Kettles (#1)
- Chief Mechanic: Fer
|- Mechanic: Messiah
|- Mechanic: Bit
|- Mechanic: Headspace
We opened,
in true folk style, by playing as brave revolutionaries, armed with little more than our dashing good looks and sophisticated wit. And a tank.
Housemaster, playing the part of our absent friend Lor, concocted a pincer-like plan that called for us to converge on the town of Nur from the northern and eastern approaches. Accordingly, my fireteam drove off towards our designated drop-off point to the east, messiah helpfully guiding our Ukrainian-speaking driver, Bit (who still speaks better English than my Ukrainian).
Abandoning the truck, I asked messiah to grab the RPG-7s, and everyone else to really spread out, so that at times there was up to 20m between us as we ran northward. Meanwhile, over the comms, we could hear the tank crew and Tigershark's fireteam (which contained one or two MARSOC people) engaging the enemy in Nur. It didn't sound like it was going too well.
Scrambling over the main road into Nur, and down into the cover of the valley beyond it, we switched directions and pushed eastward into the village. By now we knew our own tank was in flames, and instead of running for the UNO positions we sought to hunt down the enemy's armour. As we neared the centre of the village we took out a few enemies in frantic room-to-room fighting, but were soon enveloped. I heard messiah call out for medical help and went to his aid; he was prone next to several other bodies, so naturally I forgot
everything I've ever been trained to do in game and set about healing him. I was dead in moments!
We opened,
in true folk style, by getting wiped out. Everything was going exactly to plan!
Kettles (#2)
- Chief Mechanic: Fer
|- Mechanic: Tigershark
|- Mechanic: WolfFlight
And then we were the enemy. And I found myself in charge.
Taking a cue from Housemaster, we switched to using the Chief Mechanic as the commander, liberating the tank crew to focus on driving and gunning its armour. My plan was simple: Headspace and messiah's fireteams would set up in outlying groups of buildings to the south and south-east respectively, waiting for the enemy to manifest and hiding their RPG gunners in hard cover until the last possible moment. My fireteam and the tank would remain in Nur as a hidden reserve, to be deployed once we understood the enemy's direction of travel, or fall back to the northern crossroads as a final defence.
So much for plans. The enemy immediately took the high ground to the east, and within minutes buildings in Nur were exploding as the enemy tank enacted its role as an ad hoc artillery piece. Running northward down the main street as upper storeys detonated around us, Tigershark, WolfFlight and I pulled out to set up our hasty roadblock at the final crossroads. It was
cinematic.
Meanwhile, our entire formation was wheeling to the left, pivoting on messiah's fireteam as Headspace raced his own across the AO to hit the enemy from the south. Our tank was losing the duel, and soon became a pillbox. Then Tigershark suggested he could get close enough to the enemy's tank to deal it a blow and I told him to go. From then onwards I have to admit I could only listen to the battle unfold over comms, or rather the absence of them. WolfFlight and I were soon pinned down in the buildings by small arms fire. As I hugged a wall all I could hear was the
whoosh whoosh whoosh of multiple RPGs being launched at something. I couldn't tell what.
The mission ended abruptly as elements of the enemy formation scrambled into the UNO positions. Well done to the MARSOC boys.
Cacheola (Adversarial)
- AR: Fer
|-- RPG: WolfFlight
Given our inferior equipment and numbers, we opted to focus on ARs and RPGs during the slotting phase, ending up with a handful of 2-man fireteams, an MMG, a sniper and a command element (including Housemaster as medic).
Assuming BLUFOR would approach from the north, Headspace created an ambush. Two fireteams watched the main north-south and east-west roads which formed the western and upper edges of our district, whilst my fireteam went to ground in a building further north. The intent was to sandwhich BLUFOR if it came in from the north. Our remaining elements were dispersed further south, near the lone minuret to the south-east of the mosque complex.
After a period of observation it became clear that the enemy was massing at The Villa, north-east of the district. Knowing they would have to cross open ground to the east in order to reach the built-up areas, Headspace re-arranged our formation. My fireteam moved near the minuret, and soon we all formed a loose line north-south, hiding in upper storeys and rooftops, preparing an RPG volley for the anticipated BLUFOR advance.
When it came, the BLUFOR break-out from The Villa was swift and aggressive: vehicles bursting from the location and driving off in at least in three directions. Our volley of RPGs invited a torrent from the .50 cals, and soon we were all falling back to positions one block west. I have no idea whether the .50 cal fire WolfFlight and I came under in our second position was speculative or directed, but the atmosphere inside our darkened (but by no means bullet-proof) shelter was intense!
Gradually, however, the fire subsided to a more intermittent harrassment, and the dreaded silence descended upon the district once again. Now we entered into a game of cat-and-mouse, as my fireteam was dispatched south-east, beyond the minuret, to hunt down some reported contacts. We didn't engage anyone, but I believe another fireteam did, and after a while we were again on the move - this time towards the main mosque.
