A32 Zon With the Wind AAR in progress

[Rindis]

Okay, I still need to finish off the tale of our last game. But I'm going to try to pick at that while keeping up with this one.

After some hemming and hawing, Patch decided upon the Germans in Zon With the Wind (from a list of suggestions from me). I'm thinking we may very well go through the whole A'91 Market-Garden set, though I don't know if we'll do the 'CG' bit, or even stick to the same sides each time.

I have to say, tonight is not anything I'm going to celebrate as wonderful tactical acumen from me. While thinking through the scenario, I remembered the fact that I could deploy, and had good smoke capability (which certainly was not true last game). But I forgot both of them until turn 2. It sure would have helped on turn 1.

So, I went in with no scouting HS, and no smoke. Thankfully, the dice weren't too kind to Patch, and one squad walked through a couple shots unhurt. My leader stack was going to head to J2, a nice, safe point from which to overlook the battlefield. Patch put down a FL, which did nothing. Then he revealed R4, which I get the idea he wanted to still be concealed for turn 2. He got a K/1 on a long-range shot and managed to wound the leader and break the squad. All things considered, not too bad a price for the muff. And as a last bit of luck, a squad in H2 managed to get '?' while out of LOS, but not in concealment terrain.


Situation, end of American Turn 1 MPh.

The German turn 2 got exciting. R4 fired on M2 to no effect. Patch then got agressive with his east flank, sending one stack to the edge of the American turn 2 entry area, and another stack shifting position into its former location. One thing you've got to give Patch: he makes a wonderful German small-unit commander—he's as aggressive on the counter-attack as the Wehrmacht could hope for.

He next tried to empty out building M4, but that was the entire reason why I had two adjacent squads of paratroopers across the way. With some hot dice, I broke both squads as they tried to move, and a '12' caused the 7-0 to ELR to a wounded 6+1. The dice are definitely trying to make up for my blunders. He also sent his west-flank force into Crest Status at H4, which complicated what I wanted to do.


Situation, end of German Turn 1 MPh.

I took some time to figure out how I wanted to arrange my turn 2 forces. I also recalled that he had 5 dummy '?'. I realized that the T1 stack was probably a bluff as was one of his two flanking forces.

My broken squad came back, setting me up for a fairly active turn. The first thing was to send a HS into T1, which, indeed, was empty. My first attempt to press into his broken troops was repulsed when Patch revealed L6 and broke my squad in Bypass of K5. Suspecting that Patch hadn't put all his Dummies on the same side, I advanced the recovered squad to the rear-side of his Crest Status counter, and then advanced my concealed squad up a hex. When he refused to even strip concealment, I was as sure as I could get.

My attempt to push in the center didn't go so well. I smoked Q1 from off-board (planning to Advance in if the roll went badly), but fire from R4 still broke my leader, though it didn't affect the squad.

My last move was not so good. I moved from O0 (offboard) to P0 and promptly got fired on by the first 88, which broke the squad. I was trying to save the extra 0.5 from O1, even though it wouldn't have mattered. Bleh.

I advanced a squad, leader, and dm MMG into N2h1, where it should prove an annoyance to Patch. My concealed squad in the west found that indeed there was no one home. And my main forces were well into the hole I'd blasted in Patch's defenses and re-DMing everything in sight.


Situation, end of American Turn 2 MPh.

[Tork]

Fun story so far. Was the first 88 under the trench in P7? Interesting hearing about the Germans counterattacking--my experience is that those German squads are needed to choke off the exit zone.

I really like that Market Garden series of scenarios. There are definitely worse ways to spend your days.

[klasmalmstrom]

Nice AAR with the picture, however...

I smoked Q1 from off-board (planning to Advance in if the roll went badly),

...I don't think you can place Inf. Smoke from offboard.

A2.52:
"...No action is allowed by units offboard awaiting entry..."

A2.51 allows you to move normally offboard, but only to enter an on-board hex that is not adjacent to the one set up in.

[Rindis]

...I don't think you can place Inf. Smoke from offboard.

A2.52:
"...No action is allowed by units offboard awaiting entry..."

Blah. I thought something seemed funny when I thought of it, but Patch didn't object, and his rules memory is better than mine. Maybe he was just stunned that I thought of using smoke at all.

Getting off the edge of the board can be a challenge in this one....

Tork, you'll note he 'counterattacked' with a dummy stack. I quickly started realizing that's what it was, but it sure made me think.... (Though, 4-7 CC odds is not something he can afford to invite.)

And yes, the 'first' 88 is the stack under the trench in P7. The second is obviously in T9. Both reasonably standard places for them, as far as I can tell. My problem is that the squads that are taking the hits and getting delayed are the ones with bazookas. That could get important later.

