J150 The Sangshak Redemption - AAR

[von Marwitz]

J150 The Sangshak Redemption - AAR



Scenario Overview:

This is a fine small PTO action which I can readily recommend to play. The the Japanese basically overrun a village and be done with it when Gurkha reinforcements appear on the scene who have to take it back. So both sides will have to attack and to defend in this one.

The action is set in the border region of India in March 1944 as part of the major Japanese operation against Imphal. PTO with Light Jungle is in effect, all buildings are Huts with the exception of 42oI3, which is a Stone Building with a Steeple Location. Importantly, Flames cannot exist in a Hut. We forgot about this but luckily before it could have a major impact - which is not unlikely - we noticed and could still fix it with no harm done yet. Due to the date, No Quarter is in effect. To bolster the reinforcing Gurkhas, these have an underscored Morale Factor (A19.13).

The objective for the Japanese it to capture and hold on to a number of buildings at game end within 3 hexes of the sole Stone Building after at least Controlling the latter temporarily. Note: I am a bit hazy on the VC to respect copyright.


Preliminary Assessment:

The scenario begins with a British defending on-board force of 2.5 squad equivalents of 2nd Line troops along with two crews manning a 57L AT Gun with a HE Depletion of 8 in this no-vehicle action and a 76mm MTR (yes 76mm, not 81mm) which can fire WP (Depletion 7) and Smoke (Depletion 8) as special ammo. This outfit is led by a single 8-0 Leader. The whole lot wish for sure they had more than a single LMG, two Foxholes and 8 Concealment counters to save themselves from the attacking Japanese. As the British setup area is limited to within 3 hexes of 42I4, there will not be much hide & seek.

The attackers begin with 9 squad equivalents (2x Elite, 7x 1st Line) plus a 228 for an MMG. Two LMGs and 50mm MTRs each complete the SW allotment, which is decent for a force of this size. The Leadership is good, consisting of a 10-1 and a 9-0 Leader.

As the Japanese set up on-board and only have to cover 4 hexes to the Stone Building with Steeple and 6 hexes to the furthest potential Victory Building, the at-start British force has all reasons to be concerned. The British receive powerful reinforcements in British Turn 2, but by then, they might already be completely wiped out.

Said British Turn 2 reinforcements consist fo a tough Gurkha force of 10 squad equivalents of roughly equal parts of 648s, 458s and 457s with an underscored Morale Factor. The Leadership to go with it is fine, consisting of a 9-2, a 8-1 and a 8-0. The SW complement is rather light: 3x LMG and 2x 51mm Airborne MTRs, which can fire Smoke (Depletion 7).
These reinforcements can reach the village within a Turn, so things will get close and personal in short order. It needs to, as the British have only until the end of Turn 5 to prevent a Japanese victory.

The Japanse also get some reinforcements in the form of 2x 447, and LMG led by a 9-0 in their Turn 3. This small force might plug a gap in an emergency or be used for a local counter attack when it is the Japanese who will be hard pressed.

Despite the playing area consisting of two half-boards, the action will be almost exclusively limited to board 42. The only effect of board 50 is the 'lenthening' the very short approach path by the at-start Japanese forces by one measly hex. The board 50 hill is not even very well suited for the 50mm MTRs in order to shoot SMOKE as their range to do so to cover an assault is quite limited. This can also be done for the first Japanese charge from Ground Level.

As this scenario is short and the Japanese will want to get hold of a substantial number of buildings before the Gurkha reinforcements arrive, there is no time for subtlety for that initial assault. I'd be surprised if the Japanese would not opt for some sort of Banzai Charge.

Once the Japanese 'own' the village - and they'd better be done with it before the Gurkhas show up - they have to fight a delaying action in order to hold on to sufficient victory buildings. Of course, if they have a unit in the ground level and Steeple location of the sole Stone Building, this will cost the British time if they attempt to recapture it and provides the 'best TEM in town'. Besides that building, there is not much good TEM to be had. The Japanese have their usual resilience under attack, but striping and whittling them down will tilt their odds in CC against them.

