Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Celebration. I was lucky enough to have the week off and just relax all week. Dan and I made a point to get in as much ASL as possible. We would end up playing four scenarios between Monday and Saturday.
Our first two games would be taken from Schwerpunkt Volume 2. We would play SP13 Stopped cold and SP14 The Green House. Stopped Cold would be a Battle of the Bulge affair, while The Green House would take place on Guam.
It's always fun to play a diverse mix of scenarios.
Our third game would be another from the Elite Canadians "The Scenarios of Jim McLeod. This would be a fun SS vs. Canadians near Caen scenario. MLR05(revised) Third Time Lucky.
Our fourth and final scenario of the week would be from the Austin ASL Club's, Texas Tournament Memorial Pack. "This Memorial Pack developed by Dan Preston to honor Craig "Pudge" Shinneman. Pudge was a friend, ASL player and ASL club member who passed away in 2022. " Our selected scenario would be TMP 1 Enemy of my Enemy, which was designed by Dan Preston.
So, let's roll with the AAR's. Our first game would be SP14 The Green House. Set on Guam, this scenario details the efforts of the US 77th Infantry Division to clear out Japanese in the northern tip of the island. Furthermore, the division was trying to gain control of a local water reservoir. With the assistance of Stuart tanks, the Americans had taken control of a local shack, which was nicknamed the Green House. Thinking the Japanese were gone, the Americans began to move across the open area and were suddenly hit by intense Japanese fire from the edge of the nearby jungle line. The Americans would bring up a heavy weapons platoon and recall the three Stuart tanks to eliminate the newly discovered Japanese resistance.
As the defending Japanese, I would command the men of the 18th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. My force would consist of three groups. My starting force would consist of 3 x 4-4-7's and 2-2-8's led by a 9-0 with an HMG, MMG, 51 MTR, a Bunker and 3 x Trenches. On Turn 1 - I would get 2 x 4-4-7's led by an 8-0 with an LMG. ON Turn 2, I would get 2 x 4-4-7's with an LMG.
As the Americans, Dan would command the men of the 77th Infantry Division. His force would consist of four groups. At start, set up at the Green House would be 3 x 6-6-6's led by a 9-1 with an MMG. Another force sets up on Board 38 and consists of 3 x 6-6-6's and a 3-4-6 led by an 8-1 with an MMG. On Turn 1 - he would get 3 x 6-6-6's, 2 x 3-4-6's, and 2 x 2-2-7's led by a 9-1 and 7-0 with 2 x HMG's, an MMG, and 2 x 81 MTR's. On Turn 3, he would get 3 x Stuart Tanks.
The Green House is lined by red on the left. The American Player wins immediately if 5 VP of the troops at the Green House succeed in entering a Jungle Hex west of Board 19 Hexes numbered 9 or greater. Otherwise the Americans win if there are no unbroken Japanese on the WD5 Overlay (shaded in red to the north). This is a fast playing scenario that presents both sides with some interesting tactical choices.
And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:
"The Americans must attack and clear a small patch of jungle of Japanese or get some troops out of the Green House and across the open ground to safety. Hopefully the American firepower will prove effective at making the Japanese fail the morale checks."
The Japanese don't have a lot of setup choices. Clearly, the Japanese need to interdict the open ground to keep the Americans from running across it for the immediate win. The other key decision is how to protect your position from the Americans on Board 38. They will be in position to attack very early in the game. I would elect to place my pillbox with the HMG to cover the open ground to the northwest of my position.
Turn 1 American - Dan's reinforcements move up. His boys already on Board 38 would be torched by Japanese MMG and Mortar fire. Dan's initial MC rolls were dreadful with broken and ELR's squads. The Japanese fire had been effective enough to completely stop the attack from Board 38. This would be my best moment of the game.
Turn 1 Japanese - I would move two half-squads towards my pillbox. I had a blind spot and knew that Dan would exploit it. I needed the two half-squads to help interdict American movement along the board edge. My Turn 1 reinforcements came on but did not directly threaten the Americans. My first big tactical error. I should have gone after the Americans more aggressively.
