels.

Foreign fighter's lone survivor was determined to carry on with the assault and continued closing in with the remained of the Team2, but failed to do anything else. The rest of the rebels, shaken by seeing the elite foreigners [they were no different than anyone else game rules wise in this game], they needed some time to regroup.

Foreigner now moved even closer to the suppressed marksman of Team2 and engaged in close combat. The fight didn't last long before the suppressed and disoriented marksman fell to the attacker.

Even with the success of the  foreign fighter, the HMG team refused to take any part in the  fight. Rebel group, now down to two thirds of its starting size, however, moved in to join in the  assault.
Taking no interest in the badly wounded SAW gunner, they opened fire on Team1 that was right in front of them. They suppressed the team leader and in return, suffered 2 dead and one suppressed.

Still, the fire was fierce enough to prevent Team1 from taking the initiative and proceed with the assault of their own. Desperate to save what can be saved, SAW gunner of Team2 opened fire with his minigun again, scoring one hit. Team3 and 4 did not react.

The foreign fighter didn't however, and continued with his assault, this time against Team1. The fight ended in a draw. Lone survivor of the once mighty rebel group has hit the dirt and didn't move.

Rebel HMG team, now desperate to make a contribution, fired a burst in the melee. They failed to hit anyone.
[There are no rules for shooting in melee, so I just randomly allocated hits between SAF and the rebel]

The melee continued without result, so the Team1 SAW gunner moved in to help, while gunner in Humvee opened up at the other rebel. Melee was still ongoing, but fire from the HMG was accurate enough to down the last rebel in the group that joined the fight last.

Team3 ran towards the HMG to engage it and Team4 just stood there once again.

Rebel HMG opened fire again and hit one of the Slovenes, grazing him.

Finally, the melee was won by SAF troops and foreign fighter was downed.

Team1 abandoned the immobilised humvee and took cover by the destroyed one to open fire at Rebel HMG team, destroying it and with it, the ambush force.

Post-game thoughts:

In their first encounter of the Evergreen Fields campaign, SAF suffered four killed in action, one heavily wounded and some light casualties. They also lost two humvees!

Rebels made a great show at start and had most of the high rolls. Apart from QRF arrival (roll of 6 first round after ambush, 5+ for the rest), SAF only had high roles for injuries, losing 4 soldiers. I was genuinely concerned at start that ambushed teams won't hold out. It is a very bloody game.

I am not sure about the size of my QRF, it doubled the amount of Slovenes on the table. On the other hand, anything else would be just too small in size. I wish I had an armoured transporter for QRF, as my humvees were busy. In the end I opted for foot entry.

Well, what I changed from test game is that my soldiers were just trained as opposed to veteran from the last game. This made them hit on 5+ instead of 4+ and activate on 4+. In comparison, rebels were of worst quality. Very motivated, they also activate on 4+, but they hit on 6+. They always hit on 6+, but because SAF hit on 5+ and rebels are usually in cover, they hit on 6+ as well. This means, they are there-there by quality and I had 8 guys against 24 + a machine gun team.

I cheated a bit  and forgot to give rebels a chance to be suppressed instead of killed in first hitting session, but I redeemed myself when HMG team was hit!

I think I kept forgetting that activated teams do NOT return fire, which is something I should work on.

Using casualty chart only for SAF helps with micromanaging, but it might be slightly unfair that a downed SAF can come back as lightly injured guy without any pentaly. Perhaps a -1 to experience would help (so he'd hit on 6 instead of 5 etc). The problem is, I'd probably keep forgetting about it!
Another option is, light casualties, if a casualty again, would suffer a +1 modifier, to up their chances of becoming a higher tier casualty after the initial light wound. It took me a long time to see a heavy casualty can actually operate, but at -2 - so my SAW gunner could fire his weapon.  I used this when I remembered about it.

With Slovenes, I had no luck as far as Team2 goes. I needed a roll of 6  to activate and remove suppression tokens (4+ and 2 for each suppressed, then 5 but even that didn't help). My worst mistake was presuming 1 foreign fighter is not a threat. By letting him live I did remove some of the fighters in the larger group, but didn't stop the bloody assault.

