A FoF-Solo Diversion: Ghost Town

Hey guys,

I´m finally fed up with waiting for new orders for our ongoing PBEM-game and decided to play a small solo scenario. So here we go. The basic idea is simple:  A bunch of soldiers is ordered to sweep and secure a small farm somewhere. When they arrive, the place is deserted - but is it a real ghost town or are the soldiers stumbling into the sleeping dragons lair? 

US Troops closing in on the Farm

How does it work? The task is to secure all 5 buildings in the area according to the building-clearance rules. Basic Insurgency-level is 3 for determining the difficulty of clearing, but you don´t roll for reinforcements until a clearing-check failed. If one of your units fail a check, instantly roll 5 reinforcement-rolls and up the insurgency level by 1 - you´ve hit a hornets nest and things are about to get ugly! From now on, roll reinforcements every turn.  Repeat procedure if another check fails.

Team Bravo stacking up, while Alpha enters without preparation (sorry for the blur)

I decided to take the chances and let the larger group enter the house without stacking. They´re 5 soldiers (+1) and have a Squad Leader (+1) - without stacking (-1) that´s still a +1 in total. 
So they enter - and roll a 6. As you see: No need to worry. Building clear.

Alpha Team clears the first building

 On the next turn, Bravo now storms the second compound after stacking up, while Alpha stays on overwatch in case something goes wrong. Bravo receive +1 on their roll for stacking. Again, I roll more than I needed with a 5. But I wasn´t willing to take too many chances.

Bravo Team enters the second house.

Covering the advance of Alpha, Bravo-Team now takes overwatch and scans the area for threats.  The MG-Team that hasn´t done much yet moves to the tree to cover the road. 

 Next turn, Alpha agan enters without stacking up to save some precious time - after all, time is slowly running out and there are still 2 buildings to go after clearing the big house. 

Alpha storming the building

 Again, with a 6 rolled, they´re sucessful. Now, the MG-Team moves up as they´ll be needed to clear one of the buildings ahead as only 2 turns remain.

Time is running out

The soldiers scramble towards the house... MG-Team rapid-moves, while Bravo is forced to tactical speed as they leave a building.
In the next turn, bravo make their entry and find no enemies. However, the MG-Team fails their clearing-test - though no casualties are taken, the failure triggers 5 reinforcement roles against Insurgency Level 4...
...Of which 3 fail. Only two enemy groups appear. One next to the field, where Alpha cannot see them to perform their overwatch-duty. They immediately open fire on the MG-Team and kill one of the Americans despite their good cover. But the return-fire sends two Taliban down.

Casualties!

Normally, the Game should have been over after this, but I decided it was more fun to fight the small skirmish to its bitter end - now that it finally got interesting. 

Bravo-Team moves out to take cover behind the Jeep and support their buddies. They´re caught in the open, but fortunately the RPG-rocket flying towards them does not detonate - which probably saved someones skin! As usual, the return fire is devastating and neutralizes the entire enemy unit... for now

Bravo Team caught in the open

At the other side of the farm, the second group of Talibs is trying to outflank Bravo-Team by moving into the central house. However, they are quickly dealt with by Alpha-Team who are still on Overwatch.

Taliban advancing into the perimeter!

In the end, the only surviving Taliban was the one lying on the road (he got up once after all his mates where shot and a second time in the last turn before he finally flew. He´ll return!!)

So, a victory with some bitter price for the Americans. All 5 buildings cleared, but 1 KIA.
And their position has been spotted and reported to the nearby warlord...
Things are about to get hot!

(I was trying to play another game on the same setup - a big Taliban assault against the position. Unfortunately, my Camera decided it needed a recharge, so I´m writing this update instead of playing, while the battery is loading. If it doesn´t finish quickly, it´ll be an interesting night, as this temporary Gaming setup blocks the main path through my room.)