TF-F3 Taking Back Vital Ground

[ibncalb]

This scenario sees a rag tag, but well supported, American force trying to retake a series of crest lines from the CPVA.

The CPVA are a quite capable force of 437s and 337s with adequate leadership and SW.

The US vary from Katusa, to 667 and are supported by a battery of 105s in the valley (direct fire only), a HMG and 81mm (limited in movement) and a pair of MMGs.

Time is on the US side. 6.5 turns. The map features, as well as steep hills, many slopes. Both sides need to be careful lest the Chinese setup accidentally in view of the 105s or the American assaulters run afoul of a unseen los. The PDP areas do somewhat obscure the slopes.

Having played on this map many times the first thing I planned as the US was to move the mortar and HMG as far up the hill as possible. The snow and the steep hills make these moves slow. The MMGs setup on the far right and moved into the edge of the light woods to be able to see over the saddle between the VC areas, negating the hill side scrub. I left a couple of Katusa HS amongst the 105s as sniper bait.

I attacked along the right-hand side and immediately ran into the best supplied MMG in the Chinese army.

However, my opponent had setup some of his units in view of the 105s and area fire started to stripe and pin in place some of his defenders. My MMGs, being able to see over the hindrances, caused a few MCs. The CPVA were reverse sloped, and my assault force found defilade as his defenders moved out of line of fire of my guns and SW.

His sniper was placed well forward, so my chubby little Katusa HSs started a slow jog forward for the victory area on the left. My opponent moved the bulk of his force to the right of the map to counter my assault, needing to burn MP to move them down the back of the ridge to avoid my professionally placed MGs. At this time, my HMG got into position and assembled and threatened a FL across the saddle preventing oppo from reinforcing the left-hand side VC hexes with the forces he had just moved right, so my assault force ran to the left, linking up with the forever CXd Katusas.

My FL slowed his forces trying to get back to the left and I got a strong assault force into place for the central VC hex and 2x126 and a concealed 346 (which my oppo thought was a Katusa) in place to assault the left VC hex.
In the CPVA’s last turn my erstwhile got a stack into the centre VC hex and a concealed HS into the left hand hex. My assaulting force in the centre was reduced, by advancing fire and CC, to one concealed squad but the 105s stripped all of the important concealment on the CPVA.

In my last turn I just needed to win 2 CC. I won one and not the other. CPVA win.

My opponent used to be a real whiner over dice. He’s better now, but this is the first time I’ve heard him complain that his dice were too hot to touch. He mentioned that he diced me. Indeed, there were more KIAs and lucky assault fire shots and lucky CC rolls than expected, but I did manage a crit and did not malfunction any of my SW. So, despite him using my own precision dice against me, it was a close game.

The winter camo for the Chinese is key, as is the ability to see the slopes. Understanding slopes, steep hills and the effects of snow on elevation change is also crucial.

I’m in a continuing publicity campaign for the power of the IPM. In this scenario there was only one instance where the need for an independent movement TC really caused a problem for my opponent. Apart form that, IPM allowed him to move waves up and down steep hills in snow with ease. Another win for IPM.

I like the scenario; indeed, I love the whole TFF pack. This once again shows off the abilities and limitations of the CPVA. Their range is poor and they often, on defence, need to remain motionless and get shot. To counter this, they have W7.95, which, apart from the ability of units to leap from a building into a water obstacle, is my favourite ASL rule. The ability to grow concealment when in LOS is game changing. In TFF Steep hills or hill side scrub provides the concealment terrain, winter camo gives a +1 hindrance and even a bit of scrub give the second. At night even the scrub is not necessary.

Steep hills are also a very interesting ruleset. The main effect is the subtle change to units carrying equal to their IPC. This is not a problem in other areas of ASL unless CXing. Here it adds a difficulty to the movement of MMGs that is absent in other ASL. It’s clearly a first world problem as the CPVA don’t really have many 3PP SW.

