Bloodying the Nose AAR

I was reading up on Force on Force and decided to give the system a try for a WWII skirmish. Typically I use NUTS from 2 Hour Wargames to play skirmishes but I am trying to get more use out of Force on Force. I decided to run through some sscenarios from the scenario book Peiper at the Gates available from 2 Hour Wargames.I recommend the book if you want to run a skirmish campaign.

The scenario book is a campaign complee with special rules for different troops types and is written for the NUTS rules. Since FOF is also a skirmish rules set I thought the scenarios should transfer easily with little tweaking.


The first scenario is called "Bloodying the Nose"and it takes place on December 17, 1944 near Elsenborn Ridge Belgium. The scenario involves 2 US squads with some support from a Bazooka team and two .30 caliber machine gun teams against a German advance supported by armor. The US sets up by an old farm house and in the woods near the house. The Germans will enter from the board edge with most of the units coming through the woods. The scenario is unbalanced and heavily favors the Germans but it is the first day of the advance. The US is caught by  surprise so the Germans will have the initiative.

US infantry squads are located in the house, the small barn and in the woods. The bazooka team is covering the road and the MG teams are watching the flanks and set up in the woods. The Germans deploy infantry in the woods with armor advancing in a clearing. A squad of Pioneers is in the Hanomag and another assault squad trails behind the armor. Apparantly Peiper's armored columns are jammed up on the narrow roads and units are sent out to find another route. The Germans must exit the board  and the US must slow them down losing as little troops as possible. This is a solo game so I can playtest for balance and improve my understanding of the rules. I am using squads of 8-10 figures instead of smaller teams of 4-5 figures.

US defensive positions

The US has a squad in the farm house which should be a good defensive position as it give 2 extra defensive dice. The Germans are actually starting off of the board but will enter through the woods. I decided to bring the STUG and Hanomag on the board on trurn 2.

Germans start at the edge in the woods

The US infantry reacts first to the German move. The .30 cal MG team in the woods also fires but they roll poorly. They only score 1 hit on the German squad. The German morale is a D10 so they have no problem passing the morale check. They return fire with no effect. I now know that using large squads instead of smaller teams may be a mistake. I am rolling 10 dice at a time! As more German infantry arrives they win the combat round and beat the American reaction. They all but destroy the American HQ and .30 cal MG team. This is the effect of rolling lots of dice during attack as smaller teams don't stand much of a chance, even in cover.

American HQ and gun team take casualties

On the second turn the US infantry in the farm house are holding on. The Germans maintain the initiative and decide to bring in the armor before activating infantry. The tank opens fire and pins the US, even though no casualties occurred the infantry must take a morale check if fired on by an attack greater than 4 dice. The German infantry and MG teams advance and fire on the pinned unit causing more casualties.

A STUG arrives and pins the infantry

The Germans do lose a panzerscreck team and take another casualty from accurate fire from the house and MG team in the woods. The German infantry advances from the woods.

The infantry emerges from the woods.

I took away the fast move abaility for infantry and armor. The snow conditions made movement slow and treacherous. Armor could only move 10 inches and infantry 6 inches.

The open field gives no cover and the US gets an extra FP die as a result

The American bazooka team decided to take a shot. The infantry was taking heavy casualties so the tank had to be dealt with immediately. The Germans failed to react and the shot found its mark. One hit was scored and an 8 result on a D8 meant the STUG was immobilized. The attack is starting to bog down as infantry suppoerting the STUG began to take casualties. Another US squad reacted and gained the firing adavantage.

Bazooka immobilizes the STUG....very lucky!

The .30 cal MG team was counted as a gun team and gets to roll 5 dice when firing. They received the cover bonus for the woods and remained static through the game.

MG team gets extra FP dice for being a gun team

The second US squad did start to dish out casualties from the woods. They were a large squad and I think I will use smaller 4-5 man teams in the next game. 10 fire dice is just too much.

Large unit of US infantry...I may change that to teams.

The Germans were able to neutralize the farmhouse, the shed and the MG team next to the shed. The Bazooka team was also taken out by the Hanomag which also held a squad of Pioneers. The US has to pull back at this point as there was only a squad and part of an MG team left.

Farmhouse carnage

I did learn a lot about the rules. I typically play assymetric engagements and this is the first time playing regular troops for both sides. I would also use smaller teams insted of large squads. This scenario is unbalanced but it is the opening day of the Battle of the Bulge. I would also like to add armor in the next game I test. I like the rules and think they can be used at a convention. I will probabaly run a game at a future HMGS convention but limit the game to 4 players. I think 6 would be too difficult with all of the reactions.

