Two Brothers' First Tour Prologue/2nd Tour Preamble

 All,

So, the first tour was an absolute blast, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  To be sure, 24 fights was a lot of battles, probably too many, particularly given the time period 1965-1966, where things were 'relatively' quiet compared to '67, '68, and '69.  I loved the way I played out patrol actions using the cards to dictate the action, timing, enemy force, and random events, it worked awesome (or at least I think so).  I also loved the way I was able to interweave real history into the various tabletop operations and games, without getting too bogged down (I hope).  I suppose I'll never find a perfect set of skirmish rules, but my variation of Five Men at Kursk sure seems to give an exciting fight.  The only problem is that it still can seem a bit disjointed; I forget the actual quote, but Ed Texeira of Nuts!/Two Hour Wargames has written something along the lines of the challenge of skirmish games is having leadership matter, that it's a military op, not a gang fight.  And if I'm having a hard time with true skirmish (a handful of guys per side), I'm REALLY having a hard time finding a set of platoon-level rules I like.  My modifications of KR-16 did a pretty good job for Operation Hastings I think, but there's just still something missing.

The squad started out with fights against the Viet Cong, and then things really ramped up with Operation Utah and the first fights between the USMC and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), which the squad ran into again during its first trip to the DMZ for Operation Hastings.  The Operation Utah fights were the most fun of the entire first tour for me, just a ton of great action and great scenarios, pulled straight out of the official US Marine Corps history books for Vietnam.

Regarding the troops, of course I was invested in the boys, and I tried to develop other characters, but then typically they would get killed or medically evacuated.  Corporal Little started off very slow, and I didn't thin much of him, but once they got into Operation Utah he became an absolute stud, to the point that I'm taking him with me into the 2nd tour.  I really liked how LCpl Jackson developed as well, and I thought about taking him to the 2nd tour as well, but I didn't want to overplay the fact of Marines extending for multiple tours as the vast majority of Marines served their one tour and then took their butts home like normal, well adjusted humans ;)  So I let Jackson rotate back to 'The World,' but the Correa came on right at the end, so I ended up taking him into the 2nd tour as well, and now he's turned into some sort of  'crack shot,' so I'm really looking forward to seeing how that plays out in future games.

So our four characters will join a squad that already has a bunch of Marines (and a Corpsman), and a whole bunch of South Vietnamese militia members.  I plan on starting them off as totally inept, but as time goes by the Marines are able to get them trained up and have them performing as a competent fighting force, before handing them off to the next CAP platoon and going back to the grunts, just in time to head back up to the DMZ for Operation Buffalo, which I have an affinity for because I met General Libutti while I was in the Marine Corps and he was a Lieutenant with Charlie 1/9 during Operation Buffalo and is mentioned quite a bit in the book of the same name on the first day of fighting, which sees 1/9 pretty much cease to exist (Bravo was completely overrun and then Alpha and Charlie took so many casualties they had to be combined just to form one understrength company).  I have no idea what will happen after that as I'm not sure who will survive the meat grinder up there in Leatherneck Square...

Regarding the squad itself, it was rated to consist of a squad leader, a grenadier, and three four-man fireteams, for a total of 14 men.  During the time period of 5 Oct 1965 to 5 Oct 1966 a total of 36 Marines and Sailors were cycled through the squad's roster.  During that time a total of:
-4 men survived to extend their tours and go to different units
-6 men survived their entire tour and were able to rotate back to the United States
-13 men were wounded and evacuated to the United States
-9 men were killed in action
-4 men were left in the squad with at least six months remaining to carry on their tour

These men were awarded:
-1 Medal of Honor

-2 Navy Crosses
-1 Silver Star
-3 Bronze Stars w/V device
-3 Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medals w/V device
-1 Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal w/V device
-54 Purple Hearts (not including KIAs)

Nikki led the league with a whopping FOUR Purple Hearts, while Doc Johnson (who won the Medal of Honor) and Lamont Jackson were the only two guys to survive and entire tour and rotate home without being hit.

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So, to wrap up the boys' first tour, we last saw the Danny coming out of the field and going to visit Nik in the hospital.  Danny left Nik in the hospital and went back to his barracks, and returned to see Nikki the following day, but Danny couldn't keep it light anymore, time was growing too short, and thus began three straight days of arguing about whether to sign on, or not sign on, for a second tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam.  Being so close to the end of the his tour, Danny had been pulled out of the field, so he had nothing to do but sit alongside Nik's hospital bed and argue all day and all night about shipping over.  The night of the third day's arguments ended with Danny yelling at Nik that they only had a few days left to ship over, and Nikki replying that Danny was asking him to choose between him and his own mother; "I'm all she's got, and she's the only family I got left on this Earth, Danny."  Danny hissed "she's not all the family you've got, @#$hole," and began walking away, to which Nik responded "If you walk off right now, I don't ever want to see your stupid ass ever again!"

