A Sandbox

In their drive to the capital, the Cacadores of the 1st Independent Mechanised Brigade are tasked with finding a path over a ridge line to drive on to Bodoni. Initial Recce reveals that a force of San Serriffe infantry with some armour are holding the ridge. The San Serriffe forces are ordered to hold the ridge at all costs. Programmed responses are diced for, they will respond to the central attack by pulling in flanking forces if possible, but no ground is to be given.  initial deployment, the first company of Portuguese infantry in M3 Panhards APCs with M60A1 tanks on the right. The Portuguese ran straight up the road but the second company was slow to deploy, and when it did, around turn 4, it was less than dynamic until a Command Bonus got them closing to bayonet point.  San Serriffe infantry and a T34/85 (the promised T55s were instead guarding the division field kitchen and wine cellar.)  82mm mortar, infantry and armour on the h...

Busy day IRL. Builders, ongoing care requirements for family, the kids being off on their Easter holidays, all conspired to keep me busy today. So I have got the forces prepared and written out the Red Force (Portugal) orders as well as the programmed instructions for the defending Blue (San Serriffe) forces.  The map was determined as per Grants instructions and it turned out to be the 3 central sections of the map, as pictured below: Using the CWC recommendation of 1 infantry stand=1 platoon, 1 tank = 1 platoon/troop, the forces are as follows. San Serriffe forces : 1 infantry company  1 infantry platoon  2 T55 tanks 1 Reece 1 122mm (off table) Portuguese forces: 1 infantry battalion (-2 platoons) 2 M60 tanks 2 Reece 1 105mm (off table) 1 25pdr (off table) The preprogrammed nature of Blues forces should make this an interesting encounter. 

At some point in the 1980's, the ex-Portugese colony of San Serriffe, an island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, underwent another rebellion from the Peoples Liberation Front, with support from most of the army, on the promise of weekend passes to the resort town of Ems, known for it's free and easy attitude. Seeing an opportunity, the Kremlin has supplied the rebels with arms and equipment, thinking that the islands might make a useful base for the Soviet navy.  The 1st Independent Mechanised Brigade of the Portuguese Army, in a last hurrah for colonial expeditionary adventures, has been despatched to return the pro-Western genaralissimo to power, via some requisitioned cargo ships.  Little is known of these islands, although the Guardian newspaper ran some in depth coverage of it in the 1970s, which did much to promote tourism there. A map is provided for the reader.  further information on the islands can be found here: https://wikitravel.org/en/San_Serriff...