A Breezeless Day - ASL Action Pack #1
After playing, observing, and discussing this scenario at ASLOK, I thought I'd bore you with my twisted insights:

Rating: 55% German

Attraction: Heavy metal madness, but on the Western Front for a change.

American Advantages: M36 GMCs, Gyros (maybe), HMGs, 9-2, OBA Smoke, AT Mines

90L T Guns with 2 ROF - and you get three of them! These babies will knock a hole clean through anything the Germans get in this scenario, save certain lumbering behemoths of the 26 AF variety. No sensible German is going to risk putting his vulnerable StuGs and StuHs in front of your Jacksons without the beasties backing them up. The Jacksons have decent speed, and as open-topped vehicles, the 4-factor AAMGs see some play. You're going to need the (average) 4.5 shots they spew out per fire phase, since they will be the heart of your defense. The Gyros aren't guaranteed, but you have a 2/3 chance per Sherman to get 'em. *Read* the Gyro rules! These devices were common as dirt in the U.S. Army, but rarely make an appearance in ASL due to their 'potentially unbalancing' nature. You might not appreciate those smallish advantages at first, but they are indeed powerful. A Gyro-equipped Sherman fires as effectively on the move as does a halted Sherman, save the PB advantages, and gets Acquisition to boot. In this scenario, you might suddenly have an opportunity to whip around for a butt shot on one of the JagdTigers, or perhaps on that annoying little FlammHetzer. Even if you fail to get the Gyros, your opponent must respect the possibility of an 'end run' and deploy accordingly.

The two HMGs in the American OoB, as well as the two MMGs, will help slow down that horde of 447s. The .50cal is every 9-2's favorite weapon, while the water-cooled .30 ain't so bad either. There are a some good opportunities for Firelanes, particularly out of Level 1 of 43O7, 43O8, and 43N9, across the 43T6 hillmass. With ROF of 3, it will be a tough choice for the American, whether to hope for Rate or just lay down that 6FP FL. The .50 will be handy against the SPWs as well. The 9-2, when not raising hell with the automatic weapons, will be performing AutoRally duty with the 666s. With 8 broken-side morale, plus the bonus for rally terrain, these guys will be either coming back or getting CR'd when rallied by the capable 9-2. The 60mm module may seem a little lame against this fearsome juggernaut, but Smoke should be the order of the day. Get that SR out where you can see it, and bring some Instant Terrain down once the German starts to set up a jump-off point for the main assault on the town. You can really cramp his style by dropping a Smoke mission in or around 42U2, inhibiting any firebases he might have created in the upper levels of the 42V1 building, ideally sited to cover the town south of hexrow K. Finally, the AT Mines: even if the German never finds them, they will affect his attack as he attempts to walk on eggshells throughout his advance. With a little luck, you might just bag an AFV or two with clever placement.

American Disadvantages: Open-top AFVs, 6 morale troops, leadership, 8 AF, terror

Wow, that building in 43P1 looks like a great spot to put a Jackson covering a German thrust down the Z5/T2 road. Similarly, 42X2 covers the entrance to that board. Too bad OT vehicles can't set up in buildings (B23.41). This is often overlooked, so don't base your setup on this, and if you're German, be on the lookout for this mistake as well. The other problem with OT vehicles is your crews will always be vulnerable to the German sniper and his IFT firepower, at least if you want to use those beautiful 90Ls! As for the Infantry, these 666 DevilSquads can be a real pain, running at the first MC. Just be prepared with leadership in place to rally them. The only problem is, you have but three leaders, one of whom must man the radio. How exactly to distribute this precious commodity is probably the most difficult part of the Ami setup. The armor is easier, because it is mobile enough to quickly react to the German assault. However, those JagdTigers aren't the only thing you have to worry about - the 75Ls on the StuGs are quite capable of killing the Jacksons and can punch through the Sherman turrets as well. In general, the American has a pretty potent force, and the advantage of tough terrain to shield his shaky troops, but the most important morale is that of the American commander himself: that's a mighty armored fist coming down the pike, and you just have hang in there and give your advantages time to assert themselves.

