Operation Hyrdos - a Wars of Insurgency AAR from 'Down Under'

 

    Troops mass along the river in an 11-player (!) Wars of Insurgency game in Australia

As the rules author to the modern skirmish rules, Wars of Insurgency, I am very lucky to have an avid group of players in Australia called the Nunawading Wargames Association. They are in the midst of an Imagiafrica campaign where they have divided up the continent and created their own independence era nations. I have posted Facebook links to their battle reports on our First Command Wargames site from time to time, but not everyone has Facebook. So, I am going to start re-posting them here on my Lead Legionaries blog.

 

All of the photos and text come from the NWA members. There are many, many more they took that I could not include. Go to Facebook and join their group and the BushwarsNWA group to see their reports! This report comes from Mike Fly Goldyn. Thanks, Mike, for letting me share it! 

 

Defending aircraft were the real killers of the game repeatedly causing damage to the bridge builders

 

OPERATION “HYDROS” 

Or..."It is going to get wet!”

Early on the morning of Saturday, 9th July, 1979, the combined forces of the Quatro Alliance (Mdrongo, Omovo, Umgawaland and Vlessadwassa), along with a support contingent from Brimibian, rumbled down an isolated dirt road heading towards a site for the construction of a pontoon bridge for a river crossing.

Puerta Docielo was being destabilised by the increasingly agitated political situation in what was once Tikada. The newly declared independent ’Ard AlJamal was descending into tribal inspired violence. The Quatro Alliance was asked to provide peacekeepers. Leaving their assembly area in western Vlessadwassa, the column was cutting a shortcut through Puerta Docielo to West Tikada.

 

Apparently, most of the western Imagiafrican nations objected to what they perceived as interference by the Quatro Alliance into their sphere of influence. These nations banded together and sent out a blocking force. Reconnaissance flights conducted by the Allergerian Air Force spotted the Quatro Allies approaching a river. It was decided to send out some ground reconnaissance units to verify the location and the intentions of the Quatro Allies. Units from New Guernsey and PKL converged onto the location provided by the Allergerians.

 

 

Nunawading Wargames Association has tweaked my rules to make them friendlier to larger games

Cautiously driving closer to the river, the PKL unit tried to radio in their positive identification of enemy units attempting to build a pontoon bridge across the river. However, they also discovered that their radio batteries were completely flat. Someone had left the radio on listening to Dulocean singing bowl and ukulele music all night.

 

The New Guernsians experienced a similar problem, but not as severe. Atmospherics were interfering with signals and the transmissions were either garbled or static. They also found that this incessant use was depleting the battery charge. Fortunately, the NG platoon commander wisely stored away fully charged batteries on one of the transports. Communications were restored. The NG troops even left some batteries for the PKLers to pick up and install in their radios. This positive situation wasn’t completely satisfactory as the Allergerians were still receiving gobbledygook. A change in location soon fixed that. Something to do with radiation from a previous UFO crash site.

 

    They regular players are involved in a campaign, each creating their own nation and force in Africa

 

The message was sent: “Enemy located”! Coordinates were transmitted. Reinforcements were on the way - ground troops from Allergeria; the TOFU contingent from Tarzania (in western Imagiafrica on a goodwill visit and now joining in the fun) and a completely lost Kalemnitkan rifle squad (?!?? - go figure!)

PKL troops were the first to engage, shooting at Mdrongoan troops dug-in across the river. The Mdrongoans replied. Slight casualties taken on both sides.

 

On the other flank, the Umgawans took the opportunity to fire some long range recoilless rifle shots at some NG recce vehicles. Losses on the NG unit were heavy. Then the Umgawan artillery of four 25 pounders added their weight to the fight. First, PKL vehicles were turned into scrap, followed by salvos aimed at the New Guernsians. Losing an M113 APC with all it passengers and crew was a severe blow - 16 men in total!

