After a week off from blogging, Grumble Jones is back with a recap of 4 games played this past weekend. We also played four games last weekend, but those will escape blogging. Readers will definitely note that my previous commitment to blogging every weekend has gone a bit by the wayside. The reasons are varied and include politics, job, and family concerns. All things that are a bit more important than a board game. I'll admit to experiencing some profound worry and concern for my nation. This blog is not a place for politics as I'm quite certain many readers would not appreciate my views. So, I'll simply share that in my 59 years, these are some of the hardest days I have lived through. As a Political Science Major in the early '80's I wrote extensively about the often-conflicting views of Patrick Henry and Alexander Hamilton. Suffice to say, I was very much in Patrick Henry's camp. America was blessed with some incredible thinkers at our nation's founding.
Additionally, major health issues have affected my life hard since April. Sugar has been removed from my diet as much as possible and some other more serious worries are requiring additional blood work. On Monday, I'll go visit with doctors regarding the latest tests. Hopefully nothing too serious...but we older ASL Players must be more and more aware of mortality's march.
And finally, I have grown increasingly concerned that the blog simply isn't resonating with readers as much these days. As I have long feared, like many things, this blog has aged and has stopped growing in terms of subscribers. Stale is the word that comes to mind and I do think that Grumble Jones has grown a bit stale over time. Views are down and for the first time, I have to weigh the value of my personal time with commitment to blogging. I'm no longer exited to surrender 6-8 hours each Sunday to get out a blog post. After 880 posts and 13 years, you do begin to tire. What this means, is that there will be fewer AAR blog posts each month. Some months may have two and others only 1. The monthly scenarios will continue to be offered each month and the blog will continue, albeit at a reduced rate.
Grumble Jones will always be a space where we can share our love of ASL. That's why it exists.
The first of our four games would played on Friday. We would play DB029 Brasching the British. Butchering the British would maybe more appropriate. This scenario depicts the heroic actions of Unteroffizier Rudi Brasche during the Normandy Campaign. Rudi would single-handedly destroy five Shermans of the British 7th Armored. It's always challenging to recreate individual heroics in ASL...because...they didn't have to roll dice.
DB029 is contained in Vic Provost's outstanding Dispatches from the Bunker #14. As in past blog posts, Dan and I are both big fans off Vic's publications. We are trying to fit more of them in during our weekly game play.
This is also a very fast playing scenario. In fact, if the British don't exit a tank for the immediate win, the Germans will nearly always completely destroy all the British tanks in very short order. The scenario is heavily scripted to allow Brasche's heroics to come to full flower in the scenario. And again, this is no easy task. But I will say that the Dispatches team met the challenge and Brasche's exploits are easily recreated in this scenario. ROAR also bears this out with 6 German wins to 0 British Wins. The British Player...honestly...doesn't stand a chance. So, I recommend not choosing this scenario if you are wanting competitive game. This is not that. It's an opportunity to recreate and observe the personal heroics of a German officer facing off with Allied Tanks in the killing ground of the Bocage. Accepting this premise, will allow you to enjoy the scenario for what it is and not to be disappointed our upset when the German mops the floor with your burning Sherman Tanks.
The battle space is very tight and the British Shermans must enter in column and the British Player can win immediately by exiting at least one tank through B2 or if at game end, he has one good order mobile Sherman still in play. Any other result goes to the Germans! The SSR's make Brasche an Heroic 8-1 and gives him a 2 ROF for his Panzerschreck. And additionally, when the first Sherman is made into a burning wreck, there is a chance that the turret is blown off and hits an adjacent Sherman and destroys it as occurred during the actual event. Yeah...you want to be the Germans in this one.
As the defending Germans, Dan would take the role of Rudi Brasche and have 2 x 2-4-8's led by himself (8-1) and a 7-0 with 3 x Panzerfausts and 2 x Panzerschrecks. And a nice -3 drm for the ATMM check. Ain't no Shermans getting past these guys.
Rudi Brasche would have a long career in the Wehrmacht on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Rudi would win the Knight's Cross and manage to survive the war. He would pass away in 1975.
