Up the Junction - AAR

Corporal Unishment sat in the turret of his Warrior as it clanked along, watching the streets carefully.  It was quiet - too quiet.  There was nobody around, and it was close to mid-day. Burned out buildings around him gave a hint of earlier violence.  The mosque was visible ahead.  He told the driver to pull over just short of the junction; the second Warrior halted just behind. 

"Section 1 will approach the mosque; Section 2 - take up covering positions on the left side of the street".  His men debussed swiftly, and took up positions on either side of the road.  Away from the vehicles, he became aware of angry shouting, growing louder. Suddenly, close by, there were gun shots. 

Unishment's training took over - "Section 1 - take cover in the pub. Section 2 - cover my left. Warriors - move up to the crossroads". 

He kicked down the door, stationing Delta One on the ground floor, while he led Charlie One to an upper floor.  He glanced out the window at the mosque directly opposite; the flat roof was packed with armed men !

Bilal was the first to see them. Helmets and guns. Right across the street from the mosque. Wretched infidels.  Well, there would be no desecrating the mosque today.  Hunched beside him were nine armed men: AKs and an RPG.  He didn't wait to see what the men on the other side of the street were doing: clearly they were coming to cause trouble.  He raised his AK, but before he could fire they were hit with a cascade of fire from the soldiers opposite.  Two of Bilal's brothers dropped in that first fusillade and the rest fired wildly.  In the next minutes they found themselves swamped by the weight of fire coming from the house.  Each time they attempted to fire on the soldiers, another one or two of their men would drop...

Nobby raised his AK and squeezed off a burst at a group of 'Hotakis' trying to get away from him and his men.  One old man went down, and a young boy ran back to help him up; Nobby fired again, and the boy fell over - it was just like one of those video games, or rifle range at the fair ground.  From ahead, up by the mosque, there was more gunfire; for a second, he thought it might be some of his men who'd got in front of him.  And then a tank - a f*cking tank !- poked it's nose around the corner !  Well - the Army wasn't going to protect those 'Hotakis' from the Orkshire Brigade; he sent one team round the back of the school to shoot up the mosque from the apartment opposite, while another moved into the cover of a ruined church.  From the ruined office, he could look up the street and still take potshots from there...

"Corp. Charlie Two here.  Delta Two are in overwatch in the small offices at the junction. They report a bunch of civvies moving your way that someone is shooting at.  My team are overlooking the church yard from behind a wall.  There's a group in the ruined church - can't tell if they're armed or not. We'll keep an eye on them".  Unishment glanced out over the mosque; the guys on the roof were all down, but there were more armed men approaching from his right; he warned his section to keep an eye out...

Aatif was leading another group of Maliki towards the mosque when the firing started.  He ducked off the main street and through the Hotel.  As his men reorganised themselves in the mosque courtyard, they took heavy fire from the upper storey of the pub. Half his men went down; the survivors ran for cover in the mosque. Bursting through the door, they discovered the bodies of Bilal and his team...

Pete Atkins mob charged out the the church, and into the offices; "From there", he thought, "We'll have a good shot at the mosque". Charging up the stairs, he heard voices - were the 'Hotakis' already there ?  Automatic weaponry peppered the wall next to him, but that only angered him.  He and his 'boys' returned fire into the poorly lit room, and were rewarded with screams and yells from inside.  They kept firing; after a few minutes, it was very quiet from inside the room.  Pete cautiously peered in; there were four bodies on the floor, in camo and with helmets.  They were very still. "Oh, sh*t !" he thought. "We're up against the Army".  To confirm his suspicions, two large 'tanks' took that moment to opened up with their guns on the offices from immediately outside.  When the firing stopped, Pete and the survivors crawled towards the staircase. They were halfway down when Charlie Two burst in through the back door and shot them...

