After-Action Report: The Thin Red Line
CPX Jan 10, 1998
James Sterrett

	This CPX was thrown together to fill in the gap left when Jerry Hall's modem 
died on him, thereby cancelling the CPX that he had planned to run.

	In the event, the hasty nature of preparations showed up in the number of players:  
one player per side.  They were:

	Green:  Bill Jennings

	Opfor:  Gary Wollbach

	Players were told to arrive at least half an hour early; the first player to arrive for 
a given side would be crowned CO (temporarily at least) and provided with the side's 
orders - making the preparation on each side a bit hasty.  The game was played on Map 
01, and the scenario was an reworking of a scenario Brian Rock showed me a while back.


Orders & deployments:

	Opfor orders:

You are permitted to deploy and maneuver your forces by individual unit as listed below.

Deploy your forces west of the 080 NS gridline on TacOps map 01.

The enemy will approach from the Northeast corner of the map with 3 battalions of M-
60A1 tanks.  They will have recon and artillery support as well (very little icm).

You have a reinforced company of T-80U ATGM tanks:

OPFOR Situation Report - Time: 0700

1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#1 [HQ] at UTM 047026
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#4 [1/1] at UTM 045024
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#6 [2/1] at UTM 047024
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#5 [3/1] at UTM 049024
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#3 [1/2] at UTM 045021
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#8 [2/2] at UTM 047021
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#7 [3/2] at UTM 048021
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#2 [1/3] at UTM 045018
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#10 [2/3] at UTM 047018
1xT80U Tank ATGM OP#9 [3/3] at UTM 048019

1xMi28 Havoc Helo OP#11 [Support 1] at UTM 054022

1xMi8/17 HIP Helo OP#12 [Team 1] at UTM 053018
    2xAT7 ATGM Saxhorn OP#17 [Team 1]
    1xInf Recon Team OP#22 [Team 1]

1xMi8/17 HIP Helo OP#14 [Team 2] at UTM 055018
    2xAT7 ATGM Saxhorn OP#18 [Team 2]
    1xInf Recon Team OP#23 [Team 2]

1xMi8/17 HIP Helo OP#13 [Team 3] at UTM 058018
    2xAT7 ATGM Saxhorn OP#19 [Team 3]
    1xInf Recon Team OP#24 [Team 3]

1xUAV [OP] OP#15 [UAV] at UTM 059022

1x2S6 SP AAA/SAM OP#20 [1/ADA] at UTM 054012
1x2S6 SP AAA/SAM OP#25 [2/ADA] at UTM 056013

1x1V14/15 ACRV OP#21 [FO] at UTM 050016

Off-map:

4 airstrikes
2 152mm batteries with 50 HE, 15 ICM, and 3 Smoke each.
1 MLRS with 1 mine strike and 1 MLRS strike.

Your mission:  destroy at least 2 battalions of enemy tanks and then withdraw at least 
50% of your original force off the south edge of the map between the 05 and 07 NS 
gridlines.
 

Gary chose to deploy one tank platoon plus the HQ tank in the woods vic 045015 as a 
reserve, one platoon in the woods vic 070020 facing east, and one platoon in the northern 
edge of the woods vic 068021 looking north.  The HAVOC was deployed north, hiding 
behind the woods at 075055, while the UAV was sent off to 130040.  One of the AT 
teams was held in reserve, while 2 were deployed as scouts, to 123014 and 101044.

Meanwhile, Green outnumbered Red by a titanic margin of 18:1….

GreenFor Orders:

Your TF consists of 3 battalions of M-60A3 tanks with light support.  Unfortunately, 
your country cannot afford more advanced equipment than is listed below; note that the 
helicopter is the National Leader's personal transport on loan for the operation.

Off-map you have 2 artillery batteries with 50 HE, 1 ICM, and 0 smoke.

Deploy these forces in the area: East of 125, North of 040, plus the southern tip of the 
city in that area.

