Critical Moments under the Microscope. Episode 1 – Hidden Bazookas and Passing the ‘Patsy’

 

Have you ever looked back on a game (of ASL) and wondered “Where did it all go wrong?”, or “How did I manage to cement that victory?”. Well, I certainly have. Some playings have a steady inevitability about them, an accumulation of predictable, incremental effects. For many others though, if you take any time to analyse what happened there will often be a moment, or series of connected events that are pivotal to the final outcome. In this series, we will spend a few minutes reviewing snippets of gameplay, to identify and illustrate these “Critical Moments under the Microscope”!

Note: The following is available as a YouTube video here.

It’s round 1 of the 2021 Illuminating Rounds ASL Tournament, and I’m playing the attacking Germans in ASL Scenario U5 - POINT D’APPUI (from MMP’s “A GI ‘S Dozen”). My opponent is Jason and we’re playing by e-mail. It’s early in the game and Jason is responding to my initial movement of 108 Panzer Brigade halftrack mounted units.

Situation at the end of German Turn 1

He advances his American 119^th Infantry, carefully maintaining concealment, to challenge my attack. 

Situation at the start of German Turn 2.

In this scenario the very important 3 American bazookas are hidden until used by SSR, and for the German player this creates uncertainty and a dilemma. The first Critical Moment is not on the board, or in the dice, but in my imagination - “At least one of these counterattacking units must have one of those killer bazookas!” This leads to a series of moves aimed at saving my now ‘endangered’ SPW 250/9 – a unit I wanted to preserve.

So, the plan hinges on firstly ‘freezing’ the unit in 06K2 using Vehicle Bypass – risky with an Open Topped AFV. And then, moving into the 06L1 hex to strip Concealment and maybe even draw fire, but mostly then to allow Bounding First Fire from the threatened halftrack into that then unconcealed unit – a pretty good chance to effect and Break or Pin it, before it gets a shot off with that ‘invisible’ bazooka.

Moving a halftrack (SPW 251/1) in bypass into 06K2, the next Critical Moment came when the American Squad passed a Pre-AFV Attack Task Check (the PAATC - or ‘Patsy’) to enable it to use reaction fire and attack the halftrack in close combat. This is gutsy with a 6 Morale unit, the failure to pass meaning a Pin and an effective ‘freeze’. Jason rolled low again on the Close Combat attack and the halftrack was Eliminated.

Situation during German Turn 2 – the American Squad eliminates the halftrack with CC Reaction Fire.

The Ami Squad was now free to fire outside its hex, meaning that follow up manoeuvres were pinned by its fire, leading to a further overcommitment of forces to strip Concealment and enable that all important Bounding First Fire.

I then attempted to rescue the situation by trying to eliminate these units, but nothing came off. I just threw ‘good money after bad’. It’s fair to say that the dice were not favouring me with this series of connected events, and this just amplified the effect of the two Critical Moments. As losses mounted, initiative swung to the Defender and opportunities to progress the attack were missed.

The irony in all this is that there were no bazookas with these units at all! The worst possible outcome for the halftrack had I known (or assumed) this was a Stun result.

I never really recovered from these losses and time spent avoiding a bazooka shot that was never possible. Was there luck involved, of course, but the impact of that good or bad luck could have been avoided had I made a different decision about the probability or risk of the presence of a bazooka in one or both of those two units.

For the record, I did capture the victory Hex in 03Q8, but I was outnumbered in the end and did not have the resources to hang on against most of the intact America order of battle.

So well done to Jason, and good luck in round 2 of the tournament.

I’ll be back soon with another Critical Moment. Until then, roll low ... when it counts!

Credits:

ASL User Interface – VASL Templates, VASL and VASSAL, Jason, MMP, ASL Scenario Archive.