ASL Scenario 12 CONFUSION REIGNS - Turns 1-3

For our Friday game, my STL opponent and I continued to work through the Paratrooper Scenario pack. On this night we selected ASL Scenario 12 - Confusion Reigns.

The title brought back great memories of ELO's  Discovery Album and the song CONFUSION...

Awesome stuff!

 Back in the '90's we had initially played through many of the Paratrooper Scenarios, but apparently had missed this one. I drew the Germans and deployed my troops as per SSR.  

I'll admit the victory conditions for this particular scenario seemed a bit different. After reading and rereading, it seemed apparent that my Germans were basically stuck in position while  12 x US 7-4-7's would essentially surround and annihilate them. OK...now I understood why we might have skipped over this one back in the day...but oh well...why not give it a shot.

I decided not to try and make a run for it due to the movement limitations by SSR and the distance that would have to be overcome and all within sight of US MMG's directed by a 9-2 officer. Just didn't seem like a winning combination to me (or Charlie for that matter!).

 Not sure Charlie's life philosophy is the best to imitate...but then again...winning is never bad a thing!!!

So...I decided to set up and if possible make my forested prison a potential death trap for any US 7-4-7's that came after me. After all the US player had to earn 12 CVP and twice as many as he suffered.

So let them come!!!...would be my mantra!

 My STL opponent set up as anticipated with both MMG's with the 9-2 and with a second level view of the battlefield.

 Not really excited to move around much with those babies covering the area.

 My boys set up to meet the SRR's and stay out of sight as much as possible and draw the Americans into the woods for some LMG pain.

 The Americans attacked along the entire front with most of the squads coming into the woods on the left. The 2 mortars went to the right to take up position behind the bocage with a straight line of sight to my HMG squad and 8-1.

 Surprisingly my opponent elected to advance adjacent during his Advance Phase.

 My LMG's opened up on the adjacent US squads with success on one attempt and nothing on the main US stack with the 8-1 officer. My other squads spent the turn trying to dig foxholes with only two squads succeeding.

Dig faster Hans!!!

 Having failed to do anything to the US 8-1 Kill Stack...I could only await the return fire in the US D-Fire Phase...oh joy...

I just knew it wouldn't end well for me...

 My opponent's two 6cm Mortars laid down a hellish barrage with ROF that just wouldn't quit. My 8-1 broke and the squad broke, ELR'd and reduced to a 2-3-7 before the rounds stopped falling.

 

 Then the US 8-1 used spraying fire to dismantle my defense...

 But...a squad with the 8-1 also shot his bazooka at me...I rolled snake eyes on my MC...and went on to rally, battleharden and create a HERO!!!  GANZ TOLL!!! (NOTE: Rules Gaffe as Big Kansas reminded me...Bazookas cannot shoot at targets in the woods. So we will correct that mistake in the remaining turns.)

Yeah Baby!!!

Can you say Game Changer !?!

 I thought you could!!!

 Going into Turn 2, both sides have been bloodied and DM'd squads were cowering at both ends of the field.

 Turn 2 found the US forces hammering my boys all along the front, as the US 8-1 moved further into the woods.

 On my right flank, the US squads laid down some smoke and moved forward. Time was running out for my 4-6-7 with the Panzerschreck.

 And then it happened...The German Sniper activated...just the "2" soft sniper...but it hit the US 8-1 and then a dr 5...KIA'd...then both 7-4-7's missed their leader loss MC's with the second 7-4-7 rolling boxcars....YIKES!!!!

and just like that the threat of the 8-1 Kill Stack was gone...

I wonder.... 



 

Why yes...Flo does offer Boxcars Insurance!!!

 The Americans fell back to rally and regroup, but losing the 8-1 would certainly slow down the rallies.

 With the 8-1 gone, my hero decided to make a move to recover my abandoned HMG. The US mortars tried to smack him, but failed to keep ROF. A lucky break for my boys!!!

 

 In addition to recovering my HMG, most of my foxholes were completed as well.

 The US stack of sorrow...

 Of course in ASL...sorrow is a shared commodity. Having DM'd my 4-6-7 with the Panzerschreck, the US forces moved adjacent and eliminated the squad for failure to rout. The right flank was now wide open for a US advance.

The situation at the conclusion of Turn 3. The US 9-2 had moved to begin rallying the US stack of broken 7-4-7's, which he rallied without too much effort Meanwhile the right flank is now wide open for the Americans to swing in behind my forces. But my boys are dug in and will fight it out to see who suffers the most CVP...

