More AK 47 in Angola

Cuban Intervention Halts South African Invasion

The Guardian 26 July 1985

Sources in Luanda claim an invasion of Angola's southern Cuando Cubango province by South African forces has been halted after fierce fighting.

'For several weeks the apartheid regime has been sending tanks and mechanised troops over the border in support of CIA backed UNITA terrorists who are challenging the authority of the legitimate MPLA led Government of Angola,' said a spokesman in Havana.

'Cuban soldiers have assisted their Angolan comrades to fight off this assault, and after a series of battles have successfully expelled the South Africans from Angolan territory' he said.

'The South Africans have suffered heavy losses, particularly in their armoured formations, whilst Cuban and Angolan casualties have been minimal,' he said.

Sources closer to the front line in Angola's southern town of Menongue report heavy military traffic, all heading south, over the past week. 

If Havana has committed combat troops this could represent a major escalation of the so called 'border war' that has dragged on in this region for the best part of a decade since Angolan independence in 1975. Since the mid seventies, Cuban forces have largely been confined to garrison duties as well as providing training and logistical support for the MPLA Government forces. Most of the actual fighting in Angola has been between the western and South African backed UNITA rebels and the MPLA forces. Additionally, Pretoria has been fighting a low intensity war along the Namibian - Angolan border with SWAPO guerrillas who use bases in Angola for their efforts to destabilise South African occupied Namibia.

Washington alleges that East German and Soviet pilots and aviation technicians have recently been deployed in Angola. If true, this is further evidence that that Moscow is escalating a proxy war in southern Africa.

Cuban tanks take the objective - a destroyed MPLA T-34 marks the crest of the hill

 Cuban Motor Rifle troops seize the railhead - UNITA militia take cover in the background

A murderous little battle for a territorial objective - SADF mechanised infantry fight off  enemy T-34s, BTR 60s and infantry

In other words we've played three more games using the original AK 47 Rules. This has really given us fresh enthusiasm. Whether this will manifest itself in renewed interest sufficient to breath more life into these blog posts we'll see. When I started this blog the narrative was a much bigger part of things - we'll see...

AK-47 Original

Yesterday we tried out the original AK47 Rules for the first time. Peter Pig have released these as a pdf and I bought a set for the princely sum of GBP10.00. 

After a quick read through I found myself asking why they ever bothered writing a second edition? The rules are really good - simple, and fun to play - definitely a game rather than a simulation, but who cares?

One nice touch is the pdf is personalised with a neat little cross reference to Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket: 'this copy of AK47 belongs to John, there are many like it but this one is his'.

There are enough web accessible modifications for anyone who wants more complexity or chrome to add as they see fit, even extending the rules to other periods like the Russian and Spanish Civil Wars and World War II. There is even a Cold War Central Front variant that looks very intriguing.

Our game pitched the Cubans and SWAPO against the South African and Namibians in northern Namibia in the mid '80s. The background was a major SWAPO incursion had attracted a lot of attention from local forces and their South African backers and the Angolans and Cubans had got  in involved in a fit of internationalist solidarity.

 As a result of the political flowchart being played out in the pre-game sequence, the SADF/Namibian forces benefited from increased determination, resulting in their one militia graded unit being regraded to regular, . For their part the two big SWAPO militia graded guerrilla units acquired an HMG apiece. The flowcharts worked well, gave a few laughs and resulted in the SADF/Namibians being on the offensive. Much better than the clunky pre-game in second edition.

Above: the table after The Cuban/SWAPO deployment. Comrade Jeff was terribly unlucky and only started with one - three BTR 60s and six stands of infantry- of his five units on the table. This meant he could only secure one of three objectives. He elected to deploy on the reverse slope of the hill in the top right of the photo; leaving the road junction in the village unsecured and the hill in the top left corner exposed to the South African advance which would begin from the board edge on the left,

Uncharacteristically, SADF Colonel Chris was very cautious, advancing slowly down the centre with three armoured cars and even more slowly towards the village with three Buffels full of troopies. 

In the photos above the South African armour is grinding its way across the board whilst a small unit of Special Forces walk up the hill top left, thereby securing the objective, and lie down in the grass to watch the fun. Comrade Jeff was frantically throwing dice to try and bring on his troops but the commander of those T55s must have failed his map reading course. We know that this part of the word is big and easy to get lost in but this was beyond a joke.

