[SG2] PBEM AAR - Valley of Death - Report - 5b of 5

TURN 3

Once again Chris won the initiative. The mortar barrage had only one
tube on
target. That tube managed to suppress the unit and caused only one
casualty,
the SAW gunner. 

The NSL responded with their artillery barrages. On bunker D, one tube
hit the
bunker, suppressing it but not penetrating it. However, half of squad 11
were
caught in the burst of tube 3. 2 riflemen were wounded and the squad was
suppressed. The second strike hit bunker C, suppressing it. The EW team
in the
bunker became Steady, but the militia drop to Shaken. 

The IF heavy weapons team went on Overwatch. NSL squad 1P fired on unit
11.
Two men are hit, including the AGL gunner. 

With three men down, the medics ran to 11 to do a quick patch up. Two of
the
riflemen were okay, but the AGL gunner was still wounded; he was
stabilized.
L1, the leader (independent character) ordered the medics back to the
Civet.
The NSL saw this, but refused to fire on them. The medics carried the
wounded
soldier back to the Civet. The leader's radio call to unit 11 did not
get
through.

The NSL moved unit 11 across the stream and into the woods east of 2P on
Ridge
122. As this happened, the IF EW unit attempted to break into the NSL
battle
net to spot hidden units. This was unsuccessful, as the NSL EW unit
jammed
their attempts. Unit 12 moved to the same woods as NSL unit 11. 

The IF militia command squad fired on NSL unit 22. The squad fired in
two
parts, with 6 riflemen and the SAW firing separate from the other four
riflemen (i.e. the squad split its fire, with two different actions
being
used). The first blast wounded a regular panzergrenadier trooper. The
second
killed the leader. The replacement leader, the squad's ASL, turned out
to be a
better leader (the squad went from G2 to G1), but the squad still
panicked.
Unit 22 attempted to remove the panic, and succeeded (yes, the panic
should
have happened a turn earlier; I found out late that I hadn't been making
panic
tests and applied it at this point).

The IF company missile team fired at the NSL PA unit 1P but missed. NSL
PA
unit 2P advanced to the edge of the dense woods on the south west edge
of the
ridge, just skirting the minefield, and went IP. IF unit 13 went IP,
then
fired on 1P with AARs, the SAW, the AGL, and two IAVRs. They hit the PA
with
nasty effect. The trooper with the SAW was decapitated by SAW and rifle
fire
slamming into his helmet. Another trooper, with an AAR, was blasted into
tiny
bits due to a direct hit from both IAVRs.

The NSL's gunship arrived. It moved by Nap of the Earth (NOE) to a
position on
Ridge 122 on a direct line of sight to the far eastern bunker. As it
popped up
to Level 4 in order to clear the trees, the crew noticed a Civet on
Ridge 121.
The gunship turned to fire at the Civet. At that moment, the gunship's
threat
sensors lit up. A missile team between the gunship and the Civet was
attempting to get a lock on them. Before a lock could be made, the
gunship
fired its RFAC at the missile team, suppressing it.

Realizing they didn't have an effective AA unit for dealing with the
gunship,
IF team 1C contacted the company command and requested an AA vehicle. 1C
then
moved to the edge of the woods due east of Ridge 111 so that they would
have
LOS to the power armour. They were spotted moving into position.

The NSL company commander issued orders to the gunship. The gunship
fired on
the missile team using its two GACs, wounding the missile operator. It
then
turned and dropped behind Ridge 122. The company commander tried to
contact
1st platoon's commander, but the communication didn't get through.

NSL squad 21 moved out of the woods south of the stream and into the
woods
near squad 22. The DFFG team, which had been moving away from the
action, was
redirected towards first platoon, getting as far as the fork in the
stream.
Squad 23 (consisting of one stabilized guy and an okay guy) attempted to
unsuppress, but only removed one suppression marker. 