 

    The central position for the attackers who were attempting to bridge and cross the defended river

 

The Vlessadwassan engineers, with feverish activity, erected the pontoon bridge, initially hampered by a truckie’s hitch that refused to untie. One knife later and the elements of the pontoon bridge were launched onto the river. The Vlessadwassans had taken some casualties from PKL fire but still managed to complete the bridge. The signal to the Brimibians and Omovans to cross was dispatched.

 

Just at this moment of success, a flight of two Allergerian F-4U Corsairs dived in from the sun, aiming for the bridge. Firstly, the Vlessadwassan Shilkas opened fire, followed by a hail of Umgawan HMG bullets. But the first Corsair made it through the curtain of lead, fired two rockets and started to weave away. Bang! 23mm AA shells from a Shilka cut the the tail off the aircraft. With the pilot dead at the controls, the plane dove straight into the lead section of the bridge. Along with the two rockets fired, this left the forward section in itsy-bitsy pieces.

 

    A strafing run looks like it will be deadly to any troops exposed on the bridge!

 

Clearing the dead and wounded, fresh Vlessadwassan engineers rushed forward with new ramps and other bridging equipment to repair the damage. This is when the second Corsair flew in, releasing two of its own rockets towards the next section of the bridge. The ensuing carnage killed more engineers and put another hole in the bridge. Vlessadwassan AAA retaliated in revenge shooting the Corsair down into the river. The pilot parachuted to safety, landing on the other side of the river. But he didn’t get far. He was obliterated by a burst of fire from the second Shilka.

 

After dropping mortar shells on random targets on the far side of the river, the Omovan and Vlessadwassan mortar teams received new orders to drop smoke on the far end of the bridge, hopefully providing cover for the Vlessadwassan engineers desperately trying to bring the pontoon bridge into use.

In the meantime, the Allergerian, Tarzanian and Kalemnitkan forces had arrived and were converging on the bridge. Sporadic gunfire was erupting all along the line.

    Attackers massing on the banks, hoping to get a chance to cross safely - it is a long way across!

 

Just as the Vlessadwassans were gaining in repairing the bridge, an Allergerian Mirage thundered in from the west and launched another two rockets at the beleaguered bridge. Fortunately for the Quatro Allies, one rocket completely missed and the other only caused minor damage. For the Mirage, it suffered the same fate as the previous two Corsairs. As it was now hurtling towards the earth, the pilot ejected successfully whilst the navigator was not so lucky, breaking his neck on the canopy which did not detach in time.

 

As the Mirage swerved to port and plummeted into the ground, the pilot floated down by parachute. Everyone held their fire as the pilot headed gently towards the river -- the crocodile infested river! With a splash, the pilot landed in the water, immediately struggling from his parachute harness. Within the blink of an eye, he was assailed by two hungry crocodiles. Miraculously, he managed to fight one off, but sadly, not the second one. He was pulled underwater, never to be seen again.

 

    A pontoon bridge is assembled by very brave engineers in the face of determined attacks

 

The report from the Vlessadwassan engineer commander was not very positive. The bridge was repairable but would take time. And with the enemy approaching rapidly, the ongoing repairs might be too hazardous. New orders were sent to the artillery battery to drop a smoke barrage just ahead of the bridge. Hopefully this would provide sufficient cover.

 

The bridge was still under threat from another air strike. The decision was made to dig-in along the river and wait for dark. Whilst these decisions were being made, the West Imagiafricans were coming closer.

With the setting Sun, hostilities eased greatly. Both sides were taking stock of the day’s combat, making plans for the following day’s operations - a river crossing probably in the face of a counterattack.

 

    Thanks again to the players of the Nunawading Wargames Association - I am a lucky rules author to have you guys as fans of the game!

