Our Saturday Game - Scenario MM58 - Passing in the Night

After a week off,  Dan Best and I were back at it again for our next Saturday game. Our choice for this Saturday's ASL carnage would be from the Kansas City ASL Group's 2019 Close Combat Pack.

Our chosen scenario would be MM58 - Passing in the Night. Oh yeah...a night scenario. I've had some great teachers over the years for getting the hang of night scenarios and as a result am pretty comfortable playing them. If you haven't played a night scenario, I highly recommend it. Of course combining PTO and night may not be your first best option. But, on the plus side, movement in PTO at  night is pretty slow going and it's already tough to see anyone in jungle until they are adjacent anyway...so PTO and night...kinda work well together.

This scenario is a Dan Best design and combines a lot of things that he enjoys as a player. Fog of war is a big element as you use the Cloaking rules. And again, Cloaking is really straight forward and easy to get the hang of. 

And this scenario would also include Trip Flares!! Woohooo...another counter I hadn't ever used before...and couldn't find in my counter kit. So I used gun flash counters to denote the trip wires that my boys tripped during the scenario. I will find those darn counters...they must be here somewhere...

These guys have offered to help me find them...

This scenario covers the action on Angaur Island, which is part of the Palau Island chain. The battle covers Japanese efforts to infiltrate through the lines of the US 322nd Infantry Regiment, whose positions had cut the island in half. The Japanese on the southern part of the island were trying to bring mortars and machine guns to the north, where their positions for defense were stronger. So in this scenario, the Japanese player is lugging around a lot of dismantled support weapons. The challenge for the Japanese is to exit at least 10 VP off the north edge. The Japanese player also receives VP for exiting the HMG, MMG's,  and three mortars with the 81mm Mortar being worth 4 VP all by itself. So yeah,...you won't be leaving that thing behind in the jungle.

Both ROAR and the ASL Archive have this scenario with 2 Japanese and  0 American wins. Probably still too early in the life of this scenario to say that it leans towards the Japanese or the Americans. After playing it, I can say, it plays pretty balanced. Key note to remember about this scenario is that errata has been put out there regarding the setup instructions and SAN's which are reversed. The Americans have the Japanese and vice versa. So be sure to make the switch prior to play.

After rolling for sides, I would get to be the attacking Japanese or the guys stumbling around in the dark jungle looking for the north board edge!!!  I would command elements of the 1st Battalion, 59th Infantry Regiment, 14th Infantry Division. My  force would consist of 2 x 4-4-8's, 4 x 4-4-7's,  4 x 2-2-8 Crews led by a 9-1, 9-0 and 8-0 with an HMG, 2 x MMG's, 3 x LMG's 2 x 50 MTR's and 81 MTR. The HMG, MMG's, and MTR's would all be dismantled. 

As the scenario defender, Dan would lead the 1st Battalion, 322nd Infantry Regiment, of the 81st Infantry Division...the Wildcats! Dan's force would consist of 2 x 6-6-7's, 7 x 6-6-6's, 3-4-7, and 3-4-6 led by a 9-1, 8-1 and 7-0 with 3x MMG's 6 x trip flares and a 60 MTR. All in all, Dan's force would be pretty tough. The Americans would be able to start the game in foxholes and a quarter of the force could also set up HIP. UGH....

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:

"The American strengths in this scenario are firepower and the ability to delay the Japanese.  The Americans can set up along the railroad and have the advantage of internal lines of communication.  But with no move in place the Japanese will have the initiative.  I will use the dummy counters to set out a screen in advance of the American line to see if any real Japanese units bump check the dummies.  This scenario is good for a board edge creep by the Japanese, so fairly strong forces need to set up on the board edges.  The American 9-1 needs to set up in the center to have time to counter attack after a Japanese unit attacks.  I will set up the 7-0 with him to run for other reinforcements while the 9-1 directly attacks with the 6-6-7 and MMG.  The other two MMG will set up HIP, one with the 8-1.  The other 6-6-7 squad will deploy to fill in gaps in the line.  The MTR will set up on one flank where it can fire IR or directly at Japanese.  Each MMG will have the ability to fire along the railroad with fire lanes.  And the trip flares will set up along the fire lanes but out of NVR to trigger attacks.  The real tactic is for the Americans to make the Japanese break from cloaking status are early as possible.  Making movement slower for the Japanese and exit more difficult."

