Please Advise

The conclusion...although the Package has been secured, an American contractor has been captured and is being used as an unwilling technical advisor to the rebels.

A small group of elite operators is sent in to rescue him – should the rebels be taught a harsh lesson it would be considered a bonus.

Quiet streets, for now - you can see the four Delta operators getting ready behind a nearby building 

A rebel group patrols down a nearby laneway - they're in a good position to directly reinforce the main compound or attempt a flanking movement

Delta approach compound - they've made a quick movement down the side of the buildings, avoiding the main street and the traffic. Just behind the white and orange taxi is a news team, who've somehow gotten wind of the hostage situation - any trip-up will cause a media storm

They're engaged by the rebels in the compound - one of them gets hit and as they try to return fire under movement an unarmed civilian crosses the road in front of them!

They cross the open ground and rebel fire hits the old woman - one of the Delta operators stops to give her basic first aid before dragging her into cover

They're under serious time pressure now, but a heliborne sniper has joined in to  help them out. The shots from above takes out two rebels nearby as Delta storms the smaller building, wiping out another rebel group. Unfortunately for them the hostage is nowhere to be found: he must be in the main building

Delta form up for an assault, but with incoming fire and the helicopter driven away by RPG fire, they hunker down and must exfiltrate before more rebels cut off their route

Once again, a very close-run affair - keeping to a strict time-table is difficult with only four men, and Delta only seemed to realise the urgency of things in the last two turns.

Eyes On

With rebel forces in control of the Package, a SpecOps team has been sent in to put eyes on it, and destroy  it along with any threat to the stability of the region.

A two-man hidden sniper team lies conceals, attempting to put 'eyes on' the Package in order to call in an air strike to put it permanently beyond use.

Patrols are out in force, they patrol the compound in a tightly controlled circuit. So far the hidden observation team hasn't located the Package, but has ruled out two of the buildings in the main compound

An unknown vehicle approaches along a dirt road, and immediately the patrols' alertness is raised. One patrol makes its way across to check out the vehicle.

One patrol spots something in the small copse of trees beyond. The observation team  has just compounded it's failed roll to check out the third building - maybe in their frustration they left their laser designator flash in the sunlight... 

Snipers in the undergrowth! The patrol engages them in a firefight and overwhelms them . The snipers let out a squawk on their radio as they call in the quick reaction force!

The QRF swoops in! These guys mean business - despite the attention of two four-man patrols and a machine-gun team on a rooftop they barely take any return fire at all as they wipe out each of the three rebel groups

The SUV (which was just a resupply run for the rebel group) and the other patrol make their way to the compound. The  rebel leader with the package remains hidden but hopes to sneak into the vehicle while the rebels hold off the inbound gun truck

The special ops team aboard the gun truck careen around the compound trying to cut off the SUV's escape route. The rebel leader makes a run for it but is shot down as he leaves the building. 

With the rebel leader out of the action, the nearby rebels grab the package and jump into the SUV instead. The gun truck pulls up alongside and shoots down three of the four rebels. The last guy, huddled in the corner with the briefcase, loses his nerve and surrenders to them 

A close-run affair in the end - while the QRF were amazingly effective, the rebels were one morale check away from victory in the last turn!

The Package

At Warpcon a couple of weeks back I ran the Brave New World campaign from the 'Classified' book

An arms dealer delivers the package to the rebels by light plane.

A small special forces mission is sent in to arrest the militia leader and confiscate the small briefcase

The rebel village looks peaceful, a small patrol is seen in the distance picking its way through the supply dump

But two special forces squad rush into the village, taking out the rebel machine gun team perched on the rooftop of the largest building (believed by their intelligence to be the rebel HQ)

Another group of rebels has leapt into their SUV and raced across the main road  to where their leader is meeting with the arms dealer - they bundle him aboard, trading fire with the special forces

The arms dealer's mercenaries escort him back to the aircraft, where their pilot has kept her nerve and is getting it ready. As they get into the plane rebel forces nearby pause from their firefight with the assaulting special forces to open fire on them! Do they think the arms dealer has sold them down the river?

The rebels hold on to their stronghold, stopping the special forces dead in their tracks and causing the arms dealer's plane to skid to a halt - despite their losses they've gotten their leader away

Nice and quick, and I think the tactical options open to all sides make this one eminently re-playable.

Contracting Trouble - Redux

After the first game a crowd of us sat/stood around the table for some varied chat; until I charged a couple of them to give Contracting Trouble another go, since the terrain was already set up and all.

During the last post I compared this to 'Suicide Mission' (from Space Hulk) - what I meant was that the mission is challenging for a beginner, but experienced player can give themselves a much better shot at success...

