J45 – THE LAST ROADBLOCK
Legion attacking as the Allies
JP defending as the Germans
ROAR (A:G – 25:23) – 21st June, 2007
Played in 2 Live VASL Sessions – (6 hours)
This is the final scenario in our Norway Campaign bash and yet again it looks like it might be a close one.
Initial Thoughts
Another tough attacking Scenario for the Allies. This time I must use my French and Norwegian troops to push up a Level 4 hill and wrest the Level 3 & 4 hexes on Hill 740 away from the Germans who currently hold it. Victory is achieved by the Allies holding more of these hexes than the Germans. Unfortunately the Germans can also take the 3 Buildings on the Allied starting board (Bd.18) and count those as Victory hexes too… this means that the Germans have a possible 30 hexes they can take and hold while the Allies only have the possibility of taking 27 of those.
The setup is reasonably scripted with the French having to be placed within a hex of 3 separate setup points, the Germans must setup within 2 hexes of 2 setup points and the Norwegians have a setup zone on the Western side of Bd.18. Thankfully the French MTR has a free setup which allows him to be HIP and thus safe in the Prep Fire Phase of Turn 1.
The scripted nature of the game means that the Allies have no place to hide should the Germans decide to setup with LOS to the plain from the hill (as they are most likely to do), thus the game will be very much affected by what happens in the 1st Turn Fire Phases. Although the Germans have limited men (2x Elite, 4x 2nd line) they do have 2x 3ROF weapons (HMG with an 8-1 and an 81mm MTR). While the Allies have a man-power superiority (until Turn 1’s Movement Phase) they have only a single 3ROF Gun (81mm MTR) and 3x B#11 MMG (one of which is dm). Even though the Germans are the Defending units they have the first turn, though this allows the French to move last in case they need to force the issue.
With Turn 1’s Movement this changes somewhat.. the Germans have reinforcements entering along the middle of the East Edge, these Elite troops (8x 468) SW and leaders (including a 9-2) are going to be a huge help to him as he can either send them up to the level 3 plateau of 9S7 where he can hit my units as they attempt to take the hill, or, they can circle behind my men to take some of the Bd.18 buildings and put pressure on me from 2-3 sides.
This again changes in Turn 3 when the Allies gain OBA (70mm HE only) from a Level 4 off-board Observer as well as some more French reinforcements (LMG 458, 8-1 only though!)
This looks tough and I can see opportunities for both sides here… it really will be a question of good luck and gutsy play at least until the First Turn is done
Allied Setup
Unfortunately almost all of my initial setup positions are in a bit of danger. Luckily he doesn’t have too many troops with which to hit me and he must be aware that anyone he exposes to Prep me with is going to face a blizzard of fire in return. I am concerned about the threat that the German 81mm MTR poses to my units, so I am being careful not to put high value assets in Woods.
I have placed my off-board observer in 18M.. this will allow for LOS down the 9U4-U8 road if necessary.
The FRENCH
I shall have to set these guys up as spread-out as possible. Even though we are attacking it is the Germans who get the First Turn and that puts the pressure on us as we do not have any Concealment counters to begin with.
18H8 458
18I7 458
18I9 2x 248, 458
18J8 MMG 458, 9-1
This group of units will look after the 3x buildings on Bd. 18 to stop the Germans taking them too easily, though I doubt I shall be able to stop him getting 18K3 if he pushes hard.
18A7 HIP 81mm MTR 228 (CA:E9-F8) HIP here due to its ability to cover most of the in-LOS hill hexes without changing CA
9T8 458
9T9 458
9U9 MMG 458, 8-1
9U10 458 These guys will have to hold off his reinforcements and keep the pressure on the Victory Hill. They run the risk of being swamped in the first turns.
9BB8 248
9CC8 248
9BB8 LMG 458, 9-1
9DD8 458 The HS will be the units I first send to attack the hill, he will have to either fire at them or try to hit my more important assets.
The NORWEGIANS
At least with these units I have a bit of flexibility. I shall use some of them to cover the rear of my position, and if the Germans decide to not contest the 18K3 building then I can send my men to the hill. The rest are going to hug the hill at Ground Level so they can attack Hill 740 from the Western side. They can setup out of range of his 447s but might be in danger from the MTR or the HMG.
18A8 237, 457
18B7 457
18C8 2x 458, MMG(dm), LMG, 8-1 – This stacking is a concern but I will have to keep my fingers crossed
18E1 2x 457, 7-0
18D7 237, 457
German Setup
Surprisingly JP has set his men up with little LOS to my guys… I guess he learnt his lesson in the last game (J44)! He has chosen to really limit his LOS and consequently the shots available to me in the first turn… then he can Advance into position for my turn with his men under ? counters
9Y6 248
9Z5 248, HMG 468, 8-1
9AA4 3x 447, 7-0
9EE4 LMG(f) 447, 81mm MTR 228 (CA:DD4-EE5)
JP has also placed his men for their 1st Turn entry and they are split with about 30% entering on Bd.18 (probably trying to flank me and maybe gain buildings) and the other 70% ready to attack the other hillock on Bd.9
The Game
TURN 1-2
JP starts off by SMOKEing out my big stacks, he also breaks a 458 from the 9CC9 group on the hill. Another HS is broken by his HMG, but overall I am happy with this, no ROF and little damage done except for some SMOKE (which will cover my movement) and another HS going Berzerk. I think he might end up regretting this use of SMOKE as breaks are far more important to him than just slowing me down or stopping my fire. His movement causes the loss of one of his entering HS as they climb a hill right in front of me, while his MTR crew and the accompanying LMG 467 are smashed by my MTR; the 447 are KIA which is a great win for me.