Danny was aggravated enough that he actually didn't go back and see Nikki the next day, and Nik was aggravated enough that it wouldn't have gone well if he had anyway.  But the following day Danny walked into the hospital and was shocked at what he saw; Nik was lying there, staring off into space, eyes red, tears running down his face.  Danny felt a sudden urgency and moved close to his brother, and asked what was wrong; Nik opened his mouth to reply but no words came out, he simply pointed to a document lying on the bed.  Danny's heart jumped into his throat; it was a Red Cross message.  Danny picked it up, looking to scan it, but it was only two sentences long.  "Nik, I'm so sorry..."

Danny sat down and held his friend's hand, and all through he rest of the day the two sat there in silence.  Finally, the sun nearly down, the walls purple, Nikki's voice croaked: "I can't believe she's gone, that I didn't get to see her again..."  Danny, feeling more helpless than any other point during his life, just nodded silently, and the two boys sat there until a nurse came in to check on Nik a couple hours later.  The nurse took care of whatever it was she was there for and departed, looking as if she wanted to say something, but not, and then Nik finally spoke again: "Let's go."  "What?" Danny replied.  Nik achingly sat up and began pulling bandages off and needles out (which is INCREDIBLY painful when you don't know what you're doing, by the way), with Danny exclaiming "what the hell are you doing?"  "Well, I figure we gotta get over to S-1 and sign our papers to ship over," Nik replied.

"What are you talking about?  Now?" Danny asked.  "Well, why not?  You're all I've got left."

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So that's it, that's the end of the first tour, and now we've set up the second tour.  The nurse came back over and got Nikki to lay back down and put everything back in, but Danny went to Admin and got the paperwork drawn up the next day, and was followed back to the hospital by a Staff Sergeant who dutifully witnessed the boys sign their extension paperwork for a second tour.  They were on the spot promoted to Corporal, and granted a 30-day R&R, which was tacked on to Nik's Bereavement/Emergency Leave, and the Battalion Commander graciously signed off on a weeks' worth of Annual Leave for Danny to accompany Nik back to Texas to bury his mother.  

Following that they returned to Vietnam and then began their 30-day R&R, choosing to go party in Hong Kong.

Before they left though, they had several discussions with the Career Planner, the Battalion Sergeant Major, the Ops O, and the Admin O; Nik was convinced they needed to do something different for a bit, and the boys had both really enjoyed Operation Golden Fleece (at least up until the point Nikki got shot), where they were working hand in hand with the local Vietnamese to protect them from the Viet Cong and make their lives better.  In these discussion they learned about the 9th Marines' 'Combined Action Program,' where a squad of Marines would live in a local village and form a 'Combined Action Platoon' with local militia from that village to safeguard the villagers from the VC.  This sounded right up the boys' alley, so they immediately signed up and were accepted; they even took it back to the platoon to see if anyone was willing to come with them.  They'd become very tight with Sergeant Rob Little and LCpl "Poncho" Correa, who both extended their tours in Vietnam in order to go with Nik and Danny.

Rob and Poncho remained with the squad until the boys returned from R&R right after Thanksgiving 1966, and then all four attended mandatory CAP training during the month of December.  The training consisted of education on Vietnamese key words/phrases, culture, and customs, and because the US Marine squad operates relatively autonomously, they were given focused training on leadership, communications, fire support, intelligence collection, weapons, and combat first aid.  Following completion of their training, the boys, Rob, and Poncho, were given a few days off for Christmas, the moved south to Quang Ngai Province to check in with local US Marine forces in the area and get a turnover, arriving at their assigned CAP location on 2 January 1967.  They were assigned to (fake) CAP 7-7-9, in the (fake) village of Duc Pho Linh, where they joined 11 other Marines, 1 Navy Corpsman, and 35 Popular Force Militia troops assigned to the defense of the village.

********************************************************************************
So, there's the plan.  I've got some other wargaming stuff to tend to, but I plan on getting back to this as soon as I can.  

V/R,
Jack

EDIT: Adding a few pics of my WWII Pacific project for a buddy.

