Take Down in North Africa

Gary came by Thursday night and we played some Savage Worlds Skirmish action!

I ran a game based on a Modern Ops scenario I ran earlier – but set in North Africa during World War Two.

North Africa, 1941

SITUATION

Allied intelligence has been tipped off that a VERY high ranking Nazi official will be spending a couple evenings in a remote North African villa. A crack squad of British SAS has been dispatched to rendezvous with a patrol of French Foreign Legionnaires to raid the compound and kill or capture whatever VIP they find there!

SCENARIO

The SAS and FFL troops can deploy within 8” of the North, West, or East table edges. The south table edge is steep cliff walls with a couple of narrow rubble filled Wadi.

They Allied force may chose to attack under cover of darkness or at dawn.

Axis forces start the game hidden and asleep – with the exception of one team of infantry which are standing sentry but are considered “non-active”.

FORCES

Allies

Captain H. F. Somerville, SAS
SAS Patrol (5)

Capitaine Jean Francois Leduc
Sergeant Karl Ulrich
3x French Foreign Legionnaires (7)

Axis

Hauptmann Karl Meuller
Unteroffizer Helmut Jarlhoff
4x Panzer Grenadier Section (5)
1x HMG section

Karl von Kindershisse, Gestapo Agent
Gunter and Hans, Gestapo Thugs

Adolf Hitler, Nazi Dictator
Kendra Meyerhoff, Nazi groupie bimbo

THE GAME

Gary played the Allies as I had all the hidden Axis forces plotted out beforehand. I had hoped at least one other person might show up and there would have been two allied players. Alas it was not to be… Gary elected to attack at dawn and approached the town mostly from the west – had he been spotted earlier I would have tried to make a run for it off the east table edge…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


The SAS (in the foreground) and Foreign Legionnaires (background) advance on the villa.


Same thing, wider view.


Gary actually got a section of Foreign Legionnaires into one of the buildings occupied by a section of German Panzer-Grenadiers before the alarm was even raised – though he had “the Drop” he didn’t have enough movement to get enough men in there to take them out quiet-like so the first two in just shot a couple of sleeping Germans – raising the alarm!


Other Foreign Legionnaires and SAS enter the Northwest end of town undetected – for the moment…


Once the alarm was raised ALL axis troops started getting dealt in and had to recover from their sleepiness (everyone started the game shaken). One recovered and was able to act the first turn – he made it to the door where he shot dead one Foreign Legionnaire – but was quickly taken out himself as the Foreign Legionnaires scattered into cover.


One German actually recovered quickly enough to get a shot off at the Foreign Legionnaires storming their building, but missed. The rest of the Germans were murdered in their beds as they grabbed for their rifles!


A second squad of Foreign Legionnaires stormed the next compound throwing grenades in the windows and doors. This took out Unteroffizer Jarlhoff but only managed to wake up Hauptmann Meuller (caused one wound – successfully soaked – removed shaken status)!


The SAS managed to take down four of the five roof-top sentries (who were in hard cover)!? The remaining one remarkably passed his morale test (guess he didn’t like his squad mates much anyway…).


Continuing their sweep of the Villa.


Things went badly for the Foreign Legionnaires in the compound at the south end of town. Hauptmann Meuller angered about being so rudely awoken tossed a grenade of his own back out into the courtyard taking out a Foreign Legionnaire and shaking two. The Panzer-Grenadiers then threw a second grenade into the courtyard but scattered wildly into the corner where it exploded harmlessly. Capitaine Leduc decided to get in on the action and tried to toss a grenade to the upper level where the Panzer-Grenadiers were hiding – unfortunately it hit the wall and bounced back amid his troops and took out four of them!!!


The Panzer-Grenadiers at the Northeast end of town finally make it out of bed and to the windows and doors to find the street outside a “target rich environment”. The LMG hit three of these guys out in the open shaking them…



The Foreign Legionnaires relentlessly carry on with their assault however. This lot stormed into the compound on the east end of town, grenades at the ready. Unfortunately Gunter and Hans had been sitting inside the doorway on hold for the last couple turns and riddled them with bullets as the entered. KOed one, two others shaken.


The Foreign Legionnaires numbers finally got them in there. A grenade into the room took down Karl and Hans, but failed to take out von Kindershisse, who was also waiting to ambush anyone coming in (good thing he had that leather coat that gave him +1 armour – otherwise he might have been down as well…)

The SAS outside the compound dealt with the Panzer-Grenadiers in the Northeast building in a rather singular and violent manner – but then one of the HMG team dropped a grenade into the alley below taking one out and shaking the rest…


Of course, though the leather coat could apparently absorb shrapnel and concussion, it couldn’t stop bullets and Karl too was taken out.


Capitaine Leduc and the remaining Legionnaire at eh south compound were taken out by the Panzer-Grenadiers with Hauptmann Meuller. Who then began shooting up the SAS and Legionnaires in the center of the Villa.

Gary had to leave at this point as it was far from over… I think the Allies had a pretty good chance; the Foreign Legionnaires were in the building which lodge the VIP. However they were slowly being chipped away at. A couple more grenades tossed into the courtyard and down the stairs could have thinned them out further and the Panzer-grenadiers with Hauptmann Meuller were still “fresh” and in a pretty good position… hard to say which way this might have gone….


Little did the Foreign Legionnaires know who was waiting upstairs for them.

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

More Stock Taking!