Ramcke's Redoubt

Bad Dice

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Sgt. Schmutz and I go at it again, this time in the streets of western France about two months post-D-Day.

SS and I had originally planned to do Storming the Factory next, but he'd called my attention to this one some time before that, and we both decided to give the Eastern Front a rest so that we could tackle this one. SS also gave me the option of sides; I liked either, but I'm a sucker for cool toys and the Americans have them in this one, so...

The Americans start off in a relatively constrictive section of boards b and d. This makes for some tough choices, setup-wise, and forces the clever American player to come up with some clever setup stratagems that will facilitate movement early on. If I ever become that clever person I will certainly share them with you, in the meantime I satisfied myself with setting up such that I had a lot of FP directly opposite the Germans, and hoped to use that FP in an effort to break or Pin anyone I might be so fortunate as to lay a glove on.

Recognizing that my goal is to eventually get into and own all the GL Locations of aJ1, I also picked out some likely avenues for movement on the first turn. I chose the gully on board b as that avenue for the cover it provides, and hoped that SS would not deploy any of the 16 Wire counters he is given as a means of impeding that progress.

Turn 1 therefore sees me start the game with a lot of Prep, directed mostly across the street at Concealed units. I break the squad holding an LMG which is also directed by the 10-2 leader, having fired on it with 2 6-6-7s who are holding between them an MMG and HMG and are directed by my 9-2. Break for the German squad, good news there. Otherwise...

Have to get the ball rolling, though. That building won't take itself. I maneuver up the Gully, and run afoul of a 4-4-7 that I thought was a Dummy stack. Turns out that it wasn't. 8 flat shot generates a 1MC that everyone (including the 9-1 leading the effort) fails. I should mention at this point that my luck with the Americans has always been substandard at best, when it comes to passing MC, TC, etc. This goes all the way back to my SL days, and the first time I used Amis against the Germans. 40 years on, and some things never change as this is not the first time the Americans will fold like well-used maps when confronted with an enemy armed with so much as a picture of a gun.

The Americans do manage to push forward, just the same; and the Turn 1 reinforcements are quick to join the leading edge of the battle. The M 12 posts itself at the fore, ready to dish out some 155mm loving to any German who might grow too attached to the building he is in. Why this is a good idea is obvious, why it's not becomes manifest during American Defensive Fire of Turn 1, when the Amis attempt to dislodge some stubborn Germans in building and roll a '5' for the shot. I'll point out here that '5' is the German SAN, and that in this case the Sniper Activates on a '1' and guess who he picks out as the target? Cool Toy #1 (the M 12) lasts less than a full Turn, as the Sniper kills the crew and forces the GMC to Recall. Sigh...

Cool Toy #2 (a FT) rolls cars on another shot and goes the way of the GMC in the same DFF. In the south, the Germans show an 8-0, a 6-6-7 holding a BAZ, and a 6-6-6 a picture of a gun and say Boo! really loud, breaking all three units. My advance is going to go nowhere at top speed with dice like this.

Turn 2 brings better news, as I manage to keep the 10-2 and his FG suppressed. I Rally fairly quickly as well, and maneuver myself to put the Germans on their back foot in a couple of places, while also bringing pressure to bear in the south as I maneuver two MMG stacks forward. One of them breaks a 2-3-8 HS. German ? is good enough to ward off American Prep, but the Amis are closing and one of the big problems for the Germans in this one begins to make itself manifest.

The defenders start out with 14 squads ( 9 5-4-8s and 5 4-4-7s), the attackers start out with 25 squads (6-6-7s and 6-6-6s). That's a lot of attackers, and the defenders can be over a barrel quickly if the attackers break more than a few defenders. The Germans can also be put in a bad way if they start to take casualties, something that happens in the CCPh of American Turn 2 when a 6-6-6 Advances into a hex containing a 4-4-7 and Ambushes it. I elect to go HTH, and drop the German squad before it can attack back.

