ASL Scenario 12 - Confusion Reigns -- The Conclusion!!!

Friday night's game saw my STL opponent and I complete the final turns of Confusion Reigns. This scenario is a 9 Turn game...but after the end of 5...my opponent had secured the win.

Yep...like a frog that slowly boils to death...my Germans remained in place waaaaayyy too long and by the time I realized the real danger...it was too late for me.

You know...we've all been there...thinking we have it all under control...when we actually don't know what we are doing...

Not that I was completely over confident in thinking that my Germans could hold out against a bunch of badass US Paras....well...ok...yes...yes I did think that...I'm guilty as charged...

Let's just say the dice make the rules and not the other way round...

 The situation going into the US Phase of Turn 4. My Germans had given the Americans a bloody nose as they moved into the woods. I was confident that I could do so again as he moved adjacent. In the rear, both his MMG's and 6cm Mortars continued to cause me grief.

My boys were dug in and figured their foxholes would keep them safe...never realizing that those same foxholes would become death traps.

At this stage, I really believed that I could successfully knock the Paras back as they came forward. I had 2 x LMG's and an MMG and HMG on either flank. It seemed like enough firepower to hold the line.

I mean...my opponent didn't have a copy of this....or did he!?!

The first US Prep Fire managed to DM my boys in Y4 and pinned my U6 stack. This would allow the Paras some breathing room to move up.

My opponent made some solid moves.

My Prep Fire in Turn 4 was focused on the US 9-2 Stack. I managed to break some boys, but it took all my effort to achieve that.

But my boys in V5 with my Hero and HMG cowered with a die roll of 3,3. And a Hero can't stop cowering. So instead of 12 up 1 the shot became 8 up 1 and in the MC rolls that followed, my opponent barely made MC's that would have been missed had I not cowered. Worse still...I lost my ROF. This would haunt me...

And then came the American D-Fire.  And it would be really rough on me.

First the mortars scored a critical hit on my boys in V3 and wiped them out.

Then his boys fired on my boys in V5. These were same boys that cowered and were now forced to make a morale check. They rolled a 3...outstanding right??  Wrong...SNIPER...and the US Sniper activated and broke my squad in V5. So the awesome MC roll ends up breaking the squad. My Hero can't believe it..

Just like that the momentum of the entire game shifted to the Americans.

Yes...yes it did...

Having rocked my forces back and eliminated the squads in the foxholes who couldn't rout...my opponent's Paras move in to occupy the new real estate.

Turn 5 would see more decisive moves made the by Americans, which my forces could not stop.

It was at this point, that I realized my tactical decision to fight it out in the woods was the wrong one.

As the US forces completed their moves forward, I pulled my troops back to the house in the German phase of Turn 5. My plan at that point was to use the stone building and the multiple levels to create a formidable base of fire.

But...a quick check of the CVP showed that the Germans had suffered 16 CVP and the Americans only 4. My opponent ran the math...realized he had met the victory conditions and pulled his boys back. Game over.

Clint captured my emotions perfectly as I acknowledge the situation and accepted the loss.

So Confusion Reigns passes into the ASL Archive. I'm still curious about the 9 turn length of this scenario. Perhaps if the Germans make a concerted effort to escape, then the 9 turns might be needed for the US forces to overtake them and inflict the required CVP. If I play again as the Germans, I will definitely employ that strategy.

And as always already looking forward to our next game - ASL Scenario 13 Le Manoir.