The Battle for Belle Fontaine

CTKnudsen

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GERMAN TURN 2

So last turn saw the first American big win with support weapons fire, when the MMG in 54J7 broke the German squad in DK3 by rolling the best thing they could have, a 3. Looking back on it, I forgot to add the +1 grain hindrance, but it actually didn't change the result in any way. Now with a big gap in the lines, the German has to start plugging holes.

RPh - no wind chg
Ger DM 4-4-7 in DH4 attempts self rally - fails
Ger 5-4-8 in DZ6 attempts MG repair, eliminates it - d'oh!

PFPh
5-4-8 in DZ6 fires into DX4, 5FP (+2), PTC, pass.
5-4-8 in DQ3 declares OPP fire.
5-4-8, LMG in DU5 fires into DX4, 8 FP (+1), no effect.

MPh
5-4-8, LMG in DM9 goes CX, moves M8-M7-M6, claims WA, retains "?".
5-4-8, PSK in DM4 moves L4-K4, claims WA, retains "?".
9-2, radio in DQ3 moves Q4-P4-O4-N4.
5-4-8, LMG in (BFP)CK10 moves DX10-X9, claims WA, retains "?".
2-3-8 HS, HMG in DY7 Aslt move into X6, claims WA.

DFPh
HMG in 54Q7 fires into DQ3, 8FP (+2), no RoF, no effect.
60mm MTR in 54Q7 fires into DQ3, TH 8 (+1), no RoF, hit, 2MC, Axis SAN. pass MC, no sniper attack.
MMG in 54X10 fires at DU5, 4 FP (+2), RoF, NMC, Axis SAN. pass NMC, no sniper atk. Cower, PTC, Axis SAN, pass PTC, no sniper atk. Lots of low american rolls here, and missed sniper opportunities!
2-2-7 in 54X10 assembles 81mm MTR , CA DW1/DX1.
2-3-7 in 54Y8 dms 60mm MTR.
2-3-7 in 54J8 dms 60mm MTR.
2-2-7 in 54O6 dms 81mm MTR.

Here's the situation after the DFPh.
BF G2 dfph.jpg

AFPh
5-4-8, LMG in DQ3 fires at DR1, 4FP (+2), no effect.

RtPh
Nil

APh
9-2, radio in DN4 adv DM5, claims WA
5-4-8, LMG in DM6 adv DM5, claim WA

CCPh
German stacks in DQ3, DU5, and DX6 gain "?"

Here is the situation at the end of turn 2:
BF G2 dfph.jpg
 

Attachments

CTKnudsen

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AMERICAN TURN 3

In which the Americans apply some firepower.

RPh - no WC
Am 5-4-6, BAZ in 54W9 attempts self rally - success.

PFPh
60mm MTR in 54Q7 fires at DQ3, TH7 (+2), hit, RoF, 1MC, Pin, TH7 (-1), CH (!), RoF, 3MC, fail, ELR to 2L Sq, TH7 (-1), hit, RoF, NMC, HOB, Allied SAN. HOB Hero (but no BH, missed it by 1). No sniper atk. TH7 (-1), hit, No RoF, NMC, all pass. Another batch of really good American rolls, this mortar got 4 attacks, one of which was a CH!
HMG in 54Q7 fires at DQ3, 8FP (+2), Cower, 2MC, Hero dies, Sq passes NMC and LLMC. Another Snake-Eyes kills of the hero, who never had a chance to do a single thing.
8-0, MMG in 54X10 fire at DU5, 2FP (+2), RoF, 1MC, breaks Ger E Sq. 4FP (+2), No RoF, no effect. Yet another Snake Eyes!
8-0, 81mm MTR 54X10 fires WP at DU5, TH 9 (+1), no RoF, hit, depletes WP. NMC pass. Okay, i realized later that the Leader cannot direct mortar fire, but again, it didn't change much here.

MPh
2-3-6 HS in 54V10 declares mine clearance attempt, goes TI.
2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in 54Y8 moves Y9, X9.
3-4-6 HS in DY2 goes CX, moves X2, X3, retains "?".
5-4-6 in 54W9 moves W10-DW1, reveals 6FP mines. 6FP (+0), no effect, attempts to exit to DW2, 6FP (+0), 2MC, Axis SAN, Sq breaks in DW1, no sniper attack.
5-4-6 in 54V9 goes CX, moves U10-DU1-U2-U3-U4, claims WA, retains "?".
6-6-7 in DR1 goes CX, moves R2-R3, claims WA, retains "?".
9-1, radio in DR1 moves S2-T2-T3, claims WA, retains "?".
2-2-7, dm 81MTR in 54O6 goes CX, moves O7, claims WA, retains "?".
3-4-6 HS in N6 goes CX, moves N7-N8-N9-O10, retains "?".
3-4-7 HS in DM2 Aslt moves into M3, claims WA, retains "?".
3-4-6 in 54J9 moves J10-DJ1-J2, claims WA, retains "?". Ger 5-4-8 in DK4 Defensive First fires spraying fire into DJ2/DK3. 1FP (+1) in DJ2, no effect, 2 Residual FP in DK3
3-4-6 HS, MMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in 54J7 goes CX, moves K8-K9-K10.
6-6-6 in 54J9 moves J10-DJ1-I2, claims WA, retains "?"
3-4-7 in DL2 aslt moves into L3, loses "?". Ger 5-4-8 in DK4 Subsequent First Fires, 5FP (-1), 2MC, 3-4-7 breaks. Ger 5-4-8 in DK4 FPF at DL3, 2.5FP (-1), PTC. 9-2, 5-4-8, LMG in DM5 Defensive First Fires, 8FP (+1), no RoF, no effect. Subsequent First Fire at DL3, 4FP (+1), PTC.
9-1, radio in 54K10 moves J10-DJ1-I2, claims WA, retains "?"
6-6-7 in 54L9 goes CX, moves 54L9-K10-J10-DJ1.
2-3-6 HS in DX4 moves W4-V4, claims WA.

