Grumble Jones - An ASL Blog

It's that time of the year again, when I put all of the year's scenarios into one blog post. This year we'll even give it a name...the "Professor Rollwright 2016 Scenario Pack". Back in 2014, I endeavored to create a scenario for each month, to challenge myself creatively and as a way to thank my readers. It was and is a way to give my readers something tangible.

Now, I often refer to my scenarios as "Basement Quality". This is a nod to those great, early days of ASL, when we had very few published scenarios and so spent many a gaming night playing one of our "often" insane creations! You know the ones...where you used every board and came up with an OOB for each side and some objectives and just went for it.

In 1990, my St. Louis group of gamers used to gather in the basement of my Affton bungalow. Many a Saturday was spent playing one of our homegrown scenarios. In those days, we didn't stress about the OOB's or the victory conditions or give a second thought to balance. We just wanted to recreate a specific historical moment and play it out in ASL. Whether or not the game came down to the last close combat was never a consideration. We just wanted to play ASL and have fun.

So, that in short is what my scenarios have always been about. My "Basement Quality" scenarios are just that...something out of your momma's basement that is just for fun and not to be taken too seriously. Remember...you pay for those kinds of scenarios.

2016 was a great year for my homegrown "Basement Quality" scenarios. I was able to cover a lot of different areas and even had two Halloween Scenarios.

So in closing, I am pleased to offer this year's scenarios in one blog post and with a big thank you to my readers for supporting this blog and for taking my scenarios for what they are...just some creative fun. You can expect more in 2017, which will either make you smile or cringe depending on how much scenario balance means to you! Hopefully, most of you will smile and enjoy more ASL for fun in the coming year. Thanks again for spending your valuable time here at Grumble Jones. It is much appreciated.

As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.

Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size.

And as always, the PDF's for this scenario can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive

(just search on Grumble Jones).

For our final Saturday game of the year, Dan Best and I selected ASL Scenario AP74 BATTY-P. Dan had played it twice previously, but it was new for me. It would prove to be the perfect scenario to end 2016 with a bang. For Dan and I, BATTY-P would be our 12th Cardboard via SKYPE game this year. It's been a remarkable run.

Dan would draw the British 8th and 9th Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. 10 x 4-5-7's, 3 x officers, MG's, mortars, Piats, and 2 x 57LL AT Guns would make up Dan's OOB along with a Stuart tank, which would enter on Turn 2.

Dan's veterans would prove to be some tough customers as our battle progressed.

As the Germans, I would be attacking the British positions in Battipaglia, Italy. Watch any Youtube video of the Battle for Salerno and you'll pick up a reference or two to Battipaglia.

BATTY-P would prove to be a crucial battleground in determining Allied success at Salerno.

Much of Battipaglia would be rubbled from the constant fighting. By SSR, both Dan and I would select 6 Hexes to be rubbled. This was a far more crucial step, than I had realized at the start.

Rubbling the victory locations was very important in order to eliminate the upper floors...where broken squads could run to and cost you a victory location....as I was to experience in this night's game.

My Germans would consist of elements of Kampfgruppe Stempel. I would have 7 x 5-4-8's, 8 x 4-6-7's, a 9-2, 9-1, 8-1 and 8-0 to lead these boys. For support I would have 2 x 222 Armored Cars, 2 x Stug 75L's, 1 x Stug 75*, and three MKIV's. Very nice!!

MKIV's in the HOUSE!

Before we begin...let me just say..."READ the Scenario Card thoroughly". I didn't and missed the fact that my Germans could have entered on Turn 2 a little bit closer to my opponent. Nope, I glossed over things too quickly and would watch my attack take almost three full turns to develop. It was embarrassing as my Panzers worked their way through the west edge terrain.

Sooo...instead of being a seasoned Kampfgruppe commander...I started out as different kind of Colonel...lots of seasoning...but....

Having made my major goof, I just had to own it and move according to my plans and see what would develop.

My plan consisted of a moves up the middle with infantry and light armor on the east edge and heavy armor and grenadiers on the west edge.

My boys went with the plan and would ultimately make gold from straw.

My dice are a frequent nuisance to me. I often joke about them...but there are times in ASL...where my greatest opponent is my own dice. In a turn and a half...I malfed the MA on the Stug 75*, the CMG on one of the armored cars and the 20L on the other armored car. I was better off not even rolling my dice. But, I did my best to take it all in stride and keep moving ahead.

On the east flank, my boys made good progress. Dan's Fusiliers were cool as cucumbers and held their fire.

Dan's boys would wait for the best opportunities before revealing themselves.

As my Armored cars probed along the east edge, one of Dan's hidden 57LL AT Guns opened up. It would take two fire phases, but the gun would take out my Armored Car.

Overall, I did not get much production of out my Armored cars. One would fall to the eastern AT Gun and the other would suffer recall while trying to repair its malf'd MA.

Turn 3...and man was I dragging @ss across the battlefield...

Dan's boys had time for a pickup football match...

In the middle and east flank, Dan and I finally had some combat as my grey clad Landsers began to surround the British forward outposts, he rolled twice for Final Protective Fire. In both cases, his boys would break...but the Boxcars above would result in the death of a half-squad.

One of the things that I did to some good effect was to use my vehicles with the Malf'd MA's. They allowed me to move troops onto the British with a modicum of cover. And truth be told, my Stug 75* would go one to do great things in this game with no functioning armament.

Best Stug I ever had!!!

Our first big infantry fight would be in the woods on the east flank. Despite support from the 57LL AT Gun, my boys would prevail in that contest.

Finally on Turn 4, my Panzers dumped off their grenadiers and moved hard into the town.

And wouldn't you know it...I'd park three of my Panzers right smack in front of Dan's other 57LL AT Gun...

NOOOOOOOOOO......

On the plus side...I would succeed in taking out the Stuart with a bounding fire shot.

Dan's AT Gun barked out and two MKIV's went up in smoke.

This AT Gun would be the hero on Dan's side of the field.

Despite my Panzer losses, my infantry were doing well. I had thought that my slow assault was going to keep me from having any chance of winning...but then I heard a voice in my head....

The Colonel was right...there was still a chance for German victory...

My hope hit a speed bump as Dan's AT Gun shocked one of my Stug's. UGH....

Even Dan's 51 mortar got into the action, dropping rounds on my remaining Panzers....oh the indignity of it all...

Dan's mortars would be active on both flanks, but fortunately, they didn't get rate of fire very often.

One of my Stug's had gone for the gold and would pay for it as Dan's boys jumped onto it in Close Combat. They would immobilize my Stug, but be held in Melee...with my 9-2 and his 20 factors eyeing them hungrily!

My 9-2 was solid Wehrmacht and would bring it home for the Germans.

As the battle on the west flank raged, I sent my last remaining MKIV after the 57LL AT Gun. It was outside of it's covered arc, so thought I had a chance. My Shocked Stug would go on to an Unconfirmed Kill and then become a wreck. Dan's AT Gun would ultimately claim 4 Panzers. Victoria Crosses all around...

In the center, my boys moved forward. Time was running out and it was time to get into the Victory Locations.

The battle was raging as we went into Turn 5. The British had been forced back and the west flank was hanging open. Dan's boys in Melee with my Stug would be eliminated and my Landsers would fall upon Dan's heroic AT Gun Crew and eliminate them in Close Combat. My Germans were setting up Turn 6 to give themselves a real shot at victory.

Dan's boys prepared themselves to repel my final assault.

As Turn 6 and the final act of the game began, my Stug 75* made a crucial move. He ran down the road and a Piat shot missed him and broke the Piat. The Stug then attempted to overrun Dan's boys in the rubble of N13. They would bog...but they would keep Dan's boy occupied as my Landsers sprang into action.

Yes, it's true...I loved my little Stug!!!

As turn 6 neared it's completion, my Landsers had succeeded in securing three locations...but I needed one more for the win. Everything hinged on taking the rubbled building in K8. My 5-4-8 succeed in making smoke and ran forward to engage the British in Close Combat. In CC, my boys would get roll and eliminate the British 2-2-8 Mortar crew for the win.

We often talk about scenarios coming down the final Close Combat on the Final Turn. And that is exactly what happened for Dan and I in BATTY-P.

I was completely shocked to have gotten the win. Earlier in the game, I was convinced that I had lost far too much time getting into the fight. And yet...it had all come together and my Germans had won.

The victory belonged to my hard fighting Landers who pushed the British back and won every close combat.

Game end, the British retained control of 2 Victory Locations the Germans had control of 4.

The end of another hard fought scenario and my final game for 2016. I'll be taking a Christmas break to spend time with family in Alabama and to work on some projects for my wife.

2016 has been one outstanding year for ASL. My thanks once again to Dan for yet another exciting game.

Can't wait to see what Scenarios we play in 2017.

2016 is a day away from memory. Hard to believe the year has gone by so quickly. 2016 was an amazing year for ASL. I played 26 face to face games in the year gone by. That is my all-time record for ASL. And best of all, I actually managed to win 11 of those games...another record for me.

I only managed to attend one tournament this year, which was March Madness in Kansas City. Work and life conspired to keep me from attending the Texas Team Tournament. I am hoping that 2017 will allow me to attend both of these outstanding tournaments.

I enjoyed all three games that I played at this year's March Madness. Tournament play is just something special. I highly recommend it, if you have yet to try it.

My most humbling game this year, was at March Madness. Jim Burris and I played "A Lion in the Field". Jim schooled me in three turns as his SS Panzer Grenadiers made short work of my Tommies. Despite the game's brevity, it was great fun and a huge learning experience for me.

"When I Call Roll" was the most amazing scenario that I played this year. Just classic ASL emotions as I went from watching my GI's be mowed down on the beaches to winning the scenario in shocking fashion. This scenario was absolute proof that playing a game to the end is so important.

As for this year's most enjoyable game...well Hot Zemlyankas gets the nod. This gem created by Dan Best was fun from start to finish. And it was maddeningly difficult at times. Overall, this scenario tested me at each and every roll of the dice. Pulling out a win in this great game was one of my proudest ASL moments. And of course a tip of the hat to Dan Best for creating such an interesting, challenging and fun scenario.

And lastly, 2016 was the year that I stepped outside the box a bit to attend a games day with the Kansas ASL Group at the Hollis Renewal Center. I brought my wife and daughter along so they could have some shopping time at the Legends Shopping Center, while I rolled dice all day. That August weekend still stands out as one of the best times, I had all year. Dan Best and I had the opportunity to play test another of his creations. But beyond that I made some friends with the Kansas ASL Group. Standing outside on the porch talking with those guys was a highlight for me.

And to think...I almost didn't make the trip. Of all my choices this year...attending that Games Day was the best one I made all year.

As for Grumble Jones...2016 stands out as a year like no other. My Blog hit 75,000 Page Views as the year began and then in September it hit 100,000. And September set two other records for most views in a single day (692) and most views in a single month (5000+). Grumble Jones is now read on every continent, except Antarctica. The United States and Russia make up the bulk of my readership followed by Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Malaysia. And there are readers in many more nations all across the globe. ASL is alive and well my friends.

I often thought that the golden years for Squad Leader had come and gone with the 1980's and 1990's. But I believe we are currently living in the Golden Age of ASL. And one of the things fueling that Golden Age is technology. Our great game of ASL is more accessible than ever before. While, I do not play ASL via VASL, VASL is bringing more and more people to the ASL experience and certainly allowing people to play opponents, which they would otherwise never have the opportunity to play against. So I tip my hat to VASL. Then there is Gamesquad Forum, which is truly the "Hogwarts" of ASL. Like a tough NFL Football game, it can get a bit chippy at times, but it has no equal for the enthusiasm of its ASL followers. Facebook has also played a huge role in bringing our community together. While Gamesquad Forum is home to the ASL live fire....Facebook is the front porch, where we can relax and enjoy our shared love of ASL.

Of course, technology has also brought the world's Greatest Podcast into our lives. For me, the Two Half-Squads have no equal among any other site, blog, etc. There is something special about their podcast. There is just something personal and special about listening to Jeff and Dave that transcends any other communication medium.

I can't imagine 2016 without listening to the Two Half-Squads. I can't wait to see what they talk about in 2017. Banter, Letters, Box Art Review, and terrific interviews...can't wait! Also, my wife enjoys hearing Robin on the podcast from time to time.

MMP has a lot of new goodies for us in 2017, as does Bounding Fire Productions and Lone Canuck. So yes, my friends, this is indeed the Golden Age of ASL. Here's to 2017 and a fantastic year of ASL.

Happy New Year's to you and your families!!!

Thank you for visiting Grumble Jones this year and I look forward to sharing my love of ASL with you in 2017.

