Two New Games

This week, my copies of Tac Air (1987 - Avalon Hill) and Honneur et Patrie (2012 - Lock 'n Load) arrived in the mail.

Tac Air and Honneur et Patrie

Tac Air is an old school AH game about the coordination of tactical airpower and ground forces.  It is very much a product of its era.  The setting is late Cold War near the border between East and West Germany with the VII Corps facing off against the Soviets.  I have played the basic game several times now and it is quite exciting, especially when the aircraft - the real stars of the game - show up and wreak havoc on the battlefield.  The game successfully highlights how airpower can be a real game changer if used correctly.  One of the great things about the game is that you can not only target frontline units but you can (and definitely should) go for the softer targets to the enemy's rear.   Quite often, it's more effective and easier to just hit an enemy's supply trucks with a single aircraft rather than send in an entire squadron to hit enemy tanks.

Tac Air - Soviets push towards their objectives.

In my first play of the basic game, however, there was no supply or enemy HQ to really worry about.  This was just a slugfest between armor, helos, and infantry all for the sake of a little three hex town in West Germany, just a stone's throw from the inter-German border.  Despite some stiff opposition from NATO tanks, the Soviets punched a corridor through a forest just north of the town. During the air phase, two MiG-29s wandered onto the battlefield and pounced a pair of A-10s going for a run at a platoon of T-72s.  Two F-16s tried in vain to help them but had to abort as Russian SAM and AAA was too heavy.  This kept the Americans away from the Soviet armor for much of the rest of the game and although the Soviets took some losses, they captured the three hex town by the end of turn 5, much to the alarm of NATO.

I broke out Honneur et Patrie this morning and I was immediately impressed by the quality of the product.  HetP is an expansion for Lock 'n Load Publishing's "Heroes of the Gap".  Based on a fictitious (of course) WW3 that happened in 1985, HetP adds in the French to the mix.  HetP uses the map boards from "Heroes of the Blitzkrieg" so the player can battle it out in the West German countryside.
The scenarios are pretty nicely written and the variety of vehicles and weapons breathe new life into the game.  Whereas the numerically superior but less well-equipped Soviets were up against powerful American M1 Abrams tanks in Heroes of the Gap, the Russians find themselves at a distinct advantage against the smaller French AMX armored vehicles.

HetP - Plays nicely and looks good on your table, too.

The real star of HetP, however, is the artwork.  David Julien did a simply stunning job of bringing this expansion to life.  The scenario booklet, in full color, features a picture above each scenario title that makes you want to jump in and start playing.  Then there are the units themselves.  The images of leaders, heroes, and squads are so vivid and colorful that they almost seem to jump off the counters and introduce themselves to you.  It is a beautiful game and though I know it is an unfair comparison to a 25 year old game, it just goes to show you how far gaming art has come since the days of Tac Air.  Not only do many people expect games to play well these days, they also need to look good while doing it.

The first scenario of Honneur et Patrie, called "First Blood", features a kind of meeting engagement between the French and Soviets in West Germany during the opening days of the war.  The Soviet objective is to clear the area around a road intersection of any French troops or vehicles.  The Soviets get 3 T-72s, some BTRs, and two platoons of soldiers to get the job done while the French get some light APCs, a tank, and about the same number of men to spoil the Russian plan.  It's a smaller scenario that seems to favor the French at first - but when the T-72s entered on turn 3, they made short work of my French APCs while the two Soviet leaders managed to isolate and surround three squads on the southern part of the board and make short work of them.  Things ended by Turn 6 with a stunning French defeat.

I'm looking forward to getting both of these games on my table once again.  The advanced rules for Tac Air look like they add lots to the game - with artillery, weather, supply, and command to consider.  Honneur et Patrie, I think, will take some time to get better with the French.  Today, I discovered rather quickly that you cannot have the French fight like the Americans or you will lose badly.

On The Table - May 26 to June 2, 2013

This week, I had some time to sit down and play two great games from 1987, Air Superiority (GDW) and 7th Fleet (Victory Games).