 

Cast of Playing Characters

The Quatro Alliance (Blue Team - Attackers)

• Mdrongo - James Booth
• Omovo - Jasper
• Umgawaland - Alan Newman
• Vlessadwassa - Esteban Blanco
  

(Attached)

• Brimibian - Brian Roberts

 

The West Imagiafrican Coalition (Red Team - Defenders)

• Allergeria - Russell Charles
• New Guernsey - Aaron Mauger
• PKL - Piotr Kaczmarek

(Attached)

• Kalemnitka - Geoff Kelly
• Tarzania - Andrew Waligora

Rearguard at Cassinga: Wars of Insurgency at Advance the Colors 2019

A 3-D printed South African Blackburn Buccaneer launches a rocket attack on a column of Cuban/Angolan armor

 When I released Wars of Insurgency modern skirmish rules a few years back, I purposely did not include air power rules. I wanted it to be "low-intensity" insurgency warfare. The rules have received a good reception and players at conventions have enjoyed my games. There's even a group in Australia, the Nunawading Wargames Association, who are playing an "Imagi-nations" campaign using my rules. As more played them, I've received questions how to handle various things that were not included in the original rules.

Cuban and Angolan tanks & APCs race to rescue the SWAPO base at Cassinga under attack by SADF paratroopers

I have worked on helicopter rules first, and am pretty satisfied with how they perform in games. This summer, I decided I would add in fixed-wing air support - "fast-movers," as some folks like to call jet aircraft. As mentioned in previous posts, I had a friend use 3-D printing to create a handful of aircraft for me. Although they don't have the detail of die-cast metal or plastic kits, they look fine on the table as gaming models, and are considerably cheaper.

Waiting for them, concealed in the bush, are RPG teams of the South African rearguard

I kept procrastinating actually writing down the ideas that were bouncing around in my head until a couple weeks before my game at Advance the Colors 2019, Oct. 4-5. I had decided I would run the rearguard action of the anti-tank platoon against a Cuban/Angolan armored column that came to the rescue of the SWAPO camp the South African paratroopers were raiding at Cassinga. A pair of Mirage IIIs and a Blackburn Buccaneer had helped the raiders fight off the column, so I had a historical engagement I could model it after.

A pair of Mirage IIIs were also available to strafe the encroaching armor with their 30mm autocannons

The skirmish was a near-run thing with the Cubans and Angolans coming very close to breaking through and being able to attack the landing zone where the South African raiding force was trying to evacuate from. So, I chose my forces off of the historical Order of Battle, figuring it would give me an idea of prospective point costs for aircraft. As it turned out, I probably should have given the Cubans and Angolans more armor than I did (each of the players controlled one T-34/85 tank, 2 BTR-152 armored cars with mobile infantry, and one civilian truck loaded up with infantry).

Each Angolan player also had a truck with 10 infantry to dismount and drive off the South Africans

Each South African player controlled three teams of three Professional infantry (one armed with an RPG, one a LMG, and one hand weapon). They also each had control of either a Mirage III or Buccaneer, each of which had limited ammunition or passes it could make. The Mirage were historical armed with air-to-air missiles and their 30mm autocannon. The Buccaneer was armed with 68 SNEB rockets. The South African pilot had insisted his armorer load alternating rockets of HE and HEAT (anti-tank rockets). Thus, the Buccaneer would be their main platform against the tanks, while the Mirage IIIs could affect the armored cars.

My Friday night table was full with six players, so the full force for each side was used

I advertised the game as a playtest of the aerial support rules, which in my mind was supposed to justify the fact I had NOT play-tested these rules. Then again, I did the same last year and the year before with my helicopter rules and they worked out fine. I ran the game only on Friday afternoon and evening. My Friday players were ecstatic about how the scenario worked out, and said they had a blast. Still, I scaled back the attack ability of the Buccaneer for the second game, essentially cutting its ammo in half. For game effect, I let the Buccaneer player decide how many rockets he was firing each turn at which targets. I allowed jet aircraft to designate a strafing line or flight path and roll attacks against any target on that path.

A Buccaneer and Mirage III sweep over the battlefield looking for targets of opportunity

The Mirage IIIs were given a limited number of attacks. After that, they were "bingo" on fuel and had to return to base. The Buccaneer had actual ammunition boxes to check off as he fired rockets. In the first game, each box equaled one rocket fire and one dice rolled to place it on target. In the second game, the player checked off two boxes for each attack dice rolled to hit. Strafing hits scored on 4-6 on 1d6. Each rocket hit then rolled a further attack with 3 damage dice (doubling hits against armor, just like an RPG).