Friday night saw the first ASL action of the new year and finally brought conclusion to a game that had been in process since August. My regular STL opponent and I had been trying to complete this one for months. And honestly, my head and heart just were not into this scenario last night. A game can sit too long and this was one of those. So let's just say that I tried to be as helpful as possible in showing my opponent how he could come up with the 100 VP's to win immediately.

Despite, the issues in bringing this game to a timely conclusion, it's overall a very good scenario. I drew the Russians and would be the defender with some wire, foxholes, 11 x 4-4-7's, an HMG, MMG, 3 x LMG's, 60 mtr, 76L Arty, and 5 x T-34/76's with 5 more T-34/76's arriving on Turn 4. All in all a pretty nice OOB for defending fairly open terrain. My boys would elements of the Soviet 3rd Tank Corps.

Facing me would be my opponents Hermann Goering Division. Despite the unfortunate name, this Division would prove itself in Tunisia, Sicily, and on the Polish Plains. They had high morale, good equipment and good leadership. My opponent would have 5 x 5-4-8's, 5 x 4-6-8's, and 5 x 4-6-7's with 10 x MKIV 75L Tanks. With a 9-2 in command, they would be tough to stop.

But, as I have noted from time to time, my regular STL opponent has a more cautious approach to the game, that has been learned over thirty years of playing this game and a habit, which can stall the best equipped attack force.

In our final playing of this scenario, I would offer up my suggestions for taking out my own positions. It was sort of fun...except when he was actually successful!!!

The Victory Conditions were pretty straightforward. The German Player would win immediately upon amassing 100 or more VP's. All buildings controlled by the Germans would be worth the number of hexes they occupied. The Germans would also get VP's for any units which exited the East Edge.

Now, for this particular post, I won't be cropping or diagramming the battle pics. This AAR will be fast and furious and brief. I've got another game tonight and in tomorrow's blog post, I'll be back to normal form.

My defense was set up to interdict the open ground on Board 44 and to try and tie up my opponent in the denser terrain of Board 17. Overall, my plan worked fairly well...but again due to cautious play.

My opponent divided his force into two mini-kampfgruppes and swept across the entire front. His infantry would lag behind a bit, so for much of the early stages of the game, my boys remained concealed. I did not take long shots and kept my Arty hidden...waiting for the right moment to shoot.

Yuri even had some time to write a quick letter home to his sweetheart in Tambov.

It was in the North that our forces made initial contact. We would trade fire with tanks primarily.

Gun malfunctions would plague this game. BIG TIME!!! Considering that each turn is supposed to represent 2 minutes of combat with a total game time of 14 minutes...we broke a lot of stuff. Like...did everyone forget how to load their weapons!?!?

Actually...I do jam often...

In the south, my opponent's Panzers would take up a Napoleonic firing stance and fight it out from there.

My regular STL opponent always aims his camera at the board. I have no idea how high he hangs that camera to get the overhead shot.

For much of the game, our forces would trade fire from these positions.

My opponent would move his 9-2 with the HMG into the first floor of the main building behind his panzer line. This would give him a commanding field of fire for the duration of the game.

His 9-2 was a man with a plan!

Down in the south, my tanks were knocked out, but my infantry in X1 would hold out for much of the game.

In the north, my positions began to melt under the combined infantry and armor fire of the Germans.

In the middle, my opponent sent two MKIV's into harm's way. My Arty barked out and took out one. It would its one and only kill for the game.

Between Malf'd Panzers and destroyed Panzers, the Germans were left with five active tanks. 50% of their initial armor was out of play. By game end, 3 Panzer MKIV's would be recalled and one would be immobilized and malf'd. Only one MKIV would finish the game.

In the north, the German infantry finally took some buildings, but overall were not making much forward progress.

Not in too much of a hurry...

My squad in the south would continue to hold out, but the end was near.

In the middle of our game, my STL opponent had a mishap and his camera went sailing and for a brief moment left me in a POV state of carsickness!!!

On turn 4 my reserve T-34/76's rushed into action. And yes...I'll admit...I send them on a death ride straight at the Germans. The scenario had to end...it had to...

Something like that....

As my death charge unfolded...two Panzer MKIV's headed for the exit off the east board edge up north. They would escape and add VP's to the German total.

In the center my tanks met with disaster (my plan was working perfectly!!!).

Hmmm...should I intensive Fire or not....YES Intensive Fire it shall be!!!

The escapees...

Just a leisurely drive on a summer day in Poland.

Game end. The Germans would amass 105 VP's and the longest scenario would finally be over...oh thank goodness. Yes, I lost...but finally...we could start a new scenario. The long night is over!!!

Congrats to my STL opponent on a solid win and looking forward to our next scenario .....Retribution...I believe it is called...muhahahaha!!!!

To begin our 2017 Saturday ASL contests, Dan Best and I decided to go old school and go with the classic U15 Battle for the Warta Line. Just looking at the scenario card transported me back to 1982 when I first cracked open my copy of Crescendo of Doom. Of all the SL rules "editions", I liked Crescendo of Doom the best. The player aid cards and the presentation were the best of the SL series. GI Anvil of Victory would follow behind it and leave a bit to be desired.

At any rate, Dan and I had a bit of a laugh before beginning play while discussing the old Boards 3 and 5. Among the Kansas ASL group, board 3 is often referred to as "Potatograd". And in Polish scenarios, this would reflect the unfortunate situation of being caught between German and Soviet invaders. So in deference to Potatograd, I felt the iconic photo of a German preparing to throw a Potato Masher grenade was fitting.

After a long Christmas break, it was really great to hear Dan's voice over the Skype connection and see his dice ready to be rolled. Dan did suffer from some technical difficulties as his camera refused to say in position and would slowly fall into the dice cup. I initially thought Dan was messing with me, but then he explained that his adhesive use to secure the camera was not working up to snuff.

Dan may need to upgrade his tape in the future!!

The Battle for the Warta Line was one of the most significant of the German advance towards Warsaw. And once it was crossed, the Germans had a relatively straight run to the capitol. For our battle, I would be the attacking Germans. I would have 16 x 4-6-8 SS of the Infantry-Regiment Leibstandarte. Two PZ IB's would accompany my men and one 75* Arty for support or "cannon fodder" as is usually the case in this scenario for that particular asset.

The early war Leibstandarte were not quite as disciplined in their attacks as their Wehrmacht counterparts, but made up for that in their high morale. This morale would be critical for me in sustaining my attacks.

Facing me would be Polish Army 10th Infantry Division. Dan would have 13 x 4-5-8's with a bunker, 8 foxholes, 18 x wire, 2 x MMG's, 3 x ATR's, some 80mm OBA, and a 9-2, 9-1 and 2 x 8-0's to give this formidable force some solid leadership.

The Polish Army of 1939 was actually a very well trained and organized force. It's men were disciplined, well-led, and well-trained. They would do good service during the fighting on the Warta Line.

While, the Poles were good soldiers, their tactics and equipment were meant for an earlier war and the German Blitzkrieg with combined arms would be their downfall.

So after some catching up banter, Dan and I were off to begin our first scenario of the new year.

I hadn't played this scenario since the SL days, so was pretty excited to give it a go in ASL. I had decided to give both of my 8-1's three squads and then have them armor assault up the left side with a PZ IB each. I planned to move up to the house and have three squads move up the gully, while the other three went up the road with my tanks. My 8-0 with the radio would stop at the trees on the left edge to handle arty requests. And lastly, my 75* would drive up and set up behind the trees to shell the Board 3 Church in Potatograd.

My other three stacks would be fire support with all the MG's. They were to support my other boys as they moved to exit the board.

It was all very textbook...at least in my head!!!

Dan seemed to have completely anticipated my attack strategy. He had his ATR's and the Bunker in just the right spot to thwart my drive. And his MMG barked out from the bunker and left my 75* a smoking wreck.

Despite running into Dan's welcome committee, I had managed to move into my first turn objective positions. My 8-0 Arty Observer was in place and would soon call arty onto the Polish bunker.

Dueling Arty characterized Turn 2. The German Arty would fall harmlessly near the bunker, but the Polish Arty would destroy a 4-6-8 squad and the 8-0 observer.

Overall, I was very disappointed in my Arty. I had one FFE and it did nothing, before my observer was KIA'd and my battery access gone for the game.

My 9-2 had moved into position, but quickly found himself under fire from the bunker and the Potatograd Church. He would pin twice and watch his three squads break under the fire.

My 9-2 would turn in a less than stellar performance, while all my other officers performed very well.

By Turn Turn's movement phase, I was making good progress towards realizing my exit strategy. Dan had placed the bulk of his wire in the woods by the Church area, as past experience with the scenario had shown that most German attacks utilize the woods. So fortunately for me, my boys found the way clear of obstacles. Further aiding my cause were very high rolls by Dan. His ATR shots all missed and so my little PZ IB's were proving to be a real thorn in the Polish side.

My boys moving up through the woods went after a Polish 4-5-8 that was controlling the road junction. One of my 4-6-8's would be KIA'd crossing the road and another would die in the ensuing close combat.

Meanwhile back on the left side, my luck continued to hold out as the Polish defenders broke. The barn door was open and the horses were bolting for the fields.

My boys stuck close to cover as they moved towards the exit. I was worried that Dan would have something else waiting to shoot them.

One of the early misfortunes for Dan's boys would be the wounding of his 9-2. Knocking that dude out the game was critical to my boys moving through so much open space on the left flank. The Polish MMG would fire away, but it would sorely miss the -2 modifier.

Dan's wounded 9-2 would stay in the fight though.

Over on the right side of the map, my primary focus was to keep Dan's Poles occupied and not make a run to stop my exiting from stage left.

Dan's sniper would harass me and ultimately eliminate my Sniper from play.

As Dan's boys melted on the left, he sent some help from the right to try and shut the gate.

Inside the bunker, Dan's boys had also broken, but would rally as the last of my boys headed for the exit. I would send a PZ IB to occupy them and keep them from any long range -2 shots as my boys ran for the board edge.

My PZ IB's would end up being the heroes of the game for the Germans.

With the gate open, I successfully exited 2 x 8-1's and 6 x 4-6-8's for the 16 VP and an immediate win. A combination of bad defensive rolls both on to hits and on morale checks had given my Germans just enough opportunity to successfully push through the left and secure the victory.

My boys could rest up and prepare themselves fort he final drive on Warsaw.

With our first game of 2017in the can, Dan and I will take on Betrayed at Buchenau next Saturday! Can't wait!

The January Grumble Jones scenario is my take on the famous stand of Lt. Vitez Ervin Tarczay and his two Tiger I's at the Battle of Hill 514 near Saturnia in western Galicia. Armies of Oblivion covers the same action in ASL Scenario 117 - With Tigers on their Tail. This excellent scenario is a larger scenario and covers the action in great detail than mine. While my scenario covers Lt. Tarczay's actions, ASL 117 attributes the action to another Hungarian Tank Officer. I try not to duplicate anything already done, but given that there are over 5000 scenarios, the likelihood of duplication is probably pretty high and such is the case here.

In researching the Axis Forum and Feldgrau, I came across references to the action on Hill 514 by Lt. Tarczay. Unfortunately, there was not a tremendous amount of detail about the action. In short, Tarczay and his Tigers were credited with destroying 14 T-34/76's in a sharp firefight lasting about 30 minutes (or 15 ASL Turns...).

Replicating these kinds of events in ASL is hard. Whether it's Wittman at Villers Bocage or Tarczay at Saturnia...it's very hard to replicate these kinds of heroic actions. Tarczay and Wittman never had to roll dice..which are fickle things and as likely to roll a hit as to break your main armament. So an ASL player knows it will be very hard to duplicate similar exploits.

But that of course doesn't mean we shouldn't try eh? So here's my humble attempt to create a scenario where two Hungarian Tiger I's can shoot up a bunch of T-34/76's and still (maybe) give the Soviet Player a chance to win the scenario (though just barely). Achieving balance in a scenario like this is challenging and I won't pretend to have attempted it. So when choosing sides...make sure the other guy has the Soviets.

As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.

Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size.

And as always, the PDF for this scenario can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive

(just search on Grumble Jones).

For our Friday game, my regular STL opponent and I selected ASL Scenario 55 Retribution. It's always fun to play the golden oldie scenarios. My opponent and I also chose this scenario as it is primarily and infantry only engagement and plays relatively fast. My STL opponent likes to keep our game nights to two hours. So, sometimes it can be tough to get through a larger scenario and keep good game momentum. So all in all Retribution was a great choice for the evening's ASL.

The scenario takes place in Palma di Montechiaro, Sicily. A quick Google search revealed that it is rather nice tourist destination with some remarkable architecture. No doubt, some of it rebuilt following the war.