As the attacking cannon fodder...er...British, I would command elements of the 7th Armored Division. My force would consist of 3 x 2-4-7's led by an 8-0 with 5 x Sherman III (a)'s. Or the Walking Dead as I like to call them.
The Germans setup HIP and basically wait to spring the ambush. Brasche would schrek the first Sherman. Dan would roll for the turret pop, but fortunately for me, he wouldn't get it. If the German player gets it, it's an auto kill of another tank. I had no illusions about winning this game. The ROAR stats made it pretty apparent that this scenario pro-German.
By Turn 2, I had lost three Shermans. My infantry were with the remaining two tanks and quickly jumped off to have a go at Rudi and his Panzerknackers.
I would manage to KIA one 2-4-8 and break the other one. But Rudi was unstoppable and knocked out the remaining tanks for the immediate victory.
Not much of a game really. Shooting at adjacent Sherman tanks...even in motion isn't too hard to get a hit with Heroic 8-0 with a 2 RoF. I hate to be overly critical of a scenario, especially when it is intended to give you the flavor of a single heroic moment. But, from a Player standpoint....it's very hard to just take an a@@ whipping and feel like you never had a chance in the scenario. I have to believe the folks who play tested it clearly saw that the British would be extremely unlikely to prevail in this one. But, I think they must also have agreed...that it was what it was and playing it with that in mind is really necessary. The British Player must really think through his reaction, once the first shots are fired. And think fast...cause you'll get Brasched very quickly.
Our second game of the weekend would also be played on Friday. With the smell of my burning Shermans still fresh in the air, we would moved from Normandy to Norway for some 1940 action. Our second game would be FT48 On the Swedish Border.
FT48 comes to us from LFT 8. This is an interesting scenario with ski troops on both sides. The Germans are Mountain Troops with good morale and good leadership. A 9-2 keeps the Norwegians in the fight and would do great service during our game.
This is a fun little infantry scenario set in the deep snow of Norway.
As the defending Norwegians, I would command elements of the Narvik Garrison. My force would consist of 5 x 4-5-7's and 4 x 4-3-7's led by a 9-2 and 8-0 with 4 x LMG's and a squad of captured Germans.
As the attacking Germans, Dan would command the grenadiers of Gebirgsjaeger Regiment 137, Company 1. This force would consist of 9 x 4-6-8's, 6 x 2-4-8's and 2 x 4-4-7's led by a 9-2, 9-1, 8-1, 8-0 and 7-0 with an MMG and 3 x LMG's. Only the 2-4-8's would be equipped with Skis.
Deep snow is in effect and the railroad is played as plowed road, but skis may not be used on it.
All of my Norwegians begin the game HIP. I would place the German Prisoners all the way in the back. My 9-2 would cover the center and I would have a MLR upfront to try and slow down the tough Germans.
Dan's initial force would be the 2-4-8 Scouts on Skis.
Turn 1 Dan would send a single 2-4-8 out to draw fire. He would be broken and then KIA'd by the German sniper. The remaining scouts would move through the center woods and remain concealed.
Turn 2 - Dan brings on some reinforcements and hits me from the north and east edges. I would cower, MALF an LMG and generally roll poorly.
At the of two turns, Dan had destroyed my MLR. I was in trouble.
Dan had knocked the stuffing out of me and captured three squads. I was still in control of 7 building in my setup zone, but there was still plenty of time for the Germans to get the job done.
As my MLF crumbled, a single 4-5-7 with an LMG would tie up two German squads in Melee for two turns.
Dan had reached the railroad tracks and would begin setting up for the final push.
I would fall back to my final line and try to hang on. My 9-2 was in Melee with a 4-6-8 and would need to win in order to shore up my defense.
My 9-2 would win and prepare for the final battle. Dan's Heroic 7-0 and 4-4-7 with the MMG would suffer some bad fate. The 7-0 would be KIA'd and the squad broken and forced to rout away with their MALF'd MMG. This was a big success for my beleaguered Norwegians.
