Steve Pleva and I gave one of the new WCW scenarios a whirl yesterday. We selected WCW10, Stand and Die. This takes place outside of Shanghai in December '37. The Japanese are on the attack with eleven squads and five AFVs, against a dozen GMD 447s with two MMGs, a 75* ART, a sprinkling of SWs, and seven AFVs of their own. That's right, seven Chinese AFVs, including two German-built ACs (Psw222s?), three PzIAs, and a couple of Italian L-something tankettes, led by a 9-1 armor leader. Chinese foot leadership isn't too shabby either, including a 9-2. Besides their own tanks and TH-Heroes, the main IJA AT weapons include an FT and a DC.
The Chinese defend the town on board 24 (the 'valley' doesn't exist by SSR), which lay north of board 35. Board 35 is unrecognizable, as overlays 3 and 5 are in play, adding a stream and a rice-paddy field, while another stream overlay cuts across the western third of board 24. Victory is based on CVP, with building locations (all ground-level only by SSR) good for a VP apiece.
As the Japanese, I brought my AFVs on between the overlays on the south edge of board 35, supported by about half my infantry. The balance of my infantry, plus an FT-totin' 8-0, came on the northeast corner of 35, at the join with 24 (IJA enters on south or east edge of 35). My plan was to pin the defenders with the AFV/infantry force while the rest of my folks drove through the light jungle into the village from the east. As my first halfsquad bounded onto the board in the east it instantly dematerialized. I mean, it was like they stepped into the transporter room of the Enterprise - Steve had boresighted a 9-2-directed MMG at the hex, for a 4(-6) shot. I think any friendly unit in LOS of something like that should have to at least take a PTC.
After that little bit of excitement, play proceeded in a steady but bloody manner. I expected the Chinese AT weapons to merely make a light, almost musical tinkling sound on my armor - instead my turrets started flying off at an alarming rate. It didn't matter much, since several of those turrets contained malfunctioned MAs. In return, my sniper claimed the 9-2, and a mortar managed to keep the 75* engulfed in WP smoke, though it didn't seem to hurt his aim too much. My loss of AFVs more than offset the buildings I had taken, so I had to press hard into the board 24 town. 'Highlights' here included a DareDeath squad that succumbed to consecutive 2MC failures, and a berserk IJA squad that survived a 16(-2), a 12(-2) [broke two mgs on those shots] and a host of other First and Final fire, only to fall to a 4(+2) Steve tried as an afterthought in the Defensive Fire Phase (went down to boxcars on a MC).
By endgame, I clearly had to kill AFVs. In the last two turns I bagged four vehicles, two in CC and two to MG fire, joining one the FT claimed earlier. I had a good shot at capturing a squad and a leader as well, but the weasels broke the HS trying to deny their rout path. It was pretty close, as Steve had retaken a building, and lit up yet another Japanese tankette. On my last firephase, I failed to knock out an armored car with a couple of LMG shots. We counted it up, and Steve won by four CVPs, 52-48.
This was a lot of fun, working with Japanese and Chinese armor and two well-matched infantry forces. I was a little nervous about the paddy rules, but they are Dry, greatly simplifying play. The AFVs demand some thought, as just about anything on the map can knock them out. Most of the Chinese AFVs were tied up just trying to defend themselves, and I don't think the Japanese tanks inflicted even a PTC on the defenders - basically the armor just helped run up the CVP total. Playing this a second time, I'd be a bit more cautious with the AFVs.
Total playing time was about five hours, but this was due more to intermittent baby-sitting and the fact I flipped a board over half way through (fit of rage, couldn't help myself). I'd expect four hours or less with two experienced players. So far I've tried this one, Will to Fight...Eradicated, and Abandon Ship (747s versus armor in the Ardennes) and found them all good.
If you get a chance, check 'em out - take care,
(the other) JR