So what scenarios have you played Recently?

Philippe D.

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BtB5 Martinville Ridge, played on VASL over a few evenings (we are not particularly fast players as we like to chat as well as playing)

A mix of German 548 and 447, with a trio of StuGs, try to take a hill (large BFP overlay: two-level hill with lots of (light) Bocage dividing it into 5-6 hex fields, with some Orchards thrown in that tend to cut a lot of different-level LOS) from a smaller force of US troops, with good MG support but lousy AT capability (a single Bazooka). Oh, and a customised Bombardment right before play starts, to the Americans are incited to start in the provided Foxholes.

I was playing the Germans. The Bombardment was hard on the Americans, breaking 3 out of 4 affected units. This, together with a lot of blocked LOS from Orchards (and Americans in Foxholes behind Bocage, meaning safe approach) let me push forward on the first turn: one StuG managed to cross Bocage and even climb to level 1, another Bogged down trying to do the same; the third one started a flanking maneuver to the west, followed by a platoon of 548 under cover of a Bocage-bordered Orchard-road.

This threw the American defense into a panic, as their HMGs (placed in Foxholes at the edge of the second level hill) quickly came under fire from the StuGs and my Infantry, which could easily regain concealment behind Bocage. As a result, the foxholes on the edge became death traps that prevented skulking, especially with heavy SWs.

In their second turn, the Germans didn't advance much, instead firing on whatever was still in sight; the Americans tried to reorganize their defense, moving behind the crest line and grabbing the Bocage on the plateau. Third turn, the early losses and lack of AT assets started to tell: one StuG managed to climb to level 2, with the Americans adjacent and holding the Wall Advantage but this let several German squads ascend in Advance Phase, some even retaining Concealment. My opponent didn't want to abandon his Wall Advantage (probably a smart move) and Prep Fired at the adjacent Germans, but this was ineffective; my Defensive Fire resulted in the loss of two more squads (including a CH by one of the StuGs, and another DR2 on a Flamethrower attack), and he conceded at the end of turn 3 (of 6).

The scenario seems hard on the Americans, and the ROAR record (24:12) shows this; but the scenario is still an interesting one to play, at least for anyone who likes the challenges of the Bocage. Adding a few more BAZ to the Americans would probably make the German armor more cautious.

Next up will be BtB7 Blood on Hill 192, another Bocage fight from the same pack - much larger, with the Americans attacking the same hill from the other side, only with many more toys and a lot of fortifications.
 

Smedley

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Played a couple of scenarios from the Yankee ASL Nor'easter Pack 2. Seemed like the thing to do since I was participating in the Nor'easter Tournament. First up was YASL22 Where the Reindeer Dare Not Go. My attacking Russians were unable to overcome the German mountain troops and their many fortifications. Came close, but fell a little short. Good scenario.

Second, I tried YASL28 Fool's Errand. In this one, I played the fool. My Viet Minh were suppose to ambush a French column, they failed! To be fair, my dice sucked....and my opponents dice were hot.

My overall impression of this new pack of scenarios is positive. New boards with new terrain and scenarios with novel situations spice things up. Also, it comes from a great bunch of guys up here in New England! Try it!

Rob
 

von Marwitz

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Currently also playing AP143 Late for Chow.

A lot of maneuver in this small Infantry only scenario.
Played this a while ago. I think I wrote an AAR on it. We messed up the US setup area (as it felt somewhat counter intuitive) and it seems we were not the only ones doing so.

von Marwitz
 

Houlie

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Completed OTO16 Tangle At Tolochin several weeks back against Curtis Brooks’s attacking Russians. My sketchy German infantry was eventually overwhelmed by the capable gaggle of 458s. In the end, it came down to me having two Tigers and an immobile StuG. I had made great progress against his armor (7 KOs/immobs) with only a Sherman and IS2 remaining. My three tanks were festunged in the corner of the board behind stone walls. The StuG (no usable MG) got immobilized and hung up in CC by a measly 127 and likely doomed since there was a lot (a LOT) of infantry that could swarm it in the last turn.

One of the two Tigers had malfed its MA on an IF shot against the adjacent IS2. I decided to try for a repair in my final phase and rolled a 6 for a recall. At that point, I lacked the VP to win. In retrospect, I should have skipped the repair roll and seen if I could ride it out hoping I could avoid getting knocked out. Oh well. If I rolled a 1 it would have been a bold, genius move.

We had a lot of fun with this scenario. A little different VC in that the Germans simply had to keep 16 EVP-worth of units alive – anywhere on the boards. This made for a swirling, mobile festival of mayhem. Another solid OTO2 scenario from the BFP crew. Thanks to Curtis for an exciting, well-played scenario, as usual.
 

jtsjc1

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Just a question are there any KW scenarios being produced? I have the two SP Rally Point issues but I'm looking for some more KW action. Thanks.
 

