ASL Scenario DB 157: Morning Massacre

 Too lazy (and busy) to log much.  I thought this scenario would be a walkover for the Germans but it was much closer then I thought it would be.  Will have to play it again someday.

ASL Journal scenario 157: Rage Against the Machine. Finish

Finished this one up today.  The Germans were hard pressed after their ambush only failed to kill a single Russian tank, leaving the three AFVs to take on 7 Russian AFVs.

Start of turn 4.  The German AFVs came on last turn but were not able to get into good positions yet.

Start of turn 5.  The Russians did preliminary moves and the Germans moved to better positions.  At the bottom of the board one German AFV is firing at one Russian AFV.  In the village the Russians manage to get into the street but not into the village yet.

Start of turn 6.  The German AFV at the bottom of the map is destroyed when taking on three Russians, before it went it destroyed the Russian AFV on the road near the village.  (The two T34s closest to the German missed, the SU152 across the river then rolled a CH...
In the village the Russians have managed to get into the VC building by using an AFV as cover (in this case as a burning wreck from a Faust shot next door, if not that the Germans in the building would have been stuck in CC/Melee).

End of Russian turn 6 and the game.  The Russian unit in Melee with a German squad went beserk from fire outside the hex, the German unit wen DM from the same shot.  In the VC building the Russians were making headway. Finally the Germans were outnumbered enough that the Russians were able to run squads around the defense to the other VC hexes for the win.  Once again with a burning AFV to provide cover in the VC hex - the German HS there "luckily" rolled snakes when CCing the AFV doing the bypass.

ASL Journal scenario 157: Rage Against the Machine.

 Played the first 3 full turns of a 7.5 turn game.  A nice meaty ASL scenario from Journal 10.  Rage Against the Machine.  After a long stretch of smaller scenarios I was finally ready to tackle something with some more meat to it.  I took the Russians and Tycho the Germans.  At the end of 7.5 turns the Russians have to control 2 of the 3 victory areas to win (a bridge, a building, and a couple of buildings straddling a road).  

Start of the game.  The Russians get 8(!) meaty tanks.  The Germans will get 3 AFVs and a 75L gun.  Plus leaders are allowed to use the alternate faust rules and can setup HIP if stacked with one of two HIP MMCs.

After some crappy attack rolls the Russians run STRAIGHT into the German kill zone, with the range being near max the only blessing for them.  Well that and the VASL dice roller had it ought for the Germans too.  The Shrek missed on a 10 and was removed.  The 75L killed a T34/85 and shocked at IS2.  The leader with a Faust rolled boxcars.  The leader was already wounded and survived this wound check so no harm done except the wasted ambush.  The shocked IS2 would survive the shock, the 75L crew would break from a hit by the 152mm gun and the crew killed for FTR next turn.

The end of turn 3 after the German reinforcements come on.  The armor situation is looking bad for the Germans but the low ammo depletion numbers for the Russians may be a problem.  Next game session is on the 18th.

Arc of Fire miniatures game

 Played a playtest round of Arc of Fire with the South Africans versus the Angolans in the eighties.

My South African forces.  90mm armed wheeled vehicles with light armor, 20mm armed autocannon ones, and a spotter truck.

The game table (lots and lots of trees!).

My South Africans (in blue) spot the Angolans and take out two T55 tanks straight away (lucky rolls).

Another T55 taken out and more spotted further back.

Lots of destroyed vehicles (mostly Angolans).  A few South African 90mm armed vehicles lost as well but lousy shooting (and crews) for the Angolans makes it a lopsided fight.

I forget what was happening here...

Angolan infantry being mopped up by South African infantry.  Almost all of the Angolan vehicles are destroyed.

End of game.  South African arty was chewing up the Angolan infantry till it tried to switch targets and then it just kept going way off target.

ASL AP193: Hit it and Quit It

 Fun little scenario but pay attention to the VC ONLY full squads count for exit VP and only 1VP each!

The setup.  The Partisans get VP for destroying the trucks which are immobile.  They also get VP for German losses and 1 VP for each squad (not half squad or equivalent) off the board by game end.

Halfway point were Partisans make for the exit.  They got 12 VP for destroyed trucks and 4 more for German losses.  Here is where we both messed up, we forgot that only full squads count for exit VP and only 1VP each.  German reinforcements went for CC attempts.  The bottom one worked but the top one was Partisan ambush and that squad went to S5 to move off next turn.

Game end.  The Partisans had a reinforcement come on at H3 and then advance right off for 1VP, the squad in A5 moved off for another VP.  At the top of the map the squad in C2 did not make it.  We called it there though not totally impossible for the two squads in D1 to Rally their chance of getting off the map is slim, the unit in H10 is a Half Squad so no VP there.

Miniatures "Modern" gaming

 Got in a playtest game of Arc of Fire featuring a scenario from the book itself.  Fun to play with "modern" toys (scenario set in the eighties - which is now as far back in time as WWII was when I started gaming...)

The board layout.  The Angolans and Cubans come in from the left and have to exit off to the right.

Same board from the other perspective.

End of turn 1.  The Cuban scouts get knocked around by a missile (lucky considering).  A scout car is out in the front of this group - can't spot nuttin though!

End of turn 2 or 3.  More Angolan forces come on.  The South African missile launcher was found and taken out.

A couple turns later and the missile launcher was not taken out - it took out a T55 and then was destroyed.  the other T55 failed a MC and got neutralized for a turn.

Continuing to move up to the stream when a barrage starts coming down.

Game Over man!  Game over. 
My forces are spotted by a 90mm armed vehicle that takes out the PT-76s one by one and then my scout car.  THEN the arty falls.  The game ends pretty much historically with my Angolans getting smacked around.

A closer view of the 90mm armed vehicles.  I think the name was ratele.

This is once again at John's house and as you see he has a nice large spot for laying out a map and a nice layout to go along with it.  

ASL scenario BD 167 - Blow that Bridge!

 Got in a quick game of ASL today with Dispatches from the Bunker's scenario 167, Blow that Bridge!

The Partisans need to either blow up or hold the bridge at the end of the game in order to win.  We finished it up in roughly two hours and it is a fun scenario we both agree would be worth another playing (but so many others to play first...).

Situation at game start.  The Germans had to start within 4 hexes of the bridge and with many forced to start in the buildings.  The Partisans had to start 6+ hexes from the bridge.  There is also a +1 lv hindrance up to 4 hexes and +2 beyond that.  We messed up the LV forgetting NOT to apply to residual placement and FFMO too.

The situation at game end.  The German defense on the East side of the bridge held strong, the Partisans fired over and over and over again at the MTR carrying squad but I don't think they ever even needed to make an MC (and if they did they passed).  On the flip side the MTR never went on a rate tare and the one time it scored a CH it did not do anything.  On the west bank of the river the German defense fell apart from the start.  The MMG that was setup on the bridge got off on shot (doing nothing) before return fire broke the crew and the leader.  A couple of CCs later and the Germans were cleared from the west bank.  The Partisans ran across the bridge and Germans fire from the east bank did not have any effect.