Our Saturday Game - ASL Scenario A99 - To Clear a Roadblock

Once again, it's time to recount the ASL adventures of our weekly...Our Saturday Game! It would be Dan Best's turn to pick the scenario and he would turn again to the ASL Annuals for inspiration. In this case, he would turn to the 1996 ASL Annual for Scenario A99 - To Clear A Roadblock (designed by Bob McNamara). This scenario would transport Dan and I to 1943 Italy as the Allies were beginning their long journey up the Italian Boot. 

The scenario takes place in October of 1943 near Campobasso, Italy. During this period, the British XIII Corps was moving up the eastern edge of Italy. The only resistance opposing them would be small groups of German Paratroopers. These Fallschirmjaeger would take up key blocking positions intended to slow the British advance.

One of these Fallschirmjaeger blocking positions, located  at a roadblock along a key mountain road would attract the attention of Italian Partisans led by Nicola Sernia. Sernia's Partisans would sneak into position in an attempt to eliminate the roadblock and assist the British advance.

With any luck the Germans would be taken completely by surprise and eliminated by Sernia's Partisans.

ROAR has this scenario with 46 German wins and 29 Partisan wins. The ASL Archive has it with 6 German wins and 1 Partisan win. 

Ok...this scenario at first glance...might lean a little towards the Germans....just say'n…

For further reading on the subject of Italian Partisans, I highly recommend this title by Osprey. Both Dan and I have a copy and have found it to be very informative. 

Campobasso, Italy --- pretty awesome looking place to visit!

The scenario takes place on half of Board 2. One of my favorite boards. With over a 100 boards out there, it's amazing to me how much I love Boards 1-5. The scenario has some key SSR's regarding setup. There is a roadblock in Hex V4 with a 12 Factor Minefield in Hex V5. The Partisan player wins immediately with the removal of the minefield and the roadblock....or...BIG or...if there are no unbroken German MMC's in play.  The Germans must setup within 4 hexes of V5. The Partisans can setup within 3 hexes of any German positions, but must not be in LOS of any Germans. Or...the Partisan player may choose to enter any or all of his forces on Turns 1 or 2 from any board edge. 

And if all of this was not enough, the German Player must secretly roll for each of his units to determine if they are Pinned or First Fired at the start of Turn 1. The German Player also receives 80mm OBA beginning on Turn 2. 

After rolling for sides, Dan would be the defending Germans. He would command elements of the 1st Fallschirmjaeger Division. His force would consist of 4 x 5-4-8's, 2 x 2-3-8's, and 2 x 2-2-8's led by a 9-1 and 8-0 with 3 x LMG's, 1 x Panzerschreck, 1 x Radio and 2 x 40LL AT Guns. Not a huge force, but German Paras are usually some tough dudes to face.

As the scenario attacker, I would command the Italian Partisans under the leadership of Nicola Sernia. Sernia would be represented in this scenario by a 10-2 and would start the game heroic. My force would consist of 12 x 3-3-7's led by a 10-2 and 9-1 with 3 x Italian LMG's. A fairly strong force to overcome a group of German Paras.

 Nicola Sernia was a former NCO in the Frontier Guard and committed to ridding Italy of the Nazis. Historically, Sernia would be in the thick of the fighting and had managed to push the German Fallschirmjaeger back from the minefield. He would be killed by German mortar fire while clearing the minefield.

Nicola Sernia would be posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'Oro, which is Italy's highest decoration for valor.

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Commentary:

"The German plan for this scenario is to defend the high ground.  The squads will be at level 2 with the leaders near the center by the road block.  The 8-0 will have the radio.  The PSK will be in S7 and hopefully get a shot at the buildings or walls.  From the high position the Germans should be able to keep the Partisans from setting up too close.  Hopefully the Germans will get some good shots at moving Partisans and get some kills.  The Germans need to stay away from the board edge as on turn one the SSR has all German MMC under Pin or Final Fire counters.  Hopefully the Germans can keep the Partisans outside the perimeter and fend off the attack for a few turns.  This will make clearing the minefield a real problem for the Partisans."

