After demonstrating a Fighting Withdrawal, Mark and I turned AP112 “First Ally” from Action Pack 12 as our next ASL game. Set early in the invasion of Poland it features the rare match up of Allied Minors (Poles) versus Axis Minors (Slovaks). Published in Action Pack 12, it features vertical board 5a, along with half of boards 10 and 50. Though, really, board 10 isn’t here at all, as it’s almost entirely covered by overlay 6. Hi12 adds an extra small hill to board 5a, and X18 adds an extra cluster of buildings to the corner of board 50.
I had the defending Slovak forces, who set up in building hexes, which can let them scattered over a fair amount of terrain, and need to hold at least one multi-hex building at the end of seven turns. They get nine squads, two leaders, a MMG and two LMG. I spent quite a while pondering a defense, as the Poles also have an extensive setup area, and I had no idea what direction they’d come from. I eventually settled on the buildings near the border of boards 50 and 10 as my likely ‘final stand’ area, with both leaders, and three-and-a-half squads scattered about the ‘board 10’ hill, including the MMG, which would be used to slow down attacks into there.
The Poles are counterattacking to keep from being cut off by the Slovak advance, and have thirteen squads, three leaders, two MMG, and a radio for 70mm OBA (part of the point was to get Mark some OBA experience). They get to set up on the hills of boards 5a and 50, giving them a fair number of approaches to this scenario. Mark put five squads and a 8-0 on the south end of board 50, to sweep onto board 10 from that end, and the rest were on board 50, concentrated at the eastern end.
The initial advance was on the 10U9 building, and I had no luck against that (or anything else) at first, with the Poles walking through my fire, and tying up the squad while the leader stack maneuvered around the edge of the hill. However, my HS in T5 got a PTC to pin the 8-1 and one of two squads. After that, another squad broke in U10 to the residual, and another broke as it tried to cross open ground nearby. At the other end of the hill, my first shot at his main stack approaching the hill did nothing, but SFF pinned his leader and a squad, and broke another one.
Advancing fire pinned a couple units, including the HS in 50I8, who then self-broke to get out of the area. I also self-broke 10U9 to avoid the 4:3 CC coming up, but didn’t have any great route paths out of the area.
Situation, Polish turn 1. Note that the lower-right is all overlay 6 on top of board 10.
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