Jude

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Played V9 JIG Green East: Storming Le Hamel as the defending Germans. Been a long time since I wrote an AAR but I had to for this one for one reason - which you'll read about shortly. The scenario itself isn't great. Some weird SSRs, set up [German radios (there's only one)] may set up hidden - what about the manning leader(?), and poorly written VCs make this scenario tricky from the get go. On top of that, it's a Seaborne Assault with pretty much every beach landing rule in play.

Anyway, after poor dice the first few player turns from both sides, the dice warmed up as the British neared the beach. Casualties started to mount due to CRs on failed MC rolls due to collateral damage. With his men in the LCs getting hit hard by the aforementioned collateral damage, my friend unloaded what he could as soon as he could. More casualties but now we get to the reason for the write up.

The 10-3, a couple of squads, and a HS made it off of one of the LC unscathed. Yes, it's not a good idea to stack, but with only a two hex deep beach with one ENTIRE row covered in wire AND a four factor minefield, there's not much space to maneuver. That fanatic stack brushed off all my small attacks until I brought out a -1 HMG/MMG kill stack. A 1KIA. Great! Random selection time. I roll a 1 for the 10-3. Damn! A 1 again. Hmm. A 1 again. No way. My friend looks at me and tells me if I roll a 1 again he's quitting. I tell him I would too. ONE! Unbelievable! True to his word, he quit.

Honestly, the way things were going - he pulled four reds in a row for his NOBA and one of his three FB malfunctioned its MGs - the writing was on the wall. Super tough on the British in my opinion no matter how the dice go. Average dice from the Germans should make quick work of the British. Not recommend for either side really. The poor British are pretty much going to be chewed up, and the Germans have a TON of set up prep in what will likely be a short game.

Special thanks to Michael R and Klas for helping me figure out some scenario and rules questions!
 

Houlie

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Completed YASL15 Changes are Slim last night against my Tuesday night VASL comrade, Curtis Brooks. I liked the look of this one when perusing the new Nor'easter Pack. Russians attacking Poles on a new village board from the pack. The Poles are in the village proper and surrounded by a 4.5 squads and an immobilized tank on the right side and a bunch of 7-ML at-start troops plus a bunch of turn 1 reinforcements on the left side – plus four tanks -- two each on turn 1 and 2.

The Poles are decent quality -- a mix of mostly 457, plus 437 and 458s, but only have one 37L AT + MMG, ATR and captured German LMG to threaten the armor. A decision for the Pole is whether to make a play for the exit VPs. I decided pretty quickly to forgo that option as the four tanks could easily overrun and eliminate troops making a move in that direction.

The critical 37L was located in O7 facing SE hoping to nab tanks hooking around to the rear. Infantry was arrayed in the village to maintain concealment as much as possible and take only favorable shots.

The game started out with my 458/MMG/9-1 getting a few rate shots on a stack of three squads on my LOS (2x426, 1x447) on Polish left flank in Y1. When it was over, the Poles had eliminated the stack. That was obviously huge. I didn't confirm, but perhaps it was because the Poles set up/moved first and it gave me the first shot.

Next, in turn two the Russians pressed their armor into the village to break squads and have them mopped up by the oncoming horde of reinforcing infantry. In this turn, the 37L pivoted to gain double acq on one tank. In the turn 3 it took an IF shot to KO it. Another was destroyed by an MMG PB rear shot. Finally, a bypassing T-26 was eliminated by the 458/MMG/9-1 CC RF -- they were supermen in this game. It was a very decisive turn where the Poles stood at 21 CVP vs. 2 CVP for the Russians. With the loss of the third tank and the large CVP gap the Russians threw in the towel. Final positions:

17293

We discussed this scenario for quite some time afterward. We both agreed the EVP angle for the Poles was a losing proposition on most days. Simply too risky/uncertain and it saps the village defense. The 37L placement was another discussion point. While there are several locations, I opted for keeping it back further and more centrally located. Some of the value of the gun further back was to perpetuate the uncertainty of its location which was of huge value. Too, I was concerned about tanks in the backfield causing all sorts of rout problems. We really liked this scenario a lot. Both of us wondered how many Pole players opted for EVPs. Thanks to Curtis for another exciting game.
 
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Carln0130

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Completed YASL15 Changes are Slim last night against my Tuesday night VASL comrade, Curtis Brooks. I liked the look of this one when perusing the new Nor'easter Pack. Russians attacking Poles on a new village board from the pack. The Poles are in the village proper and surrounded by a 4.5 squads and an immobilized tank on the right side and a bunch of 7-ML at-start troops plus a bunch of turn 1 reinforcements on the left side – plus four tanks -- two each on turn 1 and 2.

