Punative Raid part II

This time I could only get blogger to load 3 pictures I think.  Also I forgot to mention that if you want to read about Krog's son go to Oct 2011 and read about Olveg.

Last time we talked the Hird men had just clashed with the Welsh Priodaur infantry.   They easily beat all 10 off  losing only 2 Vikings.  Before they could make anymore headway towards the great hall...

Fierce Welsh lead by a tremendous fighter in a gold helmet

These men were Teulu lead by the Welsh chief.  The hirdmen, without Krog went down, losing 6 men though the Welsh lost many.

Meanwhile towards the barrels...

Calvary stike at Voss' Bandi

Voss manages to beat off the attack loses only 1 man!!

The cavary attack near center
The hirdmen just lost at the house
Krog back with the bandi far right

Now part III

Enjoy

Joe

Punitive raid on a Welsh villiage Part I

Have been experimenting with SAGA.  It is a fast and bloody game system.  I reviewed the system earlier and my opinion still stands.  It is an excellent game that has simple mechanics.  It has some period flavor of the dark ages.  I will also re state it is much harder to make a good game with simple mechanics than it is with complicated mechanics. 
I am attempting to inject more period flavor as I do more reading of the dark ages.  I have tones down teh battle boards, added variable movement (love this and great for solitaire gamers) and a simple leadership system and morale.  It seems to be working.    Here is a battle report.  It is broken into several parts because Blogger's new system of uploading photos doesn't work as well as the old and I can't seem to load more than 5 photos at a time!
Note my figure scale is 2 men per figure.

Krog intended to punish those Welsh.  His youngest son had wandered off near their lands looking for Bacon and they had ambushed him and killed him.  NOW THEY WOULD PAY!
His forces include
KROG       Grade II warlord
10 Hirdmen  AC 5
16 Bondi  AC 4     Voss   Gr I LT

5 SAGA dice

Mission      Burn main building    and steal 2 barrels ( I don't have any livestock painted) and bring back to the beach

Map

Beach far center of board

Main Hall is near left

Krog, what is your plan?!?!?!

Krog decided he would lead with 2 groups of 8 Bondi each followed by his Hirdmen.  His trusted LT woudl anchor his left with the Bondi.  Voss would screen his left and go for the barrels.  The right bondi would make for the village with the hirdmen following.

Bondi ambushed with javilins right off the beach!

The vikings roared but the snow was deep and they were slow to move up the steep hill.  (variable movement killed them here as they moved agonizingly slow.)  Krog finally had to get them moving personally to chase the welsh offthe slope.   He then detached 6 to go after them!

Voss chased some more skirmishers away off to the left.  With a gap now present Krog was aware that time favored the welsh who could call on more villagers to oppose the landing.   With his bondi in disarray, he sent his hirdmen into the town to burn the great hall.

Hirdmen enter the town

Skirmishers from the hill pay the ultimate price!!

As the hirdmen move towards the great hall priodaur infantry leap to the attack!

Stay tuned for part 2!!!!!!

Enjoy

Joe

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!   Hope you had a great holiday season. 
Have been sick most of the holiday so few games to report.   My parents came over and my son was back from university so it was still a great time.  Gaming gifts I recieved some vietnam terrain and some norman figures for my dark age gaming. 
Thought I would take a look forward at all the projects I am working on.   A few of these should see print this year!
Squadron Forward     No introduction needed for this.   Rich started on the draft last week.  I need to finish up the mission tables and medals.  Should be out by end of Feb.  Really excited about this.

Middle of NoWhere   The asymetrical warfare expansion to Platoon Forward.   Should add about 6 scenarios and tweak the tables to cover anti partisan operations in WW II and Vietnam.  3 of the scenarios are done and playtested.  Need to work on the other 3 and playtest the table tweaks some more.  Hopefully out end of year if I can get Rich to publish it (Haven;t shown it to him yet)

Bling the Hun   My variant for Bag the Hun.   Includes how I attempt to differenciate all the different models of aircraft and tone down the "one plane gets to move 3 times a turn" bit.  Includes an updated damage table and takes into account cockpit armor/ self sealing fuel tanks, rates of climb and dives, turns and how hard it is to land!   Basically "Lazy TW&T" for BTH 2".  80% done.    Will shoot for the summer special; if  not the christmas special

Release the Hounds  My coastal action naval rules.  TW&T meets MBTs.  85% done but it needs something to be finished; not sure what it is yet.  They are a decent set but they don't always give you the "wow" factor so I would not release them yet to the public.  It is the damage model.   I am finding it hard for it to work easily for both MBTs and CLs without any record keeping.  The rest of it works great including the personalities.    Don't know if this will be a full set of rules or a special.   Depends how long they are.