Abdul was across the street from Aatif when the gunfire started.  He saw the torrent of gunfire directed at the mosque by the wretched infidel soldiers.  He'd watched Aatif's careless leadership, leaving his men in the enemy's line of fire, and determined that he would do better.  Carefully using cover, his men followed him into the mosque.  Allah be praised, he had lost not a single man, and he was just in time.  He could hear soldiers just outside the mosque, preparing to burst in.  As he braced himself for the assault, he saw a helmeted head at the window; he froze, and, in doing so, saved the lives of himself and his men. A shrill voice, "Sarge, the mosque is packed with them. We can't go in there!"  A murmured conversation, then the sound of boots retreating across the street and, finally, quiet. Around him, his brothers lay dead or dying. But those still alive could be satisfied: they had held the infidel at bay !

OverviewArmy - 16 points
Young Orkshire Brigade - 11 points
Brexitian Islamic Front - 10 points



A close and messy three-sided game, with a bunch of frightened civilians caught in the crossfire.  Against my expectations, the Army player decided early on to employ 'extreme prejudice' against the Islamic Front, who made the mistake of attempting to shoot at him from the mosque.  Retribution was swift - the Islamic Front did not inflict a single casualty, as they were horribly out-gunned. However, they did manage to hold the mosque, mainly because the Army player realised two things; one - close assaulting a building with odds of four to one against was not a good idea. And, two - if he didn't shoot anyone else, he would actually gain points... The Young Orkshire Brigade player took great delight in shooting down unarmed civilians, successfully close-assaulting an Army fire team, and even launching RPG's at the Warriors from a distance. The Warriors extracted their revenge, and the few survivors wisely decided to keep their heads down for the last few turns. Claims of bias were made against the Army for using deadly fire against the Islamic Front, but only using suppressive fire against the YOB's... (There wasn't a lot of difference in the over-all effect). The victory points probably needed reviewing for balance, as the Army won despite inflicting the vast bulk of the casualties... So much for peace-keeping duties.

Thanks to Kevin, Bill and Liam.

Up The Junction

Paul Unishment stood to attention in his CO’s office, and stared fixedly at a point just over Major Zaster’s head while he waited to hear what ‘exciting’ detail he’d been assigned today. Yesterday he’d had to guard a bunch of Portaloos to prevent them from being stolen; the day before he’d been on traffic duty because of the power cuts, and the local police couldn’t spare anyone. The whole country was going to the dogs, and no-one seemed to care – so long as the cars kept moving, and there was somewhere to shit.

“The police are concerned, Corporal”, said Major Zaster. “There’s a lot of anti-immigrant feeling in Badford at the moment. Shops have been looted, houses set on fire, and people badly beaten. The police are spread too thin to do anything about it. They’ve heard rumours that local gangs are getting their hands on guns and intend to use them. I’m sending out patrols to police the streets and protect the peace. The sight of you and your men should act to deter the violence. Current rules of engagement apply – you’re to shoot only to prevent loss of life. Oh, while you’re out there, check out the mosque; footage from the police drone shows a truck delivering several dozen boxes. If they are weapons, confiscate them”.

TQ/Morale D8/D8; Body Armour 1D

Section 1 - Warrior IFV with driver and commander

Fireteam Charlie1

1x Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL + Shotgun

1x Marksman with L129

Fireteam Delta1

1x Assistant Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL

1x Gunner with GPMG (Med. AP:2/AT:0) 

Section 2 - Warrior IFV with driver and commander

Fireteam Charlie2

1x Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL + Shotgun

1x Marksman with L129

Fireteam Delta2

1x Assistant Squad Leader with SA80

1x Gunner with SAW (Lt. AP:1/AT:0)

1x Grenadier with SA80 + UGL

1x Gunner with GPMG (Med. AP:2/AT:0) 

Mission - protect civilians, search the mosque.

