Major Issues
Elder Member
After giving job-hunting tips for so long, I am now out of a job, partly due to the Corona virus, and partly due to stealing company toilet paper. But I regret nothing. NOTHING.
COVID-19 Tip for the Day – Only have sex in the reverse cowgirl position. That will keep her from breathing on you. When you are finished, politely, but firmly, insist that she leave, to minimize any potential contact. It doesn’t matter that you have been married to her for 27 years. Safety is paramount.
COVID-19 – It Changes EVERYTHING!!!
Another AAR on an old game, as there have been no new games. Everyone I talk to is hunkering down in their bunker with their wife, Eva.
One that I had been wanting to do for a while is Sowchos 79, an oldie moldy that has been updated twice. The first update I have is by Mustafa Unlu, and was released as Crossus Ironsaurus 16, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and Perry was still good looking. The other version is U28, by Jim Stahler. They are VERY different. The latter has more tanks for both sides, more initial German infantry, and two modules of 100 mm OBA, compared to one for Crossus. The VC are very different also, with Crossus requiring the Germans to control 21 building locations on board 3, while U28 requires 12 buildings. Crossus is pro-Soviet on ROAR; U28 is pro-German. My compromise to Walt was that we play U28, but with only one OBA module. He wanted to play it as written, saying that OBA is not a guarantee, and anything can happen to keep it from being a factor. Prophetic words, indeed.
For those too young or mush-brained to remember the original, this uses 4 full boards. German infantry with a Marter and an AT gun pound on Soviets on board 3. A Soviet column at the other end of the world gets pounced by German armor. More German infantry show up in halftracks, then T-34s and KVs keep coming to join the party.
Walt defended the buildings on board 3 with big stacks, but didn’t really cover the NW buildings. I tried to push the AT gun forward, with infantry helping to push. I think they failed three pushing attempts. The bulk of the infantry was assaulting building 3M2. Soviet fire broke the 9-2 and several squads, but after a couple turns, I cleared the building and took some prisoners. I shot up some other buildings – stacking was hurting Walt, and a number of squads ELRed. I did get some troops into the village center. I wasn’t strong enough to take on the giant stacks he had on the eastern edge of the village, but he was content to maintain position and did not counterattack.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the board, the AC and HT went to block the column, while the tanks headed for town. Walt was content to unload his infantry and AT gun instead of attempting a suicidal truck charge.
By the end of G4, my tanks were in town or on the hills. The HT infantry was on the edge of town, ready to pounce.
Some panzergrenadiers take Casual Friday a little too far.
In the village, I was concentrating on killing troops, not on taking buildings. Walt conceded after R4. He had lost or had broken and useless around 8 squads in the village. The dismounted Soviet truck infantry was making slow progress, and didn’t look to be a factor. I had lost the AC to a LMG shot. Even though the big tank battle was about to start, Walt thought that he did not have the infantry to hold the village, and the tanks weren’t really going to be able to control the buildings. The arriving HT infantry was a pretty awesome force, with three minus leaders. Walt didn’t want to commit to another two nights playing out a game that was a lost cause.
I never tried to use OBA. I could have used it late in the game to drop shells on the Soviet tanks.
Walt did not help himself by making big stacks. Had he spread out more, and covered the western edge of town, I couldn’t do as much damage per shot, and he could have had better rout routes.
I think I made a mistake putting PzKw IVs on top of the hill on the north edge of the village. Although Walt didn’t notice, I think his 57LL AT actually had a LOS. Granted, it was probably 35 hexes away, but the LL gun would help make up for the red TH numbers, so it may have had a chance.
Gut feeling is that this pro-German, even without the OBA. The Germans have 6 minus leaders, including two 9-2s. I could chew up a lot of Soviet infantry, with a good chance of getting some of them to ELR to conscripts. Suggest playing the U28 version, with the Russian balance and only one OBA module.
Next post – tips for buying your own Caribbean island and living off the grid.
COVID-19 Tip for the Day – Only have sex in the reverse cowgirl position. That will keep her from breathing on you. When you are finished, politely, but firmly, insist that she leave, to minimize any potential contact. It doesn’t matter that you have been married to her for 27 years. Safety is paramount.
COVID-19 – It Changes EVERYTHING!!!
Another AAR on an old game, as there have been no new games. Everyone I talk to is hunkering down in their bunker with their wife, Eva.
One that I had been wanting to do for a while is Sowchos 79, an oldie moldy that has been updated twice. The first update I have is by Mustafa Unlu, and was released as Crossus Ironsaurus 16, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and Perry was still good looking. The other version is U28, by Jim Stahler. They are VERY different. The latter has more tanks for both sides, more initial German infantry, and two modules of 100 mm OBA, compared to one for Crossus. The VC are very different also, with Crossus requiring the Germans to control 21 building locations on board 3, while U28 requires 12 buildings. Crossus is pro-Soviet on ROAR; U28 is pro-German. My compromise to Walt was that we play U28, but with only one OBA module. He wanted to play it as written, saying that OBA is not a guarantee, and anything can happen to keep it from being a factor. Prophetic words, indeed.
For those too young or mush-brained to remember the original, this uses 4 full boards. German infantry with a Marter and an AT gun pound on Soviets on board 3. A Soviet column at the other end of the world gets pounced by German armor. More German infantry show up in halftracks, then T-34s and KVs keep coming to join the party.
Walt defended the buildings on board 3 with big stacks, but didn’t really cover the NW buildings. I tried to push the AT gun forward, with infantry helping to push. I think they failed three pushing attempts. The bulk of the infantry was assaulting building 3M2. Soviet fire broke the 9-2 and several squads, but after a couple turns, I cleared the building and took some prisoners. I shot up some other buildings – stacking was hurting Walt, and a number of squads ELRed. I did get some troops into the village center. I wasn’t strong enough to take on the giant stacks he had on the eastern edge of the village, but he was content to maintain position and did not counterattack.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the board, the AC and HT went to block the column, while the tanks headed for town. Walt was content to unload his infantry and AT gun instead of attempting a suicidal truck charge.
By the end of G4, my tanks were in town or on the hills. The HT infantry was on the edge of town, ready to pounce.
Some panzergrenadiers take Casual Friday a little too far.
In the village, I was concentrating on killing troops, not on taking buildings. Walt conceded after R4. He had lost or had broken and useless around 8 squads in the village. The dismounted Soviet truck infantry was making slow progress, and didn’t look to be a factor. I had lost the AC to a LMG shot. Even though the big tank battle was about to start, Walt thought that he did not have the infantry to hold the village, and the tanks weren’t really going to be able to control the buildings. The arriving HT infantry was a pretty awesome force, with three minus leaders. Walt didn’t want to commit to another two nights playing out a game that was a lost cause.
I never tried to use OBA. I could have used it late in the game to drop shells on the Soviet tanks.
Walt did not help himself by making big stacks. Had he spread out more, and covered the western edge of town, I couldn’t do as much damage per shot, and he could have had better rout routes.
I think I made a mistake putting PzKw IVs on top of the hill on the north edge of the village. Although Walt didn’t notice, I think his 57LL AT actually had a LOS. Granted, it was probably 35 hexes away, but the LL gun would help make up for the red TH numbers, so it may have had a chance.
Gut feeling is that this pro-German, even without the OBA. The Germans have 6 minus leaders, including two 9-2s. I could chew up a lot of Soviet infantry, with a good chance of getting some of them to ELR to conscripts. Suggest playing the U28 version, with the Russian balance and only one OBA module.
Next post – tips for buying your own Caribbean island and living off the grid.
