Bob Holmstrom
Senior Member
2008 St. Louis ASL Tournament AAR
I traveled down to St. Louis for the 11th Annual STL Tourney over the weekend. Jim Burris always has a fun tourney with an interesting play list, great prizes, and a cool first place trophy.
Attendance was down this year with 20 players. I imagine this is in part due to high travel costs. However, there were some high caliber players battling it out as always, including Wes Vaughn, Doug Kirk, Dave Goldman, and others.
Round 1: FT91 “Ne Pas Sabir” vs. Jeff Ital
Jeff and I settled on this French v. German canal crossing scenario. Dice gave me the French. I then pointed out to Jeff that: a. I have never lost as the French and b. the French 60mm mortar would be the key to me winning.
After much guffawing, trash talking and pre-game drinking—all staples of Ital/Holmstrom matches—we got down to business. My elite French have to get more infantry VP across the canal than the germans get on my side of the canal. Germans win ties, so that means I have to get someone across. Helping the French cause is 3 B1bis that enter on turn 3. The germans also get armor support on turn 3.
This game turned into a war of snipers, as my sniper took out Jeff’s 8-1, wounded his 7-0, recalled one of his armored cars, and broke 2 of his squads. Not to be outdone, Jeff’s sniper nailed all 3 of my leaders, killing my 9-1 and 8-1 leaders and wounded my 8-0. Talk about early war marksmanship!
Anyway, my 25LL ATG malfed on the first shot, and xed out on the repair roll. My HMG broke on the first shot, and my kill stack did squat. All was not lost for the French cause though as the above mentioned light mortar crited Jeff’s kill stack, eliminating a squad with his HMG.
So, perhaps channeling my French ancestors, I rushed the canal before my tanks were in position, and my guys passed 1 and 2 MC’s without batting an eye—thank you MMP for rescinding the -1 bridge TEM—and I was in good shape. Unfortunately, as the French are want to do, after braving the canal crossing, my guys couldn’t pass a MC once across the canal, and I was in bad shape.
No problem though, the French armor stormed across the bridge, and the second wave of Frenchmen made it across thanks to some bypass freeze sleeze, which did cost me 2 of my tanks. Last turn and Jeff had to break or kill: a full squad outside of his LOS, a half-squad hiding under the last B1bis, and a halfsquad and wounded leader sitting in open ground.
Jeff broke the half-squad on an intensive fire shot from his 37L ATG, broke the half-squad and leader with a 4+0 advancing fire shot, and then got 2 squads into CC with my 4-5-8. No ambush and Jeff needed a 6 or less in CC to win. Jeff rolls into the dice glass and the first dice turns over for a 2. The second dice is spinning and looks like a 5 might fall…spinning, spinning…dice hits the side of the glass and falls for a 3. Jeff wins, beating me for the first time this century. Nicely played Jeffe. Enjoy your first and last victory against me in the 21st century.
Excellent scenario: Nicely balanced, good forces for each side, and quick playing. For those TD’s out there, this is a great tournament scenario. Jeff and I then hit the bar for a few more cocktails before bed.
Round 2: RPT9 “Shelling the Sivash” vs. Doug Kirk
Surpringly, Doug lost his 1st round game so we matched up for the morning game. I was all for playing Radio Wars, but Doug doesn’t like deluxe scenarios plus he thought it pro-german. Despite the ROAR record—36-20 german—I like the Russians. We settled on Shelling the Sivash, which Doug thought was pro-german—Doug is a black and white type of guy if you haven’t figured that out yet—and we agreed to the Russian balance.
We diced for sides and I got the german but offered to take the Russians as I didn’t want to hear the whining that would ensue if I won as the germans. Doug declined—I think he was sharking me—and I set up, my head hurting from the previous night’s alcohol abuse.
I have a nice defending force of mostly elite Romanians and 1st line germans with 2 MMG’s, a 50L ATG and a marder. I get a couple of german squads, mmg, 9-1 leadr and a stug as reinforcements. The Russians also get a nice group with a 9-2 lead, a FT, 2 T-34’s and a smoke making SU-122. The Russians have to get 8 VP of infantry off the board.
I put mostly dummies up front with the exception of a half-squad. Doug of course promptly loses a full squad in CC to him on the first turn.
