Glad to see a write up of "A Ridge Too Far." Been wanting my wife play this one. Thanks.
Glad to see a write up of "A Ridge Too Far." Been wanting my wife play this one. Thanks.
Last edited by BattleSchool; 03 Sep 11 at 05:28.
No bypass movement, of course. No reverse movement. Don't have to worry about Deliberate Immobilization.Originally Posted by sunoftzu
Hi all,
Played S-21 "Clash at Borisovka" twice vs David (once yesterday and once more today). With the grain not in effect, there is not much in the way of cover, and I have to admit that I initially thought there really wouldn't be much in the way of decision making - just pray for APCR and ROF.
But its not quite as simple as that. For the Russians, its about staying out of the way when possible, but with the first of their 5 turns having only half MPs, a German defense that forces the Russians to take the long way could see them run short of time to exit enough AFVs. For the Germans, its about not getting isolated, and keeping the battlefield covered with tank guns for as long as possible.
In the first game (myself as Germans), I thought David did a good job of keeping the Russians together as a group, and they gave as good as they got (both sides rolling good to average dice), eventually knocking out all 4 of the Pz-IVs. But the ever-invincible PzVIEs were able to get the better of the T-34s, and the 8th T-34 fell during Russian turn 4 (8 being the magic number for the Germans. Once 8 T-34s are wrecked, the most AFVs the Russians can 'eliminate' (with an exited Russian AFV being counted as an eliminated German AFV) is 8, and a tie will equate a German win). Good to see David fighting right to the end, even when the battle was clearly not going in his favor. From what I can tell, he had a lot of fun, too - I particularly recall him punching the air with joy upon getting his first tank kill (a German PzIVF2).
In the second game, we switched sides, and during Russian turn 1, I kept most of the T-34 M41s in motion, while the M43s stayed back in an over-watch position (but from where they could quickly get into motion if any PzVIEs showed up). There was one LOS that looked 50/50, so I fired the cmg at it for no result, but it confirmed LOS - and the subsequent MA shot knocked out a PzIVF2. A very good start for the Russians!!
With 6 AFVs already in motion, I thought I was in a good position to really put the heat on the 5 remaining German vehicles, but it was the Germans who had the hot DRs, many of them 5 or under, some ROF shots, and even 2 critical hits if that wasn't enough!! Despite some well covered moves, 6 T-34s went down for the loss of only 1 more Pz-IVF2. But my last 4 AFVs did me proud (despite 1 malf'ing its MA), and I picked up 2 more kills (including one of the PzVIEs) with some BFF ROF of my own.
There were 9 wrecks created in the Russian turn 2 MPh. Can you say "Prokhorovka"?
From that point on, I tried to stay out of LOS of the Germans, but the last PzIVF2 forced one of my T-34M43s to duel, and I luckily knocked it out with an intensive fire shot in my turn 3 PFPh (making the score 6-5, in the German favor). I could now guarantee a win by exiting 3 AFVs; the Germans could do likewise by knocking out 2 more AFVs. But in my turn 4 MPh, the PzVIE misses with its first shot, and malf'ed its MA on the IF shot, and meanwhile 2 Russian AFVs exit (1 which itself had a malf'ed MA, the score is now 7-6 in the Russian favor). The PzVIE repairs its MA in the RPh of Russian turn 5, but both of the remaining T-34s are able to evade it and exit the map for a (very) close Russian win.
Despite both results not going David's way, he had a real blast and learned a lot, and despite my (somewhat cynical) initial impressions of the scenario being something of a dice-fest, even the old grognard (me) got a real kick out of the scenario, too. Oh, and for what its worth, these were my first games using board T.
John.
Last edited by sunoftzu; 13 Feb 12 at 11:07.
The most recent SK scenarios I have played are:
RPT51 Arrivederci Nembo
RPT52 Death Ride
RPT53 Tiger Blood
RPT54 An Italian Civil War
RPT58 Sikh Defiance
RPT59 Hungarian Hopscotch
They were all a lot of fun. I highly recommend them.
Evan,
Rally Point Volume 6 will have SK scenari in it ?
One for me please !
lolo.
I am glad you asked that! Yes, as a matter of fact, Rally Point #6 is another Starter Kit Special Study. It will feature 10 all new scenarios from the Tampa ASL Group. These scenarios are fully compatible with both ASL and ASLSK and will cross all SK product lines with scenarios that use boards and counters from the combined ASLSK product series. It will be officially released on 10/5/11, at ASLOK.
