Katanga Secession Crisis Fights to Stay Alive at Drums 2023

    White mercs employed by Katanga hurry along the road, hoping to deliver their ammo on time

I wanted to run a tweaked version of my Congo civil war game set during the Katanga secession crisis at Drums at the Rapids this past weekend. I was running it both Friday night and Saturday morning at the Fort Meigs visitors center, where Drums is held every year. Luckily, I had a my full complement of six players both games. I felt even more fortunate that my players were all veteran gamers, and picked up the rules very quickly. By the second or third turn, I had little to do but usher the game along, letting players know whose turn it was to move.

    Full table on Friday and the players fought down to the wire, with a narrow Katangan victory

After running "Congo, Bloody Congo" once at Cincycon 2023, I made two main changes. First, I toned down the power of the white mercenary force, giving them fewer figures in the back of the open armored personnel carriers. I also adjusted the terrain of the village where the Katangan militia start the game. I pushed most of the buildings off-table, with only a few left on the table edge mainly for eye candy. I felt the previous setup made that encounter between the militia and the Congolese paratroopers too static. I wanted them to be mixing it up among the jungle and farm fields of the villagers.

    The tabletop before troops deploy, showing where each force will arrive (Katangans in blue)

The main idea remained the same, though. Three APCs crewed by white mercenaries that the Katangans have hired are trying to cross diagonally from one corner of the table to the other. They are carrying crates of ammunition desperately needed by the Katangan forces to keep their revolt alive. Their main allies, a force of Katangan gendarmes, begin at the destination corner. The gendarmes' goal is to push forward and keep the attacking Congolese and UN forces at bay. The further forward they extend their lines, the less dangerous of a gauntlet of fire that the APCs have to run. On the gendarmes' right, a force of Katangan militia advance out of their village to meet the Congolese and UN pincer attack. Their goal is to keep their families safe by preventing any enemy from shooting inside the village. They lose points for each figure killed, so they are likely to be less enthusiastic for victory. However, those points lost are doubled if the loss occurs inside the village. This represents family members being killed by stray rounds. So, the militia are encouraged not to hunker down in the village, and instead advance reluctantly into battle.

    Congolese paratroopers arrive on one corner of the table, intent on crushing the Katangan secession

 

As for the attackers, the Congolese paratroopers deploy opposite the arriving mercenaries and next to the Katangan village. The United Nations force moves on-table diagonally opposite from the paratroopers, with the local Congolese army unit (ANC) on the U.N's left. The ANC is closest to the road edge where the mercenaries arrive and would dearly love to get their hands on one of the APCs and some of that ammunition! The central government and army command has been starving their garrison of supplies. 

    Katangan militia rush through the gates of their village, vowing to protect their family from invaders

As you can probably tell, each faction has their own separate victory conditions, but they activate as two sides. This moves the game along much quicker, but still gives a twist to the game as no player really knows exactly what their allies (or enemies) are trying to accomplish. Both Friday and Saturday's games moved along quickly and finished within their three hour game limit. The Friday night game came down to the wire and was very close on total points. Saturday's was more of a clear victory for the Katangans, as the mercenary player did a great job on tactics, decisions, and (of course) die rolls!

    UN troops, galvanized by the death of the Secretary-General (at the hands of Katanga?), move out

 

I am thinking I may stay with these type of scenario setups for convention games. Much as a I like a multi-faction free-for-all, this increases wait time for players as we cycle through the initiative order. That said, it is usually possible for two of the six players in a game to be moving simultaneous if, for example, the next player in order is far away from the active player and unlikely to affect their units. The command and control system of my Wars of Insurgency rules, keeps the action flowing and it is rare that it bogs down with the other five players waiting too long for one to finish their turn.

