For our Saturday game - Dan Best and I returned to ASL Scenario 15 - Trapped. It was time to play Part II and see which of us would prevail in this tense scenario. Both Dan and I spent the week since Part I trying to evaluate our strategies for the 2nd Part. Dan would ponder where to have his Schwerpunkt hit me this time around. For my part, I fretted over defending my original line or one farther back. I truly doubted my ability to stop Dan's 19 squads a second time.
Well...let's just say that my self-doubts got a kick in the butt from a well-meaning source!!!
So after staring at the board for a week, I put my 101st Airborne boys back in their same foxholes and prepared to hold the same line that had stopped Dan's Grenadiers in Part I.
I had not suffered badly in Part I and so still had nearly my whole force to try and stem the German tide.
And now for Dan's Part I and Part II Pre-Game Comments:
"I am terrible at playing Americans in ASL. I cannot attack or defend with them and their low morale. I also cannot attack or defend against them with their high firepower. Playing Americans does not fit my ASL playing style. In 2019 I am trying to play more American scenarios to improve my skill. I am starting with trying to play all the scenarios from Paratrooper. In this scenario, the Germans must cross 16 hexes of open Normandy countryside to exit 10 squads and have a double scenario format to make it happen. This is an early attempt by ASL designers to have a campaign game like design to try and conserve your forces and play multiple scenarios with the same force. The Germans have 19 squads attacking the American 12 and a half squads. In the second part the Germans losses are replaced with second line troops and the American losses are not replaced. My plan in the first part is to attack on board 2 with a Schwerpunkt and establish a firefight with the Americans to inflict casualties. Then in part two, attack with a board edge creep along the edge of board 4 where the open terrain will allow German numbers to break the American line. Hopefully the Germans can get at the Americans without taking too many losses. If the Germans have less than 9 unbroken squads at the end of any turn, the scenario ends immediately in both parts. "
As I stated earlier, I placed my paras back in their old defense line. My 9-2 with the MMG went back to the house, from which he had controlled the battlefield in Part I. It would prove to be the best position on the field.
My boys were a little apprehensive about trying to maintain the same line as on Part I. Part of this was due to the massive German firepower that had begun smashing into my positions when Part I ended.
I was definitely worried that Dan's kill stacks would turn the tide.
Dan's Fallschirmjaegers would not repeat the route from Part I. Instead they hit me hard on the east edge with a full-on Schwerpunkt. I had two 7-4-7's and a 7-0 holding the point of contact. 19 to 2 would be terrible odds. My 9-2 would lay down a fire lane, which would strand some of Dan's boys as they advanced forward, but did not cross the fire lane. My two squads with support from the west positions would manage to break a few of Dan's boys.
Both Dan and I would put our mortars to work. I would have poor luck as Dan would break one of the mortar crews and his sniper would break the one to the west. My western mortar would be heard from later.
The bad news for Dan would be the number of Fallschirmjaegers who went to ground under the hot American fire.
Dan's Turn 1 Defensive Fire would hammer me a little bit. My Prep Fire had been weak as I tossed 10's...11's, and other assorted worthless die rolls. I will admit that I was getting truly frustrated with bad die rolls. I had Dan's boys sitting in the open and couldn't do squat to them. Dan's D-Fire would do just enough to start the Jenga tumble down of my line.
But even as I was moaning about my die rolls...Dan kept activating my sniper and I would roll a "1" result almost 4 or 5 times in a row. This would eliminate Dan's Sniper and then begin hitting his 9-1 kill stack on the north board edge. My sniper would be hugely successful in hurting Dan's attack.
Dan's Turn 2 assault would carry him into my positions on the east edge and close enough to put pressure on my center.
Dan would roll a few snake eyes at key moments and create a Hero. This Hero would go into CC with a pinned 7-4-7. I would manage to eliminate him, but it was proof positive that Dan's boys were coming hard.
By Turn 3, I was in trouble on the east edge. My boys were trying to stop a massive German wave. And in the west, my boys were hustling towards the south edge to try and get into position to interdict Dan's exit route.
As my boys began to collapse on the east edge, my remaining paras had managed to shift over just enough to try and cover the exit route.
Dan's kill stacks on the north edge led by the 9-1 and 8-0 were putting the hurt on me, which allowed his boys to clear the east edge and grab control of the center woods. Dan was within striking distance of the exit.
I would continue to try and shift my boys to close the exit route, but Dan's MMG's would definitely hurt me in the process.
Turn 5 - Dan's boys had moved closer to the exit route. I was still trying to get shifted over to prevent the escape.
