Sunday 11 May 2014

Operation Dark Fumble - The Battle of Kakstadt, 1979 - part 2

After the DDR forces had crossed the canal - and the players had topped up with food and wine - we set up an indoor game an played through the night attack on Alte Kakstadt.
The DDR Motor Rifle Battalion opted to make a dismounted attack.  The figures were cobbled together at short notice and so reflect what came to hand on the day.
The noise of the 30+ BMPs soon attracted a French AT missile.
Esci Warpact infantry - lovely figures.
The French forces consisted of a Mechanised infantry battalion, with 2 infantry companies and ATGM, mortar and tank destroyer  platoons.
Infantry and ATGM plts in the churchyard.
The mighty AMX-13/90 tank destroyer plt. A lovely 1/50ish scale Solido model.
French APCs parked ready for a quick getaway.
The French mortar battery.  Mostly this fired illumination rounds.
PT-76 light tanks supported by an AT battery sneak round the French right flank.  By now the left was crumbling so the order was given to saddle up and move out under cover of darkness to the next defensive position.
Added 12/05/14:  This, the second phase of the battle for Kakstadt (which some might call a mini campaign) took about 90 minutes to set up and play through.  Following the French withdrawal the East Germans prepared for a further assault - this time on the adjacent town of Neu Kakstadt which all the time had been shelled by the Regimental Artillery Group.

15 comments:

Conrad Kinch said...

Good to see the rules working on a tabletop. Would you characterise this as a big battle or small? In terms of what the rules are pitched at?

Tim Gow said...

Conrad Kinch
The idea is for a player to run a battalion to brigade sized battlegroup, so these were fairly small games.

Peter Douglas said...

Tim

Great looking stuff! it's remarkable how many time AFVs get missiles up their backsides even when they can see them coming.

The solido vehicles are da bomb!
Cheers
Pd

Milgeek said...

Really entertaining stuff - as usual, Tim. Made me regret losing all the plastic soldiers I bought in Belgium when I was a kid (some lovely 'modern' french foreign legion in painted camo) and some French jeeps. :(

Pete. said...

Great stuff- very jealous of the vehicle collection- where are the PT76s from?

Cheers,

Pete.

Tim Gow said...

Peter Douglas
And it's because of such player incompetence that I dislike and see no need for morale rules!

Tim Gow said...

Stephen Beat
I think we all had stuff we wish we'd hung on to!

Tim Gow said...

Pete
The East Germans were provided by Paul W, the Frenchies are mine. The PT-76s are Solido diecasts.

Herman van Kradenburg said...

Hi Tim. Great stuff. Do you have South African or Dutch connection ? Some of the name choices you make are very tongue-in-cheek. Luv it!

Archduke Piccolo said...

Ooo... I like them there little rockety things. Shiny. Can you tell me about them?

Ptr said...

Nice battlereport.Which scale did you use for your minis?

Tim Gow said...

Herman van Kradenburg
Scottish through and through. The op names were based on - and not to different to - real NATO exercise names!

Tim Gow said...

Archduke Piccolo
The missiles on the French AT plt stand? They are standing in as ENTAC but are a tally cut down 1/72 scale Sparrow Missiles!

Tim Gow said...

Ptr
The figures and 1/32 and 1/35 plastics, the vehicles mostly 1/50ish scale diecasts. It may be wrong but it works for me.

Archduke Piccolo said...

Like you, I prefer my vehicles to be underscale compared with the figures, and the aircraft even more underscale! My (very small) 1:72 collection, which was threatening to become surplus to requirements on account of my preference for 1:144 scale aircraft with my 1:76scale WW2/Modern stuff, is finding a new life in my 'Army Men' project.