The battles against the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan provide a rich mining lode for wargame scenarios. "Ak-47" are a set of rules created by a British group called RFCM (Rules For the Common Man), the same group that gives us Peter Pig Miniatures. These rules are intended to cover warfare at the battalion/local warlord level in the Third World from approximately 1955 to about 1990. However with a little work they do well depicting current times. Some rules have been modified to play this scenario. Please read through these instructions before beginning. This scenario is all set up, ready to play, Do NOT use the political rules for force determination. The scenario's forces are riot intended to be changed or altered. Further, if you look at the available forces for the Taliban player(s) you will note that he has 7 units, not the normally allowed 5 units. This is allowed for this scenario. You will need a copy of the rules "Ak-47 Republic" and a copy of the rules supplement "AK-47 Supplemenf' (don't you just love the Brits!) to play. Situation The war against Osama Bin Laden and his Taliban protectors has gone well for the Western Allies. Taliban forces in the northem section of the country have collapsed and run for the South. But now the Allies need forward airbases in the southern half of the country to continue their bombing campaign against the regrouping enemy. An airfield has been discovered that would suit Allied needs well, but it is held by Taliban forces. Allied Special Forces will have to go in and take it away from them. RULE CHANGES Please note the following changes and supplenient rules that will be used. 1.) Rule 19.13 Close Assault- Allied Special Forces will get an extra +1 to their die if they engage in close assault. This represents the extreme schooling of British SAS and American SEAL training. Allied player note: This gives you an automatic +3 in close assault (+1 firer is Professional, +1 infantry with small arms in close assault, +1 Allied Special Forces in close assault). 2.) All 19.15 Random Effects through Firing are, used. 3.) Rule 19.17 Attack Helicopter is used. 4.) Collateral Damage rules from Supplement are used. 5.)Ambush Rule from Supplement is used. 6.) It is recommended that the victory conditions in section 45 of the AK-47 Supplement be used instead of the basic conditions. 7.) No mine fields will be used in this scenario. 8.) The Allied player is considered the Attacker in this scenario. 9.) The Taliban player must still determine the typie of his Overall Commander. Roll 1D6 and consult the Overall Commander list in Rule 14.11 in the AK-47 Supplement 10.) Rule 14.7 Car Bombs and AUjor Explosions in the supplement is used. 11.)The reclassification of Troop Types from page 16 of the Supplement is used. 12.) Night Time Operations. See page 6 of the Supplement This rule is optional. If this rule is used, the attacking player rolls 1D6 at the beginning of play. A 6 indicates this will be an Allied night action. ALLIED FORCES British SAS Unit "Alpha" Professional class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small anns group 1 small arms group 1 HMG group British SAS Unit "Beta" Professional class 1 small anns group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 HMG group Unattached; 4 Sniper groups Professional Class American SEAL Unit "Commanche" Professional class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 HMG group American SEAL Unit "Arapaho" Professional class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 HMG group American SEAL Unit "Pawnee' Professional class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 HMG group Unattached; 1 AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter Professional class Allied Notes; Please remember that Sniper groups are independent of Units. They move, fire and check morale independently. The Apache Helicopter will be considered independent from any other British or American Unit. For game purposes it is equipped with 1 tank cannon, and 1 HMG. These 2 weapons may fire at separate targets. TALIBAN FORCES Taliban Unit 1st company of "Allarh" Battalion Freelance Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 RPG group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 Mortar group Taliban Unit 2nd company of "Allarh" Battalion Clan Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 RPG group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 Tank Taliban Unit 3rd company of "Allarh" Battalion Hardened Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 RPG group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 HMG group Taliban Unit lst company of " Umalla" Battalion Freelance Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 RPG group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 Mortar group Taliban Unit 2nd company of "Umalla" Battalion Clan Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 RPG group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 Tank Tailban Unit 3rd company of "Umalla" Battalion Hardened Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 RPG group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 HMG group Pakistani Volunteers Freelance Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small anus group 1 small arms group 1 truck with HMG mounted with weapon crew Pakistani Volunteers Freelance Militia Class 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 small arms group 1 truck with HMG mounted with weapon crew, Deployment Use the regular rules on page 13 of AK47; Setting up the Forces. But in this scenario the Taliban player will have 2 units of his choice already emplaced on the table. These represent the airfield garrison already stationed. The remaining 5 Taliban Units must arrive in the usual manner. All Allied Units arrive by helicopter insertion. See page 14 of AK-47 "Units arriving by helicopter." Players may use either British Puma helicopter models and/or American Black Hawk models. The British SAS snipers may arrive with any Allied Unit. They may arrive all at once or scattered as the Allied player sees fit. Snipers are not eliminated if the arriving Allied Unit did not pass it's arrival roll. If their arriving Unit is lost, any snipers with that unit are returned to the Allied pile of units waiting to arrive. However, if the last remaining Allied Unit looses it's arrival roll, then any snipers with that unit are not allowed to arrive for the game. The American AH-64 Apache helicopter may arrive with any Allied Unit. Like the SAS snipers, the Apache is not lost if the arriving Unit fails it's arrival roll. It is returned to the pile of Allied Units waiting to arrive. If the last remaining Allied Unit looses it's arrival roll the Apache is not allowed to arrive for the game. Map Questions Each Urban template may contain a maximum of 4 groups. The Urban template marked "Hangere" may contain 6 groups. The area marked "Ravine" is considered rough terrain. Groups in the ravine may not fire out, nor be fired on from outside groups. The Apache may fire on ravine groups. Map Back to Table of Contents The Messenger Fall/Winter 2001 Back to The Messenger List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by HMGS/PSW. 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