AAR: Elbonians vs Americans
Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 2:48 am
Below is a battle report distributed on our local e-mail list. It's about a microarmor game that we played this past Saturday as part of our standard Second Saturday Game. We play on the second Saturday of each month, usually a double header...this past weekend we played this 6mm game and a 25mm Viet Nam skirmish game.
I had intended to take pictures of the miniatures (all GHQ!) buy I forgot the camera. Doh! Anyway, it was still an entertaining game and I thought that I would share it with the group. I suppose it's ok that I forgot the camera since even though I'm happy with the figures I'm still getting the hang of working in 6mm (I normally game in 15mm and 25-30mm). Mark Luther (he played on the Elbonian team) said that each game has been getting better terrain-wise but I stil need to add the colorful details that provide a sense of place (tougher in 6mm!).
I'm very happy with the buildings but it certainly takes a lot of them to convey a sense of a town. 15mm and 25mm games seem ok with a few buildings standing in for a WWII european villages or even town. But in 6mm I've been building a large collection of middle eastern buildings to convey a sense of crowded urban setting. It seems to be working but it takes a LOT of buildings!
6mm ELBONIAN MODERNS GAME
The first game was set in Elbonia, the land of mud from the Dilbert cartoon!...we like to keep things light hearted around here!
US Forces were trying to sieze and hold three objectives defended by a mix of Elbonian regulars and militia (holding two objectives would give a side a marginal victory, three would be total victory). Nathaniel, David, and Steven played the Americans with a Stryker battalion and some Apache helicopters. Mark and Rick played the Elbonians while I GM'd. The rules are home grown and use a scale of 1 stand = 2-4 squads or 2-4 vehicles/towed weapons. For this session we tested the use of squares rather than rulers and templates. My 4' x 6' matt was divided into 4" x 4" squares resulting in a 12 x 18 square grid. Each square represented an area 300m x 300m (see below for details on the use of squares).
MUD FACTORIES AND ELBONIAN ORTHODOX UNITARIANISM
The game was played along the long axis of the table (ie the Americans advanced along the 6' axis of the table). The Americans started at the end of the table nearest their first objective: a mud processing facility located in an industrial park (the Elbonians make the best mud bricks in the world...highly desirable and the facility would help fund post-war reconstruction.) On the far half of the table were their other two objectives: the provincial capitol complex in the middle of the city and the main temple on the far corner of the city (per David's suggestion the Elbonians are mostly Orthodox Unitarians!). (...and what would an Orthodox Unitarian be like???)
The Elbonians started the game with one militia group deployed on-table. These were divided into two groups and deployed in some wooded areas between the American start area and the city (about mid-table). The van/truck-mounted militia and regulars in BMP-2s entered the table on the edge opposite the Americans and therefore close to the main city.
RUMOR OF ELBONIAN DEFEAT EXAGGERATED
The Americans quickly seized the industrial park and used their battalion HQ assets (reinforced by one platoon from a rifle company) to hold this objective (David commanded the battalion HQ assets and Apaches). The remaining US forces split with one half advancing down the left side of the battlefield (Steven) and the other half advancing down the right side (Nathaniel). Between the advancing Americans and the city proper stood the militia deployed in two groups in the woods outside of the city.
Meanwhile the Elbonian truck-borne infantry (Rick commanded all of the Ebonian militia) sped into the city to set up defensive positions around the government center and the Orthodox Unitarian temple. Mark's BMPs and infantry sought cover from the Apaches on the flanking edges of the city and set up good defensive postions protected from the Apaches but able to cover the approaches to the objectives.
At first the Elbonian players were convinced that they were lost before the game even started given the firepower advantage of the Americans. Both sides believed that an American victory was a forgone conclusion. But it quickly became clear that the Elbonian defensive positions more than compensated and that the divided American columns were hard pressed to achieve decisive, local fire superiority. The Americans approached the militia deployed in the woods very cautiously, trying to flank them while remaining outside of RPG range.
STIFF ELBONIAN RESISTANCE ON THE RIGHT
On the American right flank Nathaniel managed to pin the Elbonians in his sector but a combination of Elbonian small arms fire and 30mm BMP cannon fire managed to slaughter a couple of American platoons which impetusouly advanced across some open ground. Nathaniel quickly broke contact, reorganized his troops, called in 120mm mortar fire on the Elbonians in the woods, and continued his advance after destroying Mark's one BMP platoon deployed in his AO.
