Archive for ASL

96 results.
Apr06

WO2 Failure to Communicate

by Rindis on April 6, 2018 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

After Patch and I’s last SFB game, we returned to ASL, and decided to try “Failure to Communicate” from the first Winter Offensive pack, which I’d picked up during MMP’s Fall sale. It’s May ’40, and a miscommunication leads to an overwhelming force to take out a French garrison. The French have a mix of nine elite and 1st line squads with good leadership, a MMG, MTR, 25mm ATG, two AMR 33 ‘tanks’ (with 4FP MG MA), one AMD 35 armored car with a 25mm gun, all radioless, and 10 “?”. They get to choose between also getting either another AMD AC, another ATG, or a ATR (with HS) and some mines), and get another elite squad, 8-0, and DC on turn 5. The Germans have 6.5 turns to take five out of seven multi-hex buildings with fourteen squads, with a typical mix of leaders and support weapons. On turn three they get two Pz IIs and three Pz 38(t)s. The French can also win by getting 25 CVP.

The new board from WO1, 59, has a stream crossing it, and board 42 has a stream overlay, so the stream goes across the entire board, and only four multi-hex buildings are on the near side of the stream to the Germans. I took the French defenders and concentrated on two things in my defense: the main village (with four victory buildings), and defending the stream. Especially with my limited anti-tank ability and the fact that he’d need at least one building across the stream, I wanted to make that painful. The main weight of the defense went in and around the main village, with the MMG and MTR behind the stream, and 3.5 squads (with a lot of Dummies) around the board 42 crossing to keep him from just trying to seize that bridge early, drive on the two victory buildings across the stream on board 59 and then try and take the village from both sides. I took the ATR… and then stuck it in a corner that was less likely to see armor (42J1 might have been much better), with the mines going on the one board 42 building in case he went there. I used two “?” to look like a fourth vehicle in 42U1, so he’d think I took the extra AC instead. Sadly, I had forgotten that French tanks tend to have radio trouble, and didn’t consider setting up any platoons. The ATG was set up so it could cover the board 59 bridge, but facing down the road coming from board 42.

Patch setup entirely concentrated on the village. With a hill, and a bit of woods in the way, I couldn’t see anything, and many moves still didn’t give me a chance to see anything, but his 9-2 and a HMG squad moved through the grain to a clear shot of 59J2, which Patch had figured as a Dummy. However, he was part of my outer defensive line (with the Orchard to provide cover for his withdrawal later), and a K/2 wounded the leader while breaking the squad. (It would have been soo nice to get a fatal wound, ah well.) He did get two positions that could fire on J2, and broke the squad on his second attempt with a NMC in AFPh.


Situation, German Turn 1, showing the full board and my HIP setup.
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Oct31

A4 Beyond the Blue Beach

by Rindis on October 31, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

A while back, I proposed the first Annual scenario to have not been reprinted as my next game with Tom Arnold, but we went with the much shorter 195 “Rocket’s Red Glare” instead, as there was limited time before he was unavailable for a few months. We went back to A4 “Beyond the Blue Beach” after the break. With its record on ROAR, the original intent was to play it with the American balance, but that plan got lost in the delays.

Tom took the Americans, who are defending the Salerno landings against a German counterattack. They get fourteen first-line squads with pairs of HMG, MMG, and MTR, and four BAZ 43, with two 105 ART arriving by truck on the first turn. The Germans have six first-line squads with a HMG, two MMG, and three LMG (one MG per squad!), with four Pz IV Hs with an AL entering on turn 1. The Germans have 10 turns in which to exit two tanks off the opposite edge (or exit one and generate more CVP than the Americans). The area is three boards, with Americans setting up in the west on board 19, and the Germans setting up in the east on board 4. The catch is that any time a tank is eliminated, the AL must make a TC, or the surviving tanks must go back to board 4 to regroup before they can try again. Presumably the long time limit assumes that there may be one or two false starts on the German offensive.

The main American problem is that they have to guard an entire long board edge. They can concentrate once the Germans are underway, but have to be wary of the tanks using their good speed to try to just get around them. That and the fact that the ART has no AP and HEAT 6 means that killing tanks is going to be hard. I initially looked at advancing near the center, where board 16 has some walls and buildings to take as cover before pushing into a thin line of woods near the board 16/19 join. But Tom’s main defense seemed to be in that area (and if he’d had the American balance of three foxholes, where I’d expect some of them to be), so I eventually went for a north-edge approach. There was less immediate cover, but some woods and brush between his setup and mine, and I could use the long Y/Z wall to cut off LOS to my advance from most of the rest of the board. Both sides get some “?”, and I used mine to create a Dummy as well as cover everyone, but then I never had anything to do with the Dummy with all the open ground around.

