ASL - VFTT 40
ASL - VFTT 40
ASL - VFTT 40
B r i t a i n ' s P r e mi e r A S L J o u r n a I
Issue 40 Nov - Dec 2001 UK 2.00 US $5.00
IN THIS ISSUE
INTENSIVE FIRE 2001 - all the action from Bournemouth NUDEY RUDEY SHAKE-YO-BOOTY ASL WEEKEND - ASL in Liverpool
THE LEIBSTANDARTE IN ACTION - scenario analysis of the second LSSAH pack OZZIE RULES - Toby Pilling vs. Steve Linton
2 YIEW FRBH
IN THIS ISSUE
PREP FIRE 2
INCOMING 3
INTENSIVE FIRE 2001 4
THE CRUSADERS OPEN ASL
TOURNAMENT LADDER 8
LSSAH PACK SCENARIO REPORTS 9
OZZIE RULES 15
A VIEW FROM THE GUN PIT 16
DEBRIEFINGS 16
NUDEY RUDEY SHAKE-YO-BOOTY
ASL WEEKEND 17
THIS IS THE CALL TO
INTERNATIONALE ARMS! 18
ON THE CONVENTION TRAIL 19
24-2 .14- 24-2 .14- 24-2 .14- 24-2 .14- 24-2 .14-
Another View From The Trenches, back on schedule for a
change. Thanks to Shaun Carter, Ian Daglish and Derek Tocher for
getting their IF reports in to me so soon after the event so that this
issue could come out on time. Ive still got 3 or 4 blank pages to fill
to finish off VFTT41 but Im still hopeful that it should be out on
schedule, X-Mas partying allowing :-) Beyond that, Ive got 14
blank pages per issue to fill in, so I could do with some help from you
lot!
Double 1. My last, best hope for victory.
Pete Phillipps
EMOTICONS
With the growth of the InterNet, emoticons have originated to allow people to show
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Some typical emoticons are:
:-) humour or smiley
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:-> devious smile
<g> grin
:-( sad
:-o shocked or surprised
#-( hung-over
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You can also download free copies from:
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VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES is the bi-
monthly British ASL journal. All comments are wel-
come. Even better, contribute. Write an article. De-
sign a scenario. Share your ASL experiences with
others. VFTT allows you to communicate with other
ASLers. Don't be a silent voice.
Issue 41 should be out at the beginning of Janu-
ary 2002.
VFTT costs 2.00 per issue (overseas 3.00),
with a year's subscription costing 10.00 (overseas
15.00). Payment should be in pounds sterling, with
cheques made out to PETE PHILLIPPS. Readers are
reminded to check their address label to see when
their subscription ends.
COVER: A Russian artillery position opens fire, lighting up
the night sky.
THE ASL MAILING LIST
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VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES
49 Lombardy Rise
Leicester
LE5 OFQ
Telephone:
(0116) 212 6747
E-mail:
pete@vftt.co.uk
World Wide Web Home Page:
http://www.vftt.co.uk
They may beat us, they may kill us, we may beat them, we
may sweep them. Bottom line is for the next few weeks well all find
out things about ourselves as players and competitors that we never
knew, those of us that reach for it will anyway. Its something I cant
explain, but that I hope everyone experiences at least once in their
lifetimes, pushing yourself past a point into an area you never knew
you could reach. Take what God gave you and figure it out, use it at
a time you didnt think you could make it, do it, finish it, win it....
Curt Schilling to the ASL Mailing List, 23 Oct 2001
3 THE TREXlHES
l800Nl86 l800Nl86
l800Nl86 l800Nl86 l800Nl86
ALL QUIET ON THE MMP
FRONT
Apart from the forthcoming
Guadalcanal Historical Study module which
is due out soon, MMP have little in the way
of forthcoming releases for the immediate
future. Work continues on Armies of
Oblivion, with several scenarios finished and
work progressing on the others. No concrete
release date has been determined but MMP
would like to see AOO released early in 2002.
MMP also have a number of other projects
in various stages of design and development
at the moment but it is too early to determine
which ones will be released in 2002.
Congratulations also go to MMPs
Curt Schilling and part-time pitcher for
baseball team the Arizona Diamondbacks on
beating the New York Yankees 4-3 in the
World Series.
SCHWERPUNKT RETURN
A surprise release at ASLOK was
Schwerpunkt #7. The new issue consists of
a 24 page booklet with analyses, two articles,
and 12 scenarios printed on cardstock. The
scenario card format is slightly different and
no longer contains any official artwork,
instead using text to describe the counters.
Send a check or money order for $16.00
in U.S. funds payable to Sherry Enterprises
to Sherry Enterprises, P.O. Box 3, Ruskin,
FL 33570. Add $3.00 ($5.00 outside the
U.S.) for a single volume, for shipping and
handling, plus $1.00 for each volume >
1ordered (for 2-7 copies outside the U.S.
add $9.00 [$10.00 Japan and the Pacific]).
Florida Residents must add 7% State Sales
Tax.
Issues 1 to 6 are expected to be re-
released in the new format at some point in
the future.
CH GO TO INDO-CHINA
CH have announced the release of Dien
Bien Phu for Christmas, a module covering
the final battle of the First Indo-china War. It
will feature several new maps, two sheets of
counters, a rulebook with historical
commentary, and a play aid. The Viet Minh
(P.A.V.N.) are represented by new MMC
and SMC types, plus an array of weapons
ranging from home-grown 60mm mortars,
Bangalore Torpedoes, Recoiless Rifles, and
3.5" Bazookas. New MMC/SMC are also
included for the French, with French
Paratrooper squads/HS
and Ta irregulars (locals
trained by the French).
There will also be a counter
for each of the named
Bisons (M24 Chaffee
tanks flown in dismantled
and then assembled at the
battlefield for service that
turned out to be most
effective). No price has
been announced yet.
