Mission #6 - A Coy/RCR Campaign, Sicily to Ortona, Italy, 1943

[ChappyNS]

Welcome to Mission #6 of my SASL Campaign! Missions #1-5 were all successful for the Canadians. They began by eliminating the shocked Italians from the Pachino airfield in southern Sicily, then cleared the road of Germans for the attack on Valguernera, secured the hill feature on the way to Nissoria, then captured the high feature dominating the town of Regalbuto, and most recently cleared the town of Motta in a night operation. For the first time, this next mission will be against the same enemy unit: 3rd Fallschirmjaeger.

This campaign follows the historical path of A Coy, Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) from its landing at Pachino, Sicily, to the bloody streets of “Little Stalingrad” at Ortona, Italy in 1943.

At this point I would like to again thank and give credit to Ahriman667 who put a lot of effort into the research, design and play-testing of this campaign. It is solely his campaign - I have just “borrowed” it. Thanks Ahriman667!

The overall campaign structure for the Canadians are as follows:

Unit: A Coy/RCR/1 CIB

Composition: [US# 38/26] Leader x3, 4-5-7 x9, 2-4-7, 1-2-7 x3, LMG x4, 51mm MTR x3, PIAT x3 (note that eight of the 4-5-7 are now elite)

• On OFFENCE add 1-2-7x1, MMGx1 [US# 40/28]
• On DEFENCE add 1-2-7x1, HMGx1 [US# 40/28]

ELR: 4

Command structure:

Maj R.G. Liddell (A Coy Cmd, 9-1)

Capt Dillon (A Coy 2IC, 8-1)

Capt M.C.D. Bowman (3 Pl Cmd, 8-1)

** Sgt Chapman (8-0)

**Note: I am additionally using the “Personal Leader Optional Rules” (I think originally found in basic Squad Leader) and so I have added my own personal 7-0 leader to the fray. He gets promoted by securing more elan points (positive actions) than cowardice points (negative actions). After mission #3 he was promoted to sergeant, 8-0.

On a personal note, I used to be an officer with the RCR so this campaign holds high interest for me. Additionally, as a student and teacher of military history, I have also visited Sicily and Ortona, in part to help get a better grasp of what our guys went through. Previously in my career, I actually met Captain Dillon (see above), who at the time was serving as our honorary Colonel of the Regiment, and who would be one of the few original regimental officers to survive the war.

If you wish to read more about the Canadians in Sicily/Italy, I highly recommend Mark Zuehlke’s four books.

I hope you enjoy my ramblings!

​

 

[dlazov]

Mark do you have the new ASL Personal Leader rules? I believe they were updated for ASL in an Annual.

 

[ChappyNS]

Mark do you have the new ASL Personal Leader rules? I believe they were updated for ASL in an Annual.

I have "a" copy of the rules....they may be the exact ones that appeared with original SL...I can send you a copy

 

[dlazov]

I can send you what I have as well.

Three diff copies, SL, ASL and another ASL one some one created.

 

[ChappyNS]

I can send you what I have as well.

Three diff copies, SL, ASL and another ASL one some one created.

Ahhhh so you don't need them....I think I am good with the ones I have.....but if you would like to forward the most recent one that would be awesome

 

[ChappyNS]

Mission #6 - Hills of San Marco​

Where: San Marco, Italy

When: 04 October, 1943

Mission Type: Pockets (2)

Enemy: Germans; specifically elements of 3 Fallschirmjaeger Regiment/1st Parachute Div

Historical Narrative: The commander of 1 CIB ordered the RCR to conduct an attack on San Marco, which was on the brigade line of advance. The plan of attack would see a two-company advance (C and B Coy) with A and D Coy following. Reminiscent of a World War I attack, it would be preceded by a rolling barrage400m wide with a lift every 5 minutes, 11 lifts in total. At 1400 hours on the 4th, the attack commenced, however due to the lengthy approach march to the line of departure by the reserve companies, the CO had cancelled the fire mission intending to recommence in 30 minutes. Unfortunately the runners were unable to reach the two forward companies because of the dense woods and so B Coy mistakenly began its advance without the protective artillery screen.

Despite this unfortunate incident the assault began well until the lead troops began to ascend the slopes below the village. Here they were met with withering fire which stopped B Coy in its tracks and also pinned down C Coy. The CO ordered the forward companies to form a fire base while A Coy would be sent around to outflank the enemy. They had hardly commenced their manoeuvre when they were engulfed in fire.

