Tag Archives: Advanced Squad Leader

BFP Corregidor: The Rock, a photo essay

 

China Marines!
15 turn PTO
Both are useful

Six guys in a Steeple against the World!! (DB132 One Last Victory)

This is a particularly interesting Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) scenario.  As the SS, having Assault Fire should tip you off to the fact that they should move as fast as possible in spite of heavy American firepower. At one point I had broken SS all over the board but we recovered and got to the last turn barely “on time” for the jump off!

The last turn was classic ASL: keep in mind I needed to get 2 of the 3 key buildings.

A Hero placed a DC in of the VC buildings.  That thing blew up with a original KIA and rubbled the building!  (YEAAAHHH)  The Americans had a 9-X Leader and a couple of squads on the Ground floor. It was bad.

I got my FT HS within 2 hexes of another one of the VC buildings, while under Concealment no less!  This HS X’d out the FT on the first shot!  These guys hadn’t done a thing all game and X’d out the FT on the only shot they got!!

The rest of the SS’s Advanced Fire was ineffective apart from pinning a couple of squads.

I had to win one of two CC’s to win the game.  In the first one,  the SS ambushed the Americans but boxcarred the roll.  Okay, I need to win one of one CCs .. then I realized I had a problem.

I had 2 SS squads at the bottom of the church where a pinned HS and an 8-0 got holed up in the Steeple.  Normally, this would have been the easiest CC to do.

But it’s a Steeple.

My 2 SS squad had to take a +3 overstacking penalty going in, so it’s a 3:1 or 8 +3, needing to roll a 5 (or really a 4).

I rolled an 8.

Notes:

  • Read the VC carefully: the German player needs at least 12 building which includes 1 of 3 buildings around hex D2 (in the back) and 2 of 3 stone buildings around hex J4.
  • Part of the German OB are reinforcements that will show up between Turn 1 to Turn 3.  They are good for keeping the Americans in place and also to grab a building around hex D2 in the back.
  • Keep in mind that the Germans have Winter Camouflage amidst Ground Snow .. ie if needed, they can Advance into Open Ground without losing Concealment (against ridiculous US firepower).
  • We completely forgot about SSR#5 Interrogation
  • That Steeple (J4) is useful in that it keeps an oversized contingent of SS from piling in.  The SS best focus on the other 2 stone buildings around hex J4.

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Next in the countdown: DB131 A Thorn in the Side!

Recently updated AARs, Jan 2 2019

Ongoing

Starting up

  • DB002 Sochaczew
  • DB132 One Last Victory
  • FrF2 Maczek Fire Brigade
Note : I keep about 10 to 12 scenarios & CGs running at the same time.  While I play 4 of them in weekly live VASL sessions, the rest of them are PBeM.  About half of my games are CGs (some playtest CGs) and the rest scenarios.  I update my AARs as the games roll along and so this is a notice to my readers of AAR updates and completions.

Le Franc Tireur 14, a Photo Essay

Looks like LFT has the full set of counter graphics ..
.. does that mean we will see the British & Franch OB later?
Horsies!
Italians vs IJA in China!
Familar names ..
Hmm ..
LFT folks having a little fun ..
Hey, these look familiar!!

My Year in ASL

IMG_6244I finished 14 scenarios this year and won 5 of them. I also finished the BFP Objective: Schmidt CG, done the first CG “day” in Suicide Creek and the 2nd CG Assault Period (Night) in Gavutu-Tanambogo.

I had more experience with Night fighting, especially interesting are the night landing at Gavutu-Tanambogo and 40 Fort MacGregor (haven’t finished, also my first foray into Desert). I also gained more experience with AFVs although that’s not saying much as AFV waters run deep! I have also started playing BFP Operation Cobra front to back. Bocages can be frustrating but infinitely entertaining.

I am blessed with a terrific group of friends around the world. Weekly chats and emails (PBeMs) with these folks made a challenging year SO much better.  I even met one of them for dinner earlier this month!

