Our Games - RO1 Blood on the Tracks and AP169 The Beasts have Arrived

Once again, Dan Best and I would walk the Red Factories Maps and battle it out in the ruins of the Red October Factory. Second Step had been so much fun, that we were both eager to spend another week playing another Red Factories scenario. Our choice would be RO1 Blood on the Tracks. RO1 was designed by Charles Kibler. He was recently interviewed by the 2 Half-Squads and talks about the scenario he designed for Red Barricades. If you not listened to or watched it on YouTube..I highly recommend it. ROAR has it with 19 Russian and 3 German wins. If you're the German Player...well...good luck to you and that won't help. But that does not limit the fun of this scenario. I found it to be very enjoyable and as the German Player, I tried to accept my fate early in the game. 

Having said that, I played hard in this game and gave the Dan the best game I could and yes...I very nearly won.

Dan and I would play this scenario Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening. This was a great way to play this scenario with about 2 turns each night. 

On Friday night we played a Quick 6 IV scenario called Hold Pokhlebin (Q21). This scenario is rough on the German Player and I was not pleased with the tactical situation. A small group of German squads must hold a village of 13 buildings against two Russian forces, which can attack from any board edge. The Russians  win immediately by controlling 7 of the buildings. Our game was over after three turns. I did my best...but in my opinion the German player has no chance. I don't say this often, but I will say it this time. The Germans have one HMG, which normally would be great...but for this game, 2 or three LMG's would serve the Germans much better. I'll also be honest about my dislike for scenarios that don't give you much of a chance. I'm a huge fan of Lone Canuck products and the Quick 6 Packs, but these short scenarios can be overwhelmed by boxcars. I would MALF my HMG and then 6 it on the Repair. With it gone and not rolling well with -2 moving in the open shots...I was quickly beaten. If you're looking to try and win against great odds, then this is a great scenario for that.

Dan and I would play again Saturday of course, and this final scenario would be AP169 The Beasts Have Arrived. So we would play three Russian Front scenarios over 6 straight evenings. Spoiler alert...I would lose all three. Dan would enjoy a nice 3 game win streak and get back on the winning track after a rough start to 2022. 

Blood on the tracks covers a bit of the same battlefield as our earlier Second Step. We played them out of order, but it gave both Dan and I a chance to play the Germans and the Russians. At 6-1/2 turns, Blood on the Tracks is a very playable scenario in terms of time, counter management, etc. Sometimes it can seem daunting to whip out the HASL maps and have a go at it. Scenarios like Second Step and Blood on the Tracks are a great way to experience the HASL maps without the commitment required by the campaign game. And playing it out over several evenings gives it a bit of a campaign feel. Personally, I enjoy spending that kind of time on a scenario and contemplating my tactical options each day before rejoining the fight. 

I first read about the battle of Stalingrad in 5th grade. William Craig's Enemy at the Gates was a $1.50 a the local drugstore in Bristol, VA. At that age, I really couldn't grasp the enormity of the battle. Honestly, it's tough even as an adult to really fully grasp the size and violence of the battle of Stalingrad. I've often wondered what causes our fascination with this terrible battle. I've concluded that it stands out as the penultimate city battle between two great powers with the winner...winning not just the battle...but ultimately the war. Then there is the horror of this battle, which grips the imagination with fear and terror. Who among us would ever have wanted to actually experience that battle. It's a terrible and tragic story of human suffering. We do well to study it and to remember it...lest we ever contemplate a repeat engagement.

As the attacking Germans, I would command Intanterie Regiment 212, Pioneer-Bataillon 179 and Sturmgeschuetz-Abeteilung 244. This force would consist of 4 x 8-3-8's, 5 x 4-6-8's, and 14 x 4-6-7's led by a 10-2, 9-2, 2 x 9-1's, and 2 x8-0's with an HMG, 3 x MMG's, 7 x LMG's, a Flamethrower, 3 x DC's a Radio with 100mm OBA and 2 x STUG's. 

As the defending Russians, Dan would command the 112th Guards Rifle Regiment and 48th Machine Gun Battalion of the 39th Guards Rifle Division with some Factory Militia for good measure. This force would consist of 7 x 6-2-8's, 3 x 5-2-7's, 12 x 4-5-8's, 5 x 2-2-8's, a 1-2-7, and 5 x 4-2-6's led by a 9-2, 2 x 9-0's, an 8-1 and 8-0 with 2 x HMG's, 4 x HMG's, 6 x LMG's, a MOL Launcher, 3 x ATR's, 2  x 45LL AT Guns, 24 Mine Factors, 3 x Trenches and 5 x Wire.

