AAR Week 8 - Bump in the Night

On Sunday we (Mark II, Bill and myself) played Bump in the Night.  This was our first real regular on regular game, with lots of vehicles and infantry.  It was a bit slow to play, with the Elusive tests, so we will modify the night rules in the future to be: Optimum/2, Full Firepower to normal optimum, and half firepower to 24" (or whatever the level of darkness dictates).

Lieutentant Tokoloshe swore as the convoy first split in two and then the tail-end concertinaed into a juicy target.  The Ratel 90 led the convoy, followed by the HUMVEE, VBL and a Ratel 20.  Up ahead the Hotakistani leaguer burst to life as news of the approaching UN force arrived from the pickets.

Contact begun with the T-72 putting a shell through the leading Ratel 90, blowing the drive-train into scrap-metal.  The crew bailed out.  The VBL split off to the south (top) and the HUMVEE moved to the north (bottom).  The passengers in the leading Ratel 20, rapidly disembarked and ran to the safety of the nearby compound, moments before a 125mm cannon shell ripped its innards apart.

T-72s spot the UN (QRF)

The Hotakistani repositioned to foil any attempts by the UN to breakthrough.  With the T-72s on the road to the north the convoys turned right and attempted to navigate to the south of the compound.  A wall of fire was directed at the Hotakistani infantry, who were dug-in or well concealed in the fields, but to no avail, these were men of stout heart.

Insurgents appeared to the rear of the UN column and a well aimed RPG brewed the rear Ratel 20, the crew and passengers bailed but nearly all were injured as they clambered from the conflagration, they returned ineffective fire at the insurgents.

Meanwhile, the T-72's begin to move, one peeling off to the south and one to the north, their engines and tracks groaned from wear-and-tear, but they kept going.  The T-55 was the first to confront the Rooikat, the T-55 missed its target, the Rooikat did not.  The MANA crew bailed out of their damaged tank.

The UN and Hotakistani infantry lit up the night with gunfire, but most did not find their target.  To the south the French had moved around the compound and fired two AT-4's into the side of the T-72 which exploded as the crew bailed out.  A duel between the South African infantry and the Scorpion ended with a badly injured South African RPG-man.  The Hotakistani infantry begin to probe forward, not content to just sit and wait for the UN forces to close.

The threat of the second T-72 was reduced when the US team hit the T-72 with two AT-4's, destroying the 125mm cannon.

A small group of Australian SASR, which had been observing local traffic from a hide, appeared at the UN HQ and offered their services.  Their assistance was welcomed, and their expert marksmanship soon had the Hotakistani's laying low.

The fight then degenerated into a slugfest in the dark with lots of fire but little effect.  In the end the South Africans were turned back and broke contact.  For all the fire and explosions casualties were relatively light:

South African losses:
x2 Ratel 20
x1 Ratel 90
7 Seriously wounded
2 KIA
US Losses:
1 KIA
Hotakistani Losses:
x1 T-72 Damaged
x1 T-55 damaged and abandoned
x1 T-72 Destroyed
6 Seriously wounded.

Several vehicle crew on both sides were killed or injured but no record exists of the numbers.

Unfortunately the scenario turned into a slugfest, so it has been redesigned, with less Hotakistani's and a change to the night rules used.  In the end Mark II pulled off a decisive victory for the Hotakistanis.

This game also saw my worse Defence roll, 5D8 got me 1,1,1,1,2!  I think that is a 1 in 936 chance.