July / August 2011 Volume 5, Issue 4
Inside this Issue
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
PREP FIRES The Editor’s column. BOUNDING FIRE ASL and DTO Back to the Basics: Fire in ASL AAR: KGP CG3 –La Glieze by moonlight nd
Otto Carius: 2
ed
An Independent Journal of ASL ® Thoughts and Ideas Published free of charge by the Silicon Valley and Nor Cal ASL Clubs. If you paid for this, you need to get your money back! ASL ® is a registered Trademark of Hasbro Inc. and Multiman Publishing Inc. Artwork includes counter art and map art from Rodney Kinney’s brilliant creation of VASL®. This artwork is used with permission from Mr. Kinney. Thanks to both Mr. Kinney and Carl Fago for the quality work on one truly innovative product for our hobby!
A Quarter Century of ASL: Musings of a player Club News: SVASL and Nor Cal ASL Club info CLOSE COMBAT Ordering information
Silicon Valley ASL Club publishes Point Blank as a non-profit magazine. The editor is Jon Halfin Please submit any articles or comments to the Editor at
[email protected] All submissions become subject to the rules of this publication upon inclusion. Articles are accepted in any electronic format. Please include artwork maps or variant counters in a separate .gif,.jpg or .bmp file.
Prep Fires Your Editor, Jon Halfin Welcome to the July – August Edition of Point Blank! We would have hoped to have brought this issue to you under happier times, but as most everyone in ASL knows, during this period, we have lost a comrade – in – arms, and the ASL hobby will be the worse for it. Ian Daglish was a first – rate ASL player and designer, as well an impeccable Historian for British actions in WW2 and Normandy in particular. To those who knew or ever met him, he was instantly familiar as an avid author , historian , and gamer. A likable fellow who was easy to either strike up a conversation or a game with. We wish his family well in these troubled times.
Our issue brings some more articles and submissions, among them we count a revision for the SASL Carius campaign, revised to 2nd Ed SASL standards ( The original was written for 1st ed SASL.), by our intrepid designer from down under, Andrew Kerekes. Andrew is currently involved in a design project for an ASL small CG or maybe even another SASL CG based around the 3 day battles for control of Mechili – Msus in North Africa in April 1941. If anyone is interested in assisting Andrew in development research, or when the proper time arrives, play – testing, please contact him directly at:
[email protected]. We also continue the “Back to the Basics”, this time with the logical follow – on to last issues OBA/SMOKE / smoke article, that being the source of most non – ordnance created wisps of grey and white curling into the atmosphere: Fire. During a recent thread discussion on the fire concept in ASL at GameSquad, I entered into a rather largish debate as to the relative values of deliberate fire setting, and we will examine this as well as indirect fire setting in more detail here. Our AAR this time around comes to everyone from the scariest of places in ASL to be : a NIGHT scenario. We bring you the trials and tribulations of 2 night noobies as they stumble around in the dark of an evening in December, 1944, outside the village of La Glieze. (that’s right a KGP CG AAR.) . I had pledged to play a Normandy scenario in August in remembrance of Ian. My VASL FTF match was completed Aug 23rd in AP 4 : L’Abbeye Blanche. Figured it was the best way to offer tribute to another ASL player gone from our ranks, and for Ian, may he ever keep rolling low.