SETUP AND CONSIDERATION

The special setup instructions for this mission is to roll on the hills column. I randomly rolled the larger board 5a for the first board. The problem with this is that because it is wider, normal sized boards will not butt up to it when placed parallel to it (at least I couldn't make it happen). Instead I rolled for two additional boards (I was only supposed to roll one) and place them perpendicular to board 5a, then cropping them to a better size. This worked out well. There is also one overlay on each board, although only one will probably come into play. So here are boards 5a, 18 and 50:

​

North is to the right. FBE is east for this battle (at bottom) and EBE is west. The weather conditions are moist (EC -1) and there is a mild breeze from the southeast. This is classic hilly Italian countryside. It is October and therefore there is no wheat/grain, but orchards are still in effect. There are two small villages, and all of the buildings are wooden and first level. Other than that, for vegetation there are scattered woods, orchards and brush. Two long gullies/wadis appear on board 5a.

There are no VPOs but there are three pockets of suspected German forces as follows:

​

Although it looks like two clusters of S? counters, there are really three. One group occupies the southernmost village and straddles the main road from the FBE and running southwest. The other two groups of S? clusters occupy the main east-west ridge. Their activation number is fairly high at "4". The enemy also has a higher RE, their SAN is much higher (6 for Ger, 2 for Cda) and the Germans have boobytraps, level A, meaning task checks can be dangerous. There are 23 x S? counters, so the possible game end is on turn #8. Both sides get Casualty VPs, and the ENEMY gets VPs for each unit and/or S? remaining on board at game end. The Canadians have to be fast and furious.

The Canadian setup is shown below:



2 Pl is on the left and they will take the village. They also have two of the three PIATs since some of the targets in their objective are houses. Sgt Chapman has the support group. Although they are currently co-located with 2 Pl, in effect they will be providing the firebase for 1 Pl attacking the ridge. 1 Pl has the centre, while 3 Pl will be flanking the ENEMY to the right (see below)

​

 

[Honosbinda]

These missions aren't so easy to win consecutively over and over as you indicate you've been accomplishing; it's not at all unlikely to run into dire situations that can't be overcome!

Do you find you've been lucky with these sessions? Or do you 'have some skills' ala Liam Neeson.... ?

In this one, you'll need to have some luck if you must be fast and furious about this and not run into something that can't be handled in a turn or two!

 

[dlazov]

Mark,

For setting up the Xa/Xb boards in VASL did you use the special Null board thing? There is some instructions in a text file and that 'should' alleviate the board setup issue.

 

[Ahriman667]

Interesting map setup. Plenty of covered approaches to get into the thick of things.

 

[ChappyNS]

Mark,

For setting up the Xa/Xb boards in VASL did you use the special Null board thing? There is some instructions in a text file and that 'should' alleviate the board setup issue.

No idea what you are talking about lol. I just made it work a different way, which helped scramble the boards/terrain up a little better actually.

 

[ChappyNS]

Interesting map setup. Plenty of covered approaches to get into the thick of things.

exactly what I like!

 

[ChappyNS]

These missions aren't so easy to win consecutively over and over as you indicate you've been accomplishing; it's not at all unlikely to run into dire situations that can't be overcome!

Do you find you've been lucky with these sessions? Or do you 'have some skills' ala Liam Neeson.... ?

In this one, you'll need to have some luck if you must be fast and furious about this and not run into something that can't be handled in a turn or two!

Hi honosbinda! All I can say is that it is ASL - sometimes I have been lucky and sometimes I have been unlucky. In the five AARs that I have published, I have rolled more ENEMY RE's and snipers than FRIENDLY (yes I understand that on the defence the ENEMY, in general, has a higher SAN, but in the 5 battles I have only rolled one successful Canadian sniper...grrr). BUT, I also believe in making my own luck so here are some random tidbits to hopefully help somebody when playing SASL

1. Know your objective - sounds simple. But if I have to secure three VPOs and I can only really take two of them, then I am not going going to bother with the third. Take the victory and carry on. (see my mission #3 where I did just that). Mission first!!

2. Only activate the S? that need to be activated! This is so key. You will note that with most of my battles I have left S? untouched at game end. "Pockets" is one exception because in the S? are the objective. But otherwise, why not move around S? if you can, instead of activating them? Why go after S? in depth if you don't have to? Leave them alone unless you need them to be gone.

