Football War - The Re-Match 1979

I've been playing around with some 'What If?' ideas for a Wings at War Corsairs and Cavaliers project extension, with a fictional war between El Salvador and Honduras c1979. This would make use of the 1/600th scale jets that I painted up for the project way back when, but with the rules adapted from Thud Ridge to take account of the new technology involved. I've been tweaking the Thud Ridge rules to work up some stats for the aircraft involved and have come up with this so far:

Honduras                  E @ 2-4               E @ 1 / Load             Max Alt

Super Mystere               6                             4                                4

Canadair Sabre              5                            4                                 4

El Salvador

Dassault Ouragan          4                             3                                 3

Fouga Magister             3                              2                                2

Armament

Dassault Super Mystere         FF cannon / 2 AA HS missiles / bombs

Canadair Sabre                       FF machine guns / 2 AA HS missiles / bombs

Dassault Ouragan                   FF cannon / bombs

Fouga Magister                      FF machine guns / bombs

Air to Air Combat Table

HS Missiles              0-1            2-3          4          5          6

Rear Aspect               W               -            D         S         S

Front Aspect              W               -            -           -         S

Cannon                     1               2              3           4           5          6

Rear Aspect               W            W             -            D          S         S

Machine Guns

Rear Aspect              W              -               -          D           D        S

All Guns

Other Aspect            W              -                -            -            -        S     

Notes

HS Missiles can only fire at jet aircraft. Firer must be in homing zone of the target. The HS missiles are ripple fired in pairs, so are a single shot weapon for all intents and purposes (unless I allow them to be fired as single missiles, which might be more realistic)

W = Missile Malfunction / Misfire or Cannon / Gun jam.

D = Target damaged (I may add some tweaks to this for different aircraft)

S = Target shot down.

Bingo Fuel rules apply (from Thud Ridge)

The Ouragans may get AA missile capability (I think they were wired for this in the 80's?)

I am still working on the flight limitations of the various aircraft, specifically turning and altitude performance. The Fouga Magister may well get a +1 for low altitude turning. 

I may also work out some rules for ejecting when hit and for different ground attack weapons. I may even get the B-26 and C-47 gunships worked out for this as well.

Bulldogs Away! Blocking In

 

It's slow going with the Israeli / French flotilla and the RN Leander, mainly due to other half term holiday distractions like fixing stuff and doing DIY jobs. The blocking in has almost been completed, however, with just some detailing on the masts to do before I can start on the pin washing. 

One Hour Skirmish Wargames

 

My eldest gave me a Waterstones book token for my birthday back in January, but a visit to the local shop yesterday turned up a blank, so I'm going to use it to order a copy of this set of fast play skirmish rules instead.

The system is card-based, which I like, and doesn't use dice, which makes for a change and should be an interesting twist on an established genre. The scenarios included in the rules also sound very much my cup of tea, with the possibility of adapting some of the numerous ones in Neil Thomas's rules to a skirmish format as well. I have some 15mm and 28mm skirmish projects in the doldrums at the moment, so I'm hoping that these rules by an established and experienced designer will give them a boot up the bum. 

War

 

There's a book shop in my local town that is run by volunteers and collects unwanted books from the local tip and from donations to give away free, rather than have them go to landfill. Most of the books are a bit past their use by date but occasionally there's a pristine, or at least well cared for, copy of something interesting. Today I found a paperback copy of Sebastian Junger's book War, in which he shadows a platoon of US infantry in Afghanistan, not my usual thing but interesting nonetheless and with very good reviews. I'll give it a go over the holidays and see if it lives up to expectations.

Bulldogs Away! Basecoating

 

I've made some decent progress with the Israeli / French missile boats and the RN Leander frigate today, with the base coating pretty much completed apart from the matt black. I'll sort that out tomorrow, then tidy everything up before adding some pin washes and highlights, as well as painting in the details. 

15mm Plastic Cold War Kit

 

I got one of these Team Yankee starter sets for thirty quid on eBay last week, not for the rules but for the plastic AFV's that you get in the box, the plan being to use them for Seven Days to the River Rhine. I ummed and arred about the scale for this but, as a lot of the Team Yankee stuff is now relatively cheap if you hunt about a bit, it makes sense to go for the 15mm option I think. The alternative is 10mm, which would be great if it wasn't so expensive for what you get, although it would be my first choice. I may well look around for another starter box set, as it would give me enough kit for two decent sized battle groups minus the infantry, for which I already have some Peter Pig figures that I could use.

Bulldogs Away! Fletcher DD Modernised

 

I have an old Tamiya 1/700th scale kit of a Fletcher class destroyer that I'm thinking of kit bashing into a modernised version for use as a target in Bulldogs Away! This wouldn't be the full FRAM upgrade but some minor surgery to create something akin to the ex-US destroyers acquired by various South American navies in the 1960's, some of which have been in service until relatively recently. This also means I may well re-locate my project to Central or South America, where there is plenty of scope for FAC actions to take place in an 'imaginations' context. 

NEWSFLASH - MDF repels ZAP attack (Reuters)

MDF troops celebrate victory!

From our military correspondent in Dgenge

News is coming in of a Zubuto cross border raid that has been repelled with severe losses by border guard units of the Mbote Defence Force. Reports from the scene of the fighting indicate that an attempt to capture the President of Mbote, General Papi Mpongo, has failed, with tanks and armoured vehicles of the Zubuto Army of the People destroyed by helicopter gunships, mobile units and tanks of the MDF. 

