Grumble Jones Scenario Pack

As  promised earlier, this year's basement pack will be a baker's dozen. The thirteenth scenario, GJ155 was initially produced for August, but was canned after failing to find definitive historical information for the scenario. It's all about Joe Medicine Crow.

Excerpt from Ken Burns WW2 documentary:  The War: A film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

"Joe Medicine Crow was born October 27, 1913 on the Crow Indian reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana. One of his grandfathers, White Man Runs Him, was a scout for George Armstrong Custer before the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Another grandfather, Medicine Crow, was a legendary tribal chief. Joe Medicine Crow was raised by his elders in the tribe’s warrior tradition. He was taught to master his fear, to ride bareback, to track game, and to withstand extreme cold. He was also schooled in the stories of those who had distinguished themselves in battle against the Crow’s ancient enemies, the Cheyenne and the Lakota. Only the greatest warriors, those who accomplished four particularly dangerous war deeds in combat, could become a chief. They had to touch a living enemy, take an enemy’s weapon, steal an enemy’s horse, and lead a victorious war party.

Joe Medicine Crow was the first member of his tribe to go to college, and was in graduate school in California when America entered the war. He joined the Army, became a scout in the 103rd Infantry Division, and fought in Europe. Whenever he went into battle, he would paint red stripes on his arms beneath his uniform, and he carried in his helmet a sacred, yellow-painted eagle feather provided by a Sun Dance medicine man to shield him from harm.

While he was in combat in Europe, and without quite meaning to, Joe Medicine Crow performed the four necessary war deeds to become a war chief like his grandfather. First, he led a seven-man squad carrying explosives through a wall of artillery fire to blast German positions along the Siegfried Line. Then, while helping to take over a German-held village, he literally ran into a German soldier, knocking him down. He quickly disarmed the soldier, taking away his rifle Finally, in the last weeks of the war, he stole dozens of horses from a battalion of German officers. He is the last Crow Indian to become a war chief."

Consulting Google AI brings up the following:

"Joe Medicine Crow served as a scout in the U.S. Army's 103rd Infantry Division during World War II. His specific unit was Company K, 411th Infantry Regiment, within the 103rd Infantry Division, which was known as the "Cactus Division". 

During his service in Europe, he completed the four traditional war deeds required to become a war chief of the Crow Tribe: 

Touching an enemy in combat without killing him.

Taking an enemy's weapon.

Leading a successful war party.

Stealing 50 horses from a German SS camp. 

For his actions, he was honored with the Bronze Star Medal, France's Légion d'honneur, and later the Presidential Medal of Freedom"

https://www.dalecenter103id.org/411th-regiment

Full details - monthly reports available at the link above for the 411th. I could not find anything related to Joe Medicine Crow in the monthly reports. I also searched using ChatGPT, which found only the monthly reports linked above. Ultimately, ChatGPT confirmed that Joe's only documentation is the oral history he provided to Ken Burns. So...yeah...that's not all that and a bag of chips. Love Ken...but he doesn't do anything near a deep dive. So, please note that GJ155 is a hypothetical scenario based on an oral history that provides no location...no force ID's for either the Germans or the Americans. We have been led to believe that he stole horses from an SS battalion level HQ. My scenario reflects that...but it seems far more likely to me that if he stole any horses they were from a retreating German artillery unit. Just my opinion but feels more likely. And the daily journal from the link above shows several observations of German horse drawn wagons moving in front of the 411th's MLR.

Okay...enough of that nonsense.

Here is the 2025 scenario pack in one place. 

Some final thoughts about this year's scenarios. Dan Best and I played: The Bloody Rag, An Argan Tug of War, Bring up the Other Gun, The Guns at Holdy, and STUG's over the Bug. The Bloody Rag was bloody good fun. Dan managed to break An Argan Tug of War which led to an overwhelming Italian victory...so scenario had some design holes for sure. While I enjoyed The Guns at Holdy....Dan decidedly did not. Our overall favorite was STUG's over the Bug. And I feel like of the bunch it's the best of the 2025 designs.

Next year's goals will be to go scenario lite: no overlays, no ARTY, no night, no weather, single board, 5 turns max. We'll see if I can manage that.

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)