Underfire miniatures: 28mm East Germans team 4

Hi guys,

I would like to wish everyone happy holidays, and  - assuming my posting trend continues - a happy new year, too.


In December, I painted up 4th team of East Germans, which is something like a command pack with assorted figures. It includes two leaders of some description (one even has a personal radio, which surprised me and made me wish there was a proper radio man, too!), another RPG and a sniper designated marksman. As you would expect, I am not quite satisfied with my paintjob, but all in all it isn't too bad.

I honestly tried making better photos, but it appears the more I try the worse they get.

I have 16 now that would make up two squads. That's more than enough to fill the tiny 3x4 table I game on.  I will mainly use them in my moderns campaign as the organised bad guys, assisted by the rebels I've been using so far. I got some ideas for the campaign in my head already, but I'll probably play a few random games until I'm satisfied with the rules and while I insist on keeping the games free of politics, I think some sort of background would still be in order.

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Underfire miniatures: 28mm East Germans team 3

Hi guys,

I barely caught my November post (could you imagine I once had plans to post twice every week?) with another pack of Underfire miniatures East Germans. I had them on my paint table for about a month or so, sitting half done waiting for me to sit down and finish them. The camouflage is really a bugger and I think I am getting sloppier, but even with a bit of a drop in quality, the result is really worth it. I need to go invest in another tiny brush so next pack I do can be even better.


Without further ado, I present you team 3. It includes 3 East-German-AK guys and an RPG gunner, which I really missed in the earlier packs. For some reason, I really like backpacks on my guys and I plan on revisiting my RPG armed rebels and adding them some rocket packs.

I apologise for crappy photos, but at least they are no worse than usual. You can see they all carry their bags, including the RPG gunner! There are two things I miss with these packs, however. One is the RPG team assistant with extra rockets, the second more RPKs!



Here is a nice video I stumbled upon while searching NVA troops. It is just one part of many and it is about the breach. It shows you just how little things have changed from WW1 as they charge cross open ground, albeit with the tank support.

Thanks for looking,
Math-yoo

FUBAR Afghanistan test game

 Hello guys,

Last month or so, I found new set of free rules for modern games. Now, there are some great ideas in Breaking news, but I got lost in all my additions (that were never written down), plus they aren't quite finished, so they proved problematic often.

I decided to give FUBAR, one page rules, a try. I am using the Afghanistan supplement and I opted to use some of the alternate morale rules (just casualty chart for first game). As if this weren't enough, I also decided to play a scenario from their Afghanistan missions that includes civilians. Because...well, it sounds like it should be plenty fun!

FUBAR core rules, 4th edition
FUBAR alternate morale rules
FUBAR Afghanistan supplement
FUBAR Afghanistan missions

I decided to play the Stopping the IEDs - airlifted assault mission. Not that it sounds great because it's a helicopter assault (curb your enthusiasm, no helicopters will be on the table), but it's a great chance to show of my new houses.

As this is my first game, I used points guidelines from Afghanistan missions sheet. I opted for:
Two "type 2" squads, and I added a squad leader.
No EOD support can be called in, because this is an airlifted assault.

Four "tier 3" insurgents groups. Rules say group is 6 fighters with AKs, that get a RPG on a roll of 4. I also gave them a RPK on a roll of 4, meaning best armed groups have 4 AKs, a RPK and a RPG. This is what they got:

Group 1 5x AK, RPG
Group 2 5x AK, RPK
Group 3 5x AK, RPG
Group 4 5x AK, RPK

It turned out them and another AK, RPK and RPG are all the insurgents I have, which made me realise the East Germans I've been painting will have to represent a higher tier bad guys in eventual campaign.

This was deployment. You can see two SAF teams on the left, Rebel team by the grey building and another one having a rest at the hay rack. The rest are out patrolling and should return soon, surely they heard the Cougars bringing in the troops? As they are just local villagers, defending the factory, their cohesion distance is "touching". There are also 7 civilians standing around randomly, being annoying. Washers represent IEDs and were put in what I consider "fair" positions, on the roads leading inside the village, regardless of SAF position.

The barn is a store, inconspicuous small yellow-ish house is the factory.

