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Fire Team - Red Eclipse AAR - Knock Knock

Steve Overton

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This AAR will be one that highlights the vehicles in the game series. I've seen tactical game series that don't include vehicles and can't imagine not including them with mine. While the emphasis on the KN system is infantry combat, literally hundreds of thousands of combat actions include support for that infantry in one form or another. Tanks were specifically created to help the infantry in WWI and that hasn't changed in the decades since then.

The KN series has vehicle rules that are on an equal par to the infantry. In fact, every aspect of combat has been given an indepth set of rules to govern how it interacts in the game. Emphasis, again, is on the depth of the data and ease of playability. If I've done my job right the gamer will spend 95% of their time playing the game and an odd moment now and again checking a rule. The goal is a series rule book at 40 pages or less.

Those 40 pages include indepth coverage of infantry, cavalry, support weapons, artillery, vehicles, Close Air Support, anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft artillery and missiles as well as helicopters. The system is intended to be all inclusive for coverage of combat from 7 July 1937 to decades into the future.

Having said all that it's time I introduced you to vehicles that aren't just sitting in the middle of the map immobilized by a mine.

I'll see you here soon with the AAR between US and Soviet armored forces.

Good Hunting.
 

Steve Overton

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Messages
368
Points
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Location
Odessa, Texas
I've been told that modern armored combat shouldn't be done in a tactical game with small area hexes. KN hexes are 50 meters across.

There are several problems with that in a European setting. The US Army did a study after WW2 and determined that average engagement range for US tanks in the war was 400 meters. In KN that's 8 hexes. Which in itself is very doable. The kicker for me is this was the 'average' range. Which meant that a whole slug of those fights were at less than 400 meters. Since 1945 the worlds population has increased. The size of towns and villages has also increased. The result of all that will be, that even though guns fire further and optics see farther and through smoke, fog and smog, the engagement ranges in a modern day shooting war in Europe may actually be shorter than they were in WW2. They will probably not be longer.

For this scenario I've chosen a scattered out village that covers part of a small hill. We'll give it a test and see just how lethal modern combat can be in today's world. Or we'll see that those that say tanks have no place in a tactical level game were right.

I know where I'm putting my money.

Here then is the map we will be fighting over.

Map Setup.png

Notice that this map has objective locations on it. A - 2J6, B - 2 P4, C - 3B4 and D - 3 I5.


All graphics in this AAR are playtest graphics and are for the purposes of showing game play examples only.
 

Steve Overton

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Messages
368
Points
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Location
Odessa, Texas
Right away we have something different. There can be as many as 4 different Victory Locations on the map. These are lettered A, B, C and D.

Each player has a set of Victory Location Value chits for each of them.

Each letter location has five chits worth 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10. That gives 20 different possible values for the Victory Locations.

Each player will draw 3 of the 20 chits at random. At the very least one location will be of no value to that player. If for instance, all three chits drawn are A locations, then B, C and D would have no value to that player. The value of the locations for that side are kept secret until the scenario is over.

Often times the different sides of a battle have different objectives. They will see things as being less or more valuable according to their own wants and needs. The same is true in KN. You will have an idea where the objectives are but you won't know what value the enemy puts on those until the fight is over. Of course, denial can be a powerful incentive to control an objective.


US Objective Values.png

As you can see, the US Player drew values for locations A, B and C. Making D valueless to him.


Soviet Objective Values.png

The Soviet Player has drawn values for locations B and two for location D. They all add up. In this case the Soviet Player will get 5 points for controlling B and 12 points for controlling D.

It's interesting that the US Player has value for A which is closest to his side of the map and the Soviet Player has value for D which is closest to his side of the map. It rarely works out that way.

This is one of the functions that keeps high replayability for each scenario of KN. They will never play the same way twice.
 

Steve Overton

Member
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Messages
368
Points
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Location
Odessa, Texas
These are the exact same Tactical Event decks as were used in 'The Encounter' AAR. The Tactical Events have been written to have as broad an application as possible.


US Player Tactical Event Cards.

Turn 1 US TEC.png


Soviet Player Tactical Event Cards.


Turn 1 Soviet TEC.png

Out of 8 cards only the Grenade Attack card doesn't hold much value in this fight.
 

Steve Overton

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To determine our orders is a bit different because of the way Armor Leaders work. Each Armor Leader gets 2 orders and since Armor Leaders don't get Leadership Values they get no orders for those.

Brooks is a young gamer that played this system way back while it was still developing and Nunez is my Grandson who the game series is named after. (The N in his last name is the 'N' in the KN)


CP Chart US.png

The US Player has 7 orders. That will give him two 1 CP chits, one 2 CP chit and one 3 CP chit for the random draw pile.


CP Chart Sov.png

The Soviet Player also has 7 orders. That will give him two 2 CP chits and one 3 CP chit.

The US will get 4 impulses while the Soviet Player will get 3 impulses.
 
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Steve Overton

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Messages
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Points
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Location
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Did the US Player setup in an ambush position?

