YIEW FRBH THE TREXlHES

B r i t a i n ' s P r e mi e r A S L J o u r n a I
Issue 49 May - Jun 2003 UK 2.00 US $5.00
IN THIS ISSUE
GUN PITS TRIP UP NORTH - Paul Cases view on BERSERK! DIEN BIEN PHU PART DEUX - more scenario analysis
ANOTHER LOOK AT CAMPAIGN GAMES - Chris Riches views on third party CG CRUSADER LADDER - updated
2 YIEW FRBH
EMOTICONS
With the growth of the InterNet, emoticons have originated to allow people to show expressions in
text. I find these very useful for the printed word in general, so you'll see plenty of them in View From the
Trenches.
An emoticon is created with keyboard characters and read with the head tilted to the left. Some
typical emoticons are:
:-) humour or smiley
;-) winking
:-> devious smile
<g> grin
:-( sad
:-o shocked or surprised
#-( hung-over
COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICE
Most products are trademarks of the companies publishing them. Use of a product name without mention of the trademark status should not be construed as a challenge to such status.
Advanced Squad Leader, Beyond Valour, Paratrooper, Yanks, Partisan, West of Alamein, The Last Hurrah, Hollow Legions, Code of Bushido, Gung Ho!, Croix de Guerre, Doomed Battalions, Streets
of Fire, Hedgerow Hell, Red Barricades, Kampfgruppe Peiper I, Kampfgrupper Peiper II, Pegasus Bridge, A Bridge Too Far, Blood Reef: Tarawa, Solitaire ASL, ASL Annual, and ASL Journal are
trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.
Copyright for all material printed within VFTT remains with its respective author, who can be contacted via VFTT if you would like to reprint his/her material.
Back issue prices are:
VFTT Special Edition 98 3.50 (overseas 5.00)
VFTT '95 4.00 (overseas 6.00)
VFTT 7 - 9 1.00 (overseas 2.00)
VFTT10 - 13 1.50 (overseas 2.50)
VFTT14/15 3.00 (overseas 4.00)
VFTT16 2.00 (overseas 3.00)
VFTT17/18 4.00 (overseas 6.00)
VFTT19 - 25 2.00 (overseas 3.00)
VFTT26/27 2.00 (overseas 3.00)
VFTT28 2.00 (overseas 3.00)
VFTT29/30 4.00 (overseas 6.00)
VFTT31 - 33, 36 - 42, 45 - 46 2.00 (overseas 3.00)
VFTT34/35, 43/44, 47/48 4.00 (overseas 6.00)
Operation Neptune 2.50 (overseas 3.50)
Shingle's List 5.000 (overseas 8.00)
You can also download free copies from:
http://www.vftt.co.uk/vfttpdf.htm
VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES is the bi-
monthly British ASL journal. All comments are wel-
come. Even better, contribute. Write an article. De-
sign a scenario. Share your ASL experiences with oth-
ers. VFTT allows you to communicate with other
ASLers. Don't be a silent voice.
Issue 50 should be out at the beginning of July
2003.
VFTT costs 2.00 per issue (overseas 3.00),
with a year's subscription costing 10.00 (overseas
15.00). Payment should be in pounds sterling, with
cheques made out to PETE PHILLIPPS. Readers are
reminded to check their address label to see when
their subscription ends.
COVER: some of the action at BERSERK! 2003. A full re-
port can be found in this issue.
THE ASL MAILING LIST
The ASL Mailing List is devoted to discussion of Advanced Squad Leader, and is run by Paul Ferraro via a listserv
program at the University of Pittsburgh. To subscribe send email to [email protected] with
the body of the message reading:
subscribe advanced-sl
You MUST use lower case letters!
You will get a message from Majordomo in reply asking for confirmation.
To subscribe to the digest version send the following in the body of a message:
subscribe advanced-sl-digest
The digest is mailed out whenever it has queued 100,000 characters of mailings. You may receive more (or less)
than one mailing every 24 hour period. The digest is NOT sent at a certain time each day.
VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES
23 Jean Drive
Leicester
LE4 0GB
Telephone:
(0116) 233 58 96
E-mail:
[email protected]
World Wide Web Home Page:
http://www.vftt.co.uk
PHP IIH PHP IIH PHP IIH PHP IIH PHP IIH
Hello and welcome to the latest View From The Trenches. This
issue starts the 9th year of VFTT, which is one hell of an achieve-
ment for an ASL publication! Issue 50, another landmark, is about
done, and should be out on time at the start of July. Although it may
be a few weeks early. Those of you who saw me at BERSERK! will
know that the company I work for is closing down (June 6th, D-Day
of all days!) and so I will be out of a job. As far as VFTT is con-
cerned this means I will no longer have access to the photocopier to
produce it on, which means paying to get it printed instead. This
could mean either a price increase, or the end of the paper edition of
VFTT. Much depends on how quickly I can get another job to pay
towards the printing costs.
Despite that possible bad news Im still looking for material
to fill up the issues after that. Even if the paper edition folds, and I
hope it doesnt, therell still be the electronic version available. So
get writing! How about an article on the way to win the scenarios at
BERSERK!? Or lose them, depending on who you are! Whats the
best way to use tanks blitzkrieg or infantry support? Hubes Pocket
someone told me this was a dog the other week, do you agree?
Wine or beer, which one is best with ASL OK so maybe the last
suggestion isnt too serious, but Im sure there are plenty of other
topics to discuss. So what are you all waiting for! Get writing!
Double 1. My last, best hope for victory.
Pete Phillipps
IN THIS ISSUE
PREP FIRE 2
INCOMING 3
GUN PITS TRIP UP NORTH 4
THE CRUSADERS OPEN
ASL TOURNAMENT LADDER 6
DIEN BIEN PHU PART DEUX 8
ANOTHER LOOK AT CAMPAIGN GAMES 16
THIS IS THE CALL TO ARMS! 18
ON THE CONVENTION TRAIL 19
3 THE TREXlHES
1+1/ 1+1/
1+1/ 1+1/ 1+1/
MMP REPRINT AS AOO
NEARS COMPLETION
The reprint of For King and Country,
the new British module, is being finished
with the print runs of OCS Korea and
Montys Gamble. Following that will be a
reprint of the ASLRB and Beyond Valor.
Unlike the earlier reprint this will not include
Red Barricades, to cut down on the cost of
the module.
Armies of Oblivion is nearing comple-
tion, with one scenario needing play testing,
and some counter layout and vehicle notes
to be finished. AOO will be placed on the
pre-order list but will have no pre-order num-
ber to hit; this will allow customers who
purchase directly from MMP to buy the
module at a discount.
Due for submission to MMP within
the next few months are Valor of the Guards
(HASL), Ortona (HASL), and Hakkaa Plle
(the Finnish Module).
16
th
BUNKER READY
Issue 16 of Despatches From The
Bunker is due out as this issue goes to press.
Inside will be three East Front scenarios;
Paking a Punch, A Hotly Contested
Crossroads, and The God of War.
Accompanying them will be the usual design
notes, Jim Torkelsons analysis of Acts of
Defiance, Tactical Tips for Veterans and
Novices, and all the usual features.
Four issue subscriptions are available
for $13.00 ($15.00 outside the USA). Issue
one is available free with a subscription or
an SAE, while other back issues are $3.50
($4.00 outside the USA). Payments should
be payable to Vic Provost and sent to
Dispatches from the Bunker, P.O. Box 1025,
Hinsdale MA 01235. You can email them
at [email protected].

Th|R0 PARTY PR00U6ER8

UK AvA|LA|L|TY
As well as editing VFTT I also help to
distribute those third party products not gen-
erally available in the shops over here.
The prices are as follows, and are effec-
tive until the next issue of VFTT:
Leibstandarte Pack 2 9.00
Leibstandarte Pack 3 9.00
Wacht Am Rhein 14.00
Canadians In Italy 1 9.00
Canada At War 2 6.00
Fanatic Pack 1 8.00
Fanatic Pack 2 8.00
Melee Pack 1 10.00
O/S - Out of stock temporarily
Add 50p per item for postage and send
your payment made out to PETE PHILLIPPS
to 23 Jean Drive, Leicester, England, LE4
0GB.
For the latest on stock availability tel-
ephone me (as usual evenings when Man
United are not playing are your best bet!), or
email me at [email protected].
UK RETA|LER 8T06K|8T8 0F
Th|R0 PARTY PR00U6T8
To purchase other third party products
such as Critical Hit, Schwerpunkt or Heat of
Battle contact any of the following shops.
LEISURE GAMES, 100 Ballards Lane,
Finchley, London, N3 2DN. Telephone (020)
8346 2327 or e-mail them at
[email protected].
SECOND CHANCE GAMES, 182 Borough
Road, Seacombe, The Wirral, L44 6NJ. Tel-
ephone (0151) 638 3535 or e-mail them at
[email protected].
PLAN 9, 9 Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen,
AB25 1NE. Telephone (01224) 624 467 or e-
mail them at [email protected].
If you know of other shops stocking third
party ASL products let me know so I can in-
clude them here in future issues.
Shaun Carter updates the rules to the Tavronitis HASL as Steve Thomas works through them.
Paul Case looks on.
-1574- /)-5
As of 6 May 2003 the address of our shop
shall be as follows:
Leisure Games
100 Ballard Lane
Finchley
London
N3 2DN
Thank you for your support.
Michael E Berry
Director
4 YIEW FRBH
Gun PIt`s TrIg Ig North Gun PIt`s TrIg Ig North Gun PIt`s TrIg Ig North Gun PIt`s TrIg Ig North Gun PIt`s TrIg Ig North
Paul Case
Thursday 13th March
Well, here I am at Blackpool fighting with
other cardboard warriors. So far, there is not much
action, except for a few sad sods who will insist
on playing ASL at anytime. Me, Ill just have a
few beers and report on the proceedings. Please
do not expect any professional reporting, as I
intend to join these clowns and play some ASL.
More players are turning up, but if you are not
here, you will never know who! So, my advice to
you lot is this:- Get your asses up to Blackpool
for the 2004 competition, so that you do not have
to read any of this crap to know what went on!
My first game is against Nigel Blair, from
the West Country, at TAC 51 Strength through
unity. Doing my usual and losing, but both of us
did manage to throw a Giggsy (ie. Boxcars), and
with yours truly not even managing to go all the
way. I will not be playing this one in the main
event, even though, at ASLOK 1996, I won as
the Allied Minors. The same side as this playing!
Friday 14th March
After an early night, I got up and had
breakfast. Had a chance of a game, but choose
not to (got to save myself for the tourney, you
know). I have to learn the Bocage rules to play
TAC 47 Roses For Vandervoort, as after losing
so easy in my last game, I need to boost my Win/
Loss record.
The first Tourney game is against Brian
Hooper, a fellow West Country boy, at TAC 47,
with me as the Americans. Well folks, it looks
like it isnt all Roses For Vandervoort after all,
as I lost, which is about my usual. The results of
the Snakes and Boxcars is as follows:-
Brian - Snakes- 1, Boxcars- 5.
Paul - Snakes- 3, Boxcars-3.
The highlight of the match for me was on
German Turn 3, when one of my 81mm Mtrs had
a nice run of 9 (nine!) ROF shots at his 9-1/4-6-
7/HMG combo, causing his 9-1 to wound, his 4-
6-7 to disappear, and leaving the HMG for me to
pick-up (which I did not). Now I must get ready
for the next round, and choose between A60, A69
and A70. But first, something to eat.
Next came Dave Tye, who decided to try
his luck at A 70 Wintergewitter. And guess what?
His luck held, and he won. It came down to the
wire, as my heroes from the 6
th
Panzer Division
just failed to capture the village of Verkhne-
Kumsky. Nearly, but just not quite. The results of
the Snakes and Boxcars is as follows:-
Dave - Snakes- 2, Boxcars- 2.
Paul - Snakes- 2, Boxcars- 5.
Not much to report in this game, but hey, I
enjoyed it.
At nearly mid-night, I think I need some
(a lot!) beauty sleep, so time to clock-off for now.
Saturday 15th March
The first game of the day, and I play James
Crossfield, at SP 95 Burn, Gurkha, Burn! I have
to mention that Schwerpunkt spelt the middle
word in the title differently to how my Spell-
Checker does. According to it , the correct
spelling is Ghurkha! James comes from my neck
of the woods, hes another West Country boy. The
game went down to the wire, with yours the
fantastic doing his level best to keep up the good
work, and coming in a very respectable 2
nd
place.
Yep, I lost again!
The highlight of this game for me was
when James, with his berserk Jap 4-4-8 (but now
with 10 morale) threw a DC uphill at my 2-4-8
on a level one hill-hex. The result of his endeavour
was to Pin my 2-4-8, and Cas-Red his 4-4-8. Now
for the results you have all been waiting for, the
Snakes and Boxcars :-
James - Snakes- 4, Boxcars- 4,
Paul - Snakes- 1, Boxcars- 4.
Rules lesson of the day:- Read all the set-
up instructions, enemy as well as yours!!!
Something I failed to do, Doh!
Something of interest to the wider ASL
community is the new ASL-speak, Japanese
Hand-to-Hand Job. Invented at Berserk! by the
Gun-Pit specialist, Me! What gets me is that I did
not even realise what I had said until the other
guys around me told me!!!! So you see, even in
losing, you still have a great time, and more
importantly, A LAUGH!!!!
Lets see about tourney game Number 4.
Ok! At 0-3 there is not much competition
for the greatest prize that exists at Berserk! So
Malcolm Hatfield decided to try and take what is
rightfully mine, the Wooden Spoon(actually, this
year it is a framed photo of a model Scottish
Bagpiper. Pathetic really, troops). Well, your hero
saw him off with a game from one of the HOB
Packs involving those not-so-nice Waffen SS boys
from the Das Reich. The scenario was NFNH
8 Wounded Three Times In One Day, which, after
playing, I think favours the Nazi Wonder Boys.
Theres not much that I can say about this
scenario, just that some-one ought to tell those
bloody Russians to buy/borrow/steal a decent
lawn-mower, as the lawn needs cutting. So, me
and your illustrious editor went to the pub during
the game to watch the football, which was not
shown on their giant TV. So, after having a couple
of pints, we went back to the hotel, and yours
truly continued with his game (just in case you
are worried, the stoppage had been pre-arranged
with Malcolm). So here is the results that are of
Thursday night sees the annual AA meeting - thats ASLers Anonymous!
Paul Case happily accepts the wooden
spoon from Trev Edwards.
5 THE TREXlHES
interest to you lot, Snakes and Boxcars :-
Malcolm - Snakes- 3, Boxcars- 0,
Paul - Snakes- 0, Boxcars- 1. I am sticking
to the excuse that I was diced in this one (well, I
have to make out that I am trying to win the
occasional scenario, just for appearances sake, old
chap!).