I sent a squad and two HS forward as fast as I could, and sent a MMG squad forward, but two squads and the lesser of my two leaders stayed back to see how it went. On the edge of the board, the HMG and 8-1 moved forward to a woods half-hex, where it could see through some of the gap as Tom moved up. This last move was the only one to draw fire, a range 16 MMG shot that did nothing. The tanks entered as a group, and it was only after I started that I realized I should probably have set up CE to gain some distance from the initial road; I did put the last one CE so he could catch up (going BU during APh). The first tank halted to provide covering fire, while the others stayed in Motion to gain some distance (the AL was in the second tank entered, who ended up in the middle of the Motion group).

Tom’s DFPh had one effect: he malfunctioned the 60mm MTR in 19CC5 on its second shot; it had been trying to shell the stopped tank in 16AA10 (which could have turned into a problem, immobilizing tanks is a mission kill in this scenario with only four of them).


Situation, German Turn 1, showing the full board. North is to the left.
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Oct07

J184 Dayan to Meet You

by Rindis on October 7, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

ASL Journal 12 features a number of interesting scenarios, one of which reuses part of the Journal 2 Kakazu Ridge HASL map for an action in Syria. After our latest game, Patch and I were kicking around ideas for DTO or French, so it was pretty natural for J184 “Dayan to Meet You” to come up. The scenario uses a bit under a third of the original map, and has one overlay to add a stone building to the mix. Several ‘debris’ hexes are treated as hammada (the art used isn’t bad for that either).

The scenario goes 5.5 turns, with both sides getting reinforcements for the bulk of the game. Also, there’s a +1 LV for the first two turns of the game. The French have an 25mm AT Gun in the stone building, with a light MTR on the roof, and then also have three green squads in the main victory area. On turn two, they get two first line squads in trucks, on turn three, they get an AMD 50 AM armored car and two and a half elite cavalry squads with an 8-1 (their only leader with a negative modifier).

The British are trying to either take all six buildings on the board (the stone one, and five wooden ones in the French setup area), or take a bridge slightly behind the French setup area in GG8. They enter with two elite squads and two HS, with a 9-1, hero, and a DC (possession of DCs also make British troops Fanatic by SSR). On turn 2, they get another two squads and 8-1, on turn 3, a squad and a half with an ATR, and on turn 4, a squad, hero, and DC.

Patch took the Vichy, and setup in his assigned area, using spare “?” to create a Dummy stack, and fill out another to look equal to his main 8-0+squad+LMG stack. I contemplated a rush down the east side, towards the bulk of the buildings, but went with a center advance with the idea of most of my troops being out of sight of the main village while getting closer to it, and also being able to support a quick rush on the separate stone building in Z13.

With my guys only visible to Z13, Patch didn’t have a lot of fire against my advance, but what he had was effective, pinning a HS in AA15 (and keeping it from advancing adjacent), and his MTR broke the LMG squad as it stepped onto the map. I ended up grouping everyone for large firegroups against Z13 without doing much else.


Situation, British Turn 1 showing the full board. The roundels are the limit of the French setup area.
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Sep01

FB12 The Black Ravens Are Flying

by Rindis on September 1, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

Patch and I finally got back to Festung Budapest for our latest ASL game. FB has a lot of unusual scenarios, and that’s definitely true here, as there’s a four-hexrow overlap in the opposing setup areas, and anyone who sets up in the same Location starts in Melee (setup is simultaneous and secret). This is probably easier in VASL than FtF. Right after that is worked out, a die is rolled to see who goes first, and is effectively on the attack, as they will have to Control five out of nine ground-level victory Locations at the end of five turns, and both sides have a limit of 35 CVP.

Pre-game rubble checks knocked down most of building YY30, but did nothing to four other buildings. I had the Russians, who start with nine squads (three each 628, 458, 527), a MMG, DC, a 75mm INF, and three T-34/85s. There’s also six OB-given “?”. I mostly used those to conceal the bulk of my forces, but also put a Dummy in EEE27. My main concentrations went on the VC Locations of ZZ27 and CCC28, but the MMG went further out in XX26, where it could cover most of the north side. I put two squads across the main north-south road, with a 628 on the VC Location in ZZ25, and a 527 + 7-0 next to a VC Location in EEE25. Most of my concentration was in the south, and I hoped to take and keep DDD25. The INF was in AAA29, where it was out of the Axis setup area, and could cover most of the area being fought over, especially to the south.

