CapnJim's Modern Stuff - Balczaki-Soviet Bridge Fight Full AAR - Pg 54-10 Aug 25

[Cat]

For the real Prohibition cocktail experience, cut the ends of a loaf of French bread and strain a bottle of Aqua Velva through it to get the booze.
: 3

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Great AAR.

[CapnJim]

Great AAR.

Thanks, UVS...

As for as the suggestions made by Cat and carlos go, well, I think I'll stick to bourbon...

[CapnJim]

Well, it's time for another whack at our beloved General Isgood, in that paradise we know as the People's Republic of Northern Gambola.   

The US national security apparatus, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to use an off-books "deniable assets" wet team to take care of the General Isgood problem.  The publicly stated reason is to allow JTF Gambola to rest up, but there is some concern about how the Rangers' casualties have looked in public opinion back home.  And, an undisclosed government agency wanted a hand in these affairs. 

In any event, both SIGINT and HUMINT sources have tracked the good General down to the town of Iziendare, west of the capital Bangerizi, near the border.  That intel has determined that, after the reverses he and his followers have suffered in the last couple of month's engagements with JTF Gambola, General Isgood's base of support has significantly eroded, and he is preparing to flee the country to seek exile in a friendlier political climate.  Until then, he has surrounded himself with very loyal, if not very effective, fellow clan members.

The wet team's mission is simple.  Get in to the General's safe-house in Iziendare, "take care of" the General Isgood problem (i.e., terminate him with extreme prejudice), and get out.  As they are deniable assets, and thus expendable, the team will be on their own, and no one will be coming to their rescue if things go tits up.

Since this is a "Sneak-and-peek" mission, I've decided to use Osprey's Black Ops for the game.  And the game will be set at night.  Ted will play the wet team.  I will play the Gambolans.  Gene is unavailable at this point.  Here is the map:



The General and his brother-in-law (the leader of his local followers) are in a safe house in a compound in the middle of the table.  There are 4 clansman in the barracks in that same compound.  3 clansmen are guards patrolling the streets around the compound, and there are 4 further clansmen off-table, who will appear once the alarm is raised. 

I am adding a twist to the guards' habits.  Intel has determined that the guards change shifts every 12 hours.  Except in reality, it's more random than that.  At the beginning of each turn until the alarm is raised, I will roll a d6.  On a "6", it will be shift change time.  The guards in the barracks will move, in as short a route as possible, to replace the roving guards.  Once that is done, the relieved guards will move, in as short a distance as possible, to the barracks.  Any of the guards in this process may do Observation Checks, as per the rules.  Guards in the barracks, except for a shift change, may not activate until the alarm is raised or they are attacked.   

There are 4 pairs of civilians wandering around, as well as the local stray dog sniffing at a pile of garbage.

Terrain rules are pretty straightforward.  Tall walls must be climbed, per the rules.  Shorter walls are treated as Broken Terrain, so they can't be crossed while running.  There are 3 streetlights, one at each of the 3 intersections.  Figures within 5" of the streetlights may be spotted (and shot at) as if in daylight).  Mind you, streetlights can be shot out...

Here is the information on our deniable, expendable, off-books wet team...



And here is the info on General Isgood and his kinfolk...



And last, the civilians (and the doggie)...



Ted will be given full intel on what's what and who's where (except the bit about the random shift change that is.  Intel can't be 100% right, after all...).  He may plan his mission accordingly. 

We'll be playing this game this upcoming Friday.  AAR to follow.... 

[mikedemana]

Ted will be given full intel on what's what and who's where (except the bit about the random shift change that is.  Intel can't be 100% right, after all...).  He may plan his mission accordingly.

...good thing Ted isn't on LAF!  We can expect Ted to make his plans and then foul them up with poor dice rolling, accordingly, as well! 

Still waiting to hear when a good couple days are to come up and visit the fine folks of Blissfield and enjoy a game or two in CapnJim's Bourbon Bar & Game Room. 

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Thanks, Mike.   But you can not count on Ted rolling crappy dice.  That comes and goes...

As far as a gaming visit by yous guys, I keep forgetting to talk to Ted about it.  I promise to do so this Friday (even Gene should now be there), but I'm thinking you guys could come up and join us for one of our regular Friday games.  After I talk to Ted and Gene, I'll throw some dates at you, and we'll figure something out.