Today, Andy Ashton and his flying games
store visited us, and I managed to swap 78 for a
copy each of A Bridge To Far and Operation
Veritable. Many would say that was not a fair
trade, but I think Andy would of gone lower had
my kind and understanding soul not stopped me
(such is the benevolent person that I am!).
Now, back to business, war has been
declared against the kindly personage of me. Ian
Pollard has decided to try his luck at taking what
is rightfully mine by birth-right. Yes folks, that
up-start has decided to try and steal my crown.
Naturally, as you would except from a seasoned
loser like me, I will defend it to his death. So,
tomorrow is the final battle of this long campaign,
and if justice be done, the crown will be going to
the West Country. The playing field is involving
those brilliant little British vehicles, the Carrier. I
am personally hoping for the Schwerpunkt one.
You may be wondering why Saturdays bit
is quite long, no, well I will tell you anyway. It is
because my game finished pretty early, and I need
the practice with this new-fangled contraption (the
Lap-Top Computer, you nosey sods!).
Sunday 16th March
Well, now we come to the final battle of
this long campaign. Yes ladies, it is the
championship deciders. For the unimportant one
(first prize), it is Toby Pilling and Derek Trocher,
with Toby judged to be the winner (they ran out
of time, those two slow players). The deciding
game for each pair (Toby vs. Derek, and Ian vs.
Me) was SP 96 Husum Hotfoot. We will not
concern ourselves with the riff-raff at the wrong
end of the trophy positions, but will just report
on the important contest, MINE. So, without
keeping you crowd waiting any longer, I shall
proceed. The championship was a close fought
contest, between two very good practitioners of
the art of losing. But there was to be no upset this
year. And so it is with great pride, that I can
announce to you all, that I, the greatest loser of
them all, has won back my crown. Yes folks, after
a hard fought game, the elitism of yours truly
showed through, and after a long absence, the
crown has come home to its rightful owner and
mantle-piece. This joins the original Wooden
Spoon won at the first Berserk!, by your hero.
Now for the side-line results, which I can
see you are anxious to know, these are as follows:-
Ian - Snakes- 4, Boxcars- 4.
Paul - Snakes- 2, Boxcars- 5. So, you see, my
title is totally safe. What I remember about the
game, was that I nearly came close to losing the
crown, but when your in melee, you are not in
Good Order, so I lose. It went down to the last die
roll, and if I had got ambush, I would of won, ah
well. When I fired Panzerfausts, I kept missing
by one, even though I did manage to burn one of
his Comets (Burn, Baby, Burn). Ians 9-1 leader
could not Self-Rally to save his life, and so, after
about 4 turns of watching him giving a very good
demonstration of how not to Self-Rally, I decided
to use my sniper and end his misery. Yes, that die
roll of 1 does wonders on the Sniper roll, killing
his 9-1 and a squad, and Cas-Red the other squad.
The sniper was awarded the Iron Cross First Class.
Of note was that Ian had declared No-Quarter
against us defenders of the Third Reich, naughty
boy!
After Trev had done the Snakes and
Boxcars prizes, he handed me back my crown.
This year it was a framed photo of the first prize,
a painted 54mm model of a Scottish
Bagpiper,with the words Last Place at Berserk!
2003. The photo was taken by Steve Thomas,
and is his usual standard, out of focus. I doubt I
shall ask for any wedding photos from him!
Now, read what you want into this, but the
hippy (your editor) wants to play me at this
Derek Tocher and Toby Pilling contest the championship decider.
infernal game.
Well, Pete I can now ride a pushbike
Phillipps and I have decided to play another
scenario from the tourney, the one of choice being
J 68 Unlucky Thirteenth. With the hippy
choosing to play the British, that leaves me with
the Germans (shame it is 1940 and not 1944, as I
like playing with Panzerfausts and ATMMs). The
Snakes and Boxcars went as follows:-
Pete - Snakes- 1, Boxcars- 4. Paul - Snakes- 1,
Boxcars- 3. Pretty much even I believe. So, how
did the game go?
Petes 25LL AT gun basically did sod all,
except fire one shot at one of my tanks, who
promptly went and Overran it! That will teach
them!! Other hippy bad luck includes breaking
his S35s MA twice, and once the 25LLs crew
had rallied, they had difficulty finding their AT
gun in an open field! (just how difficult can it be
to find a big chunk of metal in an open field?). I
did declare No Quarter, because prisoners would
be a liability to me in this street fight. During the
last 2 or 3 turns, my brave boys in the lonely shack
by Petes entry area managed to survive many fire
attacks, and even at least 2 Overruns, becoming,
at worst, Pinned. Something that can not be said
about the 8-morale superhero with them, the
coward just could not hack it at the sharp-end.
He broke and ran out to try to surrender, but, it
looks like the British do not like cowardly German
officers either! His family are on their way to
Dachau as you read this. Those boys in the shack
have all been given Free-For-Life Passes to the
Reeperbahn, and free condoms for life!, and also,
FREE BEER!!! As you may of gathered by now,
the hippy gave me my one and only win of the
weekend. The game went down to the last turn,
and when my shack-hugging boys did not break
under the umpteenth fire attack, Pete surrendered.
Pete had been having fun at my expense
all weekend, saying that at IF this year, all the
Newbies will be playing me, just to know what it
is like to win at this game we play. Well, as I
pointed out at breakfast the next morning, all the
Newbies can play Pete, so they will know what it
is like to win at ASL. Looks like your hero here
Toby Pillings receives first prize from Trev
Edwards.
Continued on page 17, column 3
6 YIEW FRBH
The Crusaders Open ASL Tournament Ladder
BERSERK! 2003 Update
Derek Tocher
There have now been 1745 games played at the INTENSIVE FIRE and BERSERK! tournaments since the first INTENSIVE FIRE
back in 1995. There are now 56 players who have played over 20 games, 30 who have played more than 40, and 10 who have played at least
60 games. The largest number of games recorded is 93, by Brian Hooper.
The top 10% of players have ratings of 3280+ while the upper quartile are rated 3160+. Those in the lower quartile have ratings below
2810 while the bottom 10% of participants are rated 2665 or less. These numbers have remained essentially invariant over the last four years
and the distribution of results is essentially Gaussian about 3000.
Toby Pilling went undefeated over the course of the weekend to win the championship and regain his top position on the ladder. Paul
Case managed to lose all six games he played and dropped 225 points to firmly put him at the foot, on a new all time low score of 2220
points. Other notable gains were made by Dutch newcomer Peter Struijf (+270 pts) putting him in 26th position, Michael Davies (+235 pts)
and Michael Essex (+185 pts). Graham Smith managed to drop 275 pts over the weekend and several other players (James Crosfield, Russell
Gough, and Ian Pollard) dropped over 150 points. Over the course of the weekend the higher rated players won 58 games while the lower
rated player won on only 15 occasions, a margin which I think clearly justifies the virtues of maintaining the ladder.
Below you will find the full ladder with all 203 rated players as of 8 April 2003.

Rank Player Played WDL Points

1 Toby Pilling 55 4825 3810
2 Derek Tocher 88 65220 3770
3 Steve Thomas 42 3219 3755
4 Dave Schofield 88 60028 3695
5 Mike Rudd 38 3215 3660
6 Bjarne Hansen 31 2308 3630
7 Michael Hastrup-Leth 45 31113 3615
8 Aaron Cleavin 6 600 3565
9 Peter Bennett 14 1211 3560
10 Carl Sizmur 16 1105 3515
11 Simon Strevens 67 43123 3500
12 Fermin Retamero 8 701 3480
13 Trevor Edwards 74 38135 3380
14 Ran Shiloah 11 704 3370
15 Jes Touvdal 20 1307 3365
16 Bernt Ribom 5 500 3350
17 Phil Draper 14 1013 3320
18 Joe Arthur 21 1308 3305
19 Frank Tinschert 15 1005 3295
20 Philippe Leonard 9 711 3285
20= Steve Linton 11 803 3285
22= Will Fleming 3 300 3280
22= Russell Gough 51 29319 3280
22= Ralf Krusat 6 501 3280
22= Alan Smee 4 400 3280
26= Dave Booth 7 502 3270
26= Luis Calcada 39 20118 3270
26= Michael Davies 14 905 3270
26= Peter Struijf 5 401 3270
30= Steve Crowley 44 20123 3260
30= Dominic Mcgrath 84 44139 3260
32 Stephen Burleigh 9 504 3255
33= Keith Bristow 37 22114 3245
33= Daniel Kalman 11 803 3245
35= Daniel Batey 4 400 3235
35= Paul Saunders 19 1009 3235
37 Ray Woloszyn 31 18112 3225
38 Christain Koppmeyer 15 807 3220
39 Tom Slizewski 5 401 3215
40= Klaus Malmstrom 4 310 3210
40= Nils-Gunner Nilsson 5 401 3210
40= Yves Tielemans 3 300 3210
43 Francois Boudrenghien 3 300 3205
44 Aaron Sibley 43 26017 3195
Rank Player Played WDL Points
45 Jean Devaux 3 300 3190
46= Armin Deppe 13 715 3185
46= Michael Essex 20 1208 3185
48= Bill Durrant 5 401 3180
48= Lars Klysner 6 402 3180
50 Jonathan Pickles 8 503 3175
51= Grant Pettit 7 412 3170
51= Bruno Tielemans 3 300 3170
53= Rodney Callen 6 402 3160
53= Mel Falk 9 504 3160
55 Jeremy Copley 9 603 3150
56 Nick Edelsten 22 1417 3145
57= Paul Odonald 72 44127 3135
57= Frenk Van Der MEY 4 301 3135
59= Chris Courtier 13 724 3130
59= Bob Eburne 44 26018 3130
61 Paul Sanderson 41 21020 3125
62= Lee Brimmicombe-Wood 12 804 3120
62= Paul Ryde-Weller 10 514 3120
64= David Tye 34 14020 3115
64= Mark Walley 4 301 3115
66 Luc Schonkerren 5 302 3110
67= Andrew Dando 44 23219 3105
67= Paul Haesler 6 303 3105
67= Simon Morris 11 605 3105
67= Stewart Thain 15 807 3105
71 Russ Curry 6 402 3100
72= Nigel Brown 26 11015 3095
72= Mikael Siemsen 6 303 3095
74= Kevin Beard 13 913 3090
74= Iain Mackay 43 22021 3090
74= Peter Michels 3 201 3090
77 Paulo Alessi 6 4-0-2 3085
78 Dirk Beijaard 5 302 3080
79 Robin Langston 9 423 3075
80= Jean-Luc Baas 3 201 3070
80= Serge Bettencourt 3 201 3070
80= Robert Schaaf 3 201 3070
83= Alexander Rousse-Lacordaire 4 211 3065
83= Bob Runnicles 3 201 3065
85 Patrik Manlig 16 907 3060
86= Stefan Jacobi 11 506 3050
86= Ben Jones 39 17022 3050
86= Bo Siemsen 4 202 3050
7 THE TREXlHES
Rank Player Played WDL Points
89 Scott Greenman 8 314 3045
90 Steve Pleva 6 303 3035
91 Peter Hofland 4 202 3025
92 Shaun Carter 58 26131 3020
93 Vincent Kamer 4 202 3015
94= Colin Graham 5 302 3010
94= Andrew Saunders 33 15117 3010
96= Nick Brown 3 111 3000
96= Steve Grainger 8 404 3000
96= Martin Hubley 4 301 3000
96= Ian Kenney 4 202 3000
96= Phil Nobo 11 605 3000
96= Duncan Spencer 4 202 3000
102= Ivor Gardiner 2 101 2995
102= Gilles Hakim 5 203 2995
104 Ian Daglish 80 39140 2990
105 Eric Baker 2 101 2985
106= David Farr 4 202 2980
106= William Hanson 13 607 2980
106= Malcolm Rutledge 3 102 2980
109 Pete Phillipps 76 33043 2970
110 Michael Maus 7 304 2955
111= Raurigh Dale 19 1009 2945
111= Laurent Forest 3 003 2945
111= Alex Ganna 2 011 2945
111= David Murry 5 212 2945
111= Pedro Ramis 6 303 2945
116= Bob Nugent 3 201 2940
116= Jon Williams 14 608 2940
118= Derek Briscoe 1 001 2935
118= Martin Bryan 19 8011 2935
118= Martin Mayers 15 5010 2935
121= Andrea Marchino 1 001 2930
121= Andy Price 3 102 2930
123= Paul Boyle 5 203 2925
123= John Sharp 8 305 2925
125= Steve Allen 6 114 2920
125= Tim Collier 17 7010 2920
127= Edo Giaroni 3 102 2915
127= Tim Macaire 33 15018 2915
129= Joel Berridge 3 102 2910
129= Tim Bunce 14 707 2910
129= Oliver Gray 3 102 2910
129= Justin Key 36 14120 2910
129= Brian Martuzas 5 203 2910
129= Andy Smith 4 004 2910
135= Paulo Ferreira 4 103 2905
135= Phil Ward 5 203 2905
137 Josh Kalman 10 505 2900
138 Martin Kristensen 6 204 2895
139= Jakob Norgaard 6 114 2885
139= Bernard Savage 21 9111 2885
141= Sam Belcher 8 305 2880
141= Nigel Blair 19 8011 2880
143= Simon Croome 27 13014 2875
143= Paul Kettlewell 49 20029 2875
145 David Kalman 5 203 2870
146= Peter Ladwein 21 9012 2860
146= Lutz Pietschker 4 103 2860
146= Neil Piggot 4 103 2860
149 Ulrich Schwela 34 13120 2855
150 Nick Angelopoulos 5 104 2850
151= James Crosfield 8 404 2835
151= Dave Otway 5 104 2835
153 Sam Prior 12 408 2830
154 Mike Daniel 5 203 2825
155 Mark Chapman 6 204 2820
156= Chris Netherton 16 619 2810
156= Michael Robertson 4 103 2810
158 Clive Haden 5 203 2800
Rank Player Played WDL Points
159= Alistair Fairbairn 3 003 2790
159= Nick Ranson 5 104 2790
159= William Roberts 3 003 2790
159= Nick Sionskyj 8 305 2790
163 Bill Eaton 16 538 2785
164 Chris Littlejohn 14 329 2780
165 Graham Worsfold 3 003 2775
166= Lee Bray 14 3011 2770
166= Richard Kirby 7 205 2770
168 Bill Hensby 31 10021 2765
169= Andrew Hershey 10 406 2760
169= Flemming Scott-Christensen 6 105 2760
171 Peter Neale 3 003 2750
172 Burnham Fox 23 10013 2740
173= Rupert Featherby 3 003 2735
173= Nick Quinn 14 509 2735
175 Gareth Evans 4 004 2730
176= Steve Cocks 4 004 2720
176= Marc Horton 6 105 2720
178 Graham Smith 17 6011 2695
179= Wayne Baumber 28 13015 2690
179= Simon Hoare 4 004 2690
181 Jeff Howarden 7 205 2685
182 Christain Speis 5 104 2680
183 Neil Stevens 50 18230 2670
184= Pedro Barradas 7 106 2655
184= Malcolm Hatfield 24 8016 2655
186 Ian Pollard 52 21031 2635
187 Adrian Catchpole 11 209 2625
188= Neil Brunger 20 8012 2615
188= Arthur Garlick 21 2514 2615
188= Mike Stanbridge 36 10125 2615
191= Chris Ager 8 107 2610
191= Bryan Brinkman 9 108 2610
193 John Fletcher 6 006 2585
194 Jackie Eves 21 6015 2575
195 Nigel Ashcroft 45 16128 2555
196 Paul Legg 58 20038 2550
197= Brian Hooper 93 28164 2545
197= Michael Rhodes 43 10033 2545
199 Patrick Dale 18 4113 2490
200 Roger Cook 28 8218 2460
201 David Ramsey 9 108 2435
202 John Kennedy 21 4017 2405
203 Paul Case 76 17158 2220
The BERSERK! 2003 attendees gathered outside the hotel at the end
of the event.