Turn 1

Storming the village, team Ankaran moved in to secure the barn right away. Lacking UAV support, they were unable to identify rebels for combatants, but the rebels opened up right away to try and keep the SAF from the bomb store. They fire resulted in two SAF soldiers suppressed. A return fire from an UGL, Minimi and squad leader's rifle resulted in a rebel suppressed and one casualty (a RPK gunner, even!)

Seeing the action, team Bled rushed forward and opened fire on the rebel team hiding behind the wall. This time, I did not forget to count in the civilian (shooting 5" around it might get him killed, I forgot about him first time round, so I decided to ignore him).  As any role of 1 around civilian gets him killed, he died.

Receiving all that fire, rebel team in the firefight failed to do much but react to the attackers! Sounds of casualties must have scared the  other rebel team as well, as they decided not to react just yet. (Both failed activation tests)

Turn 2

Hay rack group activates and opens up with all they had and succeeds in suppressing two more soldiers and killing 2 civilians.

The weight of fire stops SAF assault in their tracks (they don't activate).

Turn 3

Team Ankaran is still being held by the fire, but team Bled surges forward. This time I remembered to use cover modifiers against rebels (SAF don't get cover modifiers because rebels hit on 6 as it is, I think I will use Breaking News' idea here that downgrades the rate of fire in cases like this. Just because rebels are bad at firing, it doesn't mean cover is useless all of the sudden). They score 3 hits and mop up with the Taliban team.

*At this point I realised I played it all wrong. Rebels can have 1 man suppressed, the rest all die outright. So I removed 1 that shouldn't be suppressed, leaving 3 rebels that were removed as a result of Bled's fire.

The defeat of one rebel team left the one at the hay rack paralysed, unable to perform. The two groups that were out on patrol, however, now returned to the village.

Turn 4

Only one rebel group activates, that moved on to the grey building, trying to prevent SAF from entering the bomb store. They were spotted by team Ankaran, but because only a suppressed rifleman saw them, they took no action.

Team Ankaran finally  recovered and moved in the barn. Target was confirmed and explosives were set. Objective completed.

Team Bled moved forward through the building and engaged rebel group hiding behind the hay rack, who returned fire. Bled scored 5 hits, one becoming a suppression, 4 are kills. This is too easy, I must be doing something wrong!

Turn 5

Rebels won the initiative and one of the groups moved in through the grey building and its members took the best advantage of the single window and an outside space they could. They fired at the team Ankaran, but scored no success.

Seeing their friends at hay rack in despair,  second rebel group sprinted to the hay rack, to take on the team Bled once they get a chance.

Team Ankaran repositioned slightly to get another man to fire and scored two hits on the rebel group hiding in grey house, killing one.

Team Bled failed to activate.

Turn 6

Team Ankaran moved up to the Rebels and engaged with hand grenades, erasing the rebel group quite literally.
Team Bled failed to activate again, as did both rebel teams.

Turn 7
Team Ankaran pushed forward once again and was met up with a fire from both rebel groups. Firefight with a larger group didn't go well for Slovenes, they ended suppressing one of the rebels and had 3 guys suppressed and a minimi gunner lost themselves. Fire from a rebel in the second group had no effect.

Team Bravo failed to activate.

Now one-man rebel group that started this fight at the hay rack fired at team Ankaran, scoring a hit, that was saved by a body armour. Whew!

Larger group didn't activate.

Turn 8

Small rebel group didn't activate.
Team Ankaran didn't activate.
Large rebel group activated and fired at helpless soldiers of team Ankaran (I was maximising the casualties here, because Ankaran was an easy pray, while Bled had all its members up and was on overwatch). The only hit they did put the Squad leader out of action, making him seriously injured (needs to be taken to off the table to the medevac).
My only hopes to ending this battle quickly,  activating team Bled, failed.

Turn 9

Large group activated again and unleashed another volley at team Ankaran, trying to destroy it before its members can return to fight. They scored one hit. The save failed, which means one of the suppressed members is now a casualty. Random roll decided it was Grenadier who is now badly injured and in the need of medevac.

Small group failed to activate again.

Against all odds, team Ankaran returned to fight and opened fire, scoring a hit and suppressing one of the rebels.

