Well, the long hot summer in Oklahoma continues. Friday afternoon, I could see the clouds building up outside my office window. And by 5:00 PM, a big thunder boomer was fast approaching. I managed to get to my car and headed back to the house just as the worst of it started to hit. Of course storms in Oklahoma are nothing new. This one would hit hard and fast and knock over a few trees, but was fairly routine by Oklahoma standards. My biggest worry was that it would knock out the electricity...which simply would not do as I had a 6:00 PM game with Dan!!
Dan and I were able to get in a Friday game after my regular St. Louis opponent cancelled at the last minute. Dan and I would pick a short game that would take maybe three hours or so. Not to pat ourselves too heavily on the back...but Dan and I play fast. As you will see, our Saturday game was a 10 turn beast of a scenario. We would play 9 full turns in just over 5 hours. So yeah...we have mad "fast" game skills!!!
I must say that I really appreciate fast players. My St. Louis opponent tends to ponder a bit more and I find myself thinking..."C'mon man...it's just the wind change roll...drop the dice already!!!" Back in the early '80's, I had a regular opponent who played ASL like it was chess. He would take an hour just to do his part of the turn. It was excruciating at times. In tournaments, slow play can be distracting and detrimental. You learn who the slow players are and often have to watch their games be adjudicated because they have not finished and everyone else is ready to start the new round. I am quite certain that they would prefer to avoid adjudication, but the tournament directors have no choice and have to keep the rounds on track. And don't misunderstand, fast play should not be the goal in and of itself. You don't want to sacrifice good play choices and mechanics in the name of speed. But at the end of the day, ASL is a game about squad level combat that occurs over a 2 minute time-frame. So while taking 15 minutes feels right...taking an hour does not.
Our Friday game would come the from the relatively new Le Franc Tireur Yankee ASL Nor'easter Pack II. This would be our first scenario from this pack. LFT products are always first class. We would select scenario YASL 14 - Szczuki. Designed by Stephen Johns, this scenario depicts a Polish blocking action with armored cars against advancing Germans moving towards Warsaw. At 5-1/2 turns and with small OOB's on both sides, it was a perfect fit for a quick night of ASL.
ROAR has it with 6 German and 2 Polish wins. That seem consistent with the history. It's hard to imagine the frustration of the Poles as they tried to stem the relentless German tide. And one wonders how much stiffer their resistance had the Poles known the horrors that were to come.
In general, I don't play a lot of Polish invasion scenarios. I'm not a big fan of early war armor. But now and then, these early war scenarios can be a nice change of pace. One criticism I have for ASL armor rules is seen with early war armor actions. Burning wrecks are a bit of a rarity in early scenarios, because armor factors are low and gun calibers are equally low. So you just don't see burning wrecks as often as you will in 1945 scenarios where Panzerfausts and Panzeschrecks almost always create a burning wreck. Just an observation...
"Ok..but...oh alright...I'll be quiet..."
For tonight's game, I would be the attacking Germans. I would command the men of Panzer Divisoin Kempf. I would have 9 x 4-6-7's and 2 x 2-4-7's led by a 9-1, 8-0 and 7-0 with an MMG, 2 x LMG's, an ATR , a 50 MTR and 4 x PZ MK I's. The MK I's are small, but that 6 factor MG is nice to use up close and personal, especially when your opponent doesn't have any LATW's!!!
And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:
"The Poles must defend the two buildings on the crossroads in northeast board 69. I set up the 8-1 squad and MMG to defend one victory building and squad and ATR to defend the other. The two armored cars set up in grain in front of the buildings hoping to stop the German tanks and a HS with MTR set up in the other grain to pepper the woods with MTR bombs. The 8-0 and two squads will set up forward in the building to build some defense in depth. I will deploy a squad to set up a picket line of HS and place a squad forward in the orchard. Hopefully the defense in depth will buy the time to hold out."
I would make my advance as an armored assault and move into the center woods. I would keep out of sight of the armored cars. Their 37 guns could do a lot of damage to my little tanks.
Turn 1 German - I moved forward without too much difficulty. My first objective was to eliminate Dan's upfront blocking force. I would then swing around the right side where the grain would give me some cover from the armored cars.
