Grumble Jones April Scenario GJ106 Hill at Moldovka

2022 marches on as we head into April. Before we jump into the scenario preamble...just a quick shout out to Frank Leitz, who has been a friend of this blog for years. He also contributes each month by converting my Publisher files into PDF's. Over the years, it became apparent that PDF's are the best means of sharing the scenarios and offer the best print version. Blogger currently does not support attaching PDF files (at least to my knowledge).  Normally, I use my work computer to do the conversion. Many of you may recall that in 2021, I was laid off for the first six months and Frank was gracious enough to jump in and provide support. Then in June, I was back in the saddle work wise and had the ability to self-convert (sounds weird doesn't it!?!). And once again, Frank is helping me...so a big thank you Frank for your assistance with the PDF's. It's very much appreciated.

Now, Frank's services are required again because I voluntarily left my job in January. I haven't said much about that previously. But yes, I'm part of the great Resignation over the past couple months. My daughter recently gave birth to our first grandchild and is currently a single mom in Quincy, IL. So after much discussion with my wife, we both agreed that I needed to put 100% effort into getting us back to Quincy. So that's what I've been doing the past 10 weeks...with almost zero success. It's extremely disheartening to try and find a job in this country. I've had fantastic interviews that led absolutely no where and worse still...the prospective employer didn't have the professional courtesy to even send a rejection notification. I won't waste time on how I feel about that...but trust me...I'm not a fan of that. So that's my sad story at the moment. 

This month's scenario will be the second taken from the Osprey Combat Hungarian Solder vs. Soviet Soldier.  GJ099 Horodenka Ambush was the previous scenario taken from this book.

Now some grousing on my part. Someone played the scenario and made extensive comments and essentially rewrote the scenario. One of the comments was that it was not Historical. This not true. The scenario is well documented on pages 37-41 in the book. Other complaints were the usual nitpicking that one grows accustomed to in our hobby. So, I will not be adopting those "suggested" changes. 

 

This month's scenario is documented on page 46. Again, scenarios are never actually fully historical and are adaptation of a historical event into what is hopefully a playable and balanced ASL scenario.

Personally, while I enjoy playing historical events, I've never had any problem playing hypothetical scenarios. In the 1980's DIY scenarios were often times the only new scenarios available for my group. And we made some great scenarios...that could be on the gigantic side from to time. We did a massive SS Panzer assault to relive Budapest. We used every board available at that time...(15 maybe) and had a massive battle. As the Russians, I lost 85 tanks and about 100 squads total. I eliminated 10 Stukas, about 25 squads and 19 German tanks. SS glider troops (oh YEAH!!!) sealed my fate by opening a gap in my left flank. My reserve tanks were all slow moving KV's that had been holding the right flank. The German player would win immediately upon holding open a gap for two turns. I was unable to counter-attack in time. But what a massively fun game. We had to borrow counters from the Yaquinto Panzer Battles game to fill out all the armor necessary. Now keep in mind this was a Squad Leader game and not ASL. So the high number of losses, etc. are partially due playing Squad Leader. There were no half-squads and of course no First Fire, etc. 

So I've rambled a bit more than normal. So here finally is this month's scenario. And please remember that these are truly for fun only. 

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).

Our Saturday Game - Schwerpunkt Scenario SP5 The Hornet of Cloville

After a week of downtime, Dan Best and I were back in the fight. You may recall that we were to play The Hornet of Cloville  two Mondays ago. Well, we weren't able to play that day and so played it as our Saturday Game. It would go quickly as Dan and I finished it in 2-1/2 hours. Don't believe anyone who tells you playing Cardboard via SKYPE is slow. It ain't.

Until recently, I only played Schwerpunkt scenarios at tournaments. I didn't own any of the packs and so these were something new to me. Prior to attending my first tournament, I was strictly an MMP scenarios guy. I never any considered playing third party. 

But after that first tournament, I joined the third party club and have been enjoying third party offerings ever since.

