Major Issues
Elder Member
"Come to northern Russia for your dream vacation during our ten days of summer!!! We have trees! And rocks! And trees! And fresh air! And trees! And bubbling brooks! And trees!"
Played 167 Breakout From Prääzä (Praaza) with myself as the Finnish tourists, and Commissar Harrar as the Leader of the Soviet Horde. Finns have 548s that set up in the middle of the forest, with the Russians lurking just a few trees away. On turn 1, more Russians show up, then more infantry and a T-28 on Turn 2. If that was not enough to fill the most stalwart Finn with fear, towards the end of the game, rolling thunder in the form of empty wagons and trucks enter the fray.
Finns have to fall back to their trench line on the other side of a gully. There are known AT mines blocking the one road. Finns get a hero with an ATR, which I stuck on a hill toward the back. Not sure if this is the best placement. I wanted to save him for the end game and blast helpless trucks, but there is something to be said for getting a DI on the T-28.
Russians are looking for exit points, and can bring on and exit units on the Finn right flank. But the wagons and trucks are going to pretty much be restricted to the one road. They are worth more than normal, due to their precious, precious cargo of vodka. Or so I surmised. The Russians do have 2 commissars, the T-28 and 10 turns in their favor.
Prior to the attack, Soviet officers consult their
rulebook for A25.7 and Russian Vehicle Note 11.
Huck Finn setup options are limited. I had a line of Finns strung out along hexrow H. Or maybe it was a line of strung-out Finns. I ran 4 squads, both leaders and both machineguns back to the trench line on turn 1. The rest of the line stayed far enough away so that Walt would have to lose concealment to move adjacent. Next turn, drop back, repeat. I did have one squad break when I got too bold in LOS of the light mortar, but they just routed back and self rallied when the DM came off. This was a pattern - broken squads could rout to where Walt couldn't chase them down to keep them DMed.
I lost one of my covering flankers when a 447 went Berserk. This opened up the door on my right, sorta, and Walt did a run, forest, run with 4-1/2 squads and a 7-0 off the board. I'm not sure that was the best move, as they took 2 LMGs with them that were still in Cosmoline and had never been fired. Everyone else cautiously moved forward, mostly towards the bridge. I was able to get the rest of my squads back to the trench line with no more losses. You got Finns to the left, Finns to the right, and you're the only girl in town.
My plan was to cover the bridge and AT mines for as long as possible. When it got hot, I would abandon the trench line, and fall back towards the board edge. Then Walt would have to fight at one hex range.
So I'm getting 12+1 shots from my two power stacks, and some 5+1s. There's some breaking and running on the Soviet side. Some are ELRing, but the commissars are doing a good job bringing them back. The T-28 smokes the bridge.
Soviet Chick Magnet
3 squads use the smoke cover to run onto the bridge. I don't even try to shoot them. Another 447 goes Berserk, gets reduced charging into the gully, then dies the next turn in classic Hollywood fashion from a 36 flat while entering the trench hex.
The T-28 smokes the far side of the bridge, and three squads use the cover to get into CC with 2 Finn squads. Three more squads move up, and advance into the AT mine hex. My turn, I advance into the mine hex with three squads, two of whom are concealed. Still can't get ambush with a -3 drm. I add a Hero to the Melee. With his extra firepower, 14 grenades, and by providing a shining example to the rest of the troops as to How It Is Done, absolutely nothing happens. My turn ends with 5 Finnish squads and 4-1/2 Russian squads in Melee in the two hexes.
Walt's turn 7, and he is running out of GO Russians to move forward. The bridge is blocked by the Giant Melee, so no one else can move across the bridge. In CC, I wipe out all three squads in the mine hex, and reduce a squad in the Hero hex. He throws in the towel. I'm pretty much intact, he has almost no infantry, and the trucks and wagons with their precious, precious vodka still have to run through AT mines and Finn-infested woods. And the ATR Hero is still out there lurking behind a tree. Walt got off 14 points out of the 40 needed.
I think the Russians need to be aggressive in the beginning to try to break through the Finnish skirmish line. If they can start chasing down broken Finns, or force them to turn and run for the trenches instead of being able to delay the Russians in the woods for a couple turns, this can go very differently.