End of Turn 5 - Dan had pushed within two hexes of the south board edge. His 6+1 officer (ELR'd 7-0) was actually the leading German unit! I had two broken 7-4-7's ready to be lost.
Dan's boys would rush from their positions and head for the exit. My boys would open up and take them down. As the smoke cleared Dan would fall below the cap for good order squads on the board and it would be game over and an American win.
So after staring at the board for a week, I put my 101st Airborne boys back in their same foxholes and prepared to hold the same line that had stopped Dan's Grenadiers in Part I.
I had not suffered badly in Part I and so still had nearly my whole force to try and stem the German tide.
Now Dan's Grenadiers got some pretty solid advice as well.
And now for Dan's Part I and Part II Pre-Game Comments:
"I am terrible at playing Americans in ASL. I cannot attack or defend with them and their low morale. I also cannot attack or defend against them with their high firepower. Playing Americans does not fit my ASL playing style. In 2019 I am trying to play more American scenarios to improve my skill. I am starting with trying to play all the scenarios from Paratrooper. In this scenario, the Germans must cross 16 hexes of open Normandy countryside to exit 10 squads and have a double scenario format to make it happen. This is an early attempt by ASL designers to have a campaign game like design to try and conserve your forces and play multiple scenarios with the same force. The Germans have 19 squads attacking the American 12 and a half squads. In the second part the Germans losses are replaced with second line troops and the American losses are not replaced. My plan in the first part is to attack on board 2 with a Schwerpunkt and establish a firefight with the Americans to inflict casualties. Then in part two, attack with a board edge creep along the edge of board 4 where the open terrain will allow German numbers to break the American line. Hopefully the Germans can get at the Americans without taking too many losses. If the Germans have less than 9 unbroken squads at the end of any turn, the scenario ends immediately in both parts. "
The burden for action in this scenario would fall squarely on Dan's Germans.
I was definitely worried that Dan's kill stacks would turn the tide.
Dan had pushed forward but had not reached my MLR by the end of Turn 1.
"I hate my DICE!!!"
But even as I was moaning about my die rolls...Dan kept activating my sniper and I would roll a "1" result almost 4 or 5 times in a row. This would eliminate Dan's Sniper and then begin hitting his 9-1 kill stack on the north board edge. My sniper would be hugely successful in hurting Dan's attack.
"The AMI's are over here...I'm going into CC with them!!!"
Dan's 9-1 was making his presence felt.
On the east edge, I was falling back...Dan's Fallschirmjaeger were advancing. But the clock was ticking...tick tock...tick tock...
Dan's boys knew it was almost time to make a rush for the south board edge.
Dan's boys had one final debrief before making the final charge for freedom...
History would be repeated as Dan's Fallschirmjaeger were cut down in the open. To add insult to injury Dan would roll a "12" for his 9-1's NMC.
Trapped proved to be a tough scenario for both Dan and I. 50% of my force was dead on the field and Dan very nearly made it off the board. In our post game wrap session, we both groused about our miserable die rolls and just generally poor luck at critical moments in the game. Even with the win, I wasn't feeling any elation. This scenario would be one of the very few that both of us were just glad it was over...and neither of us will be looking for a redux. That of course is not a reflection on the scenario...just on how Dan and I were feeling when we finished it. As always, my thanks to Dan for a great night of ASL...playing ASL is always great...no matter how the game ends or how badly the dice grind on you.
And now for Dan's Part I and Part II Post Game Comments:
"The plan did not work. The American firepower was too great and the scenario ended on turn 4 when the Germans had less than 9 unbroken squads. Worse the Americans had only lost one and a half squads. They had lost a MMG but also created a 7-0 leader. The Germans lost 6 squads ELR reduced or replaced, including one to conscript level. They also had the 8-1 wounded and replaced by an 8-0. The second game faired much better with effective German fire eliminating more Americans. However, the American 9-2 still dominated the battlefield with the last remaining MMG. The American sniper was excellent, eliminating the German sniper of 4 and breaking several squads in the 9-1 kill stack. In the end with the door to exit open the Germans could not move across the open ground against the American long range fire and went below 9 unbroken squads on turn 6. Congrats to Grumble Jones for the win!"
Dan and I will be off next Saturday as we attend the 2019 Street Fighting Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. And with any luck, I'll get a chance to see the Sgt. Floyd Monument.
My apologies for the highlighted text in places. I have no idea why they occurred and I couldn't remove them...and really don't want to spend the next two hours trying to figure it out. So again, my apologies.
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