SAS Horn of Africa Campaign

[Vinny]

I thought I'd try a low-point campaign (500) to see how WinSPMBT handled them. Setting up a campaign with the UK vs Somalia/Eritrea/Sudan I took an SAS-T Section (2 SAS sections with SAS Land Rovers) and an additional Land Rover scout vehicle.

The first mission was an Assault vs Somalia. Not good as my force consisted of an HQ, two 6-man sections and three unarmored vehicles with MGs. Doing a terrain analysis I determined that I might be able to thread through the wadis and dunes to a spot near a double cluster of objectives. From there a liberal dose of artillery and air strikes might provide the firepower needed for my small force to overwhelm their defenders. The third cluster of objectives lay further north and would be a secondary objective if I could spare forces after taking the primary two clusters.

Major D'Oh! when I found my HQ section wouldn't fit in the vehicle I bought for it. They would stay out of this fight under cover. However my intrepid little Land Rover patrol began to snake its' way through the wadis toward their ORP.

The last element of my support forces, a pair of UAVs, scouted the route ahead and revealed much about the enemy's dispositions. My eye in the sky helped me tweak the infil to bypass what was appearing to be a fearsome number of militia forces topping massifs facing my deployment areas. With this number of forward deployed forces only a couple of platoons and some mortar support secured the primary target zone.

Skirting OPs and soft sand the SAS patrol crept up to within 250 meters of two mortar pits near the primary target. At this point nearly two thirds of the game had been completed just getting into position. No time to hang back and drop arty on their heads until a mop up could be done.

Strangely the UAVs noticed that several militia squads had left their defensive positions and were making their way west (my forces were to the south). The only explantion might be that they spotted my HQ hunkered down a couple of klicks that way, but why not send forces closer in?

No matter, the opportunity was there and it called for action. Dropping some smoke down between the mortar pits and the supporting infantry in the target zone my SAS troopies roared in guns blazing, Rat Patrol style. With their TI ability (both vehicles AND troops) and fearsome CQB skills both pits were quickly decom'd without a hitch.
Hopping from his Land Rover Pinky my lead SAS team, B0, called in a Harrier strike on the sizable force of militia marching in the open while laying more smoke. Smouldering ruin and dense smoke wreathed the battle field as these missions arrived and the SAS troopers zoomed forward, firing as they closed on the remaining defensive positions. Within six turns the entire primary zone had been cleared of enemy without loss other than an immobilized Land Rover lost in soft sand and a single crewman from the scout Rover.

The enemy quickly responded by pulling what appeared to be a battalion of troops off their picket line and toward the objective zones. Taking up defensive positions the, B0 and the Scout Rover covered the primary zone while B1 raced north for the lightly defended secondary objective. Swathed in smoke they were able to wipe out the light opposition found there, taking out a 120mm mortar and two squads in two rounds without casualties.

As time ran out B1 took the last objective hex as a hoard of militia approached to within 500 meters of both target zones.

Final score was ~4200 to 8!

This game is SO COOL!