Bounding Fire For those who do not already know, in real “No ASL” life I train and compete hunting dogs, and my recent prize purse wins in August added to my ASL budget, allowing me to add the long – overdue to my collection VotG, and from CH!, Peleliu WB One! Yeah, Doggies!! Now if we can just get Chas to put FB and RS up for Pre- Order!!!! ASL and DTO: North Africa is coming again!!! With the complete releases of the entire DAK set from Critical Hit! ®, the DTO has arisen from its dust covered shelf spots, as ASLr’s rummage back their Chapter F’s and look forward to the coming revision and 2nd edition-izing of the F rules in Hollow Legions , 3rd Ed. Many designs and designers are looking ahead to this coming event and working diligently to produce and have ready to use some brand new desert and broken terrain fighting for ASL. From our already mentioned designs in progress for the initial offensives in Cyrenaica to the what I have found to be well put together design of the DAK modules from CH, to the recent play tests I have just been a part of for the Bunker crew, as well as HL 3rd, there is a lot of DTO either fresh to ASL or on the immediate horizon and steaming into pre- order status near you! For myself, the sand flea bit me last month, and I have not only begun to add some DTO scens to my PBEM gaming, but also did some PTing for some more
via VASL FTF. Easing back into the North African theatre was not as difficult as I had expected, mostly the remembering to look up all those “funny” Brit AFV vehicle notes in Cptr H all the time. ( Is it just me or do the Brits have by far the LARGEST section in Chapter H for vehicle notes?). I look forward to these pages seeing a sand covered AAR or two in the near future as my Brits have begin fighting in DR3 Halfaya Pass, and ASL 38, Turning the Tables. ( Note to the VASLr. Ensure both players are using VASL5.9.x versions and the v4 NOT any v5 boards for the logfiles, and if you posit the Bd 25 esacarpment overlay as 25A1/25B1. It lays correctly with no problems. There are serious problems if the VASL modules are not compatible across or if the boards are not correct versions for the designed overlay. ( hint to Tom R.and the Map cabal)…) If you are using VASL to make / print out a Bd 25 / escarpment overlay combo, just make sure you have the above then save screen and print to either legal paper or cardstock for a nice color no overlay needed ftf map. ( BTW , this is one of the BEST alternate uses I have seen for VASL, and it works WONDERS for the many , many overlays found in North Africa. Thanks again Rodney Kinney and Carl Fago and Tom and the map cabal for this AWESOME ftf map making tool!) Without further ado, then let us segue into our issue of ASL wonders waiting for the world to see ( or at least rip to shreds .)
AAR#4 KGP CG III –La Glieze by Moonlight Special thanks to my opponent in this CG, for all his patience with a complete VERY long CG via PBEM, Andrew Kerekes. We recently completed what is for me a rather oddity in ASL, a “noobie-ness” at least in night ASL. With our finish of the scenario date 19 Dec Night, and the American Attack therein, I also completed my exactly the 4th ASL night game ever, and my opponent his first . After 2 noobies stumbled around the rules and kept misplacing their “Cheat Sheets for Night” ( Thank you Mark P. for these!) too many times to count, we finally got a handle on the flow of the darkness in ASL and began to get through what became a 9 turn CG date.
Starting Positions 19 N Front Line
From the desk of the CG TF Jorden 20 Dec 1944: By: Jon Halfin Pre-game Americans: Our battles to date had resulted in the American counter attack stalling along the line Marechal’s Mill, the Ambleve Ford in the U hexrow, and over to Bourgemont, where an early penetration raid by the SS had paid big dividends in gaining KG Peiper one of the LVP locations, a stone building flanked by woods to the rear, as well as possession of the river ford to the immediate North. The American MG platoon detailed to capture Marechal’s Mill had fallen to rapidly deployed SS and so our line now ran along the tree line above the riverbank. Of the initial Sherman platoon, we were 4 of 5 dead to finally knock out the tiger at the ford, and we had survived a minimum day that the SS used to dig in several mortar positions while capturing some important locations along the right flank paths through the tree lines. Believing the KG Peiper forces to feel themselves too weak yet to launch a night assault (remember in KGP CG3 they only get 3 attack chits period), I felt confident in infantry-ing up the force and going for a Night Assault / Infiltration. This would, after much stumbling around pay off for my exploitations of the German No Move status. To this end, the American line ran left to right with 2 MG sections to hold the river flank along Marechal’s mill, the center tree lines above the ford held with 3 60 mtrs and spotters to keep the enemy troops on the far side of the river blinded by IR, and lots of infantry to move into good woods line terrain on the Right center, with a strong 2 platoon force to exploit up the paths and into the right flank across the river. Our tactics instructors had educated us at West Point on the power of IR to blind the enemy, and the importance of keeping enemy troops No Move marked as long as possible, so that would be our plan, to flank into the enemy line on the right.
German Pre – Game: By Andrew Kerekes UNCLASSIFIED KG Peiper HQ The phone rings on the desk of the German forward HQ now located at the deserted farmhouse. The news Oberst Andre had been dreading, the GIs were pushing hard on the Northern flank of La Glieze and there was little he could do about. The Ami was certainly showing his many years experience over poor Oberst Andre. With both infantry and tanks strung out in the wood line defending the river. The order to "Hold at any cost" had so far paid dividends but the night was going to prove difficult indeed! 19th PM The afternoon battle saw the loss of the immobile King Tiger early on in the morning, the commander (9-2 Armour leader) and crew managed to escape earning the nickname "Lucky Fritz" having knocked out 2 Shermans before being taken out himself. His name was further solidified when a Sherman with a bow flame thrower surged forward to finish him and his crew off only to discover no one had filled up the tank for said flame thrower! Reinforcements then arrived in the shape of two Panthers, which exacted revenge and took out another 2 Shermans. The only other worthy note was the SS squad who was CR reduced due to black blast when firing a panzershreck (a dud round even) at a Sherman on the outskirts of Borgoumont, then to recover and go fanatic (I think all the cowards were killed in the back blast) and finally took out said Sherman. The US made good progress and captured a lot of ground but the cost in tanks was heavy, if not totally unexpected.
