Bunker Busting on Nunshigum Ridge Scenario 4: Riding the Ridge (yes, again)

Having played the initial draft of this scenario twice it's apparent it remains very tough for the British. As a result we've made a few modifications to see if we can strike a better balance. For more background on how we arrived at this point see this post. 

The first change is to the terrain. While the ridge spine we are trying to represent was fairly bare of foliage it was not open, level ground. There were many folds and outcrops and so this area will now count as light cover for stationary units and for placement of jump-off-points. 

Historically the British prepared the way with a heavy bombardment and so they now have a pre-game barrage at no cost. They were also assisted by supporting fire from tanks on the Imphal plain and so we will allocate an off-table Lee tank that will activate normally but require 5,6 to hit. It's position will need to be pre-designated before the game begins. In addition the British will continue to receive ten support points.

The change to terrain means the patrol phase plays out differently. The options for jump-off-points are not so restricted and it allows the British to place theirs further up the table and closer to the ridge spine. 

I think that's a better representation of how things unfolded historically with the infantry from the Dogra Regiment moving in close proximity to the tanks from the Carabiniers.

We will begin the game with British force morale at ten while the Japanese are at nine. Before the game begins the British mark the line of sight for the off-table Lee tank by placing a model on the right hand side of the ridge. It is treated purely as a marker and cannot be targeted.

The British have the opening phase and begin arriving quickly. The platoon's attached Lee tank is the first to appear. 

 

A section then deploys from the right hand jump-off-point and the Naik (the junior leader) puts both teams on overwatch. 

The changes to the terrain allow the infantry to use jump-off-points closer to the ridge spine, something I feel more accurately captures what happened historically.

A second section deploys to the left of the ridge spine and they too take up overwatch positions. 

That puts an infantry screen on both sides of the ridge ahead of the tank.

The Japanese choose to watch and wait. In the British phase they continue to push forward and the Lee continues along the ridge spine.

A third section arrives on the right flank accompanies by the platoon's Havildar (the second-in-command and a senior leader). 

He puts both teams on overwatch.

That puts a reasonably intimidating infantry screen ahead of the tank, making it very difficult for the Japanese to mount a successful counterattack.

Once again the Japanese choose to remain concealed. The following British command roll is 66442(5), heralding a double phase and a chance to push on unhindered by the Japanese. The Havildar leads the section on the right towards the woods. 

In the following phase the Lee continues moving forward. 

On the right the Havildar leads the section towards the edge of the woods.

The Japanese then decide they need to act. A squad deploys successfully through the barrage and takes up position at the rear of the woods on the British right flank. 

The squad's Gocho (junior leader) puts the men on overwatch.

They remain hidden from view but should any British infantry enter the woods they'll be able to target them.

In the British phase one of the sections on the right moves tactically toward the ridge spine. 

I want to ensure they keep close to the tank so they can ward off marauding tank killer teams. 

The Lee also moves forward, keeping pace with the infantry.

A support section joins the units on the right flank and takes up overwatch positions. 

Just when I think I've put up an effective screen around the tank the Japanese command roll is 66642. Not only does it give the Japanese the next phase but it will see the turn end. The pre-game barrage will end and my sections will come off overwatch. So much for ensuring I have a solid protective screen around the tank! Fortunately the Japanese cannot fully exploit the double phase and so choose to do nothing in the first phase.

In the following phase the Gunso, the platoon's second in command, deploys into the woods to join the squad. He puts them back on overwatch.

In a more aggressive move a second squad bursts into life opposite the British left flank. 

They open fire immediately at the section facing them.

The opening shots have little effect - the Bren and rifle team each suffer a point of shock.

In the British phase the Naik on the left flank rallies off one point of shock and has the section lay down covering fire on the Japanese squad. 

The section nearest the Lee attempts to move up to the ridge line to find a position from which to engage the recently arrived Japanese. Unfortunately they move slowly and only the Bren team is fast enough to get there.

The section at the edge of the woods enters it cautiously. 

Despite moving tactically they cover a bit of ground.

Which brings them into line of sight of the waiting Japanese.

They react and open fire immediately. Their fire is deadly and despite the section making best use of cover they lose three men and suffer shock. Two casualties are from the Bren team, leaving it reduced to a single gunner. 

The following Japanese command roll is 66521. While it may give them the next phase it offers limited command options. The squad facing the British left flank continues to fire but they are trying to shoot through covering fire and it limits their effectiveness.

They inflict only a single point of shock on the rifle team.

In the next Japanese phase the squad in the woods opens fire again. 

This time it is much less effective and the Bren team suffer an additional point of shock.

The rifle squad on the other flank decides to shift its attention. 

The lone Bren team on the ridge proves too tempting a target. 

