A WW2 Exercise:
Some experimenting done with a WW2 skirmish.
Sgt Nakamura has been sent ahead by Lt. Kawashima to scout the river valley and associated hamlets around Spring Bridge; a small wooden structure over the Mau Stream. The bridge is believed to be suitable for local carts only, but is the only vehicular crossing of the stream in the immediate area and must be checked.
The sergeant is to ascertain if there is any enemy presence this side of the bridge, order any civilians in the hamlets to leave, and establish control of the bridge zone. Lt. Kawashima will be following on with the rest of the platoon later.
[Movement and shooting will be based on "Crossfire" principles but with friendly movement limited by "bounds" between cover patches or 8" of open ground, with a Test for hidden enemy/event action per detached unit/individual at "bound" end.
For this exercise a throw of 0 on a 10D on such a Test for moving testers will trigger a card draw.
Stationary testers will carry out a test as above, but then perform another test in the event of a 0 result. In this second test a 6D will be thrown and on a 4, 5 or 6 a card is drawn. Testers in cover take 1 from the second dice throw. Testers prone take 1 from the second dice throw. Testers which have previously fired from their current position add 2 to the second dice throw. All modifiers are cumulative.
Units on ground previously gone over by friendly units do NOT have to test in the same way UNLESS there has been enemy Infiltration
Hostile movement/actions will be as per usual Crossfire principles, with priorities of "Rally", "Seek Objective" (if any), "Shoot", "Advance", "Other".
The Card Draw test results will be based on my "Hidden Enemy" standard playing card-based system to generate events and enemy action.
The card pack will consist of the red suits, one black suit and the two Jokers of a standard card deck. The card draw results will be applied as follows:
The red cards will be violent enemy action - usually shooting - from a previously unknown enemy body cover in at a maximum distance decided by 4x6D. In this scenario Red Court cards will represent 12 shooters (in other scenarios court cards may represent other things; armour, artillery, infiltration, charges, reinforcements, booby traps/mines, other special circumstances etc.).
The Black cards will produce "Blinds" in cover which cannot be identified until a clear Line of Sight is established. These will then be tested for on the table below.
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| Civilians and Domestic Animals Dice for Number. |
In this scenario the Jokers will represent off-table mortar support (black for hostiles, red for friendly); the number of mortar shells incoming being based on the number on the next Red card drawn. Any Black card drawn thereafter in a mortar number test means that that session of off-table shooting has stopped. A draw of a Black card when testing for mortars the first time will mean six smoke shells are dropped.
Drawn cards in this scenario are returned to the deck. This may not be the case in other scenarios.
Lt. Kawashima's arrival will be tested for a 6D per bound/move. He will arrive on a thrown 6.]
The game starts with the sergeant's arrival on the table.
He orders Cpl. Suzuki with the machine gun section to set up near the stupa so as to command the approaches to the bridge and the space between the nearest hamlet and the stream. Private Tsuchida the best sniper/scout is sent on ahead to scout. He will be followed by the sergeant and three other soldiers. Tsuchida pushes ahead to the central hamlet without incident.
The sergeant's party catches up with him by the buildings and Privates Yamakawa and Tokuda are ordered to search the huts - but in the very first hut entered they see through the window something moving the other side of the fields.
[Event test and Black card draw. Blind placement.]
The sergeant orders them and Tsuchida to hold at the hamlet while he and private Iwata creep round the nearby patch of woodland to see if they can identify the source of the movement.
[On reaching the woodland the sgt's party prompts another test - and another Black card draw, with the distance test placing it by the first Blind.]
Nakamura steps out to identify the movement - and finds eight cowering civilians crouched behind the fence. He orders them to return to their homes, gather their belongings and get out of the area. He gives them fifteen minutes to do this. Meanwhile he gathers his party and begins moving towards the stream and bridge.
While all this is going on Lt. Kawashima arrives with the rest of the platoon. He is happy with the placement of the machine gun. Leaving some of his men to support the machine gun on Stupa Hill he intends to move the rest round the nearby trees to head for the hamlet.