3. Set up a firebase and get as close as you can - Put your mortars and MGs at longer ranges in a firebase(s) where they can inflict damage or smoke out the ENEMY. Make sure you assign a leader so that they have a better chance of staying in command. While you do that, get your assaulting force(s) as close to the S? as possible so that they only activate at the last possible moment. Your approach route here is key. I know that for a German force (table G1), between 7 and 8 hexes away, they will activate when FRIENDLY forces are in LOS and have a final IFT DRM of less than or equal to -1. Therefore, I know I can move through woods using non-assault movement (with a 0 IFT DRM) at 7-8 hexes range with no threat of activation. Use your cover and get close with your assault troops. Maintain the initiative.

4. Concentrate - there are times when you have to split up your force (due to geography and limited time) but other than that - concentrate! There are exceptions, but you need your leaders to umbrella their command radius on top of as many soldiers as you can or else panic is going to possibly unravel your plans. And of course, concentration also means firepower.

5. Reveal an ENEMY position "slowly" - if you have the luxury of time, divide an enemy location with multiple S? into chunks. Attack an edge where only the S? on that particular edge can see you and activate. In this fashion you are activating only small amounts of S? and not all of them at once. Use smoke to aid you in this endeavour. Then progress through the ENEMY position, again activating one or two S? instead of five or six.

6. Maneuver - when the ENEMY is in HOLD attitude, he isn't moving very much at all. Seek flanking maneuvers. Look for encirclement opportunities with all of its penalties to the ENEMY (see mission #3). Move, move, move. You have the initiative so use it.

7. Ambush - when the ENEMY is in advance attitude, there is some predictability in their S? movement - they generally go from EBE to FBE in a fairly straight line until activated. So plan accordingly. Set up ambushes where you know he will be moving in the open. Have MGs ready to place fire lanes so that you can impede their advance, etc etc. And when a S? counter is activated in a hex as per S3.321, it immediately stops moving BUT still suffers -2 for FFMO/FFNAM. Take advantage of that.

All of this being said, RE's can be the great equalizer. Just imagine during the "Pockets" mission if you roll an ENEMY RE where suddenly they have nine MMC and a couple of tanks appear? All of those forces allow VPs just by being in existence at game end, even if they don't get a chance to get into the mix of things.

When the enemy is in HOLD attitude, I look at SASL as being classic blitzkrieg without the tanks and planes. Concentrate, hit him where he is weak, keep moving, penetrate and isolate if you can.

There are times when it comes down to the luck of the die roll, the key is to influence that die roll as much as you can, and to have a contingency plan(s) in case things go afoul.

Hope this helps!!

 

[dlazov]

No idea what you are talking about lol. I just made it work a different way, which helped scramble the boards/terrain up a little better actually.

There used to be a text file to use with bdNull and the funky boards but I can't find it.

 

[dlazov]

It's something like this:

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/j161-riding-to-the-rescue-vasl-map-setup.129286/#post-1853826

A few years ago (6 to 8) there used to be a text file describing exactly how to use bdNull and bdNulv but I can't find it anymore and it's not on the board github page.

 

[stuh42asl]

Welcome to Mission #6 of my SASL Campaign! Missions #1-5 were all successful for the Canadians. They began by eliminating the shocked Italians from the Pachino airfield in southern Sicily, then cleared the road of Germans for the attack on Valguernera, secured the hill feature on the way to Nissoria, then captured the high feature dominating the town of Regalbuto, and most recently cleared the town of Motta in a night operation. For the first time, this next mission will be against the same enemy unit: 3rd Fallschirmjaeger.

This campaign follows the historical path of A Coy, Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) from its landing at Pachino, Sicily, to the bloody streets of “Little Stalingrad” at Ortona, Italy in 1943.

At this point I would like to again thank and give credit to Ahriman667 who put a lot of effort into the research, design and play-testing of this campaign. It is solely his campaign - I have just “borrowed” it. Thanks Ahriman667!

