Operation VARIABLE

[Tacbat]

I took a look through the AAR. Very entertaining, especially Blue's armada of LAV's. We'll have to start calling V "Admiral".

[Tacbat]

Here are the boundaries for mission 12.

[Volcano]

Yep, that is me. You can call me "Rear Admiral".

[Tacbat]

OK, here's a brief AAR from mission 11.

We had 14 Players show up to fight it out.

Pic 1 - Initial positions. Red has been able to prevent Blue from getting any vehicles across the river. Blue has managed to secure a small foothold with airborne forces on the western bank of the river. Blue also has deployed Special Ops teams and air mobile infantry behind the lines to disrupt Red's reinforcements as they make their way to the front. Blue deployed dismounted infantry on the eastern bank near Pegasus Bridge, and pushed west to reinforce the airborne troops.

Pic 2 - Blue mounted an amphibious crossing with a large LAV force near Racehorse Rapids. Blue also called in air support from a Tiger attack chopper which caused a few casualties on Red before returning to base. Blue's Spec Ops team delayed the arrival of Red's Leo 2A4's to the front, and with arty support was able to knock one out. There was some minor skirmishing in the south as Red repelled a small crossing effort.

Pic 3 - Final positions. Blue's LAV force pushed across the river, and made substantial gains, including the capture of objective Nijmegen. Blue also landed more airmobile infantry just north of objective Dakota, but time ran out before they could secure it. Red deployed a FASCAM minefield at Pegasus Bridge, then shifted forces south to deal with the crossing.

Total losses were 23 vehicles for Red, and 7 for Blue.

With only two more missions left, it will be a fight to the finish. Although Red's numbers have diminished, they still hold strong defensive positions on their side of the river. Hopefully they will be able to protect their HQ long enough to force a stalemate, while Blue looks for a breakthrough and a shot at Red's HQ.

[Tacbat]

Mission 12 will be ready to go for tomorrow night. We need max participation as Red continues it's defence, and Blue seeks a break through. This is the second to last mission, so don't miss out!

[RogueSnake79]

The war is over. Blue has won! Thank you Tacbat, it was a blast.

[Mogwa]

A good game was played by all. Congrats to Blue on the tough win and also to Red for well conducted campaign.

Mog

[Tacbat]

Yes, well done to both sides. I never expected the campaign to go to 12 missions. :shocked:

I'll have an AAR from mission 12 up soon, as well as some other goodies.

[Mogwa]

I assumed it was a 5 map campaign with no limit on the number of missions from the pre start read of the rules so i figured it would go much longer then 12 missions.

Mog

[Tacbat]

Initially I thought it would go 5-6 missions just because of the pattern of a usual TGIF mission takes. Usually by the end of one of those missions, one side is pretty much non-existant. If was refreshing to see some "restraint" used, and people were more cautious with their equipment. No "Leroy Jenkins" tactics.

[Tacbat]

AAR for mission 12.

We had 15 participants in the last mission of Operation Variable.

Pic 1 - Starting postions. Blue set up their LAV force near Nijmengen with plans to continue west in search of Red's HQ. Meanwhile, Blue's inf eagerly awaited the arrival of armour support west of Pegasus bridge. Red deployed "FASCAM" minefields on both Pegasus Bridge and Arnhem Bridge.

Pic 2 - Blue's LAV's in the south ran into Red tanks and M2's. Blue's LAV's were out gunned, but managed to score a few kills of their own. Blue called in 7 Chinook helicopter to drop off infantry to various LZ's in the northwest corner of the map. Red knocked some of them out of the air, but only after they had delivered the troops. One of Blue's choppers deployed it's troops almost on top of one of Red's echelon vehicles, drawing Blue's attention to that area of the map.

Pic 3 - Final positions. Blue's infantry continued scouting for Red's HQ in the NW. With the battle in the south in full swing, Blue decided to attempt a bridge crossing in the north. The number of destroyed vehicles on Pegasus Bridge indicates how well it went. One M1 managed to make it across, and took up position amongst the infantry on the west side of the bridge. Finally, Blue's infantry located Red's HQ, and were able to call in arty to destroy it, thereby ending the mission, and the campaign.

