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Post by mikedski on Sept 24, 2016 23:48:18 GMT
Marysville was not unlike many plains farming communities until about 1900 when the Union Pacific Railroad established a rail yard on the west side of town. Being roughly equidistant to the state capitols of Lincoln to the north and Topeka to the south and Omaha and Kansas City to the east, Marysville was in an ideal location for the burgeoning rail economy. With the Martian invasion and the "Great Retreat", Marysville is now a key US Army supply depot and evacuation station. Curiously, while important, Marysville was not particularly well garrisoned. Up until now the Martians appeared to attack in a broad deliberate manner and the town was still far from the Martian advance.
Taking advantage of an intense band of thunderstorms during the night, four Martian scout machines has managed to slip unnoticed past the Salina, Kansas - Grand Isle, Nebraska defensive line. By dawn, the tripods were 70 miles to the east approaching Marysville, Kansas on the Big Blue River. They appear to be attracted to the large structures that can be seen above the trees. This is the first of many raids that Martians would conduct in a change of tactics to disrupt defenses and prevent humans from escaping.
Martians - 4 scout tripods, three orders tokens
US Army: 3 orders tokens
On board. 1 military police patrol of 3 scout cars various rail stock, supply points, grain elevator, warehouse, supply trucks, civilian buildings (target objectives)
Reinforcements: Just to the east at the old pony express station a veteran motorized cavalry troop was camped for the night enroute from Fort Leavenworth to reinforce the screen line. At stand-to a frantic messenger from the senior quartermaster reports tripods approaching from the southwest.
1) Veteran Motorized Cavalry Troop units arrive along east edge:
HQ with sniper unit in soft flivvers Assault Motor Infantry in armored flivvers BAR Motor Infantry in armored flivvers Motor MG unit in armored flivvers Rough Rider Motorcycle Unit field gun battery in soft flivvers 2) Kanza Indian war party, Department of the Interior - arrive as reinforcements along the west or south edge of board west of the river.
- The Martian raiding party has not entirely escaped notice. They were being pursued during the night by a native American Indian war party from the Kanza tribe out of Council Grove, Kansas. The weather and terrain made an attack difficult but dawn provided the war party a chance to attack. Equipped with motorcycles, trained in the use of explosives, and motivated by the custom of "counting coup" they are all too willing to grapple the silver demons.
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Post by hardlec on Sept 25, 2016 6:21:05 GMT
What stats are you using for the Native Americans? Likewise the BAR infantry. What are the objectives? This looks like fun.
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Post by mikedski on Sept 25, 2016 19:42:38 GMT
What stats are you using for the Native Americans? Likewise the BAR infantry. What are the objectives? This looks like fun. Special Rules.
Indian War Party. Recruited and trained by Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior. Provided unique uniforms and personalized motorcycles.
Motorcycles/ speed 10/ +3 assault/ independent/ counting coup/ fearless
1) Independent. Loss does not count against total human morale. They do not benefit from orders tokens nor can be regenerated using Industrial Might.
2) counting coup - Touching an enemy in battle and then living to tell the tale about it is a Plains Indian tradition. Indian Affairs provides the war parties a generous bounty if they can bring back the lens piece of a tripod heat ray or better yet the body of a Martian as proof of destruction.
Elements can double move in the first movement phase if the combat phase results in an assault. All or only some of the elements can double move and assault. Once the assault is concluded the assaulting elements are removed from play (think forlorn hope on motorcycles) - the assaulting elements ditched their motorcycles to assault and then either are hiding, dead or collecting bounty evidence!
Veteran Motorized Cavalry. The US Army Cavalry was given the bulk of the mission of delaying the Martian advance across the vast interior while the infantry, engineers and newly established Tank Corps organized and trained to hold the Mississippi line after the Great Retreat. Due to the black dust the cavalry quickly traded horses for flivvers and changed their cavalry troops as a combined force with MGs, snipers and field guns.
Use the same stats as the USMC landing party except the BAR teams and assault teams form independent, 3 element units.
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Post by hardlec on Sept 25, 2016 23:58:06 GMT
I like it. Counting Coup was also common among the Native tribes in New England. The Lakota had the most attractive Coup sticks, at least to me.