KG Klink Mini-Campaign in Greece, Map Moves for Turn 10, Epilogue

All,

So here it is, the conclusion of Kampgruppe Klink's campaign in Greece.  Here are the final map moves.

The two remaining Allied battlegroups fall back, but the Germans have tightened the noose.

And there is nowhere to go; the unfortunate Commonwealth troops are pinned against a Greek mountain range, vastly outnumbered, and surrounded by KG Klink.  Reluctantly they spike their guns, strike their colors, and march off into captivity, putting another 800 Allied soldiers into the bag.

This secures victory for KG Klink in its campaign in Greece, by eliminating Allied resistance and capturing the objective, Servia.  Campaign progress was swift and casualties were as follows:

KG Klink suffered 210 casualties, with the following vehicles permanently destroyed (more were knocked out/immobilized but put back into action): 1 Stug III, one Panzer Mk I, one Panzer Mk II, one Panzer Mk III, two Pz Mk IVs, one 3.7cm PaK, and one 7.5cm infantry gun.

The Commonwealth forces suffered 355 casualties, 1225 men captured (425 during battles and another 800 when the 21st Infantry Battalion and 27th Machine Gun Battalion was surrounded and forced to capitulate), and the following vehicles were destroyed or captured: three armored cars, 12 tanks, and twelve Universal Carriers.

The men of Kampfgruppe Klink received the following awards/citations:
One Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross
Four Iron Cross 1st Class
Six Iron Cross 2nd Class
One man was mentioned in dispatches

The Germans had five battlegroups in the campaign:
Freitag's 1st Schutzen
Ginter's 2nd Schutzen
Wehner's 1st Recce
Bohm's 2nd Recce
Loeb's Panzer

And all managed to get in at least one fight during the campaign.  As a matter of fact, here's how it worked out:
Freitag led four fights
Loeb led three fights
Bohm, Ginter, and Wehner each led one fight

Freitag's foot-mobile infantry certainly did the lion's share of the heavy lifting in the campaign, with Loeb's tanks performing the campaign-winning acts by getting into the enemy rear areas and mostly beating up on weaker Allied battlegroups to unhinge then collapse their line.  Neither Recce battlegroup saw much action, but were absolutely instrumental in flanking the Commonwealth defensive line and then screening Allied battlegroups; when they actually did become engaged, neither fared particularly well.  Highly mobile, they had a lot of firepower for their weight, but not as much in the overall scheme of things, and not much staying power as they only had a single platoon of (motorcycle-mounted) infantry, each.  They held their own but suffered mightily, to the point the two Recce battlegroups were forced to combine in order to salvage any combat capability at all, following each's single battle.  Colonel Klink took note of this and, seeing as how the Recce battlegroups are being used more as cavalry than actual reconnaissance elements, vowed to increase their robustness prior to their next campaign.  Ginter's 2nd Schutzen was the only German battlegroup that had a hard time getting into action, though it was through not fault of his own, and he performed valiantly (was decorated) when he did get into action.  Being foot mobile, Freitag's Schutzen were the first into the breach, and once the Panzer and Recce battlegroups flanked the Allied line and the enemy began withdrawing, Ginter and his men simply had a hard time catching up!

So those are the stats; how did it go?  I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on the campaign, so don't be shy!  From my standpoint, the campaign system/map I borrowed from Peter was absolutely fantastic.  It worked like a champ to generate battles on the tabletop and give an actual sense of motion to the campaign (at least for me), with the Germans actually able to work to crack the Allied line, pour mechanized forces through it, then outflank the rest of the line, just like you'd draw it up.  I'm exceedingly pleased with how this went and will work to expand upon it, mainly from the standpoint of enlarging the playing area and adding more battlegroups.

Additionally, the modifications I made to Chain of Command seemed to work pretty well, and the games themselves were a lot of fun.  The 'ambush deployment' added a lot of fun and excitement to the Commonwealth defense games, though it made the German defense games too easy...  Going forward, I'm not sure I'll continue with Chain of Command, and the reason is that I actually want to play larger games, so I'm looking at going back to the Lardies' 'other' ruleset, "I Ain't Been Shot, Mum," which I've had some success with in the past.  The only issue I've had with IABSM is that, being solo, the regular blinds system doesn't seem to work well for me; I've had fun with just starting with both sides on the table, but I'd also like to be surprised a bit, and so I'm thinking about working out Joe Legan's "Platoon Forward" with IABSM to see if I can't find a sweet spot.

