Modern Afghan Game, Sep. 6, 2008

Game Master -- Ed Sansing

Coalition -- Jim Pitts (force command, sniper, Scottish platoon)
Sean Pitts (Royal Marine troop, mortar support)
Bill Hamilton (American infantry platoon, machine gun support)

Afghans -- Phil Young (force command, two fighter sections)
Ed Sansing (headquarters team, one fighter section, machine gun team)

A Scottish squad advances over a scrubby Afghan hill on its way to Jellybad.
(Note: Click on pictures to see a larger image.)

The Coalition force's mission was to search the village of Jellybad and find and destroy the opium cache of the local warlord. The local warlord's mission was, of course, to prevent the infidels from finding and destroying his opium.

Force Strengths:

Coalition -- one Royal Marine headquarters team (5, including a medic)
two Royal Marine squads (8 each)
one Royal Marine light mortar with crew (3)
two Scottish squads (8 each)
two American infantry squads (9 each)
two American light machine gun teams (3 each)

Afghan -- one headquarters team (5)
three fighter sections (12 each)
one light machine gun team (3)

After deploying a smoke screen, the Scots rush towards cover, dragging three of their wounded. Another Scottish squad is cheering them on from behind one of the buildings in Jellybad. In the distance is one of the Royal Marine squads. The Americans came over the big hill in the background and assaulted Jellybad from that side. Unfortunately the war correspondent was with the Scots and did not get any coverage of the Americans.

While one Afghan section puts down long-range covering fire from a ridge outside Jellybad, another section occupies two of the buildings on the town square. Most of the Scottish casualties came from the Afghans on the ridge.

Looking down into the town square, you can see the garage across the square where the opium was hidden with the warlord's command team hiding behind it. A wounded Afghan from the opium guard section lies in the square. You can also get a better view of the other building occupied by part of the Afghan force.

After gaining cover behind this building, the Scottish squad that took the most casualties couldn't be budged from its cover. They were recruits newly arrived in country. The red marker indicates that they are "broken." The Royal Marine medic is helping tend to their wounded (and in fact patched two of them up sufficiently to allow them to return to action. Immediately behind them is one of the two Royal Marine squads, with the second one in the building across the way.

Unfortunately the war correspondent's camera was up to full working order (batteries were very low) and these were all the photographs taken.

So who won? The Coalition forces killed almost all the Afghan fighters, including the warlord himself, captured two of the fighters, and found and destroyed the opium cache. This was accomplished with the loss of one Scot killed and three Scots and one Royal Marine wounded. The Americans suffered minimal casualties of one man slightly wounded and returned to action.