Bolt Action - Algeria '57

Background

Guelma district Algeria 1957.  A platoon from the 1er Régiment Etranger de Parachutistes (1er REP) of the Légion étrangère/French Foreign Legion (FFL) have been inserted into the djebel to intercept an Armée de libération nationale (ALN) katiba that has been  attacking French troops.  After a punishing night march the legionnaires have positioned themselves to stop their quarry disappearing into the mountains.  Will they be able to catch and destroy the ALN fighters?  

Table Set up

The game is played on a 3ft x 3ft game mat.  The terrain is hilly with rocky outcrops, with the area where the FFL deploy having more scrub and a few trees.  There is plenty of  cover and potential ambush points.  For Bolt Action purposes the disrupted nature of the terrain means that Run actions are not possible.  

Game set up and rules modifications for solo play

The length of the game is 6 turns, with a roll of 4 or more on a D6 the end of turn 6 deciding if they'll be a final turn.  As usual for my solo games each unit has been designated a number and the order dice correspondingly marked.  That unit is then activated when their dice are drawn.  In addition for the first three turns, I added an all black dice that when drawn ends the turn.  This idea stolen from Donnybrook, helps to add more interest with an additional random element to the action.  For Bolt Action purposes the disrupted nature of the terrain means that running is not possible.  

The forces

The ALN are based upon a 1939 - 41 Resistance platoon from the Armies of France and the Allies supplement.  They have:

1. HQ led by First Lieutenant Hannachi and 1 additional man.
2. Two Partisan squads each of 11 Regulars consisting of: 1 NCO with an SMG; 8 riflemen (bolt action rifles); 1 LMG team of 2 men.
3. One Guerrilla fighter squad of 8 Veterans representing old fighters (perhaps veterans of Indo-China or even WW2) consisting of: 1 NCO with an SMG; 5 riflemen (bolt action rifles); 1 LMG team of 2 men.

The FFL platoon is based upon a veteran USA parachute platoon from the Battle of the Bulge supplement made up as follows:

1. HQ led by First Lieutenant Charbonnier and 2 additional men
2. Two Paratrooper squads each of 10 Veterans consisting of: 1 NCO with an SMG; 2 further men with SMGs; 5 riflemen with self loading rifles (MAS 49/56)  and an LMG team (with AA52 LMG).  The performance of the AA52 is roughly similar to an MG34/42 so gets 5 fire dice.  Although only 23 men strong they have plenty of firepower. 

Turn One 

As is the norm with most games Turn One is all about movement with the two sides' units activating and Advancing.  French Squad 2, ALN Veteran squad, ALN squad 2 all Advance.  The FFL HQ activates, Advances and gives an additional order to FFL squad 1 to Advance.  The Black dice is pulled next which ends the turn.  Two ALN units didn’t activate that turn.

Turn Two

ALN Veteran squad activates and Advances, declaring FFL squad 2 as a target.  The FFL squad react and go Down.  The ALN fire hits 3 times causing a PIN and 1 casualty.  First blood to the ALN.  ALN squad 1 Advances.  First Lieutenant Charbonnier issues a Fire order to FFL squad 2 but they fail the Order test.  The Lieutenant then orders FFL squad 1 into Ambush and then Advances to join Squad .  The Black dice is pulled next which ends the turn.  Three ALN units didn’t activate that turn.

Turn Three

ALN squad 2 finally get activated.  It Advances and as it moves forward FFL squad 1, who retained their Ambush order from Turn 2, open up with a withering fire hitting 8 times and causing 4 casualties.  This includes the squad NCO and LMG team.  The Black/end of turn Dice is pulled to end the turn with the only action being very costly for the ALN.  The Black dice is removed from the bag at this point.  

Turn Four

FFL squad 2 activate, pass their Order test and discards their pin.  They Fire on ALN veteran squad scoring 10 hits of which 6 cause casualties.  As well as adding a Pin this reduces the squad to 2 so they have to take an immediate morale test.  The toughened veterans pass even after taking such a battering.  FFL squad 1 Fires on ALN squad 2 hitting 8 times, inflicting another pin and causing 5 casualties, they pass their morale test by the skin of their teeth.  The ALN HQ finally activates and Advance towards the action to try and exert some control.  ALN squad 1 Fire at FFL squad 1.  They hit 3 times but although they inflict a pin they fail to cause any casualties to the veteran paras.  The para HQ activates next and holds it’s position.  The remnants of the ALN veteran squad passes their order test and fire on FFL squad 2.  They hit once and cause a pin and casualty.  The last dice to be drawn is for the ALN squad 2 but they fail their order test and go down. 

Turn Five

FFL squad 1 passes it’s order test and discards it’s pin.  They Fire on ALN squad 3 who are currently down and in light cover.  They only hit 4 times but inflict 2 casualties and a further pin on the ALN.  This squad has now taken more than 50% casualties and they fail the required morale test and in panic retreat away from the French forces and are removed from the game.  The ALN veteran squad passes it’s order test, discarding a pin in the process and Fires on FFL squad 2 but fail to hit them.  The French HQ activate next and order FFL squad 2 to Advance firing on the ALN veterans.  They pass their order test, losing the pin and execute the order.  They hit 6 times wiping out the last 2 veterans.  ALN squad 1 Advance and fire on FFL squad 1.  They hit 5 times, causing a pin and a single casualty.  The final unit to activate is the ALN HQ who Advance and fire on FFL squad 2.  They score 2 hits to add a pin but cause no casualties. 

Turn Six

The final turn.  The ALN HQ activates and Fires on FFL squad 2.  They hit once, failing to register a hit but adding a pin.  First Lieutenant Charbonnier issues an order to FFL squad 2 but they fail their test and go Down.  The SMG fire they came under at the start of the turn must have put them off.  FFL squad 1 pass their order test and Fire on ALN squad 1.  They hit 5 times, causing a pin and 2 casualties one of which is exceptional damage and the ALN NCO falls.  This proves costly causing the ALN squad to fail it’s order test and they go down.  A 5 is rolled on a d6 meaning that they'll be a final turn. 

Turn Seven

FFL squad 1 pass their order test, discard their pin and open Fire on ALN squad 1 hitting 6 times, causing 4 casualties with one exceptional damage killing the LMG gunner.  They now have to test their  morale, they fail and break and run, being destroyed for the purposes of the game.  First Lieutenant Hannachi decide to try and escape and begin retreating.  First Lieutenant Charbonnier orders FFL squad 1 to Rally and under his encouragement using the HQ morale they pass discarding the Pin and get back on their feet.  And that's the end of the game.  Vive la Légion! 

Conclusion

A really enjoyable game.  I'd previously played an Algerian War game at squad level using Ambush Alley, but felt that it would be quite complex to run a platoon level game.  I turned to Bolt Action and it worked very well.  The amendments I made gave the Paras a big advantage in firepower and coupled with their all Veteran status this really told even though they were outnumbered by about a third.

Along with the French Indo-China War, Algeria is one of my favourite periods and I'm enthused to add  to the collection.  In mind are a platoon of French infantry and vehicles and some more fighters for the ALN.  I also want to add more terrain and improve on this side.  I'm still not that happy with the battle mat.