    Katangan gendarmes march forward, hoping to clear the way for the arrival of the APCs with ammo

In both games, a steady firefight erupted between the Congolese paratroopers and the Katangan Militia. In the first game, the paratroopers got the better of the militia. However, the villagers held the paratroopers up long enough that the APCs were well on their way to their destination before the paratroopers were free to attack them. The militia spoiling attack was costly, but it did its job. On Saturday, the militia were able to hold out until the end of the game. The paratroopers did fire long range RPG shots at the passing APCs, but were unable to knock any of them out. Once again, the militia had done their job and ensured that the mercenaries were able to cross through their sector of the board.

    Congolese soldiers, UN troopers, Mercs, and Katangans battle across the war-torn Congo

The mercenaries themselves did a great job of wearing down the Congolese army faction in both games. Getting caught out in the open by Professionals armed with heavy machine guns is a deadly prospect. The ANC (Armée Nationale Congolaise) players in both games suffered severe losses at the relentless machine gunning of the APCs. On Friday night, the Congolese player did a good job of sniping away at the gunners themselves, and even blew up one of the APCs. However, the Congolese were unable to stop the progress of the other two Friday, and they reached the opposite table corner with their precious ammunition. On Saturday, two APCs suffered only minor damage, and all three made it off-table.

    Katangan militia cheer as the mercs' APCS roar past them on the road, spitting gravel and mud

 

I may tweak the terrain a bit when I run this scenario at Origins Game Fair next month. I may give a sheltered corridor of bush to allow the ANC to rush closer to the center line and set up ambushes in the jungle near the road. This will certainly make the mercenaries job more challenging. I may also tweak the victory points to encourage the paratroopers to more actively target the mercenaries. As of now, retaking Katanga (i.e., defeating the enemy and taking their village) is more of the goal. We shall see!

    The Belgian-trained paratroopers close in on the Katangan village, taking heavy fire from the militia

Finally, at the destination corner, the Katangan gendarmes did a solid job advancing quickly and spoiling the attack of the United Nations troopers. Both sides inflicted losses on each other throughout the game, with the UN actually eliminating the gendarmes on Saturday. However, the gendarmes constant fire forced the UN to make the APCs second priority. This ensured they would arrive at the table edge in good shape, and score enough points to cement down victory both games. 

    White mercs run the gauntlet across the table, suffering occasional casualties or minor APC damage

Even though the Katangans won both games at Drums, I like this scenario. It forces the players to attack their opponents and mix it up right away. If all six players hunkered down and sniped at each other at extended range, I think it would make for a boring game. Instead, the victory conditions had forces quickly moving to seize cover, taking shots at their enemies, and pushing forward to achieve their objectives. Will I make other tweaks to increase the chances of victory for the Congolese? We shall see. I have some things in mind, but want to ponder them some more.

    Using the thick bush for cover, UN troops from Ghana pour fire into the Katangan gendarmes

If you're interested in playing "Congo, Bloody Congo," I will be running it at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH. It is scheduled for Thursday at 7pm and Friday morning at 9am, June 22-23. Our company, First Command Wargames, will actually be running all of our rules sets at the show. So, in addition to my Wars of Insurgency games, there will be Mean Streets gang warfare, American Frontier action with Song of Drums and Tomahawks, Seven Years War battles with For King or Empress, and Victorian Science-Fiction/Colonials with For Queen or Planet. Come and join us as we dip our toes back in the water of running games at Columbus, Ohio's, biggest multi-genre gaming convention!

    In both games, the Katangan gendarmes actively pushed their lines forward to link up with the APCs

    The militia suffered a worse fate on Friday night than Saturday morning, eliminated to a man

    The Saturday morning players had a great time, as well - quickly picking up the rules and having fun

APCs cross the midpoint of the table, clearning the militia's line and heading towards the gendarmes

Congo, Bloody Congo - Wars of Insurgency AAR from Cincycon 2023

    The Katangan Merc's armored personnel carriers roll along the road carrying vitally needed ammo

For Cincycon 2023, I wanted to play around some more with the number of "sides" in a six-player game. For many of my Wars of Insurgency games, I have done an "every man for himself" scenario with each player controlling their own faction with wildly different objectives. At Advance the Colors 2022 I ran a three side, 6-player South American game with Leftists, Narcos, and Paramilitaries. For the Cincycon scenario, I reduced this to two sides, but each of the three members would have different victory conditions and objectives. They wouldn't be shooting at their so-called allies, but they may different goals in mind. One of the advantages of this type of scenario is it will move much faster than every man for himself. All of Side A will be activating one of their units followed by all three players of the other side.

