John, thanks a lot for taking the time to write up an AAR and for the kind words. Although I don’t think you missed or omitted anything, I’d like to respond with my view of the action and give my own idea of the balance. So, here’s my official BFP-67 Coke Hill AAR:

It all started with a white-knuckle drive from Austin to Houston on Friday. The plan was to spend the evening giving our own Nick Drinkwater a bon voyage before the oil industry drags him off to Angola, and then spend Saturday dicing John into oblivion. Things didn’t start so well due to a delayed start and a pouring rainstorm following me all the way to Nick’s house, but at least I arrived in one piece. The evening didn’t improve, with Nick dragging me off to see Avatar, and afterward trying to convince me that the movie is a complex allegory about the American exploitation of the West and its indigenous people (for those who don’t know, Nick is British and loves to tweak his American cousins about it). I swiftly reclaimed the moral high ground by pointing out that Avatar is clearly about the depredations of his own beloved oil industry. Forced to the defensive by my superior logic and wit, Nick quickly shifted gears to an asinine discussion of how to represent the final battle scene in the movie using ASL:

“So, the big hammer-head rhino thingies, are they more like a Panther or a Tiger?”

“Uh…I don’t really care”

“No, no, wait, I’ve got it…Sherman jumbos are perfect for them. OK, and on to the Navi…obviously heroes, but I think their inherent range is greater than four, don’t you? Oooh, and they need ROF, definitely!!! Two or three for the ROF???”

“Still not caring…”

I was never so happy when the sun came out Saturday morning and we headed out to actually play some real ASL. BFP-67 is a really good-looking scenario designed by Chas Smith and out of the just released Blood and Jungle pack. It’s set in Borneo, 1945, and the attacking Aussies are trying in seven turns to capture eight level two hill hexes on board 50 and then move 24 EVP onto or north of hexrow U. They have plenty of troops to do this, with 14 elite squads, OBA support, and three Matildas, including a very nasty flame-spouting variant (I love the name Grond for this, BTW).

This is no simple mop-up mission, however; the Japanese may be at their end of their tether, but they still have plenty of teeth. Seven squads and four crews are supported by a 10-2 leader, a .50cal HMG, 2x DC, 2x MMG, a 75mn ART gun, several pillboxes, trenches, mines, and panjis. Factor in the jungle terrain, the lavish late-war availability of THHs and possibility of A-T Set DCs, and it’s really a dream scenario for anyone that likes to construct intricate Japanese defenses. That certainly includes me, and so I was really looking forward to the game.

So, all excited, I showed up, greeted John, pulled out the required gear, and then hit the first of several speed bumps that was to doom me to defeat. Although we’d arranged to play days earlier, John wanted to be as fair as possible and roll for sides. Given that he’s a relative PTO newbie, and I love playing the Japanese, I probably should have simply claimed that side and prepared a set up. Instead, we waited until that morning, the dice spoke and gave me the defense, and I set up with the clock ticking away in the background.

This was actually a fairly minor factor in the game, but I mention it because I disagree with John’s assessment that the scenario has a somewhat pro-Australian tilt. As it turned out, I had bigger problems and even having an unlimited amount of time to prepare would only have slightly improved things for me. That’s because my last ASL game was in June, and I was super duper rusty. As an especially embarrassing example, I thought long and hard about what to do with my DCs. Using one as a AT-Set DC per G1.6121 would be cool, especially since the Aussie tanks are 7 EVP each, can almost satisfy that part of the VC by themselves, are extremely difficult for the Japanese to deal with, and there are lots of road hexes. However, after some quick thinking, I arrived at what I thought was an even more clever plan.

Looking at board 50, the gully makes it very hard, especially for armor, to get to the back hill without using the V5 bridge. I’d just use my 10-2 to quickly set the DC, drop the bridge, and then the double crest-line created by the gully and the level one hills would prevent the nasty Matildas from crossing anywhere but on the most remote flanks. I could put all kinds of weapons back there and keep them safe from the 32FP mobile flame-tank! Even if I’d been right about the rules, I then only put the .50 cal on that side of the gully. The ART gun, in particular was way too far forward, and would have done much better on the far side of the gully as well. That’s how I ended up picking a bad plan and only following half-way through on it. Did I mention I was rusty?

