“Covering Force” - AAR
I am endeavoring to set a new standard in writing AAR’s for these CPX’s and that is to get 
them out in a timely manner!  No applause please.

I am breaking this AAR up into 3 parts, OpsOrders/Setup, Recon Phase, and Main 
Engagement Phase.  This CPX actually took place over 2 different weekends, Jan 18th and  
Feb 8th.

Operations Orders / Setup Comments

I sent out the OpsOrds 2 weeks ahead this go around to give players plenty of time to hash out 
the variables and get things organized (not to mention leaving me with sufficient time to plop 
down units without having to do it all the night before the CPX).  I think it’s important to do this 
as the umpire for his/her sanity, as well the sanity of others.  This also gives the umpire time to 
absorb the operational intent for each side.  It is even more important when there are the 
number of players in the CPX like this one (4 for NATO and 6 for OPFOR).  I have attached 
the scenario instructions for each side as well as each CO’s general instructions to their 
subordinates with graphics for reference.  Unfortunately, several players still waited until the 
last minute which resulted in a 45 minute delay on the first day.

As can be seen by reviewing the orders, several adjustments were made to “standard” forces 
for this scenario.  Of note, NATO Scout Platoons were bolstered by converting half of their 
dismounts into Dragon2 ATGM Teams.  OPFOR was modified by making the AT Co. a BMP3, 
rather than BRDM-AT equipped unit, as well as converting all T80’s to T80+ATGM.  The 
Independent Tank Battalion (ITB), upon which victory was going to be ultimately decided, was 
refitted as TFO’s.  An additional TFO Tank Co. was added at the last minute due to some 
previously unknown TOE data.  They were dispersed, in platoons, to the BMP Bn’s.

OPFOR got together and discussed their strategy on IRC, presumably in detail, the Sat. before 
the main event.  The CO downloaded his general plan to the umpire on the Thursday before.  
As stated previously though, this was not enough time for the international players to get their 
orders in to the umpire and a time delay resulted.

NATO on the other hand was very busy in email traffic the entire week prior to the festivities.  
Unfortunately, the umpire (yeah, that’s me!) stuck his nose into the planning process a little too 
far and got it nipped off - ouch!  I will endeavor not to do this in the future.  While I don’t believe 
I compromised the scenario any, I’ll publicly apologize to the NATO side for doing so.
It was my opinion that NATO gave up too much ground in its initial setup.  I aired this opinion 
to Gary both for playability and because this was Gary’s first CPX.  At no time did I ever tell 
Gary he needed to move his MLR forward (ie - west).  I aired the comment (wrong of me), he 
responded with his reasoning and I let it go.  At some point in the week, it seemed there was 
some miscommunication going on between some players.  I would get a setup and then Gary 
would jump in (rightfully in my opinion) and try to correct the setup in accordance with his 
original instructions.  I again interceded and wrongfully so.  I guess I was just trying to help 
Gary too much!

I think in the future, it would be a good idea for subordinates to submit their setups to the CO 
for approval prior to sending the final to the umpire.  This would serve two purposes; 1) nosy 
umpires like myself wouldn’t get involved in the actual planning process, and 2) the players 
would have the blessings of the CO with total understanding of the mission.  Umpires should 
only address the concerns of the scenario in so far as what is allowable, not strategy.  Yes 
John, I hear and obey!  <g>
In general then, NATO was going to attempt to herd OPFOR into the southern valley approach 
while OPFOR was planning on pushing the ITB through this southern approach via a 
combination of deception and overwhelming firepower.  Having finally received both sets of 
general orders, it’s funny how both sides ended up heading towards the same goal - the 
southern valley.  Who would win the toe to toe slugfest?  ...

Recon Phase (0700 - 0745)

The battles for this day were fairly well separated from each other by the high elevation in the 
middle lateral of the board.  This AAR will attempt to address them in that manner as the north 
and south battles between 0700-0730 and then 0730-0745.  I allowed the Recon’s attached 
BMP Co’s to breakdown into platoons since they were doing Recon screening anyway.