This is significant not only because I win a CC at no cost to myself, but because it also tilts an already-delicate numbers situation in my favor. Before the CC I had 25 squads to SS' 14. Now I have 25 to his 13, and I only need to drop another before I have a ratio of 2:1 in squads over him. Put another way, if we were to trade even for the rest of the game, I'd still come out 12 squads ahead and he'd have nobody (except for two Guns and a dug-in AFV).

I should point out too that the Amis Rally pretty quickly, and are back in the fight with gratifying (or disturbing, depending on your point of view) alacrity. The platoon that was put down in the south comes roaring back and breaks (for an ELR) the Germans holding the MMG. I should mention as well that Ami Assault Fire is a beautiful thing.

So there we are at the end of Turn 2. The attached images illustrate where each side stands. The Americans must put pressure on the Germans and force a penetration of their lines in the next couple of Turns, something they can do if the Germans will oblige and break (or if nothing else, Pin) in the next Turn or so.

If they do not, and/or if they inflict a lot more breaks (or CR, or worse) on the Americans, it's going to be a long day for the good guys. Stay tuned, this one's just getting started.


BD
 

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Brian W

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I do not believe your units in Crest status are legally placed. See B20.9 first sentence (cannot gain Crest in a Bridge hex) and B20.91, second to last sentence (cannot have the middle section of a crest counter point to a hexside that a depression crosses).
 

Bad Dice

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SS and I continue to fight it out in the streets of France.

The Americans grind forward, but the Germans are mounting an effective defense and are keeping the American advance in check. The Germans are paying a price, however. My guys have proven to be about as stalwart as you might expect from 6-morale troops, but in terms of actual losses the Germans are taking it on the chin. In four separate CC matches I have won all of them, taking down 3.5 German squads while losing only one of my own. Like First to Strike, this scenario is a numbers game. The Germans start with 14 squads, the Americans with 25, which gives them a numbers advantage of better than 1.5 to 1. Put another way, if SS and I were to trade even squad for squad, I'd still have 11 squads left at the end of the scenario and he would have nobody. Losing 3.5 squads, when your opponent loses only one, is therefore a big deal. I now outnumber him by better than 2:1, and I started the scenario with better FP and range than any of his guys.

Dame Fortune has also not been kind to my opponent. The screenie on board b will show you my M8, two hexes away from a burning wreck. That burning wreck was his dug-in tank, which rolled a 10 on its second shot, and a 9 for the Intensive Fire shot it took thereafter. Miss, both times; on a couple of rolls which, had he rolled average, would have hit. The armor on my Greyhound isn't that great, a hit from his 47 would have killed on a 6 or less, and Shocked or Immobilized on a 7. Average dice, in other words; and if I'd known the tank was there I wouldn't have offered up my Greyhound, but then that's why they call it HIP, yes? Anyway, not only does his beute panzer fail to score, my plucky little AC pulls out snakes on the AFPh shot and brews up the tank.

Dame Fortune has likewise been unkind to SS in other regards. His 37L flak gun failed twice against an adjacent target; then the crew was chased off by some more AFPh fire from the squads it was attempting to kill. I was frankly worried about both the tank and the flak gun, they're capable of wrecking all of my armor; now that they're both put down I have only the 75* infantry gun to trouble me, and since I've come through the encounters with the tank and the flak piece more or less unscathed in terms of vehicular casualties, I have less to worry about from the IG, which I suspect is holed up inside the victory building, on the ground level.

I've also been able to keep his best leader from doing anything useful, like direct fire; while my best leader has been able to direct a couple of effective attacks via the HMG/MMG kill-stack he's part of. That, and the aforementioned wealth of GO units I still control make me a happy man.

The game's not over though. SS may have suffered for his stalwart defense, but he's managed to slow the Ami advance to a veritable crawl. In 4 turns I've advanced not more than eight hexes, tops; and less than that where it matters most, the victory building. If he can keep me out of there, and retain at least one GO unit on the ground level, it doesn't matter how many squads I have at the end of the game. He's bled for his stolidity, but if he keeps me from controlling the ground levels of the victory building it'll have been worth the cost.

