So what scenarios have you played Recently?

volgaG68

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FT 225 Blue Hell At P.A. Abries..... I've played a number of relatively good scenarios lately, but don't have the time nor inclination to post them all. This one, however, begged a posting. GREAT scenario, IMO. With four distinct setup areas for the Italians, the French has a headache trying to setup a solid defense. It can be four separate avenues of attack, or two or more may meld together towards the VC area. The French must plan an elastic, reactionary defense; perhaps with a small reserve stack ready to sortie towards the action, once defined. The playing of it was fun, but it is the flow of the scenario design that really hooked me.

Throughout the game, the Italians managed to keep a 6-8 CVP advantage, but it would be for naught if they didn't get the required SVP[StrategicVP] by game's end. At the start of the Italian's final 1/2 turn, they had the CVP edge but only 1 SVP building. They had routed the pillbox occupants, but needed a HS to enter it (special SSR: PB has HS stacking limit). With none in the vicinity, nor a leader to deploy them, they had to abandon that possible SVP and move on. In their final PFPh, they drew a 4th black OBA card; not an easy feat from an Italian draw-pile! Having only broken a couple of French squads with previous Fire Missions, this one happened to break the 9-1/4-5-8 w/LMG that were securing the far flank. Two lowly Italian HS on that flank seized the opportunity and grabbed four SVP buildings in their final MPh/APh. The final French 1/2 turn left them with no recourse to remedy that. Italian win.

This one is well worth pulling out the 8 or 9 required overlays, transforming board 24 quite interestingly. Fun scenario, but excellent design, IMO. The overall balance seemed good with the final Game Turn likely deciding the victor. (Be sure to get the errata for the Italian setup parameters!)
 

Houlie

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FT 225 Blue Hell At P.A. Abries....
This one is well worth pulling out the 8 or 9 required overlays, transforming board 24 quite interestingly. Fun scenario, but excellent design, IMO. The overall balance seemed good with the final Game Turn likely deciding the victor. (Be sure to get the errata for the Italian setup parameters!)
I completely agree -- this is a fantastic scenario. Very recommended.
 

TomK

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Armor Leader: Normandy CG

Lindsey and I played this interesting campaign last fall and I finally got around (remembered) to record it on in the Archives. Here’s a brief synopsis:

The majority of the fighting took place in Authie, with both sides committing significant forces. Secondary battles took place in St Contest and Gruchy. The technically superior but numerically inferior German SS were unable to gain control of Authie and suffered catastrophic losses in the attempt. The Canadians simply wore down the Germans through attrition and ultimately prevailed.
 

Cpl Uhl

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Armor Leader: Normandy CG

Lindsey and I played this interesting campaign last fall and I finally got around (remembered) to record it on in the Archives. Here’s a brief synopsis:

The majority of the fighting took place in Authie, with both sides committing significant forces. Secondary battles took place in St Contest and Gruchy. The technically superior but numerically inferior German SS were unable to gain control of Authie and suffered catastrophic losses in the attempt. The Canadians simply wore down the Germans through attrition and ultimately prevailed.
What is this product? I'm not familiar with it.
 

TomK

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What is this product? I'm not familiar with it.
It’s from On All Fronts, 1989ish. The campaign is similar to the more recent Brevity Assault by Advancing Fire, but takes place in Normandy, June 1944.
 

Michael R

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My matches at Nor'Easter.

RPT139 MAULED AT MERDORP; I had the German attackers against Ron Duenskie. He set up everything, even the gun, to attack the infantry. He broke almost half of the squads on German turn 1 while they assault moved. On French turn 1, he sent out two tanks to do overruns and cause FTR. The 9-2 and an 8-1 and many squads died. I conceded after the rout phase.

We finished so fast that we also played YASL2 INITIAL SKIRMISH. I was the French defender. I lasted much longer, but Ron prevailed again.

YASL6 HEIN OSHANA; I had the German attacker against Rob Arrieta. I lost one Stug partway through, but eliminated enough SU76 to make up the difference. I was close to taking a fourth 5 point building on the last turn, but the dice said no.

