This breakthrough scenario is occurring simultaneously in game time with the Breakthrough Pt 1 scenario. The part one scenario was our main push, and thus, we met a lot of resistance. The second breakthrough was not nearly as scary. The Davion forces consisted of a lance of veteran Kestrel Grenadiers supported by two lances of Brighton Militia ‘Mechs and assorted conventional militia elements, including both infantry and combat vehicles.
Detailed Force Lists
Kestrel Grenadiers:
Thunderbolt TDR-9SNAIS, Rakshasa MDG-1AR, Emperor EMP-6D, Templar TLR-0A
Brighton Militia:
Enforcer ENF-5DHS, Watchman WTC-4M, Lineholder KW1-LH2, Dervish DV-7D, Garm GRM-01B, JagerMech JM6-S, Blackjack BJ-2, Centurion CN9-A, 2 Pike Support Vehicles (RAC 2s), 2 Vedettes (laser variant), 4 Striker Light Tanks, 4 Platoons of AC 5 Field Guns (3 guns each), 5 Platoons of SRM Mechanized Infantry
Hexare Genadier Forces:
-Lords of the Night: Talon TLN-5W, Sha Yu SYU-2B, Wraith TR1, Phoenix Hawk PXH-4L
-Piotrowski’s Predators: 2 Falconers FLC-8R, Wraith TR1, Shadow Hawk C3M
-Bethel’s Irregulars: Atlas AS7-K, Cestus CTS-6Z, Hunchback HBK-5S, Victor VTR-9D
-Warlock Fusilers: Falconer FLC-8R, 2 Huron Warriors HUR-W0-R4L, Lao Hu LHU-2B, 2 Demolisher Tanks (Dual Gauss variants)
The Setup
From our point of view, the Davions split their forces into 3 main groups. The infantry hold the middle, with the SRM infantry in low lying forested hexes and the field guns on a level 2 forest behind the SRM infantry. The Kestrel Grenadiers’ elite ‘Mechs and all combat vehicles are holding the left flank, but positioned to support the center. The militia ‘Mechs take up position on the right flank, with the JagerMech and Blackjack on a forested hill to provide cover fire for the other 6 ‘Mechs. In response, the Predators and Irregulars take the right flank and the Lords and Fusiliers take the left.
The Action
Turn 1 – Obviously, we move forward at full tilt, attempting to take advantage of cover if possible. Our starting area is primarily plains with some minor forested hexes. However, in a somewhat surprising move, the Davions advance on us. My belief is that he’s moving to get to our rears as we advance and attempt to breakthrough. My Wraith gets up nice and cozy with 6 of the militia ‘Mechs to lend some C3 accuracy. We take fire on my Wraith, which suffers light damage and the Victor, which takes moderate damage and falls. Our return fire severely damages the Watchman (which falls) and moderately damage the Rakshasa. Due to somewhat poor movement on our behalf and good movement on the Davion’s side, blocks LOS to a portion of our forces.
Turn 2 – Our left flank pushes forward and the Davions backpedal their ‘Mechs but push their tanks forward. The Irregulars move into wooded cover and the Davions sweep behind them. I move my ‘Mechs out to the extreme right flank and jump a Falconer into the Davion forces and the Wraith into deadzone below the JagerMech and Blackjack. The infantry remain stationary, a massive roadblock that’s going to need to be attended to if we want to breakthrough the Davion defenses.
The Cestus blazes away at the entrenched infantry, attempting to start fires in the wooded hexes the infantry are hiding in. On the left flank, I pour fire into the rear of Centurion, inflicting 2 engine crits, effectively knocking it out. The Watchman takes the Irregulars’ fire suffering some arm crits, taking out the shoulder. In return, the Victor eats the combined fire of the 8 militia ‘Mechs, getting crits on the UAC 20 and the SRM 4, rendering it useless. Out on the left flank, the Demolishers takes out 2 Strikers that were attempting to close in with them. The Rakshasa receives the remaining fire, suffering significant damage and an engine crit. In return, the Sha Yu takes massive damage to the left side, losing an arm and all the armor on the left torso. The Talon eats a barrage of AC 5 field gun fire, losing a leg. The pilot ejects. The Atlas kicks the leg off the Garm and we all have a good laugh.
