A Growing Village

It has been to long since my last post with most of my time being spent on getting ready for Cold Wars and getting my Lebanese village in order.

As you can see from my 2011 Projects list I have been busy with doing up buildings and figures. Currently on my bench is a “Straight Flush” Radar system to be used in Lebanon and the War of Attrition. After that I have five buildings to finish up and than I can get back to writing and gaming.

I hope to see you at Cold Wars in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Mark and I are running two games on Saturday.

Below are the recent images of the village. The five buildings primed black are waiting to be finished.

The market area has been the most fun to work on. To the left will be the Lemon/Olive Orchard. 

SLA vrs PLO

The South Lebanese Army while investigating the report of an arms cache in one of the neighboring villages came under fire prior to withdrawing, Associated Press has reported today from Beirut.

While it has not been confirmed, unidentified members on staff say it was a poor showing for the SLA. No additional comments have been received from official sources.

Now for the PLO view…

It was a great day for the PLO. Two columns of the SLA attempted to enter the village looking for arms and supplies. One column was to approach the village, clear a roadblock and support the second column approaching the village’s stores and warehouses.

Trouble started early as the right column moved faster than expected and their M-113 was quickly engaged in a firefight from one of the warehouse buildings. After taking three hits by RPGs the M113 retired to check on the damage to the APC.

This left the four squads to secure the warehouse complex. One squad unfortunately had trouble crossing the road and was brought under fire by a PLO LMG team firing from the roof. A squad was able to take one building but was forced to pull back after the M113 and a third squad pulled back. A fourth squad did reach their objective, but was unable to contact the left column. They also pulled back with the other three squads.

The left column was unable to remove the roadblock as they were under fire. Once they secured the PLO position they received orders to pull back to the start line.

(The PLO leader at this position has a different stand on this as he was holding off a superior force and he only left once his position was untenable. He escaped with his own life and his RPG team and the truck. It was our only truck.)

While causalities were similar, 7 PLO for 8 SLA, the fact that the PLO held the field allowed them to recover arms from the causalities and check on their wounded.

 Right column bring the warehouse under fire with the M-113.

Left column under fire while approaching the roadblock.

 SLA pulling from one of the warehouse buildings.

 LMG team bring the SLA squad under fire.

 The PLO commander at the roadblock returning the truck.

Platoon Forward - Lebanon Style

In getting ready for my first Platoons Forward campaign I used the rules and modified them slightly to fit a Lebanese militia faction. From my rolls I think we come from a religious organization.

The road looking towards the village.

My concern is that in the past my PLO can win a game but normally there are few troops left standing.

As we are guarding the southern approaches to the town we have acquired an old truck that will enable us to move half of the unit at a time.

Platoon Commander (Avg Die)

• Pragmatic
• Religion
• Even

Second in Command (D4)

• Egotistical
• Religion
• Even
• Military Family

o   +1 Officers

o   +2 Major and above

Headquaters

An RPG Team of two men and a radioman

Support

LMG Team of three

Squad #1

4 AKs

1 RPG-7

The Bigman's Headquarters (Looks a lot like a warehouse out of Clear and Present Danger.

Squad #2

4 AKs

1 RPG-7

Squad #3

4 AKs

1 RPG-7

 

 Showing both sides of the road.

 

Squad #4

4 AKs

1 RPG-7

Roadblock on one of the two roads.

Number of squads was determined by an averaging die as the PLO and militias really did not follow any formal TOE/OB.

Next up the aggressor.

The Charioteer Rule

This is a special IABSM rule for the use of armor by the PLO and the Lebanese militias. It is named for the Charioteer tank/tank destroyer used by the PLO, Lebanese Arab Army and the Tigers Militia. It is equally applicable to T34/85s and T54/55s used by these forces. This is to take into effect the lack of training and maintenance.

If the player wishes to use the tank, it requires a ”big man” activation. A single die is thrown.

• On a 1-4 there is no effect. The tank can neither move nor fire. It is just a target.
• On a 5 the tank can only fire its weapons.
• On a 6 the tank can activate as below.

If a tank rolls a 6, than it can move or fire using a single die. That is a single die for movement or the correct number of dice for firing, but not both in a single turn. To keep moving, or firing the big man will need to stay with the tank. This rule does not affect Technicals.