Q18 TAKE THE CROSSROADS; I had the American attacker, with the balance, against Ray McClusker (the only new-to-me opponent of this weekend). I was able to take enough buildings by the last turn.

FrF68 A HASTY FAREWELL; I had the German defender against Carl Nogueira (TD playing as filler). I put a squad and a HS in the early victory building and a lot of stuff nearby, I thought, to protect them. Carl went for it and was able to take the building for a two turn victory.

WO37 THE VITAL HOURS: I had the German defender against Charlie Hamilton. I was able to delay, delay, delay the British. A couple of timely DR helped me win this one.
 

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Played BFP105 The Winter City. This is the first Poland in Flames scenario, and the name has nothing to do with the scenario. A small force of Polish infantry has to hold a hilltop village (no cities in sight) against a larger but inferior force of Slovakian infantry. Both sides have a surprising number of machine guns and -1 leaders for being minor powers, and the Slovakians even have a 81 mm mortar to provide support.

The Poles have a tough decision between a reverse and forward defense. The terrain the Slovaks need to cross is brutal, with lots of elevation changes but very little cover, which means multiple turns of -0/-1/-2 shots at them. But putting yourself in a position to shoot at their approach also means putting yourself in range of at least one pretty good Slovakian kill stack and the 81 mm mortar, and the Poles don't have enough soldiers to take too many 8/+1 12/+1 shots from the Slovakians. My opponent chose the reverse-slope defense with a few tripwire units to keep me occupied, which I think is probably the right decision, but then he proceeded to roll only 10s, so his setup never really got a fair shake as the Slovakians (very slowly) rolled over him.

Although our playing was a bit dogged by the dice, I thought the scenario seemed great. We had been playing Festung Budapest for a long time before this, and this was a very nice change-of-pace from that: a simple and straightforward* scenario with a slight PTO feel to it.

* There is either a typo or an infelicity in the VC, which spell out the points for buildings and level 3 hexes; one hex is both a building and a level 3 hex, and this case is not addressed. We decided in the end that it must be counted as if there is no building on it for VC purposes, because otherwise the math of the victory conditions doesn't work out, but I was surprised not to see this addressed in the errata.
 

volgaG68

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Played BFP105 The Winter City.
Agreed, great little scenario!
...an infelicity in the VC,...
Many have called me "a walking dictionary" over the years, but I can still admit when I learn a new word. From both your context and from the root word and prefix I was able to quickly discern the meaning. However, felicity I knew, infelicity I did not. <muffled golf clap> 👏🧐
 

boylermaker

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Many have called me "a walking dictionary" over the years, but I can still admit when I learn a new word. From both your context and from the root word and prefix I was able to quickly discern the meaning. However, felicity I knew, infelicity I did not. <muffled golf clap> 👏🧐
I'm sure, like 90% of my vocabulary, it comes from Wodehouse--Jeeves has a lot of real zingers.
 

Houlie

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Finished up Hazmo12 Foreign Legions with Rich Domovic; he the attacking Republicans and me the defending Nationalists on board 67. 20 Rep squads + 4 x T-26 taking on 10/3 Nat/Italian squads + 6 x Pz I. VC is to capture 11 village buildings one of which has to be the church. Rich arrayed the attackers across his start line. A scenario SSR invoked early war doctrine meaning all AFV had to move first. The Nat setup appropriately ceded some territory lest they be isolated and eliminated.

Start
21081

Some early shooting broke some Reps here and there. His tanks rolled in – a pair on the northern board edge and a pair in the middle to plink away on my concealed Pz Is. A Pz I managed to hit (easy) one T-26 and snaked the TK (not easy). The Pz Is are totally outclassed, but I pegged their priority on the hoards of infantry. Over the next couple turns Rich malfed two MA and in the same rally phase attempted repair and rolled two 6s for Double Recall. By this time, I had lost three AFV destroyed + one recalled due to a double stun. The double-stun tank eliminated 3 x squads for FTR before skedaddling from the battlefield. One had an MA malf that I chose not to repair; another alive and well positioned to defend the village.

