Korean War: Counter-Attack, scenario #32: Keys to Taegu

The 1st Cavalry Division had the keys to unlock the Taegu area and led with the I&R unit to get into spotting distance quickly for the four air-strikes as they had no on-board artillery. Nice to get to use some recon units. The Bazooka team stacked for free as kind of a soak-off unit, as there are no bunkers or armor to shoot up. The victory is all about eliminating enemy units and 60 meter hill and village control. At first things were kind of rocky for the Americans but after a few good airstrikes including a B29, things started to open up.

The North Koreans lost 8 steps to the Americans 3 steps while the Americans controlled both 60 meter hills and one village and the NKPA only held on to one village. The Americans finished with 13 points to the North Koreans 4 points for a Major American Victory. The good airstrikes and the nice dice rolls for those strikes made the Difference in this scenario for a change

This was an interesting scenario where a mostly infantry force of US Army troops, supported by an I&R platoon, a couple of platoons of 81mm mortars and a few HMG platoons has to dislodge an INF and SMG heavy North Korean force from 2 villages and 2 60m hills. The North Koreans also have 2 120mm mortars and 1 81mm and a little bit of OBA. To counter this, the US gets 4 airstrikes during the game.

I set up the North Koreans with the mortars dug in on the big hills so they could see essentially the entire battlefield, and a 1 firepower leader to help them combine fire. I conceded one of the villages to the US, and defended the other with a couple of SMG platoons. The other troops were scattered on the 2 hills with a forward and rear defensive line. The front line was expected to fall back if needed.

The US sent it's main effort right up the gut to the main hill, while a smaller force went to invest the villages, although with the relatively narrow front, they soon merged. The US pushed the I&R platoon forward on its own, and the North Koreans saw an opportunity to take it out and sent 2 SMG platoons up to it for point blank shots. They didn't eliminate it and when they tried to withdraw on the next turn, one of the platoons was shot to pieces by opportunity fire. Overall, though, the North Koreans were withdrawing in good order, and the mortars were slowing the US advance.

And then the B-29s showed up.

The 1st US airstrike was B-29s which hit both mortar positions. One survived the M2 with only the wagon being disrupted, however the 2nd hex wiped out a 120mm mortar, severely impacting the North Korean indirect firepower. The next airstrike was also B-29s, however they couldn't find their targets. In fact, none of the last 3 airstrikes found their target (a 1 in 27 chance of missing all 3 of them). Meanwhile, the US was wearing down the North Koreans with long range fire, while the North Koreans were unable to hit much of anything, and when they did, the good morale US officers kept the troops in good order.

The Kommissar was also busy, taking care of 2 North Korean steps on his own (oops). The US advance was slow, however they were taking out steps and not losing any of their own. When all was said and done, the North Koreans lost 10 steps and the US took both villages. The US only lost 2 steps. They US didn't take either of the 60m hills, however they killed off enough North Koreans for a minor victory (12 points to 6).

Good fun, and probably a good 2 player scenario, too.