Early game: TF Jorden: After much stumbling around in the dark, one of the holding MG platoons along the Marechal Mill River bank stumbled into an SS ambush and got cut down for it ( strayed into enemy FH). This lost me the 50 cal on that line scrounged earlier from a jeep. So the left now was held by a single MMG section and an immobile 666 holding the entry hex from a late counterattack push on that flank. In the center, my IRs from the Mtr section were doing a GREAT job, keeping the German troops illuminated and blinded in their areas, while preventing the enemy from seeing my fire due to spotters calling it in from the interior woods. On the right, an well positioned German HT holding the river ford at the path line would by GT3 result in my necessity of shooting it down, which would allow the German high command to begin releasing troops. Before he died, he was able to fire SS along the river line and path area, exposing the American flankers in the relative open to long range view from the previously dug in 120mm mortars. Now the distance was actually to my advantage, at 6 hex range we were inside the minimum range of the mtrs, yet outside of small arms fire from them, so when the HT died to CH MG fire, the KG Peiper flank was looking shaky indeed. KG Peiper HQ: Expecting a flurry of tanks, it was in fact the sound of jeeps hurtling through the Bassenge Forest that took the Germans completely by surprise. Still expecting a tank attack I foolishly responded with limited forces, mainly due to being overtly cautions but mostly because there wasn't a lot close by to respond with. With only a single mortar and crew at Chenay Farm, several squads were sent back from the river to try and chase the Amis down but all I could really respond with was two half tracks.
Situation T5b MPh
Mid Game:
well lit, as well as 2 burning wrecks in the fields in front of the Cheney Farm.
TF Jorden: With the Left flank crumbling to slow advances from the SS who had earlier ambushed the errant MG section, I was feeling this was degenerating into a push- pull event where my gains on one flank would be offset by losses on the other. The entering inf platoon of mine came in at GT3, and headed instead of toward the Bourgemont paths as planned , towards the barb wire fences behind the left flank tree line. I felt this at least , with now 4 x 666s ( remember 1 had been set up there on the board edge) , a MMG, and a 8-1 was a well held flank against the 1 SS sqd and ldr with the MMG and Psk that were crawling around looking for easy pickings. On the right, things were looking desperate for the SS and the American squads were looking forward to some well – earned sleep in the Cheney Farmhouses straw filled barns. The SS managed in GT 4 to release all but 1 of his onboard AFVs ( 2 x Panthers and 4 remaining HT), and this allowed him to move a AFV TF of 1 panther and 2 HT into the Cheney farm area before the exhausted Amis could reach the front door., stopped at the treeline outside the farm, although accurate MMG fire managed to kill another HT and stun a 3rd. My opponent had not realized that unlike a day CG Date, the Night dates required a dr to enter his substantial reinforcements. This would in effect prevent the SS counter attack later on, as the SS commandant could not roll a low # on 1 die to save his troops ever in the RPh. At this point, I felt confident the Amis could hold what they had gained, and prevent any further losses, so our Bn HQ was notified objectives reached, and we dug in around GT5 to hold for the reminder of the evening. Besides the flying StarShells and IR by this time had most of the right flank
KG Peiper HQ: Thankfully they managed to get to the farm before too much damage was done and while they averted the loss of Cheney Farm the northern woods were now firmly under US control and would prove a thorn in the side for the upcoming battle. The Germans handled themselves well on the South flank, more due to Amis being lost at night than too superior tactics. With one crew surrendering to a SS squad far on the East flank after getting lost and shot to pieces and a sniper taking out a US officer (6+1) the Eastern flank stabilized
KG Peiper HQ: Only a brave lone US squad attempted a dash for the lone house near the river (v38) before a Panther saw to it that they didn't make it. By the end of the night reinforcements finally arrived, but too late to push the US out of Bassenge Forest (2 Panthers, 2 King Tigers and an infantry para group would have certainly done the job though!).
