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Post by Whiterook on May 16, 2022 20:54:31 GMT -5
Sticks & Stones game from Tiny Battle Publishing (see here for full game details). I’m playing the first of four scenarios, “Aboriginal”. Scott and I played this scenario many years back, but I can’t honestly remember the outcome, or strategies employed… it’s the first time I’ve come back to this game since then. Aboriginal Elements of the 17th Soviet Tank Regiment assault Team Echo, their goal to secure the bridge. Victory Soviet Tactical: Soviets control all town and city hexes east of the river. Soviet Very Tactical: Soviets fulfill the tactical conditions and control hex H10. American: Deny either Soviet victory condition. Map All hexes numbered 6 or greater, inclusive (grayed out area in the map image below).  OOB Americans: Set up on rows “A” through “P”: 2 x Abrams, 1 x M901, 1 x Infantry, 1 x Dragon, 1 x M113. Soviets: Enter the east edge of the map on turn 1: 10 x T-72. Below is my initial placement of the American force, the area eligible placement shown as to the left of the eraser pencil…  The real dark hexes-grouping are Hills — and the lighter ones to the left and top are Rolling Hills, — each with their own advantages and disadvantaged. The only clear advancing channel is on the southern edge. It’s an interesting battlefield, because the only quick movement availability for the Russians in on that southern edge, but they’d be exposed and in terrible LOS for Gersbach because of the town of Hahnenruh. That leaves coming in across the Rolling hills (or plains… the TEC isn’t specific). A close up…  The M113 APC and Infantry aren’t much good against armor (which is the entirety of the Russian opposition!), except to assault them — they need to be adjacent to do that so, for now they stay behind the lines in reserve; and since the towns and cities, and the bridge are all Russian Objectives, this placement also serves as a Broken Arrow of sorts. I placed my armor, the Abrams Platoons, forward, to meet the Russian advance; to the North and the South. This probably wasn’t the wisest position tactically, but there’s gonna be a shitload of armor rushing at them soon so it’s a desperation play… may work, may not. My Wire-Guided Missiles (WGM) are placed between them: the more powerful armor piercing M901 WGM Platoon unit on the south edge of the city, guarding the bottom entry point of the battlefield, and the Dragon WGM Platoon at the eastern perimeter of Gersbach. It was tough to plan how to bring the Russians on board… as you will see, I chose a 2-prong offense. The next post will show two turns in, and there was already a tough fight for the Americans! I’ll post it tomorrow… kinda tired tonight. |
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Post by Whiterook on May 17, 2022 10:57:31 GMT -5
Good morning! …late morning here but, morning nonetheless! Gaming in retirement is amazing… whenever I want, practically. Late night last night binge watching Picard, first season, after my gaming the first two rounds of this scenario. It started to come back to me, the play with Scott and what I did wrong as the Americans, and it seems I repeated history! To the play… Both Abrams platoons we’re wiped out! That didn’t really hit me ‘til this morning. With just one Dragon and M901 WGM platoons left, common sense would dictate a full retreat and abandonment of Gersbach, tactically. There are eight full strength Russian T-72 MBT platoons advanced and ready to fully engage, along with one Disrupted and one Reduced T-72 MBT platoons lagging behind. As a Commander, I am asking my WGM platoons to stand and fight, and likely be slaughtered; the Infantry to the rear would be overwhelmed in Gersbach. SITREP  A little closer in shot on the action…  This is what makes wargaming so fascinating… to me, anyway: It’s easy to let your little cardboard soldiers get slaughtered in reckless mayhem and bloodlust, but what if you dig deeper to blood and bone, what do you do then? That’s really one hell of a deep dive in thought, and one I’ve no answer to yet still! Where does the pleasure come in? I know that I should just retreat… it’s pretty hopeless for the Americans at this point of the battle; maybe pull back, let the Russians advance into Gersbach and then hope to secure the bridge with Control on the last turn… at least not a total Victory for the Russians, if I could pull it off. On the other hand, if I fight to the death, I see if it is possible to inflict as much pain and punishment to the enemy — recognize any simulators the Ukraine situation? I mean, there is always a chance, but a certainty of Valor in defeat for the “Good Guys”. It’s that kind of interaction within the gaming experience that makes wargaming so mean full to me. And of course, if there’s a live opponent on the other side of the battle map, you get to share the decision of, “…do we go on?” |