During our movement we heard some interesting episodes on comms. Tigershark repeatedly called out to see any of our people were prone, desperate to avoid a blue-on-blue; only at the last moment did the crawler reveal himself to be friendly, and disaster was averted. Meanwhile, out to the far east, one of our number (Bit?) was infiltrating the enemy's old position at The Villa, hoping to find something (or someone) of value.
Rounding the south-west corner of the main mosque, looking north, WoflFlight and I found ourselves in an instant firefight with an enemy fireteam. Squeezing off a few rounds, I called the break and we began sprinting to the east along the mosque's southern edge; enemy M203 rounds fell perilously close behind, but soon we were scrambling into the stairwells by the mosque's eastern entrance. Splitting up, we edged along the outer rooftops to the north and south, and here I made the fatal mistake of lingering too long without cover. Peering into the courtyard to scope out targets for a hand grenade, I saw too late the kneeling soldier who shot me.
As a spectator, I enjoyed watching the theft of a HMMWV by Bit and messiah, and their (eventually suicidal) thunder run through the courtyard of the mosque. I wish I had been able to screenshot their burning vehicle in the archway of the eastern portal.
With BLUFOR now hemmed in at the main mosque, and increasingly immobile, Tigershark gave notice that unless they went on the offensive again the mission would be called in favour of the guerrillas. There was a breakout of sorts, but it wasn't fast enough to locate a cache and prolong the mission. We called it, and chalked it up as a narrow victory for the folk side.
Note: I'm biased, because I wrote this mission; but this was for me one of the best ArmA2 experiences I have had in many years. The inventiveness of BLUFOR's plan, and the contrast between the periods of tension and intense fighting meant it truly fulfilled my ambitions for it as a mission designer. What I hope it also demonstrates is that asymetric equipment does not necessarily translate into an advantage for one side when fighting in built-up areas - but it does require different engagement styles to be employed.
Cacheola (Coop)
- A2 FTL: Fer
|-- AR: Erniemater
|-- AAR: garikello
|-- R(AT): WolfFlight
Once again we found ourselves in Zargabad, but this time we would be playing the coop version of Cacheola as a mixed platoon of MARSOC and folk players, under the command of MARSOC's Spirit.
Parking our HMMWV in a courtyard just to the north of the district, my fireteam quickly took up positions near the east-west road which forms the northern edge of the search area. I'd asked Erniemater and garikello to act as combat buddies, leaving WolfFlight to be mine. Though I did not know it at the time, A2 would be acting independently for the rest of the mission, making our two buddy teams an invaluable shorthand for co-ordinating bounding movements or fire-and-maneuver tactics.
Our initial advance was southwards down a road, each buddy team covering its own side of the corridor and bounding past the other. However, Spirit soon tasked us with a search location out to our east, and we switched direction. Through an opening in a wall WolfFlight called out a single contact, but since the guerrilla did not appear to have seen us, and in the interests of speed, I ordered the guys to bypass him and press onwards.
Nearing our search location more contacts were called out. Again, we had managed to approach undetected, and were able to co-ordinate a two-pronged attack. The firefight was almost entirely one-way, and moments later I was searching the target compound whilst Erniemater and garikello covered the open ground to our south-west with their SAW, and WolfFlight was the most easterly-placed man in the platoon.
Erniemater and garikello had spotted a single contact moving in the open ground to our south-west. Maneuvering with WolfFlight to create a second, northerly firing position before we engaged, I realised to my dismay that the single bypassed man was actually part of a group of five. They were all prone in a half-open compound which I'd mentally designated for our second firing position. Hastily, I climbed the roof of the adjacent building and re-arranged the plan. Erniemater and garikello would still concentrate on the moving contact, whilst WolfFlight and I dealt with the prone group at hand. We would all open up together.
This firefight was not as one-sided as the previous encounter: my grenade failed to kill the entire group, and whilst we still triumphed in a matter of seconds, WolfFlight was injured in the process. Descending to the street, I gave aid whilst the other buddy-team quickly consolidated on our position and provided security.
Once more we received orders to check out a specific potential cache location from Spirit, but this time we were to take our HMMWV along. Since time was of the essence (other elements of the platoon were engaged to our south), we made a bee-line for the vehicle, crossing more open ground. Again, the buddy teams worked well, with each movement covered by at least two guns, and very soon we were mounted-up in our vehicle with garikello on the .50 cal and WolfFlight at the wheel.
Setting off at speed, first east and then south, we literally drove into a firefight, and then
over the enemy! Cooly, WolfFlight nosed the vehicle into the courtyard of our next search location, and we quickly established it as another blank. The courtyard formed the south-east quadrant of a crossroads, and whilst preparing to cross over to a building on the eastern side of the road, Erniemater spotted a group of enemies on the road to our south. I pulled Erniemater back to the crosswords itself, whilst WolfFlight and garikello reversed the HMMWV and prepared to round the corner, guns blazing.
It went exactly to plan: the enemy group disintegrated under fire from the .50 cal and the SAW (I managed to pop off a few shots from a flanking position, but the automatics did all the damage). Finally, we could cross to the east and get eyes on some EI Spirit had asked us to destroy, so Erniemater and I entered a multi-storey building whilst the others remained in the HMMWV.
On the top floor a ladder led out onto the roof, and as I followed Erniemater upwards I knew I had made a mistake. The enemy, hidden in the fields to our east, opened up in moments and soon we were trapped on the roof. Prone, we edged away from the incoming rounds, whilst I frantically called on the guys in the HMMWV to drive out and supress the enemy gunmen. WolfFlight and garikello performed admirably, but my decision had cost us Erniemater, who lay dead next to me. With regret, I picked up his SAW and scrambled down to board the vehicle.
Once more we headed south, this time to a search location that proved both undefended and fruitful: leaving the vehicle alone, I spotted a guerrilla cache and placed some satchel charges. It was at this time that we mistakenly engaged the sniper team, which had taken up a position in a tower to the south-east. This was another mistake on my part, for not warning the others of friendlies in the vicinity. As we reversed away I detonated the charges. WolfFlight then put his foot to the floor, and we raced to see if we could render any aid to the sniper. No joy.
Finally, after a platoon-wide SitRep, we found ourselves driving west to the main north-south road which forms the western edge of the search area. Turning, we pushed gingerly up this main strip until the mission ended.
Note: Leading my mixed fireteam felt like the event in microcosm. I had never spoken to Erniemater and garikello until the moment we loaded up into the HMMWV, nor played with WolfFlight since the OFP1 era. Yet, only minutes into the mission, it was as if we'd been playing together for a long time.
Lessons learned
Two observations about the adversarial missions:
1. Give commanders time - We weren't playing capture the flag, AAS or other such
match-style balanced adversarials, where the overall plan is effectively locked-in. Neither was respawn available, which makes players' in-game lives all the more valuable. Both factors mean that commanders' plans need to be sophisticated, and might take a while to devise. My recommendation is that we all accept that 3-5 minutes of extra thinking and briefing will pay handsome dividends when it comes to playing the mission.
2. Innovation is not cheesedicking - That final, rather colourful, word is sometimes used as a pejorative term for when a human commander devises a strategy that is 'not in the spirit of the mission'. In some communities, Spirit's plan in the urban adversarial might have fallen foul of that unwritten rule, because BLUFOR did not immediately begin a methodical sweep of the search area. Excluding actual cheating, I reject that view: most of the value of playing against humans is their ability to innovate. Whilst I agree with the decision to call the mission as a victory for the guerrillas when BLUFOR's efforts stalled at the mosque, I salute Spirit for his ambitious plan, and the way in which his platoon managed its quiet infiltration.
Closing thoughts
It's difficult to convey just how tricky it is to set up and run a joint session: there are many show-stopping risks to manage; but ultimately, all are mere logistical challenges, to be solved with patient application. The one factor you cannot manage or manufacture is
chemistry. Luckily, on Sunday it was there in ample supply, and that's why everything went so smoothly.
I salute and thank Tigershark for one of his best ideas. To Spirit and everyone at MARSOC, I thank you all for being such good sports, and entering into the session with exactly the right mindset. It was a pleasure to shoot, be shot by, and shoot
with you guys. To all the guests who came from folk, thank you for helping our little project chalk up a significant win for friendly, relaxed gaming with like-minded grown-ups (and DM).
Hasta la victoria (or, equally, all of us getting killed) siempre!
) and I spent a lot of time prone behind windows as bullets riddled the walls. At one point I was on a roof overlooking the walls of the mosque compound and I saw some BLUs step onto the wall, I tried to shoot them, but it was too dark to aim properly, so all I did was get their attention. I hit the deck and threw a smoke grenade and tried to crawl down the stairs into the building - praying the ArmA animation system wouldn't force me to stand up. At this point Headspace became injured; however he was the far side of mosque. Being a somewhat reckless medic I thought I should take the shortest route - through the mosque. I found an entrance in the outer wall and performed the climb-over-a-fence manoeuvre, unfortunately halfway through the animation I ended up in the sights of the gunner of a hmmv parked in the mosque compound. I took some hits before I could turn around and scamper to safety (I assume I survived as part of God's plan for those weapon caches). I healed myself and then took the long way round to see to Headspace's injuries. Really fun mission, thanks to Fer for making it. One of my favourite moments in OFP/ArmA!
.
. It was obvious, that US had time to prepare and when 