Cold Wars AAR

For me this was one of my better Cold Wars HMGS Conventions.  I ran two games; played in a third and watch a few interesting games as well.  Attendance seemed to be down but that did not deter anyone from having fun. 

Mark Kinsey and myself ran two games dealing with Lebanon 1982 and Dr Mercury had two 28mm games covering the conflict as well. All in all the Vista Room in Lancaster was a little bit of Lebanon (in the Middle East that is).

On the Purchase front I picked up a pack of Modern Havoc 15mm Insurgents to add to my PLO.  These twenty additional figures are armed with AK47s and RPGs and will add a lot of additional figure poses for the table. Unfortunately I had to increase my figure count by the same twenty. Oh bother. Also picked up trees for the village. This was not a big purchase show for me.

Now on to the battles and After Action Report

The first fight was “Lebanon 1982 - Fight at Ishiya” This is a village in the Bekaa were the IDF is looking to move north as fast as possible while destroying as my of the PLO infrastructure as possible.

The Battlefield - Image from Doctor Merkury

Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. The IDF had a platoon of infantry with Magach support.  While they had two perfectly good roads to use, they set up on the table edge and started to move through the rough terrain. Now as a game master I should have place the figures on the road and said you start here. My fault.

The IDF started by approaching a cluster of houses and found a PLO arms cache, but also civilians, militia and a news crew. Now after failing to spot the news crew (even though I had figures on the table) they proceeded to use the machine guns and Magach tanks on the people and buildings getting a clean kill on the entire news crew.

Things could not get worse for the IDF, well they could and did. For over three turns they continued to pummel the buildings. It took an order from over the radio to get them moving, ever so slowly. In desperation (on the game master’s part) I said something like, “I paid a lot for that latex road and you guys need to use it.

Once they got on the road they moved towards a market building and encountered a second PLO team with a machine gun. This slowed up the column again and the reinforcements. The IDF received a jeep platoon.

At this time the Syrians appeared on blinds (we were using a Lardies rules). It was funny that the IDF was not concerned about the new column approaching the village center. The Syrians had two platoons of T55s and a platoon of BTR60s.

It was only when the command tank was hit by an RPG and received engine damage that the IDF realize they were in trouble. The command tank earlier lost their commander. The Syrian Infantry and lead platoon of T55s fired on the tank and the crew bailed to a building. More on that latter.

The rest of the IDF column made a run for the edge and it looked like they were going to make it, until the PLO moved their one heavy asset, a Charioteer, to stop them. There is something humorous in having a 1950s tank (or tank destroyer) frightening off the IDF. Only by luck was the PLO tank unable to get the last M113 in the column. (In the future I need to write up some PLO specific tank rules. Should make for interesting and comical battles.)

Back to the tank crew. They were holding up in a building being shot at by a platoon on Syrian and a defiant group of PLO. There situation did not look good, so the jeep platoon went in to recover them. Luck was still with the Syrians as they were able to get into a firing position and disabled the jeeps and captured their crews and the crew of the tank.

This game was a PLO and Syrian victory. I think the IDF commander was lucky to have been an early causality, if not Ariel Sharon would not have been happy with the results.

The second battle was “Clearing the Orange Grove”, an infantry fight based on a scene in Waltz with Bashir. This was to have the IDF moving through an agricultural area on the coast road.

This operation was smaller with only a platoon of infantry. Each player had control of a M-113 with three fire teams. 

This operation followed doctrine with the infantry working with the APC. This time the PLO came off for the worse. Their teams put up a good fight, but the combined firepower of the IDF contained any PLO threat.

This is a game I will want to bring back to a convention.

I want to thank all of the players and Mark for taking part in the two games. I hope to use Mark’s Orange Grove (that he forgot) in the future game.

Please look at Daddy’s Little Men and Doctor Merkury’s Lab for more (and better pictures) running a game does not allow time for taking pictures.

The Growing Village

It has been to long since my last post with most of my time being spent on getting ready for Cold Wars and getting my Lebanese village in order.

As you can see from my 2011 Projects list I have been busy with doing up buildings and figures. Currently on my bench is a “Straight Flush” Radar system to be used in Lebanon and the War of Attrition. After that I have five buildings to finish up and than I can get back to writing and gaming.

