The General's Diary

AAR for a test-game of the Mad General, Spring, 1997.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a one-sided AAR of a battle during the testing phase of the Mad General, with my friend Chris, a playtester I met on AOL playing the U.S. and myself (Riki Tikki) as the General. As I recall, there was some confusion with the rules toward the end and the victory was in dispute (good it was just a test!) but I think the report still captures the essence and flavor of the scenario. Unfortunately, I cannot find my copy of the combined report that includes my opponent's notes. I am sure it will turn up somewhere, someday, but until then I offer the General's side only.

Unlike my previous AARs, this one attempts to tell the story with "clippings" of various types, allowing the reader to piece together the events of the battle with his or her own imagination. Hopefully the entertainment value will make up for any lack of clarity or detail.

My U.S. opponent chose the "satellite recon" option, and the multi-national Army task force (though I was unaware of the choice of OOB at startup). A copy of the satellite photo of my command base is included in this report, as prescribed by the rules, exactly as the U.S. commander received it.

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FOUND IN NOTEBOOK OF GENERAL'S PERSONAL BIOGRAPHER:

The General is amused by rumors that an American strike may be coming to seize him and take him to justice. "First, they have to find me!" he laughs, as he settles into his warm bath and pours himself a glass of uzo. He orders his aide to summon his barber and manicurist before tomorrow's television press conference.

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The General, having heard nothing further about a US strike, begins to think the Americans must have either been bluffing or that they are cowards. His mind at peace, he retires for the evening with his favorite book, a first-edition copy of Mein Kampf.

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The General's breakfast is rudely disturbed by reports of an advancing American ground force approaching the river, about 9-10 km east of his camp. Marines, he guesses. He orders his radio operator to contact all brigade commanders to converge on the area. He sits back, comfortably sipping his tea, knowing that his elite guard can easily hold off the overconfident Americans for 70 minutes or so. That will be enough time for his reinforcements to trap and destroy the US force.

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Upon hearing that his forward positions were being attacked by fully armed Apaches, the General replied, "Ah, good, they've brought out their shiniest and most expensive toys." This reaction was surprising, because anyone who ever saw one of these flying tanks take out an armored vehicle from 4000 meters would hardly have reason for cheer. But his aides surmised that the General's vanity was flattered by the fact that the enemy was sparing no expense to get at him. Either that, or perhaps he was indeed as mad as people say.

GENERAL'S AFTER ACTION REPORT, 07:00

My base is in the extreme southeast corner of the region, and is carefully camouflaged so that even satellite photography will not reveal its exact location. I have a little surprise in store for this foolish American force. Rather than defend against three approaches to my base, I have planted a wall of mines in an east-west line the north, and another wall of mines in a north-south line in the south, just west of the clearing where my base is. With these flanks protected, I will not have to keep my eyes on the enemy so much. I hope to begin attritting the enemy early, but if the US gets by me or outflanks me I can merely pull back to the gap between the mines (northwest of the base), and hopefully as the enemy hits the minefields he will be channelled right to my waiting ambush positions. Ha ha ha ha ha ha....!!! [Demented cackle. Mad Generals tend to do this.]

GENERAL'S REPORT, 07:05:

American Blackhawks and Humvees are entering the southern corridor, there's lots of grenade and small arms fire. Arghhh!! Apache helos have taken out a truck and a BTR90, along with their mounted infantry. It just now dawns on me that with all these Apaches, this must an Army task force then. Soon I'll be facing tanks and javelins. My spies are idiots -- why wasn't I warned? Curses! I lost my nerve when I saw how deep those Apaches were penetrating and pulled up short from leaving my lookouts at the edge of the central valley. Then I realized one of my trucks was carrying ATGMs, which would have been next to useless sitting in the woods. I send them forward again, but precious time has been lost. Can they make it to their firing positions before enemy Humvees arrive? It will be a short but tense ride. A BTR90 was surprised by a Humvee but fired back and hit the Humvee. I don't like surprises! I am the only one allowed to surprise!!! Aghhh!! My FO unit in the village to the north is helping to sight up my mortar but the mortar is still taking too long to fire. Fortunately, I have dropped off SAMs in the far rear near the east river and it is paying off. At least 2 Blackhawks have been downed, probably after they dropped off the Humvees, though. While the Humvees will probably never make it to my base, I am worried they will catch my trucks en route to their ambush positions. My scouts, once spotted, will be useless without transport. Damn! Why didn't I order those SAMs to fire at the Apaches instead of the Blackhawks? If I can take down a few of those monsters I can greatly attrit the US force with just a few missiles. I quickly give the order to make Apaches a priority target.