In setting up, I determined to go for breaking all the German MMC's. I would try to remove the roadblock and the minefield if opportunity presented itself, but that would of course require the absence of Germans...so back to plan 1.

I would only place two squads on the board to cover the right flank.

My first objectives would be both of the German AT Guns. I wasn't too concerned about the guns themselves, but I needed to take out their crews no matter what. My Turn 1 moves would all be successful. And as luck would have it, both of the AT Gun crews began the game pinned. I would win ambush in both CC's and eliminate both crews. A very good start for my Partisans.

My Partisans would do very well in nearly every Close Combat in this scenario.

After Turn 1, both German AT Guns were in Partisan control and my boys were in position for the next phase. 

Neither of the German AT Guns managed to get off a shot. 

Dan's 5-4-8 on the left had been hit from all sides and encircled...so they bailed out of their foxhole. On the right, Dan sent his 2-3-8 to assist the 5-4-8 holding that flank.

Dan had positioned his men on the heights and they had excellent LOS to my boys.

My Heroic 10-2 was able to put enough firepower to break the German 8-0 position next to the roadblock. While Dan's hilltop positions gave him great LOS, they were also traps. With cliffs to their rear, there was no where to retreat as they broke and my Partisans moved adjacent. Failure to rout would claim a great many Fallschirmjaeger.

At the start of Turn 2 - Dan's 8-0 made contact with the battalion artillery and put a spotting round near my 10-2. 

Dan's 8-0 stack would fall and I would take control of my first German LMG. My boys would encircle Dan's 9-1 stack while two more of my squads fired into the melee on the left. Both Dan's and my squad would break.

At this point in the game, only Dan's 5-4-8 on the far right was relatively safe.

As Turn 3 ended, all German resistance on the left and in the center had been eliminated. Only Dan's 5-4-8 on the right was still in the fight. 

At this point in the battle, I decided to try and clear the minefield. My 10-2 also moved towards the roadblock in order to remove it.

I continued to pour fire on Dan's 5-4-8 on the right while I tried to chase down Dan's broken 5-4-8 on the left.

The broken 5-4-8 on the left would manage to escape the Partisans.

And then it happened...Dan's 5-4-8 on the right would break after rolling a 12 on an MC...and the Italians would have the immediate win. 

It had been a quick game...a little under two hours. Dan and I do play fast, but I think we were both surprised by how quickly the battle had played out. My attack had gone better than I could ever have hoped. I never missed a morale check during the game and my only losses came to two snake eyes rolled by Dan's Paras that killed my boys. And very uncharacteristically, Dan would not have success in any of the close combats and would be ambushed on three occasions. This game would be one of those rare instances where my luck would hold out through the entire game. As always, my thanks to Dan for a fun game. 

And now for Dan's Post-Game Commentary:

"The plan did not work.  Aggressive movement by the Partisans on turn one attacked the Germans from all sides.  Getting into CC with both guns right away.  The Partisans effectively cut rout paths and encircled the foxholes.  The Germans were eliminated for failure to rout or in CC.  It was over by turn 4.  Great attack by Grumble Jones!  This scenario is fun with options for both sides.  It is a good tourney sized choice for a quick playing game."

Dan and I will be back in action next Saturday with something entirely different. This past week was the 156th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Dan and I are both Civil War historians and Dan is the only person I know personally who has passed the Gettysburg National Park Docent Exams...so Dan knows a thing or two about Gettysburg.  

So what does that mean...what kind of heresy might Dan and I be up to...could it be Civil War ASL...??  Oh yes...yes it is. So get ready for a little bit of Critical Hit ACW ASL action. Personally, I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully all of you....my readers will find it entertaining and an opportunity to see something different. And don't worry, we'll be back in WW2 right away!

So...we'll see you next week from a little crossroads town in Pennsylvania!