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| Fogo Cruzado
Fogo Cruzado - A Crossfire Variant for the Portuguese Colonial War
Posted 10 Jul 2009
Fogo Cruzado is my variant of Crossfire for the Portuguese Colonial War of the 1960s and 1970s. It derives from my general thoughts on Wargaming Rules for the Portuguese Colonial War. All my Crossfire House Rules apply.
Figure Scale
More or less 1:1 scale. This is because:
- All belligerents basically used a reinforced platoon (called variously a combat group or bi-grupo or just group) as their basic operational unit.
- Some troops, e.g. Portuguese Commandos and Paratroopers, were organised into small teams of five and it makes sense to have this as a smallest tactical unit, i.e. equivalent to the squad in standard Crossfire.
Types of Stands
The implication of more or less 1:1 scale is that a basic stand represents a fire team of 3-6 men rather than a squad of 9-12. The types of stand reflect the range of weapons in use during the Portuguese Colonial War.
Rifle Team
Rifle Teams are treated like a normal Crossfire Rifle Squad regardless of the particular composition and equipment. Examples of Rifle Teams are:
- Bolt Action Rifle Team
- Assault/Battle Rifle Team
- Assault/Battle Rifle and LMG Team
- Assault Rifle and RPG Team
There is little to distinguish these under the rules.
Bolt Action Rifle Team
Less well equipped troops had WW2 vintage bolt action rifles. They are treated like a normal Crossfire Rifle Squad however many will suffer from the Untrained special rule. But not all will be Untrained, for example, UNITA were generally poorly equipped but were considered good fighters.
Assault/Battle Rifle Team
Assault rifles are the default infantry weapon in this period. The G3 (a Battle Rifle) was most common amongst the Portuguese and the AK47 (an Assault Rifle) amongst the insurgents.
Assault/Battle Rifle and LMG Team
The Portuguese had the Dreyse MG13, M42-59, and Madsen as the section support weapon. The Portuguese combined a LMG with Assault Rifles in small fire teams, for example, a fire team might comprise a MG42-59 gunner and four guys with G3 assault rifles. These teams did not break down further.
Assault Rifle and RPG Team
The insurgents often used their RPG teams, like any LMG, as a team support weapon for anti-personnel fire. Same applies for insurgents with Bazookas. They are treated like a normal Crossfire Rifle Squad however will benefit from anti-tank capability as well.
SMG Team
Some Insurgents were equipped with WW2 era sub-machine guns. These are treated like a normal Crossfire SMG Squad.
Bazooka Team
Both sides used man carried rocket launchers including Bazookas and RPGs, however, the Portuguese kept their rocket launchers in separate teams reporting to the platoon (combat group) commander. The Portuguese used their rocket launchers when the target was in cover, e.g. in a bunker, entrenchment, building, or just behind an ant hill.
In the game a rocket launcher team represents a guy with the weapon plus another guy who is the loader and/or ammunition carrier. A rocket launcher team:
- Must be attached to an infantry platoon (combat group) for the duration of the game.
- Is treated as a part of that platoon for movement purposes.
- Must be attached (within 1 base width) of rifle team from the platoon at all times.
- Counts as a heavy weapon in melee
A rocket launcher team may fire in one of two ways:
- The stand may augment the fire of a Rifle Team it is attached to by adding one fire dice to the total number of dice thrown when engaging targets in cover. For example, a Rifle Team throws 2d6 at a target in cover but this becomes 3d6 with an attached rocket launcher team.
- The stand may fire in the anti-armour role using the normal anti-tank fire rules.
MMG Team
The Portuguese had medium machine guns, typically the MG42 or MG42-59 on a tripod and equipped for sustained fire at the company and battalion level. I"m sure the Insurgents could field something similar. MMG Teams are treated like a normal Crossfire HMG stand.
HMG Team
All parties had access to heavy machine guns. They are treated like a normal Crossfire .50 Cal machine gun, i.e. like a HMG stand but with light anti-armour capability.
Recoilless Rifle Team
BBoth side used Recoilless Rifles. They were, for example, part of the official Portuguese order of battle. However their use was limited by the difficulty of transport. The Portuguese mounted some on trucks so they might appear in a convoy. They might also appear in attack or defence of a base.