The Axis has three SS squads (two normal 658s and a 468), three regular elite squads (a 548 and pair of 468s), and three Hungarian 526 squads. They’re at Ammo Shortage 4, and only have two LMGs, but also have a DC, 75L AT, Pz IV H, StuG III G(L), and a SdKfz 251/9 (with a short 75mm gun), as well as six OB-given “?” and initial Control of all victory Locations. On the west-side of the main street, he had what turned out to be a dummy in YY27, and two Hungarian squads in building CCC28, one of which was instantly in Melee with my main stack with a 9-1 and 628 (the remaining Hungarians were in BBB26, with the leader in BBB24), while the ATG was in ZZ24. The rest of his squads were in a line along the east side of the street, with two of them in cellars. In one case, this meant we were in the same hex, but not in Melee, but my force in EEE25 did end up in Melee with a 468. His Pz IV was in bypass of FFF24, adjacent to the Melee, though actually out of my setup area, the StuG was in CCC24 looking down the street, while the SdKfz 251/9 was in ZZ23, where it could cover the central building.

The scenario also has purchasable reinforcements, where each side gets three points every turn, and there’s a schedule of what you can buy, from leaders and squads, a few tanks, or even eliminate the next player turn. (You just go through your turn and then do your next turn right after, costs 8 points.) The start went to the Axis, and Patch skipped buying anything, and went straight to Prep. He only fired his group in YY25 at my guys next door in ZZ25, getting a MC that I passed. Movement consisted of skulking in the center and preparing to rush into EEE25.

I didn’t want to reveal too many “?” for fear of making them vulnerable, but I did reveal the INF, which missed a shot at DDD25, but behind-the-lines fire at DDD28 broke that squad. Patch had forgotten his squad in ZZ25/c, and I pounded it, eventually breaking it with a shot from a T-34. Patch declined to advance into CC in ZZ25, though he would have had an edge in leadership and FP (he’d still be attacking at 1:1 -1, unless he could get the Ambush; too chancy). But CC went poorly for me, with the Hungarians wiping out a 628, 9-1 and DC in CCC28 while taking no losses, and he CRed my 527 in EEE25 for no losses.


Situation, German Turn 1 showing the full playing area. The red hexes are the Russian entry area, and the blue hexes are the Axis entry area. North is to the left. German setup was xx28 and above, Russian setup xx25 and below, but not in/adjacent to building BBB26.
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Aug09

195 Rocket’s Red Glare

by Rindis on August 9, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

For our next game, Tom and I ended up with a small scenario from the new Yanks (and originally from The General), 195 “Rocket’s Red Glare”. The SS are defending the board three village against a large number of American paratroopers backed up by a M36 GMC… and a number of captured panzerfausts. Setup is a little odd, as the Americans get to start in a fairly restricted area (five hexes) on board, or enter on turn 1, and must first decide which troops are doing which. Then the SS sets up, and then the Americans set up the on board troops and prepare for entry.

The Germans have 7 regular SS squads, reasonably good leadership, a MMG, HMG and LMGs, a PSK,  a StuG IIIG (L), a Wirbelwind, and a 105 ART to defend two buildings on board 3 for six turns (and I should point out at this point that we missed the MMG, so I played this with just the HMG and LMGs). The Americans have 12 paratrooper squads, great leadership (four leaders ranging from 10-2 to 8-0, and all but that last have a negative modifier), with four MMGs, four BAZ (two each 44 and 45) and four PFs (normally marked with DC counters, but Vassal has American PF counters, which we used), and they win immediately upon getting Control of Q7 or O10.

I would have liked to set up on top of some of the hills to get good LOS, but the restriction to setting up in woods and buildings precluded that. The StuG and ART were part of the final line of defense, with each one pointed down the road loop near the close victory building. Most of the rest of the setup was scattered through the village, with some outliers on each flank in case he tried to go around everything towards O10. Tom put most of his forces onboard, with the M36 entering at Y1, and a platoon entering at I1.

He started by deploying two of the on-board squads, and one off of I1. He tied a fair number of men up in Prep Fire, but rolled well, and killed a HS in W4 outright, as well as breaking two squads and a 8-0 in the village, though my sniper broke a squad of his in return. This allowed him to occupy the south-west end of the village without trouble, and entering platoon took up positions around N2, while the M36 strayed out of contact with anything else in the west.


