AP194 NOT FADE AWAY - AAR

[von Marwitz]

AP194 NOT FADE AWAY - AAR



Background:
Set in December 1944 on the western front at Lemberg close to the Bitche salient, an American infantry force supported by a platoon of tanks has to navigate wooded terrain before it can attempt to capture a hill and to gain control of a number of buildings in said Lemberg village. A German force of Volksgrenadiers – not represented by any of the new Volksgrenadier counters of Twilight of the Reich – try to prevent that. The Germans are helped in their efforts by Minefields, an AT Gun, a FlaK and a FlaK-Vierling mounted on an unarmored halftrack.

This scenario design by Pete Shelling using the recent boards 91 and 92 had seen quite some play at the time of my game with ROAR reporting 31 German wins against 19 American victories at an Excitement Rating of 5.9 as of February 2025. With this number of playings, it can be assumed that it somewhat favors the Germans.


For reasons not yet fully understood, Darren Belsky's
appartment turned into the center of a new black hole.

„For reasons not yet fully understood“ this was my first game by VASL since more than three and a half years, which has the benefit to be able to insert screenshots of the status of the end of each player turn (as long as I did not forget to save them...).


The Objective:
Winner will be who has amassed more VP by game and. These are awarded for destroying US AFV, capturing the „Hill Top“, Control of a number of buildings, and capturing Germans. Most VP can be gained by Building Control, as each Building Location of specific Buildings is worth 1VP each. The „Hill Top“ is especially treated by SSR and worth 5VP in its entirety. The length of the scenario is 6.5 Turns.


The US OoB:
The attacking American Infantry force consists of 15 squads, 6 of which are Elite. They are directed by 4 „common staple“ Leaders, while only being relatively sparsely equipped with SW, numbering 3x MMG and 2x BAZ44. Armored support consists of a platoon of 3 Sherman M4A1 tanks.


The German OoB:
The German Volksgrenadiers are represented by 5x 467s and 4x 447s led by three „common staple“ Leaders, which only have one MMG and two LMG beside their inherent SW to hold their own. However, they have support in the form of a 75 AT Gun (not a 75L!), an 8 IFP FlaK and a 20 IFP Flak-Vierling mounted on an unarmored halftrack with trailer. Four Foxholes can bolster the defence at some points and 24 AP-Mine Factors are part of the OoB to spring some surprises. Since the attackers aside from the tanks set up on board, there is no automatic Concealment for the defenders, which are granted 6 Concealment counters to create a bit of confusion.


The Terrain:
With boards 91 and 92, this scenario features „new“ terrain. Despite it being December 1944 on the western front, Ground Snow is NOT present here. All roads are SSR'ed to be paved, which has no practical effect on the game with the notable Exception that it prevents from AP-Mine factors traded to AT-Mine factors from being placed HIP on Roads. This is of consequence, because board 91, which the Americans have to cross, consists mainly of Woods and Brush, which leaves very few options for AFV movement. This terrain, which includes a depression, is also slow going for Infantry.

Once the Americans have crossed that board, the terrain shifts to a (mostly) stone village of board 92, most buildings having a 1st Level with the Exception of the 92K7 building, which also has a 2nd Level. A small 2nd Level hill in the south-west of the playing area offers some long LOS as well.

I played the attacking Americans in this one.


German Considerations:
The SSR granting the US forces VP for Prisoners taken (normal not double) hints at the possibilty that the Germans might have reason to set up in a way that could get them captured. Another SSR allows the Germans to consider any south board edge as a Building for Rout purposes and the same is even true for offboard hexes along the south edge, to which they may legally rout offboard. So the Germans will apparently be on the „receiving end“.

With 6.5 turns the Americans don't have lot of time to navigate the slow terrain of board 91 and the fight through a stone village before taking control of Stone Buildings after having crossed a final street. So obviously, the Germans should try their best to steal some precious time from the Americans by delaying them. To this end, it could be useful to set up „speed-bumps“ in the path of the attackers, which the German defender has to balance against the sanction of ceding VP to the attackers if the defending „speed bumps“ get captured and of being thinned out in their defence of the village against the numerous high-firepower assailants.

Mines! I just love AP-Mines against the Americans! They attack without TEM against comparably low-morale G.I.s, which are thus not unlikely to break. Broken G.I.s might not want to rout unless forced to in order to avoid another Minefield attack in the process. After having rallied, though, their Morale „drops“, which makes them more subject to attack effects when they attempt to leave the Minefield. If they break in the attempt, they can't leave but are trapped in the Minefield. Rinse and repeat! That way many a time I have seen US Infantry being trapped „forever“ in a AP Minefield effectively taking them out of the game. The only bad thing about this is, that it is me playing the Americans in this one...

There is the standard-option of the rules that allow for the substitution of AP-Mines vs AT-Mines. The there are basically only two viable approaches the enemy tanks can initially take, one of which could be „poisoned“ by AT-Mines. The question is, whether in this scenario AP-Mines might be worth more that trading them against AT-Mines.

The „Hill Top“ of board 92 hill offers itself to set up the FlaK-Gun and/or the AT-Gun, as it presents fine LOS also at long ranges. That said, it is – of course – also an obvious spot for setting up these weapons.

The SdKfz 7/1 with its 20 IFP and ROF can be absolutely devastating versus Infantry. Despite Multiple Hit capability and high ROF, its use against the enemy tanks is very limited unless these dare to go CE. Alas, being unarmored and a large target, this vehicle is also very suspectible even to normal FP attacks. It should be carefully deployed and can serve as a mobile Schwerpunkt of firepower.

With regard to VP, four terrain features are of special value: The „Hilltop“ at 5 VP, the 92EE6 and 92P6 buildings at 4 VP each, and the pivotal 92K7 building at a whopping 9VP. There is a total of 25 VP in the form of terrain features, all of which are held by the Germans at game start. „Modifiers“ might arise in the form of Prisoners lost to the Americans or US AFV destroyed. In any case, the significance of the 92K7 building is glaring, which is additionally reinforced by its architecture being a Level 2 structure with a single Stairwell that will be out of LOS to most of the attackers most of the time.

Usually, SSRs are there for a reason. This also applies to SSR3 which permits your Germans to consider the southern board edge and even the offboard area to the south as buildings for Rout purposes, allowing also to Rout offboard to avoid capture and thus providing the US with VPs.

There is one more subtle consequence of this SSR, however: If your Germans – or German Gun crews – on the „Hilltop“ should get broken, they could Low Crawl back to 92D8 and likely shed DM there to recover and re-man the Guns.


American Considerations:
The Americans have a straightforward force of Infantry and tank support without any fancy gimmicks.

Most American tanks are very useful with regard to generating useful SMOKE. It should be noted, though, that the M4A1's merely have a Smoke Mortar usage number of 5 and not 8 as encountered in many other models. This is not an insignificant difference. The Shermans not only important for their SMOKE, they can also move quickly and can dish out a lot of firepower at long ranges if need be. At only minor risk, they can create trailbreaks through AP-Minefields, they can create cover as part of Armored Assault or a Hindrance TEM. Opposed to the terrified G.I.s, the Shermans don't have much to fear from the SdKfz 7/1. And they are worth VPs to the Germans if destroyed... So these vehicles are not expendable for high risk audacious capers. It should be noted, that the German AT-Gun is a 75 and not a 75L. The 75 has a AP TK of 14 and H6 (TK13) compared to a 75L's AP TK of 17 and APCR (TK20). This means that a Sherman has a decent chance to survive a hit by the German 75 AT-Gun.

As ever so often, time is of the essence. It will take the Infantry a minimum of two turns to traverse board 91 even if the Germans opt not to intervene at all. More likely, something will await you somewhere. But even from the US starting line, significant areas of ground could be affected from the „Hilltop“ or from 2nd Level of the 92K7 building, albeit only with modest long-range MG FP in case of the latter. This can be nasty considering the possibility of ROF. If you then allow for two turns to fight through the stone village and two turns to gain control of the victory buildings with one turn lost somewhere in between, you realize how tight the schedule is for the Americans. This means that the US Infantry can't be too cautious while advancing – or shall I say charging? The good thing is that broken US Infantry tends to rally quickly – provided Leaders are around. Infantry Smoke Grenades and Assault Fire Capability are certainly a boon for the G.I.s in this one.

Although you want to move quickly, you have to be careful with stacks regarding unknown ground. AP-Mines have the potential to really screw up Americans as outlined in the German considerations. On the bright side, your OoB has enough Infantry to afford „volunteer“ scouts. Deployment should be considered at setup and at the start of the game.

As for the terrain, board 91 allows really only the western and eastern flank for any meaningful approach of the tanks. The Germans will be aware of that. With regard to the Infantry, it might be worthwhile to calculate some blind hexes for some possible early long shots of the Germans. Before eventually gaining the cover of Stone Building TEM, your G.I.s are more vulnerable to incoming fire.

One tricky area for the US could be the 91Z0-CC2 and 91DD1-FF2 treeline. If your Infantry gets broken in there, it might well be that it cannot rout out of that tree line nor able to avoid German LOS, especially from the „Hilltop“. Brokies might eventually be funnelled to CC2 and/or kept under DM by the enemy.