It also means that I'll have to be more aggressive regarding the attack. I'll be honest, I'm not good on the attack. I'm either too timid, or too aggressive, and I never seem to find the right balance of discretion and ardor to successfully, consistently pull off a well-executed attack. Too, the balance of this attack will have to happen along a road which SS' guys have both great view of, and can dump sufficient FP onto. Remember, these are American units; show them a picture of a gun and that can be enough to break them.

I'm in good shape, but if SS gets hot in the next turn it could go south for me in a big hurry. Attached are screenies of the situation, at the end of Turn 4.


BD
 

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Bad Dice

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We're back, continuing to slug it out in the streets of France. When last we left, the American player (me) was sweating out the big push to get inside or at the victory building. It's a sign of how badly things are going for your opponent when you can announce that the attack you were so concerned about goes off better than you had anticipated, which is what happened.

I'd decided to move all the infantry first, so as to provide maximum opportunities to draw DFF and leave my vehicles free to conduct OVR as they might see fit. SS showed excellent fire discipline, and did in fact wait for a couple of vehicles to move before shooting. The dice were not with him, however, and in both cases the would-be PF checks I was dreading came up '6' each time, not only Pinning the units making the PF attempt, but allowing my armor more or less free reign as I make my big push. The only negatives to the attack were the Stunning of my AC to an MG shot, and the breaking of a couple of units. I also missed with one of my FT, rolling 12 in an attempt to light up units in the victory building.

I secured my sought-after lodgement just the same; and killed a couple of units playing kitty-bar-the-door. By the end of Turn 5 I was at the building, shrugged off German fire, and was able to make it into the building itself by the end of Turn 6. By now the German ranks have been thinned perilously, and while SS' guys are still able to throw out decent attacks, there aren't nearly as many of them as there used to be, whereas the Americans have to this point lost a total of 1 squad.

I still have to find and neutralize the infantry gun, which could cause me a lot of issues for all that I'll have to offer it point-blank shots, in order to secure the building and win this scenario. Still, I have all but one of the squads I started the game with. I'm either going to have to start screwing up badly, or SS' dice are going to have to get a lot hotter. The screwing-up part I can manage, but SS' dice have not been treating him kindly and show no signs of letting up in the hear future.

I wonder if I should have said that last bit out loud...


BD
 

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Bad Dice

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...And we're back. The Amis enter the victory building in force, largely unhurt to this point. The Amis demonstrate this in no uncertain terms by occupying not only every non-German occupied hex in the victory building, but ascending to the upper levels as well. I do something I not often achieved by myself in an ASL scenario; I successfully Place and then detonate a DC. In fact, I do this twice. The first one goes about as you'd expect, creating a bunch of DM Germans. It's a 30 +3 attack, we expect little else. That said however, the other detonation scores me a cool set of 'cars. That's a FT and a DC which have so far gone down to really, really bad dice. Anyone wondering how I might have come by my handle need only read this paragraph.

Still, the Americans are in the building, in force, and only have to evict the Germans from 3 hexes. They also have to keep the Germans from reinforcing, which I hope to mitigate through the placement of the MG kill-stack with the 9-2 and the Hero. They also have to either win a bunch of CC, or (preferably) break Germans. At this point I'd even be fine with Pinning Germans, if in doing so it either forces them to accept CC on terms decidedly in my favor; or forces them to VB, Rout, and then try to re-enter the building for a last-minute shot at snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

I indirectly abet this process in the south by failing on three consecutive rolls to clear the Wire. This prevents those squads from moving forward to assist with the taking and clearing of the victory building.