Which one of us will prevail and win the Medal of Hodor!!!

Tune in next week for the continuation of CONFUSION REIGNS!!!

Defiance on Hill 30 - Turns 6-8 and the Conclusion!

After a two week break, my St. Louis opponent and I were back in the saddle to complete Defiance on Hill 30. After the first 5 turns, I felt confident that my US Paras would get the job done and bring home the win. As a result of my reinforcements not arriving until Turn 6, I was awarded 6 CVP, which would ultimately be the difference in giving the US the win!

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference in the game!!

 As we started turn 6, it was clear that the Germans were going to have a good shot at three of the objective buildings. I felt confident that I could hang on the W7 Building.

Sometimes you can get a little over confident when you have 7-4-7's...and I would be guilty of that as the game progressed.

 The Germans continued to move cautiously with a lot of single hex assault moves. This caution would help my cause as it allowed me the time to get my Turn 6 reserves into place before my forward defenses crumbled.

Over cautious play is also a subject of debate. How aggressive you should be in a scenario is always best evaluated in hind sight...but having played against very aggressive players of late, I was expecting a more overwhelming assault. 

 In my phase of turn 6, I tried hard to push the Germans back as they pressed me in the village. My reserves came on in three groups. Two single squads were to move to occupy my foxholes, while, my 9-1 and the 3 remaining squads went straight up the middle to secure the W7 building.

In the course of the fighting, my 8-0 in the village would battle harden to an 8-1.

 My boys in W9 managed to break the Germans in X9 and break up a large fire group.

 My boys in the village gave it their all, but the German fire would be overwhelming...

 The German 9-1 would be a stand out performer throughout the game. He would also battle harden to a 9-2 before it was all said and done!

 

 Fortunately for me, my boys were able to race into the battle and would be in position by the time the Germans overwhelmed the village.

CXing it sure helps close the distance when moving...but it cost me in my fire phases as the additional +1 denied me some opportunities to hurt the Germans.

My opponent continued to hold his 9-1 on my left flank to put fire down on the W7 house. Meanwhile his other forces concentrated on taking the three closest building objectives. My St. Louis opponent moved his Germans methodically towards the village.

 One of the best moves of the game was the German 4-6-7 moving into the woods hex at X8. As I failed my morale checks, my broken squads in W9 and V10 would be lost due to failure to rout. I had stayed too long in houses that  I knew would fall. So I was quickly accumulating CVP that would come dangerously close to costing me the game.

 So all too suddenly, all that I had left in the forward line was an 8-1 in V8 and a wounded 7-0 in T10.  The Germans could smell the blood in the water...

 Close combat would be my fate!!!

My opponent finally unleashed his boys and they swept into close combat to secure three of the four building location objectives. 

 My wounded officer would fall in the melee, but my 8-1 would win the ambush and then sprint into the V7 hex to escape!

 

 The escape of my 8-1 would go on to aid my cause considerably.

 The US sniper would also play a role in the latter part of the game as he managed to KIA the wounded German 8-1 officer.

 The Germans worked hard to press their advantage, but poor rolls...12's and 11's kept us both on a roller coaster as the game neared its conclusion!

 Neither of us realized it at the time, but the German high water mark had been achieved. They would not make any further progress.

 As the game winded down, I continued to move my forces into forward positions. I briefly considered skulking back to avoid any further CVP gain. My opponent's forces were strong with two 16 FP groups and one 12 FP group. They would go on to DM a few of my boys, but fortunately I didn't lose more than a half-squad.

The biggest success was the breaking of the German 9-1 fire stack. Pushing them back gave my defense the breather it needed.

 As we entered turn 9, I began to regret not having skulked back some of my units. The Germans unleashed on me, but fortunately my boys only broke and didn't contribute any CVP to the German cause.

 

 In my final prep fire, I tried hard to inflict some CVP on my opponent....but my dice went cold and I barely hit anything as the game wound down.

Following the German Defensive Fire, we both agreed that the game was over. The Germans had taken 3 of the 4 building objectives and inflicted 8 CVP on the Americans. My Americans held one of the 4 buildings and had inflicted 12 CVP on the Germans...(6 of which were due to the late arrival of my reserves). And that would be the difference...giving me the win and my first back to back wins in a very long time!

Yes it was! Another great game of ASL...already looking forward to starting our next game, "Confusion Reigns".