Major Issues
Elder Member
I recently changed jobs, and thought I would pass on some valuable job hunting advice. Provide your future employer with a writing sample. They will be blown away by the fact that you have translated the entire ASL Rulebook into iambic pentameter:
“Mayhaps the shot, if true, will cause a wound.
‘tis deep, and such may prove thy end.
Fortune again may reign. How will thy knowst?
Thou cast fate’s die, and five or six means doom...”
Walt likes to play scenarios that are close to the anniversary date. I have wanted to play Rally Point’s Sycamore And Succotash. Marines were stomping all over the poor Japanese on Namur, until someone threw a demo charge into a bunker filled with torpedos. The explosion caused about 120 casualties, some of whom were in boats offshore. Imagine telling that war story down at the VFW: “My arm got broken when I was hit by a torpedo. That fell from the sky...” The smoke and dust cloud from the explosion was 1000 feet high. This scenario has what I think is an elegant way to handle the explosion. The bunker location is chosen randomly following a DR like it was a Sniper Attack, and the closest building/ rubble with Marines hanging around is the center of a 36 FP FFE. After the torpedoes explode, there is a +1 LV for the rest of the game.
To my mind, there aren’t enough ASL scenarios that have torpedoes. Maybe Pete Shelling could work on this.
The board is half of 49, with lots of rubble and shellholes. Fairly urban terrain. The Japanese have a couple trenches and two bunkers to help their defense. Marines win if there are no GO Japanese in building, rubble, trench or pillbox hexes. This is a less arduous task than having Control. The Japanese have to put all fortifications on board, can’t use HIP, and have no dummy counters. The Japanese have to play for time. We did play with the Japanese balance, which is to give them another 447.
The Japanese are from the 61st Guard Force Dispatched Force. Doesn’t really roll off the tongue, does it? The name won’t even fit on the shoulder patch.
The Marines can enter and get into good cover without being shot at. They have a light tank, flamethrower, 9-2 and DC for fun toys.
I had the 61st Guard Force Dispatched Force, the best dang Dispatched Force in the whole Imperial Army. I put one pillbox in the NE corner, and my trench line and the other pillbox in the NW corner. This was my ‘final stand’ line. Two leaders, the HMG and MMG, and a 448 with a light mortar were in the trenches. The pillboxes were manned by 347s.
Walt’s entry was a mix of conservative and bold/ reckless. A couple HS scouts CXed on my left. I ignored them. I did take a shot at one in the middle, because I wanted to leave residual to prevent the piles of squads behind from having a free run. A long range shot from a 447 was a 2-2. He cowered, which did nothing and left no residual. First being on the receiving end of a massive naval bombardment, now no bullets. It’s a hard life in the Emperor’s army.
On my right, a DC-toting squad with an 8-0 ran into the street to place the DC on my DC-toting 448. Darn the luck, my 448 cowers! With a 4. Which is a 1KIA. The 8-0 dies, and the squad runs back across the street. Not sure why Walt didn’t just give the DC to the 8-0.
J1, my incensed 448 charges across the street to counterattack the broken DC squad. This isn’t as reckless as it sounds, because rubble blocked any LOS to the street, while the 9-2 could shoot them if they stayed where they were. I placed my DC on the broken squad, but it went off with just the littlest of ‘pops’.
I should have thrown a torpedo at them instead.
The 448 could have advanced into stone rubble, and would then cover the SW road. But I would be two hexes away from the FT, the 9-2, three 668 squads, and two MMGs. I decided it was safest to stay in a wooden building out of LOS and get concealment.
A2, I lose a couple speed bump HSs. Two MMG-toting squads move into the stone rubble adjacent to my 448, and the 9-2 and FT squad move back to rally the broken DC squad. The MMG squads break my concealment and rush in for CC, and we end up in Melee.
J2, more Japanese in the center get shot up. I lose the 448 in HtH Melee, with no Marine losses.
A3, the torpedoes don’t explode. My MMG gets a low roll and breaks two squads and kills the 8-1. Pretty much the whole center of the board is cleared out, leaving just the NE pillbox and the NW trenches and pillbox. Urgent calls for artillery and air support go unheeded. Is there no one who will help the Guard Force Dispatched Force in their time of need???
A4, again the torpedoes don’t explode. Walt creates a 8-1 with a self-rally. My 8-0 goes Berserk in DF, which automatically causes the HS with him to be filled with blood-lust also. My MMG shoots up more Marines.
J4, my Berserk 8-0 and HS charge the 9-2 stack. Things end badly.
