TomK
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My Bitter Ender 2018 Experience
On the Tuesday prior to the Bitter Ender Lindsey Murillo and I got together and played FF-4, Walk in the Woods from HoB. His Germans spanked my Soviets 33-5. This wasn’t exactly a confidence builder going in to the NC tourney.
Lindsey and I rode together and arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday and I set about trying to organize a multi-player game. After getting six people willing to play we set up G-1, Timoshenko’s Attack. Mike Rickman, Tim Deane, and Mike Johnston played the Soviets against me, Lindsey, and Lou (I forgot his last name). Lindsey faced Mike Rickman’s horde on board 22 and I faced Mike Johnston’s radio toting elite boys on board 10. Lou defended board 11 against the Soviet armor. We sent the AT assets to Lou but the Soviets managed to break through and win the battle, despite Lindsey’s troops doing well on our right flank.
On Friday morning the Grognard began. I played Tom Harper in FT 219, Koniev’s Finest. I never played Tom before but knew him by reputation. He is from the Raleigh area and is a good player. My Soviet armor attacked his Elephant supported Germans. I established a support by fire position on the right with SU-85s and IS-2ms and my maneuver element, consisting of the fast infantry mounted T-34/85s and SU-76’s, went left. An IS-2m managed to bag an Elephant and T-34/85s tackled some StuGs and Marders. I lost two SU-85s and an IS-2m but managed to sweep aside most resistance on the left, facilitating the victory. Great game versus a great opponent.
The second round found me facing Dan Stanhagans Germans in FrF 69, To Ashes. Dan is reputed to be an excellent player and proved it on the battlefield. This was one of those games where I felt I was losing until the end. I lost most of my British armor and both of my artillery pieces. However, a Bren Carrier brewed up in some woods that were critical to the German mission accomplishment. The fire spread into the woods and eventually forced the Germans to relocate or risk being burned alive. This, combined with some good shooting by a 9-1 directed MMG, barely stopped the German advance and resulted in a British victory. Great game Dan!
Saturday morning began my round three against Dave Stevens. Dave and I played way back in the early 90s when this event was called Winds of War. I always enjoy hanging out with Dave and he is a very personable and intelligent man. We played RPT 139, Mauled at Merdorp, an early war French-German scenario with me playing the French. Dave had to attack and control the majority of multi-hex buildings on one of the boards. His attacked didn’t start too well as he had to cross over a lot of open ground. Furthermore, his armor reserved drove into the range and LOS of my HiP French 75. This gun managed to kill three of his eight tanks before falling. Despite his “kill stack” being ineffective and his armor slowed, Dave carried on with the now nearly impossible mission of rooting the French from the buildings. This was made even more difficult due to the French possessing armor of their own, including three of the superb S-35s. He made some progress on my left flank he was never able to gain more than a toe hold in the village. It’s always a pleasure and a challenge to play Dave, and this time was no different.
Round four on Saturday evening placed me against Bill Cirillo. His reputation preceded him and I must admit was a bit intimidated. He turned out to be a great guy and I was able to relax. We played FT 190, The Land of Fire. My German supported Romanians were to attack his Soviets. Things started out badly for me as he gunned down many of my guys as they came on the map from the west. However, more of my troops entered from the south and made decent progress. This scenario was a grind but I managed to get things moving in the west will help from 105mm OBA. At one point a fire started in a key building and eventually made a big impact on the outcome. The Romanians cleared most of the Soviets from the eastern portion of the map around the lighthouse and were in the process of mopping up the collective farm when Bill offered his concession. This was a fantastic game against a gentleman and great player.
The final match was Sunday morning against Doug Sheppard in ASL 163, Stopped Cold. I met Doug last year at Bitter Ender and we did some drinking together, but we didn’t play as he was running the event. Doug randomly selected to play the Soviets with me being the Finns by default. I’d probably have selected the Soviets given the choice due to my preference for attacking. As things turned out we had to play the hand we were dealt. Doug had a horde of conscript infantry supported by six thin skinned tanks, including an OT-26 flame tank. His goal was to exit off of my map edge with 24+ EVP. I established my defense and awaited the attack. Doug refused a flank and launched a schwerepunkt along the east edge. Fire lanes and residual firepower broke a lot of the conscripts but killed few. The big killer of the game was the Soviet Comissar; he must have eliminated four or five squad equivalents. I managed to kill the flame tank with a MOL and another tank later on, though my MG bullets were ineffective against his armor. Doug launched a human wave against my green Finns on my right flank and make good progress. However, I had been repositioning troops to that flank since the beginning and they arrived just in the nick of time. On turn six of seven Doug went “balls to the wall” with his tanks, aiming for an exit area. Two were immobilized by AT mines, another had earlier bogged in wire, and another was destroyed by a MOL. With his armor all but neutralized and his infantry stalled in a wood line against Finnish infantry Doug offered his concession. What a great game against a great player.
All in all I played six scenarios against some wonderful players. I had never played any of the scenarios in the Grognard event and had only played Dave in the past. Ray Wolosyn (sp?) and Lock did a great job smoothly running the event and adjudicated many issues. My Bitter Ender experience was extremely positive and I highly recommend it to any who can make it next year.
