Crisis Point IV - Return to Andreivia (Part Four)

Day Two.

After a hearty breakfast at Padley Farm B&B Andy, Ian and I made the short journey on foot to the hall for Day Two of Crisis Point IV. Day Two was to see the two smaller tables closed down and all the action moved to the large 'Tcherbevan & International Airport' table.

Players.

Russians - Russell Phillips & Mark Kniveton
Andreivians - Ian Shaw & Richard Crawley (assisted by Arthur & Leo)
NATO - Jamie Crawley & Richard Phillips
Andreivian Turks - Andy Canham
Armenians - Rob Connolly

Richard Crawley had to step in last minute due to a no show and he assisted our younger players with a force of Andreivian Paratroopers who were fighting to hold the railyard on the north bank of the river.

NATO had a different force as the Italians had been held up by the Mujahideen the following day. Jamie controlled a small force of British Paras in a Blackhawk helo and I had a larger force of US 101st Airborne on board a Chinook. Basically we could intervene whenever we saw fit. NATO also had a small Italian Special Forces team inserted into the Italian Embassy a few days ago who had covertly entered the ATV building in central Tcherbevan and were holed up on the observation deck at the top of the tower. This was to prove interesting when they surprised an Andreivian Sniper Observation Team that tried to deploy on the roof of the ATV Tower. The Andreivians, surprised to see the Italians threw a grenade which killed one of the SF Team who reacted by opening up with 5 Assault Rifles and 2 Minimi's which made short work of the Andreivians. An unfortunate incident!

The first action of the day was the brief firefight between the Italians and the Andreivians. We used paper plates as a quickly improvised floor plan of the top of the ATV Tower.

After the firefight the Italians take control of the ATV Tower which has commanding views over the whole of Tcherbevan and the airport. The sniper set up on top of the tower and began to select appropriate targets to reduce the bloodshed below. 

The mysterious ship moored by the bridge had come to the attention of the NATO commanders as several high ranking officials of the Andreivian Government, including the Defence Minister and the Culture Minister, had been seen frequenting this ship. NATO had become increasingly suspicious of the actions of the Andreivian Government and the Airborne forces were put on stand by if it was deemed necessary to intervene and take the ship. It was later discovered that the Andreivians were using the ship to interrogate prisoners taken during the fighting!

US 101st Airborne on board a Chinook prepare for action

The Andreivian Armenian leader Serj Benkian travelling through the city escorted by his bodyguards

NATO decide to intercept Mr Benkian before he reaches the Armenian fighters as they are worried that his presence might bring an increase in hostilities. The 101st Airborne are tasked with the mission of detaining Mr Benkian and escorting him to NATO HQ.

Mr Benkian reluctantly surrenders to the US forces and is escorted onto the waiting Chinook

Under the watchful eye of the 101st.

The 101st then relieve the weary French forces which have been using the Old Fort as a Forward Operating Base in Tcherbevan.

NATO Forward Operating Base in the Old Fort in Tcherbevan now under the control of the 101st Airborne Division

Meanwhile Jamie's attention was focused on the mysterious ship moored near the Culture Ministry

NATO air support was called in by the Italian spotter on the ATV Tower

The Jaguar begins its bombing run aiming to clear the area around the ship of hostile forces unfortunately this meant bombing the Italian Embassy as hostile forces had occupied the building

Once the area had been cleared of hostile forces the men of 10 PARA deploy onto the roof of the Italian Embassy in preparation for an assault on the ship

10 PARA move to secure the Italian Embassy building

This was the last action by NATO as unfortunately we had to pack up and head home. Special thanks to my fellow NATO player Jamie Crawley for a great weekends gaming. Sorry there were no Saxon Shieldwalls in sight!

I have some photos of other actions on Day Two and will post them next.

Crisis Point IV - Return to Andreivia (Part Three)

I wasn't involved on the large 'Tcherbevan' table or the 'Outskirts of Mdinar' table on the Saturday as I was on the 'Southern Hills' table with my Italians. I will leave the job of reporting events on those two tables to those involved. However I did manage to take some photos of the action on the two tables. Please let me know if I get anything wrong.

Andy Canham's Andreivian Turks in the ruins along Culture Ministry Boulevard

An Andreivian Turk HMG looks for targets in the Armenian Quarter

Armenian Engineers 

 

Andreivian Turks prepare for an attack

Armenian Mortar prepares to fire into the Turkish Quarter

Russians in the ruined outskirts of Mdinar

Russian ATGM searching for a target

A Russian BMP2 moves through the ruins of Mdinar

Andreivian Government air support

Andreivian armour waits for the Russians to advance

The Russians prepare for the advance

The Andreivian defenders waiting for the onslaught

Andreivian infantry

Russian armour

A fantastic Kamov built by Mark Kniveton

More from Day Two to follow........

Crisis Point IV - Return to Andreivia (Part Two)

Day One - The Southern Hills.

NATO Italians:- Richard Phillips & Jamie Crawley
Mujahideen:- Stuart Adams

NATO OOB.

HQ Group

1 Iveco LMV
2 Ariette MBT


Battlegroup 'Ragu'

1 Ariette MBT
1 Centauro TD
1 M113A3 APV
1 Land Rover

Battlegroup 'Dolmio'

1 Ariete MBT
1 Centauro TD
1 M113A3 APC
1 Land Rover

The Table.

The game was fought on a 6' x 6' table with the Southern Highway running north on the western edge of the table with the Southern Hills stretching away to the east with a couple of small villages in the NE and SE corners of the table. 

The Action.

The Italians arrive!