Of interest to me personally is it's close proximity to Agrigento. Agrigento is the birthplace of one of my first bosses. Back in 1991, I reported to Anthony Drago, who immigrated to the US from Sicily. Personally, I think everyone should have a Sicilian Boss at least once in their career. Tony taught me a lot of business lessons and one of the earliest was he would never accept my first answer to solving a problem. He'd always send me back to get a better answer. And if he was particularly agitated (which was frequent...did I mention he was Sicilian?), Tony would get angry, start talking too quickly and suddenly he would be speaking Sicilian. It was a bit comical at times. But I tip my hat to Tony and to the lessons he taught me. Now on with conquering his homeland!!!

Beautiful Palma di Montechiaro, Sicily.

My opponent would draw the Americans and the men of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the famed 3rd Division. He would have 5 x 6-6-7's, 11 x 6-6-6's, a 10-2, 9-1, 8-0, and 7-0 with two HMG's and three MMG's. Talk about firepower...good grief a walking arsenal would be coming at my Italians

This scenario also comes with high SAN numbers of 5 for the Italians and 4 for the Americans. The Sniper would be heard from early in the game.

As the Italians, I would command the men of the 177 Reggimento Besaglieri and 207 Division Costiera. I would have 10 x 3-4-7's with an ELR of 3 and 10 x 3-4-6's with an ELR of 1. I would have 2 xMMG's and a 65* Arty piece. Leadership would include a 9-1, 8-0, 7-0 and a 6+1. Not bad for defending a town full of stone buildings...but the ELR of 1 would be very problematic.

My track record with the Italians is a bit spotty. I have won some great scenarios as the Italians and I have suffered some pretty bad losses too. I'm never really confident when deploying them, but again...it comes down to the dice. If you have hot dice and make your MC's then things can work out for you and your Italians. If not...well...surrender will find its way into your plans.

The Victory Conditions are nice and straight forward. The American Player wins if at the end of any turn he controls 6 of the 8 multi-story buildings and has 1-1/2 more CVP than the Italian Player. I set up with the intent to minimize my losses by keeping my men out of stacks as much as possible. 8-1/2 Turns is a long time to avoid being slaughtered, but knowing my opponents penchant for caution...I figured I might be able to hang on to three buildings just long enough to get the win.

I just had to hope that my boys would make a morale check or two.

My opponent's initial setup did and did not surprise me. The boys lined up to enter the gully made perfect sense, but I was less sure of the boys in the wheatfield. The 10-2 was clearly going to camp out in the X1 stone building and act as the Death Star to remove my pesky troops from play. He would be successful.

The American 10-2 would definitely earn his modifier in this game!

As expected, the main US push was through the gully. My Italians couldn't see anything, but knew bad things were headed their way. The 10-2 set up shop and in Advancing Fire laid waste to the first of my units. Putting squads on the second floors sounded good in my head...but it just made them fine instruments of target practice for the US 10-2.

NOTE: All the woods and brush are actually vineyards in this scenario.

Moving through the gully is certainly the choice move and should put my opponent's men in good position to move quickly into the town.

As mentioned earlier, the high SAN's would definitely make for some active sniper action. My Italian Sniper successfully DM's one of the 6-6-6 squads. They would, however, rally very quickly.

The US 10-2 continued to rake my positions with MG's and my boys would break and ELR with wild abandon. I was not rolling particularly well for much of the night. When you have 6 morale troops with an ELR of 1...I recommend not rolling "11's".

My opponent's fire was on target and he was maintaining ROF, which ensured the further destruction of my boys.

I did roll snake-eyes on one Morale Check...yeah Heat of Battle and Italians...let's just say they ain't friends. I rolled an 8 and promptly surrendered. YEE HAW!!

I suffered one more indignity on the Wind Change Die Roll. My opponent and I had agreed to use the friendly and hostile country information reveals. And my opponent received a gem when a local revealed the location of my HIP 65* Arty (we think we did this right, but in case we didn't...let's just pretend that we did.)

Si...the gun is over there.

We concluded Turn 2 and called it a night. The Americans had reached the edge of the cemetery and look like they will be able to get into the town in the next two turns. The US 10-2 is eventually going to have to move, as his targets go to ground in the town. So things should get interesting! Looking forward to picking things back up next week!

For our Saturday game, Dan Best and I selected Scenario BMW 10.0 Betrayed at Buchenau. This scenario was designed by Brian Williams and I believe is or was available online at one time. At any rate, it was a scenario that had intrigued me and was also one that neither Dan or myself had played before. There was no data in ROAR, so we were not sure of the balance for this scenario. After playing it, I definitely think I would do better playing it a second time. I didn't quite grasp some of its tactical nuances during this playing.

This scenario takes place in Buchenau, Silesia during the snowy January 1945. Certainly not a good time to be on the German side of things as the Soviet Juggernaut plunged into the Reich. This scenario is pretty interesting as it combines half-tracks, wagons, cavalry and tanks. This is not the sort of combination you would expect in a 1945 scenario. The added ground snow gives it some additional character.

For this night's ASL action, I would be the attacking Soviet Forces made up of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps. At start, I would have 5 x 4-5-8's set up in the open under DM to reflect the survivors of an early Cavalry Column that had been ripped into by half-tracks of the 8th Panzer Division. I would elect to set them up within the setup zone of the German forces. I hoped they would distract Dan's half-tracks, while my other forces entered the board on Turn 1. My remaining forces would consist of 4 x 6-2-8's, 5 x 4-5-8', 5 x 4-4-7's with 2 x MMG's, 2 x ATR's, and 3 x LMG's. All of my troops would enter mounted or on two wagons. Accompanying my boys would be 4 Lend Lease Valentine Tanks.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to field some Valentines. I don't play much if any DTO, so the chance to have Valentines in the OOB is limited. They would perform fairly well and would have done better had I not malf'd the MA on two of them.

http://www.militarytrader.com/military-vehicles-news/river-in-poland-yields-a-valentine (interesting article about Valentine tank discovered in Poland.)

Opposing my Russians would be a mixed group of ad hoc German AT Companies made up of Volksturm and some veteran grenadiers. Dan would have 5 x 5-4-8's, 6 x 4-4-7's, 2 x MMG's, 3 x LMG's, 2 x Panzerschrecks with a 9-1, 8-1, and 8-0 to provide the leadership. Supporting the AT units would be 5 x Sdkfz 250's from the 8th Panzer Division.

A good look at Dan's initial defense and the location of my broken Cavalry squads. The Victory conditions required the Russian Player to control 5 of 6 Buildings (see yellow stars for the 6 locations). I had hoped my broken squads would occupy the attention of Dan's 5 Half-Tracks. And indeed, he placed three of the 5 with their attention focused on the broken squads.

I will admit that I was not sure of the best way to enter the board. Dan's half-tracks could make short work of my cavalry and wagons...so I sent those boys on a path to the safety of the woods. Meanwhile my Valentines with 6-2-8 riders went straight at the Half-tracks.

I reached my 1st turn objectives with no response from the Germans. What were Dan's Germans planning for me....???

Yes...I was afraid...

The white chalk outlines what my Turn 2 objectives would be for my boys.

I conferred with my 9-1 and he was in general agreement with my plans...but he wasn't sure that the woods were the right place to send all the cavalry. He might have been right about that.

Dan's flagship Half-track with his 8-1 Armor Leader would be the first vehicle to malf. In turn 1, we would both malf a Main Armament.

My Malf would occur in my Advancing Fire shots.

Dan's Half-Track would be recalled and I would follow suit with my own recalled armor later in the game.

Malf'ing your MA sure is painful sometimes...

In Turn 2, I managed to knock out some half-tracks and then Dan sent two after me. My ATR successfully killed one, but during the roll I activated the Sniper, who promptly broke my ATR squad.

Pretty nice shooting from the German Sniper and he would hurt me a couple of times during the game.

Sensing an opportunity, Dan sent one of his 4-4-7's to wreck havoc among my broken squads.

With a single Half-Track left, the commander of the vehicle made a desperate decision to charge into my Valentines.

It was a pretty courageous move and would in my estimation be one of the outstanding plays of the game. This half-track would be missed by everything thrown at it and would manage to cause me to Malf another Valentine MA, which he would then immobilize. I would waste a valuable turn trying to eliminate this one Germans asset.

In the north, my mounted troops headed into the woods. In the south...the arrows tell the story of my boys trying to destroy a single half-track.

This single half-track would contribute to the elimination of two Valentines and cause me much consternation.

My 6-2-8's finally destroyed the half-track in Close Combat.

It would be one of the few successes enjoyed by my infantry.

One of Dan's snake-eyes rolled during the course of the evening.

Turn 3 saw me on the move again, but I could feel time slipping through my fingers.

Dan's valiant 4-4-7 was the next speed bump to hinder my forward progress.

These boys would be Dan's MVP's for the scenario.

Unbelievably my forces entered the town from the south first. I was still dragging butt in the north.

My 6-2-8's were in the south and their firepower was definitely an asset.

As viewers may have noticed...some of my boards are showing their age. My SL boards are nearing their 40th anniversary. Hard to believe...

Dan's 4-4-7 had won a close combat and KIA'd some broken squads. I had expected them to come after my Valentines with their Panzerfausts...but instead they ran through the open to go after some additional broken Squads. My 8-1 managed to cut them down. They were brave men...but they had to go.

In the south, things were heating up as my Valentines charged into the town.

As my tanks entered the cobbled streets of Buchenau, a 4-4-7 unleashed a Panzerfaust round.

Despite the great shot, the squad would be broken by the back blast.

One blasted Valentine was the result...

I was making some progress. I was winning some Melees and pushing towards my first victory location.

But time had run out. It was clear that I didn't have enough turns left to get more than one or two Victory Locations.

I was determined to take one building location, but Dan's men fought back ferociously and eliminated two of my squads in the first Close Combat.

Despite my losses, I kept sending men into the building. I had to take at least one location...

Sometimes...you just gotta know when enough is enough...

Despite my best efforts, Dan's men would keep me locked in Melee and prevent my capture of even a single victory location.

After 5-1/2 turns, it was late in the evening and clear that my forces were spent. There would be no Russian Victory tonight. So I gave my concession and concluded a great night's worth of ASL.

So, if you haven't downloaded this great scenario...try to locate it and download a copy. It's well worth your ASL Time.

Thanks to Dan for yet another great game! We shall meet again next Saturday!

For our Saturday game, Dan Best and I decided to focus on play testing a scenario from the Kansas City ASL Club's latest scenario pack. This pack should be available later this year. The scenario to be tested was Bicycle Club, which had just undergone some minor tweeks. Dan and I would be testing out the revisions to ensure that the scenario balance was intact. There is an old ASL axiom that play testing is Playing and I can attest to the truth of that statement.

Of course not all play tests are the same...

Bicycle Race takes place in Normandy on June 6th, 1944 and is based on the movement of 1st Special Service Brigade, 6th Commando as they moved towards Pegasus Bridge. As he attacker, I would take the role of Lord Lovat and his bicycle riding Commandos. I was pretty jazzed about using bicycles. This was something new for me in ASL and it's always fun to see how new things play out.

My force would consist of 7 x 6-4-8 Commandos with 4 bicycle counters, 2 x LMG, 1 x 50 MTR lead by a 9-2 and an 8-1.

On Turn 2, I would receive three Sherman tanks. One of the special rules allowed me to hold back up to 3 squads to enter on Turn 2 with the tanks...and I would definitely take advantage of that.

Facing my Commandos would be Dan's German 736th Grenadier Regiment of the 716th Infantry Division. They would be charged with keeping my Commandos from reaching Pegasus Bridge. They would consist of 2 x 4-6-7's, 4 x 4-4-7's, an 37L AT Gun w/heat, 2 x LMG's and led by an 8-0 and a 7-0. All in all, not quite the force you want to go up against British Commandos.

The men of the 716th Infantry Division were one of the static divisions stationed in Normandy. They were not necessarily the caliber of the 352nd at Omaha Beach. But nevertheless, these Wehrmacht troops would successfully delay the British advance on Caen.

The victory conditions for this scenario give the British Player an immediate victory if 12 VP are successfully on or west of Row Y on Board 53.

Failure was not an option...I couldn't let down Howard and his boys at the bridge. We had to get through!!!

The battle begins. One of the SSR's allowed for the British to freely deploy. So I elected to deploy 4 x 6-4-8's and sent them across board 16 on their bicycles on a Tour de France...er Force...

Dan's Germans were initially bemused by cycle touring commandos.... after all...the Tour doesn't start this early in June...