A look at my dispositions as Turn 1 ended.
Dan's persistent attack had sapped my defensive fire and succeeded.
A look at Dan's dispositions. He was holding out at the Green House and has assembled his heavy weapons platoon with a combined 24 factors ready to unload on my boys in the trench line. While I really like this scenario...I have to say the American firepower in this scenario is a tad overwhelming. 9 x 6-6-6 squads, 2 x HMG's, 3 x MMG's, 2 x 81mm MTR's and 3 x Stuart Tanks. The American Player has all the firepower needed to utterly destroy the Japanese...but American Morale is the one weakness that the Japanese Player has to exploit as much as possible. Make the Americans take Pin Checks and Morale Checks.
The game momentum had swung hard to the Americans. At the Green House, the Americans were dominating my boys and meanwhile Dan's two HMG's would pummel my MMG crew. My 9-0 was absent trying to rally my broken MTR squad. Meanwhile the US Sniper would stripe my other 4-4-7 in the trench.
With the game momentum swinging to the Americans...my dice would decide to inflict even greater hardship on me. My 9-0 would roll boxcars on a morale check and be killed. The MMG crew would break. My trench was no undefended.
Turn 3 American - at this point in the game, I had broken my mortar, one of my LMG's, and killed my own 9-0 with a boxcars. As the Americans moved forward...my half-squad would cower and squander a -2 shot for no effect. My HMG would attempt to stop the American assault into my trenches...but another Boxcars and a broken HMG. Then the three Stuart moved into the battle and I had absolutely nothing that could deal with those. Dan had reduced me to a single squad at the Green House and I had no one left to hold my trench. So as Turn 3 wound down, I would give the concession. I was thoroughly beaten...and with all my heavy weapons MALF'd...I couldn't even fire back. Dan had the victory and I'll admit it was a bitter pill to swallow. My defense had been strong...but my dice completely failed me and even worse hurt me at every turn. In a small scenario...these kinds of dice rolls have an exaggerated impact on the game. In this case, so much so, that I had no choice but to concede the game.
Despite the poor rolls, I really enjoyed this scenario and would gladly play it again. It presents a great and interesting tactical problem for both sides. I would highly recommend giving it a playing.
And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:
"The plan worked. But mostly due to bad dice by Grumble Jones. The first two turns went good for the Japanese, with several good shots at the Americans. But then the dice turned and the Japanese broke the MTR and HMG. And began to lose troops to American fire. With the Arrival of the tanks Grumble Jones gave concession on turn 4. This is a fun scenario well balanced. But bad dice can really make it end fast. My thanks to Grumble Jones for another great game of ASL."
Our second game of the week would by SP13 Stopped Cold. Designed by Evan Sherry, this scenario depicts fighting on December 17th between US 28th Infantry Division and 2nd Panzer Division. A nice switch from the heat of Guam to the cold of northwest Europe.
The Americans win the scenario by exiting 14 EVP off the board between A5 and F10. Not an easy task judging by ROAR which shows this scenario with 34 German wins and 12 American. The title of Stopped Cold seems very appropriate. Now just some FYI...Dan and I do not choose our games based on ROAR stats. We try not to prejudice our playing of a given scenario. But clearly, this is one of those scenarios where the roll for sides may have as much with determining the scenario victor as the game play itself.
Speaking of sides....Dan would roll the Americans and command the men of the 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His force would consist of 15 x 6-6-6's led by a 9-1, 8-1, and 8-0 with 3 x MMG's, 3 x BAZ 44's, and 3 x 60 MTR's.
And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:
"The Americans must attack diagonally across half board 36a to exit. The Germans have the interior lines and a compressing front. Hopefully the American firepower can break the center line and push to exit."
My strategy as the Germans was built around a Turn 1-2 stand and then fall back to the center. I would also place three squads in the rear area to dig foxholes. I knew that I couldn't stand up to the American firepower once Dan's units were in place. I was particularly afraid of the 3 x 60 MTR's. Dan's propensity to get Rate of Fire coupled with 4 -1 hits on my grenadiers in the forest concerned me a great deal.
Turn 1 American- Dan begins the task of getting his forces to the point of contact. I succeed in hurting the first Americans that appear in the opposite wood line.
Turn 1 German - I get busy trying to build foxholes. I'm unsuccessful.
Turn 2 American - Dan's boys move forward and get hit hard a second time. But key units succeed in getting into position.
Both Dan and I had begun to take some hard hits. I could no longer hold the ridge and fight toe to toe. The Americans had too much firepower. I would need to fall back.
Turn 3 American - the three US Mortars wipe out my MMG position on the left flank. My single squad on the right flank is similarly dispatched by an 18 factor kill stack. Dan's boys finally cross the ford and come up onto my hill.
Turn 3 German - my MKIV comes up the road to help hold the center of my line. Meanwhile, I go on a fox hole building bender and succeed in getting four of them.
Turn 4 American - Dan's attack is stopped in the center by my MKIV, but he manages to threaten both of my flanks.
A look at the American penetration after five turns.
Turn 6 American - Dan's boys are stopped again in the center even though my MKIV had displaced on Turn 5 to hold the A5 exit. Dan would evict me from the F9 foxhole, but I still had about two squads in place to try and hold that exit.
My remaining 8-1 had held the center but would have to fall back to protect the exits. It would come down to the final US movement phase.
My dice would once again injure me by breaking the MA on my MKIV. And this would be the third game in a row where I would fail to roll a single snakes. Overall, my dice were fairly average. I had succcess mainly because Dan's boys had to advance in front of me and take some high factor shots. Both Dan and I also would ELR several squads between us. Dan's attack in the center had failed and his boys were busy reorganizing there. The battle would now be focused on the desperate attempt to exit 15 EVP off the board between A5 and F10.
My grenadiers had prevailed despite a very powerful American force that hit them hard. I had lost three squads KIA'd along with an 8-1 Officer. Dan had also lost 3 squads. Terrain would play a huge role in this scenario and really go a long way in helping the Germans win this scenario.
While every win in ASL is great, this one was a little softened by the fact that this scenario appears to be very difficult for the American Player. The ASL Archive is 6 German to 0 American wins and on ROAR 34 German to 12 American wins paints a pretty clear picture of the challenges facing the American Player. And our playing of the scenario bore this out.
And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:
"The plan did not work. The terrain and Germans conspired to keep the Americans at bay. Well played by Grumble Jones to pull back and keep out of the line of fire. This scenario is hard on the Americans, especially if there are no BAZ near the tank. Congrats to Grumble Jones on a good defense and the win!"
After a wonderful Thanksgiving Day of great food, company and watching my Cowboys win...it was time for Game #3 for the week. Dan and I would be off to Normandy (my personal favorite WW2 Campaign) for good urban fighting between Canadians and SS. MLR05(revised) Third Time Lucky from the Elite Canadians...the scenarios of Jim McCleod pack. This pack has become one of my favorites. Scenarios are generally small and are fun to play. This would be my 100th game of 2022. For the first time ever, I would play 100 games in back to back years.
Third Time Lucky takes place in St. Martin-De-Fontenay, Normandy, France in August of 1944. Montgomery's forces had finally broken into the country beyond Caen and would set in motion the creation of the Falaise Pocket. The church at St. Martin-De-Fontenay gave the Germans great visibility of Canadian movements. Two attempts to take the church had been repulsed...but the third time, the Canadians would be led by Maj. Jacques (Jimmy) Dextraze. With careful planning and bold leadership, this third assault would take the church and hold it against counter-attacks by Hohenstaufen Grenadiers.
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"On 1 August 1944, Major Dextraze commanded D Company in an attack to capture the church of St.Martin de Fontenay. The church, which was used as an observation post by the enemy, commanded the whole area and threatened the success of further operations of 6th brigade as it dominated a feature that had to be captured to secure the front. D Company took heavy losses in the assault from enemy machine gun and mortar fire which swept the open streets. Realizing that it was vital to keep up the momentum of the attack, Major Dextraze rushed forward and with no regard for his own safety he personally, led the assault into the church yard through enemy grenades, rifle, and machinegun fire. A sharp hand-to-hand fight took place, Major Dextraze “setting the example”, overwhelmed the enemy and captured the position. Almost immediately the enemy counter-attacked, but Major Dextraze quickly organized the remainder of his men
and defeated all efforts against his position. For his tremendous personal leadership and bravery in combat, the army awarded Major Dextraze the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).1 His men awarded him the title, “Mad Jimmy”."
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The Canadians win by controlling the 46AA7 Building. Set up interesting with the Germans having a large set up area and the Canadians setting up literally right next door to the church.
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As the attacking Canadians, I would command the men of D Company, Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. My force would consist of 7 x 4-5-8's, and a 2-4-8 led by a 10-2, 8-1 and 8-0 with 4 x LMG's and 2 x PIATS.
Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal are a storied Canadian unit that would participate in the Dieppe Raid. They would suffer heavy losses at Dieppe.
Despite the losses at Dieppe, this unit would continue its service through to the end of the war in Northwest Europe.
They would also see service in Afghanistan and provide yet more battle honors to Canadian Military.
As the defender, Dan would command the men of the 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen". His force would consist of 4 x 6-5-8's and a 3-4-8 led by a 9-1 and 8-1 with an MMG and LMG.
The 9th SS would fight hard along with the 10th SS during the battles for control of Hill 112. The 9th SS would escape the Falaise Pocket and together with the 10th SS find itself refitting in the Arnhem sector.
At Arnhem, the 9th SS would acquit itself capably and play a large role in the defeat of the British airborne forces.
The 9th SS would appear again during the Battle of the Bulge, but not play a remarkable role in the fighting. By 1945, the division would find itself in the final German offensives in Hungary. Following a retreat back to Germany, the division would surrender to American forces.
And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:
"The Germans must defend the church building on board 46. The plan is to deploy one squad. Set up the 9-1, squad and MMG in the lower level of the church. While the 8-1, squad and LMG set up in Foxholes in 43Y2 to cover the road. The last squad will set up in 46AA9. The HS will set up in 46Z6, BB7 and CC6 in foxhole. The last foxhole will be in 43Z0/46Z10. Hopefully the Germans can hold out against the large kill stack and British 10-2."
Quick note...the Grumble Jones Staff photographer embedded with the Canadians was slow to arrive on the scene. Calvados is the primary suspect...but not yet confirmed.
Bottomline...I forgot to take pictures until Turn 2...and since I conceded on Turn 3...well you get the picture...or actually don't get the pictures...
Infact the final two games of our 4 Game T-Day week would go extremely poorly for me as Dan would pretty much annihilate me in my both games...which unfortunately doesn't blog well and doesn't impart good information for an AAR. Blowout wins don't give you an idea of how to play the scenario. So my apologies in advance. Dan's dice were super hot and mine were like always...extremely bad. You can't match your opponent's snakes with 10's and 11's and hope to have any chance of winning. You simply won't...you can move all you want to... but failing to inflict losses on your opponent...when you have -2 moving open modifier and roll 10's...yeah...you're going to lose.
So, the game opens with a look at Turn 2. My Turn 1 Prep Fire didn't do diddly squat and I advanced adjacent to Dan's forces...because I had to. Dan's first roll of the game would be snakes and he would rack up the snakes as the game went on. Dan would battle-harden a squad and create a hero. This hero would go on to cost me the game. Meanwhile another 6-5-8 that was concealed would advance into CC with my boys behind the wall. I would ultimately lose that close combat after Dan snaked it and created an 8-1 in the process.
Dan is a very aggressive player. He does not wait for you to make contact. He saw a chance to got into CC with a -2 on the ambush roll and took it. It would pay off handsomely. I would lose not only my boys in the CC, but another squad that broke in the cemetery and was eliminated for failure to rout because of this SS squad.
