After Action Review will appear shortly
Compound Interest
Somewhere in Helmand Province early 2010
A solitaire/cooperative play scenario for Hearts & Minds (Flying Lead)
By Rich Jones 2010Local Intel has told of a local compound being used as an IED manufacturing plant for the next few days. While specifying an area the actual building was not identified which was proving a problem. However, it has been deemed that the risk of infuriating the locals by house searching will be far outweighed by shutting down the plant.
Lieutenant Cartwright, using the bank of the irrigation ditch as cover, watched as his platoon sections advanced into the maze of compounds, at the edge green-zone, which stretched away in-front of them. They had left FOB Junger just before dawn as the searches had to be a surprise and conducted quickly, with as little disturbance as possible.
Corporal Wood and Charlie Fire-Team covered the short length of street they could see. Debris covered the area, both FTs were painfully aware any of them could harbour an IED. Lance Corporal Brough led Delta Fire-Team crouched and ran, positioning themselves either side of the door. Private Evans tried the door … locked. A quick check for anything untoward and he put his shoulder into the door, forcing it open.
What lay in store for them in the courtyard?This scenario has been designed to play either solo or cooperatively with a player taking a Fire-Team each.
Forces: The Brit forces (could be any ISAF section/squad though) consist of two Fireteams and the Platoon command section. The Taliban appear in random amounts at random points during the scenario depending on a number of factors. About 30 will be sufficient in most cases and many will be able to be ‘recycled’. Mainly AK armed with maybe a few RPG appearing and an outside chance of a PKM.
Table Top: The table top only needs to be 3’x3’ in 28mm for this scenario as it must be packed with terrain, most of it being compounds and the maze of walls surrounded by maize fields and irrigation ditches. Piles of debris should abound. There needs to be 8 buildings where the IED manufacturing plant could be, these need to be spread amongst the compounds.
Set Up: there needs to be 8 markers for the EID plant, 7 of these will be dummies (use either counters with an X under one of them, or small chits of folded paper, the important thing is that they can be ‘shuffled’ and placed without the player knowing which is the real one). A marker is placed in each f the 8 buildings. There are also 8 IED markers (of which 2 need to be ‘real’) which are placed at random about the board. It is suggested you use an imaginary 6 sectioned grid on the board to find which section to put the marker in. Then do the same for that section and place the marker in some ‘logical’ place according to the roll. Don’t forget to include some in possible ‘duck back’ places (irrigation ditches, rubble and debris etc).
Scenario mechanics: The scenario revolves around the searches of the buildings. Until firing kicks off the FTs have to enter in State White, giving warning, no firing etc. Once firing starts or is going on within two Long Lengths of the FT they are allowed to go in using State Red. When a Fire-Team enters a compound roll a die:
1: There are some Taliban fighters ready and waiting on overwatch – roll on table one for numbers.
2: There are some Taliban fighters but they are caught unawares, they are one worse quality for their next activation. If challenged before this they will put down their arms on a 5 or 6. A challenge takes an action. It is an action to secure the prisoners and radio it in to the Lieutenant. If not challenged they will fight on their next activation. Roll on table one for numbers.
3-5: Empty compound.
6: Some locals are in the compound.
Table One – Taliban
Roll Number & Type
1. Six Tier One Taliban, one with RPG. Roll again, on a 6 they have a PKM.
2. Six Tier Two Taliban (2 of each type, one with RPG)
3. Three Tier One Taliban. Roll again on a 6 one has RPG.
4. Three Tier Two Taliban and Two Tier Three ‘new recruits’
5. Five Tier Three Fighters.
6 Roll again but TWICE
IEDs: When an IED marker is within a short the soldier may make a spotting check as normal. However if they fail the check in this scenario the marker is flipped anyhow – if it is a ‘real’ IED it will go off!
Any IED marker is flipped if a character is forced to find cover in its location (within a base width), if real it will go off.
When a FT enters a building roll on the following chart:
1-4 It is empty bar the marker.
5 There are 4 civilians in the building. Roll a morale dice to determine how they react (if you do not have one of the featured morale die then on a 1-2 they are very scared, 3-4 welcoming and docile, 5 they start shrieking and shouting angrily on a 6 they are angry and the male attacks with whatever is at hand).
6. As above but there are an extra 3 civilians, there are weapons around and they could be Taliban. If firing has commenced they will have the weapons ready, on a roll of 5 or 6 they are Taliban and will fire on their activation (check on their activation).
IED Plant: When they enter a building and make a Quality Check a Character may flip the marker to reveal if it is the IED plant or not. If the ISAF forces find the plant it signals the end of the game as they radio it in and the platoon converges on the position in a show of force. Play one more ‘turn’ and then the Taliban will ‘melt’.
Red or White – When entering a building or breaking into a compound the FT must state if they are entering White or Red.
Attack State White is when the FT goes into a compound or building announcing their presence and waiting to see what happens before they react … this is the default state they must enter premises in without breaking the ROE. Any character must enter the premises and then make no other action apart from challenging if they have an action left to do so.
Attack State Red on the other hand allows the FT to enter by throwing grenades in first and going in firing. It will only be permitted by the Platoon CO if there is fighting in the vicinity or if they have been fired on from the premises.
FOW cards – they are diced for as normal … any Taliban cards must be played as soon as possible. We suggest that cards not appropriate for the scenario are taken out of the pack.
Taliban Reinforcements:
Once firing starts the local Taliban will flood to the area. The table top would be full of rat runs so the following mechanics are used:
At the end of the ISAF turn when there has been any firing roll a D6: on a 5 or 6 roll on Chart One. The Taliban will appear on the table 2 Long Lengths from the location of most firing in a random direction. We use a scatter die, if the location is ‘off’ the table they appear at the table edge. Taliban are placed as close to the location shown on the dice that makes sense. They are not going to appear in LOS of the ISAF FTs as if by magic unless there is cover (the exit to the rat run etc).
VPs are worked out as normal with the IED plant being worth 15 Points for whichever side is in control of it at the end of the game.
