- Joined
- Feb 4, 2003
- Messages
- 5,014
- Reaction score
- 4,846
- Location
- La Belle Province
- First name
- Michael
- Country
-
Here is a recap of my rounds at the New York State ASL Championship.
Round one: Mike McGrath (repeat opponent, 2018, 1991) and AP196 SILVER & BRONZE (new to me scenario). First line German infantry with 4 Hetzers, reinforced by second line infantry with 3 Stug3L coming from the other side, try for buildings and CVP vs mixed American infantry with 8 AFV.
Since there is a bit of disparity in our skill levels, I suggested to Mike that he figure out a handicap level and then we dice for sides. He agreed; he decided that G5 was appropriate. Steve rolled the dice for us and I received the attacking Germans. For the five points, Mike took a 347, BAZ44 and increased sniper. Mike set up a very forward defence, including a festung on the hill next to the "92". As well, the first wind change DR ended the falling snow and generated a breeze. Despite using a lot of half squads, Mike moved his American troops aggressively to keep my advances bottled up. This scenario has a lot of moving parts. I admit to being slightly overwhelmed. I conceded this game early to save us both time since I could see how it would end.
McGrath's setup:
Round two: John Merritt (repeat opponent, 2014) and SJ08 SHOJI SURPRISE (new to me scenario). Mixed Dutch infantry with 1 towed gun, 3 AFV, try for exit or huts vs first line infantry with 1 gun. We both bid for Dutch with a one point handicap. The dice gave the Japanese to me; I took away one Dutch LMG.
The key Japanese asset is the 37L AT gun. Since it cannot be HIP by SSR, I set it up in the middle of the board where it could fire straight, left or right. The Dutch entered in bulk on the Japanese right. The Dutch took a fair bit of damage early. After a couple of turns, the Dutch AFV moved to where the AT gun could fire at them. It took a lot of shots, but the gun knocked out two of them. I thought John would exit the third one to keep his VC options open, but he chose to keep it around and in the line of fire. The AT gun eliminated it, forcing John to go for the eight huts VC. The Dutch had some of the huts on the Japanese right. The Dutch spent the rest of the game trying unsuccessfully to cross the road for more huts.
Round three: Rob Loper (repeat opponent, 2022, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2012) and J241 ITS A BATTLEFIELD (new to me scenario). Elite German infantry with 7 AFV try for building hexes vs elite Canadian infantry with 2 17 pounder guns, reinforced by 3 AFV. We decided to dice for sides; the dice gave the Germans to me.
Rob’s defence of course had something on level one to intimidate the German advance. It could cover only the German right; obstructions protected the center and left. I sent the two best platoons in the center right with two Pz4 and one Pz5. The rest went up the center left. I loaded a 247, PSK and 8-0 onto the 250/1 halftrack after it entered. While most of my OB approached with caution, the halftrack zoomed down the left side to capture an ineligible building that I thought was eligible for the VC, and to have a PSK influence where the Canadian tanks entered. Amazingly, the halftrack did not find an AT gun. In turn four, I pushed harder to enter the village and started risking my tanks. A Pz4 was destroyed by a concealed PIAT. A Pz5 was destroyed by an AT gun in an orchard hex in the midst of the buildings. I had taken several building hexes at last. Unfortunately, time had gone by and it was 11 or 11:30. Both Rob and I did not want to stay up late, so we decided to throw dice to decide a winner. I won. I would like to try this one again with no time pressure. I spoke later with another player who went to 2 AM playing this one and then missed the following morning round.
Round four: Derek Pulhamus (repeat opponent, 2015) and J231 COOKING UP A STORM (new to me scenario and first time using my Sparrow Force map). First line Japanese infantry, reinforced by more infantry, try for building locations vs mixed infantry with dummies and a few foxholes, reinforced by a more infantry. I believe we diced for sides which give me the Aussie defenders.
I set up a forward-ish defence, but closer to the stream on the Aussie left than on the Aussie right. Derek was in hurry to get his Japanese troops across the stream, so he moved a number of leader led stacks. I managed to hurt one of them badly, including eliminating a leader. My fall back to the buildings did not go as well as I had hoped, but the center woods helped me get some units back to join the reinforcements. In the last turn, the Aussies still had two buildings and about four squads. The Japanese had about six squads and two crews. My troops decided to fail their MC, except for one squad in one building. A Japanese banzai into the last building meant the game went to the last CC phase; I needed to roll less than four to eliminate the Japanese in the building and retain control. I did not roll less than four.
Round five: Bruce Stevenson (repeat opponent, Oct 2023, 2019) and J234 BUCKLEY’S CHANCE (new to me scenario, again on the Sparrow Force map). Mixed Japanese infantry, reinforced by 2 AFV, try for exit vs mixed infantry with dummies, foxholes, reinforced by 2 carriers. We diced for sides, giving the Japanese to me.