The ability to mount and dismount with no penalty was hugely beneficial and I was able to quickly pedal towards board 53.

On Turn 2 my Sherman Tanks came roaring on with Lord Lovat and 3 x 6-4-8's in an armored assault movement. My northernmost Sherman would foolishly stop within panzerfaust range of the Germans. One of those..."what was I thinking moves..."

I would pay for my lack of focus.

Dan's first attempt at a Panzerfaust was 6, so I survived D-Fire...but Dan would knock me out in Prep. And I richly deserved it...

The Panzerfaust is pretty much an auto-kill weapon...so all you can do is hope your opponent will miss you...

The German 2-3-7 that took out my first Sherman would go on to fall at the hands of my "no quarter" commandos. My Turn 3 advance would have to content with a nicely laid fire land by Dan's 8-0. It would force my cyclists to quit the road and amble through the French countryside.

The German 8-0 with the LMG and 4-6-7 presented us with our next big hurdle and I knew I couldn't lose too much time wrestling with them. So I sent armor and infantry right at them.

My armor would stay close to my infantry to provide protection throughout the battle.

With a huge force bearing down on them, the German 8-0 made the decision to relocate. They made a dash for the J8 building, but the squad would be DM'd in I9.

The door along the southern route was wide open. With the 8-0 trying to rally his boys, I was able to move into the next belt of German defenses. Up until this point, I also had seen hide nor hair of the German 37L AT Gun. I was hoping it was in a "mission-killed" position. Sadly for me...it was not.

Dan's boys were patiently waiting for the just the right moment to pounce...

I didn't have to wait long. My Shermans moved towards the L6 crossroads and bammo...a HEAT round from the German 37L AT Gun slammed into my Sherman and knocked it out. I had moved all around the L7 building hex...but never entered it. I was stunned...and said goodbye to my second Sherman Tank.

Nice shooting boys...but Lord Lovat has added you to his bucket of list of things to eradicate during his European tourney.

Lord Lovat and a host of Commandos quickly jumped on to the German AT Gun crew and would eliminate them in CC.

The clock was ticking away on me as I made my way through the village and Dan's defenders. I threw half-squads on bicycles at Dan in order to draw his fire and send my main units ahead. I would lose 3 x 3-3-8's overall as they dared Dan's Germans to shoot them down.

The German 8-0 had managed to rally his boys and made a final stand against me in the South.

Dan's 8-0 would turn in a great performance and even at the end took out a 3-3-8 in CC and kept me in Melee a turn longer than I could afford.

With the final German resistance overcome in the south, I gave my boys the order to make for the Victory line at Row Y.

Dan's remaining Germans didn't just sit and watch, they moved aggressively to interdict and stop me. I was down to my final turn and had to go for broke!

Dan's boys kept up their fire till the very end.

My 8-1 would cross the line first.

Lord Lovat and others would follow and give us the necessary VP's to secure the win.

A final look at a great game. Dan and I managed to play 7-1/2 solid turns in just under 4 hours. A successful play test was completed and a really fun scenario was enjoyed.

And Lord Lovat would reach Howard and his boys in the nick of time!

My thanks to Dan for yet another great game and for the opportunity to play test a great scenario. Be sure to keep your eyes open for the release of the Kansas City ASL Club's next scenario pack.

For our Saturday game, Dan Best and I selected ASL Scenario AP73 Happy Valley. This battle jumped out to both of us as a nice little armor battle in Tunisia. Neither of us had played it before and so were looking forward to the challenges it offered.

This scenario takes place in November 1942 at St. Joseph's Far, Chouigui Pass, Tunisia.

It was one of the initial armor clashes between the Afrika Korps and the untried Americans.

The primary American tank for this engagement was the M3A1 Stuart Tank. This "Honey"of a tank has always been one of my favorites. Back in the 1970's one of my favorite things to buy for a quarter at 7-11 was the latest issue of GI Combat. I was a big fan of Lt. Jeb Stuart and his Stuart Tank - "The Haunted Tank".

Dan would draw the Americans and the defense. He would be commanding elements of "Blade Force", 1st Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Regiment and Company C, 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion. He would have 4 x 6-6-6's, with 2 x MMG's led by an 8-1 and 8-0 officer. Supporting them would be 3 x Half-tracks with 75 guns, 2 x 81mm Mortars, a 37LL AT Gun and 6 x Stuart Tanks.

By Turn 3 of our game...I would have a serious respect for the 37LL Gun.

As the Germans, I would assume the role of Attacker and have to drive across the map and control all buildings within 5 hexes of 6aP10. At first glance, it seemed like a nice, easy objective. The US force was low in infantry and the tanks and half-tracks should have been no problem for my veteran Afrika Korps veterans. I would command elements of Fallschirmjaeger-Bataillon II and Panzer Regiment 190. This force would consist of 3 x 5-4-8's, 9 x 4-6-7's, with an MMG, 2 x LMG's, 2 x ATR's, and 2 x DC's led by a 9-1, 8-1 and an 8-0. They would be supported by 6 x MKIV's, 3 x 50L MKIII's, 2 x SPW251 Half-Tracks, 2 x Italian Armored Cars and 5 x Trucks. My Germans would have to enter the game as riders/Passengers and any unused Trucks would be automatically recalled. I would choose to use on 2 of the trucks...so three were recalled at the start of the game. My Germans would also have the support of the Luftwaffe. Each even numbered turn, I could roll for Stuka support.

I could hardly wait to unleash my Germans on Dan's unsuspecting Americans.

One of the SSR's allowed Dan's armor units to set up HIP. This would be huge for the American defense and Dan's nerves of steel allowed him to wait patiently for the right moment to strike as I passed by his hidden forces.

My plan was to send a secondary force with the 2 x Italian Armored Cars, 3 x MK III's and two trucks with infantry. They would suffer a terrible fate.

Along the west edge, my main force would make a rush straight towards the village.

The battle begins. The red circles show where Dan's armor and guns were hidden.

Dan would watch as I advanced right into the trap.

My Italian Armored Cars led the way (of course). Their mission...reveal the American forces and create some "Russian" Smoke.

The armored cars would be destroyed and were the only units to achieve their mission objectives.

My western schwerpunkt moved forward without too much drama. My lead MKIV did draw fire from one of the 81mm Mortars. This mortar would go on 7 in a row ROF tear. Fortunately, my tank survived the barrage.

Yep...lots of ammo and most of it got fired at me...

My infantry laden half-tracks were the final elements to advance of my schwerpunkt. That's when a hidden Stuart tank opened fire. Dan's first roll..."12"...good grief. As relieved as I was...it just sucks for anybody playing ASL when their very first roll of the game is boxcars. It would not be the last suffered by us both during this short game.

And Dan would come through for his boys. I on the other hand would not do such a good job.

My secondary group found itself in the sights of two Stuart Tanks. Dan would destroy one and survive my counter fire.

A high ROF and a better gun than one would expect make this little Honey a pretty solid light tank.

And just like that two MK III's were destroyed. Things were looking bad for my secondary group.

Smelling blood in the water, Dan sent the other Stuart right at my now undefended trucks. UGH!!!

Canister...forgot all about that stuff...what is this Shiloh !?! Dan's canister shot shredded the second truck in line. Nasty stuff canister...you don't want to be at the receiving end of that.

Just as things were getting bad for my secondary force...they went and got even worse as a third hidden Stuart tank came over the hill towards my last MKIII.

Fortunately, my MKIII would be successful in turning its turret and destroying the Stuart. It would be my only success against Dan's intrepid Stuart tanks.

Over on the east, Dan sent in his three reinforcement Stuarts to confront my schwerpunkt and sent his 75 Half-track to take out another Italian Armored Car. It was only the bottom of Turn 1 and I was reeling. The momentum was fully in American control.

After surviving a close call my remaining MK III went after the truck killing Stuart and MALF'd the MA on the bounding fire shot. With my remaining movement I high-tailed it to the west.

Dan had MALF'd his Stuart on the hill as it fired at my fleeing MK III. I also ran my last truck right at the Stuart in a desperate attempt to escape my fate. I simply hastened its coming.

Now as Turn 2 began...I still believed I was in this game. By SSR The stream was a gully and all woods were Olive Groves. So I sent my schwerpunkt forward. But I would lose two tanks to a hidden 75 Half-Track in C7 and the ROF of the dang Stuarts.

I'd seen this movie before and it didn't end well for the Germans.

Back on the east flank, my last Italian armored car bit the dust. Dan's truck killing Stuart was swarmed by my remaining 4-6-7. I was desperate to do something. But it was not to be.

At the conclusion of m part of Turn 2, I had reached the limit of my advance. I would go no further.

My CC attempt against the Stuart would fail. My 4-6-7 would survive...but they were mission killed.

"What's there to do for fun around here?"

Just as things were going badly for schwerpunkt...they got even worse as the hidden 37LL AT Gun revealed itself and with a single canister shot...shredded my infantry at the point of my assault.

I was getting an education on canister for sure during this scenario.

The truck killing Stuart, shook off my infantry and went in pursuit of my final MK III. He would succeed in taking it out.

But wait..what's the sound...could it be the sound of Teutonic Vengeance...Valkyries come to exact revenge on the Amis?!!

My boys cheered as the Luftwaffe appeared over the battlefield...but to my dismay, my bomb was a near miss and I rolled an "11", which ensured that my bomb did nothing...

Drats...I really was fighting the Haunted Tank and couldn't take it out...

In my final defensive fire, I would MALF two of my three remaining MKIV's. Nothing was going right for the Germans.

Dan's boys went to work on my MKIV in G6.

Good thing I MALF'd my Main Armament...

Two of my last three tanks would be recalled. By the middle of Turn 3, I was done.

"Command...this is Adler...do you copy...attack has failed...I repeat attack has failed. Remaining units returning to the start line."

I offered Dan the concession and accepted the loss. In four hard hours of gaming and just under 4 turns, the game was over and a decisive victory had been won by the Americans!

Congrats to Dan on a solid win and another great evening of ASL!

For this month's scenario, I elected to put together a hypothetical scenario involving the Afrika Korps. The Egyptian Campaign has always intrigued me, particularly when one imagines what might have happened had Rommel received the troops and material required for a successful push towards the Suez Canal.

What if Montgomery was defeated at El Alamein? How would such a defeat have altered the course of the war in North Africa, the Mediterranean and overall. Would it have had an impact or simply prolonged the Allied efforts to eliminate German forces in North Africa?

The Grumble Jones February scenario imagines not only a German victory at El Alamein, but an overwhelming victory, which has allowed Rommel to move on Cairo and gain control of the Suez Canal.

Control of the Suez Canal was vital to the British Empire and was a critical link between its European, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian colonies.

Control of the Canal would have given the Germans an unimaginable opportunity to link their African Campaign with their Russian Campaign.

The Germans would suddenly be in striking distance of Middle Eastern oil reserves and would be able to cut off Lend Lease access to Russia.

That the Germans put so little effort into North Africa, given the strategic opportunities is somewhat mind boggling.

Thank goodness of course, that the Germans acted as they did and Rommel's Afrika Korps was soundly defeated at the Battle of El Alamein.

But for the moment we will suspend history and imagine a new Pharaoh descending on Egypt. Most students of the North African Campaign are familiar with the exploits of German paratroop Generalleutnant Hermann-Berhard Ramcke. Ramcke would command his own Paratroop Brigade in support of Rommel's Afrika Korps. Historically, Ramcke's men were left behind during the German retreat from the defeat at El Alamein. Having no motorized transport, Rommel had assumed they would be lost. Undaunted, Ramcke and his men captured British transport and successfully crossed nearly 200 miles of open desert in order to return to German lines.

My February scenario imagines Ramcke and his Paratroopers being employed in a far more efficient manner as they attempt a glider landing to seize a bridge over the Sweetwater Canal and help complete the encirclement of British forces in Cairo.

The Sweet Water Canal, also known as Fresh Water Canal and currently known as Ismaïlia Canal, is a canal which was dug by thousands of Egyptian workers to facilitate the construction of the Suez Canal. This canal runs parallel to the Suez Canal and would have to be crossed prior to any attempt to seize the Suez Canal itself.

We can only speculate as to how the Sweetwater Canal would have figured into German operational planning for any assault against the Suez Canal.

One of the unhappy aspects of this particular scenario for me personally and I imagine for many other players is the extensive use of overlays. I hate overlays...I really do. Like many players, I avoid scenarios that use them. It's just a hassle and I admit to being lazy. But nonetheless, the use of overlays was required to piece this hypothetical scenario together. I apologize in advance for the hassle of placing so many. Hopefully the pictures below are helpful in placement of the overlays.