All in all, I think I will stick with FUBAR instead of Breaking news. I considered both sets for this game, but as I have to re-learn rules every time I play, I simply went with the shorter ones. The only thing I have trouble getting used to is how RPG is basically same as a machine gun (3 dice to hit), and there is nothing to differentiate one from another. Which isn't necessarily bad, if you consider the weight of fire and all. How different can things be, using D6, after all?


Thanks for reading,
Mathyoo

Technicals - part 1

Hello guys,

Before I start, I have to apologise yet again for the lack of activity and for missing so many of your blog posts. I am working on something else at the moment and the days often pass so fast I completely forget about the hobby. I will try to do better in the following week and check on some of the things I've missed!


When I was in London in March I scored a good day in Poundland and bought three police pickups for a pound!

They are horrible, but at 33,334 pence a piece, they will be just fine. I was desperate for some to give my insurgents much needed vehicle support.

I have no plan as to how I want them to look (except one MIGHT be up armoured and both would probably have machine guns), so I will see how they turn out as they go. I do not want them armed with an AA guns as my games are all up close and personal and those mounts would need some kind of minimum range as the gun is mean to be firing in the skies.

First thing I needed done was clear the stickers and it was a real pain. I tried all sorts of things and glue residue wouldn't come off. In the end, I covered it in dirt and then used an eraser to help me clean it - that worked really well.

As they come without windows and I didn't want to go through the trouble of converting and painting drivers, I decided to make glass. It was a pretty easy work, measured by the eyes. I glued plasticard on with superglue and then I sealed it with an old greenstuff that I can't use for my miniatures anymore.

Don't hold your breath for the next step (I've built those 2 weeks ago and still nothing was added!), but in the mean time, feel free to suggest the weaponry. I was thinking giving them two machine guns of some sorts (One medium as I have a model and one heavy that I could sculpt), to make them even with my Hummvees, but some sort of cannon would also look good on them!

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Moderns AAR: The Assault on OP Taiga

Hello guys,

here is another game I played this week. In the last AAR, International Forces managed to capture a rebel. He is still being questioned and IF Command still hasn't assigned an all out assault on a rebel camp/high valued target capture (I am still painting missing forces and coming up with a proper scenario).

Instead, I decided to switch to another gear and play a scenario with a bit more fighting involved (so I can actually shoot at something and use some support fire etc rules).

MISSION OBJECTIVES

The insurgency is rising and the rebel army is getting bolder and bolder. They are trying to gain ground and control of governmental institutions. While they are still avoiding any major attacks, the ambushes became very popular. To help secure the local population (and it's own interests!), the Joint International Command ordered a set up of a network of observation posts, that would help locate the insurgent's nests that could then be cleared.


One of them is Outpost Taiga, located in an abandoned suburbia of Evergreen Fields. This area was being modernised, turned from rural area into a flashy high class neighborhood. The plans failed and the area was since abandoned. There are still remains of rural architecture (abandoned farm) and there are some half-built modern structures as well (abandoned houses). The prominent structure in the area is a derelict supermarket, that has been turned into an observation post.


Troops on board:
SAF Fireteam, veteran quality.
MAG Team, veteran quality

They are manning the outpost, observing the local countryside for rebel activity.

Available support:
A SAF Squad (two fireteams, veteran quality) is patrolling the local area and could rush to aid the OP in case of attack. They will arrive on roll of 6 (before initiative rolls), with +1 every turn that SAF wins initiative.
Close Air Support is available on call.
Bomb squad is on a stand by as a standard.

Expected opposition:
OP Taiga is under attack!

Attacking forces were calculated according to this event:
10- All-out assault. D3+3 groups of D3+3 rebels enter the board
Roll of 5-6 support weapon (1-3 RPK 4-6 RPG), 1-4 AR
One group is automatically either a sniper (1-3) or a PK (4-6) team.
D3 groups start on table. Every turn (before initiative rolls) rolls 3+ another D3 groups arrive until all are on board.
I will roll for insurgents' skill randomly on group basis (to make tracking easier) with 1-3 being militia, 4-5 fanatics and 6 mercenary.

