Cuba Libre!

[bigjackmac]

All,

It's 1530 on 1 Feb 1990, and the CLA's Golf Company, 9th Popular Force Battalion, finds itself in very interesting position, insofar as they about to attack a larger force.  Captain Elias, G Company's commander, turned to his superior, Colonel Bustamante: "Are you sure about this, Sir?"  "Yes, Captain, we will strike at the enemy while he is still preparing to strike at us."

Generalissimo Waraldonez' orders to Colonel Bustamante, commander of the 9th PF Bn, were to delay the enemy garrison at Matanzas from striking south (towards the Bay of Pigs landing site) or west (towards the Playa Colorada landing site).  Colonel Bustamante conducted a map reconnaissance and realized there were three highways leading out of the Matanzas area that could be used by the enemy.  Col Bustamante was adamantly opposed to assigning one of his companies to each of the highways, as it would leave him without a reserve, nor could he afford to play a 'guessing game' with the enemy, trying to ascertain which route(s) they might use.

So Col Bustamante decided the best course of action was to seize the initiative and conduct a spoiling attack against the enemy's 43rd Infantry Company, 7th Infantry Battalion, as it was preparing to depart the Matanzas military base and strike for the CLA landing areas.


So far we've had:
1) B Squadron SOF destroyed a radar site in support of amphibious landings at Playa Colorada (5).  B Sqdn then egressed and linked up with CLA rotary wing assets for their follow-on mission in Havana (6).
2) C Squadron SOF destroyed a the Cuban military's communications center.
3) 1st Para Battalion dropped in and seized a bridge to screen the landings at Playa Colorada (5).
4) 2nd Para battalion dropped in and eliminated a Castro-regime garrison to screen the landings at the Bay of Pigs (just west of (4).
5) 1st Marine Company, 3rd Infantry Battalion, made an amphibious assault at Playa Colorada.
6) A Squadron SOF attacked a Castro-regime SAM site near Havana, which failed to clear the way for B Squadron's helo assault into Havana.
7) 2nd Marine Company, 6th Infantry Battalion, landed at the Bay of Pigs then turned east and ran into a strong enemy force, which it handily defeated.
B Company of the UWG pursued and destroyed an enemy garrison in the Escambray Mountains.
9) B Squadron SOF conducted an aerial insertion into Havana to seize a radio station and broadcast news of the invasion.
10) 10th Popular Force Battalion seized and destroyed the Pedroso bridge to protect the Bay of Pigs landing site from the Matanzas garrison.
11) 1st Airborne Infantry Battalion successfully fought off a regime counterattack near the bridge at Sandino, protecting the western (Playa Colorada) landing site from the Pinar del Rio garrison.
12) 6th Infantry Battalion fought through an enemy ambush while pushing inland from the Bay of Pigs landing site.
13) 8th Popular Force Battalion ambushed a mechanized column of the enemy 2nd Armored Battalion, just west of Havana.
14) 2nd Airborne Battalion engaged enemy armored forces of the 6th Armored Battalion in the village of El Rincon, en route to the Bay of Pigs landing site.
15) 4th Infantry Battalion's 1st Air Assault Company conducts an air assault southeast of Sandino to counter enemy mechanized forces of 3rd Infantry Battalion (forcing 1st Airborne Battalion's right flank).
16) 9th Popular Force Battalion conducts a spoiling attack on the regime's 7th Infantry Battalion in the Matanzas garrison.


The forces, with regime troops on the left and CLA on the right.  The CLA are made up of Brit and Argentinian SF from Pendraken's Falklands range, with VC/NVA/Vietminh for heavy weapons, while the regime force is made up of Argentinians from Pendraken's Falklands range.

The CLA force has a Command Stand representing the Company Commander, five rifle teams, a single RPG team, and a single leader figure representing their battalion commander.  The Castro-regime troops have a Command Stand, seven rifle teams, and a .50 caliber HMG.