In the north, OPFOR drove a BMP Co. + BRDM-AT (Alpha) section along the 064 Northing 
and got stonewalled vic 038062 via a combination of arty/MLRS and direct fire.  These forces 
however, eyeballed the large forest centered on 073055 and pounded these woods with arty 
for about 1/2 an hour, all the while attritting the NATO forces there.

BRDM-AT Bravo made it all the way to 056046 without ever being engaged.  Other than this, 
virtually no Recon was conducted between the 02 and 04 Northings.  This due mostly to the 
plan of the OPFOR.  It wasn’t really necessary.

In the south meanwhile, OPFOR Recon was playing cat and mouse with NATO screening 
forces.  They overran several NATO Border Patrols which had been acting as OP’s.  These 
were located vic 034057, 038045, 035035, and 040005.  The latter 3 were the ones overrun, 
while the one in north remained intact through to the end of the game.  Other than intermittent 
sniping, OPFOR was able to recon, without interruption, to the 05 Easting.  Once the BMP Co. 
(C/3/55GMRR) in the south arrived there, things began to heat up.

An A Troop M3 section took a shot from vic 089013 as one BMP plt broached the rise vic 
052015.  The BMP plt was destroyed (except for dismounts) while 1xM3 was destroyed.  This 
action shouldn’t actually have occurred because the umpire mistook “armor” for tanks only.  A 
Troop’s CO had stated “armor” to an engagement range of 500m.  The umpire did not apply 
this to M3’s until after the engagement took place.  This faux pas didn’t seem to affect the 
ensuing battle any further.  The remaining BMP plts continued moving SE after this 
engagement.

Meanwhile, at 0730, 2 BMP Bn’s arrived and began their marches eastward.  NATO was made 
aware that a large, undefined force was approaching the border (SATINT).  1st Bn, in the 
north, understandably took its time moving to the frontline.  It had loaned a Co. to the Recon 
effort and had an attached TFO plt.  2 Co’s approached down the 040 (A Co)and 055 (B Co + 
TFO’s + BMP3’s) Northings.  They would barely reach the 045 Easting before the 0745 end of 
game day, at which time they came under fire.  Sometime between 0730 and 0745, OPFOR 
decided to apply some pressure to the woods centered on 073055 by landing 2xMLR strikes 
and 152mm Bty ICM in the western extremes.  These intensified strikes resulted in 2xM1A2 + 
3xM3 being destroyed.  But the remaining NATO forces there hurt the Recon BMP Co (B Co 
loaned from 1st Bn) badly and began to engage A Co. before the cessation of hostilities for the 
day.

In the south, C/3/55, detached from 3rd Bn to the Recon CO, continued to press towards the 
east using the hill mass vic 065010 as a screen.  Once there, it turned north, through the gap 
and became engaged by a Dragon2 ATGM Team vic 066016.  This team remained 
undetected and, combined with an Apache flight which had playing popup since 0716, 
proceeded to wipe out the mobile contingent of this BMP Co.  Alas, the Dragon Team was 
finally overwhelmed by small arms fire and the OPFOR dismounts were ordered to charge the 
ridge to the east (members of this Dragon Team were awarded the Bronze Star w/Valor - 
posthumously).  Amazingly, Dragon Teams positioned in the woods vic 074013 were able to 
keep these dismounts at bay until arty began falling on the ATGM positions.  The remaining 
SA16 team which broached the ridge however was able to get off a shot and knocked down 
one of the Apaches.  The remaining Apache withdrew to the east as it was routed to the 
southern valley by higher command.

2nd Bn, which was at full strength, arrived in the south at 0730, made its march, 
unencumbered and unobserved to the south of the hill vic 050014.  At this point, it was 
ordered across the open to the east, en masse.  2xplts of B Troop’s M1A2’s located at 075035 
decided they could take on an entire BMP Bn (+) by themselves (ie - their engagment ranges 
were left at max by order).  These M1’s were entrenched, but were facing west (also by order).  
The M1’s got off the first shots and took out 3xBMP2, but return fire destroyed 3xM1A2.  The 
M1’s were ordered, too late as it turned out, to orient SW and the remaining 5xM1A2 were 
buried in a hail of ATGM fire.  Some may ask how.  Well, with 49xBMP2 firing ATGM’s, it’s not 
hard to understand that only 10% of these missiles needed to hit since they were getting side 
shots.  2nd Bn continued on its mission to the east as 2xBMP Co went SE to the draw vic 
071005 and the remaining forces went to a hold position vic 070015.  At this point, the game 
was halted for the day.

