What a difference a week makes. No matter your political leanings, it's nice to have elections behind us. 2020 continually reminds us that life is not always going to be easy. But as bad as times feel right now, all you have to do is look back to events like the Battle for Manila in 1945 and yeah...we have it easy. So you can guess where our most recent game was set. That's right...Manila. This would be my first scenario set during the awful fighting for Manila. The brutality of the fighting and the atrocities committed against the Filipino populace was horrific.
As my readers know...my blog is nothing if not entirely personal and the Philippines has made a mark on my own life. As I kid growing up in NE Tennessee I read a book about Filipino guerrilla fighters in WW2. So for weeks afterwards, I built a fort in the backyard with my brother and used an old square D fuse box for a make believe radio. My brother and I would then take our wooden Springfield rifles (you know the ones with the gold bullet in the chamber) and go on raids in the backyard against the Japanese. I think I even confused my mother, who delighted in spying on me when I busy issuing orders to my imaginary squads to take out the German pillboxes...which was my usual battle time. Yep...mom would open the bedroom window and listen to me as I hid beside the house before storming our backyard hill. Come to think of it...she still spies on me...Now of course reading about events doesn't connect you to them. That would occur for me in 1989, when my brother-in-law married a Filipino woman from Manila, who was part of the large Filipino community in Minneapolis. This wonderful woman was a member of the Filipino Dance troupe and watching her perform the traditional wedding dance and avoiding the poles being moved by her feet still amazes me to this day. This wedding would bring me into contact with a large family of Filipinos. I would learn so much from them. On one occasion during a visit to Minneapolis, I attended a Filipino community theater production about the Filipino experience in America. It was eye-opening and I realized how Filipinos saw their American friends. There were of course good and bad interactions...but the Japanese invasion would be one of the things that bound Americans and Filipinos together in a way that nothing else could have. Those bounds are still strong today.
September 2018 in Brule, Wisconsin brought us all together for my cousin's wedding. She had been born in this country and was therefore a citizen, but her mother, my sister-in-law had to work for citizenship, and I would be in Minneapolis in 1994 when she achieved her citizenship. One of those amazing days that make you proud to be an American...when you see just how much our American citizenship means to someone else.
Now back to ASL...
It would be my turn to pick the scenario and I would pick DASL Scenario 36 Mayhem in Manila. Designed by Rick Troha, this scenario depicts the fighting for control of the medical complex at the University of the Philippines. Historically, the fighting on 16th February would largely be indecisive with the Japanese retaining control of most of the complex.
A look at the DASL battle space. DASL scenarios really compress the battlefield and bring the action fast and furious. But one thing I noticed in this game is that lines of sight were often missed by both Dan and I. A couple key shots went untaken, because we both didn't see the obvious shots. Can't explain why this happens when you use the bigger hexes. It's strange.
ROAR has this scenario with 97American victories and 87 Japanese victories. That's not too bad a spread...which makes this scenario look pretty well balanced.
And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:
"The Americans must move across map and get twice as many MMC into one of two victory buildings. The Americans have 10 squad equivalents and the Japanese have 7, so the Americans must also inflict some casualties. The 10-2 will form a fire group with three squads and the 50 cal HMG plus a MMG. Two assault groups will form around the 9-1 and 8-1 each with two squads and two elite HS. The elite HS with have a FT and DC in each group. The 7-0 and two HS with BAZ will cover one flank with the M7 vehicle. The 8-1 group will assault with the Sherman tank. Hopefully we can fend off the TH Heroes and get smoke for the assault on the buildings. 5 movement phases is not a lot of time."
I went with a forward defense and fortified two locations up front. I put the other four fortified locations in the first victory building location. This was very risky as Dan would win immediately if he had 2 x as many squads as I did in either of the victory buildings. With only five full squads, I was hard pressed to defend a wide front.
Turn 1 - Dan's boys enter on the south edge of Board c. I had a 4-4-7 in a level 2 location that managed to get a lucky hit on one of Dan's armor assaulting stacks. A Pin and a Break would occur. This was exactly the kind of result my boys needed. In a 5 turn game, slowing down your enemy's assault is a key component of your defense. Pins are good.
Dan's Sherman trundles into the fight.
At the end of Turn 1 US - Dan was about 4-5 hexes from his start line. Of course in DASL that's a lot.
Turn 2 - Dan's Sherman skirts the east edge as the Priest heads down the street to confront my HMG position.