When in the village, +3 Stone Building TEM will make the US Infantry more resilient, but when navigating Row Houses, they might be exposed crossing from one Row House Location to the next while at the vertex in Open Ground.

As aforementioned, the 92K7 building is vital, being worth 9VP. The single Stairwell in the back is mostly out of LOS to your attacking troops. The German defenders might be able to block access to an upper story with a unit, preventing access to the 2nd Level. Even a brokie might be sufficient, buying him that one extra turn of time to spell doom on your potential to secure Control of the building.

The „Hilltop“ also requires some consideration: Per SSR, for its entirety of four hexes, Control is gained/lost as if it were a single ground level building. This means, if you can get one of your tanks up there alive, you can chase off any German brokies of the „Hilltop“ and thus gain (temporary) Control with your AFV, unless other Good Order Germans are present up there.

(To be continued...)

 

[von Marwitz]

How the Game Played Out:
I played the attacking Americans in this one.



Situation at Game Start

German Defensive Setup:
You can observe the Devensive Setup in the Screenshot. Please take note of the „hipped“ half transparent labelled US counters that designate my „guesswork“ of the German stacks next to them – and of suspected positions of Guns and Mines. Of course, not all my assumptions proved correct, but those provided were the basis for my offensive setup.

As it seemed, my opponent had opted against an up-front defense. Of course, I did not know the positions of possible Minefields. For the time being, the K7 building seemed unoccupied. If I had been the defender, I would not have set up any units in the 92P5 Rowhouse line, because they would not be able to affect any attackers for a while from there. I wondered, why the Germans had set up in 92F4 Ground Level and not 1st Level, from which they would have had a better view across the Hedge and Brush in order to cover the 91Z0-DD1 tree line. I suspected the FlaK and the PaK on the „Hilltop“ in mutual support. As likely positions for Minefields, I tagged 91FF3 (safe Rout haven out of LOS), 91K7 (poisoning the Path as the one quick way across board 91 and guarded by a real unite in K6, forcing any US brokies to Rout out of said suspected Minefield for another attack), and 91S6, possibly for AT-Mines, because this would be the most inconvenient hex for tanks pushing forward on the eastern flank.


American Offensive Setup:
The Schwerpunkt of my attack would come through the large patch of Woods around the Path cutting through it, as this presented an out of LOS setup and thus Concealment at game start. Furthermore, this would be the most direct route towards the village with the best cover. One of the Shermans would go through the 91T4-S5 gap to support the Infantry with SMOKE when they would reach the village proper. Halfsquad „volunteers“ would valiantly seek out Minefields, securing the way for follow-up troops.

On the eastern (left side) flank, some Infantry would cross the street in (hopefully) blind hexes from the „Hilltop“ and investigate the German 91EE3 stack to pave the way for the remaining two Shermans. These would enter from the extreme eastern (left side) flank hopefully avoiding LOS from the „Hilltop“ as best as they could and to safely take cover in 91GG5 and FF4 shielded from the „Hilltop“ by the Woods.

The stack in 91DD7 would try to reach 91AA4 by the end of the opening turn.



Situation at the end of American Turn 1


American Turn 1:
Red arrows indicate US directions of movement, blue arrows indicate Germans directions of movement.

The American 1st Turn went very well and drew not a single shot of German oppostion. No less than three halfsquads and one full squad searched for Mines on their last MP after surging forward but did not find any except in 91DD2 without taking Search Casualties.

Notably, the path through the board 91 depression was also free of Minefields AND free of real units – the Americans merely came across two locations with straw-puppets dressed in worn German uniforms. Importantly, I could establish, that the path up to 91S4 was free of Minefields, therefore providing my Sherman on the eastern flank (right side) with a safe path through that bottleneck.

As my opponent had not denied Concealment to my Infantry in 91FF6 and 91DD7 at game start, I concluded that his unit in 91EE3 were Dummies, which proved to be a correct assessment. Thus established that no Panzerfaust could be lurking in 91EE3 this opened the opportunity to try to move the Shermans a little further than originally planned. An uneasy moment arose, when my two Shermans on the western flank (left side) entered 91FF7 since any HIP Gun at the „Hilltop“ would definitively have LOS to there. The tanks did not draw any fire, however. Nor did the AT-Gun open up from 91X0, which could also have been a possible, if somewhat too forward position.

Up to this point, it seemed likely that at least the AT-Gun was not emplaced on the „Hilltop“ and I could establish that no Gun was sitting in the 92D7 „Hilltop“ position either, as this one would have lost HIP by now, the hex being free of Concealment terrain.

So next, I began to dare charging forward along the path first with a stack of 1.5 squads – no fire from the „Hilltop“. Next, I upped the ante by following up with a 667+BAZ and a Leader – still no fire from the „Hilltop“. Then a better Leader, two squads and a MMG. Would he? Nope. At this point, I was sure that the FlaK-Gun was not on the „Hilltop“ either as this would be the juciest target. My final stack moved without incident as well.

I was surprised to draw no fire at all and to find the depression free of real enemy units or Minefields. If none of the Guns were on the „obvious“ „Hilltop“, I wondered where I would eventually find them. In any case, I was glad about the unimpeded progress of the first American turn. Surely I would need precious time saved now for later in the game.


German Turn 1:

Have I been telling you how nice it is when playing VASL to be able to save some nice screenshots?

It sure is – if one does not forget to make one...

I can't rule out, though, that Oberst von Schoff has had his hands in making it vanquish as part of an intrigue to make me, Oberst von Marwitz, look bad while reporting to General Staff...

Suffice to say that nothing much can have happened during German Turn 1 as hardly any of the American units were in LOS of the Germans at this point.

(To be continued...)

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at the end of American Turn 2

American Turn 2:

My objective for Turn 2 was to get the bulk of the Infantry out of the Depression and close to or into the Woods lines in the south of board 91. The tanks would move forward into positions from where they would be able to provide SMOKE cover or fire for the next Turn while staying out of reach of Panzerfausts and out of LOS of the „Hilltop“. Furthermore, I wanted to put hard pressure on the enemy 447 that had previously moved south of its Foxhole in 92J0 in order to be able to establish a safe Rout haven in 91AA3, the latter being in a blind hex from the „Hilltop“. The American squads reaching the western tree line (left side) would „blob“ to hurt the German units in the Brush and Woods south of them.

There was no PrepFire. On the western flank (left side), contact was made. To my stark surprise, the FlaK WAS hidden on the „Hilltop“ and now opened up. I can't recall the details exactly, but I think it fired on 91CC6 breaking a unit in there but losing Concealment in the process. I don't know why my opponent did not use the opportunity to fire at the Americans in their first Turn. The targets were much jucier and if G.I.s would have broken before being able to enter the Depression, they would have routed back with the same process possibly rinsed and repeated in a later. Maybe he wanted to avoid changing CA and losing HIP for sure. In any case, I could count myself lucky that the FlaK had forfeited its attack options during US Turn 1. The German 447 in 92F1 managed to break one of my 667+MMG.

Movement on the eastern flank (right side) went smoothly. Still, I found no Minefields on that flank

During AFPh, I contrived to malfunction the MA of one of the Shermans on its first shot. Splendid! So much for my plans of shooting SMOKE or WP with that one... With the MMG squad broken in 91AA1 and as well a halfsquad in 91CC6, so were the links to put my „blob“ attack together. What AFPh shots I was still able to take had no effect.

In the Rout Phase, I realized that my nicely prepared safe Rout haven in 91AA3, where a 8-0 Leader stood ready awaiting the brokies would wait forever. Opposed to a building, brokies cannot ignore the patch of Woods they are in if there are ADJACENT Woods Locations. That meant, that my brokies would be more or less stuck in the Woods line in LOS of the enemy. Not good.

During the APh, I was able to unmask the last German Dummy in the 91V1 Foxhole.

There were no Close Combats.

Altogether, I was able to meet my objectives for US Turn 2. The FlaK being revealed on the „Hilltop“ came as a real surprise after it had stayed silent up until now. Not having realizing that my brokies would be stuck in that treeline where they could not hide from the defenders was a mistake that would cause me more trouble later.



Situation at the end of German Turn 2

German Turn 2:

Not too much happened in German Turn 2. None of my brokies could rally because my Leader on that flank was in the wrong spot.

During PrepFire, the German 447 in 92F1 fired at 91DD1, re-DM'ing the brokie there and breaking a Good Order squad for good measure. I can't remember what the FlaK on the „Hilltop“ did, because its CA does not seem to fit to the situation. Whatever it did attempt was not met with success. The opposite can be said for the German Sniper that hat been triggered. Like in a bad dream, he hit exactly the target which hurt me most: My 8-0 Leader, the only one on the western flank (left side) was killed – with three broken US units stuck in the treeline in front of him. That was bad, because it would be very difficult for my Infantry there to recover.

During the MPh, his menacing but unarmored Flak-Vierling halftrack moved forward on the very western flank (left side). I thought this rather risky, because I fired at it with my 666 from 91EE2 but gacked the roll. Uh-oh... With the exception of the 447 which fell back from 92J1 to K2, the Germans stayed put.

