Digest 6.6

This rag is truly a labor of love for me. I get a lot of positive response, and it keeps me in touch with a lot of the good folks I have met through the net.

I'm not sure how well received the scenarios are, or if they ever get played. I suspect they are little more than an interesting read for almost all of you. But these, too, are a labor of love for me, and, I think, for the other folks who design them. I strongly believe some of the scenarios I've published here deserve a look. Hall of the Mountain King (which I mangled with my notes, writing about one version and publishing another) is a very good scenario, with an interesting and unique situation. Wotanstellung is one of my all time favorites, a great mix of forces and cool situation. But I'm interested in your response to these, and any AAR would be very much appreciated.

Snudl seems to be a love it or hate it feature, but since Wyoming Wilson comes down on the love it side, it will definitely stay. It is, after all, an ASL tradition at this point, thanks to John Foley.

Dade "Care Bear" Cariaga has volunteered to be my ASLML correspondent. For those of us whom are no longer on the ASLML, Dade will send us all the necessary updates on tournaments and new ASL products. Many thanks to him.

But the biggest and best news is the addition of Thomas Xavier Quincy Repetti to the Colorado ASL family. Repetti, while perhaps not the ASLML icon he once was (who is?), will be a welcome addition here. While he'll be about an hour from me, I expect his presence to boost the popularity of events like Firefight and provide some organizational impetus to a pretty disorganized bunch. I'd like to see the expansion of Firefight to a two or three day event now, even if the extra day(s) are simply to provide a draw for people on the bubble of these wide open spaces we call the New West. A newsletter would be a great idea, modeled after "Fat Cat" Matt Shostak's Banzai! We shall see if this comes to pass...

This month: My first attempt at a PL CG, A bloody Russian front scenario that goes well with Matt Romey's thoughts on crossing open ground, the Park City Police Blotter from a couple of weekends ago and a look at what's available to throw your hard-earned cash away.

Guadalcanal, 23 August, 1942: The Marines had landed and were cutting a perimeter around Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. The Japanese were slow to recognize ther threat the Marine bridgehead represented. When top Japanese brass realized that the airfield was in Marine hands, they reacted swiftly and violently. Typical of Japanese strategy, each wave that reached the island set off in a haphazard and ill-fated attack, rather than build up a powerful force to push the Marines off the island. This was the Imperial Japanese Army's first contact with the USMC, and they were to find them a much different opponent than the Chinese or U.S. Army they had faced to this point in the war.

CG Victory Conditions: The Japanese player wins by controlling >= 1 hex of the airfield or all hexes of Hill (?) Or by accumulating (?) CVP.

Initial Scenario Victory Conditions: Japanese player wins by having 24 or more CVP on the east side of the stream overlays and accumulating 12 American CVP.

CG Dates: 23 August night to 24 August night (3)

Initial Scenario: Japanese Attack, U.S. Idle

CG Balance
JAPANESE: Change USMC Battle Hardening DRM from 0 to -2
US: Change Japanese Leader DRM from +1 to -1

Initial Scenario Balance: JAPANESE: Add 2 458 squads
US: Add a second line platoon

Turn Record Chart:
US Sets Up First
Japanese Moves First
Game ends on a dr following Japanese player turn:

Turn	dr
5	1
6	2
7	3
8	4
9	6

Map Boards:

+---+---+---+---+
|38 |34 |   |35 |N^ 
|   |   |   |   | 
|   |   | 36|   | 
+---+---+---+---+

Overlays: St2 35N8/M8 St3 35Y3/Z3 St1 35G8/F8

US OB: 1st Marine Division, 1st Regiment [ELR4]{SAN 3} set up west of stream overlays running north and south:

458x6, 9-2, 8-1, MMG, LMG, 10 CPP

JAPANESE OB: 28th Infantry Regiment, Ichiki Detachment [ELR4] {SAN3} set up east of stream overlays running north and south:

447x12, 9-1, 8-0, Radio, 12CPP

CG SSR:

C1. Weather, NVR, EC and Wind (if any) should be deterimend by the Japanese player prior to the start of each scenario as per G16.2-4.

C2. Japanese reinforcements enter on east edge. Either side may enter on the South edge by adding 1 CPP to the cost of the RG. No unit may ever enter more than 10 hexes from their closest controlled board edge hex and units which are retained may never re-enter in this fashion.