US Situation Report - Time: 0700

14xM60A1 Tank US#1 [A/1] at UTM 121062
14xM60A1 Tank US#5 [B/1] at UTM 123062
14xM60A1 Tank US#9 [C/1] at UTM 125062
14xM60A1 Tank US#13 [D/1] at UTM 126062
2xM60A1 Tank US#17 [HQ/1] at UTM 128062

14xM60A1 Tank US#21 [A/2] at UTM 121060
14xM60A1 Tank US#25 [B/2] at UTM 124060
14xM60A1 Tank US#29 [C/2] at UTM 126060
14xM60A1 Tank US#33 [D/2] at UTM 127060
2xM60A1 Tank US#37 [HQ/2] at UTM 130060

14xM60A1 Tank US#61 [A/3] at UTM 122058
14xM60A1 Tank US#65 [B/3] at UTM 124058
14xM60A1 Tank US#69 [C/3] at UTM 126058
14xM60A1 Tank US#73 [D/3] at UTM 128058
2xM60A1 Tank US#77 [HQ/3] at UTM 130058

2xHMMWV US#81 [1/Scouts] at UTM 125049
    2xInf Team US#82 [1/Scouts]
2xHMMWV US#83 [2/Scouts] at UTM 127049
    2xInf Team US#84 [2/Scouts]

2xHMMWV Air Defense US#86 [1/SAM] at UTM 124056
2xHMMWV Air Defense US#87 [2/SAM] at UTM 127056

3xHMMWV US#89 [Engineers] at UTM 126054
    1xInf Engineer Squad US#90 [Engineers]

1xOH58 Kiowa GP US#93 [Recon] at UTM 126052

Your mission:  Exit at least 1 battalion.  They may leave the map anywhere within 2 km 
of the SW corner of the map - within 2 km of 000000.

Enemy forces are believed to be extremely light:  1 company of T-80U ATGM tanks, a 
smattering of light infantry, and a handful of helicopters.  Their initial deployments are 
not known.

Bill arrayed the force by battalions, lined up in the city.  One was rpimed to move west, 
then slide south of the woods at 095040, into the ravine at 089030, and thence SW.  Two 
were lined up to exit the town south and roll eastwards down the southern road.  The 
helicopter was sent across the northern edge of the map.  Scouts lead all of the ground 
force columns, and they were to sit in the town until given the order to move.

What happened:

Things rapidly went wrong for Opfor.

The AT teams got into position, but within minutes the HAVOC was blown away by the 
OH-58 and the UAV was downed by massed MG fire from Bill's 1st Battalion - which 
happened to be just exiting the city.

The northern AT team did some damage to Bill's 1st Battalion column, but in the end 
failed to make a major dent in it before it died in a hail of return fire.  Worse, Bill called a 
halt to 1st Battalion's movement just before Gary brought his MLRS strike down on it - 
and as a result, instead of catching it squarely, the MLRS only hit the lead elements of the 
column.    After a period of reorganization, the column moved out again, sliding SW as 
planned, and inching its scouts across the plateau and into the woods vic 075025.

The southern AT team did a touch better, nailing 2nd Battalion's recon vehicles.  A single 
company of 2nd Battalion was sent to rescue the scouts, first bringing HE to bear on the 
AT team.  Once that had been done, the tanks charged the suppressed AT team and 
destroyed it.  This company then moved to overwatch from the hill at 101012.

Meanwhile, Gary became fairly confused.  Apparently convinced that Bill's main effort 
was across the north of the map, every redeployment he made placed his forces more and 
more fully in position to dealk with this - and only this - possibility.  £rd Platoon was 
redeployed from looking east to looking north out of the woods at 072023.  The reserve 
AT team was moved to the 023046; then the HIPs (and the ACRV) were sent off the map 
to make progress towards the 'exit units' victory condition.  The reserve tanks went into 
the town at 065024 and deployed to face northeast.  The mine strike was fired off to 
block the 080 NS gridline in a N-S line from the northern edge of the map southwards.  
The only oddity in this pattern was the firing of about half his ICM into the SE end of the 
big eastern town - which, being unaimed, didn't always connect, but when it did hit Bill's 
column it hurt.

The early destruction of the UAV and the HAVOC, and the decision not to use the HIPs 
for scouting pop-ups, cost Gary a lot of intel.  This partly explains the decision process 
above.  However, the infantry recon unit from the northern AT team never died.  It had 
LOS to the northern edge of the map, and watched 1st Battalion as it reorganized and 
inched it way southwest.  I do not know entirely why Gary fixated on the idea of a 
northern strike by Bill, but he seems to have done so.

