Nasty! Good one.

I don't know how you find the time to do all these reports ! 
(But they're great fun to read)

I've probably missed it in the text.....But what do the little 'beads' signify, Jack ?
Cheers - Phil

"No animals were harmed during this game"

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words.

Phil -
The markers are:
Black - this unit already activated, can't react or act in its turn
Blue - low on ammo
Yellow - Pinned
Red - Suppressed ('hunkered')
White - Heavy Casualties ('men down')

Ronan - The CLA force is charged with protecting civilians and their property to the best of their ability

Those are Pendraken water buffalo from the Vietnam or Indochina range.

V/R,
Jack

All,

It's 1100 on 1 Feb 1990, and B Company, 8th Popular Force Battalion is lying in ambush just west of Havana (#13).  8th PopFor Bn's mission is to halt/delay Castro-regime mechanized forces in Havana from moving west to the Playa Colorada beach head.  At approximately 1045, CLA scouts returned to report they had not only detected elements of the 18th Tank Company and 20th Motor Rifle Company of the regime's 2nd Armored Battalion, but that those elements had halted on the road and dismounted, apparently taking a break, with very lax security.

The Company Commander, Captain Muertosa, quickly turned to his Battalion Commander, Colonel Habanera, to discuss the situation.  Less than two minutes later the Popular Force guerrillas were double-timing their way to the enemy's location, keen on catching their mechanized vehicles unattended.


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 regime troops on the left and CLA troops on the right.  As always, my 'Popular Force' troops are Pendraken Brit and Argentinian special forces from their Falklands range, with heavy weapons from the Vietminh/Vietcong/NVA of the Indochina and Vietnam ranges.  The regime troops are Minifigs WarPac and Arab regulars mixed together, with the command stand actually being composed of Pendraken Brits from the Falklands range.  The T-72s are Takara plastics, and the BMP-2s are Minifigs.

The CLA force, a Command Stand, five rifle teams, an 81mm mortar team, an RPG team, and a single leader figure representing the Battalion Commander.  The regime force has a Command Stand, seven rifle stands, an 82mm mortar team, and an AT-5 Spandrel team (not sure what they'll do with that).  Oh, and two T-72s and three BMPs.


Overview, north is up, with the CLA forces having entered along the bottom (southern) edge, and some pushed all the way up Hill 32 at dead center.  The regime forces have their armor on the road and everyone, including the vehicle crews, is dismounted at or north of the road.


The CLA troopers seized the initiative and dealt a serious blow to the regime armored force.  To see the whole fight, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/06/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-13.html

More to follow.

V/R,
Jack

Great report Jack, nice to have something different to play.

Now can we have the other 30 tanks in the battalion roll up and flatten the invaders?

Excellent !!
Cheers - Phil

Thanks fellas.

And Lemmey, what 30 tanks?  This is a Commie country, so a quarter were never delivered, a quarter were sold by a corrupt General/politician, and a quarter are unserviceable due to poor design/lack of spare parts/lack of fuel

Besides, the guerrillas of the 8th Popular Force Battalion melted back into the jungle before the regime forces could come to grips with them, and now CLA Air Force F-4 Phantoms are pounding the enemy armor bunched up on the road (as a result of the successful ambush).

Don't worry, the enemy tanks will have to be dealt with, and there's no doubt they will cause some consternation for the lightly armed paras, Marines, Popular Forces, SOF, and Unconventional Warfare troops, before the CLA armored forces can get into the fight.  But it's coming.

V/R,
Jack

All,

It's 1230 on 1 Feb 1990, and Golf Company, 2nd Airborne Infantry Battalion is manning a roadblock (14) to prevent the enemy garrison at Cienfuegos from attacking the Bay of Pigs landing site (4).  2nd Airborne Battalion had jumped in earlier this morning and defeated an enemy outpost (4), but now armored elements of the Castro-regime's 6th Armored Battalion have mobilized and departed Cienfuegos for the Bay of Pigs.  The Cuban Army under Castro has experienced serious cutbacks to the military in recent years, and the 6th Armored Battalion is understrength and fielding WWII-era T-34 tanks.


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.


The opposing forces, with regime troops on the left and CLA troops on the right.  The CLA force is made up of Pendraken Brits from the Falklands range, while the Castro-force is made up of Minifigs Warsaw Pact and Arab modern troops, and plastic Takara T-34s.