In the Air Superiority game, I tried the scenario out for the "Gulf of Sidra" dogfight between two Libyan Su-22s and 2 American F-14s.  The Gulf of Sidra scenario recounts the August 19, 1981 incident where a pair of Libyan Su-22s fired on two Tomcats.  The F-14s subsequently shot down both Su-22s and it was not until 1989 when the Libyans would try again (and fail again) to shoot down American fighters in the area.

Fast Eagle 102 - one of the Tomcats involved in the incident.

Since I haven't played a great deal of Air Superiority before and I found the steep learning curve intimidating on my first try, I decided to take it slow and played a couple of turns each night during the previous week.  Most of the time was spent looking up rules rather than moving around my fighters but I felt a step closer to getting the system down.

The F-14s did not have much luck trying to outmanoeuvre the Su-22s at close range although one Tomcat did manage to make a gun attack (which missed spectacularly) on one of the Libyan planes.  The Su-22s could not find any joy either, unable to get the F-14s in their limited radar arc.

The Tomcats finally decided to play a game of "bait the hook".  One F-14 headed north on afterburner, providing a juicy target for both Libyan pilots.  In the meantime, the other F-14 locked up both targets and shot down one of the Su-22s.  The other Su-22, with an AIM-9L heading for its tailpipe, got close enough to the bait Tomcat and managed a kill with guns before it went down in flames.  I made lots of mistakes while playing this scenario but it was good fun.

In 7th Fleet, I played the scenario "The Invasion of Hokkaido" where the Soviets decide to send some regiments to capture the northernmost main island of Japan during a territorial dispute.  The US needs to get Marines and supplies to northern Honshu/southern Hokkaido and the Soviets try desperately to stem the Americans from reinforcing the area.

Task Group 1 and Task Force 3 make their way to friendly port in Japan while Soviet subs look on helplessly.

This was a fantastic scenario, incorporating all the different unit types (submarine, surface, and air units) together.  It had been a while since I had played a scenario of this scope but the design of the scenario was extremely good.  Early American successes with cruise missile attacks on Soviet airbases effectively shut down much of the offensive air capabilities of the Soviets.  However, the Russians did manage to use their remaining air units early in the game to destroy one of the Marine ships.

The Americans shot down enemy combat air patrols protecting the Soviet main task force and sent in waves of F-18s and A-6 intruders to destroy their key ships, including the pride of the Soviet fleet, the cruiser Riga.  Soviet subs managed to whittle down one of the task forces with supply ships but could not destroy it completely before it got under American carrier air cover.  With few Soviet interceptors left to challenge the US carrier's F-14 Tomcats, the Soviet bomber and attack planes quickly became useless and the Soviet commander was not quite desperate enough to send his men out on suicide missions.

One of the Marine ships got through to their destination in Hakodate while all of the supply units (although 2 of them were damaged) managed to get to friendly port as well.  Tactical coordination with submarines and surface units managed to result in the decimation of the Soviet fleet.  This scenario teaches one of the fundamental lessons of the Fleet series - defensive air power is hugely decisive and the sooner you can get your guys under the protection of fighter aircraft, the better off you will be.  The Soviet player needs to find ways to hit at the American ships early in the game before they can find air cover.  The decisive US victory made up for the earlier thrashing of the Americans by the Soviets in an earlier game of the previous scenario "Return of the Dreadnoughts", whereupon the Russians reduced two American task forces to scrap metal near the tip of northern Hokkaido.

7th Fleet: Soviet Bastion - Turn 4

Turn 4 begins and the clock is ticking down on the American submarines in their attempt to break through to the Soviet bastion north of Hokkaido.  The scenario is over at the end of this turn and the US  has incurred serious losses.  So far, the Americans have one submarine lost (Bremerton) and two damaged (Silversides and Guardfish) so the heavy work is left to the two remaining fully operational US subs (the Dace and the Springfield).

As day 2 of the battle dawns, both sides put their air units to work. The Americans place all of their P3 Orions on tactical coordination missions while the Soviets do the same.

Both sides have already detected the nearby enemy submarines.  The USSR starts off the turn with no less than 4 submarines sitting adjacent to the American subs.  The Dace and the Springfield are stacked together in the Soviet close defense hex, desperately fighting a close range battle on all sides. The Guardfish, meanwhile, is damaged but not completely out of the fight.

Action in the southern area near the tip of Hokkaido.