The Italians began by moving up the Southern Highway. Battlegroup 'Ragu' continuing north towards the NATO observation post in the woods in the top left of the picture and Battlegroup 'Dolmio' leaving the highway and heading east towards the first of the villages in an attempt to locate two missing SAS troopers who had gone missing, believed captured, in a previous operation in this area. Battlegroup 'Ragu' was lucky as the British Forward Observer team located in OP had spotted an IED and managed to detonate it safely before the Italians arrived. This meant the Italians could advance along the Southern Highway in safety up to the OP.

A lone civilian is spotted in the distance!

As Battlegroup 'Dolmio', under the command of my good self, continued east the commander of the lead Ariete tank spotting a lone civilian wandering the hills. Was this a threat to the Battlegroup or was it a harmless goat herder going about his business. The tank commander decided to proceed with caution as reports were coming in of more civilians being spotted in the hills. 

Battlegroup 'Ragu' approach the OP

Battlegroup 'Ragu', under the command of Jamie Crawley, head for the OP. Their orders were to leave the Southern Highway and head for the village in the distance to also search for the two missing SAS men. Secondary to this mission was to seek out any insurgents in the area that may threaten the NATO supply route along the Southern Highway.

Italians dismount to patrol the hills.

After the reports of locals being spotted in the hills the Italian CO decided to dismount some troops from Battlegroup 'Ragu' and Battlegroup 'Dolmio' and patrol the hills and forests in search of insurgents. Troops from 'Ragu' climbed the nearest hill to set up a look out and troops from 'Dolmio' headed east to patrol the forest edge.

Under fire!

As the Italians from 'Ragu' reached the top of the hill they came under fire from a group of insurgents hiding in a nearby wood. 

Insurgents, Insurgents!!

A small group of insurgents, commanded by Stuart Adams, ambush the Italians and the RPG gunner lines up a shot at the lead tank.

Italian Ariete destroyed by RPG attack!

The insurgents celebrate as the RPG hits its target and destroys the Ariete. All the crew manage to get to safety but this is not a good start for NATO.

Battlegroup 'Ragu' reach the OP

While the Italian infantry are delayed in a firefight with the local Mujahideen the armoured vehicles of Battlegroup 'Ragu' reach the OP and prepare to leave the highway and head east towards the village.

Heroic Medic!

A random event on the Mujahideen side saw the arrival of an 'Heroic Medic' who assisted in treated the insurgents wounded. The RPG gunner can be seen preparing for another shot. He didn't live the make the shot as he died under a hail of machine fire from an Italian Centauro. 

The Italians take losses!

One of the Italian infantry is killed taking the hill and another is wounded and the Italians also lose a man patrolling the forest edge. Fire support from the .50 cal on the armoured vehicles supports the small arms fire and gradually the Italians begin to take control of the situation. But they have been badly delayed by this ambush and time is crucial if they are to find the two missing SAS troopers!

Sole survivor!

The insurgents fight to the last man as they continue to delay the Italians. Fanatical morale kept them fighting!

 Advance!

While Battlegroup 'Dolmio' was held up by the ambush, the CO decided there was no time to waste and took and pair of Ariete tanks and began to advance towards one of the villages hoping to find the hostages. Again the advance was slowed by another local wandering the hills. 

Safe!

Throwing caution to the wind the Italian CO continued on and was happy to find out that the local was just a goat herder and posed no threat. The CO ordered the tanks on at full speed. A lot of time had been lost and now speed was of the utmost importance.

Another ambush!

After the initial delays Battlegroup 'Ragu' finally reached the OP and left the Southern Highway only to come under heavy fire from another groups of Mujahideen hiding in the woods. Although the Italians didn't sustain much damage, they were again delayed and had to halt to deal with this new threat. At the same time a Mujahideen HQ unit revealed itself from its hiding place and poured machine gun fire into the Italian infantry still recovering from the initial assault on the hill. The Italian CO was now in the position that he had to choose which village to head for as it was obvious that no other Italian units would reach the villages in time.

Can anyone else hear a buzzing noise?

While Jamie continued the firefight with the Mujahideen in the woods I made a decision to race to the nearest village with the Italian CO and two tanks to attempt to locate the hostages. Again Stuart conspired to delay us with an attack from a technical and a Humber a/c which caused no damage and then with an air attack from an Hs-126 complete with an RPG gunner in the rear seat. Stuart chose to target the Italian CO's LMV and managed to immobilise the vehicle causing the occupants to dismount and continue on foot. Yet another delay!

Sledgehammer to crack a nut!

Frustrated by the continual delays the Italian CO called in some air support in the form of a Mangusta Attack Helicopter armed with Hellfire missiles. Its first target was the Humber a/c closely followed by the Technical.

Take that!

The Mangusta launches its Hellfire missiles.

Hit!

Both vehicles burn as the Hellfires slam into their targets. The sole survivor of the attack looks on as his armoured car burns.

Empty!!!!!!

On the last turn the Italians finally reach the first village only to find it empty. No hostages in sight! Not good news!

NATO will never find you!!

Meanwhile on the other side of the table a small group of insurgents make their escape from the other village with the hostages. As they do a huge explosion is heard and as the smoke and dust clears the OP on the Southern Highway can see a huge crater in the middle of the Southern Highway. A parting gift from the surviving Mujahideen! 

A great game, with Stuart delaying us at every turn. The Southern Highway is safe for now although it will need some repairs before the NATO supply convoys can resume and the two SAS hostages are still in the hands of the Mujahideen. Thanks to my fellow commander Jamie and our dogged opponent Stuart who made it a thoroughly enjoyable Day One to Crisis Point IV.

Now what on earth was happening on the other two tables...........