As you can see, these are two formidable forces facing off in a very tight battle space. Rubble, mines, fortified buildings...oh boy...so much fun attacking through that. And yeah...it was fun...

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:

"The Russians must keep the Germans from capturing a building east of row M or have a good order MMC on or west of row J.  The Russian MLR will be along the tracks.  Defending Hall 5a in strength and buildings L30, J31 and J32.  J32 will be protected by wire and mines, channeling the Germans into the rubble to slow them down.  Three HIP squads will set up in the workers housing and hopefully get an ambush or two to keep the Germans wary or if bypassed to win the game being west of row J.  The reinforcements will move through the trenches into building N28 and Hall 5a.  Hopefully the Germans can be stopped at the tracks."

By SSR both sides could only set up 12 counters per hex row in their respective setup areas. I only had three available rows. This SSR would seriously mess with my attack. It costs the Germans an entire turn of movement. It also made it difficult to deploy squads. These are the kinds of SSR that I find a bit disagreeable. 

With the restricted setup SSR I had to amend my attack strategy and had three phase line objectives of where I hope to be at the end of the first three turns. That would be roughly the halfway point of the game, and I would need as much time as possible to take the Hall 5A. Time in ASL is a cruel mistress. She always give you one less turn than you needed for victory...always...

Turn 1 German - I advance cautiously as Dan had up to three squads that could be HIP...not to mention the 24 factors of mines. Two of his HIPsters would show up.  One on the far right would fail to do anything. One in the right center would fail to do anything and the pinned himself in Final Protective Fire. Dan was rolling quite high in these first two ambushes. My Germans dodged a serious bullet. 6-2-8's are no laughing matter. And Dan's frustration was very understandable. Players love to chastise other players with the idea that ASL is a game of movement. And it is...but if you fail to capitalize on your opportunities in Defensive Fire, you will quickly find yourself in trouble.

Moving through rubble is never easy and it has a tendency to block lines of sight when you least want it to.

Dan's middle HIP 6-2-8 had been broken and was forced to rout through building H31...which had mines around it. They would KIA'd by the minefield. One of those bizarre things that can occur in ASL.

Searching (A12.152) - Searching is a rarely used rule, but one you must keep close when advancing in an urban environment with HIP enemy units and minefields. I would discover one minefield and the last HIP 6-2-8 waiting to ambush me. I would successfully eliminate the 6-2-8. Dan's three HIP squads had gone done without inflicting any losses. A tough blow to the Russians and a very lucky break for the Germans. I could easily have lost a platoon to the ambushes and seen my attack's momentum taken away.

By Turn 3 I had reached the Turn 2 Advance Line, but was solidly a turn behind schedule. On the right flank, Dan had blocked my advance towards the J32 building. The victory conditions required that there be no good order Russians on or west of K. so I would have to take the J32 building. I had sent the 9-2 and 8-3-8's to take on this mission.  But they would idle for too long during the game.

At the end of three...a look at the German advance.

Dan's defense of the J32 building was very good. I could only approach from one hex and he had two 6-2-8's with an HMG targeting that hex. In the fortified location in J32 he had an AT Gun. My STUG would soon find it.

I sent a STUG to support both flanks.

Turn 4 - My ARTY would finally be brought into the battle as I pushed to the railroad tracks. 

My 8-0 with the Radio would only call in one FFE. He would be wounded by the Russian Sniper, but would give a account of himself by rallying my boys broken in the initial assaults on the 5A Hall.

My Stukas would enter on Turn 3, but fail their sighting task checks. They would circle overhead for a bit. My STUGs would try to cross the debris on the left and right flanks. My STUG on the right would bog. The white circles show my two game objectives. I would have to take both buildings in order to win.

Dan's Russians were doing their job and slowing my assault just enough to allow them to send in reinforcements into the battle.  

My ARTY would hit and stop Dan from sending a crew to replace the one eliminated at the right flank AT Gun. But he would finally succeed in getting a 2-2-8 into the position. On the left, my other STUG went over the tracks to take up a hull down position in the stonewall horseshoe. That would be a mistake as his other AT Gun would knock me out. I was going to drive it into the factory, but Dan pointed out the horseshoe as good looking position...just right for a STUG.. Well...I should have ignored my Russian friend...Lesson Learned!!!

My other STUG would go down to the other AT Gun. The STUG's  impact on the battle is hard to gage, but not having them would take away a mobile response to any counter-attacks...and there would be counter-attacks.

My final Stuka would drop a bomb and manage to break a squad, but nothing more.

