The British forces were gathering just outside the settlement of Goose Green/Darwin preparing to take an airfield which the Argentines desperately needed to hold if they were going to keep the islands. It was only a matter of time, for if the British could be held here, the Argentine Navy would cut the extended British supply lines and send the invaders packing across the Atlantic with enough crow to feed Prime Minister Thatcher until Parliament threw her out of office with a no-confidence vote. It was just after 0000 hours as the Argentine commanders pondered this thought while they ordered three bottles of orange juice and two baskets of nachos at the 1991 GenCon.
This was the scene Thursday, August 8, 1991 as a group of total strangers was gathered around a table, run by Frank Chadwick, preparing to re-fight the battle of Goose Green. I first got into the novelty of table-top gaining when I was 14 years old. At the time, I didn't realize how much historical and military knowledge I would gain just by reenacting major battles throughout history. Again, I would learn some hard lessons and gain valuable knowledge about how war is fought and won.
The Falkland Islands campaign was an enigma to me and many people my age. During the entire conflict, I was a hormonally charged eighth grader more concerned about acne than the nightly news. Even when I became more aware of current events, it was impossible to find out any information about the Falklands, other than the British winning. My local library didn't have any books on the subject and finding a TV documentary concerning the conflict was like finding tasteful entertainment on the Playboy Channel. I had preconceived notions of the Argies running at the mere sight of British troops and the British forces operating with watchlike precision. I soon learned the Argies had a great deal of factors in their favor, and the British were not as invincible as they seemed.
Sides for the battle were decided on a first-come, first-served basis, and die people with reservations for the event decided they would play the British. That left myself and three other gamers to scratch together a defense against the invaders. Ralph was the overall Argie commander, and he had distinguished himself at many Illinois game conventions with his jovial attitude and his ability to make losing to him an enjoyable experience. I was named heavy weapons commander and took control of the combat support company. As more players signed on, they were given control of other Argie units and taught the basics of the game as the British paratroopers advanced.
The Argies had one strategy: Hold the airfield at all costs. To this end, Ralph and the other commanders decided to layer our defenses like the skin of an onion with certain units positioned to flank and ambush as necessary. Two infantry companies were dug in and entrenched on the hills by the Bocca House and Darwin Settlement. They would engage the British under the cover of darkness, and if they broke ranks would fall back to the Darwin School to regroup and fight again. My units were stationed on the hill before the airfield with all of my guns and mortars trained on troops planning to cross the bridges toward the Darwin School. The headquarters company, remaining air force, and army units held the town and airfield behind me. The rationale was if one layer of the onion collapsed, it could be used to reinforce the next layer inward, making the march to the airfield more and more difficult. It was a great plan, but like most military plans it had to be changed during the course of battle.
After half a bottle of juice and some nachos, the clock started and the British began their advance. They were cautious and fanned out to ensure they wouldn't be caught off-guard by a well placed artillery barrage or company waiting in ambush. The Argies, in an incredible show of self-discipline, held their fire. By 0300, the British "C" company walked right over one of our entrenched units and missed its vision roll. (Obviously, the paratroopers didn't get much sleep before the assault.)
"Argie commander make amorale check." It was Frank Chadwick, and he had that Mona Lisa smile which gave him an air of impartiality.
"Why?" protested one of the Argie commanders.
"To see if they keep their cool and don't start blasting away at the British out of fear."
"Do I get opportunity fire?"
"Roll and find out."
"9."
"You missed the check--take opportunity fire."
First blood was inflicted on the British, and they lost one stand equaling a recon patrol. The Argies weren't so lucky, as two stands of infantry were dead, and the rest routing back to the Darwin School, demoralized with the British in full chase. The first layer had caved in, and soon it would be daylight with a battalion of British paratroopers looking for revenge.
British forces were still mopping up the hill when they encountered our forward observer and elements of the Argie "C" Company. The artillery did itsjob andbroke up the advancing paratroopers, but we lost our FO and most of "C" company in the process. The British may not have been too alert, but they were great shots and kept advancing while the Argie forces either broke ranks or died wholesale.