In general, OPFOR’s Recon action was successful in that it secured the routes east for the 
majority of the Advancing Element to utilize as was evidenced by 2nd Bn’s progress.  3rd and 
4th Bn’s came on-board at 0740 and were enroute, the lead elements having reached the 02 
Easting, in column, by day’s end.  Both sides appeared to be adhering to their original plans 
with a showdown approaching in the southern valley.  Having perused the chatter logs, it 
appears OPFOR was under the impression they were fooling NATO into believing they were 
going for a northern approach.  Quite to the contrary, NATO hadn’t budged from their initial 
positions and, after the B Troop engagement, NATO was even more firmly resolved of the 
intentions of the OPFOR to drive south (which was in line with NATO’s plan anyway).

One aspect of this battle to this point was the lack of smoke use by either side.  For OPFOR it 
might be understandable, but NATO should’ve been screening a LOT more.  Many arty assets 
remained dormant (mortars) while they could’ve been pumping out smoke to assist either north 
or south.  In addition, it seemed some players misunderstood parts of the game mechanics 
with reference to TRP’s.  The TRP’s handed out in the initial setups were for off-board arty 
assets (these are the only kind of TRP’s available to be placed prior to game start).  On-board 
arty cannot utilize these TRP’s.  They must build their own and adjust from there.

NATO seemed disorganized with regards to arty requests and calls for fire.  Looking through 
the chatter logs it was evident that a smooth system had not been constructed.  The NATO 
CO was aware of this and would try to attempt correction before Feb 8th.

Of exceptional note was the engagement between B Troop’s M1A2’s and the 2nd Bn.  It is the 
humble opinion of this umpire that an M1’s engagement range should almost never be greater 
than 2000m (70% chance of hit/kill), and more often should be 1500m or less (80% chance of 
hit/kill), especially in this situation.  Past 2000m, the M1 only has a 50% chance of hit/kill.  The 
BMP2, with advanced ATGM, has an 85% chance of hit/kill out past 875m.  Even at equal 
odds past 2000m, M1’s will lose this kind of long range battle.  In this engagement, the results 
were, well, predictable.  Half of B Troop was obliterated in 2 minutes.