The US commander desperately needs to get his submarines into the Soviet bastion area, which is 4 hexes away.  This means that only the Dace and the Springfield will be able to make it there at full speed.  The damaged American submarines will have to fend for themselves, hopefully surviving the scenario and thereby preventing the Soviets from accumulating any more victory points.

The Soviets have two main priorities at this late stage.  They need to prevent the American subs from getting through to the bastion area and sink American submarines.  The plan is to use the four submarines down south to damage the Dace and Springfield, thereby preventing them from getting through, followed up by sinking the wounded Guardfish.

Further to the north, the Soviets are planning to chase down and sink the USS Silversides, which had been damaged heavily in yesterday's underwater battle.  Three Soviet subs sit nearby, ready to pursue the Silversides.  Unfortunately, in the local detection phase, the lucky American sub remains undetected while it licks its wounds and plans for a withdrawal from the area.  The Silversides survived 14 patrols during WWII and the skipper is determined not to lose it now!

Action up north.  Soviet subs plan to find and destroy USS Silversides.

Roll for initiative:  0  (NATO goes first).

US Turn:  The Silversides slips away two hexes from the nearby Soviet submarines.  Still undetected, it looks like she will indeed survive this battle.

Further south and deep below the dark and cold waters of the northern Pacific, the Dace and the Springfield make their final gambles.  Both submarines attempt ASW attacks on the Shtorm, but even with tactical coordination from the P-3 Orions, their efforts go unrewarded (both subs roll a 0 for the ASW attack).  Deciding to call it a day, they run at full speed into the Soviet bastion zone.  Unless they are sunk by the Soviets this turn, this entry into the zone is worth 12 points for the US player by game's end.

The USS Guardfish slips away from the massive Soviet submarine presence and move two hexes to the southwest.  It is detected.

Soviet Submarine Action Segment

The Soviet commander is not happy that the American submarines seem to be slipping through their fingers.  Despite a tight net around the US subs, they seem to be slipping away.  With the escape of the  Silversides undetected, the only alternative is to send a token force to finish off the Guardfish as it runs southeast for Japan and focus the rest of the force on the Americans in the bastion zone.  Surely, with the help of some luck and judicious use of the I38 recon aircraft for tac coordination, the Soviets will manage to hurt the Americans.

Soviet subs swarm the Guardfish (southeast) and the Dace and Springfield (northwest)

The Soviets rush subs to the north, making 4 attacks on the Dace and Springfield, scoring no hits.  In the southeast, two Soviet submarines attack the Guardfish, using all the available help from two I38s and one T-95G recon aircraft.  Unfortunately, the rolling is very poor and the Russians are left with little to celebrate as the game comes to a rapid end on turn 4.

Conclusion:  Final victory points are 6x2 for the US subs in the Soviet bastion zone and -3 points for the loss of the Bremerton early on in the game for a total of 9 points.  Consulting the VP chart, it seems the result is a Substantive Soviet Victory.  This loss for the Americans might have been alleviated by concentrating more firepower at the Soviet subs.  I think I may have focused so much on just moving the American subs and protecting them from the Russians that I forgot to really attack.  Assigning at more planes to tactical coordination instead of recon on the first day may have helped too.

This is a very short and tense scenario and it is a great way to introduce the player to the concept of full speed submarine movement effects and the use of close defense hexes.  It also covers a compelling topic, the so-called Soviet bastion zones, which was hotly discussed in the western press during the 1980s.

For more information about the Soviet bastion approach, check out here and here.

7th Fleet: Soviet Bastion - Turn 3

In the first two turns of this scenario, the US submarines began their approach towards the Kurile Islands in hopes of breaking through the Soviet submarine defense perimeter.  The Americans are trying desperately to get submarines into the Soviet bastion zone in the Sea of Okhtosk.  In turn 2, the Soviets successfully sunk one of the US submarines (the Bremerton) as it made a mad dash for the Kuriles.

Start of turn 3

Things heat up considerably in turn 3.

The Americans win initiative again this turn and decide to send their three southernmost submarines at full speed towards the Soviet perimeter in hopes of getting through unscathed.

The USS Guardfish moves northwest at full speed and is immediately detected by the Soviets.  As it enters the Soviet close defense hex near the tip of Hokkaido, it comes under attack and is damaged.