    For this 6-player game, I had two sides, but each faction had their own separate victory conditions

The "Congo, Bloody Congo" scenario was taken from the 1961 U.N. Operation Morthor, when ANC Congolese and U.N. troops attacked Katangan gendarmes, militia, and mercenaries to end the Katangan Secession crisis. This is all the operation that saw the more well known Siege of Jadotville. The mercenaries would appear in this one as one of three players on the Katangan side. They controlled three armored personnel carriers loaded with vitally-needed ammunition for their Katangan employers and allies. They would seek to move diagonally from one corner of the 6'x4' board to the opposite corner. The Katangan gendarmes awaited them at the destination corner. The road the APCs would take passed in front of a Katangan village, filled with militia who were much more concerned about protecting their homes and families than the fate of any white mercenaries!

    A player no-show put me in command of the local ANC, hurrying to get a shot at the APCs

Meanwhile, the ANC/UN side also had three players. The Belgian-trained paratroopers came in on the corner directly across the table from the mercs. Their goal was to simply to crush the rebellion, getting most of their VPs for killing enemy. The local garrison of the ANC (Congolese Army) was aiding them, but were upset with the central government. They felt starved of ammunition and equipment, and would dearly love to seize the APCs or their ammo. The UN was itching to take out the mercs (as they seemed to be historically). All point totals for the side were identical except for the mercs, who were given a supplement because they had to move from one corner to the far corner with lots of folks gunning for them with abundant RPGs on the table.

    Meanwhile, my ally, the Belgian-trained paratroopers, advance towards the Katangan village

The player controlling the Mercs had no qualms about shooting up the opposition. He immediately got into a firefight with the ANC, which deployed to his right. However, as soon as any of his APCs saw a long-range shot on the paratroopers, he was not shy about engaging them, either. Although this may seem somewhat unwise when you weren't really sure what each player's real objectives were, the Mercs had luck on their side. As it turned out, a LOT of luck. Their dice were consistently hot all night long. I ended up playing the ANC as I had a no-show player. My dice were the polar opposite and were ice cold, which also helped the Mercs.

    When one APC veered off the road, my ANC pounced and blazed away to little effect, unfortunately

The paratroopers and the opposing Katangan militia in the village were controlled by husband and wife players who delight at going to a convention and getting out their aggressions against each other. They blazed away at each other merrily all game. The militia ended up better off in the long run. They stayed hunkered down inside their huts and sniped at the paratroopers through windows and doors. Meanwhile, the paratroopers had to advance across the light cover of fields and medium cover of the bush. Whenever the heavy machine guns of the APCs opened up on them, they lost a couple troops. This turned the tide in the militia's favor in the long run. The paratroopers seemed unable to mount an effective enough assault to breach the village's thorn and wood fences.

    On my right, the Ghanaian UN contingent ran into pinning fire from the Katangan gendarmes

Meanwhile, the APCs progressed steadily across the table. The ANC fired shot after shot from their RPGs, but were unable to score a hit. The Congolese troopers did manage to slow whittle down the number of mercs, though. The machine gun required repeated re-manning in all three of the vehicles. Other shots picked off the crewmen riding in the open toppped APC, as well. However, the hope of stopping the vehicles seemed to be fading as the three APCs passed midpoint of the table. Perhaps this would not be the day the under-supplied garrison troops scored a bounty, after all.