The major portion of this battle was yet to come.  NATO was not beaten yet.  They still had 
forces in position waiting for OPFOR to come over the ridge.
Engagement Phase (0745 - 0807)
For the first 5 minutes, OPFOR’s forces continued to advance in the south unabated. 1st Bn 
was given orders to press forward in the north to complete the deception phase.  Finally, 
OPFOR started using smoke to obscure their approach to MIKE which worked really well since 
C Trp had ordered all but a few dismounts back to second line positions.  Many units of 1st Bn 
had been lagging behind their main effort and were now ordered to hoof it. 2nd Bn continued 
to clear the ridge between PL HIGH and LOW while 3rd and 4th Bns continued their road 
march east to join the fray. Once the ridge in the south was cleansed of Dragon teams, 2nd Bn 
began to probe towards PL Low ...
Most of A Trp had been keeping an eye on 2nd Bn’s movements.  Their engagement range 
had been reduced to 600m in order to prevent a repitition of B Trp’s tank debacle.  As a BMP 
Coy (+) emerged from ADAM, B Trp’s M3’s took shots directly south and annihilated it.  There 
were few survivors.  B Trp only lost a couple of M3’s to return fire.  B Trp also turned to face 
south which would prove a fortuitous move later in the game.  OPFOR answered with and 
incessant barrage of ICM on B Trp’s position and even though many strikes landed on target, 
no vehicles were destroyed.  Needless to say, 2nd Bn didn’t have much left after this 
exchange.  Dismounted forces continued their march forward and, but for a small mechanized 
contingent near AL, 2nd Bn was out of the fight.
3rd and 4th Bns came on line west of PL HIGH and prepared to charge across the ridge.  
Following a dual barrage of MLR and multiple arty missions east of LOW, 3rd and 4th Bns 
charged across the ridge.  As they were doing so, 2xCoys from 1st Bn had been ordered to 
advance on the B Trp positions in order to draw them out and take them out.  This where the 
facing change of B Trp worked in NATO’s favor.  Instead of firing on the closer, 1st Bn BMP’s, 
these M3’s took shots at the 3rd and 4th Bns.  Granted, the rest of B Trp died, but the added 
effect of destroying more forces in the OPFOR main effort proved to begin tipping the scales 
for NATO.  Half of 1st Bn’s coys which would advance on B Trp would be eliminated by C Trp 
firing from their C32 BP’s.  This action would reduce 1st Bn as a viable force.  In addition, a 
well placed MLRS mission landed smack in the middle of the 3rd and 4th Bns.
3rd and 4th Bns crossed LOW with, perhaps, 75% of their forces and began driving on PL 
CAN.  OPFOR was beginning to become buoyed by their progress as the ITB arrived at 0800 
and was road marching in the southern route.  This is about where their fortunes turned 
against them.  3rd Bn hit the minefield first and in one brief minute, 1/3 of coy’s BMP’s were 
immobilized.  This threw OPFOR for a loop.  Orders were hurried out, divert to the south!  Alas, 
NATO had planted a well located minefield.  It was laid diagonally, south of BOB and OPFOR 
continued to run into it.  Slowly, but surely, OPFOR was beginning to get whittled down.  By 
the time their lead forces came within range of A Trp and D Co’s M1’s (which had been lying in 
wait this whole time), there would be a slaughter unlike any this umpire has seen in awhile.  
Quite frankly, I didn’t think NATO would stop 3rd and 4th Bns if they crossed PL LOW in 
masse as they did.  But, when the first T80 Co got within range of D Co, they were literally 
obliterated.  D Co and laid in SOP’s of 2000m shots with orders to pop smoke and reverse 
after firing.  Their first volley laid waste to the T80 Co and then they reversed and popped 
smoke.  No losses to the M1’s.  After 2 mins, they went forward into their original positions and 
fired on the following BMP Co.  Again, a disaster for OPFOR, but because SOP’s and ranges 
weren’t reset, the BMP’s took out several M1’s in the exchange.  By this time however, the 
Valley of Death as it was beginning to be called, was littered with OPFOR dead.  Since most of 
D Co plus half of A Trp’s M1’s were still alive ... and waiting, with the Panzer (Leopard) Co 
sitting in reserve, I decided to call the game.  Domestic interference was being applied and the 
turns were taking too long again.
An interesting side event took place at 0801 and 0803.  I had instituted a death clause on both 
sides such that, if the personal vehicle of a player’s forces had been destroyed, the player was 
incommunicado for 5 minutes (NATO) and 10 minutes (OPFOR).  At 0801, the 1/11 ACR 
Squadron CO (Gary Wollbach) died.  As a result, no further arty/air/helo orders were 
acknowledged until 0806.  This was actually quite comical to observe as the NATO players 
discovered what it was like to be out of touch with their CO.  The real effect this had was that 
the second Apache flight didn’t move for 5 minutes.  Once it did come back on line though, it 
began working over the remnants of a 3rd Bn BMP Coy which had finally fought its way to 
BOB.  The NATO arty was relatively quiet during this time anyways.  At 0803, B Trp’s CO 
(John Crawford) died.  Obviously, since B Trp had, essentially, already been destroyed, there 
wasn’t much effect here.
All in all, it was close run thing.  A very marginal win goes to NATO as the ITB was diverted to 
another sector of the OPFOR Division (ie - I called the game).  NATO guessed right and, 
luckily, OPFOR obliged.  Several minor occurences contributed to NATO’s victory.  Had the 
OPFOR gone stronger in the north, the outcome would’ve been very different indeed.  NATO 
would’ve been totally unprepared for such a move.  Also, OPFOR should’ve used some type of 
overwatch after passing PL LOW.  If they had held back the BMP’s, perhaps they would’ve 
gotten shots off on D Co.  It’s not a good idea to charge across open ground in the manner 
they did.
D:\TACOPS\CPXS\0118-AAR.DOC