DFPh
Nil

Situation after DFPh:
BF A3 end dfph.jpg

AFPh
6-6-6 in DI2 fires at DH1, 4FP (+2), no effect.
6-6-7 in DR3 fires at DQ3, 7 FP (+0), K/2, broken 4-4-7 reduces HS fails 2MC, eliminated. Another killer American roll.
5-4-6 in DU4, 2-3-6 in DV3 form an FG, fire at DU5, 8FP (+2), 2MC, broken 5-4-8 fails, reduced to HS. Yet another 3!

RtPh
Am 3-4-7 HS in DL3 routs L2, L1.
Ger 2-3-8 HS, LMG in DU5 routs U6-U7-U8.

APh
9-1, radio, 6-6-6 in DI2 adv to DH2.
6-6-7, BAZ in DJ1 adv to J2, claims WA.
3-4-6 HS, MMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in 54K10 adv to J10.
2-2-7m dm 81mm MTR in 54O7 adv to O8.
3-4-6 HS in 54O10 adv to DO1.
6-6-7 in DR3 adv to Q4, claims WA.
3-4-6 HS in DX3 adv to X4, claims WA.
2-3-6 HS in DV4 adv to W5, claims WA.
2-3-6 HS in DX9 adv to X10
9-1, radio in DT3 adv to U4, claims WA.

CCPh
Ger Dummies in DH2 are eliminated.
Mine Clearance attempt in 54V10 - fails.
American stacks in 54Q7, 54X10, 54V10, DH2, DQ4, and DW5 gain "?"

Situation at the end of American Turn 3.
BF A3 end.jpg

This turn saw some fantastic luck with fire attacks for the American - 3 snake-eyes and two threes. The German centre goes from strong to essentially non-existant...
 

CTKnudsen

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GERMAN TURN 3

In which the reeling Fallschrimjagers attempt to restore the line, withdrawing on the right and attempting to straighten and extend the left and centre.

RPh - No WC
Ger 4-4-7 in DH4 attempts self rally - rallies. This one decent roll probably saved the German left from total disintegration.
Am 8-1 in DL1 attempts to rally DM 3-4-7 HS - fails.
Am stack in DH2 claims WA.

PFPh
Nil

MPh
5-4-6 in DZ6 goes CX, moves Z7-Y8-X7-W8.
Dummy Stack in DV8 goes CX, moves U9-T9-S10-R10, claims WA, retains "?" (obviously).
7-0, radio, 2-3-8 HS, HMG in X6 go CX, move X7-W8-V8.
9-2, 5-4-8, LMG in DM5 moves N5-O5, claims WA. Am 6-6-7 in DQ4 Defensive First Fires into O5, 6FP (+1), cower, No effect.
5-4-8, PSK in DK4 Aslt Moves into K5, claims WA.
4-4-7, LMG in DH4 goes CX, moves G5-G6.
5-4-8, LMG in DX9 goes CX, moves W10-V9-U10, retains "?".

DFPh
9-1, radio in DH2 attempts radio access, succeeds, black chit, AR into DJ4, black chit, inaccurate, SR lands in DI4.
2-2-7 in 54X10 dm 81mm MTR.
2-3-6 HS in 54Q7 dm 60mm MTR.
3-4-6 HS in 54Q7 dm HMG.

Situation after DFPh:
BF G3 end dfph.jpg

AFPh
9-2, 5-4-8. LMG in DO5 fires at Q4, 5 FP (-2), NMC, pass.

RtPh
Ger 2-3-8 HS in DU8 gets DM, routs to V8.
Am 3-4-7 HS in DL1 gets DM, routs with 8-1 to 54L10.

APh
4-4-7, LMG in DG6 adv G7, claims WA.
5-4-8, LMG in U10 adv T9, claims WA.
5-4-8 in W8 adv W9, claims WA.

CCPh
German stacks in DG7, DK5, DO5, DW9 gain "?".

Situation at the end of Turn 3:
BF G3 end.jpg

For those keeping track, the Americans have "seen" 6.5 German squad equivalents. "Seeing" 7 or more results in an immediate American victory.
 

CTKnudsen

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American Turn 4

In which the Americans surge forward on the left and centre.

RPh - No WC
Am 2-3-6 HS in 54H10 attempts self-rally - succeeds.
Am 8-1 in 54L10 rallies 3-4-7 HS, fails.
Ger 7-0 in DV8 rallies 2-3-8 HS, succeeds.
Ger 5-4-8 in DW9 claims WA.

PFPh

9-1, radio in DH2 attempts radio access, succeeds. corrects SR, AR in DK4, black chit (no visible enemy), accurate, SR placed DK4.

MPh
6-6-6 in DH2 Aslt Mv H3-G4, retains "?".
2-3-6 HS in 54H10 goes CX, attempts exit to DH1. 6FP (+0) mine attack, NMC, fails, broken in 54H10.
2-3-6 HS in 54V10 goes CX, attempts exit to DV1. 6FP (+0) mine attack, NMC, fails, broken in 54V10.
3-4-6 HS, BAZ in DJ2 moves I3-H3, retains "?".
6-6-7, BAZ in DJ2 moves I3-H3, retains "?"
3-4-6 HS, MMG, 2-3-6 HS, 60 MTR in 54J10, move DJ1-I2, claim WA, retain "?".
2-2-7, dm 81mm MTR in 54O8 moves O9-O10, retains "?".
3-4-6 HS in D02 moves O2-O3, claims WA, retains "?".
9-1, radio, 5-4-6 Sq in DU4 Aslt move into DU5, claim WA, retain "?".
8-0, 2-2-7, dm 81mm MTR, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60MTR in 54X10 move X1-W2-W3-V3-V4, retain "?".
3-4-6 HS, MMG in 54X10 goes CX, moves X1-X2-W3-V3-U4, retains "?".
3-4-7 HS in DM3 goes CX, dashes M4-M5. Ger 5-4-8 in DK5, Defensive First Fires M4, 2.5FP (+0), no effect. Ger 9-2, 5-4-8, LMG in DO5 Defensive First Fire M4 4FP (-2), No RoF, NMC, pass, Axis SAN, no sniper attack. Am 3-4-7 HS claims WA in DM5.
6-6-7 in Q4 Aslt moves into P3, claims WA. Ger 9-2, 5-4-8, LMG in DO5 Subsequent First Fires, 4FP (+0), 1MC, 6-6-7 breaks.
3-4-6 HS, HMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60MTR in 54Q7 go CX, move Q8-Q9-Q10-DQ1, reveal 6 FP Mines. 6FP (+0), no effect.
3-4-6 HS in DX4 moves Y5-Y6, claims WA, retains "?".
2-3-6 HS in DW5 moves X5-Y6, claims WA, retains "?".