Each turn your forces remain on table (max 6)                          10 points

Each civilian casualty suffered                                                 -1 point

Each casualty suffered by your force                                        -2 points

Search the mosque for weapons                                             20 points

Dave ’Nobby’ Mosley had grown up on the streets of Badford in West Orkshire, and, since he was old enough to remember, things had only got worse over time. Nobby’s Dad had worked in the town steelworks, like his father before him. Unlike him, when they closed it down, he’d never found work again. When Nobby left school, they were still no jobs for him or his mates either, and no future. It only made it worse that there appeared to be an endless stream of ‘f***ing foreigners’ moving to Badford, taking the few local jobs at rates that were worse than the dole, and living three or four families to a house. Nobby couldn’t even get work in the portable toilet factory – ‘a real shit job’, as his mate said; Thommo reckoned it was because it was owned by one of those ‘Hotaki c**ts’, and they didn’t want ‘real Brexitians’ working there. They ‘ought to go back where they came from’.

Thommo knew a lot of people who felt the same way as Nobby – bitter and angry, and feeling in need of taking action. The ‘Young Orkshire Brigade’ had started by beating up the occasional ‘Hotaki’, throwing rocks through shop windows, and setting fire to houses, but this had led to a tit-for-tat escalation. Knives and baseball bats were now the norm, and some of Nobby’s mates had been seriously hurt or killed. There also seemed to be more of the ‘Hotakis’ than locals. So when Thommo said he knew a man who could get them some guns, Nobby jumped at the chance (he’d been quite good on the rifle ranges at the fairs he’d been to…). A couple of ex-Army guys called Ron and Reg had driven up from somewhere down south with a truck full of AK74’s, loads of ammo, and three RPGs; they’d even been taught how to use them. (Better than that, Thommo said that it had all been paid for by a ‘well-wisher’). They decided to test their new strength by marching on the mosque, and destroying it – ‘That would teach those Hotakis whose town it was !’

TQ/Morale D6/D10 Irregulars

Team 1

1x Leader with AK74

8x YOB’s with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 2

1x Leader with AK74

8x YOB’s with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 3

1x Leader with AK74

8x YOB’s with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Mission

Each ‘Hotaki’ wounded or otherwise incapacitated                     1 point

Enter the mosque and destroy it                                                 10 points

Abdul al Maliki had not had an easy life. Growing up in a small village in Malikastan, he had seen many of his friends and family killed there in the ‘peace-keeping’ operation, and the Hotaki invasion that followed. There had been a point where he – or, rather, his mother – had wanted him to become a martyr (Malikastan Week 10 – Save the Day), but God had spared him, and given him a chance to marry and start a family. His wife’s father, Uncle Rafi, had advised him to get out of Malikastan and go somewhere safer (his mother’s ‘life insurance policy’ on him hadn’t yet paid out…), so he decided to go to the West. After all, from what he had seen of their soldiers, if they could give away so many bullets and bombs, they must be rich, and wouldn’t mind giving him some of their wealth. It would be better than herding goats…

It took months to walk to the sea – through several other war zones – and a long wait in a refugee camp. Finally, someone took pity on him and his family, and put them on a plane. He ended up in Badford, just in time to see Grande Brexitia disintegrate, and law and order break down. However, for many like Abdul, this was ‘life as usual’, and they knew that security only came from the barrel of a gun; the Brexitian Islamic Front found many recruits from former refugees, keen to protect their families and new lives from violent thugs. Abdul had fought the Americans, Brexitians and the Hotakis, and was respected by his peers. When he heard that ‘infidels’ were on their way to destroy the mosque, and burn the holy books, he knew that he had to prevent it. Calling his brothers to arms, he led them down the street…

TQ/Morale D6/D10 Irregulars

Team 1

1x Leader with AK74

8x ‘Holy Warriors’ with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 2

1x Leader with AK74

8x ‘Holy Warriors’ with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Team 3

1x Leader with AK74

8x ‘Holy Warriors’ with AK74

1x Gunner with AK74 and RPG

Mission

Each unbeliever wounded or otherwise incapacitated                  1 point

Prevent unbelievers from desecrating (entering) the mosque     10 points

99 Luftballon (15mm Force on Force AR)

The ambush was sprung, the infiltrator in the crowd of protesters revealed a Skorpion SMG and opened fire on the US Government agent.  A large front-end loader parked in the field on the left of the convoy surged forward attempting to ram the HUMVEE and cut off the retreat of the convoy.