Out now is CH Magazine Volume 6,
No. 3, the latest special edition. Priced $24.95
this edition focuses on the Arab-Israeli War,
with additional material for Genesis 48,
including a new historical map of the disputed
Arava Valley (between Jordan and Israel) and
several scenarios which take place on it, and
a sheet of 140 counters.
13th BUNKER NEARS
COMPLETION
Work is slowing continuing on
Dispatches From The Bunker 13, with three
scenarios based around the Lorraine
Campaign in September 44 due to be
included. There will also be an article looking
at the Campaign Game aspects of the Kursk
Scenarios/Campaign from ASL Journal 3.
And the usual Tactical Tips for both Novices
and Veterans, and ASL News, with the
emphasis on the New England ASL
Community. Work should be finished around
Thanksgiving.
Four issue subscriptions are available
for $13.00 ($15.00 outside the USA). Issue
one is available free with a subscription or
an SAE, while other back issues are $3.50
($4.00 outside the USA). Payments should
be payable to Vic Provost and sent to
Dispatches from the Bunker, 209 Granby
Road, Apt: 18, Chicopee, MA 01013. Tel
(413)594-4301 (evenings) or email
aslbunker@aol.com.
The new SP scenario layout (left) and the map from CH Vol 6 No 3 (right).
4 YIEW FRBH
Inzrnstvr Ftur 2001 Inzrnstvr Ftur 2001
Inzrnstvr Ftur 2001 Inzrnstvr Ftur 2001 Inzrnstvr Ftur 2001
Ian Daglish achieved a brilliant
set of scenarios and I thank him for
an excellent opportunity to try more a
realistic situation, I for one enjoyed
them immensely, please do some more
for BERSERK! Ian.
Nigel Ashcroft on the Fog of War
event
It had gone midnight when a group of
us were in the bar drinking and talking about
Its A Knockout. Somehow we talked our-
selves into an Its A Knockout scenario.
Board 7, five players, each with a raft and
hero trying to cross the rover and back to
win. With a HS manning a LMG from each
player on the other side. Then we decided
that it would be fun to try and sink the rafts
so on getting back you had to find a FT and
sink rafts. We added resurrection DRs, talked
about DR for Jaws, Piranhas, Croc Dundee.
It got a bit silly but we didnt care. Dont
expect to see this scenario in the ASL Jour-
nal any time soon! We finished about 3, leav-
ing Michael Hastrup-Leth and David Tye to
finish off their game of SP84 Von
Bodenhausens Ride. For the record the silly
ones were Pete Phillipps, Iain Mad Vet
Mackay, Patrick Dale, Ruarigh Dale and Paul
Case.
The Main Event
After breakfast on Saturday morning
everyone gathered together for the start of
the main event, the Fire Team tournament.
As in previous years there were two divi-
sions with a players Crusader ladder rating
determining which division he was in. Play-
ers were then randomly assigned to a team
using a system that would put o one top,
middle and bottom ranked player from that
division in each team.
You editor disappeared down the pub
just before mid-day to watch the football,
Manchester United vs. Leeds as seems to
be common at ASL events MUFC didnt
win, but at least we didnt lose for a change!
Several of the morning rounds ran late,
with adjudication required for one game it
was too close to call so a dr was made.
The second round was underway by
4pm, with most games finished by early
evening, leaving players plenty of time for
friendly gaming. One or two matches did not
finish until quite late though, with a couple
lasting beyond midnight.
Fate certainly seemed to be with
me as, 2-0 up already, I pulled back a
win in my third game (Brits in 3rd
RTR) after almost total disaster in
Well another INTENSIVE FIRE has
come and gone, and judging from the num-
bers it was a great success. 52 ASLers at-
tended for the weekend, while Jon Williams
put in his first appearance in several years
on Saturday afternoon for a quick game.
Theyre behind you.
Simon Strevens in any scenario
involving the Japanese.
As usual the first players began to ar-
rive on Thursday, led mainly by the over-
seas contingent eight from Denmark and
Australias Steve Linton. By the end of the
day almost half of the attendees were there
and nearly a dozen games played, with Dave
Schofield and Luis Calcada playing their
Spanish Civil War mini-tournament game so
that Luis could visit the Bovington Tank
Museum the following day.
Great turn out, fantastic fun, great
bunch of lads. Always reminds me of
Norm of the Boston comedy on TV
Cheers, everybody knows your name
and when you walk in you get a great
welcome.
David Schofield
Friday Fun
Following on from their successful
introduction in 2000, IF2001 saw the return
of the Friday mini-tournaments. Unlike the
previous year there were only originally two
planned, as there had not been enough play-
ers available to fill out three tournaments
last year. So naturally this year we had more
players wanting to take part than we could
fit in! Thankfully Michael Hastrup-Leth
offered to run a mini-tournament at the last
minute so everyone was accommodated.
Thanks to Shaun for organising
the Spanish Civil War tournament
whose final was played between a
Spaniard and a Portuguese. Lots of
fun.
Luis Calcada
One of the mini-tournaments was a
Fog Of War event ran by Ian Daglish, where
each player was only told what his side had
and only vague information about the en-
emy. To add to the Fog of War, two new
maps were also used.
The situation in Pete's game of the 'SP79 The Mius Trap' against Keith Bristow, at the
start of the Russian player turn 3
5 THE TREXlHES
PLAYER RESULTS
Here are the individual win/loss records from
IF2001.