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FOUND IN SERBIAN OFFICER'S NOTEBOOK:

07:10 -- A few dazed, dismounted troops report light armored vehicles coming down the northwest corridor, but with cannons that sound like the main gun of a tank! They are not like the US Marine LAVs they had heard about in their briefing. The General quickly identifies them as the deadlier British LAV, or possibly German, and deduces this is a multi-national NATO force he is dealing with. Having studied NATO's combat organization structure, he tells his officers to expect more of these vehicles as well as medium tanks.

GENERAL'S REPORT 07:15

Confusion reigns. The chatter of machine guns is heard in the northwest sector of my defense perimeter, but few enemy sightings. Several of my BTRs, loaded with ambush teams, have been caught by those blasted Apaches east of Devil's Fork (where the valley splits into two) before they could make it to their intended ambush sites. I am trying to move the survivors into the woods where they may be able to be of some use, but they are being attacked by both ground troops and helos. Amid the confusion I have lost my nerve again, and stopped my trucks from approaching the edge of the valley and are instead waiting a few 100 m to the east. With no eyes watching for the enemy, it will only be luck that brings them to my waiting troops. In the north, I can see 4 or 5 of those Cougar-class LAVs approaching Devil's Fork, but no others. Hmm. Instead of heading southwest toward my base as predicted, they're heading due east along the main highway. I am worried that they will be hunting for my 3 SAMs by the east river. (They are almost out of missiles, and stupidly I have no way of getting them to the town for more supplies. They were on their way there,10 min. away by foot, but now they have stopped to avoid detection.) This approach is almost completely unguarded except for my lone BTR and FO in the village. I try to hold off the LAVs with mortar, while my BTR attempts to reverse and get in a few shots while escaping. I am amazed to see the mortar actually kills one of the LAVs. Unfortunately, the BTR misses all its shots (incompetent fools!) and a minute or so later a couple of Apaches and a Kiowa pounce on it and kill it. Still unsure of where the main enemy thrust is, I decide to set up a string of ambush sites about 4 km from the base, in a north-south line about halfway into the central woods. My hope is that the enemy comes through this region, but if they try to approach from the north or the far south, they will run into a solid wall of minefields. This will slow them down as they hunt for a way through, while I pull back and form a tighter and more consolidated defense. The plan seems foolproof! I merely have to count the minutes to my final victory! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

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The General, feeling harrassed by the warbirds of the US, spitefully orders a mortar attack on dismounted US infantrymen in the northwest sector. His officers thought this to be a needless waste ammunition, but they could see that this was an emotional, not a rational, decision, and that the General was not about to be dissuaded. Besides, they knew too many ex-staff officers who once argued with the General. Most of them are now corporals.

(Intercept of radio correspondence between the two commanders:)

<<The General can expect to be brought to justice shortly. He has a nonstop flight booked from Tuzla to the war crimes tribunal on Adios Airlines. The US will still accept your unconditional surrender.>>

The General regrets to inform you that he will be not be available for any court appearances at the Hague or any other Western European city, due to... uh... a pressing engagement at home which requires his attention. This is especially regretful, as he understands these proceedings will be in his honor, and, being an Eastern European, the General so enjoys a circus!

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FOUND IN OFFICER'S NOTEBOOK:

The General, at first alarmed at seeing Apaches headed straight for his command post, smiles smugly as SAM teams chase the invaders away. Cheers are heard as one Apache is hit by a missile and crashes into the trees. Those men in the woods may be thieves and smugglers, but they know how to handle those Stingers, he muses. And even though SAMs are being attritted and supplies are running low, he is also confident that the American commander will now think twice before sending his helos forward so aggressively. He orders a search party to find the wreckage fof the downed Apache, and fiendishly begins conjuring up new forms of torture in the event they capture any of the American helo crew.

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GENERAL'S REPORT 07:25 AM -- I have several medals to give out today, mostly to the Stinger crews in the mountains (some posthumously), but also to my intrepid forward rifle and grenadier teams who have miraculously escaped death more than once (they were one of the first ones who lost their BTR90 from the helo attacks), and have escaped into the woods to provide valuable intelligence on any enemy movement near Devil's Fork. It occurs to me that had it not been for these men, I would be totally blind to the north and would probably be committing troops up there that are not actually needed. The situation elsewhere is pure mayhem, however. I only have one infantry team who made it to the edge of the "bowl," (central valley) and can only see to the North, not West. Also, since my SAMs and ATGMs never made it forward and are useless in the middle of the woods, I am sending them to the rear but that means I will be without a truck for a critical period of time. I will have to make do.