Team Bled still didn't activate.

Turn 10

Team Ankaran activates (I realised their roll is 3+, not 4+, so that's another mistake), fires and kills a rebel.

Team Bled finally activates and moves out in the open to end this dispute. They spotted an IED marker, which turned out to be false. Their grenades scored 7 hits, which means they were now the only survivors.

According to the victory points, assuming SAF blew up the second building after the battle, as there was no opposition, it came down to:

SAF
10 obj + 48 rebels - whatever a civilian would be worth, so we'll ignore those = 58

Rebels
18 for 3 SAF members killed/badly injured

That's quite a victory for SAF and it does seem in line with what I've read about these engagements, so far, but I have done some mistakes. The system probably isn't bad, but I think I prefer some of the ideas in Breaking News (especially low ammo rules). I also think I would like to add something like an off table sniper support and bombardments, but as we were fighting on such short distances, the latter would not be used too often. What bothers me is that UGL, minimi and RPG all get +3 FP, compared to rifle's 2, but then again, that is 50% higher fire power. There is absolutely no difference between a RPK and a RPG, so perhaps I'd make RPGs ignore cover.

House roles ideas that I had during the game/deployment:

1. In AFG Supplement, there is a bonus for SUSAT optics (4x sight that Brits use). I only made one guy per squad (1/2 per team if you prefer) using it in a role of a designated marksman, so I opted to only give him the bonus.
Should you be interested, as everyone else, SAF figured marksman needs something heavier than a 5.56 rifle with a scope, so some of our units are now equipping their marksmen (that is not a sniper, we got those, too) with spare M76 sniper rifles (ie. Dragunov).

2. IEDs - For 3 teams that Taliban (so rebels in my games) have, they get an IED. Each has 3 markers (2 blanks, 1 real). If a marker is real, it will be decided by rolling 1-2 on a D6 (instead of picking one and not telling myself).

3. On guard/overwatch enables inactive teams to react to enemy fire and movement. I decided troops start on guard, as this would kind of make sense, the distances are short enough to imagine rebels expected the assault on the village.

4. I think advance casualties should work for both sides, as there is 1/3 chance of a light wound, which would give rebels some kind of a "save", they get none other way and are pretty much obliterated by the veteran infantry.

5. Talking about veteran infantry, SAF will be downgraded to "Seasoned" as we're assuming Evergreen campaign is their first  real FUBAR since 1991.



Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Underfire Miniatures: 28mm East Germans team 2

Hello guys,

I am quite pleased that I have finally finished another team of East Germans from Underfire miniatures.
The photo is bad as usual, so some of them seem larger than the others, but they are actually pretty much of the same size.

From left to right there is a NCO (as you could guess!), a gung ho PK gunner (my favorite!), and two riflemen, one armed with a LAW.

 There is not much to add, apart from the pain that painting the camo gives me, they are quite pleasant, I really like the poses on those. There are 3 different helmet covers variations between the 8 figures, which is very welcoming.

In other news, my "work placement" ends by the end of the month and I will have more time to devote to hobby again - hopefully I will do so as well.

I have a long list of things I want to do, from playing a game (!); making more terrain which is why I have trouble starting to play; sculpting as I haven't held a putty in my hands for 4 months or so - which is when I bought a new stripe of GS that I haven't yet used!

I am still gathering courage to work on my technicals some more, which would also be welcome.

Well, this is it for now, I hope I'll post again soon enough!

Thanks for reading,
Mathyoo

Underfire miniatures: 28mm East Germans

Hello guys,

I have finally finished painting a pack of Under Fire Miniatures 28mm East Germans. These are one of the two packs that company does in 28mm, but they have a huge range of 20mm miniatures. They were sculpted by the same guy that sculpts Moderns for Empress, and quality hasn't suffered - they are absolutely fantastic.

Cold war is not something I was planning to dab into (as I opted for moderns instead), alas they were a gift so I was more than happy to paint them.  They will not be put away, however, as they will take the role of the Evergreen army in my moderns that was so far filled by my WWII US Marines conversions.

Being ignorant of Cold War Germans of either description, I had to do some research figuring out the equipment and camouflage. I am not too confident about my paint choices, but I think it should do well enough.

