Rindis.com

After fleeing in an F5C, Patch and I returned to ASL, with a scenario from Journal #14. It’s part of the Italian offensive into France in 1940. It didn’t get far, but it did generate this scenario.

I had the defending French, who have nine and a half squads, two LMGs, and a 37mm popgun (its an INF so small, it’s counted as a support weapon). On turn two they get another two squads with 8-0 and LMG, and… a car. It is mounted with a LMG, but a 2FP AAMG mounted on a very small vehicle with no armor seems to be asking for trouble.

The Italians have eleven squads (and two HS), two LMG, a HMG, and two light MTR. They also get a 9-2 and four radioless tankettes (two with MA and two with CMG). They need 16 VP, and get three each for taking buildings on board 32. The road there is a fairly natural barrier, and taking everything south of that would get them 15 VP. They need to either get across the road, or exit units off of 32A6 (1 or 2 VP each, depending).

Italian setup is on a diagonal line that runs south the further east it goes; they can also just enter the west side of board 32 on turn 1. There’s enough orchards and other cover to make the obvious approach a good one, but coming along the board 32 woods/road shouldn’t be ruled out, and I set up a LMG to stall that as well as see an approach in the middle of board 38. The main defense was just south of the main road, with a trio of HS just west of there, and the INF in F4. Patch set up in a dense line on the east half of the board.

With orchards in the way, there wasn’t a lot I could do, but a lucky 1MC was followed by a 12 to reduce and ELR a LMG squad. Patch revealed and pinned a HS in AFPh.

Situation, Italian turn 1, showing the full board.

For… I think the second time in my ASL career, my wind change DR actually produced a mild breeze from no wind. Patch had advanced adjacent to the first victory building, and another good roll killed his HS with a K/2. Beyond that, it was time to bring in the outposts for a tighter defense. Despite all the hindrances in the way, I expected a shot or two as the west LMG group marched down the road to C4. He did a big shot against the squad in C1, but all the hindrances kept it from doing anything. However, his MTR got the range on J0 for a K/1 to kill a HS.

Situation, French turn 1. There is now a breeze from the NE, which will have no effect.

Patch rallied his HS for his turn 2, and the east MTR got two hits on my concealed squad in A4 to kill them on a double-break and K/1. His first move was adjacent to the first building, which drew an adjacent 8FP attack to break him. The armor all moved up and parked around the 32C1 building (SSR gives a bog chance to board 38 orchards, but the bog number is ’12’, so it was not a problem, despite Patch expending a good number of high rolls on Bog), but about three squads of infantry just sat and earned off CX status. With another five turns to go, this certainly wasn’t bad, but I was happy to see the pressure not turned up too high. So my only other shot was Final Fire to reduce that first squad.

Situation, Italian turn 2.

The only activity for my turn 2 RPh was Patch handing a LMG from his reduced HS to a full squad in 38FF0. With pressure mounting, it was time to skulk, and start moving the exposed squad in in C1 out. I also forgot the reinforcements, so we added them a bit late, and so as to not interfere with what had happened, but I don’t think I would have done things too differently otherwise (I might have sent the infantry up the road to G5, but this was better). Defensive fire ELRed the squad in the house, and the 9-2/HMG killed a concealed squad in D2 and HS in F3 outright with back-to-back 2s.

Situation, French turn 2.

Patch rallied his HS on his turn 3, and the 9-2/HMG stack set up for OpFire. I pinned his east MTR while setting up a FL along the back of the first building. I was surprised when Patch largely contented himself with occupying both hexes of the building, but the tankettes continued on ahead; the second, eastern, pair armored assaulted with one squad, heading for C3, when a shot from the INF convinced him to duck behind that building instead. (It turns out he thought the INF was in E3, and when that turned out to be a LMG, he decided to push. The fact that E5 went CX from advancing should have been a clue….) The only other result of fire was Patch’s sniper going off, revealing and pinning C3.

Situation, Italian turn 3.

Needing to buy some time, I prepped E3, with the LMG getting a stun on the adjacent armor (which, with a 1MT is still a recall…). The C4 LMG also opened up, and only missed stunning another tankette because the range was 2 instead of 1. Small arms fire also broke the 8-1 and ELRed a squad in D1. I largely skulked, and Patch’s fire was ineffective, other than setting off my sniper to pin his MTR in the back.

Situation, French turn 3.

Patch rallied his 8-1 for his turn 4, and his MTR pinned a HS in prep. The real bad news is the 9-2+HMG pinned my 9-1 and broke the squad in E3. The intact platoon started and spent 6MF barely going anywhere. This allowed B7 and C5 to establish FLs while nearly knocking out a tankette (my third ‘5’ TK in a row. It’s a pity ‘stun’ needed a 4). Since that was where most of his unfired units were, this seems to have discouraged much activity.

DFPh saw the INF get two hits on C1, doing nothing, and then a CH hitting both squads, ELRing one. A fourth hit then broke the 8-0 and intact squad, and reduced the other. Patch’s sniper then broke my squad in C4.

Situation, Italian turn 4.