It was a fun game.  The board was setup in Western Australia and the two players were in Queensland (nearly 3,700km apart).  I used a smartphone with Skype to show the two players the board.  It worked very well.  We have done a few games like this (Pulp Alley see here) and FOF.

I think using a small number of troops makes this style of play possible.

The outcome was very close, down to the end of the final turn, it could have gone either way.  I think when the ambushers lost initiative it became a lot harder to control.

I was hoping the ambushers would win, getting a few tactical nukes into their hands would have been fun.  Though, I have heard that this was one of two ambushes of convoys carrying tactical nukes...

I do not think we have seen the last of Mr Pig either.

Mission Briefing - 99 Luftballon

The political situation in Grand Brexitia has gone from bad to worse.  In large areas of the nation the public services have all but ceased to operate.  The populace has blamed the USA and EC for their economic and political woes, the old government has fallen, frightening scenes of mob violence and murder in the streets of Grand Brexitia have been splashed across the TV screens across the world.  The footage of the US Embassy burning has brought the woes of GB to the US TV audience.  The acting GB Prime Minister, Breta Offoute, has with immediate effect withdrawn Grand Brexitia from NATO and ordered the US to remove all it’s personal from the country.  While negotiations on the timetable on the US exit from Grand Brexitia has bogged down in incriminations and rhetoric the people took it into their own hands and invaded the US Airbases.

The roadblock

Following an escalation of violence at the Mildewhall Airbase where three US servicemen and fifteen protesters were killed NATO HQ in Virginia has ordered that Mildewhall Airbase be evacuated and dismantled.    With the runways covered in protester's tents the US Army has decided to truck out it sensitive equipment.  The routes these trucks will take are secret.

US Commander – Convoy MH-032

You, Staff Sergeant Hardy Harr, will escort one M977 HEMTT loaded with a cargo of Hellfire missiles from the Mildewhall Airbase to Portswich.  You have been given two HUMVEES (which have been in storage since the first Gulf War), one HEMTT, one G-Wagon, four drivers, five air force military police, one pilot (possibly due to a clerical error), two US government agents and one Brexitia policeman.  Your heavy weapons do not have ammunition.

Unfortunately, there has been a leak.  While driving down a country road you have driven into a protest.  The government agent and the Brexitia policeman have approached the crowd to negotiate passage.

The convoy has been stopped by a crowd, the crowd seems to be armed with shotguns and pistols.  The crowd is chanting, “Badgers are people too!” and “Trees are people too!”  Confused the policeman and the government agent have exited the G-Wagon and gone to talk to the crowd.

US Air Force

TQ8/MOR10 +1 Body Armour (except Policeman)

1x  Staff Sergeant Hardy Harr w\Carbine (TQ10)

3x Drivers w\SMG

5x MP w\Carbine

1x Pilot w\Pistol (TQ6)

2x Government Agent w\SMG (TQ10)

1x Brexitia Policeman w\Harshlanguage and a tazer

2x HUMVEE (Uparmoured Soft FA/SA/RA 2D6 DA 1D6)

1x G-Wagon (Soft-skin)

1x M977 HEMTT (Uparmoured Soft FA/SA/RA 2D6 DA 1D6)

Opposition only:

Brexitia Republican Army

You are a high-ranking SAS deserter, Mike Krotch known as “Itchy” to your mates, who left the SAS with his buddies during the “month of tumult”, taking your weapons with you.  You joined the Brexitia Republican Army, hoping to see the end to the Royals who seemed to have taken over the country with their puppet Prime Minister Breta Offoute.  A month ago your crew managed to steal an Apache helicopter.  Your commander has asked you to procure ammunition for the helicopter.  Putting out feelers you managed to get info from an informer in the Mildewhall Air Base.  He has given you the route of a truck carrying a cargo of Hellfire missile.  Your man in a local green group, “Badgers Are People Too” has riled the environmentalists to stage a protest at a construction site along the route the US Army truck will take.  He has organized the BAPT to make a road block across the road with their cars.  And has convinced them that unless they are armed the badgers and trees will all be destroyed.

