AAR VotG CGII Drive to the Volga Sept 15th day Part One

Joe and I plowed through a turn and a half of our VotG campaign on Saturday. While it's still far too early to make judgements, my Germans have generated some momentum (Germentum?)

The most personally satisfying moment of the campaign so far came in my first movement phase. After I had pulled two set DC attacks on Joe during the previous Russian night assault, I expected him to return the favor. My suspicions were only raised more when I saw that his setup left several front line hexes abandoned in the block south of the Nail Factory.

So...risking search casualties, a brave 2nd line half squad moved forward and revealed a set DC in M42. No search casualties resulted. Woo-hoo!

Next, a concealed unit advanced into the DC hex, and Joe announce that he would detonate. His boys passed the NTC and rubbled the building right down on top of my........wait for it........dummies! I think I then did something that could best be described as a "touchdown dance"

After a lot of slugging it out in that block, the Russians are finally on their heels and falling back to the east.

Pushing east as reinforcements cross Communisticheskya St.

At one point in turn two, I assault moved two concealed 548 squads into a building location in that block which had 12RFP sitting in it. Did you know that residual is NOT halved against concealed units? I didn't. I'm not sure how it's possible that I didn't know that, yet the fact remains.

So, here I was violating some the most fundamental rules of good ASL play (stacking, taking big resid), and the 12+3 attack resulted in no effect!

"Fortune favors the bold"

- Virgil, The Aeneid

Further south my reinforced strength Rifle Coy entered the battle and started pushing up the south edge. I decided that with pretty good local superiority of numbers, I would just push hard at him, and let him try to shoot everyone. When we left it, the strategy looked to be working. (The "German Wave", I call it)

German Wave

Across form the Univermag, the Russians went to work on an 8-1 and HMG squad. The Germans burned a KV-1 that was trying to sleaze-freeze them, but later broke under withering fire. Then things got worse. The German leader went berserk, took the now reduced half-squad with him, and charged off into oblivion.........

This. Is. Not. Going. To. Go. Well.

Up north....things are getting really interesting.....

A StuG G bogs in a bad spot, but has a chance thanks to his infantry support.

To make up for the failed set DC trap in the south, Joe took out two elite squads I had started out in the Voentorg building with a successful one. (Voentorg?? Is this Russian or Klingon?? ) I wasn't wary for it there, as he had a half squad in the cellar of that hex. Nice shot.

In my purchases for this scenario, I discarded the "rotating stukas" RG which had been only marginally effective on day one, in favor of some heavy artillery. I was tired of playing around with the fortified fanatics in Pavlovs house and the surrounding area, and wanted to grab the right tool for the job.

I got it down on the square, burning a KV-1 that was getting a bit aggressive. (PIC)

While Russians were having some success with a small counter-attack up the extreme northern edge, the Germans may be close to a real breakthrough near the Voentorg.

By pushing some squads up through the rubble and debris south of the building, I was able to get into CC with the Russians and take some ground that has almost no Russian troops between them and the Volga. Now, if we get that 150mm arty down on the Voentorg, we could do some serious damage. Come on black cards.....keep coming.......

Still lots of fun ahead. Hope to be back to it soon.

AAR VotG CG II Drive to the Volga Sept 14th Night Part 1

After more than two hours of setting up, we got through the first 1-1/2 turns of the Russian night counter attack of 9/14


In preparing for the counterattack, I was overwhelmed at the number of dummies I would receive as the scenario defender. With all those dummies (and all those real troops!) I thought I was going to present a very solid and deep line to the hated Russian. And then, I started putting them on the map, and realized I was much thinner than expected.


Like any good ASL, this scenario forced me to make decisions. Can't be strong everywhere. So I decided to bulk up in the area that had seen some of the heaviest fighting in the daytime: the block south of the Nail Factory, and east of the Children's Home.


I bought one Rifle Coy as reinforcements. Being unsure how long my on board forces would be stuck on No Move counters, I thought it would be good to have troops with immediate freedom of movement. They too would come on in the south.


So, of course, Joe appears to have bought two infantry companies (at least one guards coy), and they are all coming on .....you guessed it, in the north. Trying to hold them back with a handful of squads, a few 50mm mtrs, and a single StuG does not seem to be going well.


Look at all those cloaked counters brazenly crossing the square. They have to be dummies! I mean, don't they??? (Gulp)



The Russians have all but ignored the center of the map, where my strategy of controlling street crossings with a few well placed machine gun nests for laying fire lanes has gone unchallenged

" No Move for you!!!" - The Move Nazi

Near the Univermag strongpoint, I took a gamble and got burned. I tried for the 'perfect placement' of my OBA when correcting and converting. I was trying to get both a KV-1 that was prancing around the square, and the .50 cal stack in the same drop.


The fire was off target, drifted towards my HIP Observer, and revealed him by forcing a 1MC. At least he passed it. The shot was also possibly effective as it got a Shock result on the heavily armored KV.

The radio man is revealed as a KV-1 is Shocked, SHOCKED! to find artillery raining down on him.

Further towards the SW corner we've had a success with a Set DC, and a fiasco with another.


In turn 1, we brought the center hex of building K44 down killing a Russian squad. Had hoped for a "chain reaction" of falling rubble, but no luck. Still pretty happy.


When it came time to blow up my other Set DC in hex M42, I gleefully announced that his Commissar and 2 squads were in big trouble there, and then proceeded to fail the NTC that would allow the detonating squad to complete the Big Boom.

