The Last Fifty Yards, Second Attempt

All,

I tried this awhile ago with 10mm, now I'm giving it another shot in 15mm.  It's the summer of 1944, and we're going to follow a squad of Canadians and a squad of Germans that keep running into each other around Caen during the campaign in Normandy.  I plan on playing these out with my 6-year old boy using the original "Five Men in Normandy;" I suppose I'll let him choose whether he wants to be Germans or Canadians.  With the slower pace of 5MIN (vice 5MAK) and playing on a bit larger table (maybe 3' x 3') it should be a bit more realistic.  We'll add a vehicle in every now and again.  Here are the rosters:

Canadians
Squad Leader: Corporal Kelly - WIA, return 25 Jul 1944 (F1).
-Dropped out of college to get in the fight, looking for anyway out of his small town existence.  This will be his first action of the war.
Assistant Squad Leader: Lance Corporal Reed -WIA but immediately returned to duty (F1).
-Grew up on the farm, every bit the good comrade.  Yet to hear a shot fired in anger.
Light Machine Gunner: Lance Corporal Kelso - WIA, sent home and medically discharged (F1).
-Worked the plow, but ran into a bit of trouble with the neighbor's daughter and needed to skip town.  Was serving with a British unit when they were kicked off the continent back in '40.
Assistant Gunner: Private Odames - WIA, evacuated to England for the duration of the Normandy campaign (F1).
-Coming out of the coal mines, would do anything to stop the Hun here, away from his family.  Fought with the British in North Africa, was part of the disaster at Dieppe, and spent some time in Italy prior to transfer to this unit for Normandy.
Rifleman: Lance Corporal Bennet
-Been a soldier all he's life, fell in love with the brotherhood of shared hardship.  Found plenty of shared harship in Ortona, Italy.
Rifleman: Private Talley - WIA, return 24 Jul 1944 (F1).
-Coming from the apple, pear, and peach orchards, he's got a bad feeling he'll not see home again, too much time at the front in Italy.
Rifleman: Private McKellar
-Just finished school.  Not graduated, finished.  It's time to prove himself a man.  He's been training for two years now and is chomping at the bit.
Rifleman: Private Lofton
-An aspiring writer, wanting to show the real side of war, always looking for the next great adventure.  Spent some time with a South African unit, very exotic, but now it's time to get to the 'real' war.
Rifleman: Private Thomas
-Straight out of military school, raring to go.  The Jerry's got his brother at Dunkirk and it's time for payback.  Still wet behind the ears, but ready for action.
Rifleman: Private Levy
-A first-class widget maker at the local factory.  Tired of being pounded nightly by the Luftwaffe, he's eager for a fight of his own, and he's going to prove himself a tiger.  Surely he'll be a tiger after all this training.

Support
PIAT Gunner: Lance Corporal Jackson
-Local union boss.  Well, almost, give it time.  He's chasing the Victoria Cross, and figures hunting Jerry tanks is a good start.  Ready to get at the Jerries after nothing but training the past two years.
Assistant Gunner: Private Bentley
-Quite the local carpenter, he's up in arms for the glory of Canada!  Boot camp was fun, now let's get to it!

Germans
Squad Leader: Corporal Wyche
-Longing for his fields of potato and cabbage, he's not sure he'll live to see them again.  Two years on the Eastern Front will do that to you.
Assistant Squad Leader: Lance Corporal Krumrie
-Former train conductor, he left for the front to defend the Fatherland.  Of course the Wehrmacht put him to work as a military policeman, where he's spent the past two years, but now his chance for combat has finally arrived.
Light Machine Gunner: Lance Corporal Fulcher - WIA, return 7 Aug 1944 (F1).
-Just finished preparatory school, he's aware the war is not going well and he will do anything to protect his family.  Training seemed awfully short, but now the Amis have landed.
Assistant Gunner: Private Wilhelm - WIA, evacuated to Germany for duration of Normandy campaign (F1).
-In and out of trouble with the law, couldn't really hold down a job.  He figures the war is his chance to prove his worth, if he can just return a hero.  Despite time in North Africa and Italy he hasn't been able to accomplish it yet, but this campaign will surely be the ticket.
Rifleman: Lance Corporal Brucke - WIA, return 23 Jul 1944 (F1).
-Former shoer of horses, he'll fight to defend Gemany against the Communists and Imperialists.  Training was quick but intense, and now it's time for action.
Rifleman: Private Keile - WIA, return 2 Aug 1944 (F1).
-Used to drive a tractor, he aspires to something greater.  Once he wins the Iron Cross they will surely make him an officer.  Involved in a few fights in Italy, things didn't quite go as expected, but now that he's a 'veteran' he has high hopes.
Rifleman: Private Tomsen
-Accustomed to long days in the fields, he has traded his plow for a rifle to defend his country.  So far that's consisted of moving food, ammunition, and weapons to the front, but now he's been granted a transfer to the infantry it's his turn.
Rifleman: Private Busse
-Previously a traffic cop, he longs to shower himself in glory.  As a rear echelon troop on the East Front, so far all he's done is blow roads and bridges up and march to the rear, but now he'll be on the front lines!
Rifleman: Private Voote
-A youngster, straight from school.  He's not happy to be here, interested only in getting home to his darling wife, whom he married on graduation day.  Training is finished and now it is time for battle.
Rifleman: Private Braun
-An orphan, migrant agricultural worker, the state is the only family he's ever known, and he is prepared to sacrifice all for it.  He's been in it since the start, from Poland to France to Greece to the Soviet Union.

Support
PzFaust Gunner: Lance Corporal Hulman
-Previously a mason, he desperately wants to get home, but he's sure this war is going to swallow him up.  In his previous job in administration, he had to deal with regular bombing raids on his headquarters.  Can't imagine how life will be at the front.
Assistant Gunner: Private Heilarie
-Father a small-town bigwig of the Party, and he's looking to establish a background suitable to advancement there.  Enough with training, time to get out there and prove himself!

Task Force Trojas Roster for Cronistria

Here is the roster for Detachment Task Force Rojas, AKA ODA 626/10th Special Forces Group, deploying to Cronistria in May 1990.

Commander, Lt Trojas, who is decorated with the Cruz Servicio Distinguido and the War of Liberation Campaign Medal.


In country, TF Rojas consists of twenty Det A personnel, charged with carrying out the Unconventional Warfare/Direct Action Mission, and twenty Det B personnel, charged with the Foreign Internal Defense mission (to train the Cronistrian Democratic Militia).  Only the Det A personnel will be tracked.  There are also TF Trojas personnel in a cover forward location in Italy, and rear echelon at their base in Guantanamo.

Team 6-1
Lt "Mikey" Trojas (Capt Price fig)
SSgt "Hammer" Alfaro (Ballcap fig)
Sgt "Rolly" Balzan (G36 fig)
Sgt "Slate" Delacruz (Halt fig)
Sgt "Badger" Canales (Skullcap fig)

Team 6-2
MSgt "Tico" Benitez (Tactical moving)
SSgt "Bear" Duarte (Kneeling bush)
Sgt "Blue" Beltran (Sitting back bush)
Sgt "Hammer" Escalona (Kneeling G36)
Sgt "Skate" Corrello (Firing up)

Team 6-3
GySgt "Turk" (Firing 416)
SSgt "Rock" Betancourt (SAW)
Sgt "Willow" Caballo (SCAR)
Sgt "Panda" Catalan (Moving M-4)
Sgt "Bolt" Echevarria (DMR green))

Team 6-4
SFC "Rooey" Contreras (Cross body carry)
SSgt "Blade" Escalante (Sighting in)
Sgt "Shady" Fonseca (Alert carry)
Sgt "Redrum" Bello (Ready carry)
Sgt "Goss" Gallegos (DMR tan)