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GENERAL'S REPORT 07:30 AM

As expected, the US is bombarding my rear SAM positions. But my SAMs were out of ammo, and so drawing off arty was a valiant final act. Even this duty they are performing well, as the enemy continues to pound their now vacant positions for several minutes after their death. My truck loaded with the 2 SAM teams intended for forward deployment has returned to the rear area near my base and has luckily escaped an Apache missile fired from far away in the northwest. Several riflemen take potshots at the Apache from directly underneath and score a hit, but fail to bring it down. I am happy that my SAMs have survived and hope I can get them into the rear woods before another helo attack. I have stupidly let my other SAMs run out of missiles without sending a supply truck to them from the CP area, so for the next 2 minutes or so I will be very vulnerable to those Apaches. My biggest worry is that I do not know where the main thrust of NATO forces are coming from, or in what formation. From the activity of those choppers in the south, I am beginning to suspect that the enemy is approaching en masse down there. I begin to strip my defense in the north-central region and bring them south and east. I will try to set up a line of defense about 1 km west of the dirt paths in the eastern woods. I can't afford to let the enemy get around me. This is the price I pay for poor recon -- giving up land for a more secure defense.

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Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

The General cackles with glee as reports of downed helos come over the radio. He looks forward to "interogating" the survivors personally.<g>

His demeanor abruptly changes, however, upon hearing the sound of Bradleys only 3 km from his command post. The Americans are moving much too quickly for his liking. And then there are those tanks....

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GENERAL'S REPORT -- 07:35

Another victory in the sky! My SAMs have downed another Apache, and my Elite Guard has brought down a Kiowa with small arms fire at the far eastern end of the southern valley. The Apaches have fired many rockets, however, and have taken out some of my key ZSU AA defences. But my SAMs live on. Their firing positions are good ones, but I have not put them in entrenched positions and there is no nearby truck, so they keep running out of missiles. I only have 2 trucks supplying all my rear defenses, including a mortar section, and they are overworked as it is. I will try to transport at least one SAM team to an entrenchment, but that will mean a couple of minutes where I will be vulnerable. I expect there may be another air strike any moment...

There is an interesting battle of wits going on between myself and the US commander, an attempt to outguess each other's thoughts as well as tactics. I am guessing from the way he has obsessively gone after my SAMs that he will launch an air strike very soon at my base area to make the skies free for his helos. I am prepared for this, as I have several ZSU guns around my base area set at short range (500m) to take over close air defense should my SAMs be eliminated, and should he try dropping off troops near my base by helos. On the other hand, this commander is clever. He has evidently studied my tactics as well, and knows not to try a direct push through the woods against a mobile defense (my specialty!). Rather, he seems to be probing around to the far south and to the north in an effort to circumvent my defense altogether (a mine has just exploded in the north,where I suspect one of those Cougars was). I have only just now surmised this, and I hope it is not too late to set up a new defense in his path. The question is, what is his path??? In any event, my troops are doing nothing where they are, so I decide to strip my defense and head east to the network of roads, where the minefields should channel any enemy advance on my flanks. I only hope I am not giving up valuable land for nothing.

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GENERAL'S REPORT -- 07:40

The situation has suddenly taken a dramatic turn for the worse! Just as I predicted, a massive air strike hit my base area, which drew fire from my SAMs and some of my ZSUs. A couple of SAMs survived the strike, but since spotting my positions the enemy has been shelling me relentlessly with artillery and heavy mortar and now all my SAMs are gone -- as well as some of my ZSUs! I just now figured out how they accomplished this. A few minutes before this, an air combat company (Blackhawks) dropped mortar teams, ATGMs and I think some Humvees by the little village west of my base area. The good news is that I have been shelling those troops relentlessly with at least 2 of my 3 mortar sections, and I'm killing more of each team every minute. The bad news is that they've been able to call down fire on my previously spotted SAM positions. However, the enemy has dropped shells directly on my command post, so I am ready to blow this pop stand! But the nearest truck is 3 minutes away to the north! Arghhh! I am feeling very naked with so little air defense, and there are a couple of Apaches on the prowl again, and it has forced me to stop all mobile units in their tracks. One spotted a truck up north bringing troops back from the central peninsula just as it was crossing the ravine. Luckily the missile missed, but obviously that Apache is going to come looking for that truck and so I will have to keep it off the dirt roads. Now it may not get back to the action in time. Arghhh!! Now the Apache is hovering very near my SP mortars, so I have to stop them en route to their supply point lest they get spotted and blown to bits. I can't afford to lose my mortars. Mines are blowing up both to the north and to the west of the base. It is now clear the enemy is headed in strength toward these locations, and has completely circumvented my entire outer defense! And I can't redeploy them for fear of those lurking Apaches. What I wouldn't do for a couple more SAMs...