The Springfield and Dace also hurl themselves at full speed and are instantly detected.  They make it to the Soviet close defense hex to the north of Shikotan island and are attacked.  Luckily, however, they are undamaged.

Up north the USS Silversides makes a dash to the west and is detected.

Soviet action segment:

The Soviet submarines attack with a fury during this turn.  With the help of Soviet reconaissance aircraft, they manage to damage the USS Silversides.  The Guardfish, Dace, and Springfield are untouched, however, as the Soviets conduct a high-speed tempo dance of ASW around them.

end of turn 3

The Dace and the Springfield are the only two American submarines that could reach the Bastion area by the end of the next turn (which is the end of the scenario).  Can they hold out?

End of Turn 3

7th Fleet: Soviet Bastion - Turn 2

At the end of the previous turn, the American submarines were moving towards the Soviet Bastion near the Kurile Islands north of Japan.  One group of 3 US subs (Springfield, Dace, and Guardfish) inched towards the southern Kuriles while 2 other US subs (Bremerton and Silversides) had moved further north.

Turn 2 begins.

Initiative is rolled and the US player goes first.  The Guardfish, Springfield, and Dace move slowly up towards the Soviet submarines to the south, hoping to speed through the well-defended zone in subsequent turns.  As of now, none of the US subs has been detected.

Up to the north, the Bremerton makes a run to the west-  straight for the Kuriles.  Since the Bremerton is running at full speed and it's within 5 hexes of enemy units and/or a close defense hex, it is automatically detected.  The Silversides moves slowly up towards the north, hoping that the Soviet subs will ignore it long enough to make a run for the Kurile entrance next turn.

Three American subs approach the tip of Hokkaido while one US sub up north dashes towards the Kuriles.

Soviet action segment

The Soviets decide to hang on down south and wait for the 3 American subs to come to them.  Staying put and using the advantage of the nearby close defense hex should be a very effective way to keep the US submarines out.

Up north, the Mikhalovskiy moves adjacent to the Bremerton and damages it (with a beautiful roll of 9).    The Admiral Sidorov, a Mike-class, follows up the attack on the Bremerton and sinks it (another 9 is rolled).  This is a very good start for the Russians.

The sinking of the Bremerton.

Turn 2 ends.

End of Turn 2.

7th Fleet: Soviet Bastion - Turn 1

Victory Games followed up 6th Fleet, their successful opening to the Fleet series, with 2nd Fleet in 1986.  Featuring war in the North Atlantic between NATO and the Soviets, the game is still seen as a classic among modern naval wargamers.  But the best was yet to come.  In 1987, the third installment, 7th Fleet, series was released.

This game ambitiously took on the subject of naval warfare in the Far East.  A massive 3 map effort, the game covers a huge swath of territory that runs along the Pacific coastline from the northern Soviet Kamchatka peninsula all the way down to northern Vietnam.  Like the previous installments, the game slowly builds up the player towards mastery of the rules system through carefully planned scenarios from minor skirmishes all the way to World War III.  The result is somewhere near a masterpiece full of tense battles between Cold War navies, including Japan, Vietnam, North and South Korea, China, and, of course - the United States and the Soviets.

In the game's 4th scenario, "Soviet Bastion", Gorbachev has been deposed by Soviet hawks and the Soviet military efforts in Afghanistan approach the level of atrocities.  NATO leaders condemn the actions and tension builds in Europe and the Far East.  The Soviets carry out a massive military buildup and it looks like the world is headed for a confrontation, the likes of which have not been seen in more than four decades.

In the Far East, the Soviets have put into effect their "bastion theory" into practice, turning the waters from the Kurile Islands to Kamchatka into their own exclusive territory for naval operations .  Soviet submarines have been stationed around the Kurile Islands serving as pickets and ordered to prevent any breach of the area by hostile forces.  The US CINC 7th Fleet has responded by sending 5 American submarines into the bastion area in an effort to report on movement of Soviet convoys.

The Soviets have air support in the form of recon planes stationed in Alexandrovsk while the Americans have P-3 Orion aircraft stationed in Misawa, Japan.