Insurgent attack party:
4 groups (roll of 1 + 3)
PK team, fanatics quality
4 men: 2 AK, 2 RPG, fanatics quality
4 men: 4 AK, fanatics quality
4 men: 3 AK, 1 RPK, fanatics quality

  
 
Random events generator
This time, REG was left out, to avoid further complications, but I will probably include cover bonuses and the like in future games.


PREGAME:
SAF MAG team is observing the area, while Fireteam is located in the living quarter. When attack starts, they will run out and...well, do something about it.
Two rebel groups start on table. I decided it would be RPG and PK groups as they'd trigger their attack with their best weapons. Using houses and vegetation for cover, they crept really close to the OP (which makes me doubt in outpost's  recce abilities!)
I was debating giving the insurgents the first turn initiative (they are attacking, after all) or rolling for it (they came close enough to be spotted). I decided they should have the initiative as the OP crew could not determine if they were civilians or foes!

The board. OP Taiga is in the white building to the right. Insurgetns are attacking from black building to the left.

SAF MAG team on sentry duty.

TURN 1:
Insurgents have the first initiative. Roll of 6 brings another group to the table.

PK team did not move as it was in a suitable position before the attack was triggered.
It fires at MAG team. It needs 5 to hit, based on distance, +1 for target in cover, +1 for being fanatics (bad shots). This makes it 7, which means they lose 1D6 of their burst and hit on 6+. They've hit nothing.  Because the distance is over 50cm (approx 70cm), MAG team can not react to this volley.

RPG group moved forward as it needs to get closer to have any hopes of firing shots.

Newly arrived RPK group rushed in cover of walls closer to the outpost.

RPG group is behind the bushes to the left, PK team is on the balcony with RPK team to the right.

TURN 2:
Insurgents win initiative (14 vs 13)
Another insurgent group arrives
SAF reinforcements do not arrive

PK team fire another burst, but keeps missing the well entrenched MAG team.

RPG group runs forward and gets in range for an RPG volley next turn. Unfortunately, this also gets them in range of SAF MAG team. As a reacting side, MAG players needs 6 to hit (5 for range, +1 for cover) - it fails.

RPK group continues it's advance and reaches a house that will provide them with a solid cover.

Newly arrived AK team (lead by the notorious Yellow Jacket) follows the path of the RPK group.

The self-proclaimed King (in Yellow) leading his bandits forward!

TURN 3
Insurgents win the initiative yet again! (12 vs 7+1) (plus one for every turn that insurgents hold the initiative).
This is quite a problem as SAF fireteam in the post hasn't yet had the chance to rush out and help the MAG team!
SAF reinforcements do not arrive  (rolled a 5!).

PK team keeps firing, it's bound to hit something sooner or later! It misses.

RPG group fired its rockets!
They need 6 to hit (5 for range, +1 for being fanatics). Both RPGs missed (rolled two 5!) and they both hit left of the intended target (3cm for every die point they lacked (1), direction rolled randomly). The blast radius (5cm) still caught both members of the MAG team.
At this point, MAG team needs to roll to save. Veteran's save on 3+, but the bonus in rules is +2 for speculative fire or +1 in another section. I assumed the speculative fire rules are correct (+2) and +1 would be granted in other instances (as in cover). This means they save on 1+, but 1 is always a wound. As luck would have it, assistant gunner got wounded and died on spot (rolled 1 or wounded or dead roll).
AK armed group members fired their shots and managed to hit a MAG gunner, but it just grazed him!


This movement, however, brought RPG group in range of MAG opportunity fire, who scored a hit on one of the riflemen, killing him instantly.
As a result of RPG group's fire, MAG assistant gunner was lost and the gunner himself was suppressed (yellow beam) and automatically hidden (blue beam). On other hand, RPG team lost a rifleman.