A firefight on the ground between a SADF RPG team and troops dismounted from an Angolan truck

The Buccaneer was Hell on Wheels, er...wings! It blasted tanks, APCs, and trucks with wild abandon. The Mirage IIIs had a more limited attack, that nevertheless could be deadly -- especially if they strafed an open vehicle carrying mobile infantry (like the open compartment of the BTR-152). The South African RPG gunners were fairly effective, too. Like historically, they blew up a number of armored vehicles. They got chewed up way worse than in the actual Battle of Cassinga, though, where the platoon took zero casualties. The raiding force itself did take casualties, but most of those were in the assault on the camp from AA guns.

A Mirage III dives to strafe the roadside being used by the Cuban/Angolan armor

I liked how the hidden deployment of the RPG teams went. The players put dummy markers and real markers on the table to mark potential locations for their infantry. They could be placed in any patch of trees on the table, which gave them a lot of tough decisions to make. Aircraft could not make attacks on consecutive turns to represent them vectoring around for another pass.

Each Cubans & Angolan player force was given four choices on arrival points

How did the games go? In each game, all of the tanks and APCs were eventually knocked out, including some of the reinforcement APCs I gave to the Cuban/Angolan players when they were down to few troops left. It was a much closer battle in the first game when I had only two aircraft in the sky (due to two of my six players mysteriously not showing up after registering for the game). In the night game, all three aircraft were hammering the Cuban and Angolan armor. Unlike in the first game, the players got a little glum and felt they had no chance of winning the game. What was VERY interesting was that one of the South African players in that game also felt they had basically lost and that the armor was about to fulfill its objectives by exiting on the far side of the table. So, both sides felt that they were losing!

Smoke marks the strafing runs and rocket attacks on the armored vehicles

Either way, I think I would limit jet aircraft to just one per scenario in future games. I was being historical, and wanted all three aircraft that appeared over the battlefield the be represented. I am not 100% sure I like the mechanism for the flight path, though. It seems too easy for the jets to line up multiple targets on the ground. Perhaps, I will add an element of randomness to the game and either have the controlling players roll to be "on target" with their hits, with a chance of deviating to the left or right, short or long. Players still needed to roll for their attacks, and targets still got to roll saves, though. So, perhaps not. Maybe I will simply limit how many targets they can strike on the ground, or allow them to hit multiple targets only when they are close together.

The South African pilots quickly pounced on the enemy armor as it arrived on the table

It was fun to see the jets on the tabletop, though. I think my camera tripod flight stands worked fine. I will probably paint them entirely matte black, though, just to make them less obtrusive on the tabletop (and in pictures). I think most players enjoyed the scenario, though. I think I am "go" for planning my next playtest using the Chad air war. Stay tuned for more!

3-D Printed Billboards

My 3-D printed billboards loom atop an apartment building and also on the streets, where a rumble is taking place

I had been wanting to do billboards for my 20mm Modern Africa games for a long time. I had kicked around ideas on how to scratch-build them, but hadn't really settled on a method. Once I started up my 28mm Urban Gang warfare, I knew that billboards in my city would be great addition for them, as well. Since I was happy with the 3-D printed playground equipment, I asked my friend Joe Merz if Thingiverse had any billboards.

When free standing, the billboards are tall enough to loom over small buildings

He said they did, and forwarded the link with pictures. I decided to order four of them, for which he charged me $20. That was a good price -- not to mention the time I'd save on scratch-building them. When I picked them up, I noticed they came in two pieces -- the billboard part itself and the scaffolding (or whatever you want to call it) that holds it up. There was a place that you were obviously supposed to set the billboard, but I wasn't happy how short that would make the billboards. I decided to not use that spot and instead epoxy them further up along the back support. This made them look better free standing, I thought.