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As for the General, he ponders the last transmission from his 120mm arty unit. "Apache! I can see the color of the pilots eyes! Oh God, please! I can't... BBBBBrrrrrppppppppppppppPOW!"

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GENERAL'S REPORT -- 07:45

I have a breath of hope. I have evacuated my bunker in the southeast corner, and I am now headed due north along the narrow strip of woods along the edge of the map. This brings me closer to the enemy, but they will not be focusing their search up there. At least not until they discover I have gone. This should buy me time. I am also loading up defenders to form a tightly contained defense once I have been dropped off, about 1.2 km north of my previous location. My only other truck is busy setting up a dense line of defense in the wooded area just west of my former base. The enemy is still shelling those previous SAM positions!! Evidently he's even more paranoid than I thought! Uh-oh!!! Reports just in from my SP mortar crew, they took a chance and tried to sneak away from the helos overhead but suddenly they started moving and passed right over them. A minute later, all 3 heavy mortars have perished! This greatly hurts my ability to counterattack. I will have to make do with the other 2 mortar sections. Fortunately, I did not waste any supply on the now dead mortar section. Enemy infantry was spotted traversing the minefield to the north on foot, and I immediately ordered a mortar attack with my other two mortars. If they got any closer, they would have engaged and destroyed my machine gun team, which are my only eyes up there at the moment. I have also been busy inching my troops together on foot into an east-west line of defense just ahead of the minefields in the south (near the small town). The Apaches are both covering the network of roads that I was going to use to set up my defense against the northern attack, so I am bringing one truck south in hopes that its troops will be useful stopping the southern prong. The truck that narrowly escaped the helo's missile is headed east to try and contain the enemy should they go around the mines. I am even toying with the very risky idea of sending the truck through a tiny gap in the minefield in the south, to join my inner defense. I wish I were sure if the gap was big enough, I can't afford to lose any more trucks!

07:50

A very interesting turn of events. I have safely escaped in a truck and I am now heading north about 1.2 km., well away from where the enemy will be attacking. I am bringing a few infantry teams with me, and will set up a makeshift base at the eastern most edge of the map. If the US comes barrelling through this little ribbon of woods with its tanks and Cougars I will be caught for sure, but hopefully they will head directly for the old base along the faster clear terrain.

Suddenly several Blackhawks appear in the far south by the little town, and fly directly over my little defensive wall that was protecting me -- it is an air assault headed for the end of the ravine in the far southeast corner of the map. My ground troops shoot down all the helos, but there are a lot of troops on the ground. Hopefully my mortar can blow them to pieces before they call down arty on my entrenchments!

The Apaches have moved south a bit, overlooking the LZ near the base, almost directly over a truck and a ZU gun. I order them to hide (set ranges to zero). I'm hoping the ZU gun can nail one of those Apaches if it flies into its path in the LZ area. The Apaches are no doubt spotting for the arty/mortar fire hitting my poor infantry and ATGM team in the town, which have been continuously shelled now for the last 5-10 minutes. They seem to be holding on, but if they die I will hold no towns on the map. I send one of my now-useless scout teams in the narrow peninsula up north by foot, where it will just have time to take over a village if it doesn't get picked off, suppressed or smoked. With the Apaches having moved, I decide to go back to my original plan and send troops east and set up a wall of defense against the expected surge from the north, south of the minefield. The surge might find its way around the minefield from the northwest near the end of the south corridor, so I attempt to scatter troops south of that area, while sending another truck east of the little clearing (where my single machine gunner is successfully picking off Humvees and ground troops as they cross the mines). I am only moving the trucks about 100m per minute, for fear of being spotted by those Apaches. Amazingly, my luck/timing is perfect and I manage to stop them on two different occasions just as they are passing overhead. Phewww!!!! That was close! If my luck holds out, I will have a pretty decent line of defense south of the minefields to the north. If it doesn't, well, let's not think about that.