The trouble were not over yet for the MAG on the roof top, as RPK group settled in the near-by house. RPK gunner was able to squeeze some shots in the direction of a Slovene and managed to hit once, but the shot did no damage.

The AK group continued closing up the distance, they know they must get closer for their fire to be effective!

Morale is a bit odd, again it's not clear if it's side or team based (especially as every miniature can be used on its own), so I decided to include them on a group-by-group basis. This means that this turn, morale check would have to be done by RPG group and MAG team, but as they lost one member each, they have to roll at least 1 on a D6, which is an automatic pass.

The dice indicate the location of a RPG hit. I really like the missed shot rules!

After the RPG salvo, gunner was left alone and suppressed.

RPK group on the positions in house, with the AK group following closely.

TURN 4
SAF finally wins the initiative (6 vs 9+2)!
SAF reinforcements arrive (roll of 6)!

While situation looked grim for SAF units, it looks like the battle luck is changing.

MAG gunner successfully gathered himself (passed suppression test) and is out for blood! Deciding that RPG group carries the most firepower, he fired a burst their way and managed to hit a RPG gunner! The latter failed his save test, but was "only" heavily wounded by the shot - I rolled for 5 turns of live for him, but as I don't have any medics, nor do I calculate WIP points, this changes nothing and I just removed him from play.
As part of their opportunity fire, RPG group fired another couple of rockets (shooting is simultaneous) and an aimed shot from an AK. They all missed and rockets both flew to the right of the target this time (12 and 9 cm this time!), where they did no damage.

Fireteam Ankaran finally got a chance to leave the market and move out to defend their outpost! As this is their turf and the fortified rooftop offers the best protection (and line of sights!), I started moving them up.

Newly arrived Fireteam Bled and Celje pushed in the area close by and will carry on with the offensive action if needed.
Their movement was reacted to by the RPK team. RPK and two ARs could fire on Fireteam Celje - they managed to get one hit, but it was saved, suppressing the grenadier!
RPK team's two riflemen could react to Fireteam Bled, as with Celje, one hit managed to suppress team's grenadier!

Fireteam Celje was shot at in their moving phase, so when it came to their shooting, they could not used the grenadier. The rest could still open fire on the RPK group in the house. Riflemen fired to no effect, while SAW gunner has outdone himself and managed to score two hits (three shots, hits on 6!). He could only hit a rifleman and a teamleader, killing the latter!

FT Bled (behind a car) and Celje (forested area) under fire.

This turn, two insurgents groups had to pass morale tests (roll of 3 for RPG group (2 for teamleader +1 man), roll of 2 for RPK (teamleader).

 TURN 5
Insurgents win the initiative (11+1 vs 7)

Boy, SAF seem very reluctant to fight today - their initiative is superior to that of the insurgents, but rolls haven't been the best ever.

The arrival of SAF reinforcements changes things for insurgents, as they have plethora of new targets to fire at.

PK team continues peppering SAF MAG team, waiting for a lucky hit.

RPG group is a bit too far to fire at the team Bled that is grouped together behind a car and fires another rocket at the MAG. The insurgent fired two rockets already and is taking an aim...controls his breathing, squeezes the trigger and...nothing happens. The rocket doesn't move an inch!
Rifleman tried firing with his AK, but did not manage to hit a well protected MAG position.
As part of his opportunity fire, MAG fires a burst (albeit shorter as the death of his assistant had a negative impact on his firing rate) with no effect.

RPK team had to divide its fire between teams Bled and Celje because of the planked fence obscuring the view. 
One of the riflemen fired at the team Bled and scored a hit, suppressing Bled's team leader! A few more turns like this and whole SAF squad will be keeping their heads down!
He did not enjoy his little victory for long, as the rest of team Bled unleashed a hail of bullets, with SAW gunner landing a deadly shot.

With team Celje's grenadier suppressed, only an AT rifleman could fire shots in return, but he couldn't hit a thing.