Post Game: TF Jorden:
End Game: TF Jorden: We had decided to liven up the CG a bit with random weather, rather than historical, and so, in GT 7b, the mist lifted to clear!!!! Now the SS troops finally manage entry on GT7 (automatic, roll < current GT on 1 dr), and begin rolling a LARGE relief column towards Peiper HQ from the North. The American radios are burning up the lines with the incoming intel, and the Amis begin hastily pulling into safer location to weather a late counterattack. This costs us a few locations of marginal quality, and later on they will come to haunt us, as this pullback dooms any prospect of completely surrounding the remaining holdouts in the SS around Bourgemont. Then T9a sees the Amis roll an end to the scenario, and the given up locations are now regretted, as the SS relief column is still hung up on the roads into La Glieze. The final tally is a few lost locations on the left, 2 very dead and one shot up HT for the KG Peiper, some very large gains along the right flank, and a lost opportunity to pocket a full SS platoon and a panther in Bourgemont, for only a few American losses.
My final belief in this stumble in the darkness was a net small strategic gain for the Americans, the positions an the right are now a serious thorn in the side of the SS and are stretching his abilities to works with interior lines, as now the Gas shortage is beginning to be felt ( remember 19N had no shortages yet.) I deeply regret pulling back and not pocketing the Bourgemont sector SS. This would haunt me in the next day scen (20 PM, we had an idle 20AM. The Amis must idle 3 times in this CG, and I felt it safest to do so before the SS gets those 2 heavy CPP forces later on on the 21st.),with 1 tiger and 2 panthers and a SS HMG team in the LVP house and surrounding woods to bleed me dry. This I chalk up as a serious tactical oversight on my part. For my opponent, he did well, quickly grasping the need to unlock his defense from No Move, yet he let this slip later on and this was the reason the situation around Bourgemont looked as it did in T7a and T7b. We both found the Night Rules Cheat Sheet from Mark Pitcavage’s website to be INVALUABLE in this game. I doubt we would have managed to stumble
around much at all without the assistance of having the pertinent rules sections already laid out for us on the sheet.
How Otto came to be and the ASL Community By Andrew Kerekes
We are now into the 20PM date, and the second terrifying night is soon approaching. At least we know by the end of this CG we should both be good “old hands” with the Night rules, so armed with cheat sheets, at least ,the watch word is “never fear the night!”.
KG Peiper HQ: 20th PM ongoing The next morning would see both sides take stock of the situation but as the afternoon mist lifted the battle resumed in earnest. As casualties mounted steadily on both sides in the bloody conflict Who would hold the upper hand? Only time would tell! From the pen of Oberst Andre.
CARIUS SASL CG 2nd Ed. When Andrew Kerekes had originally developed his SASL CG, he had only the 1st ed of SASL rules to work with. Since several sections had been clarified and changed in the replacement pages that came with DB3rd, Andrew felt it high time to revise the SASL CG to the 2nd edition standards for SASL. Here we present some design notes and general comments from our intrepid SASL designer himself!
When Jon first asked me to write a quick byline on how I came up with the SASL "Otto Carius" campaign I had to do some searching through my past emails. It all had to do with Christmas 2010, the Global Financial Crisis and my unsettled baby daughter. Let me explain, with the GFC the Australian dollar was doing pretty well against the US dollar and with the coming of Christmas I was wondering what to buy my Father for a Christmas present. I know he likes military books so I jumped onto Amazon and ordered him a book. Of course with postage and the like, it's always better to order several, so one that I bought for myself was "Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius (Stackpole Military History Series)". With my baby daughter so unsettled in the mornings I was often up at 4am rocking her to sleep. As such she'd fall asleep by 5am while I'd be left wide awake, so I managed to get a fair amount of reading time in. Reading this book led me back into ASL (I had stopped playing it about 15 years ago) but there was a problem. No available players around Adelaide. I got a hold of SASL version 1.0 (I didn’t know there was SASL 2nd Edition out there yet) and then proceeded to write a campaign game that I could play through with the absence of any physical opponent. It was going well until I hit a snag. I couldn't find anywhere the definition of the term "US#"(at this stage I was still trying to get my hand on a copy of the ASL rulebook). I jumped online and found the ASL community so very helpful. With so many people helping
me, the terms had been clarified and the campaign game design completed. However, now I had found this massive online ASL community and discovered the wonders of VASSAL and the joy of PBEM ASL gaming. This is where I bumped into Jon and he suggested I publish it. I must admit I am now playing 4 VASSAL games and as it turns out, I never did get around to playing the Otto Carius campaign after all of its designs were finished. My advice to any noob players out there, use the online ASL Community, two I found amazingly helpful sites were: Game Squad Forums:
http://forums.gamesquad.com/forumdis play.php?30-Advanced-Squad-Leader and Board Game Geek: http://boardgamegeek.com/forum/2486/ advanced-squad-leader/rules Also a great place to find opponents. If you think you’re alone or having problems with rules, these are great places to go, I can't emphasize this enough. Finally I’d like to thank several people with my reintroduction into ASL, their patience with teaching a newbie and all round good humor: Jon Halfin – taught me the wonders of US smoke, gave me the means to give something back to the ASL community and the best ASL teacher a noob could have. Neil Andrews – awesome guy with the patience of a saint and another great ASL teacher Frank - my RB opponent who forced me to learn OBA (something I always avoided) as well smiling in the face of adversity (seemed on the first two RB dates he could not roll lower than a 9)
Additional thanks to Mark Evans, Mark McGilchrist and Gunner Scott for help with another campaign game I am currently working on. Again I can not thank you all enough and all of the people who responded to all my newbie questions. May your ASL dice only roll snakeyes.
