Jul 16
Another game of Downtown with Paul this afternoon. This time D14: Walk on the Wild Side – a Linebacker II raid against targets around Hanoi.
Paul took the USA and planned a raid on eight targets by 48 B-52s supported by F-111s, SEAD and CAP.
The F-111s struck first at my airfields and effectively closed them, but not before two MiG-21s launched from Kep and Phuc Yen.
I managed to shoot down two Phantoms (one by Fire Can and one MiG kill) and two B-52s (one by SAM and one MiG kill). Two more B-52s were damaged by SAMs but recovered safely.
Paul destroyed six targets with heavy bombing and his SEAD shutdown three SA-2 sites.
Paul scored 18VPs (6×2 for targets; 3×1 for SAMs damaged; 3 for my extra MiG points); I scored 19 VPS (2×2 for shooting down a pair of Phantoms; 4 for capturing four aircrew; 1 for some collateral damage Paul inflicted; and 2×5 for shooting down a pair of B-52s).
Overall the score was -1 VP for a significant US defeat.
This was by far the largest scenario we’ve played and given it was set in late 1972 used a more complex set of rules than before.
Tagged with: Downtown
Jul 12
Ian and I played a game of Warhammer 40K today in the Aberdeen Games Workshop.
He took his Space Marine “Taskforce Heavy” and I took all his Tau.
Vindicator, Landraider, Termiantor marines and two Tactical Squads commanded by Lysander versus two Hammerheads, Kroot, two Fire Warrior squads and three Crisis Battlesuits.
We played the Fighting Withdrawal scenario from Battle Missions.
The game started well for me with him losing the Vindicator to my first shot and almost an entire Tactical squad.
But in turn three things started to go badly when his Terminators and Lysander miss-dropped and then worked up the battlefield destroying the Crisis Battlesuits, a Firewarrior squad, a Hammerhead and moved towards the objectives. The Landraider took out the other Firewarrior Squad and then charged over the Kroot, routing them twice.
The the game ended with me still holding one objective and the other two uncontrolled, so the Tau won.
I think if the game had lasted one more turn Ian would have taken a pair of objectives and won, but he didn’t!
Tagged with: Warhammer 40K
Jul 11
After our Downtown game this afternoon, Paul and I played three games of Mr Jack today. Remarkably I won all three.
Its is amazing how such a simple game can lead to such intense thinking and headscratching and a real sense of achivement in winning.
Tagged with: Mr Jack
Jul 11
Played Downtown scenario D3 You Keep Me Hangin’ On with Paul today.
I took the USN and was assigned a strike on a Haiphong POL storage site – a major target in a heavily defended part of Route Package 6B. The raid launched from the Oriskany consisted of four flights of Skyhawks, escorted by two pair of CAP Crusaders, two pair of armed escort Crusaders and two pair of SEAD Skyhawks with Shrikes. Post strike recon was to be a pair of RF-8Es.
I planned a quick dash from the sea direct to the target, egressing Haiphong to the East and back out to sea.
Paul decided to defend with a “SAM day” due to North Vietnam’s inability to deconflict aircraft and SAM defences early in Rolling Thunder.
Initially my SEAD Skyhawks were successful killing a Fire Can AAA system and shutting down a SAM site with Shrikes. Unfortunately there were four more SAM sites in the area and lots of AAA. One Crusader and two Skyhawks were shot down attacking the target and another 2 more Skyhawks crippled whilst heavily damaging the target.
The Haiphong AAA was amazingly successful in shooting down both recon Crusaders meaning no BDA was obtained!
All in all a USN disaster with a result of -22VP for a very significant defeat.
Tagged with: Downtown
May 29
Played Downtown with Paul today. Scenario D18: Eve of Destruction from C3I 18 which covers a 1965 strike on the Thanh Hoa Bridge a notoriously difficult target for the Americans.
Paul took a USAF strike of 15 flights of Thunderchiefs escorted by some F-100s and followed by a Voodoo recon flight. The entered over from over the Gulf of Tonkin and egressed over Laos.