DFPh

7-0, radio in DV8 attempts radio contact, fails.

Situation at the end of the DFPh:
BF a4 end dfph.jpg

AFPh
3-4-6 HS, 2-3-6 HS in DY6 fire at DZ9, 1 FP (+3), no effect.
9-1, 5-4-6 Sq in DU5 fire at DV8, 1.5(3)FP (+3), no effect.

RtPh
AM 6-6-7 in DP3 routs P2-O2-N1.

APh
3-4-6 HS in DU4 adv to T3, claims WA.
2-2-7, dm 81mm MTR, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in DV4 adv to U5, claim WA.
8-0 in DV4 adv to DV5, claims WA.
5-4-6in DU5 adv toV5, claims WA.
3-4-6 HS, MMG, 2-3-6 HS, 60mm MTR in DI2 adv to DI3
6-6-6 in DG3 adv to DG4, claims WA.
6-6-7, BAZ, 3-4-6 HS, BAZ in DH3 adv to H4.
2-2-7, dm 81MTR 54O10 adv to DO1.
3-4-6 HS, HMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in DQ1 attempts exit to Q2, 6FP (+0) mine attack, no effect. Man these guys were lucky, just blew through a minefield without even slowing down!
2-3-6 HS in DY6 adv to DZ6, claims WA.

CCPh
Am stacks in DM5, DQ2, DY6, and DZ6 gain "?".

Situation at the end of the turn:
BF a4 end.jpg
 

CTKnudsen

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GERMAN TURN 4

In which the Germans stabilize their left somewhat.


RPh - No WC
Am 8-1 in 54L10 rallies 3-4-7 HS, succeeds.
Ger 2-3-8 HS in DV8 claims WA.

PFPh
7-0 in Dv8 attempts radio contact, succeeds, bty access black, places AR in DU6, no KEU, black chit, inaccurate, SR lands in DU9.
HMG, LMG in DV8 fires at DV5, 5FP (+2), no effect.
5-4-8 in DW9 fires at DZ6, 2.5 FP (+2), no effect.

MPh
9-2, radio, 5-4-8, LMG in DO5 moves into P5. Am 3-4-7 HS in DM5 Defensive First fires, 3FP (+1), No effect. Movement continues -P6-P7, stack claims WA.
5-4-8, PSK in DK5 attempts smoke in DL5, succeeds, aslt moves into L5, Am 3-4-7 HS Subsequent First Fires, 3 FP (+2), no effect.

DFPh
9-1, radio in DH2 attempts radio contact maintenance, succeeds, no KEU, black chit, places FFE1 in DK5. FFE atks DK5, 21FP (+1), 3MC, Ger dummies eliminated. No flame kindle in any FFE hex, flips to FFE:2.
9-1, radio in DU5 attempt radio contact, succeeds, red chit.
2-2-7 in DU4 assembles 81mm MTR, CA V5/U6.
2-3-6 HS in DU4 assembles 60mm MTR.

Situation at the end of DFPh:
BF g4 end dfph.jpg
Note that at this point I was confused between red (normal), blue (harassing), and green (NOBA) colors for OBA, so the SR in DU9 should be red. I'm figuring it out!

AFPh
5-4-8, PSK in DL5 fires at M5, 8FP (+2), 1MC, Am 3-4-7 breaks.
4-4-7, LMG in DG7 fires at DG5, 3.5FP (+2), CTC, passes, Axis SAN, no sniper atk.

RtPh
Am 3-4-7 HS in DM5 routs M4, M3.
Am 6-6-7 in DN1 gains DM, routs 54N10

APh
5-4-8, PSK in DL5 adv M5, claims WA.

CCPh
Ger stacks in DG7, DM5, DP7, DV8, DW9 gain "?".

Here is the situation at the end of turn 4:
BF g4 end.jpg
 

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AMERICAN TURN 5

RPh - No WC
Am 3-4-6 HS in 54H10 attempts self rally, fails

PFPh
9-1, radio in DU5 attempts radio contact, succeeds, black chit, places AR in DU9, no KEU, black chit, inaccurate, SR lands in DV8.
FFE:2 in DK4 hits, no flame kindle, flips to FFE:C.
81mm MTR in DU5 fires at DV8, TH7 (+2), RoF, miss, TH7 (+1), no RoF, miss.
60mm MTR in DU5 fires DV8, TH7 (+2), RoF, miss, TH7 (+1), no RoF, miss.
MMG in DT3 fires at DR5, 2FP (+3), RoF, PTC, elims Ger dummy stack. Not super relevant, but another American 3.

MPh
2-3-6 HS in DZ6 moves AA7-AA8, claims WA, retains "?".
3-4-6 HS in DY6 goes CX, moves to Z6, attempts smoke in Z7, fails, moves into Z7 anyways. Ger 5-4-8 in DW9 Defensive First Fires into DZ7, 5FP (-2), cowers, 1MC, 3-4-6 HS pins.
8-0, 5-4-6 in DV5 go CX, move DW6-W7, attempts smoke in W8, fails, stops and claims WA in W7.
3-4-6 HS, HMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in DQ2 move R2-S3-S4, retain "?".
3-4-7 HS in DO3 moves P3-P4, retains "?".
2-2-7, dm 81mm MTR in DO1 moves O2-P2, retains "?".
8-1 in 54L10 moves M10-N10, retains "?".
2-3-7 HS in 54L10 moves DM1-N1-N2.
6-6-6 in DG5 attempts smoke in G6, fails.
6-6-7, BAZ, 3-4-6 HS, BAZ in DH4 Aslt move into DG5, claim WA, retain "?".
3-4-6 HS, MMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in DI3 move H3-H4, retain "?".
9-1, radio, in DH2 goes CX, moves G3-G4-G5, claims WA, retains "?"