What Final Fire I had, had no effect.

To my relief, the same was true for the AFPh of the FlaK-Vierling. Yet, my western flank (right side) was not doing well and it did not look at all like things were to improve. I dearly hoped that I might be able to take out his FlaK-Vierling with the 666 in my next PFPh.

I routed back with one squad from 91DD1 to CC2 to spread out my brokies. This did put it into LOS of the FlaK on the „Hilltop“, but if it survived, it would subsequently have the chance to rout out of LOS and eventually recover.

(To be continued...)

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at the end of American Turn 3


American Turn 3:

My objectives for Turn 3 were to put the Flak-Vierling halftrack out of commission with a bit of luck and to get Infantry into the 92H1 Rowhouses on the western flank (left side). Besides that I would try to somehow fix the shambles of my broken units in the western tree line. On the eastern flank (right side) I would try to gain a foothold in the buildings of the village in order to bring the superior US firepower to bear.

In the Rally Phase, I self-rallied the 667+MMG in 91AA1. Besides that, after my sole Leader on that flank had been picked off by the Sniper, I would be in trouble there, because only being able to try to self-rally one unit per Turn while not really being able to get out of LOSs of the enemy did really take out the steam out of this flank.

During my PrepFire, all hopes rested on the 666 in 91EE2 to take out the unarmored Flak-Vierling halftrack in 92A2 after having gacked the previous chance in last Turn's Defensive First Fire. It was not to be – instead, my unfortunate squad was now staring into the quadruple 20mm barrels being trained on them craving to dish out 20FP. Before this, the Sherman in 91Z1 had unsuccessfully searched for a SMOKE round to shroud the powerful German stack in 92J3.

On the eastern flank (right side), the Sherman fired SMOKE into 91O1 to cover the approaches for my Infantry to assault the 92N1, O2, and P1 buildings. A 667+MMG directed by the 9-1 opened up on the Concealed Germans in 92N1, which turned out to be a 237 halfsquad, but failed to break it.

In the MPh, my western flank (left side) was now facing a vast firepower advantage of the Germans in the form of his FlaK weapons and Infantry. Only a 346 halfsquad assault-moving into 91H1 came out of this unbroken, the freshly rallied 667+MMG did swiftly break again when entering the same building location. I drove the Sherman with the malfed MA into the AP-Minefield without incident to check on the Flak-Vierling halftrack and one of the foxholed German squads there but did not dare further because of the Panzerfaust threat. The other Sherman moved forward to control the 92I street.

On the eastern flank (right side), things appeared a little brighter. With SMOKE down in 92O1, I moved a halfsquad into that hex en route to the buildings – only to be caught up in a Minefield! So the next stack of 8-1, 667+MMG circumvented it to enter the 92P1 building – stepping into another Minefield! Luckily, they ended up in the building unharmed. Still, with these two Minefields and a German halfsquad still in 92N1, the backdoor into the village was effectively blocked for any follow up Americans. I had no choice but to take the path through the 92N0 woods which was in LOS of the enemy. To my relief, the firepower of the defending German 237 halfsquad in 92N1 was insufficuent to stop 1.5 US squad equivalents to moving ADJACENT, of which the squad remained unpinned. However, another US squad shifting forward in the Woods was broken by German fire.

In the DFPh it now was time for his Flak-Vierling halftrack to take revenge – my 666 which had twice failed to affect the vehicle was now paying the price. It could count itself lucky to be merely broken. The other US brokies in the tree line were duly re-DM'ed.

After that hosing, in the APh one lone Concealed 666 advanced uneasily into the Woods just north of the 92M1 Rowhouse. Tellingly, this was all the Advancing that I could to on my western flank (left side). In the east, by Advancing I could form a „blob“ consisting of the 92J1 Wooden Building and the 91X0, W1, and V0 hexes. The 7-0 Leader advanced to a safe Rout haven to receive a broken squad that would soon rout there. My plan of forming a second „blob“ in the 92N1, O2, P2 buildings was foiled by the Minefields. But at least, I was able to Advance a 8-1, 667+MMG combo to 1st Level 92P2, from where I had the hazy plan of taking on the FlaK emplaced on the „Hilltop“. A 667+BAZ confidently Advanced into CC with the German 237 still holding out in the 92N1 building. Some further Infantry shuffling of lesser importance also took place at this time.

The RoutPhase gave me ample opportunity to bemoan my western flank (left side) which was in the state of a complete shambles: There were 3.5 broken squad equivalents and no Leader anywhere near. At least I was able to rout two squad equivalents out of LOS, if you want to go as far as to consider this as a success... My western was down to one 666, one 346, and a Sherman with malfed MA which could not dare to advance further due to Panzerfaust threat. They were held in check by more than 40FP of German firepower. In the east, my broken halfsquad survived routing out of a Minefield and a broken squad reached my 7-0 Leader in a rout haven that was out of enemy LOS. The Germans had no broken units.

In Close Combat, my 667+BAZ took out the German 237 in 92N1.



Situation at the end of German Turn 3


German Turn 3:

The Germans had nothing to rally. I had four squads and two halfsquads to rally, however only one squad could try due to Leader presence, but failed.

In PrepFire, on my western flank (left side), the Germans re-DM'ed my 667+MMG in the 92H1 Rowhouse and broke the Concealed 666 in 92H0. This „flank“, how I will euphemistically continue to call it, now consisted of a single Good Order 346, a Sherman with malfed MA, 4.5 broken squad equivalents and no Leader. On the eastern flank (right side), affairs took a more positive turn for the Americans: No friendly units were affected, which left especially the 447 German rearguard in 92L2 exposed to US emnity.

During the MPh, the Germans redeployed their Flak-Vierling halftrack to a more central position, from which it would be able to cover the lateral streets I needed to cross to reach any of the VP terrain features. He also took the opportunity to fall back from the 92F2 Foxhole and ceded one Rowhouse hex by Assault Moving back from 92H2 to H3. In the east (right) he Assault Moved two concealed units into improved TEM or out of LOS.

During the DFPh I had now considerable firepower to bring to bear, albeit not that many targets. That said, the targets which presented themselves were all of importance: The enemy 447 in 92L2 was the sole remaining unit north of the 92I1-L3-P3 street, his killer-stack of 8-1, 467+MMG, 467+LMG in 92J4 was in the crosshairs of my Sherman in 91Y0, and at 11 hexes long range, I could engage his FlaK on the „Hilltop“ with a Leader directed 5FP @ -1 Leader +2 Emplacement. The latter shot had no effect, but the Sherman whacked the kill-stack, breaking its leader and the MMG squad. Finally, after having withstood other fire, the 447 in 92L2 was blasted to Kingdom Come by a Critical Hit of my Bazooka in 91W1.

There was no German Advancing Fire.

The broken elements of the German kill-stack routed back to 92J5. My re-DM'ed 667+MMG fled the Rowhouse in 92H1 to stack with another broken squad in H0. My plan was to eventually send over my 7-0 to „reestablish“ the western flank.

In the APh, the 447 in 92C1 advanced out of its Foxhole to avoid the MGs of my Sherman with malfed MA.The 447, which had vacated another Foxhole during the MPh advanced into the 92E4 building, which was now firmly held by two German squads commanded by a 9-1 Leader. The Good Order remains of his kill-stack, a 467+LMG, fell back from 92J3 to J4, thereby shedding the Acquistion of my tank.

There were no Close Combats.


(To be continued...)

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at the end of American Turn 4.

American Turn 4:

My objective for Turn 4 was to „reconstitute“ by western flank (left) by sending over the 7-0 Leader, to hopefully put the FlaK on the „Hilltop“ out of commission, and to push as deeply into the village proper as I could.

During the Rally Phase, a 666 Self-Rallied in 91AA3, increasing my Good Order Infantry forces on the western flank (left side) by 200%. My 7-0 rallied another halfsquad in 91V1. Importantly for the Germans, despite being under DM, both his 8-1 and the 467+MMG in 92J5 rallied. This was a blow to my plans of assaulting the central block of buildings within the village.

As the first shot during PrepFire, I tried for WP with the Sherman to shroud 92J4 in order to assist the Infantry in its dangerous task of crossing the street. Didn't have any, though. The next and most important shot was another long-range attempt to neutralize the menacing FlaK on the „Hilltop“ from 1st Level of 92P2. To my great relief, this worked out and the FlaK's crew broke. This would help a lot with upcoming movement.

So the MPh it was. The overriding challenge was to get my Infantry into the 92J3, K4, and M4 buildings. All street Locations between the assaulting Americans and the Germans were covered by enemy fire. Not good without SMOKE cover and the assault troops merely having a Good Order Morale of 6 and 7. What now followed was a chess game of which unit to move first, with which one to try for Infantry Smoke Grenades, which ones to sacrifice in order to draw fire and to impose Target Selection limits to clear the path for follower-ups. Of course, my opponent was keenly aware of exactly something like this was about to happen and now, especially with the FlaK from the „Hilltop“ out of the equasion, he had not many units at hand for the task. To take advantage of that, I first moved my 7-0 over to 91Z1 without incident, who was earmarked to advance into the ADJACENT broken 667+MMG's hex later.

