Fire Team - Reconnaisance on the Nuremberg Highway

Scenario 2 from Fire Team is a lot more interesting than the first scenario in the game.  "Reconnaissance on the Nuremberg Highway" features an engagement between American scouts from 2ACR and the lead elements of Soviet 11th Guards Tank Division.  The Soviet player secretly chooses one of three available force compositions, each of which lead to different victory conditions for the Russian player.

Version 1: Troop Recon Patrol consists of two platoons of BMPs, both of whom have a very small detachment of troops riding along with them carrying RPG-16s. 

Version 2: Helicopter Forward Detachment has a mix of Mi-24 attack helos and Mi-8s along with a couple of BMPs and a full platoon of infantry.

Version 3:  Point Detachment has the same allotment as version 1 but adds SA-14 weapon teams and a couple of ZSU-23s into the mix with three T-80 tanks arriving later in the game.

I hadn't played this scenario in a long time so I went with Version 1, which is the configuration that required the fewest rules to re-read. With Troop Recon Patrol, the victory condition for the Soviets is that I need to get two vehicles from the same platoon off the north edge of the map.  

The American forces also change according to what version the Soviet player chooses.  In this case, the US player would get 6 M3 Bradleys for set up and a platoon of M2s with infantry and LAW rockets to reinforce them in turn 3.  

To add to the funkiness of this scenario, the forces start off on Map C and maps can be added on either side of it if units move off the initial map.  The players roll for which map is put down and in which direction it will face.  Pretty cool.

Fire Team is pretty hardcore when it comes to vehicle combat.  Basically, the way it works is that when a vehicle fires at another one with missiles or guns, you consult a chart for kill numbers.  Depending on terrain and what both vehicles are doing at the time, the kill number either increases or decreases.  You roll a die and either you hit and kill the enemy vehicle or you miss it completely.  This makes for a pretty deadly game.

Soviet Setup

The Soviets set up on anywhere south of the road running east-west through the map.  I put 1st Platoon in the town of Stelau and 2nd platoon went near the small hill to the southeast.  

American setup

The Americans just strung their Bradleys along the north side of the map, ready to intercept the Russians as they pushed north.  

Map A - setup complete

The Soviet plan was to send 1st platoon to the west and 2nd platoon to the east, hoping to catch the Americans off guard and find a weakness.  It wasn't a real complex strategy but sometimes simple works well enough.  The Americans sensed what was coming right off the bat and decided that half the Bradleys would take on one platoon of BMPs while the other half worked the other side of the board.  The Bradleys would be moved aggressively to trap the Soviet vehicles and kill them as they tried to come through. 

2nd platoon advances north in turn 1

The Americans activated first in the game and sent a Bradley on the American right flank up on the nearest hill to get a look around.  The Soviets got a big activation next and the entire 2nd platoon was activated to move along the road to the east.  We rolled for which map to add and got map  D.  As one of the BMPs moved along the road, the Americans went for opportunity fire and the Bradley on the hill fired a TOW missile at the group, killing a Soviet vehicle with scout infantry inside.  The remaining BMPs scurried along the road to the north.

The Soviets activated again and decided to get 2nd platoon the hell off the road before another TOW missile came along.  They two BMPs moved into and around the forested area to the east, out of the American LOS.  A vehicle from 1st platoon also got an activation and it moved west from Stelau so we laid out another map (Map A).  

Soviet movement during turn 1

A look at the board with Map A laid out.

Halfway through turn 1

Well, it was time for the Americans to activate so they pulled a chit and moved two Bradleys to the east on to map D to intercept 2nd platoon.  One Bradley parked right into Waldhof, hoping to catch any BMPs coming north.  Meanwhile another Bradley went stalking the BMPs at close range, entering the forest where the Soviets had last been seen.  

In the next Soviet activation, one of the BMPs in 2nd Platoon withdrew even deeper into the forest while the other attempted to skirt around the hill to the east and hopefully break through to the north.  

East side of map

Meanwhile, to the west, the Americans put up another Bradley on the big hill near their setup area, hoping to catch the Soviets with missile fire.  The remaining two Bradleys closed in, one of them setting up in the town of Ehrenberg while the other Bradley advanced rapidly to the south and then swung around towards the rear of 1st Platoon.  

1st Platoon moved up towards Ehrenberg and used the buildings of the town to keep the Bradleys high up on the hills from spotting them.  Two of the BMPs dropped off scout infantry in the south of the town.  A Bradley from across the street fired at the Soviet scouts as they set up in the buildings, shaking them slightly (Fear 1 marker placed).

West side of map in Ehrenberg

The first turn ended here with both sides frustrated.  The Americans had spent most of their CPs shifting around Bradleys and the Soviets to the east had led them on a wild goose chase, drawing them further into the woods while the real  threat of 1st platoon had nearly reached the norther edge of the map already and without a scratch.  TOW missile fire had been effective from long range but the Soviets quickly adapted by staying behind obstacles and hiding their movement in the LOS blind zones behind buildings.  

Turn 2 began and though the Soviets were down 1 Command Point from losing a BMP, their morale was high.

Bradley sneaking up from behind!

The Americans pulled a chit at the beginning of the second turn and sent a Bradley to sneak up behind the BMPs near Ehrenberg.  It scaled the large hill to the south of the town but had no LOS to the nearby Soviets.  Good enough - they would come into view as they sped south.  The Soviets were now covered by the Americans from three sides (one Bradley in Ehrenberg, one on the hill to the south and one way over on the big hill to the east).

The Soviets got activation next and activated the RPG team across the road from the Bradley in Ehrenberg.  I rolled a "2" and the Bradley was toast.

The Americans went next and sent the Bradley to the south over the crest of the hill to the south of Ehrenberg to get a better LOS on the Soviets.

Next activation went to the Soviets and they managed to get the entire 2nd platoon going again.  This One of the BMPs drove north through a cluster of buildings using cautious movement.  The Bradley far away on the hill to the east fired a TOW missile and we rolled a "10", which was a galling miss.  The vehicle sped through to the north and made its escape.  Soviet victory was now pretty much assured.  Another BMP from 2nd platoon scuttled through Ehrenberg and took opportunity fire from the Bradley on the hill directly to the south.  Another roll of "10" - unbelievable.  The TOW misses and the Soviets manage to get two vehicles from 2nd platoon off the board for a win.

Final positions

As for 1st platoon, it ended the game still stuck on the east side of the board, having done its job as a decoy to keep the Americans guessing.  The Soviet player used them to good effect to drain the US player of important Command Points.  Well done for the Russians!