Cordon and Search

The main British force advances into Now Zad. Their mission is to cordon and search the main buildings.

There is a small farmhouse ahead of them, with a path leading through the poppy fields to another house to their left. To their right is the main town. 3 Para's supply situation is less rosy than planned, with much ammunition expended in the initial contacts



The Taliban are ready for them, taking cover behind strong high walls in the town, and with reinforcements expected



The Taliban keep their position in front of British force, allowing a British fire team to move towards Now Zad, biding their time for a better target



A British fire-team takes the first house in Now Zad taking an excellent position to rain fire down on the Taliban group just behind the back wall



As the GPMG team in the centre moves through the scrub to put fire on the farmhouse, the Taliban open up, killing the gunner and pinning his assistant, who grabs the weapon and scuttles back into cover (beside the unseen sniper team)



With the Taliban force in the centre coming under fire, the British left flank takes its opportunity to move around the poppy fields in a bid to assault the isolated farm house



Back in Now Zad the Taliban have driven a technical up to fire it's .50 cal at the British fire team in the house, but to no avail. But despite their best effort the return fire zips right through the vehicle without doing any damage (indestructible Toyota Hilux I guess!)



The British sniper team begins to take its toll on the Taliban, picking its targets with impunity



Taliban reinforcements arrive in the central farmhouse to ruin the Para advance on the isolated house. It's also about now that a dust storm blows into town, destroying the British technical superiority and interrupting the newly arrived Forward Air Controller's attempts to bring in close air support to flush the Taliban out.
This dust storm curtails the TV8 news team's plan to head into the town to capture some footage of the operation..



They cause some serious casualties to the British fire team in front of them, forcing them to retreat. The advance in this sector never recovers and due to the Taliban's elevated position, the entire flank is enfiladed and the British do not regain fire superiority



A Taliban sniper arrives in the area to turn the table on the British. They see off the British sniper team, killing the spotter and seriously wounded the rifleman. [I've left them on the table, even though it's an off-board asset, with the card underneath so we can remember the rules]



The fire-team on the rooftop takes on both Taliban groups in the town, forcing them to dissolve but taking a serious casualty themselves



The British section finally totals the Technical (immobilising it and destroying the .50 cal) allowing them to advance to quieten resistance in the town



The Taliban leader in the town flees with the crew of the Technical



The Paras have taken the town but have been thwarted in their attempt to clear the rest of the area. They've taken significant losses and both Taliban leaders have escaped to fight on

Hot Reception

As the Gurkhas draw a cordon around any possible escape, A Company of 3 Para is landed by Chinook on the outskirts of Now Zad.

The Taliban wait to drive them back to the landing zone.



The paratroopers advance through the scrub



Some casualties are taken in the intial rush. Impetus and control breaks up as fire teams hunker down in cover



The left flank continues its advance, avoiding contact with the Taliban groups over the wall



The team going around the other side of the poppy field takes fire from the Taliban sniper, but spots him after an ineffective shot and puts him down



The GPMG team advances along the left with some support but takes fire from the mortar before the spotter is taken out and the advance peters out



In the centre the Javelin team gets hit continuously but miraculously both team members survive multiple hits with only minor wounds. The fire-teams who intervene to give medical aid are not so lucky though



After some initial success the Taliban withdraw back to the main compound and despite taking some losses at the wall opposing them the British clear out this last redoubt, including the 81mm mortar which has advanced to fire directly (due to the loss of both leaders who were able to call in targets)



A pyrrhic victory for the British, taking significant casualties as well as expending masses of ammunition in taking this outlying farm

The Ambush

3 Para is tasked to secure a compound on the eastern outskirts of Now Zad, believed to be a weapons dump, a possible bomb factory and a safehouse for Taliban commanders.
10 Platoon of the Gurkhas would establish an outer cordon.

As the small Gurkha convoy passes through the small village of Aliz'ay a local Taliban force ambushes them from the village and from the wadi on the other side



Taliban lurk in ravine, it is from here that the majority of Talilban reinforcements will come



The British column, a Warrior IFV (with a section of seven aboard) and a Land Rover WMIK advance past poppy fields, unsuspecting...