Turn 3 – The left flank makes a break for it, and the Fusilier Falconer jumps right in front of the Rakshasa take the brunt of the fire as the rest of the ‘Mechs make a break for it over on the left side. On the right, I could have made a break for it, but the Irregulars are in slower ‘Mechs, so I continue to support. I jump my Wraith behind the JagerMech. The Falconer alphas the Rakshasa, hoping to finish it off, but doesn’t land a solid shot. Since it’s the only target, it eats massive right. Unfortunately, it all hits center torso….taking 2 engine crits, causing it to overheat, shutdown and falls down, forcing the pilot to eject. The Night Lord’s Wraith starts a fire killing 2 units of field guns. The right flank swings significantly in our favor. The Wraith’s rear shot hits the rear center torso, causing a gyro and engine crit, but it doesn’t fall. The Lineholder eats fire, critting out one of its arms. Additionally, the Blackjack takes a ton of firing, causing it to fall. And finally, the Watchman gets headcapped from a rear mounted MPL on the Atlas (it took some LRMs to the head in round 1). Some kicks are exchanged, but nothing significant.
Turn 4 – The forth turn sees the finale of this short but brutal affair. The right flank is a sprinting contest. The Sha Yu retreats, everything else moves forward. The Emperor and Pikes move to support the right flank, since we have taken out quite a few militia ‘Mechs. Unfortunately, he commits to early, and the Hunchback and one of my Falconers move right behind the Emperor. The JagerMech and Blackjack plant again on their forested hills, so I plant my Wraith and jump my Shadow Hawk right behind the Blackjack. Infantry flees the forest fires, rendering them fairly useless.
The right flank is fairly boring, since LOS is broken for the most part. The left side is pretty brutal. The Davions hit us hard, concentrating fire on the Cestus popping off one arm, and stripping off most of its armor. The Hunchback misses the Emperor, but the Falconer ammo crits the Emperor with a rear side torso shot, taking it out. The physical phase is intense. The Wraith kicks off the leg of the JagerMech. The Atlas kicks off the leg of the Enforcer. And the Shadow Hawk double punches the Blackjack, punching through the left rear torso, critting a SSRM 2.
Conclusion:
The Hexare Grenadier forces learned from the prior scenario and had a significantly more successful mission. We assigned attack vectors and stuck to the tactical plan. We definitely came out the better in this scenario, the casualty list is below, which summarizes the results:
Casualty List
Davions: 3 Platoons of SRM infantry, 2 Field Gun infantry platoons, Emperor, 2 Strikers, Watchman, Enforcer, Centurion, JagerMech, and Garm are all completely crippled or destroyed. The Lineholder, Blackjack and Rakshasa are heavily damaged.
Hexare Grenadier Forces: The Falconer and Talon were disabled. The Sha Yu retreated, the Lao Hu took moderate damage, my Wraith took moderate damage, and the Victor and Cestus were heavily damaged….borderline useless in the underwater base attack scenario.
Analysis:
I think in the last engagement we over thought ourselves. We went back to the basics and just remembered the phrase, “Keep it simple, stupid.” Instead of an elaborate plan, we just stuck to basic attack vectors and allocated proper resources to achieving our objective without losing too many resources. We learned from our mistakes in the Breakthrough Pt. 1 scenario, and capitalized on those learning points. Additionally, I think it was easier to manage 4 lances in this scenario than the 7 lances in the prior scenario. With that, we were able to coordinate easier, which lead to better cooperation on each flank. All and all, it was a great success.
As always, feel free to comment or join the discussion at https://ourbattletech.com/forum/mission-reports-analysis-and-discussion/