DELUSIONS OF EBONIAN GRANDEUR ON THE LEFT
On the American left flank Steven suffered few casualties in his initial advance (he managed to use a wooded hill to shield his force from Mark's BMPs). Heartened by this success David led most of his command out of the industrial park to support Steven's advance. Rick's Elbonian militia in the woods nearest Steven saw their chance to capture the industrial park as David advanced and so they made a run for it! But they were quickly cut down by .50 cal, mortar, and 105mm gun fire from Steven and David's troops as they sped across the open. As Steven's force approached the city he began trading fire with Mark's remaining BMP platoons and called in one of David's Apache teams for support. The BMP's 30mm autocannons managed to down the Apache team but were then destroyed by Steven's 105mm Stryker MGS platoon.
FLAMING STRYKERS, TRICKY MANEUVER, AND AMERICAN VICTORY (ALMOST!)
As the game turn limit approached Steven pressed his attack harder but was ambushed by RPG-wielding militia and regulars deployed on the city edge. The result was a lot of burning Strykers as the American left flank advance ground to a halt!
On the American right Nathaniel figured out that it's better to "maneuver offensively and fight defensively". He positioned his remaining troops just outside of the temple objective, held his fire, and tempted Rick's militia to move to the edge of the city to take some RPG shots. It worked (mostly!). One militia group crept to the edge and was quickly pinned by American fire. Their RPGs missed their mark and Nathaniel used mortar fire and 105mm gun fire to clear the objective of enemy troops. American victory was imminent!
ASSAULT AND COUNTER-ASSAULT
Nathaniel seized the temple objective hoping to withstand Rick's counter attack as we apporached the final two turns of the game. But the Americans had suffered too many infantry casualties and could not hold out against the many militia remaining next to the temple objective.
Three of Rick's militia platoons close assaulted into the temple objective held by the last of Nathaniels infantry platoons and two Stryker IFV stands (his company CP was also present but CPs don't help much in combat). The RPG-armed militia made quick work of the Strykers in the close confines of the city streets while Nathaniel's remaining infantry platoon was pinned down and then quickly assaulted and eliminated (captured?). If the Americans had implemented Nathaniel's tactics earlier and with greater concentration of force the result could have been very different!
MORALE ROLLER COASTER
The game started as a "certain win" for the Americans, became hopeless for them as they encountered stiff resistence, and was nearly an American victory with Nathaniel's clever overwatch tactics at the end of the game but the final result was a marginal Ebonian victory. A real morale roller coaster!
USING SQUARES INSTEAD OF RULERS/TEMPLATES
Technically the American battalion "broke" earlier in the game due to excessive casualties and it would have been over at that point. But we were testing the use of squares (instead of rulers and templates) and so we continued to play until the turn-limit ran out. I divided my 4' x 6' game matt into 4" x 4" squares using dots to define the corners of the squares. Each square represented an area 300m x 300m. All movement and firing ranges were measured in squares and angles were determined using the geometry of the squares. It took a little getting used to at first but the benefits were very clear.
Movement and range determination were much faster. You simply count squares! Most importantly there was no uncertainty about moves, ranges, and angles. Once everyone got used to using the grid to determine arc of fire the advantage over traditional systems became apparent. There were no close calls or "what was intended" issues which are standard fare when using rulers and angle templates. Everything was binary and perfectly clear: either you had the angle or not and either you were in range or not (no trying to figure out what part of a model to meaure, etc.)
If players had to redo a move for any reason there was no disucssion about where the stand had started from since it was obvious which square was in question. And positioning stands among the city buildings was more convenient since the exact position within in a square did not matter. In most games visibility in such terrain is limited to a few inches so very small measurements matter to the game result. This was much more convenient and clear to all players.
This led to an interesting and unintended consequence. Because all movement, ranges, and angles were perfectly clear people became more deliberate in their thinking and planning when moving. Once they made a decision it was implemented very quickly since you simply counted squares to move (vehicles had to spend move points to change facing while infantry could move in any direction freely).
So, the time spent normally measuring and "discussing" the legality of various moves and intended angles was spent thinking about the strategy and tactics of the game action. This was good in that it allowed players to focus on the game narrative instead of the mechanics of measuring and angles but sometimes players became very deliberative and thought quite a while before moving.
But even with so much thought going into strategy and tactics the game played to completion in a very fast 2 hours! During that time the Americans alone on the right flank managed to advance to initial contact halfway down the the long (6') axis of the table, engage in a fight, win, pull back/reorganize, continue to the far end of the table to envelope the corner of the city with the temple objective, call in Apache support from the American deployment zone, clear the objective with firepower, assault into it, and then face the militia counter-assault. That's a good amount of action in a 2 hour game!