I have always been fascinated by the ME323 Gigant and they were historically used in an attempt to get supplies to Rommel in Tunisia, when shipping failed. The air attempt also failed in the face of Allied air superiority with devastating results. But here's an opportunity to imagine them being deployed in a more promising endeavor.

As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.

Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size.

And as always, the PDF for this scenario can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive

(just search on Grumble Jones).

For our Saturday game, Dan Best and I decided to try a scenario from the new ASL Journal 12. We selected ASL Scenario J182 - Belgian Blitzkrieg. This scenario would be our first time with the Minor Allies in a scenario. My wife, of all people was even more excited that I would be fielding Belgian troops. My wife spent her childhood growing up in Brussels, so she has wonderful memories of Belgium. I myself visited Belgium once in 1985, while a student in Germany. Another student and I traveled to Bastogne to see the WW2 museum there and take in the history. I will also say, one of the best meals I have ever had was that day in Bastogne. So here's to Belgium!

This particular scenario by Lionel Colin takes place in the final days of Belgium's valiant stand against the Germany invasion. The scenario takes place in Knesselare as the Allies were falling back towards Dunkirk.

The fighting on May 27th in Knesselare would see the final success of the Belgian Army as the very next day, King Leopold would surrender to the Germans.

As the Belgians, I would command elements of 5 eme compagnie, 4eme carabiners cyclistes. I woul have 2 x 4-5-8's, 5 x 4-5-7's, a 47 AT Gun, an MMG, a 5cm Mortar with a 9-1 and 8-0 to lead my defense. On Turn 5, I would receive the following reinforcements: 2 x 4-5-8, 1 x 4-5-7, a 9-1 and a T-13 and T-15 tank.

It had been a while since I had played the Belgians, but I was pretty happy overall with the forces at my disposal.

As the Germans, Dan would be the scenario attacker and he would be commanding elements of Kompanie 1, Infanterie-Regiment 338, Infanterie-Division 208. Dan would field 3 x 4-6-8's, 10 x 4-6-7's with 2 x MMG's, 3 x LMG's, 1 x 5cm mortar, 1 x ATR lead by a 9-1, 8-1, and 2 x8-0's. Dan would have plenty of officers, but some rough luck in this scenario would see two of them wounded.

On Turn 2, Dan would receive reinforcements in the form of 2 trucks hauling 2 x 37L AT Guns. These guns would be instrumental in countering the Belgian armor.

Dan's boys would be tasked with two objectives. The Germans could win the game outright at the conclusion of Turn 2 if they controlled the Z6 Building. Otherwise, the German player would win the game if at game end, the Germans controlled 2 or more of the multi-hex buildings.

This presented my Belgians with some hard defensive decisions. I had to create a defense that ensured that the Z6 Building didn't fall until Turn 3 or later, and still have enough troops to keep the Germans from simply bypassing me and taking over the multi-hex buildings in my rear. With my reinforcements not coming on until Turn 5, the threat of a strong bypass move really worried me.

I set up with a deployed 4-5-7 in the two building in front of Z6. These two half-squads would do a solid job of slowing the German drive towards Z6.

Neither squad would survive the German onslaught.

Dan's attack took me by surprise. His Germans moved as one giant Schwerpunkt right for the Z6 Building. My biggest fear of a bypass move didn't come to pass.

Dan would have to traverse a lot of open ground and my Belgians would inflict some early losses on the Germans as my dice were uncharacteristically hot.

Dan had two kill stacks and the mortar put down suppressing fire. Fortunately for me, Dan didn't get any ROF for this MMG's and I was able to withstand the fire and then unleash a torrent of Defensive Fire, which staggered the German assault on Turn 1.

The Germans on the south flank were repulsed, but the center force could not be so easily stopped and they were quickly into CC with my half-squads.

Dan would win the first of many Close Combats in the scenario, but one of my half-squads would force Melee and keep the Germans occupied for another half-turn.

Turn 1 had ended with my Belgians still in control of the Z6 Building. But I had to hold for one more turn!!!

Dan's supporting fire groups continued to pound my boys, but again my troops were able to shrug off the fire.

Dan's Germans would have to move in for the kill against stiff resistance.

The walls of residual fire tell the story as Dan's Germans stormed forward on Turn 2.

But then disaster struck. As my valiant 9-1 led the HMG team in pouring fire on the Germans... a single shot rang out and my 9-1 fell dead.

It was a grievous blow to my defense.

But despite the loss of their leader, the Belgians continued to hold out. But not only did my boys hold out, one half-squad went fanatic and created a Hero...a Hero for the ASL Ages!!!

OH YEAH...!!!

Turn 2 brought another round of hand to hand fighting in the Z6 building. Dan's Germans were determined to take the building and an early scenario victory.

But once again, my Belgians would force Melee and delay the Germans yet again.

One o Dan's key snakes during the scenario!

My Hero would be wounded...but continue to lead the resistance in the Z6 building against all odds.

Turn 2 would end with the Z6 building still in Belgian hands. My boys had survived the storm and now Dan's Germans would be forced to go for the end game victory conditions.

Dan's reinforcing AT Guns entered the fray as fighting continued in the Z6 building.

Incredibly melee continued in the Z6 Building as my fanatic half-squad and Hero continued to hold out.

During the fighting in Z6 Dan and I rolled snakes in the same sequence. What a battle!!!!

My 4-5-7 in the south had been creeping through the woods to get into position to enfilade the German 37L AT Gun. Unfortunately, they didn't get a good shot and would soon be the sole focus of the AT Gun.

My 4-5-7 would be DM'd by the ATGun and then Dan's grenadiers would encircle them. Unfortunately, the Germans weren't in the mood for prisoners.

The second truck towing a 37L AT Gun tried to run into the town. A 4-5-7 got lucky and KIA'd the crew riding in the back of the truck.

Incredibly, Turn 4 would find my Belgians still holding out in the Z6 Building. The Belgian Hero would take down a half-squad of Germans before finally being overcome.

The performance of my Belgian Hero in the fight for the Z6 building was pretty epic. It was the kind of moment in ASL, that we often think can't happen...but in this instance a single Hero fought heroically for over 2 turns in the face of pretty stiff odds.

With the clock running and echoes of the brawl still being heard from the Z6 Building...Dan's grenadiers began their push forward to secure a second building and the scenario win.

With my pesky 4-5-7 down for the count, Dan's AT Gun began dueling with my 47 AT Gun.

Dan went all intensive fire on my AT Gun and took it out. It was a welcome success for the Germans.

The Germans were once again back on track and even as the melee continued in the Z6 Building, Dan's boys were pushing ahead.

My phase of Turn 5 saw the arrival of my armor and bicycle infantry. I was hoping to get them into position to repel the German attack that was beginning to take shape.

My armor was a welcome sight...but man...these were some ugly looking tanks...

Hurry boys...the Germans are going to beat you to the final objective. Pedal faster!

Dan's AT Guns barked out shots. His southernmost gun was being manned by a 4-6-7. They would miss and in the following turn break the gun. The other gun, which had scratched a squad and a gun would begin peppering my T-13 .

These guys would be Dan's best performing unit of the scenario.

Dan's advance in Turns 5-7 was impressive. While the fight for the Z6 Building had been disastrous for the German cause, Dan made lemonade from lemons and was knocking on the door to the second victory location.

And just like that my T-13 was destroyed by Dan's AT Gun and Dan's grenadiers were storming through the woods. I was genuinely becoming worried. Would I be able to hold Dan's boys off for the last two turns???

With my big tank down...I was going to have to rely on my T-15 to do its bit and slow down the field grey tidal wave!

Turn seven...Dan's Germans thrust forward in a final effort to secure their second and game winning victory location.

Dan's Landsers never faltered in pressing the attack, but time and accurate Belgian fire would stop them.

With the conclusion the German phase of Turn 7, Dan offered the concession. He could not see a way that would result in a successful German outcome. He would need at least KIA results on my remaining forces in the final victory location building. The odds were simply against such an occurrence, so Dan gave the concession and we called the game.

One final look a the positions of the Belgians and the Germans at game end. A Belgian victory was the result, but it was oh so close. Dan's Germans, despite the heavy losses in time and men to take the Z6 Building were very nearly overcome. The stand of a single Belgian Hero had gained my Belgians at least one turn, and that one turn would be the difference, as with one more turn, I believe Dan's Germans would have overcome my last line of resistance.

My thanks once again to Dan for a great and exciting game. It's one I will remember for quite some time!

For our Saturday game, Dan Best and I stayed with the ASL Journal 12 and selected J188 Grab and Go. This Pete Shelling design pits the Grossdeutschland Division against the Russian 5th Guards Airborne Division. It's a nice infantry fight with some interesting Victory Conditions, which has been similar to what we have seen in the other ASL Journal 12 Scenarios.

Ever since reading the Forgotten Soldier in 1981, I've been hooked on learning more about the Grossdeutschland Division. And yes...I'm unapologetic Fan Boy of this division. Yes, they were solidly on the wrong side of history, but it's hard not to respect their combat record and their use as the Russian Front Fire Brigade. And our scenario would do nothing to diminish their combat performance as Dan employed them with skill and purpose.

As the scenario defender, Dan would have 2 x 4-6-8's, with an HMG, MMG, 4 x LMG's and an 8cm Mortar led by a 9-2, 91-, 8-1 and 8-0. On turn 5, Dan would have two half-tracks come on to assist in bringing his forces off board.

The Victory Conditions required that the Russians exit more VP off the south board edge than the Germans. I cannot recall playing another scenario that had both sides trying to exit the game on the same board edge. Additionally, the Russians could gain VP's by capturing any multi-hex buildings prior to turn 4. Each captured building would give the Russian player an additional 3 VP's.

Facing Dan's Grossdeutschland Grenadiers would prove to be very challenging.

As the scenario attacker, I would command 21 x 4-5-8's with an MMG, 4 x LMG's, 2 x ATR's, a 6cm Mortar, and 2 x DC's led by a 9-2, 91-, 8-1 and 2 x8-0's. My troops would represent the Soviet 5th Guards Airborne Division. In most circumstances having 8 morale troops would be a great thing. But on this night, my cold dice would return to form and many a normal or +1 Morale Check would be missed. But despite my cold dice, I would be very happy with my OOB for this scenario.

Tonight's AAR is a bit on the long side as this scenario went the full 7 turns. Fortunately, a Grumble Jones staff photographer got 'r done!

Great job Anatoli!

My forces would enter the board on Turn 1 on the North edge. I elected to send my schwerpunkt up the left. It looked like the best covered route to get into a woods system that would lead right to the exit zone. My center effort was a distraction to occupy Dan's boys defending the buildings. And my force on the right was also a diversionary force to attract attention away from the center and left. Of course as fate would have it...my choice to go left was right where Dan was waiting for me...I had a 50/50 chance and blew it...

Decisions...decisions...right or left...which way shall I go...

My movement up the left side went as planned. I reached the wood line and was feeling pretty good about my plan at that point.

My boys in the center attracted lots of German attention...somewhat as planned.

Along the right, my boys made their first turn objectives as well. It quickly became clear that the right would have been a better choice.

The lull before the storm. I would soon regret my over confidence as Dan's Grossdeutchlanders prepared a hot reception for me.

Watchful eyes were tracking my movements and determining how best to stop me.

At the conclusion of Turn 1, my forces were in place on both the right and left. In the center, I had been successful in revealing many of the German defenders...but at the cost of many lives.

After playing many scenarios against Dan, I have begun to appreciate his effective use of encircling tactics. It's one of Dan's exceptionally good moves.

Attack yes...rout...not so much...

I had my mortar in place with the primary mission to interdict any movement of the Germans from the village to the left. It sounded good in my head...but didn't quite work out as planned.

My single success with my mortar was to produce a chuckle at both ends of the Skype line. Yep, I got a critical hit on the concealed Germans...only to discover they were dummies...aaieeieeieie...

Ok...I'll admit...it was funny...

With the dummy squad revealed, my boys moved more aggressively but Dan's 9-1had moved into position to put down a fire lane. As with encirclement...Dan is also quite skilled at laying down fire lanes. I would suffer mightily from them.

Back on the right, my men continued to drive forward. A dummy location was bypassed, but a 4-6-8 with an LMG would defend the flank very effectively.

As Turn 2 ended...I became aware that my group on the left had moved into a bit of a trap. Dan's fire lanes had kept me in the woods as his other forces adjusted to keep me from sprinting to Board q.

And additionally, I had walked right into the 8cm Mortar. Fortunately, I survived the hit...but man was I surprised.

Now...you'll notice the 8cm Mortar is in the wrong position. One of the issues that may occur when playing via Skype is misplacing a unit. I have played nearly 100 games by Cardboard via Skype and this the only time, I got a placement completely wrong. Fortunately it didn't impact the game.