I fell back gradually, taking out Russians along the way, and Doug Xed out his FT on it’s first shot. My 50L took out a T-34 and my stug bewed up his other T-34. Things wre not going well for Doug. However, redemption is always a die roll away in ASL, and Doug was able to get 8 VP worth of infantry down the left flank with a shot at exiting. Of course I break and pin them with some lucky shots, and his right flank rush ends with Mr. 9-2 breaking and the game is over.
Doug is probably right that it favors the axis, but I think the Russians defiantly can win it with a little luck, which Doug did not have. So, 1-1 so far with two fun games played.
Round 3: FrF21 “Cavalry Brigade Model” vs. Craig Walters
Craig and I have never played each other before. We decided on the Firendly Fire scenario because, well, it’s a Friendly Fire scenario.
I gave Craig his choice of sides and he took the defending Russians. The Russians set up dispersed, but have a secret rally point that determines victory. It’s a cat and mouse game through the first few turns as the Germans have to take out any Russians that group together. Also, this is a cavalry scenario where the cavalry is actually very useful.
I felt very good about my play in this one, as I used the mobility of the cavalry to get behind Craig’s defense and cause him grief. Things were looking bad for Craig, but he did manage to get 3 squads and his commisar grouped around his rally point.
I had 3 8+1 shots at him in Prep and bounding fire but couldn’t break him. I did freeze him with one of my tanks and got 2 groups next to him for advancing fire and CC. I really had to break him in advancing fire as he was likely going to win ambush—with my tank in bypass—and would withdraw for the win.
So, I took my first 8+1 advancing fire shot, rolled a 4, and both his squads failed the 2MC and I got the win. Whew, that was close. A nicely played game by Craig. 2-1 with 3 close and fun games.
The raffle: I spend $5 to get an extra 6 tickets for the raffle and it turns out to be a good choice as I win starter kit 2—which I don’t have—and Out of the Cellar featuring Scott Host’s scenarios. Good times!
Round 4: SP34 “Frankforce” vs. Dave Goldman
I get matched up against Dave Goldman who always seems to have my number. I don’t think I’ve ever come close to beating him. We chose Frankforce over Viva la Muerta due to not wanting to play until 1 am. We dice for sides and I get the Brits who must exit VP’s off PART of the board edge to win. I highlight PART of the board edge because me, being the idiot I am, forget this during the game and exit off another part of the board for the loss.
Always read the VC every turn. Dave was nice enough to buy me a drink afterwards to help sooth my shattered ego. I also got to meet and talk with Chas Smith for quite a while which helped make up for my idiotic play. So, 2-2 with 3 good games and one throw away game. Off to bed. I walk into my room and my heart skips a beat as there is someone sleeping in my bed! Holy crap! I flip on the lights and find it’s Darryl Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson spooning in my bed.
Nice prank by the boys tucking the NASCAR life size cut out into my bed. Revenge will be sweat next year boys is all I have to say…
Round 5: FrF19 “About his Shadowy Sides” vs. William Sanders
We choose this one as there’s been a lot of discussion concerning it on GameSquad. We dice for sides and I get the Russians.
I have a pretty blah force of Russian infantry but they are backed by 2 of the monstrous KV-2. To win, I either have to control 9 building hexes or take out 3 more tanks than I lose. The germans get a scratch force at start but get reinforced by a nice infantry company and 4 weak but mobile panzers.
William does a nice job of inflicting casualties early with his scratch force, but I do manage to work my way into the village. Killing the PzIV’s is difficult but I do get 2 of them. William has a shot to get a KV in CC but fails his patsy.
Meanwhile, I get back to back snakes in CC, killing half his infantry and 1 of the KV’s kills another couple of squads with MA hits and it’s all over.
Very interesting scenario with a back and forth feel. Despite my win, I think I like the germans in this one. Had I not won those 2 CC’s, I don’t think I could’ve held out in the village nor killed a 3rd panzer. So I finish 3-2 with 4 great games.
Wes Vaughn goes 5-0 and takes first and Dave Goldman goes 4-1 and gets 2nd. I say my goodbyes and head home. I get a call about 5 hours later from Jim telling me I got 3rd place. I’m not sure if he’s pranking me or not so I’ll wait to see the official results posted.