Overview of the map, north is up, with the regime's Matanzas military base on the northern half of the board.  There are three rifle teams on the ground, falling back to the trucks (at top right), where the Commander and the other four rifle teams are already mounted up.  A single rifle team has just left Bunker 1 (if you count the three bunkers from left to right), and two rifle teams are next to Barracks 1 (if you count the two buildings from left to right).  The HMG is in Bunker 2.  The CLA force is along the bottom (south) edge, with Colonel Bustamante, the RPG team, and a rifle team in the bottom left corner, looking to provide a base of fire from Hill 15 (bottom left), while Captain Elias leads the assault of four rifle teams coming through the thick jungle atop Hill 25 (bottom right).


The CLA attacks, and is beaten back.  The enemy counterattacks, and Colonel Bustamante almost single-handledly beats it back, then leads a rifle team into a series of close assaults, this one against an entrenched heavy machine gun! 

To see how it turns out, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/07/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-16.html

Two more batreps to post, then I intend on posting an end of day SITREP to show where we're at with regards to the entire campaign.  I'll be in touch

V/R,
Jack

[toxicpixie]

You've been going great guns here! As have the CLA and FAR

[Techno]

 
Cheers - Phil.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice oneJack. Looks like a kW a job for artillery

[ronan]

Colonel Bustamante : stupid or brave.. 

Thank you

[bigjackmac]

Thank you gentlemen, it's been a lot of fun.  I played two more games this morning, just need time to write them up!

Ronan - As we used to say in the Marine Corps, "good initiative, bad judgement."

V/R,
Jack

[toxicpixie]

On the axis of ability and energy, nothing is more dangerous than a motivated incompetent...

[kipt]

As we used to say in the Army about the Marines, "Hey diddle, diddle, right up the middle".

[bigjackmac]

All,

It's 1700 on 1 Feb 1990, and the CLA's 2nd Air Assault Company, 7th Infantry Battalion, having only recently come ashore at the Bay of Pigs landing site, has taken up defensive positions.  The CLA's 2nd Airborne Battalion twice dealt the enemy heavy blows at El Rincon; the second severe enough to send the enemy's 6th Armored Battalion wheeling and in retreat towards its base at Cienfuegos.  Looking to seize the opportunity to put a major enemy armored formation permanently out of the fight, Generalissimo Waraldonez ordered the 2nd Air Assault Company lifted into blocking positions east of El Rincon to cut off the enemy's retreat, placing the enemy troops between 1st Airborne Battalion in the west and 2nd Air Assault Company in the east.

A bold move to be sure, but the CLA has now placed the enemy in "death ground," that patch of real estate in which the enemy cannot sit still and they cannot run, they must attack for the sake of their very own survival.  2nd Air Assault Company was about to reap what the Generalissimo had sown with his overly ambitious battle plan...


So far we've had:
1) B Squadron SOF destroyed a radar site in support of amphibious landings at Playa Colorada (5).  B Sqdn then egressed and linked up with CLA rotary wing assets for their follow-on mission in Havana (6).
2) C Squadron SOF destroyed a the Cuban military's communications center.
3) 1st Para Battalion dropped in and seized a bridge to screen the landings at Playa Colorada (5).
4) 2nd Para battalion dropped in and eliminated a Castro-regime garrison to screen the landings at the Bay of Pigs (just west of (4).
5) 1st Marine Company, 3rd Infantry Battalion, made an amphibious assault at Playa Colorada.
6) A Squadron SOF attacked a Castro-regime SAM site near Havana, which failed to clear the way for B Squadron's helo assault into Havana.
7) 2nd Marine Company, 6th Infantry Battalion, landed at the Bay of Pigs then turned east and ran into a strong enemy force, which it handily defeated.
B Company of the UWG pursued and destroyed an enemy garrison in the Escambray Mountains.
9) B Squadron SOF conducted an aerial insertion into Havana to seize a radio station and broadcast news of the invasion.
10) 10th Popular Force Battalion seized and destroyed the Pedroso bridge to protect the Bay of Pigs landing site from the Matanzas garrison.
11) 1st Airborne Infantry Battalion successfully fought off a regime counterattack near the bridge at Sandino, protecting the western (Playa Colorada) landing site from the Pinar del Rio garrison.
12) 6th Infantry Battalion fought through an enemy ambush while pushing inland from the Bay of Pigs landing site.
13) 8th Popular Force Battalion ambushed a mechanized column of the enemy 2nd Armored Battalion, just west of Havana.
14) 2nd Airborne Battalion engaged enemy armored forces of the 6th Armored Battalion in the village of El Rincon, en route to the Bay of Pigs landing site.
15) 4th Infantry Battalion's 1st Air Assault Company conducts an air assault southeast of Sandino to counter enemy mechanized forces of 3rd Infantry Battalion (forcing 1st Airborne Battalion's right flank).
16) 9th Popular Force Battalion conducts a spoiling attack on the regime's 7th Infantry Battalion in the Matanzas garrison.
17) 2nd Air Assault Company, 7th Infantry Battalion, inserts east of El Rincon to block the escape of the regime's 6th Armored Battalion.