I hope to see you at Cold Wars in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Mark and I are running two games on Saturday.

Below are the recent images of the village. The five buildings primed black are waiting to be finished.

The Village Market Place. This was the most fun to work on. To the left will be the Lemon/Olive Orchard.

South of Sidon by Macaulay Connor

7 June 1982

South of Sidon

by Macaulay Connor

Today this reporter came upon the results of a recent and bloody Israeli sweep south on Sidon. At least three IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush.

On this the second day of the Israeli Operation Peace for Galilee Israeli infantry were sweeping north through an orange grove near this unnamed market town. While there were reports of Fatah militia in the area, numbers were unknown.

Two roads bordered the grove and heads north towards the market. The IDF appears to have been following these parallel roads when an ambush occurred causing the loss of three soldiers who were on an M113.

While we cannot approach the village at this time I can say we can hear heavy weapons coming from the village itself.

While the IDF is limiting their comments on this engagement, this reported was able to find out from resident that Fatah did take some losses.

After Action Report

It has been to long since Mark and I play IABSM and it showed. We missed adding in a few of the IDF cards and took a couple of actions before we got back our sea legs.

Unfortunately this effected Mark’s IDF more than me. He ended up get a M113 to far in front of the column and was hit by RPG7s. Between this and AK47 fire the M113 came out the worse for ware.

Once Mark was able to get his two infantry sections on the table he was able to clean out the militias with limited loses. His superior Big Men allowed the IDF to move faster than my running Fatah troops.

The game came to an end when the IDF was able to get to the village and than faced a HMG. Over all I (as the PLO player) feel that the PLO won as we destroyed (ok immobilized) an M113 and killed 4 IDF soldiers, three of which were in the M113. The PLO lost only 12 men (out of 18 active men).

This was fun and I look forward to have a go with my new village. Mark and I both have the ability to have villages set up at our respective houses, which will make gaming easier. 

ZPU-4s

Well we are now into February and that means to me Cold Wars is around the corner. This week Mark and I will put the finishing touches on our two games. By the end of the weekend I hope to be able to add to my Syrians with two new platoons, one of T55s and a second with T62s.

My Arab forces have also added to their air defenses with two ZPU-4s. Why do I need two? I don’t know, I think I forgot and than ordered the second.  There is a big difference between the QRF and Peter Pig anti-aircraft guns. While I consider the Peter Pig weapon a miniature, the gun from QRF was a real model with more pieces that I knew what to do with. I even end up with a spare piece that I think was the towing bar. I am not sure with is the correct scale as the Peter Pig Figure is smaller if I do need a third I will problem go with the Peter Pig miniature, it was easy to put together.

Now were are Marks A-4s :)

ZPU-4 from Peter Pig near the mosque.

ZPU-4 from QRF.

Pictures from the Third Battle in Lebanon

Our Saturday battle was a good time as we got our friend Doc Mercury over to play. He now has a large force of PLO/Militia to paint up and got his first taste of Lebanon 1982 with Mark and myself.

This battle changed many times as we were setting it up and at times as the referee I was not sure what the players wanted to try out. (I need to remember to always make the IABSM/CDS cards and the sides set before I get to the gaming venue.) Mark wanted Syrians, Doc did not care and I was planning on using PLO (that is what I had cards for).

The action was very fast as the two platoons headed across the town looking for PLO and a way to exit to the north.

Here is the long road with the referee in the distance.

The PLO was found by the IAF (or was it a drone) running towards one of the major buildings.

After a couple of inefficient shots by the PLO the IDF found this relic on the battlefield and fired on it. The IDF player was a little miffed that it was all caught on camera and the T34/85 was not operational. Always remember to not fire on anything near a mosque.

The tank as a decoy allowed the PLO to assault the tanks. Luck was not with the PLO today as none were damaged and the infantry cleaned out the building.

As the Merkavas went past the market a group of Syrian commandos attacked the column. They had as little luck as the PLO.  They held the market only a turn before being forced out by the infantry.

Here we have the infantry holding the market.

While all of this was happening the Syrians brought on three T55s. There only success was against an empty M113.

A good game and a great learning experience for me the referee. I look forward to our next game.