At any rate, I made a few other minor gaffes during set-up with my squad placements, but I’m sure you’re all getting tired of my whining, and so I’ll try to focus on the positive. I was happy with my pillboxes in level two hill hexes in X2 and X3, each one guarded by HIP units and covered by panji and mines. The overall plan was to keep the .50 cal and 10-2 in the rear, chopping up the Aussies as much as possible and the rest of my covering force just running out the clock via delay tactics. I wasn’t optimistic about taking out a tank and so I figured John would achieve the EVP target. My real hope of victory was to hide the pillboxes until late in the game. Hopefully at that point, the Aussies wouldn’t have the time to clear out both the guarding units and the pillbox units and advance inside to actually Control every last level two hex.

Since John has already done a great job of describing the action, I won’t be too detailed here. The opening phase saw the Aussies coming on and picking off two of my squads I’d left too far forwards. Some lucky CC rolls for me allowed me to trade bodies pretty equally, but I didn’t slow John down at all and he was rightfully happy to kill Japanese at a one-to-one ratio. Meanwhile, my genius idea of blowing the bridge wasn’t going so well. Needing a five or less on one die to place the DC (using a squad and the 10-2), I rolled a six and my best leader was kept away from the .50 cal post for a key turn yelling at a bunch of fumble-fingered wanna-be bridge blowers

This was especially annoying as John started to push over the Y6-Y7 hill going for my gun. The .50 cal squeezed off a shot, and would have kept ROF but with the 10-2 MIA they Cowered. That opened up my gun to far too many targets and it was overrun by a Matilda and then swarmed by a platoon of Aussie infantry. This was one of John’s two really bad moves of the game in my mind: the gun was in the open and he advanced some concealed infantry in using the cover of the tank. Had he dropped concealment, my crew would have had a non-HtH 1:2 on one squad or something equally pathetic. As it was, the concealed infantry forced an ambush roll, albeit only with a -1 drm in my favor. I didn’t get it, and my crew went down quietly as expected, but a 1:6 -2 HtH ambush attack looking for a 6 on the whole stack would have been pretty fun…

As the game wore on, a little bit of the ‘non-average’ luck occurred that John mentioned in his AAR. None of it was too material though; certainly watching him pull seven straight black cards for his OBA as he went after concealed targets was frustrating, but a series of high scatter rolls and the constricted jungle terrain meant he only ever got one mission off all game anyway. I also had a HS sitting next to an unsupported Matilda fail four straight THH rolls before watching the unscathed tank drive away. That was certainly frustrating as well, but not that unlikely, and I would have needed another good roll even had a THH appeared. Likewise, a Mild Breeze springing up allowed the Matilda sDs to generate some massive smoke screens, but by that point there were just too many Aussies for me to handle. In reality, most of the mid-game consisted of John doing a great job of taking apart my poor set-up and grinding down my Japanese.

By the end game, my brain slowly started to emerge from its self-imposed ASL hibernation and I belatedly remembered that B10.52 prohibits vehicles from crossing double-crest lines, but then goes on to mention that gullies aren’t crest-lines. Oooops! If John wanted to, the Matildas could cross the stream despite my bridge-dropping tricks. At this point I realized I’d tried to be far too clever…not going for an A-T Set DC had been a criminal omission. With my prospects dimming by the second, I watched John continue his masterful attack. The .50 cal got smoked in by a MTR, the flame belching Matilda continued to run rampant, and large amounts of Aussie infantry converged on my pillboxes.

At that point, my remaining tricks and traps went off pretty well. Advancing against difficult terrain across a panji hexside into a jungle location containing a HIP Japanese unit is a recipe for disaster. The only problem was that my screening forces hadn’t slowed and attrited John’s troops enough, and I ended up needing him to advance a huge stack into CC for me to try to get with a good roll. Sadly for the suspense level of the game, he did a great job managing his risk with the infantry and never even gave me the opportunity. In fact, aside from a gratuitous Matilda ESB check that made my eyes go very wide and was his second bad move of the game, John used his position of strength to take me almost completely out of the game. When his avenging infantry peeled back the pillbox guards and finally attacked my Japanese actually huddled in their pillboxes, and I didn’t get a miraculous CC result, it was all over on turn five of seven. Ouch!