The overall campaign structure for the Canadians are as follows:

Unit: A Coy/RCR/1 CIB

Composition: [US# 38/26] Leader x3, 4-5-7 x9, 2-4-7, 1-2-7 x3, LMG x4, 51mm MTR x3, PIAT x3 (note that eight of the 4-5-7 are now elite)

• On OFFENCE add 1-2-7x1, MMGx1 [US# 40/28]
• On DEFENCE add 1-2-7x1, HMGx1 [US# 40/28]

ELR: 4

Command structure:

Maj R.G. Liddell (A Coy Cmd, 9-1)

Capt Dillon (A Coy 2IC, 8-1)

Capt M.C.D. Bowman (3 Pl Cmd, 8-1)

** Sgt Chapman (8-0)

**Note: I am additionally using the “Personal Leader Optional Rules” (I think originally found in basic Squad Leader) and so I have added my own personal 7-0 leader to the fray. He gets promoted by securing more elan points (positive actions) than cowardice points (negative actions). After mission #3 he was promoted to sergeant, 8-0.

On a personal note, I used to be an officer with the RCR so this campaign holds high interest for me. Additionally, as a student and teacher of military history, I have also visited Sicily and Ortona, in part to help get a better grasp of what our guys went through. Previously in my career, I actually met Captain Dillon (see above), who at the time was serving as our honorary Colonel of the Regiment, and who would be one of the few original regimental officers to survive the war.

If you wish to read more about the Canadians in Sicily/Italy, I highly recommend Mark Zuehlke’s four books.

I hope you enjoy my ramblings!

View attachment 12928​

Cpl Shane Newman, served 27 years in the RCA with the Airdefence and then in the Logistics branch, thank you for your service...

 

[ChappyNS]

Cpl Shane Newman, served 27 years in the RCA with the Airdefence and then in the Logistics branch, thank you for your service...

Thank you Shane and well done to you as well! Air defence eh? Were you ever posted to Chatham, NB?

 

[Honosbinda]

Hi honosbinda! All I can say is that it is ASL - sometimes I have been lucky and sometimes I have been unlucky. In the five AARs that I have published, I have rolled more ENEMY RE's and snipers than FRIENDLY (yes I understand that on the defence the ENEMY, in general, has a higher SAN, but in the 5 battles I have only rolled one successful Canadian sniper...grrr). BUT, I also believe in making my own luck so here are some random tidbits to hopefully help somebody when playing SASL

1. Know your objective - sounds simple. But if I have to secure three VPOs and I can only really take two of them, then I am not going going to bother with the third. Take the victory and carry on. (see my mission #3 where I did just that). Mission first!!

2. Only activate the S? that need to be activated! This is so key. You will note that with most of my battles I have left S? untouched at game end. "Pockets" is one exception because in the S? are the objective. But otherwise, why not move around S? if you can, instead of activating them? Why go after S? in depth if you don't have to? Leave them alone unless you need them to be gone.

3. Set up a firebase and get as close as you can - Put your mortars and MGs at longer ranges in a firebase(s) where they can inflict damage or smoke out the ENEMY. Make sure you assign a leader so that they have a better chance of staying in command. While you do that, get your assaulting force(s) as close to the S? as possible so that they only activate at the last possible moment. Your approach route here is key. I know that for a German force (table G1), between 7 and 8 hexes away, they will activate when FRIENDLY forces are in LOS and have a final IFT DRM of less than or equal to -1. Therefore, I know I can move through woods using non-assault movement (with a 0 IFT DRM) at 7-8 hexes range with no threat of activation. Use your cover and get close with your assault troops. Maintain the initiative.

4. Concentrate - there are times when you have to split up your force (due to geography and limited time) but other than that - concentrate! There are exceptions, but you need your leaders to umbrella their command radius on top of as many soldiers as you can or else panic is going to possibly unravel your plans. And of course, concentration also means firepower.

5. Reveal an ENEMY position "slowly" - if you have the luxury of time, divide an enemy location with multiple S? into chunks. Attack an edge where only the S? on that particular edge can see you and activate. In this fashion you are activating only small amounts of S? and not all of them at once. Use smoke to aid you in this endeavour. Then progress through the ENEMY position, again activating one or two S? instead of five or six.

6. Maneuver - when the ENEMY is in HOLD attitude, he isn't moving very much at all. Seek flanking maneuvers. Look for encirclement opportunities with all of its penalties to the ENEMY (see mission #3). Move, move, move. You have the initiative so use it.

7. Ambush - when the ENEMY is in advance attitude, there is some predictability in their S? movement - they generally go from EBE to FBE in a fairly straight line until activated. So plan accordingly. Set up ambushes where you know he will be moving in the open. Have MGs ready to place fire lanes so that you can impede their advance, etc etc. And when a S? counter is activated in a hex as per S3.321, it immediately stops moving BUT still suffers -2 for FFMO/FFNAM. Take advantage of that.