Flotilla Forward  Platoon Forward for Naval actions.    Still on the drawing board

SAGA variant  Have added variable movement, minor morale,leaders and tone down the battle boards.    Playtesting now.  50% done.    Hope to have an article in WI before the end of the year.

Warband Forward  Platoon Forward for Dark Ages   Still on the drawing board.    Need a clean set of Dark Age rules where people live first!    Rich if working on a set so we will see...

Bombers Forward  Expansion to Squadron Forward.   Adds Bomber squadrons and missions to Squadron Forward.   Still on the drawing board.


That is all the stuff in my mind at the moment.  Finished a SAGA game today which I will post this week. 
Any comments on the above are welcome.  I really appreciate your support!
Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Joe

For want of a nail The death of a Marine Aviator

Have been busy with Squadron Forward and with painting my Welsh.  Several weeks ago was a guest at the Honorable Artillary Company in London for a formal dinner.  The English do fomal military dinners well and most of the US traditions actually date from the English.  The Honorable Artillary Company was formed before the ECW and have a very nice museum.  They are also an active regiment.

The Hall where we entered

I wonder if these folks are gamers?



A fabulous time with a string quartet, horn and bagpipes.  All my other pictures have folks in uniform but it was a grand time and I would like to thank the British officers for sponsoring the event.

Corsairs arrived in Guadicanal early 1943.  My Jolly Rogers are a Corsair squadron in the 'canal.  They have flown 2 missions and not faired particularly well. This is where squadron reputation comes into play.  They have 4 kills against 2 losses.  Not terrible but they are flying Corsairs against Zeros and Vals.  Squadron Reputation helps level the playing field.   That kill ratio would be great for my Greek 18 Mira flying PZL 24s but for the Corsairs it is average.  

Capt Sanford was leading a patrol of 4 planes up the slot this morning.  The squadron was light on experience so he was taking his XO and 2 of the more experience 2LTs.  If he and the XO bought it 1LT Cohen could step in as he already had 2 kills.

Capt Sanford     Pleaseant/ wealth        Veteran
1LT   Johnny Lightning    Naive/ alcohol
2LT  Sam Jones    Lazy/ Position
2LT   Rick Brown   Coarse/ Hedonism

During the flight up the slot LT Jones noted his manifold was not working properly.  He radioed in to lead and after a brief discussion it was decided that the engine was running smoothly enough that he would not abort.  Capt Sanford really did not want to be down to 3 Corsairs facing an unknown enemy.  It was just manifold pressure and it did not seem like it would impact any battle.

I am sure you have all heard the story of a horse that has a loose horseshoe and it is not fixed for want of a nail.  No one thinks it is too important; afterall, it is just a horseshoe on a horse.  Well eventually the horse is placed in a critical position, either moving supplies or carrying a king, and slips and falls off a bridge due to failure of the horseshoe.  Thus ends the kingdome or the battle.   Thus the phrase, " For want of a nail..."  Keep this story in mind as we think of this simple manifold on the Corsair engine.  Afterall, it is just the manifold and the engine is still working...

While on patroll the flight gets information that there are Vals coming down the slot and they are vectored towards an intercept!

Capt Sanford moves in from 5 o clock

Since Capt Sanford gets good position on the Vals he decides to have each element go after a trio and deal with the escort as they appear.    The american aim is poor however with 1 Val damaged and 1 Val going down to the Captain's 6 brownings.  Lt Jones is able to keep up so far.    The 3 Zero escort, caught in front of the Vals whips around and come after the Yankees. 

Zero tailing Lt Brown

A Zero quickly slips behind Lt Brown and before anyone knows it his corasir is spinning towards the Pacific.   A good chute is seen...

