I played DASL A4 "The Island" over the weekend. My opponent played the British. He spread out his force thinking that the preliminary 150 rocket OBA would seriously threaten his line. It broke one squad and blew concealment off another. One Sexton was HD on the hill (eM2) with little LOS ability, the others were back on the roads ready to take advantageous positions. One of his ATG guns (76LL) was well placed in fF5, while the other was in gA2 in an attempt to preempt a thrust up the board edge. The HMG nest was placed in hH2.
I entered with the majority of my force (12-14 squads) coming in east through hO2. Two Tigers gave support over and in the bocage (hL1 and hM1). A smaller but lethal diversionary force (7-9 squads) entered through hH5 to pressure the buildings that dominate the road on board h. Two Tigers supported this group but one bogged through some bocage.
On Turn 2 the German force groped further into the bocage around fC1 and fD1. Note that fB1 is an excellent spot for a Tiger! It dominates the sunken road with LOS into fH4 and fI5. The British forces in the hF2 building were acting suspiciously like stacks of ??? so the diversionary force got bold and advanced squads into hE4 and hF3.
On Turn 3 I got aggressive. The main German attack fell on the remaining British squads in hI1, fG1, and fH2. The diversionary attack successfully took the buildings around hF1 and attempted to harass the British units northwest on board g. The British were getting pasted. Turn 4 the British HMG nest managed a retreat to gJ2 but the Germans had impetus. I torched an escaping Sexton in fG5; this turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back because the blaze spread to fF5 on the next Game turn and torched the ATG hidden there (-2 not attached woods, -2 wet condition, 7 Kindling for woods; I rolled boxcars!). My opponent resigned Turn 5 when I captured his HMG.
ANALYSIS:
For the British, don't just give away the building in hF1. Its +3 TEM and the nice fall back positions make it too valuable to throw away. On the other hand, it can be too heavily defended. I'd put the MMG in hF2 and put the HMG elsewhere (fH2 isn't too bad). Set up the Sextons near the front to harass the German infantry but give them good reverse movement options to escape easy Tiger shots. Put one of the ATGs at or near the front to threaten or blast the Tigers early on. Don't forget that the 76LLs have HE signified by J4+ (June 44 on). Don't forget that Smoke from mortars, or Sextons can be very useful to cover your retreat or to fog out a Tiger.
For the German, don't forget to mantle those MGs! They can really kick but. This is a scenario that requires some concentration of force and mutual support between AFV and infantry. Don't spread out too thinly. Get aggressive with the Tigers only when it's safe. They're needed for the VP. There's plenty of time to kick the Brits out with 12 game turns.
STUPID QUESTIONS:
Cheers, Jeff
> (1) Motion attempts: If an enemy tank spends 2 MP and stops (with
>
MP leftover) in LOS of your tank, what dr is needed to gain
>
Motion status? We played it as requiring a 2 dr.
I'm pretty certain that somewhere in the vehicle rules it states that any MP left unspent are considered expended in the final hex of movement. In that case, you add what is left over. Creative use of Delay or spending more MP than required to enter a hex can often be used to avoid this problem.
> (2) Bocage: Is the Bog DR 11 for Normal ground pressure AFVs
>
crossing bocage hexsides?
Probably. I don't have the bog chart in front of me, but if there's no special modifier for Bocage that sounds right.
> (3) For DASL boards, how does one handle VBM and obstacles; i.e.,
>
does the counter width rule for clear VBM apply? We played
>
it as two widths but one could say the width of the vehicle
> on the
counter.
Ya got me.
Doug Gibson
Played some Squid last Friday. Played a DASL scenario that I'd played before (The Island). Germans get 4 Tiggers, and 21 squids (armed to the teeth with various MGs) versus British 18 squads, 4 Sextons (88 soft guns), and 2 76LL ATGs. Boards are BOCAGE. I've been playing bocage wrong for years, and had a primer in January (thanks Chuck!); hence, this game was a first attempt at playing it correctly.
Here's some dope on bocage: as long as there is a within-hex-positive TEM, a unit can fire from bocage in PFPh and chose NOT to take return fire in DFPh! (It's that old WA spectre! Fortunately in most bocage scenarios the right mix of terrain isn't common.) Units can move behind bocage and retain concealment, and grow concealment behind bocage even when in LOS of known enemy. Flame me if you wish, but that's how we played it, and believe me that's better than the way I used to play it!
Turn 1 Rocket OBA landed dead on in the main building hex. British kill stack didn't take a scratch as my opponent gacked his 30 FP attack (he rolled a 10+3). The OBA did however KIA a Sexton, and broke a Piat-toting squid (1KIA drew the Sexton in RS). More importantly, it set the woods on fire! Germans enter somewhat cautiously, but don't see the boresighted, leader-directed MGs (10 -4) that promptly KIA a squid cowering behind a Tigger. Tigers line up to deal some punishment to the British kill stack.
German right advances too far and pays a steep price. Here's a neat little defensive trick for you Squid noogies. German has 2 strong, concealed stacks adjacent and ready to pummel the British position. British lt. MRT smokes one of the stacks while the other stack is summarily stripped of concealment by leader-directed LMG, blown apart by a waiting Sexton, then melted by adjacent infantry FP. Note that the Smoked stack is effectively neutered for return fire, and adjacent squad waltzs in unharmed for some HtH combat, DASL style! Germans lose 4 squads and a leader to Turn 1 pranks.
Turn 2 and the British kill stack survives 2 direct hits, and 9-2 directed fire attack. British 9-2 leader holds, one squad breaks but the other thinks DSC - a hero is generated - and the position holds long enough to spread out, out of the LOS of those nasty pussycats! German thrust centers on left building, but British rifle fire suppresses the German 9-2 who can't help but break behind the bocage. Center gets dicey as a Piat-armed HS plays cat and mouse with some Tiggers. HS eventually dies while attempting to route to nearest friends. Piats are a definite waste of time against HD Tigers. Mea culpa.
Turns 3 and 4 see the German squads pushing up the center right. The main building is well occupied by British soldiers, and British center is well defended. Fires spread to the forest and grainfields on the British right. Brit right now defending with few places to fall back. German leaders seem to self destruct as one dies from a boxed MC, one goes down in an earlier HtH, and a third eats the first British Sniper bullet of the game. Herr 9-2 BHs to Sir Herr 10-2 then promptly wounds, fails another MC, and dies an inglorious death in front of his troops! The LLMC leaves only 1 extant squid where there used to be 3. The German kill stack is done. At this point the Germans have suffered 7.5 squids, 4 leaders, and an Xd MA, to the British 1 squid, 1 LMG X'd and 1 Sexton. German player rightly fails PMC and calls back the troops.
The ROAR Record suggests that this scenario favors the British. I suspect it's the overpowering 76LL ATGs, although both games I've played (German win, and British win) failed to see these come into action. (But both only went to 4-5 turns.) One option would be to switch the 76LLs to 57Ls. I suspect that most German players don't realize that the length (12 game turns) of the scenario favors a well developed, well coordinated series of attacks; something that can be hard to do if rushing in the first few turns after entry. The CVP conditions are fairly difficult for the Germans as they can't match the British for losses and expect a win. In fact, the Germans need to generate many more casualties than the British to succeed.
The building on the German left flank is not to be treated lightly. It is integral to the British set up, and it will not fall easily, even given the 88L guns of the Tigers. OTOH, the German right flank seems like a natural avenue of attack albeit at the cost of some mobility later. WHen I won as the Germans I pushed most of the squads and half of the tanks up the right flank. (A cagey British player might place an ATG in the bocage behind the sunken road on the British right, and an ATG in the forward center or middle stone building.) Since the Tigers are so important to a final victory, one can almost expect their use solely on the road, but therein lies the crux. The road will be too well defended by the ATGs and Piats. Some of the tanks will have to risk the Bog DR (t'ain't bad) to envelop the Brits or attack their strongpoints.
So give bocage a chance. It might surprise you!
Jeffrey Shields