So, to wrap up the campaign in Greece, LtCol Klink was very impressed by Captain Freitag's leadership, so he recommended him for the Iron Cross 1st Class and promotion to Major.  The German High Command, very impressed by LtCol Klink and the kampfgruppe's performance, not only did that, they awarded Klink the Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross and meritoriously promoted him to Colonel!  The award and promotion also came with an increase in the size and capability in the kampfgruppe's forces, to the point his unit is now officially known as "Panzergrenadier Brigade Klink," though we'll still just call it "KG Klink."

Following the successful campaign, KG Klink hung around Greece for another week or so while things were coming to an end, and then was pulled back to Germany to rest, re-fit, and absorb replacements, before moving into a very aggressive training regimen to prepare them for something very big.  No one knew exactly what was coming next, but they figured it must be big as the Kampgruppe was considerably enhanced for it; before Greece, KG Klink consisted of a Panzer Company, a Schutzen Company, a Reconnaissance Company, and small detachments of engineers, assault guns, and panzerjaegers.  KG Klink ballooned in size, and for the upcoming campaign it would go into battle with a Panzer Battalion of three companies, an Engineer Battalion of three companies, two Grenadier Battalions of two companies, each, a Reconnaissance Battalion of an armored reconnaissance company and a motorcycle company, and a Schwere Battalion consisting of an infantry gun battery, an anti-tank gun battery, an assault gun battery, and a panzerjaeger battery.  The Engineer Battalion is mounted in halftracks and so will be paired into battlegroups with the panzer, while the two Grenadier Battalions are now truck mounted and will constitute their own battlegroups, augmented by infantry guns, ATGs, while the Recce Bn will split into two battlegroups of armored cars, light tanks, and motorcycle infantry augmented by assault guns and panzerjaegers.

So big changes to the kampfgruppe, for much larger battles!  I am eager to get to Barbarossa, with KG Klink pulling the direct route to Moscow (Minsk-Smolensk-Vyazma), and will get to it as soon as I can, just have some painting and -rebasing to do...

V/R,
Jack

KG Klink Mini-Campaign in Greece, Map Moves for Turns 7 and 8

All,

Here are the map moves for Turns 7 and 8 (because there were no fights after moves in Turn 7).  In Turn 6 we had 2nd Recce and Panzer BG take on the primary Commonwealth armored formations and eliminate them, destroying the Allies' mobile reserve, gaining access to the campaign objective (the city of Servia, E8), and flanking the main Allied defensive line.

However, 2nd Recce took significant casualties, as did 1st Recce, so the two carried out an operational pause to combine and reorganize, which cost the Germans time to exploit their victories, but there was a bigger problem.  Following Pz BG's resounding defeat of the British 4th Hussars, there was confusion regarding the command relationships that resulted in a lack of orders to execute the expected lightning-quick exploitation into the Commonwealth's rear area.  You see, 1st Lt Loeb, the commander of the Panzer Battlegroup, was on hand, as was Colonel Klink, the overall Kampfgruppe Commander.  Following the battle that destroyed 4th Hussars, Lt Loeb assumed Colonel Klink, his commander, would order the exploitation, while Colonel Klink assumed the tactical commander would exercise his own initiative in order to affect exploitation that would have seen the Australian 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment's withdrawal to the south (towards the campaign objective of Servia) cut off, the campaign objective isolated, and the main Commonwealth defensive line collapse to the west or risk being flanked and destroyed in detail.  This lack of exploitation would cost the Germans dearly in terms of campaign maneuver.

*This is all fictional narrative, blaming it on a command breakdown between Col Klink and Lt Loeb, when what really happened is I simply screwed up, I forgot that after 'Breakthrough' and 'Major' victories the winner is immediately permitted to carry out an exploitation move of +2 or +1 Movement Points, respectively.  Conversely, 'Minor,' 'Major,' and 'Route' defeats require the loser (assuming they were not eliminated) to make a compulsory retreat of -1, -2, or -3 Movement Points, respectively.  The Germans should have immediately pushed straight west to D7, cutting off Aus 2/8's southern withdrawal route and isolating "Wellington Force" at Servia.

Turn 7:

-RE/NZ Cavalry: Destroyed by 1st Schutzen in Turn 4 at the B3 bridge.

-Brit Rangers/9KRRC: Confused by enemy close by and rumors of enemy in their rear, without orders, they hold (A4).

-27th NZ MG Bn: Confused by enemy close by and rumors of enemy in their rear, without orders, they hold (C5).

-21st NZ Inf Bn: Confused by enemy close by and rumors of enemy in their rear, without orders, they hold (B5).

