Somewhere in Africa......B'Maso After Action report

     Once again Rich Uncle Pat has graced us with one of his cleverly contrived and beautifully presented games. This outing involved a stolen aid convoy, foreign mercenaries, rebels and an invasion by an aggressive neighbor. So, in other words, an unusually quiet afternoon in these parts. But far and away the most striking thing about the game is that it took place in a shanty-town that covered the entire 6x4 foot table. These little gems had been acquired from tinned-pears via Ebay.UK who produces them in 15mm/20mm/28mm and is also open to commissioned projects. He can also be found on Facebook at Tinned Fruit Buildings. I was completely blown away with the look and the fact that each and every one was a hand-crafted original. Simply Awesome!

 

R.U.P. has more buildings but we needed to have room for a few minis!

 

A view from the other end, just as stunning

 

the mean streets down by the docks

 

hardly a bustling waterfront, but then, civil war is usually bad for commerce

     The scenario posited three forces; The U.N. (in this instance provided by the French), a city near the border that was occupied by the Rebels (who spent a lot of time in cross-border looting operations) and the Military forces over the border who have been tasked with ending the Rebel depredations. The Rebels have hijacked a U.N. aid convoy full of medicine, careful aerial recon has discovered the truck near the docks. Capt Clouseau has determined to recover the trucks right away, without waiting for bureaucratic approval. The U.N. forces are snall but elite, the Rebels are poorly trained if at all but numerous and the Military are bog-standard Third World troops.

     For those unfamiliar with B'Maso rule the game starts out with all troops hidden. These troops are represented by "blinds" circles of cardboard with their side represented but not indicating what sort of troops they are. Each side gets a few fake blinds to sow further fog of war.

     Please be advised that the story is told exclusively from the viewpoint of the French Commander (that would be me), both the Housemartin and Justice and Rule may have other opinions on events, they are encouraged to contact me if their recollections differ.

 

the initial deployment of Rebel "blinds"

 

 

the invading forces de-bussed onto the high ground in front of their entry point to secure it, unfortunately the Rebels had also thought it a prime bit of real estate

 

the U.N (a.k.a. French) recon unit wondered at the commotion ahead

 

an overview, the invading forces are approaching from the right 

still operating as blinds because they have get to spotted 

Rebel blinds are liberally scattered across the countryside

 

the firefight on the hill got worse, military training vs numbers, 

both sides suffered a serious pounding but both also stood firm at morale test time

 

they continued to grind away at each other on the next turn as well

 

the U.N. recon Jeep pressed cautiously forward seeking contact,

he spotted the technical hiding behind a workshop

 

just then a CNN crew showed up behind the invading military forces

 never slow to seize the opportunity to commit an atrocity 

Housemartin opened fire on the minivan with a 23mm AA gun

(Nooooo! it was a rental!)
the news crew never had a chance

 

on the blood-soaked hill both sides were so battered

 that they needed to rest a bit and reorganize to continue the slaughter

 

to the dismay of Justice-And-Rule the  T-55's chit got pulled before the Technical's

 

100mm cannon vs a a Toyota isn't a very fair fight

 

the tanks crew was fine with the situation

the Technical crew was less pleased

 

possibly inspired by the slaughter of the news crew

the T-55 decided to open fire against the civilians hiding in the workshop

 

jolted into action by the noise of the tank's cannon

 the firefight on the hilltop burst forth once more

 

the military pushed forward, hunting those pesky rebels, 

shooting up things and generally making themselves hated

 

rounding a corner they found them

(cue up Starship Troopers; "Bugs, Captain, Millions of 'em")

 

fire was promptly exchanged

 

the Dictator himself showed up to supervise the atrocities

he seemed to be a "hands-on " kind of boss

 

the rest had invigorated both sides on the hill and they tore into one another with renewed fury

 

now that a sufficient distraction was under way the U.N. convoy rolled forward to recover the aid shipment (and most importantly the trucks that had carried the medicine

 (the Captain had signed for them himself!)

