TacOps AAR Part 16: Boom and boom

1000 to 1009

Red started this period by engaging in a lot of long-distance shooting of low value infantry squads it could have safely ignored and by launching an airstrike with a MiG-27 that failed due to three Stingers shooting the thing down. This is not to as I was any better – I lost multiple air strikes to precisely the same cause, only the missile was called something different.

Red’s northern advance towards 04 Easting ran into the anti-tank units I’d concealed between the clumps of trees in a desperate attempt to slow him down. The exchange of anti-vehicle fire resulted in a large number of vehicles brewing up, the air filling with burning fuel and people.

1002 saw further damage being done on both side – a successful air attack on my part taking out a few vehicles with infantry fire killing an Igla/SA-16 unit, although said squad was then eliminated. Coyote crossed 04 Easting and took out the Javelin unit at 0404 that had caused him quite a few problems.

Coyote’s notes at this point have him feeling he was making better progress than expected and suffering ‘acceptable’ losses. Considering how much of my force he’d eliminated (70% to his losses of 19%), he was probably right in saying so. He also intended to move his centre force to support one of the other attacks within 15 to 20 minutes.

My artillery fire was starting to slacken now – with Red’s own units getting closer, he was able to take out some of my own mortars with some lucky shots at 1003. OPFOR was now truly through my lines. This wasn’t to say I wasn’t getting kills on him – I was (more than I remember getting looking at the replay), but my hits were drops in the ocean compared to the forces he had available. In fact, he could have punched through at the centre and the south as well if he wanted to.

1006 featured a lot of flying lead as REDFOR broke through in the south, the enemy unit in 0401 made its presence felt and a lot of infantry units finally gave up the ghost. 03 Easting had now been breached and all that was stopping Coyote from the goal line were two Javelin units and an M1 unit. That latter tank didn’t last long.

Red’s central forces were at this point variously committing north or south – mostly north. They had little need to worry about my thin blue line, now mostly scattered infantry squads.

As 1009 came round, OPFOR ran into the first of the last-ditch Javelin sections in the north. It seems that Coyote thought this was a counterattack. If only it had been that organised…