Despite the number of turns, this played quickly.
Played 167 Breakout From Prääzä (Praaza) with myself as the Finnish tourists, and Commissar Harrar as the Leader of the Soviet Horde. Finns have 548s that set up in the middle of the forest, with the Russians lurking just a few trees away. On turn 1, more Russians show up, then more infantry and a T-28 on Turn 2. If that was not enough to fill the most stalwart Finn with fear, towards the end of the game, rolling thunder in the form of empty wagons and trucks enter the fray.
Finns have to fall back to their trench line on the other side of a gully. There are known AT mines blocking the one road. Finns get a hero with an ATR, which I stuck on a hill toward the back. Not sure if this is the best placement. I wanted to save him for the end game and blast helpless trucks, but there is something to be said for getting a DI on the T-28.
Russians are looking for exit points, and can bring on and exit units on the Finn right flank. But the wagons and trucks are going to pretty much be restricted to the one road. They are worth more than normal, due to their precious, precious cargo of vodka. Or so I surmised. The Russians do have 2 commissars, the T-28 and 10 turns in their favor.
Prior to the attack, Soviet officers consult their
rulebook for A25.7 and Russian Vehicle Note 11.
Huck Finn setup options are limited. I had a line of Finns strung out along hexrow H. Or maybe it was a line of strung-out Finns. I ran 4 squads, both leaders and both machineguns back to the trench line on turn 1. The rest of the line stayed far enough away so that Walt would have to lose concealment to move adjacent. Next turn, drop back, repeat. I did have one squad break when I got too bold in LOS of the light mortar, but they just routed back and self rallied when the DM came off. This was a pattern - broken squads could rout to where Walt couldn't chase them down to keep them DMed.
I lost one of my covering flankers when a 447 went Berserk. This opened up the door on my right, sorta, and Walt did a run, forest, run with 4-1/2 squads and a 7-0 off the board. I'm not sure that was the best move, as they took 2 LMGs with them that were still in Cosmoline and had never been fired. Everyone else cautiously moved forward, mostly towards the bridge. I was able to get the rest of my squads back to the trench line with no more losses. You got Finns to the left, Finns to the right, and you're the only girl in town.
My plan was to cover the bridge and AT mines for as long as possible. When it got hot, I would abandon the trench line, and fall back towards the board edge. Then Walt would have to fight at one hex range.
So I'm getting 12+1 shots from my two power stacks, and some 5+1s. There's some breaking and running on the Soviet side. Some are ELRing, but the commissars are doing a good job bringing them back. The T-28 smokes the bridge.
Soviet Chick Magnet
3 squads use the smoke cover to run onto the bridge. I don't even try to shoot them. Another 447 goes Berserk, gets reduced charging into the gully, then dies the next turn in classic Hollywood fashion from a 36 flat while entering the trench hex.
The T-28 smokes the far side of the bridge, and three squads use the cover to get into CC with 2 Finn squads. Three more squads move up, and advance into the AT mine hex. My turn, I advance into the mine hex with three squads, two of whom are concealed. Still can't get ambush with a -3 drm. I add a Hero to the Melee. With his extra firepower, 14 grenades, and by providing a shining example to the rest of the troops as to How It Is Done, absolutely nothing happens. My turn ends with 5 Finnish squads and 4-1/2 Russian squads in Melee in the two hexes.
Walt's turn 7, and he is running out of GO Russians to move forward. The bridge is blocked by the Giant Melee, so no one else can move across the bridge. In CC, I wipe out all three squads in the mine hex, and reduce a squad in the Hero hex. He throws in the towel. I'm pretty much intact, he has almost no infantry, and the trucks and wagons with their precious, precious vodka still have to run through AT mines and Finn-infested woods. And the ATR Hero is still out there lurking behind a tree. Walt got off 14 points out of the 40 needed.
I think the Russians need to be aggressive in the beginning to try to break through the Finnish skirmish line. If they can start chasing down broken Finns, or force them to turn and run for the trenches instead of being able to delay the Russians in the woods for a couple turns, this can go very differently.
Despite the number of turns, this played quickly.