Initial Scenario SSR:

I1. All PL SSR and CG SSR are in effect. For initial scenario, EC are wet with no wind at start. NVR is 4 hexes. Japanese are scenario attacker, USMC are scenario defender.

I2. Japanese radio represents 1 module of Battalion Mortar 90MM OBA which may fire WP, HE or IR.

RG:

Notes:

A. Available for on map set up on CG date of purchase.

C. Each Marine 60MM Mtr/MMG/HMG is accompanied by a half squad MMC. Each gun is accompanied by a 228 crew. Each Japanese MMG/HMG/ATR is accompanied by a 228 crew and each 50MM Mtr by a 237 half-squad MMC.

F. Fanaticism benefit bestows Fanatacism (A.) on all Japanese MMC for the next played CG scenario.

L. Determine Leaders/SMC as per PL 1.6205.

P. Increase CPP cost by one for a pre-registered hex (C1.73) purchased with the module (no module may have more than 2 pre-registered hexes.) Each pre-registered hex is retained as long as the module to which it is assigned is retained (1.4). Barrages are NA. OBA or Shipboard Observers increase CPP by one. NOBA may not be purchased during the day scenario. If both sides purchase NOBA for a scenario, neither side may use that module and it is not retained.

R. Must enter as reinforcements if entered on the CG day of purchase [EXC: 1.6194]. The RG is available for on map set up if purchased on any CG prior to that of the scenario.

W. Japanese Rifle Platoons always arrive with a LMG and USMC rifle platoons always receive a LMG and a DC.

Scenario and PL Modifiers

Scen	Date/Time	Attacker	Weather	EC	Wind	Moon	HDRM
1	8/23 2300	Japanese	Night	Wet	None	Half	-1
2	8/24 800	Japanese	Clear	Wet	G16.3		0
3	8/25 2100	Japanese	Night	Wet	G16.3	Half	0

CG DRM	USMC	IJA
Leader	0	+1
Battle Hardening	0	0
Artillery OBA/NOBA	+1/0	+1/0
CPP Replenishment	0	0
Intensity Level	Med	Med

Fortifications Available

Foxholes	US
Wire	US AP
Mines	US
Panji	IJA
Pillbox	US
HIP	US
?	US
Trip Flares	US

Aftermath: Again and again, the Japanese came on in uncoordinated attacks, not waiting for flanking forces. Shows of individual bravado did not affect the USMC as it had the IJA's earlier opponents. No matter the quality of the Japanese forces, they could not coordinate an attack through the dense Guadalcanal jungle. The IJA found the tactics they were using would have to change. "The Army," one Japanese officer later observed, "had been used to fighting the Chinese." What worked against the Chinese, did not work against the USMC.

One of the last posts I received. before I unsubscribed from the ASLML was Tom Huntington's AAR of ToT's "Threat to a Bridgehead." I've never played it, but Tom's talk about the frustrations of attacking over mostly open ground motivated me to comment on the methods of conducting a successful open ground assault.

The massed attack over OG is one of the scariest things to face as an ASL player, and it takes a little practice to avoid getting frustrated. Recently, I have received a lot of practice in crossing open ground, having gone from the desert to Tarawa to Hill 112 (which is the size of the RB map, but with only about 30 woods hexes - all the rest is OG!).

I have found that if you go into a scenario with the mind set that you will take horrendous casualties, you can eliminate one of the defender's greatest advantages: the ability to instill fear. Time is often of the essence, so do not be afraid to push ahead through numerous -2 attacks, as you will assuredly have a superior force, and high casualties will be expected while closing with the enemy. This may necessitate a greater degree of emotional detachment from our cardboard troops than usual, but a commander is often thrust into the unenviable role of hurling his beloved men to their death.

But reckless assaults without regard for casualties can be just as damaging to your prospects for victory as over-cautiousness. There are basically two ways to control casualties: 1) by spreading out your forces to avoid creating juicy targets, and 2) to suppress the effectiveness of the enemy fire.

I have found that one of the first steps (during setup, especially) is to spread out your strengths as much as possible. Your opponent most likely will be able to hit you with a number of medium-to-high-odds shots per turn, so you will have to deal with it by minimizing the effects of any individual shot. The key is that you usually have more units than he does, so he can only affect a portion of your force at any one time. If you spread out your forces, you can ensure that it will take time for the defender to deplete your force - time which you can use to close the gap and assault his defense at close range.