You can see the shelf where the billboard was designed to rest - I epoxied it higher up on the back support

I probably should have taken more care in my epoxying, as one or two of them are ever-so-slightly crooked. Not sure if anyone would notice, but I did. First, though, I had to clean the significant amount of flash between the supports. It actually looked like cobwebs, the plastic "flash" was so fine. I did my best to scrape out all of the tiny thin strands with an Xacto knife. After epoxying the billboards onto the supports, I spray-painted them flat black. Next, I brushed over them in a 50/50 mixture of black acrylic paint and water to ensure all the black got into the crevices and recesses.

The frame of each billboard was painted a faded color, then dry-brushed and washed to look well worn

The bottom and back supports were painted to be raw wood. I used my usual method -- Camo Brown dry-brushed over black, with a Colonial Khaki highlight. I painted the frame of each billboard a faded, sun-bleached color. I figured they would get lots of sunshine and probably any color would eventually be mostly washed out. Next, I dry-brushed the color to look even more faded. Finally, I gave the wood sections a black wash, to look worn and exposed to the elements. At the bottom of each billboard section there are four banks of lights, which I painted steel and silver to give the effect of glass light bulbs. I glued each billboard structure to a rectangular base, then flocked it with Woodland Scenics mixed, fine gray ballast. That is the same material I am using for the flocking of my Gang Wafare bases -- and the same material I use for the roofs of my modern buildings. This allows me to either have the billboards standing alone on the board or placed atop building roofs (as shown in the photos).

Some billboards were modern advertisements like these Coke and Miller Lite ones, others were more vintage

Early on, I had decided that I would epoxy metal bases onto the recessed face of each billboard. I would then create the actual billboards in Photoshop, and print them out on 8.5"x11" magnetic material you can buy at the office supply store (it is intended for you to print photos onto). That way, I can simply slap on which billboard I want to use for that particular game. It allows me to customize the billboard to the scenario, if I like.

20mm African Rebels gather underneath billboards extolling their fight

To create my billboards, I did Google Image searches to find classic billboards, such as Coke, 7up, Camaro, Marlboro, etc. I also decided to create some of my own for modern Africa games. I put slogans on them to recreate the feels of a dictator's propaganda. The intention is to be able to use these same billboards for a variety of periods -- modern day, late 20th century, and independence era Africa.

Metal bases were glued onto the area where the billboard sign would go, allowing me to slap on magnetic billboards

The billboard area was 2"x4.5", so I fit six billboards on each sheet of magnetic material. This meant I was spending about 60-cents per billboard piece, which I was fine with. I have two sheets of material left, so I will likely save that for another period that may crop up (post-Apocalyptic? Modern Middle East?). All in all, I was very happy with how these turned out.

I flocked the billboards to match the rooftops of my 28mm MDF city buildings so they could be used on roofs

Finally! More attractive Wars of Insurgency order markers

The finished product -- order markers for two dozen squads done quickly, simply, and attractively for the tabletop!

I've been telling myself for months (years?) that I was going to get around to creating less obtrusive order markers for my modern infantry skirmish game, Wars of Insurgency. The colored poker chips I used are functional, but can be an eyesore for a perfectionist like myself when it comes to making your battlefield look great. My latest game, Bush War in Rhodesia, finally forced my hand.
In this game, there are six very large units of ZANLA insurgents. According to the special scenario rules, each time these units of 20 take a hit, they are marked with a "bombshell marker." Bombshell was the name the Rhodesians gave to the insurgent tactics when they came under attack by a Fire Force assault. Essentially, they splinter -- breaking up and running in different directions. In game terms, they split into two. A unit of 20 becomes two units of 10, a unit of 10 splits into two of five, a unit of five actually begins suffering morale effects.

Wooden discs readily available at craft stores make great, inexpensive order markers

What this has to do with markers is it means I need a LOT more order markers for the ZANLA side than I have in my previous games. So, I decided to make some up in a quick and simple fashion, but hopefully so they don't detract from the look of the battlefield. I used 1.5" diameter wooden discs available at craft stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.