8 YIEW FRBH
Dien Bien Phu Part Deux
Michael Davies
accept that the French entry will be aided by Mist,
and accept that troops and tanks can move freely
through open ground. Accepting this does not
mean you have lost! Although the French can
move fairly freely and rapidly on board there are
terrain features that work to your advantage. To
my mind the nastiest is the deep stream. Any tanks
crossing the stream will be vulnerable to
underbelly hits. As seven of the French tanks enter
from the North and need to cross the stream to be
effective there is a good case for concentrating
the bulk of your anti tank assets to meet them.
Short range bazooka shots will be useful. Longer
range fire from the RCLs is harder if the mist
remains thick. The ford will appeal to both French
Armour and Infantry. If you can try to catch the
French as they advance out of the Stream . Watch
out for troops using the stream as cover, firing
from crests or moving along the stream for
protection from fire.
In the South Tanks have further to travel,
over less difficult terrain. Fortunately only three
tanks enter from this direction. Keep in view
Irrigated Paddys slow vehicular movement and
can cause bog.
At first glance enemy forces look
overwhelming. Hordes of Infantry, masses of
tanks, all well equipped and well led. It is
important to study when and were French troops
arrive. To begin with you only face ten French
squads who must spend the first player turn
entering. Tanks arrive on turn three, with more
Infantry on the opposite board edge a turn later.
Further reinforcements arrive on turns five and
seven. The slow arrival of French forces really
helps, certainly if everything arrived on turn one
Id feel a deal less confident of a win. It can help
to consider the Frenchies problems. His tanks are
subject to a casualty cap which should make his
armoured thrusts more cautious, he is also tasked
with finding every unit in your OB. Now that is
difficult. The enemy knows you have hidden units,
and lots of places to hide. If they cant find you
last squad, even if the rest of your OB is Kaput
you have won. From this you can deduce the
French plan to search every piece of terrain on
the map looking for your troops. Although the
French forces are strong, they face a difficult task.
The vast majority of French squads are
elite with an ELR of five, and for the Paras
underscored morale. The basic morale of your
troops is lower, partially offset by all PAVN troops
being considered Fanatic. That includes Leaders,
and the RCL crews. Even with a fairly low ELR
of three this isnt too bad. Scenario Rule 3 gives
us a few more rout options, expect to use some of
these during play. With twenty one squads, four
Leaders, two crews, fourteen support weapons and
twelve trenches you are not going to lose this one
on turn one. In my opinion the only real weakness
is the limited number of Leaders. It is nice to see
a 10-2 Leader, but I would happily swop him for
a pair of commissars or lower quality leaders. With
only four in play you have to make some harsh
choices. These range between up to four strong
positions all the way through to twenty three
individual locations. What will work best depends
a bit on what the French do, Ill suggest a skeleton
of a set up which you can, and you really should,
modify to suit your own ideas, knowledge of your
opponent and estimation of how the game will
play out.
Before play starts assess the effectiveness
of your anti tank weapons. The Frontal Armour
of an Oxen, Bison, M24 or Chaffee is six, side
armour is three or four. The 45, and 50 Bazookas
have to kills of 11 and 12, the 57mm RCL using
HEAT rates another 11. Modified to kill numbers
are low say four, five or six. Not in the Panzerfaust
league but deadly enough when destroying just
four tanks bags you a win.
Id begin by exchanging a leader for a
commissar, then organising the defence into four
main positions of five squads each. Assign each
large platoon or half company to a defensive
sector. I think the main ones to consider are the
Kunai and Village East of the road, the rest of the
Village and nearby brush or Kunai West of the
road. On board 19 there are two expanses of brush
east and West of the road with some Palm trees in
the West. Consider each sector in turn and plan a
defence for each. This really does take a while
and probably the first set up you try may need
some modification. An early decision must be
made as to how you will contest French moves. If
you are planning to open up at the first opportunity
and blaze away for as long as possible a line of
Trenches up front is a fair idea. Alternatively you
might go for a series of tank ambushes using the
available infantry to protect the Bazookas and
RCL. Keep in view even a mortar can do some
damage against a tank. The centre of resistance
could be a line of three trenches containing the
sectors Leader, a MG and anti tank weapons
nearby. The other two squads can provide a fragile
screen ahead of the main position or be set up
hidden to play hide and seek, conceal the strength
of the position of to wait in ambush for enemy
armour or Infantry.
Examples of central trench position for the
Village could be around the brush in 16FF4 or
the Kunai in o19FF8 if you are aggressive, further
North in Brush say oY8 if you are patient. There
are some tough calls to make. To my mind the
hardest is how to contest the French crossing of
the Stream. You can concentrate on the J hexrow
and hit the enemy as they cross the ford or start
further South.
Id be the first to admit the above
description is very vague, and provides limited
insight into how to win! In my defence you can
make an awfully large range of judgements on
where to place individual units. These are
important, rather more important is how you
develop your defence.
French attacks can be across a broad front
or concentrated on a narrow Axis. During play
you need to decide when to abandon a hopeless
DBP8 Keeping Isobel Fed
This is a French-massed armour and
infantry attack against a strong PAVN position.
All ten Chaffees are featured, each with its original
name on the counter. One memorable counter
name is Douaumont, an important fortress that
featured in the Verdun Battle. Verdun is roughly
comparable to the Somme in terms of sheer horror,
though with an even greater loss of life. For some
including individual tank names may be chrome,
others, like myself will appreciate the link to the
past.
PTO is in effect, with an expanse of
irrigated rice paddy, lots of very thick mist, and
some interesting support weapons. The French
attacking force is very strong in armour, and
comprises mostly Elite infantry. The PAVN are
very resilient, winning if a single unit remains
within their set up area.
PAVN Set Up Options
There are two very simple ways to win.
Either destroy four enemy tanks or have at least a
single MMC in your set up area at the game end.
To achieve either victory you can employ a
number tactics ranging from setting up for a
deadly game of hide and seek, a carefully planned
hedgehog of defensive Islands or a series of tank
ambushes supported by Infantry assets.
Keys to planning your defence are the
terrain and environmental conditions. Brush,
Wooden Buildings, huts, Kunai and even Palm
trees provide you with excellent cover, the
irrigated Paddys slow and even discourage
armoured movement. Other important features are
the stream, with the ford at oG2, and the road
from 19I10 to 16R4. The mist is very thick, until
it starts to burn off, a process that takes three game
turns. It is possible for mist to start disappearing
on turn one or be in play as late as turn eight!
Whilst mist is in effect interfering with
French entry and movement is complicated by line
of sight and LV hindrances. Without mist, a web
of machine gun fire would complicate French
entry, while long range RCL fire could strike at
armour. On the minus side reciprocal fire would
be more effective. For the short term it is best to
9 THE TREXlHES
position, when to slug it out for another turn or
two, whether to trade units, concentrate on tanks,
even if moving units from one position to support
a threatened area is valid. All very interesting stuff,
the points Im trying to make is you will not win
just be a cunning set up and some demon die rolls,
this is going to be a complicated game of carefully
calculated moves.
A few wheezes can help. In Kunai you have
a good chance of causing search casualties which
might give a few ideas for hiding one or more of
the three squads you can set up hidden. This is
also a valid idea with concealed units or dummies.
When using concealment vary the number of
concealment counters used in a stack. If you can
get a neutral or friendly third party to have a quick
look at your set up and ask them if they can spot
the dummies, and if they are game assess your
strength in general. If you find your cunning set
up is a bit obvious maybe some modification is
in order. Give thought to rout. Moving towards a
Leader makes sense, moving towards another
sector is pretty smart when the one you started in
is about to be overrun. One idea with the RCL is
to use them up front with the rest of your forces.
There is some scope for backfield positions say
19T2 or T9. At long range they are less vulnerable
to Infantry fire and just as able to kill from a
distance, if the mist stays well its tough, but this
is partially offset by other difficulties in IFT
combat for the French, conversely if the mist
clears nervous French players will have Kittens.
The plan outlined above favours four
defensive positions, two in the village and two
more in the brush further North. Other approaches
are worth some consideration. One idea is to
concentrate to face the Northern or Southern
attack leaving a smaller screening force to delay
advances on the other Flank. An extreme example
of this could be a line of trenches covering the
board 19 stream filled with PAVN units. Im not
too keen on this as an aggressive French player
will concentrate against part of the line while
pushing much harder in the South. You could still
have winning chances, try it if you think it is the
way to win.
Turning the Village into a Hedgehog has
some potential. A weakness is allowing the French
to cross the stream easier, and possible allowing
faster searches of concealment terrain in your set
up area. Not radically different would be
concentrating in any single sector.
In my opinion the way to go is defend four
main areas, inflicting some casualties and seeking
to make French searches for your units more
difficult.
Watch out for the Tai, in truth they are
lame in a firefight but they are stealthy and equal
your rifle squads in a melee. Enter melee with
other French units when you have a decent
advantage otherwise fall back and delay.
This is a long game, ten turns. With the
density of counters in use overall playing times
of three hours plus are expected. Take regular
breaks if your concentration starts to flag. It is
important to get a feel for the Tempo of play, it
helps to have a better idea of when the French
reinforcements arrive than your opponent does.
Estimate the distances that can be travelled by
each reinforcement group in its first couple of
turns and seek to impose halts on this by firepower
or guile. Expect the first couple of turns to be
pretty good fun, slow French build up and the
smell of fear as the first unit crosses the stream.
Pretty soon all hell will break loose and you will
have more of a fight on your hands. If the French
make use of armour support killing a tank will
make you fell better, if the tanks are kept back
your losses should be lower and you can win just
be keeping one units alive and in good order. The
last couple of turns will be hectic. Rarely you will
be in an unassailable position, more often a
desperate struggle will occur. At times you will
lose when you should have won, which might
make up for some devilish luck in close combat
on another occasion.
Id like to win this one on the armour cap,
failing that by a deft defence, but Id have some
respect for anyone who pulls a victory out of the
jaws of defeat by revealing a single hidden unit
in a location that should have been searched!
French Attack
A very quick way to lose is to breach the
Armour casualty cap, lose just four tanks and you
are out of the game. Apologies for starting with
bad news but it is essential you are careful with
your armour. Being more upbeat you win if there
are no PAVN good order units in their set up area
at the game end. Essentially this is a seek and
destroy mission.
At first glance enemy forces are rather
feeble, twenty one squads, four Leaders a pair of
57mm RCL and crews, with a fair selection of
support weapons. An ELR of three is nothing to
worry about, nor is a SAN of four. Looking more
carefully there are some things to worry about.
Twelve trenches provide good cover for the
defender, PAVN Mortars and MGs can bore sight,
one of the few Leaders is a 10-2, all PAVN units
are Fanatic and thanks to Scenario rule 3 can do
some pretty fancy routing. The PAVN finales are
concealment, and HIP combined with the need to
root out every single unit, and to kill, capture or
at least break them.
That said the PAVN are not invincible. In
terms of raw firepower and range the inherent
firepower of PAVN troops is inferior. Even in close
combat you should be able to hold your own and
trade off squad for squad. The MGs have decent
range, with the threat of a six or more IFT attack
directed by a 10-2 Leader into a Bore sighted
location subject to non assault movement. Nasty
if it happens but you should not suffer a multitude
of similar attacks. Keep in view the MGs have a
basic B11 and you have the perfect antidote to
MGs several tanks.
Anti tank capability is difficult to assess.
Some threats can be avoided. You can reduce the
occurrence of Infantry attacks by remaining
buttoned up, and guarding your armour with your
own troops. The to kill numbers of Bazookas and
even the 57mm RCLs are low, unfortunately a
lucky hit will ice a Chaffee. Bazookas do have a
significant weakness short range. At six or more
hexes they are totally ineffective. Keeping your
Chaffees beyond effective range is viable. Against
the 57mm RCL this is not so easy. The RCL range
is considerable, and the darned thing even has
rate! Keep your fingers crossed for the RCL
breaking down or depleting H7 ammunition. At
some stage in the game you will find one or both
RCL and enter into a gun duel. When this happens
you need to think fast. Hit the RCL crew with as
much firepower as possible and try to reduce the
chance of a damaging hit. Obvious things to use
are smoke, White Phosphorous, MGs and good
old HE. If in motion keep moving as RCL do not
gain acquisition against moving targets. Once the
gun crew is dead watch out for squads or SMC
manning the 57mm gun and continuing to shoot.
If they hit their fire will be as destructive as its
original crew. Another nuisance comes from the
mortars, chances of a hit are good, a Kill is less
likely but still credible (barely!). Getting out of
harms way is the best defence, killing its crew
and the guys who rush to take their place even
better. Despite the precautions you can take, blind
luck can play a part. Low odds shots could hit
and destroy a Chaffee, with a ceiling of just four
vehicles you could be diced. If you are reckless,
charging into huts, presenting your underbelly to
Bazookas and searching Kunai with Tanks you
will lose a lot quicker....but you can still claim to
have been diced.
Dont overestimate the strength of the
enemy. Your own troops are pretty good, in fact
some of them are superlative. A company of Paras,
and another of Algerians nearly equal the PAVN
in numbers, surpass them in fighting qualities,
have higher ELR and more numberous
Leadership. With less concealment terrain they
could do the job on their own. The need to search
and destroy all PAVN forces in an area ideally
suited to hiding means they will need help. Ten
tanks is a lot of help. Although they do not all
arrive on turn one this is a long game, even those
arriving on turn seven will be in play for four turns.