That said, CC might become an interesting issue: Both the Japanese and the Gurkhas can initiate Hand-to-Hand CC. While the Japanese must do so, the Gurkhas have the option. This might be of importance, because the vicious H-t-H CC numbers can make up for inferior odds, which will likely more favor the Japanese than the Gurkhas. If a Japanese unit is held in normal CC/Melee, then it will not be firing out of its hex. Perhaps this can be the 'safer' way to open a path for other Gurkhas than hoping for killing the Japanese in H-t-H outright. If the Japanese have enough units left, they can attempt to form a 'wall of bodies' as their last ditch attempt to hold on to the required number of buildings.


Situation at Game Start - Japanese Turn 1:




The Battle Plan:

It is a bit sobering for the British to set up his 3.5 squad equivalents. You just know that you'll not be able to fend off the Japanese.

My basic plan was to attempt to survive at least with some units until the Gurkhas arrived.

I was expecting a Japanese Banzai Charge as an opening move and placed my heavy weapons in positions where they were unlikely to be reached in Japanese Turn 1. The ATG went into the Bamboo in 42K6 with the two ADJACENT Huts as extra 'cover'. Note that in Bamboo, Guns are not Emplaced but may normally still set up HIP. Since an attack from the flank would be unlikely, the Gunshield would provide the 'normal' protection but the vulnerability to Air Bursts would be greater. On the positive side, Bamboo was difficult to enter. I wanted to keep the ATG HIP until really juicy shots presented themselves and liked the option of advancing out to retake a Hut.

On the other hand, I planned on firing the MTR in any case because it has a minimum range of 3 hexes and it is the asset with the most punch of the at-start force and ROF 2 to boot. To have an effect with it at all, there was no point in waiting until it got overrun.

My 'killer-stack' - a 447+LMG and the 8-0 Leader were positioned in a Foxhole in 42G5. From there, they might be able to rout to the F6 Jungle.

An empty Foxhole was placed in I6 which I found to be a good position to place my reinforcements in.

The 'bulk' of my troops was placed in the center. Expecting a Banzai Charge, I deployed the squad I could in the hope of taking advantage of the more vicious H-t-H numbers if my units would make it into the CCPh in Good Order. The Dummy in 42H1 was placed to siphon off a Banzai unit, the HS in 42G3 rested its hopes on Bamboo being difficult to enter as did the Dummy in 42L3. Maybe the forward units could stripe a Japanese unit or two and take someone with them when going down in H-t-H CC.

Basically, though, I wrote off everything east of (towards the bottom) of the non-existant road through the village outright and hoped that someone of my 'second line of resistance' would make it through.

Beyond that, there was no further plan and the deployment of the reinforcements would be determined when they were due to enter.


Situation at the End of Japanese Turn 1:



As I had anticipated, the Japanese Banzai Charge came after the 50mm MTRs first both attempted to put down WP (unsuccessfully) and then SMOKE (successfully).

I was a bit disappointed by my Defensive First Fire as I could not take advantage of the opportunities I had with the sole exception being the wounding of the Japanese 9-0 Leader and the striping of one 447 to a 347.

On the bright side of it, my 'second line of defence' remained unharmed with my ATG retaining its HIP.

In H-t-H CC I lost two 237 HS and one 447 in the church, in other words close to 50% of my entire force. In one of these CCs, I contrieved to Ambush the Japanese, Lax by Banzai, and killed a Japanese 447 in the process.

The Japanese fulfilled the part of the VC of at least temporarily Controlling the church building. Altogether, it could have been worse, but the outlook looked grim for my at-start force nevertheless.


Situation at the End of British Turn 1:



In my British Turn 1, I had not exactly much to shoot with. The 76mm MTR tried, even kept ROF but had no effect. My 'killer-stack' tried to finish off the wounded Japanese Leader in 42I1, but no luck.

My 237 HS in 42G3 was lucky to survive Defensive Fire by the ADJACENT Japanese units. Else the Japanese Defensive Fire was much hindered by their own SMOKE with which they had covered their initial assault. So my 'second line of defence' was still unharmed.

My valiant 237 HS advanced from 42G3 into CC with a CX Japanese 447 in 42F3. I concluded that it would be dead meat if it remained in G3 anyway. There was a 50/50% chance to Ambush the Japanese, conceivably allowing my Infiltration into 42F4 with Wall Advantage. If no Ambush occurred by either side, the HS might end up in normal Melee which would at least tie down the Japanese squad from turning my flank and the Melee would block the passage for possible follow up Japanese units. This is exactly what happened.