Each round wooden disc is attached to a bamboo skewer with blue tack then set upright in foam

I would do the next batch differently than I did these, though. The first step is to attach each disc to a bamboo skewer with blue tack, and then use some foam to create a holder for the skewers. Next, glue down the JTT Detachable Grass Bushes first to the center of the disc. I made a mistake and did Step #3 before this step #2. The next step is to paint the disc with a 50/50 mix of brown paint and white glue. The wet disc is sprinkled with Woodland Scenics fine brown ballast to give it a solid, thick flocked earth base.

Sigh, mistake! I foolishly flocked the disc with ballast BEFORE attaching the bush causing problems for me later

After it dries, the next step is to paint the ballast with a 50/50 mix of white glue and water. While it is wet, sprinkle it thickly with Woodland Scenics Blended Turf Earth. After it dries, do this again with Blended Grass. Next, spray it the markers with clearcoat. When dry, a final 50/50 mixture of glue and water should give it a thick durable coating.

A view of the poker chips I used before on a battlefield

You can apply 1" round adhesive stickers to the wood underside to denote your squads that move first, second, etc. The markers are anonymous enough that opponents can't look at them and know which unit you've marked to go first, but scenic enough that they actually add to the look of the tabletop rather than detract from it like...ahem, colored poker chips!

Acheson Creations resin bases which will form my next batch of order markers

I am also working on another batch of markers, this time using Acheson Creations round bases (I believe what they are meant to be). I've washed them to remove the mould release agent off of them, and spray primed them black. The challenge will be to flock and paint them as identically as I did with the wood discs!

Rhodesian Bush Wars at Cincycon

Rhodesian G-car flies over a ZANLA encampment in a Fire Force scenario at Cincycon 2019

It is interesting that one of the more interesting conflicts of the 20th century "Bush Wars" -- that of Rhodesia fighting to maintain its minority rule -- is also one of the most challenging to game on the tabletop. In particular, the Rhodesian Fire Force missions of helicopter-borne and paratroop dropped assaults on insurgent camps can be a thorny scenario. The casualty ratio between the Rhodesians and the insurgents is so lopsided that for a long time I considered them not worth trying to stage on the tabletop. I mean who wants to play a side that loses casualties at an 80-to-1 rate vs. their opponent?

ZANLA encampment prior to the Fire Force assault, with troops milling about in the village grounds

However, as I continue playtesting the air support rules for my modern skirmish rules set, Wars of Insurgency, my mind kept trying to solve the riddle of putting on a fun, playable Fire Force assault game, yet keeping casualty rates vaguely historical. One day it came to me: why not have the insurgents played by the GM? The players would take on the role of the helicopter-borne and paratrooper infantry attempting to corral the ZANLA insurgents and prevent them from escaping. Another player would take on the role of an Alouette K-Car (armed with a 20mm autocannon) and an Alouette G-Car armed with a machine gun as fire support. The players would be challenged, as the Fire Force historically was, to prevent the maximum number of enemy from escaping the board. I wouldn't have any ego issues watching large numbers of my troops become casualties, while inflicting few on the elite Rhodesian infantry.

Rhodesian K-car opens the engagement banking left to allow its 20mm autocannon to engage the enemy below

I intend to do another post on obtaining and getting the Alouette III helicopters ready. I ended up going with two different sources, a Heller 1/72 scale plastic model kit (which would end up being the K-Car), and 1/72 die-cast from Amercom (G-Car). The plastic kit would be the K-car because I would be chopping it up to have the door open and insert a gun to represent the 20mm autocannon. I wouldn't bother with sticking a gun in the metal die-cast helicopter. The die-cast rotor assembly was EXTREMELY flimsy, and broke while I was just sizing it up to see how the blades would fit. After consulting with folks on various Facebook modern military history groups, I replaced the blades with a clear plastic sheet to represent the spinning main rotors. I was extremely happy with the look.

On the ground, sticks of Rhodesian Light Infantry advance through the bush, determined to cut off the escape of ZANLA

One unfortunate aspect of running a cooperative, players vs. GM game is that it limits the number of player commands. This would be my smallest Wars of Insurgency game, yet, with only four slots for Rhodesian players. Both slots filled up at Cincycon 2019, though -- I was running Friday evening and Saturday morning. That's my usual trick to allow me to have to set up and tear down only once each. My first group of players were fellow HMGS Great Lakes members and a fun and laid-back group. It included fellow board member Randy Miller and his high school senior daughter, Emma. She has gamed with Randy through the years and has the reputation of being a deadly opponent. 