Potentially that is a lot of firepower. To begin with
75mm Guns are pretty deadly. Hits are resolved
on the 12IFT Column, with MG fire also effective
for searching or direct fire against known
positions. White phosphorous and smoke mortars
will help to cover open ground or hinder the fire
of PAVN Anti tank units. Without any sort of
casualty cap you could be much more aggressive
with the Armour but the scenario designers and
playtesters have carefully considered that! Two
60mm Mortars in your OB will be useful when
the mist clears, WP would be nice, HE is still
useful. Dont forget or denigrate the Tai, they
are feeble in a firefight but effective in melee,
better at searching than your other troops and
arrive with some more tanks.
To a great extent your tactical plan is
influenced by the terrain and PAVN set up. You
will have to address the problem of crossing the
stream, and moving onboard and over the board
to reach the enemy. Some PAVN troops are hidden,
all the others will initially be concealed. Even so
you should be able to make some pretty tenuous
guesses as to PAVN dispositions. The absolute
strongest hidden force could be two 57mm guns,
their crews, three hidden squads and their support
weapons. There are twelve concealment counters
able to create a maximum of six dummy stacks
everything else is a real. Chances are you will be
able to spot obvious PAVN strong points, certainly
within an area you will be able to say there are
some units there. All well and good but remember
you could be wrong so resist the temptation to
get too specific, all that is needed is a rough idea
of enemy strength in certain areas and a
willingness to keep an open mind as to everywhere
else.
Enemy defensive options are numberous,
10 YIEW FRBH
you might be looking at a single hedgehog, a linear
defence or more likely several small defensive
Islands. In the North you need to move onboard
ready to cross the stream. With mist in effect you
can move through open ground fairly easily. The
Viets might open up with a MG or two or begin
mortar fire but if you are spread out you should
not expect more than a morale check, followed
by a quick rally. Exactly how you go should take
account of enemy positions but if these are totally
beyond guesstimation splitting into three platoons
and advancing broadly across board 19 will just
about work. As you move into and over the stream
expect some fire from PAVN troops. Use you
Chaffees from at least more than five hexes away
to support you Infantry. Although their is no
casualty cap for infantry and you have to be a bit
careful with the armour you should not throw
away Para squads or Algerians or even Tai
without some compensating gain in terms of
enemy casualties or knowledge of his
whereabouts. If you can search board 19 up to
row U with the Paras and you supporting armour
by turns seven or eight you will have done well.
If you meet negligible opposition or cope well with
what you do hit, push further South through the
Paddy and Kunai into the Huts.
In the South your entry should take account
of mist, if this has thinned out running through
open ground is more dangerous. It is possible the
PAVN will advance some units or dummies to
complicate your entry. Again splitting into
platoons and advancing on the enemy makes
sense. Avoid stacking, try to engender firefights
with the enemy. Keep pushing forwards to create
space for your armour and reduce the areas to be
searched.
Armour support can be used from a
reasonable distance, the abundance of Kunai and
brush might allow obstructing line of sight with
hindrances for protection from known enemy anti
tank assets. In my opinion the Southern force has
a lot of work to do. They are probably better placed
to search the Village and the other terrain South
of the Paddys. Any help they can get from the
Paras will be appreciated.
No doubt the 57th Regiment will have a
few ideas of its own and will seek to frustrate your
moves. A concentration in or around the Village
will be nasty if the Paras take a long time searching
empty brush hexes. If it becomes obvious the
Village is heavily defended push harder in the
North and seek to throw serious amounts of
firepower in support of the Algerians, Tai and
the tanks with them.
Keeping notes can be irksome, but it can
also save grief when looking for hidden units.
Kunai is tricky stuff, it must be hit by IFT attacks
or searched to reveal Hidden units, brush, huts
and Palm trees need only be move through. Record
any hex you search, and any you subject to fire. It
is possible to lose simply because you neglected
to search one hex. Almost as bad you could lose a
tank to a bypassed anti tank weapon. If in doubt
search a hex again, shoot at it, or move though
anything other than Kunai.
The PAVN is very hostile in this one, time
is also an issue. The Handicapping provision
allows an extra French player turn. Ask for the
balance as it greatly reduces the pressure you are
under. Without it, well, ten turns is still a long
time. Appreciate there is a lot of ground to cover
and your troops arrive in instalments. With an
extra half dozen turns this would be a cakewalk,
but as is, you must push hard with the Infantry,
take some risks with infantry and the Armour and
regularly assess your progress. If you are doing
well, stay focused and keep up the good work. If
you start to lose infantry at an unsustainable rate
you will need to make more active use of the
armour. Similarly if you have lost two tanks be
more careful with the remaining armour, if three
are gone be very, very careful.
A few loose ends. Taking prisoners is
humane, interrogation provides a further
incentive. A low roll could reveal a hidden or
concealed unit. As the nearest hidden unit would
be revealed you would not need to search any
hexes closer than the one revealed. Make sure your
opponent is aware of this as it can search one truly
massive area. It would be amazingly humorous
to capture a prisoner on board 19 by the stream
and search a vast swathe of territory early in the
game. Most times this will not happen. Give some
thought to escorting them off the map late in the
game, there is a slight risk of SAN breaking a
guard and freeing some prisoners. Destroy enemy
anti tanks weapons if you capture them if there is
a risk of recapture. Similarly not donate your
60mm Mortars or an abandoned Chaffee to the
Viets.
Expect a hard fight, although the PAVN
will try to conceal and hide units, once they are
discovered they really will put up a struggle. They
will be hard to kill, but you should be able to amass
massive amounts of firepower to do the job.
Without fanatic status and Scenario rule three this
would be a lot easier!
Conclusion
If you have considerable mental stamina
and enjoy a challenge this is an excellent scenario
to play. I dont think there is a simple way to set
up, defend or attack, I do think there is a
requirement for strong decision making
throughout the game. Nice to see all ten Chaffees
in action, lots of Elite French troops and some
very credible PAVN opposition.
Hidden units are important, partially to
force the French to push hard, and to threaten the
Tanks. The game is unlikely to degenerate into
one of hide and seek though!
DBP9 Last Stand on H7
Last Stand on H7 features a massed and
determined Night attack by Elite PAVN troops,
supported by Artillery on a small French Garrison
in a battered fortification that has seen better days.
The French can expect help from a strong relief
force.
It does take a while to set up the H7
position, it took me about an hour to place the
numberous trenches, wire and six bunkers. After
that you must roll to check for Wire replacement
with shellholes but the end result is interesting.
H7 was conceived as a large rectangular outpost
guarded by wire, with two substantial outposts
positioned to slow the attacker and inflict
casualties. With two players set up could be
seriously speeded up. I think the scenario is worth
the effort. As the number of wire counters in play
can vary enormously it might be worth discussing
balance provisions after removing wire. If the wire
is pretty much in tact the PAVN need help,
conversely a proliferation of shellholes suggests
the French need it. The presence of wire is very
important in determining how each side will plan
its attack or defence.
Night rules are in effect otherwise the
PAVN would struggle a bit! Its also worth re
reading the rules on slopes, Bunkers or Pillboxes
and Bangalores.
French Set Up
At the game start you control all six
Bunkers, as long as you control three of these at
the game end you have won. If the enemy destroy
a Bunker either by an OBA critical hit, or by DC
attack, obviously you cannot control it, but it does
count for the PAVN. To control a Bunker you must
be the last player to occupy it and it must be in
tact.
At the game start you need to assess the
impact of Scenario rule 2, which replaces wire
with a shellhole on a dr of 1-3. It is reasonable to
expect roughly half of your wire hexes to be
replaced. Lady luck can be cruel or kind, and you
might be sitting in a snug trench surrounded by
either wire and mines or shellholes. Even if you
are lucky the enemy will be able to attempt to gap
your wire using Bangalores or OBA. The maps
have some interesting features, lots of shellholes,
some expanses of brush that provide a hindrance
and slow movement, slopes, a depression around
D1D3, some low Hills, and a small Orchard.
Although the weather is gusty, I cant for the life
of me see this having a significant effect on play.
The real big deal is Night.
Night has some negative effects, well quite
a few really. If this were a daylight scenario your
troops could do a great deal of damage to the
attackers at long range. Broken units would be
forced to move away from you and the chances
of a win would be much better than 50%. With
Night rules in play and limited illumination long
range fire is less effective. Freedom of movement
makes French relocation harder. On the plus side,
enemy fire is also weakened, extremely badly as
PAVN units generally have low firepower. The
possibility of straying is interesting. There should
be few occasions when a PAVN units voluntarily
moves onto a Wire Minefield hex. Straying creates
the possibility of this happening. The last bit of
good news, and this really is stretching things a
bit is the Night time abilities of broken units. You
can stay adjacent to an enemy unit when you are
broken, you can even remain in the same hex.
11 THE TREXlHES
Routing is easier and will probably be along a
trench line much of the time.
Trenches are important, primarily they
provide excellent protection against on board and
off-board fire. They provide exemption from
straying, and confer a positive DRM for rallying
units. Unfortunately the PAVN also know how to
use Trenches. Once they do so your defence
becomes just that little bit harder.
French planes drop star shells all Night
creating illumination. This will generally be
beneficial, occasionally less so. Ground units can
also attempt to place Star Shell but dont try this
from Bunkers, the roof restricts the launch. The
rules restrict the placement of the first star shell
but after that its open season. Once you have a
line of sight to a known enemy unit in an
illuminated location you gain freedom of
movement.
Ideally you would like to start the game
with your wire mostly intact, enemy units,
preferably Sappers blundering onto your
minefields and granting you freedom of
movement, rate of fire, and a steady increase in
Night visibility range maximise your winning
chances. Anything less than this is still worth
playing. Id still fight on surrounded by shell holes,
and with low visibility. A NVR of zero might upset
me, even so its worth playing a few more turns.
Enemy forces are numberous, well
equipped, highly motivated and well led. At the
game start you are outnumbered twenty six or
twenty seven squads to eight. The majority of
enemy Infantry are fourteen elite rifle squads,
backed up by eight Elite SMG squads, five fanatic
sapper half squads and two 57mm RCL guns and
crews. Support weapons are plentiful nine MGs,
five Bangalores, four DCs three Bazookas and
three Mortars. The Mortars can fire Illuminating
rounds which could be a nuisance when trying to
move relief troops on board. PAVN Leadership is
strong, six leaders with the option of converting
two to Commissars. One is a 9-2, a potential
menace if he teams up with a MG team or two.
Piling on the grief is an ELR of four, coupled with
a basic morale of eight or nine dont expect to see
a lot of replacement.
PAVN troops are assigned two Artillery
modules, one is 75mm, the other 105mm, both
with two preregistered hexes and plentiful
ammunition. A draw pile of 7B/2R is dangerous.
Keep in view a critical hit can destroy a bunker.
Draw some comfort from the restriction that OBA
has to hit its pre registered hex to be resolved. I
think this reflects the subterranean guns positions
used by the Viets, the guns are accurate but
restricted in their area of effect.
French troops are initially heavily
outnumbered. Three Para squads, three elite rifle
squads and two of the much maligned Tai. Up to
two squads may set up hidden, together with their
accompanying Leaders and support weapons. In
Last stand French SAN is higher than the PAVN,
not massively so but still nice. Onboard Leaders
include a 10-2 which should raise a few eyebrows.
Support weapons are fairly good two HMGS, two
MMGs and a pair of LMGs. If you get the
balance every squad can have a support weapon.
The MGs are key to your defence at least for the
first three or four turns. Ill discuss the French
relief force later.
So how to organise the defence. Begin by
considering the PAVN options. OBA is limited to
resolution on pre registered hexes. Perhaps the
enemy will target Bunker hexes or any of the hexes
adjacent to them with the intention of calling fire
onto areas most likely to contain enemy units. A
fair guess could be 2V10, or 3N10. Secondary
targets could be 2U3 or 3U8. Chances are 2Z5
might be registered, odds are very low of 3Z10
being considered. The Infantry attack is likely to
come from both the North and West aiming for
the easy Bunkers, 2V10 and 3N8, followed by
2U3 and 2Z5 or 3U8. I could be wrong, so back
your own hunches and use any knowledge you
possess about your opponents style of play.
Even with a rough idea of the attackers
options building a defence is not much easier.
Massing troops in the forward areas is an option.
Given the troops are entrenched and can even be
in a Bunker resistance to OBA is considerable.
Once they have been attacked by OBA everyone
gains freedom of movement and can bug out. If
they only face an Infantry attack in either forward
position do what damage you can then fall back.
Three squads, each with a MG, and a leader is a
strong force that could inflict a bloody repulse on
the attackers or at least significant delay.
An alternative would be a presence in the
front line. Anything less than three squads, all the
way down to a half squad and MMG. All choices
are a bit of a gamble but you should prefer one
idea over another after some thought.
Probably a bad idea massing units at a
focal point say 2U3? and thereabouts, seeking to
use MGs to dominate the surrounding terrain.
Different but not too clever odd little squad or
half squad positions all over the show.
Personally, Id put a squad or half squad
in the 2V10 and 3N8 bunkers, each with an MG.
The Tai could start HIP in a connecting trench
as a feeble speed bump. The remaining forces
would be split between the area around 2U3 and
3U8. Each HMG would be directed by a Leader.
These are fairly credible dispositions, nothing too
clever or startling, and Im sure more experience
players will have their own better ideas!
In all probability the Tai will attack the
first unit they can. Close combat might be
worthwhile, TPBF not too bad an idea either. If
they are bypassed a devilish counter attack might
just reclaim an unoccupied bunker.
Id listen to other suggestions. The Tai
do not have to be used as a trap, in a bunker with
Leadership they could be resilient. Abandoning
the forward bunkers might be a fair idea if they
are barely protected by wire and mines.
Key to a successful defence is the
realisation the Viets are strong enough to flatten
any point of their choosing. At some stage you
will need to fall back towards the relief troops. A
last stand without their help could be futile losing
Leaders and equipment in exchange for a few
broken PAVN squads.
Expect all sorts of bad luck, starshells
falling in useless places, lucky OBA strikes,
receiving sniper attacks, failing morale checks you
should be making and the odd broken machine
gun. If there is any justice you will also roll rate,
a few really sweet low rolls, and land a few star
shells in the right places. Try to plan escape
routes, for falling back to the South and East.
Leave the trenches if you have no choice, slug it
out if you cant even do that.
This is a long scenario. The Relief force
does not arrive until turn five. Enemy forces have
to cover a fair amount of terrain. To reach 2V10
and 3N8 would take three or more turns, another
two to reach 2U3 and/or 3U8. Stay alert for PAVN
strikes aimed at cutting off your retreat or
interdicting reinforcement. The game should get
interesting around turns six or seven.
There is a chance the PAVN will opt for
some radical ideas. An attack on a small frontage,
cunning use of Artillery that anticipates your
defence, attacking from a strange direction say
towards 2Z5. Time will tell. With such a small
defensive force you cannot cover ever possible
attack plan, it is just about enough to make the
most direct attack plans a tad more difficult.
PAVN Entry And Attack
If you control or eliminate four Pillboxes
at the game end you win. With a deal of luck you
might manage to destroy four Bunkers before the
game end due to some phenomenally successful
artillery attacks and/or the use of demolition
charges.