Well, when I screw up that badly and still have a good time, it speaks very well of both the opponent and the scenario. I want to congratulate John on a convincing win. If my AAR has read like it was written by Paul Carell with a “I lost, he didn’t win” style, that’s only because I don’t want to knock the scenario. I think it was my mistakes and not any balance problems that turned John’s well-earned win into a blowout and has him thinking it might be pro-Aussie. For the numerous whiny reasons listed above, I disagree and feel that a solid Japanese set-up has a very good chance of victory.

That brings me to just a few brief scenario comments. The card portrayed a very interesting situation, with a powerful Australian force confronting a very entrenched foe. The Japanese, however, have enough tools at their disposal that it shouldn’t devolve into a bug hunt (obviously, with a decent set-up!). Having played it, I still think that’s the case. It’s a situation where both sides can throw some punches, does a nice job of showing off the respective combatants approach to battle, and offers a lot of fun without being so meaty you can’t easily play it in a day. Because of all that, I recommend it….but be sure to read up on A-T Set DCs first and then use one!

Thanks again to John for playing, and thanks to you for reading,

Zeb

John, thanks a lot for taking the time to write up an AAR and for the kind words. Although I don’t think you missed or omitted anything, I’d like to respond with my view of the action and give my own idea of the balance. So, here’s my official BFP-67 Coke Hill AAR:

It all started with a white-knuckle drive from Austin to Houston on Friday. The plan was to spend the evening giving our own Nick Drinkwater a bon voyage before the oil industry drags him off to Angola, and then spend Saturday dicing John into oblivion. Things didn’t start so well due to a delayed start and a pouring rainstorm following me all the way to Nick’s house, but at least I arrived in one piece. The evening didn’t improve, with Nick dragging me off to see Avatar, and afterward trying to convince me that the movie is a complex allegory about the American exploitation of the West and its indigenous people (for those who don’t know, Nick is British and loves to tweak his American cousins about it). I swiftly reclaimed the moral high ground by pointing out that Avatar is clearly about the depredations of his own beloved oil industry. Forced to the defensive by my superior logic and wit, Nick quickly shifted gears to an asinine discussion of how to represent the final battle scene in the movie using ASL:

“So, the big hammer-head rhino thingies, are they more like a Panther or a Tiger?”
“Uh…I don’t really care”
“No, no, wait, I’ve got it…Sherman jumbos are perfect for them. OK, and on to the Navi…obviously heroes, but I think their inherent range is greater than four, don’t you? Oooh, and they need ROF, definitely!!! Two or three for the ROF???”
“Still not caring…”

I was never so happy when the sun came out Saturday morning and we headed out to actually play some real ASL. BFP-67 is a really good-looking scenario designed by Chas Smith and out of the just released Blood and Jungle pack. It’s set in Borneo, 1945, and the attacking Aussies are trying in seven turns to capture eight level two hill hexes on board 50 and then move 24 EVP onto or north of hexrow U. They have plenty of troops to do this, with 14 elite squads, OBA support, and three Matildas, including a very nasty flame-spouting variant (I love the name Grond for this, BTW).

This is no simple mop-up mission, however; the Japanese may be at their end of their tether, but they still have plenty of teeth. Seven squads and four crews are supported by a 10-2 leader, a .50cal HMG, 2x DC, 2x MMG, a 75mn ART gun, several pillboxes, trenches, mines, and panjis. Factor in the jungle terrain, the lavish late-war availability of THHs and possibility of A-T Set DCs, and it’s really a dream scenario for anyone that likes to construct intricate Japanese defenses. That certainly includes me, and so I was really looking forward to the game.

So, all excited, I showed up, greeted John, pulled out the required gear, and then hit the first of several speed bumps that was to doom me to defeat. Although we’d arranged to play days earlier, John wanted to be as fair as possible and roll for sides. Given that he’s a relative PTO newbie, and I love playing the Japanese, I probably should have simply claimed that side and prepared a set up. Instead, we waited until that morning, the dice spoke and gave me the defense, and I set up with the clock ticking away in the background.