Squadron Forward has a random event called a "Gut Check".  It is a morale check for an individual pilot.  It is modified by many things to include leadership, character and plane status.  Guess who had to take a Gut Check?   Lt Sam Jones.   Guess who missed passing by 1?   Guess what modifier I gave to a corsair with a bad manifold?  Now most men in combat won't run away, they don't want to leave their buddies in a lurch.  They just don't want to expose themselves to much danger.  Thus Lt Jones moved to the edge of battle and was hesitant to mix it up.   This caused two things:  Capt Sanford lost his wingman and the Jolly Rogers lost a Corsair in the thick of the fight.

As Jones circled the battle a Val approached him.  He lined up a deflection shot and it went spinning into the ocean!

Towards the end of the battle Capt Sanford was in trouble.  He had a zero on his tail and took hits to his gas tank and was leaking fuel.  Lt Jones came over to assist but was no longer in formation and still was watching his own six more than Sanfords.   Another Zero joined the fray

two on two

Leaking fuel and no wingman, Capt Sanford was in trouble.  The inevitable happened.

For want of a nail...

The fuel ignited and a large explosion ripped the sky.  The death of a marine aviator.

The loss of two corsairs for 2 vals and 1 damaged was a clear loss for the Jolly Rogers.  They lost another cool point and their reputation is down by one.  No one notice Lt Jones' actions in the heat of battle, particularly when he came home with a kill.  Lt Brown was rescued and will miss one mission.

  The Group commander decided the Lts are too junior to lead a squadron moving in the wrong direction so pulled strings and brought in an old flying buddy of his known throught the Corps, Scottie McBride.  Scottie is an idealist when sober and tough as nails.   He is currently a Captain but has been many ranks due to both his idealism and his alcoholsim.  He has 3 kills in Wildcats ( I so badly wanted to roll up an ace but all I got was a veteran!), has the leadership trait and ironman trait.  We will see if he can pull the squadron up out of its dive.   Should be a blast to find out!

For those of you that want to play the battle the forces rolled for the Japanese were:

9 Vals    3 Zeros  1 Vet, 1 Avg and 1 rookie.

Zeros start in front of Vals 1 altitude up

Corsairs start at the Vals 5 o clock half the max spotting distance away acording to your rules.  The Japanese Vals are spotted. The Zeros are not.   The americans are not. American altitude is player's choice.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas

Joe   

Blue tails over Frankfurt

Have been working on the mission tables for Squadron Forward.  Unlike Platoon Forward, almost each model of airplane will have it's own table and this will vary by year and theater.  For example, a ME 109 in 1940 would have a differnt mission profile than in 1945!
Rich and I are going to start working in earnest on Squadron Forward after the Christmas Special.  I hope to have the finished product end of January or Feburary.  Like Platoon Forward, Squadron Forward is the way I play my games so hopefully you will enjoy it!

I visited The Eagle pub in Cambridge last week.  It is an authetic WW II pub used by the RAF and 8th AF pilots.  The food was good and reasonably priced and they have an aviation room.

Stray person in front of Eagle pub

So despite my finishing up my vikings this weekend, I played a battle with my P-51 blue tails.  This is thiee 4th battle and they are a hard luck squadron with a poor reputaiton.  They were bounced by FW 190s and lost their CO on the first mission.  On their third mission they missed the rendevouz with the bombers!
I roll up a mission and get escort strategic bombers.

Capt Anderson looked at the thread going all the way to Frankfurt.  This was a long mission for the bombers in March of 1944.  He was to lead a 6 ship and pick up the bombers on the way back from the target.  Maj Franklin, the CO, drilled into his head not to his the rendevouz!  The other squadrons were still laughing.  The weather was clear today which should make it easier.
Pilots
Runway Anderson   Naive    Government
2lt   Pierce McKennon    Mecurical     Family

1Lt  Pudge  Storch     Coarse    Government        Veteran  1 kill
2LT  Chance Blake    Cocky   Hedonism

2LT John Turlock  Cunning  Government    1 kill
2LT  Pete Thornell  Shy  wealth            1 kill 

On the outbound leg Chance had trouble with his oxygen so aborted; down to 5 planes.  [ In real life most pilots didn't realize problems with their oxygen and just dropped out of the sky.  SF is not that realistic!  We want you to have a chance with your pilots.]  Runway breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the bomber stream heave into view right where it was suppose to be.  Rendevouz on time!

Blue tails with their charges

An interesting thing happened in rolling up the enemy fighters.  I got bomber destroyers 6 ME 110s armed with rockets, and fighter cover, 3 ME 109Gs.  The germans had obviously been watching because they attacked the bombers directly opposite the blue tails.  [this sequence is all handled by the rules] Outmanuvered again!!

