Operation Chunky Bandit

[Whirlwind]

Good fun that report, many thanks.  I see what you mean about those turning points, everything seemed quite plausible though.

[Whirlwind]

Understood about the Marders, I had thought that the 20mm would have been totally ineffective, but that makes more sense.  Although that said, I have been reading about some Italian tanks surrendering to a platoon of Bren carriers which were harrassing them with .303 LMG fire!

[Just Jack]

John,

Thanks man, I’m glad you enjoyed the batrep, that fight was a lot of fun, and definitely a close run thing.

Yeah, we even trained with M-60s (and later M-240s) to engage armor to force them to button up; if they kept coming they’d be easy to separate from their supporting infantry and so the riflemen were tasked to put an AT-4 into the, and a lot of people figured armor would back out without good tank-infantry coordination.  It’s certainly what ours did…

I was never in a tank that was being fired on; I was on top of one once, on the back deck, during a fight, but that’s a story for a different day.  I was also in a helo taking 7.62mm rounds once (at night, you could see the moonlight coming through the holes), and in an AAV a couple times when it was taking 7.62mm fire, us with our heads hanging out the air hatch…  While those are not tanks, you definitely know you’re taking fire, and even in the track it was very uncomfortable, the crew was very keen on getting us dismounted in order to be reasonably sure no one was going to creep up and put an RPG into the damn thing.  Yes, our heads all went down when we started taking fire…  If you’re not familiar, this is what I’m talking about:

Sorry, but that was literally the only photo I could find where the track had the air hatches open and grunts with their heads popped out.

V/R,
Jack

[Thomaston]

I had to check the mortar rules. No wonder mortar seemed less effective than shooting it out.

Tired is enough.

[Just Jack]

I don’t think they’re that bad.  The first time they’re firing on a target I usually give them 1K 2S, then move that up to 2K 4S once they’re dialed in, even more if the target is troops bunched up.

V/R,
Jack

[Whirlwind]

Hi Jack,

Apologies for the lateness of this reply to our earlier discussion, I seem to have been very busy this week, so I deliberately put off replying until I could give it a proper re-read.  Only two points to continue the discussion, from my POV:

1 – the ability of troops to suppress more than a single target.  I had this problem with WRG1925-1950, with human wave tactics just a little bit too effective since although the whole platoon could be halted by the effect of fire on a single element, once the rest of the platoon started firing back then generally the initial firer would just be swamped.  It felt a much more realistic balance if an element with automatic weapons could target subsequent bases if they were within 25m or so of the first target, and the first target had been destroyed or suppressed.  It enables a well-armed section to hold up a platoon, basically.

2 – the initial pin reaction of troops who witness but are not themselves targetted by fire.  There is a brilliant description of this happening in the Falklands by the way in Brains & Bullets.  I was thinking  that this again would again encourage reserves by reducing the (initial) performance of troops that come under fire.  BTW, I was only thinking of this in the case of previously unlocated enemies, or in the first round of enemy fire.

 

[Just Jack]

John,

Definitely food for thought, though I’m still not exactly sure how to pull it off.

“the initial pin reaction of troops who witness but are not themselves targetted by fire.”
My experience is this is very much dependent upon the experience of the troops being fired on.  Once you are experienced you can identify exactly what is shooting, where it is shooting from, and who it is shooting at, pretty much in real time.  There may also be a strange machismo in place as well that keeps veteran troops from ducking, where they’d rather make fun of boots than take cover themselves.

“BTW, I was only thinking of this in the case of previously unlocated enemies, or in the first round of enemy fire.”
Certainly.

V/R,
Jack

[Just Jack]

All,

1430 on 4 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #10
TF Razor vs FLA 3rd Company

Now we have Captain Soares’ Task Force Razor fighting a rear-guard action against the Free Leon Army’s 3rd Company.  TF Razor is the other part of Task Group Fulgencio, which was cut off from friendly forces and is now fighting west to break out and return to friendly lines.  Unfortunately the withdrawal was halted when FSNL5 decided to counterattack TF Redleg on Hill 261, which allowed the pursuing FLA3 to catch them.

