Our Saturday Game - ASL Scenario WO 20 - Sealing their Fate

For our Saturday game, Dan Best and I turned to ASL Scenario WO 20 Sealing their Fate. One of my favorite MMP products each year is the annual Winter Offensive Pack. I just love'em. Usually great scenarios...maybe a new board or two and at a reasonable price. What's not to love!?!

Sealing their Fate (designed by Ken Dunn) covers a late war action in western Poland near Konitz or today's Chojnice. Many areas of what was once East Prussia or Pomerania have historical German and/or Polish names. While attending college in West Germany in 1985, I was without a roommate. In October of that year, the West German government assigned a Polish refugee to my room. Thaddeus Gorzny became my roommate for several weeks as he awaited asylum paperwork that would eventually land him in the United States as a tennis instructor.

Tad's mother was a Solidarity Organizer back in Poland and that was not looked upon favorably by the Polish government in 1985. Tad had been in Germany as part of a class trip. He slipped away from the group and sought asylum from the West German government. He apparently had US sponsors in California and that is where he ended up. Tad's grandfather had fought with the Poles at Monte Cassino and he had lost family members during the Second World War as had most Polish families. 

Tad spoke some Russian as that was required in the Polish schools at the time. And in the picture he is translating a Russian WW2 history book that I had picked up in Prague. Tad was the person who educated me about German and Polish names for towns and cities in Poland. Forty years after the end of the war, there were still hard feelings about the war. So...that was a long way to get to talking about the different names for Konitz or Chojnice, Poland.

Looks like a pretty nice town to visit. I have not had the chance to travel to Poland. It's on my bucket list....so maybe one of these days.

On the other hand, Dan has traveled extensively in Poland and has some great stories to tell.

Sealing their Fate depicts the Soviet assault into the Konitz gap. A Soviet strike group with three assault guns was in the vanguard and tasked with securing the only bridge across a stream, which blocked the line of advance. Remnants of the 15th SS Division would defend the woods leading up to the bridge. Historically, the Soviets would secure the bridge and eliminate the 15th SS as a functional force. ROAR has the scenario with 10 German wins and 6 Russian wins. The ASL Archive has it with 3 German wins and 2 Russian wins. So at first blush, the Germans seem to have the edge. The entire German force sets up HIP and is able to freely deploy. Dan would take great advantage of this and I would be running into German half-squads all night long. The Russian player wins by exiting 14 or 8 VP's across the stream by game end. An SSR allows the German player to accept or decline the addition of a MKIV with 8-1 Armor Leader. If accepted, the unit comes into play on Turn 3 and the VP requirement drops from 14 to 8. Dan would elect to decline the tank and as you will see that was the smart play.

As the German player, Dan would be tasked with the defense and would command elements of the SS-Grenadier-Division 15. This division was comprised of Latvians and would fight hard in Pommerania before ultimately surrendering to American forces.

Dan's force would consist of 2 x 6-5-8's, 5 x 4-4-7's, and a 3-4-8 led by a 9-1 and 8-0 with 3 x LMG's and 2 x Panzerschrecks. as noted earlier, Dan also had the option to have a Turn 3 reinforcement of a MKIV with a 9-1 Armor Leader.

As the attacking Russians, I would command elements of the 1st Guards Tank Corps. At this point in the war, the Russian formations would clicking on all cylinders. Ultimate victory wasn't just an idea, it was a fact that was only weeks away from realization. My force would consist of 2 x 6-2-8's, 4 x 4-5-8's, and 4 x 4-4-7's lead by a 9-1 and 8-0 with 5 x LMG's and 3 x SU-76's with an 8-1 Armor Leader. 

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:

"The biggest advantage for the Germans in this scenario is HIP.  All units get HIP and it will keep the Russians guessing.  They may also freely deploy.  Which I plan to do with both squads that do not have a support weapon.  A HS in 1945 has a 50% chance of getting a PF which makes them excellent tank killers in combo with the HIP.  The main line of resistance will be along the band of orchard hexes in the on board 75.  concentrating where the two roads go through the woods.  Likely the tanks will come along the roads.  The two Panzerschreck squads will guard the two most likely stream crossing points, the bridge and the single hex crossing.  The LMG will set up where they can set fire lanes.  The biggest decision for the Germans is if they want the reinforcements or not.  Taking the tank gives the Russians a reduction of 7 VP needed to win.  This is big.  Considering the primary target for the tank is the Russian tanks which are only worth 8 VP.  Although the tank has impressive infantry fighting capability.  In this game I decided not to take the vehicle."

My plan was to divide my force into a 15 VP and 16 VP force. Each force had enough VP to win the game if they could get off intact and if each lost 50%, I could still win the game. The white circles indicate where Dan's HIP Germans were silently waiting for me to attack. Dan had chosen the orchards for the killing ground. He had all the possible approaches covered.