  Germans start their attack.

Pudge is to the right

Runway kept his element above to tackle the ME 109s and sent the other 3 down to tackle the ME 110s.  All the german fighters fired rockets before the blue tails could react.  Fortunatley they all missed.  Runways' wingman has a reputation for getting "lost" during the action but stuck to his side this battle.  They were able to damage 2 of the ME 109s and quickly drive them away. 

The melee continues

Next Runway did a split S and got behind a ME 110 with his new 6 gun P-51.  As bullets streamed into the german he began to burn.

Runway using all 6 guns

As the german dove away he exploded.  Runway had his first kill!   Next he heard a call for help.  Pudge was in a bind.  His wing was about to fall off so he had no manuverability and he had a ME 109 on his tail.

Pudge in trouble

Decreased manuverability denoted by the brown pipecleaner

on the stand

Tailing status denoted by the pipecleaner between the two planes

[Pudge did not have a wingman this battle as Blake aborted.  I let him go solo as he was the only veteran pilot in the group.  I have a warm spot for him because he was the first pilot in the squadron to score a kill.  I really wanted him to score this battle and become the leading scorer again.  Nervewracking this game is...]

Runway raced over to Pudge and drove the german off his tail!

Meanwhile, the ME 110s had downed 1 B-17 and damaged 1 other.  Turlock and Thornell had lined up on a pair of ME 110s when the back gunner damaged Turlocks engine.

2Lt Turlock's chance at a kill thwarted by a well placed bullet

2Lt Thornell followed the other ME 110 down scoring hits but became concerned that he was going to become sandwiched between the two 110s and gave up the chase.  [amazing when you become attached to these guys how you act]

The rest of the mission over the contenent was uneventful.  Over England it was raining...

The three undamaged fighters set down without a problem.  2Lt Turlock nursed his plane home, skidded off the runway but was otherwise fine.  [There are tables for all of this as well]  Capt Anderson had trouble keeping trim and altitude with his aircraft but made it safely to the field.  The slick runway did not help.  He crashed midfield trying to land. He was pulled out alive and Doc Thompson said he will fly again.  [We always knew he was a tough, if naive, SOB.]  The plane is a write off.  

Great game!   It was a victory for the blue tails because if you are outnumbered at least 3:2 you can lose 1 bomber and still claim victory.  We scored 1 kill as well and ended up gaining 1 cool point which puts us just under average. 

Post game     Capt Anderson became a veteran pilot [ AKOT handles this].  His naive ways in the hospital have won over Doc Thompson whose obnoxious style gave a -1 modifier to all previous rolls.   We are up to neutral with the Doc now  2Lt Turlock did not become a veteran pilot but he did get promoted to 1Lt largely due to the wing commander liking him.  Lastly 2LT Gray has joined the squadron.  He is a pessimistic young man who believes in the great crusade [government] and he is a rookie pilot.

Really enjoyed the battle and how Squadron Forward is shaping up. The characters and stories are great.  But I really like not having to figure out the mission I am going to fly each time.  Who should I fight?  How many?  Should this be an escort or a strafing mission?  I just decide I am going to use my blue tails and the system takes care of the rest.  I hope you guys like it.  As stated, it is how I play my games.

Joe  

A Short War; Egypt 1940

Actually did get to play Platoon Forward last weekend while I continue to paint more Vikings for SAGA.  Started a brand new platoon--british 1940 in Egypt.

SLT Nelson stood on the rampart trying to peer through the perfectly laid Italian smoke screen.   What the Major had feared had happened.  "The Italian army was on the move and we have damn little to stop them!  Leftenant, take your platoon to this station here and delay them while we set up a defensive postion 6 miles back.  See if they have any fight in them.  You will have a 2 pdr with you and I will try to scrounge an armored car or two." 

Characters

SLT Richard Nelson    Sensible/ arts         Gr II
Sgt Johnny Smith   Optomistic/Position     Gr I   1st section
Cpl Egg Southcote  Conformist/wealth     Gr II      2nd section
Cpl  Joey Crocket   fanatic/hedonsim       Gr I       3rd section

2 in mtr          2 pdr gun  1 FO with 25pdr gun off board

Looking towards the british lines

Nelson deployed the ATG on his far right [ left in the photo above], 2nd section in the station with Egg down below and himself above with the bren team.  2 in Mtr and FO on the road.  Sgt Smith in the center building ready to reinforce either way.  3rd section was split.  The bren team was dug in at the turn of the road and Joey took 4 men and a ATR and hid in the building hoping to ambush some armor and then skeedadle back to the lines. 