Situation, American Turn 1, showing the full board, and my HIP 105mm ART.
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Jul14

A96 In Rommel’s Wake

by Rindis on July 14, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

Having fallen into playing a couple scenarios from a set of four SL-conversions/tournament scenarios in ASL Annual ’96, I arranged for a third and advertised for a game of the last one in the set, A96 “In Rommel’s Wake”, and got a game with Pierce. In May ’40, Rommel has crossed the Meuse, but the French are still holding other crossings, and the German army is trying to seize another one from a small defending force.

There’s a number of interesting things going on here. It’s a three-board scenario with board 7 and two bridges in the middle. The Germans enter from board 5 with nine 1st line squads of bicycle troops (with an errata SSR that allows them to carry four LMGs) and two PSW 222 armored cars. The basic French defense is six 1st line squads, two 8-0 leaders, a MMG, two LMG, and two DCs on board 2 and the south bank of the river, all but one squad HIP as long as they’re in concealment terrain. However, they secretly draw a chit before the game that determines the length of the game, and their exact troops. With a draw of ‘1’, it’s the basic troops and 5 turns; a ‘2’ is 6 turns, and adds a squad, an 8-1 and a MMG; ‘3’ is 8 turns and one of the DC is already secretly Set on a bridge hex; and a ‘4’ is 10 turns, and adds an eighth squad, and promotes an 8-0 to an 8-1. The Germans need to have 12 VP south of the river at the end of the game (including broken units!), and at least one of the bridges needs to be intact.

The scenario has a lopsided record on ROAR, so we went with the French balance, which gives them a pair of foxholes, and Pierce volunteered for the French. He (unknown to me) drew chit 1, and set up the foxholes at the exit to both bridges, which now that I think of it should have been HIP until I came  into view, though the non-HIP troops in them would have been something of a giveaway, and it wouldn’t have take long to see them. I decided to go for the far, wooden, bridge as it was much shorter, and I didn’t want to be stuck on a single clear hexrow forever. I gave some consideration to sending some forces to the nearer, longer, bridge, so that both were threatened, but decided I would need concentration of force more than the French.

Bicycles are fast. They count as Infantry movement, so there’s no changing CA, and CX and leader and road bonus still count, but each road hex costs 0.5 MF, so I made 16 hexes this turn (+1 in APh). Also, there’s no MF cost for getting on/off them. The two ACs went down the middle, one of them to 7Q3 so it could try to interdict any shift of troops to the targeted bridge, and try and keep the French from hurrying onto the bridge to Set a DC on it, and the other to a more sheltered position that could see near the exit of the stone bridge.

To my surprise, there was no French response at all, and the second half of the first turn passed quietly. I had figured there’d be at least one squad covering the main bridge who’d rush towards my attack.


Situation, Turn 1, showing the full map.
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Jul06

AP75 Gabriel’s Horn

by Rindis on July 6, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

While looking over some of my recent ASL purchases, Patch was struck by some of the scenarios in AP8 featuring the 36th Infantry Division in Italy. So, for our next game we went with “Gabriel’s Horn”, which features a chunk of the division getting overrun by the Germans shortly after the Salerno landings, as they were much more familiar with the terrain and infiltrated the American positions at night.

It’s an interesting setup, using all of board 5a, and the middle half of 60. The Americans have seven squads on the hill of 5a, and another five in the dense hilltop town of 60 (both split between 1st Line and Green). The first force has to set up at levels 2 and 3, while the Germans set up anywhere on 5a at least two hexes away from the Americans. The second force has to be within three hexes of 60Q5, which restricts them to a very dense part of town. Both sections have two MMG and two MTR and two BAZ 43s (which have to be used by a crew, or suffer Non-Qualified use penalties; presumably, they’re brand new, and the crews represent the few people specifically trained on them so far). The Germans have fourteen squads (mostly 1st Line, with some elites), the usual MGs, a couple DCs, and some OB-“?” (which the defending Americans don’t get), and four StuGs (two B, two G) enter on turn 2; and they get 80+mm OBA with an Offboard Observer.

The setup allows the Germans to basically surround and cut to ribbons the main American force (who at least get to set up entrenched), who, with an ELR of 2, will tend to collapse. But the Germans have an ambitious goal: they have 6.5 turns to take Control of all the Level 3 hexes on board 5a (there’s 19 of them), and take 4/7 three-hex buildings on board 60, while doing twice as many CVP to the Americans as they take.