Back on the right, Dan's single 4-6-8 would continue to bedevil me. He made a break for the Y8 House. That house would be an ideal spot to completely interdict my approach to the exit location.

Dan managed to keep his men in front of mine for the entire scenario. It was an interesting chess match as we both moved towards the exit and tried to keep the other from reaching it first.

Dan's blocking position on the left.

Drats...the door was shut!!!

On Turn 3 I went for broke. I could sense Dan's Germans beginning to concentrate and knew I had to move quickly. The biggest conundrum was figuring out how to move without triggering the fire lanes. My efforts were to no avail as the fire lanes chopped me up. But...my 9-2 and three squads made it around the edge.

The fighting on the right continued to be hot and furious. I was getting around the edge...but Dan's forces were still in position to hurt me if made a run for the exit.

A look at our respective positions as we neared the half-way point of the scenario.

In the center, Dan's boys went to work in mopping up my forces and taking prisoners.

These would be the lucky Russians...Dan's Germans would not be accepting of prisoners at the end of this scenario.

As my forces on the left continued to drive forward, my forces in the center engaged in mischief making....although not successfully. My ability to move forward on left was made possible when Dan's 9-2 broke and was forced to fall back with the HMG. The 9-2 had been holding the line up until that fateful break.

The exits above indicate Exit Zone for both the Russians and the Germans in this scenario. I must say I really enjoyed this idea of both sides trying to exit at the same time in the same place. It really added something new and interesting to the scenario.

In his next Prep Fire Phase, Dan dismantled his HMG and his 8cm Mortar. It was time to get ready for extraction.

In the center, Dan and I engaged in some melees that took a couple of turns to play out.

My Turn 5 movements were critical as time was running out. Dan was keeping his blocking units in place, because he knew his half-tracks would soon arrive and would have no trouble exiting the game. I would have to move and do it quickly.

On Turn 5, both Dan and I had to make some critical rallies. In my case, I rolled snakes and created a fanatic squad and a Hero.

Getting a hero at this point in the game would be very helpful.

But on the German side of the field, the rally roll for the German 9-2 was boxcars followed by a 6 and just like that the Germans were dealt a grievous blow.

A tough blow for the Germans.

Boxcars...never easy to watch...

On Turn 5, the German half-tracks roared into action to begin extracting their comrades. It was time for both sides to begin moving to the exits!!

As Dan began his move towards the exit, he was still keeping me pinned down on the left. I had to spend valuable time fighting his forces in order to open a safe exit.

On the right, I made my run for the exit.

In the center, both Dan and I had mission killed squads, who would not be exiting.

On the right, my first squads would finally exit the game. The melee would result in death for both the Germans and the Russians. The remaining German 4-6-8 would successfully exit.

This was my line up on the left in preparation for my departure from the game. On his phase of Turn 6 Dan would shift his boys adjacent to make me pay a fee for exiting.

It went a bit like this, but in spite of Dan's fire lanes I managed to exit a total of 23 victory points.

No one was more surprised that I was.

Going into Turn 5, Dan and I both thought that things looked pretty bleak for the Russians. But as my phase of Turn 7 ended I had taken the lead in Victory Points. I was still in it!

But the final phase of Turn 7 belonged to the Grossdeutschland Division and they would bring home the victory.

Back on the right, Dan had one squad left to exit. I had a squad waiting to stop them...but failed...and the Grenadiers escaped! My lead in points was nearly gone.

The final blow came as Dan's 9-1 and a 4-6-8 squad made a run for the exit. My boys fired away..but nothing...I couldn't stop them and Dan had the win with 26 Victory Points to my 23.

Dan and I both had great exit performances!!!

Yes, I know I didn't win, but I was pretty happy to end with 23 victory points.

Dan's boys could reflect on a great win!!

This AAR is dedicated to the memory of Bill Paxton....gone too soon.

For our Thursday game, I welcomed a new opponent to the Skype Line for what would be a classic Cardboard via Skype battle. Tom Abromaitis and I had talked about getting a game together nearly a year ago and on Thursday night we met upon the fabled ASL Cardboard Field of Battle!

For our first contest (the first of many to come I hope) we selected the Yanks 2 version of T3 Ranger Stronghold now numbered ASL Scenario 179. The most significant difference would be the replacement of key officers. The Germans would lose a 9-2 and the Americans would gain a 10-3. And as you will see, the performance of Tom's 10-3 would be the highlight of our game!

After all...it's not called Squad Leader for nothing!

Ranger Stronghold takes place in the Lattari Mountains which are NW of Salerno. There the American Rangers would earn their first Italian Battle honors against the German counterattacks against the Allied beachhead. ROAR shows the scenario to favor the Germans with 116 German Wins to only 70 American. Tom would dice for sides and as luck would have it...he drew the Americans and would be the scenario defender.

Tom would command elements of the First Ranger Battalion. He would have 5 x 7-4-7's, a 3-3-7 with 2 x MMG's, 4 x Bazookas and ably led by a 10-3 and 8-0.

Tom would have to hold out for 6 turns and maintain a least one unbroken MMC on or between hexrows H-P in hexes less than or equal to 5. Not an easy task to be sure.

As the scenario attacker, I would command a Kampgruppe from the 16th Panzer Division I would have 6 x 4-6-7's, 6 x 4-4-7's, an MMG, 5 x LMG's and all led by a 9-1, 8-1, 8-0 and 7-0...with two Panzer MKIV's in support. A very capable force to say the least. In this particular scenario my Germans would setup and move first. This setup would give Tom's defenders a heads up as to where my grenadiers would be heading.

The Grumble Jones staff photographer would be embedded with Tom's Rangers and document the evening cardboard carnage!

The blue line shows the German starting position. 10 Hexes is a fairly narrow front to attack along, so I was pretty well stacked up in the available cover. I had squads prepared to armor assault with each of the MKIV's. The white arrows show my planned objectives. I intended for both tanks to swing around the flanks and into the rear with as many infantry as could make it. In the center, I was aiming for the wooded gap between the cliffs, which would give me secure access onto the hill.

My boys were ready to go! Angreif!

Tom had elected to establish an "up in my grill" defense. I had setup with a mind for movement, but seeing the danger posed by Tom's boys on the hills, I went ahead and Prep-Fired several units. The German fire was very effective as a 7-4-7 was eliminated on the north center cliff and the 3-3-7 with the MMG on the hill summit would break and be forced to rout.

With the firing complete, ti was time to move forward into Tom's waiting GI's.

Tom's 10-3 on the south edge presented a serious concern for me. I couldn't risk any unsafe moves in front of his MMG. Certain death would be the result. So I limited my moves in the south. Fortunately, I was able to use the cliff hex sides for cover and some of my boys crossed the road and into the wooded draw. In the north, my boys moved ahead to confront the two 7-4-7's holding that flank.

With the heights cleared, I could focus my tanks on the other available Ranger targets. My tanks would be somewhat ineffective in the early turns, but would make up for by the end of the scenario.

Meanwhile in the north, Tom would use spraying fire to repulse my grenadiers.

My Panzers would ultimately help decide the game's outcome.

In Tom's phase of Turn 1, his 10-3 would make an epic run for the hills and right in front of my 9-1 with an LMG controlling the road.

I thought..."no way's he's really going to do that"...is he???

It was a ballsy move and Tom's 10-3 successfully led his boys across the road into the hills.

With the south flank open, in Turn 2, I sent a MKIV and some infantry to swing around. I had to be careful as Tom's 10-3 was in a commanding position once again.

Throughout the scenario, Tom would make good use of elevation.

Both MKIV's had moved into position to fire on the Rangers. In the south, the bazooka threat was minimal...but in the north bazooka shots were taken. Fortunately, they would bounce off the turret of the northern MKIV. Tom's 10-3 would have more success and eliminate a 4-6-7 in Close Combat. I forgot to keep my distance from the 10-3 and paid for it ...hard.

Turn 3 would see the biggest German movement of the scenario up to that point. I thought, I had done a good envelopment...but Tom would prove me wrong.

As my part of Turn 3 wound down, there were only three pockets of Rangers left to deal with.

But 7-4-7's never go down easy...

On his part of Turn 3, Tom's 10-3 went on the attack and moved against a surprised 4-4-7 and MKIV. My 4-4-7 failed to do any damage..but the Panzer successfully brought his guns to bear and then rolled snake eyes with the main armament. In the ensuing damage..the 10-3 would be wounded and then broken. It would be the turning point of the game.

The Rangers in the center knew they would soon be surrounded by my Landsers.

Despite the 10-3 stack going down, Tom's other boys continued to try and escape my trap. The 3-3-7 with the MMG made a great run along the ridge. M armor pursued them as my grenadiers went into mopping up mode.

As the north flank crumbled, Tom's 8-0 self-routed to escape the impending close combat with a squad of Germans.

His escape would lead to tragedy...

As the game neared it's conclusion, Tom still had three Ranger elements on the field.

Tom's Rangers weren't going down easily.

The 10-3 stack would be DM'd once again and with that, the Germans would be able to close in for the kill.

In the north, the 8-0's tragedy would be complete as he rolled a 12 during Rally Phase. And in Salerno, a local woman, Malena would never see her American Soldier again...

The final Ranger unit still standing on Turn 6 was the 3-3-7 with the MMG. They had escaped trap and trap and even an overrun attempt by one of the Mark IV's.

If they could survive this turn, the Americans would pull our a miracle win.

German MG-42's barked once more and the 3-3-7 broke. And with that the Germans had the victory.

The fiver German LMG's were definitely a strong element of the German's success in this scenario.

Tom had managed to hold out until the very end and was a half turn from potential victory. Despite some early setbacks, Tom's Rangers had made a tough fight of it for the Germans. And had the 10-3 not been wounded...it's scary to imagine how many more of my grenadiers may have been eliminated trying to take him down.

My thanks to Tom for a great first game together. I look forward to many more.

For our Saturday game, Dan Best and I turned once more to the ASL Journal 12 and selected J183 A Real Barn Burner. And truth be told...I would feel a bit scorched myself at the end of this awesome scenario. Lionel Colin created this gem and Dan and I both would find it to be exactly as described.. A Real Barn Burner!!!

I have always been interested in the 1940 battles for France. So I was looking forward to this particular scenario. The victory conditions were also a bit different, which as I have noted before has been a staple for Journal 12 scenarios.

The French would be tasked with controlling Building 43M7 at the game end, but could only win if at least one Squad from the French relief force was unbroken in the building at game end. Very interesting...

The scenario itself takes place on May 31st, 1940 at the Bois-Du-Seuil Farm near Amagne, France.

A typical street view of Amagne, France.

Dan and I rolled for sides and I ended up with the Germans and would be the scenario defender. Dan would be the French and would be our scenario attacker.

My German force would grenadiers of the Infanterie-Regiment 184 of Infanterie-Division 86. I wold have 9 x 4-6-7's, a 2-4-8, with HMG, 2 X LMG's, and an ATR lead by a 9-1, 8-0 and 7-0 with a 37L AT Gun for support.

The French would be members of the 35 eme regiment d'infanterie, 14 eme division d'infanterie.

Dan's French force would be in two parts. Inside the Bois-Du-Seuil Farm would be a platoon led by Lt. Gehin. Gehin, a 9-1, would be tasked with holding the farm with 2 x 4-5-8's, a 2-4-8 and 2 x LMG's. Oh...an 8 Dummy counters, which would confound my Germans at various points in the scenario.

A relief force of 10 x 4-5-7's, with an MMG, LMG and 6cm mortar would be led by an 8-1 and an 8-0. Both officers would be killed by Boxcars on a Rally DR.

Boxcars would plague Dan's efforts throughout the evening.

The northern circle shows the position of Lt. Gehin and his platoon. The setup for this scenario had Dan placing Gehin's platoon first, then I placed my Germans, and finally Dan placed his relief force which is in the southern circle.

The Relief force set up and ready to roll.

My setup was designed to #1 stop the relief force and #2 take the Bois-Du-Seuil Farm. I had 6 squads with the 8-0 surrounding the farm. In the center woods I placed my 9-1, MMG and 3-1/2 squads along with the 37L AT Gun.

Although, I was happy with my defense. I would certainly take a different approach, were I to play this scenario again.

With memories of Belgian Blitzkrieg still fresh in my mind...I knew that Dan would come at me hard with his relief force. As the first half-squad appeared, I set up two fire lanes, which Dan elected not to chance. As a result his forces fanned out along the woods line.

Dan's relief force was arrayed before my defenders with the 6cm mortar as the anchor support in the center. But wait...one 4-5-7 was running through the woods towards a road...just what were they up to...I wondered...