Insurgent's AR group rushed through the building and to the forward positions behind the wooden fence. They were greeted by team Bled's sharpshooter (I decided his optics let him hit with a chance for one distance less - so on 50 cm distance he hits as up to 25. This means his optics give him no bonus on distances under 25cm, which feels about right) and SAW gunner, the former scoring a kill on the slowest of the team members.

This turn wasn't too successful for the insurgents - they had the initiative and forced some more Slovenes into cover, but they lost two of their own!

RPK group had to make another test, this time on 3 (2 for leader, plus one), AR group's casualty did not affect their morale (1 for rifleman).


TURN 6
SAF regain the initiative (11 vs 16)
Team Bled's leader and Celje's grenadier passed the suppression test and can act as normal, but Bled's grenadier didn't and remains hidden behind the cover.

Team Ankaran continued it's climb on top of the outpost, but they could not do anything beyond taking up the positions.

MAG gunner is still on a vendetta against the RPG group and fires yet another long burst in their direction. It scores a hit and picks off the remaining rifleman, leaving the RPG gunner on his own.
In return, the latter sends yet another rocket flying and scores a direct hit.
Ankaran's team leader and SAW gunner are also caught in the blast.  MAG saved good enough, but the other two only made it out alive thanks to the protection of cover!

Fireteam Bled had to adjust it's position to give a sharpshooter a chance to fire, then fired with all three unsuppressed members. Their two hits resulted in two suppressed riflemen, but no kills. In return, Yellow jacket's team also managed to score two hits, that both resulted in suppression.

Fireteam Celje moved half of it's members forward to gain a position to fire from and thanks to accurate fire from the teamleader, managed to kill the RPK gunner. RPK group (or what has left of it) returned with inaccurate fire and did no damage.

RPG blasts force Slovenes into cover.

 RPG group needs a morale on a score of 4 (2 for leader + 2) and passes.
RPK group needs a morale on a score of 4 (2 for leader +2) and passes.

TURN 7
Insurgents win the initiative (11+1 vs 10)
Yellow Jacket passed the suppression test, but his companion did not.
With a large part of SAF suppressed, this is a good time for insurgents to make an impact, as their actions will not be met with much opposition. On the other hand, SAF members that are suppressed count as hidden and are harder to hit.

PK team, a team I had a high hopes for, but that wasn't used properly, fires yet another volley, this time at the team Ankaran's unsuppressed members. Gunner still hasn't quite figured out his weapon and misses completely yet again.
In reaction, Ankaran's grenadier lobs a grenade at the machine gun, which fails short and does no damage. Ankaran's sharpshooter is just as inaccurate.

RPG group, now down to a single launcher, fires at Ankaran's grenadier, scoring a direct hit. A blast caught Slovenes to left and right of the target, but they have all managed to hit the dirt soon enough. Still, this leaves Ankaran fully suppressed.

RPK group's sole survivor fires at team Celje but scores no hits. In return, Celje's grenadier lobs a grenade his way. It falls a bit short, but still catches him in a blast and suppressing him.

While a lot of SAF troopers hit the dirt, Yellow Jacket's AR group can not afford to rush out of their cover as team Celje would simply pick them off. Instead, they concentrate their fire on Bled's sharpshooter. Their fire is not accurate, but sharpshooter's is and it results in suppressing Yellow Jacket himself.

RPG gunner and a PK team (whose gunner really needs a repaint, pyjamas pants aren't working too well!)

SAF forces mostly suppressed.

TURN 8
Insurgents win the initiative (10 vs 8+1)

Luck is on Insurgent's side today, as they keep having the initiative while keeping a large portion of SAF suppressed.  On the other hand, little can be made out of the situation, as AR group's two suppressed members failed their test.

As troops on the rooftop of the observation post were now hidden, PK team had nothing to fire at. Other fire teams were not in it's line of fire. I thought about relocating it, but decided against it for the benefit of any future firing.

