Lee Brimmicombe-Wood’s newest design, Wing Leader: Victories 1940-1942, has been one of several big hits for us this summer. For you guys who don’t own or haven’t yet had a chance to play the game, we’re presenting here (in several parts) Brett Dedrick’s terrific set of After Action Reports for a couple of the free scenarios that Lee has made available online. We hope you enjoy this detailed look inside the the game! – Gene
————
PART 1: – Introduction and First Game Turn
Hammerin’ Sickles: Longstreet Attacks at Gettysburg recently “made the cut†on the GMT P500 and Fred and I are very thankful for the support from the gaming community. We thought it would be a good time to give a brief run-through of the game and show how a typical game flows. The tutorial scenario – “The Round Tops†– depicting the fight for both Big and Little Round Tops is a compact, quick-playing vehicle to help demonstrate the Blind Swords system in general and Hammerin’ Sickles in particular.
First, let’s do a brief overview of how the system works. Blind Swords is a chit-pull mechanic system with some interesting twists. Before each turn, players will “load†the chit-pull cup with Division Activation Chits (one for each Division involved in the game), some Event Chits (more on those later), a Fog-of-War Chit (which will generate forced random moves and leader casualties), a Fortunes-of-War Chit (which will cancel the next chit drawn from the cup) and the CIC Chits (which allow the player to select any Brigade to activate in his army, even for a second time). In the longer scenarios, there is also a Lull in the Battle Chit which will speed play and simulates the forces becoming tired and hesitant as the battlefield has evolved into a chaotic, smoky and unmanageably-tangled landscape. All these chits are placed into the same cup and drawn by either player.
Click on the following to read the three previous installments of this article: Part I, Part II, Part III.
The British Turn 4 Reinforcements include 3 brigades as normal arrivals. And the 6th Australian Div as an exchange for the 4th Indian Division. Indicated by the black box around both the arriving and withdrawing units.
The 3 arriving brigades may land at any port, up to stacking limits. They choose to land at Bardia where they may stack with the Garrison. Number 1.
Units that are arriving as part of an exchange may directly replace any units of the division they are being exchanged for. In this case the three brigades of the 6th Australian change places with the 3 brigades of the 4th Indian brigade. Number 2.
The 4th Indian are withdrawing, indicated by the red box around their image on the Reinforcement Track. They are placed on the Reinforcement track on the next turn where their image appears. Follow the blue arrow from Number 2. The green box around the image indicates that this is (or will be) a returning unit. If there is no future turn to place them on, place them on the red-boxed images on the current turn to indicate that they were withdrawn and will not be returning.
Note that two of the 4th Indian Brigades was reduced, but the arriving unit was full strength. Arriving units always arrive at full strength, regardless of their state when withdrawn. Moral of the story, always lead with units that about to be withdrawn. When they return, they will be a full strength.
Figure 19 British Reinforcements
Here are links to Part 1 and Part 2 of this article.
The British have the initiative and need to select their initiative chit. Not an easy decision with the Italians still perched on the coast road east of Helfaya Pass.
Only the two 7th Armored Tank Brigades are in range to move and attack, so the OConner chit is not a good option.
If the Italians were not holding the coast road at Halfaya Pass, a HalfMove would be sufficient to get everyone in range to Move and Attack on the next chit. But, they are holding the coast road. They could take a FullMove, and hope the British do not disrupt sprinting through the desert. Mindful that the turn has just started.
The British play it safe and take the HalfMove to better position themselves.
Click this link to read Part 1 of this article.
Figure 6 Axis Half Move
Next Chit is an Axis HalfMove/Combat. The Axis takes it as a move and attempts to cover major crossroads. The Italians in Sidi Baranni attempt to move out of their predicament. At this point they will survive the attrition phase if the British do not do anything to change the situations. Helfaya Pass and Sidi Omar are covered, so the risk of a sudden breakout by the British is temporarily averted. If the Axis can get one more full move the will be in the best possible position.
The following is the beginning of a multi-part After Action Review (AAR) by Tim Wilcox of the Compass Scenario from Ted Raicer’s Dark Sands. Enjoy!
It is December 1940 and O’Conner is leading the British attack to push the Italians out of Egypt.
The Axis have two VPs, one for holding Benghazi, one for holding Tobruk and Bardia. The British have zero VPs. In addition to the forces here, the Italian have a Garrison in Tobruk and the British have an Infantry Brigade in Alexandria.
Figure 1 Opening Positions – Compass
“Kashmir”, Game Turn 4
Game Turn 4 in this scenario is an “Initiative” turn for the Indians. At this point both sides are quickly running out of units, with the Pakistan/China side having a bit of an advantage since they started with a larger force. The Next War combat results table has high attrition for both attackers and defenders, so units tend to get chewed up pretty fast if they are on the front lines for a long time.
At the start of GT4, the Indians still hold 4 out of 5 VP hexes. Each is worth 5VP at game end. The Indians are also still ahead on casualty VPs by 6VP. Mitch (India) opens up his turn with some repositioning of his few remaining units. Since he is ahead, he is being conservative and trying to make my attacks as risky as possible. But, the Indian lines are thin, with just 2 steps of units holding Bandipora (4610) and a lone one-step reduced brigade in the 4511 mountain VP hex. Here is the situation at the end of exploitation movement during GT4 (red stars / green stars added to show VP hexes):
“Kashmir”, Game Turn 3
Game Turn 3 in this scenario is a “contested” turn; with much more limited movement/combat segments. In the Next War series turns are either “Initiative” turns (that have 3 move/attack cycles for the attacker and 2 move/attack cycles for the defender) or “Contested” turns that provide only 1 move/attack cycle for each side. These turns represent the need for both sides to sometimes slow combat operation in order to address logistical issues and plan for future operations.
