| 2024-07-28 | (D) Ron Garcia | vs | Darryl M. | | Russian win | | Four hours in at only the midpoint of turn 2. Faced with at least two more days to finish this scenario, I gave my concession. Who knows who was winning? I had taken out six of the 16 Russian tanks, but had lost one with two MA's also broken. The Russians had suffered some infantry casualties, but still had plenty left. With gaming time at a premium, I decided I'd rather try two other scenarios the next two weekends rather than continue slogging through this one. Two weekends for a scenario is acceptable to me, not three. I also sort of lost interest due to the massive amount of movement the Russians have to do. My friend moved briskly, but there is a ton of stuff in this scenario so it takes a long time to do pretty much any phase. It actually would make a good three player scenario since the Germans are situated between two very large Russian forces. If you try this one face-to-face, set aside two very long days or have the tolerance knowing you will have to play this over multiple days. |
| 2021-03-07 | (A) John Gorkowski | vs | Bill Stoppel | | Draw | | This “Twilight of the Gods” heavy metal collision has our Slavic heroes assaulting the Teuton castle atop a mighty hill and can be viewed in two separate phases which could actually be recast as two separate scenarios: 1) approach the hill, and 2) storm the castle. The “approach the hill” portion calls for well-chosen fire and deft maneuver, by both sides, over plenty of space for some very enjoyable ASL. The “storm the castle” portion is point blank, smash mouth, high density ASL with too many counters, very easy to lose track of what exactly is going on in each of those separate 7-deep stacks spread across two floors shrouded in smoke! And don’t forget, after all that epic combat, the defender could win by having a single HIP half squad on the top most floor of a castle that is otherwise overflowing with rampaging attackers. That possibility adds a third “bug hunt” phase to the scenario during the last game turn.
The pressing demands of real life forced us to wrap up without a clear victor after playing six of eight turns over about 10 hours. Not for the faint of heart, this monster will test your combined arms skills and esoteric rules knowledge as much as 10 regular scenarios combined. Some of the finer points we “rediscovered”: non-turreted guns that fire from woods/building/rubble fix their covered arc for the remainder of that phase, if already marked “Final Fire” one cannot then intensive fire in the Defensive Fire Phase, rubble LOS is confusing…
Bill’s Germans deployed almost everything on the middle board, BFP-K. A Panzer IV in the stone house atop the hill at H3 with a few squads nearby watched over southeastern approaches (from board 19). Another P IV on the other side of the hill watched northeastern approaches (from board 44). A Panther in the level two woods at V3 watched south central approaches. A Hetzer in Y8 with a couple of squads in the nearby gulley guarded the west. Two more Panthers, the 75L ATG, the 75* INF and most of the German infantry garrisoned the hill top fortress/rubble compound. Of note, Bill placed his best leader with HMG and MMG on the second floor of Q4 (center of the south wall) ready to rake Russian infantry approaching from the south. Bill placed his mortar in the castle’s central compound for spotted fire; humorously, thanks to the lowered ROF and +2 to hit penalty for spotted fire that tube accomplished nothing throughout the entire scenario.
Most of my Russian infantry set up on board 19, but some entered with the tanks, all around the southeastern corner (board 19). 82mm mortars set up in N2 and I3 with arcs covering the hill top fortress. The two HMGs started in the little wooden house at C3, ready to fire at hill crest lines; they later fired at a dummy stack, and then started the arduous process of trudging uphill. Some 6-2-8s clustered around K3 to provide smoke as cover for other troops and tanks. Lots of infantry with assorted flamethrowers and satchel charges arrayed from H3-L3, ready to move forward.
Ivan opened with tons of SMOKE. Those 82mm mortars kept making rate and so shrouded BFP-K P3 and Q3, to obstruct the suspected German MG nest on the 2nd floor of Q4 atop the hill, as well as 19K5 and K6 to make a cloud corridor for Russian infantry. It worked, Russian infantry crossed most of board 19, getting as far as the K7 stone house, on turn 1 with few casualties. Notably, the 6-2-8s around 19K3 failed all their smoke rolls so a few tanks entering via K1 had less cover than hoped, but the Panther in the crest line woods at V3, then under concealment, held fire and let them through anyway. Other Russians entered via armored assault from 19A5-A2 and followed the hedgerow northwest, some getting as far as 19F7 on turn 1.
Turn 2 saw the southeastern Russians close on the hill top stone house bastion, BFP-K H3. The Panzer IV in there shot and killed an SU-100 and T-34 before a deluge of shot and shell smashed him and his infantry escort to bits. Meanwhile, the rest of the Russians entered via the northeast corner of board 44. Most came in via armored assault and clustered around the 44DD2 wood/orchard mass suffering few casualties to tepid machine gun fire from a single MMG upstairs in the northwest tower of the hill top fortress, BFP-K R6. Notably, the Russian HMG entered via 44CC10 to eventually set up on the first floor of that wooden building in 44DD8 and the dismantled mortar crept in under concealment to 44Y10 to rain (mostly ineffective) fire on the hill top in later turns; it did, however, finally break the German MMG in the northeast corner of the hill top fortress around turn 5.
On turns 3 and 4, a Russian tank infantry swarm came up the northwestern spur of the central hill mass to bamboozle and kill the Hetzer looking west in BFP-K Y6. The northeastern mortar ran out of smoke and one of the lumbering SP guns (ISU-122?) broke its main armament trying to fire. In the southeast, the red tide rolled forward further up the hill with the infantry taking the BFP-K M1-3 path where they defeated a German infantry platoon. A fleeing P IV dodged T-34 fire to reach the castle. A HIP Panzerschreck team around BFP-K L6 popped out to kill a T-34/85 and was later whacked by another tank. The southern mortars continued to lay crest line SMOKE screens that negated the German HMG/MMG machine gun nest and even killed that Panther in the woods at V3. A German sniper broke one of the Russian HMG teams down south and spent the rest of the game picking on that half squad. The southeastern Russians used turn 4 to consolidate just shy of the last crest line so they could all spring forward against the hill top fortress in one mass on turn 5; the northeastern Russians did something similar, but were about one turn behind as they shot up German infantry in the BFP-K V5 gulley.
Soviets came over the top (last hill crest) on turn 5 in full view of the castle’s east side and all hell broke loose. Here’s some of what happened. Two T-34s rushed the walls hoping to burst through, but burst into flames under Panther and P IV fire. German small arms fire scared an FT-toting 7-0 into a broken 6+1 and broke two more 4-5-8s. One Russian FT fired at two hexes to break a German squad behind fortified walls. And the Reds managed to place three satchel charges, two of which breached fortified walls. The Russians were finally in place with an SU-100 and three IS2s braced for firing. During the German half of turn five, they struck to kill the Panther and the P IV behind fortified walls while Russian small arms fire pinned or broke a couple of Germans units.
Turn 6 was all about breaching the fortress and pouring in from both directions. German defensive fire killed an SU-100, T34/85, and ISU 122 while breaking two 5-2-7s. Russian tank fire from the V5 gulley knocked out the German 75mm INF gun in debris at S6 while tank machine guns took down the 75L ATG in the fortress at R4. Russian infantry streamed through the breaches. A 6-2-8 killed another Panther in close combat before its watchamajigger (that grenade tossing device) could fire. And that’s where we stopped, with the castle still contested by both sides.
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