The South African Buffels finally make it to the village about the same time as a unit of friendly Land Rovers and a bunch of local forces infantry arrived from off table. The infantry were short of a truck and were presumably late because half their number (probably the native troops...) had to walk. I'm unsure what excuse the guys in the Land Rovers had...

About the same time a large group of SWAPO guerrillas chose to appear, took one look at the dust cloud heralding the advance of the SADF armoured cars, and promptly ran for the nearest area of thick bush to hide in. Three GaZ jeeps toting heavy machine guns drove on the table at high speed and promptly got stuck into the Land Rovers and the territorials. Clearly their commander had been schooled in the Che Guevara heroic style of leadership. Sadly he and his brave men came to the same sort of sticky end, despite inflicting some casualties on the enemy infantry, for once Chris found his mojo and started using the recoiless rifle on one of the Landies it was all over very quickly

The clock was ticking down rapidly and it was only after the Commissar riding with the Cuban tankies demoted the Lieutenant in charge and grabbed the map and compass that the T55s made an appearance. They were all set to shell the living daylights out of the SADF Kommandos sunning themselves on the hill when darkness fell and hostilities ceased.

By the time we'd totted up the victory points, even after penalising Chris for all sorts of trumped up transgressions (chief among which was him playing cautiously for once), the South Africans could claim a decisive victory. In fact, as the rules put it 'the victor will be writing the history book on this'.

I'm sure we'll be doing this again soon.

Operation Crossbow AK47 AAR

I'm in danger of confusing two alternative timelines as I have a Soviet invasion of Western Europe underway in 1981 using SPI's boardgame NATO as well my continuing Angolan Border War narrative that's reached the slightly earlier date of March 1979.

Readers will recall from earlier posts that the South Africans have launched a major external, codenamed CROSSBOW, into Angola to try and destroy SWAPO camps there. We've already played one table top battle using AK47 Reloaded rules and last night we fought our second.

The situation was that a SADF mobile column was trying to seize a vital river crossing. A detachment from 32 Battalion, mounted in Landrover Technicals, spearheaded the advance supported by Eland Armoured Cars and Mechanised infantry from 62 Mech Battalion.

Above: SADF armoured cars storm into an Angolan village, at the top pf the picture FAPLA T-34s have just arrived

East German piloted MiGs attack the South African Armour

The Angolans were quick to react, deploying armour, in the shape of T-34 tanks and BRDM armoured cars crewed by Cubans, as well as a unit of Cuban motorised infantry. Two units of FAPLA militia were also part of the defending force.

This was dubbed a 'hot incursion' using the AK47 rules, and the SADF launched a feint against the objective in the village with their armoured cars before shifting the attack to the right flank against a hill held by a dug in unit of FAPLA militia.

The Angolans made the most of their assets, bringing on an armoured unit which was promptly the target of an SADF airstike. At the same time 32 Battalion's technicals entered the table behind the Angolan armour - a bold move but one that ultimately led to the liquidation of the South African unit as the Angolan tanks survived the airstrike and shot up the landrovers.

This was to prove the decisive episode in a close game - an Angolan airstrike against the SADF armoured cars knocked out one of them but couldn't stop the remainder shooting up the objective as the SADF infantry moved in. Alas for the Army of Apratheid, the game ended before they could secure the objective and once the points were totted up it was a clear Angolan victory!

Chetequera March 1976

'We start training next month, by the beginning of the rainy season you will have ample supplies of weapons and ammunition and we'll be in a postion to overwhelm the Boers.'

'They know that with the victory here in Angola that the liberation movement will intensify its efforts across the border. We can expect an elevated state of readiness on the part of their security froces, they won't give up wihout a fight.'

'We'll use the winter to put all cadre through a programme that will prepare them for an intensified struggle. Our Cuban comrades will provide instruction and we've been promised that shipments of Czech manufactured small arms and ammunition will  begin to arrive via Luanda from April. The first batch left Constanta last week.'

'The new recruits should start arriving next week, they need to begin basic training immediately. Our Cuban comrades arrive the week after next - I want them to see that we're not completely incompetent...'

'Any questions?'

'Of course comrade,  I appreciate your question. I am confident that together with the support of our brothers and comrades from across the Atlantic and with the new weapons that our fraternal comrades from the north are sending us we will strike a decisive blow against the racists.'