ASL Where Are We 27 Years Later?: In July of 1984, the Avalon Hill Company released ASL to “upgrade and clean up, as well as revise , all the various rules from the SL- GI series”. Much has come and gone over the intervening quarter of a century, yet the ASL hobby remains.
A returnabee ASL opponent of mine once asked me “ I saw references to the ‘Golden Age of ASL’. When was that?” That certainly set my head afire with thoughts from our beloved hobby from all the years, lost dice, and scattered counters and boards when you were cleaning up from the hard fought tourney. Certainly there have been some discussion threads come up along the last year or so from GameSquad along these lines as well. And I was singularly impressed with one item in particular, that being it as been 20+ years since my “ seeing the light, and coming out of the darkness of the SL in to ASL.” We all have fond memories, ( and some not so fond ones), of our trials and
travails as cardboard warrior leaders. Some of my most memorable ones are my appreciated opportunities to play FTF against Mark Neukom twice, Playing a Rousing PBEM game with Ian Willey in England, having Ron Mosher exploit his British armored TF all over my puny German defensive lines, looking with “Shock and Awe” upon Eddie Zeman and he “new” GSTK and breaking out my wallet to take a copy home with me ( WOW a real CG HASL and NOT from TAHGC!!!). Managing a “last gasp” win vs Chris Castellana in “One Log Bridge” Staring at the HUGE box of ASL goodies as I opened up my $412.50 investment into Critical Hit! And the entire DAK series ( one word here K.E.W.L. nuff said.) Finding Rick Lopez and Michael Shea and the SVASL Club, the impetus behind what you are reading now. Yes many, many others go on into my fondest memories of the game. So how do you answer the question, Jon? This was a tough thought process, and after much searching and a few revelations, I have found my answer. Simply put we ARE in the “Golden Age” of ASL. We have grown to a hobby that embraces a rulebook translated into many different languages, our players unite across the world via PBEM or VASL servers or even PTP to play regularly. Our hobby spawns everything from “Official” MMP products to several add ons and extensions from for profit companies, as well a vast and well fed and nourished hobby ‘zine industry ranging from the crown jewel of the ASL Journals to the lowliest efforts of editors like me bringing ASL ideas to the fore and helping unite local groups of ASL players. Our hobby has formed regional clubs, and bonds between the regional ASL clubs in friendly competition. We hold tournaments and gatherings around the world to play THE GAME. We hold our camaraderie dear, and feel genuine sorrow when one of our crowd pass on to the Eternal Dice Tower in the Sky. We strive to help and assist each other
worldwide in achieving a better understanding of the rules, a better knowledge of the tactics of our GAME, and a better camaraderie of individuals united by a single focus A.S.L. Rex Martin once said, that “ASL was a brotherhood” and that ASL had “a natural progression, from amateur efforts to official releases”. He further noted how ASL had gained a vast world wide following even before AH went south for the winter, and how such efforts internationally were leading to a hobby that would prove ASL is one of the great all time game designs. I look at where we are now, compared to where I sat then, in 1990 in “shock and Awe” looking down at the newly minted rubble of Stalingrad and still smelling the ink print on the map sheets under the plexiglass I had just bought for this newest module of mine. I wonder then if I knew that ASL was “my place” in the wargaming hobby in general. I do play other wargames, to be sure, but to coin a phrase from a certain hobbit, “ I play half of them less that half as well as I should like to, and play the other half less than half as often as they deserve.” No, since my first glimpse of the rumble in the rubble, I have been “hooked on ASL”. In 1997, the hobby was struck the “almighty blow” and TAHGC came a – tumbling down. Many were the pessimist, most were simply “What now?” To the rescue came the TPPs. From CH, to MMP, to HoB, to SP, BFP, TOT, they all stepped up and created the hobby we know now. One where there is officially sanctioned MMP licensed ASL products, and yet plenty of room for others as well. To these intrepid groups we have expanded, adding ESG, Lone Canuck Publishing, and many others over the years ,some good, some not quite so, yet each one being yet another “litmus test” of the strength and vitality of our hobby. I read words in print in an ASL Hobby “zine” in 1999 ( Banzaii) from Matt Shostak “ you only get our of ASL what
you put into ASL.” Truer words were never spoken, and these hit home, leading to this newsletter, among other endeavors over the years, and I remain truly impressed with the simple wisdom therein. The ASL player also follows a “natural progression” from Noobie to full fledged “grognard”, yet such a progression requires commitment from the player to move forward, just as our hobby requires commitment from the PLAYERS to move forward as we have and continue to do. Any hobby that can show ever growing and expanding support of its enthusiasts for more than 25 years certainly deserves the well earned title of being IN its “Golden Age”. Make no mistake about it, our acceptance, brotherhood, and unity behind the concept of ASL and sportsmanship in ASL marks the fact that we ARE in the “Golden AGE of ASL.”, and will remain there for some time to come.