DFPh
9-2 in DP7 attempts radio access, succeeds, black chit, Suddenly I realized i was doing this completely incorrectly, because I had already had another battery mission in progress. Did some reading, and discovered that in fact I never should have had a second radio to begin with for only one battery. But I wanted to see what happened, so I forced a 2nd chit draw to force cancel of existing SR, in order to simulate the better leader trying to hijack battery access. This 2nd draw was red, so I ended the 9-2's action and carried on. Really bent the rules here, but I wanted to see what would happen.
7-0 tries to maintain radio access, success, black chit (to regain bty ctrl), see above, announces conversion to FFE1, AR placed in DU5, accurate, 16FP (+1) in DU5, No effect (?!?!?), no flame kindles, Flip to FFE:2
5-4-8 in DM5 fires at M3, 5FP (+3), no effect.
4-4-7, LMG, in DG7 fires at G5, 7(3.5)FP (+2), PTC vs 6-6-6, pinned.

Situation at the end of the DFPh:
BF a5 end dfph.jpg

AFPh
5-4-6 in DW7 fires at DW9, 4FP (+2), no effect.
9-1, 6-6-7, 6-6-6, 3-4-6 HS in DG5 fire at G7, 8FP (+1), no effect.

RtPh
Am 3-4-7 HS in DM3 gains DM, routs N2-N1-54N10.

APh
3-4-6 HS, HMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60MTR in DS4 adv to DR4, claim WA, retains "?".
2-2-7, dm 81MTR in DP2 adv to DP3, retains "?".
2-3-7 HS in DN2 adv toDN3

CCPh
Am stacks in DU5, DN3, and DG5 gain "?".

Situation at the end of the turn:
BF a5 end.jpg

The German inability to make decent rolls when needed, when compared to the American ability to make clutch rolls, is really making a difference.
 

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GERMAN TURN 5

In which American fire superiority rips the battle wide open!

RPh - No WC
Am 8-1 in 54N10 attempts to ralliy 6-6-7, 3-4-7 HS - 6-6-7 rallies, 3-4-7 HS not.
Am 3-4-7 HS in DN3 claims WA

PFPh
FFE:2 hits DU5, 16FP (+1), 1MC, crew breaks, remainder OK. No kindling, Flips to FFE:C.
4-4-7, LMG in DG7 declares OPP Fire.
5-4-7, PSK in DM5 declares OPP Fire.
9-2, 5-4-8, LMG in DP7 declare OPP Fire.

MPh
5-4-8 in DW9 goes CX, moves W10-X10-(BFP)CI10

DFPh
FFE:C in DK4 is removed
9-1 in DU5 attempts radio maintenance, success, no KEU, black chit, converts SR to FFE:1 in DV8. 21FP (-1), 3KIA (!) elims 7-0, 2x E HS, radio, LMG. No kindling. FFE:1 flips to FFE:2. I was so blown away by ANOTHER clutch American snake eyes that I forgot to apply the CH! The only difference this would have made is changing the 3KIA to a 6 KIA, and eliminating the HMG. Maybe it would have kindled the hex, but with a kindling # of 9, likely not.
60mm MTR in DU5 fires DT9, TH7 (+3), no RoF, miss.
3-4-6 HS in DR4 assembles HMG.
2-3-6 HS in DR4 assembles 60mm MTR.
2-2-7 in D03 assembles 81mm MTR, CA DO4/P4.
9-1, 6-6-7, 6-6-6, 3-4-6 HS in DG5 fire at DG7, 15FP (+1), no effect.

Situation after the DFPh:
BF g5 end dfph.jpg

AFPh
4-4-7, LMG in DG7 OPP fires at DG5, 7FP (+2), PTC. 9-1, 6-6-7, 6-6-6 pin. Not that it means anything here.
5-4-8, PSK in DM5 OPP fires at N3, 2.5FP (+2), cowers, no effect.
9-2, 5-4-8, LMG in DP7 OPP fires at R4, 8FP (+3), no effect.

RtPh
Nil

APh
5-4-8 in CI10 adv to DZ10, claims WA.
5-4-8 in DT9 adv to DU10, retains "?".

CCPh
German stacks in DG7, DM5, DP7, DZ10 gain "?"

Situation at the end of Turn 5:
BF g5 end.jpg

Another "yuuuge" snakes for the Americans wipes out the key of the German defence on the west side of the board.
 

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AMERICAN TURN 6

The not-so-exciting end of an exciting battle!

RPh - no WC
Am 2-3-6 HS in 54V10 attempts self-rally - fails.
Am 9-1 in DU5 attempts to rally DM 2-2-7 - succeeds
Am 8-1 54N10 attempts to rally 3-4-7 HS - succeeds.
2-2-7, 81mm MTR in DP3 claims WA.

PFPh
FFE:2 hits DV8 and surrounding hexes, no kindling, flips to FFE:C
81mm MTR in DP3 fires at M5, TH7 (+3), RoF, hits, Axis SAN, 8FP (+1), no effect. sniper activates, Location DR moves to 54V4, closest target 54V10, eliminates 2-3-6 HS. TH7 (+2), RoF, miss, TH7 (+1), no RoF, hits, 8FP (+1), PTC, 5-4-8 passes.
2-3-6 in DU5 dms 60mm MTR.
60mm MTR in DR4 fires at P7, TH7 (+5), no RoF, miss.
HMG in DR4 fires at P7, 4FP (+5), RoF, no effect, 4FP (+5), no RoF, no effect.