This fight is occurring west to east (right to left), with the pursuing enemy insurgents chasing the Cubans, and the Cubans starting spread across the right half of the board and having to withdraw their forces off the left table edge.

The Cuban rearguard is strung out along the left as the Communists give pursuit from the right.

The Cuban MG Team (bottom center) catches three enemy rifle teams as they enter the village (top center)…

And roughs them up!

The Communists try to flank the Cubans with a Technical (bottom right), so we can have the obligatory rocket shot.

To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/06/operation-chunky-bandit-36-ground.html

Next up we have Lt Madre-Animral’s Task Force Bowie in a re-fight against FSNL’s 4th Company.  Earlier this morning TF Bowie defeated FSNL4 and forced them to fall back, and now they are in hot pursuit, hoping to roll them before they get a chance to recover.

V/R,
Jack

[Thomaston]

Thought the VAb would die for sure.
The enemy should have had reinforcements, as it was it felt a little too easy.

Tired is enough.

[Just Jack]

I agree on both counts.

Jack

[Thomaston]

What happened to the recoiless? I had hopes of it blowing all the Cubans away.

Tired is enough.

[kyoteblue]

Shrug, I blame Jack’s dice.

[Whirlwind]

Sometimes the bad guys just come in quite dumb I guess…lots of good Cuban shooting in that one.  Anyway, very nicely done.  About how long are these games taking to play out?

[Just Jack]

From what I recall, the Cubans were very effective at keeping the recoiless rifle team pinned down.

Some of it was dice, some of it was my initial deployment, which I apparently haven’t quite figured out yet.  Kinda tough to pull off a fighting withdrawal on such a small board, me thinks.  I did random deployment for the Cubans, and while it made things a bit less organized than normal, it still basically built up a defensive line opposite the enemy’s entry area.  Again, I suppose the Cubans couldn’t have been too far from the enemy’s entry area, lest they begin the game only one move away from escaping.

So yeah, it was a pushover, the scenario just didn’t work the way I planned.  And I apologize, but my excuse remains that when I’m playing out a 30-game campaign, some of the fights are not going to be as riveting as I’d like them to be, and I’m moving too fast (trying to get through 30 games) to re-play a battle.  Obviously I don’t have to handle it in that manner, but that’s been my approach.

“Sometimes the bad guys just come in quite dumb I guess…”
I don’t think they came in dumb, I just don’t think there was a good way to come in at all, given the Cuban deployment.  The two sides were starting on top of each other (in terms of ranged fire) and so it turned into a dice-rolling affair.

The games have been playing out between 45 and 90 minutes, more towards the lower end of the spectrum.

V/R,
Jack

[Just Jack]

All,

1400 on 4 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #11
TF Bowie vs FSNL 4th Company

1st Lt Madre-Animral leads his TF Bowie straight east, in pursuit of the FSNL’s 4th Company, whom they defeated and forced to withdraw earlier this morning.  This is a simple attack/defend scenario; the Cuban goal is to crush their enemies on the way to the capital, the Communist goal is to hold the ground.

The Communists push very strongly in the center (right to left).

And force the Cuban right.

Using textbook fire and maneuver in order to push the Cubans back.

Followed by vicious, point blank fighting on the Cuban left.

The Cuban CO launches desperate counterattacks to stabilize the line!

To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/06/operation-chunky-bandit-37-ground.html

Here are the Turn 3 Map Moves:
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/06/operation-chunky-bandit-mini-campaign.html

Next up we have Captain Madre-Animral’s Task Force Bowie and the FSNL’s 4th Company having at each other again!

V/R,
Jack

[kyoteblue]

Huzzah for the USMC !!!!

[Thomaston]

Command team charging a supported BMP on high ground and win?
Things went bad in the first half and then got amazingly favorable at the end -_-‘

Tired is enough.

[Whirlwind]

Some nice heroics to round things off there!

[Just Jack]

Kyote – Cuban.