Now, the dance began... My first consideration was which Street Locations should I attempt to put Smoke into?

As my Sherman in 91Y1 had failed to find WP during the PFPh, it was free to move. I figured that there was no LOS to the 91J2 Street (LOS is clear just barely as I now have checked for this AAR), so I moved the tank somewhat awkwardly into Bypass of 92H1 because there it would also have LOS to M4, and possibly M5 while avoiding to expose itself to a possible PF attack from H3. The chance of succeeding in the sM usage dr to shroud J2 were slim at best and unsurprisingly failed, but I considered that tank to be in a useful position at least.

92N3 seemed a good choice for an Infantry Smoke Grenade, as it would hinder fire by the yet Concealed Germans in the 92O5 Rowhouses and put my 667+BAZ into a position to try a (very) lucky shot during the AFPh. At the same time, my guys seemed a somewhat attractive target to draw enemy fire. So I moved said 667+BAZ from 92N1 to O5, attempting to lob a Smoke Grenade into N3. Alas, they forgot to bring one, but as far as I remember drawing fire from a 467+LMG in 92P4 worked without harming my guys.

Trying to tickle the much more relevant Concealed Germans in 92M4, I moved next to them with a halfsquad in N3. As expected, the Concealed Germans held their fire for more important targets, and the First Fired 467+LMG which had taken their first shot vs. my BAZ squad could not stop the halfsquad with Final Fire. So very likely, my halfsquad would have a chance for later CC or to block Rout Paths.

After the Concealed Germans spurned the bait of another „volunteer“ halfsquad moving ADJACENT into the street, this left me no choice to take higher risks to make sure to keep L3 and K3 free of its fire. Thus, I fired up my Sherman in 91S2, which trundled forward through the AP-Minefield without harm, paraded along the street and then pulled in to VBM freeze the Concealed Germans in M4, audaciously ending its MPh in Motion there. The Germans, forced for a PAATC to retain concealment, gacked it and were Pinned. Just when I was about to be content with myself having set up the now Pinned Germans, who turned out to be only a 237 HS, for Close Combat, the unexpected happened... The German 75 AT-Gun popped up in 92J7! Uh-oh... I could only hope that my being in Motion and their having to heave the Gun's CA into the right direction burdening them with a 2x +3 CA change would spare the tank. The shot missed and the cdr was a 2, but after ROF is reduced by one after changing CA within Woods/Building/Rubble, the tank was safe for the moment. But it seemed doomed in the next German PFPh, especially, as it was barely presenting its side armor. What I was wondering about is, why my opponent did not elect to fire at my Sherman in Bypass of 92H1 instead of that in M4: This former tank would have been way easier to hit.

Now it was the time to get to the core: Assaulting the central block of buildings in the village.

The German position 92M4 was neutralized for the moment, the one in 92M3, so I thought (and apparently my opponent, too), had no LOS to the decisive Street hex of K3. Only now, that I am writing this AAR, I checked to realize that this LOS is clear by the barest of margins. But during the game in our thinking the K3 Street was „only“ covered by the German 467+LMG in J4. The Street hex of L3 was free of Residual FP and out of reach of any Germans, but the path leading to it by the units I had left was not, and my units partly had insufficient MF to take the route via L3. So J3 it had to be, come hell or high water. With a sigh of relief, my tagged assault group observed a squad successfully lobbing an Infantry Smoke Grenade into the J3 street, turning the potential enemy shot from a 7FP @-2 FFNAM/FFMO into a 7FP @ +1 FFNAM/Smoke, which would hopefully make all the difference for crossing the street. And so it did. I would be able to advance in with that stack and an additional 346 later.

Interjection:
Somewhere along this action, the German Sniper got activated and unerringly killed my 7-0 Leader sent over to the western flank, dashing all my hopes of being able to stabilize it, much less get it going again within this game.

I also lost another halfsquad to a Fate result. Can't tell you where nor when exactly. This is a vignette of the fact, though, that people may pay the ultimate price to gain a forgotten objective and are not even remembered for it. War is not just – not in the game, much less in real life.
======

For the DFPh, there was not much left the Germans were able to fire at. Out of habit, they re-DM'ed my two broken squads in 92J0, who would now wait for a Leader forever and be stuck in that tree line from which there was no immediate escape from enemy LOS to their and my frustration.

US Advancing Fire had no effect.

In the Rout Phase, I spread out my brokies stuck in the tree line of the western flank to at least force my opponent to use several shots to re-DM them. The Pinned German halfsquad in M4 saw the writing on the wall and self-broke in order to rout to 92N5, as none of my units could interdict it for being CX or having Hindered LOS.

I used the Advance Phase to edge forward where I could: Two 346s advanced into CC with the German 467 in 92H3. A seemingly miracously unscathed 666 on the cursed western flank was finally able to seek shelter in +3 TEM of 92H1. A 346 gained a foothold in the 92M4 Rowhouse building. And most importantly, a 9-1, 667+MMG, 347, and 346 lodged themselves in 92K4 after having successfully crossed the vaunted K3 Street. Still, their position was all but secure because in the upcoming German PrepFire, they could be exposed to a 14FP @ +3 TEM Point Blank Fire and another 9FP @ -1 Leader +3 TEM, which could alternatively be firegrouped. If anything bad would happen to my G.I.s as a consequence, this had the potential to cost me the game.

In the CCPh, the German 467 in 92H3 Ambushed my two 346 and opted to withdraw into neighboring Open Ground instead of taking its chances close and personal. Hard to say if that was a good choice or not. My pair of 346s was in the crosshairs of the FlaK-Vierling halftrack right now, so they might not even ever have a chance to fire at the Germans. And if the halfsquads survived in Good Order, they might determine that the Flak-Vierling halftrack might be a more important target than an ADJACENT squad.

Looking back on US Turn 4, even though I mostly reached my objectives, the American position was tenuous at best. The 11VP to be gained west of the 92I street seemed safely in the steely grip of the Germans against which I could only throw the pudding of hope. In the center, I would be screwed if my stack there got whacked. If not, on the other hand, the Germans might have squandered their last chance to fall back into the decisive 92K7 building to make their Alamo stand. Currently, it was only held by the 75 AT Gun.



German Turn 4:

Once again, I contrived to forget making a screenshot at the end of German Turn 4...

This is more regrettable than on the first occasion as more interesting things were going on in this turn.

I can only attempt to recall some of the events, but the picture will be scetchy:

During the Rally Phase I seem to recall that the broken German halfsquad that had self-broken in 92M4 and escaped to N5 could not elude Fate. It rolled boxcars on its Rally Attempt. The Crew of the FlaK on the „Hilltop“ did not rally. As my Sherman Acquired by the AT Gun through its Side Target Facing, I reasoned that I might as well try to repair the MA. Well, I rolled boxcars to disable it and put it under Recall sparing the AT Gun the bother of firing at it.

During German PrepFire, my pair of 346s in the 92H3 southern end of the Rowhouse somehow contrived to survive the fire of the Flak-Vierling halftrack bearing witness to the fact plaguing ASLers around the globe, that these kinds of wondrous toys in a scenario – after you have finally managed to maneuver them into a meaningful position - are always, ALWAYS destined not to perform... The German 467+LMG took that 14FP @ +3TEM Point Blank shot against my vital stack in 92K4 but could not seriously affect it.

The Germans used their MPh to fall back from the 92P4 Rowhouses to the VP Building of 92P6. The 8-1, 467+MMG changed into the vital 92K7 VP Building. Most Germans in the 92E4 building switched to the 92E5 VP Building.

In the DFPh, my killer stack retaliated scoring a KIA on the ADJACENT 467+LMG, destroying the LMG for good measure.

I reckon, that these were about the most notable developments.

(To be continued...)

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at the end of American Turn 5


American Turn 5:

My objectives for this Turn were to bring up my forces to the lateral 92A5-I6-P5 Street on the southern far side of which the VP terrain features beckoned, allowing for the final two Turns to take them. Furthermore, I needed to get the Flak-Vierling halftrack out of the way, because as long as this menace covered the road, my Infantry would only cross the street shot up to pieces if at all...

For lack of Leaders in the right spot, there was not much to rally for the US. The 666 in 91BB1 self-rallied. The FlaK Crew on the „Hilltop“ importantly did not.

I don't remember, why my opponent had reverse-moved the Flak-Vierling halftrack from 92G6 to G7 – likely to enable it bringing its firepower to bear against the 92J Rowhouses. In any case, it needed to be neutralized as a threat and ideally so before it could dish out damage during the DFPh. At the start of my PFPh, I had precious little to shoot at it, but sometimes, it is the little things that matter in ASL: It were the pair of 346 halfsquads in the southern 92H3 Rowhouse that nailed it. Chaka!! Besides this all-important successful shot, there was no PrepFire.