On the other hand, there are many ways in which to lower the effectiveness of enemy fire and make your travel across the OG more safe. Hindrances, tanks, OBA, all help to minimize the lethality of enemy fire. And since most of the defenders fire options will occur during your movement phase in the form of ROF FF, SFF, and FPF, you can try to deal with it by using the mechanics of Defensive Fire to your advantage.

A few things that can help when attacking across OG:

Spread out your forces. Deploy the maximum amount of squads as possible at-start. Deploy again in the RPh. Don't put your killer weapons with your killer units. This makes it more difficult for him to choose juicy targets. For this reason, I might consider putting a MG with a crew or HS instead of a squad. That way, if he fires at the crew/HS with the MG, you still have a squad that didn't get fired at. If he fires at the squad, you still have a MG that didn't get fired at. Either way, you don't lose as badly as if he took out the squad AND the MG with one shot.

Don't stack. Spraying fire and OBA aside, the defender can only attack one hex at a time. If you allow him to take out two or more units with one attack, you're fighting half his battle for him. As a corollary, don't move in stacks either (the cardinal ASL sin).

Don't stack MMC with leaders unless you have to. Ok, stack the 9-2 with the HMG if you want to, but you still don't want them to _move_ together. Otherwise, it creates a much too tempting target. The leadership movement bonus is overrated in this situation, because leaders moving with MMC will draw fire like crazy. Plus, _someone_ will have to rally all those broken troops that will start appearing at the back of the line. I like to keep the leaders behind to rally troops. I move them last so as to be able to advance onto potential routing destinations.

Smoke Smoke Smoke. If you don't have Smoke, it could get ugly. Try to target the defender's best stacks with 5/8" Smoke. Emplaced Guns are good Smoke targets, as they have something to loose if they move to another hex. Hide _behind_ smoke, not _in_ it. The +1 outgoing Smoke Hindrance negates the whole advantage, because your opponent still has a better shot at you than you do at him.

Smoke comes in many forms, and each has it's advantages and disadvantages. OBA smoke means you are forgoing a very good attack. But your goal is to get across that open ground, and smoke OBA will help you to achieve that goal, where an FFE may not.

Infantry smoke is also an option, but has some disadvantages. It leaves you with a 17% chance that you will end your movement in that hex, and offers only a +2 modifier (though it does negate moving in open). In any event, it will cost you a MF to place the smoke (and an extra to move in the smoke!). Plus, the Smoke is removed at the end of the MPh, so you will be in Open Ground during the DPh anyway. The net result is that you can use infantry smoke to escape FFMO and FFNAM penalties, but you can not hide behind it indefinitely, and it will slow you down somewhat.

Vehicles are generally excellent smoke producers. Whether it is smoke ammunition, vehicular smoke grenades or smoke dispensers, moving your vehicles first and using them to lay a smoke screen is an excellent idea, and costs little (though remember you must be CE to use vehicular smoke grenades per F2). Also remember that for late British vehicles you can only use the sM, the sD or the sP, but not more than one. Any of these may be used in conjunction with a smoke grenade, however.

Keep your opponent second guessing. By hiding the intentions of every move, you can draw fire with the worthless units away from the important ones. This is always the case in ASL, but the plethora of targets available when crossing open ground can really get to an itchy trigger-fingered defender. Moving worthless units first sometimes does the job. If your opponent thinks he's too savvy for that, however, try to trick him by moving the worthless ones last, after he's passed up all the good shots.

Use decoys. Once you move up a little closer, it's fun to find the itchy trigger fingers by moving worthless halfsquads in a threatening manner. A half squad running out in the open isn't a very attractive target, but as it moves closer to the enemy, it restricts his defensive fire options. As the half squad gets closer, it forces your opponent to slay him and leave residual firepower (effectively halving his firepower) or it prevents him from firing at more distant targets (after he first fires, even if that half squad is not his initial target). Once you get up close, try to swarm with half-squads and such. If they survive, they have a good chance of causing encirclement in the AFPh (or surrender in the RtPh). This is particularly effective against a flanking machine gun.

Do not be afraid to doubletime. The +1 penalty for CX does not mean much, since you can't bank on suppressing fire while your units are at long range anyway. Concentrate on getting within normal range as quickly as possible. I like the staggered doubletime movement method: I doubletime about half of my force one turn, the other half the next turn (this works best when there's OBA so as to spread your forces out more). If your infantry has smoke capacity, you could also Assault move the CXed units on the second MPh, and attempt to place smoke to cover the units behind. I also just heard about the trick of doubletiming in the MPh, searching, which makes the unit TI and removes the CX. Thus you can CX next turn too. Of course you loose a MF in the search, and you can't Advance, but it may bring a MF benefit in some cases.