Dan would do excellent job of  staying hidden until the last moment.

Turn 1 - I moved expecting to be shot at...nothing...no sound...no nothing...it unnerved me to say the least. I had no idea where Dan's boys were hiding.

Turn 2 - I moved right next to Dan's boys. My infantry on the right both moved adjacent to German HIP half-squads.  And on the left, I would reveal a Panzerjaeger half-squad who would fire and miss with a Panzerfaust, while another group of Germans with an LMG broke 2 of my 4-4-7's.

I would successfully overrun and eliminate the half-squad in the orchard and my other boys would focus on moving to eliminate the German LMG team. In the process,  one of my SU-76's would move to the north woods line to fire on the German LMG team...but unfortunately it had parked right next to a HIP German half-squad.

In final defensive fire, the German half-squad would destroy my SU-76 to the north. UGHHH!!! I had lost 2 VP and 4 more were broken.

Dan, ever the aggressive opponent would move his half-squad to take on my other two SU-76's. I managed to hit it and force a morale check...SNAKE EYES - fanatic and Hero created. Good grief! But...I would manage to eliminate them before they got closer and broke the LMG team. After 2 turns, my effort on the left was looking pretty good.

Of course it was waaay to early to start congratulating one another...

On the right, Dan had routed away from contact and my boys were going to soon be moving into fire lane country.

On the left, my boys were able to move freely. On the right, the Germans appeared with another LMG that put down an effective fire lane.

It was like....they were just waiting for me...

 So at mid-game, I was sitting pretty on the left flank and in fairly good position on the right.

On the left...I would find myself in a strange set of circumstances. Dan had managed to rally his officer. This guy would immediately move adjacent to my SU-76 to try and take it down. I would fire and do nothing.

 I knew this wouldn't end well for me.

 On the right, I managed to take down the LMG team and continue to move forward.

It was at this time that Dan's final HIP force made a move across the stream. Dan was bringing all his guns to bear.

On the right, I had 7 VP moving well through the woods. These guys would all make across the stream. My 9-1 tried to lead a 4-5-8 forward and got tagged by a 2-3-7. My 4-5-8 would break on an NMC. My officer would choose to keep running forward. BIG MISTAKE. Dan's officer on this side of the map would go Heroic on me and that would spell doom for my officer.

I have a SINGLE FP now boys!!! Watch me now!

On the left, the German officer would take down my Armor Leader SU-76 with a faust and remove another 3 VP from my total. I would then make the most crucial error of the game. My 4-4-7 would move into the house instead of going into a 4-1 CC with the German officer, which would also have DM'd the German half-squad. I have a terrible habit of getting trapped in MELEE...and thought no...let's go into the house and gamble the German half-squad won't rally. In many ways...I lost the game with this one move.

"I know that now..."

Back on right...the woods were a scary place for Russians. Dan's Heroic Officer would KIA my 9-1 officer in Close Combat.

Yep...that's how it went down...

As my 9-1 went down all alone, the boys he should have stayed with to rally would be eliminated by Dan's remaining half-squads. Dan likes a tidy battlefield...he was mopping it up pretty well. I said bye-bye to another 6 VP. My VP account was getting very looooowwww….

Yep...nothing like a tidy battlefield!!

On the left...it was time to pay for my poor decisions. The German half-squad would rally and now I would go into CC against a half-squad and oh...yeah...get locked into MELEE for the rest of the game. Isn't that special...say goodbye to another 2 VP.

Danno...you got me buddy...you got me good!

 So...as we neared the finale of what had been a great game. I had a total of 9 VP across the stream.

 I would succeed in getting only one more half-squad across the river. So a total of 11 VP would get across.

For grins and giggles we played out the MELEE...and I would roll boxcars. My fate was SEALED.

Dan's boys had the win and a hard fought one at that. I had crumbled Dan's forces on both flanks, but then failed to keep up the SKEER and eliminate them. They would come back to haunt me and to steal back the win! Congrats Dan on a good win. It was well earned.

And now for Dan's Post-Game comments:

"The plan worked.  Although setting up in the orchard left the troops vulnerable to attack after they reveal themselves.  All three MG groups were eliminated by counterfire after their initial shot.  I eliminated two tanks with PF shots, one from a leader and managed to get enough infantry to keep the Russians to 11 VP across the stream.  It was a very close game.  Coming down to small unit infantry combat in different parts of the board.  My leader killing a tank with a panzerfaust.  A leader only CC and one HS tying up a squad in melee.  This is a great scenario with fun replay value and classic squad to squad combat.  A fun scenario to play with GrumbleJones!"

Dan and I will be back next Saturday with another explosive game of ASL as we play 

ASL Scenario A6 The Price of Impatience!!! 

See you Then!