Oh, and for another wrinkle, all the Orchards are in-season, while the woods are Olive Groves, and the brush is Cactus Patches (we assumed that both of those should still be Inherent Terrain, since they normally replace Orchards).

I had the defending Americans, and set up in a line mostly meant to try and support itself on the western half of the main hill, though a final three squads were in the east to keep the Germans from setting up there even as I ignored the very easternmost peak. Board 60 set up with an eye to trying to interdict the valley and slow down German attempts to get up to the town. Both MTRs were manned by a HS each, in a square in R6, while a MMG squad in R7 was ready to spot for them. Patch set up loosely around the poor exposed GIs, with two stacks obviously already in position to head into town once securing the hill was underway.

Patch opened with a 16FP shot that only caused a PTC to my hilltop MMG in 5aF4, which had no effect, but that activated his Sniper, who broke one of my MTR HS in 60R6. His third shot hit the same target, and ELRed the squad. The next shot pinned a 8-0 and ELRed the squad in J9. The sixth shot was a ‘2’ on Encircling Fire to wound my 8-1 and Disrupt the other MMG squad. However, that also set off my Sniper, who killed an already-fired 8-1. A pair of ROF shots later, and the BAZ crew in J7 broke.

Patch then went to movement, crawling closer to what was left. In Final Fire, I broke a German squad in H11 who hadn’t fired or moved, and revealed a DC+HS in F6 on a passed 1MC, and my board 60 MMG pinned the leader and squad in P4. Two of my MTRs missed, but one got a solid hit (1MC) H8, which the Germans passed. Advancing Fire pinned my BAZ crew in G6. Overall, both side’s fire rolls were fairly good, and we both felt that it had been a fairly brutal turn.

A HS accepted the surrender of F4, while a different one went in there for CC vs my 7-0, and neither side did anything to the other.


Situation, German Turn 1, showing the full playing area. North is to the left, and the German perimeter markers show where the StuGs are due to come in.
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Jun28

A94 Last Defense Line

by Rindis on June 28, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

By the time I finished Panzer Graveyard with Tom Arnold, I was engaged in a (currently delayed) game from a set of four in Annual 96 that were rereleases from SL. I proposed “Last Defense Line” from that set, and Tom took the defending French.

It’s May ’40, and the French are defending half of boards 3 and 4 with eight squads, good leadership, two MMGs, a Brandt MTR, and two 65mm INF Guns, with two foxholes. The Germans enter with 12 squads, very good leadership (five leaders), a MMG, four LMGs, and a Radio for 80mm BTN OBA. Complicating the French defense is the fact that before play the German picks a random chit to determine his goal: either eight turns to get 12 CVP, nine turns to take five buildings in the board 3 village, or ten turns to exit 12 VP off the opposite side. No matter what they draw, the German job is made harder by being unable to go CX.

I drew Chit 1, and so needed to inflict 12 CVP on the French, with an initial plan of pushing to contact as rapidly as I was allowed. I figured it’d help create the idea that I needed the village or exit. There was little fire until near the end of movement, his MMG stack was able to pin a squad in my 10-2 group moving deep in a grainfield, and a pair of squads on the south side managed to break a leader and squad while pinning another squad. A DFPh shot ended with activating his sniper, who broke the HS that was covering my south flank.


Situation, German Turn 1. North is to the left, Allied markers show the limit of the French setup area. And by SSR, grain is in season in May.
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May23

ASL Upgrade Round 1

by Rindis on May 23, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

Much of my base ASL set dates to the mid ’90s. I originally got the rule book and Paratrooper at a flea market at DunDraCon in ’96. I remember specifically getting West of Alamein in a visit to the Oceanside GameTowne (which closed a year later), but I can’t remember where I got the other core modules. Anyway, while I mostly play on Vassal, the physical set does come out every once in a while. So I’m finally getting around to upgrading my copies of Beyond Valor and Yanks from the AH versions.

Eevee wanted to see what was going on. And yes, I also got an Action Pack so I’d also have something new while spending all this money.