As 15 VP of terrain features were located on the western flank (left), I could not ignore them. Even with the Flak-Vierling halftrack gone and the FlaK on the „Hilltop“ tagged to be re-DM'ed in my upcoming AFPh, I had to attempt to somehow tackle the 3.5 to 4 German squad-equivalents led by a 9-1 that were in the way. So as my first move, the freshly self-rallied 666 rushed forward from 91BB1 in the dreaded tree line to the 92D2 Brush without interference.

Next, I wanted to bring my remaining tanks forward, while avoiding the German AT-Gun, which – of course – ignored the Recalled Sherman pulling back from 92M4 towards the rear. The best use I could put to it was have it go CE to serve as Sniper bait for a Turn. Since despite the self-rally of one 666 my western flank (left) was weak, it would have to be the remaining Shermans to reinforce it with their considerable firepower.

With the 92H3-I4 hexside in bypass of the Rowhouse, I thought I'd found a sneaky spot: It would be out of LOS from the AT Gun due to the intervening Wall hexside of H4-I5 and the J5 Rowhouse seemed clearly to block fire of the German 8-1, 467+MMG combo. The issue was to get the tank there without being killed by the AT-Gun en route. Luckily, for the moment, it was still facing into the other direction, so its first shot would be at low odds. Nevertheless, if the AT-Gun would get ROF, things could get dangerous. So I moved the 667+BAZ from J1 to J2, trying to throw a Smoke Grenade into I3 but failed and was Pinned for good measure in the attempt. Tried the same with the 666 moving from H1 to H2 with the same result – no Smoke and Pinned. Third attempt with the 667 moving from K3 into J3, and this time it worked! Infantry Smoke in I3! Now I revved the engine of the Sherman in bypass of 92H1, scurried over to J3 and out of LOS of the AT Gun only to scurry back into LOS in Smoked I3 to reach the H1-I4 Bypass where I stopped and delayed out, going CE. This and spending 7MP there must have triggered my opponent into action, who turned the Gun to shoot. Too late, he realized that he had no LOS.

The last Sherman was easy: With Panzerfausts no longer being a threat after the German squad covering the gap in the bd91 treeline having retreated, the tank left the AP-Minefield unscathed and pulled p to 92G2 going CE. All of a sudden it was now my Americans who had the firepower advantage on the western flank (left) with 18FP by Infantry plus 20FP by the two Sherman's MGs plus their two main armament Guns against 14 to 16FP by German Infantry!

In the center, I pulled up more Infantry but stayed out of sight of the Germans preferring to use the APh to advance later, since I could not afford to have any of my troops getting broken in the approach so late in the game with so much left to do.

On the eastern flank (right), I did try to get a halfsquad across the M6 street into M7. This was to draw some fire to make moves for subsequent units safer. That „volunteer“ halfsquad was duly attacked and broken but survived to rout away.

There was no really effective Final Fire in the DFPh. However, with all my clever maneuvering of the Sherman tank to bring it into Bypass of 92H3-I4, I had overlooked that it was in PF-range of the enemy 467 in F4. The Germans found one Panzerfaust but missed.

In turn, during the AFPh my Advancing Fire had not much effect either. Instead, I managed to malfunction the MA of the the Sherman in G2 – the second MA malfunction of my tanks on their first MA shot! Importantly, however, I did re-DM the FlaK on the „Hilltop“.

Besides my „volunteer“ halfsquad I had no routs. The Crew of the FlaK gun on the „Hilltop“ stayed in place.

Because of my Infantry Smoke Grenade placement attempts including the Pins incurred, not all of my squads ended up where intended, but during the Advance Phase I got most of my Good Order Infantry into positions from where they would be able to act in their next turn. In the center, I kept some units and my 9-1 Leader deliberately out of enemy LOS in the hope of having more of my units in Good Order after the upcoming German halfturn.

There were no Close Combats.

Once more, I was able to reach most of my objectives for this Turn. Yet, the Germans still held all the VP terrain features. Neither side had gained extra VP by capturing Germans or destroying US tanks.



Situation at the end of German Turn 5


German Turn 5:

No unit of either side rallied.

During PrepFire, the German squad in H4 tried again to destroy my tank in bypass of the Rowhouse with Panzerfausts but did not succeed. Altogether, the Germans would fire 8 out of 13 theoretically available PFs throughout the game if I remember correctly. The AT Gun turned its CA once more to cover the central buildings of the village from which the inevitable attack on the key 92K7 building was sure to materialize. For now, the Gun missed and caused no harm. Next to the AT-Gun, the 8-1, 467+MMG stack gacked its roll against my guys in N6. My somewhat isolated squad in D4 was not affected by enemy fire either.

The rest of the Germans skulked during the MPh.

In my return fire in the DFPh, I was unable to cause damage with the exception to keep the FlaK on the „Hilltop“ unter DM.

The Germans advanced back into their positions and thus the stage was set for the final act: The US assault across the lateral 92A5-I6-P5 Street to capture the victory terrain features.


(To be continued...)

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at the end of American Turn 6


American Turn 6:

My objective for Turn 6 was to cross over the street into the victory terrain features. It seemed clear that I would not be able to gain Control of any meaningful number of VP in this Turn already and would have to try to „finish up“ (or get „finished up“ for that matter) in my last turn after that. Looking at the Movement Points, I might even be able to get a tank halfway up the hill, but looking at it in practice, this would be anything but trivial.

During the Rally Phase, at long last my 667+MMG in 92H0 came back – useful firepower... A halfsquad was rallied by the Leader in 92O5. The FlaK's Crew on the „Hilltop“ did not self-rally. This was as good as it could get.

At the start of my PrepFire Phase, I would very much have liked to shoot some covering SMOKE or WP from my tanks. But one was under Recall, the next had a malfunctioned MA, and the last one did not have any smoke ammo left. Throughout the entire game, I did only get one single instance of Smoke from all of the three tanks combined...

Relying on the valid adage that „ASL is a game of movement“, which once my late friend and founder of GRENADIER tournament, Christian Koppmeyer, had taught me, I eschewed any PrepFire with the exception of re-DM'ing the FlaK's Crew and went straight on to the MPh. If no smoke was forthcoming from the tanks, still the US squads had an Infantry Smoke Exponent of 3 which I intended – well, had – to put to use. A 50% chance of getting it was quite good, but a previous turn had reminded me of the dangers, when on an occasion three out of four squads that tried got Pinned on a dr of 6. On the other hand, all this might have „used up“ my bad luck with smoke so far. I would begin moving the flanks and then working towards the center.

As an „easy one“, on the western flank (left) I tried to Dash over from 92D3 across the Street into the D5 Wooden Building. He would not be able to ignore that, because if not stopped in some way, I would eventually enter CC at favorable odds. Unfortunately, with his 447 in B4, he had a unit well placed to do that and likely no upcoming other targets. My 666 was duly stopped cold being broken in the D4 street.

Up next was an anxious 346 „volunteer“ pushed out of the Rowhouse doors of H3 Assault Moving to G4 by its buddies. The ADJACENT 467 in F5 opened up Point Blank to break it. Now my second 346 in H3 was „volunteered“ to attempt to reach G6. Somewhat to my surprise, the Germans in the E6 building did not fire against it emerging into the G4 Orchards. All too soon, I learned why, when it stumbled into a Minefield attempting to enter the H5 Building. The 346 did not break but Pinned, being not at all inclined any more to continue on. With this, at least no Final Fire would go out of the German E6 building beyond the range of 2 hexes.

Then, the 666 from H2 moved out with throbbing hearts into the open of G3 with the Germans holding fire and on to F3, where the ADJACENT 467 final firing but failing to affect the US squad, whose hearts were now still throbbing yet harder.

Since the two German squads with their 9-1 in the E6 building were well positioned to cover the open approaches of the key K7 building from the flank, I now had no choice to make a risky move. I buttoned up my Sherman with the malfed MA in G2 and surged forward, passing the already Final Fired 467 in F4, reaching G6 with Wall Advantage. Still no fire from the Germans, who apparently wanted to avoid the low odds of a PF shot hitting against Wall Advantage or turning the AT-Gun once more. The Sherman pushed on, it's hulking bulk only scantily covered by the FlaK-halftrack's Wreck. Now, the Germans had had enough and from the ADJACENT F8 building, the 9-1 bellowed: „Panzerfäuste in Anschlag bringen! Feuer frei!“ Thusly directed, the Landsers found and fired a Panzerfaust, avoiding the Backblast but missing the Sherman just barely – just as in the movies... The tank was revving its engine when it toiled up the hill, another PF was found, fired and missed! From G8, rolled for ESB to push on into F8 to stop there out of sight of any Good Order Germans. Gee whiz, what a helluva run! Now, the ADJACENT FlaK's Crew on the „Hilltop“ would be forced to Rout away from its Gun. If the Germans wanted to prevent me from taking Control of the „Hilltop“ they would somehow have prevent that Sherman from pushing on to the 2nd Level „Hilltop“ Locations in my last turn.