The squad directs the full weight of its firepower at the three man team.

They survive, but not without taking a casualty and suffering two points of shock. 

The Japanese platoon's grenade discharger squad deploy into the woods alongside the rifle squad.

  They fire off an initial volley of grenades trying to find their aim.

They target the section opposite but the grenades fail to find their mark. 

In the British phase the platoon's 2” mortar team deploys to the rear of the section. 

They fire off a round of smoke towards the grenade discharger squad in attempt to block their line of sight.

It lands on target and while it doesn't completely screen off the Japanese it will limit the amount of fire either the rifle or grenade discharger squad can bring to bear.

Meanwhile the Bren team pull back below the cover of the ridge spine to join the remainder of the section.

On the right flank the Havildar moves towards the sound of firing in the woods. 

He makes it to within command range of the section. 

They've taken a few casualties and there's seem little point remaining exposed to Japanese fire.

He orders them to withdraw.

The Jemadar, the platoon commander, deploys near the ridge spine. 

He rallies the shock from the Bren team.

He then orders the section on the other side of the ridge spine to move forward tactically closer to the Lee. 

In the Japanese phase the grenade discharger squad find that despite the smoke two of their teams are still able to see the section opposite. 

Both fire and try to find their range.

One grenade lands on target, but has no effect. While the initial volley of grenades are unlikely to do much damage once the Japanese find their mark the section could find itself suffering under an incessant hail of grenades.

The mortar smoke also limits the rifle squad's line of sight, but doesn't completely block it. The rifle team open fire. 

The British rifle team suffer a point of shock.

Back in the woods the Gunso returns the squad to overwatch.

In the British phase the Naik on the left flank spends the phase rallying shock from the rifle team. 

Over on the other flank the Naik rallies off shock but also assigns a man from the rifle team to the Bren team to bring it back up to strength.

The appearance of all the Japanese squads has caused the attack to stall. I don't want to let this bog down into a protracted fire fight so I need to find a way to force the Japanese to come to me. I suspect the best way to do that is to keep on pushing ahead with the Lee.

The 2” mortar team aims another smoke round to try to screen off the Japanese. 

It lands on target.

I'm hoping the smoke screen will enable the British to continue pushing forward.

The section near the Lee move up cautiously behind the protection of the ridge spine.

The Chui, the Japanese platoon commander deploys and joins the grenade discharger and rifle squad.

He has the one grenade discharger team that still has a line of sight target the 2” mortar team. This time the grenades prove far more effective and one of the crew is killed.

In the British phase the section moves up onto the ridge spine and takes up tactical positions. I need to maintain momentum and not fall into the temptation of engaging in a long range firefight. This is an attempt to regain the initiative and provoke a Japanese response.

In the Japanese phase the grenade discharger team continue to target the 2” mortar team.

The grenades prove deadly once again. The surviving member of the team is killed which sees the team wiped out. British force morale drops to nine. 

The Japanese seem to have been provoked into a response and the squad in the woods decides to make a move. 

They advance to the edge of the tree line facing the ridge spine. 

There is a British section on overwatch and they react as soon as they appear. 

Their opening round of fire proves fairly ineffectual, inflicting a point of shock on each team.

The Chui then sends the squad up behind the smoke.

Nothing more insulting than watching the enemy take advantage of your smoke screen! Nonetheless I seem to have forced a Japanese reaction, now I need to ensure I'm in a position to deal with it.

The following British command roll is 66552(3) and I wonder if this might be the moment to push hard to attempt a breakthrough? The section at the ridge spine move forward. 

I want them to act as a protective screen so the Lee can advance along the spine. 

The tank makes its way forward, although perhaps a little faster than I was anticipating.

In the following phase the Jemadar puts the section near the ridge spine on to overwatch.

I'm fully expecting to see Japanese tank hunter or suicide teams emerging from the smoke screen to attack the Lee. I need to be ready to deal with them.

 The section to their left moves forward tactically.

I want to try to close the range so that I can take full advantage of the section's submachine guns.

The Havildar moves back towards the section on the right and puts both teams on overwatch.

With the attention of the Japanese squad in the woods now turned toward the ridge spine the other section advances back into the woods cautiously.

In the Japanese phase the Gunso at the tree line rallies off shock and has the squad fire at the section on overwatch. 

It inflicts only two points of shock. I suspect it's an attempt to draw my fire, so I resist the urge to come off overwatch.

The Chui orders one of the grenade discharger teams to fire at the section on the British left. 

The section has moved and so the Japanese fail to bring their grenades down on target. 

With two sections on overwatch I take a gamble. If the Lee can move quickly it may put some distance between it and the nearest Japanese. The combination of distance and overwatch fire might be enough to give the tank safe passage. Unfortunately fate takes a hand. The tank fails to pick up speed and crawls forward very slowly. Suddenly this particularly gambit doesn't seem like such a great idea after all.

