Dennis family take a trip back to Russia (Ponryi)

[sdennis]

Neil and I have Ponryi in hand and are perusing the rules, maps, and OB.
Neil is going to take the defense and start after he gets the maps laminated and all the dozens of bourbon bottles off the playing table! (He's on his own with bourbon, I can't stand the stuff).

 

[sdennis]

so look for us to kickoff in a few weeks? 60 trenches, 30 wire and mines to setup will take a bit of thinking, while I have to figure out how to manage all these advancing Germans!

 

[Hutch]

PaK Fronts!!!! (SaP18)

 

[klasmalmstrom]

so look for us to kickoff in a few weeks? 60 trenches, 30 wire and mines to setup will take a bit of thinking, while I have to figure out how to manage all these advancing Germans!

Hold of for two CG Dates - then comes your 45 tanks.

 

[Den589]

So I've set up the Russians. I have no idea if this was a smart way to do this, but preparing for two CG dates with your setup (since the units can't move between scenario 1 and 2) poses some unique challenges.

Here's the Northern sector with a lonely little outpost centered around the wood buildings in the left of this photo. Not much to see over here, although there are some surprises up here.



Next up is the Center:



This I presume will be where most of the action will be coming in the first scenario with the Germans primarily entering along A1 through A36 (with some restricted to A31 and A25.) Quite a bit of wire and two of the Fanatic Outposts make appearances. You can also see that I have begun fortifying the Train Station in the upper right of the photo.

Lastly we have the South:




Here there shouldn't be much action in the first scenario, but in the second this area opens up to a few guys. The No Move company will hopefully hold this area along with whatever Reserves I buy in day 2. Two fanatic outposts down here do cause a limit to which companies can enter down here. Also have started to fortify the Alamo in the back with some trenches to help any companies that will walk on in later scenarios and to help defend the last victory building.

Huge challenge putting down 60 trenches to help me and hopefully not help him later, but this is what I came up with for our first playing of this one. Well that and LOTS of mines.........

 

[Yuri0352]

That's a really attractive map board! I probably should have ordered this.

 

[sdennis]

So we did kick off with just German Turn 1 yesterday (got to watch the Masters!), setting up all those guys after deciding how many guys are too many was tough.
Neil will likely put some pics up, but mostly it is board edge action.
Highlights/lowlights (based on POV):

• Crews dying when failing an Immob TC is a bit harsh (especially when it happened twice on turn 1) (once to a 50mm MTR and once to a 82MM one) OK the small mtr got a Marder but the big one got a StuG...
• the Railyway level 2 has a 76L and 2 82mm Mtrs in the 3 hexes. They cover the A25-A36 area pretty damn well...
• He also has a 9-2 in town on level one that can see a slim area to the north of the big orchard to the board edge. I could have encouraged him to leave with a StuG on the board edge but he's the one that failed the TC and is now abandoned......
• Neil had decent rolls but did malf one grainfield 76L and one of the Train 82mm mtrs.
• In the A36 entry area I had a shocked Stug that recovered but all the infantry has decided to not play based on the firepower he has that can see that edge unhindered. My kill stack here decided not to enter at all after everything that went before him did not fair well. And a 7-0 467, 467 stack got broken and since they could not get away from the 9-2 routed offboard (losing the 7-0 only), another ? 467 just advanced back off board. Discretion I say.
• My first pre-reg OBA put smoke in G24 as planned to allow the attack on the main road into town but we've also discovered some AP mines in F22 and G22 (where the abandoned Marder is) which leads me to believe we have a mine belt either F22->K20? or F22->K22? E23 might be part of that too.
• Neil has an SR that drifted right over near my entry edge as well...

 

[jimmyqjr74]

That's a really attractive map board! I probably should have ordered this.

You still can. Ritterkreig's got it with free shipping.

 

[Den589]

As stated by Steven, we got through the German turn 1. Steve brought on about 30 squads and 10 tanks.

Not pictured is the far north where he has some riders on a few tanks, capturing the lonely buildings north of the grain fields.

Here is the MLR:
My mortars have been the stars of the show so far. I immobilized a StuG in A35 and a Marder in G22. Both crews bailed which eliminates them in this CG by SSR. He's very cautiously moving forward because of a fear of mines. A group of units entered near A34 and A35, but the 82*MTR's in the train station scared them off board. He gets the units back tomorrow (all except a 7-0 that failed his NMC because he routed off board.) Two Russian SR's are down and pretty well placed as well. Steve smoked the cross roads area with a pre-reg and his other wandered pretty far away from the action into N37. The other gun that broke is a 45L that is in hex L23. It tried to get a side shot on a Stug, but 12'd and is now facing two angry Stug's and a bunch of concealed guys in the B and D hexrows.




Here's the train station that has a 76L ART gun in the fortified 2nd level in W46 and 2 82 MTR in W47 and W48. The one is currently broken however.



Hopefully get back to it this weekend, before I go on an Alaskan Cruise at the end of the month.