PLAYER P W L D
Chris Ager 5 0 5
Nigel Ashcroft 3 0 3
Wayne Baumber 4 2 2
Keith Bristow 8 6 2
Stephen Burleigh 9 5 4
Luis Calcada 7 5 2
Shaun Carter 4 2 2
Paul Case 5 1 4
Roger Cook 1 1 0
Simon Croome 5 4 1
Steve Crowley 5 2 2 1
Ian Daglish 5 4 1
Patrick Dale 5 1 4
Ruarigh Dale 4 2 2
Bill Eaton 4 2 2
Bob Eburne 3 1 2
Trevor Edwards 7 3 4
Michael Essex 5 5 0
Russell Gough 3 2 1
Bjarne Hansen 3 2 1
William Hanson 7 3 4
Michael Hastrup-Leth 7 5 1 1
Malcolm Hatfield 3 1 2
Brian Hooper 10 3 7
Ben Jones 5 3 2
Paul Kettlewell 3 2 1
Justin Key 6 1 5
Lars Klysner 6 4 2
Martin Kristensen 6 2 4
Paul Legg 4 1 3
Steve Linton 7 5 2
Tim Macaire 6 4 2
Dominic McGrath 3 1 2
Iain Mckay 5 4 1
David Murray 5 2 2 1
Paul ODonald 5 1 4
Pete Phillipps 6 3 3
Toby Pilling 3 2 0 1
Sam Prior 3 0 3
Fermin Retamero 8 7 1
Michael Robertson 4 1 3
Paul Sanderson 7 4 3
David Schofield 8 4 4
Flemming
Scott-Christensen 6 1 5
Graham Smith 3 0 3
Neil Stevens 3 0 3
Simon Strevens 7 4 3
Stewart Thain 5 3 2
Jes Touvdal 6 5 1
David Tye 5 1 4
Jon Williams 1 0 1
turn two. Goes to show you must never
give up.
Ian Daglish
Me and Keith Bristow started play-
ing SP79 The Mius Trap at midnight, but
Keith caved in at 3 due to fatigue (IE alcohol
poisoning most would say I dont suffer
from that!) half-way through the game. We
recorded the positions the following day and
plan to finish it at BERSERK! next year. At
3am (this being 3am after the clocks have
gone back an hour), me and Neil tallied the
results together and selected the match-ups
for the final round. These were fairly easy to
decide as teams 2 and 6 were top in the Elite
Division, while teams B and H were in a
similar position in the First Division. I also
ELITE DIVISION
POS TEAM PLAYER PTS OPPO
1 2 19 21970
Ruarigh Dale
Steve Linton
Simon Strevens
2 6 19 18460
Keith Bristow
Michael Hastrup-Leth
Martin Kristensen
3 8 18 18820
Lars Klysner
David Schofield
Jes Touvdal
4 4 15 16110
Bjarne Hansen
William Hanson
Fermin Retamero
5 1 12 12545
Stephen Burleigh
Luis Calcada
Trevor Edwards
6 3 10 10015
Toby Pilling
Paul Sanderson
Flemming Scott-Christensen
7 5 9 9090
Russell Gough
Dominic McGrath
Neil Stevens
8 88 88 7 3 3645
Bob Eburne
Paul ODonald
Graham Smith
FIRST DIVISION
POS TEAM PLAYER PTS OPPO
1 H 19 16965
Shaun Carter
Steve Crowley
Brian Hooper
2 B 18 17360
Wayne Baumber
Michael Essex
Paul Kettlewell
3 E 18 16890
Ian Daglish
Ben Jones
Iain Mckay
4 A 12 11580
Chris Ager
Simon Croome
Bill Eaton
5 C 12 11470
Paul Legg
Tim Macaire
Michael Robertson
6 D 12 11210
Justin Key
Stewart Thain
David Tye
7 F 10 8350
Paul Case
Patrick Dale
David Murray
8 G 6 5565
Nigel Ashcroft
Malcolm Hatfield
Pete Phillipps
Sam Prior
FIRE TEAM PLACINGS
The OPPO value is the total value of the Crusader ladder points of the opponents beaten by
that fire team
Team G have 4 players because Pete Phillipps replaced Nigel Ashcroft for the final team
game.
had to substitute for Nigel Ashcroft who
was going to Bovington on Sunday morning.
I had an awful run of dice on the
Saturday, beat Paul ODonald despite
more tough dice on the Sunday which
made me feel a bit better, but broke a
tooth on a toffee which is a bummer.
Trev Edwards
The Results
As with last year the Elite division
was close, but with the result of the final
game between the two teams still to coime in
it was clear that team 2 would win even if
team 6 won the Crusader ladder rating points
they would get would not be enough. In the
first division team H was a clear winner.
The best player throughout the week-
end had been Fermin, who had managed to
go 7-0 by Sunday morning. However he then
lost his final game by forgetting to use the
Bog rules in J62 Lees Charge, which al-
lowed his opponents Shermans to freely
roam the snow-covered battlefield. This left
newcomer Michael Essex as the only un-
beaten player, with a 5-0 record, thus givng
6 YIEW FRBH
THE SCENARIOS
Here is the table of Scenario Win/Loss records
from IF2001 - remember draws are used in
the tournament rules: Tournament scenarios
are shown in italics.
Scenario Allied Axis Draw
?1 Battle of Baliuag 1 0
37 Khamsin 0 1
A49 Delaying Action 1 0
A72 Italian Brothers (atp8 repub.) 1 1
A79 Mike Red 1 0
ABTF3 Late For Mass 0 1
ABTF4 First Threat 1 0
AP11 Swamp Cats 1 0
ASL News 10 First Contact
First Defeat 1 0
BB10 Surrender or Die 2 4
CH26 Close Order Dreil 6 2
FC7 Another Day on the Rack! 0 1
G46 Triumph Atop Taraldsvikvjell 1 1
J28 Inhumaine 0 1
J31 Lovat First Sight 1 0
J37 Tretten In Flames 2 7 1
J40 Might Makes Right 0 1
J43 3rd RTR In The Rain 4 9
J44 Audacity! 5 6
J56 A Burnt out Case 1 0
J62 Lees Charge 8 1
MLR5 Third Time Lucky 1 0
PB4 Killeans Red 1 1
PB6a Its About Time 0 1
PBP11 A Civil War,
Not a Gentlemens War 0 1
RB3 Bread Factory #2 0 1
SP22 Tods Last Stand 0 2
SP66 Nicholls and Nash 1 3
SP74 The Last Tiger 2 5
SP75 Taurus Pursuant 1 1
SP76 Flaming Of The Guard 2 0
SP77 Green Jackets Bridge 2 0
SP78 The Golovchino Breakout 0 1
SP79 The Mius Trap 0 1
SP81 Betje Wolf Plein 0 1
SP82 Norway In Half 0 2
SP83 Boeinked 2 0
SP84 Von Bodenhausens Ride 0 1
T3 Ranger Stronghold 1 0
T4 Shklovs Labors Lost 1 0
T9 Niscemi-Biscari Highway 2 6 1
TOT25 Franzens Roadblock 0 1
TT5 Commandos Not Supermen 2 0
U5 Point DAppui 1 0
WCW6 Los Ejercitos Nuevos 1 5
TOTALS 129 57 70 2
us a bit of a dilemma is 7-1 better than 5-0?
