A Saturday Play Test of March Madness Scenario MM68 V1.3 - Marsch Rueckkaempfer

So...here we are on Halloween night with a Blue Moon dazzling the night sky. At any other time, this would have been an amazing day. But we are living in a different time...with an unseen peril that sickens and/or removes us from the gameboard of life. Yes, it's a bit heavy tonight. My community of 40,000 was put under renewed lockdown today by order of the Illinois Governor. In the past week, we have seen COVID-19 run roughshod over us. 26 of our citizens have died...42 more are in the hospital with 8 of these in ICU. Our new infections were 85 Wednesday, 54 Thursday, 60+ on Friday and God knows how many more today. Like an ASL game gone wrong...our squads are breaking and the enemy is surging all around us. 

For me personally, I found myself at work on Monday with a crisis as four of our department went down with COVID. My direct report was one of these. After evacuating the department, I sent everyone home for the day, which then turned into the entire week. After a deep clean, I went home and returned to my office on Wednesday. The last three days saw me working with just our Quality Manager as she and I  made up Supply Chain's presence in our plant. Throughout the week, I have been in contact with those who are fighting the virus. Loss of taste and smell...horrible headaches...unending fevers are a common story. As for myself, I was tested a week ago and my test came back negative. But negative then, does not mean negative tomorrow or the next day. So I'm remaining hopeful that I'll get through this. 

On top of that, I woman that I went to high school with and remained in contact with to the present day was placed in hospice for lung cancer. While conducting our play test tonight, I got the text, that our dear friend had passed away last night. Webster Groves, Missouri is a lonelier place for her loss. So yeah....today has been a heavy day. 

With all that said, it was great to spend the night with Dave Mareske and Dan Best over SKYPE play testing a scenario for Kansas City ASL Club's 3 Player Game Pack slated for release in 2021. I have play tested previously for the KC Club and a couple of times for Lone Canuck. In most respects, play testing is playing ASL. There are differences, you take notes and interrupt play to talk about balance or the need for an SSR to clarify a situation, etc. One of the best parts about it, is the pressure to win is gone. Winning isn't the point, putting the scenario through its paces is why you're there. 

The Kansas City ASL Club is working hard to complete a 3-Player Pack of Scenarios, which will be available at some point in 2021. The Kansas City guys dedicate a lot of time towards play testing the scenarios that end up in the final, approved packs. Their monthly game days at the Hollis Center are often focused on play testing. I enjoy the opportunity to see a scenario in progress and watch the process around making it historically accurate, balanced and ultimately fun to play. There's a reason why so many of the old ASL Scenarios are so much to play and replay. They were seriously play tested. Tonight's  game would  be a play test of Scenario MM68 V1.3 (once finally approved the version numbers are dropped.). The name of the scenario is Marsch Rueckkaempfer. This scenario is set in the summer of 1944 in the early days of Operation Bagration. German Army Group Center is being cut to pieces as the Soviet Juggernaut blast towards the Polish Border. 

The Germans resisted, but the Soviets were simply too much for the over extended German defenses. At the same time, the Western Allies were tying up the 2nd, 21st, 116th, and Panzer Lehr Panzer Divisions as well as the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th, 12th and 17th SS Panzer and Panzer Grenadier Divisions. As Army Group Center collapsed, there were far too few German mobile formations to counter-attack and plug the gaps. The German Infantry formations were overrun and their survivors would desperately attempt to escape encirclement and capture. As the days wore on, large pockets of Germans would be reduced to smaller and smaller groups until only handfuls of German troops remained to make the attempt to reach German lines, which every day moved further west. These groups of Germans would be called the Rueckkaempfer. Very...very few of them would actually succeed in reaching German lines. This scenario attempts to detail what it would be like for the Germans to move through an enemy country without being killed or captured.

