So what scenarios have you played Recently?

Mister T

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Played RB6 Turned Away, not the scenario of the year but a fair way to kill a couple of hours. It is pro-Russian on ROAR and a little candy to the German side would probably have been welcomed. The German side found it hard to break a forward line of fortified locations and it seemed that the defender was on course for a win. But on turn 6, the German MMG began spurting bullets and the Russian position collapsed. Only a pinned squad remained in the HQ and a couple of German squads slipped in. They were ambushed but the defenders had to stand their ground. They missed and i rolled just what was needed. Thank you very much. Of note the Soviet sniper was on sick leave throughout, his showing would have easily turned the tables.
 

Gunner Scott

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Did the German player attempt Sewer movement to get his units back?

Played RB6 Turned Away, not the scenario of the year but a fair way to kill a couple of hours. It is pro-Russian on ROAR and a little candy to the German side would probably have been welcomed. The German side found it hard to break a forward line of fortified locations and it seemed that the defender was on course for a win. But on turn 6, the German MMG began spurting bullets and the Russian position collapsed. Only a pinned squad remained in the HQ and a couple of German squads slipped in. They were ambushed but the defenders had to stand their ground. They missed and i rolled just what was needed. Thank you very much. Of note the Soviet sniper was on sick leave throughout, his showing would have easily turned the tables.
 

Jeffrey D Myers

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FT254 (Insurrection at Cividale) solo. Quite fun and interesting Italian SS versus Allied Italian scenario with armor on both sides. Well done, Signore Holst!
Going to play this one again via VASL at the occasional lunchtime against Seth Sparks. I have the SS with the Allies getting the advantage.
 

Uncle_Duke

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"Japanese MMC never break. They just fade away."

--Douglas MacArthur on the Japanese in ASL

Truer words have never been spoken. Last Friday, @Matt Boehland, who is rapidly becoming my regular opponent, and I played WO16 "Wildcat Strike." Matt played as the Americans, I had the Japanese.

This one ended up playing a bit strangely. The US have 2 M4A1s and an M8 HMC as part of their OB. One of the M4s and the M8 ended up recalled from breaking their MAs. Normally, I'd be all over the idea of my opponent not having armor support (particularly when that armor support has WP9 and C6), but I was rather disappointed because I'd been hoping to jump them with Tank Hunter Heroes to kill them for CVP.

As it turned out, this was proportionally one of the bloodiest scenarios I've ever played. The Americans pushed hard and fast along the South edge of the board, crushing my initial line, but allowing me to slide my Northern flank to form a new defensive line. The GIs broke through over the course of several turns, though at great cost-- 15 CVP in infantry alone, not counting the two wounded leaders. Unfortunately, the Japanese were trading men at about one for one, which is not a sustainable ratio.

I'd left a HIP half squad on Board 67, and popped it out to start scoring VPs for building control. This helped a bit, but not nearly enough. Most of my defenders were trapped on the East side of the board 10z road and eliminated. Those that were able to withdraw into the end zone were overwhelmed and destroyed by point blank fire at the tail end of Turn 6. With nothing left to stop the Americans from pouring across the road and into victory areas, I conceded.

In retrospect, I should have pulled back much faster, and perhaps set up further back as well. I'm not sure how useful the Fortified Building locations in the Japanese OB are on their own, but trading them for tunnels could have proven worthwhile by guaranteeing withdrawal routes. Similarly, it might have been a good idea to trade some of the minefield factors for AT Mines or even daisy chains. Anything that can kill tanks can only help the Japanese in this one.
 

Jacometti

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I'm not sure how useful the Fortified Building locations in the Japanese OB are on their own, but trading them for tunnels could have proven worthwhile by guaranteeing withdrawal routes.
Japanese tunnels are usually better used offensively.....go in unconcealed, pop up concealed in the location with an American unit (preferably a CX one!), ambush and kill them in Hand to Hand CC, withdraw to another adjacent location.

I am surprised the US player bothered to repair his malfunctioned MAs, there is plenty of MG firepower on those Shermans I think?
 

