Operation Varsity Trilogy from Dispatches from the Bunker

[mallexen]

Hi all,

OlFezz and I were playtesting a new "Pooch" Puccio scenario for the
new Dispatches. It was my first glider scenario, after 30+ years of
ASL play. In discussing the scenario afterwards, Pooch mentioned that
it was the end of his Operation Varsity scenario. The new one was
so much fun that OlFezz and I are going back to play Pooch's first
two scenarios in the series.

First up is DB093 Thunder from Heaven, from Dispatches #33. BIG scenario.
26 American paratrooper squads paradrop on Turn 1, 13 British glider squads
enter on Turn 3. Initial German forces are 10.5 squads + 3 light AA guns.
Wire and mines and a fortified building help the defense. Germs get
reinforcements on Turns 2-5, 6 squads + a Stug + 2 HTs, and also 2 random
platoons + transport/light AFVs, which enter on a random road hex on the
north or west or southwest edge. 9.5 turns. Pretty rules heavy, paradrop
(my first!), gliders (my second), RCLs, drift procedure to place random
smoke, wagons.

 

[mallexen]

Allies have 8.5 turns to control a bridge hex over a stream overlay (33M3) +
have no Germ good order MMCs within 10 hexes of 33M5 (west of river). Allies
pick drop points and glider ILHs prior to seeing German setup. Given the
randomness of the paradrop and the randomness of the Germ reinforcement forces
and entry areas, you really have to think and react on your feet.

I have the Allies. For my pre-game planning, I'm figuring on the 3 AA guns to
be defending the open ground on board 33 in front of the bridge. So my drop
points are primarily on board 43 (AA4, G5, V2, K2, Q1) with one on board 16
(AA9). For ILHs, I figured by turn 3 I'd have the paratroops clearing out
the board 43/33 seam, so I figured the gliders could safely land there. My
ILHs were 43U9, 33U8, 43V8, 43I10, 43J8, and 33Y8. I considered being more
agressive with the gliders and land them near the bridge, but I figured 3 AA
guns plus Germ infantry firing at gliders on the ground before unloading would
be too dangerous. Each glider lost would be about a platoon of stuff. Several
of these assumptions did not hold up.

The first assupmtion that was busted was that a Germ gun was at the board 33/43
seam in 33Q10. One assumption that held was the the paradrop was very scattered -
only 2 out of 6 sticks landed as intended. Only a handful drifted off-board,
and those that did were off board 33, so once they returned on-board, at least
they would be in the action right away. Only one unit landed in the river.

 

[mallexen]

Although several drifted all but on top of defenders, the DFire wasn't awful. My
landings were tough, though, leaving 337s all over the place. I also made the
mistake of deploying 2 squads in their sticks, not realizing how many would deploy
on landing. Overall the landing casualties were light, but it would take me quite
a while to organize this group.

 

[mallexen]

The scatter clearly busted another assumption: that by Turn 3 when the Brits landed,
the Germs would be cleared from the board edge. Not even close. The Amis that drifted
to board 16 were tasked with subduing the Germ platoon that setup there. The Amis
on the south of board 43 realized that the Germs in the Board 43 "Koresh Compound"
were dummies, so they were in force at the board seam. The Amis in the north of
board 43 were not enough to successfully clear the seam. They were slowed by the
Ami 9-2 wounding, but on the plus side, the forward Germ gun malf'd. Still, only
1 glider was damaged, with 2 HS lost plus the Brit HMG (malf'd, then X'd on a repair).

Now the Allies had the tough decision of how to split up their forces to rush the
bridge, clear out the board seam, and defend against the random reinforcements.
The board 33 village, built up with a couple overlays, was very channeling. A
stubborn 436 held up the attack for an entire turn, and also forced a 648 to FTR.
I made a mistake here by not sending a platoon over the river the spread out the
places I could advance from. I did not like all the board 43 open ground, plus
the river (by SSR), causes CX and TI when moving in.

By Turn 6, the Germs in the stone bldgs at the board seam were finally reduced,
but needing to be surrounded before that happened. Between the sniper and poor
SMC MCs, I had 5 wounded leaders limping around. On the plus side, by game end
I had 4 Allied heroes generated. More on the plus side, the Allied sniper killed
a gun crew and both Germ 9-1s. I had some forces on the north edge being
conservative but ready to advance over the open ground towards the bridge. The
village was cleared, but wire and mines had to be dealt with. The Stug parked
on the bridge, but malf'd its MA. The Germ reinforcements, nearly a company, had
coalesced in the north of Board 16. My Amis there were still weak, which made me
nervous.

By the time Turn 7 rolled around, we were in the endgame. Got a few smoke rounds
on the bridge defenders, busted a couple of them with snipers, and closed in.
DUring the Germ Turn 7, all 3 or 4 Ami MMC defending against the reinforcements
broke, all on FP attacks of 4 or less. Sigh. A couple Germ HTs rolled across
board 43 and now were within 10 hexes of 33M5. So with a turn and a half to go,
I had to send some forces back to kick them out, while maintaining the attack
on the bridge. My BAZ hit the Stug on the bridge, but could not kill it. Lined
up a 9-1 to help the BAZ hit the next turn, rolled an 11 to X. Still have a
couple PIATs and a DC to do the job, but could only advance on the bridge from
33M4; the lack of Allies on the east side of the river really hurt.

 

[mallexen]

Sent a platoon of paras at one of the Germ squads in the victory area, they all
broke. In the Germ Turn 8, this squad loaded onto a HT and drove off in motion
in the middle of the victory area; I'd have to chase it down. Meanwhile, two
more Germ squads moved into the victory area in 43Z8 and AA9. My turn 9 saw a
rush at them, with plenty of casualties, but I did have some units adjacent, so
there was a chance. I also got a couple stacks next to the motion HT, so there
was a chance there. I had a solid chance at the bridge, got a full platoon +
hero + 9-1 in 33M4, places a DC on the Stug, plus 2 PIATs adjacent. Only 2
Germ squads plus Stug MGs could final fire. (The Ami platoon that could not
reach the bridge spent several useless Fire Phases unable to suppress those
2 Germ squads, despite multiple solid 8 FP attacks.) Well, the 33M4 platoon
all broke or pinned under that DFire, so I could not advance to control the
bridge. So we never moved on to the other two tasks that I needed to accomplish,
which were probably longer shots than the bridge control.

Phew. Great fun, and excellent swirling battle. Kudos to OlFezz for the well
organized counter-attack, as well as resilient defense.

We'll be setting up Part II of the trilogy, DB109 LZ S, from Dispatches 37, soon.
A smaller battle, we'll swap sides and I'll take the defense.

 

[bendizoid]

Thanks for the cool AAR. I’ve found the gliders are rather resilient in other scenarios and usually land right on the victory area. They make truck wrecks for a little cover and there is a good chance at crew/passager survival.