Good scenario, options for the attacker, covered routes for the CPVA as long as they know and can identify the slopes. 8/10 recommend.

 

[Craig Benn]

It was nice to do a Korea scenario again – even with a guy who’d playtested the scenario . It’s a lovely winterized map that cries out for cardboard slaughter.

The CPVA and US army make for an interesting match-up. The Yanks have the firepower/range advantage and the Chinese have to reverse slope on defence or they’ll just stripe away. But close-in, the CPVA have stealth, the ability to regrow concealment in LOS with a +2 hindrance and two squad equivalents HIP.

The first turn revealed that I wasn’t nearly as clever as I thought I was. I’d intended to have two half squads on the rearmost peaks to strip concealment and everything else out of sight. But I’d missed the fact there were some slopes on the (bright yellow) perimeter markings even though they were easy to see and had at least one squad in a snow sanger in sight of the 105’s in the valley. I managed to get off fairly lightly.

I did dice Ben a bit (his dice I might add – clearly he switched the wrong ones) but two snakeye’s were one down ones that cowered to nothing, and another gave a HOB surrender... admittedly the other two gave straight KIA’s. But I think it was more bad dice with his supporting fire than my good dice that decided the issue. I gave a lot more shots than I’d like but he got very little ROF or rounds on target.

Given the need to stay away from hill edges, the CPVA have to rely heavily on HIP traps and all mine came off. A 9-0/crew/MMG combo on a slope hex killed two squads over a couple of turns, a 4-3-7 killed a surrendering squad (a rare mistake on Jonesey’s part as the 4-3-7 was pinned so couldn’t interdict, but the MMG could. He fired at the MMG but didn’t do anything instead of def/firing WP in the way.) The 4-3-7 got casualty reduced and then it’s broken half squad got captured (worth doing for the Yanks as the CPVA have a 17CVP cap). My remaining HIP HS took out a 3-3-6 squad in close combat before dying. All very satisfactory.

After that Ben shifted the axis of attack from the left to the centre/right and I couldn’t do much but shift a couple of squads back and forth along a shelf on the rear side of the hill mass.

It is very much a question of timing as the Yanks get the last half turn and the victory hexes are all in the LOS of the 105’s who have WP9 (elite by SSR). I figured to get up there on CPVA Turn5 (of 6.5), take the pain and try and recycle concealment. The US infantry came on a bit quicker than I expected – steep hills are only really a factor if you’re carrying your IPC or more – so I had to counterattack a couple of squads who’d managed to get adjacent to the victory peak on Turn6. Despite some striping, my surviving counter-attackers managed to mutually slaughter in hand-to-hand.

So it came down to a last turn rush, and my surviving guys got Smoked/WP’d in so down to a final CC. I had two squads to one on the victory peak that counted and survived the final CC. Very close.

It’s a dozen squads vs a dozen squads so playable in a few hours. I don’t think either of us made any glaring errors although Ben’s play was probably better than mine. Given his AAR’s are often like Eminem diss tracks it was a relief to win so I didn’t have to listen to his nonsense.

It’s a solid fun scenario without being exceptional, I suspect it would benefit from playing the scenarios in order like an album. Then you might feel some of the desperation of the poor GI’s after their battalion got shredded on the night attack and had to retake the peaks or be utterly destroyed.

The aftermath section on the scenario cards plus designer notes are fascinating and the map is a doozy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad Andrew Hershey product and they’ve become must-buy for me.

This capped off a pleasant week of gaming from a great host - most of it was non-ASL, either Downfall (interesting but wouldn’t unseat World in Flames for me) or Dien Bien Phu – Final Gamble (I really liked but not sure how many times you could play it after working out the optimum strategies).

There must be over 100 Korea scenarios now ( Forgotten War ones) but it’s still a small enough pond that another 11 good ones on a historical map is a welcome addition. Dust off Chapter W you pussies/ imperialist running dogs….