I had intended to take pictures of the miniatures (all GHQ!) buy I forgot the camera. Doh! Anyway, it was still an entertaining game and I thought that I would share it with the group. I suppose it's ok that I forgot the camera since even though I'm happy with the figures I'm still getting the hang of working in 6mm (I normally game in 15mm and 25-30mm). Mark Luther (he played on the Elbonian team) said that each game has been getting better terrain-wise but I stil need to add the colorful details that provide a sense of place (tougher in 6mm!).
I'm very happy with the buildings but it certainly takes a lot of them to convey a sense of a town. 15mm and 25mm games seem ok with a few buildings standing in for a WWII european villages or even town. But in 6mm I've been building a large collection of middle eastern buildings to convey a sense of crowded urban setting. It seems to be working but it takes a LOT of buildings!
6mm ELBONIAN MODERNS GAME
The first game was set in Elbonia, the land of mud from the Dilbert cartoon!...we like to keep things light hearted around here!
US Forces were trying to sieze and hold three objectives defended by a mix of Elbonian regulars and militia (holding two objectives would give a side a marginal victory, three would be total victory). Nathaniel, David, and Steven played the Americans with a Stryker battalion and some Apache helicopters. Mark and Rick played the Elbonians while I GM'd. The rules are home grown and use a scale of 1 stand = 2-4 squads or 2-4 vehicles/towed weapons. For this session we tested the use of squares rather than rulers and templates. My 4' x 6' matt was divided into 4" x 4" squares resulting in a 12 x 18 square grid. Each square represented an area 300m x 300m (see below for details on the use of squares).MUD FACTORIES AND ELBONIAN ORTHODOX UNITARIANISM
The game was played along the long axis of the table (ie the Americans advanced along the 6' axis of the table). The Americans started at the end of the table nearest their first objective: a mud processing facility located in an industrial park (the Elbonians make the best mud bricks in the world...highly desirable and the facility would help fund post-war reconstruction.) On the far half of the table were their other two objectives: the provincial capitol complex in the middle of the city and the main temple on the far corner of the city (per David's suggestion the Elbonians are mostly Orthodox Unitarians!).
(...and what would an Orthodox Unitarian be like???)The Elbonians started the game with one militia group deployed on-table. These were divided into two groups and deployed in some wooded areas between the American start area and the city (about mid-table). The van/truck-mounted militia and regulars in BMP-2s entered the table on the edge opposite the Americans and therefore close to the main city.
RUMOR OF ELBONIAN DEFEAT EXAGGERATED
The Americans quickly seized the industrial park and used their battalion HQ assets (reinforced by one platoon from a rifle company) to hold this objective (David commanded the battalion HQ assets and Apaches). The remaining US forces split with one half advancing down the left side of the battlefield (Steven) and the other half advancing down the right side (Nathaniel). Between the advancing Americans and the city proper stood the militia deployed in two groups in the woods outside of the city.
Meanwhile the Elbonian truck-borne infantry (Rick commanded all of the Ebonian militia) sped into the city to set up defensive positions around the government center and the Orthodox Unitarian temple. Mark's BMPs and infantry sought cover from the Apaches on the flanking edges of the city and set up good defensive postions protected from the Apaches but able to cover the approaches to the objectives.
At first the Elbonian players were convinced that they were lost before the game even started given the firepower advantage of the Americans. Both sides believed that an American victory was a forgone conclusion. But it quickly became clear that the Elbonian defensive positions more than compensated and that the divided American columns were hard pressed to achieve decisive, local fire superiority. The Americans approached the militia deployed in the woods very cautiously, trying to flank them while remaining outside of RPG range.
STIFF ELBONIAN RESISTANCE ON THE RIGHT
On the American right flank Nathaniel managed to pin the Elbonians in his sector but a combination of Elbonian small arms fire and 30mm BMP cannon fire managed to slaughter a couple of American platoons which impetusouly advanced across some open ground. Nathaniel quickly broke contact, reorganized his troops, called in 120mm mortar fire on the Elbonians in the woods, and continued his advance after destroying Mark's one BMP platoon deployed in his AO.
