ESG57 Madagascar Snake Pit

nebel

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Joined
Apr 15, 2007
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Location
Sector ZZ Alpha
Country
llAustralia
It has been a while since I've played a scenario with a really good title so we pulled out ESG57 Madagascar Snake Pit. This scenario has some mixed mostly second hand Commonwealth troops attacking a varied and mostly imaginary set of Vichy defenders. The attackers have a choice of 3 VC: clear a specified road over the length of the east side boards 11 and 39, capture all the huts, clear a particular crossroad on board 47. I took the defense setting the baby Brandt and the HMG on the hill to interfere with the attack. I put several squads forward hoping to slow the attack and cover both the road and the forward huts my dummies spread out along the front but mostly in the board 47 hut village area.

My opponent predictably put his big gun on the opposite hill but the crew brought no smoke ammo giving me a chance to interdict as planned. Having no smoke for cover he cautiously pushed forward on board 11 mostly hiding in the center woods. On board 50 he was a bit more aggressive and reached the first set of huts for which my mostly imaginary defense had little to stop him with. I was able to break a squad or two and wound a leader so a decent start for me.

In my Turn 1 I entered my weird and wonderful reinforcements a single tankette with a BMG, 2 ht dragging guns, and 2 truck mounted 75's with ammo trucks following along. The tankette headed for board 50/47 Hutville, ht and its 37* INF headed for the small hill overlooking the center of the playing area, one gun truck and the towed arty entered near the 47H8 VC area. The last gun truck headed up the VC road toward the bd 39 hill to get into firing position. The Brits responded by taking out that last gun truck and assembling the last mortar but otherwise no harm was done.

Brit turn 2 sees the last mortar find some smoke neutralizing my HMG and the entry of the Monkey-Harry armoured cars 2 into Hutville and one on the board 11 road. More cautious movement and a couple broken squads but little else happens. So far the defense is looking good. I continue to maneuver and skulk forward elements trying to maintain as much mystery as possible.

Brit 3 sees my opponent start to push a bit stripping one of the main squads on the road and using his AC to get behind it which will prevent further fallback. In Hutville my mini-tank succombs to fire and my perimeter squad ends DFPh just hanging on to break the units adjacent except a HS. Definitely getting more tense at this point as with only 8 squads a loss of one or two will dramatically reduce my fighting capability.

At this point I realize that forward AC is in OVR range of my ammo truck :cool: and off I go rattling down the hill and into the hex... Are you sure you want to shoot at me I ask??? Only a 3 IFT attack - checks the chart - only snakes will cause the truck to explode... You guessed it - KABOOOOOM!!! killing the AC and leveling the adjacent hut. We laughed SO hard - definite bucket list item.

Unfortunately that was the high point of the scenario for me, the 94* gun hit my HMG taking out its HS, Hutville fell in the next turn and the flood of troops into the center of the map was too much to stop for the last 2.5 turns. It was close but the Brits ended up with 2 heroes and an extra leader so their dice defintely caught fire helping him clear the road of the last Vichy defenders.
 
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