First Strike

[Imp]

Its May 2007 & NATO has been caught short lulled into a false sense of security by the supposed end of the cold war. Early in the morning of the 25th Spetsnaz units launched raids on key facilities concentrating initially on forward listening posts & radar stations, we take up the story of one of these groups.
Having already destroyed their assigned radar station they acquired what transport they could & head for there second target, a supply depot & nearby barracks housing US forces. The attack was scheduled to go at first light but support elements have been delayed due to stiff opposition in the air, this despite the loss of ground early warning for the West. By late morning Russian airpower is winning the battle taking full advantage of the fact most of the US Airforce is on the other side of the Atlantic, corridors are cleared.
On the ground the Spetsnaz are keeping a reasonable distance from the targets avoiding patrols & waiting, suddenly their radios fill with static heavy jamming time to move. Moments later missiles crisscross the skies as a Mig 31 over flies them, looking back they can see the dark cloud that must be the support damn radio silence we are going to be late to the party.
GROUND FORCES
HQ
2 Spetsnaz Groups
1 MMG
1 80Mtr
1 MMG mounted in a civilian truck #
1 civilian truck #
3 pick ups #
# From Somalia OOB
AIRBORNE FORCE
30 Transports
2 + 2/3rds Para Com (some didn't make it, could get worse shortly)
25 Squads
3 Engineers
4 Scouts
2 Snipers
6 MMG
2 GL
12 ATGM
4 Manpads
8 Vodnik utility vehicles
9 BTR-D3 Rakushka (Kate Bush?)
4 BMD Bakhcha-U
10 Sprut-SD Airmobile tanks
3 SP 120Mtr vehicles para variety
2 80Mtr
1 FOO
AIR SUPPORT
4 SEAD Aircraft
Not a lot of cop vs linebacker but we will see if nothing else they will be SAM magnets.

Had to mix & match a bit Airborne come with 1 sniper per 3 squads, air assault 1 ATGM per squad as have the tanks which I have just noticed have a carry capacity of 9 assume we get less ATGMs.
The mission
Flags are placed on the barracks in the centre, supply depot & secondary supply depots further back & either side of it. I have 5 Eng including the Spetsnaz & the mission is a failure unless I detonate a total of 8 DC in separate hexes split 6/2 at the depots. The reason for large number of vehicles is after we are to pull out & hopefully link up with our advancing forces or we are likely to be destroyed once the West get there act together. Some attack helo support would have been nice but the air is still to dangerous for the slow movers & fuel constraints don't help.
Was going to do as a campaign but not enough support points for airlift as need 30 & can't buy in core. Not really sure I am going to last for a second battle anyway not a cost effective force but might try covering the escape. Done purely because the Russians have all these airdropable vehicles which I have never used so they are going for a spin.
Map is modified 77 Southeast USA (I know) removed most of the river building the barracks in it. Main supply depot is Public Works & LPG Storage. Secondary depot is the County Jail & Tommy Ds Truckstop has a couple of flags on, bonus points if I can DC here. All chosen as have pavement for high vehicle traffic. Visibility is 43 due to the late kick off & US is delaying as have not had time to dig in yet.

Note the airborne tanks have good guns armour is a bit of an issue & ATGMs could have problems ahem penetrating frontal armour.
Thats as far as I have got discovering loading transports so I can remmember whats in them takes a while, wonder how many will make it down safely. Also trying to decide quite what to do I am going to have a lot of crews floating about who need nice soft landings if I am going to get them back in the vehicles.

[Imp]