Naturally, Bruce had a defence that stretched across the play area. I decided to push my Japanese troops up their right side with a token force including a MMG close to the center road to inhibit the movement of Aussies from one side to the other. The right side had paths that I hoped to use, as well as some open areas to push through. Bruce kept concealment on a lot of his units as the fell back to the exit area. The Japanese eliminated a couple of squads as they headed towards the exit area. One of my two tanks tried unsuccessfully to run the gauntlet. It was getting late and Bruce had managed to move quite a few troops to block the Japanese exit area, so I decided to concede. Chatting with others, I learned that perhaps the Japanese need to push fast straight up the middle.
Round six: Seth Semenza (repeat opponent, 2019) and J212 SHOULDER TO SHOULDER (new to me scenario). Mixed German infantry with 3 Stug try for 2 of 3 VC vs first line infantry with dummies and foxholes, reinforced by a meat chopper, then infantry with 3 AC. The three VC are: have more CVP than the Americans, exit 10 VP, control more multi-hex buildings than the Americans.
Seth and I chatted a bit on Saturday night after our rounds. We discovered that both of us planned to sleep at the hotel on Sunday night, so we both did not want to be matched with someone in a hurry to leave. We let Steve know that we would play the final round together. On Sunday morning, we talked about the scenarios for the sixth round. They were all kind of short, so Seth suggested looking in the other rounds. Thus we chose J212. We diced for sides, giving the German attackers to me.
I sent a small group with one Stug on the German left; the rest toward the right and middle right. In the early stages, the meat chopper and a 60mm mortar stymied the left group. My right force took the center hill and eliminated two squads for FtR. My right troops were approaching their first multi-hex buildings when the three armored cars came on and went into the German rear and also went Stug hunting. The Americans in that first building broke a number of Germans and an AC kept them DM. The meat chopper also moved into the German rear. For awhile, the Stugs just couldn’t hit the American AFV, usually because they were small and moving. One Stug broke its MA. One AC did the same. The AC also missed a few shots at the Stugs, including a hit with a dud round. I was on the verge of giving up because of the number of broken Germans, but I decided to do at least one more turn. During that turn, a Stug eliminated the meat chopper, kept rate, and then eliminated an armored car. A turn later, a PF eliminated another AC. My troops started rallying. I was ahead on CVP and I knew where the only remaining BAZ was. After eliminating the third AC, I decided to try exit two Stugs. When it became obvious that the two Stug would exit, Seth conceded.
I finished with three wins and three losses. I had a great time. I won a raffle prize of a game called Magnastorm. It seems a bit like Terraforming Mars. Thanks to Steve and Joe for their work to make this event happen.
Round one: Mike McGrath (repeat opponent, 2018, 1991) and AP196 SILVER & BRONZE (new to me scenario). First line German infantry with 4 Hetzers, reinforced by second line infantry with 3 Stug3L coming from the other side, try for buildings and CVP vs mixed American infantry with 8 AFV.
Since there is a bit of disparity in our skill levels, I suggested to Mike that he figure out a handicap level and then we dice for sides. He agreed; he decided that G5 was appropriate. Steve rolled the dice for us and I received the attacking Germans. For the five points, Mike took a 347, BAZ44 and increased sniper. Mike set up a very forward defence, including a festung on the hill next to the "92". As well, the first wind change DR ended the falling snow and generated a breeze. Despite using a lot of half squads, Mike moved his American troops aggressively to keep my advances bottled up. This scenario has a lot of moving parts. I admit to being slightly overwhelmed. I conceded this game early to save us both time since I could see how it would end.
McGrath's setup:
Round two: John Merritt (repeat opponent, 2014) and SJ08 SHOJI SURPRISE (new to me scenario). Mixed Dutch infantry with 1 towed gun, 3 AFV, try for exit or huts vs first line infantry with 1 gun. We both bid for Dutch with a one point handicap. The dice gave the Japanese to me; I took away one Dutch LMG.
The key Japanese asset is the 37L AT gun. Since it cannot be HIP by SSR, I set it up in the middle of the board where it could fire straight, left or right. The Dutch entered in bulk on the Japanese right. The Dutch took a fair bit of damage early. After a couple of turns, the Dutch AFV moved to where the AT gun could fire at them. It took a lot of shots, but the gun knocked out two of them. I thought John would exit the third one to keep his VC options open, but he chose to keep it around and in the line of fire. The AT gun eliminated it, forcing John to go for the eight huts VC. The Dutch had some of the huts on the Japanese right. The Dutch spent the rest of the game trying unsuccessfully to cross the road for more huts.
Round three: Rob Loper (repeat opponent, 2022, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2012) and J241 ITS A BATTLEFIELD (new to me scenario). Elite German infantry with 7 AFV try for building hexes vs elite Canadian infantry with 2 17 pounder guns, reinforced by 3 AFV. We decided to dice for sides; the dice gave the Germans to me.
