Cuba Libre!

[bigjackmac]

All,

It's 0645 on 1 Feb 1990, and CLA SOF's B Squadron has regrouped after its successful mission to destroy a radar site on the western end of the island, and enplaned in three CLA UH-60 Blackhawks, en route to seize a building in southern Havana, home of "Radio Cuba."  B Sqdn will seize the radio station and begin broadcasting a pre-recorded message from the Cuban government in exile on a loop, to make the local population aware of this morning's momentous happenings.

Garrisoning the area are troops of the regime's 2nd Airborne Company, 1st Airborne Battalion, "Castro's Bodyguard."  They are elite paratroopers and extremely loyal to the Castro brothers.  Equally nefariously, nearby is a contingent of Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC); the Castro regime is not doing well economically, particularly as the Soviet Union has begun drawing down support as it nears its own collapse, and so Cuba sought friends wherever it could find them.  As avowed enemies of the United States, it was seemingly natural that Cuba and Iran become allies.  This involvement by the IRGC in the CLA's fight for liberation would set the stage for decades of enmity between the new Cuba and Iran.

Back in the here and now, there is a big problem: A Squadron was not successful in knocking out a nearby regime SAM site, and as the three-ship formation nears Havana, a missile rises from the jungle below and destroys one of the CLA helicopters!


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.


The opposing forces, with Castro-loyalists on the left and CLA SOF on the right.  The CLA forces are outnumbered due to losing a number of their men to the SAM battery A Squadron failed to knock out.  The CLA force, with a Command Stand, five Special Operations rifle teams, an LMG team, a SMAW team, and a single leader figure representing CLA Special Operations, Commanding Officer: Colonel Donalo Quilveras.  The CLA force is split into two groups ("sticks"), one for each of the remaining helicopters.  The enemy has two Command Stands, eight rifle teams, and an 82mm mortar team.  Four rifle teams and the mortar are Castro's Bodyguards, while the other four rifle teams are IRGC.


Overview of the map, north is up.  The target building is at far right.  The CLA forces are not on the board as they will enter via helo, what you see are regime paratroopers and IRGC teams spread out.


CLA Special Operations inserts via UH-60 Blackhawk, starting an absolutely ridiculous battle.  To see how it turned out, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/06/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-9.html

That's the last of last week's battle reports; I played four more games (10-13, with 14 set up and waiting) this weekend, so more to follow as soon as I can.

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Epic !

Thanks for posting all those, Jack !
Cheers - Phil

(And I think I've deleted the 'other' one properly.  )

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

That was an epic!

[bigjackmac]

All,

It's 0730 on 1 Feb 1990, and I Company, 10th Popular Force Battalion is charged with destroying a bridge near the town of Pedroso (#10, north-northwest of the Bay of Pigs, south-south east of Matanzas), with the goal being to screen the Bay of Pigs landing site from the Castro-regime garrison at Matanzas.  The bridge is held by the Castro regime's 86th Provincial Militia Company of the 5th Territorial Infantry Battalion.


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 seizes a bridge near Pedroso, NNW of the Bay of Pigs.


The opposing forces, with regime troops on the left and CLA troops on the right.  The regime forces are made up of Pendraken Australians (Vietnam range), heavy weapons from the Pendraken Indo-china and Vietnam ranges, and an armored car from the Falklands range.  The CLA forces are Brit and Argentinian special forces from the Falklands range, and the heavy weapons are also Vietcong/NVA/Vietminh from the Indo-china and Vietnam ranges.

The CLA force consists of the Command Stand, four rifle teams, an HMG team, two RPG teams, and their battalion commander.  The regime force is comprised of a Command Stand, four rifle stands, an HMG stand, an LMG stand, and a Panhard armored car.


Overview, north is up.  The bridge (objective) is at top left, with Bunkers 1 and 2 (left to right), and the Cuban barracks at top right.  The CLA force entered the fight at bottom left.  There is a small village at bottom right.  Hill 25 is at center left.


Gettin' down to business: a CLA RPG team looses a rocket towards a Castro-regime Panhard.

To see the whole fight (and you won't regret it ):
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/06/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-10.html

Hope you like it, I did; the fight was ferocious!

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Great stuff, Jack !
Cheers - Phil

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice one Jack!

[bigjackmac]

Thank you Phil and Lemmey, I appreciate the loyal following, nice to know someone is reading 

I should be able to post another this evening, so stay tuned.

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

It's 0830 on 1 Feb 1990, and B Company, 1st Airborne Battalion has set up a road block on the main east-west artery (#11), just east of the bridge seized by A Company earlier in the morning (#3).  The goal of B Company is to defend the road block to protect the western landing site, and they are being attacked by elements of the regime's 28th Infantry Company, 3rd Infantry Battalion.