Thomaston – If I was wanting to cheat, the Cubans wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place! 😉

Whirlwind – Indeed, and to continue what I started in the line above, yes, my Cuba Libre stuff is often more cartoony, high risk-high reward stuff.  In real life they should have broken contact and fallen back, but in these games, being so small and quick, and wanting to give guys the opportunity to heap glory upon themselves, I more often than not go for broke.  I play the odds straight (if I recall correctly the CO charging up the hill was doing so at a -4) and sometimes you get super lucky.  Hell, sometimes you get super lucky and keep rolling it; there are some really good fights in the future of this campaign, and there are some real stinkers that saw some Cuban legends made, looked like a game of Chinese Checkers…

V/R,
Jack

[Just Jack]

All,

2130 on 4 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #12
TF Bowie vs FSNL 4th Company

Captain Madre-Animral leads his TF Bowie against the FSNL’s 4th Company, with whom they are very familiar. That familiarity is born of an absolutely ferocious battle the two held several hours earlier, literally fighting themselves to exhaustion. Unable to press forward yet unwilling to cede ground, both sides called for reinforcements and dug in. This is a simple attack/defend scenario; the Cuban goal is to crush their enemies on the way to the capital, the Communist goal is to hold the ground.

The Cuban attack jumps off (top left and bottom right).

Fierce hand to hand combat breaks out on the far left.

While the Captain Madre-Animral pushes his men forward on the right under heavy fire.

To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/06/operation-chunky-bandit-38-ground.html?m=1

Next up we have the SLA’s A Company defending against an assault by the FSNL’s 6th Company.

V/R,
Jack

[kyoteblue]

On to the next fight.

[Thomaston]

This campaign really doesn’t like tanks.
Running away from 50cal is shameful.

Tired is enough.

[Just Jack]

Kyote – Yup.

Thomaston – Typical Commies 😉

I suppose I could do a better job of snazzing it up for the narrative, rather than just typing out what mechanically happened according to the rules.  So change “…the T-72 was already suppressed and the HMG fired with 1S dice and scored a ‘6,’ thus compelling the vehicle to fall back off the table,’ I suppose I could write it up as “…the HMG engaged the enemy tank, wrecking the main gun’s optics and destroying the tank’s smoke dischargers, which caused a fire.  The tank commander ordered the driver to reverse out and then set about extinguishing the fire, but then the HMG again engaged the tank, hitting the tank commander.  The driver made a command decision to fall back in order to get the TC the necessary medical attention and get the tank back in good fighting condition.”

V/R,
Jack

[Thomaston]

My head canon saw the event differently. The 50cal hit the tank’s headlights and the crew got slapped with a ticket by an overzealous traffice cop. The tank crew made the mistake of contacting HQ about it and was ordered back to Battalion to file a formal complaint against the police. I don’t know what form they had to fill in but, paper work.

Tired is enough.

[Just Jack]

Goodness…  anything is possible, I suppose 😉

Just wait til ya see what I post next, even you shall be impressed!  Well, probably not, but I’m quite proud of the accomplishment nonetheless.

V/R,

Jack

[Whirlwind]

Jack, how did the initial T-72 fall back come about?

[Just Jack]

John,

The HMMWV opened fire with its Mk-19, suppressed the T-72. The FSNL AGS-17 returned fire on the HMMWV as the enemy CO moved up and attempted to rally the suppressed tank crew, but failed (rolled 1S dice, got a ‘6’) and so the tank had to fall back a ‘normal’ move distance.  Now the T-72 started the fall back only about 4” from its own table edge, so the failed rally attempt should have taken it immediately off the table, but I’m playing on a small table and was feeling charitable so I simply moved the vehicle to the table edge, so the Commies would potentially have another chance to  rally it, but they didn’t as the dismounted .50-cal immediately got in on the act and scored another suppression, which forced the T-72 off the table.

V/R,

Jack

[kyoteblue]

Are you ok Jack????

[kyoteblue]

Jack, are you OK???

[Just Jack]

I’m okay, Old Man, just been busy with ‘real life.’  And you have my email address and cell phone number 😉

V/R,
Jack

[Just Jack]

All,

I haven’t posted any batreps in awhile, been busy with real life. That and these batreps haven’t proven to be particularly popular, so combining those two factors and adding the fact I need to get the rest of the Chunky Bandit batreps posted in order to move the story forward and get on to other things, I figured I’d post a bunch of batreps. I hope you enjoy; a pic to refresh your memory:

Troopers of the South Leon Army launch a mechanized counterattack to eject the Communist forces from the village.