    The Mercs' APCs begin to run the gauntlet, rolling incredible saves and dishing out stinging fire

On the right side of the battlefield, the Katangan gendarmes and the UN were locked in a long-range firefight. Each scored successes against their enemy, but casualties were relatively low. The harassment by the gendarmes kept the UN from effectively lining the road to take shots at the APCs as they came into view. The Katangan fire was keeping the UN pinned down in cover and unable to advance quickly to the roadside. Meanwhile, the UN's allies, the ANC troopers, were being worn down by the constant barrages from the mercenaries on board the APCs. The last ANC RPG gunner scored a minor hit on the trailing APC.

    Katangan gendarmes await the arrival of the APCs, providing effective covering fire against the UN

The ANC/UN's greatest moment followed that. A long-range RPG shot from the UN hit the slightly damaged APC. The player rolled maximum damage. The Merc player picked up his dice -- which had yet to really fail them significantly all night -- and whiffed all his saves. The APC went up with a flash of flame and rebounding explosion that echoed through the bush. When the Merc player rolled the saves for the men on board he failed all of those, too. We theorized that the RPG round ignited the stored ammunition, which caused a devastating secondary blast that killed everyone on board and destroyed the APC.

    Did I make the Mercs' force too strong? Or was their player just rolling too well?

The first two APCs had reached the cover of the Katangan force shortly afterwards. They gunned their engines and roared off-table to the cheers of the gendarmes. We decided to count up victory points at that stage. It would still be possible to rack up more VPs by killing enemy soldiers. However, the main action had occurred, and any losses would probably be relatively balanced on each side. Once totaled up, it was a resounding victory for the Katangans. Operation Morthor -- or at least this skirmish -- had failed to quell the secession crisis. The Katangan gendarmes had been resupplied and a victory gave them fresh heart to face down the central government. They would hope that the UN and ANC would deem their losses as unsustainable and would return to the negotiating table.

    One APC takes minor damage, but then suffers a catastrophic explosion from a UN RPG round

I was fairly satisfied with how the scenario went. All the players said they had a good time. I felt that perhaps I'd placed too much terrain on the table, which meant player forces were slower to engage. I also may have made the Mercs too powerful. Still, they suffered significant losses in men, so perhaps not. Their die rolls were incredible for most of the night. So, maybe they don't need to be cut down too much. I do think I need to do something to speed up the engagement between the paratroopers and the village militia. That was a little slow and static for what I like in a convention game. It certainly is a scenario that could use some tweaking and another running. Perhaps at Drums at the Rapids, this May? Stay tuned, and we shall see...

Throughout the game, the Katangan village militia remain hunkered inside their huts, sniping away

    Too many paratroopers died crossing the fields of millet -- both from the defending militia & APCs

    Katangan gendarmes cheer as the first APC rolls past their defenses, bringing much-needed ammo

Holy Mackeral! Another Wars of Insurgency Report

    An overview of the village where most of the battling BushWars campaign contingents ended up

Having a few days off for the Thanksgiving holidays, I decided to re-post some more Wars of Insurgency battle reports from the active and enthusiastic Nunawading Wargames Association. Since they post their AARs on Facebook group, most readers are unable to access them unless they join their group. Plus, I think readers of Lead Legionaries will enjoy their humor and excitement, as well as the models and creativity they show. So enjoy!

OPERATION “HOLY MACKEREL” 

...or in this case, "Don’t be late for the flight!"

    The goal of the contingents: Board the flying boat and get the heck out of there!

by Mike Fly Goldyn (July 1, 2022)

Last night, several national contingents - New Guernsey, Omovo, PKL and Zevonia - were operating along the coast of Khenefria and at a given point in time converged into an area where it was known that a flying boat was moored. A race developed as to which national contingent would embark on the flying boat (a Beriev Be-6) and fly to safety.

    All four contingents had to march across the board and find clues or equipment to help them

Advancing towards the port town, the Zevonians found a crate with two LMGs within. Unfortunately, they were useless. They also encountered the local population first. It was a decidedly frosty reception.
(Side note: civilians were in the area to offer information to contingents they were questioned by. Some were ambivalent, one was enthusiastic, but most were downright hostile, even aggressive! Several soldiers met their end from a well-placed kick!).