Now...I would make a fairly significant mistake in my first move. I would CX and move adjacent to Dan. Why is this a mistake...well because being CX is not a good thing in CC and hanging that bait in front of Dan is just foolish...cause he will bite!
The Polish sniper would also show up and Pin my mortar toting half-squad.
And yep...Dan would come into Close Combat and slap me around pretty good. I would lose a squad and another would be locked in Melee.
Turn 2 German - I move to eliminate the forward Polish elements. I put one tank in harm's way and lose it straight away.
Dan's armored cars would eventually destroy one and immobilize two of my tanks.
At the end of Turn 2, I had eliminated the Polish upfront force. Now it was time to regroup and head for the two victory building locations.
Turn 3 - German - I would swing around the right side as planned. My ATR would knock out an armored car, while Dan would immobilize one of my tanks.
After 3 turns, I was in striking distance of the victory locations. Dan was struggling to get decent rolls. Too many 9-11's were keeping him from slowing down my infantry.
By Turn 4, my ATR had knocked out the other armored car, but not before another of my MKIb's was immobilized. Dan's boys were also breaking frequently. I was also moving to take the victory locations.
With both armored cars gone, I was now free to move about the cabin!!!
Going into Turn 5, my Germans were close to sealing the deal. Dan's squads were largely broken. However, his 8-1 was still hanging touch and keeping it interesting.
There was no quit in Dan's 8-1.
I had moved my last MKIb adjacent to Dan's 8-1. Another bad idea...as the 8-1 jumped onto it for some Close Combat action.
My MKIb would be turned into a burning wreck. But on the plus side, Dan's boys had left the victory location unoccupied. Some new tenants would be arriving shortly!!!
And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:
"The plan did not work. The ACs were able to stop most tanks. But the defense in depth did not stop or inflict many casualties on the infantry. The 8-0 would have done well to set up in the building with the ATR since that was the rally point for most route paths. Grumble Jones kept up the pressure and the Polish defense collapsed under the wave of German infantry. Reminding us that ASL is an infantry game with the distraction of tanks. Well played by Grumble Jones! Congrats on a well deserved victory."
For our Saturday game, Dan would choose a scenario from the March Madness Texel Pack, MM12 Texel Airport. This would be my second scenario from that pack.
This scenario pack is dedicated exclusively to the Georgian Mutiny on Texel Island at the end of the war. The Georgians, eager to be done with the war had hoped the Allies would liberate the island quickly if they turned on their German allies. In the "Night of the Bayonets" , the Georgians would launch their mutiny by killing their German comrades in their sleep. By the time the sun was up on the first day, over 400 Germans had been murdered.
Not to pontificate too much, but I've always found this element of the Georgian mutiny to be the most awful and would go a long way to explaining the ferocity of German vengeance against them.
The German commander, Breitner would quickly counter-attack and unleash hell on the Georgians. Allied help would come to late to save the majority of the Georgians. There's a surfeit of tragedy in the Texel story and its often referred to as the last battle of WW2 in Europe. The Georgians' decision to mutiny was probably designed to garner them some good will from the Allies as the war ended. They knew what their fate would be in Stalin's Russian. So the decision to mutiny probably looked like a sane choice. In the context of the war being nearly over, it looks in hindsight, like an awful decision that resulted in the loss of many lives. Sadly, there probably was really no good choice for the Georgians. Once they surrendered to the Germans in the early days of Barbarossa...their fate was sealed.
MM12 Texel Airport was designed by our own Dan Best, as are nearly all of the scenarios in the pack. The Texel Island fighting involves a lot of fortifications and no one does fortifications better than Dan. ROAR has the scenario with 1 Georgian and 4 German wins. This is a technically complex scenario to play. There are a ton of fortifications and their placement is key to whether or not the Georgians will survive the German onslaught. When playing this scenario, it's best to have the better player take on the Georgian side.
As the defending Georgians, I would command the men of the Georgian 822nd Battalion. This force would consist of 15 x 4-4-7's and 5 x 2-2-7's led by a 9-2, 8-1, 8-0 and 7-0 with an HMG, 2 x MMG's, 4 x LMG's, 2 x Panzerschrecks, a 50 MTR, 2 x 20L AT Guns, a 12.7 AA Gun, 5 x Pillboxes, 10 Fortified Building locations, 10 x Wire, 4 x Roadblocks, 2 x AT Ditches, 6 x Trenches and 48 factors of mines.