1C, the first platoon commander, attempted to contact the first platoon
mortar
battery. At first they were unsuccessful, but finally succeeded in
calling in
an anti-armour barrage on the far eastern bunker. The EW unit became
active
automatically.

The second NSL command squad, 2C, was more successful. They called on
the
platoon's PA squad to call for artillery support. They were able to call
in a
mortar barrage such that IF squads 13 and 1T would be caught in the
burst. The
PA unit then fired on the IF missile team 1T, killing the two missile
operators. 2C contacted 22 and tried to coax them out of eating the
dirt. The
suppression removal attempt got rid of one suppression marker.

Lastly for the NSL, they shifted their medics. 2M headed for 22 and
treated
the wounded. The AAR trooper was stabilized, but the SAW gunner was
apparently
only stunned. He was moved back into position. 1M made two combat moves,
catching up to squad 11.

IF squad 21 tried to unsuppress the far eastern bunker, removing one
suppression marker. 11 removed both suppression markers on itself. IF
unit 12
went IP. 24, in the second bunker on the right, attempted to call in a
mortar
strike on NSL squad 22. The first attempt failed due to the NSL trying
to
block it with EW. For the second attempt, 24 used special priority comm
channels (used 2 support chits). The NSL went all out to block this
attempt
(used last 4 EW chits). In spite of the static, the communication got
through!
(Rolled 4 on a D4). NSL squad 22 was now targeted for mortar fire.

See the Turn 3 maps for the positions at the end of turn 3:
http://home.att.net/~agoodall/sg2/pbem/sg2-vod-t03.jpg

Commentary:
Roger should be commended for his roleplaying in turn 3. His response to
the
chance at firing on IF unit 1M was, "We don't fire on medics." This is
interesting considering the IF were preparing to fire on what they
thought was
an NSL medevac VTOL.

The damage to 1P is an interpretation based on the dice roll. The total
of
Chris' dice was 41, versus the D8 rolled by Roger for cover. Even PA
can't
handle this very well. When the 5 potential casualties were rolled,
three PA
were dead and one was wounded. However, the dice stopped favouring Chris
at
that moment. Rolling for random troopers to apply the dead and wounded,
the
wounded guy was number 5. The dead guys were numbers 2, 5, and 2. As per
the
rules, that meant that 5 was really dead and 2 was, well, really, really
dead.

In Roger's defense, it's tricky using aircraft in Stargrunt II. As Chris
and I
discussed offline, few of the TO&Es on http://www.stargrunt.ca have
adequate
anti aircraft protection. Aircraft are fairly rare in SG2 games. That
said, I
think there were some mistakes made with the gunship. The gunship is the
NSL's
primary weapon for taking out bunkers. As such, that should have been
its
primary mission. The gunship should not have switched to targeting the
Civet.
Roger was also more cautious with the gunship than he needed to be.
Chris'
multi-mode missiles had a pathetic D4 Firecon die. Assuming he got a
lock on
the gunship, Roger would always have the option of trying to break the
lock
(automatic if he dropped out of LOS, something easy to do in this
terrain set
up). This is a free move on the gunship's part, though it eats up the
gunship's activation if it hasn't been activated yet. This made it
unlikely
that the IF assets on the ground would be much of a threat to the VTOL. 

Time is against Roger, as the IF now have better anti aircraft assets
inbound.
The first two bunkers (the far eastern one, which had done so much
damage up
until now, and the one beside it housing the EW team) could have been
smoking
rubble by this point. Now it's going to be a race to see if the gunship
can
destroy a bunker or two before the anti-aircraft vehicle arrives.

TURN 4

Roger won the initiative.