My Berzerker dies as he makes his rush – this was a pity, one expects ‘Zerkers to die, but hopefully after absorbing some First Fire and thus paving the way for other units to follow, in this case there was no loss to him, only to me. Due to the offending German HMG keeping ROF I decide to take my moves cautiously since I cannot afford to be too lax with losing men because of the CVP cap. A Sniper takes out the 458 on one of my MMG and the other MMG (9U9) is lost when JP swarms around and Encircles it (thanks to atrocious fire from my men), I am forced to Rout away. My men have started to climb the hill in a steady line forcing him to stand and fight or miss out on a whole lot of shot opportunities – if he does stand and shoot though he will face lots of shots back…
My Rally is poor, the MMG guy who was hit by the SAN rallies, the other does not. At least JPs conquering Germans fail to find the dropped MMG on the hill. His Prep fire is useless (he spread out along the ridges to fight it out) but so is mine. Unfortunately the only major results in this turn come during his Advancing Fire and this causes some Pins and Breaks that cramp my position on the Eastern part of the hill. His moves have put him in a strong position all along the South and East of my men… I am not sure how long I can keep my men in the 9U9 area as his Turn 1 reinforcements are to much for me to hold off up here. The other part of his reinforcements that entered on the Level 0 area are moving towards the 18L9 building, maybe I would be better to move out and hold that building?
With some nice shooting I break both units he left on the Western Hill top (the Victory Hill 740) which gives me some latitude for movement. Unfortunately he takes a long range low probability shot that causes a NMC – and that comes up Fate for me, thus KIAing another HS. Still, apart from that I have done well, my Norwegians have reached the base of the Victory Hill (they moved to the West of the 9DD8 shoulder) and my French have likewise reached the level 2 hexes prior to entering the Victory Hill proper. JP has been taking some losses on the Hill 740 area and due to the location of cover they are being forced to Rout all the way back to either 9W4 or 9AA2, this effectively puts them out of action for a few turns as they must rally then return a long way to the fight.
JP gets a bit of much-needed luck as his men on the ‘Flats’ (Level 0 area) score an 8-1 through a Leader Creation roll! Actually this part of his plan is working perfectly. I had pulled back to the 18L9 building, but due to my lack of defenders down here, and the German Sniper who breaks anyone touching the 18J8 MMG I have no way to stop his isolating my position here. Any break he gets here forces my men to Surrender (I lose 2x 458 this turn alone!). On the hill though things are falling apart. I am able to not only take a few minor hexes, but I am also able to drop an OBA SR right on target (9X6) which will cause him all sorts of problems next turn as he has a number of unit in the target area. His force presence on the Eastern ridge is strong enough to pose a problem to me, but the Alpine Hills mean that the higher I climb the less of a problem he is, he will have to move those guys soon enough.
OBA comes down with a vengeance and breaks half of his remaining defenders but misses the vital 9-2 up here. The OBA also denies me access to the Hill as well – and this might be a problem if he can move men back in time (the Rally factory in 9W4 has thankfully been quite slow but he has a leader there now). Again I suffer bad luck when a 9-1 German leader fires the Captured MMG and manages to score a K/1 against a French MMC, but this is remedied with a malfunction-destruction on the next shot, thus ending his domination of the high ground. As we paused for the night I was left in a very commanding position o the Hill while he was strong on the Flat. I have few problems with my CVP tally, while he is in danger of having his Level 3 locations swamped in no time! My MTR and men hold the Northern side of the hill, he must allow me to enter the Hill itself before even attempting to stop me.
Allied Losses
N: 237
F: 2x 458 (2x 458 captured)
Victory Hexes Controlled: 2
German Losses: 237, 3x 248, 447
CVP: 5 (+4)
Victory Hexes Controlled: 25
TURN 3-4
Back for more of the game now. It appears that the Allies have the advantage now. The Germans have had a lot of trouble Rallying their troops and the Allies are right on the doorstep of claiming the Hill Plateau. OBA is going to be able to stop the Germans moving in any closer and with luck I might be able to claim territory and then use OBA to block it off to enemy access.