Dan's mortar had rained some shells down on me...but then the dreaded boxcars appeared. The mortar would done for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, I engaged in deploying squads. I was relying on half-squads to stretch my line and hold of the French.

In the north, I swept around the stone wall and jumped in CC with the ground floor Frenchmen.

Dan would get the ambush and waste my grenadiers.

I would learn the hard way that Lt. Gehin was not to be trifled with.

And now for Dan's second charge! The French rushed from the woodline with my 9-1 as the object of their affection!!! My half-squads would open up and stagger the charge.

Dan's boys didn't lack for courage crossing that open ground.

Two of the 4-5-7's survived the charge intact. One jumped into CC with my 9-1, while the other fell back to N10 rather than hang out in the open. My half-squads had held the line.

The circles show where my boys were concentrated. Dan's flanking movement on the west was coming together, while his boys in the south center were reforming for the next assault. At the farm, my boys were moving cautiously around the wall and looking for entry points.

One of the bigger moves for me involved my 4-6-7 with an LMG moving out of L5 foxhole and into the street. Oh and right in front of Dan's relief force 8-1 with the MMG. I had two objectives in making the move.#1 I needed to put more pressure on the farm and #2 I needed to draw fire away from my boys in Q3, who were literally holding the entire flank of the German position.

Dan's 8-1 would carefully decide how to respond to my move and he would ultimately fire on me.

Back at the Farm, I had once again sent boys into close combat with Gehin and his men in O8. And once again Gehin would gain the ambush and kill my grenadiers.

I would not threaten Gehin and his platoon again. They were simply too much for me.

Back on the west flank, the single 4-5-7 had moved into view. It's intent was no clear to all...this squad had the ball and they were headed to the Farm!!!

Would I be able to stop them???

I had stopped Dan's relief force...but the single 4-5-7 had made it around the flank and into the wheat field. I had my 37L AT gun gain acquisition on a probable hex that the 4-5-7 would traverse. I then focused my fire on Dan's 8-1 with the MMG. I needed to eliminate it to open up the road and allow my men to stop the 4-5-7.

In the ensuing fire, Dan's 8-1 would break and then in a subsequent fire roll boxcars and then the dreaded 6. He would join the 8-0 who had died a similar death only turns before. Dan had suffered terribly from boxcars. His mortar gone, two officers KIA'd and two LMG breaks. It was overwhelming misfortune in so short a game.

With the French relief force now completely mission-killed, I had to focus on the one 4-5-7 whose flanking maneuver had been made possible by so much French sacrifice.

Turn 5...and Dan's last chance for a miracle victory. I had no more moves left. I could only watch and wait. Dan's Poilus opened fire on me. And I watched as the dominoes fell. I missed every single morale check. My entire line along with my AT Gun had been shattered. Dan had smashed my glass jaw. The way was open.

I have always suffered a bit from unlucky dice rolls...but I found it hard to complain after watching Dan's boys be nearly crippled by boxcars. But I knew now...that all my efforts were about to go for naught. Dan's 4-5-7 had the movement to win the game. And I had but two 4-6-7's who would have a shot at him.

Lt. Gehin's fire from the farm had succeeded in pinning my 8-0 who was with one of the two 4-6-7's covering the approach tot he farm. His sole purpose was to keep my boys from cowering...and now he was pinned.

The 4-5-7 charged ahead through the field. Death or Glory...My first 4-6-7 in M6 fired, but to no avail. It was up to my 4-6-7 in P9. They fired...and rolled 2 fives. They had cowered and there would no subsequent fire. Dan had his March Miracle!

I could only look on in disbelief.

On the other end of the Skype line Dan was understandably jubilant. He had suffered a lot in this scenario and had willed himself to a victory. And it was a classic ASL moment...the kind we blog about!

Congrats to Dan on a terrific win.

While Dan celebrated an exciting win...my Germans could only ponder what might have been...

This month's Grumble Jones scenario pays homage to the Forca Expedicionario Brasileira (FEB), which represented Brazil's contribution to the war against Nazi Germany. The FEB would serve with distinction in the Italian Campaign. And by the end of the war would accept the surrender of the German 148th Infantry Division. It would be the only surrender in that theater of an intact German division.

The nickname for the Brazilians was the Smoking Snakes or Smoking Cobras. These men would go on to become outstanding soldiers and gain the pride and admiration of all Brazilians upon their return from Europe.

http://gruntsandco.com/snakes-smoking-brazilian-expeditionary-force-ww2/ this is a great link to learn a bit more about the FEB.

The FEB accepts the surrender of the German 148th Infantry Division.

This month's scenario depicts the actions of the FEB during its 4 day fight to take control of the Italian town of Montese.

Hopefully this scenario captures the intensity of the close in fighting the Brazilians were engaged in during the struggle for Montese.

As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.

Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size.

And as always, the PDF for this scenario can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive

(just search on Grumble Jones).

March...it can only mean one thing...that's right..the Kansas City ASL Group 2017 March Madness Tournament!!! For the third year in a row, I was able to attend this excellent tournament in Kansas City, MO. I had thoroughly enjoyed my previous tournaments...but 2017 would take things to a much higher level. In the course of three days, I would complete 8 scenarios. For a point of reference, in 2011, I only managed to play 11 scenarios for the entire year.

I drove up Thursday morning. I drive up the eastern side of Kansas through some beautiful country. It's a drive that I almost always enjoy.

Yep...looks like I'm in Kansas!!! The rest stop in Cherryvale, KS is a great place to take in the Kansas landscape.

I arrived at the Hollis Renewal Center in time to play a scenario against Dave Mareske. It would be the first of the 8 scenarios I would play over the next three days.

This would also mark the first time that I would stay at the Hollis Renewal Center each night. Dan Best, Rick Reinesch and I would share a four bedroom cabin in the woods. Great place to relax and get off the grid, watch the deer and birds, and just plan recharge.

Now...I will admit to being a little bit unnerved when I went alone to the cabin after Saturday evening's gaming. I got back to the cabin around Midnight, while Dan and Rick remained at the Tournament until 2:00 AM or so.

Trust me when I say it was DARK...and yes I was convinced that Sasquatch was watching me from the surrounding forest as I walked along the path to the cabin.

You know how your mind can get you spooked out. So...yeah...I was little creeped out...but then I remembered....Sasquatch doesn't play ASL....

Well....at least I don't think he does...

All kidding aside, I really enjoyed my time at the Hollis Renewal Center. And I highly recommend staying there should you ever have the opportunity.

And the new ASL March Madness Hollis Scenario Pack has a map of the Hollis Center which is used in the MM For Fun 1 Rooting Them Out scenario. It was great fun to play that scenario while actually staying in a building represented on the map. That was an ASL first for me!

Once I got settled, Dave and I sat down to play MM41 Final Victory form the March Madness 2017 Hollis Pack. Dave would command the Germans who would be tasked with defending the Telephone Exchange Building in Warsaw.

Dave would command 11 x 4-4-7's and 2 x 4-6-7's and 4 x 4-3-6's in a building with fortified cellar and ground level. The Hollis pack comes with a handy play aid to allow you to set up squads in the cellar and various other levels of the Telephone Exchange Building.

As the scenario attacker, I would command elements of the Battalion Kilinski, of the Armia Krajowa. I would have 9 x 5-2-7's, and 10 x 3-3-7's with 4 x LMG's, 2 x Flamethrowers, and 6 x DC's.

I had every confidence in my freedom fighters! They would be unstoppable!

The victory conditions were simple. Which ever side controlled a majority of the 23 possible building locations would get the win.

This was my first opportunity to play against Dave Mareske and I really enjoyed our game!

My attack had 4 elements. First, I planned to send my strongest groups through the sewers and into the cellar. Second, I had two flame-throwers set up to wax Dave's pillbox beside the Exchange Building which would allow a charge through the orchard and into the ground level. Third, I sent a group through the rubble to also get into the ground level. And 4th, I had an LMG kill stack with the 9-2 to suppress Dave's boys in Level 1.

Our cellar fight ended up being pretty exciting as my boys popped up. Dave did manage to KIA my officer leading that assault as he showed his head to the waiting Germans.

I managed to break Dave's MMG squad in the Pillbox...but they would rally the very next turn with snakes and create a hero. DRATSSS!!!

Dave called the snakes before he rolled it. Pretty cool...and way lucky!!!

A good look at the play aid in the Hollis Pack for this scenario. It really helped us during the game.

After a hard fight, my Poles would get the win as the last Germans were overcome in close combat.

After some dinner, Dan and I returned to Hollis and decided to play a scenario before retiring for the evening. We decided to play MM for Fun 1 Rooting them Out from the March Madness 2017 Hollis Pack. Now this would be the first and perhaps only time that I have or will ever play an ASL scenario while actually staying in a building on the game board.

You mean...it's not to play some ASL...???

I drew the SS Grenadiers and promptly launched my attack determined to eliminate the Heroes of Hollis. I did lose my half-track to a perfectly thrown molotov cocktail, but in the end my SS overwhelmed the Hollis Heroes and took control of the Renewal Center.

"Hey Fritz, I've got dibs on the double-bed in the Hideaway Cabin!"

"NOT if I get there first Hans!!!"

The next day would be Friday and the start of the Tournament. Dan got me up early and off we went to the Holiday Inn Express to setup and kickoff the 2017 March Madness.

Kudos to Dave and Dan for all of their hard work in making the March Madness Tournament such a great success.

My first Round opponent Colman Quill prepares his defense.

My Round 1 Scenario would J191 Rebels without a Pause. Colman would be the defending Germans and I would have the attacking Slovaks.

Colman would concentrate his defense in the area, which just happened to be the Victory Condition Area I have selected of three different options.

My attack made great early progress, but as I neared the victory locations, my losses mounted and then Colman wiped me out in Close Combats.

At game end, Colman had the win! It was his first Tournament Scenario win in 11 attempts!

I would learn to fear the beard!!!

My Round Two game would be against Richard Burton. Richard and I had played a great game in last year's March Madness. Richard had won that one. We would take on ASLScenario 93 Tavronitis Bridge.

Richard would draw the New Zealanders and he would be the scenario defender. Richard would setup on either end of the bridge.

As the Germans, I would be the attacker arriving in 10 gliders.

My attack plan was to send half the gliders past the bridge and half the gliders before the bridge. My paras would then storm up out of the river bed and attack both ends of the bridge.

All but one of my gliders landed safely. One of my gliders actually crashed onto the bridge. A half-squad would survive and emerge to crossfire from New Zealand rifleman at either end of the bridge. Incredibly, the squad would go fanatic and create a hero. The Hero would survive the battle having crossed over the bridge at least one time under fire.

Richard's dice would confound his efforts to push back my paras. He had some successes, but not enough to stop my Fallschirmjaegers from getting up close and personal.

This scenario gave us an opportunity to use the cloaking card.

Richard's boys watched my boys glide in.

A good look at Richard's defensive setup.

My miracle half-squad emerges from their crash.

Richard and I completed a great game. My Fallschirmjaeger succeeded in eliminating the New Zealanders and secured my one and only tournament round victory.

This game would be my favorite of the tournament.

Saturday morning...Rick Reinesch, Dave Mareske and Dan Best already hard at work preparing for the day's battles!

My Round 3 opponent would be Francis Biss. I knew immediately that I was in trouble...facing another long beard!!!

Dan Best had teased me that I was playing against the long beards. But I think Colman and Francis might not have been who they said they were...

That's right...there I was at March Madness playing ASL against the Soggy Bottom Boys!!!!

All kidding aside, Colman and Francis would both prove to be very good ASL players and both would defeat me in battle. So...respect the beard...respect the beard!

Francis and I would square off in a playing of Totsugeki. I would be the Japanese trying to destroy three Chinese artillery pieces deep in the jungle.

I would Banzai Charge early and often with good initial results. But as the game wore on, Francis' defense would prove to much for me.

By the end of the game, I had reached one gun, but could only threaten the other two as Francis' Chinese surrounded my remaining Japanese and eliminated them in close combat. It was a fun game, but once again, I learned that Banzai Charges should be used more judiciously. Francis did a great job of creating a defense in depth that gained in strength, the deeper my Japanese penetrated into the jungle.

I took a brief break for lunch and had a stack of pancakes at IHOP. I also sat outside in the sun and read through emails until noticing that I had been ambushed by my first Panther of the Tournament. Fortunately...it allowed me to go on my way!

Everything is better with pancakes!

With some time to kill before Round 4 began, Dave Mareske and I decided to play ASL Scenario J185 - The Haunted Castle.

