Turn 1. US Forces enter the field; their mission is to clear the Somali's from the food distribution site. The Marines have 3 teams of 6 men, supported by their LAV-25’s. Also attached; a recon element of 2 HUMMERS and the platoon commander loaded in the last HUMMER. Scattered in the buildings are approximately 40+ Somali's.
Turn 2. Recon HUMMERS move up and spot, they find the Somali's hiding in the buildings to their right front. Their long range fire sends 2 Somali's running to the rear, one with grenade fragments imbedded in his legs.
Turn 3. Not a very good turn for the Somali's, unit two (on the US left) successfully made their TAC roll and moved into the attack… Bad idea on my part and lucky US cards/dice rolls; the Somali's were mowed down 10 out of their original 14 dead. The biggest lost being the 2 RPG gunners. Their morale of course failed, and they are now moving towards the rear.
Turn 4. Another bad turn for the Somali's, unit 3 took 5 KIA’s including one of their RPG gunners who survived 25mm chain gun and LMG fire but was killed by the last US inf. Armed with an M16. The unit’s morale slipped to confused, but they remained in place. Unit 2 failed morale again, but has come into contact with the local warlord and his men (unit 4) maybe it’s time to rally!!
Turn 5. Everything went bad this turn for the Somali's, and turn 5 was basically the end of the game. Unit 3 took 3 more KIA’s, failed its morale so bad that it ceased to function as a unit (it was destroyed). What was left of unit 2 rolled a 1 for their unit morale and with a -6 modifier for combat losses they too took for the board edge. Unit 1 took 3 KIA’s from a LAV’s 25mm chain gun 3 10’s rolled out of 4. That was enough for them to break, and start looking to the rear. The Warlord and his entourage decided to let the Marines have the food, and to live to fight another day…..
Aftermath: I gave the Marines too much fire power, the LAV’s 25mm chain gun w/ 4 hit dice chewed right through the Somali's, not even the HUMMERS .50cal came close to inflicting as much damage. The Marines were blessed with very good dice rolls (especially the LAV’s) and card sequences; every time an RPG armed Skinny got set up to take a shot the Marines would pull a lucky card! Plus they always made their spotting rolls, something that didn't happen during the first game. I needed to put more RPG gunners on the table for the Somali's, and should have thought out their initial placement a little more.
Death tally: Marines 0 Somali's: 23
This game played out a lot differently than the last battle, in the first game Marines couldn't get a card when they needed it and the dice rolls never seemed to go their way. They took several casualties during the first two turns but still prevailed. Unit moral in both games played a big part, the Marines were able to bounce back, where as the Somali's prove to be very fragile. The Somali's need big units 20+ should be good, this gives them the ability to take casualties before the negative modifiers start to build up. I like this system, it has a good feel and the game plays very smooth and fast. Each unit having two activation cards per turn makes for some tense moments.
Next up? It will be another Marine vs. Somali's, Marines will get a lot less men/vehicles and the Somali's will be in two large 20 man units. May also only give the Somali's 1 card per turn vs. two for the marines......