They are a direct fire gun with both HE and anti-tank capability. The stands are heavy weapons.
Bow Gang
A stand armed with bows and arrows shoots with 2d6 at targets in the open and 1d6 into cover. They close combat at -2 even if armed with spears and/or machetes.
Machete Gang
A stand solely armed with spears and/or machetes (pangas; the Portuguese called them catanas - a loan word from Japanese) cannot shoot but conducts close combat normally.
They are often Reckless.
Unarmed Civilians
Unarmed civilians are a feature of battlefields in guerrilla wars. Unarmed civilians will behave semi-randomly and may mill about (do nothing), shield friendly forces, flee towards friendly forces, or just run about hysterically.
The umpire or insurgent player controls all unarmed civilians. Unarmed civilians act before all armed insurgents. They are destroyed automatically in close combat and cannot shoot but are shot at normally. Failure of actions by unarmed civilians does not cause initiative to pass. An unarmed civilian stand will act if there is shooting in the vicinity and/or if they have line of sight to an enemy stand.
For each unarmed civilian stand roll 1d6 to determine their intention this initiative. Modifier: +1 if shooting in vicinity
| 1d6 | Unarmed Civilian Intention |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mill about (do nothing) |
| 2 | Mill about (do nothing) |
| 3 | Move towards nearest cover or next nearest if already in cover |
| 4 | Move towards enemy and away from friends |
| 5 | Move away from both enemy and friends |
| 6 | Move towards friends and away from enemy |
| 7 | Move towards friends and away from enemy |
A unarmed civilian stand must make a move action if their intention for the initiative is to "Move". A stand must attempt two move actions if there is shooting in the vicinity otherwise one.
Shooting in the vicinity means any of the following applies to the stand when they roll their action die. The stand:
- was shot at during the just finished enemy initiative or the preceding friendly initiative.
- has line of sight to a stand that shot during the just finished enemy initiative or the preceding friendly initiative.
- has line of sight to a stand that was shot at during the previous enemy initiative or the preceding friendly initiative.
Command Stands
There are three types of command stand:
- Commander
- Command Team
- Political Commissar
The distinction between Commanders and Command Teams is merely the number of men the stand represents not in any responsibilities or command abilities. Both can have direct control of other stands. A command stand that has direct control of combat stands can direct group fires by those stands. This is comparable to a platoon crossfire directed by a PC and a HMG crossfire directed by a company commander. Command Teams fight better.
Both Commanders and Command Teams can also have subordinate Command Stands of either type.
A Political Commissar is a Commander with special characteristics.
Commander
A Commander represents the man himself and possibly one other. Aside from the fact they might command anything from a section to a battalion sized group they are treated like a standard Crossfire Platoon Commander. That means they are:
- Based like a PC, e.g. 1 figure on a base
- Cannot close combat except by supporting other teams
- Cannot shoot
Command Team
A Command Team represents 4 or 5 men including the commander, radioman, medic, runners, etc. Aside from the fact they might command anything from a section to a battalion sized group they are treated like a standard Crossfire Company Commander. They are
- Based like a CC, e.g. multiple figures on a base
- Can close combat without other teams being present
- Can shoot like a Rifle Team in Ambush fire but cannot shoot in other circumstances it is assumed to be doing "command" stuff
Political Commissars
See Musings on Political Commissars
Sentry
?? TODO ??
Scouts
?? TODO ??
Other Troop Characteristics
Aside from the stand type and morale there are several other characteristics to describe troops in the Portuguese Colonial War.
Untrained aka Armed Civilians
Armed civilians lack military training so often do the wrong thing in combat. The effects are:
- They cannot ground hug as the individuals have a tendency to run away when shot at
- They cannot conduct a crossfire (although they can do a fire group)
- They must reactive fire if they have the option as they lack fire discipline. They player can choose for another stand or stands to take the reactive shot but somebody is going to shoot if an armed civilian could.
Armed civilians are also likely to be Green troops and suffer that consequences of that as well.
Timid - won't initiate close combat
Some armed civilians are so unenthusiastic that they won't initiate close combat.