-Aus 2/8 Inf: With acute threats to their front and right flank, and enemy armor behind them, they fall back (D7 from D6)

-Lee Force/Aus 2/7 Inf: Destroyed by 2nd Recce in Turn 6 at the D6 bridge.

-4th Hussars, 3RTR: Destroyed by Pz BG in Turn 6 at D7.

-Wellington Co, 19th NZ Inf Bn: Panicking due to the stream of casualties and deserters from the destroyed Lee Force and 4th Hussars, as well as the sudden appearance of German armor nearby, it forgets its job (protect the campaign objective, Servia), and falls back to the west, abandoning Servia  (D8 from E8).

1st Schutzen: Hold, dug-in, protecting the B3 bridgehead and fixing the attention of Brit Rangers/9KRRC and NZ 21st Inf Bn

2nd Schutzen: Moves south towards the Allied main defensive line (D5 from D4)

1st Recce: Moves south and west to cut off Aus 2/8's southern withdrawal (E7 from F6)

2nd Recce: Combined with 1st Recce.

Panzer: Swoops in to take the recently abandoned campaign objective of Servia, thereby securing a major victory for Germany in the campaign, accomplishing KG Klink's primary mission (E8 from F7) 

There are no fights scheduled in Turn 7, so we roll straight into Turn 8.

Turn 8:

-RE/NZ Cavalry: Destroyed by 1st Schutzen in Turn 4 at the B3 bridge.

-Brit Rangers/9KRRC: Though depleted, they assault the 1st Schutzen in order to cover the withdrawal of NZ 21 Inf Bn and NZ 27th MG Bn (B4 from A5)

-27th NZ MG Bn: Fall back (B6 from C6).  These guys are just trying to get to and over the A6 bridge, then off the map via A8, hoping to reach safety.

-21st NZ Inf Bn: Fall back (A5 from B5).  These guys are just trying to get to and over the A6 bridge, then off the map via A8, hoping to reach safety.

-Aus 2/8 Inf: Fall back (D8 from D7)

-Lee Force/Aus 2/7 Inf: Destroyed by 2nd Recce in Turn 6 at the D6 bridge.

-4th Hussars, 3RTR: Destroyed by Pz BG in Turn 6 at D7.

-Wellington Co, 19th NZ Inf Bn: Fall back (C8 from D8)

1st Schutzen: Hold, dug-in, to fight off Brit Rangers/9KRRC

2nd Schutzen: Pursue west to cut off Commonwealth retreat (C5 from D5)

1st Recce: Pursue west to cut off Commonwealth retreat (C7 from D7)

2nd Recce: Combined with 1st Recce.

Panzer: Having secured the campaign objective and with no foreseeable threats to it, they push west to attack the retreating Aus 2/8 (D8 from E8) 

So we've got two fights coming up in Turn 8:
1.  Lt Loeb's Panzer Battlegroup attacking Australia's 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment (D8)
2.  Captain Freitag's 1st Schutzen defending against British Rangers/9th King's Royal Rifle Corps attack (B4)

V/R,
Jack

KG Klink Mini-Campaign in Greece, Map Moves for Turns 5 and 6

All,

Here are the map moves for Turns 5 and 6 (because there were no fights after moves in Turn 5).  In Turn 4 we had 2nd Recce push back the Australian 2nd Bn/8th Inf Regiment in D4, and 1st Schutzen successfully defend the B3 bridge from Brit Rangers/9KRRC and Royal Engineers/NZ Cavalry, destroying the Royal Engineers/NZ Cavalry and pushing the Brit Rangers/9KRRC back before pursuing them to B4.

Turn 5:

-RE/NZ Cavalry: Destroyed by 1st Schutzen in Turn 4 at the B3 bridge.

-Brit Rangers/9KRRC: Fall back to regroup and reorganize (A5 from B5).

-27th NZ MG Bn: Fall back to straighten the line (C5 from C4).

-21st NZ Inf Bn: Advance to plug the line opposite 1st Schutzen (B5 from A5).

-Aus 2/8 Inf: Stand fast at D5, holding the line.

-Lee Force/Aus 2/7 Inf: Fall back to refuse the flank (E6 from E5).

-4th Hussars, 3RTR: Fails to realize the threat to the right flank, holds firm again (D7).

-Wellington Co, 19th NZ Inf Bn: Remembering its limitations (extraordinarily weak and immobile) and its job (protect Servia), it holds on the objective (E8).