MPh
2-2-7 in DU5 recovers 81mm MTR.
8-1, 6-6-7, 3-4-7 HS in 54N10 move DN1-N2-M3. Ger 5-4-8 in DM5 Defensive First Fires at M3, 5(2.5)FP (+2), no effect. 8-1, 6-6-7 move M3-L3. 8-1 retains "?".
3-4-7 HS in DN3 aslt moves to N4, Ger 5-4-8 in DM5 Subsequent First Fires at N4, 5FP (+1), cowers, No effect.
3-4-6 HS in DP4 moves O4-N4, 2 FP residual (-1), no effect. Apparently I've been misreading orchards, and essentially assigning them TEM and hindrance value, after misreading the part of A6.7 that talks about exceptions for in-hex hindrances - Learning!
3-4-6 HS in DT2 goes CX, moves S4-S5-S6-R6, claims WA, retains "?" as German declines to reveal a unit in DR10.
3-4-6 HS in DZ7 aslt moves to Z8.
2-3-6 HS in DAA8 aslt moves to AA9, retains "?" as German declines to reveal a unit in Z9.
8-0, 5-4-6 in DW7 goes CX, moves X7-X8. Ger 5-4-8 in DZ10 Defensive First Fires at X8, 5FP (+1), No Effect. Americans continue moving into X9-W10.
6-6-6 in DG5 goes CX, attempts smoke placement in DG6, fails, moves into DG6 anyways. Ger 4-4-7, LMG Defensive First Fires at DG6, 14 FP (-2), cowers, 2MC, 6-6-6 passes. Ger HIP MMG DM9 reveals, claims WA, declares fire lane, attacks DG6, 5FP (+0), 1MC, 6-6-6 passes.

Americans win, as they have now revealed 7 German Squad Equivalents!

Situation at the end of the battle:
BF  scen end.jpg

Frankly, I had forgotten my own VC, and assumed that the Americans had to see more than 7 German squad-equivalents, not 7 or more! Oh well.
I actually got to the end of German turn 6 before I realized; I'll spare you the gory details, although if anyone wants I can put it up. It got exciting, with the Americans largely breaking in an effort to overwhelm the 4-4-7 in DG7, but encircling the Germans in DM5. Then in CCPh, the 4-4-7 eliminated the American 6-6-6, and got an 8-1 in leader creation (!?!), and the 5-4-8 eliminated one of the American HS in the hex, but was left in melee. On the German left, however, the Americans stood a good chance of taking the VL in the woods.

More to follow, as I break down my lessons learned!
 

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PFPh - The 82mm MTR in 54O6 (spotter is the HS in 54N6) fires WP into BFPDO1 (TH 7).
Unless I have miss an SSR somewhere, there is no way to designate a spotter before the American PFPh. Spotters may only be designated in the friendly MPh [C9.3, ASOP].

JR
 

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Ok, I guess I must have misread that. C9.3 states that "a new spotter may not be designated until the original spotter is eliminated, broken, or captured - and not until the start of the owner's MPh following the loss of the original Spotter." But earlier it states that "..the Spotter must be predesignated by the owning player during his PFPh/DFPh...". I assumed that meant that I could assign a unit as an "original" spotter during the PFPh, if one had not previously been assigned. Thanks for the correction, and keep spotting those errors - with every one I learn more!
 

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Ok, I guess I must have misread that. C9.3 states that "a new spotter may not be designated until the original spotter is eliminated, broken, or captured - and not until the start of the owner's MPh following the loss of the original Spotter." But earlier it states that "..the Spotter must be predesignated by the owning player during his PFPh/DFPh...". I assumed that meant that I could assign a unit as an "original" spotter during the PFPh, if one had not previously been assigned. Thanks for the correction, and keep spotting those errors - with every one I learn more!
This is one of the stranger quirks of ASL. I think there is a missing pre-game setup step for designating spotters. But that's not how the rules read.

JR
 

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Is this not covered by ASOP 2.12A - "May fire ordnance, SMOKE (C8.5-.51)/MTR, IR (E1.91; E1.93-.932), after designating Spotter (C9.3) if necessary; resolve ensuing WP NMC." And ASOP 2.22A states "May designate Spotter(s) for MTR(s) that had no original Spotter (C9.3)"?
 

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After Action Review (not Report) Part 1 - The Pre-Battle Phase.

So I wanted to do a few things with this. First was to solo a game as a way to re-introduce myself to a ruleset I haven't touched in over 20 years, and post it so that others can rip apart my lack of understanding of the rules and basic game tactics. Second was to start a path towards making ASL interface with the Theater of Operations game. First I will discuss points that came up in the battle design.

The Map - I think that went fine, it was not a perfect representation of the terrain, but it would have taken me days to do up a map that was true to the ground, even if I had been able to port it to VASL. But it was a bocage-y map, and that was good enough.

Force Selection - Again, no real issues here, although some points bear mentioning. First, thanks to George Kelln for allowing me to use his Force generation and purchase tables for Purple Heart Draw. This saved me a lot of time and effort. A major issue for integrating ASL with ToO is that every operation that one plays in ToO will have to have a TOE table built up for that operation, with leader and SW generation built in. This will involve a lot of legwork and potentially a lot of research if you want a lot of historical fidelity. I believe that the ToO operations that are released will involve a fairly detailed TOE for each side, which would save some time, but still. From a strictly scenario design standpoint, I do not think the forces were too out of line - Maybe a squad or two less for the Germans, and maybe the 9-2 was a bit overpowered. But definitely WAY too many fortifications. As Xenovin said, the defender should always feel as though they never have enough fortifications. Of course there was the major error in giving the Germans a second (illegal) radio for the OBA module, but we won't talk about that, OK?

