Our Thursday Game - March Madness Scenario MM60 Liberating Loznica

As promised...Dan and I are back for a Thursday game!!! After grocery shopping today for the first time in gloves and a homemade mask...I feel like a little ASL in order to provide some normalcy to my day. When we got to the grocery store today (HY-VEE), we discovered that it's one person to a cart. So my wife took a big cart and I took a little cart and we went our separate ways through the store. There was no rice, no soup, no toilet paper and no tissues. I did score some hand soap and a three pack of paper towels. And thank goodness I got checked out as soon as I did....as I was about to pass out trying to breath through my bandanna mask. Welcome to the COVID-19 World Order. 

We now have 24 confirmed cases of COVID-19 here in Quincy, Illinois (population 40,000)….so things are getting real for us. I'm going to avoid the grocery store for at least another week. As today was another vacation day for me...I checked my work emails and finished my blog for last night's game. I may have mentioned before, but the average time to complete a blog post is between 4 and 6 hours. Sometimes, it does get to be a drag, but with so many of us stuck at home, I wanted to do my part to add as much content to the blog as possible. The April Scenario is done and will be posted this weekend. It's a big one and completely and shamelessly unbalanced. But is does have Stukas!!!

Today's scenario comes from the 2020 ASL March Madness Pack - Full Rulebook ASL. This pack is designed to provide players with the opportunity to really dig into little used or practically unknown rules.

Now....Dan and I struggle mightily with just the simplest of SSR's...so this pack would probably seem to very dangerous in our hands. And so it will be. So Rules Lawyers....get ready to take notes and let us know what we screwed up this time! 

All joking aside, this pack does try to present scenarios that take advantage of rules that just don't get a lot of play. An example would be E2.1 Interrogation. This is one that will be a part of tonight's scenario and is a really fun rule to utilize in a game. My last opportunity to experience it was during my Pegasus Bridge CG. 

Dan would choose the scenario and his pick would be MM60 Liberating Loznica. Dan is also the scenario designer...so this will be my chance to beat the designer!!! We'll see how that works out. The scenario is currently unrated on either ROAR or the ASL Archive, so this will be the first recorded playing outside of the playtesting that was done.

This scenario pack is available directly from the Kansas City ASL Club http://www.kansascityasl.com/html/info_FullRulebookASL.html

or you can purchase from Ritterkrieg http://ritterkrieg.com/ 

This scenario covers an action in Serbia in August of 1941. Elements of the Jadar Chetnik Detachment launched a surprise attack on the local German garrison in Loznica. Caught sleeping, the Germans were overrun after a brief battle. Most of the Germans would become prisoners only to be released later when the Germans and Chetniks established a working relationship with another. But at this time, Loznica would be the first German-Occupied town to be liberated....if only briefly.

As the scenario attacker, I would command elements of the Jadar Chetnik Detachment. This force would consist of 4 x 5-2-7's and 10 x 3-3-7's led by a 9-2, 8-1 , 8-0 and 7-0 with 2 x DC's and Molotov capability. 

The 9-2 represents Lt. Colonel Veselin Misita, who was killed in the action.

As the scenario defender, Dan would command the men of the 3rd Kompanie, 750 Infanterie-Regiment, 704. Infanterie Division. This force would consist of 6 x 4-4-7's, 2 x 2-4-7's and 6 x 2-3-7's, led by a 9-1, 8-1, and 8-0 with an MMG and 2 x LMG's. Fortifications would include 2 x Sangars and 4 x Wire. Be sure to pay attention to SSR 2, which stipulates how the Germans must set up concealed and which units set up Ti and then later switch to Pinned. This simulates the fact that most of the German garrison was sleeping at the time of the initial attack. So Partisan Player take note: you will have to move quickly to get into the German perimeter while they are still groggy with sleep.

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:

“When I designed this scenario, I wanted to get the feel of close urban combat with the partisans using Molotov cocktails and grenades against the Germans holed up in garrison buildings.  So there will be lots of close combat.  The Germans must defend their three buildings and are literally caught sleeping the first turn.  My plan is to use the wire to stop entry into the mutli-hex victory building where most of the Germans are asleep.  With sentry half squads in all the entry hexes through the wire.  The 9-1 and MMG will be in the church steeple to take long range shots at any moving stacks.  The 8-1 will guard the center of the building from the sangar in the street and the 8-0 will guard the lower street from another sangar.  Both the 8-1 and 8-0 will have LMG positions.  Dummy counters will be used to buffer the urban side and keep the Partisans guessing until the Germans squads can wake up.  Hopefully the Partisans will not try to attack all from one side and get past the wire too soon.  Getting into CC with TI or pinned squads will cause heavy losses.”