Uncle_Duke

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Japanese tunnels are usually better used offensively.....go in unconcealed, pop up concealed in the location with an American unit (preferably a CX one!), ambush and kill them in Hand to Hand CC, withdraw to another adjacent location.
You make an interesting point. My thinking on defensive use is that by demonstrating the tunnel exists and then by controlling one end of the tunnel, the Japanese can force the US to think really hard about whether or not to occupy the other end. The other aspect is that it allows the Japanese to safely move under minefield hexes.
I am surprised the US player bothered to repair his malfunctioned MAs, there is plenty of MG firepower on those Shermans I think?
100% agree where the Shermans are concerned. I think the M8 HMC presents a trickier decision. With only a 4 FP AAMG and a lot of fun special ammo, it's a much harder call whether or not to try to repair the MA.
 

Ray Woloszyn

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Played RB6 Turned Away, not the scenario of the year but a fair way to kill a couple of hours. It is pro-Russian on ROAR and a little candy to the German side would probably have been welcomed. The German side found it hard to break a forward line of fortified locations and it seemed that the defender was on course for a win. But on turn 6, the German MMG began spurting bullets and the Russian position collapsed. Only a pinned squad remained in the HQ and a couple of German squads slipped in. They were ambushed but the defenders had to stand their ground. They missed and i rolled just what was needed. Thank you very much. Of note the Soviet sniper was on sick leave throughout, his showing would have easily turned the tables.
Lost as the Russians to Perry Cocke in a classic Avaloncon final many years ago. Definitely a good way to kill a couple of hours but that scenario is now a part of the Chernobyl graphite core to me.
 

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Mister T

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Lost as the Russians to Perry Cocke in a classic Avaloncon final many years ago. Definitely a good way to kill a couple of hours but that scenario is now a part of the Chernobyl graphite core to me.
With Germans playing the liquidators. ☢
 
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Perry

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Lost as the Russians to Perry Cocke in a classic Avaloncon final many years ago. Definitely a good way to kill a couple of hours but that scenario is now a part of the Chernobyl graphite core to me.
Dude! We played Bread Factory #2, an all-time classic scenario.
 

Uncle_Duke

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@Matt Boehland and I took advantage of our singularly weird schedules and managed a double header last Tuesday. We put the flexibility of the ASL system to good use, ranging from the villages of Alsace during Operation Nordwind to the jungles of New Britain and Operation Dexterity.

Specifically, we played....

HF5 "Graveyard Shift"

In light of the 11-2 (pro-US) record going in, we gave the Germans the balance.

The Americans have a slightly tricky job, in that they need to capture three fairly disconnected locations (the Train Station, the cemetery, and building X9). However, they have plenty of tools with which to accomplish those tasks-- four Shermans and a smoke barrage, never mind machine guns and a pair of the ubiquitous 60mm M2 mortars.

The Germans are stretched pretty thin, particularly where anti-tank assets are concerned. Panzerfausts and a Panzerschreck can help keep the Shermans from coming too close, but one PaK 40 isn't really enough to prevent envelopment.

The German balance provision doesn't help in the AT department, but goes a long way towards offsetting the infantry disparity. An extra squad never hurts, but by bringing the squad total to 11, it allows the Germans to deploy a second squad right off the bat.

The Americans launched a two pronged attack-- the infantry in the North pressing towards the Train Station and building X9, with the tanks crossing South of the railroad to lay fire onto the cemetery.

The assault got off to a good start, with the GIs advancing swiftly East through hedgerows, orchards, and the odd building. One tank fired White Phosphorous into the train station as the rest of the platoon rumbled towards the cemetery.

Events soon started to favor the Germans though. In the train station, a defending half squad ambushed a squad and leader in CC and annihilated them in hand to hand fighting. On the Northern flank, the Americans were caught in the open by machine gun and rifle fire from buildings along the West side of Rue Principale and were forced back in disarray. The PaK 40, which had lain waiting near the cemetery for about a turn and a half finally revealed itself, shocking one Sherman and burning another in the space of a single phase.

With their forces scattered and broken, the Americans called off the attack.

Even with the balance, I think this one has the potential to be a bit pro-US. The ambush in the Train Station and the Americans' utter inability to pass a morale check were strong contributors to German victory.