Due to the large numbers of insurgents, a G-car is pressed into gunship mode and prepares to engage

We had a blast in the first game. I particularly enjoyed the players reacting with alarm as insurgent groups neared the edge of the board as they called over Randy for fire support from his chopper command. In the end, 18 insurgents out of 120 made it off the table. The Rhodesians lost five casualties. Honestly, considering the wounded-to-killed ratio of modern warfare, that would mean only one or two KIA, the others being wounded and out of action. So, the ratio proved very historical, in my opinion. I asked for suggestions from my players and they said it was perfect -- not to change a thing!

The players picked up my Wars of Insurgency rules quickly, and were a great help in keeping the game moving smoothly

The next morning I promptly disregarded their advice and made a couple changes. Number one was allowing two friends to play the insurgents for me, letting me sit back and GM (and causing the game to move faster with two players moving and firing 120 figures!). The best side effect was that both Jenny and Mike S who played the ZANLA force said they had fun. They said other players would likely feel the same way -- as long as they're not hyper-competitive and aren't the type that need to "win" to feel validated. I think at DayCon 2019 next month I will offer those two slots to walkup players, briefing them on what they're getting themselves into!

Rhodesian Light Infantry advance through a village to clear it of insurgents in Rhodesian Bush Wars

The other change I made was rearranging how the ZANLA troops were organized. Friday night, they began with groups of 12 or so, while Saturday morning I chose 20-figure groups. The reason they were so large was because I was replicating the "bombshell" tactic of ZANLA troops when under assault by Fire Forces. The insurgents would scatter in multiple directions (bombshell). So, I made a rule that when a group of insurgents took casualties, they would split into two separate units next turn. Thus, a 20-man group would bombshell into two 8-9 man units. Then, they would further bombshell once more, into 4-5 man groups. From my research, this would be the typical size of small units fleeing through the bush to escape. It wasn't until a unit got down to the smallest size and lost further troops that they would check morale.

A squad of lucky ZANLA troopers make it to the cover of the wooded hills near the board edge

For both games, I used a random aggression die roll when a ZANLA unit activated. I rolled 1d6 per squad. The higher the roll, the more aggressive they would be. So, if under fire from a Rhodesian squad and taking casualties, on a "5" or "6" they would move into cover and return fire. If not actively under fire, they would move to cover and advance towards the sound of Rhodesian fire. On low numbers, they would break off and scatter away from visible enemies. For rolls in the middle, I had them act in what I thought they would consider the most intelligent fashion. This type of simple AI for the insurgents works well in a game with a GM, and I was able to make most of my decisions without any questioning or complaints from players.

Rhodesians closes in on the village center,  firing from the cover of the trees

I was very happy with the outcome of both games. Number one, the players had fun and said how much they enjoyed the game. Number two, it felt like a historic action and had a realistic outcome, in my opinion. And finally, my air support rules worked very well, I thought. Although very little fire was directed at the helicopters, one G-car had to withdraw when it took accurate, damaging fire from the ZANLA on the ground. That also seemed to ring true with the players.

A shot I took before the game with the K-car above the native village, before placing troops

Fire Force will spring into action April 5th and 6th at DayCon 2019. I'll be repeating my times, with a Friday evening game and a Saturday morning games. DayCon is a fun, small convention that is growing rapidly -- come check it out!

ZANLA insurgents begin to scatter in the early stages of the Fire Force attack as a Alouette III G-car moves in

TT Combat 28mm MDF Apartment Building

TT Combat Apartment A - a 28mm laser-cut MDF building I picked up for my modern skirmish - with 20mm figs

I purchased three 28mm modern MDF buildings to use with my 20mm Modern Skirmish games. I've found that an advantage of my 20mm miniature scale is that I can use buildings from both 15mm and 28mm and the figures don't look out of place. I bought them from Terry at Wargames Tools LLC, who is a great guy to work with. He always had awesome stuff at his booth at conventions.

