Scenarios & Rules for Skirmish Sangin
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SANGIN DESPATCHES SCENARIOS & RULES FOR SKIRMISH SANGIN SCENARIOSCOLIN & RULES PHILLIPS, FOR SKIRMISH CRAIG SANGIN WATTERSON & CHRIS POOCH PAGE 1 SANGIN DESPATCHES COVER IMAGE AND PAGES: 7,8,18,19,20,21,24,25,42,44,45,47,48 ARE COURTESY OF WWW.DEFENCEIMAGERY.MOD.UK UNDER THE OPEN GOVERNMENT LICENSE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR. IMAGES ON PAGES: 10, 11 ARE COURTESY COMBATCAMERA.FORCES.GC.CA OF THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES PAGE 2 SCENARIOS & RULES FOR SKIRMISH SANGIN SANGIN DESPATCHES Contents: Introduction 4 Scenario 4: Construction camp attack 34 Which Gun? 5 Scenario 5: Foggy morning 38 ORBAT - Canadian Platoon 9 Scenario 6: Find the mortar 44 ORBAT - German Zug 12 Scenario 7: Support the flank 50 ORBAT - ANP 14 Tactical primer for Sangin 53 ORBAT - 611 Militia 17 Fireteam grouping 55 Campaign & Experience 18 The humble AP 59 Scenario 1: Advance to contact 24 Military working dogs in Afghanistan 62 Scenario 2: Morning Mail 27 Combat Phase Tracker 66 Scenario 3: IED hunt 31 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WRITTEN BY COLIN PHILLIPS, CRAIG WATTERSON, CHRIS POOCH, ALEX MCCUTCHEON AND ADAM SMITH. DESIGNED BY COLIN PHILLIPS EDITED BY ALEX MCEWEN PLAYTESTERS, COLIN PHILLIPS, CRAIG WATTERSON, CHRIS POOCH, ALEX MCEWEN, TOM LEAMY, ALEX MCCUTCHEON, AND TIM WARD. SPECIAL THANKS NEIL PARDINGTON, MR & MRS POOCH, JC MCDANIEL, RAY HUTCHINSON AND HOUSE OF QUEEG SCENARIOS & RULES FOR SKIRMISH SANGIN PAGE 3 SANGIN DESPATCHES INTRODUCTION When we designed Skirmish Sangin, we were We have provided more Orders of Battle forced to leave out a number of scenarios and (ORBATS) for some of the many ISAF forces advanced rules, simply to fit in the number of available and we have included a few essays for pages allowed in the book. you to see how to play. Over time we have gradually added more I would also like to sincerely thank the scenarios that we wrote for our own enjoyment members of the many different armed forces and new rules which cropped up from our whether active or retired, who have given us reading or our game experiences. information or their blessing. It seemed wrong to keep all these new cool We really appreciate it and are glad we could things to ourselves, so Sangin Despatches was create a system that so many of you think born. This is our chance to share all of these models the real thing while still being a game. with you! Stay safe people. Despatches provides the player with additional By the way, got a new scenario? A new rules and scenarios as well the rules to run ORBAT for a force you want to share? Or them as a campaign. do you want us to answer any rules based questions? Send your ideas and feedback This has been another labour of love that we through our website: could not have done with the sterling help of many individuals who play-tested the many www.radiodishdash.com. different rules and scenarios and we are excited that this book fills out the original Skirmish We would love to hear from you! Sangin game by adding more depth. Colin Our goal from the beginning with this book was to give you, the reader, more of everything and to increase your experience of narrative based skirmish wargames. PAGE 4 SCENARIOS & RULES FOR SKIRMISH SANGIN SANGIN DESPATCHES WHICH GUN? “This is my rifle, this my gun, this is for fighting, this is for fun.” USMC Chant. We were interested in a military point of The Assault Rifle: view about what weapons players should arm The first assault rifle, the StG44, was invented during their squads with. We asked ex US Marine World War II, in an amazing period of evolution in “Smitty” about his favorite gun and were armaments. The StG44 is the grandfather of all modern assault rifles. It was designed for modern warfare from surprised by the answer. the ground up and began the development of rifles capable of firing semi or fully automatically, using a The amateur will answer straight away with his flavour lower powered and thus lighter cartridges, which of the month. The professional knows better. DeNiro’s in turn allowed a soldier to carry larger amounts of character in Ronin said it simply “It’s a toolbox, I don’t ammunition. care. You put the tools in for the job.” Now back to the original question, rephrased – What rifle do you want The Soviets have their own version - the ubiquitous right now? AK47. The AKs modernized stamped version was the AKM, which has armed half of the world in various Answer – the one that will let me gain fire superiority forms for the last sixty or so years. so that I can