Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten!

All,

It's 1730 on 29 June 1990 and Battlegroup Caballero is pushing toward Operation Chokehold's final objective, the Cronistrian town of Stanje, completing the western encirclement of the capital city of Miran.  Victory is near at hand, and as the Cubans near Stanje the Cronistrian Democrats begin their push to clear the town of Brevno of Communist forces.


Overview, north is up, with Stanje at top center and Hill 127 at bottom right.  The Cubans will enter from the top left (northwest).


As the Cobra (bottom left) rolls in to look for the T-62 and put a TOW into it, an enemy rifle squad (top right) launches a rocket.  The Cubans collectively hold their breath as the rocket rises towards the attack helicopter.  To see what happened, please check the blog at:
http://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2016/11/cuba-libre-cronstria-fight-21.html

This was a helluva fight, a real nail-biter for me, one that I enjoyed immensely.  I hope it's as fun to read as it was to play.

That is the last of the four fights from last weekend, more coming up this weekend.  I'm hoping to finish up Operation Chokehold, but I just thought of something else that might be cool, and I've been sick as a dog since Thursday and I'm not sure if I'm up to it.  I laid on the couch Thursday and Friday, managed to paint a grand total of six (6) figures today.  Hopefully I pass my rally roll and get back in the fight, stay tuned.

V/R,
Jack

Great fight, thanks for the report Jack.

The enemy tank deserves a medal!

+1

Super report, Jack !

Cheers - Phil

Thanks guys, but no medals for bad guys!!! 

Sorry, I'd been pretty busy and missed these comments. 

Next batrep on the way.

V/R,
Jack

All,

AKA, Operation Cro-Wings #1

It's 1745 on 29 June 1990 and it's time for a diversion.  I've been playing 5Core Company Command in 6mm, but I've got a hankering for some modern skirmish, so here we go.  I've been playing out "Operation Chokehold," where Cuban mechanized forces have been on a blitzkrieg, pushing north and east to encircle the Cronistrian capital of Miran.  This effort has been going swimmingly, but the operational planning had identified Cronistrian Communist armored forces to the north of the battle area.  As a counter, known as "Operation Cro-Wings*," Lt Trojas' ODA 626 was broken up into five- and six-man teams infiltrated into various 'hides' along the northern edge of the Operation Chokehold area of operations.  The teams settled into the hides to perform surveillance on avenues of approach to the north, acting as tripwires for Task Force Galban.  The plan was for the recon teams to report if Communist forces were seen massing or moving towards Task Force Galban's left (northern) flank, providing time for the Cuban mechanized forces to prepare for any Communist counterattacks.

And that is exactly what happened.  At approximately 1710, Team 3 of ODA 626, under GySgt "Turk" Dos Santos was settled into its hide atop Hill 781 when it spotted Communist forces and called it in to TF Galban headquarters.  Not only was the info immediately relayed to TF Aguilera, who immediately set about preparing a reception for the incoming Communists (Cronistria fight #24), but Cuban F-4 Phantoms were sent in, arriving on station at 1730 and making several runs, devastating the Communist armor.

Turk's team remained in its hide, at 50% (half on watch, half sleeping), with no expectation of contact.  Unbeknownst to them, Communist forces had identified the team's location via radio-direction finding equipment and dispatched militia to take on the Cuban Special Forces troops.  At 1745 SSgt "Chick" Alfaro alerted the team via intra-squad radio: "Contact, contact, everyone up.  We've got movement down-slope to the north."

*Operation Cro-Wings: yeah, this is a direct rip-off of "Lone Survivor" and the real-life "Operation Redwings."


Overview of map, north is left.  The team is in and around the bombed out house at bottom left, which is on the crest of Hill 781 (yes, I know the house is the absolute worst spot for a hide owing to target indicator issues, but it's a game and I wanted to break up the terrain a bit).  Regarding Hill 781, think of the entire table as being pretty high up on a sizable mountain, with various peaks being labelled hills.  So bottom left is Hill 781, top left is Hill 690, bottom right is Hill 691, and top right is Hill 850.  Don't worry about all those, just know the original observation post is at bottom left and the team is running to exit the table at top right.  As you see, the area is heavily forested with pine trees and there is a stream running across the board, though it's really just there for looks, doesn't mess with movement.

The team is in and around the building at bottom left.  There are five bad guys in the northeast (top left), and five bad guys in the southwest (bottom right).  Those are two of the bad guy entry points; don't forget, the initial call of 'contact' is bad guys coming up the slope from the north, i.e., the bottom left.  Once the team gets moving and the bad guys start taking casualties they'll start using the bottom left corner as an entry point.


The opposing forces, with Cuban SOF at left and Communist militia at right.  The good guys are Battlefront SEALs (Vietnam era) and the bad guys are Eureka Chechens.

I'm a glutton for punishment, so here's the plan: the bad guys will start with these ten men on the board, at three separate entry points.  As bad guys get whacked they will come back on the board, 're-spawning' at one of the three entry points.  So theoretically there will always be ten bad guys on the board, no matter how many I kill, chasing my six guys.  And if (when?) I take casualties I will have to take them with me.