The result of this was that Bill, after losing his recon tanks in 1st Battalion (he 
reorganized to make some of them his recon force) when he drove it out of the woods at 
075025 (westwards out of the northern spur) and had them blown away by Gary's waiting 
tanks, was able to reorganize the actions of 1st Battalion to take most of Gary's tanks in 
the rear by surprise - sneaking up through the woods - while Gary did nothing to reorient.  
Bill thereby traded tanks at 1:1 and destroyed most of Gary's tank company.

The two surviving T-80s retreated, trying to zigzag towards the southern edge to present 
frontal armor.  When able to keep their front to Bill, they slaughtered the M-60s; the one 
that survived longer got nearly half of Gary's tank kills.  (The M-60A1, in TacOps, is 
unable to harm the T-80 from the front.)  However, each in turn had to turn a hair too far, 
presented one of the M-60s with a side shot, and died.  The SAM vehicles died in the 
same firefight…  game over, a clearcut win for Bill's GreenFor with a loss of only 30 
tanks, 4 hummers, 2 of the scout teams, and the helicopter (which bravely overflew the 
town at 065025 to scout it and died from massed air defense fire).

Lessons Learned

	I expected the scenario to be a slaughter - but the other way.  The superiority of 
the T-80 ATGM over the M-60A1 in TacOps is massive - the T-80's thermal sights, 
advanced warheads, reach-out-and-kill-you-at-maximum-visible-range missile and 
superior cannon versus the M-60A1's lack of thermal sights and inability to dent the T-
80's frontal armor.  To win, Opfor needed to maintain a close eye on where and what Bill 
was doing, get tanks and ICM artillery in position for long-range murder, and retreat to 
new firing positions before Bill could close to get an effective flank shot.

  The HAVOC, while only able to polish off a company with its missiles, should have 
been able to work in tandem with the UAV to maintain accurate long-range artillery fires 
and information on Bill's dispositions, to make this possible.  The early loss of these hurt 
Gary badly.

  However, their loss was probably not key.  Gary missed those indicators he had of the 
nature of Bill's intentions, remaining fixed on the notion of a northern strike; this, more 
than any other factor, turned a bad situation into a disaster, as Gary left himself blind on 
the central eastern ridge and southeastern valley which Bill used to approach him.   

  I had expected the AT teams to be of more use as well; I had envisioned them laying 
ambushes, with the helos sitting just out of sight ready to pick up the AT teams after they 
had fired 1 or two shots, and whisk them off to a new ambush location.  Instead the teams 
were left out to die as tripwires.

  There's little to fault in Bill's conduct of the battle, as success is hard to take to task.  
Since almost nothing in the game failed to go his way, it is hard to know how well his 
plan would have worked if things had gone wrong.  His planning seemed to mostly try to 
stay in ground that was hard to observe from long range,  which was prudent; it did not 
always succeed, but this was generally not taken advantage of.

	Was this scenario balanced?  I thought it was before it ran - I was, in fact, worried 
that Green did not stand a chance.  In retrospect, I probably should not have given the 
helicopter to Green - both to deny them the recon, and, more importantly, to deny them 
the Stingers it carried.  The problem Opfor faced was the need to do everything fairly 
exactly - move to the right place, pull out at the right time….  And the loss of their recon 
denied them the ability to do this early on.  Possibly the scenario was too close to the 
knife-edge for Opfor, in that every loss was a disaster; I'm not sure on this.  Brian Rock's 
version of this scenario pitted T-55s against M-1s and M-2s.  I'm not certain, but I think 
he gave the defending Green force more weight on the ground and less in the way of 
artillery, helicopter, and recon.

The final lesson is not to despire the older tanks in the inventory…  properly handled they 
do seem capable of a few tricks.  The abilities of technologically-weaker forces has been 
shown on several occasions in these CPXes: here, in an early CPC where Canadian 
Leopard I tanks held their own (at pointblank range in a town) against T-80s, and in the 
Div Assault CPX, where Opfor won handily despite lacking thermal sights and advanced 
warheads - and their enemy taking advantage of both problems.  However, while a bit of 
clever maneuver goes a long way to negating a tech disadvantage, it's an option available 
to the side with better kit too - and keep in mind that 1 of Gary's T-80s caused nearly half 
of Bill's tank losses before it was caught with a flank shot.  If that 1:10+ kill rate had been 
extended across the board, the game would have much closer.