With the destruction of the HQ, Blue won the campaign. It was a frantic mission right from the beginning. Vehicle losses at the end of the mission were 26 for Blue, and 19 for Red.

[Tacbat]

OK, here are a few goodies to wrap things up. Included is all twelve missions with the passwords removed, a copy of the rules in Word format, and the latest copy of the calculator spreadsheet.

Dark, I didn't include your stats program as I wasn't sure if it was for public consumption.

Enjoy!

Op Variable Complete.rar

Rules and Calculator.rar

[Volcano]

For all the inquiring minds that want to know, here are all the Blue plans that were saved from week to week. It might be something "fun" to look at...

[Tacbat]

Here are some thoughts that might be considered for the next Variable style campaign:

-Fixed ORBAT. Each side is given a fixed number of vehicles that can be bought with the point system. Once you run out of a certain type of vehicle, that's it.

-CO & XO. Designating an XO as well as a CO would reduce the workload for the commanders.

-Victory conditions. Establish condition such as Major/Minor/Draw dependant on the progress at the end of the campaign if the main objective hasn't been achieved.

-Player draft. CO's pick from a pool of players who want to play in the campaign. This would help to balance sides.

[Volcano]

I like all of those ideas!!

As you know, I was going to suggest #3, but I will see if I can think anything else to suggest.

[Volcano]

For "stuff and giggles" I added Blue's declassified plans to each of the OpV1 AARs in the SBwiki.

[Ssnake]

Here are some thoughts that might be considered for the next Variable style campaign:

-Fixed ORBAT. Each side is given a fixed number of vehicles that can be bought with the point system. Once you run out of a certain type of vehicle, that's it.

Depending on who owns the battlefield, one may consider a slow trickle of repaired vehicles returning to the pool, maybe with a delay of two to five scenarios later. Maybe still with random minor damages.

[Tacbat]

Good idea Ssnake. Maybe a CCP could be established, then the repair track could recover destroyed vehicles to it during the mission. Whatever is recovered would become avail a few missions afterwards like you said. This would make the M-88 a very useful asset.

As you know, I was going to suggest #3, but I will see if I can think anything else to suggest.

Sorry, didn't mean to steal your thunder. :wink:

[Tacbat]

For "stuff and giggles" I added Blue's declassified plans to each of the OpV1 AARs in the SBwiki.

Nice touch!

[Ssnake]

This would make the M-88 a very useful asset.

Don't forget about MedEvac teams. Tanks should go quicker back into the vehicle pool if the vehicle receives medical service during the actual combat phase.

Also, think of replacements for captured enemy equipment. That would create an incentive to allow deep intrusions with counterattacks that capture many enemy vehicles and adds them to your own stockpile a few rounds later, provided that they can be recovered. Of course, own vehicles should receive preferred treatment, so I suggest a 2:1 exchange rate for captured equipment (you'd still have to work with M1s, say and not Leopards; no magical transformations...).

[Volcano]

I was thinking about the airmobile infantry. Maybe there should be a separate infantry limit on those at any given time -- say 30? I can see that if you have 10 CH-47s and bring them in once, that would be 30 infantry. Then you could do it again in the following scenario (if they all survive and if you purchase new troops for them) and you would have 60, 90 and so on. :eek2:

[CalAB]

Thanks for uploading all the missions to OP Variable Tacbat. The points stuff was a bonus.

Salute.

[Mogwa]

Just FYI, Depending on additional equipment carried (mortars, TOWs, HUMMVEEs, etc) 10 CH-47 would bring 300+ infantry. 10 UH-60 would bring 120+ infantry. 10 AH-64 would bring an end to the campaign.

Mog

Edited September 28, 2009 by Mogwa

[Tacbat]

LOL Mog.

Something else that can be done to add a little ambience is to leave destroyed vehicles on the map. It does take a bit of time to do though.

[CalAB]

10 AH-64 would bring an end to the campaign.

Mog

Not if espionage can be part of the next campaign in the form of equipment failure and partisans.

LOL Mog.

Something else that can be done to add a little ambience is to leave destroyed vehicles on the map.

Keep track of the time of day. If the campaign begins at 6:00 hours and goes more then 24 hours some of the battles must take place at night.