The Poles are decent quality -- a mix of mostly 457, plus 437 and 458s, but only have one 37L AT + MMG, ATR and captured German LMG to threaten the armor. A decision for the Pole is whether to make a play for the exit VPs. I decided pretty quickly to forgo that option as the four tanks could easily overrun and eliminate troops making a move in that direction.

The critical 37L was located in O7 facing SE hoping to nab tanks hooking around to the rear. Infantry was arrayed in the village to maintain concealment as much as possible and take only favorable shots.

The game started out with my 458/MMG/9-1 getting a few rate shots on a stack of three squads on my LOS (2x426, 1x447) on Polish left flank in Y1. When it was over, the Poles had eliminated the stack. That was obviously huge. I didn't confirm, but perhaps it was because the Poles moved first and it gave me the first shot.

Next, in turn two the Russians pressed their armor into the village to break squads and have them mopped up by the oncoming horde of reinforcing infantry. In this turn, the 37L pivoted to gain double acq on one tank. In the turn 3 it took an IF shot to KO it. Another was destroyed by an MMG PB rear shot. Finally, a bypassing T-26 was eliminated by the 458/MMG/9-1 CC RF -- they were supermen in this game. It was a very decisive turn where the Poles stood at 21 CVP vs. 2 CVP for the Russians. With the loss of the third tank and the large CVP gap the Russians threw in the towel. Final positions:

View attachment 17293

We discussed this scenario for quite some time afterward. We both agreed the EVP angle for the Poles was a losing proposition on most days. Simply too risky/uncertain and it saps the village defense. The 37L placement was another discussion point. While there are several locations, I opted for keeping it back further and more centrally located. Some of the value of the gun further back was to perpetuate the uncertainty of its location which was of huge value. Too, I was concerned about tanks in the backfield causing all sorts of rout problems. We really liked this scenario a lot. Both of us wondered how many Pole players opted for EVPs. Thanks to Curtis for another exciting game.
I think EVP are very important. There are a lot of Ruskies coming for that village. Not a lot holding the other end though. Totally agree the ATG is huge. At 5 points a pop on the Russian tin cans, he buys a lot of love. The cool part of the scenario though is that the Poles do have to choose and neither choice is outlandish and obviously wrong. Both can work, the issue of course is as always in the details.
 

Houlie

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I think EVP are very important. There are a lot of Ruskies coming for that village. Not a lot holding the other end though. Totally agree the ATG is huge. At 5 points a pop on the Russian tin cans, he buys a lot of love. The cool part of the scenario though is that the Poles do have to choose and neither choice is outlandish and obviously wrong. Both can work, the issue of course is as always in the details.
Agree re the details. In my case, the good fortune of eliminating the three-squad flanking force on turn 1 made a village defense more viable. Definitely more ways than one to play this. Always a good thing in a scenario,
 

Ray Woloszyn

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[AP164] Sparrow Force New scenario and finally crossing "samurai" swords against perennial opponent, Dave Stephens, having ducked him since Thanksgiving. My Gun went down in first fire on turn one and immediately x-ed out in repair. My Japanese infantry was shooting well and breaking the Aussies who were doing a pinching maneuver against the hill. I was holding well until I messed up not moving more units north to defend the large amount of huts which quickly fell into the Aussie hands. Then I let him get into the one victory building that combined with his hut take would win the game. One Banzai to the north failed and the one against the taken victory building managed to kill a hero and a squad in melee. Last Aussie move had him move enough troops to get a three to two vs. my one to four. My men died as he attacked first but I answered his roll with eyes to win the game which I should have lost. Fun factor was fine.
 
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The Purist

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Gave U5 Point D'Appui a go last night in the Illuminating Rounds tourney versus Dave Mareske.

Let's just say it didn't go well for my Yanks. I'm sure the review by Dave and Martin on the IR Youtube channel will be entertaining.

[I knew I should have traded that 9-2 for a 7-0. The 9-2 SMC is the bane of my ASL existence.]
 

The Purist

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Finished up U14 "Sacrifice of Polish Armor" against Jim (Sparfu,....Spartaf,....Spare3) this morning.

Let's just say it didn't go well for my Poles. Jim and I will post a combined AAR in a few days. It should be entertaining.

[I knew I should have traded a 9-1 for a 7-0. The 9-1 SMC is the bane of my ASL existence.]

<I know,... I know,...it's Sparafucil3. Just having some fun. ;) >
 

Ray Woloszyn

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Nameless Hill [AP168] Another of the new scenarios in the book for 2021. I have yet to figure out how our town of Kernersville with 25K population has had ASL players move here over the years providing me an abundant amount of face-to-face players. Newcomer James Lancaster crushed me in this scenario. His Marines did everything my Japanese could not do, namely shoot, gain ambush, win CC's, etc. I have to go over my setup which obviously did not work. Having served in the Marines he had a good sense of tactics slowly encircling my IJA for the coup de grâce. ☠
 
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