Remember to read the SSR's closely regarding HIP opportunities as well as the Georgian Crews get a -1 when firing their Panzerschrecks. And give yourself plenty of time to set up your defense. It's crucial to get it right if you hope to stop the 5 x STUGs that support the German attack.
Dan would command the attacking Germans and command the men of the 163rd Marine Infantry Regiment. This force would consist of 15 x 5-4-8's (ELR of 2) led by a 9-1, 8-1, 8-0, and 7-0 with 2 x MMG's, 4 x LMG's, 2 x DC's a Panzerschreck and 5 x Stugs with a 9-1 Armor Leader.
And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:
"The Germans have a strong combined arms force with 15 squads and 5 assault guns. The squads have advantage of good morale and high firepower. However, they are brittle with a low ELR. Also since both sides had access to the fortification design the Germans know where the fortifications are set up. With this knowledge, the plan is for the Germans to enter on board 44 and armored assault to attack the airport from the north flank. With the 9-1 taking two squads and both MMGs into the level 1 building on 14 S9. This position can see into the airport perimeter. Hopefully the Germans do not ELR break too often."
Now...in the interest of full transparency, I will admit to not doing a good job of reading the SSR's for this scenario. I have an "ATTENTION TO DETAIL" problem. No lie, it affects me at work too. This is why I can't be a surgeon, an accountant or an automotive technician. You might not survive surgery, avoid an audit or have a car that runs...if I were to be involved. Storytelling is my one skill (such as it is!!). So I did not HIP anyone...I did not put my Panzerschrecks with my Crews. Too very stupid oversights that would hurt me in this game. Don't be like me...read the SSR's...closely.
"Who am I kidding...of course I will!!!"
Dan's boys armored assaulted in stacks. My upfront force was all dummys, except in the wooden building. Dan was cautious as he was expecting to get hit from HIP Panzerschreck teams....
"Oh yeah...I'm an ASL master and will baffle Dan with my ineptitude!!!"
Now we all know that moving in stacks is dangerous. I would catch a three squad stack with my upfront LMG and Pin one squad and Break the other two. Every now and again I know what I'm doing.
Dan quickly overcame my upfront force and would get the benefit of a fortified location that I stupidly made available to him. He would place his 9-1 and both MMG's in that location. Yeah...that's fun stuff.
Dan also found my weak spot. I missed it. There's a gap in the wood line where the arrow is pointing. So the STUG's could use bypass to get through there. I also put no mines there. I doubled up the mines with my wire on the other flank, which probably was helpful as Dan never came that way...but on the other hand, I sure needed them where he did attack.
Dan began turning my right flank. It was clearly the weak side and I was kicking myself. My 9-2 did catch another stack moving with a Stug and spanked them hard.
The Georgian 9-2 is Shalva Loladze, the leader of the munity.
Dan would get a 120mm OBA. It would come in later in the game. Dan forgot about for an entire turn, which is possible given how busy the battlefield is with all the fortifications. I noticed that Dan didn't do anything with it and I was quiet. Normally, I'm a better sport than that and will tell Dan...but his ARTY was so devastating...that I tried to forget about it too...my bad Dan...
This scenario is 10 Turns and Dan and I would use 9 of them before the game was concluded. Dan rolled a ton of 4's during this game. 4 was my SAN number. I wouldn't get a ton of sniper activations...but man...when I did they were brutal. My sniper would break two squads, kill two squads and kill the German 9-1. Not sure if the 9-1 is supposed to represent the German commander Breitner or not.
Historically Breitner survived the war.
Dan would remember his ARTY and drop it hard. He would roll two critical hits in one salvo. Loladze would break along with his squad and the woods next door would catch fire. Dan would also annihilate my 20L AA Gun position with a critical hit. Shell holes may not have resulted as 120 is not 150mm...but I demanded shell holes (cause I never get to use the counter). And I reasoned that as a critical hit it was actually 240mm's and therefore created shell holes. Dan humored me and we put shell holes there.
