First time out.

In the best part of 40 year Wargaming there are not many periosds I NOT had a bash at in my time. Napoleonics- more times than I can count in different ways- Various Ancients Medivals and Feudals for years. Colonials Pike and shot but aside from a bit of Bush whacking in Africa Modern warfare has eluded me. Until now. Readers of my recent ramblings will have noticed an upsurge of 15mm Modern figures being painted. I now have 2 "fightable" forces so it seemed logical that the TWATS last game before Crimbo should be a modern affair using "Combined Arms" the Command decison post war set plus the various add ons and extra stats that CPQ could provide. I thefore hand you over to our embedded war reporter Leon Gett of the Soaraway Daily Blurb the popular Red top in the trenches...

Battle For Harraqi Town. Al-Gebra Falls to Britsh Battle group. Saturady December 8th 2003. The men of the 69 Commando Royal Marines Battlegroup ably supported by their comrades of the Queens Malabars and the Challenger Tanks of the Price Regents heavy Hussars advanced against dug in Harraqi forces. With AT missles doing no harm to the tanks (Sgt Knocker was heard to swaer foully as his newly brewed tea spilled squarely upon his b******s as a missles struck the front glacis plate of his Challenger. Other than that minor incident "Not minor at all it was My tea and My b******s!" Only sporadic and inaccurate mortar fire hindered the first phase of the British advance. However this was to change dramaticlly

The initial British advance.

On the British right Infanrty element had taken the first unoccupied trenches and now British mortar and tank fire flayed the second line. A BDRM2 Spandrel was seen to explode and the Harraqi infantry were in the bottom of their trenches after taking caualties determined to take no further part in the battle. However T-72 tanks hull down in dunes behing Al-gebra now opend fire. These concentrated on the Warrior IFVs of the Queens Malabars destroying or damaged both of them. British retribution was swift. An Army Air Corps Apaches - Call sign Ugly 69 was on call and launched Hellfire Misslies at the T-72s

Ariel photo of the aftermath of the Hellfire attack.

UGLY SIX -NINE on station.

The way was now apparently clear for a British advance - but their was one last despairing Harraqi act. As the Challengers of the Heavy Hussars advanced the left hand troop showed a flank to T-72 on the edge of Al-gebra - A challeger was destroyed-(Jubilation in the Harraqi camp here!!) and over on the right a Sultan command vehicle fell victim to a T-72 as the Harraqis tanks pulled out. Not thay they would get far. The Challengers vented swift revenge and only 1 T-72 was to escape.

What it was all about- Top pic- "The Great leader- actually a much abuse pic of Jim the Painterand below 2Oyston Oil- one of the British objectives.

For those who want the technical details - rules were Combined arms with the additions from Command Post Quarterlyand - with a couple of exceptions- the Sultan command vehicle being one all the vehicles Infantry and Helicopter were Old Glory UK products. We discovered that in game terms the Apache was queen of the battlefield in 1 turn it destroyed half of the 8 T-72 on the table. The Challenger were almostinvulnerable at longer ranges whilst the T-72 needed numbers to be effective. We'll be having another bash at this as we learn the rules, systems and equally the equipment.