Nuns and Guns

Our club planned on playing a boxer rebellion game this week end, but the flu has broken out in Delaware. So we had to postpone the game until next week. The game is a play-test for Cold Wars and we have to get done.  So I contacted a friend of the group on a last minute attempt to get a game in.

Scale 20mm
Rules:Force on Force
Figures: Liberation and Caesar
Vehicle: Dragon
Buildings: Gamecraft and scratch built.

Scenario

US: 1 squad with Humvee support
Quality D8  Morale D10

Insurgents:
Militia: Quality D6 morale D10
Former army unit: Quality D8 Morale D10

Location: Somewhere in East Africa
Situation: Insurgent activity has increased significantly. The UN has pulled back into safe zones after losing an APC involved in humanitarian relief. The US is committed to gaining control of an increasingly volatile situation threatening oil supplies from a neighboring country. Your squad has been patrolling areas outside the small town of Khatbad and is accompanied by a Humvee armed with a M240 and has improved armor. As you get near the interior of the village you receive a call that all air assets originally providing support have been recalled, but you still need to secure the supply base....Whiskey Tango Foxtrot....

An overview of the table, a small ford is at the bottom of the picture.

 The US players receive orders and enter from the roadway. They soon discover from the locals that the river can only be crossed at a ford  at the opposite end of the table from their entry point. This doesn't look good.

Trucks can been from the drone picture being loaded...uh oh.

 Locals are being used as human shields, the insurgents are busy working and don't notice the approach of the squad. Locals are being rounded up as the work continues.

A peasant is grabbed.

A local Catholic mission is seized...is there no shame.

 The squad (Quality D8, Morale D10) enters using cover to block the LOS of the insurgents. A fire team enters a building and neutralizes an RPG team standing guard nearby. They also engage the insurgents loading a truck. The US players are confident that they will not hit the locals and rolls well avoiding civilian casualties in the fire fight. Rolling a 1 or 2 with a quality die means you hit a civilian, creating a problem for you and the politicians back home.

The fire team goes to work while the other maneuvers along the road.

 Fire continues as the civilians are too scared to move. The second fire team moves up and engages outside of the 2 inch buffer provided by the human shields. The Humvee hits the gas and rapid moves to draw fire and lend support with the MG.

Pictures from the drone showing the squad taking a position.

 A hidden RPG team pops up...they score a hit and roll on the damage table. The vehicle is only suppressed and the gunner passes a test to remain exposed. The militia that were loading the truck react by moving to the building behind them. This stalled the US player for 2 more turns but the insurgents lost their human shields in the process.

Insurgents dish a little RPG surprise for lunch

 The fire and maneuver tactics works extremely well for the US. They push the enemy back and seize the compound. The hostages are secured and the cache is inspected...

Civilians secured! Now whats in the drums...

Now the US players understand why the air assets were really called off ...drums of Sarin gas are being loaded in the trucks. The civilians are escorted to the Humvee giving the US player 4 points and discovering the cache for another 5 points. Now the US players know the real reason an air strike was not called in....they are expendable, and word of chemical weapons caches cannot get out and embarrass the current administration...those duplicitous bastards! They seem to be on a roll but then things start to turn. Reinforcements of militia arrive and engage the Humvee..again the militia take casualties and fail to dish out anything. The Humvee is again suppressed.

More militia arrive as the US fights forward !

 The US squad dispatches the insurgents holding up in the building and move into a tree line. Fire from across the river begins to hit home as a unit of regulars kills a grunt and wounds 2 more. The casualties are loaded into the Humvee (I know I need more Humvees as this one is getting crowded). The Humvee crew replaced the light and seriously wounded as the US regroups the squad with the crew. The Squad pushes across the river under constant fire. The insurgents across the river react and roll a 1...they receive the fog of war card ...Mad Minute and gain an extra Fire Power die on the next combat roll. On a subsequent reaction they roll another 1 and receive another card. They receive a non-combat casualty...1 figure is seriously wounded. He must have stepped on a snake or scorpion...damn the luck. His screaming and frothing at the mouth do not phase the rest of the group as life is cheap in this part of the world.

The US move to the tree line and another fire fight erupts.

 The US takes another KIA crossing the stream and 2 more are wounded lightly in the building. The hidden insurgents in the trench successfully ambush the US player which caused some of the casualties. The US returns fire and gains the advantage.

US advance quickly but take casualties....they failed 2 attempts to pop smoke before and during the crossing.

 The US player discovers more drums. Sarin gas or perhaps something more nasty...maybe old Soviet stockpiles of CK. A fire team moves into the building to avoid hitting more civilians. More fire and maneuver, but at a price. The Humvee was used as over watch abut US casualties are inevitable.