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 blew the bridge at Pedroso to protect the Bay of Pigs landing site from the Matanzas garrison.
11) 1st Airborne Battalion defended a roadblock from regime counterattack to protect the western landing site (at Playa Colorada).


The opposing forces, with Castro-regime troops on the left and CLA on the right.  CLA are Pendraken Brits from the Falklands range, while Castro forces are Pendraken Argentinians from the Falklands range supported by BTR-60s from Minifigs.

The CLA force, with a Command Stand, five airborne rifle teams, a MILAN ATGM team, an 81mm mortar team, and a single leader figure representing their battalion commander.  The regime force, with a Command Stand, seven rifle teams, two BTR-60s, and a .30 cal. MG team.


Overview, north is up, with CLA forces situated in a village at the crossroads on the left (west), while regime forces are on foot in the top right (northeast) and in BTRs in the bottom right (southeast).


The CLA paras find themselves being flanked on the right, and a furious firefight breaks out (that's Sgt Villagrosa's team at center, amidst the regime mechanized force).

To see the whole battle report, please visit the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/06/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-11.html

Another great fight, with things looking dim, then...  Well, you'll just have to read it

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Busy busy busy!
Another good in, thought the regime had them for a while!

[toxicpixie]

I recognise that Blackhawk form the 14th June post! Our local Asda flogs 'em for about £2.50 as part of their Tailwinds series. I'm hoping the Heuy comes back in some time soon...

[bigjackmac]

"...thought the regime had them for a while!"
You can keep hoping, Lemmey, but the Castro brothers are going down!

TP - Yes, these are Maisto Tailwinds helos that I slapped some paint on.  I, too, wish I could get my hands on some of their UH-1s.

Thanks guys, and I should have the next report up this evening.  I hope they're entertaining.

V/R,
Jack

[ronan]

(...)  I hope they're entertaining.

Yes they are ! ( although I didn't have time to read the last one    )

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Excellent stuff, look forwards to it. They are always entertaining, my only issue with this one is because your games are a parallel slice of a campaign with quite a lot of simultaneously occurring actions, we are not getting the minor character development like Klink and co...

And yes, I'm definitely pro-Cuban on this one! Just still to decide which Cuba!

[bigjackmac]

Thanks fellas, and good to see you Ronan!  I do appreciate comments; as both you know, it's quite a bit of work to write these things up and get them posted, but I don't mind doing it if people are actually interested.  Heck, Ronan's small-scale battle reports with Force on Force for Spanish Civil War were a big inspiration for what I'm doing here with Cuba Libre!

And Lemmey, I'm with you regarding the span of Cuba Libre being so large.  It's not really the way I wanted it necessarily, but it sort of had to be in order to fight the whole Cuban War of Liberation.  Also, to develop characters that won't be seen for awhile (due to the way I'm going to run Cuba Libre following the War of Liberation), I wanted to get them on the board now so they were known in the overall scheme of things.

Once the War of Liberation if finished, the NEW Cuban military will be reorganized into basically a home defense piece (the bulk of their military) and then build an Expeditionary Force, largely from the elements found in the CLA units fighting now.  Once the War of Liberation is finished, Cuba will be going to war all over the globe, but they'll be deploying smaller units, so hopefully we'll get to know the guys better, a la KG Klink.

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

It's 0930 on 1 Feb 1990, and, following 2nd Marine Company's successful amphibious assault, A Company, 6th Infantry Battalion came ashore at the Bay of Pigs landing site, moved to 2nd Marine Company's left (northern) flank, and began pushing inland.  Things were going well until A Company was ambushed by elements of the Castro regime's 81st Infantry Company, 4th Infantry Battalion.


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.


The opposing forces, with Castro regime troops on the left and CLA on the right.  The CLA are US from Pendraken's Vietnam range, while the Castro troops are Argentinians from Pendraken's Falklands range.

The CLA forces have a Command Stand, five rifle stands, an HMG team, an 81mm mortar team, and a single leader figure representing Colonel Colvasquez, their battalion commander, who was already decorated for valor for the fight at the beaches of the Bay of Pigs.  The Castro force has a Command Stand, four rifle teams, an HMG team, an MMG team, and an 82mm mortar.


Overview, north is up.  A Company entered at bottom left (southeast), while the Castro forces are spread across the top (north) edge of the map, to include in a small village and a team atop the cliffs at top right (northeast).


Things are not going well for the CLA force, and the whole fight hinged on this action on the CLA right flank: the lone rifle team there is forced back by enemy fire, hunkering, when the enemy charges; Colonel Colvasquez immediately grasps the gravity of the situation and throws in with the beleaguered CLA rifle team...

To see how it turned out, please visit the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/06/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-12.html

One more left to post from last weekend, looking to get some more fights in this weekend.

V/R,
Jack