Monthly Archives: March 2014

ASL 105 Going to Church AAR

French Canadians from Les Fusiliers Mount-Royal met up with German SS troopers at St. Martin-de-Fontenay on August 1 1944.  The Canadians were to clear the SS from a church in the area.  I played the Canadians and Robert Zinselmeyer, the SS .   This was a 6 turn scenario and the Canadians win immediately when there were no unbroken SS in the church.

ASL105-CT1b-proc

This was the Canadian Turn 1 : the Canadian death star contained a heavy machine gun (“HMG”) that went on a long rate tear, obliterating the east side of the church  A team of Canadians rushed forward from the northeast.  Another team moved around to the south-west of the church to catch Germans routing to that side.

ASL105-GT2a-proc

This was the German Turn 2 : the Canadian death star continued to work on the east of the church.  Canadians move closer from the northeast and the southwest.

ASL105-GT3a-proc

This is the German Turn 3: a half squad attempted to approach the church with a demo pack earlier but was routed.  This was the first attempt to retrieve it.  The half squad (“HS”) was then KIA’d, as were a number of other Canadian units afterwards.  The Canadians never got this demo pack back.  The Canadian death star decided to relocate for lack of targets.

ASL105-CT4a-proc

This was the Canadian Turn 4 : The Canadians didn’t do very well on the east side.  The lone intruding HS crashed into the church but was immediately met with the SS in close combat!

ASL105-GT5a-proc

German Turn 5 : Even though the odds of that mêlée was turning because of reinforcing Canadians from all sides.  The Germans were still blocking one of the staircases while the rest raced upstairs.

ASL105-CT6a1 - KIA Demo-proc

Canadian Turn 6 : A valiant Canadian 8-0 made a desperate try for the dropped demo pack and was killed as well.  The mêlée hadn’t ended.  Scores of Canadians were held up by a wounded German 8-0 at one of the staircases!  Someone suggested an infantry overrun on the wounded German but the Canadians failed to act.  It was just too crowded and they were afraid that they might shoot their own.  The Canadians rushed up the other staircase in frustration.

ASL105-End-proc

Last German Turn : the Canadians were able to dispatch the wounded German 8-0 at the end of the previous turn.  All German upstairs were then immediately encircled!!  The Canadian laid heavy firepower on the Germans inside the church.  The HMG went on a rate tear as well!  However when the smoke settled, one German HS remained.

The Canadians ran out of time.

Journey to a Tourney, Part 3 : The Aftermath

M36 JacksonI never expected this, but there IS an “aftermath” to having done a tourney for the first time :

  • Having prepared for all 25 tourney scenarios, I read a lot more of the rulebook and the scope of scenarios I can play expanded.
  • I met some great folks around the region as well.  I have a few more regular “Live” games now on VASL apart from my usual stable of PBeM (“Play By eMail”).
  • I play a little faster.
  • I play differently too, having seen different styles of play.  For example :
    • I know I should be more aggressive with my movements.  Moving and encircling is way more effective (and time efficient “turn wise”) than sitting and shooting.
    • I know what establishing a tempo as an attacker feels like.
    • I don’t care about the die rolls anymore.  “Reversion to Mean” dictates that it will all even out at the end.  Good decisions win the game not die rolls.
    • I overheard Ian Percy and George Bates said (and this is far from an exact quote) : “it’s not so much about what you do, it’s more about presenting your opponent with a serious of tough decisions and one way or the other, he’s going to mess a few up.  Make him do all the work.”
    • It’s important to plan out where you should be on the map and also when you should be where on the map especially as the attacker so you don’t run out of time.
    • There was an earlier poll on GameSquad asking whether folks are more comfortable attacking or defending in a scenario.  I can’t find it now but someone said “Is there a defence?”.  This thought rang in my head during my last round as the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) defender in J116 Brigade Hill.  The IJA were infiltrating and cutting the attacker’s rout paths.  My understanding of Book VI (“Defence”) in Clausewitz’s “On War” echoes the thought : defence is just a different form of offensive action – counterattack!
  • Now I am getting ready to support the Hong Kong Society of Wargamers‘ Advanced Squad Leader Tournament this year!!

Lastly I want to share something from the tourney with everyone.  John Charles Knowles, who’s teaching me jungle warfare through Operation Watchtower at the moment, wrote a cheat sheet for the PTO for our benefit.  Here we are :

Malaya Madness Chapter G Cheat Sheet

Cpl Kwan 7-0