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Post by madmorgan on Sept 29, 2016 11:16:00 GMT
Dang fine work - look forward to the battle. Always enjoy 'new' units and your War Party idea is right on. I'll definitely get another box of the Apache bikers to convert to the colorful war party. I also like the "Veteran Motorized Cavalry" concept. Ty for these excellent ideas and units. Btw, are there point values forth coming for these?
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Post by mikedski on Oct 2, 2016 11:55:17 GMT
Sorry about not posting the battle yet. I was working on my other hobby by getting my uniform together. Went to the OZtober Fest in Wamego, Kansas as a Winkie Soldier (Witch's Guard).
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Post by hardlec on Oct 2, 2016 13:13:58 GMT
Yo we-oh, We-oh uhm Great Costume!
Be careful not to get water on any candidates. 😋
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Post by mikedski on Oct 2, 2016 22:25:15 GMT
Martian Turn 1 All machines arrive from the southwest corner. Unable to torch the farm. US Army Turn 1 The military policy patrol moves to the bridge. No reinforcements. No Indians. Turn 2 Martians win initiative - the farm is now aflame. US Army: Reinforcements arrive - HMG squad in armored flivvers, BAR squad in armored flivvers, and field guns. The military police patrol crossed the bridge in a desperate hope to block the Martian advance. Ping ping ping. The HMGs/ flivvers are doubled time to the east side of the bridge. Turn 3 Martian wins initiative. One scout double times on to the bridge and destroys an armored flivver with a sweep attack. A following scout obliterates the military police patrol west of the bridge. A lone scout to the south also double times across the Big Blue River (difficult terrain) . The scout fires at the grain elevator and rolls a "1" and literally misses the broad side of a barn. US Army - The assault squad arrives in flivvers as reinforcements and can move and shoot are pushed south to counter the scout threatening the passenger train, The Flivvers inflict one damage point on the scout in shadow of the grain elevator. At the bridge Rough Riders unable to land a single cable! However, the BAR squad is able to inflict a damage point in assault. Massed MG fire damages and then explodes the tripod just west of the bridge causing the woods to burn and light damage to the bridge.
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Post by mikedski on Oct 2, 2016 22:38:04 GMT
Turn 4 Humans win initiative. Snipers and Cavalry command team arrives as reinforcements (move and shoot!) and arrives to the south. No Indians yet. Combined sniper fire and MG fire topples the scout at the grain elevator. At the bridge, the rough riders back away to allow massed MG and arty fire to engage the nearby scout causing three nore points of damage. Martians use last order token to double time the remaining scout across the bridge. Both scouts now start to target the rolling stock destroying the artillery flat car, the artillery steam tractor flat car and caboose. Second movement phase has both scouts moving into the freight yard.
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Post by mikedski on Oct 2, 2016 22:50:19 GMT
Turn 5 US Army wins initiative. No Indians The rough riders land two tow cables on the wounded scout. Massed fire ( Armored flivvers x6, field guns) causes another three damage points and a weapons critical hit. The other scout is also fired on by two armored flivvers and MG squad causing two damage points. (No picture available) The immobilized scout attempts to move and fails causing another damage point. However, it does win the weapons roll off and destroys more rolling stock. The other scout also engages in further destruction of the freight yard.
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Post by mikedski on Oct 2, 2016 23:59:04 GMT
Turn 6 US Army wins initiative. No Indians. The heavily damage scout finally explodes destroying a nearby supply point and one field gun. The remaining scout suffers another two damage points and a weapons critical hit. The lone scout moves among the wreckage, loses the weapon rolloff, and then hides behind the taller structures and smoke.
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Post by madmorgan on Oct 3, 2016 9:26:16 GMT
with the appropriate "... I've been working on the railroad..." playing in the background. Btw, Warlord Games just released the Kelly's Heroes (my name, theirs is a warped version to avoid copy write problems) box set.
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Post by terrance on Oct 3, 2016 19:26:03 GMT
Looks like it was a fun game. Good battle report. I have got to figure out how to add those heat ray traces etc to my pics.
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Post by scottwashburn on Oct 4, 2016 19:21:37 GMT
Great report and great looking table! I love the fact that the humans didn't have any tanks at all!
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Post by mikedski on Oct 4, 2016 21:17:05 GMT
Great report and great looking table! I love the fact that the humans didn't have any tanks at all! Scott thank you! I hope my alternate histories and battle reports are in the spirit of your book(s). I envision that the mobility and logistic requirements of the steam tanks make them impractical to use in large numbers west of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
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