Can he see the Soviet tank in H6?

Tn1 Im1 LOS Check.png



The LOS is good. The issue is that he sits too far back on the hill. For a unit to fire off of a hill they must be on the crest. A crest is where a 2 elevations are shown in the same location.


Locations P5 and P6 are both crest locations.


Tn1 Im1 Crest.png

In this case the M3 Bradley ICV is too far back on the hill to see the Soviet tanks in the valley below.
 

Steve Overton

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Messages
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If you can't fire then you need to move.

Order 1 is for the M3 ICV to move.

The ICV changes facing from P5 to P4 (1), changes facing again to O3 (1). It moves into O3 (1) and into O2 (1) where it changes facing to P2 (1). It then moves into P2 (2) and again changes facing, this time towards Q2 (1). It then moves into Q2 (2). Total Movement Points used:

1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 10. The ICV has 14. If the Leader/Crew had been buttoned the costs would have been doubled.


Tn1 Im1 Order 1A.png
 

Steve Overton

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The ICV now has a clear lane along the road to the woods in G6. The yellow lines show the limits of the Firing Arc.


Tn1 Im1 Order 1C.png

As long as the Leader/Crew are unbuttoned they can fire in Opportunity Fire outside the Firing Arc. In this case we set the vehicle up where it is covering the road and can fire whether it's buttoned or not.
 
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Steve Overton

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We are in Turn 1 and it's Impulse 2. A US Command Point 1 chit has been activated.

Brooks, in location O7, is activated. His command range is 12. This is whether he is buttoned up or not. In this case none of the US vehicle Leaders/Crews are buttoned. Brooks command range covers all but a couple hexes in this screen shot.

Nunez, in location Q2 cannot be moved. One Leader may not activate another.

Tn1 Im2A.png


He will give an Advance order. This allows them to move one location without triggering Opportunity Fire.


Tn1 Im2C.png

The question now arises if these crews should button up.



Buttoned_Unbuttoned.png



For now, the US crews will stay unbuttoned so they can engage fully in Opportunity Fire.
 
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Steve Overton

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The Soviets have 2 complete sets of orders. Because the Soviets have 2 Armor Leaders that means they can break up their forces into 2 groups, give orders to 2 individual vehicles or activate one Leader to form a group and give an individual vehicle an order.

An American vehicle is already in Line of Sight(LOS). The building in B5 only creates a blind spot if either sides vehicles are adjacent. Since neither vehicle is adjacent to either a building or a woods location this LOS to the top of the hill is clear.

Tn1 Im3 Order 1.png

The vehicle on the hill is on a crest and considered hull down to any firer at a lower elevation. Being hull down means you have the bottom half of the vehicle hidden from view and are essentially peeking over the top of the hill. To hit a hull down vehicle you must get a turret hit.

The tank in G5 is blocked by the building in F5, while the tank in I5 is blocked from the building in H5 from seeing the US tank in P4. If we choose to fire with this tank it would be to activate only the one tank.

Let's see what some of our other options are.
 
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Steve Overton

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The Soviet tanks in location L7, M6 and N7 can all see the US tank. The Soviet tank in location O6 has it's LOS blocked by the building in N6.


Tn1 Im3 Order 1 LOS A.png


Tn1 Im3 Order 1 LOS B.png


Tn1 Im3 Order 1 LOS C.png


Tn1 Im3 Order 1 LOS D.png

The best option for Order 1 is for Vishnevsky in location L7 to activate the vehicles in L7, M6 and N7 to fire.
 

Steve Overton

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Messages
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The data cards for the tanks involved are:

A102 M1A1_1988 H.png


S110 T_80BV 1985 H.png


The range is between 14 and 16 for the Soviet tanks to the US tank. This falls in the 11-28 range band.
The 'To Hit' modifier for the T-80BV at that range is a -1.
 

Steve Overton

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We check the M1A1 armor value for that location and that facing. The armor value we are looking for is the Turret Front.

In this case we have a 67 WHITE. Which means we will add one die worth of value to that armor rating.


A102 M1A1_1988 H 1.png
 

Steve Overton

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The Soviet T-80BV will compare it's armor penetration value to the M1A1's armor defense value.

The T-80BV has a 40 White. Which means we will add one die worth of value to that armor penetration rating.


S110 T_80BV 1985 H 1.png

After the die rolls are added to the values they are compared. If the armor defensive value is greater the vehicle is not destroyed. If the armor penetration value is greater the vehicle is destroyed.

In this case the T-80BV's penetration is 27 less than the M1A1's armor value. There is no way the tank can be destroyed by this gun, at this range, from this angle. Unless there is a triple die roll or the crew attempts a critical hit.
 

Steve Overton

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Not bad shooting!! The Soviets hit American tanks 3 out of 4 shots.

While that concludes order 1 we still have another order we can use.

Order 2 will be to activate Voronov and the two T-80BV's by him to move.

Tn1 Im3 Order 2A.png
 
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