If Its Not Historical I'm Not Playing It: spearhead

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Friday, 11 October 2019

Battle of Keren 1941

Not sure if that's a heliograph or a theodolite but it is in the mountains at Keren.

Italian East Africa – Operational Game Rules

Logistics

Both CinCs are allocated a set number of logistics at the beginning of the game. These travel across the table as soft vehicles but are instantly destroyed if close assaulted or fired upon. They are spotted as vehicles. They are a prime target for aircraft but a level three priority for any other unit attacking or firing. They enable units to be in supply when otherwise they would not, they enable +1 firing for pre-planned bombardment and they enable engineering tasks.

Once used or destroyed they are returned to the CinC and put back in reserve.

Pre-planned Bombardment

Every half hour CinCs may submit artillery bombardment plans for the upcoming hour – bombardments may be planned for any specific time after the next upcoming hour.

Extra supplies may be consumed by a regiment to gain a +1 on AI or AT for sustained bombardment – but only for pre-planned bombardment.

Engineers

Engineers are all lorried and have a DEF of 2. They can only go where vehicles can travel. Engineering tasks are as normal but require one supply for each engineering task.

Mortars and mountain guns.

Any mortar or designated mountain infantry gun can fire in the direct phase as moving infantry if they have only moved half their distance and they are spotting the target for themselves.

Mountain movement

1. Supporting units cannot fire through friends on mountains.

2. Units on mountains are always in -1 cover.

3. All units firing from one mountain at a target on another mountain suffer a -1 penalty (apparently it was notoriously difficult to judge the range)

4. Mountain trained troops get a +1 in close combat.

5. Only support units of 76mm and below in calibre can be manhandled up mountains and move at 1/3 normal movement.

6. Infantry units move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain (see later for ascending/descending) and cannot fire when moving.

7. Mountain trained infantry move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain but can fire in the moving infantry phase.

8. Only howitzers and mortars can fire onto or over mountains. Calibers of 105mm or less can fire up to two levels. 106mm to 149mm can fire up to 3 levels. 150mm and above up to 4 levels. This is in addition to and not instead of their usual range from other tables.

9. Units firing from a higher level get a +1 for direct fire.

Aircraft rules

· Aircraft attacks commence as usual every hour, or half hour by the player holding the airfield table.

· The CinC will write a flight plan indicating the route to and from the target.

· All ground attacks will be from the direction of the table edge the aircraft enters from and parallel with the left and right side of the table edges.

· Any table crossed that has AA of 37mm or greater calibre can attack the passing aircraft.

· Any calibre of AA on the table that is within range of the final air attack can fire.

· Bombers attack up to six consecutive units of any type in a 12" x 2" beaten zone and fighter bombers/light attack aircraft attack up to 3 units (but only the first can be armoured) in a 6" x 1" beaten zone.

· The CinC must also give a mission to each aircraft; Bomb, Escort, CAP or Recon.

· Aircraft that encounter enemy CAP or Escort fighters will conduct arial combat - fighters cancel out other fighters or fighter bombers, 2x fighters will shoot down one fighter or fighter bomber, one fighter will shoot down bombers and spotter aircraft.

Instead of players automatically selecting the best targets aircraft should have a priority list of targets based on what they can see;

1. Vehicles moving in the open *

2. Infantry moving in the open *

3. Artillery firing in the open

4. Vehicles stationary in the open
(*Units attacked by aircraft whilst moving in the open revert to hold orders)

Target priority is in the order above and then nearest unit. If there are no other targets then the aircraft return to base without attacking anything - unless there is a Forward Aircraft Controller and then it can guide the attack onto any enemy it can spot, just like an Artillery FOO. Again, the attack will still be in the direction of entry from the table edge and parallel with the other table edges.

In addition;

· Each side can attack the other sides off table airfields. As this is simultaneous it doesn't matter if the defending aircraft is present or on a mission as this represents its base facilities and logistics. Off table attacks can be against single or multiple targets but each target gets a 40mm AA defence.

· Bombing missions can be pre-planned against an identifiable feature. The CinC must submit a flight-plan a half hour before the mission.

Reinforcements and replacements.

The British CinC may call a halt to the game at any time and roll for replacements for units that are not in direct fire and that have suffered casualties but have not routed. Any unit that is within direct fire of the Italians can freely be moved back out of range in order to recover casualties.

A D6 is rolled and on a 1,2 there is one replacement, on a 3,4 there are two and on a 5,6 there are three.

However, if the British CinC calls for a replacement phase the Italians may reorganise units but not HQs and they can get an extra unit from their strategic reserve list.