I scrambled MiG-17s from airfields in the Hanoi area, but they were unable to reach the strike force before it got to the bridge which was heavily defended by two medium flak batteries and a pair of Fire Cans. Paul was able to damage one Fire Can and suppress the flak and heavily damaged the bridge.
In the process he lost 2 planes shot down (a Thud bit by a Fire Can and a Super Sabre shot down by a Fresco), 4 crippled and 1 damaged which all recovered OK.
As a result it was a significant US defeat – due to the political cost of the losses.
Tagged with: Downtown
Mar 27
Ian and I took part in a Warhammer 40K doubles tournament today at Games Workshop in Aberdeen.
We took a Space Marine force (Strikeforce Crimson) consisting of Chapter Master Omar, a pair of full Tactical Squads, a Venderable Dreadnaught and a Landraider Crusader.
We lost our first two games against Chaos Demons (actually lost, is an understatement – we were utterly destroyed) and won our final game against a mixed Sisters of Battle and Imperial Guard force.
Great fun!
Tagged with: Warhammer 40K
Mar 05
Paul and I played another game of Twilight Struggle today. I won as the Soviets in turn 4.
I spend all game accruing VPs and Paul seemed hamstrung by being dealt only Soviet cards.
Good game.
Tagged with: Twilight Struggle
Feb 05
Played another game of Elusive Victory with Paul today. This time scenario EV9 Operation Rimonim – an Egyptian sortie to challenge IAF CAP over the northern Red Sea.
The game played fairly simply with Paul’s Egyptian MiGs (2 x 4 ship MiG-21 formations) flying to intercept my two four-ship Mirage IIICJ formations which idled to the East back over the Sinai and their friendly Hawk batteries.
As the MiG’s reached the Red Sea and turned to the south the Mirages reversed to head west and hit their afterburners. They pair of Mirage flights made a fast head on pass firing radar guided Matra’s at the MiGs, shooting down one MiG and damaging another (soon to be crippled by a mechanical failure random event).
The single MiG kill for no Israel loss was enough to ensure an Israeli victory, so the Mirages carried on past the MiGs and headed east at full speed to safety.
A further flight of Mirages sorted from Refidim to join the fray, but didn’t reach the fight in time along with an additional two Mirages which appears from a lucky random event roll.
Great fun .
Tagged with: Elusive Victory
Dec 12
This morning Ian and I headed into the Aberdeen Games Workshop for a Warhammer 40K – his Red Fist Space Marines against my Tyranids swarm.
We chose to play on one of the Cities of Death tables and rolled a “seize ground” scenario with a “dawn of war” deployment and three victory locations – two in buildings and one in a crater.
In the first turn Ian’s Predator got imobilised in the crater whilst I positioned my units to take the other victory locations.
One brood of genestealers and a carnifex attacked one of the victory locations held by a squad of marines and Chapter Master Omar whilst the other genestealer brood and a brood of warriors went against the immobilised Predator and a tactical squad.
The carnifex’s barbed strangler made short work of the tactical squad and Omar which was mopped up an assault by the genestealers when then took the objective in the building above them whilst the carnifex took a nearby objective by lumbering up to third floor of the buidling.
The warriors and genestealers tried to attack the tactical squad covering the immobilised Predator but were all taken out by withering heavy bolter fire.
So, in the end it was two Tyranid objectives to one Space Marine objective.
I win! I win! I Win!
Tagged with: Warhammer 40K
Dec 04
Paul and I played out second game of Elusive Victory today.
I took the IAF and he took the EAF in scenario EV6 Recon in Force.
Paul’s objective was to recon Mitla Pass with a pair of Fitters escorted by a eight MiG-21s. I had six Mirages to use to try to stop him.
It was a very intense game with planes from both sides being engaged by SAMs although the only SAM kill was a MiG-21 lost to a HAWK battery.
Two more MiG-21s and one Mirage were lost in dogfights as I attempted to stop the Fitters.
In the end the EAV scored 13 VP versus the 6 scored by the IAF resulting in a Significant Defeat for me.
A very good game and one that taught me the lesson (again) of concentrating on the objective – rather than engaging the escorts, I should have kept focused on the Fitters to prevent the recon.
Tagged with: Elusive Victory
