Erwin Lau (from Hong Kong [erwin-lau@gemstar.com.hk]) was in town for business and he took advantage of the ASLML to ask make a local contact. (That would be me). We got together Tuesday night and played Gavin Take. I had the US and Erwin had the Germans.
The Scenario:
If you don't have this gem, it is played on board 3. Go ahead and get your board out so you can follow along. Its OK, I'll wait.
"Fly me to the moon and let me dance among the star…"
Oh, you're back. Take a look at the map with me. Germans defend with several squads, MMGs, and three leaders. Germans have to setup inside the road net that surrounds the center of the village. US troops have 747 paras with no SW, but a 10-3 (Gavin), 10-2 and an 8-0. The US enter the largest group on Y1 (US Left Flank), with a slightly smaller group entering on I1 (US Right Flank). To win, the US must exit at Q10 and must exit one more squad than the Germans. An SSR says that hex M2 is rubbled at ground level (keeps you from using the upstairs as the US).
VC:
There's been some discussion of ASL1 - " Fighting Withdrawal" lately on the list. Let me point out how similar the VC are for the two scenarios. IIRC, Fighting Withdrawal VC state that the attacker wins if he exits more VP that the defender. In Gavin Take, the attacker has to exit one squad more than the defender. This makes for an interesting situation (IMO) in that even if the attacker has exited enough to win, the attacker still has to be aware that the defender moves last and can (perhaps) exit enough troops to take away the victory.
German setup:
I don't have all the German setup, but I think he setup a Leader / Squad / MG in O5, S3.1, and R6.1. The woods in O6 were used as a rallying point, in all a good setup for the defense.
My "Clever Little Plan" (CLP)tm:
Originally, I intended to move Gavin and the "main body" to hill 522 and get behind the German defenders to exit. On my right flank, I was going to use the 10-2 and the four squads to attack straight into the village. (This would be the "diversion" that would prevent the Germans from reacting to my attack.)
Things did not go exactly as planned 8-)
Turn 1:
Right Flank:
One squad moves (using bypass) to get to J2.
He draws a little fire from O5, but to no effect. The 10-2 and the other three
squads move to M2 and advance to N2.
Left Flank:
One squad moves to X3 (into the shellholes) and successfully
places infantry smoke.
Next Squad goes CX moves into x3 (wooden building) and also manages to find some Smoke grenades. - I'm still such a "newbie" it still surprises me that I remember to use smoke 8-)
Now, Gavin and two squads move to X4 (no need to CX). They then advance to W5 and are sitting on the hill overlooking the village. This was a very important position, as you will see…
During Erwin's turn, he moves a squad and leader to the exit hex (Q10) so that he can dig a foxhole and make it tougher for me to exit. Ah, but the LOS was clear from W5 to Q10 and Gavin directed those two squads to fire. Result: Everyone in Q10 breaks before they can get their shovels out. (I believe, now, that having Gavin and a couple of squads reach W5 in the first turn is critical to a US win.) Erwin's troops rout over to the woods near N10, where they will be pain to me later. Still, a very good first turn for me. Only one of my squads broke in turn one, and he self-rallied in turn 2.
Turn 2:
During turn one, Erwin move his leader from O5 to help rally the
leader / squad / MMG that were hiding in the woods at O6. Seemed like a good
decision at the time, but as I started to move the right flank squads, Erwin
uses DFF from O5 and cowers. Since he's cowered, he can no longer shoot at me
unless I move adjacent. My 10-2 leader on that flank quickly gives orders to
run around the German flank. All but one of my squads runs down the road to N4
and they get into the M7 building in force. A single squad gets to K6, where it
later advances to level 2 (K7). I now have US squads on both hilltops
overlooking the village.
BTW: In retrospect, the cower result was one of the "keys" to the scenario. And that wouldn't have happened if the Germans in R5.1 hadn't broken on turn 1. "For want of a shoe, a horse was lost. For want of a horse…" The cower allowed three of my squads (and a 10-2) to run wild on the right flank. On the left flank, squads move forward, some more getting on top of the hill, some moving around toward the trees.
Turn 3, 4 & 5:
Now the fighting begins in earnest. I moved the paras
aggressively and was lucky (in most cases) to survive Defensive Fire. However,
there were significant losses…
At one point, Erwin had a squad that was almost surrounded by my troopers. In his turn, he pref fires, the squad is reduced to a HS in Defensive Fire, and then he advances the little guy into the hex with one of my squads. I begin to break into a sweat, because I know CC is risky. We roll for ambush. He ambushes me!
(Nuts!) OK, try to stay calm. It won't help for Erwin to know how you feel…
Ewrin rolls. He doesn't hurt me. (Whew!) I roll and miss him too. (NUTS!)
No problem, I think. Now its my turn, I will just advance enough into the hex to win the CC - I already have two or three squads adjacent the the melee. NEWBIE WARNING! GIGANTIC TACTICAL ERROR FOLLOWS! I decide that I'll advance the 10-3 (Gavin) and another squad. That should be enough to guarantee the win in CC. (duh!) No ambush, and I roll and kill Erwin's HS. He calmly asks which squad my 10-3 is stacked with. It makes no difference, so I indicate one. He will, of course attack that one. Its 1-4 CC odds. If he rolls snake eyes, the squad and Gavin will die. If he rolls a 3, then one unit will take a CR.
He rolls a three. (NUTS!) Now I roll random selection and roll two 5's. Both units take CR. The squad becomes a HS, and Gen Gavin rolls on the wound severity table.
We regret to inform you that James Gavin died just outside this little village. Right over there by the woods in R8. Very sad.
The CC result gets Erwin back in the game. Up until then, I had most things going my way. (I didn't track it, but I think I had better DR's - on average - than Erwin.)
Encirclement is a good thing:
Erwin had troops in the o10 building, in
the woods near N10, in the woods at P8 and in the building o7. I managed to
encircle the guys in P8 by firing with a pinned HS from R8 and a squad from N8.
His units break and survive interdiction. They end up in P6, IIRC.
BTW: the only time we looked up a rule during this game was when we checked to see if fire by a pinned unit could cause encirclement. (It can.) Sometimes its more fun to play a scenario where both players are familiar with the rules being used. (As opposed my playing with tanks, where I still don't have a clue.)
Last turn we played was turn 5. I had moved one squad to Q10, and another squad and a half into the street adjacent to C7. In Defensive Fire, Erwin fires at my squad in Q10, rather than my adjacent squads. He gets no result and concedes the game. My squad in Q10 can move off board next turn, with no opportunity for him to fire at him. I had lots of troops in the area that would make it hard for Ewrin to exit.
A very enjoyable game. Lots of nail biting and tension. Erwin plays very well, he did probably get the short end of the DR average. This scenario is becoming one of my favorite scenarios. 8-)