If the Italians require more troops they can call for a unit from their strategic reserve list but this loses them an objective point in the overall game as they are forced to pull troops from other fronts.

Table Layout

For Keren it's a half table layout;

Table 1C

Table 1D

Table 1C

Table 3A

Table 3B

Tips

The Italians must ensure their defences are mutually supporting to get the most from the terrain. The mountain guns give some flexibility to the defence but limited reinforcements means that their deployment must provide a decisive counter stroke to any British attacks.

For the British it's steady as they go. A bold drive might secure key objectives whilst unbalancing an unsteady Italian defence but it will be risky with the risk of high casualties. Like a 1918 attack, limited objectives taken in strength with strong well prepared artillery support should minimise casualties and secure the points attacked. But time may well run out if they are not pushed quickly.

Engineer support will be crucial to both sides and air attacks may just tip the balance on any of the tables.

Orders of battle

For this game the base unit is a regiment/brigade to enable players to have all the supports without being overwhelmed in the mountains with too many individual units. Ideally there should be a CinC player for each side and two British players and one further Italian player.

British; The Kaid's Expeditionary Force in Sudan and Eritrea.

CinC Assets

1x Med Art Regt; 1x HQ, 2x 60pdrs.
3x Matildas
2x Bofors
7x Engineers
1x Bomber
3x Fighters
1x Air Recon
1x Transport
1x Battalion of commandoes (x3 bases)
1x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
1x 2pdr Portee
24x Trucks

4th Indian Division; 1x HQ, 1x Engineer, 1x 2pdr Portee

3x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
2x Field Art Regts; 1x HQ, 3x 25pdrs

5th Indian Division; 1x HQ, 1x Engineer, 1x 2pdr Portee

3x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
2x Field Art Regts; 1x HQ, 3x 25pdrs

(All units are regular, except the commandoes are veteran)

Italian Garrison of Keren

3x Colonial Infantry Regts; 1x HQ, 9x Inf, 2x MG, 1x Mortar (Green) - entrenched.

The following to be attached or committed from the reserve during the game;
3x 65mm mountain guns (Reg)
1x 75mm mountain gun (Reg)
1x 100mm Howitzer (Reg)
2x 75mm Field Guns (Reg)
3x L3/33 tankettes.
4x Engineers.
12x Trucks

And then a further unit from the following list; any further units that are committed will be due to the British calling a halt or will cause the Italians to lose an objective point (as per rules above).

1x Savoy Grenadiers; 1x HQ, 9x Inf (Vet)

1x Bersaglieri; 1x HQ, 1x SMG M/C (recon), 4x Rifles M/C, 2x MG M/C, 1x 47mm A/T (truck), 1x Mortar (truck) (Reg)

1x Blackshirt Brigade; 1x HQ, 9x Inf, 1x MG, 1x Mortar (Random Morale; 1-4 Gr, 5 Reg, 6 Vet)

1x Colonial Div; 1x Div HQ, 1x Mortar, and then 2x Brigades each of 1x HQ, 6x Inf (Green)

Sunday, 17 March 2019

Soviet Reinforcements

A few shots of the latest additions to my Soviet WW2 forces. They will upgrade my 1941 Tank Corp into a 1942 Mech Corp. With an additional cavalry or infantry division I'll be able to put together an offensive force to simulate the massive offensives around Kharkov in March 1942.

I actually bought these at Salute back in 2016 after we played our first operational game. With an imminent return visit next month I thought I had better clear the stash before buying more figures from H&R!

T34's! I didn't go overboard with these in my 1941 list but I really need them in 1942.

The first of the lend lease M3 halftracks used to equip the recon battalion. Not as good as the German halftrack infantry as these fire at a range of 6 inches rather than 9" - but with enemy infantry unable to hit them back at over 3" they are still rather handy.

A tracked 203mm howitzer - that garrison on 1C is going to get it!

Corp assets - 152mm howitzers with an 85mm AA in the background. Stalins organs to the front ready to bombard those suspect woods on 2C.

T28 bridge layer.

I have used a new basing technique with sandpaper which is much faster. I also adapted my painting technique with a base spray of olive, heavy dry brush of Russian uniform and a lighter dry brush of mid grey - all done in a week which for me is very quick.

I still have a pack of SMG infantry from this original order but I think it's time to get on with some more Iran-Iraq War air assets.

Saturday, 3 November 2018

AIR DEFENCE SUPPRESSION - modern spearhead

A bit of a cheat this post - copied from the modern spearhead blog I thought this write up was so relevant for us (especially Russ and Jon), that I thought it was worth repeating - so that I can reference it in the future!