We will begin taking orders on 10/11/11. Watch the ASL Forums and the Schwerpunkt/Rally Point web-site for more information about Rally Point #6!
Last edited by Evan Sherry; 31 Aug 11 at 01:47.
Hi,
I just got home from playing S-22 "Another Summer's Day" vs David (myself as Germans). When you first look at the scenario card, it looks like the Americans are hopelessly outnumbered, but once you pull out the boards, and investigate the VCs a bit more closely, the nature of the scenario becomes a bit more apparent. The scenario simulates a para-drop to interdict roads, and there are a myriad of possibilities for both sides. Although it looks like the Germans will overwhelm the Americans with their huge numbers (they can enter as many as 5 groups), they won't have a very long time to bring their full weight to bear, and the Americans can win with a GO baz/747 within 3 hexes of the VC road. For the Americans, its all about surviving.
David chose vAA5 as his group 1 rendezvous hex, and vK8 as his group 2 rendezvous hex, with the bulk of group 3 reinforcing group 2. I had group 6 entering on turn 1 (tY10), and groups 1 (vZ0), 2 (vY0), 4 (tA5), and 5 (tA5) entering on turn 3. My basic plan was to use the group 6 ACs to keep his units as scattered as possible, so as to allow my turn 3 groups to be able to defeat the Americans in detail.
Well, true to military tradition, my plan did not survive contact with the enemy. His baz teams had moved into positions that would make rapid movement along the roads hazardous (there was no way I was going to move an AC within 3 hexes of a baz!!), so I had to keep my distance, and try Bounding First Fire attacks from 6 hexes or so range. With most of the American units in buildings, I wasn't expecting much from 4+2 attacks, but my dice were really hot (my second BFF shot was a snake-eyes), and that put David on the back foot. One broken baz team was forced to take interdiction, but pinned (and was eliminated in the subsequent DFPh), another broken baz team had to scurry into the central woods, where it continued to get harassed by ACs, and it was a while before it could rally. The armored cars were dominating the game.
When my turn 3 came around, groups 4 and 5 entered with very little opposition, but groups 1 and 2 had a 747 squad in x1 to try and get around. This squad probably gave the Americans their best value. It kept 12 German squads in check, eliminated 2 for FTR, and managed to rout away to continue the fight later. The key was not firing early (something that newbies are sometimes slow to appreciate - you'll often slow the enemy down more by not firing. Once your 1st fire has been drawn out, it really frees up the attacker's hand. Often, the defending squad will die as a consequence - but there are a great many situations where a defender would be more than happy to exchange a squad to stall their opponent's MPh). I might have been getting the better of the dice-rolls, but David is no mug, and it was encouraging to see him keeping it together when under pressure.
Nonetheless, it seemed that about half my IFT DRs were 5 or below, and that was just too much for the American paras to stand up to (even for 3.5 turns). and my turn 6 began with _all_ American MMCs broken. None managed to rally in my turn 6 RPh, and that pretty much ended the game as a contest. I really like the look of this scenario (even though the dice-rolls made it a bit too one-sided to take much out of this particular game). It's certainly a scenario that we are both keen to try again at a later date.
John.
Last edited by sunoftzu; 03 Sep 11 at 19:31.
s21 Clash at Borisovka is one of my favourite scenarios
I just finished Priority target as the Germans and got held up by some greek half squads for almost 2 turns! , too bad no HOB in the SK's!
D E V O !
Getting geared up to play S35 - The Volga is Reached! I will provide a full report when we are complete but I had to shoot a quick post to comment on the depth of this starter kit scenario. While I now play full ASL more than I do the starter kits scenarios, I have to say that this one is not too much different from a full ASL battle. This scenario has special rules for (1) stone rubble, (2) shellholes, (3) hull down/dug in vehicles, (4) commissars, (5) sniper attacks, and (6) stuka attacks. The counter density is pretty high with the Russian defending with 21 squad equivalents (mostly 2nd line and conscripts), an infantry gun, and 2 AFVs while the German attacker is equipped with 17 squad equivalents (mostly elite and first line units), and 2 AFVs. Both sides have a sufficient amount of leadership as well as ample support weapons. At 7 turns in length, this scenario should promise to be exciting and bloody! Keep an eye out for the AAR!
Paul F. Messina
Well I would say it's natural progression, they need to supply the long in the tooth SK guys a challenge or two to keep them interested.Looking forward to the AAR
Ian
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory since SL
Visit my ASL blog at http://walladvantage.blogspot.com
Or my general games blog at http://walladvantage2.blogspot.com
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