The Rep attack struggled due to some bad dice. Their infantry losses mounted with fairly modest Nat losses. Making the village assault even harder to conduct was losing the last T-26 to an LMG shot. As things looked mid-game, the Nat defense was still cohesive and reasonably strong. With Rep losses high and a number of unit broken, it was unlikely the VCs could be obtained. The Reps called off the attack.

Conclusion
21082

Despite the outcome we both remarked this was a very fun scenario and far more balanced than this particular outcome. As the Nationalist, I constantly felt under pressure with the 20 onrushing squads and four superior tanks. Another key for the defender is ensuring troops, once broken, can rout to safety and not be isolated. Thus, carefully consider the risk of an upfront defense. In retrospect, I probably would have been a little more careful with my tanks. They simply can’t go toe-to-toe with the T-26s. The fact I was able to eliminate two with a Pz I and LMG tells you how fortunate I was.

This scenario has a lot for both sides to consider. A great infantry battle with tin cans to make things very interesting. We agreed this one can go either way. I can easily see this being featured at any number of tourneys. Another wonderful scenario from the Hazmo Guys. I have been impressed by each of their scenarios I have played. Finally, thanks to Rich for another great game.
 
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Doug Kirk

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Finished up Hazmo12 Foreign Legions with Rich Domovic; he the attacking Republicans and me the defending Nationalists on board 67. 20 Rep squads + 4 x T-26 taking on 10/3 Nat/Italian squads + 6 x Pz I. VC is to capture 11 village buildings one of which has to be the church. Rich arrayed the attackers across his start line. A scenario SSR invoked early war doctrine meaning all AFV had to move first. The Nat setup appropriately ceded some territory lest they be isolated and eliminated.

Start
View attachment 21081

Some early shooting broke some Reps here and there. His tanks rolled in – a pair on the northern board edge and a pair in the middle to plink away on my concealed Pz Is. A Pz I managed to hit (easy) one T-26 and snaked the TK (not easy). The Pz Is are totally outclassed, but I pegged their priority on the hoards of infantry. Over the next couple turns Rich malfed two MA and in the same rally phase attempted repair and rolled two 6s for Double Recall. By this time, I had lost three AFV destroyed + one recalled due to a double stun. The double-stun tank eliminated 3 x squads for FTR before skedaddling from the battlefield. One had an MA malf that I chose not to repair; another alive and well positioned to defend the village.

The Rep attack struggled due to some bad dice. Their infantry losses mounted with fairly modest Nat losses. Making the village assault even harder to conduct was losing the last T-26 to an LMG shot. As things looked mid-game, the Nat defense was still cohesive and reasonably strong. With Rep losses high and a number of unit broken, it was unlikely the VCs could be obtained. The Reps called off the attack.

Conclusion
View attachment 21082

Despite the outcome we both remarked this was a very fun scenario and far more balanced than this particular outcome. As the Nationalist, I constantly felt under pressure with the 20 onrushing squads and four superior tanks. Another key for the defender is ensuring troops, once broken, can rout to safety and not be isolated. Thus, carefully consider the risk of an upfront defense. In retrospect, I probably would have been a little more careful with my tanks. They simply can’t go toe-to-toe with the T-26s. The fact I was able to eliminate two with a Pz I and LMG tells you how fortunate I was.

This scenario has a lot for both sides to consider. A great infantry battle with tin cans to make things very interesting. We agreed this one can go either way. I can easily see this being featured at any number of tourneys. Another wonderful scenario from the Hazmo Guys. I have been impressed by each of their scenarios I have played. Finally, thanks to Rich for another great game.
This one is likely on the St Louis tourney list.
 

commissar1969

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Despite the number of AFV's, we found that the scenario does play pretty fast - did you and Rich have the same experience, Houlie?
 

JRKrejsa

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Just got this pack. It looks like there are a lot of interesting actions in there.
 