A perfect smoke screen was laid in front of the central buildings as the Italians probed forward.

Italian AC comes within 20 yards of Cpl Crocket's position!!!

The AT rifleman's shot rang true and the armored car was knocked out.  The accompanying infantry started peppering the building as Joey started whis withdraw.  One man went down as they made it back to their bren team.
The Italians were not able to make much headway and SLT Nelson was feeling confident, particularly when a british AC showed up and began to rake the Italian infantry with 303 shot. [Cool random reinforcement!]

Then an Italian tank and 2 infnatry squads showed up on the right flank.  The 2pdr quickly dispatched the tank and his bren team was keeping the Italians at bay when suddenly an officer rose in front of them and they seemed to rise in unison and charge through the bullets towards the station!

 

AC retreats after MG breaks!!!!

Italians charge the Station!!

Italians reach the station and take the ATG!

1st section is too late to reinforce

The Italinas drive 1st section away and enter the station proper leaving SLT Nelson trapped on the roof with his bren team.  In the courtyard desperate fighting breaks out as Egg fights to get back to the stairs. 

Italians pour into the courtyard

Egg is repulsed.    As this is occuring, a green flare is sighted from the east.  That is the signal for the platoon to pull out of their postions and board transport.  Their job is done. 

Sgt Smith takes charge.  He orders Cpl Crocket's section out as they are down to 50% effectives.  He and Egg have one more go at the the station but the Italians have moved up a MMG and it is no use.  Fearing encirclement he pulls out the rest of the platoon. 

SLT Nelson defends the roof but it is just a matter of time.  He has 3 men with him against 18 Italians downstairs.  His force takes two down but then he loses one.  With honor intact; he surrenders thus ending a very short war.

The Station under new ownership!

Great game!   I played the delaying action and it looked like an easy win for the british because I could not drawn the Italian LT's command card.  [ he was leading the flank attack.  He started out a Gr III leader but a random event upgraded him to a Gr IV outstanding leader]  Once I started drawning his card the Italians caught fire and never looked back.

Post game  3rd section has had a drop in morale and we will be getting a new SLT.

For those of you that want to play the scenario the Italians initially had

2 squads, 1 MMG and an AC   with 1 Gr II leader and 1 GR I leader.    They also get 2 pre game stonks from a 75mm gun that can be used for smoke.    They also can have 3 fire missions during the game.

According to the scenario rules a flank attack will occur.  This consisted of 1 tank plus 2 squads with 1 gr III leader, 1 Gr II leader and 1 gr I leader.  I modified the scenario for the desert by adding 2 "C"s to the mix.

Enjoy

Joe

Something Completely Different-- Olveg the Bacon Lover

Since moving to England I have become interesested in the Viking Invasion of Great Britain.  I actually stepped out of my comfort zone ( WW II ) and purchased some Dark Age figures.  I wanted some skirmish rules.  I finally settled on SAGA from Gripping Beast as they seemed to have character even if they seemed a bit gamey for my ususal taste.  [ I am completely historical non gimicy type of gamer.  Doesn't have to be complicated but I don't like rules to force my actions.  I am also big on Command and Control.  Hence my affinity for TFL products but even here I slightly modify all their rule sets; usually streamlining. ]

I finally had enough figures for a very small skirmish which I played twice.  So I thought I would report the story and give you my impressions of the rules.  I apologize to my WW II readers who only want that.  I hope to get a desert platoon Forward battle in this weekend.  STOP READING NOW.

Olveg loved bacon.  He particularly loved Welsh bacon.  He had his friends had been going over to the neighboring farms and stealing pigs for several weeks now.  It was easier than raising them yourself.  He and four of his friends decided to go and grab some today.  What he didn't realize that was that the Welsh farmers did not appreciate it and decided it had to stop.