Back to the Basics-Fire: Among all of the other hazards our intrepid cardboard warriors face on the hexagonal battlefields of ASL, Fire is another burden they must bear on the path to victory. Every combatant in the Second World War had, by war’s end, considered, developed, and used one of nature’s most destructive forces as a weapon against their adversaries. From the area denial weapons of “scorched earth” policies, to the use of desperation weapons like the kerosene dispensers along the Southern English shores in 1940, to the development and use of such purpose – built weaponry like the ubiquitous Flame Thrower and Napalm; Fire as a force of weaponry came full
circle in the war we re – fight in our ASL scenarios. Unless you stick to just a handful of scenarios where fire is simply not likely in any event, such as 3rd RTR in the rain, Dorset Wood in the Rain, etc, rest assured at one time or another, your troops will face the most terrifying of foes, the flames of death. In the ASL world, fire comes in two major flavors, and in two different stages. We have accidental fire, that is ,fire spread non - intentionally by the effects or after effects of a different attempt to hurt our opponents troops through usually some type of explosives or via the remains of trying to do so as our AFV makes a smoldering wreck on the battlefield. We also have intentional fires, that is, in those many scenarios where there is not an SSR for “Kindling is NA”, we are victims or users of the “scorched earth” policy and deliberately burn the terrain for a cause of effect. In either case, once lit, the flames become, appropriately, flames, as Mother Nature takes over and they can or do spread given the constraints of the ECs of our scenario. Flames tend to graduate into full blown blazes even with the best efforts to prevent this by any MMCs in the immediate vicinity, if you miss the DRs to hamper it, it flips and begins to grow into a full blown conflagration. ( Which may be what we were trying to accomplish in the first place.) There are certainly those who may consider an SSR of “Kindling is NA” to be a “grudge SSR”. For my part, in certain instances , I can certainly see its value as an SSR, consider what Herr Rommel would have done to the major commanding at Quesnoy ( Chataeu de Quesnoy, anyone?), had he simply lit the orchards on fire to burn out the Senegalese troops. I very much doubt the man would have withstood Mr. Rommel’s professional disdain and wrath at such an action, so such an SSR here makes perfect since, i.e. higher authority preventing purpose built fires
by order or decree. Now without such an historic context, the SSR is most certainly pointing to one inescapable fact, that is the scenario designer did not adequately allow for the possibility in design and development; his playtesters found it an easy way to end in a one sided winning strategy, so he solved it with a "“grudge"” SSR of Kindling is NA, rather than re-design or re- develop again to accommodate the capability given in the ASLRB. Make no mistakes folks, setting fires is not only specifically ALLOWED by the ASL rules, it has its own rules section covering all the variations therein, and keeping it unless there is some constraint of some type such as higher order to the contrary, is in the BEST spirit of COWTRA, concentrate on what the rules allow. Failing to do that as a scenario designer does not always justify solving your immediate problems with a 3 word SSR just to meet a publication deadline. ( Publications deadlines are the very bane to any ASL products out there. Remove them, and quality would go WAY up, but that is a topic for the next Point Blank!) So let’s look at the various ways fire occurs “naturally”, i.e. unintentionally. The most common, by far, is spreading fire from burning AFVs in bypass of burnable terrain ( woods, building). More burning AFVs appear than any other types of “natural” blaze, mostly due to the fact that we simply cannot seem to keep ourselves from using them to fight the enemy troops, and those pesky enemies are always shooting back with anything they can find to kill that AFV! AFV fires are born as full grown blazes, always self contained in the wreck. As a vehicle in bypass of a wood location is in the Woods hex, by definition, the blaze can spread to that woods hex if it kindles, in EVERY AFPh after the player turn in which the burning wreck first appears. This is also one of the most missed rules in ASL play I’ve seen