Setup:

The Soviets set up their submarines around the close defense hexes along the Kurile Island chain.  They are working in pairs or small groups with one submarine responsible for attempting to detect the US subs as they approach the area and the second sub boxing in the Americans in the close defense hexes and sinking them.

Soviet submarine setup, with bastion area to the northwest.

The Soviet commander is determined to keep the US out and has decided that a primarily defensive posture around the Kuriles should keep them out.  The Americans must setup quite far to the southeast of the bastion, which presents some special problems for them.

The American subs set up to the east of northern Japan.

The Strategic Air Phase begins and the Soviets are confident that the US submarines will be detected by either Soviet submarines or the close defense area near the Kuriles.  As a result, most of the Soviet air assets are put into tactical coordination to help with attacks on the American SNs.

The US puts all three squadrons of P-3 Orions into reconnaissance efforts near the tip of Hokkaido.  The P-3s do an excellent job of pinpointing the location of 3 Soviet submarines.

Soviet subs detected by P-3 Orions.

A newer Kilo class diesel sub, Shtorm is detected, along with a fearsome Sierra I class, the Admiral Khovrin and a Victor III, the Admiral Mikhaylovskiy.

Turn 1 Action Phase:

NATO rolls initiative and the American subs are presented with an immediate problem.  They need to make it into the bastion area by tomorrow afternoon and the only way to close the distance effectively is to run at full speed.  This means the American subs will be detected more easily as they reach the Kurile Island chain.

Deciding to press ahead, the American subs split into two groups.  It would be suicide for all of them to attempt a passage through the same area so the commander is hoping to split up the Russian pickets a bit and create enough room to push through the close defense hexes (denoted by a flag on the map).

US subs split into two groups, run at full speed for the Kuriles.

Two Permit-class subs, the Guardfish and the Dace, along with a deadly Los Angeles-class submarine, the Springfield head towards the gap between Hokkaido and the southern Kuriles.

Meanwhile, the Bremerton (Los Angeles class) and Silversides (Sturgeon class) head north, hoping to draw off some of the Soviet submarine fleet.

Soviet action segment

Soviet subs in the south stay put while those in the north rush to meet the Americans.

The Soviet commander decides to move an extra submarine, the Admiral Kapitanents (Victor III class) down south to reinforce the southern approaches to the Kuriles.

The three northern Soviet subs head south to greet the Silversides and Bremerton, hoping to detect, engage, and delay them.

Turn 1 Ends.

Death of the 1st Panzer - Blind Sided (x3)

Yesterday I pulled out the World at War expansion, "Death of the 1st Panzer" and decided to play scenario 1, "Blind Sided".  I've played this scenario before many times and my Soviet tanks almost always end up as heaping wrecks strewn across the West German countryside.

Trying to improve a bit on my Warsaw Pact tactics, I ended up playing this same scenario several times just to see how different approaches would affect the outcome.  In this short article, I'm going to demonstrate the very different flow of three different playthroughs of this scenario and the lessons I learned from them in regards to World at War tactics.

In the scenario, "Blind Sided", the West German 1/171 Panzergrenadiers is caught by surprise by elements of the Soviet 1st Tank Army on the opening day of the war on May 14th, 1985.  The Soviet commander's job is to capture all the city hexes of Walkerburg in the southwest corner of the map while the West Germans, caught out of position and by surprise, must scramble their meagre forces to defend it.  The scenario is only 8 turns but the smaller map means that the Soviets don't have to cover too much ground to get to their objective.  

The scenario starts with two platoons of Marders and infantry along with a Jaguar sitting on the road to the northeast of Talen.  The 1st Tank, with eight T-72 platoons and a BRDM-AT, gets a free activation to begin the game.  

West German setup

Game 1

In my first game, I decided to try and use the hills to the south as cover for the Soviet 1st Tank, hoping to get some good activations and push them into Walkerburg without taking any losses.  

The Soviets got some very nice activations here.  They activated twice in the first turn and in each subsequent turn, they leaped forward to their objective.

Unfortunately, this also let the West German Marders and Jaguar waltz back to Walkerburg and set up infantry (with Milan ATGMs) and Marders in the city to await the onslaught of the 1st Tank.  On Turn 5, 1st Tank received the first activation chit and approached.  Predictably, a slaughter ensued as 1st Tank rushed the city and the Soviet T-72s were crushed by a hail of anti-tank missile opportunity fire followed by two activations of the 1/171st PzG.  Turn 6 started with two activations of the 1/171st, which was more than enough to make short work of the Soviet 1st Tank.  Clearly this approach was not going to work for the Soviets.