Human Wave/Banzai. The corollary to all of the above is the Human Wave/Banzai tactic. If these are available to your nationality, they are a formidable tool. Casualties will be high, but the chief advantages lie in the impulse movement and the extra MFs, which enable you to close with a minimum of defensive fire opportunities against you, and ensure that you will close with the target quickly. You don't have to use all your units in a HW/B attack. In fact, the most effective may be to send a HW/B and then follow up with more dominant troops/leaders/SW. Don't forget that this can be combined with armored assault (especially by AFV's using platoon movement). I've never done this, or seen it done, but it has to be a scene: a half dozen T-34's combined with a company of 426's and a 9-0. Wow. Still, when you have armor, particularly disposable armor, VBM freeze is a superior option.

Vehicular Bypass Movement Freeze. A "sleaze" tactic which is essentially as important as "skulking". Move your armor up and in the same hex as enemy infantry units which are the most dangerous. You have now effectively eliminated their ability to defensive fire against you. Don't forget, either, that you may make an overrun or bounding fire attack when/before you get to his hex. There are drawbacks, of course: Street fighting, PF, etc.. But overall, the risks are quite small and the payoff is huge. Recently, a counter to this has come to light. Namely, if the defender is eligible for street fighting as a result of the vehicle moving into its hex, the defender may opt instead for ambush withdrawal and move to an accessible location. We await official word on whether this tactic is legal, but according to the letter of the rules, I'd have to say it is...

Armored assault can work well, too, especially against the German's powerful panzerfaust, which can make Vehicular Bypass Freeze downright impossible. It can limit the pace of the attack, but the rewards are usually worth it since it eliminates the dreaded -2 modifier. Remember that Armored Assault has a cumulative +0 modifier (+1 for the AFV, -1 for moving). Lastly, if you are truly daring, entering your infantry units as Riders will guarantee that you will cross open ground very quickly, with little more risk than if you had traversed it on foot. With Elite troops, a quick turn of the turret will automatically unload them with no MF/MP expenditure. Of course the resultant NMC can be rough, but if they pass it, you have suddenly pulled a brilliant maneuver. This can even be done in an enemy occupied hex for instant Close Combat!

Try to whittle him down with as many shots as you can muster. You usually have a lot more units and FP than he does, so take every shot you can - Sniper be damned! If you don't whittle him down a little in the first few turns, you're probably doomed. Try to plan the MPh of units so that Infantry can end up adjacent to one another. That way you can form some pretty good fire groups, even in the AFPh. (EXC. to this tactic - if the defender has OBA you might not want to bunch up too much).

Avoid Residual Fire Power. This may seem obvious, but try to learn how to move units strategically so as to guarantee a safe path of RFP-free hexes for the rest of your units. It is not as easy as it sound, especially if you have many units. Decoys and deceit can work well here, too, as you can fake your opponent into thinking he is placing RFP in a key hex, when you actually plan to move the other way.

Avoid OBA. :-)

In conclusion, attacking across open ground takes a certain mind set, especially in situations where haste is required. Your goal is casualty minimization, not prevention. So, you must take negative modifiers away from your opponent whenever possible and force him to fire on important units at half firepower. Other important options include smoke or VBM freeze, cutting down his DF options and overwhelming him with a fierce HW/B attack. It is also important to spread your forces evenly, so that one attack will not set you back too much more than any other.

Soviet military doctrine called for overwhelming an enemy all along the line. Closing with the enemy was the prime objective here. Japanese doctrine was quite similar. Chinese were often left without other options. These nationalities will be most often expected to attack across open ground. German doctrine called for probing for weaknesses and exploiting them, and British light infantry tactics, adopted after the disasters in France, also followed along these lines, so their attacks are more likely to involve attacks where cover is available. The French, along with the minor allied nations, generally felt that the MG and precision targeted artillery had made offensive actions impossible, and clung to this belief as the Germans ground them under the treads of their Panzers. Americans would bring up artillery and drop as many FFE's as necessary and then walk across the open ground.

But overall, remember that scenario designers generally do not ask you to do the impossible. Winning is within your grasp, even if you must (as Marshal Timoschenko did) walk to victory on the backs of your own dead.