A fascinating aspect of Modern Spearhead is the integration of both land an air elements within the same battlefield space. Much of the detail of these air operations is of course subsumed into the mechanics of the rules. As a result only a portion of the technicalities are considered and then these only when they directly impact ground operations. This short article looks at the basics of air defence suppression in Modern Spearhead.

I am a particularly convinced of the value of fixed wing air support. A successful strike even by a small number of aircraft can result in significant enemy casualties, ideally of high value targets. For a defender this can be critical as aircraft can target anywhere in the battlefield area, potentially delivering a critical blow to the attacker. For the attacker swift support by fixed wing aircraft can quickly overwhelm a difficult defensive position or disrupt a counterattack.

Of course your enemy will likely have invested in air defence systems and will include either all, or a part, of the following:

Battalion level assets which typically include light man-portable surface to air missiles or gun based AA systems. These provide localised protection and are often of limited capability. Examples include Gepard, Vulcan, Blowpipe, ZSU-23-4 and SA-7.
The medium range surface to air systems with improved capability and that are allocated for point defence and are sometimes allocated for specific operations. Examples include Gaskin, Gecko, Rapier and Roland.
Higher level systems which provide a wider umbrella for the divisional or corps. Typical examples include Hawk and SA-6 Gainful.

An ideal air defence incorporates elements from all three. This will decrease the impact of airstrikes, either by reducing the effectiveness or in causing the aircraft attack to be broken off. Some systems will be mobile.

Countering such an air defence can be difficult. It can be countered completely, or simply degrade for a portion of time. Typically the mechanisms to achieve this include:

Location through detection using radar location during the electronic warfare phase, followed by air defence suppression, or elimination, by long range divisional artillery fires in the artillery phase.
Degradation of capability by radar jamming in the electronic warfare phase, immediately followed by airstrike. This is more difficult for WARPAC nations.
Air defence suppression by the employment of fixed wing aircraft using smart bombs or anti-radiation missiles.
Suppression of on-table air defence by attack helicopters.
A combination of a number of these.

Now let’s look at an example of air defence suppression.

In our most recent game the Soviet defender, using a Naval Infantry Brigade, was subjected to a hasty attack by a West German Brigade. The German main effort comprised two battalions, including a Panzer Battalion equipped with Leopard 2s tanks. This battalion was and supported by Roland and two Gepard platoons. No West German off table SAM could assist the advancing battalions.

With much of the Soviet land based weapon systems challenged by the Leopard capabilities the reduction of these was critical. Therefore the Soviet commander attempted to suppress the West German air defences before launching an air attack on the Leopards. The attacks played out in the following order.

First was an attack by SU-17 Fitters armed with smart bombs. Smart bombs are a stand-off weapon meaning the Gepards were unable to engage. The target was a Roland and Leopard and the aircraft was engaged with Roland at a -2. The artillery suppression were ineffective due to the German vehicle types. With the Roland operational the SU-17 Fitter attack was aborted by effective, or more accurately lucky, missile fire.

Next the Soviets attempted suppression of the massed AA assets of the battalion by BM-21 rocket launchers. The SU-17 smart bomb attack, below, was repeated. This time the aircraft did not abort, however the smart bomb attack was unsuccessful in its attack.

The Soviet commander then committed his naval Helix attack helicopters to suppress the AA systems. They can be seen below attacking at long range and were therefore outside Gepard range. One Helix was eliminated by Roland, the other failed to successfully attack.

Below, another view of the squadron of Helix helicopters, each model represents 2 to 4 actual aircraft.

With the BM-21s reloaded a second rocket strike fell on the West Germans, this time suppressing a Gepard. The remaining Helix conducted another attack, now destroying a second Gepard which had moved into range but was unsuccessful in its own attack. Simultaneously, a Yak-38 Forger attacked Leopard tanks using improved conventional weapons. Below, the Yak-38s attempt an attack run on a West German Panzer Battalion.

Fortunately, for the Leopards the Yak was shot down prior to completing its attack run by Roland.

In each attack the West Germans were generally fortunate. They suffered few suppressions from artillery fires and their systems performed well when engaging attacking aircraft or helicopters. Their decision not to support the attack with off-table SAM was flawed, and of course was a result of limited resources. The Soviet failure to jam German radar reduced the effectiveness of the fixed wing aircraft and I am sure will not be repeated. The Soviets are also known to be evaluating their use of improved conventional munitions, aircraft squadrons and smart bombs. A fascinating example of air support and air defence suppression on the table.