Rob’s defence of course had something on level one to intimidate the German advance. It could cover only the German right; obstructions protected the center and left. I sent the two best platoons in the center right with two Pz4 and one Pz5. The rest went up the center left. I loaded a 247, PSK and 8-0 onto the 250/1 halftrack after it entered. While most of my OB approached with caution, the halftrack zoomed down the left side to capture an ineligible building that I thought was eligible for the VC, and to have a PSK influence where the Canadian tanks entered. Amazingly, the halftrack did not find an AT gun. In turn four, I pushed harder to enter the village and started risking my tanks. A Pz4 was destroyed by a concealed PIAT. A Pz5 was destroyed by an AT gun in an orchard hex in the midst of the buildings. I had taken several building hexes at last. Unfortunately, time had gone by and it was 11 or 11:30. Both Rob and I did not want to stay up late, so we decided to throw dice to decide a winner. I won. I would like to try this one again with no time pressure. I spoke later with another player who went to 2 AM playing this one and then missed the following morning round.
Round four: Derek Pulhamus (repeat opponent, 2015) and J231 COOKING UP A STORM (new to me scenario and first time using my Sparrow Force map). First line Japanese infantry, reinforced by more infantry, try for building locations vs mixed infantry with dummies and a few foxholes, reinforced by a more infantry. I believe we diced for sides which give me the Aussie defenders.
I set up a forward-ish defence, but closer to the stream on the Aussie left than on the Aussie right. Derek was in hurry to get his Japanese troops across the stream, so he moved a number of leader led stacks. I managed to hurt one of them badly, including eliminating a leader. My fall back to the buildings did not go as well as I had hoped, but the center woods helped me get some units back to join the reinforcements. In the last turn, the Aussies still had two buildings and about four squads. The Japanese had about six squads and two crews. My troops decided to fail their MC, except for one squad in one building. A Japanese banzai into the last building meant the game went to the last CC phase; I needed to roll less than four to eliminate the Japanese in the building and retain control. I did not roll less than four.
Round five: Bruce Stevenson (repeat opponent, Oct 2023, 2019) and J234 BUCKLEY’S CHANCE (new to me scenario, again on the Sparrow Force map). Mixed Japanese infantry, reinforced by 2 AFV, try for exit vs mixed infantry with dummies, foxholes, reinforced by 2 carriers. We diced for sides, giving the Japanese to me.
Naturally, Bruce had a defence that stretched across the play area. I decided to push my Japanese troops up their right side with a token force including a MMG close to the center road to inhibit the movement of Aussies from one side to the other. The right side had paths that I hoped to use, as well as some open areas to push through. Bruce kept concealment on a lot of his units as the fell back to the exit area. The Japanese eliminated a couple of squads as they headed towards the exit area. One of my two tanks tried unsuccessfully to run the gauntlet. It was getting late and Bruce had managed to move quite a few troops to block the Japanese exit area, so I decided to concede. Chatting with others, I learned that perhaps the Japanese need to push fast straight up the middle.
Round six: Seth Semenza (repeat opponent, 2019) and J212 SHOULDER TO SHOULDER (new to me scenario). Mixed German infantry with 3 Stug try for 2 of 3 VC vs first line infantry with dummies and foxholes, reinforced by a meat chopper, then infantry with 3 AC. The three VC are: have more CVP than the Americans, exit 10 VP, control more multi-hex buildings than the Americans.
Seth and I chatted a bit on Saturday night after our rounds. We discovered that both of us planned to sleep at the hotel on Sunday night, so we both did not want to be matched with someone in a hurry to leave. We let Steve know that we would play the final round together. On Sunday morning, we talked about the scenarios for the sixth round. They were all kind of short, so Seth suggested looking in the other rounds. Thus we chose J212. We diced for sides, giving the German attackers to me.
I sent a small group with one Stug on the German left; the rest toward the right and middle right. In the early stages, the meat chopper and a 60mm mortar stymied the left group. My right force took the center hill and eliminated two squads for FtR. My right troops were approaching their first multi-hex buildings when the three armored cars came on and went into the German rear and also went Stug hunting. The Americans in that first building broke a number of Germans and an AC kept them DM. The meat chopper also moved into the German rear. For awhile, the Stugs just couldn’t hit the American AFV, usually because they were small and moving. One Stug broke its MA. One AC did the same. The AC also missed a few shots at the Stugs, including a hit with a dud round. I was on the verge of giving up because of the number of broken Germans, but I decided to do at least one more turn. During that turn, a Stug eliminated the meat chopper, kept rate, and then eliminated an armored car. A turn later, a PF eliminated another AC. My troops started rallying. I was ahead on CVP and I knew where the only remaining BAZ was. After eliminating the third AC, I decided to try exit two Stugs. When it became obvious that the two Stug would exit, Seth conceded.
I finished with three wins and three losses. I had a great time. I won a raffle prize of a game called Magnastorm. It seems a bit like Terraforming Mars. Thanks to Steve and Joe for their work to make this event happen.
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