Thanks to Andy Ashton giving us a 25
voucher for Second Chance Games, Neil and
myself decided to let Fermin have the main
prize and Michael the voucher. Congratula-
tions to both for their excellent performances.
The final results table was propped
up by Chris Ager, who played 5, lost 5.
Keep practising Chris, and better luck next
year.
On a final note, Toby Pilling and Steve
Linton refused to play Noble Craft of War-
fare all weekend..
On the behalf of all 8 IF partici-
pants in the Danish Human Wave, I
will thank Pete Phillips and Neil
Stevens for a wonderful weekend at
INTENSIVE FIRE. We will be back
next year!
Michael Hastrup-Leth
The Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War
Shaun Carter
The idea for this came from
discussions between myself and Derek based
upon the success of the first mini
tournaments held at IF 2000, with the
Spanish Civil War theme being a little
different and filling the intention of using
only Chapters A-D. The tournament
fomrat allowed for eight players to play in
three elimination rounds to produce a single
winner. Following a posting to the ASLML
the places were very quickly filled, with
the .international flavour of IF being
confirmed as five English, one Portuguese,
one Spanish and one Danish player signing
up. Namely David Schofield, Stewart Thain,
Tim Macaire, Justine Key, Keith Bristow,
Luis Calcada, Fermin Retamero and Jes
Tourdal. I paired up people who had not
played before for the first round games.
Round One used WCW6 Los
Ejercitos Nuevos, Republicans versus
Nationalists using half of mapboard 36. The
Nationalists need to control 8 or more level
2 hill hexes at game end and the results
show two wins for each side. The winners
were paired up, with Stewart Thain playing
Luis Calcada and Jos Tourdal versus Fermin
Retamero in round two. This round used
A72 Italian Brothers, which uses Italian
counters to represent the Republicans Black
Flame Division and Allied Minors for the
Nationalists Garibaldi Battalion on
mapboards 17 and 6. The victory
conditions are for control of the chateau
in the middle of mapboard 6 (immediate
Republican win), four other buildings and
finally CVP total. Records show one win
by either side, which led to an all-Iberian
final. Rather appropriate I think given the
theme. Any accusations of bias on my part
will be fervently denied!
The final used PBP18 A Civil War
Not A Gentlemans War, a Paddington
bears scenario using mapboards 11 and 24.
The Nationalist use Axis Minor counters
and the Republicans use Russian counters,
including 6 T-26 tanks with inexperienced
crews. The victory conditions require the
Republicans to control 18 building
Locations on mapboard 24 at game end,
and Fermin beat Luis providing us with a
Spanish Winner. He received a certificate
for his efforts.
There were some minor
organisational details to resolve. I took the
pragmatic approach that provided all three
rounds were played before the fire team
event started that was ok. One game was
played on Thursday evening because both
players wished to visit the tank museum.
Fortunately I was not required to make any
rules adjudications! Many thanks to all
those who took part .I hope you all enjoyed
the experience
Aftermath
In part due to the eight Danes who
came over, attendance this year was back to
the normal levels, so perhaps last years low
attendance was just a one-off. Numbers
would have higher but several players with-
drew due to the current world situation, while
Derek Tocher, Steve Thomas and Michael
Rudd were all unable to attend.
One interesting fact that I had recently
uncovered is that the number of players who
have attended every INTENSIVE FIRE is
dwindling there are now only 8 of us left.
It would be interesting to find out how many
players have attended every BERSERK! as
well.
Thanks as usual go to Jon and his staff
for the food, drink and excellent facilities they
gave us. Bar takings were no doubt up on the
previous weekend and they stocked up ex-
tra supplies of Newcastle Brown Ale for
yours truly to enjoy :-)
While aiding the hotels profits I was
able to get in six games (plus half of SP79
The Mius Trap), ending up 3-3 for the
weekend, a vast improvement on my recent
showings (1-5 at BERSERK! in March, 1-4
last year at IF). Two of my defeats were at
the hands of players placed 4
th
and 42
nd
on
the ladder (I started 118
th
!), so its no sur-
prise I lost them, and the third saw me diced
it must be true, even my opponent agreed!
It was my first-ever tournament
and I had a ball, 0-5 combat record
notwithstanding. As well as the gam-
ing, I liked the whole relaxed atmo-
sphere of the place, the way the hotel
looked after us, and the fact that we
could spread ourselves around the
hotel without disturbing anyone else
or being disturbed by them. And pick-
ing the weekend with the extra hour
on Saturday was a stroke of genius.
Aaahll be baack.
Graham Smith
Work has already begun on INTEN-
SIVE FIRE 2002, so pencil in the weekend
of 25-27 October 2002 as busy in your dia-
ries and start making your excuses to get
away then. See you all next March at BER-
SERK!.
7 THE TREXlHES
Clearing the Fog of War Clearing the Fog of War Clearing the Fog of War Clearing the Fog of War Clearing the Fog of War
Ian Daglish
Overheard at IF2001:
Are you defending or attacking in the
Fog of War?
Attacking. Uhh defending. No,
attacking. Oh, I dont know!