On the Tuesday prior to the Bitter Ender Lindsey Murillo and I got together and played FF-4, Walk in the Woods from HoB. His Germans spanked my Soviets 33-5. This wasn’t exactly a confidence builder going in to the NC tourney.
Lindsey and I rode together and arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday and I set about trying to organize a multi-player game. After getting six people willing to play we set up G-1, Timoshenko’s Attack. Mike Rickman, Tim Deane, and Mike Johnston played the Soviets against me, Lindsey, and Lou (I forgot his last name). Lindsey faced Mike Rickman’s horde on board 22 and I faced Mike Johnston’s radio toting elite boys on board 10. Lou defended board 11 against the Soviet armor. We sent the AT assets to Lou but the Soviets managed to break through and win the battle, despite Lindsey’s troops doing well on our right flank.
On Friday morning the Grognard began. I played Tom Harper in FT 219, Koniev’s Finest. I never played Tom before but knew him by reputation. He is from the Raleigh area and is a good player. My Soviet armor attacked his Elephant supported Germans. I established a support by fire position on the right with SU-85s and IS-2ms and my maneuver element, consisting of the fast infantry mounted T-34/85s and SU-76’s, went left. An IS-2m managed to bag an Elephant and T-34/85s tackled some StuGs and Marders. I lost two SU-85s and an IS-2m but managed to sweep aside most resistance on the left, facilitating the victory. Great game versus a great opponent.
The second round found me facing Dan Stanhagans Germans in FrF 69, To Ashes. Dan is reputed to be an excellent player and proved it on the battlefield. This was one of those games where I felt I was losing until the end. I lost most of my British armor and both of my artillery pieces. However, a Bren Carrier brewed up in some woods that were critical to the German mission accomplishment. The fire spread into the woods and eventually forced the Germans to relocate or risk being burned alive. This, combined with some good shooting by a 9-1 directed MMG, barely stopped the German advance and resulted in a British victory. Great game Dan!
Saturday morning began my round three against Dave Stevens. Dave and I played way back in the early 90s when this event was called Winds of War. I always enjoy hanging out with Dave and he is a very personable and intelligent man. We played RPT 139, Mauled at Merdorp, an early war French-German scenario with me playing the French. Dave had to attack and control the majority of multi-hex buildings on one of the boards. His attacked didn’t start too well as he had to cross over a lot of open ground. Furthermore, his armor reserved drove into the range and LOS of my HiP French 75. This gun managed to kill three of his eight tanks before falling. Despite his “kill stack” being ineffective and his armor slowed, Dave carried on with the now nearly impossible mission of rooting the French from the buildings. This was made even more difficult due to the French possessing armor of their own, including three of the superb S-35s. He made some progress on my left flank he was never able to gain more than a toe hold in the village. It’s always a pleasure and a challenge to play Dave, and this time was no different.
Round four on Saturday evening placed me against Bill Cirillo. His reputation preceded him and I must admit was a bit intimidated. He turned out to be a great guy and I was able to relax. We played FT 190, The Land of Fire. My German supported Romanians were to attack his Soviets. Things started out badly for me as he gunned down many of my guys as they came on the map from the west. However, more of my troops entered from the south and made decent progress. This scenario was a grind but I managed to get things moving in the west will help from 105mm OBA. At one point a fire started in a key building and eventually made a big impact on the outcome. The Romanians cleared most of the Soviets from the eastern portion of the map around the lighthouse and were in the process of mopping up the collective farm when Bill offered his concession. This was a fantastic game against a gentleman and great player.
The final match was Sunday morning against Doug Sheppard in ASL 163, Stopped Cold. I met Doug last year at Bitter Ender and we did some drinking together, but we didn’t play as he was running the event. Doug randomly selected to play the Soviets with me being the Finns by default. I’d probably have selected the Soviets given the choice due to my preference for attacking. As things turned out we had to play the hand we were dealt. Doug had a horde of conscript infantry supported by six thin skinned tanks, including an OT-26 flame tank. His goal was to exit off of my map edge with 24+ EVP. I established my defense and awaited the attack. Doug refused a flank and launched a schwerepunkt along the east edge. Fire lanes and residual firepower broke a lot of the conscripts but killed few. The big killer of the game was the Soviet Comissar; he must have eliminated four or five squad equivalents. I managed to kill the flame tank with a MOL and another tank later on, though my MG bullets were ineffective against his armor. Doug launched a human wave against my green Finns on my right flank and make good progress. However, I had been repositioning troops to that flank since the beginning and they arrived just in the nick of time. On turn six of seven Doug went “balls to the wall” with his tanks, aiming for an exit area. Two were immobilized by AT mines, another had earlier bogged in wire, and another was destroyed by a MOL. With his armor all but neutralized and his infantry stalled in a wood line against Finnish infantry Doug offered his concession. What a great game against a great player.
All in all I played six scenarios against some wonderful players. I had never played any of the scenarios in the Grognard event and had only played Dave in the past. Ray Wolosyn (sp?) and Lock did a great job smoothly running the event and adjudicated many issues. My Bitter Ender experience was extremely positive and I highly recommend it to any who can make it next year.