The final turn and final German push. Dan's boys would hit me hard all across the front. My 9-2 would be captured and his squad KIA'd. My 4-5-7 in the center would end the game in Melee and thus retain control of his building. Dan never entered the R5 building and so I would retain control of it. And his 8-1 and a 4-6-8 would rush the P2 building with the HIP 2-3-7 and Prisoners. My 4-5-7 would fire and leave 2 Resid. Dan's boys would be bounced out of the building and back into the 2 Resid. I would snake the reside -2 and result in two KIA with the 8-1 and squad KIA'd and the LMG destroyed. And with that it was game over and a Norwegian victory.
Our third game, played on Saturday would be FT53 First Drop. This scenario is set in July of 1941 and relates an incident where stalled German panzer force (out of gas) is attacked by Soviet fighter bombers and Paratroopers. This would prove to be the earliest airborne assault conducted during the Great Patriotic War. This is such a unique scenario that it really deserves some love. Airborne assaults are never easy and particularly so for Russians. ROAR has this scenario with 3 German and 1 Russian win.
Released in 2004, this scenario is now 20 years old and likely has fallen off the radar of many players. If you have never played, I would recommend giving it a shot. The unique situation and the opportunity to utilize by air attack and airborne landing rules make this a must play. We all need to brush up on those rules, since they come up so rarely in our everyday ASL.
As far a competitive scenario...it's tough to make it strong competitive game due to the scattering that will accompany the Russian landings and it definitely a game where the dice will determine much of each player's success or failure. In our game, my Germans would roll 7-8 threes and a handful of snakes which allowed my 1-2-7's to decimate the landing 3-2-8's of my opponent.
As the Soviets, Dan would command the 10th Company of the 4th Battalion of the 214th Airborne Brigade. His force would consist of 15 x 3-2-8's led by a 9-1, and 8-0 with a Hero, 3 x LMG's, an ATR, Molotov capability and 3 x 100 FB's.
As the Germans, I would command elements of the 7th Panzer Division. My force would consist of 2 x 4-4-7's led by a 7-0 and 6+1 with an MMG and LMG with 12 Tanks and Kuebelwagon with 12 x 1-2-7 crews and an 8-1 Armor Leader.
My Germans set up in this area on Board 12 with all tanks abandoned with their crews in adjacent buildings. The Germans setup and move first...but by SSR cannot actually move.
The Russian Fighter Bombers arrive on German Turn 1 and attempt to get some easy kills. Dan would strafe and then drop a bomb with each of the three fighter bombers. I would use some BFP counters that interested me and not necessarily the correct version...in case that bothers anyone.
FB number one would hit a STUG with his bomb, but no effect.
FB number 2 arrives and goes for a MKIII and the Kuebelwagen.
FB 2's bomb would also hit, but again no effect. His strafing attack would immobilize the Kueblwagen.
FB number 3 would go for two MKIII's.
FB number three's bomb would hit, but again for no effect.
Dan was understandably disappointed in the lack of results from the Fighter Bombers. He would select three drop zones that would put his boys right in my grill.
The paras would be badly dispersed all over the place. Only one squad would land in the woods and break. Three of the 4 support weapons would land in terrain that broke them. Things were just not going in favor of the Russians.
"Uh...Sergei...where's everybody else...??"
My good rolls would activate Dan's sniper twice and each time, it would break the 4-4-7 with the MMG. I would adjust my forces to get closer to tanks and to extend my perimeter and keep the Russians away from my vulnerable armor.
Dan's scattered Paras would move rapidly towards the village, but again, accurate German fire would hurt their assault.
I was not keeping up with pictures...my bad. This is the final picture taken before Dan gave the concession going into Turn 4. The X's mark units that would be broken and/or eliminated as we reached that point in the game. Dan was down to just three unbroken 3-2-8's and my boys were all inside their armor and ready to pour additional fire on the Russians. Tough scenario for the Russians.
Look who...RUDI!!! We began our weekend with Rudi and we finished our weekend with Rudi Brasche. Dan selected this week's scenarios and I have to say that he picked a very eclectic grouping of very unique scenarios. And our final game, played on Sunday would be DB028 Last Man Standing.
