Posted on 01 April 2015 at 22:13:40 GMT This engagement saw the bulk of the Khemedi armour take on the Cactus 11
battlegroup with the MEU's sole surviving M1 tank, the Belleau Wood. The
Americans were heading east along the main highway towards Wadesdah and
deployed off the road when contact was imminent.
I used a random method to determine where the Khemedis would appear
from, plus at what distance (to simulate smoke, dust, the general fog of
battle and communications) and also which units would appear by breaking
them down into simple units- the M60's, the T62s, the SAM element, the
mech infantry in their BMP1s, all on a simple D6 roll. Thus the BMPs
never made it on and it was only the armour that appeared and at a
disconcertingly close range.
Rather than a turn-by-turn report, the battle can be reported through
these key points and moments:
The T62s appeared on the southern table edge, close to the deployed
combat engineers, mortar and Javelin. The tanks took a toll on the
infantry and engineers, and shrugged off return fire from the AAVP guns.
The M60s appeared to the west, with the Belleau Wood directly in front
of them. In an epic exchange of gunfire, the Belleau Wood traded shots
with the 3 tanks, at half range, at one point taking 10 hits in a single
turn, saving 8 of them and remaining unsuppressed and able to return fire!
The AV8 Harrier was called in twice with little effect, although it
crucially suppressed a T62 in Turn 3 which allowed some of the infantry
to move west along the highway and off the table.
The gods of war smiled on the Belleau Wood throughout, at a pivotal
moment near the end, I rolled two consecutive double 1's (no fudging the
dice rolls allowed either, I either play to the dice or not at all)
which allowed the M1 to reverse out of the gunsights of the M60s, get
some shots off, turn to face the T62s on its flank, shrug off the
opportunity fire and set up for a kill shot against one of the T62s
before finally getting suppressed.
In the meantime, the 2 Marine infantry platoons had been moving east,
with the two AAVPs attempting to provide suppressing fire on the T62s
until they were KO'd. The infantry and engineers were able to exit the
table. Along with the Belleau Wood, which benefited from the good US
command rolls to turn and escape, using the cover of the low hill, trees
and burning AAVPs to put some distance between itself and the Khemedi
armour in the final turn.
I finished the game at 12.30pm on Saturday night, which thanks to
Daylight Saving meant for a late bedtime and so I called it a day in
Turn 4. The Marines had lost a Javelin ATGW, mortar and some engineers
but had successfully moved east along the highway, retaining their
armour and leaving behind a burning M60 and T62. The Khemedi battlegroup
will now head for the beachhead in an attempt to cut off the Marines
from their landing zone. However, the close air support of the Huey
Cobras plus naval gunfire from the MEU's accompanying Ticonderoga
frigate can be brought into play in this scenario.
The next game will be the simultaneous encounter between Bravo 24 and
the Baluchi mercenaries. The SEAL teams plus Marines Weapons Platoon
will land via Ospreys ahead of the retreating Baluchi mercenaries and
attempt to neutralise them and their T55 tank. The SEALs have LAW
rockets, so will need to close the distance as quickly as possible if
the mission is to be a success. |