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

[Doug ex-em4]

Just caught up on the latest AAR. Great stuff as usual - chaotic mayhem…! The campaign narrative is a joy (and an inspiration).

Is that the same BFF photographer that was wounded in the earlier action or is this a fresh one from the BFF media pool? Regardless, he got through this one unscathed and with some valuable propaganda photos. Balczaki officialdom aren’t going to like that.

Doug

[Andy in Germany]

Also, just caught up:once again, it felt like being a child in the 1980's watching news stories; the models are very atmospheric.

And those tanks came out very well; I like the "in combat" additions.

[mikedemana]

Great AAR, Jim! I thought the camera man was going to be rounded up and tossed in the back of the van. Was this a case of the players being so focused on shooting the enemy that they ignored the "civilian bystanders?" Or just Gene being Gene... 

It was nice to see that building I'd sold to you put to use as the radio station! The photos all look great, as usual...

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Nice work Capt!
I too have a 'Golden eye' tank. You & Lord Raglan might have inspired me to try a paint job.

Have at it!  I rather enjoyed that little exercise.

They look great!

That second scheme, the grey/brown/green one appears in a Soviet manual on tank camouflage from the 1980s, so it's totally conceivable that a T-55 could be painted that way. The Czechs used a not dissimilar scheme in the late 1980s and they applied it to their T-55AMs.

Thanks, carlos.  Appreciate that.

Good job on the T-55s Jim

Thanks, m'Lord.  It's your fault, ya know... 

Just caught up on the latest AAR. Great stuff as usual - chaotic mayhem…! The campaign narrative is a joy (and an inspiration).

Is that the same BFF photographer that was wounded in the earlier action or is this a fresh one from the BFF media pool? Regardless, he got through this one unscathed and with some valuable propaganda photos. Balczaki officialdom aren’t going to like that.

Doug

Thanks, Doug.  It was the same figure, so it makes sense that it might have been the same guy.  But since the Balczakis let him get away, more of his photos got around.  And no, the Balczaki Provisional Government is none too pleased.  But, they are soon going to have more pressing matters to deal with that some bad press...

Also, just caught up:once again, it felt like being a child in the 1980's watching news stories; the models are very atmospheric.

And those tanks came out very well; I like the "in combat" additions.

Thanks, Andy.  And thanks!

Great AAR, Jim! I thought the camera man was going to be rounded up and tossed in the back of the van. Was this a case of the players being so focused on shooting the enemy that they ignored the "civilian bystanders?" Or just Gene being Gene... 

It was nice to see that building I'd sold to you put to use as the radio station! The photos all look great, as usual...

Mike Demana

Gene finally, after some prodding, remembered what his mission was.     It was either chase meaningless civilians or actually raid the target building.  He finally chose the latter, and squeaked out a win on points...

And that building has seen more than its share of use.  That place gets around...Nothern Gambola, Balcakistan, 1920s Kentucky, the Plumbrook Exclusion Zone, etc., etc. 

[CapnJim]

The PBR is Gonna Poke the Bear

We're going back to Balczakistan this Friday (the 7th).  Before I provide you the scenario info, here is a little more background.

Inspired by the talk of the impending German reunification, as well as the political situation in Moscow, the government of Balczakistan declared its independence from the USSR in June 1990.  They would be the first Soviet republic to do so, and a good year and a half before the dissolution of the USSR.  It was a risky move, but the US, the UK, and a few other countries recognized Balczaki independence (and established diploamtic relations with Balczakistan).  The Soviet Union was NOT one of those countries.

As such, the USSR retained its bases in Balczakistan, although Moscow restrained Soviet military forces from taking offensive action.  That didn't mean the newly formed provisional goverment in Bhamfuhk (the capital of Balczakistan) had it easy.  Two militant groups formed, one after the other.  The first was the Balczaki Freedom Front (the BFF).  It stood up immediately after Bhamfuhk declared independence.  Its stated goal was reunification with the USSR, and it immediately launched a low-level insurgency.  Besides its military activities, the BFF also had a press/propaganda arm - Radio Free Balczakistan.  While there have been several incidents involving the BFF/RFB, the most significant action was the successful abduction of the US Ambassador in late 1990.  The US deployed a USMC battalion and a Special Operations Detachment to Bhamfuhk to aid in the rescue of the Ambassador, which was ultimately successful in spring of 1991.  And, the BFF and RFB scored some propaganda points along the way.

