FAPLA Victory at Epembe: the drive is on to the border!

Ak47 Campaign 2020

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 >

Scenario 2: Encounter Battle Epembe Junction

Background

A few days ago elements of an  SADF Modular Battalion on an ‘External’ operation in Southern Angola was roughly handled by PLAN. FAPLA has mobilised and is driving south in pursuit of the SADF. The SADF have regrouped and are probing forward. A clash occurs at Epembe Junction.

Terrain

Gently undulating scrub. There is a small settlement at Epembe junction with permanent building and some native huts a short distance to the north.

This is the rainy season so:

The scrub is high and provides concealment to infantry.

Victory Points

 As per Flames of War 2^nd Edition p203. Victory point calculated using AK47 rules p42 excluding objectives and the final six criteria.

Deployment

As per Flames of War 2^nd Edition p203.

Game Length

As per AK 47 Rules

Order of Battle

SADF

Bravo Company 54 Battalion (Modular)

Command + HQ Support Callsign Sierra 6

1 x Command team

1 x HQ team

720 Up to 3 artillery bombardments on call @ 25 points each; 1 x Airstrike @ 50 points

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

3 Platoon: Regular Callsign Sierra 3

6 x small arms teams @ 60 points

3 x RPG teams @ 30 points

4 Platoon: Regular Callsign Sierra 4

2 x HMG Teams @ 40 points

2 x RCL Teams @ 30 points

Recce Troop 54 Bn Group: Regular Callsign Charlie 1

3 x Eland Armoured Cars (tank gun) @ 120 points (Callsigns Charlie 1, 2, 3)

South West African Specialist Unit: Regular Callsign Charlie 4

2 x Technicals RCL @ 40 points Callsigns Charlie 7 & 8

1 x small arms team @ 10 points (one of which is nominated Charlie 4 and may be mounted in Charlie 5)

1 x Technical HMG @ 25 points Callsign Charlie 5

FAPLA

Command + HQ Support

698 points + 25 political manoeuvre 723 points

1 x Command team callsign Delta 6

1 x HQ team

1 Platoon Militia callsign Delta 1

6 x small arms teams @ 42 points

3 x RPG teams @ 21 points

3 x APC with HMG @ 105

2 Platoon Militia callsign Delta 1

6 x small arms teams @ 42 points

3 x RPG teams @ 21 points

3 x BTR60 APC with HMG @ 105 points

3 Platoon Regular callsign Delta 3

3 x T55 @ 180 points

Mortar Platoon Militia callsign Delta 5

3 x mortar teams @ 60 points

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

1 x URAL truck @ 15 Points

Recce Platoon Regular

3 x BRDM (HMG) @ 90 points

FAPLA achieved a clear victory when the dust settled.

It was however, in some ways a lucky one.

Firstly the SADF largely didn't turn up - or rather three of their six platoons didn't show and crucially these were three of the four infantry platoons - one of which was the heavy weapons platoon.

Put this down to the vagaries of the threat generation system, which creates 'friction' and 'fog of war' very well. There was one dramatic development three turns from the end of the game (itself an event that is partly determined randomly) when a motorised infantry platoon arrived on table very close to one of their objectives - the one marked by the blue Mercedes model near the Kraal or native village. 

This unit, which must have been lost but then had driven hard towards the sounds of battle - and doubtless the columns of smoke from burning tanks and armoured cars (about which more anon)  - successfully disembarked from their soft skin transports and almost took the objective. The FAPLA Recce platoon engaged them with their BRDM armoured cars but one fell prey to an SADF RPG and another was pinned by determined infantry. The SADF then had to engage a platoon of FAPLA motorised infantry and were getting the better of them (2 morale fails to 1) by game end. The FAPLA unit also lost its three BTR-60 APCs.

Until this point the SADF had been fighting a losing battle. They had only three armoured cars and three technicals on table taking on the eventual full strength of the FAPLA force all of whom arrived by turn six.

Three Eland armoured cars versus three T55s was always going to be a fight stacked in the tanks favour and so it proved. Both sides lost two AFVs but the sole surviving T55 secured the objective on the SADF left flank. The SADF had the advantage of air and artillery support but couldn't make it count. One tank was destroyed in an air strike but the remaining T55 wasn't budging. 

Two Elands were brewed up by the FAPLA tanks but the survivor wasn't giving up - in fact it shot up a FAPLA APC and almost caught the FAPLA mortar platoon aboard their Ural truck but missed at point blank range. That miss was costly, as the loss of a FAPLA platoon would have probably justified the result being called a draw as FAPLA losses were higher than the SADF overall - not an unusual result in this war - and a whole platoon being being wiped out in addition to the losses endured up to that point would have swung the pendulum in the SADF's favour.

As it was it ended with a narrow but clear win for the FAPLA.

I'm unsure about the Threat Generation system as there is a fair bit of messing around and AK47 is pretty well suited to solo play with the random game length, alternative unit activation and political manoeuvre. It is a good idea though and I want to try it with other rule systems.

Some pictures follow. They should be self-explanatory from the above: