Dan Verssen's Thunderbolt Apache Leader AAR

[JudgeDredd]

Place Friendly Aircraft
You can place your aircraft in any of the "edge" hexes and more than one aircraft can start in the same hex. You also set the initial altitude here and determine whether you start in HOVER or not.

To start in hover, your aircraft must have a minimum speed of 0. If it does, you place the aircraft in the middle of the hex...otherwise the aircraft must start at the hex edge which meets the edge of the hex you plan to move into.

My A-10 has a minimum speed of 1 and therefore will be moving. I place it on Hex 9 which is empty and in Low Altitude. As he is slow, this will ensure 2 things...

• He will be free from damage the first round as there's nothing with range to shoot
• He will be able to fire off his AGM-114s...because they have a range of 0-2...so starting in a hex with enemies would mean he couldn't employ those (in that hex at least)

Scout Success Check
I roll a dice and check the table. A roll of 8 means an extra 3 turns over the battlefield and -1 stress. I put my Scout counter back on my Airbase.

Place the Loiter Counter
I place the Loiter Counter. Normally it starts at 5, but the +3 from my scout and the +1 from the Target Bound Event card gives me 9 turns!

This is the situation before the kick off of the Battlefield Resolution. I've added the Hex numbers to help with identifying when I'm talking about attcking Hex 3 or moving into hex 5

[Barthheart]

.....
For your question - I've always taken it to determine from a weapon point of view rather from a target point of view. In other words it's to distinguish between weapons that are limited to target type. So the fact that there aren't weapons with V or B on it doesn't mean those weapons can't attack vehicles or buildings - but rather the ones with V or B can only attack vehicles or buildings. So simply limiting the use of the AGM-114 and the AGM-65.

So if a target doesn't have a V or a B, then you can't use these two weapons on those targets.

I'm not sure if I've explained that well at all.....

Ah! That makes perfect sense. Thanks for that. My sleep dimmed brain couldn't manage that last night.

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 1

Popup Counters
As DART is at high altitude I draw a Popup counter and it's NO POPUP

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 7 means 1 Random Hex goes to cover. A further roll gives a 6 and the units in Hex 6 go into cover.

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
I have no fast pilots

Enemy Attacks
Enemy Helicopter Movement
Helicopters moves at the start of the Enemy Attack phase. Helicopters do not use altitude and can move over ridges fine but ridges do block There are no enemy helicopters

Enemy Attacks
As DART is high he can be attacked by the AAA unit in Hex 6. He fires up his ECM and a roll of 8 means the attack is thwarted.

SCUTTLE comes under attack from the Storage unit. An ECM roll of 3 means the ECM failed. The damage chit pulled is Structure. That's bad. One more structural hit to the AH-1 and it's a crash!

Slow Pilots - Altitude, Move/Attack

Altitude
All my pilots stay as is. SHADOW and SCUTTLE stay low and DART stays high. I know I want to avoid popups, but he has some ridges to avoid, so he's staying high for the moment.

Move/Attack
SHADOW
Attack
He fires his LAU-61s at the APC and Storage unit in Hex 2. A roll of 8 sees the APC go up in smoke and the weapon chit is retained. A roll of 3 against the Storage unit means it's a miss and the weapon counter is discarded!
Movement
Movement...he is in hover mode and stays in hover mode.

SCUTTLE
Attack
He fires his LAU-68 at the Storage unit in Hex 8. A roll of 1 means the Storage unit is safe and the weapon counter is discarded!

Movement
He is in hover mode and stays in hover mode.

DART
Attack
DART fires his AGM-65 at the Building in Hex 10. A roll of 5 modified to 1 (with the -4 for rolls against a building) mean it's a hit - JUST!

Movement
He moves 3 hexes - south west into Hex 10 and then west into Hex 8

Advance Loiter Turn
I move the Loiter counter to 8

Place Bingo Fuel Counters
No need...at present.

This is the situation at the start of Loiter Turn 8

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 2

Popup Counters
Draw popup counters for each aircraft that is at High Altitude...and I have none - so no popup.

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 5 means any units in a hex with a destroyed unit gets to hide. That only leaves Hex 3. However there is no ridge on Hex 3 - so the unit stays out of cover.

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
Altitude
VIPER stays low

Move/Attack
VIPER attacks again and fires his remaining AGM-114s into Hex 5 at the APC. I roll a 1!! (modified to 0 taking into account VIPERs -1 Stand Off attribute) and the APC survives!

Movement...he stays low moves into hex 5 and heads South West.

Enemy Attacks
Enemy Helicopter Movement
There are no Enemy Helicopters

Enemy Attacks
My A-10 can now be attacked by the Infantry unit and the APC unit in Hex 5.

Rolls for his ECM pod of 7 against the APC and a 1 for the Infantry in Hex 5. The attack by the APC in Hex 5 is avoided.

I pick 1 chit from the Light Hits. It's Bullet Holes - this is lasting damage and if not repaired then the pilot who is assigned the aircraft next will suffer 1 Stress point immediately.

Slow Pilots - Altitude, Move/Attack
I have no Slow Pilots

Advance Loiter Turn
I move the Loiter counter to 7

Place Bingo Fuel Counters
No need...at present.

This is the situation at the start of Loiter Turn 7

[JudgeDredd]

I had to re-write those last two sections because for some stupid reason I got my pilot mixed up - seemingly thinking he was Slow AND had a +2 Stand Off modifier! He's actually Fast and has a -1 Stand Off modifier.

What's even more bizarre is I thought I must have got him mixed up with the pilot on the pack - but when I looked that pilot was slow and only had a +1 Stand Off modifier - so I have no idea where I got those phantom values!

But that's just eaten more than an hour - sore knees, using a laptop with no mouse and photobucket - it's all been a huge pita!

But I think I've fixed the posts now without cheating or having to redo the turns...just go back, retake the pictures, adjust some of the attack/movement values and done

But WHAT A PAIN!

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 3

Popup Counters
Draw popup counters for each aircraft that is at High Altitude...and I have none - so no popup.

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 8 means one unit in each hex gets to hide as long as there is a ridge. I move 1 unit into cover in hexes 1,2,6 and 7. Where more than one unit is present, I get to choose.

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
Altitude
VIPER stays low again

Move/Attack
He then attacks the APC and Infantry in Hex 5 by dropping 2xMk-83s - one against each target. Rolls of 4 against the APC and 9 against the infantry mean they are both destroyed...Mk-83s require a roll of 4 or more. Also, the roll is not modified because he has a 0 Cannon/Strike modifier

Movement...he stays low moves into hex 8 and heads North West.

Enemy Attacks
Enemy Helicopter Movement
There are no Enemy Helicopters

Enemy Attacks
My A-10 can be attacked by the APC in Hex 8.

A roll of 1 against the APC means I pick 1 chit from the Light Hits and it's No Effect!

Slow Pilots - Altitude, Move/Attack
I have no Slow Pilots

Advance Loiter Turn
I move the Loiter counter to 6

Place Bingo Fuel Counters
No need...at present.

This is the situation at the start of Loiter Turn 6

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 4

Popup Counters
Draw popup counters for each aircraft that is at High Altitude...and I have none - so no popup.

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 7 means I select one random hex to move units into cover. I roll and it's a 5...both units in Hex 5 are destroyed.

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
Altitude
VIPER stays low again

Move/Attack
He drops a Mk-83 on the APC in Hex 8 and a roll of 10 sees the APC go up in smoke!

Movement...he stays low moves into hex 4 and heads East.

Enemy Attacks
Enemy Helicopter Movement
There are no Enemy Helicopters

Enemy Attacks
He is immediately attacked by the Truck in Hex 4.

A roll of 4 against the Truck means I pick 1 chit from the Light Hits and it's 2xStress. He's almost at his SHAKEN status.

Slow Pilots - Altitude, Move/Attack
I have no Slow Pilots

Advance Loiter Turn
I move the Loiter counter to 5

Place Bingo Fuel Counters
No need...at present.

This is the situation at the start of Loiter Turn 5

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 5

Popup Counters
Again - no high altitude aircraft so I don't pull any popups

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 10 means any 1 hex emerges from cover. I have no Stand Off capability anyway so it hardly affects me (units in cover can be attacked by cannon and bombs dropped in the same hex - they just can't be attacked from outside their hex. I bring the Truck in Hex 6 out of cover.

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
Altitude
VIPER stays low

Move/Attack
He drops a 2xMk-82s on the Truck in Hex 4 and rolls of 3 and 8 modified to 5 and 10 with the +2 from the Truck means the truck is toast!

Movement...he stays low moves 2 hexes into Hex 6 and heads North East.

Enemy Attacks
Enemy Helicopter Movement
There are no Enemy Helicopters

Enemy Attacks
VIPER is attacked by the Truck in Hex 6.

A roll of 8 for the ECM pod sees the attack evaded

He is also attacked by the Infantry unit in Hex 3 which has a range of 1. His ECM pod is useless this turn (roll of 4 and 7 is required). The Light Damage picked is HUD. A -2 modifier is subtracted from his rolls on Strikes (NOT Cannon)

Slow Pilots - Altitude, Move/Attack
I have no Slow Pilots

Advance Loiter Turn
I move the Loiter counter to 4

Place Bingo Fuel Counters
No need...at present.

This is the situation at the start of Loiter Turn 4

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 6

Popup Counters
No high altitude aircraft so no popups

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 1 means no cover changes are made

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
Altitude
VIPER stays low

Move/Attack
He drops his remaining Mk-82s on the Truck in Hex 6 and a roll of 9 modified to 11 with the +2 from the Truck means the truck is toast!

Movement...he stays low moves 1 hex into Hex 3 and heads West.

Enemy Attacks
Enemy Helicopter Movement
There are no Enemy Helicopters

Enemy Attacks
VIPER is attacked by the Infantry unit in Hex 3.

A roll of 10 for the ECM pod sees the attack evaded

Slow Pilots - Altitude, Move/Attack
I have no Slow Pilots

Advance Loiter Turn
I move the Loiter counter to 3

Place Bingo Fuel Counters
No need...at present.

This is the situation at the start of Loiter Turn 3


I still need to press the attack as there are still 4 unit VPs on the battlefield and I have not destroyed the target unless there are 2 or less.

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 7

Popup Counters
No high altitude aircraft so I no popups

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 4 means any units sharing a hex with a destroyed unit can go to cover. The only unit in a hex with a destroyed unit is the infantry unit in Hex 3 and there are no ridges for that unit to take cover

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
Altitude
VIPER stays low

Move/Attack
He drops his remaining Mk-83 on the Infantry unit in Hex 3 and a roll of 10 modified to 8 with the -2 from the HUD damage means the Infantry unit is destroyed!

Movement...he stays low moves 1 hex into Hex 2 and continues to head West.

Enemy Attacks
Enemy Helicopter Movement
There are no Enemy Helicopters

Enemy Attacks
VIPER is attacked by the APC unit in Hex 2. A roll of 6 for the ECM pod is a fail and the attack is pressed by the unit. A Light Damage chit is pulled and it's 1xStress...but the Aircraft designated on the chit is A-10 - so there is not effect

Slow Pilots - Altitude, Move/Attack
I have no Slow Pilots

Advance Loiter Turn
I move the Loiter counter to 2

Place Bingo Fuel Counters
No need...at present.

This is the situation at the start of Loiter Turn 2

[JudgeDredd]

Battlefield Resolution - 8

Popup Counters
No high altitude aircraft so I no popups

Enemy Cover Roll
A roll of 7 sees 1 random hex take cover and a roll of 1 is useless as the unit in Hex 1 is already in cover.

Fast - Altitude, Move/Attack
Altitude
VIPER stays low

Move/Attack
He attacks the APC in Hex 2 with his cannon. A roll of 8 and the APC explodes!

Movement...he stays low moves 2 hexes into Hex 1 and then off the battlefield

The battle is over and VIPER managed to destroy the Engineer Support Unit (there are only 2 VPs of units left).

This was a very difficult mission. He had a lot of units to take out and he was the only aircraft. I think it's obvious that had I not had the +1 Loiter from the Mission Event card and the +3 for the Scout - then he would not have managed it.

Number of aircraft is important and it's rare to have a single aircraft destroy a Battalion.

He also came away relatively unscathed. Only some stress, HUD damage and Bullet Holes. Both of these have to be repaired by SOs and if they are not repaired then the adverse effects of those are passed to the next pilot.

[JudgeDredd]

Home Bound

Adjust Battalion Strength Counter
The Battalion is destroyed and moved off the battlefield

Home Bound Mission Event
AAA Fire - Inflict 1 Light Hit on each aircraft that does not expend a weapon counter.



VIPER has none left so has to take the hit...UNLESS his ECM works - and with a roll of 5, it doesn't. The hit is 1xStress. So he has now accumulated 4 stress from the mission (and more to come)

Bingo Fuel Checks
VIPER was off the battlefield within his fuel limit (loiter turns) so there's no need for a Bingo Fuel Check.

Crashed Pilot SAR Check
VIPER survived and so no need for SAR check

Record Pilot Stress
I record VIPERS stress. He accumulated 4 during the mission. The target was also in the Enemy Transit Area which means +2 stress. However, the Scout Roll I performed at the beginning not only gave me more Loiter turns, but also reduced the stress of the mission by 1...so his total stress is 5. He has no COOL value, and therefore has a status of SHAKEN



Record Pilot Experience and XPs
VIPER flew the mission so gains 1XP. He gets an additional XP for successfully destroying the target . He didn't destroy all units, so does not get that bonus XP. So he's gained 2XPs

Damaged Aircraft
I then record the airframe number of the A-10A and the lasting damage of HUD and BULLET HOLES. I will have the chance to fix this damage at the end of the day



Promoting Pilots
VIPER has not accumulated enough XPs to be promoted (he needs 7 to be promoted) and obviously neither have any other pilots.

Record Mission Victory Points
I record the 2 VPs for destroying the battalion.

I now proceed to the next mission - and I'm debating whether I have the stamina to carry on the AAR. Honestly they take so much time, using a laptop with a touch pad mouse, sitting awkwardly and then photobucket keeps playing up!

I'm not looking for requests here - I know you'd like to see what happens on the second mission with the F-16, AH-64 and AH-1

I might do...

[JudgeDredd]

Mission 2 Resolution

Abort Mission
You can elect to abort the mission at this point. I'm not going to.

Arm Aircraft
SHADOW is in the AH-64 with 8 weapon points, DART is in the F-16 with 10 WPs and SCUTTLE is in the AH-1 with 6 WPs. There is no WP penalty for this mission as it's in the Friendly Transit Area.

All my pilots are SLOW, so I'm going to give them an extra chance to survive by assigning them an ECM pod each.

AH-64

• 1xECM Pod
• 2xLAU-61
• 1xLAU-68
• 1xAIM-92

F-16

• 1xECM Pod
• 2xAGM-65
• 2xMK-20
• 2xMK-82
• 1xAIM-9

AH-1

• 1xECM Pod
• 2xLAU-68
• 2xAIM-92

It's really not a great deal of ordinance for the number of targets I have to take out!

The ECM pods, the AGM-65s, the LAU-61s, the MK-20s and the AIM-9 all cost 1 Weapon Point - totalling 10 meaning I've spent 1 SO on weapon points



Fueling Priority
I do not need to purchase a fuelling priority because I there is noi Weight Penalty in the target area

Target Bound Mission Event
I draw a Mission Event card and obey the top portion (Target Bound)...High Approach - Select 1 aircraft to start at High altitude. Don't like that at all! I select the F-16 - DART.



Engine Damage Checks
This step lets you check to see if any engine damage results in a crash - none of the flying aircraft have any damage.

Place Terrain Hexes
Shuffle the hexes and then place them top left to bottom right on the Tactical Display.



Place Enemy Units
You place enemy units by rolling a dice for each unit and placing it in that hex. The hexes number from 1-10 from top left to bottom right.



Place Friendly Aircraft
I place my aircraft where I think they can do most damage. The plan is for the F-16 to run riot...taking out the buildings with hig AGM-65s and dropping his Mk-20s in hexes 5 and 6. He will have to go high at some point to avoid ridges (or take a Ridge Evasion roll) because his minimum speed is 2!



Scout Success
I have a Scout and the roll is a 9 - fantastic! It's an extra 4 turns on the battlefield and 1 less stress. I place the Scout back in my Airbase

Place Loiter Counter
Normal Loiter turns are 5. With my roll of 9 for the Scout means I have 9 loiter turns on the battlefield.

[Bison]

Good stuff Judge.

[JudgeDredd]

Thx Bison