At the game start you outnumber the
French slightly more than three to one. All your
troops are elite, including five fanatic Sapper
(H1.23 and B24.7) squads armed with bangalores
and a few demolition charges. Sappers receive a
favourable DR modifier when attempting to clear
wire or mines, hopefully this will not be essential.
Bangalores are very useful against wire/mine
hexes and are covered fully in the DBP Standard
Special rules section. PAVN troops can create DC
heroes a very effective method of delivery. Aside
from engineering equipment you receive a fair
selection of MGs including two MMG and even
an HMG. For anti tank work you have three
Bazookas and two 57mm RCL, against three
French tanks this is a reasonable allocation. Three
60mm mortar allow for Illumination rounds if you
need them. Leadership is pretty good, six leaders
including a 9-2, and the option to exchange two
Leaders for commissars. Unfortunately you cannot
enter cloaked. movement is effected adversely by
this. On balance your force is pretty strong,
numberous with some useful leadership and plenty
of support weapons.
Backing up your ground troops are two
Artillery modules a hefty105mm and useful 75mm
, each with plentiful ammunition and two
preregistered hexes. This gives you a draw pile of
7B/2R which is pretty good. The first bit of
baddish news is OBA is limited to fire at
preregistered hexes. An early decision should be
which hexes to pre register. The clever answer is
to aim for spots were enemy forces are likely or
certain to be. The Bunkers in 2V10 and 3N8 are
fair choices, adjacent hexes would work almost
as well. If either post has no visible defenders
better targets might be available. Think carefully
as the French can hide two squads. Counting
stacks might not help if the Defender has read
rule E1.2 carefully and hidden his support
weapons and Leaders accordingly. Trying to take
a bunker and its adjacent trenches in the face of
two hidden squads, a pair of MGs and a Leader
without Artillery support is not going to be easy.
The other pre registered hexes can be used to
support attacks on other Bunkers, say 2Z5, 2U3
or 3U8. Another idea is to hit areas you have a
strong suspicion the French will enter or are likely
12 YIEW FRBH
to set up in. An example of this could be 2Z2, or
2Z3 hitting the easiest approach to the 2Z5
Bunker. This might be a bit defensively minded
for some. An even more defensive idea aims to
interdict the arrival of the Relief force interfering
with its progress by harassing fire. Probably a bad
idea unless the French cooperate by moving in
stacks. If you destroy a bunker by a critical hit
this can dramatically increase your chances of a
win. The chances are slim, though still credible.
Enemy forces comprise an initial small
garrison, aided by a relief force on turn five. The
eight on board squads are pretty tough. All French
units are Fanatic so you deal with nine morale
troops. Barring a KIA/K result most morale checks
will be passed and rally rolls made. The garrison
are liberally equipped with MGs, two are HMGs
with another two MMGs and a pair of LMGs.
Three initial leaders include a rather scary 10-2.
The best way to kill these guys is to get lucky, roll
low, throw SAN attacks at the bigger stacks, and
enter into close combat. Two Tai squads are
present, even these are fanatic, and stealthy. Odds
are the Tai will not be equipped with MGs but
will be lurking in a quiet corner waiting for a
chance to inflict damage.
On turn five a French relief force of ten
squads, three Leaders, three LMGs and a platoon
(of three) Chaffee Tanks. This is a very substantial
force. Your anti tank assets will face a difficult
fight against the armour. For a tank of only 17.5
tonnes the Chaffee is well armoured and equipped
with three MGs plus a 75mm gun, with ROF. Very
fast it will create a few headaches. With some
reasonable DR you may back on or two, settle for
keeping them at a distance if that proves
impossible.
At the game start Scenario rule 2 creates
the possibility of some, all or no wire counters
being replaced by shellholes. Take a great deal of
interest in this. Although you have bangalores,
Sappers and can even run onto wire the less of it
between you and the areas you plan to attack the
better. With luck you will get a few favourable
roll and find very reasonable gaps in the wire. If
you need to you can still use Bangalores. Have a
good look at the map. Plan your routes to the
French positions. Take account of the cover
provided by shell holes, hindrances and the
obstruction created by the few Hills dotted around
the map. A long hard look at the Trench networks
is valuable. Plan how you would like to move from
your first objectives through to the later stages of
the game.
One slight problem is straying. For this to
happen you need to be rather unlucky. An average
of one in eighteen straying rolls will result in
effected movement. There is a chance you will
end up moving in the direction you wanted, more
likely is a move in the wrong direction, with a
small chance of wandering somewhere ruddy
dangerous say a wire hex. The ASLRB is pretty
clear, and there are circumstances where straying
is negated. For example when you move adjacent
to a trench or can see a known enemy unit. If you
are planning a wild rush at the defenders this
should not be too much of a problem. If your attack
is a silent approach a small group of unlucky
Sappers setting off a minefield will galvanise the
French.
Several plans of attack with different
tactical approaches are worth considering. Ill
provide an overview of the basic ideas without
going into great detail. The first key decision is
whether to commence firing on turn one or adopt
a more cautious approach.
Starting with an aggressive opening. If you
decide to commence firing the OBA on turn one,
draw black cards and roll less than four for your
accuracy rolls, there is a chance of inflicting
damage in the target area. Without a critical hit
the most favourable result you can hope for is
some order of morale check. This is pretty bleak
as most French squads have an effective morale
of nine before you take Leadership into account.
Worse news the attack grants freedom of
movement to all French troops in the FFE area
and allows star shell placement. On the plus side
if several French units are in the blast area you
have better chance of a morale check, a possibility
of SAN generated sniper damage and at the very
least the blast area will effect outgoing fire. Keep
in view it will take several turns to reach the
trenches giving you a fair number of attacks. You
can do some pretty complex maths to dispute these
tactics, but I think it boils down to style. Some
players are cunning and favour stealth over brute
force, others might want to save their OBA to
interdict the entry of turn five relief forces.
If you choose not to open fire on turns one
or two, a stealthy approach is a fair idea. Some
illumination is in effect because of Scenario rule
three where by French aircraft are prowling around
dropping flares. Even so with some care you
should be able to arrive at the French perimeter
in two turns, three if you overlap the outposts
around 2V10, and 3N8. Try to land a spotting
round on target whilst you are doing this.
Assemble firebases then wake the French up on
turn three. Bangalores hit the wire and mines,
mortars, MGs, and RCLs blaze away, DC heroes
run forwards followed by their comrades. The
French will have a few ideas about this plan, and
will use automatic fire or withdrawal to blunt your
attack. Although less aggressive initially this is a
fairly aggressive plan. One difficult is the FFE of
your artillery to be effective it must be placed on
the French which makes Close combat very
difficult. A minor variation puts the FFE behind
the French to make withdrawal more difficult.
I guess these two ideas are a balance
between the destructive power of two OBA
modules against the value of concealment. We can
choose an approach that suits, equally important
the direction and strength of our attacks. You can
attack from the Northern and Western board
edges. You can choose to attack from a single edge
in one powerful thrust perhaps using artillery
assests to interdict the easiest approaches for
relocating French onboard defenders. This is not
my favourite idea, it could still work. Your attack
aims for a single outlying bunker say 2V10, then
runs down connecting trenches to gain 2U3, 2Z5
or 3U8 and another Bunker. The advantage is you
make only one attack from open ground into a
French outlying position. When you have won this
most subsequent fights will be with the cover of
Trenches. Weight of Numbers in the actual sector
attacked will be better than 3-1, perhaps
approaching 5-1, or upwards to 10-1! Expect
significant casualties but if you cannot win that
one things are likely to get worse later. There are
snags. Long range fire from other French positions
can be effective. French troops might withdraw
ahead of you then stiffen to hold you longer than
expected.
If the attack goes down through 3N8 you
just might grab 3U8 and 3Z10 making the entry
of French relief forces tricky. The key word here
is might!
Plan B attacks from two or even three
directions aiming thrusts at Bunkers in 2V10 and
3N8 with an optional flanking run along the
Southern edge to 2Z5. This would be my choice,
but obviously that doesnt necessarily mean it is
a sure fire winner or even a good idea. The aim is
to dispose of most of the French OB at a
favourable exchange rate then rush down the
connecting trenches to 3U8, 2U3 and possibly
beyond.
Plan C et sec are outfield ideas. Bypassing
the projecting outposts to start the attack at 2Z5,
2U3 or 3U8. Speculative French fire might put
paid to these ideas, another consideration is time.
If you dawdle you may end up with just one
Bunker your entire OB in tact and no prospect of
advancing against mounting French opposition.
French dispositions are important. An
apparent mass of units in either forward Bunker
would argue for bypassing it. Similarly only
potential hidden units argues for at least some
attention.
With a large OB there are any number of
ways to organise your troops. Id go for platoon
sized units initially. Four SMG/Rile squads, a
sapper half squad, Leader and share of available
support weapons. Tailor this for the mission the
squad will perform, for example DCs to a platoon
tasked with destroying a bunker, Mortars and
HMG/MMGs for a fire support squad. Split the
Anti tanks assests but give a bias towards the
Eastern Flank where the likelihood of Armoured
attack is greater. Without too much thought Id
exchange both 8-0 Leaders for the gentle
Commissars the Viets get. Personal preference
would also place the best Leader close to the HMG
with the other on the other end of the line. There
is an enormous amount of latitude for making
some platoons stronger or weaker, in terms of
numbers and SW allocation. There might be a case
for Sappers acting as independent sub units,
massing SMG squads in discrete attack groups, a
mortar platoon and an MG platoon. Take your time
but dont get hung up on the idea of a perfect
mission specific organisation of your troops.
Whichever lines of attack you choose, you
will have to cross open ground swept by fire at
Night. Avoid running through illuminated
locations or fire lanes. Use Leaders to round up
stray broken squads and push them back towards
the enemy. At night DM remains in place until a
rally roll less than the squads morale is rolled.
Commissars effectively ignore this rule speeding
up the rallying process.
Once you get close to the French forward
or main positions more open ground has to be
crossed unless you can win a firefight against high
morale troops in trenches? The plan is to overload
the defences. Start with some prep fire, next attack
with DC heroes, run in from all directions. Do
what damage you can in advancing fire then pile
in for a melee. Expect some broken squads, and
some K/KIA results as well. In close combat
exchange results can be expected.
If you think a dash across open ground
unlikely to work, outflank the defenders and hit
13 THE TREXlHES
them with as much firepower as you can,
including OBA. Break them, then rush in to
interrogate prisoners hopefully to reveal other
French units. not too sure if the presence on mines
would occur as these are all known. (Over there
under the wire).
Taking the first couple of bunkers should
be good fun. Decide if you can hold them or it is
worth setting a DC in an attempt to destroy the
post. In the second half you can still move
forwards but will be placed a bit on the defensive
by the French relief force.
The threats you face are ten elite squads,
three leaders three Chaffee tanks, plus any
remaining garrison troops. Consolidate the ground
you hold. Pick up any abandoned French support
weapons, and organise your positions. Use the
Sappers as support weapons crews or as shock
troops. Now is the time to use any OBA that can
hit a useful spot. Find a shellhole for the RCL
teams, use squads or half squad to man them if
the crews are broken or eliminated. The next four
turns will be a bitter struggle. Determine the
French players plans as best you can. He may push
extremely hard for one key bunker or engage in a
series of thrusts hoping to get lucky in one or other.
Stay alert to the possibility of a hidden French
unit making an appearance behind the front lines
to contest control, or a sprint past your front line
to a more remote area.
Expect a close fight. The first two Bunkers
should fall to you after a short but intense fight,
the next two or three should be slightly easier. A
grim struggle to hold on to your gains is the finale.
French Relief Force
After set up Scenario rule 5 allows you to
pick two hexes were you can cross the wire for an
extra 2MF/4MP without being subject to attack
by mines. This is useful if a great deal of wire
remains, but most of the time you will be better
off using the shellholes in a former wire hex as
these provide some cover. At a pinch you can run
the Chaffees into wire hexes to try for a gap,
hopefully this will not be necessary.
It is hard to predict what you will face on
turn five. It is possible the garrison could be killed,
broken or captured with the PAVN settling into
all six bunkers having suffered few casualties.
Conversely the Garrison could be still in place
and the PAVN stuck on the wire or gibbering
broken in the dark. In general some of the Garrison
will be present and the Viets will have occupied
four or five Bunkers. You might have some idea
where the Anti tank assets of the enemy are, avoid
these with your tanks as far as possible.
The basic idea is to enter across a wide
front, gain the Trenches then push along them to
recapture as many Bunkers as you can in the time
remaining. If the PAVN pre registered hexes are
known and well away from the areas you need to
move through great, that is one less thing to worry
about. Otherwise stay out of FFE areas, and gain
cover as soon as you can. There is some sense in
organising into platoons with on Leader in the
middle, and one each on either flank.
Crossing the ground to reach the main
trench position is not easy, but it should be
possible in two or three turns with a bit of care.
Use the tanks in support, avoiding anti tank assets
if you can but remember Infantry are more
valuable in a fight for Bunker control than a
Chaffee. Once in the Trenches the balance starts
to tip in your favour. You should quickly gain
control of 3Z10 and/or 3U8 then carefully thrust
towards another Bunker. You should be
outnumbered but able to amass sufficient force
for one strong thrust. Time is pressing urging fast
action. Use the tanks in support or to draw fire
and inflict casualties. Fire from the 75mm guns
should cause concern and a few casualties the
M24 MGs are there to help use them.
A hairy close quarters Battle is inevitable.
In a firefight you would normally expect to win,
take note of PAVN support weapons if these
proliferate your fire power advantage is eroded
and close combat becomes a better bet. A 10-3
Leader is included in your forces, these can be
fun to play. Be careful getting him into the
Trenches then make use of his firepower modifier
and rally bonus.
Keep fighting hard every turn. On the last
player turn pull out the stops. If the PAVN player
does not hold four bunkers at the end of his turn
he has lost. If he holds five or six you need to take
stock. Sometimes it helps to stop for a break, treat
the last turn as a puzzle and see if you can plot a
win. Some other players prefer to keep up the
pressure and will want to keep playing.
Finally, there is no casualty cap in this one.
Having three Tanks and the bulk of your forces
in tact is admirable if you win, less so if you have
just lost due to cautious play.
Conclusion
A lot can happen in this game, ranging
from highly destructive Machine gun fire killing
or breaking swarms of attackers outside of the
wire, through to a sniper attacks taking out one
of the superlative French Leaders, leading to a
broken stack and easier time for the Viets.
Generally the last two or three turns will be a life
of death struggle for a key bunker. Aside from an
interesting scenario this is a classic example of
the value of High quality troops in defence.
Both players have difficult choices to
make. The most serious for the French is whether
to fall back in the first few turns or fight in place,
for the PAVN it is difficult to choose between a
stealthy approach and using Artillery support as
soon as possible.