This gets me the newer, nicer counters (without the annoying side-nibs) for the main system markers, the Germans, Russians, and Americans. (I’ll note that I ‘gain’ a half-sheet of counters going from one set to the other. I also get the light gray Finns to go with the ones from Hakkaa Päälle.) I transfer 9 boards to the newer SK-style, which helps on storage space. I managed to get most of the old SL-boards back in the 90s, so I’m getting several duplicates of boards that aren’t scheduled to go out with the sale of my old sets (1-5 and 8, 40-41 will someday go out with CdG, and this is my second SK copy of 24) the only ‘new’ board I’m getting is 46, which was originally from Action Pack 2 (and the other board from that was in Rising Sun; now if MMP will just release the scenarios…). There’s updated scenario cards, which mostly just update small bits of language, though “Gavin’s Gamble” is practically an all-new scenario, and can’t be played with just the contents of BV and Yanks since it also wants a couple overlays. Finally, there’s also all the ‘new’ reprinted scenarios in BV3 (123-136) and Yanks 2 (178-202), but I should have the original versions of almost all of those.

Round 2 of upgrading should be getting For King and Country and Hollow Legions 3rd Ed to replace West of Alamein and Hollow Legions 2nd Ed (this plan is part of what prompted this round, as I want Soldiers of the Negus, which will be included in the new HL). Of course, FKaC has sold out, so it will be trickier to do round 2 as I wouldn’t be surprised if HL3 sells out by the time MMP can get around to reprinting FKaC….

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May07

J167 Hart Attack

by Rindis on May 7, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

While looking through the ASL Journal 11 scenarios back in January, Patch saw that J167 “Hart Attack”, featured some Grants, and wanted to have a go at it. We’ve actually used them before (or at least some Lees), but I got to drive them that time, so I took the Germans defending against Allied forces in Tunisia. This is technically a re-release of the early ’90s scenario ASLUG7, but frankly, it’s a completely new scenario from the same designer. The German forces are about the same, the British have been cut down, it’s two turns shorter, and gone from a three-map area with overlays to just needing board 7a. The VCs and SSRs have also gotten a lot simpler. That said, someone could probably talk me into trying it for comparison’s sake.

The Germans have 8 squads and 3 HS of 548 elites, with MGs, a pair of 50mm MTR, an ATR, DC, and a 40mm squeezebore ATG, and then get three Pz IIIs with a 9-1 AL on turn 3. The Allies enter from the west with thirteen British squads (mostly first line, with some elites), good leadership (four leaders with -4 in leadership mods between them), HMG, MMG, a couple 51mm MTR, an ATR, and five American M3 Grants. The Allies have six turns to get 7 VP; getting one VP per building they control (there are seven on the board), one per every other tank they exit off the east side (i.e., 1 for exiting one, 2 for exiting three, 3 for exiting all five), and a VP per German tank they kill. The Tunisian setting means that orchards are olive groves, and hedges are cactus hedges. The Germans are considered Elite for Ammo Depletion (…I think I forgot that), and the British get to use ATMM to represent Gammon bombs.

There’s one building at the west edge, and then two widely separated clusters of three buildings on the board. This gives the Allies two general approaches depending on which cluster they want to go for first. One set is tucked way back, and is hard to get at unless it’s the primary target, while the other is much more central (and nearer the odd, ‘close’ building), but is made of stone in fairly dense terrain with walls, olive groves, and a couple hills, and features the only two-hex building in the lot. I set up blocking positions on both western roads, one MMG overlooking the further buildings, the other in the two-hex building, with a MTR adjacent that it could spot for (which was bore-sighted on the hill overlooking the compound). The ATG went on a hill where it could boresight a woods-road that Patch would almost have to use if he went north. I figured if he went south, he’d still come for the final buildings anyway, and I’d push the gun down to where it could trade shots from either side of the walls. The ATR went in the center, where it’d have a chance at an underbelly shot at a tank going over the wall that lines the area; about the only good shot I figured he’d let me have with the thing.

Patch took the northern route. In fact, more northern than I’d figured. I’d kind of mentally shrugged off the most-northern section of the board, which would require going around a fair amount of terrain before getting anywhere. So naturally, half his force went there, and made me wonder if he’d be trying to overrun my ATG before it got a shot at a tank. I didn’t have any fire against most of that, but the rest of his forces lined up at the wall, with a large stack headed for the close building just across the wall, and a lucky shot broke his 9-2 as he entered, and the resulting LLTC pinned the two squads with him. Two of his tanks went over the wall, but my ATR shot went wild (Final 12), while one of them stopped long enough to reduce my forward squad with a BFF K/2, and three of his tanks parked around a concealed HS in D5. His AFPh scattered a number of acquisition markers about, with no other effect, despite a NMC against the squad in E4.


Situation, British Turn 1, showing the full board with my boresighting and ATG.
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