This was actually a fairly minor factor in the game, but I mention it because I disagree with John’s assessment that the scenario has a somewhat pro-Australian tilt. As it turned out, I had bigger problems and even having an unlimited amount of time to prepare would only have slightly improved things for me. That’s because my last ASL game was in June, and I was super duper rusty. As an especially embarrassing example, I thought long and hard about what to do with my DCs. Using one as a AT-Set DC per G1.6121 would be cool, especially since the Aussie tanks are 7 EVP each, can almost satisfy that part of the VC by themselves, are extremely difficult for the Japanese to deal with, and there are lots of road hexes. However, after some quick thinking, I arrived at what I thought was an even more clever plan.

Looking at board 50, the gully makes it very hard, especially for armor, to get to the back hill without using the V5 bridge. I’d just use my 10-2 to quickly set the DC, drop the bridge, and then the double crest-line created by the gully and the level one hills would prevent the nasty Matildas from crossing anywhere but on the most remote flanks. I could put all kinds of weapons back there and keep them safe from the 32FP mobile flame-tank! Even if I’d been right about the rules, I then only put the .50 cal on that side of the gully. The ART gun, in particular was way too far forward, and would have done much better on the far side of the gully as well. That’s how I ended up picking a bad plan and only following half-way through on it. Did I mention I was rusty?

At any rate, I made a few other minor gaffes during set-up with my squad placements, but I’m sure you’re all getting tired of my whining, and so I’ll try to focus on the positive. I was happy with my pillboxes in level two hill hexes in X2 and X3, each one guarded by HIP units and covered by panji and mines. The overall plan was to keep the .50 cal and 10-2 in the rear, chopping up the Aussies as much as possible and the rest of my covering force just running out the clock via delay tactics. I wasn’t optimistic about taking out a tank and so I figured John would achieve the EVP target. My real hope of victory was to hide the pillboxes until late in the game. Hopefully at that point, the Aussies wouldn’t have the time to clear out both the guarding units and the pillbox units and advance inside to actually Control every last level two hex.

Since John has already done a great job of describing the action, I won’t be too detailed here. The opening phase saw the Aussies coming on and picking off two of my squads I’d left too far forwards. Some lucky CC rolls for me allowed me to trade bodies pretty equally, but I didn’t slow John down at all and he was rightfully happy to kill Japanese at a one-to-one ratio. Meanwhile, my genius idea of blowing the bridge wasn’t going so well. Needing a five or less on one die to place the DC (using a squad and the 10-2), I rolled a six and my best leader was kept away from the .50 cal post for a key turn yelling at a bunch of fumble-fingered wanna-be bridge blowers

This was especially annoying as John started to push over the Y6-Y7 hill going for my gun. The .50 cal squeezed off a shot, and would have kept ROF but with the 10-2 MIA they Cowered. That opened up my gun to far too many targets and it was overrun by a Matilda and then swarmed by a platoon of Aussie infantry. This was one of John’s two really bad moves of the game in my mind: the gun was in the open and he advanced some concealed infantry in using the cover of the tank. Had he dropped concealment, my crew would have had a non-HtH 1:2 on one squad or something equally pathetic. As it was, the concealed infantry forced an ambush roll, albeit only with a -1 drm in my favor. I didn’t get it, and my crew went down quietly as expected, but a 1:6 -2 HtH ambush attack looking for a 6 on the whole stack would have been pretty fun…

As the game wore on, a little bit of the ‘non-average’ luck occurred that John mentioned in his AAR. None of it was too material though; certainly watching him pull seven straight black cards for his OBA as he went after concealed targets was frustrating, but a series of high scatter rolls and the constricted jungle terrain meant he only ever got one mission off all game anyway. I also had a HS sitting next to an unsupported Matilda fail four straight THH rolls before watching the unscathed tank drive away. That was certainly frustrating as well, but not that unlikely, and I would have needed another good roll even had a THH appeared. Likewise, a Mild Breeze springing up allowed the Matilda sDs to generate some massive smoke screens, but by that point there were just too many Aussies for me to handle. In reality, most of the mid-game consisted of John doing a great job of taking apart my poor set-up and grinding down my Japanese.