To be continued in a subsequent post.
For directly jumping to the continuation of the AAR, use this link.

von Marwitz

 

[Roadtogundagai]

Just curious about why you would use the British 76mm MTR when the correct unit is an 81mm MTR? Is it a balance thing? i.e. the scenario was tested using the 76mm version.

 

[Eagle4ty]

Just curious about why you would use the British 76mm MTR when the correct unit is an 81mm MTR? Is it a balance thing? i.e. the scenario was tested using the 76mm version.

That's the way the scenario was designed and presented. Many scenario designers were/are remiss to use the 81mm version even though this has been an alternmative for quite some time now (ASL Journal 7).

 

[Roadtogundagai]

That's the way the scenario was designed and presented. Many scenario designers were/are remiss to use the 81mm version even though this has been an alternmative for quite some time now (ASL Journal 7).

Cool - thanks for letting me know

 

[von Marwitz]

Just curious about why you would use the British 76mm MTR when the correct unit is an 81mm MTR? Is it a balance thing? i.e. the scenario was tested using the 76mm version.

I was dimly aware of the 76mm / 81mm MTR issue. However, as J150 is pretty new (Journal 10), I figured that the designers were aware of it. I was reinforced in this belief in that the scenario card shows a 76mm counter art providing two separate min/max ranges for the 76mm MTR. I think - but I might well be mistaken - that this was not the case with the original 'old' 76mm MTR counter.

Anyway, not a big difference. I play the IIFT (with CTC) per standard, so we resolved hits with the MTR not on the 12 but on the 14 FP Column. That said, there were not many of them, because it seems to be part of the design that the at-start British force will get pretty much annihilated before the Gurkha reinforcements come in attempting to turn the tide.

von Marwitz

 

[Old Noob]

I know one thing, lots of Hand-to-Hand Close Combat!

 

[von Marwitz]

I know one thing, lots of Hand-to-Hand Close Combat!

I think at least two times I elected not to go H-t-H with my Gurkhas in order to deprive the Japanese from taking advantage of the vicious H-t-H CC-numbers and their additional -1 CC modifier in H-t-H. The Gurkhas get the same, however if the odds are favorable against the Japanese, this can lessen the chances for the sons of Nippon considerably while they remain decent for the regular CC-fighting Gurkhas.

This indeed worked out in my favor at least one time in this game.

Still, there was enough H-t-H combat of course.

von Marwitz

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at the End of Japanese Turn 2:



In their Turn 2, the Japanese pushed on, but not as hard as they could have. Notably, my opponent garrisoned the still Smoked church with two 448s and a LMG. My 76mm MTR and my 'killer-stack' broke two Japanese half-squads and striped a Japanese 447+LMG. Still, I did not reveal my ATG because I determined there was no point in it at this time.

During the AFPh, my MTR Crew as well as my 'killer-stack' was broken. Both could rout away, though, with the hope of being rescued by the Gurkha reinforcements due in the next half-turn.

Two Japanese striped 347s (one with LMG) had crossed the non-existent road dividing the village from North (right) to South (left). Their 10-1 Leader advanced into position to rally the two broken halfsquads, which would very likely succeed on a DR of 10 or less.

The Melee between my 237 and the enemy 447 (no longer CX now) turned into H-t-H. The valiant HS went down missing its chance to cause some casualties to the Japanese with a DR of 6 or less.

By now, the Japanese had captured all but two of the relevant buildings at the price of one squad lost, two others striped and two HS broken which would very likely be back. I had lost 2.5 squad equivalents and everyone else was broken except for the ATG and its crew which still remained HIP. Yet, I was successful in that my entire 'second line of defence' had survived up to this point.


Situation at the End of British Turn 2:

Note: It seems that by error I have overwritten the file for the End of British Turn 2 with the one of the End of Japanese Turn 3. So you'll have to do without a picture for this halfturn.

With some confidence, I set up my strong Gurkha reinforcements, most of them entering from the West (top) via 42J10 and 42G10, and North via 42A8 (to become 'West Force') and the rest from the North (right) via 42A4 (to become 'North Force').

The 'West Force' (top) was supposed to reestablish my 'second line of defence' to later jump off from there to retake the other parts of the village. 'North Force' (right) would open a new flank behind the cover of the G3 Bamboo and G2, H1, H0 Jungle with the task to recapture the two relevant Huts there and to hook around along the East.

