15mm Wargaming for Fun and Sanity: Flying Lead UN ambush

The sound of one Llurg surfing.

Loyal readers will have read-up on the UN, guessing that they were now poised to enter stage left.

I started that article a couple of years ago, part of a surge aimed at the proposed release of the Ganesha Harder Than Steel, designed for larger, more involved conflicts than our normal Flying Lead. Let's contemplate an ambush. We have tried this a few times, but it can turn into a bloodbath that's no fun.

I think it was in Stryker, the Traveller set of rules “way back when” proposed different levels of conflict:

Low an initial contact engagement where a low number of casualties are acceptable, usually with no objective other than contact.

Medium a higher number of casualties are accept able to achieve one or more objectives.

High high casualties are acceptable to achieve objectives.

The normal state of affairs is that the Llurg are the ambushers, so we are turning the table. The UN see this as a low level conflict designed to stop and hurt the enemy, ready for local forces to mop up.

The UN comprise a specialist anti-vehicle squad featuring:

Officer and commo tech who also controls a Mantis.
Team comprising (quiet direct fire) Anti Tank Sniper Rifle gunner and spotter and General Missile Launcher Light (indirect if highlighted) gunner and spotter. The two spotters share a FLEA capable of indirect grenade launcher and target acquisition.

Team of four peacekeepers armed with LAW style disposable weapons.

I'm presuming that there wasn't time to do a proper ground prep and that there's an extraction force close.

The Llurgs are the usual mass of converted vehicles crammed full of warriors, who will be recycled. Being past masters of the ambush, they should be able to respond, dice willing.

Playing the game.

The UN should hit and run, causing damage then use their superior Quality and organisation to break contact. I think we'll use reactions as many will rely on individual movement. If this works well, it'll give me a good excuse to get the new PAU cavalry and contemplate a mounted ambush. In fact at time of writing Jon's just released 6 new packs of PAU including the special forces that would be ideal for this scenario. Watch this space.

UN Scout Vehicle
Points 122	Quality 3+	Combat 3
	Armored +3 (Medium), Gyro Stabilization, Long Move, OffRoad,Personnel Carrier 4 passengers,

Scout plasma cannon Points:43
Anti-Tank 4, Combat +2, Lethal vs. Soft Targets, Move & Shoot, Range: Medium, Stable

Anti Armour Sniper team Points:46
3 Action Set Up, Anti-Tank 4, Armor Piercing, Crewed, High Tech Ammo, Lethal vs. Soft Targets, Range: Long, Silent, Sniper Scope, Stable

Light Missile team Points:68
3 Action Set Up, Anti-Tank 8, Armor Piercing, Crewed, Grenade Combat 3, High Tech Ammo, Lethal vs. Soft Targets, Range: Long, Slow Reload, Sniper Scope, Stable

UNLI trooper
Points 90	Quality 3+	Combat 2
	-Pistol, Body Armor, Danger Sense, Elite, Light/Bushwacker,Personal Communication Device, Steady Under Fire, Stealth, Strong

UNLI rifle
Points:35
Armor Piercing, Auto Fire, Combat +1, Move & Shoot, Range: Long, Select Fire, Spread

UNLI trooper with LAW

Points 158

Quality 3+

Combat 2

Special Rules -Pistol, -RPG, Body Armor, Danger Sense, Elite, Light/Bushwacker, Personal Communication Device, Steady Under Fire, Stealth, Strong

The Game

We played this one just before the announcement of the new Harder Than Steel beta rules, so there is some similarity with that series to come. Hopefully it provides a comparison.

Scenery. Ever since watching a certain film I'd wanted an overpass. I'd picked up the stands from a local coffee shop. I'm guessing that these are menu holders? The roads are Mattell, we managed to pick up 2 sets at our local car boot, so all roads here cost under £5. Yes, I will paint them.

When playing a superior quality force your best bet is to huncker down and take the pain. I didn't have that choice as I was being ambushed!

Tony played a very, very cautious game. The heavy weapons squad were up on the overpass. The other APC hovered in plain view, acting as a distraction. His launcher armed infantry were spread out ready to hit "end runners", leaving the robots to do all the real work.

I got a lot of fails, meaning Tony's infantry could sneak around on reactions alone. On comes my first car, to be taken out by the (direct firing) sniper. One crewman got out. Next vehicle was taken out by the (indirect) missile. That allowed the third to get "safely" in between the burning hulks. This was the first victim of the Mantis.

There was now a huddle of 3 assorted surviving crew. But there was the Flea who blew them away with a direct hit. Ouch.

The Flea, dug in deeper than a xendi trung

NOW the dice went my way, and my infantry came streaming in supported by a gun truck. They waste one trooper and the one top left did a hasty retreat. I even managed to get a missile vehicle on the table and started my mutant stalking the Mantis. I was in the game!

Now came the most thrilling part of the game, the mutant stalking the Mantis gets 2 and gets close but the Mantis uses the one to move and shoot the mutant. Very cinematic, very "western"!

Mantis, the killing machine of the Boat.

My infantry were nicely bracketed (I just needed one more good round-) and chewed up. The sniper took out the gun car.

The hovering APC faced with a whole bunch of rockets facing it swoops down and brews it with the plasma.

And that was it. Ambushes are difficult, I came very close to breaking this one, if any one of the first 3 vehicles had gotten an extra activation they would have been in cover and able to continue. The mutant could have taken out the Mantis, stopping it chewing up my infantry who could have started hunting Tony's spread out infantry.