Evacuated/KIA
None Yet

Cronistria Cries For Help, AKA, The Next Campaign

And Free Cuba responds!  This is the scenario background for my next campaign in the Cuba Libre series.  This will be a (an as yet undetermined number of) skirmish fights in a campaign to aid a foreign entity attempting to establish a democratic state, which is in the process of breaking away from Yugoslavia.  The fight will be conducted in 20mm with individually-based figures from Elhiem; each fight will feature between 2 and 9 figures per side, and I have available exactly one vehicle, a Revell kit (which gave me fits) of a West German Fox, 6-wheeled armored car.  The rules will be 5 Men in Normandy, the 5Core Skirmish variant.

Situation: the time is April 1990, and The Wall fell only five months ago, but the reverberations are being felt throughout the Soviet Union's sphere of influence.  Yugoslavia, with a multitude of varying artificial and real nationalities, ethnic groups, and religions held together by the iron fist of Communism, is now being torn asunder.  Suddenly, overnight, the world became aware of Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Kosavars, Croats, Slovenians, Macedonians, etc...  Into the ring another group threw its hat in the ring: the proud people of Cronistria.

Along with various other ethnic/religious groups, the Cronistrians have formally seceded and declared themselves a sovereign state.  The territory is slightly smaller than the US state of Connecticut, with a population of approximately 650,000 persons.  The territory is largely ripped from the Slovenes, with borders with Croatia, Italy, and the Adriatic.  The terrain is supremely rural, forested, and mountainous, with the only real city being the capital of Miran (fictionaly, came up with from a random name generator).

The good news is that Cronistria is an ethnically and religiously homogeneous tract of land with no natural resources of note, so the Slovenians aren't particularly interested or troubled by the loss of territory (and they have their own problems in any case).  The bad news is that Yugoslavia, really the Serb president Slobodan Milosevic, is very keen on maintaining the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), and the very people of Cronistria, while seeing eye to eye on cultural and religious issues, are of two minds regarding the system of governence.  So the Cronistrians are fighting two wars: one to break away and become a state separate of the FRY, and one to decide the path of the nation.

Declaring independence was the easy part; immediately the Serb president began threatening the life of the fledgling nation, and shortly thereafter it became obvious there were two Cronistrias: one dedicated to the freedoms of a constitutional republic and its free-market underpinnings, the other still grasping to the cold yet familiar trappings of communism.  Previously a semi-autonomous province, the local government was swiftly cast aside by the commander of the National Guard, the hard-line communist General Ambroz Zlatan.  The fact Zlatan commanded roughly a brigade of troops made him the de facto leader of Conistria.  But many in the country aspired to something greater, or at least to something different, and they came to be led by a former FRY Navy officer (but ethnic Cronistrian), Andraz Gregor, and so Gregor and Zlatan immediately found themselves at odds, and it quickly became apparent that only a military solution would suffice to decide the matter.  Though many argued the two factions should join together in order to deal with the Yugoslavian issue, as these things often go, passions ran hot on both sides of the aisle and the prospect of cooperation disappeared amidst shouted threats.

We must also deal with the issue of the FRY Army; the six constituent socialist republics (Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia/Herzegovina), as well as several of the autonomous/semi-autonomous regions/provinces maintained their own militaries, commonly referred to as National Guard (in Western parlance, and please keep in mind I'm making most of this up just to fit my scenario needs), while also being levied to provide troops for the FRY military.  The FRY Army has a barracks in Miran, and several outposts across Cronstria, for a total of approximately 2000 troops.  But, owing to the fact the FRY is rapidly dissolving morale is low and there have been many desertions as FRY soldiers return to their homes to fight for independence, or, in the case of Serbians, to fight to keep the country together.  But a great many Serbians in the FRY military see it as their duty to remain at their posts, and substantial numbers of other ethnic groups do as well, for various factors such as loyalty to Yugloslavia, fear of the unknown, simply needing a job, etc...