1st Schutzen: Hold to dig-in, continuing its mission of protecting the B3 bridgehead (B4)

2nd Schutzen: With 1st Schutzen in good shape at the B3 bridgehead, moves east to cross the D3 bridge and get on the main Allied line's flank (D3 from C2)

1st Recce: Up and over to hem in the Lee Force/Australian 2/7 (F5 from E4), supporting both 2nd Recce and the Panzer Battlegroup

2nd Recce: Up and over to hold the enemy flank (D5 from D4).

Panzer: Rapid advance into the enemy's rear, crossing the F6 bridge, nothing between them and the objective (Servia, E8; F7 from F5)

So, the Germans are working on absolutely dismantling the Allied defense, flanking and getting in behind the Commonwealth forces, with nothing standing between their panzers and Servia.  There are no fights scheduled this turn, so we move on to Turn 6, with the biggest question being, do the Germans go straight for Servia, or work to dismantle the Allied armored forces (Lee Force/Aus 2-7 and 4th Hussars).

Turn 6:

-RE/NZ Cavalry: Destroyed by 1st Schutzen in Turn 4 at the B3 bridge.

-Brit Rangers/9KRRC: Advance to flank 1st Schutzen and hopefully compel them to fall back without a fight (A4 from A5)

-27th NZ MG Bn: With 2nd Schutzen appearing to their front, German reconnaissance elements off their right flank, and rumors of panzers in their rear, they do not hold the line, they fall back! (C6 from C5)

-21st NZ Inf Bn: Hold opposite 2nd Schutzen to allow Brit Rangers/9KRRC to maneuver in support (B5)

-Aus 2/8 Inf: Same as 27th MG Bn, they're unhinged by the threat to their right flank and fall back (D6 from D5), wrecking what Brit Rangers/9KRRC and NZ 21st Inf Bn are trying to do

-Lee Force/Aus 2/7 Inf: Moves east to cut off the German penetration, but thus opens up a hole between them and Aus 2/8 (F6 from E6)

-4th Hussars, 3RTR: Finally gets in the game and performs its role as the armored reserve, moving at the double to engage the German panzer group (F7 from D7)

-Wellington Co, 19th NZ Inf Bn: Holds on the objective (E8).

1st Schutzen: Getting nervous with Allied battlegroups to its front and now on its flank, thinking about falling back on the B3 bridge, but holds, hoping its comrades further east compel the Allies to fall back (B4)

2nd Schutzen: Advances south to pressure the collapsing Allied right, cutting off their armor (Lee Force and 4th Hussars) from the infantry in the west (D4 from D3)

1st Recce: Advances into combat with Lee Force/Aus 2/7 in order to fix them while Panzer Battlegroup reduces 4th Hussars, looking for help from 2nd Recce as necessary (F6 from F5)

2nd Recce: Moves up to separate Lee Force from Aus 2/8 (E6).

Panzer: Stands fast and prepares to receive 4th Hussars (F7)

So, two fights coming up: 1st Recce vs Lee Force/Aus 2/7 and Pz BG vs 4th Hussars, so getting some armor on the table!  When I get to the Panzer vs 4th Hussar I intend on bumping up to a 6' x 4' table from the 4' x 4' I've been using.

V/R,
Jack

KG Klink Mini-Campaign in Greece, Map Moves for Turn 4

All,

Here are the map moves for Turn 4.  Here's what we had in Turn 3:

-2nd Recce fought the NZ 27th MG Bn for control of the D3 bridge and beat them forcing them to fall back to D4.

-RE/NZ Cavalry: Team up with Brit Rangers/9KRRC to attack 1st Schutzen's bridgehead at B3.

-Brit Rangers/9KRRC: Team up with RE/NZ Cavalry to attack 1st Schutzen's bridgehead at B3.

-27th NZ MG Bn: Fall back west (C4 from D4), attempting to straighten the line.

-21st NZ Inf Bn: Holds fast at A5.

-Aus 2/8 Inf: Reverses its last movement and returns north (D4 from D5). 

-Lee Force/Aus 2/7 Inf: Attempts to support Aus 2/8 Inf by covering their flank but, in doing so, uncovers the right flank of the entire Allied defensive line (E5 from F5), allowing German mechanized forces on its flank.

-4th Hussars, 3RTR: Fails to realize the threat to the right flank, holds firm (D7).

-Wellington Co, 19th NZ Inf Bn: Remembers its limitations (extraordinarily weak and immobile) and its job (protect Servia), it moves back (E8, from E7).

1st Schutzen: Defend its bridgehead at B3 against RE/NZ Cav and Brit Rangers/9KRRC.