Destroyed T55 tanks of the ZAP

At least two units of the ZAP have been completely wiped out, with others heavily damaged and in full retreat from the border zone. In a press release, Mpongo praised the troops of the MDF for their professionalism and military skill, with particular emphasis on the contribution made by the presidential escort, who protected the General and prevented his capture by militia forces loyal to the government of Zubuto. 

International AK47 Republic Wargaming Day Game Report

The game for International AK47 Republic Wargaming Day was a bit of a walkover for the Mbote defenders, mainly due to some very lucky dice rolling and some terrible dice rolling by the attacking forces of Zubuto, commanded by the long suffering sprog. He lost his professional tanks in a duel with the regular tanks of the MDF, then had his technical trucks knocked out by the helo gunship and his other technicals obliterated by the jeeps of the presidential escort. However, he did force the helo gunship off toward the end of the game and his regular troops managed to hold on to one of the objectives until there was literally only one man (or group) standing.  It was amazing that not one unit broke due to morale tests but were either knocked out in on go or held on until there was hardly anything left. In the end, the MDF defenders scored 68 points to the ZAP atacker's 46, so a 22 point victory margin for the Mbote Defence Force! 

(apologies for the rubbish terrain and dodgy photos - we set up outside for more space but at the cost of too much light for the crappy phone camera)

NEWSFLASH - Mpongo in Border Zone (Reuters)

President Mpongo earlier today

From our military correspondent in Njuba

The military convoy escorting the president for life of Mbote, General Papi Mpongo, has arrived in the disputed border zone near Njuba. After touring front line positions held by the Mbote Defence Force, President Mpongo watched an exercise by MDF border guards, then answered questions from the press at a forward command post within view of the front lines. 

ZAP Border Guards

ZAP tanks approach Dgenge

Meanwhile, just across the border line in neighbouring Zubuto, units of the Zubuto Army of the People have been deploying to reinforce existing ZAP border patrols. A column of tanks and armoured vehicles has advanced along the Njuba to Wanga Wanga highway and is now concentrated a short distance from the border railway crossing at Dgenge. 

Bulldogs Away! French / Israeli FAC Flotilla

Chilean Sa'ar 4

 

I've decided to crack ahead with the second half of the Bulldogs Away! project, as there's nothing worse than a job half done. I have a flotilla of four Israeli Fast Attack Craft assembled, based and undercoated - two Sa'ar 3's, one Sa'ar 4 Reshef and one Sa'ar 4.5 Aliya - which in my games will represent licenced built boats supplied and equipped by the French government to an imaginary East African nation. In other games, they will double up as South American boats, again from a fictitious country not unlike Chile or Ecuador, although that's all a bit sketchy. 

NEWSFLASH - Zubuto reinforces border zone (Reuters)

ZAP border patrol

 
From our political correspondent in Njuba

In a packed press conference today, Minister of Propaganda for the People's Democratic Republic of Zubuto, Mr Bojo Faraj, announced fresh troop reinforcements for the Zubuto Army of the People (ZAP) in the disputed border zone with neighbouring Mbote.

Mr Bojo Faraj

Mr Faraj cited the recent announcement of a tour of inspection of the border zone by President Mpongo of Mbote, as the justification for entirely defensive military strengthening of the Zubuto frontier line in the vicinity of Njuba, where President Mpongo's convoy is expected to arrive later this week.

Major Mnuva

In a further statement by Major Mnuva, officer commanding ZAP border defence units, it was confirmed that tanks, armoured vehicles and troops of the border guards battalion, would be dispatched to the Njuba area as a precautionary measure. 

Soviet Backed FAC's Finished

 

I finished the Soviet equipped flotilla for Bulldogs Away! yesterday, so that's half the project wrapped up bar the aircraft. I tried out a new approach to the sea bases but they've ended up looking a bit too blue, so they may well get repainted at some point later on. I can never seem to get the right colour for the bases for some reason, despite lots of trial and error experimentation. I'm taking a short break from this project now but will be back to get the other half sorted soon. 

NEWSFLASH - Mpongo on Tour (Reuters)

President Mpongo

From our diplomatic correspondent in Njuba

In a brief press conference this morning, President for Life of Mbote, General Papi Mpongo, announced a programme of inspection tours that he will be conducting to advance units of the Mbote Defence Force (MDF) in the disputed border zone with the neighbouring People's Democratic Republic of Zubuto. 

President Mpongo confirmed that he will be escorted by a military protection detail and a convoy of MDF troops, in order to ensure his personal safety and as a show of strength for the populace of the border zone, who have been subjected to a series of cross border raids by militia forces allegedly supported by the Zubuto Army of the People (ZAP). 

Colonel Ijek Taseet

In addition, the commander of the Mbote Air Force, Colonel Ijek Taseet, announced that air assets for surveillance and counter insurgency patrols in the border zone, including helicopter gunships and fighter bombers, will be stepped up for the duration of the tours of inspection. 

C.R.A.P. Peacekeeping Patrol in the border zone

A spokesman for the Combined Regional African Peacekeeping mission in Wanga Wanga, Major Short Cummins, cautioned against the presence of additional military forces in the border zone, stating that it could be misinterpreted by the government of Zubuto as an escalation of the long running conflict.