    The New Guernsey contingent hopped on board the dubious and flammable transport of a fuel truck

It was the PKL contingent that started the shooting. New Guernsey troops found two vehicles, a fuel truck and a bus, in working order and had decided to use those for transport. As the New Guernsians were traveling past, the PKL-ers threw a barrage of hand grenades at the passing vehicles. A lively gunfight ensued between the soldiers roadside and the vehicle passengers. (Side note: statistically, it was amazing how many hand grenades were duds! At times, it was like throwing rocks.)

    The Zevonian contingent advances along the edge of the board, hugging the cover

The fuel truck driver was shot and killed whilst hurtling down the road. With a combination of gymnastics and extreme contorting, the officer passenger was able to shift the dead driver out of the seat, replace him as the driver and gain control of the truck. Similarly, the bus became a bullet magnet, gradually filling with casualties. But they gave as good as they got. The roadside was piling up with PKL dead and wounded. 

    After a long and harrowing run, the New Guernsian hijacked bus crashes into a building

Finally, the PKL-ers managed to blow up the fuel truck in a great ball of flame. Surprisingly, there were few casualties as those hanging onto the truck for grim life managed to jump clear before the explosion. At almost the same time, the bus driver was shot and killed, causing the bus to swerve and collide into a mud brick building. It was this bus crash that caused the most casualties. 

    One squad enters the village, peering around the corner for signs of their foes

Thereafter, both the New Guernsians and PKL-ers were spent forces. What was left of the PKL contingent decided to continue their advance to the town, past more abusive villagers. The New Guernsians took shelter in the building they just crashed into. Sporadic gunfire between the two contingents continued until the PKL-ers moved out of range. 

    Omovans and Zevonians take cover and begin to battle it out in the center of the village

The Zevonians made steady progress towards the road. They threatened the New Guernsians, made a marriage proposal to a local villager and… other stuff. On the other flank, the Omovans also advanced towards the road, meeting along the way several unhelpful villagers. 

    Interrogating locals could end up helping a faction (or not!), as it did with the Omovans

With some luck, they found the one key person of the operation. In the briefing, it was stated “No One is your friend; trust No One”. Upon approaching a rather attractive (and dangerously armed) young girl, she introduced herself as No One. She showed the Omovans a secret tunnel system that led to the other side of the town, just opposite of the pier. 

    No report of factions attempting to interrogate the elephants (despite their reputation for memory!)

As the Omovans were about to descend into the tunnel, the poor hapless PKL detachment (downgraded from contingent) entered the town and thus coming into range of some F.L.A.W. guerrillas. The resulting ambush caused yet more casualties on the ever-shrinking PKL detachment. 

    The formerly peaceful village erupted in gunfire as the four factions made their way slowly to it

The town now became the focus of new conflict. The remaining PKL-ers took shelter in the corner townhouse, engaging in a firefight with the guerrillas. The Omovans found an Umgawan special forces team who were there to hunt down the F.L.A.W. guerrillas. They all emerged from the tunnel in the courtyard of a walled building. The Zevonians engaged the guerrillas. The New Guernsians remained skulking in the mud brick building. 

    Sneaking through a grove of palm trees towards the outskirts of the village

In amongst the carnage, some bloke started playing singing bowl music (probably some stray musician from Duloc), enhancing everyone’s morale. The F.L.A.W.-ists were eventually eliminated. The Umgawans left as their mission was completed. The Zevonians changed targets and started shooting at the Omovans, whilst the Omovans were battling the remnants of the PKL-ers.  

    The firefight in the village gets more intense as the end of the game nears

In amongst the flying bullets and lobbed hand grenades, the Zevonians made a dash for the pier and the Beriev flying boat moored to it. Amongst the bullets and wood splinters from the pier, the Zevonians managed to embark onto the Beriev, take off and fly away with no further calamities. Mission success for Zevonia! 