By the end game, my brain slowly started to emerge from its self-imposed ASL hibernation and I belatedly remembered that B10.52 prohibits vehicles from crossing double-crest lines, but then goes on to mention that gullies aren’t crest-lines. Oooops! If John wanted to, the Matildas could cross the stream despite my bridge-dropping tricks. At this point I realized I’d tried to be far too clever…not going for an A-T Set DC had been a criminal omission. With my prospects dimming by the second, I watched John continue his masterful attack. The .50 cal got smoked in by a MTR, the flame belching Matilda continued to run rampant, and large amounts of Aussie infantry converged on my pillboxes.

At that point, my remaining tricks and traps went off pretty well. Advancing against difficult terrain across a panji hexside into a jungle location containing a HIP Japanese unit is a recipe for disaster. The only problem was that my screening forces hadn’t slowed and attrited John’s troops enough, and I ended up needing him to advance a huge stack into CC for me to try to get with a good roll. Sadly for the suspense level of the game, he did a great job managing his risk with the infantry and never even gave me the opportunity. In fact, aside from a gratuitous Matilda ESB check that made my eyes go very wide and was his second bad move of the game, John used his position of strength to take me almost completely out of the game. When his avenging infantry peeled back the pillbox guards and finally attacked my Japanese actually huddled in their pillboxes, and I didn’t get a miraculous CC result, it was all over on turn five of seven. Ouch!

Well, when I screw up that badly and still have a good time, it speaks very well of both the opponent and the scenario. I want to congratulate John on a convincing win. If my AAR has read like it was written by Paul Carell with a “I lost, he didn’t win” style, that’s only because I don’t want to knock the scenario. I think it was my mistakes and not any balance problems that turned John’s well-earned win into a blowout and has him thinking it might be pro-Aussie. For the numerous whiny reasons listed above, I disagree and feel that a solid Japanese set-up has a very good chance of victory.

That brings me to just a few brief scenario comments. The card portrayed a very interesting situation, with a powerful Australian force confronting a very entrenched foe. The Japanese, however, have enough tools at their disposal that it shouldn’t devolve into a bug hunt (obviously, with a decent set-up!). Having played it, I still think that’s the case. It’s a situation where both sides can throw some punches, does a nice job of showing off the respective combatants approach to battle, and offers a lot of fun without being so meaty you can’t easily play it in a day. Because of all that, I recommend it….but be sure to read up on A-T Set DCs first and then use one!

Thanks again to John for playing, and thanks to you for reading,

Zeb

Australians: John Hyler

Japanese: Zeb Doyle

Last Saturday, at Jay Harms’ house on our Monthly HHS ASL meeting, I had the pleasure of playing Zeb Doyle. I had not played Zeb since Owl-Con, 2008, so I anticipated a fun match. I was not disappointed. I have wanted to get into the PTO, so we decided upon BFP-67 Coke Hill, from the new Blood and Jungle scenario pack published by Bounding Fire Productions. Upon arrival, we diced for sides with Zeb being the Japanese player. This was good since Zeb is one of our best Oracles of ASL, so I was looking forward to seeing the tricks of the Japanese trade at work.

Prior to game-day, Zeb had vowed vengeance for an Owl-con defeat and had sharpened his skinning knife. I decided that I needed my finely honed fileting knife, and since this was Coke Hill, a 100pound note to savor the fruits of victory should providence smile upon me.

Coke Hill is a small, but violent scenario played on half (R-GG) of board 50. The attacking Australians are tasked with clearing out and controlling all of the level 2 hill hexes south of the stream, and also to have at least 24 exit VP on/north of hexrow U. To accomplish this, they have an impressive force: 14 4-5-8s and 3 2-4-8s, well lead by 5 leaders ranging from 9-1 to 8-0 with an assortment of SW, 3 LMGs, 2 51MTRs, 2 PIATs and 2 DCs. Supporting this INF force are three Matilda IIs, two of the late versions, with HE for the 40L MG, and a very nasty Frog (Grond), with a 32FP flamethrower MA, along with a module of 80mm OBA

The defending Japanese have 7 4-4-7s, 4 2-2-8s and one 1-2-7, lead by three leaders ranging from a 10-2 stud to 8-0. They are well armed with a 50Cal HMG, 2 MMGs, 2 LMGs, 2 DCs and a 50MTR, with a 75* ART, 2 1+3+5 pillboxes, 4 Trenches, 5 hexsides of Panjis and 18 mine factors, along with level A booby trap capability.