Not sure what the convention here is, but pretty sure I didn't have to tell him where the DC was until after the NTC had been passed.(?) Couldn't contain my joy. Stupid. The Russians suddenly, strangely, began to vacate that hex.

Set DC hex : Hey! Where'd everybody go?

Further south, my Rifle Coy came on and helped to stabilize the map edge against a Russian push up the gully.

Overall, casualties for both sides have been a bit lighter than expected. Most of the casualties have been in CC situations, unsurprisingly. The cloaked and mostly Stealthy Russians have huge ambush advantage over the Lax Germans. Joe has yet to decline a H-T-H CC opportunity. The Russians have been burned a few times by that strategy, but it has been mostly successful.

So, after 1/-1/2 turns the situation in the North is approaching dire. Further south, the Russians have crossed Ostrowskaya St with mostly cloaked units and encountered very light resistance. They will probably gobble up stone locations by the bucket fulls there.


Only in the extreme south is it more or less an even fight right now.

Nevertheless, with lots of time left, I may still have a surprise or two in store for Joe. Should be fun.

AAR VotG CGII - Drive to the Volga -Day 1 -Part 1

Joe and I have previously played three ASL campaigns: Primosole Bridge (the long one), Operation Watchtower, and KGP IV, prayers in the dark. When Valor of the Guards was released, it was a natural that we would take a shot this one. We settled on CGII. It's a little larger than our previous games, but I think we will be able to see it through.

Since Joe had been the attacker in our last CG, he volunteered to take the defending Russians.

I have never beaten Joe. In the three campaigns, and at least a dozen scenarios. I'm starting to get a complex. I'm the Mets, he's the Phillies, and it's September, 2007. Anyway I certainly won't be underestimating him .

Sept 14th.

Joe and I got through 2 -1/2 turns of the first scenario of the CG last week. Joe sent me a few cool pix I'll post with this AAR.

The were two pregame bombardments. One given by the OB, plus one more that I purchased. The pre-reg hexes that I selected were both towards the eastern edge of the railyards, as I had planned to make a thust through there. Joe double-crossed me by not setting up ANY units in that area. But I had the last laugh, as neither bombardment fell on target. One fell two hexes east, breaking a few militia squads. The other fell one hex to the west, wrecking some rail cars, and starting a fire.

Because Joe setup almost all of his units back - east of Communistcheskaya St - the first few turns saw more manuever than fire. I was somewhat surpised to see that he chose not defend the Central Rail Station. It would be tough to hold through the day with all the firepower the Germans are bringing, but as a strongpoint it could be very costly for the Germans to take. Time will tell.

The Germans are making two thrusts: one in the north to try to sweep up the northern edge, the other in the center around and through the rail station. I bought an infantry coy of the 518th (one of only two allotted) to assist in the north. I was fortunate to get a reinforcement dr of '1' and get these troops and the OB given northern edge troops on the map quickly.

The main northern defense positions discover thus far are a dug-in T-34 in the K5 rubble (He has already bagged a StuG), and a 76L ART gun in the 2nd level of Pavlov's house (it's hard to believe his wife went along with that. "Honey, I'm gonna put huge gun in the spare bedroom okay?" "Oh, Pavlov!").

Other notable events on the northen flank:

• The Germans called in for some rocket artillery, which missed it's target (the K8 building), but still did some damage falling a few hexes to the south.

• A leader went berserk in the hex next to the dug-in T-34, but failed to convince the broken squad he was moving with to 'go crazy' with him. The broken squad routed away. leaving the crazed leader hoping he remembered to pack his ATMM

• A StuG got bogged on some debris en route to assisting the northern assault.
  

A dug-in T-34 greets a StuG while a berzerk leader checks his pack for an ATMM.

An ART gun crew covers 9th January square and the watches over the T-34. Their main protection is the AA gun in the trench a few steps north.

Meanwhile........down by the Rail Station......

The thrust around the rail station moved quickly, as very little resistance was put up in the area. Joe is obviously concentrating on force preservation, as he looks forward to a night counter-attack. Some resistance was put up in and around the Children's Home, but those troops quickly headed for the rear, leaving behind a MMG.

I used the 6 "support CPP" to buy the upgraded stuka RG. So far, Joe's T-34's have survived two stuka attacks. (Hopefully the score will change soon.) He has had bad luck with the MA's on the things, though. In the first turn he broke a squad manned MMG in the north, and the MA on a T-34 in the south. In a turn two rally phase he rolled a 6 on the MMG repair attempt and took it off the map. He then declared "Well, I couldn't possibly roll another '6', so I guess I'll try to fix this one too." I don't have to tell you what happened.

As I moved three StuGs through the area near south edge on turn two, a HIP ATR toting half squad popped up in the rear missing his shot. However, as all three StugS turned to show them front armor, it gave a rear shot chance to a different ATR team, who didn't miss. Joe used this diversion to get a T-34 into position to block my advance. I move up a StuG outside of his CA for a bounding shot which missed. Joe held fire.

In his DF phase he spun the turret for reasonable shot, but.....another 12. Will he try to fix this one? We'll see......

The German horde approaches Communistcheskaya Street.

Lead German squad tries to cross the street in the shadow of friendly artillery fire.

Oops.

.

The bombardment wrecks some rail cars and starts a fire in the yard. Local hobo population is outraged!

Humiliated T-34 sulks toward the rear, while two stuka pilots circle, laughing at him.

Hopefully, we'll be able to get back at it within a few weeks.