Over to the eastern flank (right). In the N5 and O5 Rowhouses, I had a 667+MMG, a 667+BAZ, a 346, a 347, and an 8-1 Leader to overcome a German 7-0, 467+LMG stack in the O7 victory Stone Building with a deadly street in between. First, I had the 667+MMG try for Infantry Smoke to put into O6 but got none, so this squad didn't dare to emerge. Next, the other 667 popped Infantry Smoke from O5 into O6 and behind its cover moved out into the Street of P5, where it was (partly spraying-) fired at by the Germans and Pinned. Then, the 347 „volunteered“ from O5, bypassed N5 to avoid Residual FP in the O6 Street, and dared into N6, prompting the ADJACENT Germans to Final Fire / Sustain-Fire with their MG, which broke the G.I.s. In the final act, my remaining 346 in N5 dashed over into the M5 victory building scoring the 1st VP for the US. The bad thing was, that the Germans still held the other 28 VP...

In the center, 9 of these VP lay so close and yet so far in the form of the K7 building, held by the German 75 AT-Gun and a stack of 8-1, 447+MMG beyond a deadly street. In E6, there was still another unmarked 467. I had three squads, two halfsquads, the 9-1 Leader, and one Sherman left to act. As ever so often, a „volunteer“ 347 made the first move, Assault Moving from K5 out into the street of K6 and unceremoniously being KIA'ed for it by the ADJACENT MMG, which at least did not get ROF.

Now my self-rallied 666+MMG from back in 91AA0 CX'ed forward to I5, but the Germans sneered at my obvious attempt to trigger him wasting their fire at these guys.

Next, the 666 in K5 moved into J5 and popped Infantry Smoke into the J6 Street. Yes!! Thus encouraged, the 667+BAZ charged forward from J2, bypassing the Rowhouses, right into the J6 Infantry Smoke. This, the Germans could not ignore and fired their squad, breaking my guys. Ugh!

Rather than risking possible FPF with a -2 DRM for FFMO/FFNAM elsewhere, my remaining 346 halfsquad rather braved the 4 Residual FP in the Infantry Smoke. Snake Eyes K/2'ed it into oblivion.

So far my assault on the key K7 building was not going well. I had but the last Sherman and one 667 squad left to move, while the Germans had their AT-Gun and a flanking 467 in E6 yet unfired.

Once more, I felt that I had to take some risk and dare the tank: It buttoned up and started in Bypass of H3, moving forward into G5, where the flanking 467 felt compelled to search for a PF – and found one! But as my opponent did not want to take the risk of Backblast, the chances to hit were low and the Panzerfaust missed. When I turned around in G6, I was of course anxious to see what his remaining AT-Gun would do. In fact, nothing. I moved into VBM Freeze in J7. The AT-Gun's Crew searched for a PF but did NOT find one.

This, at long last, enabled my last 667 in J4 to saunter down the the street into I7 without fear of being shot at and free of Residual FP attack.

Since the Germans had already exhausted their fire, there was no more in the DFPh.

My Advancing Fire had no effect with one very important exception: The German 447 manning the MMG in K7 was broken, which seriously improved my chances to capture the vital K7 building. The lone 8-1 Leader had managed to grab the MMG, but would not be able to fully man it.

Two of my squads and two halfsquads routed back to the nearest cover. Due to my Sherman tank on the hill being ADJACENT to the FlaK on the „Hilltop“, its broken Crew was forced to forsake its Gun to Low Crawl away. The broken 447 in K7 was eliminated for Failure to Rout, which was all important.

I advanced my 666 from F3 into CC with the 467 Germans in F4. From I7, my 667 advanced into CC with the Crew of the AT-Gun, doubling as well as an escort for the Sherman in Bypass. The Sherman on the hill went CE to add the AAMG to the defensive assets against any upcoming would-be attackers.

The 467 in F4 had some fight in them, reducing my 666 to a 346 in CC, turning it into Melee. The AT-Gun's Crew attacked first, but could neither kill the tank nor the 667. Irritatingly, the German Crew survived all return-attacks, so a Melee resulted in J7.



Situation at the end of German Turn 6


German Turn 6:

No one on either side was able to rally.

German PrepFire had no effect.

During the MPh, the German 447 in B4 moved onto the hill at C7 with nothing I could do against it.

To my surprise, the German 8-1 Leader dropped the MMG in K7 before Assault Moving back to K8. The German 7-0, 467+LMG stack in O7 skulked out of sight.

As such, I had hardly and targets for the Defensive Fire Phase, nor was there German Fire in the AFPh.

There were to Routs.

As expected, the German 447 in C7 advanced onto the „Hilltop“ in D7. With the broken but non-DM Crew next to it, which might rally in the American's upcoming last halfturn, taking that „Hilltop“ with my Sherman would be a suicide mission.

What happened next, deeply surprised me: Instead of Advancing from K8 Ground Level to K8 1st Level, the German 8-1 audaciously opted to reinforce the Melee raging in J8. Had he instead gone upstairs (and kept the MMG before), I would have had to move beneath him, eat his fire, and baring (big!) maybe, an Infantry OVR to get into the 1st Level, I could have done nothing to prevent him from voluntarily breaking and routing up to 2nd Level.

On the eastern flank (right), his 7-0, 467+LMG stack reentered the O7 building.

The Close Combat Phase was eventful: His pesky 467 in F4 that had previously reduced my 666 now finished the job of killing the 346 remnant with me having nothing to show for it.

In J8, CC was still sequential for the presence of my Sherman in Bypass. The 8-1 inspiring the 228 AT-Gun Crew killed my 667! But I was saved from a heart attack by The Sherman, who now managed to kill the Leader and the Crew.


(To be continued...)

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at Game End


American Turn 7 – Final Halfturn:

My objective for the final halfturn would – of course – be to win the game. So far, I had 1VP and the Americans had 24VP, which meant that I needed to gain another 12VP, provided I did not lose any tanks or managed to capture Germans. If I could gain Control of the key K7 building, this would get me another 9VP.

And it seemed that he would not be able to stop me from doing just that, which would put me to 10VP vs his 15VP. If I also could gain Control of the H7 building, this would be changed to 12VP vs his 13VP, thus still not be sufficient. So besides the key K7 building, I would need to take either the E6 or the O7 building or the „Hilltop“ while not losing a tank. This issue was in doubt at best.

During the Rally Phase, in J4 a 667+BAZ self-rallied on Snakes creating a 6+1 Leader. Luckily, the 228 German Crew on the „Hilltop“ did not. At this point, my Sherman would be up against the 447 on the „Hilltop“, which I somehow needed to break while evading any PF it might fire.

So PrepFire began with the 447 on the „Hilltop“ in D7 being determined as the most menacing enemy unit. I fired my 667+MMG directed by the 9-1 for a 10FP @ -1 Leader +1 Height Advantage at it and rolled a 3 for a K/3 result!! Good heavens, this lucky shot was just what the doctor ordered!

In my MPh there was now nothing that could prevent my Sherman in F8 to drive up onto the „Hilltop“. I stopped the tank in D8 in the same Location with the broken Flak-Crew without Overrunning it – no need to risk some freak Heat of Battle results... Both the Crew and the remaining broken halfsquad in D7 would have to rout off from the „Hilltop“ and I would gain (temporary) Control with the tank. This put me at 6VP vs. his 18VP.

Now I had to exhaust his fire options in able to ensure that I'd get into the key K7 building. I began to work on the eastern flank (right). My Sherman in Bypass of J7 moved to L8 and tried to use their smoke MTR on the Germans in O7, which failed. Next, my 667 moved from the P5 Street into the P6 building from where I wanted to pop Infantry Smoke into the said O7 from the other direction but was Pinned by enemy fire from there before I could try. Then, I followed up with the 667+MMG from O5 via P5 into the P6 building surviving Residual FP there. Next I assault moved ADJACENT my 346 from M7 to N7 and finally the 8-1 Leader from O5 to O6 which he successfully broke likely in order to deny me the Leader Modifier which I would otherwise might have benefitted from in CC.

I would now have to occupy the three German squads yet unmarked in the E5 and F6 buildings on the left. My 346 in the mined H5 Building „volunteered“ to Dash across the street towards the H7 victory building on the other side. It did manage to get out of the Minefield, but when in the street, it was fired at by the 467 in E4 and broken before it could reach its destination.

At this point, it was more or less over: I had three squads left capable of moving and he had two squads left unmarked, with my broken 346 in H6 imposing Target Selection Limits after German First Fire. So barring some freak Sniper event, with only two shots left without being bound by Target Selection Limits, he could at best stop two of three squads, with the last one going to enter and take Control of the K7 building changing the count to 15VP for the US vs. 10VP for the Germans.

We still played out the turn, albeit my memory is a bit hazy: The 6+1, 667+BAZ from J4 was able to place Infantry Smoke into I6, but I can't quite make out how it still could reach H7 with the 6+1 getting Pinned in there while not being CX for another 2VP. Anyway, the Infantry Smoke in I6 helped the squads from I5 and J5 crossing the streets without harm into J7 and K7.

During the RtPh, the surviving broken German halfsquad on the „Hilltop“ was eliminated by Interdiction. The FlaK Guncrew Pinned ADJACENT to the tank due to Interdiction. We weren't quite sure, but I think that would have meant the end of it. We forgot that it could have routed offboard without being interdicted. This had no effect on the outcome, though.