2nd Schutzen: Hold at C2, in reserve, able to support the east or west routes, with a heavy eye towards 1st Schutzen's bridgehead.

1st Recce: Hold at E4 to control the gap between 2nd Recce and the Panzer battlegroups, pending the result of 2nd Recce's fight.

2nd Recce: Advance to D4 and engage the Australian 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment. 

Panzer: Advance to F5 from F3 to box in Lee Force/Aus 2/7 and/or move past to unhinge the entire defensive line.

Two scheduled fights, and I'm really curious to see if I can pull off combining two battlegroups for a single battle.  

V/R,

Jack

KG Klink Mini-Campaign in Greece, Map Moves for Turn 3

All,

Here are the map moves for Turn 3.  Here's what we had in Turn 2:
-1st Schutzen moved up to B1 and fought RE/NZ Cavalry, beat them badly and forced them back to B3.
-1st Schutzen immediately pursued, running into 21st NZ Inf Bn in B2, beat them and forced them to fall back to B5.

-RE/NZ Cavalry: Faced with getting roughed up by 1st Schutzen again, they fall back (C3 from B3, giving up the bridge, but hoping Brit Rangers/9KRRC will charge up to assist.
-Brit Rangers/9KRRC: They don't; in the absence of orders, they hold firm at B4.
-27th NZ MG Bn: Fall back to the bridge at D3, from D2, hotly pursued by German 2 Recce.
-21st NZ Inf Bn: Still needing to reorganize, they fall back (west, A 5 from A4), with an eye towards protecting the bridge at A6.
-Aus 2/8 Inf: With German 1st Recce encroaching, fall back (D5 from D4).
-Lee Force/Aus 2/7 Inf: They do, too (F5 from F4).
-4th Hussars, 3RTR: Hold firm, when they really could have helped the situation by plugging the gap German 1st Recce is looking to exploit at E5/E6.
-Wellington Co, 19th NZ Inf Bn: An extraordinarily weak and immobile force whose only job is to protect Servia (E8), for some reason they decide to sally forth (E7 from E8).

1st Schutzen: After two hard fights, moves up to seize its prize, the undefended bridge at B3.
2nd Schutzen: Moves up to C2, in reserve, able to support the east or west routes.
1st Recce: Dashes across the undefended bridge at F3, reaches E4, looking to 'shoot the gap' at E5.
2nd Recce: Moved up to the bridge at D3 engaging and fixing 27th MG Bn to allow 1st Recce freedom of movement.
Panzer: Up to the undefended bridge at F3, looking to engage Commmonwealth armor most soonest (Lee Force then 4th Hussars, respectively), defeat them, and collapse the Commonwealth defense of Servia.

Only one scheduled battle, and somehow I screwed it up!!!  It's supposed to be 2nd Recce vs 27th MG Bn at the D3 bridge, but I accidentally transposed it as 2nd Schutzen vs 27th MG Bn, so that's what you'll see.  Rather than fix it using the unit counters on the board, I just played the fight and let it ride, with 2nd Schutzen and 2nd Recce staying where they're at on the big board.

V/R,
Jack

KG Klink Mini-Campaign in Greece, Map Moves for Turns 1 and 2

All,

Well, here we are, getting my mini-campaign in Greece started.  So far I've spent about five hours getting everything ready, and my map moves took longer than I expected, lots of figuring to do!  But let me show you how things are looking so far.

Prior to Turn 1 beginning, I decided a few things:
1) The Germans would come on in two waves.  The 1st wave consisted of 1st Schutzen, 2nd Recon, and 1st Recon, from left to right.  The 2nd wave, consisting of 2nd Schutzen and the Panzer Battlegroups, would wait patiently off-table and arrive on Turn 2.
2)  Three Allied units would start known, and the rest would not.  The three known locations were, th Australian 2nd Bn, 8th Infantry Regiment at the major urban area of Ptolemaida, the armored reserve, 4th Hussars, was to be centered in the last third of the map (D7), and the Wellington Company (which I'm treating like the last ditch effort, lots of 'riflemen' drawn from the cooks, bakers, and candlestick makers, but not much in the way of heavy weapons and no armor), would be at the overall objective, the Servia Pass (E8).
3) I then split the remaining five Allied Battlegroups into a frontline (Royal Engineers/New Zealand Cavalry, and the New Zealand 27th Machine Gun Battalion) and a 2nd echelon (British Rangers of 9th KRRC, "Lee Force," and the New Zealand 21st Rifle Battalion).
4) I took the two units in the front line, mixed them in with four dummy markers, and covered the entire top row.
5) Then I took the remaining three units, added a bunch of dummy markers, and placed them semi-randomly in rows 2-6.
6) Then I decided where the German lead echelon would come on, and moved them in, then flipped over all the Allied markers, to see what was what and what was where.