If I am not mistaken, they would fit in the late eighties, should anyone be interested.

 This pack gives you three guys armed with AKs and a guy armed with a RPK for a support. The barrel of the later actually broke in transit, but by simply sanding it a bit and gluing it back, the damange is not noticable at all. Other than that, they pretty much all sport same equipment, with ammo pouches of the RPK guy being a tad larger, which I think was a nice attention to detail.

As I mentioned they were sculpted by the same sculptor that made the US Infantry I am using for Slovenes, but as you can see below the Germans are just a tad bulkier:

Unrelated, below are some notes on the paints used, mainly for myself as a future reference:

I had trouble picking up paints (not to mention painting the pattern). The pattern is horrible, it really is. It is brown stripes on brownish-greenish-greyish-beige background. The pattern gets lost from 5 meters away, so the easiest way would be to just paint the uniforms in one solid colour...but where is the fun in that?

I decided to make the pattern obvious, as these are miniatures after all and for that, I went with lighter brown background, so that brown stripes can be made out.

I painted the uniform this way (because of what I had available):

German Beige Camo base
Green Brown wash, some black wash
Brown stripes

Brown violet for helmet netting and helmet straps.

Helmet  - German grey, highlited with German Grey +  Green Grey to lighten it up

Straps, gas mask bag, bedroll all in Green grey with some black

I finished it all of with a light drybrush of German Beige Camo mixed with some white.


I have to admit I miss the RPG in this pack, but it will be provided in one of the next packs  that are due to be released, so I can always put them in. With my Evergreen army now matching my Slovenes, I am running out of reasons not to play a game soon. I am setting up an idea for a scenario already, but I always find myself missing some more terrain, so hopefully this can be a project for this week - perhaps some waist high banks that could represent various ditches and act like a cover in the large open areas?

As usual, thanks for looking!

Mathyoo

JTAC

 Hello guys,

It took me a bit longer than it should, but I finally have a JTAC prepared. Joint terminal attack controller, simply put, is a guy that calls in air strikes. All the communication between him and the pilot is always in English, no matter the nationality of either or both of them.

They receive a lot of attention here lately as SAF is trying to establish a regional training centre for JTAC in Slovenia. This is interesting, I suppose, as we don't have an Air Force as such, but just an "Air component" within the Army...and even those units are armed with Pilatus PC-9M Hudournik ("Swift", the bird) airplanes.

 While they look like something that might have taken part in the Battle for Britain, Pilatus planes are apparently one of the best training aircraft you can get. Slovenia bought them early after the independence to train its future fighter pilots on them and when it was realised that jets are costly, they were simply armed. While they are used as such on practices for media, these planes can obviously not intercept an airbus and our skies are currently protected by Hungarian or Italian jets. Needless to say, there's plenty jokes going around about how we don't need jets as they "can't make a U turn without leaving the airspace".

To make me feel better,  I have to let everyone know that a "guns only" dogfight between a Slovene in Pilatus and American in F-16 took place few years back which the former won with 2:0. So if nothing else, these planes are good enough to keep the know-how and pilots trained. On the other case, taking the tanks out of operational use is making us lose the tankers and their experience.

So, from a gaming point of view, JTAC is a guy with a radio and I converted him from one. He can be used as a basic radioman, JTAC, Artillery observer etc.

 I was quite gutted to find out I have misplaced the original antennae. It was really nicely done and I KNOW I put it somewhere to make sure it wouldn't get lost. So, I replaced it with a piece of solid wire. It's not as nice but at least it won't break easily.

I also scraped off his M4 and, as his main job is to direct airplanes and not fire his rifle, put an F2000 on his backpack, while giving him binoculars. My first idea was to let him have a touch screen computer with a map on it, but working on that would be a bit complicated and had to satisfy myself with a locally produced binoculars with a laser pointer.

To make him stand out at least a bit, his vest was painted in khaki. I wish his helmet was not covered with a cloth, but as that would include way too much work, I just went with it as it is.

I hope to use him in larger games to call in some airstrikes and I am now trying to find a nice 1:144 aircraft or even a helicopter. I am sure the International forces on Evergreen Island have an Apache or two laying around!