American Defense:

Tuomo and Rodney wax eloquently on forward defense versus defense in depth, but here I think the Ami has to keep back. Some boys up front are necessary to keep the initial board entry honest, but if too much infantry dies in the northern half of the boards, then the battle for the town will be much, much easier for the fascist hordes. A German rush down the east board edge and into the woods could pose a problem, as the setup restrictions prevent you from dealing with the threat directly with a squad in Z10. Instead, you might try an MMG in X2, which can boresight the GG10 entry hex and slow things up a bit (when this guy breaks, send him toward V3; you can send him to U1, but after that it's T0 and curtains). Other than that, I put three squads in the woods on the right, backed by the 7-0, a Baz/HS in 42Y4, and a Baz/HS in 43Q3. One of the HMGs should be in Level 1 of 43O8 or 43N9, where they can cover an attack across the hills, supported by the other MMG. I put the second HMG back in the town, in 42H5, but that was only because I have a bad habit of reaching the end of long scenarios without my key SWs, and this was a crude attempt at self-discipline. A more aggressive player should go ahead and put it near the first HMG. When placing these heavy weapons, try to anticipate where they're going to (inevitably) run to as the attack bears down. 43O10 is one fallback position, and foxholes in 43O9 and 43M10 will make running away easier. Just try to leave of your own accord, as you'll be abandoning those 5PP pigs behind if you have to rout. I placed my 8-0 with the radio in 42M5, where he could see the crest hexes of the big Board 43 hill, as well as the 42U2 area. Here the leader is in a good spot to relocate and help out with rallies if and when things get really ugly.

I placed two Jacksons in 42L1 and 42M3, where they could hit the 42U2 area as well as get some sneaky LOSs down the road to 42CC5. In my AAR I mentioned my Boresight from M3 to CC5, but be sure to check if it's clear on your board. Boresighting the sweet HD in W5 from L1 might be a good idea as well. On Board 43, consider siting a Jackson in L5. This covers the T6, Z2, and CC7 hillmasses, and the German may be intimidated from moving a lot of StuG/StuHs up top in its face. On the other hand, he might just move a JagdTiger up, in which case Motion Attempt is the order of the day. An interesting dilemma is offered by a German who moves a bunch of StuG/StuHs up, and one or both JagdTigers. A single Jackson keeping ROF could have a field day over two Fire Phases, but otherwise he's dead meat. Regardless, put a Jackson up there and see how the German reacts - the Motion Attempt will be automatic should you take it (+1 for crossing the hedge along the crestline of the CC7 hill) and then it can zip out of LOS into M6 with the first MP. As for the Shermans, try having one in 42P4 or in a position to relocate there. It will be able to cover the crest hexes of the 43T6 hill, as well as 42U2 and U3, and the upper levels of V1 and V2, while being out of LOS of anything North of row T and in hexes numbered 4 or greater. This Sherman's job will be to hammer infantry in and around the V1 building, a particularly important job if the Smoke doesn't come through right away. It has a secondary task of making Deliberate Immobilization attempts against any JagdKitties that park along the crestline. Don't worry about armored threats against this Sherman - the two nearby Jacksons should take care of that. This position is difficult to run away from, so you might consider orienting your VCA to the rear. It'll probably die in place, but it should see plenty of action in the meantime. By the way, you might as well go CE, since it may make all the difference on your DI shots. The second Sherman should be covering the left flank. Much of your Sherman disposition depends on your Gyro rolls and how uppity you feel. Also on the left, you have some good HD positions around the building complex to head for as the Germans get close.

For AT Mines, I like putting two 1-factor minefields in 43Y5 and 43X4 - they offer a better-than 50% chance of catching a vehicle that drives straight through. Chances are, after your first 'secret' dr, your opponent will be backing out through the trailbreak and going around. I also put four factors in 42W5, since that wall just looks too tasty to pass up for a StuG. I already mentioned the observer's intent to drop Smoke around 43U2. Now all that remains for you to do is plot your fallback positions and await the assault.