SSRs and Victory Conditions - No issues with the SSRs, although I realize that I actually broke the SSR regarding 10% of forces setting up HIP due to a misunderstanding of that rule as written in PHD. The victory conditions, however, need a lot of work. I thought long and hard before going with the ones that I went with, but in hindsight they did not really work, as the premature ending to the battle attested. I wanted to force the Germans to have to withhold forces, but have some control over how that went. Instead, it just forced the game to end early, just as it was getting really e

If I were to do it again, I would not make it an immediate ending VC, but instead find another way to penalize the Germans. As well, the German CVP targets were way too high; they got less than a third of the way there. I had an interesting dialogue with the ToO designer, and his suggestion was that I limit VC to strictly geographic and CVP conditions. This is good, but it requires a way to take some sort of permissable casualty level from the Op layer (and there is a "persistence" level that is assigned within the Op layer, but I didn't understand this while designing the scenario) and translate that into CVP. Definitely solvable, though.

As for the actual Victory locations, I just sort of threw them out there, picking a likely spot in the rear of the front German setup areas. I actually don't think they worked too badly for the scenario length I chose, but that will require further playtesting as I fiddle with other parameters. For the OP layer issues, I think a series of phase lines, each assigned a number of VPs, would work well, especially when combined with a casualty level VP mechanism.

Setup - I don't think there were many issues with the American setup, although I could have done a few things better I'm sure. The German setup needed improvement. Beyond the already noted issue with setting up behind bocage not actually needing concealment terrain, the use of foxholes was pointless (am I wrong here, is there any use to foxholes in bocage?), and the fortification purchase points could have been better spent on more mines/wire. The roadblock was positioned idiotically, it would have been of more use south of the DS5 intersection. I decided not to deploy any of the German squads, but I can't tell if that was an error or not. I certainly deployed the most Americans that I could, as it seems a fairly standard tactic to so a HS rush to soak up Defensive Fire.

Next, my crap understanding of rules and tactics.
 

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After Action Review Part 2 - The Assault, AKA how do I play this damn game?

The Rules
- As stated above, a big chunk of my intent in doing this was to increase my knowledge of and familiarity with the basic (Ch A-C, anyways) rules of the game. This was a success, although a rocky one. LOTS of flipping thru the RB checking and re-checking simple things like Defensive fire, and how residuals interact with terrain, and just how a unit routs, etc etc etc. I now feel that I have a basic grasp of the simple stuff. Thank god for the printable ASOP. I know I messed up a few things, but I think I caught most of it eventually. Although, to paraphrase Rumsfeld, I don't know what I don't know, and thanks to anyone who points out anything I may have missed!

I must say that I admire the bocage rules as written. Fighting in this terrain is difficult for both attacker and defender, as it was in real life. Both sides have difficulty in bringing firepower to bear, the defender often has the advantage of surprise, and to cope the attacker must go very slowly indeed, not helped by the fact that movement across bocage hexsides is painfully slow.

Tactics - I think my tactics definitely matured as I played, hopefully anyone who goes thru the turn minutiae above will at least grudgingly agree.

I was starting to get a grip on the dialectic between when to pass by defensive firing in order to maintain concealment and when not to, and how to exploit that as the attacker to get a main assault force on place. This leads to another (entirely realistic) tactic which I didn't really try, but I can see being effective, that of using smoke and/or sequenced movement/fire to isolate a specific part of the defence so that you limit the defender's ability to provide defensive fire at the point you want to really attack, removing the defender's mutual support within the defensive position. Hand in hand with this is the use of opportunity fire, accepting the risk of taking fire as a tradeoff for maybe getting full fire in the AFPh against a now-unconcealed target.

One thing that I did not do (although I did do it in the part of American turn 6 that you didn't get to see) is try and use encirclement to close off rout paths and force surrender/failure to rout eliminations. This is admittedly hard to do in bocage, but still.

Defensively, I don't know that I picked the best places to fight. One of the real problems with defending in bocage is the compartmentalized nature of the terrain, which makes it hard to provide mutually supporting positions. This meant that throughout the battle the Germans were susceptible to defeat in detail. Not too sure how I could have handled this, apart form starting with more deployed squads, although as an essentially new player I am loathe to give up the added range, firepower and smoke capability that you trade for that ability to cover more ground.

Some may have noticed that I did not skulk once, not even in the bocage where I at times technically don't even have to move to do it, just give up and then take back Wall Advantage, although there was not much terrain with actual TEM around. I still have the newbie's need to win that firefight, I guess. OTOH, the big American kills all happened during their Prep Fires, so I'm not too sure what skulking would have done for me in this particular battle. I guess someone will school me on VASL, hopefully.

Anyways, that about wraps it up. I hope that those reading have enjoyed the experience, and again please feel free to chip in. As well, go check out the Theater of Operations: World at War forum! I think this is a tool that, aside from being a fun wargame in and of itself, has plenty of potential as a campaign system and battle generator for use with ASL. I am going to continue developing the way that these two systems are going to work together as ToO matures, anyone who wishes to help me do so is certainly welcome!
 

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Is this not covered by ASOP 2.12A - "May fire ordnance, SMOKE (C8.5-.51)/MTR, IR (E1.91; E1.93-.932), after designating Spotter (C9.3) if necessary; resolve ensuing WP NMC." And ASOP 2.22A states "May designate Spotter(s) for MTR(s) that had no original Spotter (C9.3)"?
Good spot. It's on the latest ASOP but not on earlier ones. I would never have read that from C9.3.

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Hi,

This is a interesting idea and effort. I am sure however that the US has WAY TO FEW unitsi.

The very minimum would be 3:1 ( so 36 US for 12 Ger). Indeed the US planners a wanted a 6:1
advantage, and that was WITH carpet bombing !!

VC fort these games are generally to clear areas (roads) or dominate some key terrain (buildings, hills).

Rallying is the main drawback
in bocage as it is a) so split up and b)moving leaders and finding rally terrain
wreaks momentum pretty well.

In your game the US will get halted for 2 reasons.

1) WILL NOT BE able to flank the Ger thus he will just fall back
2) Once the German considers your attack he will develop strongpoints ( HMG) and literally
stop you in your tracks. If he has though ahead he might even deal with you in MINES ETC.