The Spetsnaz move out North group heading along the road that goes over the hill to the mall the South group is spread out between hilltop farm & the highway by the gas station. The engineers are staying behind to place landing markers for the transports arriving on turn 2. main group landing in the North the rest the South. Mortar palces a bit of smoke just in case. We seem undetected so far no arty & it looks like the US anticipated virtual air supremacy in the event of war, no radar targets a few Manpads fired but were inefectial 2 of my planes just have ARM left so are useless the others have 4 serious stand of missiles each though one used 2 on a squad (waste) onthe first pass.
Keep forgeting airdrops go before planes so 3 planes killed the manpad & found another after the drop other is going this turn. Also saw 3 M1s in far North & another in the South all HA+ my planes will have a couple of runs at before they have to leave as fighter escort is leaving with transports. Airdrop was pretty uneventfull lost 2 or 3 & some damaged but all had unloaded, fire was mainly M1s & drop zones were no further past my start line than could have achieved by moving. The reason is everyone contained a vehicle & this is a test see how it works, most came down all right but a couple veered off into the woods so a few bad landings mainly among crews grhh. 2 Vodnics were damaged on landing represented by dust puff but I will not know how bad till the crew gets back in, they landed in open ground just none to well. It looks like 2 tank crews took damage so thats not good & it also like an SPmtr landed none to well. One string landed right along a tree line with 2 scouts on board who are nearly dead but the vehicle looks ok. This is the only vehicle that landed in bad terrain.
Otherwise virtually all infantry are happy & mobile but about half the crews are pinned. Used 2 pickups to move pinned crews.
Turn4
AI places some smoke in the North & despite a penetration of 120 M1 survives 2 hits.
Over 50% of my vehicles are now crewed & using them for a couple of stuck crews means I think all but 2 will be ready next go. One I am not worried about as its damaged the other is a tank that landed quite far from its crew in what could be an unsafe location to get to so he is walking. The hex the tank is in is probably safe but driving out could be dangerous.
T5
Will give an update of whats going on presently nothing happened so notes on airdrop now all but 2 vehicles are loaded.
1) Found out the hard way (as in a restart) do not unload a vehicle once it has been loaded you cannot access it after the crew splits from.
2) Crews generally land within 2 hexes of the vehicle so if unpinned can man quickly, if its an emergency bailout due to recieving fire think can spread further.
3) Vehicles certainly tracked are quite hardy 3 damaged out of 30 or so.
4) The 2 damaged vehicles I have recrewed are immobile, The SP Mtr can still fire normally just wrecked the drivetrain. Neither actually lists any damage on info screen.
5) Intresting to see how this works the vehicles with damaged crews show crew reduction in info screen but no damage. The reduced crew has no effect rate of fire etc is unaffected. Minor glitch I can live with this considering how often it will be used but one tank admitedly with an autoloader has 1 crew man driving it & manning the weapons, these tanks are getting high tech
6) With the CD version remanning vehicles is easy as is sorting into formations after an airdrop by using the 5 key. Could do it without as crews in logical position but nothing like as easy.
Will refer to vehicles as follows
Vod = Fast no armament
APC = BTR with AAMG & Grenade Launcher
IFV = BMD 4 weapons inc ATGM & 12 pen autocannon with TI
Tank = Its a Russian MBT with frontal armour of 6/8 & no AAMG, Gun has pen of 95 so can destroy an M1 & would make a good ambush vehicle. On the attack though at any range good chance of round bouncing on a turret hit, the M1 will not have the same problem

[Ramm]

Interesting battle, nice AAR

Andrew

[Imp]

Its turn 7 & the planes are heading home with one missile still onboard but leave behind 3 burning Abrams & one minus a track
On the ground things are not going quite according to plan moving up to position using cover A few grunts have managed to get on point to search for ATGMs. First contact is in the North Para scout finding a javelin just on the far side of the town nicely situated on a hill so he fires. Now running as a flame weapon was the response he got, yikes that did not go quite according to plan squads have to abort follow on attack as was not expecting that response.
The morale of the story is know your enemy now I have looked 3 out of 4 squads in a platoon have 40mmTB grenades knowhere near as nasty as what my Spetsnaz & Eng have as only have a kill of 10 but they have me stuck in town for the moment. The bonus is they only have a range of 7 & my LMG out range anything they have so long range if I can actually see them that is.
The next turn does not go much better we are still pinned down found most of the platoon & kill the javelin just in time to find another.
If I had realised this was going to be a flame war would have bought some TI infantry even my ATGMs dont have.
It takes till turn 10 to get out of town only incoming arty has been small mortars but getting position has not proved easy. The platoon is finaly down to 3 hurt squads but they are not giving up. The javs & supporting MMG are history & they should collapse easily now but I have paid a heavy price learning my enemy several Paras lie still in the streets & smoke poors from a vehicle whose driver decided to give an assist. The other force has made it across the N>S Highway heading for the centre of the map & hilltop farm which seems vacant or to hold troops only as no fire is forthcoming yet. On the other side of the hill a bit over a click away is the barracks & our aproach did not go unnoticed 2 vehicles taking evasive action as ATGMs came in from furher North along the highway. None of our vehicles have VIRSS but we are unscathed nothing more than a bit of pant wetting transpired & scouts with a few squads are heading for a looksee. Need to get a move on the clock is ticking & progress is not exactly speedy.
This has not been helped as the map designer decided to be clever & put some height 5 terrain mainly down the centre of the highways but it does not show as anything but clear unless you mouse over it so LOS was not as anticipated. Now going to modify my map so they are dirt or something making it obvious there is something diffrent, mildly annoying.

[Imp]

Well either I am in charge of a bunch of geriatrics with cataracts or the tales we have been told of the decadent West have been exaggerated somewhat. These are not lax troops blending rather to well into the terrain for my liking, in the middle despite knowing they are right on top of him the jav team remains elusive despite sitting in the middle of a highway. One of his support squads has been found & shots exchanged. The bulk of the force here has managed to make it to hilltop farm without further incident & some are ready to move out for a look. To the North only light arty 60-80mtrs but that & trouble detecting the enemy means the force designation is snail. We have made some ground towards the main objective & some nearby mortars but are caught in a fight with another platoon. So far only detected 2 squads a MMG & jav, 1 squad is nearly out of the picture & the jav was traded for a BTR & half its passengers. This time its the nutters manning the machine guns that are taking my men in droves. Beginning to think the operational planers got a bit optimistic with this one & it could be a one way ticket the distance to our objectives seems to be growing by the minute.