Dave would be the Russians and assume the defense. I would draw the Germans and once again be the attacker. I would play a total of 8 scenarios over the three days and would be the attacker in every case.

While I enjoyed this scenario, I badly misplayed it. I was far too cautious on Turn 1 and missed a golden opportunity to maybe get closer to the victory buildings.

Dave would ambush me in the orchard with a HIP 4-4-7. That 4-4-7 would stop my Turn 2 assault and would cause me grief throughout the game. They would be Dave's recipients of the Order of Lenin. Dave managed to reinforce the buildings and once he did, it was clear that my Germans were done. So it was a great win for Dave's Russians!

Great win for Dave and can't wait for our next opportunity to play one another!

After playing Dave, it was time to begin my Round 4 Scenario and my final game of the tournament.

My final game would be Scenario WO22 - The Cost of Non-Compliance. Jeff Ital would be my final opponent.

Jeff would draw the Germans and be the scenario defender. In this scenario, the German player sets up first, writes down the locations of his forces, and then removes them from the board. The Russian Player (Me) then sets up the attacking force. And then finally, the Germans are replaced onto the board. It's a great way to create some great fog of war.

I set up my Russians with the intention of moving up the left center. I would use my KV-1 with infantry to armor assault towards the first group of buildings.

My initial moves forward were fairly unsuccessful. I ran into some of Jeff's Grenadiers in the small building complex. Jeff rolled a snake eyes against them and melted an entire stack of my Russians with a KV-1. Then Jeff revealed his 105 Arty on the hill to the left. It barked out another snake eyes...and yep scratch one KV-1...

Oh yeah...and it boomed big!!!

The 105 would succeed in destroying both of my KV-1's...

I continued to move forward and in doing so ran into a crossfire of Jeff's 2 x 37L AT Guns. They would do some damage to me...

Lots of Russian tanks were burning by the time Jeff's reinforcing Panzers entered the battle.

Despite a few early setbacks, my Russians did manage to get into position to assault the town and try to secure at least 5 stone buildings.

I would finish the game with control of 4 buildings as Jeff's Grenadiers counter-attacked and took back a fifth building. Despite controlling some buildings, I had lost too many tanks to meet the other half of the Russian victory condition requirement to have more functioning AFV's than the Germans.

Jeff got the win in a hard fought game. And for me, I was ready to hit the sack. 8 scenarios in 3 days was a record amount of ASL for me...and I was tired...

Jeff's 37L AT Gun crew on the left and his MMG squad would receive well-deserved decorations.

So that was March Madness 2017.

My thanks to my opponents for some great ASL! Thank you Dave Mareske, Dan Best, Colman Quill, Francis Biss, Richard Burton and Jeff Ital. I look forward to seeing you all again next year!

See you next March Kansas City!

This month's Grumble Jones scenario delves deeply into the hypothetical. Back at March Madness I had promised Dan Best, that I would design a scenario utilizing the HOLLIS Map that comes in the ASL March Madness Hollis Pack. I think I told him about German ski troops trying to capture Marshall Zhukov at his dascha in the winter of 1942-43. I think I even had wolves in the scenario. While I didn't go with that particular story...this time...perhaps this year's Halloween Scenario will feature some of that and more...muhahahhaa....but for now, we'll focus on the actual April Scenario GJ044 - Fox Hunt.

I have always had an interest in Erwin Rommel, since as long as I can remember. When I was 8 years old I got the Desert Fox - Marx Playset for Christmas...and my relationship with Rommel began.

When I was thirteen, I read David Irving's - The Trail of the Fox. Other books would follow and I would grab anything I could find about Rommel and the Afrika Korps.

I still have my battered copy of Irving's book and find myself referring to it often for detail about this or that event in North Africa or later in Normandy.

Now, to be clear, my fascination with Rommel is based on the man himself and certainly not the cause which he served. Even Rommel himself came to see the true nature of the regime, which he had done much to empower.

As I have written several times before, I did finally manage to visit Rommel's grave site in 1985. On a snowy, November Sunday in Herrlingen, I found myself walking the snow covered cemetery in search of the Desert Fox. A grieving German grandmother pointed me in the right direction. It remains one of my favorite memories of my time as a student in Germany.

Now this month's scenario in addition to be situated on the HOLLIS map is based on some hypothetical imaginings of events in Normandy directly after Rommel's wounding by Allied fighter bombers. Apparently, there is still some historical questioning around which Allied aircraft actually strafed Rommel as he departed a meeting with Sepp Dietrich at St Pierre-sur-Dives. I recommend these websites for additional study of this event>

http://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/articles/who-shot-rommel

http://www.spitcrazy.com/rommelunderattackfull.htm

What we know is that Rommel and Sepp Dietrich met at his 1st SS Panzer Corps. HQ in St Pierre-sur-Dives. The specifics of their conversation is unknown. But Rommel was heard asking Dietrich if he had his support and obedience to whatever orders he might issue. Dietrich gave his affirmation. Rommel then left in his Horch staff car and drove to his meeting with destiny.

Now this month's scenario picks up a day after Rommel's wounding and wonders if the discussion between the two men on the 17th of July carried enough weight and meaning that Dietrich would seek to bring Rommel under his protection. This scenario supposes even further that perhaps Dietrich makes Rommel's location known to the Allies ...perhaps in an attempt to protect Rommel from the consequences of events which would occur at the Wolf's Lair in only two more days. Is is so hard to imagine that Dietrich...another strong supporter of the Third Reich might also have felt as Rommel did...that enough was enough...?? While we can only speculate...here's a scenario built on that very premise.

From the Allied perspective, the SAS Captain Raymond Lee, included in this scenario was in fact dropped into Normandy with orders to assassinate Rommel. He would spend fruitless days looking for his quarry and finally resorting to ambushing German supply convoys as the opportunity presented itself. In this scenario, we give Captain Lee a different mission. If in fact, the Allies had been made aware, not only of the plot to kill Hitler, but also of Rommel's link to the conspirators...might not Churchill and others have thought differently about Rommel's potential value to a post-war Germany? This scenario suggests that the answer would have been yes.

So here is this month's scenario...for fun only and a chance to re-imagine history in the way that only ASL allows.

As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.

Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size.

And as always, the PDF for this scenario can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive

(just search on Grumble Jones).

After nearly a month off since March Madness, Dan Best and I were at it once again for another classic Cardboard via Skype ASL contest. For this night's action, Dan had selected MM40 Ochota Revenge from the Kansas City ASL Group's ASL March Madness Hollis Pack. This particular scenario takes place in the Warsaw suburb of Ochota on the 9th of August, 1944.

The Warsaw Uprising has always intrigued me, but for the most part, my interests in gaming it were more focused on the armor actions of the 4th SS Panzer Korps vs. the 1st Belorussian Front in the Praga area. I've just not been a big fan of gaming either Warsaw Ghetto Uprising or the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Both are of course great material for Partisan engagements and the March Madness pack features a few great Partisan actions. The August 1944 Warsaw Uprising figures prominently in two of the scenarios.

Ochota Revenge picks up the fighting for the AK Redoubts of Kaliska and Wawelska. Dan drew the Polish Home Army and would command elements of the Battalion Waclaw, Armia Krajowa. He would have 2 x 5-2-7's, 12 x 3-3-7's led by an 9-2, 8-1 and 7-0. Two LMG's, a DC and a Flamethrower would add what little support weapons the Poles would have.

The AK would prove to be formidable fighters during the Uprising. Shortages in weapons and ammunition would be offset by courage and purpose.

I had the misfortune of drawing the attacking German forces. A criminally, miserable lot of soldiers comprising elements of the RONA (Kaminski Brigade). I would have 3 x 5-4-8's, 10 x 4-4-7's led by a 9-1, 8-0-, and 7-0 with an MMG, 3 x LMG's and 2 DC's. I'll be honest, I was completely uninspired to command these cretins. One of the primary reasons I avoid Warsaw Uprising scenarios is that I don't want to play out the actions of the Dirlewanger or Kaminski Brigades. Just a personal preference. I made an exception for this particular scenario out of respect for my opponent and his well done design for this scenario.

The special rules for this scenario are particularly important to review and understand. The victory location building is fortified and the cellar location in O6 are in play. The German player wins immediately by controlling any hex of the 51P4 Building and not losing greater than 20 CVP. But...the German player has several severe handicaps to overcome. #1 the ELR for the RONA is 1...yeah...1. Additionally, the RONA are LAX throughout the game, which ensured that I would be ambushed a few times during CC. And any time a RONA unit enters a building hex in the movement phase, that unit must take a Looting Task Check. Failure would halt the unit and ELR reduce it. This mechanic was introduced to simulate the historically correct discipline issues that crippled the effectiveness of the RONA troops throughout the Warsaw Uprising. Their natural inclinations were to loot and rape as the opportunity presented itself. Thankfully this proclivity would result in the deaths of a great many of this lot.

My planned approach would be from the southwest. I intended to just CX down the roads and get as far as I could. I was counting on the far western units to be dummys...which thankfully they were. But this approach was also not the best one for getting adjacent to the victory location building. But my thinking was that it would allow me the best opportunity to move the bulk of my force quickly into place.

I focused my main effort towards the west and center west. I sent a diversionary squad around the east to see if there were real units over there...there were.

My advance was quickly met by fire from one of the two LMG's at Dan's disposal. It was directed by the 8-1. While I would pin, no other damage would occur. I was very fortunate in the first two turns with my moves in the open.

Turn 2 would see me through the initial line of resistance. As I had hoped, the west flank was shielded by dummy units.

At the conclusion of Turn 2, my forces had been stopped in the east center, but had managed to skirt the western flank.

The Polish 8-1 and 3-3-7 on the west flank would break their LMG, but I still needed to deal with them. In the ensuing close combats, I would eliminate the Poles, but at cost of a squad and a half.

Dan's 8-1 and his boys had put up a tough fight. My CVP cap was growing with each combat.

Success was coming at high cost for my RONA. I was getting into position, but Dan was also moving forces to meet me. I was committed to my attack plan and Dan could move all his "real" units to meet my attack.

On the east flank, my lone 4-4-7 had advanced into a trap and routed nearly off the map edge. But in the following Rally...they would self rally and hold out for the remainder of the game.

I continued my advance on the west flank and went into multiple close combats with the Poles in the T2 building. The flamethrower was located here and would scare me...but fortunately not kill me.

My 9-1 had run across the 1st level to drop down into close combat with a 3-3-7 squad. It would cost him his life.

As the fighting raged in the west center, I had some business down south with Dan's 9-2. I had managed to break the 3-3-7 with the 9-2 when they attempted to move northward. I sent a 2-4-7 to keep them DM'd.

Having won the battle for the T2 building and captured the flamethrower. I would use it against the Poles with some effect.

At the start of Turn 6, I sent everyone forward and rushed the victory location building. It was late in the evening and I honestly didn't believe I had any chance of winning. So as my units were shot down in the streets, I watched my attack dissolve. When the final two units broke and ELR'd...I gave the concession. Dan's Poles had the victory!

All in all a fun game and a loss, I could live with. I wouldn't have wanted to see my criminal troops win in any event. So a tip of the hat to Dan both for the win and an interesting scenario, that captures the historical event rather well.

But Dan...I get to be the Polish Home Army next time!!!

The 2016 Grumble Jones "Professor Rollwright" Scenario Pack!

A look back at 2016 - an ASL Year for the Ages!

Our Saturday Game - ASL Scenario AP74 - BATTY-P

Happy New Years!!!

Our Friday Game - the Conclusion of ASL Scenario J24 Smashing the Third

Our Saturday game - ASL Scenario U15 Battle for the Warta Line

Grumble Jones January Scenario GJ041 - Carpathian Cats

Our Friday game - ASL Scenario 55 Retribution (Turns 1 and 2)

Our Saturday Game - Scenario BMW 10.0 Betrayed at Buchenau

Play Test of MM37 Bicycle Race from the Kansas City ASL Club's upcoming Scenario Pack

Our Saturday game ASL Scenario AP73 Happy Valley

Grumble Jones February Scenario GJ042- Dawn of a new Pharaoh

Our Saturday game - ASL Scenario J182 Belgian Blitzkrieg

Our Saturday Game - ASL Scenario J188 Grab and Go

Our Thursday Game - ASL Scenario 179 - Ranger Stronghold

Our Saturday game - ASL Scenario J183 - A Real Barn Burner

Grumble Jones March Scenario - GJ043 - Smoking Cobras

The Kansas City ASL Group 2017 March Madness Tournament

Grumble Jones April Scenario - GJ044 - FOX HUNT

Our Saturday game - MM40 Ochota Revenge from the ASL March Madness Hollis Pack