'West Force' would be in for quite a beating gacking some rolls and suffering good ones. It was basically the numbers I entered there which prevented disaster.


Situation at the End of Japanese Turn 3:



Gee whiz... Dem Brits gots whacked!

You know what my plan was. Now you see what became of it... Let's cover 'North Force' (right) first, because that's easy.
They had moved up the walled hill, advanced to the Crest along the D hexrow, and CR'ed/ELR'ed the Japanese squad in 42F3 without getting punished for it in return. So this part of the plan had worked out as it was supposed to do.

Alas, this was only the lesser part of the plan. The major part of the plan was about 'West Force' (top) and this was in trouble. Due to the lack of a picture for the previous half-turn, I might mix up a few things, but you'll get the gist of it.

I had my couple of 'volunteer' halfsquads in the lead and my broken MTR crew had rallied. So having a morale of 8 and being rather confident that I could break / reduce what there was of Japanese West (to the top) of the non-existent road dividing the village with my hordes, I moved the Crew ADJACENT to the 76mm MTR, which was yet unpossessed by the Japanese. Never trust the propaganda - these Japanese did not have thick eyeglasses at all, their sight was as sharp as their shots. My Crew dropped dead. Next one. Half-squad, similar story, 1 KIA. Well, at least some Japanese were First Fired... Entering through 42I10 with the objective of reaching J6/J5, the 8-0 Leader, a 648 and another unit approached, were shot at, the 648 rolled boxcars for morale, another unit broke, everything a shambles. No British units in J5/K5 but a measly Japanese HS instead. In H-t-H CC I lost an elite HS with its important Smoke-capable 50mm MTR along with the 76mm MTR.

Basically, most everything I tried went awry. Instead of having pushed back the Japanese East (to the bottom) of the non-existent road, I had three of their half-squads sitting there, only held 'in check' by a rather fearful Gurkha squad in their midst which - rather un-elitish - had just malfed its MG. This f***-up totalled a 228, 338, 248, 247 dead, a 50mm and 76mm destroyed (both still had Smoke), a malfed LMG, three more half-squads and two more squads broken of 'West Force' at the price of two Japanese half-squads gone and a malfed Japanese LMG. Needless to say, under the circumstances 'West Force' (top) was not in condition to exert much pressure at this point.

Meanwhile, the Japanese reinforcements, 9-0, 2x 447, LMG had sauntered in, arriving at the Eastern (bottom) outskirts of the village.


Situation at the End of British Turn 3:



I had a lot to do to clean up this mess in my British Turn 3. Luckily, I did with most of my brokies rallying.

When the Japanese 237 in 42J5 was curiously staring down the barrel of my ADJACENT 57L ATG, I decided that this was just the time to Prep Fire it. Splendid idea! The Gun crew went out of its way in its commitment to get the lead out. I believe it kept ROF to fire 5 or 6 shots, retaining HE all the time except for the last shot. This offered 1.5 Japanese squad equivalents the chance to render the ultimate service to their Emperor. Another Japanese HS shouting out loud warnings about the Gun's presence - as if everyone hadn't noticed raging fire - was silenced by the British Sniper. The HE explosions created Flames in two Huts - should have, or rather should have not. We overlooked that Flames in Huts are N/A by SSR, but until we finally noticed, to real harm was done so that everything was 'magically' snuffed out upon discovery quite a while later.

With quite some luck, 'West Force' (top) had recovered and eliminated the Japanese West of the non-existent road. My 9-2, 648+LMG now sat in a Foxhole not shrouded by Smoke with good fields of fire. 'North Force' (right) had pushed down the hill, broken and scared away a Japanese Conscript HS and killed the Japanese MMG crew after it had malfed its weapon in CC. This part of the village was now merely 'held' by that Japanese broken Conscrip HS and a lone wounded 8+1 Leader.

This turn, I had merely lost a 247 in H-t-H CC and the enemy Sniper had re-DM'ed another. However, the Japanese had suffered having lost 2.5 squad equivalents, the 228 MMG crew, two more half-squads broken and, the MMG malfed and unpossessed. I was in positions from where I could put pressure on the enemy.

My Gurkhas were back in the game!


Situation at the End of Japanese Turn 4:



In Japanese Turn 4, the enemy got more than they gave.