Duena, July 19, 1944: The withdrawal during the night of July 18th had taken place under extraordinary pressure from the Red Army. The retreat continued into the next day, and the heat was intense, even as the Panzerjaeger Unit 24 occupied their positions at 9:00AM. Having barely time to get their guns into position, the Red Tide broke through the main battle lines set up by III battalion, Grenadier Regiment 32 in front of the Panzerjaeger Unit, and was preparing to exploit it's breakthrough.

VC: The Soviet player wins by accumulating any combination of 65 EVP and CVP.

Board Configuration:

+----+----+ 
|43  |16  |N^ 
|    |    | 
|    |    | 
+----+----+

Balance:
German: AT guns are 75, not 75L
Russian: Change VC to 75 EVP and/or CVP

Turns 7
German sets up first
Russian moves first

German OB [ELR:4]{SAN:4}: Panzerjaeger Unit 24, Infantriedivision 24 set up at least 4 hexes from east edge.

467 x4, 228 x3, (heroic)9-2*, 8-0, 6+1, LMG, Radio, Pak 75L x3

Attached Assault Gun section: Enter on or after turn 3 StuGIIIG(L)x2, 10-2AL, 8-1AL

Soviet OB [ELR:4]{SAN:2}: Elements of the 1st Shock Army: Enter on Turn 1 on east edge

628 x4, 447 x12, 9-2, 8-0, 7-0, LMG x3, T-34M43 x6

Enter on turn 3: T-34/85, T-34M43 x3, SU-76, 8-1AL

SSR: 1. EC are moderate, with light breeze from the northeast at start. Vehicular dust is in effect.

2. The German player may secretly designate one gun crew as having an inherent, heroic 9-2 leader. This leader may only set up with a gun, and affects its crew's performance by applying his leadership modifier to the gun's TH and for any MC his crew may have to take. The leader may not direct infantry fire or affect any unit other than a gun crew (EXC: rally). The 9-2 may not rout with broken units.

3. When a German Assault gun suffers a MA malfunction or becomes a wreck (not a burning wreck), it is not recalled, instead, the crew, along with a hero, must abandon the AFV (and the armor leader in that vehicle is lost, but does not count toward CVP). The crew and hero are considered berserk and automatically have at least one ATMM. Once this SSR is invoked, it is NA for the other assault gun.

4. The German radio represents one module of 105MM OBA with normal ammunition.

AFTERMATH: During the initial breakthroughs, several Soviet tanks were shot down by guns of Grenadier Regiment 32. More were set afire by the heavier guns of PJ Unit 24 and artillery fire. The anti-tank battle reached its height as attached assault guns joined the hunt. Stabsgefreiter Unger accounted for 11 T-34 with his 75MM anti-tank gun. Hauptmann Schluessler killed 10 with his assault gun, the final kill coming when, his gun barrel bent by a ramming T-34, he abandoned the assault gun and killed a T-34 with a hollow charge. The battle lasted through the terrible heat of the day and into the night. In all, 55 Soviet tanks met their end trying to overrun PJ Unit 24, to no avail.

Source: The German Infantryman's Handbook, 1939-1945, Alex Buchner, Schiffer Military History, 1991, West Chester, PA

This chart is from GIH, as well, and is mildly interesting and may be a historical reference for someone.

SS	Wehrmacht	U.S. Army
	General Officers
Oberstgruppenfuehrer	Generalfeldmarschall	General of the Army
Obergruppenfuehrer	Generaloberst	General
Gruppenfuehrer	Generalleutnant	Major General
Brigadefuehrer	Generalmajor	Brigadier General
	Staff Officers
Oberfuehrer	no equivalent	no equivalent
Standartenfuehrer	Oberst	Colonel
Obersturmfuehrer	Oberstleutnant	Lieutenant Colonel
Sturmbannfuehrer	Major	Major
	Company Officers
Hauptsturmfuehrer	Hauptmann	Captain
Obersturmfuehrer	Oberleutnant	1st Lieutenant
Untersturmfuehrer	Leutnant	2nd Lieutenant
	Officer Candidates
Oberjunker	Oberfaehnrich	no equivalent
Junker	Faehnrich	no equivalent
	Non-Commissioned Officers
Sturmscharfuehrer	Stabsfeldwebel	Sergeant Major
Hauptscharfuehrer	Oberfeldwebel	Master Sergeant
Oberscharfuehrer	Feldwebel	Technical Sergeant
Scharfuehrer	Unterfeldwebel	Staff Sergeant
Unterscharfuehrer	Unteroffizier	Sergeant
	Enlisted Men
no equivalent	Stabgefreiter	Admin. Corporal
Rottenfuehrer	Obergefreiter	Corporal
Sturmmann	Gefreiter	Corporal
SS-Obersoldat	Obersoldat	Private 1st Class
SS-Soldat	Soldat	Private

Notes: Since umlaut do not translate well via ASCII, I have replaced them with the vowel+e equivalent. An "a, o, or u" followed by an "e" is actually an "a, o, or u" with an umlaut (the two dots above the vowel.)

