Major Issues
Elder Member
As I may have mentioned before, I was furloughed from my job, partly due to corona virus, and partly because I kept slipping poison blow darts past security.
Everyone is required to wear a mask when they go out now, so the streets are filled with people who look like bandits in a Hopalong Cassidy movie. Tho, this would be a good time to rob a store, if you could find one still open. “Officer, I got a good look at him. He was wearing a mask!!!”
Played Resistance Is Useless: Chabrehez with Walt. He wanted to be Belgian. But then, who doesn’t?
Belgians are defending a hilltop pass. They have elite squads, some MGs, ATRs, and light mortars, but no vehicles or heavy weapons. They do have a buncha bicycles, which they can use to create a pelaton, I think. I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in Chapter E.
An AT ditch and roadblock made their position invincible. Maybe.
Blitzkreig Boppers have a buncha infantry and two tanks. Two motorcycle gangs come in as reinforcements - Sons Against Anarchy and Hell’s Angels – Dresden Chapter.
They also get two Convoys, with 4 trucks in each. VC are to exit 5 trucks way down the far corner. With one truck that comes in on turn 1, this means that the Germans lose if they lose 5 trucks carrying the precious, precious schnapps.
The AT Ditch was in L3, which is an obvious, but probably necessary place. It can only set up in Level 0. Plus side – it affects the trucks, no matter which road they enter on. Minus side – they can drive around it, no matter which road they enter on.
G1, the truck with the MG guyz drove one hex and unloaded, to prevent being killed. The infantry could move into the O7 woods and onto Hill 656 safely, then advance into firing positions. Both tanks parked next to H2 to lethally blast the occupants, and possibly some jars of canned pickles.
B1, a light mortar crew on Hill 569 is broken. The plus side of the Belgian mortars are that they are light enough that broken guyz can run away with them. The minus side is that the minimum range is 4 hexes, which can make their use problematic. The crew did eventually rally, but never got a shot off with the mortar.
A group of Belgians run down towards the exit road.
G2, my tanks blast the H2 building, only to find dummies and many broken jars of strawberry preserves. The first Convoy enters, and gets onto Level 1 of the hill. A platoon with an 8-0 moves adjacent to the HMG position in J9. Walt blasts them, but does not get rate. The 8-0 and two squads break. The remaining squad jumps into the trench for CC, gets Ambush, and kills the HMG crew. Walt had a 9-1 and squad in with them, but their feeble attack back does nothing and we end up in Melee.
B2, big big German firegroups shoot into the Melee.
Helpful ASL Tip Of The Day – Shoot at your own guys occasionally. It will keep the rest of them on their toes, and may give them a good chuckle. “Hahahahaha!!! Look at Hans run!!!!!!!”
The ancient Spartans would do this, and as a result, they ruled Spartania for hundreds, or perhaps dozens, of years. It’s on the internet. Look it up.
A 1MC pins my squad, but leaves the Belgians unfazed. A 3MC breaks my squad, but leaves the Belgians unfazed. These Belgians do not faze easily.
In CC, Walt eliminates my broken squad with a 1:1 -5. I accuse him of getting lucky.
G3, my tanks eliminate another dummy position in F2. By now, I have Ralph malfed the MA on the PzKwII.
On Hill 610, a German squad that was pinned by the sniper fires a 1 flat at a concealed unit. It turns out to be the other mortar crew. Which breaks.
I break the 9-1 and HMG squad on the hill, and reduce the squad, but can’t keep them from routing away. Elsewhere, I take a HS prisoner.
The other Convoy comes in. All the trucks are out of Belgian LOS behind the hill. One motorcycle gang goes after the guyz near the exit, while the other clears a HS in the village. We do find the roadblock in H9.
The tanks move to blast a trench with an 8-1 and MMG in E5. Walt’s HIP guy springs into action – a HS with an LMG in L18, which strikes me as an odd place. Still, he gets a 2-2 shot at a squad running across the hilltop. And misses.
The one truck who is not part of a Convoy tries to drive over the hill, but has the tires shot out. Which pisses me off, because they were brand new Goodyears.
The Belgians guarding the roadblock get pasted, and I get infantry into the woods and sunken road. Walt’s 9-1 Battle Hardens to a Heroic 9-2. One motorcycle gang takes out another dummy position in the village, the other moves to assault the Belgians guarding the exit road.