Unfortunately the Germans immediately rally 2x HS – it doesn’t mater what he has got, due to the Alpine Hill rules I will have to move adjacent (with -1FFMO) to gain access to his ground and units. He is better off having a spread of units rather than one or two big stacks. He also rallies a 467 down on the Flat which is much needed as I am starting to roll up his flanks down there. All I manage to rally is a single 458 near the MMG position – there are 2x French 458 and a 9-1 down here who have not moved more than a hex in this game due to SAN or failing MCs vs silly little shots! JP starts his turn off with another Hot San (there have been a lot of them) this one kills off the Norwegian 7-0, immediately after that a Warm SAN wounds a French 8-1! As JP moves units away from the flat towards the Hill (a difficult task at best as I now hold the high ground with excellent LOS) I blast away… almost every single shot of mine hits but JP passes EVERY MC with ease… even 2MCs. In fact I am the only person to lose units as a HS joins the list thanks to another 2FP +1 shot hitting and causing a 6,6 on the MC! He has moved his HMG 467, 8-1 to 9DD2 which is an excellent move and a fantastic position, from here he is safe from my MTR but has great LOS over the whole Hill top… any German player should take a good look at this hex and consider its possibilities!
Another 3x German Squads are rallied and all of a sudden he has gone from being on the ropes to a strong position. I am in a bit of trouble, and this continues throughout the turn. My OBA red-chits on a subsequent draw. I lob so many shots at him and all I succeed in doing is calling SAN results, in fact the ONLY MC result I managed called up a HOB for him from which he gained a Hero! I was trying to wipe out the 50mm MTR 248 he had placed on the 9Y6 level 4 hill, I had this position totally surrounded and if I broke this guy I would have been able to claim most of the hill (OBA had moved to hit his ROUT positions – 9W5) I fired shot after shot and missed… during my movement his shots (4FP -2, then 2FP -2 and finally 1FP-2 with the Hero or RF) started causing me all sorts of problems; eventually I was able to surround and reduce this position but only after having useful troops Pinned, Broken or KIA… Finally I am able to kill the HS in CC, the Hero is finished off next turn. Moreover, despite the losses I am able to expand my perimeter slightly due to his need to pull back out of OBA or IFP danger. Down on the flat I again lose a 458, 9-1 as they attempt to gain the MMG… this SW is cursed, but otherwise it is starting to go well; he has to pull units out due to the precarious situation on the hill and I am further rolling up his flanks.
I lose so many troops this turn that I actually considered Surrender. My total losses for Turn 4 of this Scenario were 8CVP +2CVP Captured.
Turn 5 starts off with things going back to normal (at least for the past 4 games we have played) he takes a tonne of vital shots and they pretty much all miss. By firing he has kept in my LOS and my superior numbers start to pay off as I smash all his units in my LOS on the Hill. Even down on the flat his force really starts to crumble as the pressure of so many men and so many shots take their toll. Most importantly I take out the HMG position and that leaves him with no place to run. He dives into a CC last turn to try and secure the 18L9 building and while neither of us were able to hurt the other it did remove 4FP that he desperately needs for Defensive Fire. The game has swung back to my way again, but only slightly…
Luck is firmly back on my side again now. A 447 had managed to find the HMG, but his first shot causes its malfunction. Then my OBA is able to score a perfect hit straddling units moving from the Flat to the back of the hill along the 9U road whilst also hitting the broken units in the 9W4 woods – almost all these units are gutted. I am able to FINALLY fire the MMG in 18I8 – and wouldn’t you know it, it malfunctions! But this is the only piece of bad luck for me this turn. I start to isolate and eliminate his remaining positions thus making any chance he has for winning this game evaporate and finally JP accepts the inevitable and surrenders.
I had gone from near-certain victory, to considering surrender due to my terrible position, and then back to certain victory in the course of just 2 turns…
Allied Losses
N: 237, 457, 7-0
F: 2x 458, (8-1(wnd))
Victory Hexes Controlled: 17
German Losses: 228, 248, 447, 2x 468, 8-1, 9-2
CVP: 18
Victory Hexes Controlled: 10
The Germans Surrender
Allied Victory
Conclusion
There was a lot to like in this game and while JP felt that it was pro-Allied from the start I am not sure it is too un-biased.
Looking at it from the surface the bias even seems to be pro-Germans. The Allies have to assault up a hill through Mud and open ground with only Alpine Hills offering them cover. While doing this the Germans are reinforcing on the hills and gaining more units with prime locations from which to hold the Allies off. The Germans have a SAN of 5 which was really a strong influence in our game and nearly decided the issue down on Board 18.
On the other hand, the French have a fair advantage in SW and get to setup their MTR HIP (though this must be done prior to the German setup). The Germans having to be in LOS (even if concealed) with only +1 HA cover if they want to stop the Allied attack and there is OBA available (with an off-board observer) from the 3rd turn.
Thus, the first turn is a bit of a craps shoot… with the Allies having the most opportunity for attack while the Germans can hope to capitalise on this through their SAN or Concealment advantage. In the end the Alpine Hills actually helped the Allies a lot, and the Mud was as much of a hindrance to the Germans as it was to the Attacker due to their need to move units quickly if they want to bolster the hill defence.
This game looks like a typical DR-driven slug-fest, but in actuality it was a fast paced chess-game of fire and manoeuvre. I liked it and yet again I would play it again without much hesitation as either side.
JP thinks that the OBA unbalanced it… maybe it does, but OBA can be as much a danger as it is a benefit. I made some gutsy calls with the OBA and got the results… if I had not taken the chances, or if they had not paid off it might have been a different story.