to date. If it spreads, it starts in the woods location as a flame, then grows from there. Now our intrepid former tank was self contained, meaning troops could actually use that flaming steel for cover, both from the wreck and the smoke / blaze, extending all the way up 3 full levels from the base level of the hex ( SMOKE , unless WP is always in a lvl 0 hex up through level 2, that is , level 0, 1 and 2, or 3 full levels of elevation, not 2!). Yet as it begins to creep into the woods in question, now we quickly lose the ability to benefit from this “cover” unless we actively hamper the spread of the fire, which of course, ties up our troops from shooting at the enemy. The second most common reason for unintentional fire is Direct Fire weapons capable of producing terrain fires. These range from FT, to DCs, to vehicular FT, to Air Support Bombs or Napalm Bombs, to heavy caliber direct Critical Hits with HE. In effect, for all of these, a low enough IFT Final DR can feasibly place a flame or blaze in the target hex after all other effects occur, if the terrain is susceptible to burning. ( or even if not in the case of Napalm bombs). Indirect fire , such as OBA, carries a minor risk therein if the caliber is heavy enough to achieve high columns on the IFT and the Final DRs are low enough, but given the vagaries of OBA, as discussed last issue, such fires are much lass common that any other types of unintentional ones. Last in this category is the after – effects of Direct Fire at the enemy causing a fire. Backblasting weapons can do this in terrain that burns, as can MG / IFP fire in certain terrain like PTO huts, or WP use in certain circumstances even, or how about the Mol- P projectors when they achieve a hit. These are the least common types of all. (For some reason, most ASL players keep these in mind when firing these weapons, and try to avoid such inadvertent fires, while blasting merrily away with their FT at any enemy in range. The logic evades me.)
So that covers 99.9 % of the reasons for inadvertent fires occurring on the hexagonal battlefields. If you desire to avoid the nasty effects of these fires, do so by keeping in mind the various rules applying to what happens when these events occur before and during shooting at enemy forces. Now the controversial part you’ve all been waiting for…..
We begin by handing out matchbooks to our troops, so lets look at any scenario where “Kindling is NOT N/A.” or how about, Stalingrad, ie, the longest, best CG HASL out there Red Barricades. “One man takes a rifle, one man takes a book of matches. When the man with the book of matches falls, the man with the rifle picks up the matches!!!” ok bad paraphrasing from a bad movie. The fact remains, especially on the Eastern Front and in the PTO, “Scorched Earth” was the ordered and you WILL obey policy from above. So an ASL player, at least those who play to use the rules to best achieve a winning strategy, keeps kindling in mind as a potential weapon. Fire has 2 major uses as a weapon. The first is area denial. Any building engulfed in blazes isn’t manned by enemy troops. The second is as a screening tool, a blaze, by its very nature, gives off SMOKE. That SMOKE may drift in the breeze, and it certainly creates LOS hindrances in many areas around the fires. If you are the defender, why would you ever hand over a perfectly good multi – story building to the enemy , one that by dint of design, you WILL lose anyway, i.e. Building F5 or M5 on the RB map. Or even more importantly , the Chemists Shop!. Burn em down , boys. Whole platoons of conscripts can be put to work torching locations that will fall, remember a single 426 with a 7-0 has infinite matches, and lights fires in many a location in RB, and almost 100% can be out of enemy LOS preventing any actions the enemy may
try to prevent this!. I’d much prefer to surrender a lvl 0 rubble pile over 4 hexes than the Chemists Shop with all locations standing!. An even better use for our intrepid 426 and 7-0 is lighting the fire in a challenges factory behind the factory wall preventing LOS to the enemy unit. Let the germans eat fire when they advance!!, then break and rout out to the next factory in line, assume a similar position there, and by dint of your fanaticism, you’re 427 now rallies under leadership out of LOS of enemy troops to do so again in the next factory. Why hand the Germans all those rooftops for HIP field Phones and Mortar teams? Lets move forward out of the rubble. The enemy is advancing across a field of Kunai approaching the thinly held line of IJA troops in the jungle and swamps. Set your HS up with a ldr in the Kunai, even in a FH, and begin lighting fires. A line of FH this team of death can advance across along the rear edge of the Kunai lighting fires in the PFPh will ensure the dreaded Marines pull out of the grass and take the long way around, gaining you time to survive and the ability to force him to react to your actions. Remember that taking the initiative in ASL is the BEST path to victory.( amazingly, it is actually also the best path in real live 2 way shooting ranges!). Lets take the ATTACKERs perspective here: You want to cross that deadly open ground on Bd 4 against dug in enemy troops on the far side. SMOKE a grain hex, light it up after APh in with your MMC / SMC “Fire” team, and light the wheat on fire. The SMOKE from the terrain blaze and the sweeping fire along the grainfield provides LOS protection for your advance not only at level 0, but from fire at level 1, and 2 and sometimes even level 3 enemy positions, depending on your proximity to the SMOKE / flames. I’d much prefer the +2 SMOKE DRM per grain hex to any incoming fire than the +1 hindrance from the extra grain in front of me.