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Combat Medic

Hey guys,

moving on with the modern, I have a medic for you.

As in what can be seen, conversion work has been limited to gun swap, but it took a lot of carving to cut away the gun that was moulded to the body with most of its length.

He carries a large backpack that looks a lot like the new ones that Army purchased a year or so back, so I painted it tan and I am quite satisfied with it. It is accurate and it gives the miniature a nice contrast.

On the other hand, I got lazy and just painted a red cross on a white field on his right arm, which I believe should have some blue in it to be correct.

I could not make a good cross on the backpack even after three tries, so I gave up on it. If anyone is interested, the white is actually sandy and red is "red leather" to make it blend in a bit more.

One (and the only) thing that bothered me with this miniature was that it was apparently left unfinished! It lacks an upper arm pocket on the left arm. I can see how a thing like this can be missed out, but it bothered me to no end. As I painted it in my "hobby halt" season, I just opted for painting the insignia on it, instead of trying to sculpt a pocket.

I can not wait to play another game, where I will make sure to have someone extracted...and I need to play another game where a bomb disposal unit does something - sounds like I have a plan already!


This is it for today and I still have a JTAC left - I am saving him for the last as he was customised a bit more, but as usual - nothing went quite as planned!

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Squad Leaders

 Hello guys,

I painted the last of the soldiers I currently own: two squad leader shown this week, a medic and a radioman/JTAC following in the next weeks. I decided to stretch this pack to give me more time to paint new things to show without any other two week long pauses!

In Slovenian Armed Forces, every squad of two fire teams of four is lead by a ninth member, a Squad leader.

For these two roles, I am using an EOD pack soldier (left) and a Command pack commander (right). I might mention that now that I am typing this, I just remembered that I planned to sculpt sidearms on them, which squad leaders would carry.  It really bothers me that I forgot about them, but that is what you get when you stop working on a project mid-way! On the other hand, I don't like going back to my miniatures after the varnish, so I might leave them as they are.

Other than the interesting poses (that are not too dynamic, but not bland, either!), there is not much to say about them. Each of the two is pretty much the same as any other solider I painted so far and carries an F2000S rifle.

For your amusement, here is a photo of a squad (I know, I know...) taken from the recruiting website. Note how the camouflage patterns of the uniforms and vests are different.

That's it for today!

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Fireteam Drava

 Hello guys,

It took me longer than planned to get this batch painted. I started working on them some three weeks ago, as I have put my hobby on a side rail for a while.

Fourth letter in a Slovene alphabet is actually Č (ch as in cheese), but I decided to skip it as it wouldn't be used in international codes I presume. Drava is a river, so there is not much to add here.

This is my fourth and last fireteam, and as Empress miniatures only sell three packed teams, this one was built from various packs.
 
From left to right there is a grenadier (command pack), SAW gunner (support pack, sniper), rifleman /AT gunner (support pack AT4) and another rifleman (EOD pack).

 The conversions are mostly the usual addition of canteens, slight alternation to helmets (elastic strap for grass) and, naturally, weapon swaps.

Sniper-to-SAW-gunner conversion also included broadening of the pouches to make them a bit more accurate. Below is a sniper miniature before it was converted, with my dead-end sniper project next to it. While using sniper as a SAW gunner allowed me to get another fire team (and with that another full squad), I won't have a suitable sniper miniature until I buy sniper/ATGM teams pack in future.

Below are miniatures at an early conversion stage (Weapons in place, but hands haven't been sculpted except at SAW gunner that was done way earlier). As you can see AT4 gained some bulk, but I feel it is a tad too short. He had his right arm completely cut off and repositioned at a different angle (with AT4 he held a tube, while RGW has handles). He also had his rifle pinned to his hip, but I didn't bother sculpting straps - they are a nightmare!

This is it for today. I have 4 more miniatures to convert and paint and I will be done with what I currently own for moderns. I plan on purchasing more packs in future, but probably not in the first half of the year. After those are done, I will tackle my unpainted pile (either medieval fantasy I started a while ago or even finally paint survivors I owned for years) as I do not plan on ordering anything new.

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