Brett Simpson play tested his Dig In and Wait Scenario pitting the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) against the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). In solo mode.
Today was a good day. I enjoyed yet another solo game of Crossfire — this time play-testing the Dig In and Wait Scenario. I must say, it was about as interesting and exciting as a solitaire game could be. A very close game, in which both sides utilised some very good strategy, and experienced some very good luck, and very bad luck. In the end, the Australians were victorious.
The scenario is set around a village that the AIF have been busy helping to rebuild. The Village is nestled between an all-important air-strip to the south (just off-table), and a palm plantation to the north. Native scouts have alerted the Australians to the advance of Japanese soldiers through the palm forest. The Australians have been ordered to dig-in, wait, and not let the Village or airstrip fall into enemy hands at any cost.
Image One:
A view of the table from the south. Palm trees and bamboo have been felled/cleared and lie to either side of the village. These will later be used by the Australians and Natives to build roofs for the buildings.
Image Two:
1st and 3rd Platoons wait behind entrenchments (breastworks and a slit trench) with their eyes fixed on the palm forest for any sign of the Japanese. Vickers-gun and 3-inch Mortar Teams can be seen on the hill in the foreground.
Image Three:
The Japanese 1st Platoon sizes up the Australians from inside the forest.
Image Four:
A view of the Japanese advance from the west – the bulk of their force is difficult to spot to the east.
Image Five:
The Japanese advance across the River after suppressing the bulk of the 3rd AIF Platoon with their Woodpecker MG and cutting them off from the rest of their force with smoke from an OT 75mm Infantry Gun. This ended up being an ill-fated assault, with the units seen here all falling in close combat.
Image Six:
The 2nd AIF Platoon crosses the River and are surprised to see the IJA CC and personal bodyguard right in front of them. Despite suppressing the Woodpecker and bodyguard squad, they fall in close combat. They crossed the River, entered the woods, and never returned!
Image Seven:
1st Platoon withdraws under the cover of smoke, the long way around, and enters from the south to reinforce the Village. In the meantime, the the 3rd AIF Platoon engages the Japanese 1st Platoon who have now crossed the River. They single-handedly break the will of the Japanese to continue their assault.
Image Eight:
An aerial view of the table from the south (post game). The path to the airstrip can be seen in the southwest; I’ll make this narrower when I play the game for real.
Image Nine:
An aerial view of the table from the north (post game).
NOTE:
I kept track of game time in this scenario, with 30 minutes elapsing at the end of each initiative on a roll of 5 or 6. The game began at 0600 and ended at 1130 hours. Australian reinforcements were due to arrive at midday (a platoon of engineers marching through the jungle, sent to assist with the rebuild of the Village).
After I finished this game, I checked my post. A Japanese ATG I had been waiting on for two months had finally arrived from the UK. A nice little kit!
Fantastic report. Love those pics. Making me want to play Crossfire again (with your mods of course 🙂 )