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Post by Whiterook on May 17, 2022 11:32:55 GMT -5
It’s worth a pause for a lesson learned on what happened in the first two rounds… Hills are a bitch to attack!!! When firing at a unit on a Hill… in this case, an American Abrams MBT (main battle tank) Platoon firing at Normal Range (the Red Block on the chart, under the “14” Armor Piercing Firepower (APF) factor; 5-8 hexes away, and the actual distance bring 5 hexes distant), firing at a Russian T-72 MBT platoon on a Hill. The Abrams firing 14 APF; you subtract the highest Armor factor of the targets in the target hex; with one T-72 Platoon (NOTE in my defense: I wasn’t stupid enough to move in two, which BOTH would have been targeted, since their the same type unit), so Armor 6. The interim result is 8. I then locate the rightmost column on the Fire Results Table (FRT) that is equal to or less than that formula result of 8, which is the number 8 in the black bar on the FRT shown below.  But wait! This is where the Hill becomes the Bitch!!! Once the column on the FRT is established, you need to Modify that column (the 8 column) as dictated on the Terrain Effects Chart (TEC), Range, Flanking Fire, Moving Fire, and Multiple Attacking Units. We already established, as mentioned earlier that Range was Normal, so no shift; and there was no flanking, moving fire, or multiple attacking units involved, so that just leaves whatever we find on the TEC… how bad could that be? Bad. If you look at the TEC pictured below, and look to the second from right column, labeled Fire Combat - Column Shift to Left Leg/AFV, and cross-reference the Terrain down the column to the Hill row… slide over to the Fire Combat column for the modifier of 13/13! O.M.God. That means you need to take your earlier result of having the 8 column to roll 2d6 upon, and counting 13 columns to the left, leaving you at the -8 column! That equates to having to roll between snake eyes and a 4 with 2d6 for 1 measly Hit… all else is No Effect.  And that boys and girls are what make Hills a Bitch. And why you see a burning Abrams MBT Platoon burning in the woods. As an aside, Rolling Hills (and pretty much everything else) isn’t as nasty, but the Abrams MBT Platoon in Hahnenruh managed to Disrupt on T-72 MBT Platoon, and Reduce another before they were KIAd, so somewhat respectable combat. Still, having my armor up front to meet the advance was foolhardy, and what I seem to remember as repeated from my game with Scott. |
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Post by Whiterook on May 17, 2022 21:27:10 GMT -5
Turn 4 found the Russians whacking the M901 and Dragon WGM Platoons… flaming wrecks in one hex and blood spattered ground in the next. American M113 APC with loaded Infantry move into Gersbach (another mistake… I didn’t realize in setup that AFVs coast 3 MPs per city hex! Yikes); Russians advance four T-72 MBT Platoons to Gersbach city limits, and a Reduced T-72 platoon… that’s a lot of firepower. There are four other T-72 Platoons ready to move out next turn…even more firepower. Situation - Hopeless.  |
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Post by Whiterook on May 17, 2022 21:45:26 GMT -5
Turn 5 had the American APC with loaded Infantry move adjacent to the bridge, but it was a futile effort and wasteful cost of lives, as two Russian T-72 MBT Platoons moved onto the Gersbach Bridge and wiped out the last of the Americans. Full Russian Victory, and the first claimed non-irradiated lands for the Russian Fatherland.  I learned a lot in this play, so a worthy effort, but I made a lot of mistakes as the Americans, as mentioned earlier with bad placement of the two Abrams Platoons; I should have had the Infantry disembarked on the bridge and the APC adjacent; and I should have moved my M901 WGM Platoon to a safer backfield position. Oh, If If’s and But’s were Candy and Nuts, as they say!  Thanks for following along, |
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