close with, and destroy, the enemy. That’s straight from the Marine Rifle Squad mission statement. Western assault rifles took longer to gain a foothold. Shotguns are devastating out to 50 meters or so but They were largely adopted from the more complicated further than that are mostly harmless. A sniper rifle and accurate rotating bolt of the American Johnson rifle pressed into service clearing rooms is in a similar and machine gun. This is the famous AR15 and other quandary. weapons including the Steyr AUG and the L85. This is why nowadays even an infantry squad will bring All of these were designed, or based on designs, by several different types of firearms to the battle. Eugene Stoner. Stoner worked in Armalite’s Hollywood SCENARIOS & RULES FOR SKIRMISH SANGIN PAGE 5 SANGIN DESPATCHES warehouse during the 50s and tried to sell his designs to L85A1 the US military. Eventually the US Air Force and Special The United Kingdom L85 is a custom designed and Forces became early adopters. These weapons, initially modified version of the AR180, (another Stoner design). known as finicky plastic aberrations, have now almost The Brits, and many others, were interested in a bullpup universally been adopted in various versions by the design that puts the magazine behind the pistol grip, Western military. These assault rifles are known for both giving you more barrel length in a shorter package. their accuracy and modularity. Makes sense right? M16A1 The only downsides are mechanical - long trigger Most American grunts will carry either the M16A4, if linkages and an ejection pattern that is only suitable for they’re in the Marine Corps, or the M4 if the Army is shooting from one side. On the plus side is the gun’s their branch of service. The M16A4 will typically have SUSAT; a very robust fixed four-power scope. The L85 a 4 power magnification ‘ACOG’ scope as well as an also had 2000-era upgrades by Heckler and Koch and is ‘AN/PEQ’ infrared laser/torch and a torch. The ‘16’ is generally held in high esteem. effective to 500m in the hands of a Marine Rifleman. The M4 is exactly the same as the M16A4’s but with a 5.5” Steyr(F88) shorter barrel and similar optic, effective to 300m. The Austrian Steyr AUG is an ingenious design using a rotating bolt with a piston operation. It does have the C7A1 inherent bullpup issues. The Canadian C7A1 is basically an M16A4. Saying that will not win me many Canuck friends. There was Steyr was not well known for semi automatics weapons a Canadian officer on the M16A2 design team along despite manufacturing many of the StG44’s in WWII. with the few Marines. The A2 design was the rifleman’s Luckily it was adopted by the Australians and then later solution to many of the M16A1’s problems. The A2 was by the New Zealanders issued with the excellent, if primitive, ELCAN fixed 3.4-power scope. Further developments led to the A4. PAGE 6 SCENARIOS & RULES FOR SKIRMISH SANGIN SANGIN DESPATCHES G36 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW) The G36 used by Spain and a few other countries, is The M249 is the most common SAW for both the Army Germany’s current assault rifle. One of its claims to fame and Marines. Sometimes called the ‘Minimi’ it is a belt is that it has a gas piston system. Known by its plastic fed, fully automatic, heavy-duty support weapon. The look, it also has a very high quality barrel and a well SAWs are much loved but perhaps past their prime. thought out combat optic. This is a very reliable and After decades of training abuse followed by a recent war accurate rifle but with some silly holdovers from older they can have serious undiagnosed problems. When rifles despite its late adoption. replacement funding allows units have cycled out the dodgy SAWs for use in less critical jobs. The ready bags All of these are actually very similar weapons and for for these are 100 rounds of 5.56mm, the same caliber as several good reasons most of the men in your squad will the M4. It has an 800m max effective range. have one. They can hit a point target easily or suppress a small area at a couple of hundred meters to cover your General Purpose Machine Guns advance. They can also be used quickly at close range M240 or to clear out an alley with rapid fire. Most importantly Known as the “Gimpy” in the Commonwealth or the they can provide awesome short-range firepower “Two Forty” in the states, the M240 is the latest general- to protect your machine gun. It is the closest to the purpose machine gun (GMPG) in use by most Western everyman’s gun - most useful, most of the time. infantrymen. It is much loved by that peculiar breed of person, the machine gunner.