The US troops left by the downed Blackhawks are once again spotting for arty and together with their combined firearms are overwhelming my southeasternmost entrenchment. My mortar teams are slow to respond for some reason. This has been the most bizarre battle -- my base is under attack from a few units, but I have yet to see the bulk of the US forces. I still have not had one confrontation with those scores of tanks or M2s that I know are out there. I just hear a mine detonate now and again, and hope the US hasn't got engineers out there to clear them. At least not until my new line of defense is set up. 20 minutes to go before my brigades arrive and trap the enemy...

07:55

My luck ran out! My eastern-bound truck was taken out by an Apache directly overhead, killing some of its troops. My shell-shocked infantry point their rifles skyward and do battle with the Apache. The Apache guns down several of them, then leaves the area. A minute or two later, however, my luck is back -- my troops fire on another Apache that's been lurking about near the southeast clearing and it blows up into flames! More cheers are heard around the mountainside. Losing these Apaches has got to be costing the US plenty! Meanwhile, it looks like my wall of mines has sprung a leak (engineers must have cleared them), and my machine gunner overlooking the little clearing there is helpless to stop them. But once again luck is with me, because the truck that was killed earlier left a cluster of infantry directly in the path of these vehicles. Unfortunately, they are being harrassed by two Apaches and cannot conduct ambushes with any stealth. At best they may take out one or two LAVs, and delay them a bit. But that is something.

Concern is now shifting to the far south, where four Cougars (probably British, I've decided) have appeared. Fortunately, I have a dense row of RPG teams licking their chops just waiting for them, about 800 m west of the former base. I let one of them engage the Cougars, knowing it will be quickly suppressed by return fire (those 76 mm guns are a bit scary at close range) but I hope that my mortar can stun the LAVs so that their return fire is less accurate. Meanwhile, I hold back my next closest RPG until the LAVs get closer. Sure enough, as the Cougars pummel away at my first RPG team, my second RPG team takes out 3 of them. The first team, now getting back into it, takes out the fourth. My troops are once again proving that experience and training in this kind of warfare really pay off.

08:00

Damn! Right behind the Cougars are a platoon of Chimera tanks! And up north, a platoon of Bradleys appear through the minefield! The two leaks in my minefields are beginning to turn into a flood! At least if they are approaching through the mines in column, that will help, as I can take on just a few units at a time. First I must deal with the tanks. Luckily (again) an ATGM team on the north side of the clearing has made it into position in an entrenchment formerly occupied by a ZU gun. They could have taken out the Cougars earlier but I had their ranges set to zero so that the RPGs could do it. Now that they are entrenched, I let them open fire. I don't know what effect my 82mm mortar will have on a Chimera tank, but I hope I can keep them from taking out my ATGM team with their return fire. While this is going on, I am also moving other units all over the base area, on foot, to better positions in line with NATO's two axes of attack.

08:05

The dam has busted wide open. My minefield did its job in delaying the enemy, but now tanks and M2s are streaming through like a production line from both the north and the south and my original outer defense was never able to meet them. All my wheels have been shot out from under by those damn Apaches! Also, in an effort keep quiet while the Apaches were overhead, I set many of my infantry units' firing ranges to zero, and now they are being killed because they did not fire. Yes, I gave the order to hold their fire earlier, but couldn't those fools realize it was okay to start shooting when they saw the ground force coming? Surely it is not I that is to blame -- I am merely surrounded by imbeciles! Morons! I'd shoot them myself if I, uh, harumph! Uh, anyway... I am pleased to see that my inner defense (about 1 km out) is holding back the tide admirably -- for the moment. I have ATGMs covering the little valley in the southeast from all angles, including one in the town that has a full supply of missiles. (Yes, the same one that's been holding on through the bombardment for the last half hour). My only hope now is that the US proceeds to the wrong location, and does not think to begin searching for me in a new location until it is too late.

08:10

The battle is over! I am victorious! A solid wall of US armor came storming through the remnants of my former base and did not find me -- and did not even begin searching until time had almost run out! I must now draw up my terms for the immediate surrender of US forces, or crush them like a bug with my three brigades of Serbian regulars. I hereby claim this territory under my complete authority and reserve the right to imprison and torture people of any ethnic persuasion I deem appropriate! Let the cleansing begin! Let the people worship me for all eternity as their immortal savior! Summon my biographer and my makeup artist, I'm ready for my press conference! Bring on the reporters! Bring on the captured Bosnian babes! Bring on the lithium! I mean uh, er...