 Cloaking Aid - I would create three stacks for three real units and 7 dummy units. NVR for this scenario would be 2.

I would place my 7 dummy Cloaked units on the west edge, while my three real cloaked units would move together towards the center. I would avoid the board edges as I assumed that Dan would have HIP units waiting for that maneuver. 

It was time to rumble in the jungle!

Ok...stop it...you're scaring me!!!

Turn 1 would be pretty non-dramatic as m y boys crept through the jungle. I knew Dan's HIP units would be behind every tree...

After turn 1, I was not quite as far as I had anticipated. Moving through the jungle at night was hard...

And you never know what you're going to run into in the jungle at night!!!

My dummy units managed to get some shots from the nervous GI's o the 322nd Regiment. This would be their first combat and it's not hard to imagine their fear as they heard things moving in the jungle.

One of my dummy's would trigger a trip flare.

Dan's 9-1 was covering the railroad  (trail by SSR was a rail line).  My dummy units would help reveal some of Dan's positions.

Dan's three MMG's would be a major concern as I blundered in the jungle.

Then disaster...one of my real units would stray and move right next to one of the MMG's. Yeah...that was not what I needed.

Having survived and doing some striping and pinning, my 9-0 would take a  striped unit into CC with the Americans. It would not go well for me as my boys were wiped out.

Yep...no progress and awful sacrifice...I see that now...

Fortunately, my other two real units were still cloaked and moving in good order. 

Crossing the rail line would prove to be problematic as Dan's MMG's would find me in the dark.

One of my squads would go berserk...and end up in close combat with Dan's boys. Both of use would perish in the melees that followed.

Dan's boys would jump out of their foxhole and go after my berserk  unit, rather than wait for me to rush them on the next turn.

My forces had been stopped on the east side and even my  9-1 near the center was by Turn 4 looking like it was mission killed. I simply couldn't move fast enough through the jungle to exit the board. So my 9-1 stack would go hunting for Americans and take down a squad in CC. My boys in the center were my only hope for victory.

I had 10 VP worth of units nearing the exit as we ended Turn 4. In the American Phase, Dan's 9-1 was poised to move to interdict and DM a broken crew that I couldn't win without it exiting. Dan rolled for straying and incredibly would stray. The 9-1 would head in the wrong direction and be unable to DM my broken crew.

So in Turn 5....I would successfully rally the broken crew and they would exit along with two other crews with mortars. It would be 10 VP exactly...enough for the win. My Japanese had won an improbable victory...all because of a straying unit. Such are the fortunes of ASL...

A final look at what had been a great game. In the end, my Japanese had taken down three of Dan's squads, while Dan successfully killed or stopped all but three crews from successfully exiting the board. Fortunately for me, those three crews and their support weapons represented the 10 VP needed to win.

And now for Dan's Post-Game Comments:

"The plan worked well except for the random events of straying.  The Japanese strayed once right into the Americans and took a beating.  However, it was the American 9-1 counter attack that strayed and allowed the Japanese to rally and exit for the win.  The Japanese did well exiting two dummy cloaking counters, three crews and two 50mm MTRs for 10 VP.  The other groups were eliminated or delayed enough to prevent exit.  Well played by the Grumble Jones with a luck when the Americans strayed in their last movement and got lost in the jungle.  A very fun scenario!"

My boys would celebrate the victory, but it was a very near thing. Had Dan's 9-1 stack not strayed, I would have lost this scenario for sure. My thanks to Dan for a great night of ASL.

Dan and I will draw swords again next Saturday with a playing of 

ASL Scenario A67 Monte Castello...

Smoking Cobras will be in the house!!!

See ya then!