ASL, Lone Canuck, The Steelwork, Knock Them Down!

 Started the big scenario from Lone Canuck's The Steelworks scenario pack.  Instead of a campaign game this pack includes a large scenario as the main draw for the pack.  A 12 turn slugfest with a lot of tanks and toys.

The UK have 12 turns to demolish the two smoke stacks shown on the map.  We finished up two complete turns in two hours and stopped for the UK to put some thought into reinforcement placement for turn 3.  German reinforcements (on the left) come in if they roll less then or equal to the reinforcement number starting on turn 4.
So far the UK have rolled a bunch of boxcars disabling the MA on a number of tanks while the Germans managed to Malf (and lose) an 81mm mortar.  The German sniper has also been going gangbusters, activating a whole BUNCH of times (lost track but at least 5 times in two turns).

ASL scenario Quick Six 02: Baron's Counterattack

 Played this one quick today, lots going on so I did not have time to play the second Quick six scenario we had planned.  Quick Six scenarios are small scenarios that play quickly.

The setup.  The Germans have to capture the two buildings with circles around part of them by the end of turn 6.

End of German turn 1 fire phase.  The rolls of 4 in a row.  The US squad in the target hex was reduced to a half squad and the leader with it died of wound check...

End of German Advancing fire on turn 1.  US has not passed a single MC yet.

End of the game on US turn 3 (less then half the turn allotment).  The US couldn't make an MC to save their lives (pretty much literally) except for the HS with the Mortar which gets MVP status.  They took out a German squad in a single fire phase - but otherwise the US was on the backfoot the entire game.  If the opening shots had gone differently the whole thing would have been different - but that is a risk with a small scenario like this.  An interesting scenario I would play again. 

Next up on the play list is Lone Canuk's SteelWorks.  From Tiny to Huge scenarios!

ASL scenario BFP 30: Melee Near the Coast

 The New Years Day game was postponed due to a blown out TV/monitor (went dead on New Years Day, BooHoo!).  So the game that was to be played that day ended up being played today.  Luckily the storm that went overhead from the time the game started till the time it ended did not knock out the internet or power...

The scenario is BFP030: Melee Near the Coast.  So far all the scenarios from Blood and Jungle have been interesting and this one was a nail biter and fun as well.

The situation.  The Japanese have to be in control of 10 buildings at game end.  There are 6 buildings on the left board meaning the Japanese have to also capture and hold 4 more on the right board.  They could go for the single building at the bottom right but I figured that would take too long so did not worry about defending it, except in relation to also keeping the Japanese from swinging around the bottom of the map.

End of Chinese turn 4 and the writing is on the wall.  I don't remember any CC going for the Chinese and there were two instances where a single Japanese squad CCd two Chinese squads and only the Chinese were eliminated.  I should have fallen back more and made the Japanese advance into fire more but too late now (still getting used to facing off against the Japanese and their stripes...).  Four squads and two leaders coming on from the right are all that stand in the way of the Japanese juggernaut pounding my Chinese.  

Add a crew to that - the Chinese crew in the building at the top managed to rally just in time.  They also managed to pin a Japanese squad so the leader and another squad with it had to CC the Chinese crew to take the building (which they do with gusto).  This gave the Chinese reinforcements time to get in position however.  It ends with the CC rolls of the Japanese half of turn 7.  They needed at least one CC to go their way and none of them do.  The pinned squad near the top may have made a difference if it could have gotten into E3 with the leader (I forget the CC roll there - the Japanese leader by himself was 1 to 5 odds) but the pin result kept that from happening.  E5 ended up with both sides being eliminated and F5 with a Japanese crew being eliminated without harming the Chinese squad.  Well, if there is a time for the Chinese to come up the winners in CC the last turn is as good as any.

EDIT - The Japanese rolled a BUNCH of boxcars during the game.  At least four times for morale checks and at least twice for fire attacks with mortars or MGs.

Mustangs!

 Got in two games of this today.  Good to get in some FTF gaming and hopefully a bunch more coming up.

It was a good day for the Allied Air Forces.  Downing 4 FW-190s to 1 P51 in two dogfights.  Second dogfight was very close and could have made it 2 each instead.
I've not played this game since sometime in the mid-nineties.  Still a lot of quick playing fun.

ASL AP 21: Red Don

 Go slaughtered in this one today as the Russians, a little more patience, and shooting instead of moving, may well have won it instead.

The Russians had to have five squads (good order) on any hill at game end to win.  Off to the left the Italian Half squad that DMd the adjacent Russians was DM at the start of the turn.  Rolled snakes (only roll that would rally) and then rolled snakes firing at the Russians in the building...
Over on the right, well I should not have moved those units forward.  I had two more turns to get onto the hill and my shots would have done better this turn - well maybe.  The turn before nobody for either side could hit anything and all I managed to do was Malf an MMG.  On the plus side the Italians malfed their two Mortars.  Italian arty never even got radio contact either...

ASL FE74.1: Fruitless Fighing. Game end

 FINALLY got round to gaming again.  Last game was July 29 and was too busy to get anything done since then.  Prepping a house for sale (and getting rid of the accumulated stuff in it) can do that for you.  Getting Covid and being knocked out for two weeks didn't help either.

The scenario is slanted towards the Germans (and I was the German player) so the German win didn't feel like one.

The Germans had FOUR Tiger tanks enter on turn 4.  The Russians most likely have to capture all the multi-hex buildings before that but the Russian player this time waited till after the German reinforcements came on to go for the final building down near the bottom center of the map.  By this time Germans troops were there in force with Tigers to take out the enemy tanks.
Due to some misses with the Tigers and attempts at IF shots, one of which was boxcars and the other an 11, the Germans were down to two functional tanks.  I really did not need to bother since the Russians could not kill a Tiger to save their lives (literally).   One Tiger was taken out by the Russians but in exchange two Russian tanks were as well.  Then the remaining German tank with functional MA killed two Russians (yup, the IF worked that time).  This left it at one Tiger with MA and another with MA malfed but not gone yet versus two Russian tanks, one of which was stuck in Melee with a German squad due to being immobilized in CC.  Infantry wise the Germans had more troops and better leadership and did not have to move to get the win.  So the Russians conceeded.

ASL FE74.1: Fruitless Fighting

Starting playing this one today.  I was a whiny little twerp (no excuses, I was a whiny little twerp).  Too busy prepping house for sale to do a writeup with pictures (I'll save that for the finish).  Played the first four turns where the Soviets run rampant.  They did not manage to take all the VC buildings and now pretty much even forces are coming on for the Germans and they get 4 Tiger tanks to boot.