On the right flank the Havildar rallies shock. 

He then orders the section to his right to move deeper into the woods.

They remain cautious and move tactically.

Events then take an unexpected turn for the worst (from a British perspective at least). The next Japanese command roll is 66653 - a double phase and a turn end. The timing couldn't be worse and I know Dave will exploit the opportunity to the full.

The Gunso rallies shock and leads the squad out towards the Lee. 

The Japanese are moving in open ground and the section on overwatch targets them as they emerge from the woods. 

The fire is not particularly effective, only one man is hit, but it is the squad's Gocho and he is killed. That loss brings Japanese morale down to seven. 

With that done the phase ends as does the turn. The 2" mortar smoke is removed.

More significantly the overwatch and tactical markers come off and I don't think it's too difficult to see what might be about to happen next.

The following Japanese command roll is 64311 which should enable them to do much in this phase. First, Dave uses a CoC die to mount an ambush with a tank killer team. I have a full CoC die but you can't interrupt an Ambush and so this doesn't bode well.

They don't have far to go. Their lunge mine is particularly powerful and the Lee's relatively weak armour will have trouble resisting.

It comes to a sudden and predictable end! The tank is knocked out and the crew are fortunate to survive. British morale drops to seven. In many ways I have no one to blame but myself. Letting the Lee get ahead of the escorting infantry was a big mistake. Had they screened the tank more effectively the tank killer team could never have got so close. A painful way to learn a lesson when faced with the Japanese.

With their line of sight now clear the Chui has the whole grenade discharger squad fire at the section on the British left. 

Most of the grenades find their mark with deadly results. There are four casualties, two from each team and it reduces the Bren team to a single man. 

Not content with seeing the Lee destroyed the Chui then orders the squad to charge toward the ridge spine. 

The Gunso will give the same command to the squad he's accompanying.

Both squads may not arrive at the same time, but there's a good chance they will. I was hoping to provoke a Japanese response but this could all turn very ugly, very quickly.

The squad with the Chui will use a Ruse. They send forward grenade armed 'crawlers' ahead of the charge and hurl two grenades at the British section.

One of the Bren team is killed and they suffer a point of shock. That could have been worse. 

The section waits until the charging Japanese are within 6" and then I declare an interrupt. I want them to feel the full force of the submachine guns. Two of the Japanese LMG crew are casualties and the squad suffers five points of shock. 

The squad's Gocho is also hit. He's wounded and out of action for the turn, but Japanese morale holds steady.

On the other side of the ridge spine the Gunso uses the Japanese characteristic For the Emperor. At the cost of three CoC points the squad's charge will gain an extra dice of movement to ensure they make contact. 

Both Japanese squads hurl themselves into close combat. I have a sinking feeling this may not end well for the British. 

However, while the British may be outnumbered they are very well armed with automatic weapons and are suffering little shock. So in spite of the numerical odds they manage to hold off the Japanese assault and throw it back. Not without some cost. The section loses five men including the Naik and that takes British morale down to six. 

The Japanese lose seven men and suffer two points of shock. Driven off, both squads fall back 9" and suffer more shock. 

That assault has left both Japanese squads looking the worse for wear and although the British took heavy losses they have several sections still in action, can they salvage something from the situation?

The Havildar orders the section in the woods to pick up the pace and keep working their way forward. There could still be an opportunity for a breakthrough on this flank. 

Meanwhile the section the Havildar is accompanying is well armed with submachine guns, with two in the rifle team and one with the Naik, but currently they are all out of range.

The Japanese squad is weaker than it was and if the section can bring them within range of their automatic weapons then they should be able to gain fire superiority. The Havildar leads them forward and that's enough to put them all in range. 

Having barely survived the close combat the Jemadar leads what remains of the section over the ridge spine and away from the attentions of the Japanese rifle and grenade discharger squads.

The section is looking very brittle, but with the Bren gun in action they still present a threat.

If I can hold the Japanese squad in place then there might be an opportunity for the section in the woods to move unhindered toward the table edge.

Once again fate has other plans. The following Japanese command roll is 66311. Is it their turn to try and salvage something from a double phase and regain the initiative? The grenade discharger squad fires at the section opposite. 

Once again the grenades land with deadly effect, killing a man in the rifle team and wiping out what remained of the Bren team. That's a blow to British morale which drops to five. 

Sensing an opportunity to knock British morale even lower the squad near the woods targets what remains of the section with the Jemadar. 

I have a CoC die and use it now to interrupt. The nearby section is within range of its SMGs. They have four in total - one with the Havildar, one with the Naik (a support option) and two with the rifle team and they pour fire at the Japanese. 