Turn 5 would bring devastation to the German attack. I had managed to clear the J32 building, but my 9-2 rolled back to back 6's on getting under the wire. This would be a very costly problem. My two other 8-3-8's would rush through the trench and place DC's on the the two Russian positions on the right side of the 5A Hall. I had also managed to get into the factory on the left edge. 

A single shot would ring out and my 10-2 would crumple to the ground. My 10-2 had been directing a 26 factor fire group of all my HMG's and MMG's. They had been the fire support that had pushed the Russians back. Now only a single 4-6-7 with the HMG remained unbroken. This event would be a decisive moment in the game. My 10-2 was poised to support the final assault into the 5A Hall. Instead he was dead on the field and my most important fire group broken and dispersed. My 10-2 was one of 5 available targets in the stack...and naturally he would be the one to take the hit.

Personal ELR is a real thing in ASL games. I have won two tournament games after my opponent's conceded after my sniper killed their top leader. I knew losing the 10-2 and kill stack would significantly reduce any chance I had of actually winning the game. But on this occasion, I sucked it up and kept my head in the game. I was going to press on.

Man...what a hard hit.

My initial foray into Hall 5A was repulsed with a number of squads routing back. But I had managed to take the L29-L30 building. I still had a chance.

After my 10-2 was killed, my force on the left flank was broken. Dan's Russians would see my weakness and launch a counterattack in order to take buildings on or west of Row K. Suddenly, I was beset with two objectives and a force that was severely reduced.

Kudos to Dan for a well-timed and executed counterattack. It threw me completely off balance and forced me to siphon troops away from the 5A Hall.

A final look at a great game. So as we entered the final turn, I successfully moved men into Close Combat with all 6 of the potential victory hexes. Two of these were in the J Row building and the other 4 were in the 5A Hall. Talk about an exciting finish!!! It just does not get better than that! So My 8-0 would go after a pinned crew in CC 1 and win. My 4-6-7 would take out the 8-1 and 4-5-8 in CC 2. Myy 8-1 stack would casualty reduce a 4-5-8 in CC 3, but the be held in Melee (game over), I would win CC 4 and CC 5. In CC 6, my 9-2 would go down fighting and be killed.

My congrats to Dan on an epic finish and a great win. Dan shook off the failure of his ambush attacks and kept a strong defense in front of the Germans and his counterattack on the left deprived my main attack of troops needed for a final push. That's how you do it in Stalingrad.

And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:

"The plan worked.  But it was a close.  The HIP units were lost without inflicting any damage to the Germans.  The Germans cleared Building J32 and J31 and assaulted the MLR.  The Russian sniper hit the German 10-2 and the German attack ran out of steam.  Even with the severe losses the Germans were able to take all but two locations in Hall 5a.  Better use of the Russian fortified building locations would be in the M row of Hall 5a.  This scenario is a great Stalingrad factory and street fight.  My thanks to Grumble Jones for a great game of ASL!"

Our Saturday night game would be AP169 The Beasts Have Arrived. 

This scenario was designed by Andrew Rogers and is good late war encounter between SS Panthers and Tigers and Guard Tank IS-2's and T-34's.

I'm generally a big fan of these kinds of battles, but the terrain would be somewhat difficult for armor. I would fare badly in the tank fights that would follow.

ROAR has this scenario with 14 Russian and 18 German wins. 

This game would test my personal ELR and I would fail the task check. Every now and again a game will cause you to check out early...even when you still have a chance to win. Losing your will to continue in a game is the fatal consequence of allowing your emotions to get the better of you.

Dan would be the defending Russians and command the men of the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade and 11th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment. This force would consist of 6 x 6-2-8's, 2 x 4-5-8's and 4 x 5-2-7's led by 2 x 8-1's and 8-0 with an MMG, 4 x LMG's, 2 x ATR's, a DC, a 57LL AT Gun, 2 x IS-2's and 2 x T-34/76's.

As the attacking Germans, I would command the Panzers of the 9th SS Hohenstaufen Division. My force would consist of 11 x 6-5-8's led by an 9-1, 2 x 8-1's, and an 8-0 with 2 x MMG's, 4 x LMG's, a Panzerschreck, two Half-Tracks (81 MTR/75*), 2 s Tiger I's and 3 x Panthers.

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments.

