Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Grumble Jones July Scenario - GJ085 - Sunrise Surprise

For me July always marks the turning point of each year. As we leave June behind, we head into the bottom half of the year. Normally, I might be feeling sad that the year is already half over....but nah...2020 can end anytime now....and I think we will all be happy to bid it farewell. Scenario wise, July reminds me that I'm halfway done with the monthly scenarios and I have only two months, before it's time to release the annual Halloween Scenario.

Just a quick heads up...this year's Halloween Scenario will be a bit of a production and have it's own custom map. I won't say more now...but pretty excited for October...it will be epic.

This month's scenario was born from an Osprey Campaign Series book. I know...you are shocked!! These books are the bomb...truly Osprey does books real good!

Recently, I played one of my own scenario designs,  Fife and Forfar to the Front against Dan Best. I got my butt beat as Dan destroyed my entire force of attacking tanks. It was also a good reminder that I tend to over favor the defender in my designs. I'm hopeful that this month's scenario - GJ085 Sunrise Surprise is better balanced (at least for a Grumble Jones scenario!!) and gives the attacker a good shot at winning.

Scenario design is certainly an art and I'm a journeyman practitioner at best. Nevertheless, I get a lot of personal joy in putting them together. I also hope that my efforts inspire some of you to put your own scenario designs onto paper. And for those of you who do and want your scenario design to get some attention...just let me know and I'll be happy to post it on Grumble Jones. 


If you are like me, when you hear US 36th Infantry you almost immediately think of their tragic attempts to cross the Rapido River. But they had some early successes at places like Salerno. So, I was excited to put together a scenario involving this division. 

Of course, this scenario covers a less than happy episode for the division. As the Americans expanded their bridgehead from Salerno, the 36th found itself ordered to secure the hilltop villages of Albanella and Altavilla. Facing the Americans were the veterans of the 29th Panzergrenadier Division. As the Americans dug in on the high ground of Hill 424, they were about to be hit hard by a German counter-attack. 









One of the scenario SSR's involves infiltration. I haven't previously designed a scenario with this element. Historically, the Germans infiltrated the American positions on Hill 424 and launched a counter-attack that hit the Americans from all sides. Infiltration was a fairly common German tactic and probably should be seen in a few more scenarios. We'll see how well it works with this one!


Here now is GJ085 - Sunrise Surprise.


As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.


Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size. 


And as always, these scenarios can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive 

(just search on Grumble Jones).

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