Also, Soldat is a general term, as we would use "soldier". Other words, such as Schuetz, Grenadier, Fuesilier, would also be used.

Source: The German Infantryman's Handbook, 1939-1945, Alex Buchner, Schiffer Military History, 1991, West Chester, PA

• Tactiques 43 Massacre au Paradise
• ASL 25 Gavin's Gamble
• ASL 27 Liberation of Tulle
• Critical Hit 12 Snow Ghosts SL17
• (Check the Archives) Debacle at Korosten
• Time on Target 30 Right Hook at Suedkampen
• A6 Price of Impatience
• DASL15 Barkman's Corner

Paul Ferraro has bravely taken up the banner (again) and is providing an e-mail list for ASL afficianados interested in scenario design.

Topics such as scenario balancing, what makes a "great" scenario and historical references have been discussed. A lot of playtest scenarios have been submitted, including a few which have shown up here.

Scenario designers, publishers looking for submissions and people with thoughts on scenario design are welcome. E-mail me for details on how to subscribe.

Counting Counters... During that midgame sequence where you are trying to figure out where your opponent has put that 8-1 and MMG stack, those dummies can really get on your nerves. Inexperienced players generally shrug and figure there is only one way to figure out what is under that "?" counter: the Hard Way.

Perhaps nothing separates the 8-0 from the 6+1 more than the use of a little numerical intelligence. In most cases (DYO and HASL excepted), you know precisely what your enemy has on hand, because its on the scenario card.

Remember that there is little that your opponent can do to change the raw numbers. So, within perhaps two or three counters (Depending on the size of the scenario, of course) you know exactly how many counters he will have.

To counter this, you can deploy a squad, of course, and often two half squads stacked with a 7-0 is a good way to disguise a location of a 9-2, HMG, 467. The 7-0 can recombine the half-squads once the game is up.

If your opponent has HIP, he can elect to use all of it or only a portion, which can also throw off the count. He may, for example elect to HIP two half squads rather than the 9-2, HMG, 467. Why? Perhaps the HMG will fire (probably will fire) in the first couple of turns, and he prefers to have the half-squads available for hidden PF ambushes. At any rate, he's messed with your count, and that's what's important here.

Keep track of how many dummies you kill, and real units you kill. If you've killed a half-squad, and your opponent hasn't been allocated any half-squads, you know he's deployed, and that there is another half squad out there. If you've killed five of his dummies, and he only had 7, you know there is only one more dummy stack. This is common sense, of course, but can easily be lost in the HOB.

Don't be afraid to stop play and count counters and think of what is left for your opponent to spring on you. It isn't cheating, and most opponents find it amusing to watch you scratch your head.

Also, take EVERY opportunity to kill off dummies, even if you know what they are. A stack KNOWN to be a dummy stack is not as innocuous as you might think, because once linked up with a concealed unit, it can once again create fog of war and cause you to lose track of enemy units which are a threat.

To counter this, keep in mind the tricks that help you keep useful dummies around for as long as possible. Maximum fog of war always works in your favor.

Some hints: Keep at least one "real" unit concealed. As long as one unit is concealed, your dummies are potential units (to your enemy.) Keep your dummies where they can link up with units which have grown concealment--in this way your dummies create a doubt about which is "real" and which is dummies. Once revealed as dummies, keep your dummies close to leaders or CE AFV, as sniper bait. Use your dummies for intelligence. If you move dummies in the open, a unit must be revealed in order to remove them, and you may (sort of a long shot) get some intelligence this way.

Counting your opponent's counters is a very useful tactic, especially in smaller scenarios. Its simple. It perfectly legal. And it will make you a better ASL player.

WWF is over, and Steve "Elvis" Pleva takes home the Lilly Langtree Memorial Trophy.