If you enjoy Night scenarios and fierce
close quarter battle this is worth a look.
DBP10 All in Vain
All in vain is the first scenario set on the
superb Dien Bien Phu map. Although half of the
map is in play the action centres around a very
small area around the Elaine 1 Hill. Both sides
are desperate to control the Hill, the French need
it to strengthen their positions, the PAVN need it
as a spring board for developing further attacks.
A blood bath is guaranteed by a limited game
length, need for the French to Kill the PAVN or
drive them off the Hill and the very close
proximity of the forces involved. Do not be put
off by Scenario rule 3, where by both sides attempt
to place shellholes to their advantage. This special
rule greatly complicates both attack and defence,
giving All in Vain added appeal.
PAVN Set Up
As long as you have one or more good
order MMC on a level two or higher Hill hex of
Elaine 1 or Elaine 4 you are still in the game. If
you satisfy this objective at the game end you win.
It is possible to lose on turn one if your set up
avoids Level two or higher hexes.
At the game start PAVN forces outnumber
the French very slightly, by twelve squads to
Eleven, leadership is slightly in favour of the
French, support weapon allocation about even.
There is a big gulf in troop quality. The bad news
is it favours the French. Eleven Elite Paratrooper
squads with an underscored ELR of five, compare
very favourably to a mixed bag of twelve PAVN
squads, only two of which are Elite, and an ELR
of three. In terms of firepower, the French really
have an edge. A raw firepower ratio of 54 to 66
doesnt sound too bad, unfortunately your troops
cannot form multi hex firegroups knocking their
effective unstacked firepower down to 34
excluding support weapons. In a firefight the
French firepower advantage should prove decisive
within the time limit of the game. The perspective
becomes bleaker when you consider the French
troops higher morale, very high ELR and adequate
Leadership. Several factors keep you in the game.
The French must move forwards to win, giving
you the opportunity for the first shots against
adjacent troops, generally in poorer cover. In close
combat, especially Hand to hand you can do well.
More good news, you start with a Commissar and
can exchange another Leader for one more. As
always Id take the second Commissar, especially
as the PAVN officers are gentle with troops who
fail to rally. Two commissars will give your force
a deal of resilience, quickly rallying units and
pointing them back towards the enemy.
Remaining upbeat, your SAN is slightly higher,
giving you a 50% higher chance of activation than
the French, expect an average of one potential
sniper activation every twelve eligible DR.
More help comes from the Scenario rules
and some of the DBP Standard special rules.
Scenario rule 2 makes shellholes and all
fortifications Concealment terrain. Building on
this Rule DBP2 allows up to 10% FRU of your
OB to set up hidden. This really does create a
wide range of opportunities. One idea is to hide
the Bazookas and manning squads ready to
ambush the Chaffees. Alternatively your target
might be enemy squads, striking as they move
into your hex or attempting to ambush them in
close combat. Least favourite, but practical, hiding
in a remote spot then running on a Level two hex
to claim a win at the game end. What ever you
choose the French will try and counter. With
moderate luck you will distract them, which will
help you to win. DBP 14 is very interesting
allowing secret placement of six trail breaks in
wire hexes. These could be used as escape routs,
or part of a cunning plan to steal the game by a
14 YIEW FRBH
HIP unit running through wire to Victory. The
57mm Recoilless Rifle can set up hidden of which
more a little later.
A sub plot is the armour. Within two or
three turns it will make its presence felt. Use your
anti tank assests, specifically Bazookas and 57mm
RCL against this threat. To hit rolls and to kill
rolls are low, fortunately the tanks should not be
effective for the first two turns. After that they
can be a considerable nuisance.
Your plans should take into account
Scenario Rule 3 which allows the placement of
three shellholes by yourself and the French.
Placement is a bit tricky in that the Shellhole
always end up in an adjacent hex. As you have
three opportunities to place shellholes the odds
of placement in a pre selected individual hex is
50%. By careful site selection you should be able
to increase the odds of a favourable location by
choosing targets next to several useful spots. This
is probably easier for the French, as the PAVN
your defences are weaker and more likely to be
clustered together. If you hit a rubbled building,
woods, or Brush a flame is placed. If you can place
a flame in J18 and it subsequently becomes a blaze
the French lose control of a very useful rubbled
building at level 5. Other useful spots are any front
line French trenches, or if defensively minded try
to convert open ground in your set up area into
Shellholes. Be a bit careful, trashing your own
fortifications is possible if your initial target hex
is adjacent to your fortifications. Your opponent
will be pleased and your position will have been
weakened slightly. If it happens your options are
shrug, see the funny side, get theatrical (my
favourite), or try to convince your opponent you
are pleased with the bad result.
Before setting up decide how you will aim
to win. If you want to shoot the French to bits in a
firefight, powerful firegroups in trenches and
foxholes may be the way to go. French Shellholes
might scupper your plans, failing that the strength
of French firepower could do the job! I genuinely
do not think you can win this way but if you think
Im wrong try three adjacent trenches surrounded
by Sangars and foxholes then roll very low, very
often.
There are alternatives with considerable
scope for personal choices. I think these can be
grouped into a Hedgehog or point defence, a
Linear set up or a small series of platoon sized
defensive Islands. Sub plots include Anti tank
assets and hidden units. A very important
consideration is how close to the enemy front line
do you want to start. You can begin adjacent to
the French, risky if concealed, still a bit dangerous
if hidden. The gain is in slowing down the enemy
advance. The weakness the potential to lose units
early. One or two hexes back, is less vulnerable
to enemy prep fire, but can still oppose rapid
French movement. A line of Trenches, flanked
by foxholes, Sangars and occupied Shellholes a
slight distance from the French lines has the
advantage of increasing your usable firepower by
shooting within the inherent range of most of your
units. Against this is the chance of enemy
shellholes landing smack in the middle of your
position. The French can concentrate on one or
more likely both of your flanks and encircle you.
Finally where do your front line troops rout? Not
the best possible defence, but very strong if the
French attack on a broad front on turns one or
two. Admittedly this isnt very likely.
A better bet could be a small hedgehog.
Again you have a lot of choice in choosing the
centre of the position, up front adjacent to the
French, even way back at the Eastern edge of the
Hill. Probably the best spot to choose would be
around G13/G14. Any French attacks will be up
hill increasing movement costs. The Hedgehog
can take a range of shapes, roughly circular, square
even triangular or diamond shape. My own choice
would be a triangle with the apex (pointy bit)
towards the French. The base would contain
Trenches, with foxholes nearby. The Front line
area could use some Sangars or alternatively
printed shellholes. The most exposed frontal
positions are likely to be hit hard by French fire
on turn one, killing or breaking the survivors. The
only advantage Sangars have over shellholes is
their greater TEM against armour overruns. If you
have any spare Sangars they can be used to
provide cover in open ground. After set up the
hedgehog aims to absorb enemy attacks, trading
territory for casualties by falling back or breaking
as a result of enemy fire when under pressure.
Makes sense to keep Leaders at the Eastern end
of the position, ready to round up and rally broken
squads or half squads before pushing them back
into the fight. The beauty of a hedgehog is its
simplicity. It is also able to soak up a number of
moderately strong attacks.
A very reasonable alternative might be a
series of small defensive Islands designed to give
you some defence in depth. A weakness of the
Hedgehog is its lack of depth. Most likely this
will only be three or four hexes deep. By
distributing the defenders between a limited
number of small positions the defence gains some
depth, at the cost of not being particularly strong
in a single place. Each Island is organised around
one or two Leaders, three or four squads and some
support weapons. The level four hill hexes G13
and G14, are tempting for one position. A gaps
in the wire around K13, and I10 are interesting,
and accept starting some troops at Level one ready
to move to level two in the closing stages of the
game. Watch out for the sudden win within the
Victory conditions though! Given the relatively
small size of the PAVN set up area a closely
grouped cluster of Islands could look and fight
very similarly to a loose hedgehog. There is a
slight difference though, the hedgehog aims to
earn victory by doggedly recovering from attacks,
the Islands are intended to wear the French down
and discourage attacks.
During play you should have some fun
with your hidden units and anti tank assests.
Killing a Chaffee is a possibility, so to is
mechanical breakdown or main armament
malfunction. The armour is really a game within
a game. Left to dictate the action the two tanks
will hit you hard with 75mm and MG attacks.
Try to use your anti tank assets against the threat.
The Bazookas cannot fire at anything else, except
perhaps troops in the ruins (J18), the RCL must
choose between armour and Infantry. As long as
you have HEAT, trying against the armour makes
the most sense. Keep in view the Mortar will work
against tanks, and your infantry can do damage
in close combat.
Time is crucially important. An extra turn
would give the French stronger winning chances.
A fair result would be a win where you just hang
on with one squad, not everyone idea of a decisive
victory but very realistic if a PAVN counter attack
is timed for turn six. With such a strong French
force you can expect to be on the receiving end of
some pretty horrible fire attacks. It would be very
unusual to inflict greater loss on the French than
you experience, accept this and concentrate on
controlling crucial territory rather than winning
firefights or even melees just for the sake of it.
Make good use of your concealment
counters and HIP units. There is a lot of choice in
terms of what to hide, conceal or leave known.
Hiding a HMG, squad and crew before opening
up on turn one is a waste. There is a stronger
argument for concealing units which will not fight
in the first couple of turns. Im not sure you have
enough concealment counters to create some
dummys?
A few quick ideas, if you are out of French
line of sight gain concealment on turn one.
Agonise over decisions concerning close combat.
The French have a firepower advantage, but if
you can get into lethal hand to hand you can delay
the development of his attacks and occasionally
reduce his forces. Remember you have teeth, and
occasionally bite the French with your Machine
guns or even inherent firepower.
Make a determined attempt to be lucky.
Place shellholes over the French front line, whilst
watching your opponents go anywhere that
doesnt help him. Roll low to hit and destroy tanks,
win melee and even kill Paras by IFT attacks. If
you have average luck wish slightly worse on your
opponent, a few box cars may help, tens and
elevens would be nice. Not really a serious plan
but something to look forwards to when the French
are rattling dice frequently.
Enjoy this one, you are clinging grimly
onto a piece of Viet Nam that you have liberated
from the French your courage will bring Victory
to your emerging Nation.
French Set Up and Attack
The objective is to force all good order
PAVN MMC off the level two or higher hexes of
Elaine 1 and 4. As soon as this happens you have
won. Broken enemy units, are not good order, nor
are Berserk ones, nor crucially are those held in
melee (Ive played that wrong once or twice!).
Further good news if no enemy units are on level
two or higher Hill hexes you immediately, even if
hordes of PAVN are dug in on level one or lower
hexes. Worth considering is the total absence of a
casualty cap, you can lose your entire OB and
still win if the Viets die with you or if they
celebrate your destruction by charging off the high
ground.
Although you can win on turn one if the
PAVN have set up badly, it is more likely you face
a stiff fight. There are two ways to aim for a win.
One seeks to gain territory controlling all of the
level two and higher hill hexes, the other seeks
the destruction of enemy forces. In reality a bit of
both is needed. Staying in your starting positions
and blazing away at the enemy doesnt deserve to
work and nor does an eleven squad charge for
Elaine 1. I think the difference between the two
plans is the ratio of prep fire to advancing fire,
and movement phase to advance phase movement.
As always seems to be the case there is an
alternative, doing a bit of both, varying your
approach from turn to turn and even doing things
15 THE TREXlHES
differently in different sectors of your front!
Whichever approach is selected the 316th
Infantry Division will oppose your plans. Some
enemy forces can set up hidden, two squads, any
accompanying Leaders and SW, as well as the
RCL and crew. This is a significant force, that
can prove difficult to find. Hidden units must start
on a Hill hex numbered less than or equal to 15.
This is a lot of territory, and you must allocate
some effort to finding them. Unexpected help
comes from your opponent, who will reveal units
when you move into their hexes, or open fire on
your forces. Other hexes will be searched by your
troops or hit by sufficiently strong fire attacks to
reveal any hidden defenders. Any shell hole can
be a hiding place, there is even a nasty little Brush
hex behind some wire in D13. A squad in D13
could move through the wire late in the game to
control a level two hex, Standard Scenario rule
DBP14 allows the PAVN to set trail breaks in a
limited number of wire hexes. If this happens late
in the game it could be a nasty surprise, although
you should have enough units around to blast the
enemy with fire. Keep in view this is less of a
threat because of the sudden death Victory
conditions. The hidden RCL is likely to be a bit
back from the front line, it will be revealed when
it fires at a Chaffee, or occasionally before then if
the PAVN are tempted to shoot at your infantry.
Aside from being used to win a game of
hide and seek, PAVN HIP squads can be used as
anti tank assets, manning the Bazookas, or as a
break on your push on Elaine 1. By all means try
to guess where they are, devote some effort to
finding them, but dont let it become a distraction.
At best they will kill a squad and possibly a
Leader, more often they will unleash a fearsome
12IFT attack then get nailed in close combat.
The rest of the enemy force will provide
plenty of opposition to your plans. Initially the
enemy outnumber you by twelve squads to eleven,
with a reasonable allocation of support weapons,
and some concealment as well as HIP allocation.
Two enemy squads are elite the rest are first line
with an ELR of three. Expect to see one or possibly
two commissars amongst the enemy Leaders.
Although much of this force is concealed you can
make some intelligent guesses about the defences.
I would not expect to see any dummy stacks. There
is a very high probability of anything single
counter under a concealment counter is going to
be a squad, two counters will be a squad and SW,
three will be a squad, MG, and Leader. There are
sound reasons for this. Stacking is probably a bad
idea for the PAVN in the face of your awesome
firepower, stacking a leader with a Mortar and
crew or even a Bazooka is less likely than with an
MG. There are some exceptions. A single counter
at the back of the PAVN defences might be a
Leader, the PAVN could set up the RCL team
concealed rather than hidden, and your opponent
is at liberty to man a Bazooka with a SMC or
even two of them. Despite the exceptions you
should get a good idea of where the opponent is.
This picture becomes a lot clearer as the
game progresses. Fire combat will reveal units,
both as a result of your fire, and when the PAVN
shoot. There are no prizes for revealing the entire
OB on turn one, it can make more sense to deal
with the units that are known, or on prime real
estate first. A concealed unit is not shooting at
you.
One interesting factiod from the ASLRB,
UNARMED UNITS ARE IN GOOD ORDER.
Taking enemy prisoners is a judgement call. It is
generally harder to eliminate enemy forces once
you have declared no quarter, very tough when
the enemy includes commissars and a number of
other Leaders. Prisoners can be interrogated, again
very useful. A finite chance of a prisoner escaping
exists. If this happens kill or capture them as soon
as possible but do not totally ignore them.
