Force on Force at ToonCon

I ran a game of Force on Force Saturday evening at ToonCon. I’m doing this report before the Afternoon game because there’s less pictures and I had all the scenario information already typed up before hand, so it will be quicker…

I used the Gone To Ground scenario from Classified: Special Operations Missions 1940–2010. I’ve run the scenario before and it seemed like it would be a good one for a convention game.

SITUATION

Since colonial times there has been tension in what is now Timbogo between the majority (ostensibly Christian) Timbo peoples in the North and East of the country and the Bongogo peoples in the West and south who continue to practice their own indigenous religion.  

Tensions have flared in recent weeks and there have been rumours of genocide taking place in central Timbogo. A team of MSF doctors stationed in Timobogo and a visiting journalist, who have witnessed the atrocities firsthand, have been trying to get out of Timbogo. They finally made it aboard a helicopter that was to fly them out to a neighboring country only to be forced down by gunfire as they approached the border.

A force of French Foreign Legionnaires stationed in said neighboring country was immediately dispatched to extract the French nationals. The team was able to reach the crash site but their transport helicopters were driven off by ground fire. The team did, however, locate the French civilians and holed up with them in a cluster of abandoned buildings along a lonely, dusty road, with the forces of the Federal Army of the Republic of Timbogo (F.A.R.T.) and local militias closing in…

SCENARIO

Duration: 6 turns

Initiative: French have initiative for the game

Fog of War: Determined normally by Reaction Tests

Table Size: ~3’x3’

FRENCH MISSION

The Team had to protect the civilians from the various Timbogan forces converging on the area. They had to hold on until the end of Turn Six when the French higher-ups would give the green light to some Close Air Support to clear a landing zone for the transport helicopters to pull them out.

FRENCH VICTORY

In no French civilians were captured by the end of Turn Six the French team wins. Otherwise, they lose.            

FRENCH FORCE

Initiative Level: D10

Confidence Level: High

Supply Level: Normal

Body Armour: (+1D)

Troop Quality/Morale: D10/D10

French Forces 

French Foreign Legion CSAR Team

1x Team Leader - FA-MAS

2x SAW-Gunners – Minimi

2x Grenadiers – FA-MAS with UGL

2x Riflemen - FA-MAS

2x Medic - FA-MAS

1x AT Gunner w/ ATGM (AP:4/AT:4 M)

5x French Civilians - Dependants

TIMBOGAN MISSION

Capture the foreign spies and agitators, dead or alive! They must be stopped from spreading tmore lies and stir up the rabble – an example must be made of them!

TIMBOGAN VICTORY CONDITIONS

F.A.R.T. Forces win if the are able to capture one French civilian

TIMBOGAN FORCE

Initiative Level: N/A

Confidence Level: Confident

Supply Level: Normal

Body Armour: None

Troop Quality/Morale: Militia D6/D10, Army D8/D10

Three Timbogan teams start on the board and reinforcements arrive each turn.

THE GAME

Two players showed up for this one – Rick and Bob. Rick took the Africans and Bob took the French.

I got so immersed in running the game and keeping it fast-paced I completely forgot to take pictures until the beginning of the second turn. I would have liked to take notes – because there was some crazy stuff that went down, but it’s kind of hard to do that while keeping a good convention game going… so here’s a few pictures and a bit of what I remember going on…

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

I think on Turn One Rick got his FIRST BTR-60!? Maybe it was the second turn…? Sorry, I am really damn tired - but I want to get this done because I don't know when I might get it done if I don't do it tonight! 

No, it must have been the first, because I remember this was the first turn that these guys ran out of the wadi and miraculously only took one casualty!

Over on the other side of town the other Militia were also taking casualties.

And the first BTR-60 got lit up pretty quickly. This must be the second turn. I’m pretty sure the first turn the French AT gunner knocked out the main gun, but the vehicle carried on. On the second round of firing it brewed right up! The passangers bailed out without trouble, but the crew were both injured (one turned out to be KIA)

Africans trying to surround the village.

I totally forgot to bring my Gas tank, so I just ignored that part of the scenario…

The SECOND BTR-60 arrives.

Rick was trying to rush the buildings with the French and kept getting murdered out in the open and teams ending up pinned and having to sit out for a turn dealing with seriously wounded casualties.

One French team did take some casualties earlier in the game – with a couple of seriously wounded. There was also a lot of lightly wounded. And guys that just got back up an continued fighting. Those two medics turned out to be super handy!

On the last turn (or maybe second last turn) Rick rolled a T-55 for reinforcements!!

It took a suspension hit – halving it’s move – but the crew stayed inside and fired on the building with all the French civilians. It was the first time I ever did a building destruction roll – the building survived. But the French took some casualties.

Basically the French sat on overwatch the entire game and just creamed the Africans as they tried to rush the building. I wonder if it might have been better to just pour on the fire for a few turns and then all try to rush the building on the fourth or fifth turns…?

I think by the time it was over there was over fifty Africans on the table. In the end six of them were killed in action, and seventeen were seriously wounded. I stopped keeping track of light wounds as pretty much every team had a few…

Of the ten French Foreign Legionnaires five were seriously wounded, and the rest were lightly wounded – some were wounded twice! Two of the French Civilians were killed in the action, but none were captured during the six turns.

In the last three turns of the games I think I saw more Fog of war cards come out than in any other game we’ve ever played… The Africans got a sniper team that caused the French some serious trouble. The second BTR-60 was actually taken out by a predator drone that buzzed into the area. Others were useless (“I gave it a good Smack” or ones that gave the players 3 victory points) and I’m sure there was another two… Golden BB and Hydration…?

It was mad. A lot of back and forth and it seemed like it could go either way right down to the last turn - which is pretty much how I remember the other times I've played this scenario! Fun was had by all! Especially me!

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I will get that Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe 1815-1878 report done… it might be tomorrow (or “later today” as it is well past midnight…)