The opposing forces, with regime troops on the left and CLA troops on the right.  The CLA force consists of US troops from Pendraken's Vietnam range, while the regime guys are Argentinians from Pendraken's Falklands Range with Takara plastic T-34s in support.

The CLA force has a Command Stand representing their Company Commander, seven rifle teams, an HMG team, a TOW ATGM team, a Charles Gustav team, and a single leader figure representing their Battalion Commander.  The enemy force has a Command Stand, seven rifle teams, and four T-34 tanks.


Overview of the map, north is up.  The enemy is in the bottom left corner, fleeing from the west, trying to escape to the east.  The CLA force is divided into two elements, with the rail line, which sits atop an embankment, splitting their defense down the middle.  The Colonel is in the north, atop Hill 33, and the Captain is in the south, atop Hill 35.


Enemy tanks surged forward all along the line, with CLA anti-tank assets doing what they could to stem the armored tide.  To see how it turned out, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/07/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-17.html

One more still to post from last week, then I played four more fights this weekend.  I also have a SITREP for D-Day to post, then I got into some other stuff as well, so keep your eyes peeled

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Great stuff...... and cracking pics, as usual.
Cheers - Phil

[bigjackmac]

Thanks Phil, and another batrep coming this evening.

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

It's 1930 on 1 Feb 1990, and the CLA's C Company, Unconventional Warfare Group, is charged with blocking east-west running fast routes through the Escambray Mountains (just east of Cienfuegos), the goal being to isolate powerful regime forces at Camaguey, Las Tunas, Holguin, and Santiago de Cuba and prevent them from influencing the fight in the west, with Havana being enveloped from both west (Playa Colorada landing site) and east (Bay of Pigs landing site).

C Company has spent the past several hours variously conducting reconnaissance to identify enemy columns heading west, and dispersing to dodge harassing regime ground attack aircraft ("I thought our flyboys were supposed to take care of all that...").  In any case, C Company has identified an enemy column of Task Force A, 12th Mechanized Company, sallying forth out of Holguin; the Company Commander quickly issues orders for a hasty ambush.  It would turn into what would surely be one of the most ferocious firefights of the entire War of Liberation...