The 5th BPVN are excellent troops, elite
with an ELR of five. In this scenario they will
need to dish out and absorb punishment, a
firepower of six, and morale of eight helps, a
broken side morale of nine is superb. French
firepower is impressive. Two half squads will man
the Mortars, whilst a staggering 78 IFT factors
come from ten squads, four LMGs, an HMG and
MMG. Most shots will be against troops in +1 or
+2 cover, a shell hole, Sangar, Foxhole or Trench.
Against stacks of units massive IFT attacks make
sense. Against more scattered positions six or
eight IFT attacks should be adequate. Most of the
time a morale check will result. A fair result
against unconcealed units in shell holes or Sangars
would be eight or nine morale checks on turn one,
resulting in three or four broken squads. This
assumes the majority of your forces will prep fire.
If most of your attacks are in the advancing fire
phase, you lose some firepower for movement,
might gain some more for and PBF, less anything
lost as a result of enemy fire.
For the first turn at least I favour shooting
at the PAVN. Personal preference would shoot the
9-2 directed stack first to limit the dire effects of
SAN, but there is value in firing the Mortars first
to attempt to strip concealment. If opening fire is
very effective, move some troops forwards. If you
are unlucky you might have to limit movement to
the advance phase. Prime targets should be enemy
machine guns nests, followed by anti tank assets,
down through manned support weapons to squads.
After the initial fusillade choices get
harder. If you are aiming to kill the enemy, try for
double breaks. If you plan to move forwards
aggressively, two broken squads are more valuable
than a dead half squad. The LMGs and spraying
fire are dandy for keeping broken units under
desperation morale, though this is pointless if a
commissar is at hand to rally them!
Which is all a bit previous, before you
attack you must place shell holes and set up. You
start with eight Trenches. A decent number but
you do need them. They will be used to provide
protection for your assaulting units and to build a
firebase to support them. There is scope for
varying the strength of these two elements. At the
very least the firebase could consist of the Mortars,
and MMG/HMG. From Elaine 4 you can
dominate Elaine 1. Good sites for a trench include
Level three hill hexes, I17, J16, with adjacent level
two hexes being almost as good. The Level four
hex is rubble giving +3 TEM, if hit by a shell
hole it becomes a flame but is still usable for turn
one at least. On level one hills trenches can serve
as a firebase and a covered approach to enemy
lines. F16, G16, H16 and even I16 are very close
to enemy lines. Placing a squad and LMG here is
a slight gamble but does get the attack off to a
good start.
Planning a rough line of approach for your
attack is sensible. The Northern flank of Elaine 1
is the easiest to approach initially. A strong thrust
from around G16 will have to push hard to drive
all the enemy off the Hill. Attacking across a
broader front or on both the Southern and northern
flanks of the Hill weakens the strength of the
attacks but alleviates some of the time pressure
involved in clearing the entire Hill. This really
does come down to style.
Personally Id go for a platoon led by the
9-2 Leader equipped with the MMG, HMG and
Mortars as a firebase on Elaine 4. A platoon
attacking down the Northern and Southern faces
of Elaine 1, with a reserve platoon serving initially
as a firebase then moving to support either attack.
There are many alternatives. The 9-2
Leader could be in an attacking element, the
MMG could go forwards with the troops, the
reserve platoon could be split between the
attacking elements or could go straight for the
centre early in the game.
Armour support is arriving. With Mud in
effect there is a small chance of bog. You can
reduce this risk by moving as a platoon or just
balls it out. If one or both vehicles mire and
subsequently immobilise give any long range
support you can with the gun or MG armament.
If you can move closer to the enemy though, bog
become less of a problem just about the time the
enemies Anti tank assests become more of an
issue. If the threat has already been neutralised
you can get reasonably close to the front line and
render valuable support. If the location of the RCL
and Bazookas, and to an extent the Mortar are
known you can try to avoid them but still assist
the attack. Losing one or both tanks is not the
end of the game. If their loss reveals hidden units,
follows some destruction of your own, or ties up
significant enemy effort you have some
compensation. A lot can go wrong with the tanks,
aside from bog and enemy weapons, there is a
chance of main armament malfunction or
mechanical reliability to cause woe. On the upside,
the MG armament is effective, whilst the 75MM
gun can cause damage, or encourage acquired
targets to withdraw.
Attacking up Hill is always difficult, mud
makes it harder, increasing movement costs.
Going CX is very dangerous adjacent to enemy
units, and reduces the effectiveness of your fire.
There will be instances when you do need to do
this though. Close combat should also be part of
your game plan. Your attack is not a bayonet
charge but superior firepower does give you an
advantage in melee. When faced with pinned Rifle
half squads a 6-1 attack is tempting, even against
a SMG half squad the chances of effective
retaliation are remote. Against stronger opposition
the choice is harder, in the last turn or two it may
be imperative any risk is accepted.
The most important hexes to control either
by physical occupation or by firepower are the
G13 and G14 level three Hills. Control of enemy
trenches gives protective TEM, complicates rout,
and improves movement options.
Before the attack starts you need to place
shellholes and watch your opponents attempts to
place them. You have no control over your
opponents choices accept where they land with
good grace. At worst three key trenches will be
removed, at best open ground in the path of your
Continued on page 19, column 2
16 YIEW FRBH
Anoznru Loou Az laxraton Baxrs Anoznru Loou Az laxraton Baxrs Anoznru Loou Az laxraton Baxrs Anoznru Loou Az laxraton Baxrs Anoznru Loou Az laxraton Baxrs
Chris Riches
was again threatened, although I must say it had
the feel of the damage the town must have taken
in the real battle. Eventually the combination of
fire and firepower forced the French out back to
M17 and the F19 area, and then the combination
of German strength and exposed attacking routes
made it obvious which way the result would turn.
I really enjoyed the first three scenarios,
but then the quantity of items able to be purchased
seemed huge - how many killer stacks of HMG/
MMGs do you want? A counterattack with 2
Companies and 6 Tank Sections in addition to
any surviving forces just seemed too much. Hence
I now replay with about half the CPPs and it still
has a good feel to it. As a French player I also
tend to use more OBA, particularly smoke, and
to preserve a dug-in presence on their right flank
as a way to funnel forces back into the fight.
I found the map a bit strange - how can
someone playtest the map and end up with crest
lines exactly straddling the centre hex dots - blame
the printers! This has been corrected by an
essential errata sheet, so you know what height
various hexes are and where the double crest lines
exist that are otherwise obscured under the woods.
Pointe du Hoc
Again, a strong favourite and a clear map
(maybe too glossy for some). I played the first
couple of turns about three times, both to
understand the amphibious rules, and also to work
out what the Germans were supposed to do to
defend the area. Im still not sure they can do a
lot if deployed forwards other than get shot up,
but aiming to pull back and conserve forces is
dangerous in giving up ground too quickly.
Ignore the captured French Guns - these
are going to get discovered no matter where you
put them. My preference is to keep them in the
fields to the south, so at least they arent
discovered and captured along with the rest of
the defences, and are another thing marginally on
the mind of the US player.
On the last occasion, I deployed German
heavy weapons on the rising ground to the south
(rows C/D) and was able to do a good job at
curtailing US movement. I also aimed to set up
two defensive positions somewhere on the road -
the US will take out one with their strength, so
went for a concealment strategy with the intent
of whittling them down prior to a tough fight for
the second.
The US landed on a wide front with
substantial NOBA and direct fire to keep the
defenders from responding, rather than a
concentrated attack on one side of the headland.
This fairly swiftly overcame the Germans,
including some excellent NOBA KIA results, and
the forces raced up to try and take good positions
before the German reinforcements arrived. They
got a good hold in Le Guay after a struggle, but a
parallel thrust to Le Manoir was stuck for some
time (aided by the fire support from the south)
until finally pushing the Germans across the road.
On the east flank, the US struggled to clear
St Pierre du Mont, and were hit by a German
counterattack, with the forces ultimately squaring
off around O23 and with a German presence
around R27. Good firefights then occurred on both
right and left flanks, with reinforcements being
thrown in as they arrived, and the Germans doing
their best to infiltrate through the fields to the front
to cause more nuisance. Ultimately the US
reinforcements tipped the balance and the
Germans were pushed aside.
The initial assault takes some time to
refresh the rules, but is a good chance to try a
small fairly unopposed amphibious landing,
which I hadnt done via other scenarios. The new
fortifications seem to take up lots of rules for
minimal use in the game (you could do far worse
than treating them as 1+5+7 Pillboxes - at least it
will get you starting the game quickly), and the
French artillery is not worth getting excited about,
wherever you put it. Then it settles down into a
good scrap over familiar terrain, with both sides
able to muster forces to attack.
CH also issued a version with scenarios
(no CG) and a larger-hex, matt-printed map (but
reduced overall area, no sea, cliffs or forward
defences) as Busting the Bocage. This is a neat
little package and again has some fierce local
firefights in very close terrain.
Scotland the Brave
I played CG II of the 3 in the series, and
enjoyed it more than I thought I would, given the
level of armour (which isnt usually to my taste).
Also only having 3 Firefights means you can re-
try it again easily.
The Germans had an easy ride in the first
FF due to British positions being not well placed,
but there were plenty of talking points, and some
interesting duels between FFE and vehicles. The
Germans launched their attack to the right of
Granville sur Odon, and were able to get infantry
into the village by the end of the scenario. Once
this had happened, the British force from there
can get easily whittled down, so the British
attempted a counterattack using the AA Crusaders
(nice to try different vehicles), but botched it. This
left the Germans a fairly easy task of rolling up
the map and the British conceded.
The contents are good, and with various
options for both sides - German attack
possibilities, and a wide variety of forces to
purchase, one that I will replay.
Hells Bridgehead
Appealed again, with relatively low
counter density and some good variety with the
river crossing, a few buildings/woods, and some
excellent tank country.
I tried the first time to build up Soviet
forces in reserve, but the Germans were able to
make too good progress, cleared the village
immediately, established themselves on the
Within VFTT, one often sees hot-off-the-
press reviews of Campaign Games, especially 3rd
party products. Their focus is on whats in the
box: maps, counters, scenarios etc, and serve a
good purpose for info on products you might want
to buy. What hasnt happened until recently is
anyone giving their thoughts on how the campaign
games themselves play. Seeing Toby Pillings
thoughts on Campaign Games in the May/Jun
2001 issue of VFTT made me set to work on
compiling my notes on CGs I have played. So
here is another article in a similar vein, but I have
deliberately avoided the official CGs as these get
enough press already and it would duplicate part
of Tobys article.
It has to be said that I prefer ASL with some
continuity, be it Leader progression, Company
Campaigns (per SASL), or Campaign Games.
Thus, I play CGs much more frequently than
stand-alone scenarios, although I do agree with
Toby in that I have rarely had to play a CG to its
conclusion before one side concedes.
I have aimed the following comments at
those who own the game (hence references by hex)
but also added some general comments for those
who might be considering buying them.
Experienced players of the CGs may well say
well, if you went about it like that, then of course
you lost, but at least a gamer has a chance to
replay it, unlike our historical counterparts, and I
look forward to many more CG summaries from
people out there.........
Stonne
One of my favourites, even after having to
re-start the first CG. I had carefully driven vehicles
up through the woods, creating TBs and take Bog
checks and avoiding double crest-lines, only to
find this was prohibited by the special rules. Oops!
The Germans have enough strength to
pursue various approaches, so I sent a left flank
force to the hilltop (Y11) in halftracks as far as
they could, a small force up the road (which got
held up fairly easily around P7/O8), and the main
infantry attack up the steep hillside to I8 and K8/
L7.
The French were able to hold out in the
rowhouses and foxholes around Q10, supported
by a trench in O10, and also in the buildings in
the area I10-K9-N10, but were under fire from
V10/V11 as well as the town. The French
counterattack I found difficult to execute. Again,
because of the strength of their force, various
routes can be used, but for many of these they are
dangerously exposed. The left flank via entry area
D was a sacrificial diversion, and got cut down in
open ground. From areas E or F through Le Champ
Carre is funnelled into a small front aimed at G10-
H11 and is easy to counter, hexrow N is very
exposed, and the right flank from area G was held
by German forces of better quality in the woods
at Y12.
In the midst of all this the village was
OBAd and set on fire, so the tenuous French hold
17 THE TREXlHES
heights and the Soviets conceded.
The second time I invested fully in fortified
buildings and mines and held the village in
Firefight 1. Firefight 2 saw additional
reinforcement of the village with more defences
and an on-map setup Company (sadly only 4-4-7
quality), with the intention of using it as a
counterattack base. The Germans werent sure for
the night scenario whether to play idle, to reinforce
with infantry the village attack, screen it and
bypass the Soviet forces there, or make an
armoured/haltrack thrust to capture good positions
for the following day. In the end, they managed
to surround various Soviet groups and force them
out of the village, with heavy casualties. The delay
gave the Soviets time to rush reinforcements onto
the plateau, but by using Tiger frontal armour the
Germans cleaned up and still won.
I need to play it again to see what will be
better for the Soviets. There are few positions for
concealed guns for flanking shots, and in a head-
to-head confrontation the Germans have the edge.
The map is excellent.
Dzerhezinsky Tractor Works
and
Valor of the 37th Guards
Valor of the 37th Guards covers the same
subject as DTW and is much better. It has larger
hexes and a smaller geographical area, which I
think creates a better focus on the factory itself.
In my first game I let the Germans gain
the west side buildings of the first 4 hexrows too
easily, and they were then able to rush across the
street and gain a foothold before I had
strengthened the defenders. This then led to
German on-map reinforcements appearing well
forward without having to run the gamut of
crossing exposed streets. So in game two I put
more into row C, but even then only a few
locations held out at the end of firefight 1. So
next time therell be even more defending up front.
The Germans have first to clear the west
side of the main street, then get across it. Debris
helps somewhat, but the distances to go are
significant, and despite substantial fire support
which the German can muster the lead elements
can get cut off and picked apart. In the north,
taking J8 is critical, then M6 can be pincered from
there plus a left flanking attack from I4/K5. This
allows domination of the northern end of the
board. Alternatively, strike for J12 and then into
the heart of Russian positions in the north in M10,
which allows you to turn north or south.
The northern area can be linked to the
central area, where buildings C17 and B19 can
be used to keep the Soviets under fire. G22 is
tempting for a Soviet player as it has good fire
lanes, but can be dominated from several buildings
and is too exposed for reinforcement, so expect
people there to fight gloriously to their death.
However, without it, Soviet defences can easily
be too far refused at row M.
The south, particularly for the Germans,
is cut off from the other areas and must stand or
fall on what initial forces and purchased
reinforcements are sent there. At its northern end,
the rush to the wall in row F, followed by a move
to H26 area can be used. Further south, the choice
for assaulting the factory in N34 is whether to go
for the mad dash behind smoke or slowly pick
your way through the debris and utilise armoured
assault.