I also fall victim to a 30 +1 attack in the lower right corner of the building, which scores on a 2 on the IFT and KIAs the leader and a squad, breaking everyone else. The good news there was that it was a German Final Fire shot which did the damage, which meant that broken fallschirmjaegere who had been ADJACENT had Routed first, which in turn sprung my guys (who otherwise would not have been able to Rout for having to start and Rout ADJACENT to GO KEU). That thing I'd said last time about expressing out loud how SS' dice were going to have to do something nasty to me does in fact come back to haunt me.

There are still too many GO Americans to deal with, however; and I take down a bunch of Germans in CC during the German CC Phase of Turn 7. Turn 8 Prep sees me and my last functioning FT roast the last pocket of Germans, and interdict reinforcement (either Pinning or breaking units as they try to enter the victory building) with the 9-2 kill stack. The last shot is of German dispositions at the end of American Turn 8. The Americans have cleared the building per parameters stated in the scenario, and secured a win. The Hellcat is not actually in the building, BTW; I couldn't convince VASL to place it in Bypass properly in front of the 9-2 stack.

SS played this one well, but his dice let him down and CC was not kind to him either. He informs me that in a previous playing the Germans easily held off the Americans, preventing them from even getting close to the victory building. I can see that, especially if the Americans lose their Long Tom early in the game.

Cool MOUT fight just the same. Lots of units and lots of fun toys for both sides, in a VASL format. I'd play it again, as either side.

Up next, SS and I slug it out in the rain in a little mountain village called Monte Cassino. See you then.


BD
 

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Perry

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Great report. Thanks.

You say you can see the Germans easily holding off the Americans "especially if the Americans lose their Long Tom early in the game."
I agree that the Germans can indeed stuff the 6-morale Americans in this, but not if the Long Tom is hanging around, dishing out damage.

In fact, I am not sure I ever heard of it being effective for very long in this.

Yours sure wasn't. ;)
 

Bad Dice

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I'd be interested in playing this one again, just to see how the big gun affects things. Then again, I started the scenario expecting all of my armor to get whacked. Comparing American AF to German TK from the ordnance available, I can see a luckier German player scoring relatively-easy kills, so maybe the Long Tom isn't destined for a long life in this one in any event. Still, I was really looking forward to watching the big gun dish out 30 FP kisses...

I think the BFG isn't going to find a lot of happiness, however. In fact, I count myself lucky that as much of my armor lasted as long as it did. Between all of the American vehicles being OT, and all of them sporting relatively thin armor, the Germans could make the Amis very unhappy if the FlaK piece (or the tank, or even the Infantry Gun) draws a bead and gets rate. And of course, everybody wearing feldgrau has PF coming out of their ears. As it happens, SS' dice are apparently on my payroll; the closest thing to a tank duel involved his dug-in tank and my M-8, squaring off at a distance of 2 hexes. The tank rolled a 10 on a Final Fire shot, then an 11 in German Prep, then another 11 to malf the Gun when he IFed in a bid to nail the Greyhound. Being a small target certainly did help, I might add.

By the by, ROAR shows 5 German wins for 4 American wins. Speaks well for its potential balance.


BD
 

wrongway149

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Great report. Thanks.

You say you can see the Germans easily holding off the Americans "especially if the Americans lose their Long Tom early in the game."
I agree that the Germans can indeed stuff the 6-morale Americans in this, but not if the Long Tom is hanging around, dishing out damage.

In fact, I am not sure I ever heard of it being effective for very long in this.

Yours sure wasn't. ;)
Might be best just to park it somewhere, and put a Acqy on a hex you don't want the Germans to be in.

That will be one less infantry death star you need to Prep Fire.

Not a key piece, but has a supporting job to do

just like real life.
 

Bad Dice

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If the terrain were less constrictive, I might have done that. As it is, to get anywhere of use and to make the Germans quit a particular hex, you have to get pretty close. Even for a Acq shot that's going to be true.

That's not to say there is no merit to the idea, but the clever Ami needs to be aware of the close-in nature of the fight and figure one's chances accordingly.


BD
 
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