Our Saturday Game - wait for it....ASL Scenario U27 - A WINTER MELEE!!!

Well...life is full of unexpected changes. Many of you might have been expecting an AAR for my first Valor of the Guards scenario. As you may have guessed already...we played another scenario. So you'll have to wait until next week for that one. 

For our Saturday game, Dan Best, Dave Mareske and I met once again to play a three-player scenario And the granddaddy of all three-player scenarios is U27 - A Winter Melee.

The Grognards among us will remember this scenario's earlier version from Cross of Iron when it was Scenario 19. Yes...there was a time when 5000 ASL scenarios was unimaginable. There was a time when scenarios were very rare indeed. And good ones, like a Winter Melee were played often. 

I myself have lost count of the number of times I have played this favorite scenario over the years. 

The golden days of Cross of Iron are long gone now and today we live in a different golden age of ASL that is remarkable for the quantity and quality of content available from MMP and so many other  fantastic third party producers. Repeated playings of a scenario are as rare today as scenarios were in 1979.  This is at once a great thing and a not so great thing. With so many scenarios to play, many of us (myself included) only play a scenario once and move on the next. I currently own over 1500 scenarios and I cannot hope to play all of these scenarios before my time on this wonderful ride of life is over. So scenarios like the Guards Counter-Attack and  A Winter Melee will always be the most played of scenarios. And in a way, I hope that will always be the case. It matters to me in an odd way that ASL stay connected to the earliest days of our hobby when Cross of Iron was that giant of a game in our lives and lured us into this awesome thing called Advanced Squad Leader.

Today, Scenario 19 has been replaced and revised for ASL as scenario U27 A Winter Melee form the Turning the Tide Scenario Pack. If you don't already own this one...grab it. It has some fantastic scenarios. And believe me, you will want to play A Winter Melee and join that fraternity of ASL players who have been witness to one of the absolute greatest scenarios out there.

So walk with me comrades as I tell you a tale of a three-player ASL scenario with Russian Cavalry, Partisans and Paratroopers against German 4-6-7's fighting for survival in a snow covered Russian village. A battle so epic it has to have 10 turns. A battle so fierce that your barely feel the cold embrace of the Russian winter or the snow stinging your face as you follow Partisans through the dark woods with only flaming molotovs to light the way.

So now kind readers...follow me to the Winter Melee...

U27 A Winter Melee (adapted for ASL by Jim Stahler) takes place in Okorovovo, Russia in February 1942. The EC are ground snow and the Germans set up on Board 3. The Partisans begin on Board 5 and the Cossacks enter Board 4 on turn 1. The Russian player rolls to see what turn the Paratroopers enter on. They automatically arrive on  Turn 4.  And as the German player, later definitely better!! 

Now, I'm not certain that Okorovovo, Russia is a real place. And Desperation Morale's review asks the same question. Perhaps my Russian readers can advise if this is an actual place or is actually named something different. 

I think the map above gives a really good idea of where this scenario took place. Partisans and Paratroopers would tell us that this action was in the area of Vyazma and we know the 1st Panzer Division was engaged in the defensive battles in this area.

There was no rolling for sides for this three-player scenario. Instead, I would take the Germans and Dave and Dan would meet at the Hollis Center and command the Russian forces. Logistically, it does work better in a SKYPE game to have the two players controlling a similar side in the same location.  But down the road, we may switch this up and see how it works.

As the German player, I would be the scenario defender and command elements of the 1st Panzer Regiment, 1st Panzer Division. As one of the three original Panzer Divisions, it would see action from the Anschluss to the Sudentenland to Poland to France. After 1941, it would spend the remainder of the war in Russian. It would surrender to the Americans in Austria.

My force would consist of 12 x 4-6-7's led by a 9-2, 9-1, and 2 x 8-1's with an HMG, MMG and 4 x LMG's and 3 x Half-tracks for support. Not a lot of manpower to hang on to 5 stone buildings. But I only needed to hold one to secure the win. So that fact would figure largely in my defensive strategy. But by game end 11 of my 12 x 4-6-7's would KIA'd and all of my officers would join them in Valhalla. 

Dave Mareske would command the men of the 11th Cavalry Regiment, and he would have arguably the hardest role of the scenario. This scenario is brutally tough on the Cavalry, who bear the brunt of the initial Russian attacks to break down the German defenses. But their charges across the snowy steppes of this scenario are legendary.  Dave's force consist of 12 x 5-2-7's led by a 9-1 and 8-0 and with no support weapons. Courage would be their greatest asset. By scenario end...11 of the 12 Cavalry squads would be KIA'd.  Courage indeed.

Dan Best would command the Partisans and I can think of no one better suited to command them. Dan's force would consist of 3-3-7's lead by a 9-1 and 8-0 with 2 x LMG's and ATR. But it would be their molotovs that cause me the most grief. By SSR, the Partisans would leave the battle at the moment 5 of their squads were eliminated. This would occur around Turn 7 for Dan's hard fighting Partisans. But they would leave the game after having eliminated two of my half-tracks. By Game end 5-1/2 of Dan's Partisans would be KIA'd.

Dan and Dave would jointly manage the Russian Paratroopers of the 204th Parachute Brigade. This force would consist of 20 x 6-2-8's led by a 10-2 and 9-1 with 3 x LMG's. This would be the most dangerous force and the one that would bring home the victory for the Russians, but only after 6 of their squads would be KIA'd. 