So the overall situation is that Cronistria has seceded from the FRY.  The Cronistrians find themselves looking at armed conflict between Communists led by General Ambroz Zlatan and Democrats led by Andraz Gregor, with both having to deal with FRY and Serbian attempts to reign them in by force.  Here is the ledger:

Cronistrian Communists: (led by General Ambroz Zlatan)

Cronistrian National Guard (Cro NG, ~3000 men, led by Brigadier Dragomir Jadranko)

Cronistrian People's Army (CPA, ~1500 men, led by "Colonel" Anej Urh)

FRY Army in Cronistria:
13th Infantry Regiment (~1200 men, led by Colonel Nikola Valter)

Serbians en route to Cronistria:
4th Special Forces Battalion (~400 men, known as Damjanovic's Tigers, led by Major Mirko Damjanovic)

versus the Cronistrian Democrats (led by Andraz Gregor)

Cronistrian Democratic Militia (CDM, ~2500 men, led by former FRY General Miroslav Denis)

Andraz Gregor appeared before the United Nations Assembly to seek assistance from the freedom and peace-loving peoples of the world, and was ignored.  Except for Free Cuba; El Presidente, Jericho Waraldonez, believes it is Free Cuba's destiny to stand with freedom loving people in peril, no matter where, answers the call and provides promises of support.  But Free Cuba is not yet a world power, and so they're offerings are humble, but President Waraldonez meets with his Minister of Defense: Generalissimo Cledado Estavante, and they decide to deploy a team of special operations soldiers.

The Cuban Liberation Expeditionary Force prepares to deploy Lieutenant Trojas' Operational Detachment Alpha 626 of Major Talamantes' 10th Special Forces Group.  Lt Trojas is a veteran of the Campaign for Liberation, decorated with the Cruz Servicio Distinguido.  Due to operational requirements/restrictions, Lt Trojas' entire ODA will not be deployed in country.  Lt Trojas will a detachment of 20 soldiers into Cronistria (ODA 626-), with another detachment standing by (covertly) in Italy to reinforce (ODA 626 Forward), and the remainder in Cuba on 72-hours notice (ODA 626 Rear).

Mission: conduct Unconventional Warfare activities to ensure the survival of the Cronistrian state and its governance in accordance with Free Cuban principles, i.e., a western-style democracy.

Execution:
Phase I:
Forward deploy to a covert location in Italy
Stage
Establish Liaison
Conduct Reconnaissance

Phase II:
Infiltrate operational area
Affect link up with CDM
Establish communications
Establish life support systems
Conduct route reconnaissance/area familiarization 

Phase III:
Infiltrate echelon B personnel
Conduct foreign internal defense training (echelon B)
Conduct Unconventional Warfare with CDM (echelon A) and Direct Action missions in order to defeat Serb SF, nullify FRY, and eliminate Cro NG/CPA (echelon A)

Phase IV:
Exfltrate to covert location in Italy
Redeploy

The campaign will pick up with Step 3 of Phase III, UCW and Direct Action to knock out the Serb "Tigers" and Cronistrian Commies, and to keep the local FRY elements at bay.  Echelon B is part of ODA 626, but they are there only to train, not to fight.  Not realistic, but I didn't want to get bogged down with 'how are these 20 guys fighting AND training all these CDM troops?'  So I've got unnamed guys doing training behind the scenes, while the twenty guys I follow (plus reinforcements from Italy, i.e., 626-Fwd, when I get guys killed and wounded) will do all the fighting.

For those familiar with the five-paragraph operations order, please forgive me as I'll be skipping the the rest, just wanted to set the table for the campaign.  Additionally, here's my disclaimer: on the political front, I don't care.  This is not a political statement, and I have nothing against anyone on any side in the Balkans, I just wanted an interesting backstory to my campaign.  Regarding historical accuracy, I only care a little bit.  That is, I've made up a country, have purposefully not nailed down its exact geo-location, have mixed around certain timeline and political/military facts to meet my needs (mostly to simplify).  This was done because I'm a wargamer, not a Balkans specialist, I just want to play games in a semi-plausible environment.

