AAR - Battle for Runway Two Zero

"The airfield is OURS!" declares UN commander Major Heidi Clare.

Following the battles at the gate and the motor pool the Hotakistani paratroopers fell back on their original entry point, back to their command helicopter that crashed at the end of the runway.  The British and US forces at the airfield attack from the SW to wipe out the last of the invaders.

The battle occurred at the end of the runway where the Hotakistani para HQ was situated, close by was the crashed Merlin where the Hotakistani HQ had landed several days earlier.  The hijacked and crashed 737 which came to a grinding halt at the end of the runway earlier in the day was central to the upcoming fire fight.  The UN pushed a platoon of US Infantry and British infantry to clear the last Hotaki paratroopers from the airfield, two platoons of Hotaki paratroopers, dug-in and prepared to meet the assault.

The first mortar rounds land amongst the Hotakistani defenders - while the Fickle Finger of Fate hovers over all.

The UN designated two squads of US infantry to flank to the right, while the remaining force, supported by a Challenger II and a mortar battery took the Hotaki's head-on.  Though the Hotakistani commander screamed for armour, all the support he could muster for his two infantry platoons were a 106mm Recoilless Rifle and a Quad 14.5mm AA gun.  Hovering behind the hangars was a UN Apache gunship, waiting for the mortars to deal with the Quad AA.

The UN move up - bunching up, but not afraid of being hit by artillery.

The British and USA rapidly moved up to the drainage ditches, which were more latrines than trenches.  They set up their guns and waited for the command to fire.

The British Sergeant Major arrives on his Quad Bike (15mm Quad bike scratchbuilt by Mark)

US push forward up the shallow stream on the left while a team of Hotakistani move to cut-off that approach.

The four teams of GPMGs on the UN side began to fire, and the mortars began to land.  The majority of casualties in the battle were caused by GPMGs and mortar fire.

The first Hotakistani paras start to take fire.

When the first US flankers arrived the Hotakistanis that responded to this move were in the end all downed by fire.  But, during the battle Major Clare arrived and took command.  Major Clare's involvement caused general confusion and nearly ended in disaster as the initiative switched to the Hotakistanis.

Two US fireteams turn the Hotakistani flank, causing a major response which resulted in many Hotakistani's caught moving in the open.

A GPMG weapons team thinking the fire had been taken out of the Hotakistani''s run across the ground at the end of the runway and are shot down.

The exasperated US Lieutenant moved up the river to support his men, but the cover he took ended up being mere reeds, and when the Quad 14.5mm spotted him the three men in the HQ fell.  Bitter fire was exchanged in the scrub with both sides taking many hits.  Meanwhile on the left flank the mortars and Challanger continued to kill and wound Hotakistani's.  Not all was a one way exchanged, a thermo-baric RPG killed or wounded three British soldiers in the drainage ditch.

The heavy fire finally takes toll on the Hotakistani's and soon they are overwhelmed.

In the end the Hotakistani's were whittled down by mortar and GPMG fire and soon had no one left to hold the line.  The flankers caused a major change in axis of the fight, and when the Hotakistani's attempted to rotate their front to meet the flankers they were caught in the move and paid heavily.

The UN lost around 12-15 men killed or seriously wounded, while the Hotakistani's probably lost around a platoon and a half.

UN Victory Points: 47

Hotakistani Victory Points: 20

An enjoyable game.

Lesson learnt: If crossing a runway a dead snake may still bite you.  Also, this was a LARGE game for Force on Force.  We had four full platoons of infantry, with another four support units on a 4'x4' table.  With only three players this may have been pushing the Force on Force rules to the limit.

Best unit of the day: For me it was the thematic Quad bike scratchbuilt by Mark from "paperclip, card and match-sticks, with a horse archer and British modern body, some ex-WH40K bags/sleeping rolls and a dollop of spit".  I want one...no, I want three!