ITR12 Sosabowski Slapdown After Action Report (AAR) Advanced Squad Leader scenario
Victory Conditions
The game features several buildings that grant Victory Points (VP). Additionally, there are two roadblocks in the game that, if cleared by the Germans, are worth 5 VPs each. To win, the Germans must accumulate 22 or more VPs. The Poles begin with a weak force that includes several dummy units and an AT gun. However, they receive reinforcements in the form of a much stronger force at Turn 4 of 8. The Poles also have the ability to HIP 2 squads (+ SMC/SW) and throw MOLs, although this was not utilized during the game. Both sides have the option to declare HtH combat.
After Action Report
The above was the German view of the Polish setup. Reinforcements could arrive from the right, top, or bottom of the map, and the preferred strategy was to hold the right side firmly, delay the Germans in the middle, and use SW to prevent the Germans from traveling on the left through Open Ground.
On the right, the Polish first liners guard two 3VP buildings with a 9-1 and an AT bore-sighted to a ‘bottleneck’ building that can also provide cover for enemy clearing the right Roadblock. The two vertical rows of buildings to its immediate left are defended by green troops, Dummies, and a 10-0. A pair of HIP’d HMG and the 10-3 provide overwatch from a level two building at the back, covering both Roadblocks and also guarding the approach to the 10 VP building on the top right. My opponent might be wary of my AT Gun covering the vertical street on the far left or the diagonal street off from the 10 VP building.
I do not have enough personnel to defend all of my buildings. My only hope is to force the Germans to waste time and to not lose all 22 victory points before reinforcements arrive. I considered stationing four HIP HS’s in various victory point buildings. This will force the Germans to conduct more searches and mop ups. At the end, I prefer not to reveal the location of my Death Star, as the Germans might target it with their 4 x MMGs. 
In just two German Movement Phases, they have quickly advanced up the board. The MMGs on the two vertical lanes to the left have successfully prevented the Germans from using the street, but only slowed them down slightly. We were able to reduce a sapper squad with a bore-sighted hex, which is fantastic. The Germans conducted extensive searches but ultimately resorted to running through the buildings in the middle when they realised they were all dummies. During the battle, my hidden Jedi death-star, decided to reveal itself and attack a flamethrower bearing 8-0 leader stacked with a squad. However, the attack missed, telling the Germans that there were no HIP’d HS lurking in the VP buildings. The green squads who were protecting the right ‘outer’ buildings were slow to retreat and would be captured or killed. On the other hand, their 10-0 leader managed to cross the street and fought until the end. The soldiers on the right skulked and cycled concealed units to the front. The squad on the third level did well in disrupting German movements behind their lines.
Both Polish MMG teams ran! At first, it seemed impossible to escape, but the 10-3 HMG death star maintained its dominance over the battlefield. At this point we lost 11 VP, including all buildings except the right flank. The Germans attempted to clear the left Roadblock, but the HMG decimated the squads. Had they cleared both, they would have gained 21 VP. The Berserker seen here would eventually be destroyed on the street. The Germans were closing in on the death star from the left. Firepower were moving continuously towards the top (as indicated by the 10-2 stack). The squads in the buildings on the right side kept rotating Concealed units forward.
Fortunately, the Polish reinforcements arrived, and they occupied the 10 VP building on the top right. The 4-5-8 troopers boosted the last line of buildings (2 x 3 VP), and Concealed Polish stack advanced onboard into a German MMG team, causing it to voluntarily break and rout. A Polish Hero was positioned to prevent that rout. However, the Germans soon realized this and all guns converged onto the brave man and killed him. He took most of the defensive fire off the desperate defenders for a round.
The German heavy weapons teams broke my Jedi death-star!! The two MMG teams fought to hold off the attackers from the left. The issue here was that all the Polish SWs were more than 3 PP, meaning if they break, they abandon their SWs. Meanwhile the Germans on the right threatened to cross the street, and to clear the right (with other team on the left) Roadblock. Fortunately, it got pinned and the team on the left failed the Clearing roll (for lack of a sapper squad). The 4-5-8 Poles (bottom left) continued to push up against the German flank.
The 10-3 Jedi didn’t rally! On top of that, the lone Polish HMG squad broke and joined their brothers at the backstairs. One of the guarding MMG teams broke and the Germans rushed in. One German 8-0 with a flamethrower got into a position to re-DM the 10-3 but a lucky shot from a HS downstairs broke him. The 10-3 will get another chance to self rally (on a 11). Meanwhile over on the right flank, a Polish green squad braved rounds after rounds of German Prep Fire and delivered the first of an encircling fire over two German sappers at the right Roadblock. With the completing fire from the Polish squad coming from the bottom, the Germans broke and Fate reduced those two sappers to 1 HS. My opponent conceded.