Here in Kashmir, the Pakistan/China side has so far been stopped at the north end of the Kashmir valley. Airmobile and Airborne operations in the Indian rear area at the south end of the valley have met with limited success.
Before going into GT3, a quick note on the air situation. In the Next War series control of the air and fully taking advantage of your air assets is a critical part of the game. The air situation in “Kashmir” in GT3 is now basically even. In the “Standard Game” in the Next War series the air war is somewhat abstracted with “Air Points” being provided to both sides that can be used for fighter escort of Airmobile and Airborne missions as well as ground combat support. By comparing Air Points, the “Air Superiority Level” for each turn is set, which then determines the level of air defense threat to each side (less threat if you have superiority). In the first two turns of “Kashmir”, the Pakistan/China side has “Air Advantage”, which is the lowest level of air superiority. Still, that gives them the ability to move units by Paradrop and Airmobile movement with only limited risk of Air Defense Fire (at least in theory, although Mitch’s ADF dice have been hot). They also get a slight edge in Air Points to use in combat. In the “Advanced Game” scenarios players get much more detail (and work) to fight the air war, with individual air unit counters, SAM/AAA defense tracks, and a host of mission options including combat support, strike missions, and air-to-air combat.
“Kashmir”, Game Turn 2
GT2 is another Initiative turn for the Pakistan/Chinese side in this scenario. GT3 is a Contested turn by SSR, and the Indians will have the initiative in GT4 by SSR, so the Paks/Chinese really need to push. During initiative movement, the Paks move up more full-strength divisions into Baramula in an effort to attack south over the river line (in 4410). They bring up more units to surround the elite Indian mountain brigade in Bandipora (4610, another VP hex). However, due to hot Air Defense Fire dice rolls (there are air defense rolls against Airborne and Airmobile Movement representing SAMs, AAA, and aircraft) by the Indian side, three out of four Chinese airborne brigades get aborted back to Islamabad! That is a lot of combat power not in play. Here is the situation at the end of GT2 Initiative Movement Segment:
I’d like to add just a bit here to the background. But first, I’ll have Doug introduce himself:
I have been a gamer since the mid-1980s, when I started with Squad Leader, which of course led to a long obsession with Advanced Squad Leader. In college I was also a Harpoon fanatic, including gaming basically every naval combat from the Tom Clancy book Red Storm Rising. However, my true gaming passion has always been modern ground combat games such as the GDW Assault and Third World War series, and detailed modern air simulations like GMT’s Downtown and Elusive Victory. As a former US Army armor officer, I love games that model operational level maneuver and logistics. Development of Next War: India-Pakistan is my first time doing the research and design work for a full game. I live in Arlington, Virginia and work as a weapon program analyst for Congress.
Doug’s obvious passion for this particular patch of mud is obvious in the hard work he’s put into this project. He’s going to explain a little bit about how this project started, and, below, when says “run with the project”, he really means “Doug did most of the work.” He has tirelessly labored to ensure that the map and Orders of Battle are as accurate as they can be, and, while we have certainly collaborated in order to ensure that any new rules or systems such as High Mountains, Mountain Units, and Nuclear Weapons work seamlessly within the overall framework of the series, this game is as much Doug’s as it is mine. I’m very pleased with the outcome, excited about getting this one to print, and I hope you enjoy Part 1 of this Series Replay covering the first game turn of the introductory scenario. – Mitch
Game Background –
Next War: India Pakistan (NWIP) is the next game in development for the Next War series, following Next War: Korea (NWK) and Next War: Taiwan (NWT). In late 2013 I contacted Mitchell about the potential for a game in the series featuring a new India-Pakistan conflict. After looking at possible one-map configurations, we settled on a game that focuses on the “traditional” area of India-Pakistan conflict: the Indian states of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. We assume potential intervention by China (allied with Pakistan), the United States (allied with India), and Russia (allied with India). We thought it was a good fit for the Next War series since both sides have very large, mechanized ground forces and modern air forces. And, in our view, a potential conflict between India and Pakistan is one of the more likely large-scale conventional conflicts in the future. Since Mitchell was focused on finishing NWT, he told me to run with the project to get things going. In a year’s time we have a near final map and counters, along with a solid draft of the Game Specific Rules (GSR). NWIP features six scenarios (three using the standard rules and three for the advanced rules). For this “series replay” we decided to test drive the introductory standard rules scenario: “Kashmir”. I will play the “non-Allied” attacking side with Pakistan and China while Mitch takes the defending “Allied” side with the Indian forces.
Scenario Introduction –
“Kashmir” features a little bit of all the major features of the system, and is designed to help players get the feel for the Next War series in this theater. A glance at the map shows just how difficult the terrain is in this part of the world. The Kashmir valley is tucked in between towering mountain ranges to the north and south. These mountains are so high we added a new terrain type called “High Mountains” to the series (the white mountain hexes). Movement into those hexes, which represent ranges at/above 15,000 feet in most cases, is significantly restricted. Helicopters also can’t operate in those hexes. Then, inside the valley the terrain is still a challenge. There is a minor river, a large lake, and even some rice paddy hexes showing areas of intense agriculture. Basically, whatever one thinks “tank country” might be, this isn’t it.
The scenario depicts a Pakistani offensive into the Kashmir Valley, with significant Chinese support in the air and on the ground. Players earn VP for enemy casualties during the game and at game end for possession of five victory hexes: (4409 (Baramula), 4610 (Bandipora), 4412 (Srinagar), 4214 (Anantnag), and the 4511 mountain hex). Here, Mitch and I agree to play without the optional supply rules for the standard game. A close-up of the terrain shows just how difficult it is (I added the red stars just to show the VP hexes, everything else is playtest map art):