The second militant group to form was the Peoples' Balczaki Resistance (PBR).  It is not clear when they were formed, but their stated purpose was to aid the provisional Balczaki government in their fight against the BFF.  An example was the PBR's assistance in a failed operation to attempt a rescue of the US Ambassador.  Recently though, in the spring of 1991, they added another purpose - the expulsion of Soviet military forces from Balczakistan.   As of 01 July 1991, they had not conducted any known operations against Soviet military units.  That was about to change...

Cells of PBR fighters (know locally and colloquially as PBR Streetgangs), supported by operatives from Balczakistan's Special Military Operations Branch (SMOB), have been planning an attack on the HQ of the Soviet 151st Motor Rifle Battalion.  OPSEC being what it is, an imminent attack is not exactly a secret.  The target of the attack is, however.  Everyone found out on a cloudy day in mid-July.

The game will be in 28mm, using Fistful of Lead; Bigger Battles, albeit with slightly extended movement, command, and weapons ranges.  Anyone who owns the Cold War Gone Hot supplement to Force on Force may recognize this scenario - it based on the Red Army Faction Terrorist Attack scenario I wrote for that supplement.

Here is the Scenario General information:



Here is the Soviet Scenario Information:



And here is the PBR/SMOB Scenario Information:



And, to familiarize ourselves with the target of the attack, here is a little better image of the game board:



Here is a shot of the Battalion HQ in question:



Here is a shot of the front gate looking from the west (outside the perimeter):



And, finally, here is a broader shot of the battalion area, looking from the east:



Well, that's it for now.  As I mentioned, the game is set for Friday.  SP is at 1100 hrs.  Reports to follow...

[Lord Raglan]

Another one to look forward to mate 👌

[Digits]

Great table…love the gate area.

[carlos marighela]

Great layout!

[mendoza]

 very nice, great table

[CapnJim]

Thank you, Gentlemen,  And you guys...

Well, we did play our little PBR raid yesterday (Friday).  All 4 of us were present for the festivities - so, after some random die rolling, Gene and I played the Soviets, and Ted and David played the PBR/SMOB chaps (and a chapette).

As I previously mentioned, we used Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles.  However, we have been using some adjusted (lengthened ranges/distances) lately, and here is the chart we used for this game.



With that out of the way, on with the show...

Part 1:  Just Another day at the Office...

The Commander of the 151st Motor Rifle Battalion sat in his upper floor office, smoking a cigarette and reading the intelligence report from the GRU.  He couldn't believe (or maybe didn't want to believe) that those so-called resistance fighters in the PBR would have the balls to attack a Soviet military base.  But, just in case, he had ordered the reaction force to stand to, and be ready in the event something were to happen.  Some of his staff were working in the office across the hall, and a few more were doing the same in the building behind the HQ, adjacent to the flagpole.  He looked out his front window, and noticed some civilians milling around by the flagpole (what did the Americans call it?  Smoking and joking"?).  It had been quiet so far today - just another day at the office.  He put out what was left of his cigarette, and lit another.



While the Battalion Commander was reading his GRU report, the 3 civilian contractors at the front gate, not far from the HQ building, were a bit edgy.

   

The cause of their anxiety was a column of vehicles approaching the gate from the west.  A small green car was leading, with 3 blue vans/SUVs a bit back from it.  An orange sedan was bringing up the rear.  Something wasn't right here, the guards all thought.

The man riding in the front passenger seat of the from blue mini-van cradled his AK in his arms, and warned the man driving to keep back a bit from the green car.  They didn't want to get caught in the blast.  The driver did so as best he could, but complained that the vehicles behind his were "right up his ass".



The gate guards, somewhat frantically as the car was moving at speed, waved to the man in the green car to go to the right of the gate shack and hollered to stop.  Instead, he went left, jammed on his brakes, and came to a screeching halt right next to the guard holding a shotgun.  Just as the other 2 guards were beginning to reach for their pistols and the poor bastard with the shotgun began to raise it, the driver of the green car reached up to the little black box on the dashboard, and flipped the switch on it.  The car, as well as the gate shack, went up in a large blast...

 

...that left a wrecked car on its side in a crater and a pile of rubble where the guard shack used to be.  2 guards died in the blast, while the 3rd, the furthest from the blast (relatively speaking), miraculously survived.  He was, however, quiet shaken by the whole thing - his bell well-rung an his drawers well-soiled.