Belgian turn, Walt’s new Heroic 9-2 is less than inspiring, and two elite squads and a crew fail their rally while DM attempts.
The Belgian 8-1 with the Exit Boyz is broken, as his troops drop back. The Belgian squads in E5 break, but the 8-1 is still okay. A Belgian HS foolishly attempts to CC the PzKwII. The crew chortles gleefully as they cut them to pieces.
Next turn, the marauding motorcycle gangs break the rest of the exit guards, while the other gang, possibly searching for meth, clears a building in CC.
By the end of B5, Walt has a HS and the 8-1 left GO, at opposite ends of the board. He decides to just pull them back.
My roadblock clearance attempt on G5 failed, but I have more picks and shovels there now, and successfully clear it the end of G6.
The road is now clear, and nothing, NOTHING can stop the awesome might of the German army as they both blitz and kreig!!!
But.
BUT.
The second convoy, which has been stuck on the road waiting for the roadblock to clear, never had LOS to any Belgians. They have no good stories to tell their grandchildren. No LOS means that the Convoy cannot Disband. As a Convoy, they are stuck in first gear, and are too freaking slow to exit in two turns. Belgian win!!!
Although I had a lot of bad rolls early in the game, my Germans did well, and very few Belgians that broke were able to get back into the game. German losses were the one squad that I shot up in CC, and an 8-0 that was nailed by a sniper. I thought that I did well by eliminating the Belgians in 5 turns, and the roadblock in 6. So I stomped all over the Belgians, and still lost.
I am not a big fan of scenarios with Convoys, because of issues like this. There are some really bad 3rd party Convoy scenarios that have even more issues. One has a roadblock, but the trucks may not unload until attacked. If the defenders never attack, the troops can never unload, and the roadblock can never be cleared.
Walt’s setup was not particularly good. He did not defend the east edge or the hilltops well, and I thought that the dummy positions in F2 and H2 deserved real troops. His ATRs were in bad positions, and never got a shot at the tanks. The bicycles remained parked all game, though we did give them to the local children afterwards. If only the Belgians had bicycles with offensive capabilities!!!
I can think of a buncha ways to make a better Belgian defense. But not how to make a better attack. Still, it’s 3-3 on ROAR.
Next post – my favorite manscaping pics!
Everyone is required to wear a mask when they go out now, so the streets are filled with people who look like bandits in a Hopalong Cassidy movie. Tho, this would be a good time to rob a store, if you could find one still open. “Officer, I got a good look at him. He was wearing a mask!!!”
Played Resistance Is Useless: Chabrehez with Walt. He wanted to be Belgian. But then, who doesn’t?
Belgians are defending a hilltop pass. They have elite squads, some MGs, ATRs, and light mortars, but no vehicles or heavy weapons. They do have a buncha bicycles, which they can use to create a pelaton, I think. I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in Chapter E.
An AT ditch and roadblock made their position invincible. Maybe.
Blitzkreig Boppers have a buncha infantry and two tanks. Two motorcycle gangs come in as reinforcements - Sons Against Anarchy and Hell’s Angels – Dresden Chapter.
They also get two Convoys, with 4 trucks in each. VC are to exit 5 trucks way down the far corner. With one truck that comes in on turn 1, this means that the Germans lose if they lose 5 trucks carrying the precious, precious schnapps.
The AT Ditch was in L3, which is an obvious, but probably necessary place. It can only set up in Level 0. Plus side – it affects the trucks, no matter which road they enter on. Minus side – they can drive around it, no matter which road they enter on.
G1, the truck with the MG guyz drove one hex and unloaded, to prevent being killed. The infantry could move into the O7 woods and onto Hill 656 safely, then advance into firing positions. Both tanks parked next to H2 to lethally blast the occupants, and possibly some jars of canned pickles.
B1, a light mortar crew on Hill 569 is broken. The plus side of the Belgian mortars are that they are light enough that broken guyz can run away with them. The minus side is that the minimum range is 4 hexes, which can make their use problematic. The crew did eventually rally, but never got a shot off with the mortar.
A group of Belgians run down towards the exit road.
G2, my tanks blast the H2 building, only to find dummies and many broken jars of strawberry preserves. The first Convoy enters, and gets onto Level 1 of the hill. A platoon with an 8-0 moves adjacent to the HMG position in J9. Walt blasts them, but does not get rate. The 8-0 and two squads break. The remaining squad jumps into the trench for CC, gets Ambush, and kills the HMG crew. Walt had a 9-1 and squad in with them, but their feeble attack back does nothing and we end up in Melee.
