Counter-Attack

IABNM has been taking longer than expected to complete, largely because other things like life have got in the way. There were a few issues with which I haven't been completely happy, and last week  I got the inspiration - and time - to sit down and work out some solutions. This set up the following test game.

This is an attack-defence scenario based on a West German counter-attack after Soviet forces had been halted by NATO resistance. The Germans had a Panzergrenadier company in Marders supported by a platoon of Leopard 2s and the battalion 120mm mortars. They were faced by a motor rifle company minus its BTRs, but with a pair of 100mm anti-tank guns (yes they still had towed anti-tank guns in front line units) in support and the battalion Zampolit (commissar) on hand to remind the troops of the historic inevitability of their victory.

The table is shown below from the west. The Bundeswehr had the mission of seizing the crossroads. There were 2 woods, a country hotel and a pair of cornfields with the crops high and ready to harvest.

The Soviets deployed their blinds making use of terrain and to block likely avenues of advance.

Viewed from the Soviet side, the Germans sent one blind along the road but kept the rest to the flanks. A thrust to the south looked likely.

The leading blind in the south seeking to drive through the cornfield was revealed to be the tank platoon.

The Leopard 2s advanced in echelon to leave large trails through a farmer's crops as 2 more blinds following behind went unspotted.

Excellent German optics revealed a Soviet infantry platoon lying in wait on the other side of the field.

Who started to take losses from the tanks' Rheinmetall 120mm guns.

Another blind was revealed to be concealing a platoon in Marders who added to the fire on the Soviet infantry with 20mm auto-cannons.

Defending the perimeter of the pension was another Soviet infantry platoon who opened fire with RPGs on the Marders.

Meanwhile to the north, another German panzergrenadier platoon had worked its way on foot to the eastern edge of the wood where it came under fire from Soviet infantry deployed in the wood opposite.

The panzergrenadiers exited the Marders and added their fire against the facing Soviet infantry.

On the extreme north of the table, between the two woods, the Soviet support platoon joined in the battle with the machine gun section firing on the German infantry as the anti-tank section waited for a target.

The panzergrenadiers had left their carriers just in time as RGPs found their targets and put a pair of Marders out of the battle and inflicting shock on the infantry they had been supporting.

In the centre the other panzergrenadier platoon came off its blinds and poured fire into the wood in front.

The combined firing of tanks, IFVs and infantry was too much for the Soviet motor riflemen a the edge of the field and they ran leaving their dead behind. The Leopards received an 'Assault' order and switched their attention to the Soviet troops in front of the hotel. The Soviets fought back with RPGs and small arms under the leadership of the platoon commander and the Zampolit.

A Spigot operator saw one of the Leopards move around the corned of the field and launched a missile at it. The tank commander reacted by firing his smoke dischargers to instantly screen the vehicle and the missile flew harmlessly past.

Marders moved around the wood to support their infantry in the firefight, producing a dangerous bottleneck. The weight of fire was too much for the Soviet infantry who melted away into the wood.

Close range firing by the tanks sent one Soviet section reeling back.

The Soviets were left with one last card to play if they were to stop the Germans. The Blinds Card was dealt and the 100mm anti-tank guns appeared on the table.

Two well-aimed shots by one gun at the Leopards both missed although the other gun knocked out a Marder. The guns immediately came under fire from the infantry and Marders in the centre inflicting casualties on the crew.

The Leopards pressed forward and swiftly accounted for the anti-tank guns before they could fire again.

Result - a decisive West German victory. The Germans were able to focus their firepower on while the Soviet anti-tank assets were unable to affect the result, firing only briefly and with a lack of accuracy.
The new firing table with amended rules on pinning  and suppression were effective and the new tank platoon orders worked. Overall a good test of the rules.

Red on Red

I was somewhat startled to see how long it had been since I updated the blog. It's not that I haven't been wargaming - including plenty of C20 like Chain of Command, IABSM, IABNM, Squarebashing and even a modern tournament - it's just that I've been a rather slovenly blogger. Perhaps too busy palying to write is a better way of phrasing it.

Development of IABNM continues, including this recent Commie versus Commie clash in 6mm. The game was set in the late 1980s based on the Sino-Soviet split getting nasty again. The Soviets were seizing the initiative and launching an assault with a reinforced motor rifle company against positions held by a PLA infantry company.

The table as seen from the Chinese side is below:

The Chinese force consisted of 3 infantry platoons, one with an HJ-8 ATGM attached, and a platoon of Type 63 light tanks. One platoon deployed on a blind on the edge of a field on the Chinese left, another deployed in the village with the company commander and the third deployed on a blind between two woods with the ATGM positioned to fire across the table. The Type 63s took up turret down positions behind the low ridge. A dummy blind was placed to 'watch' the right flank.

The Soviet force was a full motor rifle company in BMP2s; 3 rifle platoons, a machine gun section and a grenade launcher section. This was supported by a platoon of 3 T72s which was split up to provide each motor rifle platoon with one tank in 'intimate support'. The Soviet commander could also call upon 4 Mi-24s armed with rocket pods as flying artillery support. The mission was to inflict maximum damage on the Chinese forces in the area and ensure that they could not interfere with a Soviet advance to the Chinese table edge. The Chinese were tasked with stopping this.

The Soviets entered the table on blinds but were quickly spotted and the toys came out of the box. 2nd platoon covered the woods, coming off blinds dismounted with their BMPs held back to give covering fire should the infantry meet opposition from the edge of the woods.  3rd platoon advanced very quickly over the ridge but failed to spot the Chinese infantry in the fields.

1st platoon advanced across fields straight towards the village with the MG and AGL sections in support behind.