Once more, we would play a scenario from Dispatches# 14. We say this often, Dispatches from the Bunker should always be on your radar. If you haven't subscribed to Vic Provost outstanding publications...do so now. Stop reading this and get yourself on the subscription list. Lots of great scenarios and certainly some the best value you will get for your money.
Last Man Standing depicts the amazing defensive effort of Rudi Brasche and five other Grenadiers in the Caucasus Mountains in September 1942. This is a night action and the Germans are essentially surrounded on the top of a hill. The Russian Player will have to find a way to fight up the hill and capture both trenches in order to win. Six Heroes with LMG's and DC's...yeah good luck with that.
As the defending Germans, Dan would command Rudi Brasche as an Heroic 8-1 with 5 x 1-4-9 Heroes, 3 x LMG's and 3 x DC's. They would be tasked with holding Hill 419.
With 12 squads vs 6 SMC's, one might think this would be pretty pro-Russian. However, it is not, as ROAR has it with 2 German and 3 Russian wins. It's a night scenario and the German Heroes can't be pinned, can't be encircled. They will be tough to root out.
My attack strategy was to advance single units into the kill zones and then have bigger groups advance behind them to get into position.
Dan's dice would be cold and only a single 4-4-7 would be broken on the first Russian movement. But all my adjacent units were pinned...so no chance for Close Combat on Turn 1.
Overall, my first turn movement was successful. I had plenty of squads adjacent to F2, which was my initial objective. Four Heroes were in this trench and they had 2 x LMGS' and 2 x DC's. Each pair would work together to fire the LMG's.
Turn 2 - I would pour fire into the F2 trench. One of the four heroes would be KIA'd due to a MC boxcars. This Hero also had a DC, so it went to the bottom of the trench. The other pair of Heroes would jointly man the other LMG, which didn't allow them to toss the other DC.
A single 4-4-7 would jump into CC with the three Heroes remaining in F2. I would elect to go after one of them and KIA him. They would attack at a combined -3, but Dan would roll high and we would be locked in Melee. This would ensure that two of Dan's 3 DC's wouldn't be tossed at me. The DC's are the key weapon in this scenario. The Hero that I would kill in CC was also the one with the DC. Both DC's in F2 were now unpossessed.
Melee was a great result for me. I would have 2-1 odds in the next CC. My big stacks also moved up to support and to begin putting fire down on the Heroic 8-1 and remaining 1-4-9 with an LMG. Brasche, the 8-1 had the last DC.
Dan would toss the DC on a stack of 3 x 4-4-7's. He would get a K4 result. The half squad and two full squads would all break and ELR to conscripts. But the DC wasn't done killing. In a stunning bit of bad luck it would also kill the 1-4-9 that tossed it. Just like that 3 of the 5 Heroes was dead and the remaining two were locked in MELEE. Brasche was by himself F3 foxhole.
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Turn 3 - The Russians had lost three KIA'd 2-3-7's and 2-3-7 and 3 squads were broken. My 4-4-7 in CC with the remaining Heroes would win and kill both. Brasche was entirely alone and would fail to pick up the LMG in the next Rally Phase.
Brasche would manage to Pin a 4-4-7, but the inevitable surge into his trench could not be stopped as the Commissar and three 4-4-7's jumped into Close Combat with the Heroic German.
I would roll high...but didn't matter at greater than 10-1 odds as Brasche went down. And with that, it was game over and a Russian victory.
Well, that's a wrap on another 4 game ASL weekend. So far in 2024, I've played 85 games and 3 Korea Playtests. It's been a heck of a year and I should be on track to play well over a 100 games this year.
My thanks to Dan for yet another fantastic ASL weekend. Last Man Standing is the 600th Game played between Dan and me. We are attempting to reach 1000 games before the end of 2027. I'm not sure we can get there...but we will definitely give it our best effort.
Dan and I will be off next week as Dan heads to the St. Louis ASL Tournament!
Good luck Dan!!!
We'll be back in the saddle in August
We will see you then!