After Zeb set up, I arranged my forces to on the south edge for their turn 1 entry. I deployed an additional squads to have an additional four HS for scouts. I split and placed the HSs on the flanks. The remaining squads were stacked with leaders and set up to advance through the jungle primarily on the west side of the road. The tanks set up to enter on the road.

Grond crawled on: Turn 1

In Aussie one, my infantry swarmed on, CXing to move as far as possible. The tanks entered, with one sucessfully popping smoke in BB4, adjacent to concealed Japanese units. Grond followed, belching flame into BB4, stripping concealment, but doing no further damage. There was no DF, and the squads advanced further on board.

During Japanese one, Zeb’s attempt to mine the bridge in V5 with a DC failed, prompting a brief discussion of why this should qualify for a Labor -1(-2) counter. The unit in Grond’s crosshairs beat a hasty retreat, with other Japanese units repositioning themselves out of LOS.

Grond crawled on: Turn 2

My OBA gained battery access, attempting a SR on X6, where there were concealed Japanese in the huts. It was inaccurate, ending up in DD8. This marked the first turn of overall futility for my OBA. With only a narrow LOS window from my off-board observer, I was forced to draw one additional card after the other. I managed to do this successfully six times in a row during the game before drawing the first red card. The HSs east of the road bumbled into two of Zeb’s minefields, one in Y1 and the other in Z2. Y1 survived the attack, Z2 broke. Zeb revealed one of his pillboxes in X2 during my MPh, I think perhaps breaking who they fired at. This prompted me to start one of the 40L Matildas in that direction to provide support, ESBing to stop in Y2. After initially thinking to move Grond forward to X4, I decided to wait with it in a holding pattern in AA5 while the infantry caught up. The HSs west continued to move north on the left flank, being positioned to enfilade another concealed Japanese unit. In CC, a Japanese HS revealed itself and demonstrated how deadly the Japanese are in CC by ambushing and subsequently killing the HS in HtoH combat.

In his turn, Zeb’s 75*ART that had been exposed in Y7 by advancing Aussies in Z5 pivoted and fired upon those units. A hit with no rate HOBed and rendered Berserk one squad. I think that the other occupants broke. The squad with leader successfully placed the DC on the V5 bridge, moving into U6 during the APh. Faced with Grond’s emminent arrival, the concealed unit in X6 skedaddled down into the dry stream. Zeb attempted with no luck to generate a TH hero from the HS in Y1. In the DFPh, I corrected and dropped the OBA on the ART in Y7, it was inaccurate, scattering to X6. The gun crew survived the FFE.

Grond crawled on: Turn 3

During the PFPh, I found myself on the horns of a dilema. My OBA FFE was sitting on the location that my Berserk squad needed to charge, and I would need to charge through one clear hex of FFE (16 down 2) enroute and another when entering the gun’s hex, and this was before facing any DF from the gun. After no little hemming and hawing, I decided to cancel the FFE. The Matilda in Y2 start firing AP rounds into the pillbox with no effect. In the MPh, the berserk squad charged the gun, only to meet with a grisly end, courtesy of a CH. I then moved a 40L Matilda in an overrun attack. The tank survived the DF, which maintained ROF, but the overrun was unsuccessful. Due to the gun maintaining ROF, I left the tank in motion in the hex.. A squad moved into Y4, only to get mowed down by the 50cal in T5. I opted for a more circumspect approach, easing the rest of the OB forward. Another squad, having in an earlier turn survived entry into Zeb’s third minefield in Z3, assault moved out into Y3, surviving exit and DF. Grond Moved to X4, but I do not remember if it fired or not. I advanced three concealed squads and leader into the hex with the gun, three squads into Y4, one of which had survived fire from the 50cal during a bonehead stroll through Z4 during the MPh. Two squads, each with a 50MTR and a leader into Z4, and a HS, squad and leader into AA8 where another concealed Japanese squad waited. The squad in Y3 advanced onto the pillbox in X2, only to break and leave various precious body parts dangling on the now-revealed panji they had blundered into. CC saw the gun crew killed and the Japanese squad in AA8 CRed to a half squad and the hex left in melee.

