Fields of Fire

Playing a new solitaire war game by GMT called Fields of Fire. It's a tactical (squad/platoon) level game that follows the famous 9th Regiment from WWII to Korea to Vietnam. The player commands a (usually) reinforced company in attack, defense, and combat patrol missions. This game is infamous for having extremely complicated and poorly written rules, and it lives up to that reputation. For my first game, I sit with a rulebook and numerous charts on my lap, looking up obscure rules for every situation. Even with that I could not have figured it out had it not been for consimworld.com, which is a website for wargamers. A bunch of FoF veterans have been helping me interpret the rules.

Having said that, the game is a gem. It replicates pretty well the actual job of an infantry company commander. I have to task organize the company, fight with battalion HQ, plan the battle, and maneuver the platoons and squads. My first mission was an attack in the hedgerow country of Normandy in 1944.

I sent my 1st platoon to a village on top of a hill as a base of fire. Then, 2nd platoon stepped off into an orchard, finally sending a squad into a hedgerow when all hell broke loose. The Germans opened up on the squad, pinning them. The lieutenant in charge of 1st Platoon tried to get his men to spot the Germans firing, but nothing happened until the company first sergeant ran up the hill and started knocking heads together. Finally spotting the German squad firing from a trenchline on top of a distant hill, 1st Platoon opened fire.

Meanwhile, 2nd Platoon Leader decided (perhaps incorrectly) to try to maneuver around the fire sac that his lead squad stumbled into. The squad moved into another hedgerow to the left and ran smack into another engagement area. Two more German squads opened up on the second squad. Still, with small arms fire from the American squad converging with 1st Platoon's fires, we were able to put effective fires on the German squad on the hill, killing some and pinning the rest. The action has to stop there for now, because I'm waiting on another rules interpretation.

Did the Biggest Loser Level 2 workout this morning and ate like a bird all day. Felt a bit fatigued from lack of calories this evening, so I ate a substantial (but nutritious) dinner--some beef stew and some turkey chili that I had previously made and frozen. That chili is awesome. Suzanne loves it, too, even though it's pretty spicy. Now I gotta go do my evening workout: shoulders, abs, and 45 minutes on the treadmill.

Tomorrow it's off to the lab to write two or three policy papers for the Pentagon.