Back when I was a child (so it was a very long time ago), I used to enjoy reading Hergé's Tintin books. Amongst my favourites were KING OTTOKAR’S SCEPTRE and THE BROKEN EAR. The latter was mainly set in the South American country of San Theodoros, which was in an almost constant state of revolution and/or incipient war with the neighbouring country of Nuevo Rico.
At one point war breaks out between the two countries for control of the Gran Chapo and its oil fields ... mainly due to the influence of the international arms dealer Basil Bazarov, whose Korrupt Arms Company is working as a sales agency of the Viking Arms Company. Bazarov sells arms to both sides, and encourages both of them to claim the Gran Chapo.
This is the backstory to the following battle report, which sees a Nuevo Rican attack on Fortine Olivaro, a San Theodoran outpost on the Rio Pirana.
A note about the rules used
The rules were basically the Early and Mid Twentieth Century rules from DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME with a few minor changes. These were:
- The Pinning and Unpinning rules were not used.
- All artillery (including mortars) was deemed to be capable of Indirect and Direct Fire.
- The number of times artillery units could fire was limited to reflect the limited ammunition supply situation.
- Machine Gun units that has armoured-piercing ammunition could destroy Light Tanks during the Fire Phase but the amount of such ammunition was limited.
- All hits on units normally cause the loss of Strength Points (SPs). In other words, the RESOLVING HITS ON UNITS table did not include the retreat option. (This is what I have termed in my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War rules, the 'not one step back' rule.) However, the rules pertaining to commanders who are co-located with units that have been hit were used.
The battlefield
The fortine (fortified camp) is occupied by San Theodoran troops, and is located on the banks of the Rio Pirana. It comprises a series of trenches whose landward side is protected by a series of barbed wire entanglements.
Opposing them are several lines of trenches that are occupied by Nuevo Rican troops.
The opposing forces
The San Theodoran defenders are drawn from the regular 1st Division, which is one of the main formations of the army. It is led by Colonel Juanitos and comprises:
- 1st Division
- 1st Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 2nd Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 3rd Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 1st Machine Gun Company (Average, 2 SPs) [Has one belt of special armoured piercing bullets that will pierce the armour on light tanks]
- 1st Mortar Company (Average, 2 SPs)
- 1st Artillery Regiment (Average, 2 SPs) [Has enough ammunition to fire six times]
- Colonel Juanitos (Average, 6 SPs)
- Total = 24 SPs; Exhaustion Point = 8 SPs
The attacking Nuevo Rican troops are members of the 1st and 2nd Divisions, who have been reinforced by additional troops. It is led by General Diaz, and they comprise:
- 1st Division
- 1st Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 2nd Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 3rd Infantry Regiments (Average, 4 SPs)
- 1st Machine Gun Company (Average, 2 SPs)
- 1st Artillery Regiment (Average, 2 SPs) [Has enough ammunition to fire six times]
- 2nd Division
- 4th Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 5th Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 6th Infantry Regiment (Average, 4 SPs)
- 2nd Machine Gun Company (Average, 2 SPs)
- 2nd Artillery Regiment (Average, 2 SPs) [Has enough ammunition to fire six times]
- Additional Troops
- 1st Tank Company (Average, 3 SPs)
- General Diaz (Average, 6 SPs)
- Total = 41 SPs; Exhaustion Point = 14 SPs
The initial positions
The Nuevo Rican troops can be seen occupying the trenches on the left, whilst the San Theodorans are in those on the right.
The battle
Turns 1 to 4
The first four turns of the battle saw the Nuevo Rican 1st and 2nd Artillery Regiments fire a continuous artillery barrage at the frontline San Theodoran trenches.
The Nuevo Rican 2nd Machine Gun Company also took part in this barrage, sweeping the parapet of the opposing trenches.
As a result, both the San Theodoran 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments were reduced to 50% of their original strength.
(San Theodorans had lost 4 SPs; the Nuevo Ricans has lost none.)
Turn 5
The Nuevo Ricans moved first this turn.
As soon as the guns fell silent, the sound of cheers could be heard from the Nuevo Rican trenches as the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments of the 1st Division and the 4th and 5th Infantry Regiments of the 2nd Division climbed out of their trenches and - accompanied by the Nuevo Rican 1st Tank Company - began their charge across the no-mans-land between the two lines of trenches.
In response, the San Theodoran 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments, the 1st Machine Gun Company, and the 1st Mortar Company opened fire on the attackers.