The first fire team reaches the contractors without much trouble, with their comrades on a rooftop behind they  feel safe

Two things are not in their favour however: one large group of insurgents has broken away from contact and moved all the way around the main street, aiming to cut off their line of retreat

The other group near the SUV has hugged the wall of the building and is now actually out of line-of-sight of the overwatch team, while being able to attack the rescue team. The insurgents wipe out the rescue team, taking the contractors and one of the soldiers prisoner

The second fire team rushes to their rescue, though the initial exchange of fire is in the regulars' favour, they're stuck for time and assault through the insurgents killing every last one and saving one of the mates and the contractors

Their time is running out and as they flee the scene of the wrecked SUV, the insurgents lining the walls and in nearby building open fire and overwhelm them

A white-wash in favour of the insurgents, careful manoeuvring along with some poor decisions by the regular player made it a bad day for the squaddies

Contracting Trouble

On Sunday of Warpcon I ran a couple of games of the classic starter scenario, Contracting Trouble.

An SUV carrying two civilian contractors was hit by gunfire as it moved through a neighbourhood in one of the city’s red zones. UAV footage indicates that the contractors are injured but alive. The contractors have held the small group of Insurgent gunmen who attacked their vehicle at bay for nearly a quarter of an hour, but more armed men have been spotted converging on the disabled SUV. 

A squad of soldiers is in the vicinity and can be on-site within the hour. They must locate the contractors and escort them back off.

Exultant RPG gunner overlooking the stricken SUV

Those contractors are definitely in trouble

The inbound patrol comes to the rescue, bounding up the street tactically and  taking out a couple of the lone RPG-armed insurgents

Two insurgent leaders have made their way across the street and are conferring pending the arrival of further insurgents

Those reinforcements strengthen their hand and they prepare to strike

The first fire team, led by the squad leader, goes on overwatch from a nearby rooftop

Insurgents rush to the rooftops to surround wreck and engage the two fire teams across the way in a heavy firefight 

 A few more recent arrivals lurk around the corner from the second fire team, which has just arrived on the scene

More insurgents arrive, close to the covering fire team and causing them to lose their ability to concentrate on the SUV

The other team takes casualties on way out from across the street, where a large group has bided its time 'til the withdrawal

The sergeant leads his men down to the street to conduct a fighting withdrawal, but with a lot of insurgents nearby, they're unable to make their way to safety in time

Nicely balanced intro scenario I thought, akin to that Space Hulk classic 'Suicide Mission'.

Encirclement

In mid-afternoon the 11th Cavalry surrounded Snoul, with the 2nd Squadron on the east and 3rd Squadron on the west.

3rd Squadron, moving through the rubber trees to encircle the city, triggered an ambush set to hit the 2nd Squadron as they took the airfield and silenced anti-air guns.



Elements of 3rd Squadron move in towards the airstrip



Lying in wait for 2nd Squadron is this light machine gun team, hoping to catch the infantry without any armour support



Their ACAV surges out of the jungle, leaving its infantry behind. The Viet Cong HQ's security cell, armed with an RPG takes aim and its shot brews up the M113 instantly!



The crew bail out, but run directly into the fire from the recoilless rifle in the other house, putting them all down



The cavalry rushes to the rescue, but their advance leaves the VC a free hand elsewhere



The nearby cell of Viet Cong rush the vehicle crew, taking one prisoner and finishing the rest off - the nearby HQ team is powerless to intervene



A close-range firefight erupts nearby, as the ACAV's squad continues along its original line, and is hit by an advancing VC cell



On the other side of the airstrip 3rd Squadron halt their advance as they try to suppress the nearby VC group, but the VC fire hits a couple of the top gunners



Ignoring their faltering support, the squad rush across the open ground towards the houses



They take fire from the HQ security squad and several of their number go down



Luckily, only one of those wounds seems serious and they continue to the house, where another unpleasant surprise awaits them. Despite having cleared the recoilless rifle team, another batch of VC has climbed up from the hidden tunnel complex below



A murderous crossfire wipes out that unfortunate squad. The nearby VC command team runs in and takes a prisoner.



As the Sheridan puts the pedal to the metal and advances across the airstrip the RPG gunner takes his best shot. It knocks out the main gun, leaving the hapless tank with just the 7.62 MG to carry the offensive to the VC



With two groups of VC now slipping into the jungle with their prisoners, the VC look to continue their advantage, engaging the last remaining American squad to great effect



The other defanged ACAV races to their aid - winning that race with inches to spare



The Sheridan trundles to its aid, but now the VC smell blood and are following in its wake



A newly arrived Viet Cong sniper takes up position - as soon anyone gets in or out of that ACAV he'll let them have it!



The Sheridan blocks any line of sight to the ACAV's back ramp from that quarter - though now the VC numbers have swollen in the vicinity



Backing up in a desperate attempt to run over some of the VC and bring its machine gun to bear, the light tank takes a full belt of .50cal through its rear armour and conks out. The crew bail out, but aren't happy about the couple of battle-hardened Viet Cong who lurk in front of them



The remaining M113 crew rush out, gunning down several VC with their sub-machine guns, and getting the American soldiers back on their feet and towards the ACAV



They may get away, but the overly aggressive actions of the officer will be examined in detail (he'll surely be court-martialled for flagrant disregard of military practice). A bad end for the American squadrons of Task Force Shoemaker.