I will make things a little easier on myself: in the rules (as with most rules), when someone gets shot there is an 'out of the fight' option.  That guy is done for the fight, then after the fight I roll to see if what actually happened to him; there are options for 'dramatic scar,' knocked unconscious, light wound, serious wound, debilitating injury, and dead.  To make things potentially easier for me, when one of my guys gets an 'out of the fight' result, I will move a buddy over to check on him, and then I'll make the casualty roll to see what actually happened to him.  If he's dead or seriously wounded then one of my guys will have to carry him out, but if he's 'lightly wounded' or less he will be able to continue the fight, just moving a bit slower, some other penalties for shooting and reactions.


The Cubans are nearing their objective, but the bad guys send an RPG up-slope at them.  To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
http://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2016/12/cuba-libre-cronstria-fight-22.html

Hope you liked it, fight number two of Operation Cro-Wings coming right up.  Oh, and someone please do me a favor: I've posted about eight batreps recently, and not received a single comment, and I did in the past, so I'm starting to wonder is something is wrong with the mechanism for leaving comments on the blog.  So, if one of you doesn't mind, please leave a test comment here.  Thanks in advance.

V/R,
Jack

Man of the match: The Goat!

Good one Jack, liking the terrain too.

As always enjoyed the picture stories over at your blog. I'll echo the sentiments about the terrain - very stylish. Did you makes the hills or are they commercially available?

Great stuff again, Jack.

Cheers - Phil

Thanks guys, I appreciate ya!

Not sure what I was doing with the goat, kinda took on a life of its own.

Guillaume, the hills are from Battlezone in the US.

V/R,
Jack

Regimental mascot? 

Coming soon - Cronistria: The Men Who Stare At Goats

Great AAR and lovely looking game, as ever.

Lemmy - Perhaps, if anyone survives to bring the goat out! 

Ithoriel - If we leave them up in the mountains any longer, it may turn into the men that @#$% goats!!!   

V/R,
Jack

All,

AKA, Operation Cro-Wings #2

It's 1805 on 29 June 1990 and Team 3 of Lt Trojas' ODA 626 is sitting atop Hill 850.  They had been performing surveillance, from Hill 781 to the northeast, on a nearby road networks, serving as a tripwire to warn TF Galban mechanized forces of enemy counterattack.  They spotted enemy armor moving in, reported it to TF HQ, and coordinated air strikes (some enemy forces still got through; that's actually the next fight, TF Aguilera fighting off the enemy counterattack near Pisa).  However, enemy radio direction finding efforts triangulated the team's position and vectored Communist militia into the area.  Team 3 was able to get the drop on the bad guys, but there were simply too many, and so the Cubans abandoned their positions and moved to Hill 850 in a running firefight.  The team suffered one man seriously wounded (he has to be carried in this game) and three lightly wounded (for game purposes these men are now back to full strength for this fight).

Upon reaching the crest of Hill 850 the team made comms with TF HQ.  They were informed Battlegroup Elias was standing by as QRF to get them out, but the team needs to continue moving southeast to Hill 825, which has a Helicopter Landing Zone (HLZ) just east of it which is suitable for extraction.  The radioman informed the team leader, GySgt "Turk" Dos Santos of this development.  "Uhh, fellas, I got bad news."  Everyone turned to look as Turk showed them the problem: the team's back was to a 30 foot cliff; with enemy troops coming from the north, northeast, and southwest, the only avenue of escape was down the cliff, across a draw, and up Hill 825 to the southeast.


Overview, north is left.  Hill 850, where the team is starting, is at bottom left, while the rally point is at top right, on the crest of Hill 825.  Again a draw runs across the board, with a stream cut into it.  The team is on the board, atop Hill 850 at bottom left, trading fire with more than 60 enemy troops (off camera to bottom left) moving up, hoping to encircle and eliminate the Cuban Special Forces team.


The team, having to carry one of its seriously wounded members while under fire from three directions, has scampered down Hill 850 (off camera to bottom left) and has begun its climb up Hill 825 (off camera to top right), trying to get to the LZ before being overrun by bad guys.  To see how it turned out, please check the blog at:
http://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2016/12/cuba-libre-cronstria-fight-23.html

The third fight of Operation Cro-Wings is coming up soon, but up next is actually the fight at the town of Pisa as Battlegroup Aguilera tries to fight off the Communist armored elements that fought their way through the Cuban airstrikes called in just prior to the first fight of Op.  Stay tuned!

V/R,
Jack

Yet again, the goat did well!

Great report, Jack.

What with Bear, Chick & Badger in the frame....I'm beginning to wonder if the goat's someone in camo'.
I must go back and have a much slower read later on.

Cheers - Phil (Who's rushing about !)

Thanks Lemmey, and the goat probably has earned a promotion, walking point for the team and all.