You are a group of SAS (well 3 of you is a group!) with a few “Home Guard” wannabees (from a Russian airsoft enactment group).  Your plan was to steal a truck at the construction site, but after finding the distributor caps were missing you sent a group of wannabees off to steal a truck to drive behind the US convoy to trap them in an avenue of trees.  So far, they have not returned, and you suspect they stopped at the local pub down the lane.

To replace the truck you have commandeered a front-end loader.  You also have a 4x4 BMW and car to escape in.  If you lose the “Home Guard” you probably think that would be a bonus on top of stealing the Hellfires.

Brexitia Republic Army

2x ex-SAS (REG TQ10/MOR10) w\Assault Rifles +1x LAW (AP2/AT3(H) +1D Body Armour

1x ex-SAS (REG TQ10/MOR10) w\Sniper Rifle +1D Body Armour

1x BAPT Infiltrator (REG TQ8/MOR8) w/SMG (starts in crowd of Protestors)

1x Front-End Loader Driver (REG TQ6/MOR6) w/Pistol +1D Body Armour

5x Wannabees Soldiers “Loaders” (REG TQ6/MOR6) w\Rifles (-1DRM)

1x Idiot Backpack Bomb 3” AP6D8/AT2D8(L) (TQ6/MOR10) (can be exploded by Major Adam Mission as an action)

1x BMW 5-Series 4x4 Getaway Car (Softskin)

1x Golden Holden Getaway Car (Softskin)

1x CAT988 FEL (“Uparmoured” FA 4D8, SA 3D6, RA 3D6, Shoot at driver Side or Rear +2D defense)

Still Crazy After All These Years (Part 2)

For this three-sided game (aka 'Black Prince Down'), the Regulars have a Scimitar AFV, and 4 WMIK Land Rovers (each with a fireteam of 4 and armed w/SA80's). The WMIKs have M2HBs and a pintle mounted GPMG). They are TQ/Morale D8/D8, Confident, with Body Armour. The official ROE are 'Only return fire at identified hostiles', but, privately, they have been told 'Shoot anybody you see who is armed'. They have 8 turns to rescue the Prince, and get off table.

Ronnie Kray (w/SA80, RPG 7V and body armour) and 2 teams of 4 (w/SA80's) are TQ/Morale D8/D8 and Confident. Their aim is to get the truck off table within 8 turns.

The Rowdy Rabble (w/AK74s, w/Molotov cocktails in close assault on vehicles) start with two teams on table, and the rest are treated as irregulars, emerging via hotspots. They are TQ/Morale D6/D6 and Confident; they have to prevent the Regulars from achieving their mission.

A mob by the road. Kray's men are in the factory.

Sitrep

The Scimitar led the column as it raced along the road, heading for the crash site. Spotting an armed mob in the woods by the side of the road, it opened fire with its main gun; one of their number fell,  and the rest scattered in terror. The lead WMIK raced past the fleeing hoodlums and up the road. The wall by the road gave way to a chain-link fence, through which it identified more unfriendlies in military fatigues by a black Mercedes in  front of the factory; the WMIK opened fire, but missed. The return fire from Kray's men (they had finally made it to the factory, but too late as far as they were concerned) was just as effective. (Ronnie looked at his RPG, and then again decided that there was too much fire power coming his way, and pulled his men back, through the factory and into the woods. They'd get their investment back another day, when things weren't so hot).

The cavalry to the rescue

The other WMIKs were close behind the first. Suddenly, from behind the red-brick building, a group of yobs with Molotov Cocktails charged into the road, but they were dispersed by a short burst from the top-mounted machine gun of the second vehicle. The lead WMIK could see a plume of smoke from the vicinity of the railway overpass bridge. The commander pointed, “That must be the chopper”.  They could also hear gunfire from that direction.