The later will involve trading terrain elsewhere, but has long as he remains 1 MPh ahead of you should be OK.
 

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AMERICAN TURN 3

In which the Americans apply some firepower.

RPh - no WC
Am 5-4-6, BAZ in 54W9 attempts self rally - success.

PFPh
60mm MTR in 54Q7 fires at DQ3, TH7 (+2), hit, RoF, 1MC, Pin, TH7 (-1), CH (!), RoF, 3MC, fail, ELR to 2L Sq, TH7 (-1), hit, RoF, NMC, HOB, Allied SAN. HOB Hero (but no BH, missed it by 1). No sniper atk. TH7 (-1), hit, No RoF, NMC, all pass. Another batch of really good American rolls, this mortar got 4 attacks, one of which was a CH!
HMG in 54Q7 fires at DQ3, 8FP (+2), Cower, 2MC, Hero dies, Sq passes NMC and LLMC. Another Snake-Eyes kills of the hero, who never had a chance to do a single thing.
8-0, MMG in 54X10 fire at DU5, 2FP (+2), RoF, 1MC, breaks Ger E Sq. 4FP (+2), No RoF, no effect. Yet another Snake Eyes!
8-0, 81mm MTR 54X10 fires WP at DU5, TH 9 (+1), no RoF, hit, depletes WP. NMC pass. Okay, i realized later that the Leader cannot direct mortar fire, but again, it didn't change much here.

MPh
2-3-6 HS in 54V10 declares mine clearance attempt, goes TI.
2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in 54Y8 moves Y9, X9.
3-4-6 HS in DY2 goes CX, moves X2, X3, retains "?".
5-4-6 in 54W9 moves W10-DW1, reveals 6FP mines. 6FP (+0), no effect, attempts to exit to DW2, 6FP (+0), 2MC, Axis SAN, Sq breaks in DW1, no sniper attack.
5-4-6 in 54V9 goes CX, moves U10-DU1-U2-U3-U4, claims WA, retains "?".
6-6-7 in DR1 goes CX, moves R2-R3, claims WA, retains "?".
9-1, radio in DR1 moves S2-T2-T3, claims WA, retains "?".
2-2-7, dm 81MTR in 54O6 goes CX, moves O7, claims WA, retains "?".
3-4-6 HS in N6 goes CX, moves N7-N8-N9-O10, retains "?".
3-4-7 HS in DM2 Aslt moves into M3, claims WA, retains "?".
3-4-6 in 54J9 moves J10-DJ1-J2, claims WA, retains "?". Ger 5-4-8 in DK4 Defensive First fires spraying fire into DJ2/DK3. 1FP (+1) in DJ2, no effect, 2 Residual FP in DK3
3-4-6 HS, MMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in 54J7 goes CX, moves K8-K9-K10.
6-6-6 in 54J9 moves J10-DJ1-I2, claims WA, retains "?"
3-4-7 in DL2 aslt moves into L3, loses "?". Ger 5-4-8 in DK4 Subsequent First Fires, 5FP (-1), 2MC, 3-4-7 breaks. Ger 5-4-8 in DK4 FPF at DL3, 2.5FP (-1), PTC. 9-2, 5-4-8, LMG in DM5 Defensive First Fires, 8FP (+1), no RoF, no effect. Subsequent First Fire at DL3, 4FP (+1), PTC.
9-1, radio in 54K10 moves J10-DJ1-I2, claims WA, retains "?"
6-6-7 in 54L9 goes CX, moves 54L9-K10-J10-DJ1.
2-3-6 HS in DX4 moves W4-V4, claims WA.

DFPh
Nil

Situation after DFPh:
View attachment 164

AFPh
6-6-6 in DI2 fires at DH1, 4FP (+2), no effect.
6-6-7 in DR3 fires at DQ3, 7 FP (+0), K/2, broken 4-4-7 reduces HS fails 2MC, eliminated. Another killer American roll.
5-4-6 in DU4, 2-3-6 in DV3 form an FG, fire at DU5, 8FP (+2), 2MC, broken 5-4-8 fails, reduced to HS. Yet another 3!

RtPh
Am 3-4-7 HS in DL3 routs L2, L1.
Ger 2-3-8 HS, LMG in DU5 routs U6-U7-U8.

APh
9-1, radio, 6-6-6 in DI2 adv to DH2.
6-6-7, BAZ in DJ1 adv to J2, claims WA.
3-4-6 HS, MMG, 2-3-6 HS, dm 60mm MTR in 54K10 adv to J10.
2-2-7m dm 81mm MTR in 54O7 adv to O8.
3-4-6 HS in 54O10 adv to DO1.
6-6-7 in DR3 adv to Q4, claims WA.
3-4-6 HS in DX3 adv to X4, claims WA.
2-3-6 HS in DV4 adv to W5, claims WA.
2-3-6 HS in DX9 adv to X10
9-1, radio in DT3 adv to U4, claims WA.

CCPh
Ger Dummies in DH2 are eliminated.
Mine Clearance attempt in 54V10 - fails.
American stacks in 54Q7, 54X10, 54V10, DH2, DQ4, and DW5 gain "?"

Situation at the end of American Turn 3.
View attachment 163

This turn saw some fantastic luck with fire attacks for the American - 3 snake-eyes and two threes. The German centre goes from strong to essentially non-existant...
Love the concept and a great way to get motivated to learn both ASL & scenario design (especially the difficulties). One thing I did see tactically is the German placement of Mine & Wire Obstacles (not obstacles in an ASL sense, but in a tactical sense). A good rule of thumb is a mined or wired obstacle is not an obstacle at all unless able to be covered by effective fire, it is just then a nuisance to the enemy. This has been borne out by the rapid and relatively bloodless advance of the Americans easily circumventing or getting through them at will. Tactically, wire should be placed just out of grenade range (40m or a hex away, mines similarly placed to channel an attacker rather than to deny an area to him on their own). Of course tactics are like posteriors, everyone has their own.