The Soviet 3rd platoon had advanced too quickly. The Chinese Type 63s came off their blind and opened fire.

Two BMPs were and the tank were hit. The 85mm rounds made no impact on the T72 but the thinly armoured BMPs were easily penetrated and their passengers piled out suffering shock and casualties to be engaged by the Chinese infantry.

The T72 immediately retaliated and destroyed 2 of the T63s. The surviving light tank drove quickly away to seek shelter at the far end of the ridge.

 In the centre a Chinese ATGM operator put the crosshairs of his sight onto a T72 and launched a missile. The Soviet tank had prudently reserved an action from its turn just in case of such an occurrence and fired its smoke dischargers to block the missile operator's view of the target. It was to no avail as the missile struck the tank's side and, true to form, the T72 exploded.

 The remaining Type 63 saw an opportunity. It moved into the open, aimed and fired at a BMP, scoring a hit that destroyed the IFV and accounted for several of the passengers. The Soviet infantry piled out of the remaining BMPs and came under fire from the Chinese infantry platoon with the ATGM.

The commander of the Soviet 1st platoon remained in his BMP to direct its fire. It had the chance of shot on the Type 63 - decision time, a couple of bursts with its 30mm or a Spandrel ATGM? The missile was selected which turned out to be a sound choice as it tore the light tank apart.

 With 2 out of 3 platoons heavily engaged and one tank destroyed, the Soviet commander called for the air support. He didn't have long to wait as 2 pairs of Hinds flew on at low level to attack the defenders.

 Mass discharges of 57mm high explosive rockets inflicted serious losses and shock on the Chinese infantry, but they held their positions.

A pair of firefights ensued as the Chinese infantry in the village joined in the action firing on the Soviet infantry in the centre. The hitherto unengaged Soviet 2nd platoon advanced through the wood and launched a close assault on the Chinese. This was too much for the Chinese who were overrun.

The tide had turned. The Soviets concentrated fire from 2 platoons and the support sections on the village. The auto-grenade launchers proved particularly effective against the Chinese positions. On the Chinese left, the Soviet tank proved the game winner. Surviving 2 Type 69 RPG hits, it fired high explosive rounds with spectacular success against the defenders still reeling form the shock of the Hind strike. With the PLA running out of bottle, the defence collapsed.

A Day at The Island

A fortnight ago I had the honour of taking IABNM to the celebrated Lard Island for a game with Richard Clarke, author of IABSM on which it draws heavily. The game saw a Soviet Motor Rifle Company with attached tanks attacking to seize a vital approach through a hamlet opposed by a weakened Bundeswehr company with a pair of Leopards in support.

Rich took the Reds and dropped some smoke......

.......which he used to cover the flank of his advance as a load of blinds approached the big wood on his right:

A platoon of infantry holding the German right flank deployed from their blind and opened fire with their Milans.....

Picking off the Company Command BTR and the ACRV artillery observation vehicle, both high priority targets for NATO anti-tank teams. The Observer escaped but the senior Big Man did not:

The Soviet tanks were somewhat annoyed by the loss of their commander and rapidly pumped 125mm HE at the Germans who took several casualties and shock:

Some Soviet blinds made it to the German edge of the wood where the machine section (6 men with 3 LMGs) took up position but immediately came under fire from the two German section in the buildings. The LMG section took heavy casualties and fell back but 2 Soviet platoons commenced a firefight before assaulting the hamlet.

Numbers proved decisive and the defenders were overrun:

Things were looking grim for the Germans and they needed a few of their cards to come up. One did, an off-table BO105P became available:

....and scored a direct hit on a T64's side with a HOT:

Then the Leopards were activated for the first time. With impeccable manoeuvring and shooting they moved from their ambush positions and despatched the 3 remaining T64s:

 The Soviet infantry though were swarming through the village and both Leopards fell victim to side RPG hits.

 With only a skeleton force with no Milans left there was little to stop the Red horde progressing.

A good fast game with plenty of shooting and a few tense moments which we both enjoyed. Publication shouldn't be too long.

IABNM Goes to Swindon

It's been a long time since I posted anything. I haven't been completely inactive and have been working on ironing out the gaps in IABNM. Last week I was invited to take IABNM on the road to Swindon where there's an avid following of IABSM so the bases of the rules were already known to the players. I set up a West German vs Soviet encounter with a mechanised company and a tank platoon aside with artillery support.

 

 

A quick view of the table from the north. The Commies were tasked with securing a route westwards, the forces of freedom with making sure that this didn't happen.

 

A close up of where the battle was likely to be focussed. The table was set up by the guys from Swindon so I can't claim credit for the terrain.

The Germans entered on blinds looking like they were concentrating on pushing into the village.

The Soviets entered on blinds taking seeking to use the woods and hills to cover their advance.

A platoon of Panzergrenadiers attempts to outflank the village from the north but is seen moving across open and the Marders are quickly destroyed.....

....by the Soviet tank platoon that has taken up position on a low ridge.....

......before advancing rapidly.

The German tanks take up a similar position on the opposite side.

They inflict some quick kills on a platoon of Soviet Motor Rifles making a dash for the village. A platoon of Panzergrenadiers reaches the village and opens fire with its 20mms on the Soviet infantry.

The other Panzergrenadier platoon moves through the village and unloads its passengers to seize the buildings on the far side.

The Soviet tanks pour HE into the village as they advance.

The Leopards advance wisely reserving dice in case of the unexpected happening.

Unfortunately we were pushed for time and had to call it a day. it was a good try out for version 4 of the playtest rules plus I got to learn a bit more about IABSM which of course is relevant to IABNM