German Advantages: JagdPanzer VIs, eighteen squads, FlammHetzer, six SPWs, Smoke

That's a buttload of offensive firepower there, bucko. Those JgPz VIs are the panzer-pusher's wet dream, impregnable, and with a 128L that makes a mockery of the U.S. armor (unless you roll a dud, hee hee hee). In addition, they do a tidy number on infantry - with the SS-improved HE depletion number of 8, you should get some licks in against the grunts as well. Area Target Type against infantry is worth considering, since the beasts have no ROF, and the 128L delivers 12(+3) attacks against Stone locations via ATT, nothing to sneeze at. Use these to scare the Ami out of his positions; putting one in 43CC5 on the first turn is a nice way of saying "I own all of Level 1, thank you", a message any sane American would do well to respect. These bad boys represent twenty of your 135 at-start CVPs, so you want to preserve them, and keep them mobile (see below) Therefore, they should be supporting the assault, not leading it, even though their 26AF cries out for the point. The eighteen squads, enjoying Assault Fire and SS +1 backside morale by SSR, is quite a force - just for laughs try to use all of the 36 'fausts you're entitled to. Seriously, this is enough to cover the board - use the vastness of this force to spread the American out, offering credible thrusts along three or four axes: east board edge, an MMG concentration headed for the 42V1 building, a mass on foot going over the hills, and some boys in HTs ready to exploit to the rear. The FlammHetzer scares me more than the JagdTigers, because it can blow a defense away while on the move. It has a 14 frontal AF, which laughs at the Bazookas and can survive the 90L; constant motion status along with the small target type makes this critter damn hard to kill - you should never offer the American better than an initial '7' TH. The B11 is a drag, so it is probably best left for the grind through the Board 42 buildings. The six HTs are a real boon, representing a whopping thirty CVPs, almost half your exit requirement. They have obvious on-board uses as well, including a role as 'mine-hunters' while offering devastating tactical mobility. If the Ami is too far forward, he might suddenly discover two full platoons in his rear, compounding an already-difficult situation. Finally, Smoke is your friend: you have six Smoke-producing tubes, all with SS-enhanced depletion numbers. With average rolls you can totally blind an American defense and advance on it at will with your Landser.

German Disadvantages: Tough VC, Turretless AFVs, Double-Large targets

Your bone-crushing force suffers in one significant regard: over half of it must survive the fight for the buildings and exit the board. Those pathetic six-morale Yankees will be in stone buildings, and they will put a hurt on you. Several German AFVs will die, meaning that infantry will be responsible for some of the Exit CVPs - and they will be carrying the brunt of the battle in the village. The VCs are the only thing that make this a contest, so conserve your forces and formulate a plan that gets you to the southern half of the board relatively intact. The turretless nature of your AFV force could prove to be a real liability against an aggressive Ami. The combination of T-class MAs, ROF, and Gyros is impressive and if your forces are divided or your initial AFV advantage much reduced, you could find yourself on the losing end of a swirling tank fight. Generally this is an ill-advised move by the American, but be prepared for it, using your 'schreck teams for flank protection and generally keeping up the pressure, denying him the opportunity to seize the initiative. The last big hassle for you is your double-large JagdTigers. You might ask, 'Who cares? He can't penetrate.' The danger is two-fold: should he go for an end-run death ride against your rear facing, his chances to hit are that much greater. More importantly, these babies are much more vulnerable to Deliberate Immobilization than your typical AFV. Even against a moving JgPz VI, the American has a chance in six of knocking a tread off using a CE weapon. Without the Moving/Motion modifier, his chances jump up to 33.3%, all this without taking into account ROF. An immobile NT AFV ain't worth much once everything flees its VCA. So, take care and keep these beasts more than six hexes away from the American AT weapons.

German Attack:

I've already mentioned splitting up the infantry a bit: three squads and a leader drive through the left-flank woods, forcing the American to confront them while weakening other fronts; three squads and a -1 leader, plus the bulk of the automatic SWs heading for the 42V1 building, where they go up to the first level and lay fire into the village and any CE AFVs along the L/M hedgerow; six squads on foot humping it over the Board 43 hills along with the AFVS, and finally six squads in HTs puttering to the rear of the main force waiting for an opportunity to support or exploit. One or both of the JagdTigers on the CC7 hill should chase away any Level 1 U.S. AFVs, but keep the other armor off the hill for now, just in case the enemy *does* have a Jackson up there, and he's feeling lucky. Your assault guns can assemble along the 43DD3/Z7 road, waiting for the Ami armor to run and the infantry to catch up. Next, you can hop the Assault guns up to the V and W hexrows, while the infantry gathers in the same area. On turn three, a massive Smoke barrage can completely enshroud the 07 and N9 buildings and the crestline just in front, allowing your infantry to surge forward unmolested. Once you crack this position, you should be able to set up for the fight in the southern half of 42. The American cannot stand in front of your concentrated firepower, and his OBA isn't intimidating enough to threaten such a concentration. You need to blast your way through to a good jump off point for the real fight; keep your AFV losses to a minimum early, unless you have a good shot at crushing a too-aggressive American counterattack. If you are in good shape for the village assault, take advantage of your Assault Fire bonus and whatever Smoke you have left with your assault guns, and let Herr FlammHetzer clear the way. That 9-2 won't look so tough with a 30(0) shot hitting him in the face. You hold an incredibly powerful hand, but your goals are worthy of that power; make the most of it.

