Stonewall Jackson's Way 2.

Final FTF game with Lawrence (sniff...) on October 20th.  Hopefully we can get in a couple more FTF games in the future but the monthly FTF game is done, and no more taking time off for a two or three day game o palooza...

Since we only had one day and since the Stonewall Jackson's Way series (GCACW) is a favorite of both of us I setup a scenario from SJW2.  Once again Jackson is riding round the US forces to burn railroads.

The Map at game start.  CSA forces (bottom right, top right) can move on turn 1.  USA forces can't move till turn 2 and one group not till turn 3.  Each turn is a day.

End of first day.

Jackson's troops have moved around to burn the RR stations (red circles).  The pink ones are worth points for each CSA division in or adjacent.  The Orange ones are worh points if damaged.  The CSA cavalry setup a screen in front of the USA forces to slow them down.

End of Second day.

The CSA destroyed the 3 RR statsions and now must move to the Defensive position.  I can't make an initiative dr to save my life (literally) and the USA forces get the jump on Jackson and AP Hill gets stuck outside of the Defensive Zone with USA forces in the way.

End of the game.  I just had to make ONE initiative roll (where the CSA had a bonus) but failed about 4 in a row allowing the USA to attack Jackson and push him back and to attack AP Hill and wear him down so he could not move due to fatigue.  I was going to call it a game right there but kept going.  Failed a couple more Initiative rolls but the USA could not win a battle to save their lives (and win the game).  AP Hill was kicked from near the VP spaces all the way back to where he is now.  The second time he was attacked (near top of map where the star is) he managed to sneak out without extra losses and the USA needed to inflict those to get a win.  Since that plan did not work out the USA attacked Jackson, if he had not been encircled it would almost certainly have been a disaster.  First attack did no good, the USA had ONE last unit left that could attack and the rolls end up with a retreat!  Jackson is forced to move away from the VP hexes and the game is won on the last roll of the dice. 

A nail biter of a game for our last regular FTF match, and I graciously let Lawrence win (and I have a bridge to sell you for a dollar...).  The maps for this game series are works of art, the counters less so.  They look great when just looking at them but trying to play a game with them is a pain in the butt.  The color scheme makes it hard to determine needed information - MMP says they are going back to a style more like the older games in the series and that is good news.

Once Lawrence is setup after his move I'm hoping to play this game series via vassal, and perhaps try one of the campaign games.  I've not played Battle Among the Clouds yet and am looking forward to trying it out.

SJCW game day (South Jersey Confederation of Wargamers)

Some pics from the South Jersey Confederation of Wargamers club meeting on October 14.

Battlegroup Barbarossa setup.  Germans attacking Russians early war.  I watched this one and read the rules while my son played with the group.  Looks like a decent set of rules but at $50 or so per book and at least 4 books to play WW2 I'm a little leery of picking it up.

Another group was playing Beyond the Gates of Antares.  I took a few pics but not my game...

Back to WW2.  

End of game - the Russians took a pounding, with a LOT of bad luck mixed with some bad tactical decisions (remember, I was just a bystander for this one so not sour grapes on my part).

ASL Annual Scenario 69: Broich Bash

Played ASL Annual scenario 69 Broich Bash back in September - actually played a scenario by this name the month before but did not notice the errata for it stating North, South, East, and West being messed up - made for a short game that way...

This is a quick report with just the highlights, or lowlights...

The setup.  The US forces could enter from the Top or left or right on the top map.  Perhaps also possible on the lower map left and right edges.  Don't remember.  To win the US has to control 3 of the five stone buildings in the area outlined in red.

End of first US turn (they go second in this one even though they are the attacker).  The M5s have great smoke making ability and I put it to use for once.  I would be the recipient of good luck in the first couple of turns and also did not give the Jerries anything but three hex range Faust shots at moving tanks whenever possible - or 2 hexes if the target is smoked in and firing through brush to boot...

And the end game.  I had one last building left to take occupied by a broken leader in one location (left side beneath tank) and a squad and leader in another (under the ? counter).  I SHOULD have used the tank to lock the defenders in place but shot with it instead...

It was a fun scenario however and went down to the very last DR - though with a very low chance of success in that DR.

ASL Action Pack 96, Food Fight!

Played the ASL Action Pack scenario 96 titled "Food Fight" last August.  This was my last win at ASL in a long time - and it is all due to the VASL dice roller.  (I blame on my coming losses on the Dice Roller too so...)

The scenario pits two Partisan forces in a fight for supplies, a half map infantry and cavalry battle.  It sounded really interesting and perhaps it would have been if the dice were not out of whack.

