The following is a briefing leaked to the "Scunthorpe Advertiser and Ferret Fanciers Weekly" by a disaffected civil servant some time between 1960 and the late 1970's. It was found wrapped about some haddock and chips in a car park in Huddersfield and subsequently declassified as too stained to read. The only detailed version of events is in "Soldier of Misfortune" by Major 'Mad' Mick Bore
Briefing details - for MINISTERS EYES ONLY
Equatorial Bakonga is a recently independent African country; the ex colonial power oversaw elections which resulted in a moderate government headed by President Theodore Nbale of the Party of Bakongalese National Progress (PBNP)~ Of the two main opposition politicians, the liberal Desmond Lynami has since been held in detention at an unknown location and the socialist Joshua Yarlog has taken to the bush and formed the Bakonga Peoples Front (BPF). Equatorial Bakonga is a full signatory of the Organisation of Small Countries with Unstable Regimes (OSCUR).
There are three regions, Riviere, Central and lnterieur~ Riviere is reported to have quite valuable mineral deposits and is the focus of investment by British Pasta-Chemicals, owned by Sir Marcus Goring. There is a nascent separatist movement led by Pierre Bakrumah and backed by British Pasta-Chemicals. The rumours of oilfields in coastal Central region are as yet unconfirmed but are leading to loans from major European Banks; Inteneur region is still reliant upon logging. The population is of one ethnic group, there are rivalries between the regions, based on local prejudice rather than any ethnic factors.
Each region is divided into local areas, the Regional Capital is underlined on the map. Each area has a company of Gendarmes who are usually loyal to the Government and each Region has a battalion of infantry; their loyalty is uncertain. See attached Appendix:
Justin Heatheryfold-Dim
APPENDIX
14 Gendarme Companies, reporting to Major Silosi, reports to President
3 Infantry Btns (Central, Col Matanga, Inteneur, Col Kabula, Riviere, Col Obote)
1 Presidential Btn, Rudolfville, Col Njumah, loyal to Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Yoweri
1 Security Company at Port Walloon and Rudolfville Airstrip, reporting to Major Silosi
1 Company of Marines and 2 PBRs at Pt Walloon, report direct to Chief Of Staff
1 Company of Marines and ex RN Minesweeper at Goom Bay, report direct to Chief Of Staff
1 squadron Armoured Cars, Rudolfville, report to Chief of Staff
1 Battery 75mm Howitzers, Rudolfville, report to Chief of Staff
2 DC3's and some tired Thunderbolts at Rudolfville Airstrip, again report to Chief of Staff
Bakonga: The Wargame
The troop quality varies. The Gendarmes are a rabble, with the regulars as conscripts. The Presidential troops, Marines and Security A/Cs and Artillery are better. This is of course relative, if well trained, professional troops (eg Belgian Paras or good mercenaries) make an appearance, they should well outclass the local regulars. Units that receive training from a cadre of professionals, (eg British or Cubans) should have a better rating. The BPF troops are currently are rabble, either poorly trained guerrillas or a simba type mob; if the Riviere secedes, the British Pasta-Chemicals may pay for training by European mercenaries.
Troops are recruited, every turn, by companies (of say 4-6 platoons, plus command and few support weapons, depending on availability). The BPF has companies scattered throughout the country, perhaps d6-3 in each area in the Inteneur, d6-4 in the Riviere areas and d6-5 in the Centrale areas. BPF recruits appear on a 5,6 in the Inteneur and 6 elsewhere, this is per region, not area. If Riviere secedes, it will have say d6 companies per area and recruit d6-4 per turn. The Government (or army - not always the same thing) will recover 1/3 of it's losses per region under it's control, after a delay of one turn.
Control is defined as holding the Regional capital and one other area in a region. The BPF can only form battalions once they have trained cadres or receive Cuban advisors; they have no support weapons unless they capture them or receive aid.
MOVEMENT
Guerrilla troops move 2 areas per turn, others 1 area. Roads double this rate, motor transport doubles it again on roads only. There is a small airstrip at each regional capital, air transport can move from a strip to any other in one turn, but only well organised and trained troops should be able to mount an immediate operation. Railway lines count as roads; but lines can be torn up (and roads blocked - halting movement in an area where this has been carried out.
LOYALTY
In a coup, who backs who? This presumes that the coup is by the army against the government. The loyalty of the following needs to be decided:
- Major Silosi
Cols Matanga, Kabula and Obote
Chief of Staff Yoweri
A simple dice roll will do - 1,2 Pro Govt, 3,4 sits it out, roll again next turn 5,6 Pro coup You may decide that some officers are more loyal than others, give +/- 1 as you wish.
Most of the army will not support the BPF, an officer may go across to the Comes (or heroic fighters against tyranny) only as a random event. Desmond Lynami, has very few armed supporters, most of whom are scattered about in other people`s units.
RANDOM EVENTS
1 An officer (and thus his units) either 1,2,3 changes sides or 4,5,6 goes neutral
2 Morale Collapse. All of one sides forces face a roll and on 1,2 they go over to the opposition, 3,4 they just go home, 5,6 they fight on. There is a +1 if the unit is accompanied by Professionals / Mercenaries / Belgian Paras etc
3,4 Heavy rains slow movement by 1 area, rivers crossable only at bridges (ie towns/villages), roads unusable
5 Foreign Support, eg small amount of weaponry and training for one side
6 Foreign Intervention, large volume of weapons, widescale training, by Mercenaries or Cuban cadres. On a 6 Mercenary formation my be recruited by the Govt or BPF get Warsaw Pact cast offs (T34, PT76, BTR5O etc)
This is a very brief, basic and irreverent start up article - It is very much up to you to decide the nature of events in Bakonga; the options range from a Congo type rising by the BPF against a weak government which is, however, supported by mercenaries and the ex Colonial Power, to a Biafra or Katanga style secession by Riviere region. In the latter the rebels can be supported by mercenaries bankrolled by British Pasta or the investors may decide to back the Govt in exchange for lucrative exploitation rights; this would lead to a Biafra situation. There is always the long fight of the BPF to bring socialism to Bakonga, with the West backing the Govt and the rebels getting WarPact support. This is without the constant theme of coup and counter coup, which is a good fall back scenario. As for poor old Desmond Lynami, well, he will need to be rescued at some stage, cue Christopher Walken and the boys...
Grenades have a 25m range and add 2 dice to the total; there is not an unlimited supply, say 2-3 per group, just keep a tally on the underside of a base.
Melee should be rare, resolve by firing at close range, hitting at +1.
Back to The Gauntlet No. 11 Table of Contents
Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues
Back to Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1997 by Craig Martelle Publications
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