My attack had not been successful, I managed to eliminate a 3-4-8 with the German hero, but I could only wound him after an infantry overrun attack. Dan would fire into the Melee and break all of my boys, and doing nothing to the wounded Hero. I had failed in my first close combat attempt to kill the hero because I rolled an 11, when a 10 or less would have won that for me. This one lousy...$#%&@$@@ roll would cost me a leader and a squad and a half.
Dan would infiltrate out of the close combat afer rolling his snakes. His 6-5-8 and the 8-1 would happily move behind the wall and obliterate my squad with the LMG in the street. Meanwhile, another German 3-4-8 would go into the Melee with the wounded hero and all my brokies...Yep...they all died in the attempt to withdraw. With 4 of my squads dead in the streets...and my dice doing nothing to respond to Dan's dice...I had enough and conceded. I have honestly, it was a pretty unfun game from my perspective. When I had 18 factors, I was rolling 10's and 11's. Dan wasn't having that problem.
It was certainly a great win for Dan, but unfortunately a very lackluster game, that took all of about an hour to reduce me to complete defeat. Concealed SS in stone buildings with a +1 visibility TEM coupled with bad dice rolls...yeah...you are not going to win...ain't gonna happen and especially if your opponent aggressively takes advantage of your poor performance to basically delivery a knock out punch. The Germans can do that very well in this game.
And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:
"The plan worked. Mostly due to bad dice for Grumble Jones. However, aggressive attacks into CC also helped and shooting into the resulting melee. By turn three the Brits had lost 4 and a half squads plus the 8-0 and both PIATs. The Germans had lost a HS. Grumble Jones offered his concession after losing the 8-0, a squad and HS in CC to a German hero (wounded) and HS. This scenario is small and bad rolls have a great effect on the outcome. My Thanks to Grumble Jones for a great game of ASL."
Our fourth and final game of the week would be Enemy of Enemy - CTASL 2022 TMP (Version 3.0). Designed by Dan Preston this scenario takes place in 1941 Yugoslavia and pits a very strong German force against Chetnicks and Partisans. The Germans win at game end by controlling 30 buildings.
This Memorial Pack was developed by Dan Preston to honor Craig "Pudge" Shinneman. Pudge was a friend, ASL player and Texas ASL club member who passed away in 2022. There are two scenarios in this pack and both are well worth your time. Dan and I will play the other scenario Road Crew in the very near future.
As the attacking Germans, Dan would command the 342nd Infantry Division. This force would consist of 6 x 8-3-8's, and 12 x 4-6-7's led by a 9-2, 9-1, 2 x 8-1's, an 8-0 and a 7-0 with an HMG, MMG, 4 x LMG's, a Flamethrower, 2 x DC's, a Radio with 80mm OBA, 2 x 50 MTR's and 2 x 75 INF Guns. This is a huge force and the available firepower is impressive.
As the Partisans and Chetnicks, I would command Tito's 1st Proletarian Brigade and Mihalovich's Chetnicks. My force would consist of 18 x 3-3-7's led by 2 x 9-1's, 2 x 8-0's and 7-0 with an HMG, 3 x MMG's, and 4 x LMG's with two roadblocks for fun.
In all honestly, I really hesitated to blog this last game...and even Dan suggested as much in our post game. It just wasn't a competitive game. I play this game with everything I have. Every turn, every phase I give it 100%. I want to give my opponent the best game I can. And nothing guts me personally as bad as watching my dice screw me over roll after roll. Dan rolled snakes about 5 times in the course of a 3 turn game. And they were impactful. I rolled snakes on wind change DR and then a MC that turned my squad into a Berserker with a death sentence. For the second game in a row, Dan's dice were extremely good and he was able to add another Hero to his force. He also rolled my sniper (4 SAN) repeatedly. So you have a good idea of the quality of his dice. He did have some bad breaks. His 9-2 would roll an 11 on his first MC...but he rallied the next turn and was back in the fight...no harm no foul. I would not pass a morale check throughout the game. My boys would go down hard.
Long-time readers of my blog, know that I have struggled mightily with my dice. I feel cursed...and that's not hyperbole. My long-time opponents know that I roll poorly and take advantage of that fact. Sometimes it goes badly when they take certain risks, because I do roll well every now and then, but by and large my opponents will take risks. In this final game, Dan was moving stacks in the open and sending other single squads right at me...because he could. My MMG would fire twice at -2 and roll back to back 10's. And the second shot would MALF my MMG because I had sustained it in subsequent fire.
When you can't punish your opponent's risks like this...how can you enjoy the game. As the defender, you have to bale hay when your opponent moves in the open. An average roll of 7 nets you a 5 which results in nearly every case with a normal or better MC. But when your opponent sees that you consistently miss those shots...well he loses respect for your ability to stop him. And you feel like you're just being walked on by your opponent....and guess what you are...
Not much else to say....I have to solve my dice problem. It really affects my joy for this game.
And now for Dan's Pre-Game Comments:
"The Germans are on the attack into the village to capture 30 buildings. The attack will be across board 37 into the village with a group going through the woods on board 37 and into the village to avoid the stream. The 9-2 will be with three 4-6-7 squads and the HMG and MMG. This group will be the death star. The rest will assault as individual units. With an 8-1 leading the flamethrower. Hopefully we can sweep the board clear from north to south in the 8 turns."
I opted for an upfront defense. I knew that Dan's force was constrained to a very small entry area. I would HIP an MMG in the hopes that it would get in some good licks. With so much open ground (grain is not in season), I felt like my weaker squads could do more in this terrain than in the urban fighting where Dan's 8-3-8's would rule the day.
My plan would not work. Dan always leads with half-squad or a full squad before the rest come on. So, I was forced to fire and put 2 resid in one of his entry hexes. In subsequent fire, I would succeed in breaking his 9-2 and two of his squads. My Turn 1 Defensive Fire would be my best performance in this game. Despite, these setbacks, Dan aggressively moved everything else up to get some payback.
Turn 2 German - Dan moved forward and again took some risks moving in the open to hurt some of my broken squads. His flamethrower squad would suffer the most and eventually be killed. But by and large, my shots were not landing.
At the end of Turn 2 - Dan had made some good progress. My upfront defense had crumbled.
I was shattered in the center and my one 3-3-7 with an MMG had gone berserk. I fully expected them to be KIA'd by the German 9-2 in the next movement phase.
Dan sent a 2-4-7 running across the open. My MMG with a Partisan 3-3-7 would fire and roll a 10 -2 and do nothing...the 2-4-7 would keep on coming. I would subsequent fire and sustain the MMG...another 10...MMG MALF'd and my personal ELR completely at zero. Dan suggested that perhaps it was time for me to concede. I gladly gave my concession and called it a game. What an absolutely dreadful effort on my part. We were done after less than two hours of game play. For the second game in a row, I was forced to concede early in the game. But I had lost 7 squads KIA'd, with two more broken and soon to be eliminated. With my upfront defense shattered, I really had very little in the backfield to try and keep Dan from getting the 30 buildings he needed for the win. With 50% of my force out of action...it was game over. There was just no way that I could keep his force from taking the buildings.
With that our ASL Thanksgiving Week was over. Dan would win 3 and I would win 1. My congrats do Dan on three great wins. In all three of them, Dan was able to inflict such damage on me that I had to concede early. In spite of the many butt-whippings I endured, it was a great week of ASL and I'm glad that Dan and I were able to get in four games. And lastly, this final win would be Dan's 400th Recorded Victory. So, congratulations my friend on achieving 400 wins. Well deserved!
And now for Dan's Post Game Comments:
"The plan worked. Grumble Jones was plagued by bad dice and had lost 7 squads by turn 2. He gave his concession shortly after. The German have enough firepower to clear the boards. If the Partisans break they can usually be eliminated quickly. This is a good sized battle and both sides have tricks to play. But the Partisans cannot stand up to the Germans. My Thanks to Grumble Jones for a great game of ASL."
Dan and I will return next week and try to finish out December with some good, competitive games!
We will see you then!
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