Korean War: Counter-Attack, scenario 56: The American Luftwaffe

Originally I titled this one Tragedy from Above! But AP changed it to The American Luftwaffe and from my results I can see why. The Americans come with two airstrikes on turns 4 and 8 and both times they strike the British in friendly fire just as historically. The forces are pretty evenly matched in a 13 turn scenario and yes the North Koreans start defending the villages and surrounding terrain but the British have a higher morale.

I won’t go into great detail on this short, very fast playing scenario but it was a bloody fight and I have always wanted to play with the British nationality in the Korean War. True Counter-Attack had counter limitations so there are only two scenarios with British units in them but in a latter supplement there will be more counters/units and scenarios for them. For now these two will have to do and this one was very fun to play. The two friendly-fire air-attacks hurt the British but the second one hurt the most, with one lost Infantry steps, one lost leader counter and another demoralized Infantry step, caught out in the open. On the first turn, the British rushed a jeep, a leader and Infantry units forward to take advantage of spotting for their only two turns of artillery.

After a couple of turns of British general advance and making contact with the NKPA, the fighting began and was very bloody for this size of a scenario, with direct fire, opportunity fire, bombardment fire and assault combat all playing a part. Towards the end the British were too worn down from both enemy and friendly fire to pull out a win, as they actually lost 3 leaders/counters in this action. The British lost 9 steps to the North Koreans 5 steps but gained 3 points for village control to the NKPA 2 points. The results were still 11 North Korean points to 8 British points for a minor NKPA victory by one point.

This scenario played out very close, if not for the friendly fire, it would have been a draw but a few dice rolls either way and it could have gone either way. The British have little time or support and must take control of those North Korean villages pretty fast and risk the casualties in this tense, fast moving scenario. I recommend it!