I am currently adapting reconnaissance
actions to ASL. Reconnaissance is all about
gaining information about the enemy, so it
seemed logical to develop some of these actions
into a Fog of War event for IF2001. Ten
volunteers tried out the system, and appeared
to enjoy it. I am now doing a little more work
to iron out some difficulties before making
the package available for future meetings.
In these Fog of War scenarios, each
player had a scenario card with only his own
forces listed. Instead of cast iron Victory
Conditions, the player had mission objectives:
take that orchard or hold that position.
Further verbal orders or despatches may come
during play. But neither player knew his
opponents order of battle or objectives. As
such the scenarios were necessarily one use
only; the players were asked not to give too
much away so as not to spoil the fun of others
playing the scenarios later.
British German Game 1 Game 2
Paul Case Roger Cook German British
Russel Gough Brian Hooper German German
Graham Smith Simon Strevens German German
Dominic McGrath Nigel Ashcroft British German
Bill Eaton Ben Jones German German
Players were encouraged NOT to report
these results for ladder ratings!
Below are some edited highlights from
players after action reports to give some of
the flavour.
(Roger Cook)
charged headlong for the opposite
board edge fearing a 17 pdr screen or Shermans
or both and had no idea what direction to turn
their turrets and didnt believe there was any
future for them in hanging about waiting for
their friends ... the result was 2 K.O.d (1 crew
survived) and 1 off. Pause. Second wave arrived
to find the British had moved forward and were
cluttering up the end of the board with
concealment counters and probably PIATs or
worse ... panic ...
(Nigel Ashcroft)
I didnt know the enemys intent his
OB etc. All I knew was my mission, my forces
and the terrain. A truly realistic platoon
commanders situation. The Brit player did
his first move out my sight. I came to the
board in my player turn and saw a lot of
concealed 5/8 counters, and some concealed
counters blocking my entry point. Yuk,
were these fireflies, 6pdrs, 17pdrs or what?
(Later) So as I slowly toasted in my
[tank deleted] I reflected on the insaneness of
my senior commanders who failed to give me
up to date Intel. on the Brits.
(Roger again)
Some surprise was expressed by my
Feldwebel when the AFV failed to exit the
board, even more surprise when it started back!
We attempted to Panzerfaust the next two
AFVs when they passed, having failed to
detonate both or either mine! Our chaps
seemed reluctant to take them on and the
Schrek blew up when first used so things werent
looking too good at this stage ...
Bloody good game - seemed very
realistic(!?) to me ... lots of confusion, panic,
weird behaviour and humour
(Nigel again)
The terrain was bocage, with some
good ambush positions and mines. So off we
went, down the road came three 5/8 counter
boom up one it went on mines, it was a [deleted]
Tank. Next ran into my Schreck team and
toast it was. The last one drove around my
now revealed ambush
(Later) I had achieved my mission but
lost my screen, but thats what those boys were
supposed to do.
Well, those scenarios were excellent.
They created the right kind of situation that
you, as a platoon commander would face, no
helicopter commanders here. No chance to
carefully study what the enemy could do, it
was react to the threat, deal with it, adapt, and
try to achieve your mission. Also it must be
said that it does show how versatile ASL is in
that it adapted very well to a Kriegspiel type
wargame. ASL is really excellent indeed, in
recreating a simulation of WW2 combat at
the platoon level. One thing I would say is
that this style of play is not ever bodys cup of
tea, not for the gamer that likes to know
everything and can analysis what the enemy
can do before the battle.
15 THE TREXlHES
c..lC iULCz c..lC iULCz c..lC iULCz c..lC iULCz c..lC iULCz
Toby Pilling
they were not positive. I was astonished to
find that there were no public transport
facilities between the airport and the city. For
the capital, I thought this was a disgrace. I had
to share a cab in to town, with the final indignity
of paying full fare (not half) when I got to my
destination.
Anyway, I toured around on foot all day,
ending with a visit to the aforementioned war
museum, which was indeed amazing. Outside
the gates of this was where I had agreed to
meet Steve, so as light fell I was left dawdling
around, wishing that I owned a mobile phone
The Match
Thankfully Steve found me. We
proceeded to the venue of an ASL get-together
held at one of his mates houses. I was slightly
tired but felt in fine fettle. When Id spoken
to Steve from Brisbane on the phone, hed
asked me what scenario (apart from Noble
Craft of War of course) I wanted to play. I
told him that I didnt really mind but thought
it might be apt to have a go at something
involving ANZAC troops, to give the game a
bit of a theme. He therefore now presented
me with the options Catterns Position
from an old annual or a scenario from the new
Tropic Thunder pack from Heat of Battle. Id
played the former and won before, so fancied
something new. Tropic Thunder it was then
Don Companys Canal
TT7
The Tropic Thunder pack depicts the
action surrounding the late war action against
the Japanese defenders of Borneo by the 2
nd
Australian Imperial Force. The scenario we
were going to play looked quite interesting. It
involved a Japanese infantry force defending
a hill, screened by a forest and canal. The
Australian force entered from off board onto
a built up area and had to ford the canal, whose
only bridge was pretty much wrecked and
impassable to tanks. Whilst they had the
advantage of a few tanks and an armour leader,
their usefulness was limited by not being able
to get over the canal, so they could only
provide a bit of fire support. They also got a
bit of OBA through an entering leader with a
radio.
Steve admitted that he had helped play-
test the scenario when it was being developed.
I didnt mind this at all. I was just looking
forward to a non-competitive test of skill.
We diced for sides and I ended up with
the Australians. That was fine by me as I
therefore avoided having to set up a defence.
After Steve had deployed his men, I surveyed
the board to plan my attack.
The victory conditions seemed clear: I
had to position troops worth a certain number
of victory points on the hill mass the Japs
were defending by game end to win.
Unfortunately, I was a bit lazy and complacent.
I didnt bother to check exactly how many
points of men I actually had. I just assumed
that if I sent everyone forward, apart from
the support elements, I should have enough at
game end. An oversight, Im afraid to say that
doomed me.
