Grumble Jones September Scenario - GJ087 They Went that Way

 

The September scenario caught me in a rare funk. I had been working on two separate scenario ideas and had even put one together and was walking through it...when I just thought...it's not any good. Of course none of my scenarios are necessarily any good...but the one I was working on...was just not working the way I wanted it to. 

So I sat at my desk and really struggled to come up with something...anything to get me inspired. And then I saw this picture...and I had my scenario. I did the research and discovered that this took place near Troina in Sicily as the Americans were pursuing the retreating Germans to Messina.

As I went over the above maps, I at first thought I'd go with the 60th US Regiment for the Americans, but then I changed my mind and went with the 39th Infantry, which came on the scene after the Battle of Troina and would be involved in the pursuit of the Germans. I selected the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division for the Germans. Historically, the Germans retreated successfully and even crossed the Straits of Messina onto the Italian mainland virtually intact. The Sicilian Campaign would of course end as an Allied Victory, but the Germans could take satisfaction in successfully withdrawing their forces to fight another day. 

Researching the 39th US Infantry Regiment revealed their unique divisional motto "AAA-O Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, Bar Nothing". And as you can see that AAA-O found its way onto their helmets. So I thought...yeah...that's pretty cool. 

In this scenario, the Germans are tasked with maintaining an unbroken squad on or adjacent to the main road in order to win the game. The Germans lack Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks. So they will be dependent upon their 50L AT Guns and Mines to take down the American armor. The German guns do not set up HIP. I didn't want the scenario to boil down to a hidden AT Gun never revealing itself for an easy German win. Other than that, this is pretty much a meat and potatoes scenario. As always, I hope it captures the flavor of a German delaying action in Sicily 1943. 

As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.

Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size. 

And as always, these scenarios can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive 

(just search on Grumble Jones).

Next month is October...which means it's time for the annual Halloween Scenario. With 2020 being such a scary year all by itself, I decided to forgo the usual Zombies. 

This year's Halloween Scenario is a multi-scenario Pack with downloadable maps, which will allow you to replay moments from the 1969 movie - Where Eagles Dare.  

I'll post more about it soon, but it's been in the works since April of this year and has been a collaboration of effort with support from Rick Reinesch, Dan Best, Hong Kong Wargamer and the 2 Half-Squads. 

So something to look forward to...