Conclusion:

This is the sort of German OoB we typically see in East Prussia or Hungary, so it's fun to see it matched up against the Americans for a change. I call this 55% German only because I think the typical American is going to be freaked out and liable to make an error as a result - between more stalwart opponents, I'd call it closer to 50/50. The balance is huge: an extra Jackson for the Americans. I'll take that any day of the week. Both sides have appeal - the German with the awesome vehicles, the American with a real challenge and some armor that's not too shabby itself. The Gyros are a neat twist, and once more people get a taste of them, they'll demand their presence in more scenarios. I really like the Action Pack lineup, and this is just one of several with a good mix of troop types, new boards, and challenging VCs. I hope this little writeup encourages people to sit down and take a crack at A Breezeless Day - I don't think you'll be disappointed.

(the other) JR

AAR 2:

An AAR a day keeps something icky away...

Executive Summary - VERY nice. Kewl toys for everybody. A real US/German armor brawl.

Attraction - The big draw of ABD (for me) is the three 90L tank destroyers the US gets, in addition to the two Gyro-capable Shermans. This is not your standard German Steamroller Bulge scenario; the US gets to throw some lead around too. Toss in toys like AP mines, a flamethrowing tank, two US HMG's, OBA, and some serious armor firepower, and you're reaching for the drool bucket.

It also has an SSR which turns the bd 43 grainfields into level 1 hills, which I've personally always wanted to see somewhere. Grainfields have the right shape for hills and I've always thought it would be an easy way to change a board without using overlays.

I was the US defender. The VC's seem tough on the Germans - exit 70 CVP (excluding prisoners, even) off the far board edge _and_ take most of the buildings on the bd 42 village. But they've got the time and the OB to do it - six halftracks worth 5 CVP apiece and a large number of infantry backed up by Bodacious Heavy Metal: 128L tanks (Jagdpanthers?), 105mm TD's (with H9, even!), and several 75mm tanks, most of which can throw smoke around with high depletion numbers.

The easiest decision is where to put the antitank mines. There are several natural chokepoints along the roads, especially for the German halftracks which can't cross walls and have to make Bog checks to cross hedges. Minefields went on the roads around 43Y6 and 43Q4 (can't remember exact locations, but these are approx. correct) to encourage halftracks to move up on the level 1 hills and take some fire from the US 9-2/.50 cal sitting at level 1 in the bd 43 walled village. Another minefield went in 43L0 in case the German armor made a breakthrough along the western board edge and the halftracks tried to skirt the hedgeline by bypassing 43L0. A minefield in 42Y1 was nicely placed to hamper German lateral movement, and another one went in the wall/hedge chokepoint around 43U5. The last minefield went at the end of the hedgeline where the north-south road approached the bd 42 village.

Most of these mines were well-placed; the only change I'd make is to move the one from 43L0 to the north entrance of the woods-road on the eastern side of bd 42. This would keep the German armor from meddling too much in the woods fight, something which literally burned my US troopers' butts (more on that later).

One 90L TD went up on a hill just southwest of the walled village. Another 90L went in the stone building around 43P2 while the last went into the building around 42X3. These last two were illegally placed (CE AFV's can't set up in buildings) so Brian graciously allowed me to place them in bypass in those building hexes. Whatta guy. I rolled up only one Gyro for my Shermans but decided to put both of them close to the front lines to hit the Germans before their attack got rolling; one went around 43X8 (TCA covering the road junction around Y5) and one went partially HD behind the wall around 42U5. The tanks on bd 43 did OK; the ones on bd 42 could have used a little more thought.

BAZ teams went up front; one to cover either fork of the road on bd 42 and one to help out the Gyro Sherman around 43X8. Figuring the bd 42 woods would see a fallback defense, both US MMG's went in that area so that their owners could break and rout back without losing the MG's. I was real tempted to put the 9-2 over on that side to keep the US infantry bouncing back, but eventually decided on putting him with the .50 cal HMG in the bd 43 village. The right flank got the 8-0 and the 7-0 OBA observer went with the last HMG just to the SW of the bd 43 walled village, threatening to lay a firelane down the road to the north or repositioning the HMG to a foxhole in the woods around 43J10. This infantry setup was OK, but the US is really hurting for squads in this scenario and it's hard to feel good about not having enough bodies to plug the gaps. The 9-2 probably would have been very helpful in the woods fight down the length of bd 42, but he's also very useful in directing that .50 cal shooting at German halftracks from level 1 on bd 43.