Games coming right up!

V/R,
Jack

Monkey Business

All,

"Monkey Business," as in, this past weekend my middle monkey and I got in our second ever 'proper' wargame.  This time we played a fictional desert scenario in 15mm with Ivan's "5Men In Normandy," the skirmish (and original) version of the 5Core ruleset.  He used modern US troops from Rebel Minis, while I used modern Middle Eastern regulars from Peter Pig.  While it was a 'proper' wargame, playing with real rules (and him understanding them!), I don't have notes for a 'proper' batrep, so please consider this simply bonus material ;)

On a side note, this is my little baseball player.  We just finished off our Fall Ball season, finishing 8-1-1.  It was a great season, and nothing beats being out there, playing catch with my boy, warming up for the game.

Junior General contemplating his initial deployment, with blankets in the background (he and his sister had a big night, sleeping on the floor the previous night) and him still in his pajamas.

A look at the table, with my fantastic buildings from Crescent Root.  They're gorgeous, affordable, and pre-constructed!

I've got the bottom baseline and he has the top, with all the guys starting on the baseline.  Nothing special, just line'em up and go get'em.

-Oh Daddy, you're so funny.  And dashing.  And intelligent.  And handsome.
-I know son, make your move.

Made his activation roll, now what to do.  He now knows all about 'regulars,' 'scurries,' and 'firefights.'

Some fire is traded.

Little fingers creeping figures ever closer to my guys.  He's very aggressive (that's his guy at center left, mine at bottom right).

And it's working; he's knocked a couple of my guys out,, forced a couple more to fall back.

Just like his Old Man: he can't help but charge into close combat.  Brings a tear to my eye...

But he's been a bit too aggressive: he's waltzed right into a crossfire (his guys are at top center and bottom center, mine at far left and top right).

"C'mon dice, don't fail me now!"

But the father has schooled the son in the military arts this day, making up for the Padawan wiping the floor with me in our first game.  Lots of fun, and we shall be doing it again soon.

V/R,
Jack

"The Last Fifty Yards" Table of Organization

"The Last Fifty Yards"

A Company, 1st Battalion, The Royal Windsor Foresters (**with respect to the Lardies**)
France, August 1944 to December 1944

Company Commander: Major Sorenson

Company XO: Captain Legan
Company SgtMaj: Sergeant Major Travers
PIAT Gunner: Lance Corporal Leon

1st Platoon
Platoon Leader: Lieutenant Dillon

Platoon Sergeant: Sgt Freduelve

1st Squad: Corporal Gwydion

2nd Squad: Corporal Drakenganer

3rd Squad: Corporal Womble

2nd Platoon

Platoon Leader: Lieutenant Keepers
Platoon Sergeant: Sergeant Lejunfore

1st Squad: Corporal Harwood

2nd Squad: Corporal Tocapixie

3rd Squad: Corporal Tecnough 

3rd Platoon

Platoon Leader: Lieutenant Ronan

Platoon Sergeant: Sergeant Evahnkeath

1st Squad: Corporal Lemmey

2nd Squad: Corporal Herzbleu

3rd Squad: Corporal Lt Poller

Replacements (sorry fellas, there just weren't as many billets as "Hell on Wheels," but don't worry, I have no doubt you'll be getting in the game):

Ithoriel

Ditteaux

Worlwind

Salt

Tangoe

Lionstar

Lasthuzzer

Tommies (I've been given a great list of nicknames for the infantrymen, which will be abstractly represented, i.e., I won't be trying to follow every rifleman in the entire company, but I'll need a good six or so every game):

Chalkie
Smudger
Nobby
Ginger 
Mac
Jock
Taffy
Titch
Spike
Dusty
Pincher
Paddy