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In the USA East VASL league, I faced off against John Bock in 53: A High Price to Pay. I had just gotten Hollow Legions, so I wanted to play some Italians, and John kindly obliged. He had a small force of British paratroopers defending a bridge and pillbox in Sicily against a very large but otherwise not particularly impressive horde of Italians. The Italians have boots on the ground (17 squads to the British 7.5), a couple of armored cars, an 81* mortar, and a field piece to tow into battle. The British have 8-morale, a 76* mortar, a bunch of foxholes, and the luxury of a lot of open ground that the Italians need to cross, especially on the British left.

I attacked with the majority of my forces on the British right, where the terrain was more closed off and generally favorable to the attacker. A couple of platoons and the armored cars wandered around in the open field on the British left, in the hopes of keeping the British from redeploying to meet the main thrust. The armored cars had a 20L main armament that I was hoping to use to plink at the pillbox with AP, but it turns out that I needed to reread the rules, because you need to have at least a 10 TK# to fire AP at a stone pillbox.

The fellas on the left were very busted up by good British shooting, but they accomplished their task of pinning the British left in place. On the right, my first wave was repelled with heavy losses, but the Italians had a ton of time and soldiers, and my second wave managed to push the British back to positions right around the pillbox. From there, I had 3-4 turns to creep forward slowly and shoot, and the Brits withered away fairly quickly under nigh-miraculous rate tears from my 45* mortars (the bigger guns were less successful, and spent most of their time being repaired, or abandoned, or lugged around by half-squads in the hopes that some day their crews would rally). John had to concede at the end of turn 5 as my forces were about to get on top of his smoked-out pillbox and finish the job.

Thanks to John for a good game, and his patience with my good luck. He felt that he wouldn't do a lot differently (the British don't have too much freedom of setup anyway), and I thought the same. I'm not sure I would recommend the scenario: once the Italians make their initial approach, the British player doesn't have a whole lot to do but shoot and hope that they pass the morale checks the other way.
 

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DB 167 Blow That Bridge from the new Dispatches from the Bunker played tight, fast, & furious. Super fun

partisans win immediately if they blow one section of the bridge or control the two bridge end hexes at game end

in a short 4.5 turns we had deadly CC's, battle hardened conscripts, 50 MTR CH, and untimely PIN's

only one partisan half squad made it across the bridge to control the VC hexes, no DC's went off (CH & untimely PIN's), and the German security force was able to take back one VC hex for the German win

my partisans lost but we both though it was super fun and would play it again as either side
 

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FT310 - Back to the River. I had the US attacker in this one by dice roll. Opponent had a well out defence which used mostly the second line units and dummies to hold in the woods mass. He kept the best stack (9-1, LMG 548) back in P7 to defend the exit area. As the US I was unable to make a clean break through the outpost line and ended up about a turn behind in terms of getting to positions to secure a flank and interdict either of the German reinforcement groups. The valley also provides a nice reverse slope position and allows the Germans to shift forces to the threatened flank with little fear of interdiction. Resigned early when it apparent I wouldn't be able to crack the interlocking defence.

AP157 - Trap By Mishap. Had the attacking Soviets in this one. Key moment came in turn 2 when a defending Finnish squad rolled a boxcars on a panzerfaust shot. Taking advantage of my good fortune I was able to break through with my Infantry through the C/D hexrows and push a KV around there as well. My opponent was backpedalling after this but continued to niggle away at my force, to the point where I was left with the bare minimum 4 squads to exit. Heart in the mouth moment was during the penultimate movement phase as I pushed to exit. The last possible defensive fire shot was a 1fp -2 which generated a 1MC. Fortunately for me on this occasion my dice were up to the challenge and I passed the check to secure the win.
 

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Not long finished DASLs "Lehr Sanction".
I played defenders ( Brits ) and lost. German attacked centrally ( which I thought was a mistake, but...) and I lost several squads and a leader due to failure to rout in one multi hex building I was determined to defend.
My M4 Shermans were quickly destroyed which left me with a firefly which eventually succumbed to a JadgPzr VI, though it did KO a Panther....
Good game all in all and maybe a better player would have made a better fist of the British but the German tank and MMC morale superiority told.
Oh, and the dice...😉
 
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