A good time was had by all, and I understand Park City was a popular venue. The chief drawback was the 3.2% beer, which, I agree, is quite a drawback. But do you want to drink? Or play ASL? I know, I know, there's absolutely no reason we can't do both.

Don't forget your penecillin shots, Dave.

Finally, I want to do a plug for SNOWBALLFIGHT `97. The Enigmatic Dr. Martin Snow and myself are planning to host an informal (and I DO mean informal) weekend of gaming to go along with the Denver area's traditional Firefight, which is tentatively set for January 11, 1997.

We can put up about a half a dozen folks (each, I think) and in addition to ASL, we could do a skiing afternoon and I hope to host a winter cookout for the folks who travel from out of town. Let me know if you are interested: hundsdor@ucsub.colorado.edu.

Also, my wife is out of town for the final weekend of September, so if anyone can make it to the Denver area during this time we will do ASL till the cows get abducted by aliens and their eyes and sexual organs are mutilated.

Snudl woke quickly when one of the sentries shook him. The building across the alley was swarming with Russians. The squad was soon gathered round to see what Snudl thought they should do. He was totally at a loss. His head was swimming, and he shook his head to clear it.

A better leader would know that time was of the essence, but Snudl was so far out of his element that he shook off his sleep as best he could, and then began thinking of a plan.

As he did, with the squad gathered round, the sound of Russian voices was heard from outside the window.

"To the windows!" Snudl shouted, but it was too late, a grenade came through and open window and, for what seemed like an eternity, spun on the floor of the machine shop. It failed to go off.

The squad ran to the windows and Snudl and the gunner moved around to the corner of the building to lay some machine gun fire down the facade of the shop--Snudl hoped to deter the Russians from a direct assault.

The Russians lined up on the outside of the building were caught between the riflemen now manning the windows and the machine gun covering their retreat. A few potato mashers, hurled from the windows by the squad, convinced them to risk the machine gun's fire as they retreated back to the warehouse from which they came.

But in no time at all, they were coming again, around the flank where the machine gun did not cover. The rumble of treads on concrete told Snudl, and all the squad, that they were in for a hard, hard day.

Finns: Tim Hundsdorfer, Tom "Ducks" Jazbutis
Russkies: The Enigmatic Doctor Martin Snow.

Marty and I had played this one before, but it is an excellent three player game, where two groups of Finns try to link up, and a force of Russians in between tries to prevent same. It's played on two PTO half boards and is good frozen CC fun.

I took the first line, retreating Finns, along with the Sissi squad from HELL. Jazbutis took the elite troops trying to help me off toward his board.

Finnish Advantages: Being Finnish

Russia Advantages: Good position

My entrance was nothing spectacular, but I did a good job of staying concealed in the face of those nasty Russian HMG.

Jazzbutis did a little too much firing and not enough moving, IMO. Gora is a game of maneuver in the board 34 woods mass, and Jazz's 838's are totally expendable, so crossing some OG in the face of a few 4-2's seemed like an acceptable risk to me, but they weren't my troops.

On turn 2, I'm ready to cross the frozen creek, and Snow is backing away in the face of my AWESOME multi-location firegroups, which, fortunately, I don't have to use, instead moving across the creek on the Finnish right.

Jazz starts moving, and when he does, he's showing his inexperience with ASL skiing. Perhaps I scared him by reminding him that he does not under any circumstances want to be in CC on skis. But he does manage to get within striking distance of some of the annoying blocking force.

In the meantime, TEDMS is shifting his forces to throw everything in my way. I realize that everything will be enough to get in my way, without very aggressive play from Jazz's troops. But Jazz loses the first half squad he sends into CC (an ill-advised CX half squad against a 447) and his aggressive spirit is tapped out.

I decide to shift left with enough troops to make the exit VP, and link up with Jazz's troops that are making better progress. At worst, this would draw off some of the heat from the main thrust of my attack.

Snow gets a timely DR, and reinforces his center, and I am very dubious about the feint on the left, but I manage to get troops into CC with his HMG nest and get it tied up. Things are definitely looking up on the right.

But I can't seem to get the DR to end the CC, and Snow reinforces it. He now has a platoon against my heroic Finnboys, but it only nets him a 3-2 attack. I reinforce!

With a turn to go, I finally whack his 9-2 and 2 447's in CC, and a couple of 838's are moving in to help me out. But the remaining 447 ties me up in melee and I have 2 squads and a leader tied up. Not having made enough progress, I concede.

