Saturday, October 25, 2014

ASL Scenario WO13 - ALL THE STOPS

Since completing the Pegasus Bridge CG, my regular Friday night (Cardboard via SKYPE) opponent, Big Kansas, and I have been playing some smaller scenarios that we have been able to complete in a single evening. We try to maintain a fairly swift game play that keeps things moving and keeps the game very interesting.

Given my recent heavy travel schedule due to work related business trips, the ability to complete a game in a single session has been a great thing. So this will be my last AAR for the next week or so, as I will once again head to Vidalia, GA tomorrow for yet another week.

Last night's scenario was ASL Scenario W013, All the Stops. I drew the Russians and had to attack across a single board to either exit the map or capture three stone building locations and in the process acquire at least 12 Victory Points.

This scenario also had some interesting SSR's involving a Russian Harassing Fire 70mm Rolling Barrage. I  wondered about advancing into it...and yes...I did in fact walk into it. It hung around for 2 turns when I happily watched an error check roll send it off board and out of the game.


Forward Comrades for Mother Russia!!!


I elected to launch my attack on a broad front. I wasn't quite sure where the dummy stacks were and I was convinced that an SS half-squad was just waiting upfront to take out one of my three Shermans. I ended up creating my own boogeyman as the dummy stacks in front were exactly that. 

My opponent also pointed out that a useful tactic would have been to "Schwerpunkt" in one location.  This is a tactic I haven't really utilized as I tend to spread out my forces to minimize losses, but this has the effect of also watering down the potential fire power. At any rate, I'll take the advice to heart and see if I can do something more "Schwerpunkty" in my next attack scenario.

 I suffered some early damage to the German sniper as my 7-0 officer was wounded.


 The German sniper would activate on at least two occasions.

My drive on the east flank was initially stalled by a dummy stack that I couldn't reveal fast enough. I went after the German Half-track with a 37L, but couldn't quite hit it. It turned to run and ended up Bogging, which would leave it at the mercy of the Russians later.


I moved the Russian 5cm Mortar onto the hill and plunked away at the half-track and other targets of opportunity.


My troops and Shermans moved hard into the center and encountered the German MMG. They also pulled out a Panzerfaust and took out my lead Sherman Tank. 





 Just rolling along in my Sherman Tank...

Ja, I see him!!!



 Doggone it...I hate when that happens!



The German MMG team was DM'd and forced back. However, they would rally and bring along another group of Germans with a Panzerschreck...


 The Germans crept forward, but were spotted by the Russian 9-1 stack with the 50 Caliber.

Things went bad from there....












I also managed to Pin the German Sniper with my crack shooting Sniper Chick!



My Russians on the East flank saw that they weren't going anywhere fast, so headed for the middle. Meanwhile my boys in the center and West leapfrogged forward.

Turn 3 brought in the German reserve of two Stugs, which moved quickly to bolster the defense.




 Then I went and did it...with a 12 and then a 6 on the Wind Change die rolls. Smoke and flame were the result. And ultimately, a broken 4-2-6 would succumb to the flames that raged in the woods.


 As we concluded Turn 4 and looked at starting Turn 5, we both looked at the math for the Russian attack and realized that there was little hope (about a 5% chance) that the Russians would either capture all three stone buildings or exit enough units to achieve 12 VP's.





So I quickly consulted with my 9-1 and he recommended that I go ahead and offer the concession...since he rather liked the idea of surviving the battle.

So we called the game a German victory after 4 complete turns.

The board at game end. Overall a very enjoyable game. I enjoyed it and took away some more lessons on how to manage my forces while on the attack. We'll see if I am able to employ them in the future.

The men of Westland settle down for some good eats and to celebrate their victory over Grumble Jones's Russian horde.



3 comments:

  1. I haven't played this one yet. But I was considering putting the initial AR on the extreme right or left of the initial placement zone and attacking along the opposite flank. If the barrage keeps the Germans occupied on one flank, then great. If the barrages slips off board, good also. The worst thing for the Reds is for their own barrage to roll back toward them. However, it can slow down the advance just as easily. It's a fickle FFE, which adds a nice touch of unpredictability to the scenario. Thanks for the write up.

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  2. Great report. As always I love your selection of period photos, especially the killer sniper chick.

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  3. Thanks Chris and Michael for the comments!

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