The NSL start with a mortar barrage against IF units 13 and 1T. The
first tube
was on target, killing four AR troopers (one of which was totally
vapourized)
and wounding the SAW gunner. In spite of this, the morale of the men
didn't
suffer. The single trooper in the missile team was hit with shrapnel,
but his
armour and the surrounding cover saved him. The second tube of the
barrage
barely missed the missile team member, but did catch Vehicle 5 in the
open.
The anti-personnel rounds failed to damage the vehicle, but the crew was
Shaken. The third tube landed within a minefield. The explosions set off
the
mines, effectively clearing it for the NSL. The second mortar barrage
dropped
on the far eastern bunker. This time one set of rounds came very close
to
penetrating the bunker, sparking unit 21 to panic (yes, the test should
have
been done much sooner, on the first attack, but I realized I hadn't been
making panic attempts up until this point).

The near miss made communication difficult. IF unit 2C failed to get in
touch
with the AA vehicle at first, but a second attempt succeeded. The AA
vehicle
was moved into hull down position on Ridge 111.

The NSL gunship slipped down the river and headed westward. Partway
there the
gunship spotted a lone IF trooper in the bushes. The gunship turned and
fired
the RFAC at the trooper. The trooper, the crewman for vehicle 3 acting
as a
scout, was suppressed and panicked. The missile team on top of the
ridge,
meanwhile, worked their way down the hill and set up in some woods. They
achieved a lock-on against the gunship, but the gunship turned due west,
headed past them, and then started to turn towards the north.

IF unit 13 unsuppressed. The NSL PA unit 2P fired on missile team 1T
southeast
of Ridge 111. They managed to wound the trooper twice. He bled to death
soon
afterwards. NSL 2P called down yet another anti-armour mortar attack on
the
far eastern bunker. Just as the IF EW team activated, NSL 1P fired on IF
13.
The squad leader was killed and the AGL gunner was wounded. The squad
now had
5 members left alive, two of which were wounded and yet to be treated.

NSL 12 bolted down Ridge 122 into dense woods along the north edge of
the
ridge. IF unit 21 noticed movement in the woods, but before they could
get the
message out NSL 12 fired on IF 1C (containing a rifle trooper, a SAW
gunner,
and the FAO). The gun fire was undisciplined but with the help of a
sniper
attached to the squad they killed the SAW gunner.

The IF commander sent out a signal to the NSL, suggesting a ceasefire.
The NSL
shrugged it off as a ploy, as the IF were obviously trying to negotiate
from a
position of weakness.

IF 11, sitting in bushes in IP, jumped up and ran for the bushes in the
middle
of the battlefield. They were spotted by NSL 2P, but NSL 21 couldn't see
them
for the bushes in the way. 11 arrived in those bushes, unseen by NSL 21
and
fired on NSL 22. The fire was intense, killing the SAW gunner and
wounding the
GMS/P gunner. The squad, green and badly mangled, became suppressed yet
again
and broke. NSL 21 fired back at 11, but the fire was badly aimed and
missed.

L1, the IF leader, contacted 11 and 12, activating both of them. 11
fired back
at NSL 21. An AAR trooper was wounded, and the squad leader was killed.
IF 12
ran across the top of Ridge 122, skirting a nearby minefield, and ran
down the
southeast slope of the ridge. It was spotted by a number of units,
including
2P, when it was on top of the ridge. 22 and 23 spotted it when it moved
into
position, but were unable to completely identify it. 12 fired on NSL 21.
This
fire killed the new squad leader, wounded an AAR trooper and wounded the
SAW
gunner. 12 attempted to go IP, but failed.

The NSL commander contacted the IF, agreeing to discuss terms of a
ceasefire.
The battle was over.

See the Turn 4 maps for the positions at the end of turn 4:
http://home.att.net/~agoodall/sg2/pbem/sg2-vod-t04.jpg

Commentary:
Once again, I think the gunship would have been better utilized going
after
the things it can uniquely destroy: the bunkers. In Roger's defense, a
single
guy hiding in some woods looks a _lot_ like a sniper. In this case it
was only
a vehicle crewman. Even still, using the gunship to attack a single
person is
probably not the best use of a combat action.

