This is clever little scenario that I really enjoyed playing. One must think through well the forces initial deployment and scheme of maneuver becasue both sides are weak and mistake could cost the game quickly. The NORKs set up on the hills behind the river with the valuable Su-76 on the rearmost hill to avoid detection as long as possible. They put an AT Gun and the HMG ion the last town hex as a delaying action. This forced the South Koreans to attack. The 122mm was placed on the forward hill.

The South planned to hit the 122mm position with the cavalry then move up and use the recon ability to spot and hopefully kill the Su-76. But everything the cavalry moved forward and took fire the Colonel kept demoralizing and halting the attack. The fire from the 122mm was effective. Finally the South Koreans had to charge the enemy positions with the armored cars and they all made it withstanding AT fire. the Su-76 hid don the banks of the river when the M8 Greyhounds moved into recon range. The assault on the 45mm Gun positions produced no results and the game went down to the last turn without any casualties. On the last turn the Cavalry finally took down the 122mm position but the NORKs counterattacked a lone M8 platoon (after his buddy platoon fled) and eliminated it for the Nork Korean Victory. This one was fun fast to play and ended in fury.

This little scenario has a small force of AT guns, light armored cars (M-8s and an M-20) and Cavalry. I drew a good bunch of South Korean leaders to go with them. This defending against an odd mix, a 122mm gun, 2 45mm AT guns, all with tow vehicles, a BTR APC for the HMG platoon, and an SU-76. A "kill them all" sort of thing, the South Koreans start anywhere south of the river, the North Koreans anywhere north of it. I set up the South Koreans with one AT gun, LT and tow vehicle in the town watching over the bridges, the second one in woods on the hill above the town with the Colonel, the two M-8s on the second level hill and the cavalry in woods to the right of the hill, the M-20 in town to provide direct fire cover for the AT guns there. North Koreans had a firebase arrangement, the 122 with trucks in one hex, the two AT guns with trucks next door, one LT with the 122s. The APC carrying the HMG platoon and the SU were set up on the ROK's left, where it looked like they were wide open since they were more focused on the bridges in town. ROK won initiative on turn 1 and bided their time while the NK APC and SU started a river crossing out of sight behind a row of trees. Turn 2 and the North won initiative. Since none of the SK units had opened fire, none of them were visible yet, so the SU and APC succeeded in crossing the river. Turn 3 and the NK mech/motorized force took to the road and advanced to stop just outside of the woods where they might draw fire and get some artillery down on the ROK troops. This worked but not as well as they would have liked. The two 37mm ATs were in good position to fire at the lightly armored NK vehicles but failed to hit. The M-8s moved around and into the edge of town where they could add their firepower next turn without being a target yet. ROK Cavalry moved down into the town to keep an eye on those interesting looking NK gun positions. NK arty came down on the Colonels AT gun position and the 122 fired on the town hex where the other AT gun was set up but all was ineffective. Next turn, and two really ace M-8 crews fire, one rolling box-cars against the SU and the other rolling an 11 against the APC. 3 steps lost with an LT in one action. Good shooting, guys. NK guns tried to retaliate, and OBA hit the AT guns on the hill, killing the gun and demoralizing the Colonel. NK 122 fires AT and takes one step of an M-8 but the survivors are so driven to repel the North Korean invaders they take no notice. The ROK Cavalry saw their chance and advanced towards the NK guns, hoping to get the drop on them next turn. And indeed they did, ROK initiative, ROK cav charge the 2 AT guns and their trucks but only disrupt one gun and it's tow vehicles. NK return assault ineffective. The LT and the 122 next door decide to try to use AT fire to kill another step of the M-8s but miss. This time the Cavalry rolls a 3, taking out both AT guns and both trucks, again to no losses from the AT guns return fire attempt. The M-8s fire direct fire on the 122 and it's truck and kill that stack, leaving a dazed and confused NK LT wandering around all by himself. Game over. No demoralized units on the table, even the demoralized ROK Colonel has stopped fleeing and gotten ahold of himself, so only casualty points to count up, 7 to 2. South Korea wins. Great small scenario, very unusual unit mix. Great little puzzle for a quick game.

Korean War: Pusan Perimeter, scenario #13: Across the Han River

Ok first let me start, below was the original scenario introduction and conclusion before Avalanche Press rewrote them. My intent on this scenario was to show that both sides took a small breather with a the river between them pretty much out of rifle range but not heavy weapons as both sides took pot shots at each other and a few tried to fight it out across fords in the wide river causing this odd mix of units to clash.

Original Scenario Introduction: Colonial Paik was down to rebuilding his ROK 1st Division across the Han River defensive line and a violent Artillery duel bellowed in full fury across the wide waterway. Paik went to assess the situation when he ran into the ROK Army’s armor regiment. The regiment didn’t have tanks but only Armored Cars and halftracks with 37mm guns and two hundred horses and were eagerly exchanging fire across the river with unidentified combat units of the NKPA.

Original Conclusion: The ROK commander was inspired by MacArthur’s visit and the news that the U.S. Army was committing ground combat troops to Korea. The ROK army also felt safer across the Han River, having some relief and time to reorganize and rebuilt their depleted units. But little to their knowledge at this time, their retreat south was not over, as soon the NKPA would continue south again!

AAR: Now back to my small AAR! My mistake, the bridge should have been blown up but since I left them intact and this scenario has been out for years, I’ll play it as though the bridges are still there like everyone else has played.

I setup pretty much with both sides facing off directly across from each other, in the town hexes or hills on one side. The North Koreans shot first knocking out an M3 Halftrack, so the South Koreans worked the Cavalry units across one of the bridges to setup a charge the next turn. For a small 12 turn scenario with a low unit count, the battle became very bloody with adjacent combat and city assaults. By the points in the victory conditions, which includes points for demoralized units, the NKPA achieved 7 points and the ROKs achieved 6 points. A very close NKPA victory and a few dice rolls either way and either side could have won. You have to take special care in this scenario, as both sides have weak armor protection AFV for easy points (BTR-40, SU76, M8, M20 & M3). This probably plays out differently each time, in this odd but fun scenario.