They did manage to break the important 648+LMG in 42G2. Their Sniper really had a dislike for my 8-0 Leader Gurung and what remained of the original 648 he had entered with, having attacked them for the fourth or fifth time by now, leaving Gurung Wounded and the 338 HS re-DM'ed once more.

However, my 9-2 led a sharp fire attack by his 648+LMG vs. the Church, Striping on Japanese Elite squad there and CR'ing another. The Japanese were withering away, albeit they still had their reinforcements in the eastern (bottom) part of the village. A Japanese half-squad made a counter-attack to recapture the malfed MMG, killing off a British HS in the process. Furthermore, the Wounded 8+1 died and a DM'ed 126 Consript HS was interdicted trying to escape from 42G3.

Still, at this point my British had not yet recaptured a single building which they had lost before. And I had only two Movement Phases left to make it happen.


To be continued in a subsequent post...

von Marwitz

 

[von Marwitz]

Situation at the End of British Turn 4:



At the start of my British Turn 4, I pondered whether to try to move in aggressively or rather cautiously now.
I decided for the cautious approach as the Japanese still had enough firepower to break a couple of my units if I were too impatient.

In the church, the enemy had his 10-1 Leader, 237+LMG, 348 in +3 TEM. In 42J2 he had a 9-0, 447 and a broken 237. In 42J0 lurked a 447+LMG upon an unpossessed 50mm MTR. In 42J3 a 237 overlooking the non-existent road and finally in 42G1 another 237. The Japanese Controlled all six Huts and the Church with its extra Steeple Location. I needed to recapture all but one of these buildings in order to win. Despite the Japanese having suffered grievous losses so far, in CC they were unpredictably dangerous. My hope was to reduce them some more before seeking the decision in the next final and last British Turn.

I began with 'North Force' (right). There, the broken 648+LMG in 42F3 was missing to provide some sorely needed punch. However, I was quite confident that I would be able to rally them in the next half-turn on a 10 or less, thereby also taking Control of that Hut. I moved a 457+MTR to 42G2 to threaten the ADJACENT Japanese HS shouded in Smoke and to get into position for the final Turn. As the Japanese in the Church could not yet tell what might be coming from the West (top), they let it happen. Next, a concealed Gurkha Elite squad Assault Moved ADJACENT to the Japanese HS in G1 and, as expected, was unharmed by its fire. This squad would later Ambush and eliminate the Japanese HS in non HtH CC, clearing that flank for the moment and recapturing the Hut.

The business was trickier for 'West Force' (top), which had to eventually cross the non-existent road in order to close in with the Japanese there. As ever so often, a 'volunteer' HS took the lead, arriving in 42I4 ADJACENT to all the Japanese there but was considered an unworthy target. The good thing was, that it would serve its purpose to impose Target Selection Limits on the Japanese after they would First Fire. Next, another 'unimportant volunteer' in the form of a 248 Gurkha HS moved to 42K4 ADJACENT to the 237 Japanese HS in J3. I can't remember if it got fired at or not - in any case it remained unpinned, meaning that I could advance it into CC later. Next, I cautiously reoccupied the three empty Huts still under Japanese Control in the western (top) part of the village. This left the Church and two more Huts in its vincinity under Japanese Control.

Until now, the Japanese had held their fire, waiting for the juicy targets to move. It was the time for my 9-2, 648+LMG to prove their worth, who Assault Moved to 42H4, taking advantage of the scant Hindrance provided by the Palm Trees. The Japanese opened up obeying the sharp order of their 10-1 but my morale proved to be high enough. Phew, that had been important. After that, I pulled up the remaining units to form a blob to spread out the risk of exposure for the last Japanese half-turn and hoping for luck in my upcoming AFPh.

Advancing Fire had no effect, there were no Routs, some Advances had me inching closer and seeking CC in 42J3 and 42G1 (this latter has already been desribed as being victorious). In 42J3, no Ambush occurred. I found it prudent to attack in non HtH CC because it was more important to me to neutralize the Japanese HS there rather than going in for the (not unlikely mutual kill) in HtH as it was freedom of movement I was after. Melee ensued.

So in this turn, I took it slow which paid off with me taking no losses or breaks, but it would be tricky business to bring this home in my last Turn. Before that, the Japanese would have their say in their upcoming last Turn...