Dan is damn good at fortification scenarios and knows how use his DC's to good effect. He would successfully place one for a breach attempt.
Dan would send a STUG through the gap in the woods by bypass. The only thing that saved me was that my trenches connected and forced Dan to make a BOG check, which he missed. Now normally, Dan is a vey cool customer and nothing fazes him. But this game would get under his skin. His forces would bog, break, pin and get waxed by sniper throughout the game and just generally irritate him. ASL is like that sometimes. You get frustrated because your force can't seem to accomplish any task. Usually, I'm the one all flustered and irritated by my dice.
Well...for starters...it's an incredibly detailed and complex game that is completely dependent on random dice rolls...any other questions??? And secondarily...it's a fantastically fun game despite that.
Dan successfully breached my fortified building. Much pain would ensue for me.
Dan was closing in on me and getting adjacent to the runway. He would win at game end by controlling 6 of the 11 runway hexes.
I would would manage to take down a STUG as it moved onto the runway with a Panzerschreck. The bad news is that I now effectively eliminated the ability for my HMG in the bunker to lay down a fire land the length of the runway. Should have shot it in a different hex. It's amazing in ASL...how much you really need to think about what you are doing.
Dan would go into CC with two of my bunkers. Neither would go his way.
I would get a lucky hit with 8-0 with a Panzershreck and destroy a second STUG. That would be the extent of my anti-tank success. At this stage of the game, Dan was pretty much in control. But I was still hanging in there and had a plan to exit three squads from bunkers at the end of the game to take back runway hexes. As we got into Turn 8, Dan asked if I was ready to concede. We had been hard at it for 4 hours. We were both worn out as this was a very intense scenario to play. Honestly, I was ready to concede and Dan clearly had a path to victory. But I was still in the game...barely...but I just couldn't concede yet.
Opinions certainly vary as to when you should or should not concede. If you have the Turns remaining, and a force still in play that could (however unlikely) bring you victory...then you probably owe it to yourself and your opponent to play it through. Throughout the years of playing ASL, I have seen games turn around on the very last movement phase and deliver a victory, when no one expected it. ASL is that kind of game. Can you imagine if Tom Brady had just decided the Falcons had the win? Would anyone have blamed him, if they just accepted defeat . No...but can anyone forget that incredible comeback? So don't count yourself out of a game until it's absolutely clear, that you have no path to victory.
Here's the final picture that I took. A few things would happen after this taken. Dan's 9-1 would be killed by my sniper and both MMG squads would break. I would KIA a couple more Germans before being reduced a single half-squad in MELEE. After 9 turns...I would give the Dan concession and congratulate him on a well earned victory. I did not hand it to him and fought tooth and nail for as long as I could. I lost the game, but I left everything on the field and felt good about the game. And Dan overcame a lot of bad events to take the airfield and eliminate the Georgians. I told him that this game will go down as one of our epic games. And I really mean that. It was a helluva game. And this is one interesting scenario. Give it a shot when you have the time to do it justice.
The plan worked. The 9-1 overlook group was bedeviled by the sniper, eventually killing the 9-1 and breaking both squads. But not before it was able to suppress positions around the runways. The OBA dis some damage drawing 2 black and 2 red cards. The Germans got into the trenches and breached one fortified building. Two assault guns were lost to PSKs. The Germans captured 9 out of 11 runway hexes. The fighting was brutal with only two good order German squads on the board at game end. Well defended by Grumble Jones and a hard fought victory for the Germans. My thanks to Grumble Jones for a great game of ASL!
Ok...that's a wrap on a two game AAR...
I am totally knackered...
This weekend has reminded me just how lucky I really am to have the opportunity to play so much ASL...
It's pretty damn great.
Dan and I will return next week for another episode of Grumble Jones!!!
We will see you then!
Your AARs are always inspiring. Thanks to your game, I'm reading now "Night of the Bayonets: The Texel Uprising and Hitler's Revenge" https://www.amazon.es/Night-Bayonets-Uprising-Hitlers-April-May/dp/1784384682 Amazing history! As always, thanks for your efforts at making the best ASL AARs in the world!
ReplyDeleteLuis, thank you Sir and so glad you were inspired to read more about Texel Island. Thanks for spending your valuable time at Grumble Jones my friend!
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