"The Russians must defend four stone buildings (one is rubble) in the hilltop village (board 15a) against the SS thugs.  The board is cluttered with out of season orchard and in season grain.  The 8-1 and 4-5-8 with MMG will set up in victory building I9 for the multiple roads which offer fire lane possibilities.  5-2-7 squads will set up in the other victory buildings (J11, F11, G13), with the one in the rubble (J11) having an ATR.  The other ATR will be with the 5-2-7 in a foxhole in L14.  The AT gun will set up in N10 with hindered fields of fire on to the other board (9a).  With 6-2-8 LMG squads setting up in foxholes in M9 and O11 to protect the AT gun.  Hex L3 will have 4-5-8 and the other 6-2-6 LMG will be in L5.  The final 6-2-8 will set up in L11.  The Russian infantry will pull back to cluster in and around the victory buildings.  While the tanks battle it out.  Hopefully the Russian tanks knock out the panthers and tigers coming their way."

Much like Blood on the Tracks, the setup SSR's would handicap the German attack. I would focus on the north side as the water obstacle would limit Dan's ability to reinforce and counter-attack on that side. I would send my Panthers to assault the south end. This would prove to be a mistake.

My attack would go in without loss. Dan's 57LL AT Gun would fire and miss. It would then intensive fire and break. But Dan would fix on the following Rally Phase.

Dan's repaired 57LL AT Gun would knock out my 81 MTR half-track straight away. His IS-2's would roll into the battle. My Panthers would enter on turn 2 and head towards the AT Gun to knock it out.  I should have immediately sent the Panthers to the rear of the IS-2's. First major mistake on my part.

At the end of Turn 2 - I hadn't made too much progress.

Once again, Dan's sniper would hit me. My 9-1 would miss being the target. But I would lose a half-squad to the sniper during the game. On this occasion, I would also take the opportunity to perform a Sniper check (14.4). I was successful and pinned the sniper for the remainder of the turn.

Turn 3 German - My final Panter rolled into the battle and supported the attack on the south. In the north, I pressed forward and ascended the hill. At this point, the infantry fight was going in favor the SS Panzergrenadiers.

At the end of German 3, I was making some progress.

Turn 3 Russian - Dan's final reinforcements arrive and secure the back portion of the village. At this point I was not threatening any victory locations. So the T-34's would await to see where they would need to counterattack.

"Here we see Sergei the tank killer...we shall hear from him shortly!"

Turn 4 - My Grenadiers and Tiger I's would move around the north flank and attempt to strike the village from there. Meanwhile my three Panthers went after the IS-2 on the south side. The IS-2 would turn the first one into a burning wreck with a snakes killing my 8-1 Armor Leader. The other two would move adjacent but fail to hit in Advancing Fire.

Turn 4 Russian - I failed to take pictures at this stage of the game. Dan would break my infantry attack on the north side of the village (x's). I had taken the center and had one victory location. I was in a perfect position to Panzerfaust both of his IS-2's. Dan would move the T-34's first. His first one would start up. I needed a 10 to hit...and rolled a $#@@$$^% 11. It would move in behind my Panther and destroy in bounding fire. The MMG would destroy my final half-track. Dan's second T-34 would roll up behind my remaining Panther. His IS-2 in the north would start up and I would fail to get a Panzerfaust on 3 consecutive rolls. In full Defensive Fire, my other 6-5-8 would fail to get a faust and pin. My remaining Panther would knock out the IS-2, but would then be immoblized and MALF it's gun on a life-saving Intensive Fire shot. 

Yep...at the end of Turn 4, I had enough. I would roll two 11's trying to hit tanks with my Panthers. It's almost ludicrous to miss on a start up and then have that same tank roll up behind you and destroy you. It's just gutting...I still had two Tigers and my infantry had a good Prep Fire Phase coming up. I had one of the three locations that I needed. But my emotions took over and I conceded. The frustration of not being able to defend myself and watching my Panters go down one by one was too much for me. So I congratulated Dan on a good win and his third consecutive victory. It had been a good week for Dan's Russians. My Germans were not quite as lucky.

It had been a fantastic week of ASL...and I'm looking forward to another great week!

Dan is on all roll...so I will have to bring my A game next week!

And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:

"The plan worked.  Despite the Russian infantry faring poorly in combat the Russian tanks were able to get behind and take out the panther tanks.  In a single turn taking down all three (with one actually immobilized, broken MA and CMG) in exchange for one IS Russian tank.  This battle is hard on the attacker.  With the terrain allowing the defender to move effectively and with relative cover, it is easy to get behind the tanks and attack from the flanks.  The battle is two in one armor fight and infantry fight with the dice deciding the winner.  My thanks to Grumble Jones for the great game of ASL."

That's a wrap on a looonnng day of blogging...good grief...ten hours on this one. 

Dan and I will be back next week 

with some PTO. 

We all need a little Kunai in our lives!!!

We will see you then!