Everyone around heard that blast.  The Battalion Commander stood bolt upright, thought "Shit, really?" amd yelled at his staffers across the hall to "Gear up and grab your weapons!  prepare to defend yourselves!"  Having heard (and felt) the blast themselves, they needed no coaxing to do so.  The Battalion Commander himself grabbed his gear and weapon.  The staffers in the building behind the HQ headed out the front door to make their way to the HQ, where they could gear up and get their weapons.  The civilians initially headed south down the street.

Meanwhile, at the front gate (or what was left of it), the driver of the lead blue mini-van tried to swerve right around the wreckage of the gate shack, overcompensated, and skidded sideway to a halt just beyond the rubble.  The driver of the blue van, following right behind, slammed on his brakes and barely missed hitting the minivan and almost got caught up in the perimeter fence.  The surviving gate guard, dazed and confused, just stood there and watched, thankful he didn't get run over.  The blue SUV and the orange sedan went left, both drivers maintaining control of their vehicles.  One PBR streetgang immediately exited the minivan, and headed into the base.



The group of civilians, momentarily unsure of what to do, froze in place.  The group of unarmed soldiers, coming from the building behind the HQ, rounded the front corner of the HQ just as the lead PBR streetgang entered the base.  the PBR men fired at the unarmed soldiers, to no real effect.



The other PBR streetgangs exited the blue mini-van and the blue van where they had stopped.  The surviving gate guard, wishing to keep surviving, ran away from the ensuing action, west toward some trees at a corner in the perimeter fence.



The staffers in the upper floor of the HQ, now geared up and armed, fired out the front windows at the PBR men who had entered the base, causing them some concern.  These PBR men ran to take cover at the base of the HQ building.  The other group of staffers, now inside the HQ, got their shit on and grabbed their weapons.  And, a unit of OMON Interior Ministry Police arrived on the scene.



By now, the blue PBR SUV had made its way into the base, pulling up across the street in from of the HQ.  The 2 streetgangs inside it unassed the vehicle, with one taking cover behind the SUV, and another moving up to take cover behind one of the military vehicles parked in front of the HQ.  The OMON units dismounted their patrol vehicle, and took cover behind it.  Man, there were a lot of these PBR f***ers, they thought.  The SMOB men stopped their orange sedan outside the perimeter fence, got out, and took up a position on the rubble of the gate shack, their RPGs at the ready.  The PBR men traded fire with the now-armed soldiers in the HQ building and the OMON troopers, with one PBR fighter at the blue SUV getting hit.  And the Battalion Commander came out to link up with the OMON unit - the plan was to get him the hell out of there.



That's it for now.  Stay tuned for Part 2:  Here Comes the Cavalry! to see how it all ends up...it will be posted soon enough...I promise!

[carlos marighela]

Nice build up to an exciting climax. Love the fact that you had a destroyed guardhouse and bomb vehice just ready to go. Shows remarkable confidence in the outcome.

[Lord Raglan]

Another great read Jim, you are really setting the standard with your battle reports.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Excellent.
Waiting for the next part.

[has.been]

Great stuff Capt. I await the next instalment.

[CapnJim]

Thank you, fellas!  As for carlos' observation, I had my bag-o-smoke, my bag-o-rubble, and my box-o-craters handy, just for such emergencies...

With that out of the way, let's see how this all ended up playing out.  I now present to you, Dear Readers...

Part 2:  Here Comes the Cavalry!

Things got hairy now.  The Soviet staff-types (REMFs, in American military colloquial terms, an acronym for Rear Echelon Mother F***ers...) in the HQ building managed to shoot down the 3 PBR men by the blue SUV, as well as 2 more by the blue minivan near the late gate shack.  And everyone could hear the sound of armored vehicles approaching from the north.  The PBR streetgang who were first onto the base and had taken cover at the side of the HQ building, had managed to sneak around the back of that building.  2 other PBR groups had worked their way to the front corner of the HQ.

The PBR freedom fighters/thugs (depending on your perspective) who had snuck around the back of the HQ building could hear (and see) the reaction force's vehicles approaching.  They could also see the OMON unit and their prey (the Battalion Commander) at the OMON vehicle, their attention directed elsewhere.  It was now or never.  They charged toward the Commander and the OMON chaps in what would be a vain attempt to snatch their target up.  It failed. Miserably.  All 3 PBR men went down in the scrum, but they did take an OMON trooper with them, and shook the Commander and the remaining OMON men up a bit.  It turned out the Battalion Commander was no pushover - he had learned a thing or 2 in Afghanistan.  He would not go down easily.