The Close Combat on the eastern flank (right) remained undecided, but that, too, was of no consequence.

For the final reckoning 8VP were still held by the Germans and 17VP by the Americans with no Shermans destoyed and no Germans captured.

American win!


Review:

I think the game was pre-decided during German Turn 6 by two things: First, My PrepFire shot broke the German 447 on the „Hilltop“. Had that squad remained in Good Order, it would have made the survival of my Sherman driving up there doubtful in the first place, which would have furthermore needed to break it. Second, I believe my opponent made a grave mistake by having the 8-1 Leader drop the MMG when skulking back and then let him advance to reinforce the Melee. Had the Leader instead Advanced upstairs to 1st Level with the MMG. This would have made things for the Americans so much more complicated, because all sorts of things could have happened: The Americans getting somehow Pinned or Broken while at the Ground Level of the staircase and unable to advance into CC with the Leader in their last halfturn. Or not unlikely failing the attempt of an Infantry OVR when trying to move up there during the MPh. Possibly being Ambushed in CC by the 8-1 who could then have Infiltrated out of reach and up into 2nd Level. Or the 8-1 had voluntarily Broken to avoid CC in the last US halfturn to Rout out of reach, still denying Control of the Building to the US.

These two events allowed me to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

That said, it seemed not likely that I'd get that far in the first place. The Sniper having killed two Leaders significantly paralyzed my western flank (right side). Hardly getting any Smoke out of the tanks sure did not help either. What did help me was that I could move very quickly with hardly any interference for the first two Turns. I would have expected at least some speed-bumps on board 91 either in the form of a sacrificial halfsquad or two and some Mines. I was also surprised that I did not take FlaK (sic!) and/or Gunfire from the „Hilltop“. I think the FlaK-Gun and the AT-Gun would have made a good pair up on that „Hilltop“ even if one of the Guns would have lost HIP immediately for lack of Concealment Terrain. But with the long range of both weapons and ROF, they could have hurt the Americans even before they could enter the Depression. The AT-Gun surprised me when it popped up in J7, but on the Hill, it would have had more opportunities to get off some shots to do damage. I think that in our game, the Flak-Vierling halftrack and the Guns did not reach their potential. The same is true for the Minefields: I „found“ them all, either driving through them with the tanks or stepping into them with Infantry. While the former is not that risky, the latter can be devastating on Americans with their low Good Order Morale – they might get stuck in such Minefields forever. I was lucky that my Americans did not.

All in all, I can see why ROAR has this scenario pro-German.

I liked the terrain of the new boards, though, and also their combination. An interesting scenario overall.


von Marwitz

 

[sdennis]

I got smashed as the Americans at my last ASLOK (2 years ago) vs. Ritter, he had a more up front German defense and I was too aggressive with my tanks, in the end losing too much CVPs to play much past turn 4 or 5. He had mines in the valley and more guys in the valley than your opponent for sure.
I did like the scenario though.

 

[pensatl1962]

AP194 NOT FADE AWAY - AAR

View attachment 31233

Background:
Set in December 1944 on the western front at Lemberg close to the Bitche salient, an American infantry force supported by a platoon of tanks has to navigate wooded terrain before it can attempt to capture a hill and to gain control of a number of buildings in said Lemberg village. A German force of Volksgrenadiers – not represented by any of the new Volksgrenadier counters of Twilight of the Reich – try to prevent that. The Germans are helped in their efforts by Minefields, an AT Gun, a FlaK and a FlaK-Vierling mounted on an unarmored halftrack.

This scenario design by Pete Shelling using the recent boards 91 and 92 had seen quite some play at the time of my game with ROAR reporting 31 German wins against 19 American victories at an Excitement Rating of 5.9 as of February 2025. With this number of playings, it can be assumed that it somewhat favors the Germans.

View attachment 31234
For reasons not yet fully understood, Darren Belsky's
appartment turned into the center of a new black hole.

„For reasons not yet fully understood“ this was my first game by VASL since more than three and a half years, which has the benefit to be able to insert screenshots of the status of the end of each player turn (as long as I did not forget to save them...).


The Objective:
Winner will be who has amassed more VP by game and. These are awarded for destroying US AFV, capturing the „Hill Top“, Control of a number of buildings, and capturing Germans. Most VP can be gained by Building Control, as each Building Location of specific Buildings is worth 1VP each. The „Hill Top“ is especially treated by SSR and worth 5VP in its entirety. The length of the scenario is 6.5 Turns.


The US OoB:
The attacking American Infantry force consists of 15 squads, 6 of which are Elite. They are directed by 4 „common staple“ Leaders, while only being relatively sparsely equipped with SW, numbering 3x MMG and 2x BAZ44. Armored support consists of a platoon of 3 Sherman M4A1 tanks.


The German OoB:
The German Volksgrenadiers are represented by 5x 467s and 4x 447s led by three „common staple“ Leaders, which only have one MMG and two LMG beside their inherent SW to hold their own. However, they have support in the form of a 75 AT Gun (not a 75L!), an 8 IFP FlaK and a 20 IFP Flak-Vierling mounted on an unarmored halftrack with trailer. Four Foxholes can bolster the defence at some points and 24 AP-Mine Factors are part of the OoB to spring some surprises. Since the attackers aside from the tanks set up on board, there is no automatic Concealment for the defenders, which are granted 6 Concealment counters to create a bit of confusion.


The Terrain:
With boards 91 and 92, this scenario features „new“ terrain. Despite it being December 1944 on the western front, Ground Snow is NOT present here. All roads are SSR'ed to be paved, which has no practical effect on the game with the notable Exception that it prevents from AP-Mine factors traded to AT-Mine factors from being placed HIP on Roads. This is of consequence, because board 91, which the Americans have to cross, consists mainly of Woods and Brush, which leaves very few options for AFV movement. This terrain, which includes a depression, is also slow going for Infantry.

Once the Americans have crossed that board, the terrain shifts to a (mostly) stone village of board 92, most buildings having a 1st Level with the Exception of the 92K7 building, which also has a 2nd Level. A small 2nd Level hill in the south-west of the playing area offers some long LOS as well.

I played the attacking Americans in this one.


German Considerations:
The SSR granting the US forces VP for Prisoners taken (normal not double) hints at the possibilty that the Germans might have reason to set up in a way that could get them captured. Another SSR allows the Germans to consider any south board edge as a Building for Rout purposes and the same is even true for offboard hexes along the south edge, to which they may legally rout offboard. So the Germans will apparently be on the „receiving end“.

With 6.5 turns the Americans don't have lot of time to navigate the slow terrain of board 91 and the fight through a stone village before taking control of Stone Buildings after having crossed a final street. So obviously, the Germans should try their best to steal some precious time from the Americans by delaying them. To this end, it could be useful to set up „speed-bumps“ in the path of the attackers, which the German defender has to balance against the sanction of ceding VP to the attackers if the defending „speed bumps“ get captured and of being thinned out in their defence of the village against the numerous high-firepower assailants.

Mines! I just love AP-Mines against the Americans! They attack without TEM against comparably low-morale G.I.s, which are thus not unlikely to break. Broken G.I.s might not want to rout unless forced to in order to avoid another Minefield attack in the process. After having rallied, though, their Morale „drops“, which makes them more subject to attack effects when they attempt to leave the Minefield. If they break in the attempt, they can't leave but are trapped in the Minefield. Rinse and repeat! That way many a time I have seen US Infantry being trapped „forever“ in a AP Minefield effectively taking them out of the game. The only bad thing about this is, that it is me playing the Americans in this one...

There is the standard-option of the rules that allow for the substitution of AP-Mines vs AT-Mines. The there are basically only two viable approaches the enemy tanks can initially take, one of which could be „poisoned“ by AT-Mines. The question is, whether in this scenario AP-Mines might be worth more that trading them against AT-Mines.

The „Hill Top“ of board 92 hill offers itself to set up the FlaK-Gun and/or the AT-Gun, as it presents fine LOS also at long ranges. That said, it is – of course – also an obvious spot for setting up these weapons.

The SdKfz 7/1 with its 20 IFP and ROF can be absolutely devastating versus Infantry. Despite Multiple Hit capability and high ROF, its use against the enemy tanks is very limited unless these dare to go CE. Alas, being unarmored and a large target, this vehicle is also very suspectible even to normal FP attacks. It should be carefully deployed and can serve as a mobile Schwerpunkt of firepower.

With regard to VP, four terrain features are of special value: The „Hilltop“ at 5 VP, the 92EE6 and 92P6 buildings at 4 VP each, and the pivotal 92K7 building at a whopping 9VP. There is a total of 25 VP in the form of terrain features, all of which are held by the Germans at game start. „Modifiers“ might arise in the form of Prisoners lost to the Americans or US AFV destroyed. In any case, the significance of the 92K7 building is glaring, which is additionally reinforced by its architecture being a Level 2 structure with a single Stairwell that will be out of LOS to most of the attackers most of the time.

Usually, SSRs are there for a reason. This also applies to SSR3 which permits your Germans to consider the southern board edge and even the offboard area to the south as buildings for Rout purposes, allowing also to Rout offboard to avoid capture and thus providing the US with VPs.

