Using 666s

[GerryM]

Playing Americans with 666s in ASLSK but I thought maybe my question applies to regular ASL also. The board is a city one so lots of close quarters stuff and if adjacent to fire they are very brittle - ELRing and breaking all over the place.
Any tips on how to play them well? Also what type of troops/SW combinations does the counter represent in real life? Thanks.

 

[Robin Reeve]

Be careful to organise good rout paths, with low leadership leaders to rally the brokies (who have 8 broken morale btw: they break easily but come back quickly too).
In a urban setting, the building TEM will really help.
The US 1st liners have assault fire capacity, which adds 1 to their FP during AFPh.
And against most Germans (548, 467, 447, 436) they have the edge in CC.
6 FP adjacent goes up to 12 - compare with most Germans 8 FP.
US hit hard.
The 666 represents 12 men with two BARS and the rifles are M1 Garand automatic, which explains the assault fire capacity.

 

[lightspeed]

Hey Gerry,

I will let others chime in on what type of troops/SW combinations the counter represents.

The short answer to your question is smoke, smoke, smoke.

For me, the 666 were a challenge to play well. I think a key to using them effectively on the
attack is to place lots of smoke. They have the best firepower and smoke exponent of any
first line squad, excellent range (matched by the German 467), and lousy morale. Their
broken morale (8) is a huge thing. In rally terrain, under DM, they come back on a 5 (28%). If
there's a -1 leader, they need a 6 (42%). The percentages for the Germans are 16% and 42%.

One thing I often do (even with non-US) is to have a unit attempt smoke in its own location if
it has one MF left and isn't moving anywhere else.

Also, they have assault fire. That means they have 4FP in advancing fire (out to 6 hexes). A German
squad needs to prep fire to get 4FP.

I try to keep US squads in a blob so they can fire group (I call it Gang Green). If you can keep three
squads ADJACENT to one another, they have 12FP in advancing fire. That can be quite potent.

Finally, I assume that anyMC is going to break the squad...it's a silly psychological trick I pull on myself.

I hope some of this helps.

indy

 

[GerryM]

Thanks Robin and Indy.

 

[Ganjulama]

Don’t forget they can toss WP grenades too.

 

[GerryM]

Thanks. Even though I am not sure infantry in ASLSK1 can use them.

 

[The Purist]

Where possible use assault movement to retain '?' and reduce enemy DF. Your AFPh will be plenty powerful. I second Indy's option with leaders. If you can muster the intestinal fortitude to send him to the front, use your 9-2* (and other -1 SMCs) right up with the assault wave. A DM'er rallies on a 7 (58%) - that's powerful.

I have no issues using a 7-0 to direct MG fire as the 666 has 3 FP out to 12 hexes, although a 667 may be better in an MG position if available. A 666 and 4-10 MMG have 7 FP at 10 hexes, rivaling the German 467 and MMG (2+5=7).

Note that two 666 and an MMG have 16 FP at six hexes, a third carries your Baz ## with 8 FP and possibly more WP, and the platoon's HS lobs more HE and WP from the 60* mortar. These Yanks don't mess around.

And yet....

WP is a fairly low chance dr (-1 dr). Considering a US 666 has only a 50/50 chance of placing smoke in a hex, WP should be given some thought beforehand. What is more likely to help achieve the platoon's mission? Is it the 1/3 probability of WP and an NMC on the target hex, or a 50% chance of Smoke and forcing a +2 or +3 DRM on enemy FF and SFF attacks.

Final note - It's probably a good idea to only attempt WP placement up a stairwell or slope if the situation is desperate. Those grenades could end up back in your own hex,.... then your 666 takes the NMC.

Dodgy business that white phosphorous.

*We all like our 9-2's directing the death stars but with the US squads,...meeehhhhhhh. His presence up front can really inspire the lads and keep the assault moving forwards.

 

[Faded 8-1]

No infantry WP grenades in SK.

Good advice for full ASL though.

 

[Brad M-V]

You need to examine the Combat Fire Chart and compare the 666 with any other country's 1st line unit and do the math. Pit one 666 against a single 467 in an equal cover state, then look down both firepower columns, row for row and compare. Add each column modifier and compute what's required to break the other unit and you'll find that the 666 unit is less likely to be the unit breaking all over the place.

My tip is to keep choosing the 666s until you begin winning the majority of the games, then switch sides and give your opponent the advantage. ;-)

 

[Martin Mayers]

You need to examine the Combat Fire Chart and compare the 666 with any other country's 1st line unit and do the math. Pit one 666 against a single 467 in an equal cover state, then look down both firepower columns, row for row and compare. Add each column modifier and compute what's required to break the other unit and you'll find that the 666 unit is less likely to be the unit breaking all over the place.

My tip is to keep choosing the 666s until you begin winning the majority of the games, then switch sides and give your opponent the advantage. ;-)

It's rare to have such a privilege as "in an equal cover state" would be the only issue I have with your statement. Hence why usually you'll have 20 666s with four Sherman Smokers against those 8 467s in the stone buildings

 

[Philippe D.]

American 666s have, obviously, high FP, excellent range, good broken morale, and a high smoke exponent. So all that's been said before is good. I'll just add two things.