SP5 The Hornet of Cloville is set in Normandy...which is my favorite ASL setting. Dan is an East Front Fanatic and me...well I'm a West Front fanatic. I struggle when playing Russians and Dan struggles when playing the Americans. 

Designed by Evan Sherry, this scenario is 4-1/2 turns  long and just perfect when time is short. As I mentioned we played the full 4-1/2 turns in just over 2 hours. Of course, Dan and I play faster than most. But personally, I've always thought ASL should be played fast. It ain't chess...it's  something much better.

ROAR has this scenario with 100 German wins to 64 American wins. As the American player, I doubted my chances for winning this scenario. ROAR shows it to be pretty pro-German. The ASL Archive has it with 6 American and 5 German. It's interesting that the trends of which side wins does differ greatly from time to time when comparing ROAR to the ASL Archive. More players do seem to load their game results into ROAR than into the Archive. But the advantage of the ASL Archive is the opportunity to see which players loaded their results. This gives you a better idea of the caliber of players reporting the data. So I would encourage you to load your results into both ROAR and the ASL Archive. 

As the defending Germans, Dan would command Abteilung 3, Fallschirmjaeger Regiment 9, Fallschirmjaeger Division 3. This force would consist of 5 x 5-4-8's led by an 8-1 and 7-0 with an MMG, LMG, and Panzerschreck and a Nashorn and Panzer IV.

    

As the attacking Americans, I would command Company E, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment and elements of the 741st Tank Battalion. My force would consist of 9 x 6-6-6's led by a 9-1 and 8-1 with 2 x MMG's, a Bazooka and 3 x Sherman Tanks with a 9-1 Armor Leader.

A look at the battlespace. The Americans can enter from the north and/or west edges. It's a tight battlefield to be sure.

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:

"The Germans must defend the board 42 village.  The plan will be for a tight defense using the stone buildings.  No squad will deploy, the 20% loss of firepower is too much.  The 8-1 squad and MMG will set up in the rubble in I4.  This had good fire lane possibilities.  A squad and LMG will set up in H5 and a squad and PSK in D5.  The other two squads will set up as a screen in J5 and J3.  The Hornet will set up in H3 with a bore site on G8.  The Pz IV will set up in E4 with a bore site of A6.  Hopefully the infantry can delay the Americans long enough to hold out for the win."

Today's pictures are provided by the Grumble Jones staff photographer embedded with the Fallschirmjaeger. This photographer provided the many pictures from the 2015 playing of Lone Canuck's Purple Heart Draw campaign. A good man to have in a tough fight.

My strategy for the assault was to hit Dan from three sides. Out of the picture on the left are two Shermans and the 9-1 with an MMG, BAZ 44 and 3 squads. On the north edge (top) the 8-1 has an MMG and 3 squads with 2 half-squads and then another full squad armor assaulting with a Sherman. And the lastly is a single 6-6-6 squad to come in from the east end of the village. Dan's  armor began the game concealed. I placed them the Hornet and MKIV where I believed they were and would be correct.

I knew Dan's boys were watching me...

Turn 1 American - I move cautiously. Dan holds his fire.He's a steely eyed missile man...

As my part of Turn 1 ended, I was positioned on the three sides. But I had yet to reveal any of Dan's concealed boys...guess my old friend Willy Pete would have to make an appearance...

"No sign of the Germans yet sir..."

Turn 2 American - Willy Pete shows up and reveals a 5-4-8 with an LMG. The rest of my boys move cautiously to put pressure on the Germans. My armor remains in place firing WP and supporting the infantry movements. The Germans KIA one of my 3-4-6 scouts and break the other one. We had made contact with the enemy.

Turn 2 German - Dan breaks a squad and then goes to movement phase. The 5-4-8 with the LMG in the Willy Pete house tries to get out and is wiped out. The MKIV moves to push me away from the east end of the village. And a 5-4-8 in the south attempts to escape and is broken and casualty reduced. His panzerschreck squad also moves to get into close combat with my 6-6-6 in the center.

Dan's Panzerschreck squad is eliminated in close combat and my 6-6-6 is casualty reduced.  At this point in the game the Germans have 2-1/2 squads left.

My boys were managing to hold out against the veteran Fallschirmjaeger.

Turn 3 - My Shermans move to eliminate the 5-4-8 holding the north of town. I attempt to get troops across the road to keep the Germans DM's with the 7-0, but the German 8-1 foils my plans.

As Turn 3 neared the end, the Germans were still hanging tough.

Turn 3 had created a chink in the Fallschirmjaeger armor. The 5-4-8 with the MMG had rolled snakes during an MC and had gone berserk. Now three squads with an MMG and the 9-1 waited patiently for them at attack. Unbelievably...they would survive the 44 factor shot and only casualty reduce and then make into my hex. Close Combat would see them eliminated...but they should never have survived the first shot...

Turn 4 American - I had taken the 5-4-8 in the north part of town prisoner and it was now time to press the attack and send my Shermans to engage the Nashorn.  I would lose one tank to the Nashorn, but my other would force it to pivot. It would fire and miss. In Advancing Fire, my Bazooka team would knock it out. Scratch the Nashorn.

Turn 4 had gone well. I took the German 8-1 prisoner as well, but my 3-4-6 would be eliminated in CC with the German 7-0 and half-squad. But I had two Shermans left and the German infantry was all but gone. Only the MKIV was left.

Turn 4- German - Dan's final movement opportunity. His infantry are reduced to a broken 7-0 who routed back to the new position of the German MKIV.

Turn 5 American and the final turn of the game. I rush infantry at the MKIV from all sides. Its machine guns manage to pin and/or break the 8-1 and 2 squads. My 9-1 manages to take his three squads adjacent, the 6-6-6 from the east also rejoins the fray and comes in from behind. My bailed out crew with a captured German LMG also get adjacent. The MKIV fires it's MA at the approaching infantry. Dan was hoping for rate of fire. But he didn't get it. My first Sherman moves adjacent...Dan intensive fires...misses and breaks the MA...and with that it's game over and an American victory. 

NOTE: you will see that the American sniper is under my broken half-squad in the north...that should of course be the German sniper. Not sure how I did that...but just noticed it as I completed this AAR. 

It had been a fun game and full of tension. I struggled to get to grips with Dan's dug in Fallschirmjaeger, but luck was on my side. Two rolls would undo Dan's efforts in this game. His 5-4-8 going berserk completely unhinged his defense and allowed me to approach the Nashorn. And lastly his MALF'ing of the MKIV MA resulted in an American win. So once again...the dice have been heard from in a game.

My thanks to Dan for a fun evening of ASL. I think this scenario can be a fun one. It certainly is not easy for either side and subject to dicing due it's small size. But otherwise, it's a fun situation to play out. I would definitely recommend this one if you have not played it already.

And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:

"The plan did not work.  The German defense was undone by one squad going berserk and the Pz IV malfing its MA in the last turn.  Small tournament scenarios are very susceptible to bad dice.  The German defense could not survive the two bad events.  Well played by Grumble Jones with a steady attack backed up by good use ow WP to cover the advance.  My congrats to Grumble Jones on the win!"

Man was it nice to be back playing some ASL...14 days without ASL...well that's just criminal!!

Mr. Donovan needs to do an ASL song to the Saturday Night Fever...Stayin' Alive...

Hope to hear it on the 2 Half-Squads soon...

Dan and I will be back next week for more rollicking good ASL!!! 

We will see you then!

Our Saturday Game ASL Scenario U47 A Small Town in Germany

Another week, another three games of ASL. Dan and I would play The Getaway on Monday and Gun Copse on Friday from Schwerpunkt 1. And our Saturday game would be ASL Scenario U47 A Small Town in Germany. Sadly, all three of them would leave me feeling a little meh...

I like to believe that there are no bad scenarios...only bad luck and the poor decision here or there that wrecks the game for you. But that is not always the case. There are scenarios that are just not hitting the balance mark in a way that allows for a solid game that isn't dicey.

To date I have played 5 of the 12 scenarios in Schwerpunkt Volume 1. Dan has been trying to get them all played and therefore, these have been our choice for weeknight games. They are ideal scenarios for a quick evening game. 

That said, the enjoyment factor is usually limited to the winner. In all five of our games, the Defending player won. This was also completely consistent with the trend regarding which side wins the most games. So Dan and I didn't do any differently than most other players. And in some cases the balance is really tilted hard towards the defender. 

Having written plenty of my own scenarios, I also find myself creating scenarios that are weighted to the Defender's Advantage. This is even more true if the Defender won the scenario historically. And I'll be honest back when I first started playing ASL, it never bothered me much if I lost a scenario playing the side that lost historically. That seemed kind of appropriate to me. And for me, a lot of what I love about the game is watching those historical situations play out. But as I have become more competitive in my playing, the less I like losing a scenario because I rolled the wrong side at the beginning. Yes, that can be an exaggeration, but between two evenly matched opponents...it tends to play out that way. Now couple getting the wrong side with average to poor dice rolling (which is a thing for some of us), and you are very likely to be on the losing end of the game. Dan and I have win and loss streaks that kind of back that up. I'll win 5 of 6 in a row and then lose 3 or 4 in a row and yeah, I got the side that the scenario was skewed against. It would take some work, but there is enough data out there to show this as statistical trend. We'll see if I find the time to do that data scour. 

In a recent interview, a world class player made the comment that a scenario that appears to be unbalanced with average players, can in fact prove to be balanced with expert players who know what they are doing.  Absolutely no disrespect aimed at this player, but I will say from my experiences in Tournaments, that the top players (the ones who usually win the tournament) do not play unbalanced scenarios or those that have dicey situations, that can quickly lose a player the game. A case in point was The Kings of Bollersdorf scenario. 

My friend Dave Ginnard (a very expert player) did not want to play that scenario in our first meeting at the 2018 St. Louis Tournament. He pointed out some aspects of the scenario which he felt created dicey situations that would unbalance the game should they occur. (Interestingly, the scenario was played twice during the tournament and the Russian Player won both times. The balance is Pro-German...) So we played another scenario, which we both enjoyed. It was great to sit across the table from a top player, even though I recognized that I would probably not come away with the win. And I didn't, but I would go on to finish 9th overall beneath Bob Bendis, which is the only time I imagine our names will ever be next to each other again. But the lesson Dave taught me, is that even in a tournament, pick your battles carefully. Sun Zu in the Art of War says that all battles are won before they are fought. I suspect that the Top ASL Players adhere closely to that philosophy. 

Every player has his moment in the sun. St. Louis 2018 was mine.

So why say all this? Because I felt that the three scenarios we played this week, didn't necessarily give both sides an equal opportunity to win. Case in point, The Getaway was over at the end of Turn 1 as all four Russian tanks, started up, pivoted and trundled off the board. My Germans could only sit and watch. It took longer to pull the counters than play the scenario. As the attacking Germans, I didn't do anything wrong, but I didn't rush the Russians, which clearly the design requires, if you are going to have any chance of stopping the Russian withdrawal. I for one don't like to just send my boys running out in the open even with +1 Mist. So yeah, I lost that scenario and came away with zero enjoyment. If I were to play it again, I would just rush my boys at the Russians and see what happened. But this runs counter to how I comfortably deploy my forces for attacks.

Our next scenario the Gun Copse has the British attacking across open ground towards a line of Japanese troops who have an HMG, 51 MTR and 81 MTR. The British do get a pre-registered OBA on Turn 1 of smoke. Dan would roll a 5 and be inaccurate. His smoke would land behind the Japanese line and do nothing. This basically spelled doom for Dan's attack. He would move gamely forward and take some breaks, which included his 7-0 with the Radio and his additional OBA...which he needed....badly. On Turns 2 and 3, the Japanese HMG would mow down the British attackers, until Dan finally had to concede, because he had nothing left unbroken. The Japanese had lost only a half-squad at that point. So, yeah it was fun for me....I got to sit back with rate of fire and mow down my opponent in the open. But I wasn't feeling like my tactical skill was at work. Most players with a rate of fire 3 HMG and an enemy moving in the open will duplicate the same feat. So Dan and I would split wins of two lackluster ASL experiences.