My Work Bench 10/29/2010

There is a new addition to my workbench. Yesterday my QRF Charioteer arrived. Been cleaned up and based. The gun barrel was also strengthened as it was bent back on itself.

This is a great tank for Lebanon. Twenty-four were sold to Jordan in 1954. When Jordan upgraded to the Centurion they were sold to Lebanon. With the start of the Civil War different factions including the PLO, Tigers Militia under Chamoun, and the Lebanese Forces under Gemayel claimed them. The 20 pounder will be a great equalizer in any battle, I am less certain how mobile they were.

I first learned of this gem of a tank in an Osprey. Was only a drawing and a paragraph but it got me interested. Not that it has not happened to anyone else reading this.

 

Also on the bench shown here are three Centurions needing to be base coated and a T34/85 that needs to be washed. The Germans in the back are for a long delayed VBCW faction.

It is even less safe now.

While it appears it will be difficult (or very expensive) to find or build a SA-2 there are still a great deal of assets that Syria and its proxies can use. Some of which I already have (or could get). 

From QRF is the ZU23-2 a towed twin 23mm anti-aircraft gun. This piece of firepower has been around since the early 1960s and is still in production.

Peter Pig has the ZPU-1 with is a 14.5mm machine gun that is still seen in Middle East conflicts today.

The ZPU-4 (also by Peter Pig) is a four barrel version with 14.5mm machine guns. With an effective altitude of over 4,500 feet both of these guns can cause havoc on low flying aircraft and helicopters (not to mention troops and buildings).

What troops want to be without some protection. Not everyone has an air force like the IAF. For those troops traveling light there is always the SA-7.  Here is the SA-7 by QRF. Used since the War of Attrition while not always lethal it is effective at protecting targets by reducing  the pilot's accuracy.

T34/85

The PLO has taken ownership of a T34/85 tank and look forward to using it shortly. The next question is who knows how to drive it? Any volunteers asks the “Big Man”?

The T34/85 is from Peter Pig. [I am still wondering if I should of washed the tank. It looks to pale to me.]

PLO Acquisition

Yesterday, the PLO acquired a T34/85 tank from their friends at Peter Pig. There was a great deal of celebration when it was placed on the painting table. It is hoped that this will lead the PLO to victory over the Israeli forces and their militias.

In a related report, new recruits were also seen entering Israeli armor school and related support weapons training (needed packs of Peter Pig IDF crews and weapon crews needed for the Merkava and Centurion tanks). 

The Battle of El Ishiya

This, our second battle, was to simulate a battle in the Bekaa. This engagement was part of two assaults on the village. One was to heard south to north, while the other was to head east to west. Off board artillery assets were limited. The IDF player had a platoon of Magach tanks and section of infantry in a M113. Reinforcements included a M109AL and another platoon of Merkavas (my latest painting project). The PLO had a unit (20+ troops) in the town with the possibility of additional troops. There was also a HMG at one end of the village, and a recoilless rifle at the other end of the village near a mosque (it was not in the mosque, no matter what the media says).

The village of El Ishiya. North is to the right.

A slight traffic jam on the first turn.

An unhappy HGM seen by two Magachs

Magach tanks approaching the village center.

A corner ambush position.

Close up of the ambush position.

Another ambush position.

The Magach platoon entered the cross roads and underwent an ambush, first from the two buildings and than from the two buildings on the far side. The attack was short lived. The machine guns on the Magach made short work of the RPG gunners as the PLO lost three of the four gunners to accurate fire.

Areal view of the ambush.

The north side of the village.

The Magach approach the mosque and a recoilless rifle position.

The rife from the position held up the Magach platoon for only a short period of time. The only survivor was the PLO Big Man who made off in the GAZ jeep who tried to organize two small troops of reinforcements. His new eight fighters had come on the board without ant RPGs. It was decide that is was a good time to stop the game.

In the last two turns the IDF finally received reinforcements. First was the M109AL...

...and than my new platoon of Merkavas. Well at least they did come on the board.

This was a major win for the IDF. While the lead tank did take a number of hits, none were fatal to the crew. Although the turret was jammed and the gun was knocked out. It became a big machine gun position. The PLO lost a HMG, the recoilless rifle and over twenty men. Not a good day for the PLO.

All in all a great game, and I look forward to playing it again.