BATTLE REPORTS - CHARGE!!

 



Charge!

Though this be madness, yet there is method in't! - Nothing could describe this game better than this Shakeapearean classic. It was a freak game. A looney game. Essentially the be-all and end-all of games. Of course, it was also supremely funny.

So what did we do?

Well, one thing you always read in descriptions of Crossfire wargaming is that you need lots of terrain to make the rules work properly. As there is only one range - point-blank - available, you can shoot from one end of the table to the other, if there is a line of sight. In order to prevent that a game usually starts with cluttering the table with all sorts of buildings, trees, hills, walls - things that break the line of sight. Cover two thirds of the table in terrain features, otherwise the game will not be playable

Ehm, excuse me.

Is that so?

Is that really so?

Why not simply try it out?

And that was what we did - almost no terrain, just some decorative pieces in the centre, more for background story reasons (and because the whining UNOCS commander wanted something to hide in). Nothing else that prevented anyone from shooting at anyone else.

The result - well, it certainly did not work as a "proper" wargame; it was more like a knifefight inside a telephone box. But it was hugely entertaining.

The Location:

Soeliland. Surprise surprise - this time not another village. PLAoSS command has agreed to negotiations with representatives of the DRS government. These are scheduled to take place under the control of UNOCS forces in an old fort in the southern desert. Both sides agreed to arrive only with "a small personal escort", which was interpreted by DRS command as a composite mechanized company of guardsmen and marines; the PLAoSS interpreted it as a full-strength militia company with heavy vehicle support.

As things happen, soon after the negotiatiors had entered the fort, first shots were traded and the battle begun...

The Objectives:

Objectives in this game could be summed up rather neatly - shoot everything in sight...


The participating forces

1. DRS
2. PLAoSS
3. UNOCS

Platoon

HQ +2

3 Marine squads (average)

1 PC +1

3 rifle team

1 AT team

1 APC section

3 VAB
1 armoured car section
2 Panhard

Platoon

HQ +2

2 Guard squads (average)

1 PC +1

3 rifle team

1 MG team

1 AT team

1 APC section

1 M-113/106 +1

3 M-113

1 armour section
1 Greyhound +1

1 M-48

Platoon

HQ +2

3 Militia squads (green)

1 PC +1

3 rifle team

1 MG team

1 AT team

Platoon

HQ +2

3 Militia squads (green)

1 PC +1

3 rifle team

1 MG team

1 AT team

Platoon

HQ +2

3 Militia squads (green)

1 PC +1

3 rifle team

1 MG team

1 AT team

2 Technical sections
3 Technicals
Tank section
T-34/76

M-47

Tank section
T-34/85

T-55

UN HQ +2

Rifle squad (green)

1 PC +1

3 rifle team

1 AT team

Engineer squad (average)

1 PC +1

1 Rifle team

1 Engineer team

armoured car
1 Panhard

PLAoSS has a massive amount of infantry, roughly one third more than all the others on the table; for simplicity reasons, artillery and aircraft were totally left out of the equation. Realistically, the DRS never had a chance. Yet the commanders were cautiously optimistic - at first...


Phase I: First action

On the whole the course of the game was, surprise surprise, breathtakingly simple. It has been divided into several "phases" here simply to make the battle report more consistent with others on this page. It all began with PLAoSS infantrymen finding out what that curved smallish piece of metal widely known as trigger is good for. Some shots were traded, and soon a full-fledged battle was raging.

PLAoSS delegation moving towards the fort - with a "tiny" escort
brave blue helmet troops
UNOCS engineer element clearing minefield for delegation to pass through
PLAoSS-commander, head of PLAoSS delegation
the rest of the, uhem, "small personal escort"
two platoons of PLAoSS infantry, supported by four tanks
DS Marines with VAB APCs and Panhard ACs
DRS guardsmen, supported by a tank and a M-8 AC

Above some impressions of the initial action. Soon vehicles started to burn on both sides, and PLAoSS started to move slowly forward.


Phase II: Chaos reigns!

It became clear pretty quickly that this was not going to be a vehicle's battle. In fact, fairly early on into the action, most of the DRS vehicles were put out of action. It dawned on the DRS commanders fairly soon that this was not their biggest problem - the PLAoSS commander had more than twice as much infantry at his disposal, and began charging recklessly forward.

first casualties...
PLAoSS advances; on the left behind the fort some guardsmen in cover; to their right remnants of a guards squad which tried to stop the PLAoSS advance
more casualties, or: there goes the only tank...u
PLAoSS moving forward
after a while, vehicles staruted to burn on the other side as well, but note the sheer unstoppable infantry onslaught
PLAoSS infantry moving forward, occupying the ground in front of the fort
another view of PLAoSS infantry moving forward
DRS guardsmen trying to hold a defensive positon behind the fort
PLAoSS infantry moving forward on the other side of the fort
all this infantry - which to shoot at first??

More impressions of the main part of the battle. DRS infantry tried to use the ground immediately to the rear of the old fort for cover, but this was not particularly successful.


Phase III: PLAoSS victorious

DRS infantry strength was whittled down pretty fast, and soon the two remaining PLAoSS tanks started to roam around the battlefield and to kill with abandon. The remaining DRS vehicles went up in flames, and in a couple of minutes the DRS forces were all but wiped out.

taking out the remaining DRS vehicles
tools of destruction...
stubborn, but futile resistance (it is noteworthy that the PLAoSS commander managed to lose his initiative while trying to kill this uber-heroic squad leader; needless to say, a botched attempt at doing anything by the DRS forces got the initiative back to PLAoSS...u)


Phase IV: Taking on UNOCS

Having eliminated the DRS forces, PLAoSS now turned towards the fort and the UNOCS position. Although enjoying a huge numerical superiority it actually took the PLAoSS commander the better part of ten minutes or so to actually gain control over the fort.

PLAoSS tanks breaking into the fort compound
PLAoSS T-55 stuck in the wall
UNOCS engineers; they inflicted almost as many casualties to PLAoSS as all the DRS forces to gether...
overview over the fort; this is actually shot at the end of the battle - note the PLAoSS forces inside the fort
burning UNOCS Panhard
PLAoSS forces entering the fort through the breach made by the T-55
UNOCS commander fighting it out to the end...
final close assault - or: the end!u


All's well that ends - well, as long as it ends...

So that was it. PLAoSS was victorious, having wiped pretty much everybody else from the table. Nevertheless it was supremely funny for all sides involved. Of course the game proved that you really need terrain in order to have a try at tactics, but even this "mad charge"-type of scenario has some merits. We will probably have another go at this, in combination with more traditional layouts. For example, on a large, L-shaped table it might be interesting to have two villages and a large flat area in between, allowing charging and drawing back into the cover of the village.



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