A5, it’s a guarantee that the torpedo bunker explodes at the beginning of Prep Fire.
Random selection places it in front of the NE pillbox. This is good, because if all his infantry there get blown to bits, he would have to move troops over from the trench line assault. There are one and a half Marine squads in the blast radius. The HS breaks. The squad rolls a 3 and passes. But I blast the crap out of the empty hexes, creating lots of shellholes. Not the result I was hoping for...
Expected:
Actual:
As the famous tactician Tom Petty said, “Damn the torpedoes!!!”
My trench line is taking casualties, and I lose the 9-0 and crew manning the MMG, plus my 9-1. I break the HMG in DF. My 448, now striped, breaks two squads coming through the brush.
J5, I pick up the MMG with a striped crew. The striped 347 in the NE pillbox runs over to DM the two broken Marine squads. Although this leaves me out of a victory hex, I thought that this would be more useful to keep one squad from self-rallying.
A6 – final turn. I still have a 347 in a pillbox, and a striped 448 and MMG crew in the trenches. Walt self-rallies a squad, and creates a 7-0. For those of you following along, that is the SECOND leader he has created during the game. “Mail call! Kowalski, Parker – here are your graduation certificates from that mail-order OCS course you’ve been taking....”
The Marines charge boldly forward, as Marines are wont to do. Bullets flying everywhere, and though I break several squads, I can’t keep them from coming in for CC. The game ends with two CCs – one against the striped 448, and one against the pillbox 347. Walt wins neither. But neither do I, so both hexes end up in Melee. Which means my units are not Good Order, and I lose. I wuz hoping for a miracle,
https://youtu.be/5xqiu0ekahw
but didn’t get it.
Gotta luv any scenario that comes down to the last CC. Still no Japanese victories on ROAR. I would play this with the Japanese balance, like we did.
Walt likes using tanks to shoot AP at pillboxes. He did that this time, but made things harder on himself by staying BU, not getting into position until turn 3, and firing through two hindrances for part of the time. He did stripe the one squad. Never tried to use Canister. I tried for a ATHH once, and Pinned myself. I wuz hoping that some brave, self-sacrificing soldier would charge the tank while carrying a torpedo. The rules are unclear as to how many PP a torpedo is.
The FT didn’t do much. I would have been much more aggressive with it.
Pic from end of game below.
Next week – more and more Namur...
“Mayhaps the shot, if true, will cause a wound.
‘tis deep, and such may prove thy end.
Fortune again may reign. How will thy knowst?
Thou cast fate’s die, and five or six means doom...”
Walt likes to play scenarios that are close to the anniversary date. I have wanted to play Rally Point’s Sycamore And Succotash. Marines were stomping all over the poor Japanese on Namur, until someone threw a demo charge into a bunker filled with torpedos. The explosion caused about 120 casualties, some of whom were in boats offshore. Imagine telling that war story down at the VFW: “My arm got broken when I was hit by a torpedo. That fell from the sky...” The smoke and dust cloud from the explosion was 1000 feet high. This scenario has what I think is an elegant way to handle the explosion. The bunker location is chosen randomly following a DR like it was a Sniper Attack, and the closest building/ rubble with Marines hanging around is the center of a 36 FP FFE. After the torpedoes explode, there is a +1 LV for the rest of the game.
To my mind, there aren’t enough ASL scenarios that have torpedoes. Maybe Pete Shelling could work on this.
The board is half of 49, with lots of rubble and shellholes. Fairly urban terrain. The Japanese have a couple trenches and two bunkers to help their defense. Marines win if there are no GO Japanese in building, rubble, trench or pillbox hexes. This is a less arduous task than having Control. The Japanese have to put all fortifications on board, can’t use HIP, and have no dummy counters. The Japanese have to play for time. We did play with the Japanese balance, which is to give them another 447.
The Japanese are from the 61st Guard Force Dispatched Force. Doesn’t really roll off the tongue, does it? The name won’t even fit on the shoulder patch.
The Marines can enter and get into good cover without being shot at. They have a light tank, flamethrower, 9-2 and DC for fun toys.
I had the 61st Guard Force Dispatched Force, the best dang Dispatched Force in the whole Imperial Army. I put one pillbox in the NE corner, and my trench line and the other pillbox in the NW corner. This was my ‘final stand’ line. Two leaders, the HMG and MMG, and a 448 with a light mortar were in the trenches. The pillboxes were manned by 347s.
