BattleTech: Alpha Strike - Breakthrough AAR - 5-19-16

I has been almost a year since I was last able to put together a game of Alpha Strike.  I really enjoy the simplicity of the game and even though it has been a year, the rules came right back to us and a good time was had by all.

The scenario - Breakthrough.

A contingent of the 2nd Sword of Light has been cut off from it's main force.  It must breakthrough the line of opposing mechs so it can reconnect.  There is no place to retreat, so the Kurita forces will not be subject to the forced withdrawal rules.  The Kurita force must move accross the battlefield and off the board edge on the opposite end of the table.  All mechs are set up on within 8" of one short edge of the table.

The attacking force must stop the Dragons from reconnecting.  Their objective is to destroy or disable as many mechs as they can.  The attacking forces move onto the table from the opposite short edge on the first turn of the game.

Kurita Forces included 16 mechs divided into 4 lances all with skill 4.

The OpFor included 12 mechs divided into 3 lances all with skill 3.

Shame on me for not taking better notes (or any notes).  Since I didn't get a chance to write up this review until now, I only have the pictures to remind me what happened, so the synopsis is going to be brief.

The Kurita forces started their advance knowing they would loose some of their numbers but also with the understanding that they must break through or all of them would die.

The terrain was fairly open and allowed for open shots as they advanced toward the attacking force.  However, that also meant they could be targeted as well.

Several Mechs fell as the 2nd Sword of Light pushed forward, but they honored themselves by allowing their fellow warriors to continue on.

The attacking force, knowing the defenders had to come through them, didn't advance far and many opted to remain stationary to improve their targeting ability.  There must have been a problem with the targeting computers, though, as it was very challenging for them to acquire locks on their targets and it seems that more shots missed than hit.

 The first mechs of the 2nd Sword of Light reached the enemy line.  

The left flank saw the most mechs break through the attackers line.  All was not lost in this battle and these mechs could now reconnect with the main force of the Kurita battleline.

The attackers managed to get 50% of their mechs off the table.  They could have done better, but these mechs will definitely make a difference in the coming engagements.