This inflicted casualties on the Nuevo Rican 1st, 4th, and 5th Infantry Regiments.
(Both sides had lost 4 SPs.)
Turn 6
The Nuevo Rican and San Theodoran artillery opened fire. The Nuevo Rican 1st and 2nd Artillery Regiments tried to knock out the San Theodoran 1st Machine Gun Company, ...
... and the San Theodoran 1st Artillery Regiment concentrated its fire on the Nuevo Rican 2nd Infantry Regiment (which lost 1 SP).
(The San Theodoran 1st Machine Gun Company should have suffered the loss of 1 SP, but because Colonel Juanitos was co-located with the unit, a D6 die was thrown to see if he was killed. He survived, and the loss was negated.)
The San Theodoran moved first this turn.
The San Theodoran 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments, the 1st Machine Gun Company, and the 1st Mortar Company again fired on the attackers, with varying results. Because the Nuevo Rican 1st Tank Company was within range, the 1st Machine Gun Company used its single belt of armoured-piercing ammunition ... and inflicted the loss of 2 SPs on the tank unit! The San Theodoran 1st Infantry Regiment's rifle fire inflicted the loss of 1 SP on the Nuevo Rican 4th Infantry Regiment, but the 2nd Infantry Regiment's fire proved ineffective. The same was not true for the 1st Mortar Company, which reduced the strength of the opposing Nuevo Rican 1st Infantry Regiment by 1 SP.
Cheering and firing wildly as they advanced, the Nuevo Rican infantry reached the barbed wire entanglements in front of the San Theodoran trenches. The 1st Tank Company crashed through the wire, and began to attack the San Theodoran 1st Machine Gun Company. The San Theodorans lost a total of 3 SPs to the fire of the Nuevo Rican infantry and the 1st Tank Company's guns, and although Colonel Juanitos was still with the San Theodoran 1st Machine Gun Company, he escaped death for a second time.
The close combat between the Nuevo Rican 1st Tank Company and the San Theodoran 1st Machine Gun Company proved indecisive, and both units ended up facing each other across the parapet of the San Theodoran trenches.
(By this stage in the battle, the San Theodorans had lost 7 SPs and the Nuevo Ricans has suffered the loss of 9 SPs.)
Turn 7
In the hope that their fire might help their infantry to break through the San Theodoran defences, the Nuevo Rican 1st and 2nd Artillery Regiments fired at the San Theodoran trenches. In reply, the San Theodoran 1st Artillery Regiment fired at the Nuevo Rican 1st Tank Company.
As a result of this artillery fire, the San Theodoran 1st Infantry Regiment was destroyed ... as was the Nuevo Rican 1st Tank Company!
The result of the battle was now on a knife edge. The San Theodorans had reached their Exhaustion Point (the loss of 8 SPs), but the Nuevo Ricans were only 4 SPs from theirs. Both sides threw a D6 dice, and the side with the highest score would move first. The Nuevo Ricans threw a D6 die score of 4 ... and the San Theodorans threw a D6 die score of 6! The San Theodorans moved first this turn.
The San Theodoran 3rd Infantry Regiment moved into the position formerly occupied by the 1st Infantry Regiment, and opened fire on the Nuevo Rican 2nd Infantry Regiment, inflicting a loss of 1 SP. At the same time, the San Theodoran 1st Machine Gun Company poured its fire into the same target, destroying the Nuevo Rican 2nd Infantry Regiment in the process. The San Theodoran 1st Mortar Company failed to inflict any casualties on the Nuevo Rican 1st Infantry Regiment, but the San Theodoran 1st Infantry Regiment was luckier, and caused the Nuevo Rican 4th Infantry Regiment to lose a further 1 SP, destroying it.
At this point both sides had reached their Exhaustion Points (the San Theodorans had lost 8 SPs and the Nuevo Ricans had lost 14 SPs), and the battle ground to a halt. The Nuevo Rican attack had almost succeeded, but the initial artillery bombardment had not weakened the San Theodorans sufficiently, and the barbed wire had stopped them reaching the San Theodoran trenches. As night fell, the Nuevo Ricans withdrew to their trenches to restock their ammunition supplies and to await reinforcements. Whilst they did so, they could hear the sound of the San Theodorans repairing the damage their trenches had suffered during the fighting.
The fighting near Fortine Olivaro was now in a state of stalemate, but who could tell what might happen next?