The SAW gunner tears em' a new one

 The militia loses more and more. Several fighters were lost during morale checks. For every 1 that was rolled the unit lost 1 figure.  The bunker gave good cover but the US rolls were hot and they eventually wiped out the last of the resistance.

A view from an insurgent strong point

 The US mops up the rest of the insurgents and checks on the wounded. Two more hostages are rescued, more nuns giving the US 4 more points. The last of the insurgents fled the field giving the US player the stash of chemical weapons.

The US eliminates the last of the insurgent activity

The game lasted about 3 hours as the US had some difficulty in the beginning. Having a unit of trained fighters for the insurgents made a big difference in slowing down the US and causing a few casualties. At first I thought it would unbalance the game but it worked out well. I would like to have used the technical but I forgot to bring it into the game. I wanted to use vehicles to try the rules out with something more then infantry. The next game will involve a larger table, snipers, mortars and the effects of Khat, a stimulant used by insurgents to toughen up. I have really grown to love these rules. Hopefully I can play another game soon. Now to buy some more Humvees from Dragon and a few contractors from Elheim. Now for that Boxer Rebellion game .....

UN Recue in Africa

Rules: Force on Force
Scale: 20mm
Figures: Caesar and Liberation

I received the rules about a week ago and couldn't wait to give them a try. I played them twice over the last 6 months and I had to get them. I played a test game and then my son and I played a second game.

I took the scenario from the book in which US forces rescue two contractors surrounded by Iraqi forces. I replaced the contractors with UN soldiers and put the scenario in an African setting. Here is the result.

The Table is set up per the scenario

 The African militia are set up in small units across the board. They are using the UN forces as bait and will not fire at the exposed troops. They know the US forces will be sent out to rescue the UN and think they will have the upper hand.

The African militia form up and wait

 The RPG team fails to react and the building is quickly seized. The high level will make a great over watch position. Two of the other fire team are hit by some of the hostile mob across the street but roll an OK result (double 6's).

The US form up and take the building.

 The RPG team on the roof top are neutralized as the over watch team takes up position. The US has only a few turns to reach the stranded troops and return. The firefight was not successful for the militia and their casualties increase. The African morale is a D10...must be chewing Khat before the battle.

The Africans move and keep firing in reaction

 The US fire teams start their mission and begin to move by turn 2. They have their hands full and have to clear the way for the rescue. The US is rolling about 8D8 in their action rolls against the African D6 rolls. The US is averaging about 3 hits per action as 8's and 7's can not be canceled by a D6.

The troops on the roof are on over watch and the other fire team moves out under cover

 Most of the African troops are leaderless and with a D6 quality they are slow to move or react. In this scenario they have completely random reinforcements and entry points. Being irregular forces the Africans can only react once. Regular troops can react move once and react fire multiple times.

The Leaderless mob...they could be a problem.

 The M113 is damaged and the troops wait giving no support to the US. They will fall under the dependent rules within FOF.

The UN troops are of no help according to the scenario rules

 The US forces are really dishing it out as the militia fall and some run away as I roll a "1" during morale checks.

The US fire team scores some hits.

 The maneuver element of the squad is moving and firing. The over watch did very well in dealing out some punishment. irregular troops are not pinned but are actually shaken and their morale of D10 quickly becomes a morale of D6.

The US fire team works their way forward being reacted to all the way with an over watch helping them.

 I have a mix of Caesar and Liberation miniatures which look ok together. The Liberation are a bit chunky in comparison and are needed since Caesar minis don't have the M249 minime in the kit.

They are only fast move away!

 The US forces reach the UN troops by fast moving which actually worked out well. African troops score 2 hits, a light wound and a kill!

Got'em...haul ass back to the rally point.

 The African militia get reinforcements that arrive a turn too late by the stricken M113. They did score some hits as the over watch failed a previous roll. In the next turn they are decimated as the maneuver elements remember to pop smoke.

African reinforcements appear every turn...time to call broken arrow?

 The remaining African troops lose heart and gather their wounded. The US did retrieve the UN troops but had 2 KIA and one light wounded soldier. I had to explain to my son that he could not leave the KIA behind as that would be a political victory for the militia, the news reports would be very damaging.

African militia pays the price for their resistance.

We both really enjoyed the game and rules. We played 2 games in 3 hours and had to stop several times for references to the rules. I can see my self expanding my collection so I could run a game on a 4 x 6 board. It would be fun to have a 6 player game that takes place in a large town. I need to get some Elheim figures, Dragon vehicles and some foam core for some new buildings.