RPG gunner relocated a bit, so he could aim easier on team Bled, hiding behind a car, as firing on the suppressed troops on top of the outpost made little sense. Rocket flew a bit to the left (rolled 5 on 6 to hit, so only missed for 3cm), so that Bled's sharpshooter was still caught in the blast radius. Soldier that got hit was not damaged, but he had little wish to poke out of his cover now.

With MAG team and fireteams Ankaran and Bled fully suppressed, there was only team Celje to worry about. Unfortunately, insurgent were way too battered to effectively use the advantage they now had.

RPK group's survivor and the unsuppressed member of AR group repositioned out of sight, hoping they could perhaps overtake the Slovenes in close combat.

RPG gunner in the forested area, RPK group's rifleman behind a building and AK group taking cover behind the planked fence.

TURN 9

SAF won the initiative, only thanks to the bonus for not having it in a while (7 vs 7+2)
This gave them a chance to regroup and deal with the attack once and for all.

Some soldiers managed to pass their test and fireteam Ankaran, in combination with MAG gunner started firing on the surviving insurgents in hope of suppressing them to let teams Bravo and Celje proceed with the counter assault.

Ankaran's sharpshooter and teamleader fired shots at RPK group's rifleman that came rushing from around the corner. Sharpshooter scored a killing hit.

MAG gunner was still occupied with the remaining RPG gunner, but he failed to hit him. In must have distracted RPG gunner enough that he missed, his shot landing 9 centimeters short of the target, doing no damage.

Bled's sharpshooter and SAW gunner could not find the exact position of AR group (hidden, as they were suppressed in cover), so they fired some speculative shots their way. They scored one hit, but the rebel managed to save it.

Celje's grenadier fired a grenade in the yard, near AR group, hoping for the blast splash to do some damage. A direct hit caught all three rebels in the blast, killing one (Yellow Jacket got saved by a +1 for being a team leader!)
The rest of the team moved forward, with teamleader getting close enough that he could throw a grenade over the fence. A direct hit resulted in another kill, leaving only one rebel alive.

FT Celje's team leder throwing a grenade over the fence.

This massacre left AK group with a morale check (4, 2 for teamleader dead, plus 2 more), that was barely passed (rolled 2,3 and the saving 4).

At this point I decided to end the game, the result is obvious. It took me some 4 hours to play it and it got really dark in the mean while.



POST GAME

As you might have noticed, I did not use my mortar support. The rules for off table support are vague. The shots land a turn after they are called, but it doesn't say who calls it, who has to see anything, can it be done by reactive player etc. I am not sure what to do (I suppose any team leader in the regular army could request it, even as a reactive player). Being reactive player means you don't do anything but react to what enemy is doing, but surely they don't just stand and watch - so at least some shells could be firing.

I also noticed later in the game (after turn 4) that RPGs don't get negative modifier for being used by lowly trained insurgents, so they should be a bit more accurate! They are a very potent weapon indeed and I think I should be happy I only ever made three of them!

Furthermore, I was limiting myself with opportunity fire and teams only reacted to the actions geared towards them. I forgot to realise MAG had a REALLY beneficial position and could react to fire of most enemy groups inside his opportunity fire distance. This improves his deadlines a lot, but above all, it shows me I really need to game more often.

I am not too satisfied with the +1 to die roll for cover save as this means house's walls, wooden planks, mesh fences, cars, sandbags and so on all provide the same bonus. I am thinking instead of +2 for heavy cover, that a whole extra die would be added. So someone hiding in house or behind sandbags would gain +1 on die roll and would roll two dice with one needed to pass. The thing is +2 on a roll means SAF veterans (3+ save) would save on anything but one that is a natural fail.

I would lie if I'd say I was not afraid that the observation post might be over ran and that there were too many insurgents, but it turns out the groups should've kept coming (perhaps the starting troops plus the possibility of reinforcements via generator) as they stood no chance against the far superior SAF. Keep in mind RPG is a potent weapon and in Breaking Rules, grenade launcher is not much less lethal.

Groups of insurgents should probably be larger, with 5+D3. I will implement the changes when I'll play another game.

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo