Hello there...been a while since last we spoke. June 2023 is the first time since the creation of this blog, that I didn't post anything (except the June scenario). I've played 9 scenarios so far this month and two more (Grumble Jones scenarios) are on deck for tomorrow. So, I finish June 2023 with 11 scenarios played, which is a very good month. Heading into July, I have logged 60 games and am on track for 120 by year end. Probably not going to get that many played, but certainly anything over a 100 is a fantastic year.
I took a hiatus this month from AAR's in an attempt to cool down the blog from what appears to be some sort of bot attack. My normal monthly views hover around 4000. Nothing to write home about. Anything posted by Kim Kardashian gets 4000 views a second. So, my blog is very insignificant in terms of its standing in the world of social media. So far this month, my site has been hit over 18,000 times and whoever is doing it is not reading any posts. I've not gotten any warnings from the Google Analytics Team, which generally reach out to me when something is amiss. So I don't know what to make of this nonsense.
At this rate, my blog will hit 500K views next month...but they won't be real...so that's a bummer. I can't let this derail my blog, so I will soldier on and get back to posting AAR's. Dan Best and I have been on a mission to put AAR's out there for as many scenarios as we can. Every scenario deserves one.
My collaboration with Osprey Publishing continues!! This month's scenario was gleaned from the pages of SU-152/ISU-152 vs. Tiger. I haven't really invested much in these titles, but this one intrigued me enough to acquire and it actually very interesting.
While Tigers are fairly well represented in ASL scenarios, the SU-152/ISU-152's are not seen quite as often. And typically, they are in support or urban assault roles in the scenarios in which they do appear.
This month's scenario shakes that up a bit and present the player with a Russian force consisting only of SU-152's left without infantry support in a defensive role. Their nemesis...Tigers supported by MKIV's and Panzergrenadiers. As they have no machine guns, the SU-152's are particulary vulnerable to German Panzergrenadiers with ATMM's.
The scenario is set in 1943 immediately after Kursk, so the German Panzergrenadiers are not wielding Panzerfausts. Were this available, it would be a very short scenario indeed.
I was drawn to this particular action, due to something unique that the Panzergrenadiers did in support of the Tigers. As the German attack was launched at dusk, the late summer evening light was fading. In order to assist the panzers, the Panzergrenadiers began firing their machine guns at the SU-152's and "painting" them with tracer rounds.10 SU-152's found themselves in an unequal struggle. After losing four of their number, the SU-152's quit the field and the Germans took possession of the objectives.
Modeling events like this one in ASL is not always easy. It's not always possible to replicate the same event with the restrictions of the game environment. One note is that the Scenario has three Armor Leaders for the Germans. The 8-1's are restricted to the MKIV's as the Tiger Leaders would have 9 leadership values. The German player will need to show some caution in his/her assault as the SU-152's can take out the Tigers and MKIV's.
So, get busy tracing some Giants!!
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.
All Grumble Jones scenarios are available from the ASL Archive website.
(Just search on Grumble Jones)
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