On this day in history...

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_Serriffe#b

Having landed at Umbra, a force is advancing to the capital Bodoni. A force from the San Serriffe Army is preparing a defence on some low hills. This will be a battle fought using Scenario 1 from Programmed Wargames Scenarios by Charles S Grant. Further details of this eventful few weeks in Spring to follow. 

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