I got nothing for my RPh, while Patch rallied a squad in 38BB1. Prep fire saw a number of shots with no effect (including a miss from the INF), but the C5 LMG managed to stun/recall another tankette. Patch’s 9-2+HMG got a 1KIA on a pair of HS I threatened E3 with, which at least had kept the shot from going elsewhere (part of the point of the move, though I figured they’d live through it…).

Situation, French turn 4.

Patch rallied his 8-0 and a HS in C1 for his turn 5 RPh, while I rallied a squad in C6. Patch’s MTR then broke the 7-0 there, and reduced the still-broken squad. Despite another FL down the B hexrow, he was able to move forward a bit, and of course claimed C3. He also put a surviving tankette into bypass of the building (presumably to make retaking it harder, but this was a mistake). Surprisingly, the one move that went poorly was his 9-2+HMG stack set out from BB1, and the last flanking HS in G1 took a 2+0 shot (orchard hindrance…) for a 1MC that broke the leader and HMG squad, and ELRed a second squad.

Even better, in DFPh, I ELRed the squad in E3. (If only I had anything left on that side to retake it….) However, Patch advanced into C4, got ambush and took out my squad to take his fifth building (15VP…).

Situation, Italian turn 5.

I had another 2 for wind change, shifting the breeze to being from the NW. I rallied my 9-1, but nothing else. Patch recovered the HMG, and the elite squad that had been carrying it went berserk, vowing vengeance against the HS that broke him (and the only French unit he could see at this point). Sadly, my prep couldn’t manage any results, despite a couple morale checks on C4. This sadly did not work in reverse, and Patch broke the crew of my INF in Final Fire, and finally got a hit on the car to wreck it.

Situation, French turn 5.

Patch rallied the 9-2 and squad for his turn 6 RPh, while I rallied the 7-0 and HS in C7, and the LMG squad in F5. The berserk squad did have LOS to B7, and then switched to E5 partway there. I started another FL as they went by, but naturally had no result, Patch’s other squads piled into C3. I had looked things over, and realized that neither of Patch’s remaining tankettes could exit in one turn. They were going to need to start now, and make non-platoon TCs and stall rolls to get into position. Sadly, both did, and my LMG shots did nothing. I did manage to disrupt his east-side MTR HS, but the cost was Patch’s sniper breaking C5.

Situation, Italian turn 6.

I was unable to rally anything for my turn, while Patch’s 9-2 rallied both squads in C1. Prep was an attempt to kill the tankette next to exit, but the LMG didn’t get a hit. Past that, my available personnel was critically low, so I also needed to guard the last two buildings from a last turn assault. I tried Dashing the remaining west HS across the road, but he got hit with a 2KIA. Thankfully, other than that, the most Patch could do was DM the brokies and break my 8-0.

Situation, French turn 6.

I got nothing back for Patch’s last turn, and he had nothing broken. The ‘zerkie charged into E5, surviving a 3MC and 2MC. Both tankettes passed their non-platoon TCs and exited, and the LMG next to the exit couldn’t get a hit. We played on to see the infantry assault, and Patch worked around the west flank with a squad and a half, which I had not seen coming. My shot to stop the squad merely malfunctioned a LMG. I did stop a squad with a 12 on a 1MC, and broke the 8-0 and pinned a HS with residual. But everything got through to threaten E5, and encircling fire broke everyone in that hex (after my sniper killed the HS remnant I’d broken earlier).

Afterword

I can’t say either of our setups were inspired, and I’d like to see an assault down the length of board 32, where crossing the road wouldn’t be a challenge. But both of us did well with the tools we had. Patch expected the INF closer to the front, and it’s lack of engagement with targets was a problem with its position. But, the idea was for it to be engaging any tankettes that threatened to exit. (E5 is a good spot for that, if not necessarily much else; I was expecting more of a center road push with them, which is why I had it in F4.)

The INF really impressed me. A *37 doesn’t seem like much, and I was just counting on the 7 TK. But, as a support weapon, it has the advantages of a light MTR without the bulk of the disadvantages. It has acquisition, but no CA, it doesn’t have to use ATT, so it gets flat effects on a hit, and full FP (4; it takes a 60mm MTR to do that). The only “new” problem is that it isn’t a Gun, and so can’t get multiple hits. One good turn with it destroyed one of Patch’s stacks.

Patch’s dice were generally good through the game. There were notable failures, like his 9-2 breaking. On the other hand, he killed about 2.5 squads outright over the first two turns or so, and the loss of all that, added to the fact that I had a hard time rallying anyone, contributed to my collapse at the end. Making all four non-platoon TCs at the end was pretty much a game-winner right there, though the odds of one of the two tankettes making both was decent enough (I get 57% odds for either managing it). He also had no equipment malfunctions (helped by a SSR that gave the HMG “B12” instead of 11, which did come up on turn 6), despite all the bog and start rolls adding to the chances of a failure.

My dice went fairly cold at the end, but for about two turns, they did quite well. I killed two tankettes with LMGs, and just missed out on two other shots in that period. A second good turn with the INF could easily have put Patch in a very bad place to win from. Also, the turn 6 sniper breaking the C5 squad was a major win for him.