I went for a left flank push, avoiding
the bridge, which was quite well covered. I got
over the canal but soon ran into a minefield
that slowed me down. My attack picked up
though and I was ploughing through a stubborn
defence when Steve wondered aloud if I actually
had enough men left over the canal to win. A
bit surprised, we both did a bit of maths and I
discovered what a dearth of leeway I suffered
from. My initial strategy had hamstrung me
from the beginning. It seemed the Australians
had to send everyone over, even through the
sleazy tactic I normally try to avoid of
dismounting vehicle crews and the armour
leader.
So the game sort of fizzled out as I
bowed to the inevitable. Id enjoyed it but felt
a bit disappointed. I suppose its a lesson to me
always to read the victory conditions carefully.
I hadnt played a perfect game anyway, as with
hindsight I think the best option is probably a
hammer blow straight up the middle, avoiding
the mines through sticking to paved roads. I
have to say I think it is probably a tad pro-
Japanese, especially if a shrewd player trades
his Nippon forces in Hand-to-Hand casualties
the Australians can ill afford. Steve played well
though and deserved the victory.
He also told me that in the play test
version it was deemed pro-Australian, so the
designer had changed it. He agreed probably
too much.
Ah well, maybe next time
ANZAC Day
This was a mid-week Bank Holiday in
Australia and enabled a few ASL grognards to
gather at Steves house for a session. Again, all
the scenarios were from the Tropic Thunder
pack. This time I was scheduled to play an
individual everyone referred to before his
arrival as The Doctor. Half expecting Tom
Baker to materialise in his Tardis, I was
reassured when my opponent turned out to be
one Robert Mugford. Nice bloke and not a
Time Lord at all.
Frogs in the Pocket TT9
The scenario we decided on looked
interesting and fun, especially for the attacker.
This was mainly due to it involving Matilda
Ill admit to feeling somewhat daunted
by my upcoming challenge match. Steve
Linton, or Linty, as his compatriots know
him, is one of the top Australian ASL players.
Hes won various tournaments in his homeland
and is definitely a top class talent. Obviously,
Im no slouch myself. That didnt stop me
feeling slightly nervous though.
The problem was that I was totally
convinced that The Noble Craft of War was
a howling dog. In his defence of the scenario,
Steve had defended its balance and offered to
take the side of the hapless British. Of course,
he also disingenuously claimed the balance
provisions in advance rather proving my
point I felt. However, even with the 9-2 leader
so provided to him, I still felt confident. All
apart from the niggling worry of luck.
Any scenario, even the most
unbalanced, is vulnerable to the vagaries of
fortune. What, I asked myself, would happen
if he diced me? My argument and credibility
would be in tatters. Any claim I made blaming
chance would sound like the sour grapes of a
bad loser. That was my fear.
Im pleased to say therefore, that before
we ever crossed swords I procured what was
definitely a moral victory: Steve refused to
play the scenario!
Id rung him from my Uncles house in
Brisbane in advance, to plan my arrival time.
It transpired that I was going to be in Canberra
around Anzac day the Australian Bank
Holiday midweek. This worked well as Steve
was having ASL friends over for gaming on
that day, so Id be able to play a few of them.
When I tentatively brought up the subject of
our game, Steve said something like:
Well of course we wont be playing
Noble Craft of War.
I was surprised but strangely relieved.
Wed be able to play a normal scenario, which
rather took the pressure off the whole event.
As well as that, my contention that the Heat
of Battle scenario was massively pro-German
stood. It was him whod pulled out.
I looked forward to our game all the
more now that it was more of a friendly.
Chaos in Canberra
All my Australian friends had said the
same thing when I informed them that my
tour of their country included Canberra.
What do you want to go there for?
They would exclaim incredulously.
All it has is government buildings and
trees. Its boring, mate.
When I told them of my interest in
military history, they would grudgingly accept
that the war memorial was worth seeing. If
you like that sort of thing.
My first impressions of Canberra began
at the airport on my arrival. I have to say
16 YIEW FRBH
Frog tanks. These were specially adapted,
flame-thrower toting Matildas. Cool! The
scenario involved an infantry and armour force
trying to clear Japanese defenders out of a few
fortifications on a jungle clad hill. Sadly, it did
not seem too balanced on first perusal, given
that the Australians had to virtually eliminate
every defender to gain the requisite amount of
victory points. It seemed to me that a cautious
defence with the Japanese would be very
difficult to annihilate in the limited time
available to the attacker. Robert was very
chivalrous in allowing me to take the Japanese,
so I was able to put this theory into practice.
Suffice to say, my first impressions were
confirmed as I eked out a reasonably
comfortable win.
It was an enjoyable game though and
Robert played well. I was helped by his
misfortune of rolling boxcars on one of his
Matilda Frogs first mechanical reliability tests.
The other one I managed to take out with a
hidden AT mine DC on a road. My final verdict
is one of an unbalanced scenario, which is a
shame given its high potential.
Fruit and Nuts TT6
My last game of ASL in Australia was
against a pleasant opponent called Scott Byrne.
It was by necessity a short, small scenario. It
was also very unusual though in that it tried,
successfully I think to depict a historical
counterattack. What you had was a group of
Australians setting up at the foot of a Japanese
dominated hill, who also had a pillbox on the
heights. The Japanese were the ones attacking.
I find it very difficult to assess the
prospective balance of tiny scenarios and this
was no exception. Having just defended though
I quite fancied a change so opted for the forces
of Nippon.
I was aware that a lot depended on the
Australian set up. Thankfully for me Scotts
defence was a bit dispersed and I was able to
pin his front with my machine guns in the
pillbox whilst I sent in twin flanking
manoeuvres. These managed to make progress
and I won in the end reasonably comfortably.