The Grumble Jones staff photographer would be embedded with the Germans...much to his misfortune...his current whereabouts are unknown...

The battle begins. The stars indicate the victory locations which the Chetniks must control by game end. My plan was to rush the town from three directions and get toe to toe with the Germans as quickly as possible, especially while they were Ti and Pinned. I had no support weapons other than 2 x DC's and of course Molotovs. With +3 TEM's for the Germans, I would have to get in close and force close combat where I could go hand to hand.

By SSR, the first two wind DR's automatically generate a potential interrogation result. I managed to reveal two concealed squads and two fortifications as a result of this intelligence.

The first interrogation revealed the this 2-3-7 and adjoining wire hex.

Turn 1 - I went for broke and moved rapidly ahead. I used some single 3-3-7's to draw enemy fire, which opened the way for my officer led stacks to move into the village.

 I would immediately enter into CC and kill me some dummys!

 Turn 1 - German - the Germans begin to awaken to the danger all around them.

 After one turn, I was in good position although I had lost one squad and a couple were broken.

Turn 2 - my 7-0 placed on DC on a wire hex, but it would do nothing. Overall, my Prep Fire in this turn was ineffectual.

 Close combat was my best means of evicting Dan's Landers from their positions. I would achieve some successes but at heavy cost.

At the end of Turn 2 - I was making some progress, but the Germans were still holding the three victory locations.

Getting the Germans out of their stone buildings would be no easy task.

 Dan routed his broken units away from the city center.

 I would send my 9-2 into CC in the main building. I would roll badly and not get the easy kill.

 Dan's routed units were isolated, so I picked the one that didn't Rally and went after it.

 More close combat, My 9-2 would fall and everyone with him as my rolls continued  to be too high.

 Melee...not the desired result as it would tie up or eliminate forces I needed.

Dan's boys were very tough in close combat.

 Despite losses, I was pressing in on Dann from all sides.

 Turn 4 - I made good progress once more into the heart of the German defense. My Molotovs were giving me some much needed firepower.

 Dan's Germans fought back hard, but eventually I had their last pocket of resistance surrounded.

 Turn 5 - I continued to pour fire on Dan's troops and move close enough to go into Close Combat.

 I had gained control of all the staircases and so encircled Dan's boys on the upper floors.

Dan's Landsers continued to resist from upstairs.

Turn 6 - the final push in Close Combat eliminates the last Germans. Only prisoners remain. And with that, my Chetniks had the win. 

My Chetniks would celebrate the victory, but it was a somber moment as my 9-2 and many other Chetniks had fallen in the course of the fighting. This was no easy win. In fact, the scenario was mentally taxing. I had to continually force myself to send squads adjacent to Dan's Germans. I was extremely fortunate to have survived most of his fire. It was in close combat that Dan exacted a heavy toll on my Chetniks and at one in Turn 4...my personal ELR hit rock bottom as my 9-2 was wiped out in hand to hand without taking down a single German. I honestly thought that there was no way my force could regroup and win the battle. But miraculously they did.  My thanks to Dan for a second night in a row of some great quality ASL. This was a tough, but fun scenario. I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in a good urban fight using Partisans. But don't forget your Molotovs….you will need them!

And now for Dan's Post-Game Comments:

“The Plan did not work.  The Partisans made it into the building on the first turn and suffered few casualties.  While the Germans were able to inflict some casualties in CC most were an exchange and the Partisans slowly compressed the Germans into a small perimeter.  The Germans counterattacked to kill the Partisan 9-2 in CC but could not hold off the final partisan attack.  In the end the German were wiped out in Turn 6.  Good win by Grumble Jones with an aggressive attack and effective use of Molotov cocktails.  After much CC his Partisans won the day.  Well played by Grumble Jones.  Congrats on the win and I look forward to another Full Rulebook ASL scenario next.”

Well...it's currently 12:30 AM and I'm frankly exhausted from blogging nearly all day with an ASL game thrown in for good measure. And Dan and I are planning to play again tomorrow night and yes...again on Saturday...4 games in a row. It's CRAZZZY!!! So  much ASL...so much great ASL. Tomorrow night, Dan and I will play MM61 Sandeman's Charge. So yeah...there will be horses...their will be a charge and their will be another AAR!!!  

Pretty mind blowing. So Dan and I will be back tomorrow...er...today... for yet another great night of ASL. And we will show you the money!!!