Game 2:

So I set up the same scenario again and decided to go with radically different tactics for the Soviets.  The major weakness of the West Germans is the thin armor for their Marders and the fact that most of the elements of the 1/171st start out in the wide open road without defensive cover.  This provides an opportunity for a very aggressive Soviet opening.  Instead of preserving my forces through a long march through the southern hill route, I was going to go for the throat right off the bat.

Game 2:  No subtlety here.  Just come on the board and blast away.

I pushed the Soviets onto the board from X4 and hoped for the best.  Opportunity fire from the Marders (the infantry were loaded inside, unable to fire their Milans) destroyed and disrupted a handful of Soviet platoons but the damage was surprisingly minimal.  Moving fire from the Soviet tanks managed to reduce one of the Marders and infantry.  The BRDM-AT moved into the city down south and got into a firing position.  

The next activation chit was 1st Tank, which was extremely lucky.  Soviet HQ called down artillery, disrupting a Marder with the HQ and also disrupting the Jaguar.  From that point, it was simply a matter of marching forward with moving fire and pasting whatever was left of the 1/171.  By turn 3, there was nothing left of the West Germans and Walkerburg was easily taken by turn 7.

Game 3

This was the most even game of the three and probably the best of them.

The Soviets opened with the same moves as before but did not meet with the same amount of success.  Although the West German Jaguar and one Marder (along with loaded infantry) were destroyed in the opening salvos (again with solid 1st Tank activations coming one after the other in the first turn), the Germans were not pulverized completely.  

The HQ, Marder and infantry wisely moved back from the Soviet onslaught and made their way to Walkerburg where they set up a defensive position and waited for the Soviets.  Thanks to decent West German opportunity fire, the Soviets had only 2 full-strength T-72 platoons, 4 reduced strength platoons, and the BRDM- AT.

The Soviets tried their best to keep what remained of their battered force.  The BRDM-AT managed to disrupt the Luchs sitting in Talen.  The Soviet HQ then assaulted it in the town, opening up a path down to Walkerburg.  

As the game turn limit approached.  The Soviets found themselves facing a stack of unloaded infantry and Marders in one corner of the city.

The last turn came around and the Soviets were in perfect position for an assault.  

With two full strength Soviet platoons sitting to the north of Walkerburg and the remainder of the  reduced T-72s sitting to the east of it, there was just enough fight left to try and take the city.

Of course, it could have all gone wrong.  If the Soviets didn't activate, the game would be over and NATO would chalk up a win.  As it turned out, however, the first chit pull was 1st Tank and the plan went accordingly.  

Two reduced platoons rushed into the city and were disrupted and destroyed, respectively, by opportunity fire from the West German Marder and Milan.  The full strength units rushed south and hit the West Germans hard, scoring 3 hits while taking the same lumps in return.  The West Germans now found themselves facing down an HQ with a reduced Soviet T-72 platoon while they themselves had only a disrupted group of infantry and a reduced Marder.

The final battle for Walkerburg:  Game 3.

The final rolls came in with the Soviets scoring a single hit on the West Germans in a brutal assault while the West Germans, rolling for 6s, scored nothing.  With nowhere left to retreat, the West Germans were eliminated and the Soviets held Walkerburg.   It had all come down to the wire with no room for error for either side.  

Discussion:

Well, the Soviets were successful in two of these three games, taking a huge gamble right off the start by entering the board and firing away at the West Germans.  Had the rolls not come out right, things could have gone very badly for them.  The "safe" option in the first game of using terrain and the southern hill route turned out not to be so safe after all.  There are times that the Soviets really need to just take a huge risk and go for broke when the enemy is vulnerable.  With more forces at their disposal, the odds of the Soviets scoring that critical hit that eliminates a vital NATO unit are not so bad. The key is to get your guys firing at NATO rather than just moving all the time, which can allow the enemy get into a nice defensive position.  Even shooting from a bad position (long range, moving fire) is better than this option, I find.