    The Zevonians hurry down the pier and pile into the waiting flying boat to make their getaway

Side note: as the Zevonians won the battle and managed to fly away with a crate full of platinum bars, they will be rewarded with D10 x10 points which they can add to their contingent in the next game. Many thanks for another exciting and hilarious game to Tom Chenu, Ashley Jenkins, Piotr Kaczmarek and Aaron Mauger, with additional thanks for the special input by Keiran Pycroft.

Great Airfield Raid (Nunawading Wargames Association report)

    Technicals, fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, and more add to the din of the Great Airfield Raid

As author of the modern skirmish rules, Wars of Insurgency, it always gladdens my hear to see a group of players using the rules enthusiastically. The most prolific group that I am aware of is in Australia - the Nunawading Wargames Association.  This report is from one of their games this past August. As you can see, they added their own semi-historical mix to what looks like an incredibly fun game. My thanks to Ashley Jenkins, Mike Fly Goldyn, and the rest of the crew for letting me republish their words and photos!

    Aircraft burn and explosions rock the airfield as Zevonians and other factions battle it out

 

THE GREAT AIRFIELD RAID - NWA OPEN DAY 2022

I had the great pleasure of hosting a Bush Wars game alongside Mike Fly Gołdyn at NWA's open day in August. What follows are all the images I captured along with a (somewhat incomplete) report:
Fly and I had set up the table and were waiting for some victims to come along and have a go. After a while, I said I'd like to have a crack at raiding the airfield with my prized Zebra cavalry. Fly cackled, stroked his silvery beard and said, "Go ahead"!

    The Zealous Scouts and their zebra mounts add a dash of imagination to the NWA Bush Wars games

And so the Zealous Scouts raced down the airfield's access road, the thundering of hooves drowned out by the hail of grenades that were thrown into each bunker as the zebras charged in. They began to draw effective fire as they made it down the road, and casualties began to mount. But help was on the way as three more players joined the game. 

    Guns blazing, the Zealous Scouts circle a mortar pit, pouring fire into its crew

Backed by newly arrived Technicals, the remaining zebras finally reached the end of the road, clearing a mortar pit with grenades. Now down to half their original number, they were set upon by a pack of spear-wielding mummies and a melee broke out. Casualties were traded, but the zebras vanquished their supernatural foes before being wiped out by direct fire from a 25-pounder across the runway.

    Once the mortar pit was cleared, another enemy appeared to challenge the Zealous Scouts

The Zealous Scouts had fallen, but their sacrifice paved the way for the newly arrived Technicals to wreak havoc along the flight line. Hangars burned, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft alike brewed up, and chaos reigned. To make matters worse for all involved, a UFO made a wheels-up landing (that is, crashed) in the middle of the runway, its crew disembarking and vaporizing anything that moved. Meanwhile another horde of mummies appeared.

    Who's to say the thousand year old tradition of using elephants in warfare ends in the modern age?

By now, the defenders were beginning to get their act together. A group of Zevonian elephants and rhinos lumbered out, opening fire on mummies and raiders alike, while a flight of AH-1 Cobras based at the field got up and made strafing runs on the attacking column.

    And if Elephant Technicals are a possibility, why not machine gunners mounted on rhinos?

Soon an airstrike hit the elephants, killing some and causing a stampede among the others. To make matters worse, both Cobras were downed by machinegun fire. The Zevonian rhinos made their presence felt, dispersing the mummies and what was left of the raiding force, as the local air crews taxied their aircraft around burning wrecks and narrowly avoided the UFO blocking the runway as they made their escape.

    Explosions rock the airport and black flames sweep across the airfield and hangars

The airfield was wrecked, but the raiding force paid the ultimate price in doing so. A Pyrrhic victory for the attackers. Thanks to all involved for a very, very entertaining game.

    NWA's 'Bush Wars' campaign features a variety of factions battling it out often in multiplayer games

 

    Bush Wars features a fascinating mix of 'What If?' to go with modern standards, like jeep Technicals

    For those who scoff at the supernatural, don't forget about the Simbas and their magical beliefs!