Situation at the End of Japanese Turn 5:



In his last Japanese Turn 5, is quickly told:

The tiny bit of Japanese Prep Fire had no effect. Sure enough, my opponent Assault Moved a HS+LMG with the 10-1 into the Steeple Location, while keeping the striped 348 squad at Ground Level, making it very unlikely to be able to recapture the Church. Then he a counterattack to retake the 42G1 Hut and to tie my 'North Force' there.
I was quite lucky to completely smash the attempt, which bettered my position significantly:

First, he moved a rallied 237 from 42J1 to 42H0, becoming CX in the process, which I let pass. Then, as his 447+LMG passed through 50I10, I took a long-range shot with two half-squads from 42H5 for a 2FP @-2 rolling a 3, yielding a 1KIA. That hurt!

My Defensive Final Fire was ineffective, there were no Routs.

The enemy made a desparate advance with his CX half-squad vs my concealed Gurkha squad in the 42G1 Hut to take me out in CC, but was Ambushed and killed, allowing my squad to infiltrate to 42H1, improving my jumping-off position for my final Turn for this squad quite a bit. The other Melee in 42J3 turned HtH and ended in mutual destruction - I was fine with that, as that pesky Japanese HS could have been a real PITA to my last-turn moves had it been victorious.


Situation at the End of British Turn 5 - Game End:



It was now my final Turn 5. My chances had been significantly improved by the Japanese having lost another two squad equivalents the previous turn.

My 648+LMG rallied in 42F3 giving me Control of that Hut and freeing me from the requirement to sent another Good Order MMC there for the task that now would be used elsewhere.

All the Japanese had left was this:

Church: 348 striped squad at Ground Level, 10-1, 237+LMG in Steeple
42J1: Concealed 9-0, 447

As I had to do plenty of Movement to get many of my units into position, I had not much Prep Fire with which to kill the 348 striped squad in the Stone Church which would be necessary if I wanted to enter the hex for a later Advance into the Steeple. For that reason, I decided not to recapture the Church but to go after 42J1 with everything I could muster and bring into position. Now it turned out to be very beneficial that the Japanese counter attack of the previous Turn had been thwarted as it freed my units of 'North Force' to join in.

What now followed was the intricate 'dance of death': Finding the best order in which to move units, trying to provoke Defensive First Fire to limit Target Selection limits etc. which ever so often decides over victory or defeat. I will not bore you with the details but keep it short: I lost a sacrificial HS in the process, the Japanese used FPF quite a number of times from the Church without being able to inflict much damage.

The Japanese defenders of 42J3 at first seemed to intend to retain Concealment, but I sent over a HS to Search which rolled just low enough to search that one Location I needed. After that, I surrounded 42J3 from all directions, one squad being broken in the process.

Advancing Fire reduced the 348 in the Ground Level of the Church to a HS. The 9-0 in 42J3 was lethally Wounded and the squad striped and ELR'ed, leaving me a striped 2nd Line 237 Japanese squad to overcome in CC. The death of the Leader, the ELR'ing and Striping of the said squad had lowered the CC Points from 5 to 2.

The Ground Level of the Church was cleared in HtH CC, but the 10-1, 237+LMG survived, cornered in the Steeple and thus still in Control of the Building.

In 42J3, I had advanced in a 8-0, a 648, and 2x 458 Gurkhas vs. the Japanese 237 squad for 6:1 odds. No Ambush occurred. The Japanese would need a 3 or less to kill everyone and to retain Control of the Hut for the win. The Gurkhas needed a 12 or less to eliminate the Japanese. The Japanese did not rolled above 3 and died.

British win.


Review:

Nice little scenario. I liked it! ROAR has it (as of April 2021) at 36 British vs. 39 Japanese wins with an Excitement Rating of 6.82 (out of 9), which is very respectable and seems quite balanced. This is also my personal impression. My opponent liked this scenario so much that he rated it a straight 9. I think it is also well suited for tournaments.

It's attraction lies in both sides attacking and defending. Both sides go right into action. Both players will feel the drama of being hard pressed.

I believe that the initial British force has no chance to hold the Church, regardless of what they do. Once the Japanese are in there, it will be extremely difficult to root them out again.

One lesson learned for me in this one that it is nice for the Gurkhas to have the option to initiate HtH CC but are not required to do so unlike the Japanese. I used this distinction to my benefit twice in our game.