The CLA force has a Command Stand, seven parachute rifle teams, two MILAN ATGM teams, and a single leader figure (though he's not in the photo of above for some reason) representing their battalion commander.  Col Carreno was wounded in the earlier battle for El Rincon immediately following the drop, but he's still in the fight.  The regime force has a Command Stand, seven rifle teams, and two aging, but deadly, T-34 tanks.  Well, deadly until they run across modern ATGMs, anyway...


Overview of the map, north is up.  The CLA force is dug in at far left, primarily in the bottom left corner, where Colonel Carreno, two rifle teams, and both MILANs are dug in to take on enemy armor.  The regime forces are entering via the road at top right.  At bottom center right is Hill 29, while at top center is the village of El Rincon.


Very heavy fighting breaks out between the CLA paratroopers and regime mechanized infantry in the village...


At the end of the day, Captain Cuervesco and Sergeant Trojas and his rifle team would stand victorious among a pile of enemy casualties, resulting in Captain Cuervesco receiving his nation's highest award for gallantry.

To see the whole fight, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/06/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-14.html

Another great fight, that's the last of everything I've played, more on the way this weekend.

V/R,
Jack

" two aging, but deadly, T-34 tanks.  Well, deadly until they run across modern ATGMs, anyway..."

I suspect deadly until they run into a two kilometre road march, let alone a modern ATGM

Stirring stuff, even rooting for the good guys instead of the CLA!

Another good report Jack. Well earned medals there.

I'll second that !
Cheers - Phil.

"...a two kilometre road march..."
Nah, it's the AK-47 of tanks, that's why they kept them

Lemmey - Quite a string of good die rolls, broken by one unfortunate die roll (the enemy snap fire that got 'men down' on Team 3), followed by a great die roll.  Am I the only one that names my characters, tracks their progress, and awards medals?

Phil - As the only one that hasn't come out on the side of the communists, I salute you Sir!  And if you're really rooting for the Castro-regime, please don't tell me

I'll look to get more fights in this weekend, but I've actually caught up writing all the fights I've already done.

V/R,
Jack

All,

It's 1400 on 1 Feb 1990, and the CLA's 1st Airborne Battalion, which dropped into Cuba early this morning, is hard pressed.  Having fought two battles already (#3 to seize a bridge, and #11 to fight off a counterattack) it finds itself occupied by the enemy's 3rd Infantry Battalion, which is now surging forces south to outflank the paratroopers' lines.  Captain Olejandro, acting Battalion Commander for 1st Airborne Battalion (Colonel Lucastro, decorated for valor during the bridge seizure, was seriously wounded in close combat during the enemy counterattack) puts out a call for help.

Having come ashore at Playa Colorada only minutes prior, Colonel Estevante of the 4th Infantry Battalion, responds.  He immediately provides a Warning Order to Captain Bronchovio, Commanding Officer of the 1st Air Assault Company: stand by to conduct a helo insertion into a hot LZ to counter enemy mechanized forces skirting 1st Airborne Battalion's southern flank.  Captain Bronchovio quickly briefs his men, who gather their equipment, break into their sticks, and mount their flying taxis...


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).


The opposing forces, with regime troops on the left and CLA troops on the right.  The CLA are made up of US troops from Pendraken's Vietnam range, while the Castro forces are made up of Argentinians from Pendraken's Falklands range.  The BTRs are from Minifigs, while the Panhard is also from Pendraken's Falklands range.

The CLA force, with a Command Stand, seven rifle stands, a TOW ATGM, and a single leader figure representing the battalion commander.  The regime force has a Command Stand, six rifle stands, a Panhard armored car (with 90mm main gun), and two BTR-60s (each with 14.5mm HMG).


Overview of map, north is up.  At top left (northwest) are the far right elements of 1st Airborne Battalion.  They are 'for show' only, they will not be active during this fight, they simply show 1st Airborne Bn's right flank.  At top right (northeast) are mechanized elements of the Castro-regime's 3rd Infantry Battalion, on a side road trying to exit the board at bottom left in order to get into 1st Airborne Bn's rear area.  1st Air Assault Company's Landing Zone (LZ) is at bottom right, southeast of the sprawling village of Babiney.


Two CH-47s of 1st Air Assault Company swoop in and flare preparing to touch down in a hot LZ...

To see another crazy fight, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2015/06/cuba-libre-liberation-batrep-15.html

Three more to write up and post.

V/R,
Jack

Another corker Jack!