Conflict over the iceplanet Rafrurn

The United Colonies of Mankind and the Post Human Republic had conflicting interest on the ice planet of Rafrurn.
The UCM wanted to get the resources from the ice planet to secure its value. A couple of older militarybases built from before the fall of the cradle worlds have been designated as the target for landing.
Contact with long lost human colonists have been initiated and it was time to move in the landing troops in a show of force but the idea itself was to have a peaceful contact but still firmly secure a couple of relatively close located militarybases.


Things got south real quick as the PHR had ships moving in on the chosen location. When the UCM forces left their silent running and reviled them self, contact with enemy ships where soon picket up.
The PHR were moving in their own forces in this area.

Had the enemy identified our movement and chosen to intervene?
Had the enemy had contact with the long lost humans on the surface, just recently or for a long time?
Had the initial colonists tipped off the PHR?
It could be just a random chance the PHR moved in on this sector on the planet. Conflicts with PHR forces had happened earlier in this system.
Was their spies in our fleet?
This operation was running under a high security but nothing was certain or known. And when it comes to the PHR everything was possible.

The fleet had a reserve of heavier ships closing in to intercept the enemy movement.

-Battlestations, battlestations, were heard over the speakers intercom system.
 Enemy ships closing in.

Me and Filip had another great battle of Dropfleet Commander.
We played a skirmish game of 999pts and in this game I wanted to try out a different type of fleet.
I wanted to go more heavy. For my flagship I chose UCMS Sekhmet an Avalon class Battlecruiser. https://nidavellir-shipyard.blogspot.se/2018/03/ucms-sekhmet-avalon-class-battlecruiser.html
I also wanted to try out the new Centurion class cruiser, knowing that Filip had ordered some I wanted to beat him fielding one of them...

My list was as follows:

UCM 999 E - 991pts
UCM - 3 launch assets

SR21 Vanguard battlegroup (387pts)
1 x Avalon - 195pts - H
   + UCM Commodore (20pts, 3AV)
1 x Centurion - 160pts - H
1 x Jakarta - 32pts - L

SR11 Line battlegroup (269pts)
1 x Berlin - 105pts - M
1 x Seattle - 132pts - M
1 x Jakarta - 32pts - L

SR7 Line battlegroup (155pts)
1 x San Francisco - 111pts - M
2 x Santiago - 44pts - L

SR5 Pathfinder battlegroup (160pts)
2 x New Orleans - 64pts - L
2 x New Orleans - 64pts - L
1 x New Orleans - 32pts - L

The scenario we played had a larger military base in the midle and one smaller military base with an orbital gun on each side.
Surely this was an old defensive installation. The old guns should still be in order amd could be a valuable asset for the UCM.
Around the bases some smaller debrief fields or spacejunk was still cirkeling the atmosphere.
 

With no enemy contact my New Orleans speeded to the old bases, my plan was to try to find some older anti air or orbital gun that could be put to use. Trying to give the incoming PHR forces an nasty suprise.

Having taken lessons from the last contact with the PHR forces I had added a larger bulklander to my fleet. I wanted to be able to put more feets on the ground, the mobile infantry had been mobilised.
-Do you want to know more? ...

- Contact, enemy fleet spotted. Comming in hot.

The enemy fleet was moving in. Two smaller groups of landers each with a larger ship for protection. An small battlegroup with small carriers and gun frigates.

In the background UCMS Hot Babe an Berlin class Cruiser and an Seattle class carrier can be seen. In the foreground my Admiral ship, and Avelon class Battlecruiser, UCMS Sekhmet with an ancient Centurion class cruiser refitted with modern scanners and communication systems. My two heavy hitters in my fleet.
Each of these battlegroups were supported by aigis friggates, if the enemy force were orginiced anything near last contact massive enemy bombers and fighters were to be expected.

Enemy bulklander have been "pinged" and its silluete could be picket up by my heavy vanguard battlegroup. UCMS Sekhmet opened up with her massive oversized gun... The enemy bulklander was down to just three hullpoints.

An fighter screen was put up my my own bulklander, my corvetes engaged enemy smaller landers and started to chip away hullpoints. Those PHR landers are tought so they barly took notice, fully occupied with starting to land troops.

Sector secured.

Ground troops deployed, small arms fire and fire from armoured formations starts to ensue on the ground.

The sector on my left flank.

UCMS Sekhmet had been able to recharge its massive gun and the enemy bulklander was plucked from the sky...

The UCM line battlegroup pushes hard with massdriver volleys unleached. The Seattle carrier had its scanners damaged earlier so she needed to be really close to pick up the enemy ships. Bombers where sent out from the Seatle class carriers to engage enemy smaller frigate sized carriers.