The big problem with this kid -- the second story does not come apart from the first! See my corner supports for a work-around scratch-built floor

I built the Sarissa Precision building that I'd purchased at Historicon 2018 earlier, so it was time to build one of the two TT Combat Apartment (A and B) I'd picked up. First off, I found the kit had a LOT more pieces! There were lots and lots of individual pieces that need glued in for the windows. What wasn't in the kit was what disappointed me most: There is no second floor. Nor is there a way to remove the second floor from the first floor. You CAN take off the roof, but the first and second story walls are solid state. Hmmm.

Those incised lines are decoration - not a seam, so the building is 'solid state' other than its removable roof

As any gamer knows, the whole point of having buildings with removable roofs is so you can put figures in them! It baffled me that TT Combat would do it this way. My only previous experience with their line is my cargo container ship. And it wasn't constructed in a way to make it easy to remove the bridge from the second and first floors, now that I think about it. I decided to create me own second floor, rather than just bag it and call the two $25 purchases a loss. I cut four pieces of bass wood of the same height to put in each corner of the first floor. I then cut a piece of black styrene plastic to rest upon the supports and be the second floor. I was fairly happy with my work-around, and got back to painting.

My scratch-built second floor (with printed patterns glued on)

For MDF buildings, I spray paint them flat black first. Then I put on a base coat (a craft paint sky blue for this one), and then dry brush a lighter shade (white in this case). I then do the trim and windows, which would be a medium blue with dark orange accent. The stone portions I painted in medium gray with light gray dry brush, which I thought would go well with the light blue. Next, I had to decide how to paint the fence/railing in front of the building. After doing some Google Image searches, I decided to go with a wrought iron look. I painted over the spray painted black with more black to ensure all the nooks and crevices were filled. Then, I brushed on some highlights using Iron Wind Metals Steel.

A close up of the front and the first floor windows, with 20mm African Militia from Liberation Miniatures firing out

Once the entire model was painted, I mixed up a black wash and brushed it over the entire thing - both blue and gray stone portions, as well as the wrought iron. There is some decoration incised on the outside of the building between the first and second floor. I went back and forth on it, and decided not to paint it. I thought it would look to gaudy painted in a bright color, and felt if I did it in the same faded blue, it would be too overpowering. Perhaps I made a mistake not doing this. Perhaps not.

I like the stone and plaster look design of the Apartment Building (with a close-up of the flower garden)

Finally, it was time to do the roof (whose blue and gray portions were painted alongside the building itself). I once again used Woodland Scenics mixed gray ballast for a roof surface. I did it on the Sarissa Precision building, and really like how it gives some 3-D texture to the MDF building. Finally, I flocked the area between the railing and the building to be a flower garden. I built up the grass with fine brown ballast and turf earth from Woodland Scenics. Then, after flocking with Blended Grass, I placed tufts of purple and yellow flowers on top of the grass. I really like how it gives it that final touch.

Militia on my second floor - plus the two wood pieces you can see I epoxied into the floor so you can lift it out easily

Well, not quite final touch! I also had printed out wood and rug patterns that I'd found on Pinterest on the internet. I trimmed these to the correct size, and glued them down with white glue to be my floors. I really like how they brighten up the interior and give it an almost finished look, despite their obviously being no furniture.

The roof, with its Woodland Scenics coarse mixed gray ballast textured floor

By this time, though, I had happened upon my next biggest disappointment with the kit -- one that was no fault of TT Combat. Since the second story is solid state with the first, the building is too tall to fit in my terrain boxes! Noooooo!! Honestly, this may be a deal breaker for me with this build. I am seriously considering selling it after I use it in my game at Advance the Colors next month. The scenario is a city fight, and I will need all of my buildings to fill the table, I imagine. So, if you are interested in this building, contact your realtor, as it just might be for sale...!

Militia stake out their turf in my modern skirmishes in Africa