And lo and behold, there are no fights in the Turn 1!!!  As you can see in row 1, none of the German 1st echelon came onto the board in contact with any of the (two) Allied front line units.  So now I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do; actually, I already knew what I was going to do and how I was going to do it, now I just needed to exercise it.  So, I'm not going to do this for every turn, because it's kind of a pain in my ass, but here's the process I went through:

I started with the Germans, and mapped out their moves:
1.  1st Schutzen will move from A1 to A2
2.  2 Recon will move from C1 to C2
3.  1 Recon will move from F1 to F2
4.  2 Schutzen will move into C1, from off table (unless the Allies go crazy and attack into C1, which will fix 2 Recon in place, delaying 2 Schutzen's entry onto the table)
5.  Panzer will move into E1

Then on to the Allies:
1a.  Royal Engineers/New Zealand Cavalry will fall back to B2 on a 1-6
1b.  Royal Engineers/New Zealand Cavalry will hold on 7-9
1c.  Royal Engineers/New Zealand Cavalry will move to C1 on a 10
THEY ROLLED AN '8,' SO HOLD
2a.  New Zealand 27th MG Bn will fall back to D2 on a 1-6
2b. New Zealand 27th MG Bn will hold on a 7-9
2c. New Zealand 27th MG Bn will move to E1 on a 10THEY ROLLED A '2,' SO FALL BACK TO D2
3a.  New Zealand 21st Rifle Bn will move (B2/D2/C3, depending on what its neighbors do; I would allow them to cross the river into C3 as they don't have any vehicles, nor much in the way of heavy wpns, plus they're theoretically more familiar with the area since they're defending.  This would only have been necessary if they, the RE/NZ Cavalry, and NZ 27th MG Bn all fell back simultaneously) on 1-6
3b.  New Zealand 21st Rifle Bn will move to C1 on 7-9 (an attack!)
3c.  New Zealand 21st Rifle Bn will hold on a 10
THEY ROLLED A '4,' SO MOVE TO B2 SINCE ROYAL ENGINEERS/NEW ZEALAND CAVALRY HELD IN B1
4a.  "Lee Force" will hold on 1-7
4b.  "Lee Force" will advance to F3 on 8-10
THEY ROLLED A '7,' SO HOLD
5a.  Australian 2nd Bn/8th Inf will hold on 1-9
5b.  Australian 2nd Bn/8th Inf will advance to D4 on a 10
THEY ROLLED A '10,' SO ADVANCE TO D4
6a.  The British Rangers will hold on 1-8
6b.  The British Rangers will advance to B4 on 9-10
THEY ROLLED A '10,' SO ADVANCE TO B4
7a.  4th Hussars will hold on 1-8
7b.  4th Hussars will advance to D6 on 9-10
THEY ROLLED A '3', SO HOLD
8a.  The "Wellington Company" will hold on 1-9
8b.  The "Wellington Company" will advance to E7 on a 10
THEY ROLLED A '3,' SO HOLD

If you can't tell, what I tried to weight the dice towards was the Allied front line falling back and the NZ 21st Rifle Bn holding fast, so that the three Battlegroups would form a solid defensive line, and then all the other Battlegroups just sort of hung out to see what develops.

And here's what it looks like.  We have a fight in Turn #2!  Yeah, just one, but a fight, nonetheless!  And I have no concerns on that account; due to the troop density, we will undoubtedly soon reach a point where multiple fights per turn are unavoidable. In any case, the Allies' Royal Engineer/New Zealand Cavalry Battlegroup held fast, and Captain Freitag's 1st Schutzen Battlegroup moved east into B1, so stand by for action!

We'll have this on the German side:
1st Grenadier Platoon - PC, 50mm mortar, ATR, and four rifle squads
2nd Grenadier Platoon - PC, 50mm mortar, ATR, and four rifle squads
Weapons Platoon - PC, 2 MG-34, and 2 80mm mortars
Assault Gun Platoon - 3 Stug IIIs with short 75mm gun

Versus this on the Commonwealth side:

Armored Car Platoon: 3 x A/C

Engineer Platoon: PC, 3 x Engineer Squads

Weapons Platoon: PC, 2 x Vickers, 2 x 3” Mortar

Coming right up.

V/R,
Jack