All of this being said, RE's can be the great equalizer. Just imagine during the "Pockets" mission if you roll an ENEMY RE where suddenly they have nine MMC and a couple of tanks appear? All of those forces allow VPs just by being in existence at game end, even if they don't get a chance to get into the mix of things.

When the enemy is in HOLD attitude, I look at SASL as being classic blitzkrieg without the tanks and planes. Concentrate, hit him where he is weak, keep moving, penetrate and isolate if you can.

There are times when it comes down to the luck of the die roll, the key is to influence that die roll as much as you can, and to have a contingency plan(s) in case things go afoul.

Hope this helps!!

Nicely articulated, and it's certainly informative for those unfamiliar with and/or new to SASL!

It's certainly true that bad luck can be mitigated by the measures you suggest -- in fact, such measures are useful when playing a 'real' ASL game against an opponent, particularly those pieces of advice that are not related to the characteristics of 'S?' counters.

Two items that are out of control are:

a) 'The luxury of time' and;
b) influencing the die roll when it comes to actual activations of the enemy.

Item a) can be hard to assess because many missions don't end at a set time. I think proper evaluation of this parameter can only come with experience.

Item b) is completely out of player control once it's time for that 'S?' to activate. The DRM cannot be manipulated by the player. A player can hope for a lot of net '7s' on the A1 table where the 'S?' just turns to poof, but...that ain't always going to happen, this I know!

Anyway, it was items a) and b) that drove my initial comment responding to your assessment that 'The Canadians have to be fast and furious.' This hints that you won't have the luxury of time and will have to rely on some decent activation failures...

I am looking forward to following this particular mission to see what further insights you'll share!

Thanks for your efforts!

cheers Marc

 

[stuh42asl]

Thank you Shane and well done to you as well! Air defence eh? Were you ever posted to Chatham, NB?

yes from 1990 to the day it closed in 98

 

[ChappyNS]

Nicely articulated, and it's certainly informative for those unfamiliar with and/or new to SASL!

It's certainly true that bad luck can be mitigated by the measures you suggest -- in fact, such measures are useful when playing a 'real' ASL game against an opponent, particularly those pieces of advice that are not related to the characteristics of 'S?' counters.

Two items that are out of control are:

a) 'The luxury of time' and;
b) influencing the die roll when it comes to actual activations of the enemy.

Item a) can be hard to assess because many missions don't end at a set time. I think proper evaluation of this parameter can only come with experience.

Item b) is completely out of player control once it's time for that 'S?' to activate. The DRM cannot be manipulated by the player. A player can hope for a lot of net '7s' on the A1 table where the 'S?' just turns to poof, but...that ain't always going to happen, this I know!

Anyway, it was items a) and b) that drove my initial comment responding to your assessment that 'The Canadians have to be fast and furious.' This hints that you won't have the luxury of time and will have to rely on some decent activation failures...

I am looking forward to following this particular mission to see what further insights you'll share!

Thanks for your efforts!

cheers Marc

Thanks Marc with a "c".....is there some French influence there?

Just to clarify:

For your item (a) I never plan on any extension to the turn count...if the mission says "Possible Game End" I play as if it's "Probable Game End". No gambling. And so with eight solid turns and 23 S? counters, my assessment means I will have to move fast considering some of my friendlies will take two whole turns just to come to grips with some of the enemy. Some of these missions I have had the luxury of time (meaning that I feel I have several turns that do not carry the priority of completing the mission on time), some I have not.

For your item (b), I completely agree that as a player you cannot manipulate the DRM, but what you can manipulate is just how many of those rolls you have to make in one turn and therefore how many chances of enemy being activated all at once.

Thanks for watching!

Mark with a "k"

 

[Honosbinda]

Yes, indeed! Limiting the sheer quantity of bad luck results is surely a good idea!

Again, moving fast and furious may preclude that; we'll see, as doing so doesn't correlate well with minimizing activations. I've no doubt you'll carefully balance the situation at hand -- look forward to seeing those 'set of skills' at work

My mother was Belgian and on top of that my Belgian Grandfather's name was Marc, may they both rest in peace. So, the influence is Frankish, if not 100% French