Walt’s entry was a mix of conservative and bold/ reckless. A couple HS scouts CXed on my left. I ignored them. I did take a shot at one in the middle, because I wanted to leave residual to prevent the piles of squads behind from having a free run. A long range shot from a 447 was a 2-2. He cowered, which did nothing and left no residual. First being on the receiving end of a massive naval bombardment, now no bullets. It’s a hard life in the Emperor’s army.
On my right, a DC-toting squad with an 8-0 ran into the street to place the DC on my DC-toting 448. Darn the luck, my 448 cowers! With a 4. Which is a 1KIA. The 8-0 dies, and the squad runs back across the street. Not sure why Walt didn’t just give the DC to the 8-0.
J1, my incensed 448 charges across the street to counterattack the broken DC squad. This isn’t as reckless as it sounds, because rubble blocked any LOS to the street, while the 9-2 could shoot them if they stayed where they were. I placed my DC on the broken squad, but it went off with just the littlest of ‘pops’.
I should have thrown a torpedo at them instead.
The 448 could have advanced into stone rubble, and would then cover the SW road. But I would be two hexes away from the FT, the 9-2, three 668 squads, and two MMGs. I decided it was safest to stay in a wooden building out of LOS and get concealment.
A2, I lose a couple speed bump HSs. Two MMG-toting squads move into the stone rubble adjacent to my 448, and the 9-2 and FT squad move back to rally the broken DC squad. The MMG squads break my concealment and rush in for CC, and we end up in Melee.
J2, more Japanese in the center get shot up. I lose the 448 in HtH Melee, with no Marine losses.
A3, the torpedoes don’t explode. My MMG gets a low roll and breaks two squads and kills the 8-1. Pretty much the whole center of the board is cleared out, leaving just the NE pillbox and the NW trenches and pillbox. Urgent calls for artillery and air support go unheeded. Is there no one who will help the Guard Force Dispatched Force in their time of need???
A4, again the torpedoes don’t explode. Walt creates a 8-1 with a self-rally. My 8-0 goes Berserk in DF, which automatically causes the HS with him to be filled with blood-lust also. My MMG shoots up more Marines.
J4, my Berserk 8-0 and HS charge the 9-2 stack. Things end badly.
A5, it’s a guarantee that the torpedo bunker explodes at the beginning of Prep Fire.
Random selection places it in front of the NE pillbox. This is good, because if all his infantry there get blown to bits, he would have to move troops over from the trench line assault. There are one and a half Marine squads in the blast radius. The HS breaks. The squad rolls a 3 and passes. But I blast the crap out of the empty hexes, creating lots of shellholes. Not the result I was hoping for...
Expected:
Actual:
As the famous tactician Tom Petty said, “Damn the torpedoes!!!”
My trench line is taking casualties, and I lose the 9-0 and crew manning the MMG, plus my 9-1. I break the HMG in DF. My 448, now striped, breaks two squads coming through the brush.
J5, I pick up the MMG with a striped crew. The striped 347 in the NE pillbox runs over to DM the two broken Marine squads. Although this leaves me out of a victory hex, I thought that this would be more useful to keep one squad from self-rallying.
A6 – final turn. I still have a 347 in a pillbox, and a striped 448 and MMG crew in the trenches. Walt self-rallies a squad, and creates a 7-0. For those of you following along, that is the SECOND leader he has created during the game. “Mail call! Kowalski, Parker – here are your graduation certificates from that mail-order OCS course you’ve been taking....”
The Marines charge boldly forward, as Marines are wont to do. Bullets flying everywhere, and though I break several squads, I can’t keep them from coming in for CC. The game ends with two CCs – one against the striped 448, and one against the pillbox 347. Walt wins neither. But neither do I, so both hexes end up in Melee. Which means my units are not Good Order, and I lose. I wuz hoping for a miracle,
https://youtu.be/5xqiu0ekahw
but didn’t get it.
Gotta luv any scenario that comes down to the last CC. Still no Japanese victories on ROAR. I would play this with the Japanese balance, like we did.
Walt likes using tanks to shoot AP at pillboxes. He did that this time, but made things harder on himself by staying BU, not getting into position until turn 3, and firing through two hindrances for part of the time. He did stripe the one squad. Never tried to use Canister. I tried for a ATHH once, and Pinned myself. I wuz hoping that some brave, self-sacrificing soldier would charge the tank while carrying a torpedo. The rules are unclear as to how many PP a torpedo is.
The FT didn’t do much. I would have been much more aggressive with it.
Pic from end of game below.
Next week – more and more Namur...
