Encounter at Epembe Junction

FAPLA Orders:

"The successful action at Chiede meant we've advanced rapidly this past week but the fascists have decided to make a stand here at Epembe junction. Reinforcements are on their way but the Boers are no fools - they will have help on the way too. We must attack now while they are still weak.

You have to crush them and seize key terrain here so we can take the initiative once more and strike a decisive blow"

SADF Orders:

"Errors were made at Chiede and now the commies' tails are up. We have to stop them here. They're advancing in strength but support is on its way. You have to be fast and aggressive and dominate the battefield here at Epembe Junction!"

Next battle in my Axis of Advance solo AK$& campaign - Encounter (from the Flames of War 2nd Ed rules)

The Battlefield

Contact! Game One of an Axis of Advance Campaign

I used the idea of an Axis of Advance campaign from Flames of War 2nd Edition because a) working out a map movement system and order of battle for two (possibly three) forces was too hard and b) I had a copy of the those rules and they seemed to offer the opportunity of generating battles and providing a narrative.

The Axis looks like this. 

54 Bn Yankee Base: Eenhana	Angolan -Namibian Border	Epembe Junction	Contact! Chiede	Evale PLAN Bde HQ	Mongua Township	Xangango PLAN Front HQ & Airfield
< PLAN/Cuban Axis of Advance – SADF / UNITA Axis of Advance>

If anyone wants to get a idea of what the terrain is like I suggest having a wander around on Google Maps or MilitaryMap . It's pretty sparsely populated and rugged country.

This is a screenshot from MilitaryMap: Okongo is 54 Modular Battalion HQ in my campaign.

The idea is to fight the first battle and then the winner 'advances' along the axis of advance and in the next game is the attacker. I randomly chose the attacker for this scenario and made up a couple of force lists for PLAN (the armed wing of SWAPO) and the SADF. The SADF were the attacker so the scenario was as follows:

Background

A SADF Modular Battalion on an ‘External’ operation in Southern Angola receives reports via aerial reconnaissance of potential hostile activity near a flooded watercourse crossing and trading settlement on their axis of advance. They are instructed to proceed to the area as quickly as possible and conduct a sweep to verify the report and engage any hostile elements.

Terrain

Gently undulating scrub with a waterway running roughly diagonally across the table and bisected by a metalled road running between the short table edges. The crossing point is a bridge and there are three building templates nearby.

This is the rainy season so:

The watercourse is flooded but can be negotiated by men and vehicles. Both use 3 “ movement crossing and vehicles bog on a roll of 1 on a D6 (4+ to unbog in subsequent turns).

Victory Points

As per rules ignoring the final six conditions and any conditions relating to objectives. The SADF receives 5 points for every unit that exits the short table edge opposite its entry edge.

Deployment

The SADF is the attacker and enters on any short table edge of their choosing on turn 1. They roll for and execute movement as per normal rules i.e. they don’t have to ‘wait’ a turn.

The PLAN is the defender and deploys as per the threat generation system. Any destroyed units composed entirely of small arms or RPG teams return via the ‘Guerrilla Reserves’ rules from the Tropic Lightening Supplement to ‘Flames of War’.

Game Length

As per AK 47 Rules

Order of Battle

SADF

Alpha Company 54 Battalion (Modular)

544 Points + 56 political manoeuvre

Command + HQ Support Callsign Sierra 6*

1 x Command team

1 x HQ team

Up to 2 artillery bombardments on call @ 25 points each

1 Platoon: Regular Callsign Sierra 1

3 x Unimog Trucks @ 30 points

6 x small arms teams @ 60 points

3 x RPG teams @ 30 points

2 Platoon: Regular Callsign Sierra 2

3 x Unimog Trucks @ 30 points

6 x small arms teams @ 60 points

3 x RPG teams @ 30 points

Recce Squadron 54 Bn Group: Regular Callsign Sierra 3

3 x Eland Armoured Cars (tank gun) @ 120 points

South West African Specialist Unit: Professional Callsign Charlie 1

2 x Technicals HMG @ 70 points Callsigns Charlie 2 & 3

2 x small arms teams @ 34 points (one of which is nominated Charlie 1)