Epilogue
As I was earlier playing Dr Mugford I
noticed one of the other games being played
on the table to my right. It was an Australian
attack on the built up deluxe boards again using
one of the Matilda Frogs. Suddenly, a feeling
of deja vue overtook me as I realised that I
recognised the scenario: I had helped play test
it in the past! Not recently, but years ago
against Mike Rudd in Newcastle. I remember
that I either won or lost early on but couldnt
even recall which side I played. It felt weird to
be playing a series of scenarios which I had
forgotten I had ever contributed to, albeit in a
minor way.
One other thing I realised was that an
assumption I held was no longer true: I had
believed that scenario unbalance was mostly
due to inadequate play testing. From what Steve
told me and also from my own recent
experiences, it now appears that the best play-
testing in the world is worthless if designers,
publishers or editors ignore the resulting advice.
Anyway, that concludes my ASL
experiences down under. Steves hospitality
and generosity were fantastic and I enjoyed
the gaming immensely.
Next time we play though, Im taking
the Germans in Noble Craft of War
DEBRIEFINGS
The following clarifications and errata
for Guerra Civil have been posted to Critical
Hits web site to date.
GUERRA CIVIL Rulebook: Page 2, SCW 1.11 - REPUBLICAN
units use Allied Minor SW/Vehicle/Ordnance counters (not Axis).
NATIONALIST units use Axis Minor SW/Vehicle/Ordnance
counters (not Allied).
GUERRA CIVIL Scenario Cards:
Q: What are players supposed to do about counters not matching
the clip art on firefight cards?
A: Use counters from your existing Allied and Axis Minor counter
set for those not provided with Guerra Civil and ignore subtle
differences between the counters provided and their depictions
on the scenario cards as the cards do not reflect a couple of final
changes made to the counters.
In SCW #2, REPUBLICANS should set up first (as defenders),
and NATIONALISTS should move first (as attackers).
In SCW #3, ignore the playtester note on the card referencing
SCW 2. It is already correctly placed on the Board Layout graphic.
In SCW #6, change Scenario Rule 2 to read, ...on Board SCW 2
are wood.
Q. In SCW #7 Scenario rule 3 refers to ... a Level 0 Two Story
House, not sure what the Level 0 refers to.
A. As per the Scenario Rule, follow B23.22. The building simply
sites on Level 0.
In SCW #11, in Republican setup instructions for units setting up
on board 42, change the hex coordinate of S12 to S1'.
For SCW #12: In Objectives: The Nationalists need to Control
three of the Six Hills at Game End without losing >45 CVP. (Changed
five to six above as there are six hills.). Note that the counter
clip art on the Firefight Card does not match the counters available
for the following vehicles (subtle differences): T-26B, FT-17C,
and Pz IB. Use the counters provided.
Q: In Firefight #12 does the definition of a hill in the Objectives,
apply to the hill reference in the setup for the Republicans?
A: No. Republican units may set up on any level hill hex on board
SCW2.
l0N ff0M l0N ff0M l0N ff0M l0N ff0M l0N ff0M
100 60 Fll 100 60 Fll 100 60 Fll 100 60 Fll 100 60 Fll
Paul Case
This is the first of a series of articles
that I hope to write for VFTT, if Pete will let
me! (feel free, the more others write, the less I
have to do myself! Pete).
This, the first piece, is not about ASL,
but what I think. Pretty soon, it is
Remembrance Sunday, and I for one will be
wearing my Poppy with pride. But let us not
forget that it is not only the dead from the
two world wars that need remembering, as the
recent events in America have shown. The
war against terrorism is still going on, and there
are still innocent people being killed and
maimed today. My sincere sympathies go out
to all non-terrorist victims, relatives and
friends of these attacks, (I do not care about
the terrorists at all!!).
Whilst thinking about this, I
remembered another, and in my mind more
vile, terrorist attack that took place in the
1980s. Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, the
IRA set off a bomb during a Remembrance
Day service, killing and maiming innocent
men, women and children whilst they were
paying their respects to those who had died
for their country in numerous conflicts around
the world.
What I am saying is this, when we play
our games, give a small thought for those who
are, or have, suffered.
Remember to buy your Poppy, and wear
it with Pride.
I will end with this saying; LEST WE
FORGET. I will not!
19 THE TREXlHES
ON TH CONVNTION TRAIL
There are more and more ASL tournaments cropping up all over the world. In fact, it is possible to be involved in an ASL tournament at least once
a month, often more, if you were so inclined (and had the financial means to live such a life - I wish!).
If you plan on holding an ASL tournament, please let me know and Ill include the details here, space permitting.
If you contact anyone regarding these tournaments, please tell them that I sent you!
2002
JANUARY
WINTER OFFENSIVE
When: 17 20 January.
Where: The Comfort Inn, Bowie, MD20718. Tel 301-464-0089. Single and double rooms are
471.20 per day, triple rooms $79.20 per day and quad rooms $87.20 per day. Mention Winter Offensive
for the special room rate.
Fee: $20.00 pre-registered by 31 December, $25.00 thereafter.
Format: Unstructured format, mutually agreeable scenarios. Special mini-tournaments start
Thursday morning with brand new scenarios. The main event free-for-all starts Friday morning.
Notes: Cash prizes based on attendance, plus a special 1
st
place trophy.
All proceeds will be dedicated to the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou
Gehrigs disease as part of Curts Pitch for ALS WO 2001 raised $4,072.
Contact: Multi-Man Publishing, 403 Headquarters Drive, Suite 7, Millersville MD 21108 or
contact perrycocke@aol.com or bcyouse@cablespeed.com. You can also sign up on MMPs web site
at www.advancedsquadleader.com.
WINTER RV
When: 26 27 January.
Where: The Game Room, McLeod Residence, RM of Springfield, MB, Canada.
Fee: $10.00CD.
Format: Timed, scheduled rounds, 2 rounds on Saturday, 1 round on Sunday, winner is last
undefeated player.
Notes: If you are planning on attending, please pre-register to obtain tournament information
and directions to tournament site.