B2, big big German firegroups shoot into the Melee.
Helpful ASL Tip Of The Day – Shoot at your own guys occasionally. It will keep the rest of them on their toes, and may give them a good chuckle. “Hahahahaha!!! Look at Hans run!!!!!!!”
The ancient Spartans would do this, and as a result, they ruled Spartania for hundreds, or perhaps dozens, of years. It’s on the internet. Look it up.
A 1MC pins my squad, but leaves the Belgians unfazed. A 3MC breaks my squad, but leaves the Belgians unfazed. These Belgians do not faze easily.
In CC, Walt eliminates my broken squad with a 1:1 -5. I accuse him of getting lucky.
G3, my tanks eliminate another dummy position in F2. By now, I have Ralph malfed the MA on the PzKwII.
On Hill 610, a German squad that was pinned by the sniper fires a 1 flat at a concealed unit. It turns out to be the other mortar crew. Which breaks.
I break the 9-1 and HMG squad on the hill, and reduce the squad, but can’t keep them from routing away. Elsewhere, I take a HS prisoner.
The other Convoy comes in. All the trucks are out of Belgian LOS behind the hill. One motorcycle gang goes after the guyz near the exit, while the other clears a HS in the village. We do find the roadblock in H9.
The tanks move to blast a trench with an 8-1 and MMG in E5. Walt’s HIP guy springs into action – a HS with an LMG in L18, which strikes me as an odd place. Still, he gets a 2-2 shot at a squad running across the hilltop. And misses.
The one truck who is not part of a Convoy tries to drive over the hill, but has the tires shot out. Which pisses me off, because they were brand new Goodyears.
The Belgians guarding the roadblock get pasted, and I get infantry into the woods and sunken road. Walt’s 9-1 Battle Hardens to a Heroic 9-2. One motorcycle gang takes out another dummy position in the village, the other moves to assault the Belgians guarding the exit road.
Belgian turn, Walt’s new Heroic 9-2 is less than inspiring, and two elite squads and a crew fail their rally while DM attempts.
The Belgian 8-1 with the Exit Boyz is broken, as his troops drop back. The Belgian squads in E5 break, but the 8-1 is still okay. A Belgian HS foolishly attempts to CC the PzKwII. The crew chortles gleefully as they cut them to pieces.
Next turn, the marauding motorcycle gangs break the rest of the exit guards, while the other gang, possibly searching for meth, clears a building in CC.
By the end of B5, Walt has a HS and the 8-1 left GO, at opposite ends of the board. He decides to just pull them back.
My roadblock clearance attempt on G5 failed, but I have more picks and shovels there now, and successfully clear it the end of G6.
The road is now clear, and nothing, NOTHING can stop the awesome might of the German army as they both blitz and kreig!!!
But.
BUT.
The second convoy, which has been stuck on the road waiting for the roadblock to clear, never had LOS to any Belgians. They have no good stories to tell their grandchildren. No LOS means that the Convoy cannot Disband. As a Convoy, they are stuck in first gear, and are too freaking slow to exit in two turns. Belgian win!!!
Although I had a lot of bad rolls early in the game, my Germans did well, and very few Belgians that broke were able to get back into the game. German losses were the one squad that I shot up in CC, and an 8-0 that was nailed by a sniper. I thought that I did well by eliminating the Belgians in 5 turns, and the roadblock in 6. So I stomped all over the Belgians, and still lost.
I am not a big fan of scenarios with Convoys, because of issues like this. There are some really bad 3rd party Convoy scenarios that have even more issues. One has a roadblock, but the trucks may not unload until attacked. If the defenders never attack, the troops can never unload, and the roadblock can never be cleared.
Walt’s setup was not particularly good. He did not defend the east edge or the hilltops well, and I thought that the dummy positions in F2 and H2 deserved real troops. His ATRs were in bad positions, and never got a shot at the tanks. The bicycles remained parked all game, though we did give them to the local children afterwards. If only the Belgians had bicycles with offensive capabilities!!!
I can think of a buncha ways to make a better Belgian defense. But not how to make a better attack. Still, it’s 3-3 on ROAR.
Next post – my favorite manscaping pics!
