Our Saturday Game - ASL Scenario 208 - The Grist Mill

After a week hiatus, Dan Best and I were once again in the saddle for some Saturday ASL. Our selection for this weekend's action would be ASL Scenario 208 - The Grist Mill (designed by Thomas Meier). This would be our first playing of a scenario from MMP's new Forgotten War. 

Like a few other players out there, I have always been a bit hesitant to wargame both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. I'm not sure why that is, but the Second World War always seemed to be more in the past to me, even as a kid. Growing up in the 60's and 70's I had a steady diet of the sitcom, MASH and the result was that I equated the Korean and Vietnam Wars as being part of the same overall conflict in Southeast Asia between the United States and Cold War Era-Communism. And sadly, most of us get very little actual history of these events in our primary and secondary educations in the US. As I recall, we barely even made it to the end of the Second World War. In my own opinion...far too much time is spent on the explorers who discovered the Americas over 400 years ago...rather than the events of the past 50 years. The importance of knowing something about the Korean War has never been more important than today. And just the knowledge that the Korean War is still an active war...should shake all of us out our collective funk with regards to the Korean Peninsula. The vast majority of Americans do not realize that we are only in a Cease-Fire...a Truce..that has been perhaps the longest such example in the history of mankind.  But therein lies the danger...an enemy undefeated...is an enemy yet to be completely reckoned with. Let us hope that any future fighting will be of the cardboard variety fought on ASL boards and no where else. I'll jump off my stump now and get into the AAR business.

While the invasion of South Korea by North Korea may have been anticipated, it's actuality was a serious shock to the global community and to a relatively young United Nations. The American forces in Korea were woefully prepared to stop an invasion. The North Koreans waged a no quarter war on the Americans and pushed them all to the way south to the port city of Pusan. A hastily thrown up perimeter around Pusan was all that remained of a free South Korea.

The stories of the fighting to slow down the advancing North Koreas is some very sobering stuff. Not since the Battle of the Bulge had American forces been faced with an enemy that committed war crimes as a matter of course. Surrender to the North Koreans was not a possibility. Those Americans who did were simply executed out of hand. The war in Korea would be brutal and unrelenting.

ASL Scenario 208 - The Grist Mill covers the action around Soesil, South Korean on August 6th, 1950. C Company of the US 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division would find itself holding a series of small hills with a large force of North Korean infantry attacking from all sides. 

The men of the 34th Regiment had been in country from the beginning of the invasion and suffered some of the first American losses of the Korean War.

By the time, they had reached the Pusan Perimeter they were hardened veterans of the Korean Conflict.

After rolling for sides, I would end up commanding the American forces and would be the scenario defender. I would have 6 x 6-6-6's , led by a 9-1 and 8-0 with a 50 CAL HMG, 60 Mortar and three Sangars for limited protection. By SSR I could only set up within 6 hexes of the stone building in R9. Beside the building was a burnt out Sherman tank. The 50 CAL was on the tank and could not be moved during the scenario.

Setting up a defense under the SSR limitations was a little daunting. I knew that Dan's North Koreans could set up within 8 hexes of the R9 Building. So I fully expected to be surrounded.

So how to defend against that situation and maintain any rout paths. 

I settled on holding a semi-circular perimeter with the hill as the base of my position. I hoped that the positive TEM of the hill along with the hedge splitting it would give the opportunity to rout if needed.

As the Scenario Attacker, Dan would command the men of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Regiment, 4th Guards Seoul Division of North Korea. These hardened fighters would consist of 14 x 4-4-7's, led by an 8-1 and 7-0 with 3 x LMG's for support. Not an overly intimidating force as far as firepower, but if they got in close, their numbers would surely carry the day.

As always, the Grumble Jones staff photographer would be on the ground to cover all the action.

Here we salute the outstanding Photo Journalism of David Douglas Duncan. His photographs of the Korean Conflict remain some of the most impressive combat photographs ever taken of Americans in battle. If you don't own a copy of his book, This is War, then I would highly recommend obtaining one.

A look at my defense and Dan's initial set up. Dan definitely surprised me. I had set up with the idea that I would surrounded from the start. But after seeing my defense, Dan decided to go for a massive Schwerpunkt assault from the South. I had set up strong to the north as I had expected Dan would avoid my 50 CAL. So I was initially week on the south side of my hill.

Here they come fellas!

 As Dan moved his first squad, I laid down a fire lane from the 50 CAL. Note that the Korean Woods can been seen through and we set out several fire lane counters to show the decreasing lethality of my fire lane.  Undaunted, Dan adjusted his movements to avoid the fire lane.

My 50 Caliber HMG would form the core of my defensive fire and would stay in action for the duration of the scenario.

 Dan's dice would be cold from the start. He would miss nearly every Pin and early Morale Check DR. This would sap strength from the crucial early turns of his assault.

 On my part of Turn 1, I quickly scampered my boys on the north side of the hill to the south side so that they could lend their support to the defense. The long range hurt Dan's ability to stop this movement, but he did get a snake-eyes that reduced one of my 6-6-6's to a half-squad.

 With my defense set, Turn 2 opened with Dan trying to advance his units within normal range.

 With his Prep Fires largely ineffectual, Dan sent his men into the gully in an effort to get them closer to my boys.

 Once in the gully, Dan would attempt to go to crest to trade fire. This allowed me to pour fire on any units which raised their heads.

 Despite his bad dice, which were leading to DM's and ELR's to conscripts for several units, Dan kept pipelining his boys forward through the gully.

 By the end of Turn 3, his boys were in place.

With Dan's troops beginning to near the R9 building, I decided to move my 9-1 into the wood adjacent to slow down the Koreans.

My 9-1 would have to hang on in the woods by himself and slow down Dan's attack.

 Turn 5 - my 9-1 went down in Close Combat with a squad of North Koreans...but in Prep Fire I managed to DM the squad and push back the North Koreans. I only had to worry about the ones in the gully.

My 8-0 had command now and would have to hang on.

During the course of the fighting, I managed to roll a snakes which created a hero and battle hardened a 6-6-6 to a 6-6-7. My luck in this fight was holding out! 

On his final movement phase - Dan launched his boys out of the Gully and into the street before my 50 CAL and the R9 building. 

Dan's boys ran into a hail of 50 CAL and rifle fire and were either pinned or broken. With that the game was over and the Americans had the victory.

This scenario played hard and fast. It was a enjoyable game, but Dan certainly was diced in this game. Dan rolled more boxcars tonight than I have seen in a many a game with back to back boxcars on at least once occasion. All in all we had another great night of ASL. 

This scenario AAR is dedicated to my good friend,  Don Boelhauf, who served in the Korean War and passed away in 2005. Always missed, never forgotten.

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery: Section 1CC Site 653

Dan and I will be back next week for a playing of ASL Scenario OA20 The Revenge of the Greys!