This is a big scenario with six boards, 11 turns and of course 3 distinct sides: Russians, Germans and UPA Partisans. Each group earns Victory Points for different things. the Germans gain CVP points, and 1 point for each successful scrounging of a building for weapons, for units successfully exited off the north edge and a point for each good order unit left at game end. The Russians gain points for exiting a column of trucks off the north edge and for capturing Germans. And the UPA Partisans gain points through CVP, points for holding buildings and for capturing support weapons...and double CVP for any units killed in CC.

Forces consist of 20 German squads, 19 Russian squads, and 15 UPA squads. And of course assorted officers, support weapons and vehicles. The Russians have two forces (4th player option here), which are a unit of Cavalry guarding the supply road and a Supply Truck Convoy hurrying to the front. 

A look at the game at start. The Russians don't enter the game until Turns 5 and 6. Turns 1-4 are night with an NVR of 4, which ultimately reduced to zero as the game progressed. Dawn occurs on Turns 5 and 6 and full daylight on Turns 7 - 11. The Germans enter under cloaking on Turn 1. 

It was slow going for my Germans on Turn 1. Dan Best commanded the UPA Partisans and Dave Mareske would control the Russians.

I would scrounge two buildings successful. A successful scrounge would battle harden the unit. I had a 4-4-7 move to a 4-6-7 and 4-3-6 to to a 4-4-7. I would also earn 2 Victory Points.

I moved a bit more cautiously than you should do in the dark. I needed to make it across the creek and only got a few of my boys across.

Turn 4 is the last chance the Germans have to perform an SSR option. In lieu of movement, the German Player can choose to HIP any unit(s) in concealment terrain. He can then place them up to 4 hexes in any direction from their last known location. I had many cloaking dummys still in play and elected to pretend to hide some of them in order to confuse Dave and Dan. I elected to set up 3 blocking locations on the forest road to try and stop the Russian Convoy. Otherwise, my boys went into hiding to await nightfall and another opportunity to move towards the west.

Turn 5 - Dave's cavalry entered the game. This is the strongest unit in the game.

Dave moved to mess with Dan's road block squads and also my road block groups. He needed a clear road for his convoy to escape to the north.

Turn 6 - the Russian Convoy rumbles down the road.

I positioned three 4-3-6's in the road to try and faust the lead scout cars. And 6 resid was enough to stoop the convoy.

Dan's HIP Partisans zapped my 8-1 with three squads and 2 x LMG's. He would capture both LMG's and kill everyone else. I HATE HIP...really I do...

Yellow circles show Dan's UPA force. I mistakenly used Partisan counters, but was supposed to have used Axis Minor 3-4-7's. MY BAD...

Pressure from the Russian Cavalry messed up two of my road block units. My third road block unit was already in contact with the convoy and succeeded in turning the lead scout car into a burning wreck with a faust. 

Dave's Cavalry began to take down both UPA and German squads.

A Labor Counter...seems out of place on burning wreck...right...well guess what!?!  Dave had a squad try to hamper the flame in the hex from becoming blaze in the hex. A blaze would destroy the other truck in the hex and break the 4-4-7 trying to put out the fire. Dave would be successful in keeping the flame from turning into a blaze, but couldn't put it out. 

Dave's cavalry had accomplished their primary mission. The road was cleared of threats. Now if he could only put out the flame...

OH NOOOO....yep, the flame turned into a blaze, destroying the good truck in the location and breaking the 4-4-7. And...shutting down the road. Convoy mission killed.

Dan's UPA had been pretty quiet after wiping out my group near the village. Dave's cavalry were making life hard for him, but otherwise, he was in good shape.

As we completed Turn 8, the clock struck 10:30 and Dan and Dave decided that we could call it a game. We tallied up the points: Germans 23, Russians 21, and the UPA Partisans 20. With three turns left to play, it would have been anybody's game. So, based on that, I was pleasantly surprise by how well this scenario played out. Everybody had an equal chance at winning the game and had lots of different tactical decisions available to them. Scenarios like this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're looking for that occasional 3 or 4 Player game...this one will fit the bill.

Look for it in 2021!!!