Then, they arrived.  The reaction force came down from the north, a BTR leading the way.  It was followed by the T55, and the 2nd BTR brought up the rear.  The trail BTR split off, pulling into the parking area by the quonset huts (what did the Soviets call them?).  The lead BTR moved down the road toward the HQ, while the T55 followed close behind, its turret swinging right, toward the PBR menace.



The 3rd PBR man, who had been by the blue minivan, still alive but quite rattled, had scurried away toward some trees.  The surviving gate guard, overcoming his nerves, turned and fired his pistol toward the PBR men by the blue van who were cutting their way through the perimeter fence.  He missed - and he had made the crucial mistake of bringing a pistol to a rifle fight.  The PBR fighters returned fire, convincing the gate guard to keep running away toward those trees.



The trail BTR pulled into that parking area.  Its driver braked hard just as the men on board were dismounting.  The infantrymen managed to keep their footing, but were shaken up just a wee bit.  The Soviet tank cut the corner, and drove through the grass toward the threat.



The lead BTR, whose driver must have attended the same driving school as the trail BTR driver, also braked hard as it neared the OMON vehicle and as the men aboard dismounted.  They were not as nimble.  2 went down.  One would not get back up.

Perhaps the OMON patrol vehicle blowing up in front of them threw off their balance.  The PBR fighters by the front corner of the HQ building had dropped a 2nd OMON trooper, and the Battalion Commander got in their vehicle.  He ordered the remaining OMON man to cover him.  It was just then the 2 Balczaki SMOB men, who had moved up from the rubble to the rear of the blue mini-van to get better angles on potential targets, let loose with RPG rounds.  One RPG round streaked into an upper floor window of the HQ building, downing one man up there and causing the others considerable concern.  The other RPG round slammed into the OMON vehicle, brewing it up (having apparently hit the fuel tank).  The Battalion Commander was lucky,  He survived, wounded but alive, and was able to get out of the now-burning OMON vehicle.  The last OMON man was also lucky - he was just shaken a bit by the blast.



The gunner in the lead BTR, having seen from where those RPG rounds came, traversed his turret and let loose with a burst of 14.5mm heavy machine gun rounds.  The 2 SMOB men were no more.  And, some of the afore-mentioned REMFs in the HQ building had come out and engaged the PBR fighters outside the building.  The Soviets were beginning to get the upper hand.  But it was not over yet.  Not by any means.



As the Trail BTR and its infantry moved to secure the front gate area, supported by the T55, another group of PBR men had worked their way around the back of the HQ building.  The Battalion Commander was caught in a crossfire, and he took one wound, then another, dropping to the pavement, out of the fight.  While the infantry from the lead BTR moved to secure their Commander, the other group of Staff-types made their way around the back or the HQ to deal with those PBR fighters/thugs.



By now, there weren't many PBR fighters left.  Those who remained, now aware that their prey was down, began to exfil (run away).  The Soviets pursued them, and the race was on.  The PBR folks would have to get away on foot, though.  The T55 had sent a 100mm round into the blue van, destroying it and taking out 2 PBR men who were next to it.

 

There were now only 4 PBR fighters left at the scene of the crime.  2 more had managed to get away.  The Soviet infantry caught up with one PBR chap, who promptly dropped his AK and threw up his arms in surrender.  We were all sure the Soviets would treat him appropriately...



And the 3 PBR men who had gunned down the Battalion Commander were caught and dispatched behind the HQ building.



Things quieted down now.  The Soviets went about securing the front gate area (and their prisoner)...



...and the area near the HQ (and especially their Commander's body).



It was over now.  The raiders had all been taken out, driven off, or captured, but all was not well.  The PBR raiders had left quite the mark in their wake.

The Epilogue.

18 PBR fighters, a PBR suicide car-bomber, and 2 Balczaki SMOB men had gone in.  Only 2 PBR men came out alive.  One PBR man was captured by the Soviets, and, oddly enough, none of the PBR fighters or SMOB men who went down survived.

On the Soviet side, 8 men went down in the course of the battle - 2 gate guards, 1 staff-type, 2 reaction force infantrymen, 2 OMON men, and (most importantly) the Battalion Commander.  Of those, a staff-type and an infantryman got back into the fight.  Of the other 6, the 2 OMON men survived.  The rest, including the Battalion Commander, succumbed to their wounds/injuries.  In addition, the front gate area and the OMON patrol vehicle were destroyed, and the upper right office in the HQ took an RPG hit.  It would take some time to put everything back together.  And the 151st  Motor Rifle Battalion now needed a new commander.

The Soviets would not take this whole thing lying down.  There will be a Soviet response...