I am particularly psyched to see my name listed as a proofreader for Forgotten Wars. I also made the graphics for all the CPVA counters under my apprenticeship with Al Cannamore. Al’s adding VASL ‘smarts’ to the counters and is putting the extension together. Without the VASL crew, I wouldn’t be playing ASL.

I am carrying these games into the new year:
Live
– 3rd CG Assault Period, Gavutu-Tanambogo
– BPF16 Snake Charmed (bocage!!)
– DBP16 Under Old Baldy (Dien Bien Phu)
– FrF98 Amerikanskaya Suka
PBeM
– 40 Fort MacGregor
– DB002 Sochaczew
– FrF2 Maczek Fire Brigade
– FrF45 Totensonntag
– DB132 One Last Victory

I have these games on “Pause” :
– Those Ragged Bloody Heroes CG
– Dinant CG PT
– Berlin CG PT

These are my 2019 ASL objectives :
– Learn to play AFV better, with all its delightful nuances (BFP!)
– Learn Bocage
– Play more Dispatches from the Bunker
– Play more Friendly Fire
– Play LFT4 Russian Civil War (and looking forward to LFT14)

I wish to see great successes in both the ASL tourney in Chengdu and the Malaya Madmen in Singapore.

Lastly I wish you all the very best. I wish you all the very best in life, and to your family as well, so much so that we continue to see each other across our mapboards in the year ahead.

(Credit to Michael Rodgers for prompting the thought via his thread on GameSquad)

The Last Wargame Store in Town

Screenshot_2018-12-29 戰棋類現貨Today I was first in line at the closing sale of the last wargame store in HK.

They were selling big box games for $13, medium for $6.5 and small packs for $3.

Boy, once everyone rushed into the warehouse there was hardly room to turn. I had a look at their remaining inventory online last night and was looking for C3i 18 (Dragon’s Jaw), GMT Ran and perhaps Compass Games’ Warstorm series.

I unfortunately (or fortunately), I couldn’t find any wargames. They were all pretty board games (Catan, Star Wars). There were folks who dragged in huge bags and started stuffing them the second they made it through the door.

I am glad to report that no ASL games had to suffer such undignified ends. As a matter of fact I didn’t see any wargames, no MMP, no GMT, no Compass Games.

Perhaps they should have stocked more wargames?

Too bad eitherway as this is the last wargame store in HK, serving both China & Taiwan as well.  They were getting me ASL modules at a discount to MMP’s retail prices plus only $5.50 for delivery.  What are we to do next?

(I think they will continue to sell whatever’s left on one of China’s e-commerce platforms).

Waiting for the warehouse to open
These doors…

 

BFP16 Snake Charmed

It’s July 25 1944, the 83th Infantry Division “Ohio”, tried to pushed through a bocage area held by a few SS squads and some REALLY good guns.  They are to push from the green dotted line to the red dotted line with 37VPs (minus German CVPs) in 7.5 turns.  The action came hot & heavy on Turn 1 where all German HIP units (apart from the Raketenwefer) were revealed and the “Ohio” lost 3 out of 8 AFVs .. IMG_3754

Recently updated AARs, Nov 26 2018

Ongoing

Starting up

  • DB002 Sochaczew
  • DB132 One Last Victory
  • FrF2 Maczek Fire Brigade
Note : I keep about 10 to 12 scenarios & CGs running at the same time.  While I play 4 of them in weekly live VASL sessions, the rest of them are PBeM.  About half of my games are CGs (some playtest CGs) and the rest scenarios.  I update my AARs as the games roll along and so this is a notice to my readers of AAR updates and completions.

Recently updated AARs, Nov 5 2018

Ongoing

Note : I keep about 10 to 12 scenarios & CGs running at the same time.  While I play 4 of them in weekly live VASL sessions, the rest of them are PBeM.  About half of my games are CGs (some playtest CGs) and the rest scenarios.  I update my AARs as the games roll along and so this is a notice to my readers of AAR updates and completions.