themattcurtis
22 Dec 04, 08:51
This map is a mess of streets, trenchlines, buildings and ammo dumps. Background is that in 1978 South African airborne troops launched an assault on the SWAPO compound at Angolan town of Cassinga. The primary risk involved was that Cassinga, a mining community occupied by the Communist organization and turned into an ops center, was too far from the border for the paras to fight their way home if something went wrong. What's more, armor in the form of T-34/85s and some assorted APCs was just south in the town of Techamutete.
OPENING ROUNDS (TURNS 1-4)
By the time the last C130 has finished its run, what looks like four companies of airborne infantry have landed east and west of Cassinga (with S and R platoons plunked north near a crossroads and SWAPO's Recruit Tent compound, respectively). Radio reports filtering back to HQ indicate that at least three paratroopers were injured in the drop one seriously but overall the initial phase of the assault has gone according to plan. The only negative is the loss of the spotter plane downed by a pair of 12.7mm AA guns (I had no control over that).
M platoon, carrying the bulk of Col. Jan Breytenbach's RPG-7s, is positioned SW of the village and is already moving towards the nearest intersection, along with P platoon. It'll be their job
to form a rearguard against any Angolan armor arriving from Techamutete. And it's along their axis of advance that the first shots ring out. Riflemen from P platoon have engaged the enemy a squad of SWAPO infantry hiding in a single story house and riddle four guerillas with 7.62 mm. The survivors turn tail and run.
Q platoon is further north and has spotted an earthen bunker, supported by an RPG team, straddling an east-west road that bisects this mining community-turned-operations center. The paratroopers have no intention of conducting a frontal assault on fixed positions and instead hook around the bunker's left flank, the point squads laying smoke to screen their comrade's movements. They maintain command and control by advancing in one-up, two-back formation.
Before long, the first troops have staked themselves in one of the outlying structures, stumbled across guerillas hidden in a nearby building and killed two SWAPO fighters in a chattering burst of small arms fire. The enemy once more retreats and a foothold is established although our window of opportunity is diminishing with frightening speed.
K and L platoons are even further north and have spotted three rifle/scout teams (there's only 3 men to a batch) perched in a series of trenches directly ahead. Again smoke is laid down while half of the paratroopers hook around the obstacle's right flank. Half the South African troops remain in position (about 300 yards from the trench line) to pin the SWAPO units in place, and wipe out one team without loss to themselves.
H, I and J platoons are advancing parallel to this on yet another east-west road. No contact yet.
I'm starting to get a clear picture of how quickly my grunts can advance, and the more I see, the firmer my plan becomes. The general idea is to converge near the center of town, perhaps a little north, and await evacuation by our helicopters. We're on Turn 4, which means my airborne assets have 16 Turns to return west of the river. M platoon by necessity will be the last to leave. They'll be covering my tail and it's important to note that my paratroopers will remain within the boundaries of the town until they're pulled out. No one is going to be left standing in the open to be overrun by Soviet kit, as it'll be far easier to create kill sacks in this snarled mess of back alleys and dirt roads.
On a final note -- O and N platoons were dropped east of Cassinga and are confronted with the need to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. This forces them to advance with less finesse than their counterparts. Arranged in one-up, two-back, they plunge directly towards an Angolan trenchline protecting the town's outskirts. No contact as of yet, which is why they're being mentioned last.
OPENING ROUNDS (TURNS 1-4)
By the time the last C130 has finished its run, what looks like four companies of airborne infantry have landed east and west of Cassinga (with S and R platoons plunked north near a crossroads and SWAPO's Recruit Tent compound, respectively). Radio reports filtering back to HQ indicate that at least three paratroopers were injured in the drop one seriously but overall the initial phase of the assault has gone according to plan. The only negative is the loss of the spotter plane downed by a pair of 12.7mm AA guns (I had no control over that).
M platoon, carrying the bulk of Col. Jan Breytenbach's RPG-7s, is positioned SW of the village and is already moving towards the nearest intersection, along with P platoon. It'll be their job
to form a rearguard against any Angolan armor arriving from Techamutete. And it's along their axis of advance that the first shots ring out. Riflemen from P platoon have engaged the enemy a squad of SWAPO infantry hiding in a single story house and riddle four guerillas with 7.62 mm. The survivors turn tail and run.
Q platoon is further north and has spotted an earthen bunker, supported by an RPG team, straddling an east-west road that bisects this mining community-turned-operations center. The paratroopers have no intention of conducting a frontal assault on fixed positions and instead hook around the bunker's left flank, the point squads laying smoke to screen their comrade's movements. They maintain command and control by advancing in one-up, two-back formation.
Before long, the first troops have staked themselves in one of the outlying structures, stumbled across guerillas hidden in a nearby building and killed two SWAPO fighters in a chattering burst of small arms fire. The enemy once more retreats and a foothold is established although our window of opportunity is diminishing with frightening speed.
K and L platoons are even further north and have spotted three rifle/scout teams (there's only 3 men to a batch) perched in a series of trenches directly ahead. Again smoke is laid down while half of the paratroopers hook around the obstacle's right flank. Half the South African troops remain in position (about 300 yards from the trench line) to pin the SWAPO units in place, and wipe out one team without loss to themselves.
H, I and J platoons are advancing parallel to this on yet another east-west road. No contact yet.
I'm starting to get a clear picture of how quickly my grunts can advance, and the more I see, the firmer my plan becomes. The general idea is to converge near the center of town, perhaps a little north, and await evacuation by our helicopters. We're on Turn 4, which means my airborne assets have 16 Turns to return west of the river. M platoon by necessity will be the last to leave. They'll be covering my tail and it's important to note that my paratroopers will remain within the boundaries of the town until they're pulled out. No one is going to be left standing in the open to be overrun by Soviet kit, as it'll be far easier to create kill sacks in this snarled mess of back alleys and dirt roads.
On a final note -- O and N platoons were dropped east of Cassinga and are confronted with the need to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. This forces them to advance with less finesse than their counterparts. Arranged in one-up, two-back, they plunge directly towards an Angolan trenchline protecting the town's outskirts. No contact as of yet, which is why they're being mentioned last.