The advance continued while one of the younger British gamers taunted, "Why don't you just give up?"
"Relax, things are just getting interesting," said Ralph.
We didn't know how interesting until 0930 when the British decided to take the central bridge toward the hill located in front of the airfield. The Argie "A" Company, unnoticed until this point, came out from cover near Bocca House and attempted a flanking maneuver on the main body of British forces. Again, the results were the same: The Argies inflicted casualties and drove the Bxitish toward the Darwin School while taking heavy losses. What was left over came right into the extended range of my heavy weapons, and soon two companies of British paratroopers tasted mortar and recoilless rifle fire. Only the British "D" Company remained untouched, and that made short work of my combat support company after they sighted us in the daylight.
By 1100, the Aigies were hurting and the British, though smarting from a bloodied nose, attempted to send the relatively fresh "D" Company up the hill to take the high ground over the airfield. The only thing between a British victory was the 3rd Section, Battery B, 601 st ADA Group and scratch resistance provided by the 10 support stands which made up the 3rd Attack Squadron's ground crews. The situation didn't look promising.
"Are you going to give up now?" asked a confident British commander.
"No, I think that we'll just watch you bleed a little bit longer," replied Ralph.
With that, the SA-7 stand and the 35mm ADA gun began to rip into the British paratroopers while two companies of badly trained Argie flight mechanics prepared to mop up what was left. By 1230, the British had their worst nightmare come true, as the three infantry stands of "D" Company were dead and the poorly trained scratch resistance, despite heavy losses, made their morale and held the hill. A collective cheer came up from the Argie side, because that was the first time during the entire game that the Argies had passed morale. (The morale check was for a 2!) Now the Argies controlled the tempo of the battle. The game continued as the remaining British forces by the Darwin School attempted to fight their way into the town of Goose Green, a strategy that turned into a very ugly stalemate. As British forces advanced, they would suffer casualties and be pinned or pushed back by failed morale checks. The Argies continued to hold the town and the airfield, but died in disproportionate numbers compared to the enemy,
The battle was called at 1630 due to time restrictions at the convention with the Argies claiming a moral victory by keeping the airfield and the town out of British hands. With the addition of British reinforcements, the town and airfield would have fallen in an hour. When it was over, 75% of the Argie force was either dead or wounded, while the British casualties stood at 50%. The most vicious fighting had taken place on the hill overlooking the airfield with an entire company of paratroopers wiped out in the course of 90 minutes.
If anything, a few lessons can be learned from re-fighting Goose Green. The British numerical superiority in the Falklands made the difference between victory and defeat. British forces sometimes got cocky, and could be trapped and ambushed in the right circumstances.
Next, despite bad morale and poor discipline, the Argies fought with competence and bravery. Finally, Lt. Col. Italo Piaggi, the commander of the Argentine defense of Goose Green, with better troops, better logistical support, and a few more heavy weapons might have been able to turn Goose Green into the focal point of a Argentine counter- attack against the British. With the bad hand that Colonel Piaggi had, it was amazing that he didn't get decorated for holding out as long as he did rather than being court martialed from the Argentine Army.
This battle gave me a feel of what the fighting in the Falklands was like. It also convinced me that the British Army wasn't as invincible as many people were led to believe during the campaign. The Argentines might have won this war with better trained troops, better weapons, and some dumb luck.
It should also be noted that any table-top wargame (especially Command Decision) can be used as a learning laboratory to understand why armed conflicts turned out the way they did. The Argies really didn't have a chance on the Falklands, but if the British command hadbeen grossly incompetent, their supply lines would have been cut at sea and the invasion would have stalled. The same would be said about other conflicts including Desert Storm. Even when men and equipment were equally balanced, the key to victory sometimes was the snap judgment and the leadership ability of the commander in the field. Something clearly illustrated by Ralph when we refought the battle of Goose Green over nachos and orange juice at GenCon.
Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly #3
To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1993 by Greg Novak.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com