J135 "Diversion"

This is a great (and quick!) introduction to Suicide Creek and the intricacies of fighting in and around pillboxes. On the one hand, the rule requiring that pillboxes be setup where they have LOS to the stream makes it somewhat tricky to make a properly overlapping defense. On the other hand, the existance of pillbox cellars mean that the Japanese can skulk between the pillbox and cellar, making it difficult for the Marines to root them out.

This time around, the Marines made quick work of the Japanese defense. I have only myself to blame, for failing to realize just how difficult it is to cross the stream even under the best of circumstances. Had I arranged matters so that every stream hex was subject to point blank fire, crossing would have been next to impossible.

As it was, I concentrated my defense in the Southwest corner of the map, the idea being that maybe I could run out the clock a bit by forcing the Marines to slog through the jungle a bit. It didn't work. The Marines crossed the stream on the East side of the map, then turned through the Kunai to engage.

Where in our previous game it seemed that the Americans couldn't pass a morale check, this time I couldn't make an ambush roll. The Marines worked their way from hex to hex, and soon there just weren't any Japanese left.

Overall, I think this is probably a much more balanced scenario than our playing made it out to be. I utterly failed to understand how to properly put together a defense, and Matt made me pay heavily for this mistake. If you're looking to give Suicide Creek a try for the first time, this is a good place to start.


Thank you, @Matt Boehland, for two wonderful games!
 
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Mister T

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Played OS-16 Sappers as Infantry from Ob.Schmidt. A large body of U.S. Sappers supported by 5 Shermans has to clear the Kommerscheidt ridge from weaker German infantry. The scenario offers the opportunity to use BFP's dedicated counters for those sappers. Seen like this the German side does not seem to stand a chance except it takes a very long walk to completely clear the town. So the German side has to engage into a long fighting withdrawal without leaving too much force in the process. Rain started early in the game and much to the disappointment of my opponent lasted 5 consecutive game turns, which turned per SSR the ground into mud and its associated severe movement penalties. That made it unlikely for the Amis to reach their objectives, especially as a couple of tanks had previously fallen victim to mines available to the defender.
 

Ray Woloszyn

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Dude! We played Bread Factory #2, an all-time classic scenario.
I realized that a few hours after posting but too late to change. Actually, I just wanted to check your memory of the event which is obviously better than my traumatic experience. Well done, Perry!
 

Jude

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Played BFP-74 Coiled to Strike as the attacking Germans. Not my shining moment as I failed to use my smoke assets as well as I should have. Also, each turn it seemed like I would make a few little mistakes like forgetting to do something or not seeing something obvious (afterwards). All those things compounded leaving me short of victory in the end. Couple that with a very good Russian defensive set up and I paid for every hex I took. You know it's rough when ATRs cause havoc or getting happy when a Russian HMG rolls snakes because it ends up cowering! Near the end of the game, I had two points (three to win) to the Russian's zero. However, as I pushed the Germans on top of the forward level two hill mass, my men faced BLISTERING fire from HMGs and MMGs that got rate over and over. After decimating that group, the Russians easily had one point giving me a net of one. Needing to take ten level two hexes and only one turn left to do it, I threw in the towel. I simply was held up too long by grain, wire, mines, and negative shots at my guys. I felt good even making it to the top of the hill! The scenario is rated very even. If I used all my assets better, I'm still not sure I could have pulled it off, but I could have made a better game of it. Was it worth the two weekends it took us to play it? For my friend, yes. He loves monster scenarios. For me, no. I like large scenarios as well, but this one was just too big for my tastes. It definitely has replayability, however, as the Germans have tons of choices. I just don't have another two days to ever try it again, though.
 
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Eagle4ty

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Finished off a playing of J178 Old Friends. A very interesting scenario featuring the forces of 116th "Windhund" Pz Div and the 30th "Orion's Belt" or "Roosevelt's SS" Infantry Infantry Division around Gahlen, Germany in March of '45. The scenario uses boards 10 & 59 with a couple of overlays on board 10. The Americans must capture 7+ multi-hex stone buildings but must be wary of a CVP cap while the Germans also have a CVP cap to worry about and must defend those buildings from seizure by the American forces. Both sides have heavy hitting armor and a satisfactory to good infantry force to accomplish their objectives but therein lies the cautionary of the CVP caps.