Phil, hurry up!  I didn't realize most of the nicknames were animals until I started typing the report.  But don't worry, no camouflaged goats


V/R,
Jack

All,

It's 1815 on 29 June 1990 and Battlegroup Aguilera is taking up defensive positions near the Cronistrian town of Pisa.  Earlier in the day Battlegroup Aguilera seized Pisa and held open the corridor as the rest of Task Force Galban (Battlegroups Caballero and Elias, as well as the HQ and Service Support elements) passed through.  Battlegroup Caballero completed TF Galban's mission to encircle the Cronistrian capital of Miran by seizing the city of Stanje, and Battlegroup Elias moved up to them as Battlegroup Aguilera began moving east to catch up.

However, at 1710 local time, Team 3 of ODA 626, under GySgt "Turk" Dos Santos was settled into its hide atop Hill 781 (screening the left/northern flank of the Cuban advance) when it spotted Communist forces and called it in to TF Galban headquarters.  Not only was the info immediately relayed to TF Aguilera, who immediately set about preparing a reception for the incoming Communists, but Cuban F-4 Phantoms were sent in, arriving on station at 1730 and making several runs, devastating the Communist armor.

**Team 3 was compromised atop Hill 781 by enemy radio direction finding; its fights for survival are numbers 22, 23, and 25.  That may not seem to make sense, but I'm posting these in chronological order.


A HMMWV with .50 cal (bottom left, firing past the CO's vehicle) opens up on a Type 63 APC and enemy infantry in the open (top right).  To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
http://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2016/12/cuba-libre-cronstria-fight-24.html

In the overall scheme of things, Operation Chokehold is finished and has been a roaring success.  Task Force Galban started in the southwest, then dashed north and cut east to encircle the Cronistrian capital city of Miran, taking five enemy-defended towns along the way, then throwing back a (weak) counterattack.  There is still one more fight to go in Operation Cro-Wings, which is Recon Team 3's fight for survival in the hills north of Pisa.  Also, the Cronistrian Democrat forces are having a bit of trouble clearing Brezno (the town that started all this conventional fighting and convinced the Cuban President to allocate more forces to Cronistria), and Dubrovna, the town just north of Brezno, is still in enemy hands as well, which puts it in the bag, but a thorn in our side and a danger to try to break out of the encirclement.  If I have time I may have Battlegroup Elias take the town.

Total casualties for Operation Chokehold, which consisted of nine tabletop battles:

Cubans
180 KIA, WIA, and MIA personnel
2 x AMX-10RC destroyed
2 x HMMWV destroyed
1 x Scimitar destroyed
1 x Stryker destroyed

Communists
270 KIA, WIA, and MIA personnel
55 captured personnel
5 x MTLB destroyed
2 x T-62 destroyed
1 x ZSU-23-4 destroyed
1 x BMP destroyed
1 x Type 63 APC destroyed
1 x BRDM destroyed

Additionally, members of Task Force Galban were awarded the following decorations during Operation Chokehold:
1 Cruz Servicio Distinguido
1 Estrella de Plata
4 Estrella de Bronce

Like I said, I may play another couple fights to take the city of Dubrovna just to eliminate a pocket of enemy resistance and help out the Cronistrian Democrats, but Operation Chokehold is officially concluded.  For me it was a pretty cool concept, a lot of fun in the vein of my War of Liberation campaign (which, so far, is kind of the pinnacle of fun for me in wargaming).  The games were small and quick; while the tables were nothing to look at, they took only minutes to set up and take down, and were serviceable, as were the 6mm troops, vehicles, and aircraft.  I can definitely see myself doing more of this.

I've played the last fight of Operation Cro-Wings, still need to write that up and post it.  After that, not sure what's up next.  A few ideas:

1.  With the capital encircled from the west, I'm considering some larger-scale armor fights using Cold War Commander on the east side of Miran.

2.  I'm thinking about doing some platoon-level stuff back with in South Leon, my Imagi-nation stuff that's really USMC vs North Vietnamese Army.

3.  I'm thinking about starting my WWII USMC series of campaigns at the platoon level, beginning in the Philippines.

4.  I played out Operation Pay-Off, where Cuban SOF escorted The Ambassador to Morocco to make a ransom payment, then got ambushed.  I need to get around to Operation Pay-Back, which is exactly what it sounds like, retribution.

5.  I need to get back to KG Klink to finish up Fall of France, then figure out what to do with them.  That thing is really a bit too ambitious (following a company of armor, a company of infantry, a company of recon, and assorted heavy weapons through the entire war (already did Poland, played four games of France).

6.  I need to get back to Hakuna-Matata, my African Imagi-nations.  The hang up here is that I based them individually, which looks great, but I wish I'd have based them three vehicles to a stand.  For me, so much of wargaming campaigns is 'feel,' and playing this with individually-based vehicles just doesn't feel right.

Well, that's it for now.  Last fight of Operation Cro-Wings coming up, then more games next weekend, just not sure what yet.

V/R,
Jack

Nice one Jack.
Enemy dice were dire!

Good stuff, Jack.

(Wot ?.......No goat  )

Cheers - Phil