With Taliban spotted following a parralel course across the poppy fields, the WMIK cuts off the retreating squad and hammers them with some support from the Warrior



The section dismounts and takes cover, feeling like they've been pushing their luck inside the Warrior with RPGs around



The British section clears the first compound, pinning several Taliban groups who've reacted to their presence



British trade fire with .50 cal in trees. Having killed most the the crew the Taliban heavy weapon withdrew into the grove and stayed there until the Warrior was engaged elsewhere



British begin to take casualties as the Warrior struggles to keep tabs on the various threats. The WMIK is hit by an IED as it turns away from the Taliban groups in the ravine. The crew bail out when their main weapon is destroyed



Newly arrived Taliban anti-Tank team takes aim at the rear of the Warrior. The British wounded aboard have a lucky escape as the heavy RPG round goes PING!



With the British section aboard (minus their two KIAs) and the WMIK crew scurrying for their lives back the way they came and Warrior backs up



It takes a detour to put paid to the last RPG firer which would threaten the retreat with almost fatal results for it



We actually played this twice, early in the morning I played the British and made it through the mission without a single casualty *for shame* though Gar came back for more and the second game between him and Fatz was considerably closer)

Taliban Gather in Now Zad

Taliban forces gather to oppose the British operation in Now Zad

1st Group of Tier-One Taliban, led by Omar Marwat, and aided by his uncle Tolwak (armed with his trusty Lee Enfield!)



2nd Group of Taliban move carefully around a house



3rd Group of Taliban take up position on a rooftop



4th Group of Taliban rush out of a gully



81mm Mortar zeroes in



Heavy Machine Gun takes aim



Sniper shooting from covered position



Spotter calls in mortar fire



1st Group of local Taliban scurry past poppy field



2nd Group of local Taliban charge out of cover



Technical covers Taliban from hillside



Taliban leadership oversee efforts. Zmaray and his lieutenant Lakhar are on the most-wanted list.



Did a bit more work on the buildings and walls last night, so I should be able to finish them off tonight

British Forces in Afghanistan

I'm running a series of Force on Force games (by Ambush Alley) at Warpcon this weekend. They'll cover Operation Mutay in Helmand province, and while I'm finishing off painting the buildings for this I thought I'd show you the forces that will be involved

The British are first, I didn't take an all encompassing shot of the entire force, but you'll get the idea.

Weapons team in support with GPMG and Javelin



UAV control team, with UAV overhead



1st Section moving across open ground



1st Fire Team, 2nd Section moves around building



Sniper team sets up on roof



2nd Fire team, 2nd Section moves along wall



WMIK and Warrior patrolling



Trusty news team



The opposition to follow later...

Return to Dahomey

Is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another dinohunt?

 Returning to Abomey with news of the failed American expedition, Commander Simpson uses his influence to call for a contingent of Royal Marines to come ashore and to aid his attempt to rescue them.

Losing his reputation for bravery is not something playboy millionaire H. Jack Vanderbolt can live with. His moribund state is only interrupted when a platoon of marines from the USS Frederick (taking water in Liberia) arrive on a mission to save the lost American nationals upriver.
Together they must race into the depths of Dahomey and search for the survivors. Surely a trained military force will succeed where brazen adventurers failed? Forewarned of the perils, will they see a solution to the primordial dangers which threaten them, or will their nerves fail them...

I'll be using my homegrown pulp adventure-style rules 'Perilous Trail' which premiered at Gaelcon last year, some tweaks have been made, and I reckon I'll publish them here after some polishing in March.

Leprecon XXXI will be running from March 12th to 14th at Goldsmith Hall, Pearse St., Trinity College, Dublin 2. View Leprecon's website here

Raising a Glass to the Year

It's been a mixed 2009 in gaming terms. Haven't gotten in half as much gaming as I would have liked but what I have done has been very enjoyable indeed.