Back to the task at hand, it looks like Gene will be joining us Friday, after all.  So, Ted and Gene will split the 4 members of our deniable expendables.

Here are a few very recent shots of the area around the target compound, taken by an anonymous on-site HUMINT source...

First up is looking east down the street that abuts the north side of the compound.



Next, is a shot looking north up the street that abuts the west face of the compound.



Last, is a shot looking west toward the front gate of the compound.



Of course, this mission will never be recorded in any history books, but an account of it will appear here...

[carlos marighela]

Looking forward to the AAR, looks like a fun set up and I'm curious as to how Black Ops works.

[CapnJim]

Looking forward to the AAR, looks like a fun set up and I'm curious as to how Black Ops works.

So are we.  It's been a fair while since we played those rules...

[CapnJim]

We played out this scenario Friday.  Ted and Gene each took 2 members of our deniable expendable off-books wet team, and I played the Gambolans (armed and unarmed, and the doggie).  As such, we begin here to tell the tale...

Part 1:  Silence, Everyone!

After meeting up with their local contact in Iziendare a few blocks north of their target, and confirming the locations of the roving guards and any civilians in the area (the local contact had just gone out for his nightly "cigarette stroll"), the team rechecked their gear, slung their longarms, drew their silenced pistols, and set out on their mission.  Boss told them to keep it as quiet as possible.  No running or climbing, stay away from any lights, and he specifically told Boomer and Doorman NOT to use explosives or the shotgun unless/until things went south.  They were to use the darkness to their advantage.  They approached the target area through the back yard of a villa located across the street from the northeast corner of the compound for which they were there.  Boomer led the way.



Out in the streets, the guards and civilians (and the dog) milled around, with no apparent idea what was about to happen.









They stacked at the front yard gate at that villa.  Doorman opened it quietly, and peaked out into the street.  He didn't see any guards (the kid guarding the front gate of the compound - Guard #1 - had wandered east up the street, away from our team), but did see 2 civilians wandering in their direction, smokin' and jokin'.  Boomer chanced it, and quietly crossed the street to the car by the compound's front gate.  He noticed that the streetlight near there was flickering on and off from time to time.



Out in the street, west of the compound, one of the guards (Guard #2) was distracted, busy seeing what some civilians were up to (maybe even shaking them down - we'll never know).  More concerning, the 2 civilians approaching our team got into an excited discussion regarding whether they had seen someone crossing the street in front of them.  Boss contemplated shooting them, but when they quieted down, he decided not to.



The third guard (Guard #3 in the credits) was busy on the west side of the compound. He had gone over the check to make sure the back door was locked.



As the 2 civilians who may or may not have seen anything turned around and headed back west down the street, and Guard #1 kept moving further away from the front gate to the compound, our team made its way to the car by the front gate.  There was another pucker moment when Boss, as he moved around the rear of the car, was illuminated by the nearby streetlight as it flickered on.  Luckily, Guard #1, blissfully unaware that something was afoot, turned further east up the street.  Boss breathed a sign of relief.



Doorman noticed a window to the right of the main gate.  The team decided to make entry their.  They stacked their while Doorman quietly jimmied the window open...



...while the civilians and Guard #2 wandered further west down the street, away from our team.



Guard #3, after checking the back door of the compound, headed back to patrol the street on the south side of the compound.  He, of course, moved away from our team as well...



Guard #1 turned, and headed down an alley.  With that, our team made entry through that now-open window, and entered the compound.  By now, the pup had wandered away in the night, and the 2 guys by the water tower had gotten into their car and drove away.





The civilians out on the north street kept strolling west, away from the compound, as did Guard #2.  Guard #3 had turned around, and headed east down the north street, along the side of the south face of the compound.  Guard #1 moved down that alley, and turned west through a rear yard, approaching a gate to head back by the compound.







Our team was in the compound courtyard, ready to enter their target building.  They could both hear and smell the sounds and aromas of the compound kitchen staff apparently preparing food, which Boss thought odd for this early (it was only 1:15 am...).  But, it was Go Time...

Stay tuned for Part 2:  Takin' Care of Bidness...

[CapnJim]

Part 2:  Takin' Care of Bidness...

Our team could hear the snoring coming from their target's room. Keeping an eye (2 eyes, actually, with 2 more on the door to the barracks) on the light at the end of the hall where the kitchen staff was working, 2 members of our team quietly entered the room where Captain General M'Gumbo Isgood and his brother-in-law were sleeping.  They put a few 9mm Parabellum rounds from their silenced Browning Hi-Powers into them.  The brother-in-law went silent and still, but Isgood kept snoring, soundly asleep. 



