Prologue:
The scenario is set in Russia, Feb '42. Extreme Winter,
deep/falling snow, winter camos for the Russkies. Germans better not get caught
outdoors, and better watch those MGs (B# reduced by 2). Rows R-GG of Board 20,
lots of close-quarter stuff. The weather would have to get slightly worse for
LV to have an impact (only +1 for > 6 hexes at start).
Germans have 6 turns to hold off the Russians, and preserve 22 'points' worth of building hexes -- stone hexes count 2. Other SSRs included a conversion of all woods to wooden rubble, buildings are single story and roads are unpaved.
Setup:
Mike had the area west of row BB (R thru AA inclusive), the
Russians set up last and move first from rows CC thru GG inclusive.
Mike opted to put more space between his defenders and the Russians - and make row Y the first line of defense. So a string of 5 German 1st-liners stretched from X3 thru X8, with the emplaced AT gun in X7. His 2 2nd-line squads were placed across the street in hexes AA8&AA9 (which were rubble). 4 Elite squads (w/ 2DCs) and a 9-2 highlighted a reinforcement force to enter turn 3 on Row R.
The Russians had 2 elite and 10 1st-line squads to try to steal the victory hexes. The elite forces were setup w/LMGs south, in CC9 and CC10, with what should have been three (but turned out to be two - explanation forthcoming) 1st-liners and a 9-1. Another group in the center (CC6) had a 7-0 with 2 1st-liners. And the remainder (5 1st-liners in CC2 and CC3 with an 8-0) to the north. The KV-1s were in CC1, CC4 and CC8, CE.
Play:
This one went like that Super Bowl between the Redskins and
Broncos about 10 years ago. Mike (Germans) as the Broncos. For you non-NFL
fans, that's bad. :)
The 1st Quarter (Russian half, turn 1) The Russians biffed hard in the south, as the elite troops were unable to bother the 2nd-liners in the rubble. I also biffed the setup, which on my real board at home had all 3 447s, but in my VASL setup I had missed one. Mike graciously allowed me to bring the guy in from offboard, but that guy was obviously out of my plans for the time being.
During movement I was Terribly Careless (tm) and moved my guys to AA4, forgetting about the Germans in X8. Got lucky there and survived, without even pinning. More bad luck when my first attempt to start up one of the KV1s was boxcars. So I tried to BFF with it (should have waited until AFPh, I know) and boxcarred again! Yay! Then I tried a shot with my KV-1 from CC4 to the gun in X7, but was Terribly Careless and had my TCA wrong. Missed. The third one I Terribly Carelessly left CE as it marched from CC1 to Z1, where Mike's HMG in X3 promptly stunned it. I think I was too excited to have actually gotten a tank started and moving. My second-ever dalliance with vehicles was not starting well.
In the south the Russians assault-moved adjacent to the Germans in the rubble. One squad was promptly reduced by the combined firepower and had to rout away, but the other squad was able to advance into the rubble where he eliminated a German squad in CC. This marked the real turning point. Sadly for the Germans (as for the Broncos that year) their good luck had been shortlived. The Russians ended their half with squads in AA1, Z2, Z3, Z4, and AA6; a formidable firing line for their Defensive turn.
The rest of the game (German half, turn 1 thru German half, turn 2) Subtitled: "Mike rolls a lot of 9s, 10s, and 11s"
Well, I didn't quite manage a 35-point unanswered blitz, as the Redskins did in that horrible Super Bowl, but all the luck started swinging my way. Mike got in a good shot on the KV1 in CC4, shocking it with the AT gun, but his shots on my troops in the center and north were ineffective. He skulked a unit or two out of LOS. In the Russian DefF my 9-1 led an attack firing from BB8 to X7, breaking his AT gun crew. The squads in Z2 and Z3 attacked his HMG crew in X3, breaking the leader and HMG squad. He broke an LMG and his MMG. My sniper broke one of his skulking units. End of turn 1 saw him with just 3 GO squads, largely because he was rolling at best an 8 on his MCs.
Then, let's see, my conscript unit self-rallied (first time for me), his gun crew was eliminated on a self-rally attempt, his leader failed to self-rally, and his 2nd-line unit in the south was overwhelmed by the Russians. By his half of turn 2, things were grim.
So, to make things worse, I recovered my KV1 from shock (whew) and his leader AGAIN failed to self-rally (he needed a 9 to pass). In PrepF, he broke his HMG, leaving him with 0 SWs unbroken. In my defensive fire phase, we had the following sequence as my FG of units from Z2-Z4 fired at the lone GO squad (owner of the broken HMG):
Me: Okay, FG from Z2,Z3, and Z4 shoot at X3. 24 +3 shot.
DR: 5*4
Me:
Ah, CRAP! (checks chart) Lousy NMC!
Mike's DR: 5*4
Mike: AH,
CRAP!!!!!
Well, it was funny at the time. With 1 GO squad, and the Russians very capable of obtaining building hexes as far forward as row U before the reinforcements came, Mike conceded.
I've never played against anyone who had that kind of bad luck. Had a blast, and Mike was a great sport -- I for one felt very guilty being the recipient of such good luck, especially given some of the egregious errors I made.
VASL, btw, is great - so advanced I could even SEE the veins throbbing in Mike's temples. :)
Aaron H. Krebs