Chris did a really good job creating an interlocking field of fire this
turn.
Clumping 1T and 13 together was a mistake, as the mortar rounds proved.
I felt
12 was badly placed until Chris moved it in to support 11. The
interlocking
field of fire on the NSL 2nd platoon left flank was devastating.

Roger made an interesting decision attacking 11 with 21, splitting 21's
fire
in half in two actions. He was trying to maximize suppressions, a good
idea
given 11's position. The dice, though, were not with him. However, when
doing
this he'd have given himself a better chance if he'd split his squad
differently. He had 6 guys, the GMS/P guy doing nothing constructive. He
should have split his group as he did, but with the GMS/P guy taking up
an
IAVR and one of the other troopers taking up an IAVR, too. This would
have
dropped his firepower die for the first shot by a die type but added a
D8.
More importantly, his second shot would have been QD + SAW + IAVR. 

CONCLUSION
The NSL failed to take their objective, and had most of a platoon
mulched.
Victory goes to the IF!

The ceasefire was interesting. In my opinion, Roger had the tools
available to
win. He had three squads in 2nd Platoon beaten up, but he still had two
PA
units (though neither at full strength), and a mostly untouched 1st
Platoon.
He also had 2C, 1C and CC to activate. It would have been possible to
swing
1st Platoon over to the left flank and suppressed 11 and 12. Unit CH
(the man
portable DFFG) never came into play, but it would have eventually. That
didn't
leave Chris with very much for support.

This is the neat thing about blind games, though. The outcome was
completely
realistic. I've read of battles where the aggressor backs off after
heavy
casualties due to a lack of information. Given the data known to Roger,
I
would have agreed to the ceasefire in his situation, too. Great bit of
roleplaying and gamesmanship (as opposed to playing out a scenario until
the
last man).

Overall I think both players played reasonably well. Roger was a bit too
tentative, particularly with the gunship. Chris completely disregarded
orders,
but it worked out very well for him. If he had lost, he'd have been made
the
scapegoat.

Best move, Chris:
Using 2C as an effective unit instead of putting him safely in a corner.
Having a Regular unit in the far eastern bunker was a bold, but
ultimately
good, move.

Best move, Roger:
Using his PA as forward scouts. At first I cringed when he ran 2P into a
minefield, but this was a bold move, made bolder when he moved them
about _in_
the minefield. I am now a convert to the idea that PA are probably the
best
scouts available. Advancing 1P to support 2P was an excellent, and
potentially
game winning move.

Worst move, Chris:
It would be easy to mention the sniper, but I think it was a calculated
risk
that -- with the rules for snipers -- should have worked out for him.
Instead,
it was placing 13 and 1T in potential LOS so close together, allowing
Roger to
drop a single mortar shell on both units.

Worst move, Roger:
He was too set on using the mortars for anti-armour when it appeared
they
wouldn't do much to the bunkers. Dropping an artillery round on a bunker
in
order to pin it prior to a gunship assault would have been an
interesting
move. A better bet, though, would have been to drop smoke on the far
eastern
bunker, neutralizing it. That would have saved squad 23, and probably
would
have ended up saving 2nd Platoon.

Quirkiest move, Chris:
Using Vehicle 3's crew as a scout. It wasn't particularly well placed,
until
it convinced the gunship crew to fire on it!

Quirkiest move, Roger:
Sending 23 to the bridge. When he asked me if he could move the squad
below
the bridge, I decided it was possible but then I had to figure out what
the
stats would be for the bridge! (I figured probably Armour Class 2,
representing a concrete bridge of about Armour Class 3 strength, but
with no
protection on the sides). The squad didn't make it, but while they were
pinned
by the sniper (and almost wiped out by the mortar), they resulted in the
sniper being discovered and taken out.

Scenario Considerations:
It's obvious that in anything other than a blind game, the NSL should
win.
Neither side's vehicles came into play, but if they had the edge would
have
definitely gone to the NSL. I'm thinking that the bunkers should
probably have
Greens, not Untrained. This would give them some ability and give the IF
player more flexibility. I would probably allow the IF to have a company
commander (a "task force" commander, if you will) available so that they
are
on a par with the NSL as far as activations go. They would have an AA
vehicle
available, but they still would only have 1 mortar and one EW unit.