There is one more subtle consequence of this SSR, however: If your Germans – or German Gun crews – on the „Hilltop“ should get broken, they could Low Crawl back to 92D8 and likely shed DM there to recover and re-man the Guns.


American Considerations:
The Americans have a straightforward force of Infantry and tank support without any fancy gimmicks.

Most American tanks are very useful with regard to generating useful SMOKE. It should be noted, though, that the M4A1's merely have a Smoke Mortar usage number of 5 and not 8 as encountered in many other models. This is not an insignificant difference. The Shermans not only important for their SMOKE, they can also move quickly and can dish out a lot of firepower at long ranges if need be. At only minor risk, they can create trailbreaks through AP-Minefields, they can create cover as part of Armored Assault or a Hindrance TEM. Opposed to the terrified G.I.s, the Shermans don't have much to fear from the SdKfz 7/1. And they are worth VPs to the Germans if destroyed... So these vehicles are not expendable for high risk audacious capers. It should be noted, that the German AT-Gun is a 75 and not a 75L. The 75 has a AP TK of 14 and H6 (TK13) compared to a 75L's AP TK of 17 and APCR (TK20). This means that a Sherman has a decent chance to survive a hit by the German 75 AT-Gun.

As ever so often, time is of the essence. It will take the Infantry a minimum of two turns to traverse board 91 even if the Germans opt not to intervene at all. More likely, something will await you somewhere. But even from the US starting line, significant areas of ground could be affected from the „Hilltop“ or from 2nd Level of the 92K7 building, albeit only with modest long-range MG FP in case of the latter. This can be nasty considering the possibility of ROF. If you then allow for two turns to fight through the stone village and two turns to gain control of the victory buildings with one turn lost somewhere in between, you realize how tight the schedule is for the Americans. This means that the US Infantry can't be too cautious while advancing – or shall I say charging? The good thing is that broken US Infantry tends to rally quickly – provided Leaders are around. Infantry Smoke Grenades and Assault Fire Capability are certainly a boon for the G.I.s in this one.

Although you want to move quickly, you have to be careful with stacks regarding unknown ground. AP-Mines have the potential to really screw up Americans as outlined in the German considerations. On the bright side, your OoB has enough Infantry to afford „volunteer“ scouts. Deployment should be considered at setup and at the start of the game.

As for the terrain, board 91 allows really only the western and eastern flank for any meaningful approach of the tanks. The Germans will be aware of that. With regard to the Infantry, it might be worthwhile to calculate some blind hexes for some possible early long shots of the Germans. Before eventually gaining the cover of Stone Building TEM, your G.I.s are more vulnerable to incoming fire.

One tricky area for the US could be the 91Z0-CC2 and 91DD1-FF2 treeline. If your Infantry gets broken in there, it might well be that it cannot rout out of that tree line nor able to avoid German LOS, especially from the „Hilltop“. Brokies might eventually be funnelled to CC2 and/or kept under DM by the enemy.

When in the village, +3 Stone Building TEM will make the US Infantry more resilient, but when navigating Row Houses, they might be exposed crossing from one Row House Location to the next while at the vertex in Open Ground.

As aforementioned, the 92K7 building is vital, being worth 9VP. The single Stairwell in the back is mostly out of LOS to your attacking troops. The German defenders might be able to block access to an upper story with a unit, preventing access to the 2nd Level. Even a brokie might be sufficient, buying him that one extra turn of time to spell doom on your potential to secure Control of the building.

The „Hilltop“ also requires some consideration: Per SSR, for its entirety of four hexes, Control is gained/lost as if it were a single ground level building. This means, if you can get one of your tanks up there alive, you can chase off any German brokies of the „Hilltop“ and thus gain (temporary) Control with your AFV, unless other Good Order Germans are present up there.

(To be continued...)

I always appreciate a fan of Gary Larson.

 

[von Marwitz]

I always appreciate a fan of Gary Larson.

Gary Larson rules! I am really missing the off-the-wall calendars that were published for years...

von Marwitz

 

[Jim B]

Thank you for sharing this AAR...sooooo much work, and so helpful to learning....

 

[wrongway149]

Gary Larson rules! I am really missing the off-the-wall calendars that were published for years...

von Marwitz

I like to put a far side comic into my safety training presentations. ( I am not allowed to use bloody splat pics)
It helps keep them awake - they don't want to miss the cartoon!

 

[Perry]

Great AAR!

Please take my rules nit-picks in the proper spirit, and apologies in advance if I misunderstood anything.

First, an SMC can never carry more than 2 PP (A4.42), so the 8-1 could not (and properly did not) haul the MMG.

Second, MMC that roll a 6 on a Smoke Grenade attempt, end their MPh, but do not pin (A24.1).

Third, and perhaps most important, AFVs cannot Control a building (only MMC can; A26.14), so AFV cannot Control "the hilltop" that is treated like a multi-hex building.

Finally, A.2 says "American win!"

Keep up the good work.

 

[Sean Deller]

AP194 NOT FADE AWAY - AAR
This scenario design by Pete Shelling using the recent boards 91 and 92 had seen quite some play at the time of my game with ROAR reporting 31 German wins against 19 American victories at an Excitement Rating of 5.9 as of February 2025. With this number of playings, it can be assumed that it somewhat favors the Germans.

This is an excellent scenario. I don't think it is pro-German (it might even be a little pro-American).

 

[Michael R]

To mitigate forgetting to take a screenshot, consider running a log file while playing the game. Take all the screenshots later.

 

[Michael R]

You wrote:

As my opponent had not denied Concealment to my Infantry in 91FF6 and 91DD7 at game start, I concluded that his unit in 91EE3 were Dummies,

Always remember, Dummies Deny (concealment gain) without proof of reality. Real units are required only to strip concealment during the game.

 

[von Marwitz]

Great AAR!

Please take my rules nit-picks in the proper spirit, and apologies in advance if I misunderstood anything.

I am here to learn. And I am honored to have the ultimate rules guru and arbiter of rules to comment!

First, an SMC can never carry more than 2 PP (A4.42), so the 8-1 could not (and properly did not) haul the MMG.

Of course correct!

Second, MMC that roll a 6 on a Smoke Grenade attempt, end their MPh, but do not pin (A24.1).

I must have played that wrong for years! Thanks for pointing out. Without doubt, I always had the Pin of a PF usage attempt with a dr of 6 in mind.

Third, and perhaps most important, AFVs cannot Control a building (only MMC can; A26.14), so AFV cannot Control "the hilltop" that is treated like a multi-hex building.

Finally, A.2 says "American win!"

Keep up the good work.

By gawd! We truly screwed up on this one!

We had incorrectly in our minds:
"The four Level 2 hill hexes on board 92 are together considered "the hilltop" and Control is gained/lost as if a single _ _ _ _-hex ground level building."

The SSR reads correctly:
"The _ _ _ _ Level 2 hill hexes on board 92 are together considered "the hilltop" and Control is gained/lost as if a single four-hex ground level building."

Going by the wrong reading, I think Control would have been gained as per A26.12 "A vehicle which Controls the only Location in a hex also Controls that hex."

With the correct reading, the outcome should have been 13VP Germans / 12VP Americans for a German win.

Had we also correctly played units not Pinning after a Infantry Smoke Placement attempt of 6, then the 667 in 92P6 could also have advanced into CC in 92O7, changing the odds from 9 US : 5 German to 15 US : 5 German, i.e. from 3:2 to 3:1. I can't remember the US CC roll, though, so I don't know if that change of odds would have eliminated the German 7-0, 467 with the consequence of the US gaining Control of the 92O7 building. If the Germans had been eliminated by the shift of odds, then the tally would have shifted to 9VP Germans / 16VP Americans.

In any case, our playing was a close game which was exciting til the end.


Thanks for your comments on the rules mistakes. I am especially grateful for the hint that units are not Pinned if they roll a 6 when trying for Infantry Smoke. As mentioned, I have played that wrong for years and it is a thing which comes up often.


von Marwitz

 

[von Marwitz]

You wrote:

As my opponent had not denied Concealment to my Infantry in 91FF6 and 91DD7 at game start, I concluded that his unit in 91EE3 were Dummies,

Always remember, Dummies Deny (concealment gain) without proof of reality. Real units are required only to strip concealment during the game.

Indeed. Not sure if I have played this wrong for a long time, too.


So here's the lesson:
It makes sense to write long AARs!

By Perry's and your comments I have become aware of two relevant things which come up often that I have likely played wrong for a long time. (While SMC being only able to carry 2PP came back to my mind the moment it was mentioned).

Without my AAR writeup, I'd still dwell in ignorance on the "Infantry Smoke dr 6 not Pinning" and "Dummy Concealment Deny without proof of reality".

von Marwitz

 

[von Marwitz]

To mitigate forgetting to take a screenshot, consider running a log file while playing the game. Take all the screenshots later.

Hm, might be an idea to consider.

Since I have never played a single PBEM game, I have not spent much thought on logs until now.

That said, what does one do if a playing takes more than one session to end?
Would you have to begin a new log for each VASL session or does one load the original log to continue it?

von Marwitz