Brian's Germans came on strong on bd 42, which surprised me a bit; I expected bd 43 to be the better tank country. The only thing he sent down the road on bd 43 was a convoy of all six loaded halftracks, led by a 75mm tank. The rest blitzed onto bd 42, with one tank being fried by a semi-lucky BAZ shot while the German infantry took to the woods, as expected.

On bd 43, Fun Things were cooking. My TD in 43P2 had a close-but-clean LOS to the lead tank of the convoy and blasted it to bits, leaving an ASL'ers wet dream: the chance to skunk a relatively unprotected convoy of high-value vehicles lined up on a road without an easy escape route. It was glorious. My dice were hot and I envisioned nailing the entire convoy and making a short game of it, for there's no way the Germans could lose all of those juicy CVP and still win the game. I had him on the ropes, I had a Gyro-equipped Sherman, two BAZ teams, two 90L tank destroyers, some OBA, and a 9-2/.50 cal HMG, and what Brian had was the approximate look and feel of a rabbit caught in the headlights.

I say again, it was glorious. I jumped all over him, halftracks scattered to the four winds but passed their Bog checks to get up the hill. 50-cal HMG shells rained all over the place. One halftrack went up in flames and the noose was closing.

But then's when something happened that I've seen others do before and I never figured I'd do myself - I got too aggressive. Brian was down and all I had to do was let him waste time trying Plan B while repositioning myself and picking off what I could from where I was. I didn't have to go after him with such recklessness, but I did. I did! The Gyro Sherman went on a bounding fire binge and got nailed by an intensive fire shot from one of Brian's 75mm tanks. The second Sherman got nailed by a similar shot from bd 42, trying to head off the halftracks before they got off bd 43. Two BAZ teams decided to advance up to the open ground on the bd 43 hill and got shot to pieces. The 90L TD in the US rear got smoked out of LOS by one of Brian's tanks and the other one went down to yet another intensive fire shot.

With each setback, I should have seen that red flag a little clearer in my mind, but I was mad with lust and could only think to feed more units into the fire. It was awful. Only after my bd 43 forces were nearly decimated did I stop to consider that maybe, JUST MAYBE, I had been a little greedy. Sigh. What had been a US decisive victory on turn 1 turned into a probable German victory by turn 3.

Brian, of course, was claiming that he had no chance to win, but those 128L tanks of his were worth 10 CVP apiece and he had plenty of CVP left on the board, with an increasing dominance in firepower. I must have failed a PMC because I continually did stoopid things on the board, pausing long enough to wonder why I was playing so STOOPID and telling myself that it's time to kick it in gear, then going out and doing Yet Another STOOPID thing. It was awful.

Brian used his flamethrowing tank to great effect in breaking open the woods line on bd 42. Here's where an A-T mine would have been real useful on that woods road, but alas. I didn't fall back quickly enough and soon the bd 42 woods was nearly bereft of Good Order US squads. Damn those flamethrowing tanks! You just CAN'T get close to them - even forcing one to pivot three hexspines in dfire gives it a 30(+5) attack, which is 70% likely to break a ML6 squad. Gah!

Soon I was left hoping for miracles, and I got a few. Two HT's went down to A-T mines, one HT got KIA'd by snakes from the US HMG, and one HT got KIA'd by snakes from the US OBA. Still, Brian's assault rapidly moved down bd 42, and I soon reached the dreadful point where my Movement Phases went by quickly BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE MANY UNITS LEFT TO MOVE. I've seen THIS before, bleah!

Eventualy even Brian was forced to concede that he might have a chance at winning, and we counted the CVP the Germans had left to exit. The US 9-2 led a daring charge by the last 666 to nail a 105mm assault gun, and Brian had 78 CVP left in the game. He needed to exit 70 to win. All I had left to oppose him was the 9-2 and a 7-0 clutching a radio, the last 666 having gone down after CC. It seemed like a foregone conclusion, especially after the 7-0 failed to make Radio Contact. All Brian had to do was start up those tanks and get 'em off the board... those tanks that were 10 CVP apiece... those tanks with the red MP's... those those tanks that Immobilize when you roll boxcars to start...

"C'mon, boxcars!" I shouted.

Clink! Tinkle! Tink!

And boxcars it was.

Game over, dude.

Glorious.

Tom