6mm Moderns- Australians!

Well, it was inevitable after my trip to the Royal Australian Armoured Corps museum that I would write the rules for the Australians in Conflict '89.

The Australians adopted a pretty interesting formation in the modern period. Historically, the Australians (and New Zealanders) were regarded as some of the best light infantry in the world. Battles like Tobruk, El Alamein and the fighting in Papua New Guinea during the pacific campaign cemented that reputation.

But it was in those battles which the Australians realised the need for specific close supporting armoured formations- they were actually one of the first formations to be supported in big tank attacks in World War One. Through the later New Guinean campaign they were supported by Matilda tanks, using them as a jack of all trades style vehicle.

But on to the modern period. The Auzzies drove Centurions during the Vietnam War, by all counts they loved that tank, finding Splintex (flechette) rounds especially effective.

In the period of Conflict '89, the Australian armoured were equipped with Leopard 1AS4 tanks.

And here are my 10 Leopard 1AS4 Tanks, showing off the awesome colour scheme that is AUSCAM.

Supporting the Leopard tank formations is the Mechanised Infantry. Still equipped with the M113 of the Vietnam era (the AUSLAV is not available until the mid 90's), the Australians utilised multiple turret configurations, the most unique being the M113 MSV, which was an M113 equipped with the turret from a Scorpion light tank. This vehicle was tasked as an infantry support vehicle, based on their experience in Vietnam. Also in the formation is a mortar carrier also.

Again the M113s are showing off how cool AUSCAM is!

Of course, the M113s are transports, so need the infantry too

Infantry with 2 MILAN ATGMs and 2 Red Eye MANPAD

Also in support, there is a recon platoon of four M113, two equipped as MSV vehicles

I put them on bases with their dismounts, so I could tell which was which in relation to my formations.

Of course you also need someone to command it, this is the Battalion XO with his M577..

Another hallmark of modern warfare is using an unarmed helicopter as a forward observer for artillery batteries. The Australians use the Kiowa in this role.

So that is it, the whole lot!

What is next? Well.. These have been started..

But more on those soon.

CP

6mm Moderns- Israel and Britain on the attack...

So, another 6mm Moderns game was had on Friday, with us testing the new attacker/defender mission which had been tried last week and perfected (somewhat)over the week.

The scenario was simple, the Israelis and British were seeking to push through the lightly held Egyptian border guards, to recapture the Suez. But waiting behind the front lines were Jordanians and Egyptian Mechanised formations, made up of T-72, Chieftan and M60 battle tanks!

On table for the Egyptians were three rifle companies, one heavy (120mm) mortar company.

The forces which were trying to push the front were three Israeli Tank companies of M60 tanks, which were supported by a Warrior Company from the Scots, which were supported by a trio of Challenger 1 MBT from the Scots Guards. On the right flank, the Queen's Dragoon Guard (QDG) were ready to engage on the right flank.

The centre of the Allied battle line.

The QDG on the right flank, deployed in a protective wadi.

The battle was immediately joined by the Israeli Recon moving at high speed straight up the road, and opening fire upon the enemy roadblock. The fire was unsuccessful, but the infantry were forced to put their heads down. The QDG moved forward in the protective cover of the wadi, one Sultan APC was torn apart by a Sagger AT missile from one of the infantry formations.

In spite of the fire, the Scimitars were able to reap a terrible toll on to the centre infantry company, breaking the formation.

The Egyptian response was to send in a Crocodile (Hind-D) gunship onto the lead M60 formation. The AA fire was ineffective, the Hind's fire was ineffective and everyone involved was left confused as to what actually happened!

Pushing their advantage, the Challenger 1's advanced at double time to form a position alongside the M113's in the centre of the table. One Challenger was rendered inoperable by a Sagger hit to it's right hand track, the other two pushed forward and fired onto the centre company with their heavy weapons.

The lead armoured elements of the Egyptian and Jordanian forces were held up by H&I fire (or got stuck stopping at the pub or something) and were stalled for the first turn off table.

The Israeli M60s sought to push through the gap created by the British, but were stalled by damage to the road by the Hind strike, one company were stalled, but the other two were able to push forward to support the M113s.

The RAF Harrier's rolled in on the Crocodile, destroying it utterly with cannon fire. There were two MiG's attempting to catch the Harriers on the hop, but to no avail, the Harrier pilots were well up to the challenge, and were able to avoid any damage.

The defenders wrested initiative from the allies, dropping heavy 120mm mortar rounds onto the M113s and the two remaining Challengers. Both Challengers were rendered inoperable (yes, I failed 3 3+ saves from 3 dice rolls. Refer to previous outings with Challengers for more of this) and two M113s were destroyed.

The Black Watch raced forward in their Warriors, engaging the enemy infantry blocking the road. Casualties were light (Jas rolled amazing saves), but when the M60 tanks engaged the infantry, supported by the Black Watch, the casualties were far more extreme.

With the road now clear, it was time for the breakthrough. Except for that one sticky wicket, provided by the entire armoured reserve arriving...

Wave after wave of heavy tanks appeared, pouring fire onto the Israeli battle tanks. The Israelis did give as good as they got, dealing damage to the enemy T-72s, in spite of their losses.

It was at this point that the QDG elected to clear the nearby summit entirely of life. Using a Sustain Fire action, pouring on 30mm Raden, Swingfire missiles, GPMG and throwing an operations table, the recon formation was able to totally wipe out the defending infantry, without a single infantry man left to explain what happened.

The Egyptian and Jordanian tanks were beginning to take their toll onto the Israeli armour, with multiple formations of tanks being suppressed and destroyed. But, the weight of fire returning onto the tanks from the Israelis also began to toll- the T-72 lost half their number and broke under the weight of fire.

The final turn began with the initiative again with the attacking Israelis and British, who sought to punish the lead most company of enemy tanks, which was M60s. First, a company of Israeli M60s fired upon them, then the QDG moved forward to occupy two of the three forward objectives, then proceeded to knock out an M60 with the 30mm Raden on a Scimitar (lucky ish shot with a High Velocity 30mm), which broke the formation.

From here, it was a matter of the Jordanians and Egyptians having to recapture strongly held objectives, which they just couldn't do. One after the other, their tank formations were suppressed or destroyed, their main highlight being their Chieftans and 120mm mortars were able to force the Black Watch to break, but the Israeli M60s did not let up, knocking out the remaining enemy units to activate, the ZSU, the T-72s, all were destroyed before they could inflict further damage.

The last act of the game was two MiG-29s freshly rearmed for ground attack rolling in onto the Queen's Dragoon Guard. Naturally, the RAF were there to intercept...

And rolled in, first firing Anti-Aircraft missiles, then their 20mm cannon. Catching them as they flew through the canyons, the Harriers rolled no less than 5 hits!

And the MiGs passed their saves. All of them. On a 5+. God Damn pink dice!

But with that, the MiGs shot and failed to kill some Scimitars. On the whole the QDG were rather miffed about the whole ordeal, but they did claim two objectives thus winning the game...

Another game of Moderns done, another interesting mission. I am happy with a lot of what we have got at the moment, there are a few list things that need to be checked and balanced, but it is my fault that those haven't been done. Our new mission worked great, so no we have TWO missions to play! I will poke the guys with a stick until they think of a third....

We (I) have decided it needs a cool name, so Conflict 1989 is what I have come up with so far, it suits the lists we have made etc, so I think it works!

I will finish my school reports tomorrow, then I need to look at my Masters FOW army. Because that is next weekend! So it might be a FOW based week next week. Then again, usually when I say that, random stuff happens. So stay tuned...

CP