 

the Military had infiltrated the compound next to the recon car and opened fire on the Rebels in the street, this fire was (of course) returned

 

meanwhile, on the third floor balcony, Alaine Akinjari readied his RPG

 

the Military got their shot off first, but they had failed to aim and the missile went astray

 

rifle fire is one thing, high explosive rockets something else entirely,

 the UNIMOG trucks of the Rebel supply column slammed it into gear and began to move

 

this was all carefully observed by the patient Capt Clouseau in his helicopter when, suddenly, the sniper Sgt. Maihemm(a trained chef and dedicated epicurean) saw the most foul of criminals, a man who had tried to poison the entire world's population simply for his profit, that portly Kentuckian clad in white; the dread Col. Sanders!

 

before Capt. Clouseau could stop Maihemm

 one well-placed shot ended the evil scoundrel's life,

although he pretended anger, Clouseau was secretly pleased

 

inspired by Maihemm's amazing shot Alaine Akinjari 

carefully squeezed the trigger on his RPG and launched it toward the enemy armored car

 

it flew straight and true and struck home with lethal force

 

the recon Jeep wanted to stop the UNIMOGS for questioning but I had used all of my actions getting to where I was, so I sat idly by as they raced past and ran into the head of my road column

 

at the other edge of the table the T-55 hunted new victims

 

momentarily stunned by the death of their paymaster the mercenaries soon opened fire on Capt. Clousaeau's helicopter, causing enough damage that it had to retire

 

the vengeance of the Military was swift, every available gun was pointed at the tower where Akinjari stood, heavy bullets shredded the thin corrugated walls punishing the Rebels that hid inside

 

finally done with the Rebel force on the hill the Military regulars returned to their truck

 while the AA unit tried to line up a shot at Akinjari's tower

 

furious that the Mercs had fired on the helicopter 

the recon jeep opened fire on the now leaderless mercenaries

 

the rest of the U.N. column came out of blinds so that they could act more freely and swiftly

 (and to avoid a confrontation with that T-55!)

 

glancing around the recon Jeep crew found themselves in the center of a firestorm, 

missiles flying back and forth, Mercs returning fire and the relentless chatter of AK-47s filled the air, Cpl. Truedeau (an old FFL ranker) smiled and whispered "Ah, Yes! Just like the old days"

 

in the middle of his reminisces they were rudely jostled by the AA truck roaring past 

no doubt on its way to yet another atrocity, Truedeau radioed back to command that he had the two missing trucks in sight

 

concerned that the Rebels were stealing the medicines that were crucially needed by the the children (it's For The Children! Dammit!!!!)  the U.N. detached an APC to stop and inspect the load of the UNIMOG,; "Nothing here Sir, Just some moldering old Bulgarian ammo from the 70's"

 

the situation at the end of the turn, bottom to top

the T-55 hunting for more atrocity victims

the U.N. traffic jam

the carefully searched UNIMOG being sent on its way

the AA truck desperately trying to pretend it is part of the British army by passing on the wrong side

Cpl Truedeau calmly reloading the HMG to finish off the Mercs

the stolen U.N. trucks

the Mercs on the dock and the three storey building that will be forever known as Akinjari's Place

 

the next turn found the U.N. forces dismounting to recover the trucks 

(who has the keys? Merde! no keys!!!!!)

 

the Dictator and his infantry calmly heading along the road

 

as the Rebels fled the area

 

the T-55 gunned it down the road to cut off the fleeing UNIMOG

 

as the UNIMOG found cross-country travel slow at its best

 

and the French troops found the missing medicine

(You bastardes! ITS FOR THE CHILDREN!!!!)

 

the AA truck paused briefly to shoot up a couple of random buildings

 

the situation at the end of the game, 

it is difficult to see but Cpl Truedeau is searching the body of Col. Sanders 

seeking to find and destroy the last copy of the "secret recipe",

the U.N. reloading the stolen medicine, 

the AA truck squeezing in one last atrocity

 

at the near side of the table it looked like the T-55 would win the race to the end of the road 

and the UNIMOG would not deliver its load of ammo