Now just a quick note...despite these two scenarios not proving to be competitive in our playings, doesn't mean that they wouldn't be for other players. All ASL is good ASL.

So one last bit of snarkiness...Dan and I will be playing Schwerpunkt SP5 The Hornet of Cloville tomorrow night. I will be the attacking Americans. ROAR has this scenario with 100 German wins to 64 American. Should I concede now!?!

And now we'll dive into the AAR for our rubber match. U47 A Small Town in Germany. ROAR has this scenario with 8 German and 3 Canadian wins. The ASL Archive has it with 4 German and 0 Canadian wins. I would be the Canadians...YEAH ME!!!

U47 would be my third scenario from this pack. So far I have enjoyed these games. My only criticism is that this scenario doesn't need to be 10 turns long. I dislike scenarios that waste three turns just moving your attacking force onto the board and into the battle. 

In this scenario, by SSR the Germans may not bore sight beyond their setup area, which in my opinion makes it silly to spend the 2 turns moving the Canadians convoy of tanks and Kangaroos to the German setup. Why not just have the Canadians enter on row Q and reduce the scenario to 7 turns. Just my opinion of course.

Having checked out the ROAR stats I knew I was probably going to have a hard time of it. The British Cromwells and Kangaroos are no match for the German Pak 36R and the 88LL.  And there is a 50 CVP cap for the Canadians. Trying to move these poor tanks against Panzerfausts, Panzerschrecks and hidden AT guns would be no easy or achievable task.

As the attacking Canadians, I would command the men of the Canadian 4th Armored Division. My force would consist of 12 x 4-5-7's, led by a 9-2, 9-1, 8-1, 8-0 and 9-1 Armor Leader with 2 x MMG's, and 4 x LMG's and 16 Armored vehicles of dubious value. 

As the defending Germans, Dan would command a mixed force of Wehrmacht Veterans and local students. This force would consist of 4 x 4-6-7's, 6 x 4-3-6's, and 4 x 2-2-8's led by a 9-1, 8-1, 8-0 and 7-0 with an MMG, 4 x LMG's and 2 x Panzerschrecks with an 88LL AT Gun, 76L AT Gun and 2 x 81 MTR's. 

The battle space for this action. The Canadians would be attacking into a very narrow front, which funnels them into the sights of the German guns. Oh boy!!! Call of Duty anyone!?!

And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:

"The Germans must control one multi-hex building on board 10 or inflict 50 CVP or more on the attacking British.  The German plan will be to defend in depth.  The first position will be 11G4 with the 76mm AT gun.  Backed up by a 4-3-6 in 11H3.  And dummy in 11I6.  Note:  I made an error in set up, and set up as if the British started on board with concealment.  Losing out on 12 dummy concealment markers.  The next position will be the 9-1, 4-6-7 MMG and 4-6-7 LMG will set up in 10EE5 level 1 to give cover fire on the hill.  Also a 2-4-7 PSK will set up 10EE1 and 10CC9.  The 8-1 with the last 4-6-7 LMG will se up in 10BB7.  The 8-0 with a 4-3-6 LMG will set up in 10DD3 and the 7-0, 4-3-6 and LMG in 10BB3.  The last 4-3-6 will set up in 10BB1, 10X2, and 10X6 to keep vehicle from easily moving into the German rear.  The 88mm AT will set up in 10Y5 and the 81mm MTRs will set up in 10CC1 and 10Z2.  Hopefully the Germans can get some hits with PF to get over the CVP cap."

A look at Dan's defenses. I would correctly guess the location of the 76L and the 88LL. The mortars were not where I expected them to be. But despite knowing the 76L gun was where it was...you will see that I stupidly attack it. Like the Confederates at Shiloh...I couldn't just go around the Hornet's Nest. It's a character flaw and it would cost me dearly.

Turn 1 completely spend moving across the map. Dan would take no actions on Turn 1...of to Turn 2.

Ok Turn 2 Canadian. I would move safely around the hill. I had one tank ready to head up the center road...just to prove if my theory was correct. It was...tank destroyed. So now...rather than just go around the hill...I send forces to deal with the AT Gun.

I would try to smoke the AT Gun in defensive fire, but I would lose a second Cromwell to the AT Gun. I was already bleeding CVP...the German AT Gun was under my skin now...it would have to die.

German AT Gun crew...be taunting me!!!

Turn 3 Canadian - I begin my assault into the village. My Kangaroos head for home. And my vengeance seeking against the German 76L AT Gun costs me a third tank. But I capture the crew. So not worth it...

At the end of three turns, I wasn't positioned too badly, but I was jammed in tight trying to take out Dan's 9-1 kill stack with an MMG, LMG, and 2 x 4-6-7's.  I had cleared the hill in my rear, but that little distraction cost me nearly 25 CVP. Yeah...I was already halfway to the cap for losses to a gun...which I knew was there. I have no excuses for my own stupidity.

Yeah...it feels good to be a gangsta!!! AT Gun is no more...

But I was getting too close to the CVP cap ledge of doom...

Turn 4 would suck royally. Dan would Panzerfaust a Lynx, Panzerschreck the other Lynx and Panzerschreck a Cromwell, while I MALF'd the MA on another Cromwell.

"Wilkommen Amerikanischer-Englanders...hier ist der Panzerschreck Koenig!!!"

A look at my furthest penetration into the village. This is as far as I would get.

Dan's Landsers were in control.

The German sniper would wreck havoc on me...as if I needed anymore bad luck. The sniper would break squads and KIA my 9-1. Sometimes this game just blows... My 9-2 would be killed in action in close combat with the crew of one of the 81 MTR's. Yes, they would not be taken prisoner.

Seriously, Dan's dice were doing a real number on me in this game. Dan's second mortar would take a shot after pivoting against a Canadian 2-4-7 that had successfully dashed across the street. Dan needed snakes to hit and rolled snakes and the a 1 for a critical hit. Four KIA result and no more half-squad. 

This was obviously a gutting moment for me, but worse than that it kept me from going into close combat with a Pinned 4-3-6 that had pinned while going for a faust. I had two tanks right next to it. 

In Prep Fire, the 4-3-6 would get a faust, shoot, hit and destroy another Cromwell while breaking and disrupting themselves in the process.

But that was game as we hit the 50 CVP with that destroyed tank. It was game over and a German victory.

A last look at the game as I began picking up the pieces. This is a hard game for the Canadians. ROAR and the ASL Archive bear that out. But poor decisions on my part did me no favors. Luck was firmly on Dan's side. His sniper hurt me bad and he was able to pivot his AT Gun and Mortar and still knock me out. My Bounding Fires and Advancing Fire did nothing during this game. So from that perspective it was a one-sided contest with me taking the beating. My thanks to Dan for a fun game despite my suffering. Dan's defense proved to be very good and Dan was able to take me down for a good win.

And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:

"The plan worked.  Thanks to good dice rolls the 76mm AT knocked out three tanks (one with the 9-1 AL) and the PSKs each got an AFV.  PF shots to two others.  With a few infantry and the 9-2 and 9-1 leaders getting killed the CVP cap was met on turn 7.  This scenario is hard on the British who must keep their distance from the Germans will breaking the Germans in stone buildings.  No easy task.  My thanks to Grumble Jones for a great game of ASL!"

Well...time to relax and reflect on 

the great week of ASL. 

Dan and I will take a break next week as Dan helps run the 2022 Kansas City ASL March Madness Tournament. 

We'll be back in the saddle on the 26th. 

We will see you than!