[Patch_Bunny]

Blah. I thought something seemed funny when I thought of it, but Patch didn't object, and his rules memory is better than mine. Maybe he was just stunned that I thought of using smoke at all.

I'll forgive that error, given my blunder of entering reinforcements on the wrong board edge last game.

[Patch_Bunny]

German Set-up

Hmm. Hmm. And hmm. I'm always lousy and predicting where the game will be in the next turn or two, and in a scenario like this, which is essentially a fall back defense as I trade space for time, you need to be good at it.

Where to put the 88s? The lynch pin to my defense, and the only units which will trade blows toe-to-toe with the Americans. I choose P7 for it's command of the entry areas and board center. A little far forward and at risk of being flanked if Rindis goes wide, but I think it's a good spot. The second is more difficult, but I chose T9 for its coverage of the exit areas. Unfortunately, the S7 building blocks a lot of my LOS, but it will work as the last layer of my defense.

The rest of the infantry is a bit scattered as I search for those -1FFMO shots if Rindis gets lazy. I occupy both upper levels of building M4, and another FG goes in the upper level of R4. Dummies go on the flanks in G5 and V3. V3 has the immediate plan to move to T1 on turn 1 to make Rindis a little nervous about his turn 2 reinforcement entry. Not likely to be a unit, but he can't assume it's not a HS either. A squad goes in J8 to cover the right flank and center as my reserve.

US Turn 1
Rindis moves a unit to L1, which catches fire from M4 to no effect. A second squad works is way into the H1 crags as he seeks cover of the gully, and then a leader and squad waltz right into I1. Initial fire from N3 does nothing, but long range fire from R4 gets a K/1 result on a 2 (-3), which wounds the leader. With no one left to fire, Rindis safely moves a second squad up to K2 with an advance into L2. Not a bad start.

German 1
R4 fires at M2, hoping to break the squad and let me escape from the M4 building, but to no effect. Not wanting to be stuck in the road, I move normally down the stairs in N3 and break under fire of a 12 (+2). Thinking that improves the odds of M4, I move them downstairs and get nailed with a 6 (+2) that CR's the leader into the ever-helpful 5+2 and breaks the squad. Turn 1, and 40% of my force is broken with little hope of rallying. I move the dummy up to T1, and the other dummy into crest status in H4. Both LMGs are out, but I suspect Rindis isn't counting counters, and this may still be a 7-0 and 447. My reserve squad moves to L8 to cover the O4 to N6 road, and the 7-0 and 447 in U5 move to V3 to cover the northern road.

US Turn 2
Rindis rallies his broken units, who sally forth. Rindis challenges the H4 dummy stack by moving right next to it in OG with concealed units. Drat. Along the northern edge, a scouting HS moves into T1 revealing that dummy stack as well. Smoke is placed in Q1 (since revealed to be illegal), to no avail as I break the 9-1 that enters with a squad. I break another squad bypassing K5, the 88L in P7 nails a squad in P0, but I can't stop the other units that heading into town. Rindis is posed to get all my units back under DM (as I expected), and that hole in my left flank is getting bigger as the 9-2 sets up shop in M4 with the MMG.

I have several "move or shoot" tough decisions in my turn 2. V3 is facing an 8FP +4 if he stays, but has the opportunity of placing the 9-1 and squad that routed to N0 under DM if I stay, keeping them out of action possibly into turn 3, which is huge. R4 is due to be surrounded unless he leaves, but that 9-2 is a heck of a threat against my 88 in P7. And poor little L8. I have no clue where to put him as he prepares to face down three 747s, and there's not a lot of wiggle room left for him.

[Rindis]

Patch immediately Prepped with both 88s at M4h1. He wasn't able to do more than Pin the leader, but the squad double-broke, making the MMG useless for a bit, and showing just why it's dangerous to let both concentrate on one high-priority target.

Other than that, it was a quiet turn. I accepted the surrender of the squad and wounded leader in M6. I didn't want other squads running away if they'd otherwise surrender, and who knows, I might manage to exit them for bonus EVP. Patch also bugged out of building R4, which was getting a bit hot.


Situation, German Turn 2, beginning of AFPh.

Naturally, nothing came back in my own RPh. As I shuffled units about, I tried covering my left flank with some smoke, but a '6' put an end to that, and the HS over there died from a lack of cover. I had hoped to pincer the remaining broken German squad between him and another squad, giving him nowhere to go (I forgot about the second level of R5, of course). But now I could only force DM.

Up the middle I moved the HS with the prisoners as human shields into the open at N6. Not that I thought Patch would avoid firing at them, but it would take a 3KIA to guarantee eliminating the HS. L7 fired to no effect, and then the 88 got a CH, which disrupted my HS, and reduced the prisoner squad to a HS. This was good enough, as it allowed my right flank to move more freely.