Enemy bombers where heading in on my capital ships, the UCM had unleashed a small fighter screen to try to protect the old Centurion. The aegis ship will have to work hard now...

Enemy Admiral in his heavy carrier and carrier sister ship closes in on the centre military base with their guns shooting and bomber squadrons engaging...

Fire from the old Centurion combined with UCMS Sekhmet again unleashing another round of its oversized gun, taking out the last hullpoints of the enemy commander.

Ground fights ensues as more and more troops deploy.

With this military base secured the ships moves out to help out in the more contested centre.

Heavy firefight over the centre base.

After another bombingrun the mighty Avelon class battlecruiser, UCMS Sekhmet was finally taken down...

The UCM fleets starts to encircle the PHR shoting at their ships from all sides. Their numbers starting to tell as more and more UCM ground forces are deployed. With enemy ground forces destroyed we are able to put the aa guns from the old militarybases to use and the enemy ships are hit from all sides.

When the explosions and dust clears up, the UCM forces can celebrate an Victory. The right military base were in UCM hands early. In the center one UCM ground forces where working hard to clear out the last PHR ground forces.On the left flank the PHR still held hard but it was not enough in the greater schemes of thing.
It would be another thing for the UCM to firmly secure this area as PHR ground troops were thought to have escaped into the wilderness and to put this area in use would take time. But the UCM had made a landing here and the fleet needed to move out for refitting, resupplying and reinforcement and maybe most important not be caught as sitting ducks over the bases.

-For victory, for the United Colonies of Mankind.  

Battle report, well a test run sort of...

I guess I'll give my view of the battle report

Well so let's see. Me and my co-writer wanted to get up to speed with the rules after a long time of not being able to play. Well the best way to learn rules are to play the gamesystem so we set a date (that got changed) and we agreed on how many point we wanted to play. We agreed on 999p to keep it at skirmish level so we wouldn't overwhelm ourself with a larger force. But of course we had to try stuff we hadn't before sooo.
Commandcards check , admirals , why not.

PHR in all it's glory

My list

9/10 Launch Assets
Vice Director - 3AV

 Vanguard Battlegroup

1 x Achilles
2 x Calypso
1 x Bellerophon

Line Battlegroup

2 x Medea
1 x Perseus

Line Battlegroup

2 x Medea
1 x Orpheus

Pathfinder Battlegroup

4 x Andromeda

 There where some things I wanted to try out in this battle.

1.Torpedos, are they as bad as people say?
2. Bulk landers , how do they work ?
3. Calypso, electronic warfare sounds good, looks good on paper but will it work.
4. Overpowering launch assets, looks like many are applying this to PHR. Is it good ?

I won't go into the round by round of the battlereport since my opponent covered most of it in his battlereport plus he took a lot more pictures so I'll just focus on some highlights.

Interceptors scares me

So my opponent deployed interceptors in the first rounds that raced to one of the objectives. This gave me a scare so I spent the first half of the battle trying to keep my dropships away from them and wasting resources hunting them down. Stupied really since just 2 interceptors can't really do much against  medeas. I should have ignored them. I guess in larger numbers they can be dangerous.

Staring contest

I knew there would be a heavy ship in my opponents list so it gave me an opportunity to try out the Achilles and it's torpedo. Sadly it turned out to be a staring contest as he didn't want to deploy his heavy against mine if he couldn't use weapons free. Still it kept it far away and we didn't use our heavys as we wanted. I think it hurt him more than me. And I didn't get to fire the torpedo :(

The calypso worked pretty good and did defend my heavy from some shoots. Still 2 might be to much and I could use the points elsewhere.

Bang goes the Madrid

First time using a bulk lander and I like it. Plus the PHR bulklanders are Assault troopships giving them some nice punch to defend themself. Still you need some medea to drop some tanks as support or your infantry gets squished. Orbital bombardment is nasty against ground assets as a pocket of my troops learned. Totally destroyed the sector they where in like paper.

The first quiet moments

With 8 launch assets I thought I would be popping ships left to right. But ofcourse my opponent had 6 launch assets of his own. Still those 2 extra was what tiped the scales for me. But it only happend in the last part of the game due to poor positioning on my part. In the end my bombers killed one of his madrids and my fighterscreens protected my ships perfectly.

In the end we lost 1 ship each and the points resulting in a draw. We only made it to round 4.
Still it was fun and we're playing again today ( I know , I'm superlate with this report).

So to sum it up

Bulklanders - Good
Calypso - Can be good
Torpedos - ?
Launch assets - Good

Thanks for reading and cya next time
/Jinx