On the game side, you may want to consider Ldr generation IAW Ch H DYO standards & do a little cheating as desired from there. As for the 105 (or was it 150) OBA, you may want to consider a specific number of missions or to being used as a pre-game strike (including perhaps a Barrage). It is most probable that a heavy caliber arty allocation would be used in such a manner rather than "on-Call" which is usually reserved for Bn/Co assets (your mission may have dictated that the involved unit had priority of fires, but doubtful unless this was a major push & the main effort). Just ideas, not meant to be a criticism of your thoughts in regards to the matter. Again, enjoying the write up!
 

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Hi,

This is a interesting idea and effort. I am sure however that the US has WAY TO FEW unitsi.

The very minimum would be 3:1 ( so 36 US for 12 Ger). Indeed the US planners a wanted a 6:1
advantage, and that was WITH carpet bombing !!

VC fort these games are generally to clear areas (roads) or dominate some key terrain (buildings, hills).

Rallying is the main drawback
in bocage as it is a) so split up and b)moving leaders and finding rally terrain
wreaks momentum pretty well.

In your game the US will get halted for 2 reasons.

1) WILL NOT BE able to flank the Ger thus he will just fall back
2) Once the German considers your attack he will develop strongpoints ( HMG) and literally
stop you in your tracks. If he has though ahead he might even deal with you in MINES ETC.

The later will involve trading terrain elsewhere, but has long as he remains 1 MPh ahead of you should be OK.
I have done a lot of work on this since this AAR was posted (and learned a lot about how I was playing it incorrectly, too!) I will attempt to address some of your concerns.

1. Force ratio. Remember that this is an ASL scenario generated by the operation layer game, so the engagement that I was given was a company probe against a German position held by a weak company, without armoured support. A soaking attack, if you will. So if you, in the operational layer, are able to get a 6:1 advantage in a given area, more power to you!

2. VCs. Much discussion on this, with more testing required as the operational layer develops. Basically where we stand right now is that there are no VC at all... sort of. Each side has a casualty limit based on input from the op layer that, if hit, will lead to that side being forced to withdraw from the battle. After each battle, a perimeter is drawn, an average "advance" distance is worked out, and then that is fed back into the op layer, which adjusts the FEBA in the op layer. Battles end when one side successfully stops fighting for whatever reason, and if that takes 40 turns, it takes 40 turns, although snowball effect combined with the CVP limits will make that highly unlikely.

3. Flanking and strongpoints. There is a bonus that you get in a scenario for having flanked in the op layer, in that you can bring forces on from different sides of the map. In terms of flanking tactically, that is entirely realistic in bocage country. Strongpoints are not really an issue, because of the way the op layer works. Basically a unit in a position for a given length of time will go thru different fortification levels in the op layer, depending on time, supply, engineer support, etc. This translates into a set # of Fortification purchase points being available to the scenario defender in ASL. Keep in mind that battles are fought over randomly generated map combos, unless people want to keep map continuity, which would be a lot of work. So in this scenario, the Americans are attacking the village of Belle Fontaine. The Germans in this case gain a certain # of Fortification purchase points. Let's say the Americans are repulsed. A day later, the attack is repeated, with more support. The Germans might have more FPP for the second battle, although probably not - there's only so much fortifying you can do in a day while in contact. But the actual maps fought over might be totally different, as they are randomly generated using a table in the rules that I've drawn up. This means that the situation in regards fortifications might totally change, as the ground being fought over in ASL changes, even though the ground in the op layer is the same. Now if the American backs off, waits a week in the op layer, and then repeats the attack, he will face more fortifications, and rightfully so.
 

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Love the concept and a great way to get motivated to learn both ASL & scenario design (especially the difficulties). One thing I did see tactically is the German placement of Mine & Wire Obstacles (not obstacles in an ASL sense, but in a tactical sense). A good rule of thumb is a mined or wired obstacle is not an obstacle at all unless able to be covered by effective fire, it is just then a nuisance to the enemy. This has been borne out by the rapid and relatively bloodless advance of the Americans easily circumventing or getting through them at will. Tactically, wire should be placed just out of grenade range (40m or a hex away, mines similarly placed to channel an attacker rather than to deny an area to him on their own). Of course tactics are like posteriors, everyone has their own.

On the game side, you may want to consider Ldr generation IAW Ch H DYO standards & do a little cheating as desired from there. As for the 105 (or was it 150) OBA, you may want to consider a specific number of missions or to being used as a pre-game strike (including perhaps a Barrage). It is most probable that a heavy caliber arty allocation would be used in such a manner rather than "on-Call" which is usually reserved for Bn/Co assets (your mission may have dictated that the involved unit had priority of fires, but doubtful unless this was a major push & the main effort). Just ideas, not meant to be a criticism of your thoughts in regards to the matter. Again, enjoying the write up!
I totally get what you are on about with covering obstacles with fire - it's certainly what I was taught at the Infantry school! It's hard to do in bocage, though, especially against Americans, who dispose of so much FP, and with better range to boot. Plus, I had no idea what I was doing with them ASL-wise; I think I would have set up the obstacle plan a differently if I had it to do over.

I like your points about artillery, and I think in this operation it would work really well to have higher level (heavier) stuff come in as bombardments/barrages, whether as per chapter E or KGP, or a combination of both ideas. This would actually be pretty easy to implement, as there is a pretty robust module in the op layer on assigning artillery assets to missions or as on-call assets. Thanks!

As for leaders, they are generated pre-battle on a table like any HASL - in this case, I used the PHD leader generation (and other) tables, with George Kelln's permission, of course. The key for the op layer is that leaders are not permanent; each unit generates leaders pre-battle. This means that a given company can fight a given battle at 1000 hours with an 8-0 and a 6+1 after a terrible leadership roll, have both leaders KIA, and then fight another battle at 1800 the same op layer day with an 10-3, 9-2, and an 8-0 after a fantastic leadership roll. Of course there are modifiers to the roll, but such a large swing is still theoretically possible. This was mainly done to lessen book-keeping, but I like to think it reflects some of the randomness of an extended battle.
 
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