All-in-all, the turn went well, but it was marred by an oversight. I pulled back out of Q6, thinking it looked a bit hot. Notably, I was worried about the 88 in T9. Likely, the building in S8 would block LOS, but that's the nature of a string of mistakes I started making at this point.


Situation, American Turn 3, end of DFPh.

At this point, got most of my troops back, rallying 2.5 squads and the 9-2, only missing the HS that had gotten shot up last time. Patch only prepped with one 88 (the other having no targets), got one hit, but the squad passed the resulting MC.

Patch shuffled his forces around, pulling out of V3 to reoccupy U6, with the 7-0 backing him up in V5, in case something should happen. The annoying part was he sent his 8-1 leader back into R5, as I had no LOS to the area, and he could rescue the squad that I'd just let get away.

The captured HS made its TC to try to escape from my still-broken HS. This lead to a rules quandary that we never did adequately resolve. He attacked the HS and failed (barely...). The ultimate question was whether that produced a Melee situation. A20.55 kind of implies it does, but then you get all sorts of further questions. Considering that there's a squad and a half in perfectly good order, prisoners trying to escape should be relatively easy to round up, but there seems to be no Inexperienced Personnel bonus to capture them (even though they would become such if they rearmed themselves...). I'm wondering if a failed attempt to get the guards even causes Melee at this point. At any rate, at greater than 10-1 odds, I recaptured them anyway. (Which caused the question of, if there was a melee, and the other troops did need to attack them in CC, have they now swapped guards?)


Situation, German Turn 3, beginning of AFPh.

[Patch_Bunny]

Gah! Switch gears now. The Russians are gone, and it's back to the western front.

German Turn 2

The 9-2 and MMG are in M4h1, in LOS of both 88s, so why not? Both fire and score hits, resulting in a broken 9-2 and a broken 337. In movement I bail out of R4 as I'm close to being surrounded (and the key to a fall back defense is, well, falling back). V2 will be able to cover the 4-row road, and in S7 I can cover the other approach and the 7-row road. I move a 447 to L7 to cover H7, which I expect Rindis to enter, and to cover the western flank. Not a good position, but with two squads down it's hard to get into any good positions now. Defensive Fire has no effect. In Rout, I lose both units in H6. Damn damn damn.

US Turn 3

Rindis has an excellent rally phase and fails to bring anyone back.

Rindis tries to screen his advance with smoke and fails. I kill a hs in R3, and when Rindis gets a little ballsy with his hs and all my prisoners, I drop an HE shell in the middle of the N6 crossroads with a Critical Hit which breaks everyone, reducing the prisoner squad to a hs. The fire he draws opens up his western flank, but there's nothing I can do. There's too many Americans and too little me.

Oddly, in Advance Rindis moves back from Q6 to P5. A move into R5 would put in in a stone building and out of LOS of the 88, and would put more pressure on the broken 467 who crawled upstairs in Rout. Heck, even staying in Q6 would be good as the 88 can't hit him without changing its CA, which then means I'm ignoring the two platoons bearing down from the left if I turn to engage. Instead, he moves to P5, which is back into my covered arc. Plus, the way is clear for me to move the 8-1 into R5h1 and rally the 467 with a '9' or less, as there's no one with LOS to replace DM. Yeah, not one of Rindis' better plays.

German Turn 3

With everyone out of LOS, Rindis has the Rally phase he needs and a lot of green is back in action. For Prep I fire the 88 at M6. P5 is a better shot, but I need to break M6 to free up an escape route my 447 in L8. I fire to no effect, and it's too damn early to risk a Gun with an IF shot. In movement I abandon V3 for U6 (Rindis can't go around and still exit at this point), and work the 447 to M9. I do not expect him to live next turn, though the L9/M9 pond does give him a fighting chance. Rindis fires a lot at the 88 in P9, but he's dug in well and shrugs off the attacks. In Close Combat the T9 88L regains concealment, as does my 8-1 in R5h1.

Yeah, we did have an odd prisoner event this turn. With the guarding hs broken, my hs passes his NTC and tries to escape. I fail to kill the 337 (miss by 1!), and Rindis attacks back with his 9-2 and a fistful of infantry and recaptures him with a GO unit. Legal? No idea.

In turn 4, I expect Rindis to take the western half of the town center, and be into the K8-M9 woods. He's still too far back to exit on turn 5, so this will go down to the wire on turn 6.

[Mudd]

I played this one last month and placed my 88's in the the same locations as you have Patch. I image you're a brilliant man. ; )

[Patch_Bunny]

I played this one last month and placed my 88's in the the same locations as you have Patch. I image you're a brilliant man. ; )

That depends... did you win?