DELUSIONS OF EBONIAN GRANDEUR ON THE LEFT
On the American left flank Steven suffered few casualties in his initial advance (he managed to use a wooded hill to shield his force from Mark's BMPs). Heartened by this success David led most of his command out of the industrial park to support Steven's advance. Rick's Elbonian militia in the woods nearest Steven saw their chance to capture the industrial park as David advanced and so they made a run for it! But they were quickly cut down by .50 cal, mortar, and 105mm gun fire from Steven and David's troops as they sped across the open. As Steven's force approached the city he began trading fire with Mark's remaining BMP platoons and called in one of David's Apache teams for support. The BMP's 30mm autocannons managed to down the Apache team but were then destroyed by Steven's 105mm Stryker MGS platoon.
FLAMING STRYKERS, TRICKY MANEUVER, AND AMERICAN VICTORY (ALMOST!)
As the game turn limit approached Steven pressed his attack harder but was ambushed by RPG-wielding militia and regulars deployed on the city edge. The result was a lot of burning Strykers as the American left flank advance ground to a halt!
On the American right Nathaniel figured out that it's better to "maneuver offensively and fight defensively". He positioned his remaining troops just outside of the temple objective, held his fire, and tempted Rick's militia to move to the edge of the city to take some RPG shots. It worked (mostly!). One militia group crept to the edge and was quickly pinned by American fire. Their RPGs missed their mark and Nathaniel used mortar fire and 105mm gun fire to clear the objective of enemy troops. American victory was imminent!
ASSAULT AND COUNTER-ASSAULT
Nathaniel seized the temple objective hoping to withstand Rick's counter attack as we apporached the final two turns of the game. But the Americans had suffered too many infantry casualties and could not hold out against the many militia remaining next to the temple objective.
Three of Rick's militia platoons close assaulted into the temple objective held by the last of Nathaniels infantry platoons and two Stryker IFV stands (his company CP was also present but CPs don't help much in combat). The RPG-armed militia made quick work of the Strykers in the close confines of the city streets while Nathaniel's remaining infantry platoon was pinned down and then quickly assaulted and eliminated (captured?). If the Americans had implemented Nathaniel's tactics earlier and with greater concentration of force the result could have been very different!
MORALE ROLLER COASTER
The game started as a "certain win" for the Americans, became hopeless for them as they encountered stiff resistence, and was nearly an American victory with Nathaniel's clever overwatch tactics at the end of the game but the final result was a marginal Ebonian victory. A real morale roller coaster!
USING SQUARES INSTEAD OF RULERS/TEMPLATES
Technically the American battalion "broke" earlier in the game due to excessive casualties and it would have been over at that point. But we were testing the use of squares (instead of rulers and templates) and so we continued to play until the turn-limit ran out. I divided my 4' x 6' game matt into 4" x 4" squares using dots to define the corners of the squares. Each square represented an area 300m x 300m. All movement and firing ranges were measured in squares and angles were determined using the geometry of the squares. It took a little getting used to at first but the benefits were very clear.
Movement and range determination were much faster. You simply count squares! Most importantly there was no uncertainty about moves, ranges, and angles. Once everyone got used to using the grid to determine arc of fire the advantage over traditional systems became apparent. There were no close calls or "what was intended" issues which are standard fare when using rulers and angle templates. Everything was binary and perfectly clear: either you had the angle or not and either you were in range or not (no trying to figure out what part of a model to meaure, etc.)
If players had to redo a move for any reason there was no disucssion about where the stand had started from since it was obvious which square was in question. And positioning stands among the city buildings was more convenient since the exact position within in a square did not matter. In most games visibility in such terrain is limited to a few inches so very small measurements matter to the game result. This was much more convenient and clear to all players.
This led to an interesting and unintended consequence. Because all movement, ranges, and angles were perfectly clear people became more deliberate in their thinking and planning when moving. Once they made a decision it was implemented very quickly since you simply counted squares to move (vehicles had to spend move points to change facing while infantry could move in any direction freely).
So, the time spent normally measuring and "discussing" the legality of various moves and intended angles was spent thinking about the strategy and tactics of the game action. This was good in that it allowed players to focus on the game narrative instead of the mechanics of measuring and angles but sometimes players became very deliberative and thought quite a while before moving.
But even with so much thought going into strategy and tactics the game played to completion in a very fast 2 hours! During that time the Americans alone on the right flank managed to advance to initial contact halfway down the the long (6') axis of the table, engage in a fight, win, pull back/reorganize, continue to the far end of the table to envelope the corner of the city with the temple objective, call in Apache support from the American deployment zone, clear the objective with firepower, assault into it, and then face the militia counter-assault. That's a good amount of action in a 2 hour game!
