Tuesday 25 July 2017

Kakstadt Gap, July 1979 - part 1


This was a Little Cold Wars game played in Bertrand's garden in Norfolk.  

NATO briefing - Operation Extreme Penetration

The Warpact assault which began a few days ago has stalled in some sectors, including the area around Kakstadt.  In the US forces which initially crumbled under the Warpact assault, incompetent commanders have been weeded out, including Colonel Cordery and Major King.  No details of their fate have been released.  In fairness, it must be said that the DDR forces have also been purged and the whereabouts of Col. I C Druryov have yet to be determined.

Newly arrived NATO forces have been tasked to counter attach the relatively weak East German forces in this sector and to drive deep into the DDR.

Local DDR forces are reputedly led by a former Stasi officer who previously spent some time in the west, disguised – rather unconvincingly – as a man of the cloth.

NATO has been reinforced by French forces meaning ample supplies of wine and squishy cheese.  And some tanks.  The American Colonel Jack ‘blood and guts’ Wright has been joined by Major ‘hell on wheels’ Hartley and the French Colonels De Cerf and ‘dangereux’ Droite.

An initial ground assault by a US battalion will be followed by a brigade-level heliborne landings (Operation Painful Plunge) behind the enemy front line.  The airborne troops will lay a ‘carpet’ along which the main ground force will advance.  What could go wrong?

The plan. 
Be thinking about where to land the paras, including approach and departure routes for the helis.
Land forces.  Where and when are they entering and what are their initial and subsequent objectives.
Air support.  You have a lot of it – when and where do you want it?
SF forces.  Can be deployed anywhere.

NATO Forces

French Armoured Brigade:
15 and 22 Armoured Regts with AMX-30 and AMX-10P
each with attached AT, engr, AA plts
2 Recce Co
US Mech btl with 2 inf and 1 tank co*


NATO Airmobile Brigade
US Airmobile Btl + 4 Heli*
UK Airborne Btl
French Para Btl + 5 Heli

Air Support
Fighters – FAF Mirage, USAF F-104
Recce – FAF Jaguar
Strike – FAF F-100D, USAF A-10, 4 GAF F-104

Special Forces
2 SF recce parties – one British SAS and one from any other NATO nation.  May be deployed anywhere.  May move and have comms back to NATO. May be in East German Police uniforms.

DDR Forces amounted to a reinforced regiment:
A knocked-about motor rifle regiment - one MR btl, one tank btl and regimental assets.  
1 company of Willi Sanger special forces  - helicopter mobile.
Limited air assets.
Around a battalion-worth of Border Guards.

 Play opened with the NATO air recce missions - one at high level and the other low.
 The air recce photos showed border defences...
 ...border guards going about their business...
 ...railway sidings near the inevitable...
 ...tractor factory!

Coming next - hostilities open.

10 comments:

Peter Douglas said...

Looks suitably silly Tim? Were silly hats worn?
Perer

Tim Gow said...

Peter Douglas
Hats were indeed worn. And coats. The great British summer....

ian drury said...

Gutted to miss this one, but happy to report reinforcements are en route after a surprise find in secondhand shop...

Tim Gow said...

Ian Drury
That sounds ominous! Just as I thought the LCW arms race was over....

Pete. said...

Looks great Tim.

Cheers,

Pete.

Archduke Piccolo said...

Well, strike me pink and colour me intrigued already. Fascinating looking scenario afoot, though I'd kinda like to see a briefing map, say (one for either side perhaps (together with a 'master' map so we can see the amusing shortfalls in the intelligence-gathering on both sides. The air recon showed expanses of lawn looking almost as damp as our waterlogged piece of dirt after all the rains global warming has been delivering us. I wonder if i'll ever get any 'lawn war gaming' in...

Quantrilltoy said...

The giant feather looks very ominous for that jet.
Interestingly, the Stasi uniform looks very close to the uniform of British zoo keepers. Maybe those blighter infiltrated Britain to give the lions a hard time.

James

Tim Gow said...

James James
I suspect that giant feathers are ow on the list of potential hazards for Starfighter pilots! As for the Stasi zookeepers, that opens up a lot of comparisons between animals in cages and the DDR's approach to border 'security'....

Tim Gow said...

Pete
Somehow outdoor games always look better.

Tim Gow said...

Archduke Piccolo
The next post will include the actual NATO planning map!