Rules Playtest:

We were playtesting some rules. See my "Notes" section, below.

One rule I have used for a while is the +1 to communication rolls for
command
units trying to transfer an action to units that are not in LOS. I don't
think
it is strong enough to get rid of the "commander in the corner" issue,
and it
never had an effect on the game. I think I'll try changing this to a
quality
shift die down for the commander if he can't see the unit he is trying
to
transfer an action to.

Firing at individual PA seemed to work well as a rule, though it's hard
to say
if it's too overpowering or not as Chris never killed any PA with his
IAVRs.

The other rules we were playtesting never came into play.

FINALLY
I want to thank both of you. I enjoyed running the game and "watching"
your
thought processes through your orders.

In particular, I want to congratulate you on your gamesmanship. It's a
lot
more fun when players start playing rolls as opposed to treating their
figures
as nothing more than pawns in a chess game.

NOTES:

1. PA make good troops to lead an attack where minefields are expected.
The
mixed density minefields did little damage to the NSL PA troops.

2. PA make pretty good scout troops. I usually see them as assault
units, but
they have speed and survivability. Plop good sensors on them, and they
have
what it takes for fast in/out scouting maneuvers. I'm going to rethink
my PA
doctrine in my own games and perhaps use them in more of a scouting
roll.

3. The IF are severely hampered by D6 sensors against an enemy with D8
sensors. In particular, their missile fire was hurt versus NSL.

4. The IF are really nasty when they do get to fire. 11 guys, maximum,
in a
squad, usually with at least two support weapons are nasty.

5. NSL squads are brittle. Only having six guys (or less, if the squad
is
understrength) can be a major pain. Using 3FP AARs helps.

6. It's too easy to be spotted when moving into LOS, even under cover. I
think
two changes need to be made in the hidden movement rules for blind
games.
First, if the unit moves by combat movement the spotting range die
should be
shifted up 1. Second, the spotting attempt is made _after_ any attempt
at
going IP is made. (This second option needs to be playtested; the part
about
combat movement should work well.)

7. The military crest rules seemed to work well. While the players may
have
found it a little more confusing than normal, from my perspective they
worked
well. Players had to make tough decisions as to where to place their
troops
with the crests in mind. Should the military crest be hard cover or soft
cover? If hard cover, should it disregard other cover. In fact, this is
a hole
in the rules. What happens if you are in woods on a hill, which takes
precedence or should the cover be additive? The rules imply that woods
are
soft cover, hills are hard cover, so you have a choice of either hard or
soft
cover. I'll leave it like that, then.

8. I'm coming to the conclusion that EW isn't worth the effort. The
players
have a feeling of "doing something", but it takes up a lot of time and
the end
result is inconclusive. Usually the EW markers were used to counter the
opponent's EW markers. Only if a player has an advantage in counters is
it
worthwhile. Even still, on one turn Roger used up 4 counters to drop a
communication attempt to D4, and yet the attempt still succeeded. I
think in
future games I'd either 1) not bother with EW counters, or 2) only give
counters to the player with more EW units, and then only the difference
in
numbers (in this game, Roger would get three and Chris none to start the
game,
Roger would lose his if he lost an EW trooper, and he would get an extra
3 if
Chris lost his EW unit).

9. The activation rules seemed to work very well. I think this is the
way to
go with PBEM games.

10. Neither unit used smoke inherent with the squads. Considering it
uses up
an action to use, it's not very useful. See the current thread "Smoke"
elsewhere

Allan Goodall		       agoodall@hyperbear.com
http://www.hyperbear.com

"We come into the world and take our chances
 Fate is just the weight of circumstances
 That's the way that Lady Luck dances
 Roll the bones." - N. Peart