( Try using this in one of those 4 board scenarios where you are advancing along the length of the boards, and light up the center sections at the board joints. This will mess up enemy LOS to your moving units, and allow you safe rally points even in non Rally terrain, as well as maintenance and regaining of concealment before the advance continues to the 2nd set of boards. U21 “Road to Kozani Pass” comes to mind ( Hello Eoin!) There are some ASL “purists” who would frown on flames or fire as a weapon of choice. Certainly there are those who do not consider the unarmed truck to have any benefit beyond transport. ( A truck is still a KEU, and as such can strip / prevent concealment. Not to mention its 1 FP OVR possibilities. If CVPs are NOT in play against you, USE YOUR TRUCKS!!!) To these individuals, consider the “gauntlet thrown down!” and the challenge issued. Lets play any one of the 4 RB CGs, I’ll take the Russians!, and you’ll learn the “value” of fire as a weapon in ASL. ( This is exactly how Eoin and I ended up in Kozani Pass, a “flame” war led to a “grudge” match!.) Next time you line up for a match, consider fire as your friend, or your enemy, as you “grok” out the scenario during setup.
SVASL Club: PacifiCon is On!!! ASL returns to the Labor Day Tourney for the Santa Clara Marriott. See www.conquestsf.com For all the tourney details!. http://pacificon.gamecon.us/reg/EventV iew.asp?ID=308 http://pacificon.gamecon.us/reg/EventV iew.asp?ID=118 The Santa Clara Marriott recommends early reservations if you are planning to stay the weekend. There will be 2 separate 1 day events for the ASL tournaments this year!
SVASL Club regular meetings are scheduled for the 4th Saturday of every month, at the game room of the Game Kastle, located at 1350 Coleman Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95050 ph: 408-7272452 http://www.gamekastle.com
Having passed our Contact DR with 8’s all around; here’s the news from our local ASL scenes.
And also: There's also a small group playing ASL on the 1st and 3rd Sundays at Endgame in downtown Oakland. With all of these options, we hope that any ASL player in the greater Bay / Valley Area can make contact and find a game! If you are new to the greater Bay / Delta area in Northern CA and play ASL, please contact any one of our groups, and we can get you networked into the local ASL’rs for some games and meeting dates. Sounding Off!
Everyone is welcome to post to the Club board at the Yahoo Group Website if you would like to pre-arrange a scenario or opponent.
Nor Cal ASL Club: Nor Cal ASL Club has three separate meeting locations for the ASL players in the group. The primary one is 2nd Saturdays at:
Club News:
The Miniature Wargaming Society of Sacramento meetings is only on Sundays, at the Carmichael library here in Sacramento. We have 2-3 ASL players involved so if you come up for a day trip, let us know in advance and we can get you into a game.
Location: Olde World Games, 123 Peabody Road, Vacaville Street: 123 Peabody Road City State Zip: Vacaville Phone: 707-455-8445 Opening bell is at 11 am and closing bell is at 11 pm. See you there. We have subsidiary groups meeting throughout the valley also most notably:
Defensive Fires
:
Opponents wanted: Seeking VASL PBEM opponents for just about anything. …. I prefer IFT. Please e-mail me at
[email protected] if you are interested.
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Close Combat
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