Outside, the streets were quiet.  It was as if there was nothing going on...Guard #3 was at the far end of the western street...



...while Guards #1 and #2 were wandering around out in the street near the southeast corner of the compound.



Inside, Boss approached Isgood's sleeping quarters from the hall...



..while Guard #3 had turned around and headed back in the direction of the compound...



...and Guard #1 walked over by the General's Mercedes in front of the compound's main gate, and Guard #2 patrolled through somebody's back yard.



Inside, the team finally put General Isgood out of their misery.  They, shall we say, made sure the General and the other chap in the room were indeed dead, and took photos as proof of their night's work.



Now, it was time to get the hell out of there...

Coming soon:  Part 3:  Getting the Hell Out of There...

[carlos marighela]

Damn and after I was starting to like the General. Nice AAR Jim!

[mikedemana]

I bet Gene and Ted were flying high at this point in the game... 

And you were probably feeling a little frustrated!

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Damn and after I was starting to like the General. Nice AAR Jim!

Thanks, but fear not, carlos!  There will be other villains to admire in Balszakistan and/or El Perdomo.

I bet Gene and Ted were flying high at this point in the game... 

And you were probably feeling a little frustrated!

Mike Demana

They were.  But then they had to get out.

As for me, in these types of scenarios, where I play the "bad guys" and the players play the "good guys", I do it to:

     1.  Provide the players with a tactical challenge or 2.  In this case, it was "Could they get in, do their deed, and get out without making any noise?"

     2.  Provide a fun game for the players.  If the "bad guys" do well, all the better, but that's not the point...

In any event, let's finish out story, and see if the team can, in fact, get out.

Part 3: Getting the Hell Out of There...

While our team was takin' care of bidness with the General, et. al., the compound's kitchen crew had gone into the barracks to wake up the boys and serve them chow.  It was shift change time!



As the crew left dear old General Isgood, and headed out into the compound, they were met with 2 of the guard relief crew, who had just exited their barracks door and were quite surprised to see the crew there.  Or they would have been quite surprised, had they actually seen them.  A few quick silenced 9mm shots, and the 2 guards went down.



Outside, Guards #1 and #2 patrolled near the area of the front gate...



...while Guard #3 took a leak in the street (on the sidewalk, really) west of the compound.



Inside the compound, the doors to the barracks swung open again, and yet another relief guard appeared, silhouetted by the light inside.  Two of our team went in, and with a few more 9mm shots, he and a 4th relief guard just down the hall were now down too.  The kitchen staff wisely cowered in the corner of the barracks.





Still unaware that anything was up, the guards outside the front gate milled around out there...



...while the guard down the street, his bladder now empty, patrolled further west.



The crew, ready to go, opened the front gate.  Quietly, as it turned out.  Boss, Boomer, and Doc were at the gate, while Doorman was at the window through which they had made entry.  Guard #1 must have noticed that open window, and went to investigate it.  He was shot dead for his trouble, care of Doorman.





Next, before they left the compound, Boomer and Doc acquired Guard #2 (it was easy - he was lit by the flickering streetlight), and shot him down...and with the coast apparently clear, Boomer led the way to the general's Mercedes.





Meanwhile, Guard #3 turned around and patrolled back east, slowly heading toward the compound.



The crew quickly clambered into the General's Mercedes.  Doorman hotwired it (no problem), and they sped off into the night.





They had done it!  They had gotten in, more or less without making any noise, took care of the business at hand, and gotten out, all in one piece.  The only evidence they left behind were a bunch of spent 9mm Parabellum casings, a dead General and his dead brother-in-law, and 6 downed guards.  None of which would be traced back to anyone in particular.  The latest round of political unrest in the People's Republic of Northern Gambola, dear readers, was now essentially over...

[mikedemana]

Stealing the general's Mercedes was the exfil plan?    Or was that an improvised thing? I detect Ted's sense of humor at work there... 

Otherwise, wow! That worked a LOT better than the rangers and marines were able to do...ha, ha! Great AAR, and appreciate the hard work on the "dark" photos and blow by blow of the events!

Mike Demana

[carlos marighela]

Classy team. Anyone who chooses a Hi-Power as their sidearm and steals a Merc as their getaway vehicle has my admiration.