So far we've had:
1) B Squadron SOF destroyed a radar site in support of amphibious landings at Playa Colorada (5).  B Sqdn then egressed and linked up with CLA rotary wing assets for their follow-on mission in Havana (6).
2) C Squadron SOF destroyed a the Cuban military's communications center.
3) 1st Para Battalion dropped in and seized a bridge to screen the landings at Playa Colorada (5).
4) 2nd Para battalion dropped in and eliminated a Castro-regime garrison to screen the landings at the Bay of Pigs (just west of (4).
5) 1st Marine Company, 3rd Infantry Battalion, made an amphibious assault at Playa Colorada.
6) A Squadron SOF attacked a Castro-regime SAM site near Havana, which failed to clear the way for B Squadron's helo assault into Havana.
7) 2nd Marine Company, 6th Infantry Battalion, landed at the Bay of Pigs then turned east and ran into a strong enemy force, which it handily defeated.
B Company of the UWG pursued and destroyed an enemy garrison in the Escambray Mountains.
9) B Squadron SOF conducted an aerial insertion into Havana to seize a radio station and broadcast news of the invasion.
10) 10th Popular Force Battalion seized and destroyed the Pedroso bridge to protect the Bay of Pigs landing site from the Matanzas garrison.
11) 1st Airborne Infantry Battalion successfully fought off a regime counterattack near the bridge at Sandino, protecting the western (Playa Colorada) landing site from the Pinar del Rio garrison.
12) 6th Infantry Battalion fought through an enemy ambush while pushing inland from the Bay of Pigs landing site.
13) 8th Popular Force Battalion ambushed a mechanized column of the enemy 2nd Armored Battalion, just west of Havana.
14) 2nd Airborne Battalion engaged enemy armored forces of the 6th Armored Battalion in the village of El Rincon, en route to the Bay of Pigs landing site.
15) 4th Infantry Battalion's 1st Air Assault Company conducts an air assault southeast of Sandino to counter enemy mechanized forces of 3rd Infantry Battalion (forcing 1st Airborne Battalion's right flank).
16) 9th Popular Force Battalion conducts a spoiling attack on the regime's 7th Infantry Battalion in the Matanzas garrison.
17) 2nd Air Assault Company, 7th Infantry Battalion, inserts east of El Rincon to block the escape of the regime's 6th Armored Battalion.
18) C Company of the UWG fought a running battle in the Escambray Mountains to delay/halt the regime's 12th Mechanized Battalion moving west.


The opposing forces, with regime forces on the left and the CLA on the right.  The CLA are Minifigs Australians from their Modern Range, and the regime forces are Argentinians from Pendraken's Falklands range, with an M-8 armored car and two SU-76s, also from Pendraken.

The CLA has a Command Stand representing their Company Commander (unfortunately it has four figures vice three, just like the regular rifle stands), six rifle stands, and a single leader figure representing their Battalion Commander.  Each rifle team is carrying multiple LAWs, but they have to get to very short range for them to be effective.  The regime force has a Command Stand, six rifle stands, an MG team, an 82mm mortar team, a very old M-8 armored car, and two very old SU-76s.


Overview of the map, north is up.  The enemy armored column is on the highway at top right, but they also have an infantry force at bottom right.  The CLA is also split into two forces, with Colonel Huistrella and three rifle teams in the north, and Captain Gonzalez and three rifle teams in the south.


Since they've proven so popular, how about another picture of my missiles in action (from "Fight's On!")?  The lightly armed Special Forces troopers use the rugged terrain to get close and fire a LAW at one of the enemy armored vehicles.

To see the whole fight, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/07/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-18.html

Well, that's 18 fights in the books, and that's just D-Day!  Of course, the following days will feature only a few fights each, and I can't see the War of Liberation going on for more than a week, there are simply too many other projects I need to get to.  Tomorrow or the next day I plan on posting a Situation Report ("SITREP"), outlining what exactly has happened so far in the overall scheme of things, and the operational plan for the next day (from the standpoint of the Cuban Liberation Army, of course).

I hope you're enjoying them, it's really been a lot of fun for me.

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Great stuff, Jack.   

I still don't know how you find the time to do all these reports and pics !

Cheers - Phil

[bigjackmac]

Thanks Phil, and I don't know how I have time either. If I ever suddenly stop posting, I'm probably recently deceased, and I'd ask you kind gentlemen to please point the appropriate legal authorities in the direction of my lovely wife, who doesn't seem to love gaming as much as I do

V/R,
Jack

[toxicpixie]

I have a condolences card with an offer to take care of your figures ready to post

[bigjackmac]

TP,

Ye bastid!

But, might as well be you

V/R,
Jack

[toxicpixie]

It's not that we don't like you, we just want more lead

Nah, getting them across the pond might be prohibitive. Charity auction, maybe?!

Although for preference, you not needing that option is better - don't wear yourself out to an early grave with the amount of battles you're fighting

[FierceKitty]

Chastity auction, maybe?!

What might that be, you strange Pixie?

[toxicpixie]

A highly amusing mistype 

If it was mine 

[bigjackmac]

What the heck!?

I need monetary donations to take the wife on vacation, or maybe send her on vacation whole I stay home and game? Dammit, what is wrong with me!?

Next batrep coming soon.

V/R,
Jack