1 x Technical RR @ 30 points Callsign Charlie 4

PLAN

Command + HQ Support

437 points

88 points political manoeuvre

1 x Command team callsign Delta 6

1 x HQ team

3 x Artillery Bombardments @ 75 points

1 Platoon Militia callsign Delta 1

6 x small arms teams @ 42 points

3 x RPG teams @ 21 points

1 x Cuban small arms team (professional ‘stiffening’) @ 17 points

2 Platoon Militia callsign Delta 2

6 x small arms teams @ 42 points

3 x RPG teams @ 21 points

1 x Cuban small arms team (professional ‘stiffening’) @ 17 points

3 Platoon Militia callsign Delta 3

6 x small arms teams @ 42 points

3 x RPG teams @ 21 points

1 x Cuban small arms team (professional ‘stiffening’) @ 17 points

4 Platoon Militia callsign Delta 4

6 x small arms teams @ 42 points

3 x RPG teams @ 21 points

1 x Cuban small arms team (professional ‘stiffening’) @ 17 points

Mortar Platoon Militia callsign Delta 5

4 x mortar teams @ 80 points

1 x Cuban small arms team (professional ‘stiffening’) @ 17 points

Mobile Platoon Militia callsign Hotel 6

2 x Technicals (HMG) @ 50 points Callsigns Hotel 1 & 2

1 x Technical (AA) @ 30 points Callsign Hotel 3

2 x Technicals (RR) @ 40 points Callsign Hotel 4

1 x Cuban small arms team ‘Hotel 6’ (professional ‘stiffening’) @ 17 points

In the end I didn't bother with the political manoeuvre part and just used the force lists as above. This was because I used Martin England's ingenius 'Threat Generation' system to deploy the PLAN (look it up on Google).

Two things became apparent once I started playing:

1. The SADF would have a tough job exiting the table. The watercourse meant they would lose time crossing it or be funneled onto the bridge. I play AK47 vehicle movement as 2D6 in inches per move across country or 3D6 in inches per move on a road. Even with good die rolls and no resistance they would have their work cut out getting to the opposite table edge.

2. The Threat Generation system meant there was a fair bit of time messing around before contact - this is always going to be the case fighting lengthways down the table - but the PLAN got lucky and three out of four infantry platoons turned up, as did their mortar platoon and all but one of their technicals.

With only four platoons and difficult terrain the SADF were on a hiding to nothing - one of those games best played solo I think.

Anyway here are some action shots:

The SADF have advanced into a swarm of PLAN. In the foreground the Recce armoured cars have hit a Cuban Recoilless Rife Technical and scored one morale hit on the PLAN Technical platoon - that's the pink die. But the PLAN have consolidated a couple of platoons on the settlement and the SADF infantry aren't getting across the bridge. In fact one of their platoon has also suffered a morale hit.

Nevertheless, the SADF pressed on and tried to storm the bridge:

The results are pretty obvious. The shell crater is a pinned marker and the dead guys are destroyed foot groups. They never got over the bridge.

The only real highlight for the SADF was the destruction of a Cuban foot group that was 'stiffening' a PLAN platoon form militia to regular status. This was achieved by the SADF special forces on their ultimately suicidal thunder run as they tried to drive through a mass of PLAN and exit the table.

The dead guy behind the bush to the right of the burning SADF technical is the destroyed Cuban group.

By the time I reached game end the result was embarrasingly bad for the SADF. PLAN will now take the offensive and move towards Epembe junction. FAPLA, alerted to the presence of SADF forces on their turf may get involved...

*The call signs are related to the cards assigned to units/vehicles under the Threat Generation system. Instead of the six of spades I called them  'Sierra 6' and so forth.

I hope you enjoyed this and are inspired to play some similar games yourself!

Contact!

'Photos from this mornings aerial reconnaissance over sector King Zulu King east of Chiede.

Three hostile vehicles identified confirms ELINT that PLAN is present and on the move.

Elements of ALPHA Company 54 Battalion will sweep the area from south to north, and engage and neutralise any hostile forces.'

It's been a while but COVID19 has meant I'm playing some solo games and even campaigns - see my other blog here that details operations in Northern Italy in 1796 - and so I decided to resurrect this blog.

I've drafted a 'Border War' Supplement for the first edition of AK47 by Peter Pig that covers the fighting along the Angolan-Namibian border from 1975 to the early nineties. I have special rules, army lists and political flowcharts for SADF, PLAN (the military wing of SWAPO), UNITA, the Cubans and some freelance mercenaries. You're not going to get to see those yet but may do eventually when I playtest and amend them.

As far as scenarios go I've sourced background information and orders of battle and intend to use an axis of advance mapless style campaign. The basic scenario ideas come from Flames of War 2nd Edition and the Vietnam Tropic Lightning Supplement. Why those, well they are sitting on my bookshelf here in lockdown. I'll also be using Martin England's intriguing 'Threat Generation' system to add some solo spice (if you haven't come across this Google it, you'll thank me).

So the first scenario is 'Contact!' from Tropic Lightening, suitably modified for the Border War and gives an SADF infantry company the task of clearing an area that includes a small settlement and a bridge across a watercourse in the rainy season. The watercourse is flooded, and therefore is difficult but not impossible to cross other than at the one bridge. The surrounding area is generally flat with a few folds in the ground and covered in scrub that makes spotting troops on foot hard to spot.

The victory points sytem will mean the SADF cannot afford to sustain anything like the casualties of their PLAN opponents. Whoever wins will have the initiative for the next scenario. There are three points both north and south of this scenario i.e. three going south take us towards and across the border into Namibia and three going north deeper into Angola. Whoever gets furthest north or south and wins there wins the campaign. Simple.

The aim is to generate a narrative that provides some games, have fun and avoid lockdown fever...