Looking up the road - smoke rises from the helicopter

The Scimitar commander rushed forward crashing through the chain-link fence and opened fire with its RARDEN 30mm cannon at a mob by the gate, which quickly took cover.

Two WMIKs then moved up to the bridge, spotting a tail rotor.  They could see a crowd on the opposite railway embankment, but were unsure if they were unfriendly. A debate ensued, which was finally resolved when the Scimitar then joined them by the bridge. The mob on the other side of the railway opened futile fire at the light tank. Having confirmed that they were, indeed, 'hostiles', the return fire from Scimitar and both WMIKs was punishing... (The commander of the tank had a surreal moment when he realised that they were using heavy force against their own countrymen, rather than against Malikastanis. However, when bullets pinged off the hull, he shrugged off the thought. In all the months in Malikastan nothing had ever pinged off his vehicle. He ordered his gunner to open fire...)

Meanwhile, further mobs appeared, from across the railway line, from inside the factory yard, and from down on the railway track itself. Movement was also spotted in the gardens of the houses to their right. Things were starting to look dangerous; the WMIK stationed outside the fence returned fire on the mob charging out from the factory, knocking two of them over; as they ran, their exit was hastened by more fire from the WMIK at the T-junction. One of the WMIKs on the bridge moved so it could see down onto the railway line, but the crew could not verify if the mob on the railway were belligerent, so they held their fire. The crew of the other WMIK on the bridge disembarked, and moved to the edge of the railway embankment to see if they could spot the Prince.  They were taken under fire from a reformed mob on the opposite embankment; their fire, and that from the Scimitar blasted the mob to smithereens. The sound of heavy machine gun fire - supplemented with 30mm Rarden cannon - was almost continuous. (One of the WMIK drivers could not believe that so many armed and dangerous men could roam the streets of Grand Brexitia. What had happened to his country while he was away in the Middle East ? How could a 21st century, First World country, run by a bunch of coke-snorting, pig-molesting ex-Etonians, be reduced to this level of anarchy so quickly ?). Ammunition started to run low.

The fireteam reaches the Prince; hostiles gather in the factory yard and in the gardens

Covered by their mates in the vehicles, the fireteam on foot slid down the embankment, engaging mobs shooting at them from the far side, and from the gang on the railway line. Even when conserving ammo, their shooting was still too much for the armed civilians. They managed to make it to the wreck of the helicopter, and found the Prince and his friends, unharmed except for grazes and superficial cuts. Prince Roger himself was cowering behind the helicopter, and it took some effort to persuade him to scramble up the embankment, towards the parked WMIK. As they climbed, fire from the 'hostiles' lightly wounded one of the rescuers, but return fire caused the armed civilians to go to ground. Another large mob approached from the gardens of the houses with the intention of charging in to the Prince's protectors, but Scimitar cannon and WMIK fire knocked some down, and the rest took cover behind the walls. This enabled the Prince, his chums, and the fireteam to make it to their vehicles (one of the chums had to travel in another WMIK, as the first was overloaded; the Prince insisted on being first aboard, taking cover in the floorwell...)

A mob approaches from along the railway tracks.

While this was going on, more mobs closed on the scene. The WMIK at the T-junction spotted some movement behind them, but its machine gun fire missed. The exposed WMIK crew suffered wounds; one was a mere scratch, but the second was more serious. The vehicle was starting to resemble a Swiss cheese, with one dead, and one other out of action. The last unwounded man frantically manned the gun; the lightly wounded man took the wheel as the order to pull out came over the air. Shooting in all directions, the convoy pulled out and raced back to barracks, the Scimitar covering the rear. Prince Roger was safe. 

The troops prepare to pull out.

Casualties

Regulars - 1 dead, 1 seriously wounded, 2 lightly wounded.

Kray's Gang - No casualties

Mobs - An estimated two to four dozen wounded or killed (?)

Newspaper headlines next day - 'Our hero. Brave Prince Roger single-handedly fights off hordes of criminal scum hell-bent on terror rampage'. (Of course, 'The Daily Heil' is always entirely truthful, accurate and unbiased in its reporting...)