Highlights of the Year:

1. Richard Borg as special guest at Leprecon
I ran a big Pacific war scenario for Memoir '44 for Richard Borg's visit to Leprecon. Richard also ran a few demo games of his (then playtest) new Command & Colours
Napoleonics game. Not only does the man design some of my favourite games, he's also a very nice man indeed! Just the kind of wargamer we love playing with and chatting with anyway.

2. Ambush Alley Day in Kildare
Finally got to go down to Kildare for a day full of Ambush Alley gaming with Piers, Cyril, Thomas, Skip. There was also a few lads down from the North and it was great to put some faces to the names. Scenarios, terrain and figures were all top-notch. Looking forward to the next day out!

3. Pulp Adventure Dinosaur Hunting at Gaelcon
Wrote up my own system for this series of games which I ran all weekend at Gaelcon. I reckon I got about 14 people to play this (not counting return customers) and fun was had by all. There shall be another rescue mission launched in March...

An honourable non-wargaming mention goes to my continuing role-playing campaign: The Giyhonan Chronicles, which entered it's ninth installment during the year.

Blogs of the Year:

1. The Wargaming Depot
The centrepiece of the blog this year has been a Napoleonics campaign set in Russia in 1812 using 6mm miniatures
2. Campaigns of General W.A. Pettygree
A truly great story-telling style detailing the exploits on some savage north-west frontier
3. Lonely Gamers
Top notch stuff on a huge variety of topics.

A very honourable mention goes to fantastic wargaming forum: The Guild

Releases of the Year:

1. Ambush Valley
The Vietnam supplement for Force on Force captures the cinematic (but not Hollywood) effect-based wargaming experience that Ambush Alley epitomises. (This is just out, but otherwise it would have been Force-on-Force anyway)

2. Battlegames
Going from strength to strength over the year, this magazine should be on every wargamer's shelf.

3. Sci-Fi Crusaders
Alternative Armies' Ion Age is back, and the re-release seems to have also spurred people to get rid of their old stuff. These are going to be my mainstay when I run 3:16 Carnage Among the Stars later on

Gamer Movies:
(Only a top-two since I've been to the cinema very little this year)

1. District 9
Real sci-fi: future tech, real human problems & enjoyable

2. Avatar
Thrilling Cameron effort, if you can stand the (unavoidable) tree-hugging/stilted dialogue

Projects ready to launch:

1. Napoleonic Wars in 6mm
Using Richard Borg's Command & Colours
Napoleonics or possibly Piquet's Field of Battle. I start off with the Austrian campaign of 1809

2. Medieval Skirmish in 28mm
Set in fictional Ruritania, this small war will change the face of Europe!

3. Ambush Alley in 20mm
A fairly standard setup for Ambush Alley using the British in Afghanistan

Projects in (slowly but surely) Development:

1. Skirmish Version of Memoir '44
Resurrected the rules for playing Memoir '44 at a skirmish level (where one unit actually represents a fire-team of four guys. Eamon's already done the first session of playtesting.

2. Full Thrust-Dirtside Campaign
First draft of rules are just about finished. Have to do a read-through with Steve to finalise force levels and maps.

TV

1. Tru Blood
Sometimes soapy, but a compelling, well-thought out and (vital in these kinds of things) well-acted show

2. Generation Kill
Short and brutish. But quality all round. Interesting in that it seems to draw on 'One Bullet Away' as well as the 'Generation Kill' it's primarily based on

Though I'll give a honourable mention to the TV show 'Ross Kemp in Afghanistan'. I was dubious, but he's pulled off an extraordinary documentary over two seasons here. Superb and well-worth a look.
Looking forward to The Pacific, by the team which brought you Band of Brothers, and based primiarily on the works of E.B. Sledge (With the Old Breed) and Robert Leckie (Helmet for My Pillow)

Books:

1. Confrontation: War with Indonesia, 1962-1966
A largely forgotten war, and when it is remembered it's primarily for SAS involvement. There was so much more

2. Altered Carbon
Well-written Noir science fiction, which really examines the societal impact of the technological change

3. Attrition: Aspects of Command in the Peloponnesian War
Approches the war from a command viewpoint; what generals were successful and why

Here's to a similarly fun 2010. Hope you have a good one!
Cheers
Donogh