 

[Honza]

Nice to see someone get stuck into this brand new CG.

 

[sdennis]

I'm torn between, gee I have a ton of stuff, full speed ahead, vs. take it easy nice and slow until you have overwhelming force

 

[sdennis]

So we got through German T3 yesterday...
Going down the main road into town is not working! Even under more smoke than you can shake a stick at.
I had 3 smoke missions come down on the first "village" area where he had a fanatic outpost and tried to go slowly.
I have found likely 4? minebelts in this area alone, I have a full TB on the road through the first one, the one guarding the North flank is AP only and I have 3 TB through it now but the German right flank into that area has 2 or 3 more that I have stepped into and been repulsed.

At one point he had one harassing fire 80mm and a 120 mm concentration touching each other meaning I had no where to go, my 9-2 ran back to hide and all the tanks ran to the North flank, where the 120 promptly blew 2 of them up...
Lost another Stug to me forgetting he had a 45LL under my smoke.... Lost another board edge Stug to a 76L side shot (very slim LOS), another STug is aquired by a 45L and no matter which way I turn I will give a side shot to the 76L or the 45L...

We need his OBA to disappear to do any thing here.

So one of my problems with ASL is I never seem to "grok" a scenario just by reading the map and card...

It does seem like running through the wheat fields (or riding) gives me more options, I can just drive for the target buildings or turn and take the village from the rear maybe.

My T3 guys in the North entered behind a smoke barrage in DD8 and there is enough here that I think his crossroads guys in the far NE corner will be leaving while they can.

So I have enough to pass the PMC and muster on and than when we do wind, etc. in Russian T4 he of course rolls Gusts and blows half my smoke away....

And his rolls have been way better than average and my MCs are averaging about a 9?

Tough sledding for the Germans so far.

I think I need to get a good perimeter so my scenario 2 guys can "warp" to the front, otherwise taking the big level 2 building and avoiding the instant loss will be very difficult.

 

[Den589]

Here are some photos through German Turn 3.

Here's the Main fighting area, where my 120mm OBA took out two Stugs and the 45L turned and got another with a side shot. Underneath the large brown ACQ counter in the bottom right is a 4th Stug that is burning after a 76L popped up in N30 getting another side shot as this Stug was worried about a different 45L under the wire in G35. Obviously I bought a lot of Mines and a lot of guns!



Here is the NW corner where Steve is mainly grabbing Strategic locations and slowly filtering through the wheatfields into the town.





And finally the NE Corner, where his turn 3 guys just entered with the "monster" tanks. A smoke barrage comes down and my outpost is re-thinking their positions.....



Casualties so far are as follows:

Russian have lost a 82* Mortar to disabling for 2 CVP.

German has lost 4 Stugs, 1 Marder (was abandoned so no crew), 5 squads and 2 leaders (-0 total) for a minimum CVP of 47 CVP (if none of the Stugs had better armor leaders than the inherent 8-1's.)
Steve seems discouraged at the casualty disparity, but the StuG IV's and Ferdinands are here and I don't see the Russians having many answers to those beasts in the North-East area. I tried to plan for them during setup, but the Russians really don't have much that can hurt them.

We will be off for a few weeks, while I am in Alaska for a week.

 

[klasmalmstrom]

German has lost 4 Stugs, 1 Marder (was abandoned so no crew), 5 squads and 2 leaders (-0 total) for a minimum CVP of 47 CVP (if none of the Stugs had better armor leaders than the inherent 8-1's.)

47 CVP sounds a bit too high....

IIRC, Inherent crews and armor leaders do not count for CVP in SaP.

 

[Den589]

47 CVP sounds a bit too high....

IIRC, Inherent crews and armor leaders do not count for CVP in SaP.

I thought that was only if it was abandoned by things like the immobilization task check rule? If outright killed we thought they still counted. I'm at work without the rules and will have to re-read when I get home!

 

[klasmalmstrom]

Could be, I don't have the rules with me either.....but CVP (especially non-Infantry) does not play that big of a part in SaP....it only affects DRM on one table, IIRC.....

 

[sdennis]

Could be, I don't have the rules with me either.....but CVP (especially non-Infantry) does not play that big of a part in SaP....it only affects DRM on one table, IIRC.....

I'm not too concerned with CVP either especially since the tanks will be recovered most likely...

I'm more concerned with my lack of progress towards the sudden death victory condition.

 

[klasmalmstrom]

I'm more concerned with my lack of progress towards the sudden death victory condition.

Yes, I think (or rather it looks that way to me - I've not played the CG) the Germans need to push quite hard in order to grab >= 1 of those four buildings/hexes before the end of the second CG Date and set up a defense vs the Russian counterattack on the third....30 x T-34 and 15 x KV-1 rolling in.....

Plus the Germans needs trucks to be able to re-position Guns more freely....

 

[sdennis]

yeah, guns and trucks are on my buy list for the PM scenario assuming I can get one of the buildings and keep playing!

 

[Honza]

Wow....that sounds intense. A big CG with a lot of mayhem.