In his turn, Zeb’s PF into the stack at Y4 from both the 50cal and a MMG from a newly revealed pillbox in X3 was ineffective except to battle-harden a squad into fanatic status. In the MPh, he unleashed a HIP T-H hero on Grond in X4. It took just about every bit of firepower able to fire at the T-H hero to finally kill him. The leader and squad in U6 moved into T5. A second attempt to generate a T-H hero in Y1 failed. About this time Zeb started to mutter that he was running out of bodies to do things with. In the CCPh, the melee in AA8 ended with both sides completely dead.

Grond crawled on: Turn 4

In my PFPh, my 50MTRs fired smoke at T5 and U5 with success in T5. OBA gained battery access and tried to place a SR in T5, which was inaccurate and scattered off the board, sigh. In the PFPh, two of the three squads in Y4 fired at X3, with no effect on the Japanese in the pillbox. The tank in Y2 finally got results and reduced the crew in the X2 pillbox to a vehicular crew. In the MPh, the fanatic squad in Y4, now kitted with a RPh transferred DC, moved into Y3 and attempted to place it. Deadly accurate fire from the MMG in the pillbox ended that terminally. The three concealed squads and leader in Y7 assault moved into the hut in X6 and the Matilda in X6 moved into the dry stream in V4. Grond started the MPh with a bounding fire shot into X3. I think that it may have killed the crew in the pillbox, but I cannot be sure. It then went into motion and ended up in by-pass in W4 on the W4-X3 hexside. Elsewhere, the HSs on the left flank continued to roll up a gaggle of broken Japanese HSs to the north. There was no advance fire since everybody had shot or moved. In the APh, I eschewed moving the two squads in Y4 either into X3, figuring that I would skewer myself on more panjis, or into Y3, into the CA of the pillbox, so they stayed put. One squad with MTR advanced into Y5.

In his turn, Zeb fired the HMG out of smoke, but now directed by the 10-2 into my squads in Y4. The result was a MC that the first squad passed and the second squad rolled another snakes. The ensuing HOB DR was yet another snakes, resulting in a hero. With very little else able to fire, the turn went quickly. My AR in the DFPh scattered off the board again. In the APh, Zeb advanced a concealed unit into X3, leaving another concealed unit in W3.

Grond crawled on: Turn 5

In the PFPh, I finally drew a red card on the OBA, ending their misery, my MTRs started to home in on his kill stack in T5. In the MPh, the Matilda in Y2 started up and moved to X4 and stopped. The two squads and hero in Y4 assault moved to Y3, surviving the DF. The three squads and leader in X6 moved singly, all ending up in X4. Grond continued the bypass movement in W4, ending up in V3 with the TCA facing W3, stopped and fired again. A three on the 32 column removed the dummy stack. The last Matilda I seem to remember continued moving up the stream bed. Zeb’s DF with the 50cal again did not have any effect on the squads in X4. In the APh, the squads and hero in Y3 braved the panji, remained good order and advanced into X2. The squads and leader in X4 all advanced into X3. I was happy that there were no panjis on that side. CC eliminated the Japanese units in both pillboxes, and with that, Zeb conceded.

I liked the scenario, but it has a pro-Aussie feel to it. My moves were far from perfect, but my mistakes were made up by above average dice rolling. I cannot complain. The Matilda Frog destroyed a good third of the Japanese OB all by itself. If the Japanese player can destroy that tank, they have a much better chance of holding off the Australians. Zeb was also the victim of some bad dice. Afterwards, Zeb said that in retrospect, he should have setup some things, like the ART elsewhere. Hindsight being 20-20 that perhaps may be the case. But I had a great time versus a fun and knowledgable opponent, and I was able to see some of the neat tricks that the Japanese can do. Thanks a lot, Zeb. I will approach my next PTO scenario will much less trepidation. We are now 2-2 against each other. I look forward to our next game.

John