I played Dagger's Slam Dance last night, and had a great time. This scenario deals with the Red Devils' push for Arnhem bridge on the first day of Market Garden, and has 18 British para squads running headlong into a smaller but more mobile German force. The OOBs are pretty big, but the scenario takes place on two Deluxe urban boards (a & b?) and is only six turns long, so it's much shorter than it at first appears.
Victory is determined by CVP, with the Brits getting double VPs for exiting troops off the opposite edge, the Germans (only) gaining double CVPs for capturing troops, and both sides getting VPs equal the TEM of building and woods locations they control on the opponent's side of the board. Both sides enter from off-board, with who moves first determined by die roll. The British MF are halved for the first turn, while the Germans get full movement plus they have some halftracks, trucks and kublewagens. Thus, the paras find themselves outpositioned early, but with the troop strength to make up for it.
As the British, I rolled low and moved first. I sent my main force up the left-hand side of the board, with a screen and some dummies on the right. The plan was to seize locations in the German's right-rear area and set myself up for a big VP exit, while executing a fallback on my right to delay the German's thrusts toward my own right rear. The Germans responded by pushing up nearly everyone to the center of the board, getting good cover, and placing a killer stack in a first level position in the large factory-type building, dominating the center of the board. At this point it became clear where the scenario's title comes from.
Turns two through four saw the British crushing the German right while the favor was returned on the other side. I managed to smoke a couple key positions with my handy para-mortars and move in for CC, while my opponent made good use of maneuver to pin and capture a good portion of my screening force on my right. He braved streetfighting to place a halftrack in bypass in one of my hexes, successfully preventing me from firing out. It was a gutsy and effective move, allowing two demo charges to be hand-delivered to my doorstep, culminating in the capture of two squads and a 9-1...ouch. I consoled myself by taking out a second halftrack with a foolish but brave 7-0.
On my left, I pushed into the German side of the board after blowing through the German screen, greatly helped by some horrible rolls by my opponent. Now we were romping in high-TEM locations in each other's rear, while in the center grim pockets of HtH melees were all that remained. On the last turn, I sent a halfsquad scurrying into the large factory building (abandoned by the killer stack, effectively the German reserve) and exited four and a half squads plus a couple leaders. With the bulk of my force dead or exited, the German had wide freedom of movement on the last player turn and took a slew of buildings, including the reoccupation of a few I had taken from him earlier, since abandoned by exiting paras. We counted up our VPs, and I ended up the winner by a nose, 122-121. It was draining, but a blast.
Some observations, mostly obvious, for those of you who might try this one:
- PIATs are great streetfighting weapons, with lower firepower than the 'schrecks but you can use 'em indoors (Nerf LATWs?)
- The Germans must be careful with his vehicles; this is pointed out in the Rout Report's mini-synopsis, but it cannot be overemphasized. They are cheap VP pickups for the Brit, but the German is so pressed for bodies they end up in the line of fire. Little kubelwagens don't hold up well to pointblank fire, especially after they've broken their AAMG.
- Moving first is a mixed blessing, setting the pace initially but missing out on an un-answerable final player turn. Still, the Germans might rather be able to use their last turn positioning to block British exits. It is out of your hands, but once you know who goes first, consider the endgame implications as well.
- As important as it is to mix it up in the middle, the German must leave some boys behind to watch the exits and prevent unchallanged location-seizure. Abandoning and scavenging the vehicles may be a reasonable way to address this.
All in all, it seems like a Kurt Martin classic in the mold of Guy Chaney's Totusgeki and Munda Mash, short, vicious, and ideal for tournaments. Further playings may reveal a lack of balance, but after one run-through it looks sound. Check it out! Until next time, take it easy,
JR