Great tournament as always by Jimbo. I look forward to next year.
I traveled down to St. Louis for the 11th Annual STL Tourney over the weekend. Jim Burris always has a fun tourney with an interesting play list, great prizes, and a cool first place trophy.
Attendance was down this year with 20 players. I imagine this is in part due to high travel costs. However, there were some high caliber players battling it out as always, including Wes Vaughn, Doug Kirk, Dave Goldman, and others.
Round 1: FT91 “Ne Pas Sabir” vs. Jeff Ital
Jeff and I settled on this French v. German canal crossing scenario. Dice gave me the French. I then pointed out to Jeff that: a. I have never lost as the French and b. the French 60mm mortar would be the key to me winning.
After much guffawing, trash talking and pre-game drinking—all staples of Ital/Holmstrom matches—we got down to business. My elite French have to get more infantry VP across the canal than the germans get on my side of the canal. Germans win ties, so that means I have to get someone across. Helping the French cause is 3 B1bis that enter on turn 3. The germans also get armor support on turn 3.
This game turned into a war of snipers, as my sniper took out Jeff’s 8-1, wounded his 7-0, recalled one of his armored cars, and broke 2 of his squads. Not to be outdone, Jeff’s sniper nailed all 3 of my leaders, killing my 9-1 and 8-1 leaders and wounded my 8-0. Talk about early war marksmanship!
Anyway, my 25LL ATG malfed on the first shot, and xed out on the repair roll. My HMG broke on the first shot, and my kill stack did squat. All was not lost for the French cause though as the above mentioned light mortar crited Jeff’s kill stack, eliminating a squad with his HMG.
So, perhaps channeling my French ancestors, I rushed the canal before my tanks were in position, and my guys passed 1 and 2 MC’s without batting an eye—thank you MMP for rescinding the -1 bridge TEM—and I was in good shape. Unfortunately, as the French are want to do, after braving the canal crossing, my guys couldn’t pass a MC once across the canal, and I was in bad shape.
No problem though, the French armor stormed across the bridge, and the second wave of Frenchmen made it across thanks to some bypass freeze sleeze, which did cost me 2 of my tanks. Last turn and Jeff had to break or kill: a full squad outside of his LOS, a half-squad hiding under the last B1bis, and a halfsquad and wounded leader sitting in open ground.
Jeff broke the half-squad on an intensive fire shot from his 37L ATG, broke the half-squad and leader with a 4+0 advancing fire shot, and then got 2 squads into CC with my 4-5-8. No ambush and Jeff needed a 6 or less in CC to win. Jeff rolls into the dice glass and the first dice turns over for a 2. The second dice is spinning and looks like a 5 might fall…spinning, spinning…dice hits the side of the glass and falls for a 3. Jeff wins, beating me for the first time this century. Nicely played Jeffe. Enjoy your first and last victory against me in the 21st century.
Excellent scenario: Nicely balanced, good forces for each side, and quick playing. For those TD’s out there, this is a great tournament scenario. Jeff and I then hit the bar for a few more cocktails before bed.
Round 2: RPT9 “Shelling the Sivash” vs. Doug Kirk
Surpringly, Doug lost his 1st round game so we matched up for the morning game. I was all for playing Radio Wars, but Doug doesn’t like deluxe scenarios plus he thought it pro-german. Despite the ROAR record—36-20 german—I like the Russians. We settled on Shelling the Sivash, which Doug thought was pro-german—Doug is a black and white type of guy if you haven’t figured that out yet—and we agreed to the Russian balance.
We diced for sides and I got the german but offered to take the Russians as I didn’t want to hear the whining that would ensue if I won as the germans. Doug declined—I think he was sharking me—and I set up, my head hurting from the previous night’s alcohol abuse.
I have a nice defending force of mostly elite Romanians and 1st line germans with 2 MMG’s, a 50L ATG and a marder. I get a couple of german squads, mmg, 9-1 leadr and a stug as reinforcements. The Russians also get a nice group with a 9-2 lead, a FT, 2 T-34’s and a smoke making SU-122. The Russians have to get 8 VP of infantry off the board.
I put mostly dummies up front with the exception of a half-squad. Doug of course promptly loses a full squad in CC to him on the first turn.