I as the Germans had to initially make a decision as how heavily I would defend the northern multi-hex buildings on board 59 (if defend them at all) as the Americans can put considerable pressure on them early; Whereas to forego any defense of them or defend the too lightly gives the U.S. forces 3 of the 7 needed buildings early at little or no cost. Bd59 does have a stream running roughly diagonally across it running east to west to make the seizure of the remaining 4 buildings a somewhat daunting task if pursued from the vicinity of the first three VPOs, but they have the infantry and support available to make it happen if those initial buildings are taken too quickly. The other approach to the board 10 buildings is a long way around route but with the Americans having speedy little M24's and potential riders, this must be taken into account as a viable American approach as well, so overall my Grenadiers would be rather stretched to forego all eventualities even when backed by a couple of little kitties, a Mk-IV and a hard hitting Flak-ht.

In the end the forward building were defended rather strongly and exacted a toll on the attacking American, but the toll on the Germans was heavy as well. A Panther with my AL did move into a position to seriously jeopardize several American tanks moving towards board 10 but malf'ed his MA on its 1st B1F shot on a Sherman 105. It was subsequently swarmed and taken out along with its wingman, the Mk-IV at the cost of only an M24 and an M10. Finally my last Panther was able to slam another M10 & M24, but left on his own by my ineffective remaining infantry he was eventually swarmed and blasted to bits giving the Americans a narrow CVP victory. A really fun game but a disappointing loss (if my AL Panther had managed to kill even one U.S. AFV my chances of victory would have dramatically improved). Highly recommended if you like hard hitting combined with lot of maneuver - plays fast given the size of the forces involved!
 

Jacometti

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Finished off a playing of J178 Old Friends. A very interesting scenario featuring the forces of 116th "Windhund" Pz Div and the 30th "Orion's Belt" or "Roosevelt's SS" Infantry Infantry Division around Gahlen, Germany in March of '45. The scenario uses boards 10 & 59 with a couple of overlays on board 10. The Americans must capture 7+ multi-hex stone buildings but must be wary of a CVP cap while the Germans also have a CVP cap to worry about and must defend those buildings from seizure by the American forces. Both sides have heavy hitting armor and a satisfactory to good infantry force to accomplish their objectives but therein lies the cautionary of the CVP caps.

I as the Germans had to initially make a decision as how heavily I would defend the northern multi-hex buildings on board 59 (if defend them at all) as the Americans can put considerable pressure on them early; Whereas to forego any defense of them or defend the too lightly gives the U.S. forces 3 of the 7 needed buildings early at little or no cost. Bd59 does have a stream running roughly diagonally across it running east to west to make the seizure of the remaining 4 buildings a somewhat daunting task if pursued from the vicinity of the first three VPOs, but they have the infantry and support available to make it happen if those initial buildings are taken too quickly. The other approach to the board 10 buildings is a long way around route but with the Americans having speedy little M24's and potential riders, this must be taken into account as a viable American approach as well, so overall my Grenadiers would be rather stretched to forego all eventualities even when backed by a couple of little kitties, a Mk-IV and a hard hitting Flak-ht.

In the end the forward building were defended rather strongly and exacted a toll on the attacking American, but the toll on the Germans was heavy as well. A Panther with my AL did move into a position to seriously jeopardize several American tanks moving towards board 10 but malf'ed his MA on its 1st B1F shot on a Sherman 105. It was subsequently swarmed and taken out along with its wingman, the Mk-IV at the cost of only an M24 and an M10. Finally my last Panther was able to slam another M10 & M24, but left on his own by my ineffective remaining infantry he was eventually swarmed and blasted to bits giving the Americans a narrow CVP victory. A really fun game but a disappointing loss (if my AL Panther had managed to kill even one U.S. AFV my chances of victory would have dramatically improved). Highly recommended if you like hard hitting combined with lot of maneuver - plays fast given the size of the forces involved!
The best Michael Koch design I have ever played, a superb challenge for both sides.
 
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