The LMG team is hit and reduced to a single man and the whole squad suffers more shock. That puts quite a dent in their firepower. 

As a result when they do fire they manage to inflict only a single point of shock on the Bren team.

In the subsequent Japanese phase the Chui rallies shock. 

He then directs the grenade discharger squad to fire. 

What's left of the section suffer a further two points of shock and with only four men that puts them very close to pinning. Having found their mark the grenade discharger squad are starting to do significant damage. 

The Chui then leads the rifle squad to the ridge spine. 

The squad with the Gunso may not be in the best shape but they remain in the fight. He rallies off a point of shock and has the men target what is left of the section with the Jemadar. 

It's enough to kill the remaining man from the rifle team and inflict sufficient shock to see the Bren team pinned down. The loss of the rifle team brings British morale down to four which means they now lose the Red Dice and see their remaining command dice reduced to four. 

It's starting to look tough for the British, but it's not over yet. In the following British phase the Havildar swings into action. 

He orders the section in the woods to keep pressing ahead. They move quickly, but can they make a breakthrough before British morale collapses?

He then orders the section with him to continue firing on the nearby Japanese squad.

With all their automatic weapons in range that proves deadly once again. 

The LMG team is wiped out and shock accumulates on the remaining men from the rifle team. Japanese force morale holds steady.

In the Japanese phase the Chui rallies shock from the rifle squad. 

He then orders the grenade discharger squad to keep on firing. 

The hail of grenades find their mark once again. The section suffers a further two casualty and enough shock to break the surviving two men. That's quite a blow. 

They fall back and that sees British morale drop to three. 

The Chui then leads the rifle squad forward to the ridge spine.

It's not difficult to see what they have in mind.

With only three command dice the British are fortunate to roll 432. While that gives a number of options I'm beginning to fear that time might be running out. The Naik rallies a point of shock from the section in the woods and leads them forward. It's quite possible they could reach the table edge in a couple more phases and there is only one Japanese squad that is close enough to try to stop them. 

I intend to make sure they can't. The Havildar has the section pour more fire onto the squad. 

They suffer two more kills and a further point of shock. That puts them on the brink of pinning down. If nothing else the shock will slow them if they try to pursue the section in the woods. 

 

The Jemadar can't move the Bren team but he could abandon them to their fate. Instead he rallies off two points of shock and has them fire at the Japanese squad. Given their status it's no surprise the small amount of fire they generate has no effect. 

It comes as little surprise in the Japanese phase to see the Chui rally shock from the squad. 

It's obvious where he wants to take them....

They charge over the ridge spine and into the rear of the pinned Bren team.

The odds are overwhelmingly in their favour and the Jemadar and Bren team rout and break well before the Japanese can make contact. It brings British morale down to one. That's probably a blessing in disguise for had a close combat ensued the resulting drop on morale could have been greater. 

Is it game over, or can the British still eke out a victory with only two command dice at their disposal? It's unlikely but not impossible, so I stay in the game. The command roll of 64 is enough to bring the Havildar into action. 

He orders the section to target the squad opposite but this time he won't contribute his firepower. He has other plans. Once more their firepower proves deadly. The Japanese lose another two men and suffer additional shock. Not only that, the Gunso is hit and wounded. That's enough to see what remains of the squad break and fall back. While Japanese morale has proven very resilient this time it drops to four.

Having dealt with the Japanese squad the Havildar then moves very quickly into the woods and that takes him into command range of the section.  

He tells them to press on and that brings them tantalisingly close to the table edge.

With four command dice at their disposal the Japanese have no problem activating their remaining units. The grenade discharger squad continues to rain down their grenades on what remains of the hapless section. 

More shock accumulates, but despite landing on target they don't manage to hit the Naik or wipe out the remaining man from the rifle team.

On the ridge spine the Chui rallies shock and then has the squad target the broken Bren team with the Jemadar. 

Both men in the Bren team are hit and killed. With the team wiped out British morale takes another blow which takes it down to zero. That forces the British to withdraw.

Overall that was a much closer game and compared with our earlier games gave the British a more even chance of succeeding. The changes we made, though seemingly rather small, have had a significant impact on addressing those issues that concerned us. 

We have a couple more tweaks we might make but these will be minor. One of those is the off-table Lee. While we like the idea of having it available in practice I never made use of it. Allowing it to hit with only a 5 or 6 meant it rarely made sense to use one of the command dice to activate it when there were so many better options. It might be worth making this the use of one or two CoC points instead and allowing it to hit on a 4, 5 or 6. 

We won't play this scenario again but instead assume British success and move on to the final table which will be the attack on the main Japanese position. You can follow what happens in that game in this post.

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