I fell back gradually, taking out Russians along the way, and Doug Xed out his FT on it’s first shot. My 50L took out a T-34 and my stug bewed up his other T-34. Things wre not going well for Doug. However, redemption is always a die roll away in ASL, and Doug was able to get 8 VP worth of infantry down the left flank with a shot at exiting. Of course I break and pin them with some lucky shots, and his right flank rush ends with Mr. 9-2 breaking and the game is over.
Doug is probably right that it favors the axis, but I think the Russians defiantly can win it with a little luck, which Doug did not have. So, 1-1 so far with two fun games played.
Round 3: FrF21 “Cavalry Brigade Model” vs. Craig Walters
Craig and I have never played each other before. We decided on the Firendly Fire scenario because, well, it’s a Friendly Fire scenario.
I gave Craig his choice of sides and he took the defending Russians. The Russians set up dispersed, but have a secret rally point that determines victory. It’s a cat and mouse game through the first few turns as the Germans have to take out any Russians that group together. Also, this is a cavalry scenario where the cavalry is actually very useful.
I felt very good about my play in this one, as I used the mobility of the cavalry to get behind Craig’s defense and cause him grief. Things were looking bad for Craig, but he did manage to get 3 squads and his commisar grouped around his rally point.
I had 3 8+1 shots at him in Prep and bounding fire but couldn’t break him. I did freeze him with one of my tanks and got 2 groups next to him for advancing fire and CC. I really had to break him in advancing fire as he was likely going to win ambush—with my tank in bypass—and would withdraw for the win.
So, I took my first 8+1 advancing fire shot, rolled a 4, and both his squads failed the 2MC and I got the win. Whew, that was close. A nicely played game by Craig. 2-1 with 3 close and fun games.
The raffle: I spend $5 to get an extra 6 tickets for the raffle and it turns out to be a good choice as I win starter kit 2—which I don’t have—and Out of the Cellar featuring Scott Host’s scenarios. Good times!
Round 4: SP34 “Frankforce” vs. Dave Goldman
I get matched up against Dave Goldman who always seems to have my number. I don’t think I’ve ever come close to beating him. We chose Frankforce over Viva la Muerta due to not wanting to play until 1 am. We dice for sides and I get the Brits who must exit VP’s off PART of the board edge to win. I highlight PART of the board edge because me, being the idiot I am, forget this during the game and exit off another part of the board for the loss.
Always read the VC every turn. Dave was nice enough to buy me a drink afterwards to help sooth my shattered ego. I also got to meet and talk with Chas Smith for quite a while which helped make up for my idiotic play. So, 2-2 with 3 good games and one throw away game. Off to bed. I walk into my room and my heart skips a beat as there is someone sleeping in my bed! Holy crap! I flip on the lights and find it’s Darryl Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson spooning in my bed.
Nice prank by the boys tucking the NASCAR life size cut out into my bed. Revenge will be sweat next year boys is all I have to say…
Round 5: FrF19 “About his Shadowy Sides” vs. William Sanders
We choose this one as there’s been a lot of discussion concerning it on GameSquad. We dice for sides and I get the Russians.
I have a pretty blah force of Russian infantry but they are backed by 2 of the monstrous KV-2. To win, I either have to control 9 building hexes or take out 3 more tanks than I lose. The germans get a scratch force at start but get reinforced by a nice infantry company and 4 weak but mobile panzers.
William does a nice job of inflicting casualties early with his scratch force, but I do manage to work my way into the village. Killing the PzIV’s is difficult but I do get 2 of them. William has a shot to get a KV in CC but fails his patsy.
Meanwhile, I get back to back snakes in CC, killing half his infantry and 1 of the KV’s kills another couple of squads with MA hits and it’s all over.
Very interesting scenario with a back and forth feel. Despite my win, I think I like the germans in this one. Had I not won those 2 CC’s, I don’t think I could’ve held out in the village nor killed a 3rd panzer. So I finish 3-2 with 4 great games.
Wes Vaughn goes 5-0 and takes first and Dave Goldman goes 4-1 and gets 2nd. I say my goodbyes and head home. I get a call about 5 hours later from Jim telling me I got 3rd place. I’m not sure if he’s pranking me or not so I’ll wait to see the official results posted.
Great tournament as always by Jimbo. I look forward to next year.