The setup, Allied partisans on the right, Axis on the left.  points for CVP, searching for food, and controlling buildings

The allies come on at the bottom of the map and the first shot of the game causes the cavalry to break and horse to die.

Second shot of the game and a partisan squad goes poof - probably should not have gone that way however...

Third shot of turn 1, cavalry entered the 1fp firelane and was killed.

5th shot of turn 1.  Another dead Cavalry unit.

Another shot of turn 1.  Caption says it all...

Last deadly shot of turn 1.  After this the allied partisans would move to N9, fire at M9 and break the squad there.

Skipping by the Axis turn (skulk, skulk, skulk).  We come to the first move of Allied turn 2.  The Zerkers do make it into the hex with the Axis squad suffering the loss of another leader from another low IFT roll.  The Allies then fired into the CC breaking the Axis squad who slinks away.  At the bottom of the map the other broken Axis squad managed to slink away as well.  

End of the game.  Start of Axis turn 2 we called it.  The axis reinforcements would be able to move into the VC buildings and had twice as many troops (or more) as the remaining Allies.  I think the CVP was such at this point that the Axis would have had to roll boxcars from here out and the Allies snakes in order to turn it around.

It might be worth trying this one again but the slaughter was horrible - quite a bit due to incredibly bad luck (and remember, I won this one and am saying that).

East Front Columbia Games

Lawrence and I finished up our game of East Front back in August - yup behind the times again on blogging.  This would be our next to last Face to Face game before he moves away and I'm going to miss a good friend.

Start of October 41 and CLEAR.  The Germans get lucky on this first activation.

Germans make a lunge for Leningrad!  The bombardment unit would go there as well to help things along.

Near Sevastopol the Germans are moving to cut off the city.

Another shot of the board at the end of the Russian Activation.

November Starts with mud.  Don't remember if second impulse was snow or not.

Situation at end of turn, Russians went first each time since it was snow or Mud.  Leningrad still holding out since getting reinforcements there is a real bear.

December 41.  Russians go first again.  Slow going now since the Germans are hoarding activations and the Russians are tending their wounds.

Slow movement does not matter near Leningrad since the swamp would limit movement to one hex anyway.  The reinforcements for the siege have arrived.

January 42. 

Leningrad Falls!  The winter slows down operations due to high costs of replacing HQ steps and the slightly slower movement.  Due to this only the Leningrad operation is pushed, other HQs are rested for the month - sparing Sevastopol for now.

February 42

The attack on Sevastopol begins and the German siege unit is sent there by train.  Another move order is spent to move the forces at Leningrad forward.  The Moscow front is static due to lack of supplies.

March 42, Spring (and mud) is in the air - but first more snow...

The front is pretty static this turn.  Both sides are low on supply.

April 42 and General Mud is out in full force.

Mud forces the line to stay static, except for Sevastopol where the railed in Siege unit along with the other units that were adjacent move their one allowed space and attack in each impulse.  Sevastopol folds up like a wet book freeing up a LOT of combat power in that sector.  Just in time for Summer of 42.

Second impulse of May 42 is clear - don't remember if first was mud or not.  Next game I'll use two dice to mark this.

The troops in Leningrad sector move forward, Moscow troops plug a whole in the line and the Sevastopol troops clear up the line to allow making a defensive spot at the straight.  The Russians can only move one unit across an impulse and it could be repulsed so now the Germans can send the bulk of their force the other way.

End of June 42.

The Leningrad front is now combined with the Moscow front and as can be seen the Russians are being folded back on themselves.  Another turn would have seen the Germans bagging Moscow or rampaging the Russian rear and we called it a game.  

The Russians are hard pressed in this game.  The winter was not much of a reprieve though the Russians did miss a chance to put some Germans Out of Supply which would have forced a German response and thus the use of an activation.  The Russians may not have had an activation to spare without facing their own disaster though.  The need to use HQ activations to get troops to move or fight with support (you can fight without support but not nearly as well) and the ability to only replace one HQ step a month means that offensives can lurch, so can retreats for that matter.  It is possible to use up four steps of an HQ in a turn (and thus eliminate from the board) if doing two blitz actions.  That would be a desperation move.  More normal is two activations a turn for a couple turns in a row followed by a pause.

Looking forward to playing this one again via vassal or if I find a new FTF opponent.  It is a reasonably quick playing game, Lawrence and I managed a year a day after learning it, and has enough depth to be interesting.  So my list of Russian Campaign games that I like is now Russian Campaign, No Retreat: The Russian Front, and East Front.  I've also purchase West Front to go along with it and may pick up Eurofront someday to try the whole war in block form, well, vassal block form...