However, it was possible to move in the 2 838's and withdraw from the melee, creating a possibility of victory (however slight) and we should have gone on and played the last turn. Ah, well.

In retrospect, I think the Finn should divide his first line squads and create two flanks. Ordinarily, the concept of Klockern, nicht klettern (Hammer, don't tap) would apply, but in this case the exit victory requirements are low enough that weakness on either side must be exploited. This prevents consolidation of the Russian horde against a main thrust. The Russian horde is more than powerful enough to stop the Finns, barring a lucky, aggressive attack by the reinforcing Elite Finns.

Marty had the Russians for the second time, and while I had better luck in CC than the previous time we played Gora, Marty plays an excellent Russian defense. Jazz, bitten by his dice since he offended Karma by "ducking" so many folks at Landerfest, falls into that shell of trying to limit the dice's ability to influence the game. Marty rolled low. But I felt that Jazz's troops, which were irrelevent for victory determination purposes, should have been used with more reckless abandon. Only with a powerful anvil can the first line hammer break through and reach the victory area.

Overall, an excellent scenario, and one of my top 10. I'd play it again and strongly recommend it as a three player scenario. This is a lush scenario, easily played by newbies and pros alike, with lots of room for experimentation in tactics. Use it as a three player tool to teach a newbie about the mechanics of close combat and ambush AND the use of skis and winter warfare. Good job MMP for bringing this scenario a LONG way from where it started in playtest.

Uncle Bahadir sez:

TH>Baby Sage says Hi! to her Uncle Bahadir!

BE>Voa! I KNEW it! You couldn't have been silent so long for any other reason. Only another screaming mouth would've kept yours shut! :-)

Ouch.

Andy Clarke sez:

AC>I have just been at Dr. Shields Website and took a gander at the Digests, I must say that I am very impressed with the format, articles and tips. Please do not stop writing these. Andy: Gawrsh...I do have to stop writing these, though, as it is imperative that I eat and change diapers. Don't worry, though, everything else takes a back seat.

ROLE DE HONOUR
Un"listed" ASL Netters: Matt Shostak, John Foley, Tim Hundsdorfer, Matt Romey, The Enigmatic Dr. Jeffrey Shields.... [I prefer the ASL Underground. -jds]

Write me to add your name to the Role de Honour.

It's been quiet this week in my hometown...Well, not really, but when is Lake Woebegone ever really quiet, that's just the way he starts the story. With almost three weeks off, I thought I might get in some work on A!P!, the project that keeps going on, or other ASL projects like the Narvik Campaign Game, but that was before I found out that the amount of work involved in child rearing is about double the amount it takes to earn a living. Oh well...

I very much missed being able to attend WWF, and letting Wilson walk away with the Butt-Ugly ASL player trophy. Without Youses' calvacade of snores, I may even have had a clear enough mind to win a game or two. Next year...

What's out there:
>From Michael Dean at Best Games:
CRITICAL HIT
ASL: ASL'96 PACK SCENARIO KIT, $7.00, Sml kit adding 10 well-tested scenarios involving the Jap/Chinese theater, 1938 to Korean War. '96

CRITICAL HIT
ASL: CEMETARY HILL CAMPAIGN, $5.95, EXP KIT, Adds overlays, a chapter tab, and scenarios from the fighting on Crete, 1941. '96

I'd love to give a review of these, but I don't have them yet. Cemetary Hill is a PL CG. I know there was a problem with the overlays, but I think this is straightened out now.

What's supposed to be out there:
AH
ASL: Mini-pack Release, 8/96, Contains scenarios to go with boards 42 and 43.

Hmmm...Has anyone seen this? Boards 42 and 43 are great, but I haven't seen any of the scenarios (and I playtest for MMP). I won't be buying it, of course, because I already have boards 42 and 43, but I will pick up the scenarios when this comes out.

On the horizon:
KE's Time on Target #3 Mike Reed will be at ASL MAGE in South Dakota, so if someone could get the drop on when ToT#3 will be out...Fall approaches, and no doubt so does ToT#3. The KE folks are incredibly tight lipped.

Pegasus Bridge.
Late Fall, early Winter...Paratrooper fun. First HASL using the British.

Finally, I'm looking for an e-mail game. My 16 month debacle with Dave "Surferdude" Connell is no longer enough to occupy me.

Tim Hundsdorfer hundsdor@colorado.edu