My boys would manage to stun the Priest.
Dan's Turn 2 penetration into the medical complex.
On the east edge...the Sherman was in trouble. My first Tank Hunter Hero emerged and rushed towards the Sherman. Dan fired away at him...but to no avail.
My Hero survived all the defensive fire and detonated the DC And himself.
The Sherman would be immobilized and mission killed.
As if things weren't bad enough for Dan, the Japanese Sniper popped his 10-2 and wounded him.
"Well...I'm a 9-1 now with only 3 MP...but otherwise...I'm ok...I guess..."
Roy Connelly...stop reading now...I don't want you to see this...I would intensive fire my 25LL AA Gun and...well...yes...I broke it...
"Ok...I suppose technically it's my fault...since I rolled the dice...but I can't control what they do...!!"
Dan continued to press the attack. He does that you know...he's like a Great White Shark with a seal in its chops...he just keeps coming at you!!! He would lose a squad and half as two squads moved through the same death hex. For the game, I managed to get 2-1/2 KIA's and a couple casualty reductions. Dan would kill his 7-0 and a half-squad with boxcars. Dan would roll 4 snake eyes and 4 boxcars in the game. I would roll 4 snake eyes and 1 boxcars. Mario Aceto...I credit your dice tower to keeping my dice from killing me these days. In all sincerity... my dice have really calmed down since I stopped using a glass tumbler. I had some bad streaks of course where I rolled back to back 11's and 10's, but for the most part, my dice are no longer actively destroying me in games. You may recall that wasn't the case earlier this year.
My fight against Dan's 105 Priest went my way. My second Tank Hunter Hero charged in and destroyed it. I then sent a 4-4-7 into CC with the US half-squad in the hex and managed to eliminate them. My Japanese were able to whittle away Dan's offensive strength as the game progressed.
Turn 4- Dan made strong moves and pushed into the center of the complex. I started to worry. I only one movement phase let and the second Victory Location Building only had a Tank Hunter Hero in it. If Dan got even a half-squad into the building, he would have the immediate win. I was dancing on the razor's edge.
Yeah...my leaving that building unoccupied was more stupid than smart.
In my part of Turn 4, I rushed my boys back to both victory location buildings. My 2-2-8's manning the machine guns were in fortified locations, but they could not prevent Dan from entering their hex for Close Combat. So I had to double them up and get squads back to the buildings. In the race down the street, I would lose a half-squad.
Turn 5 - I was ready to receive Dan's last ditch assault.
Dan's boys came at me with everything they had left. I would succeed in breaking each attack.
With the final attack broken up, Dan gave the concession. My Japanese had managed to hang on for the win. This game took Dan and I about 3 hours to complete and I think we both enjoyed the scenario. It's full of immediate action and both sides have a good shot at winning. The Japanese have a very small force, but HIP Tank Hunters can definitely aid the defense effectively as I think our game showed. Dan would not get any production from his armor, his 50 CAL would only fire once in anger and one Flamethrower would be empty after its one and only ineffective shot. The other one would cause some damage, but not significant enough to turn the tables. Dan would manage to destroy a Japanese squad with a well-thrown DC. But for the most part, it was the Japanese inflicting the losses. My thanks to Dan for great night's ASL. 2020 sucks in so many ways...but as far as ASL is concerned...it's been golden.
My Japanese celebrate the win...but their final defeat was only days away.
On another note, it was nice completing a good game in about 3 hours. This gave Dan and I some time to banter about work...COVID...and just events in general impacting our lives. COVID-19 has led to so much isolation...that it was nice to just talk a bit. I haven't had much of that outside of my immediate family. So another benefit of playing ASL!!!
Danno, thanks for always being on the other end of the SKYPE Line!!
And now for Dan's Post-Game Comments:
"The plan did not work. The TH Heroes stopped both vehicles. The sniper wounded the 10-2 and one FT ran out of fuel on the first shot. The Japanese had a good defense in depth and delayed the Americans. The last rush on the victory buildings was shot down in the street without smoke cover. Well played by Grumble Jones! This scenario is a good DASL action expect to see it in a tournament. My thanks to Grumble Jones for a good game!"
"You said it Augustus!"
That's it for now.
Dan and I will be back next Saturday
for a playing of
ASL Scenario 90 Pride & Joy.
As always...we will see you then!
Kermit - we gota get you using the latest VASL boards! Those old graphics are hurting the eyes! :-)
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