My opponent conceded. Clearing the two Roadblocks would only give him 22 VPs. He would need to clear one of the two 3 VP buildings.
I mentioned earlier that I didn’t use MOLs. Apart from potentially increasing firepower by 4 FP, there’s a 1 in 6 chance of starting a fire in the hex. Having the ‘jump off’ buildings to the right on fire might be a rather good thing to protect the right most VP buildings.
The top board has the second most restrictive terrain. The German convoy enters via a restrictive channel for a third of the board and the terrain opens up before leading into bocage country again for the last half of the board. The temptation is to start shooting at the Germans as they come out of the first third of the board but the openness will allow their guns to gang up against our tiny blocking force. I decided to duck further into the bocage with a HIP’d baz team, a Sherman and an MMG. Hopefully the choices for the Germans are either to come through to us one at a time down the channel or risk bogging and underbelly shots crossing the bocages to flank us. Forces were deployed along the road and a HIP’d baz team is on the bottom of the map since I suspected the Germans would be tempted to flank us along there.
On the top board, our Sherman backed off into the sunken road, escaping the 2 German AFV’s sitting behind the bocage. Unfortunately, they decided against coming over to chase after our lone Sherman! The sheer weight of the incoming halftracks/ armoured cars got our infantry on the hill to start thinking about heading back. They did have a few open top vehicles in the proximity so we tried to light up a few more.
The Russians have 8 Movement Phases. They will have to do 5 hexes per phase for 4 phases to put them in the vicinity of the 2 hex Wooden building on the left half of Board 17. That leaves them 4 turns to fight. The KV-2, on the hand, is a real monster. It is big enough to give a -2 to any TH for size. It spots an armor factor of 8 all around, 11 if you hit that turret from the front. Its 152mm gun dishes 30 IFT / TK21 (AP9 & no IF). On the otherhand, it can only turn it’s turret by paying NT penalties (we played it wrong: we played it as if it’s an NT), goes 9 MP per turn and that’s only if you pass the Mechanical Reliability DR. The PzIVD offers fantastic mobility [amended, see footnote 1]. It packs a good set of MGs (totalling 8 IFT) but it’s 75* (short barrel) with a TK of only 10 (AP7). It’s hard to kill a KV-2 with anything less than a swarm but all you need is to kill one and scatter (the remaining Russian tank will have to kill all the PzIVDs to win via that route). The Germans can also immobilise one first (net +3 and a hull hit), hopefully in some awkward position/location. Their smoke dischargers (s9) can help the German reinforcements cross all that open ground from the top to the middle of the map!
Both sides had a chance to attack and to defend. There’s a lot of force allocation decisions to be made especially for the Russian player. The Germans couldn’t afford to be distracted by buildings on the fringes, they had to make it to the village on time in order to disrupt the Russian attack. The KV-2’s were a real challenge. Nothing short of a nice “dance of death” would do (with the survivors running off to the far corners of the map). Then if that’s the case, they wouldn’t be helping their reinforcements cross that vast Open Ground on the top half of the map. Typical of the best scenarios, there are a good number of what-if’s and tradeoffs to be made. I thought I was on track for an easy win but my opponent obviously proved me wrong.
The Germans need to get at at least 12VP at Game End to win. VPs are earned by occupying buildings on the right half of the map. Each VP corresponds to the # of ground hex locations a building occupies, the exception being the long wooden rowhouse which is only 3VP and not 5. This being early in the morning, there’s a +1LV for the entire game. The bocages are Light Bocages, meaning they are half height obstacles, don’t throw a blind hex behind and are not as onerous to cross. A particular evil element to note are the few Up-Slope hexes in the German setup area that allows them to look beyond the Light Bocages.
The IJA starts in two groups. The first group of 6 squads setup in the airfield (no Smoke in the rain) in the face of a 75* Artillery, a murderous Bofors AA (IFE 8 ROF 2) and a leader who can make it rain 70mm OBA. The second group of 9 squads setup on the east side (lower side on the map) of the hill. To counter that group, the King’s Own Royal Regiment and the King’s Own Scottish Rifles setup on the hill top. A group of Gurkhas setup within 3 hexes of the Flooded Pool.
Advanced Squad Leader AAR Blog / Advanced Squad Leader After Action Reports 