Of course, it is always necessary to keep the SSR in mind. Needless to say. We all know that. Everyone tells us. Which is the correct thing to do... That said, it is important to remember that by SSR Flames cannot exist in a Hut (and thus Huts cannot go up in a Blaze). We just noticed in time after a some Flames turned into a Blaze, which would have changed the course of the game significantly. Point Blank Fire or TBPF or Firelanes or HE effects provide a number of causes that could normally set a Hut aflame. Normally, but not here due to SSR1 last sentence.


von Marwitz

 

[PVeenstra]

Man, this is a cool AAR. It's like being there! Both at the board and in the jungle ) Would be nice indeed to play at Grenadier (already looking forward to it)
Peter

 

[Andrew Rogers]

I was dimly aware of the 76mm / 81mm MTR issue. However, as J150 is pretty new (Journal 10), I figured that the designers were aware of it. I was reinforced in this belief in that the scenario card shows a 76mm counter art providing two separate min/max ranges for the 76mm MTR. I think - but I might well be mistaken - that this was not the case with the original 'old' 76mm MTR counter.

Anyway, not a big difference. I play the IIFT (with CTC) per standard, so we resolved hits with the MTR not on the 12 but on the 14 FP Column. That said, there were not many of them, because it seems to be part of the design that the at-start British force will get pretty much annihilated before the Gurkha reinforcements come in attempting to turn the tide.

von Marwitz

Hi. I was the designer of this scenario. I was completely unaware of the difference until relatively recently. Further, the scenario was actually designed and playtested a number of years prior to publication in Journal 10. Adjusting for the difference would be relatively simple. My preference would be to upgrade a couple of first line Japanese squads to elite.

 

[Andrew Rogers]

PS Thank you for the excellent AAR

 

[von Marwitz]

Hi. I was the designer of this scenario. I was completely unaware of the difference until relatively recently. Further, the scenario was actually designed and playtested a number of years prior to publication in Journal 10. Adjusting for the difference would be relatively simple. My preference would be to upgrade a couple of first line Japanese squads to elite.

We both enjoyed your design a lot and believe it is also well suited for tournament play.

I think that the big MTR (regardless whether of 76mm or 81mm caliber) won't have a long lifespan. And it has a minimum range of 3 hexes which also lessens its target area. The Japanese are likely to overrun it in the opening phase of the scenario and are then well advised to destroy it rather than having it recaptured by the British (even if merely manned by an unqualified crew).

That said, upgrading a couple of 447s to 448s to make good for the MTR's ATT 8FP vs. 6FP shots (on the IFT) could probably be a bit too much IMHO.

von Marwitz

 

[Andrew Rogers]

We both enjoyed your design a lot and believe it is also well suited for tournament play.

I think that the big MTR (regardless whether of 76mm or 81mm caliber) won't have a long lifespan. And it has a minimum range of 3 hexes which also lessens its target area. The Japanese are likely to overrun it in the opening phase of the scenario and are then well advised to destroy it rather than having it recaptured by the British (even if merely manned by an unqualified crew).

That said, upgrading a couple of 447s to 448s to make good for the MTR's ATT 8FP vs. 6FP shots (on the IFT) could probably be a bit too much IMHO.

von Marwitz

Having not played this scenario for many many years, I would defer to your more recent experience ... an 81mm MTR it is ...

 

[Tuomo]

Having not played this scenario for many many years, I would defer to your more recent experience ... an 81mm MTR it is ...

If my opponent showed me a scenario card with a 76mm MTR and started talking about how it should really be 81mm, I'd look for another opponent. Sorry. Absent errata, you play what's on the card.

 

[Actionjick]

If my opponent showed me a scenario card with a 76mm MTR and started talking about how it should really be 81mm, I'd look for another opponent. Sorry. Absent errata, you play what's on the card.

Agreed. Or switch to it but give the other side the Balance.

 

[pwashington]

Quick question: Does control of the building (church) in 42oI3 at game end count towards one of the 2 buildings required in the VCs?

 

[von Marwitz]

Quick question: Does control of the building (church) in 42oI3 at game end count towards one of the 2 buildings required in the VCs?

Quick answer:

Yes.

The church is within three hexes of its own hex, within zero hexes more precisely.

von Marwitz