Saturday 1 October 2022

MiG Alley USMC Search and Rescue

I played a game of MiG Alley first thing this morning, using the mission cards to set up a scenario involving three sections of USMC F4U Corsairs escorting an H-51 SAR helicopter to rescue a downed pilot on the banks of the Yalu, while two flights of NKAF MiG-15's tried to stop them. This was a random mission set up, using the mission card draw system but ended up being a valid tactical scenario, the escorting Corsairs having to patrol for three turns, while the MiG's had to patrol for six and three turns respectively, South and North of the river. In the usual Victory Target and Victory Points system the North Koreans would need to shoot down four F4U's, while the USMC would have found it difficult to do so, needing to shoot down three of the MiG-15's, a tough task for piston engine fighters. With the cards and the modified objectives, however, either side could come out on top.





The game started with the USMC Corsairs and the SAR helo flying on and heading straight for the downed aircrew marker. The MiG-15 section tasked with patrolling North of the Yalu, decided to just fly up and down at Level 4 for three turns to achieve their mission objective, so played no part in the interception, which was left to the other NKAF MiG unit, which headed South to cut off the Corsairs. Two of the three flights of Corsairs moved to head them off, while the other flight stuck with the helo in case the MiG's attacked. The helo reached the downed pilot's position, but then rolled a one and was shot down, so the first VP's went to the Communists by default. 




In the meantime, the Corsairs and MiG's clashed, with the NKAF pilots fluffing their attack rolls twice and ending up with low ammo. One of the USMC pilots got in a cheeky snapshot and took down a MiG, by which time their patrol had been completed and it was time to bug out. The MiG patrol to the North of the Yalu had also completed their mission so decided to just fly along, while the remaining three MiG's tackled the fleeing USMC Corsairs, two of which made a quick exit back to the carrier via the table edge. The other four Corsairs scrambled to get away but managed to bounce and shoot down a second MiG-15 on the way out.




In the end, the NKAF scored 1VP for shooting down the SAR helo with AAA, plus another 2 VP's for completing the patrol mission, rolling a 2+1 on the D3. The USMC shot down two MiG's for a total of 4 VP's, the MiG's counting as double points, plus 2 VP's for their patrol mission, having rolled 1+1 on the D3. This handed the game to the Marine Corps despite having lost the SAR helo, with an impressive victory over the jet fighters of the North Korean People's Air Force. Despite playing on a small 3' x 4' kitchen table and having reduced the card hand to three cards with two missions, I am happy that the mission card system seems to work well, making what would have been an unwinnable game into an enjoyable one with plenty of action.

(many apologies for the crappy photos from my even more crappy North Korean mobile phone)

3 comments:

Labels

Bag The Hun (747) AK47 (488) Books (481) Ironclads (476) Wings at War (392) Back of Beyond (236) Pre-Dreadnoughts (229) Coastal Warfare (226) Britain's Small Wars (199) Bolt Action (175) What a Tanker (170) Target Locked On (162) Victory at Sea (155) MiG Alley (150) Knights of the Sky (149) Napoleonic Naval (146) Old West (146) Chain of Command (145) Find Fix and Strike (137) Sandbox Skirmish (119) Naval Command (118) Bag The MiG (117) Naval Thunder (117) Pirates (116) Indo China / Vietnam (114) Air War Over Khalkhin Gol (108) Fistful of Lead (108) 15mm Sci-Fi / Near Future (95) Darkest Africa (91) VBCW (89) Strength and Honour (84) Shows (79) Ancients (78) ACW (77) The Football War (75) France's Small Wars (67) Boardgames (66) Corsairs and Cavaliers (66) Shipwreck! (66) BKC (65) Rapid Fire (63) Saurian Safari (62) Cruel Seas (60) Saga (60) Air War C21 (58) Journals (57) The Men Who Would Be Kings (57) Nimitz (55) Flashpoint Alto Cenepa (53) IABSM (53) Flashpoint Taiwan (50) Finest Hour (49) Gladiators (48) International Naval Wargaming Day (47) Red Actions! (47) Scramble for Britain (44) Flashpoint Baltic (42) Fortifications (41) Cold War (39) Duel of Aces (36) SCW (36) Thud Ridge (36) Desert Spitfires (34) Flames above the Falklands (34) RCW (34) War of the Pacific (34) Death in the Dark Continent (32) Atlantic Wall (31) Post Apocalypse (31) Iron Cow (30) Lion Rampant (30) Bag the Springbok (29) English Civil War / Anglo Dutch War Naval (29) Algernon Pulls It Off (28) Mexican Revolution (28) Normandy Firefight (28) Full Thrust (27) It Rolls For Ivan (26) Bulldogs Away! (24) One Hour Wargames (24) Samurai (24) Jet Knights of the Sky (23) 28mm English Civil War (22) Imaginations (22) Achtung Kommando! (21) Flashpoint PVO (21) PITS (20) Galactic Heroes (19) Steamer Wars (19) Strontium Dog (19) Ancient Naval (18) Iron Cross (18) Winter War (16) Aeronef (15) Aircraft (15) Imperial Commander (15) Rate of Fire (15) 2mm English Civil War (14) Aliens (14) Dragon Rampant (14) Mad for War (14) Arctic Eagles (13) Black Ops (13) CY6 Jet Age (13) Congo (13) Impetus (12) Wars of Insurgency (12) Zulus! (12) Flashpoint Fleet Air Arm (11) Gaslands (11) 633 Squadron (10) Franco Thai Air War (10) Jungle Green (10) Sharp Practice (10) 28mm Future Wars (9) Bohica (9) Dux Britanniarum (9) Merry Xmas Mr Sankara (9) Adventures in Jimland (8) Cry Havoc (8) Dreadnoughts (8) French Indian Wars (8) HYW (8) Renaissance Naval (8) Star Wars Legion (8) Sword and Spear (8) Through The Mud and Blood (8) Frostgrave (7) Target for Tonight (7) Five Parsecs From Home (6) French Resistance (6) A Mighty Fortress (5) Air War Angola (5) AirWar:1918 (5) Bombers over Germany (5) Check Your Six! (5) Five Men at Kursk (5) Fivecore Skirmish (5) Maurice (5) Seven Days to the River Rhine (5) Three Musketeers (5) Arab Revolt (4) Continuation War (4) Corvette Command (4) In Her Majesty's Name (4) Infamy Infamy (4) Medieval Naval (4) Never Mind The Billhooks (4) What a Cowboy (4) Battletech (3) Gangsters (3) HOTT (3) Hind Commander (3) Lord of the Sea (3) Luft 46 (3) Mourir Pour l'Indochine (3) Sturmovik Commander (3) Wings Over Suez (3) Blood Red Skies (2) Chincha Islands War (2) Crom (2) Disposable Heroes (2) Fire and Steel (2) Fivecore Company Command (2) Iron Stars (2) Judge Dredd (2) Lethal Skies (2) NUTS! (2) No Go Zone (2) Pulp! (2) Starfighters! (2) War in El Dorado (2) Whispering Death (2) A Billion Suns (1) Air War 1940 (1) Battlegroup (1) Black Powder (1) Dropzone Commander (1) Falklands War (1) Harpoon (1) Load and Return (1) Missile Threat (1) Missiles at Sea (1) Naval Wargames Society (1) Norway 1940 (1) Spanish American War (1) Sunray is Down (1) Ultracombat Normandy (1) Xenos Rampant (1)