Embedded Files
The Map
55x55, Foot Fall Small Town v2
Set Up
Game is played under Double Blind rules and Real Blind Drop rules to reflect the surprise and confusion of the situation. RAF deploys in the northeast corner of the map near the buildings denoting their base, Capellan forces deploy along the south edge of the map.
RAF forces: Roughly 15k BV
Capellan Forces: Roughly 32k BV
Scenario is an adaptation of the Hold the Line Scenario found on CamOps p 155. RAF forces must destroy or force to retreat enough Capellan forces to equal exceed the RAF's total BV before being themselves destroyed or forced into retreat.
Battle Highlights (in progress)
Owing to double blind rules and an unfortunate forgetfulness regarding the utility of screenshots, this highly scientific diagram is the best available recreation of the first few turns of movement. The earliest contacts involved a lance of Republic scouts deployed on the high eastern ridge spotting and the main body of the Capellan forces (two lances of CCAF light 'Mechs leading the insurgent miners in converted MuckRakers, UrbanMechs and smuggled Leonidas suits) pushing down the eastern road toward the base.
The RAF captain commanding forces on site followed a gut feeling to position himself at the base's western entrance in order to protect against a potential flanking maneuver that proved to be quite real.
The slower ramshackle equipment of the insurgents began to lag behind the Second MAC's speedy escorts, but threatened to provide a devastating follow-up assault.
The Republic's scout lance retreated to more defensible terrain, establishing a deadly crossfire at the mouth of the valley road. As the Capellan tactical commander in charge of the operation rushed forward, attempting to breach the line before it could be fully established, fire from the Republic Blade and Talon tore through his 'Mech. The damage knocked his 'Mech to the ground, and the heat buildup of his stealth armor, triple-strength myomer, and the unexpected spike from two engine crits left him shutdown and in major peril.
The Republican Targe delivered the coup-de-grace to the shutdown Ebony, while the Pack Hunter II used its jump-jet-assisted mobility to skirmish with the force of Nisos WiGEs and Duan Gungs approaching from over the mountain. Meanwhile, the MAC lance of Stingers and Wasps pushed into the fight and mauled the surrounded Talon. Though it would contribute a few parting shots, the damage forced the Talon into a long retreat out of the combat area for the rest of the engagement.
In the defense of the eastern pass, the RAF captain positioned his Ostsol at the road's choke point while his subordinates in an SM1, two JES Is, and a Dasher II remained hidden behind the buildings of the base, waiting to dash forward and ambush the attackers once they committed to pushing through the pass. The Dasher II slipped and crashed into a building, botching its attack run, but the hovercraft dealt punishing fire. One Mercury was forced to retreat with significant damage, while a Tufana and another Mercury were each destroyed outright as they resorted to climbing the bluffs around the base.
By turn 7, two Duan Gungs had been destroyed or immobilized by Republican autocannon fire, two of the Nisos WiGEs had come crashing to the ground, and the irregular insurgents had still not made it far enough up the eastern pass to join the melee. The Republic forces were taking damage, but remained largely combat capable. The only Republican casualty to this point was one of the SM1s which had been flanked by two MAC Mercurys and destroyed. With casualties mounting and their officers dying, the forces of McCarron's Armored Cavalry shifted focus and began maneuvering to extract themselves from combat. Further pushes might mangle the Republican defenders and force them to give up the base, but the casualties suffered in such an action would be unsustainable so early in the campaign. A fighting retreat became the only viable course of action.
The surviving Mercurys from the western pass made a valiant rush through the center of the Republican base in an effort to cover the retreat, while the WiGes and hovertanks of the western subforce made best speed out of the battle area. The Wasps and Stingers swarmed forward to similarly draw attention from the fleeing Duan Gungs and Ebonys in the eastern pass. The insurgents now began to serve as a rear guard, discouraging the RAF forces from making good the pursuit. The Pack Hunter II destroyed one of the Mercurys with a pointblank ER PPC shot to the rear, but the remaining Liao forces remained stuck in.
The last Mercury standing rushed in to rendezvous with the Stingers and Wasps on the bluffs above the eastern pass, and in so doing left itself vulnerable to the main gun of the remaining RAF SM1, itself by now immobilized and about to succumb to Liao guns. The hovertank's last defiant shot proved massively spectacular, touching off the Mercury's engine in a rare Stackpole Runaway Explosion. The RAF Targe had been skirmishing up and down the pass and was next to the Mercury in hopes of kicking the Liao 'Mech if weapons fire failed to put it down; it found itself so engulfed in the fireball that the pilot was forced to eject. RAF after-action reports speculated that the cataclysmic loss of their comrade sealed the MAC's decision to retreat.
In the final moments of the combat, the insurgent UrbanMechs managed at last to bring their guns to bear, while the RAF Legionnaire risked withering incoming fire to destroy the most damaged Liao Stinger before it could retreat. The RAF captain stood alone on the western flank, his Ostsol too slow and too damaged by a marauding Tufana to pursue the flankers who had broken through.
In the end the Republican forces managed to successfully convince the Liao attackers that taking the base would be too costly, and the Second MAC retreated. Unwilling to shoot what amounted to civilians, the Triarii allowed the insurgent company to retreat from the field without further combat. As the last of the Liaoist soldiers disappeared from view, the RAF turned to recovering down comrades, salvaging what equipment they could from the field of battle, and putting out the fires that had been ignited across their facility. Though they were proud of having held under overwhelming odds, reports were already coming in that combat was breaking out in the urban core of Mau-Ti, where the Liao Republic Standing Guard garrison was facing even greater numbers of attackers with their less formidable equipment.
Republic Combat Losses
1 Targe destroyed, pilot recovered
2 SM1 Tank Destroyers destroyed, both crews MIA
Liao Combat Losses
1 Ebony destroyed, pilot MIA
1 Duan Gung destroyed, pilot MIA
1 Duan Gung immobilized and left on the field of battle, pilot captured
3 Mercurys destroyed, 1 pilot KIA, 2 pilots MIA
1 Stinger destroyed, pilot recovered
2 Nisos Attack WiGEs immobilized and left on the field of battle, 1 crew killed, 1 crew captured
1 Tufana hovercraft destroyed, crew MIA
Tactical and Strategic Analysis
Both players were surprised that the RAF managed to hold the field of battle so effectively against 3-to-1 numerical odds. The strength of the defensive terrain appears to have accounted for much of this success, as the attackers were largely channeled into two narrow choke points where the RAF forces could bring their heavier firepower to bear on the swarm of lighter Liao attackers piecemeal. The Liao forces could potentially have mitigated this somewhat by waiting a few turns before rushing forward with the MAC and thereby giving the insurgents more time to get into position and contribute, but that itself had both tactical and real world draw backs. Tactically, that time may have allowed the Republican scout lance an opportunity to conduct hit-and-fade attacks against the slower insurgents with relative impunity, and in real world terms, a double blind game of this size was taking roughly an hour per movement phase to progress before combat thinned the ranks, and neither player particularly relished the prospect of extending that state of affairs. It is also undeniable that luck favored the RAF, who won initiative on most turns and landed several low-odds hits with high caliber weapons which one-shotted the lighter Liao 'Mechs. Ultimately, retreating was the most sound strategic decision for the MAC, who could not expect reinforcements for weeks and would not be able to absorb many more losses and stay combat-effective. Both players also agreed that the poor showing of the MAC light 'Mechs in this engagement likely contributed significantly to the looming development of more capable Capellan lights like the Yinghuochong.
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