Reckless: Machismo and Magic
Some troops liked to close with the enemy, e.g. Portuguese including conscripts and Fletchas, and are classified as Reckless.
Many insurgents were animists and some, particularly the poorly armed types from early in the war, believed they were magically protected from Portuguese bullets. These troops also count as Reckless.
Looter
Poor quality troops were prone to looting. When such a stand enters a lootable terrain feature (e.g. a European building), and is outside line of sight to enemy, they immediately become pinned. They rally in the normal way.
Technology gap
African troops were often poorly educated given the sophisticated technology they had available. In such situations:
- -1 to the roll for Indirect Fire Smoke and Direct Fire ACC
- -1d6 for Indirect Fire Barrage and Direct Fire HE
Tracker
?? TODO ??
Horse Mounted Troops
Orders of Battle
See the Orders of Battle page.
African Terrain
All the Terrain Types from Crossfire and Hit the Dirt are applicable.
"Long Grass" Terrain Feature
There is one new terrain type = Long Grass (also called Elephant Grass). Treat as an in season field.
Concealment, fieldcraft and tracking
See Crossfire: Hidden Movement ("Ghosts")
Mines - lots of them - and mine detection / clearing
?? TODO ??
Animals
Crossfire: Hidden Movement ("Ghosts") can be explained by animal noises in the bush. An umpire might have specific extra Ghosts to represent specific animals.
Transport
Air Assault: Inserting and evacuating ground troops
Use the Mount / Move / Dismount options in CF11.1.2 APC Passenger Capacity. It takes at least three initiatives for a helicopter to land troops and take off again. In the first they move to the landing zone (LZ). They are now considered hovering about the LZ. In the next initiative the helicopter lands and the troops dismount. In the third initiative the chopper takes off and moves away.
A common tactic was for helicopters to land several times to confuse the enemy about where the troops were actually inserted. Rather than actual stands the player can dismount a Ghost (see Crossfire: Hidden Movement ("Ghosts")) at each LZ whether a dummy LZ or the real one .
Parachute drops
See my Musing on Airbourne Troops.
Off-road wheeled vehicles
Use the Hit the Dirt bogging special rule. Normal wheeled vehicles should bog easily when off road or on road in the rainy season. Specialist vehicles like the Unimog should not bog on hard ground and bog relatively rarely on softer ground. The Portuguese sometimes charged off road on Unimogs to pursue ambushers.
Sources of Inspiration
Ambush Alley Games. (2007). Ambush Alley! Modern urban counter-insurgency rules. Author.
Clarke, R. (2008). B'Maso! The winds of change wars in Africa. Two Fat Lardies.
Clarke, R. and Skninner, N. (2005). I Ain't Been Shot, Mum (IABSM): Rules for WW2 company level wargaming. Two Fat Lardies.
Conliffe, A. (1996). CrossFire: Rules and organisations for company-level WW-II gaming. Quantum Printing.
David Manley: Fire Force - 15mm Platoon Level Modern Skirmish Rules
Based on the Vietnam rules Search and Destroy by Peter Pig. Includes the Martin Porter: Guerilla Warfare Campaign Rules
David Schueler's Crossfire for Vietnam
HKSW: Vietnam and Contre Les Viets: Peter Hunt's Crossfire for Indochina
Incoming! Barrie Lovell's Crossfire for Vietnam
The first of the breed. 1:1 scale.
Lloydian Aspects: Crossfire at 1:1 Scale
RFCM team. (1999). AK47 Republic: Rules for Warlord level Battles in Africa 1955 to 1990. Peter Pig Miniatures.
RFCM team. (2009). AK47 Republic: Rules for Warlord level Battles in Africa 1955 to 1990. 2009 Edition. Reloaded. Peter Pig Miniatures.
I haven't the rules yet - I'll pick up a copy when I next see Peter Pig at a show - but I've looked at the free downloads.
Stoesen, C. (2008). Rock The Casbah: Modern urban warfare in the Lebanese Civil War. Two Fat Lardies.
Alejandro Ojeda published a Modern variant (in both Spanish and English) - go search the archive.
Yahoo Group: Modern Crossfire and Volume of Fire