For victory in A Winter Melee comes at great cost....

The Grumble Jones staff photographer would be embedded with the Germans. Lately, things have been getting a little too hot for my photographers. But fortunately, this one escaped with the last surviving 4-6-7. He'll never forget this scenario!

 Now, there are 5 stone buildings on Board 3. I elected to defend four of them. 2 Squads would hold three buildings and the rest of my force would hold the two story building.

My 9-2 gets the news...that a @#!+ ton of Russians are headed his way.

 The cavalry galloped from the south board edge and I managed to zap a couple, but otherwise did no further harm.

Dave's 5-2-7's rode magnificently forward. Their hardships still awaited them.

 Dan's Partisans were rebuffed on my left and center as my boys got in some good shots.

This shot jumps ahead a bit. Sometimes, I miss opportunities to take pictures as the action is so busy. So here you see the results of my shift from the left to the center and Dan's successful destruction of my first half-track with a Molotov. I really struggled a bit with the ease with which the Molotov's destroyed my half-tracks. Dan needed an 8 after all was factored in to destroy them. A half-track on a level 1 hill bit the dust from a Molotov hurled from ground level. Nothing but net and no more half-track. I will certainly have more respect for these in the future.

Yeah...Molotovs are no laughing matter...seriously you two....it's not funny...

 Before I knew it Dan and Dave had secured the main part of the village and all four of the stone buildings in the center.

 Turn 4 saw the sky fill with parachutes as the Paratroopers arrived. Pictured above are the expected drop zones. 

 And here's where they actually landed.

 Having lost the village, my boys began to hunker down in the two story citadel and prepare to die hard.

A lot of Russians were coming towards us...

Prep Fire...and it pretty much did nothing. One of the more difficult things in ASL is understanding that while you might have a great plan...your dice don't always seem to get the briefing...

 The Russians had managed to assemble and were moving towards the German citadel.

 My final two positions. My 4-6-7 on the left couldn't quite get back to the citadel...and would survive the battle.

 The onslaughts began in earnest as soon as Dan and Dave had their forces assembled. 

Here they come....

The fighting was fierce and the Russians began losing squads to the blistering German fire. The HMG during one ROF tear took down nearly three squads in one harrowing fire phase.

I don't get ROF that often and it was very welcome at this stage of the game.

 Now one of the key things about my citadel was the need to control the ground floor and the staircase hex...cause without it Dan and Dave would put the dreaded encircled counter on my boys. 

NOOOO....not that...being encircled is terrible...

Of course one does not simply play ASL without some freaky stuff happening. Dan's Partisans were still on the field, when suddenly the German sniper finally appeared and KIA'd the 8-0. The squad would roll a 12 and become a broken half-squad. The sniper would appear again and KIA them. And just like that the Partisans were forced to head for the safety of the Board 5 tree hexes.

We continued to trade body blows as the fighting for the citadel intensified. The 6-2-8's were hitting me hard with 24 factor shots. My boys were breaking, dying or wounding.

My boys were barely hanging on...

 As the pressure mounted...my boys began to break...and breaking would lead to death...no quarter was the name of the game.

 Both sides were taking heavy losses...but the Russians could afford it...the Germans could not.

The Russian 10-2 would be wounded but continued to push his men into the citadel.

 As feared, I would lose the ground floor staircase hex. And doom would follow...

 The 6-2-8's on the outside continued to pour fire on my boys.

 As the Russians came into the staircase hex...it became a tower of counter magnifitude!!

 With all my boys broken and the Russians surrounding me on all sides, I had but two wounded leaders who had both become Heroic. One manned the HMG and poured fire down the hallway into the oncoming Russians.

They knew the end was fast approaching.

 Incredibly my last broken half squad would rally with a 2 and battle harden and create a Hero. I had three heroes in the final hex with a HMG and an MMG. My Germans still had a chance!

But the Russians continued to pour fire on me and my 1-4-9 would perish along with the 2-4-8. Only the two wounded leaders remained...and both had been wounded at least twice.

6-2-8's were simply too much for me

 Turn 10...the final German Phase. My two leaders were still alive. I could await the final Russian attacks or go into Close Combat with the only 6-2-8 left on the second floor....what to do ....what to do...it was nearly 1:30 AM...total exhaustion had set in...so my two wounded Heroic Officers charged into Close Combat with a 6-2-8. Go Big or Go Home...right!?!

And into the Halls of Valhalla they charged...

A final look at a game that I will not soon forget. 9-1/2 Turns of ASL goodness was finally over. I congratulated Dan and Dave on a fantastic game and a brilliant win. The cost had been unbelievably high. 22 Russian Squads had been KIA'd and 11 German squads had perished. 33 Squads...330 men had fallen. A Winter Melee had concluded and the Russians had won the day.

As for me...I said goodnight to Dan and Dave...hung up the SKYPE call and just sat for a few minutes staring at the map and replaying the battle. It had been an epic game. So...if you have not savored this ASL gem....get thee to Okorovovo and experience A Winter Melee. You will never be the same again!!!

That's it for now...time to hit the rack and get ready for another week of work...but more ASL is just around the corner!