Because they have Assault Fire, trying for Smoke during the MPh is not such a big loss compared to Prep Fire: a 666 will have 4FP in the AFPh, only losing 2 compared to the PFPh; so if you try for Smoke before moving and get none, or even roll a 6 and don't get to move at all, you can still be effective in the AFPh. Of course, laying Smoke in an adjacent Open Ground hex and then moving into it can't be done with Assault Movement (but if you declare AM and manage to lay Smoke, you can declare a late CX to still spend the next 2MF to move into the smoke - that way you don't get the CX penalty to the Smoke dr, and if you fail the dr, don't get the CX).

Also, because they have high broken morale, getting broken is not such a big deal for them - you just rout away and come back. Of course making sure you have a valid rout path is essential - even more so than with 7 Morale troops, because they do break easily. But perhaps paradoxically, it's sometimes a valid move to have a 666 move into the open to draw fire from an adjacent unit - it's likely to break as a result, but your other units will then be able to move more easily. Just make sure you have a valid rout path, and check that you have a good ELR - those 546 are not as good as 666.

Oh, and when you need to attack in not so good TEM terrain, you'll often be able to build "amoebas" - large multi-hex fire groups. Your guys have low morale, so spread them out so that a single defensive shot will only harm one unit, and blast away in the AFPh. Your leaders should then stay behind for rally duty.

 

[skarper]

The numbers on the counters are arbitrary. The US 6-6-6 are some of the most arbitrary. It's best not worry about it if you want to enjoy the game. A bit like sausages. The less you know about how they're made the better....

 

[GerryM]

Great stuff. Thanks.

 

[kempenfelter]

...but if you declare AM and manage to lay Smoke, you can declare a late CX to still spend the next 2MF to move into the smoke...

Interesting tactic. So the unit would be AMing when trying for Smoke and then NAMing when moving into the smoke-filled hex?

 

[lightspeed]

but if you declare AM and manage to lay Smoke, you can declare a late CX to still spend the next 2MF to move into the smoke - that way you don't get the CX penalty to the Smoke dr, and if you fail the dr, don't get the CX.

Are you sure you can declare AM and Double Time in the same turn? I think in the first ed of SK1 it was legal,
but SK3 seems to have closed that possibility.

Page 12, 3.3.1, third column, first paragraph:

"Any Infantry Capable of movement and neither broken, pinned, wounded, using Assault
Movement nor already Counter Exhausted (CX) may Double Time..."

Text in #B8312F is highlighted in the SK3 RB.

indy

 

[lightspeed]

Playing Americans with 666s in ASLSK but I thought maybe my question applies to regular ASL also. The board is a city one so lots of close quarters stuff and if adjacent to fire they are very brittle - ELRing and breaking all over the place.
Any tips on how to play them well? Also what type of troops/SW combinations does the counter represent in real life? Thanks.

Gerry,

You may wish to look at

zzz | Yanks: ASL Module 3a

Thank you for the fantastic post on American tactics. Why not simply tap into the wealth of information made available in the historical records, and adapt it to our needs? Can you provide some of your favorite references? Thank you, Chris

boardgamegeek.com

It's an interesting article by a fellow named Joey Sabin called "The American Infantry Assault."
It is reprinted in the May issue of View From the Trenches, available for free at

VFTT, Britain's Premier ASL Journal

www.vftt.co.uk

Good luck!

indy

 

[Philippe D.]

Are you sure you can declare AM and Double Time in the same turn? I think in the first ed of SK1 it was legal,
but SK3 seems to have closed that possibility.

Page 12, 3.3.1, third column, first paragraph:

"Any Infantry Capable of movement and neither broken, pinned, wounded, using Assault
Movement nor already Counter Exhausted (CX) may Double Time..."

Text in #B8312F is highlighted in the SK3 RB.

indy

Yes, you're right, AM is not compatible with Double Time. Not in SK apparently, and not in full ASL either as A4.6 explicitly forbids it. I'm pretty sure I've played this wrong on a number of occasions. (Amazing what your opponent will let you do if you seem confident in your rules knowledge!)

Still, one thing you can do, at least in Full ASL (too lazy to check the SK rulebook) is lay smoke and only after that declare Double Time, so you don't have the CX penalty for smoke. Of course this will only work if you only need +1MF and not +2 - and, as you pointed out, not with Assault Movement.

 

[klasmalmstrom]

No late Double Time in SK, IIRC.

 

[GerryM]

Gerry,

You may wish to look at

zzz | Yanks: ASL Module 3a

Thank you for the fantastic post on American tactics. Why not simply tap into the wealth of information made available in the historical records, and adapt it to our needs? Can you provide some of your favorite references? Thank you, Chris

boardgamegeek.com

It's an interesting article by a fellow named Joey Sabin called "The American Infantry Assault."
It is reprinted in the May issue of View From the Trenches, available for free at

VFTT, Britain's Premier ASL Journal

www.vftt.co.uk

Good luck!

indy

Thanks very much. Any idea if there is a similar article for say the Germans?

 

[lightspeed]

Thanks very much. Any idea if there is a similar article for say the Germans?

Gerry,

Your faith in me is appreciated but unearned! It was blind luck: I happened to go on the View
from the Trenches website and saw the article on the Amis the same day you brought this
interesting topic up!

I'll poke around and see what I can find.

indy