The NKPA enters from the north and the USMC enter from the south into a meeting engagement. USMC has a better firepower, better range and twice as many mortars, but the NKPA are pretty tough, with their 5 SMG platoons, those can hurt if they get close. The NKPA won the initiative but with only one action, so the NKPA major starts out with the whole force online except for the mortars, mounted in the single GAZ and lead by one of the poorer valued LTs in the force. The Marines have enough leadership to have every 2-platoon stack with a good leader, where the NKPA have to string out 3 stacks with no leaders, having to follow the leader. First thing, both sides mortars get in to good high ground positions on turn 1. The NKPA are stretched in line from one side to the other centered on the road, while the USMC comes in in 3 groups, lead by the LTC, Maj and the best of the Captains. As contact is made, the battles go from ranged fire to hand-to-hand, and the NKPA on the US left are losing badly, while the US center breaks and falls back, and the US right holds on, taking morale losses but inflicting step losses in return. The NKPA attacking in the center play a game of chase trying to catch the Marine LTC, the Major and the Sergeant that have managed to survive while losing several steps of troops. They swing around behind the US troops holding the US right and form a 3rd hex preparing to be assaulted with 2 platoons that have rallied and joined them. The Marines on the left wrap up and head east to join the fun on the US right, while dice rolls go very much in the Marine's favor in the 2 assaults going on. US arty and mortars seem to have bent tubes today while the NKPA have done enough damage to earn their rice and kimche, but it hasn't helped enough, and in the end, the US wins, 20 steps of NKPA losses to 13 Marine, a minor victory. Had the scenario depended on exit points, it probably would have been an NKPA win when the SMGs broke through the middle. Great game.

Korean War: Counter-Attack, scenario #2: Who Attacks Whom?

This is a straight forward meeting engagement with each side entering from the opposite ends, north or south and the battle and victory conditions are for the east-west road only, eliminated steps don’t matter. The first couple of turns the Initiative rolls are very important to trying to get your forces to the east-west road first. The North Koreans have one Gaz67 and the U.S. Marines have two Jeeps to race a few units ahead.

This was a slug it out adjacent combat type of battle. Casualties mounted on both sides and I didn’t keep track as they didn’t matter but the Marines have better fire-power for this type of scenario and wore down the NKPA for a minor victory, 13 road hexes to 6. I think if I would have pressed it a little more on the last two turns the Americans would have gotten a major victory.

Sure, a fun play but this is one scenario where I kind of dropped the ball a bit as a Designer, in the victory conditions, as I feel the Marines have a clear advantage. Maybe remove one or two of their WPN units to balance it out a little more. But still, the North Koreans have a chance if they don’t attack across the whole road as I did, as they are too weak for that kind or assault in this scenario. Either way, gaming to more fun than work!

strong textBruce and I went after each other with looses to both sides. I tried moving around the left edge. Rocks slowed me down. We mixed our troops in assaults. We inflicted losses to each other. Control of the road was in sections. So neither one of us got a lot of points from road control.strong text