Turn 4 Map Moves
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/03/operation-chunky-bandit-mini-campaign_25.html

Op CB 39
2330 on 4 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #13
SLA A Company vs FSNL 6th Company
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/03/operation-chunky-bandit-39-ground.html

Op CB 40
0630 on 5 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #14
SLA B Company vs FSNL 2nd Company
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/03/operation-chunky-bandit-40-ground.html

Op CB 41
0800 on 5 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #15
SLA A Company vs FSNL 8th Company
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/03/operation-chunky-bandit-41-ground.html

Op CB 42
0830 on 5 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #16
SLA D Company vs FLA 1st Company
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/04/operation-chunky-bandit-42-ground.html

Op CB 43
0930 on 5 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #17
TF Bowie vs FSNL 4th Company
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/04/operation-chunky-bandit-43-ground.html

Op CB 44
0930 on 5 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #18
TF Hawk vs FSNL 7th Company
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/04/operation-chunky-bandit-44-ground.html

Op CB 45
1000 on 5 Aug 1990
Mini-Campaign Fight #19
TF Hammer vs FLA 5th Company
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/04/operation-chunky-bandit-45-ground.html

Turn 5 Map Moves
https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/2020/04/operation-chunky-bandit-mini-campaign.html

So, I hope that makes up for lost time and tides you over for a bit, I’ll be back with more soon.

V/R,
Jack

[kyoteblue]

I did have those but lost them two computers ago.  Glad your back and I understand about other things getting in the way!!!  Anyway [email protected].

[Thomaston]

That’s a lot of battles to catch up on, can we have them in movie form?

Tired is enough.

[Darkest Star Games]

Holy smokes, that’s a lot of AARs.  And who said they aren’t popular?!?!?  Love reading them.

Bro, I can’t believe how many “good guys” have been captured and killed.  Even operator Marshal, and the MOH awardee getting KIA.  With the casualties mounting, is teh Cuban High Command thinking it’s still worthwhile?

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Guy Farrish]

Good to have you back!

And as Darkest Star said – who says they aren’t popular?!

Thanks for these, should keep me busy for a while.

[madman]

Put me down as following as well. Definitely some reading there.

[Just Jack]

All,

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support!  And I apologize; regarding my comments on the popularity of these batreps, I didn’t mean it in a “woe is me” sort of way, just a statement of fact that these Operation Chunky Bandit batreps haven’t enjoyed the same level of popularity (as determined by views on my blogs and comments on the various forums and blogs) as some of my other batreps, such as KG Klink, Cold War, and the Black Ops fights. Operation Chunky Bandit started as a goofy little set of fights, then somehow expanded into this giant enterprise (somewhere around 50 fights now); it’s been a lot of fun for me, but hasn’t drawn as much interest as some of the other things I’ve done.

Thomaston – I was thinking interpretive dance, but I’ll see what I can do 😉

Darby – Cuban High Command is definitely feeling the strain of supporting the Expeditionary Forces deployed to South Leon and (don’t forget about) Cronistria, particularly now that the Americans are calling on them to join with the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ for Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Thanks again guys, hope you love them, and more to follow.  This mini-campaign was a total of 30 fights (still haven’t typed all of them up), taking Operation Chunky Bandit to a total of 56 fights.

V/R,
Jack

[Darkest Star Games]

Just Jack wrote:

particularly now that the Americans are calling on them to join with the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ for Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Nice. “I see sand in your future.  Lots and lots of saaaaaaand….”

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Just Jack]

That is the plan, but first I have to close out South Leon and Cronistria…

V/R,

Jack

[Rod Robertson]

“Thomaston – I was thinking interpretive dance, but I’ll see what I can do 😉”

Jack, that I want to see! You in a camouflaged unitard prancing about while moving lead across the board to the music of Gershwin or Scriabin! Go on, I’se dares yah!

Heh, heh, heh.

Cheers and be well.

Rod Robertson.

[Author]

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