Suddenly though the situation changes [Test.]; there is shooting from a clump of trees by the stream and casualties are taken by the men grouped by the stupa. The men here are pinned .
[My Japanese lose the Initiative so the enemy continue shooting.]
As the enemy continue firing more men fall on Stupa Hill and the machine gun section is pinned.
Luckily, some bad shooting from the enemy ensues [Losing them Initiative for a round.]. But then "disaster" ! [We lose the initiative again. Then:..] Enemy mortar fire falls around the machine gun team!!
[The result of a Black Joker triggered by a standard test. To simulate the mortar fire I toss "shell-bursts" from the enemy side of the table to the number marked on the numbers red card towards the triggering unit. Where these "bursts" land is where a mortar shell lands - a bit random, but works well for me. IF a "burst" bounces - they are lightly weighted - more than six inches from where it landed it is thrown again. Men withing a blast radius of the "burst" test to see if they are hit.]
The first mortar rounds do no harm, and with the help some successful rallying we keep Initiative. Kawashima leads some of his men to a more sheltered area behind some trees. Nakamura too makes some progress along the stream towards the enemy firing.
However, for the next four rounds shell after shell lands around the men on Stupa Hill, causing serious casualties.
This bombardment is VERY bad for me. Not only does it take down my men, but also the Pinning and the casualties caused keeps the Initiative with the enemy; effectively paralysing my side. Eventually all of my men on the hill in view of the enemy have fallen - and the enemy rush the hill [Result of a Test].
But the enemy, flummoxed by the friendly fire, now come under small arms fire from Nakamura's party, now on their rear left flank and Kawashima's men by the trees. Caught in this crossfire the enemy by the stupa are reduced to one man, then none.
Things are looking better - but my luck doesn't hold....
Another test, and there is shooting from the other side of the stream in Nakamura's rear - catching my men here in the open. Nakamura gets his men into some cover - but one of his men falls and they are pinned...
Then, another test (!!!), and MORE shooting; there are about twenty enemy out there, including some LMGs... Nakamura's men start falling and he is briefly pinned. Things don't look good, but he recovers, and he and his only surviving man pull back to the cover of the hamlet.
With only one of his men still on his feet, Nakamura falls further back, to join the handful of men left from Kawashima's command, who have come down the hill.
The enemy are not pursuing - seeming to want to stay on their side of the stream. We will dig in and hold the line of tree trunks by the track from the hamlet, and send a runner to Company HQ.
I think it is time to call it a day.
Aftermath:
So.... We lost heavily. Of the men brought down around the stupa there are few survivors due to multiple hits from the mortars. We were able to drag back some of our nearer wounded (three from Kawashima's men and Kawashima himself; badly wounded and unconscious). One of Nakamura's lads staggers in later, hit but treatable, but the rest are lost.
So, what did we gain...? We explored a good part of the ground our side of the stream and assessed the bridge (sound, but unable to take heavy traffic). We told the civilians to clear out (though they went to ground in the houses during all the shooting). We think we brought down about half a dozen of the enemy at the stupa, but haven't investigated their bodies (we will wait for nightfall to do this) and have no idea if any of them got back to their lines afterwards.
The enemy aren't crossing the stream (yet), as far as we know, but are clearly in force (mortars and maybe two platoons?) in cover on the other side.
Conclusion:
That was a tense, challenging (!) fun game.
The Crossfire principles work well. I may need to refresh myself on them, and perhaps do some tweaking (a run of bad luck on the dice really does make or break a plan) but all in all I was happy with the flow.
The uncertainty of what was going to come up (or be thrown at me) felt "right" and deciding how to use my "initiative" when it happened challenging.
The mortar barrage was a MOST unpleasant surprise which I could well have done without - and which scuppered me completely (35 mortar rounds!!??); but life (and war) isn't fair.
Altogether things hung together well, and I'll have another few plays while the table is up.
As always: thoughts, comments and queries are welcome...
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