Characters

Vikings
Olveg and 4 friends        Vikings      Hirdmen    (AC 4)

Welsh Farmers  8 split into 2 groups    Priodaur armed with javilins and swords    (AC 3)

SAGA had 3 classes of warriors that are elite, good and peasants.  Their fighting abilities and armor are tied to their classes.  Those of you with the game can see I uncoupled the armor  from their classes.  As a soliaire gamer I don't have to worry about points but it does have a points system.  As written, elites appear very, very good and peasants appear to be used to wear down your opponent. It appears this is easily modified however. 

Olveg preparing to cross the river and teach

these cowardly Welsh a lession!

   

Activation is done by rolling SAGA dice as players take their turn in sequence.   These are special dice that you do not need at all.  The game is easily played without them.  [That said as a dice junkie I will probably buy some as I think it will add period flavor.  Afterall, you could also play the game without miniatures!]  You earn dice and then roll them.  You then allocate dice to activate units and to use nation specific abilities.  For example if you roll well the vikings can add 1 to their armor class against missle attacks.   Some of these are neat but some appear gamey to my tastes.  As an example, the vikings may also eliminate 3 of their warriors and gain 3 attack die per figure.  It is apparant that dice management is an important aspect of play.  Since the dice are not hidden from the other player this is not a big hinderence to the solitaire player.  I suspect the battle boards that are used with the dice are finely tuned to give an even game.  Since I am a solitaire player that is not a high priority for me and I will be modifying the battle boards to downplay the gamey factors. 

Olveg appraoched the ford and roared at the  four Welshmen to stand down.   He was met by a rain of javilins!  The first time 3 of his compatriots were cut down!!  The second time one of his friends was taken by surprise as javelins also appeared from his left and entered his side. 

Combat in SAGA is elegantly simple.   You roll against the armor class with a D6.  Your opponent gets a saving D6.  If he fails your warrior is down for the count.   Except for the danish axe and cross bow there is not weapon differenciation.  If I knew more about dark age combat this would bother me.  Right now it does not.   

With his friend bleeding from his side, Olveg charged across the ford prepared to make the farmers pay!

Iron rang against iron, wood and bone.  Two Welshmen payed the ultimate price but one Viking went to his maker.  These men did not fight like farmers and Olveg was suspecting a set up.  The 2 warriors scampered towards the rocks. 

Olveg hesitated.  He had 3 men against an unknown number of Welsh in the rocks.  But his friend was dead, this was a test game and he wanted bacon!

After any unit melees it gains Fatigue.  If a unit moves more than once it gains fatgue.  Fatgue decreases a units effectiveness if an opponenet wants to use it.  Alternatively, it can be accumulated and when it reaches a certainly level the unit becomes exhausted.  I believe this is a subtle mechanic that I have not fully explored yet but I love the concept.  There is no morale per say in SAGA.  I thought I would want it but in a heroic game such as this the jury is still out.

Olveg ambushed amoung the rocks!!

Olveg attacked the Welsh but they threw ambush with their SAGA dice.  A bit gamey but here it worked with the storyline.  He could have not attacked but then the game would have ended, where is the fun in that!

As Olveg followed the Welsh fighters into the rocks they were jumped from above!!!  6 against 3.   Now they were fighting for their very lives.   His friends were cut down but not before they each took one of the tough Welsh with them.  Olveg escaped the rocks and made it back to the river for the final showdown.

Bring it you pansies!!!

The epic battle swayed back and forth but the welsh fighters proved too tough for our bacon loving hero and he was cut down!

All in all a fun time that took 20 minutes each time.  The game is desgined to be played with at least 4 groups per side.  Anyone with the game that wants to play this sceanario I gave each side 3 SAGA dice.  The Vikings can only cross the river directly in front of the Welsh.  It would be interesting to try it with 6  vikings or to give them chainmail and see how they fair.  (They weren't expecting a fight so didn't bring it)

In summary I think Mr Buchel and Gripping Beast have a great skirmish game on there hands.  It is harder to make a game simple than to make it complicated.  The dice mechanic is different and works.  I will modify it to suit my needs.  I will add variable movement, simple spotting and simple comand and control rules as well.  For the solitaire gamer I think this game will work.  It is not particularly solitiare friendly but it is not particularly difficult either.  This game would do well with the Platoon Forward treatment.  I think a solitaire friendly scenario generator and campaign game is very do able.  Chris and I have talked about it and I will add this after Squadron Forward and Middle of NoWhere.  Warband Forward anyone?? 

Enjoy

Joe