Contact: Jim McLeod, Box 31, Group 8, RR 2, Dugald, MB, R0E 0K0. Telephone 204 444 2583
or email jmmcleod@mb.sympatico.ca.
WEST COAST MELEE V
When: 31 January 3 February.
Where: Embassy Suites, LAX, ,South 1440 East Imperial Ave., El Segundo, CA 90245.
Fee: $25.00 before 18 January 2002, $30.00 after that.
Format: WCM is a structured open format. Players will be initially paired at random. From
that point on, for a game to count toward your overall event record, you must play against another
player with the same number of wins. There will also be a team competition as part of The Melee,
where teams of 3 players compile their records and compete for prizes.
Notes: Gaming begins on Thursday before the main tournament on Friday. There will also be
a 7-0 Leaders corner, where an experienced player will be available to answer questions and explain
rules for new and inexperienced players, three mini-tournaments on Saturday for players who have
been knocked out of The Melee, and a desert team tournament, based on an unpublished Pete
Shelling design similar to his Kursk mini-CG.
Contact: Jim Aitken, (909) 698-6273 or email ala@pe.net. You can get up to date information
at www.socasl.com.
ASL SCANDANAVIAN OPEN
When: 22 24 February.
Where: Danish National Arms Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark. You can sleep on the floor at
the tournament site (there is a bath ) and eat there. If you want more luxury then you can get
accommodation from 13.00.
Fee: To be announced.
Format: The tournament will be a six round Swiss style affair and each round will have three
scenarios to choose from.
Contact: Michael Hastrup-Leth, Favrholmvanget 15, 3400 Hillerod, Denmark, or email at
hastrup@image.dk,.
MARCH
BERSERK 2002
When: 14 - 17 March.
Where: Hotel Skye, South Promenade, Blackpool, England. Room rates are 20.00 for a shared
room or 26.50 for a single room and include breakfast. Bar meals and good beer are also available
at the hotel.
Fee: 6.00.
Format: Five round tournament beginning Friday afternoon (arrangements will be made for
those unable to arrive until Friday night), with three or six scenarios to choose from in each round. CG
and friendly games can also be found throughout the weekend. There will also be a special three round
tournament for new players.
Contact: Steve Thomas, 19 Derwent House, Samuel Street, Preston, Lancs., PR1 4YL, or email
Trev Edwards at trev.hulldown@freeuk.com,.
SEPTEMBER
CANADIAN ASL OPEN
When: 20 22 September.
Where: Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Fee: To be confirmed.
Format: To be announced.
Contact: Jim McLeod, Box 31, Group 8, RR 2, Dugald, MB, R0E 0K0. Telephone 204 444 2583
or email jmmcleod@mb.sympatico.ca.
OCTOBER
INTENSIVE FIRE 2002
When: 25 27 October.
Where: The Kiwi Hotel, West Hill Road, Bournemouth, England, BH2 5EG. Telephone (01202)
555 889 or fax (01202) 789 567 to arrange accommodation.
Fee: 6.00. Players pre-registering will receive a tournament program in September.
Format: Three round Fire Team tournament (two rounds on Saturday, one on Sunday). There
will also be some single day mini-tournaments on the Friday. Open gaming is available for those who
do not wish to take part in the tournament.
Notes: Prizes are awarded to winning players and the Convention Champion, who is the player
judged to have had the most successful tournament with all games played over the weekend being
taken into consideration.
Contact: For more details or to register contact Pete Phillipps, 49 Lombardy Rise, Leicester,
LE5 0FQ. Phone (0116) 212 6747 (evenings only) or email if2002@vftt.co.uk.
Product - Weddinggram
Message Text:
Nicky and Neil
An ASL telegram.
J22 (Oh Joy) at getting
married. Please save us
PBP7 (A Piece of Cake).
Sorry we cant be with
you, its bound to be
A56 (A Good Party). All
the best for the
future.
Your ASL mates.
Sent to:
1 - Major Neil Stevens
- Barony Castle
Eddleston by Peebles
Peebleshire eh45 8qw
BLAIRPBBL 2002
ABYAXIEB SBIAB LEABER TBIRXAHEXT
1
TH
- 11
TH
H4HCH J1H1D41 THHoU6H 5UND41J 2BB2
HBTEL SRYE, SBITH PRBHEXABE, BLAIRPBBL, EXBLAXB
THE EYEXT
This year sees the sixth annual Advanced Squad Leader event in the North West of England. We are now well
established in the world ASL calendar and offer an extended weekend (there are usually games played from the
Thursday evening) where you can play in an ASL tournament and/or play friendly games (or even try your hand at
a campaign game if you can find an opponent). In the main tournament. players of like record are paired off to allow
us to determine the winners after five rounds. The first round will start on Friday afternoon and each round sees
players choose from three carefully selected scenarios. Main tournament entrants are to be familiar with the rules
through to the first half of Chapter G.
THE EYEXT
A special three-round event is to be arranged for up to eight new players (players who have only ever played five or
fewer games against a live opponent). Scenarios with easy to handle units and manageable forces will be set. You
can learn the game with an experienced player nearby to offer advice on rules. There will never be a better time to
try your hand at ASL!
Remember, you can also drop in just for part of a day if you can't make it for the full weekend.
THE YEXIE
The Hotel Skye is under new management this year and our host is very keen to see us remain regulars. The
facilities are already being improved with meals and good beer available in the hotel. The nearest train station is
very close by and various alternative food outlets are not far.
THE IBST
The weekend, whether you enter a tournament or just play games with the people you will meet, is fantastic values
at only 6.00!
HBTEL PRIIIXB
Cheaper than last year!
B&B for a shared room 20.00 (per person)
B&B for a single room 26.50
FBR FIRTHER IXFBRHATIBX IBXTAIT:
Steve Thomas
19 Derwent House
Samuel Street
Preston
Lancahire,
PR1 4YL
Or e-mail Trevor Edwards
trev@cableinet.co.uk
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