The Russians have a tough time, as the
front can be stretched thin by the Germans. It can
be difficult to move forces from one threatened
area to another in the face of German fire
superiority, so good placement of foxholes,
trenches, vehicles (wrecks!) etc is important. Also,
reading RB articles gives good ideas for use here
(Sov 60 Mortars on rooftops).
Whilst my preference is for 37th Guards
over DTW, it does require some interpretation of
applying RB to the CG, and in fact I prefer to use
game info from the original DTW CGs. A shame
that it was nearly excellent, but just fell short.
However, there is no difficulty in retro-fitting as
you see fit.
The Grain Elevator
This mini-CG came in a Critical Hit
special issue, and is a great little city training CG.
You get the Refit Phase aspects of buying
reinforcements (which I enjoy - if only all the plans
made then came to fruition!) together with small
scenarios. I made an additional map to attach to
the western side, as I found it a bit strange to have
the Soviets set up on the very edge hexrow onto
which the Germans must enter. It allows you to
experiment with the best placement of fortified
locations, defending the exposed front of
buildings, or the rear, although the Soviets do have
a tough time. The Grain Elevator itself is easily
neutralised through Smoke or direct fire weapons,
and isnt any special prize under the victory
conditions, so Im not sure it really reflects the
historical situation but who cares, a fun game!
There are two phases of play - firstly the
Germans getting established on the map, and then
pushing down their chosen flank to clear the board
(the central approach to the Grain Elevator is too
open to stand much of a chance). G14 is a key
building for the Soviets, but is easy to soak up
too much resource. J11 is also a key location that
is frequently Fortified. F3 can be a useful alternate
building for a stand (and field phone), as it can
restrict German pressure on that flank.
Berlin Red Vengeance
Ive not yet played the revised version
(with bigger hexes), but this was fun driving Big
Red over nasty Nazis. There are some interesting
late war vehicles and a city with some tricky open
spaces to cross. The Soviets got on board well
and were able to concentrate their fire on buildings
protecting the H9 bridge, from E9 and heavy
artillery and their JS tanks (despite low ammo
restrictions). Infantry crossed and entered
buildings to both right and left. This left the
Germans isolated in M10, N8 and M14.
Meanwhile, the Germans had managed to
place 2 DCs on the EE16 bridge, but only one
caused damage. Coupled with a fallback defence
from in front of the bridge, this side was well held
throughout the game and proved very important
in causing the Russians to have to attack the
Reichstag from the open ground.
The third bridge (W10) also fell to a
Smoke-covered attack, but after a tough fight. The
Russians then holed up in T10 under fire and even
after linking up with the H9 forces struggled to
make progress against the Reichstag at the same
time as having the German pocket holed up
between them and the river.
More and more artillery and tank firepower
was required, and this build up took time, which
ultimately resulted in the assault being too late to
meet the historical end date, although German
survival would have not lasted much longer.
This is certainly a different game from RB
although still in a city environment. I particularly
liked the options available to each player, and the
contrasting flow of the game from quick advance
through areas where the enemy had vacated to
brisk firefights over key buildings. For the
Germans, delaying and hitting the enemy, and
knowing when to pull out and preserve forces or
to dig in and extract a high price for clearing that
last unit are important decisions.
Conclusion
I hope this was of some interest to players,
and apologies if it was a bit incomprehensible to
anyone who hasnt got the CGs. As I said earlier,
other experiences of CGs I would be interested to
hear about.

GUN PITS TRIP UP NORTH

Continued from page 5
had the last laugh! And talk about getting revenge
for all those defeats I had suffered at his hands, in
our after tourney games that we play, this time I
WON!!
I leave Blackpool with a Tourney record
of 0-5, and a game record of 1-6. Seven games
played, and all of them were enjoyed by my
opponent and me. So, for those who could not
make it to Berserk, you missed out, but I hope
that this piece has made you determined to be
here next year. If you have not been to a Tourney
before, get yourself to one very quickly, they are
FUN!!! That is what we are here for, after all.
Just before I go, I would like to thank; first,
my opponents; second, every-one else who turned
up; third, the hotel staff who put up with us lot of
degenerates; and finally, to Trev not quite hull-
down Edwards and his partner in crime Steve
cant take a photo Thomas for a great weekend.
Thanks guys!
PS. You may be wondering what I mean
by a Giggsy? If you had watched the Man Utd
v. Arsenal FA Cup tie, you would of seen Ryan
Giggs miss a completely open goal from 18yds.
Somehow, he managed to kick the ball over the
cross-bar. (He made amends for it scoring the
equaliser against them in the league a few weeks
later on our way to becoming Champions :-)
Pete).
So, until later, Gun-Pit fans, carry on losing
and having fun.

18 YIEW FRBH
"1HiS iS 1H8 CALL 1O AKMS!" "1HiS iS 1H8 CALL 1O AKMS!" "1HiS iS 1H8 CALL 1O AKMS!" "1HiS iS 1H8 CALL 1O AKMS!" "1HiS iS 1H8 CALL 1O AKMS!"
This is the latest edition of the UK ASL Players Directory.
It is broken down by country. Within the country, players are listed according to the county they live in.
ENGLAND
Pete Bennett, 84 Littlebrook Avenue, Burnham, Bucks.
Andrew Daglish, 7 The Spinney, Cheadle, Cheshire
John Kennedy, 2 Hawthorn Road, Hale, Altrincham, Cheshire
Aaron Sibley, 13 St Pauls Close, Swanscombe, Dartford, Kent
Mike Brewer, 6 Goldsmith Way, St Albans, Herts, AL3 5LG
F. B. Dickens, 62 Yarnfield Road, Tyseley, Birmingham, W. Mids., B11 3PG
Steve Grainger, 23 Winterton Road, Kingstanding, Birmingham, W. Mids.,
B44 0UU
Garry Cramp, 25 Ferndale Road, Hall Green, Brimingham, W. Mids, B92 8HP
Stuart Brant, Flat A, 1186 Evesham Road, Astwood Bank, Redditch, Worcs.,
B96 6DT
Jeff Hawarden, 9 Laburnum Road, Helmshore, Rossendale, Lancs., BB4 4LF
Craig Ambler, 2 Queensbury Square, Queensbury, Bradford, W. Yorks., BD13
1PS
Phil Ward, 7 Burnsall Mews, Silsden, Keighley, W. Yorks., BD20 9NY
William Roberts, 1 Kiln Close, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3UR
David Schofield, 11 Longfield Drive, West Parley, Ferndown, Dorset, BH22
8TY
Shaun Carter, 3 Arnside Grove, Breightmet, Bolton, Lancs., BL2 6PL
Charles Markuss, 23 Melrose Road, Little Lever, Bolton, Lancs., BL3 1DX
Mike Standbridge, 31 Hunstanon Drive, Bury, Lancs., BL8 1EG
Ian Kenney, 53 Withdean Crescent, Brighton, W. Sussex, BN1 6WG
Graham Smith, 56 Durham Road, Bromley, Kent, BR2 0SW
Andy Tucker, 78 Constance Crescent, Hayes, Bromley, Kent, BR2 7QQ
Bill Durrant, 5 Gatcombe Court, 65 Park Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1QG
Neil Piggot, 2 Beechmount Grove, Hengrove, Bristol, Avon, BS14 9DN
Brian Hooper, Basement flat, 125 Redland Road, Redland, Bristol, Avon, BS6
6XX
Rasmus Jensen, 17 Berkeley Road, Bishopston, Bristol, Avon, BS7 8HF
Gaute Strokkenes, Girton College, Cambridge, CB3 0JG
Paul ODonald, 13 Archway Court, Barton Road, Cambridge, Cambs., CB3
9LW
Andrew Eynon, 36 Greenbank Drive, Pensby, Wirral, CH61 5UF
Derek Cox, 25 Cramphorn Walk, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 2RD
Nick Ranson, 34 Mill Lane, Witham, Essex, CM8 1BP
Alistair Fairbairn, 3 School Lane, Brantham, Manningtree, Essex, CO11 1QE
Martin Johnson, 16 Wick Lane, Dovercourt, Harwich, Essex, CO12 3TA
Matthew Leach, 12 Lodge Road, Little Oakley, Dovercourt, Essex, CO12 5ED
Rob Gallagher, 153 Halstead Rd, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 5JT
Derek Tocher, 19 Tyrell Square, Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 3SD
Derek Briscoe, 129b Melfort Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon, Surrey, CR7
7RX
Joe Arthur, 33 Cedar Close, St Peters, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 3BU
Peter Wenman, 12 Clementine Close, Belting, Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 6SN
Andy Back, 21 Elmwood Court, St Nicholas Street, Coventry, W. Mids., CV1
4BS
Hubert Noar, 39 Rugby Road, Cifton, Rugby, Warks., CV23 0DE
Tim Collier, 71 Kinross Road, Leamington Spa, Warks., CV32 7EN
Tony Wardlow, 6 Beech Tree Avenue, Coventry, W. Mids., CV4 9FG
Iain Mckay, 8 Southfields Close, Wybunbury, Cheshire, CW5 7SE
Carl Sizmur, 53 Singlewell Road, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 7PU
Ian Pollard, 67 Stonebridge Road, North Fleet, Kent, DA11 9BA
Sean Pratt, 19 Premier Avenue, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 1LH
Neil Brunger, 72 Penhill Close, Ouston, Chester Le Street, Co. Durham, DH2
1SG
M. W. Jones, 1 Cheviot View, Front St, Dipton, Stanley, Co. Durham, DH9
9DQ
Chris Bunyan, 89 Hallcroft Road, Retford, Notts., DN22 7PY
Roy Quarton, 8 Bassey Road, Branton, Doncaster, S. Yorks., DN3 3NS
David Farr, First Floor Flat, 259 High Road Leyton, Leyton, London, E10 5QE
Larry Devis, 104 The Mission, 747 Commercial Road, London, E14 7LE
Michael Essex, 1 Manchester Court, Garvary Road, London, E16 3GZ
Michael Chantler, Flat 7, Pickwick House, 100-102 Goswell Road, London,
EC1V 7DH
Mike Elan, 26 King Edward Street, St. Davids, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4NY
Andrew Saunders, 3 Torbay Court, 221Devonshire Road, Blackpool, Lancs.,
FY2 0TJ
Nigel Brown, 3 Chepstow Road, Blackpool, Lancs., FY3 7NN
Arthur Garlick, 23 St. Annes Road East, Lytham St. Annes, Lancs., FY8 1TA
Michael Davies, 36 Heyhouses Court, Heyhouses Lane, Lytham St Annes,
Lancs., FY8 3RF
Russell Gough, 4 Berrells Road, Tetbury, GL8 8ED
Chris Netherton, 16 Quintrell Close, Woking, Surrey, GU21 3BT
Tim Bunce, 3 Wren Close, Yateley, Hants., GU46 6NZ
Jeff Cansell, 24a Upper Queen Street, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1DQ
Giuilo Manganoni, 111 Kings Road, Godalming, Farncombe, Surrey, GU7
3EU
Simon Croome, 1 Dowling Parade, Bridgewater Road, Wembley, Middx., HA0
1AJ
Jackie Eves, 1 Dowling Parade, Bridgewater Road, Wembley, Middx., HA0
1AJ
Kevin Beard, 36 Oxford Road, Harrow, Middx., HA1 4JQ
Malcolm Hatfield, 336B Alexandra Ave, South Harrow, Middlesex, HA2 9DB
Chris Littlejohn, 214A Field End Road, Eastcote, Pinner, Middx., HA5 1RD
Bob Runnicles, 34 Albury Drive, Pinner, Middx., HA5 3RE
Paul Kettlewell, 1 Puffin Way, Watermead, Aylesbury, Bucks., HP20 2UG
Nick Edelsten, 139 Hivings Hill, Chesham, Bucks., HP5 2PN
Ivor Gardiner, PO Box 62, Hereford, HR2 6YL
Gary Headland, 35 Grammar School Yard, Old Town, Hull, Humberside, HU1
1SE
Malcolm Holland, 57 Westfield Rise, Barrow Lane, Hessle, Humberside, HU13
0NA
Steve Balcam, 1 Cornwall Street, Cottingham, N. Humberside, HU16 4NB
Ruarigh Dale, 13 Swinemoor Lane, Beverley, Humberside, HU17 0JU
Tony Maryou, 41 Benton Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 4AU
Kevin Gookey, 95 Willingdale Road, Loughton, Essex, IG10 2DD
Neil Clark, EAATM, Badingham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 8LA
David Austin, 86 Lindsey Way, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 2PD
Paul Legg, 21 Grimsey Road, Leiston, Suffolk, IP16 4BW
Andy Smith, 31 Egerton Road, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 4AP
Ben Jones, 72 Church Road, Hale, Liverpool, Merseyside, L24 4BA
Andy Ashton, 62 Earlston Drive, Wallasey, The Wirral, Merseyside, L45 5DZ
Gareth Evans, 29 Hillfield Road, Little Sutton, South Wirral, Merseyside, L66
1JA
Patrick Dale, 28 Bancroft Road, Cottingham, Market Harbourgh, Leics., LE16
8XA
Nick Brown, 53 Henley Crescent, Braunstone, Leicester, Leics., LE3 2SA
Pete Phillipps, 23 Jean Drive, Leicester, Leics., LE4 0GB
Karl Bown, The Games Store, The Manor House, Lincoln, Lincs., LN6 9DG
John Elwen, Vine Cottage, Main Street, Walton, Nr. Wetherby, W. Yorks.,
LS23 7DJ
Ben Kellington, Flat 3, 13 Broomfield Crescent, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 3DD
John Truscott, 28 Bracken Edge, Leeds, W. Yorks, LS8 4EE
John Overton, 68 Brantingham Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, M18 8QH
Bernard Savage, 73 Penrhyn Avenue, Middleton, Manchester, M24 1FP
Simon Sayers, 21 Barlea Avenue, New Moston, Manchester, M40 3WL
Bob Eburne, 33 Whitton Way, Newport Pagnell, Bucks., MK16 0PR
Norman Melvin, 11 Jerome Court, 59 The Limes Avenue, London, N11 1RF
Jamie Sewell, 115 Cresent Road, Alexandra Palace, London, N22 4RU
Michael Rudd, 2 Blaeberry Hill, Rothbury, Northumberland, NE65 7YY
Geoff Geddes, 30 Sheepwalk Lane, Ravenshead, Nottingham, Notts., NG15
9FD
Ian Willey, 17 Strawberry Bank, Huthwaite, Sutton-In-Ashfield, Notts., NG17
2QG
George Jaycock, 51 Burleigh Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, Notts., NG2
6FQ
Chris Gower, 7 Boxley Drive, West Bridgford, Nottingham, Notts., NG2 7GQ
L. Othacehe, 17 Russel Drive, Wollaston, Notts., NG8 2BA
Duncan Spencer, 33 St Anthonys Road, Kettering, Northants, NN15 5HT
A. Kendall, 12 Hunsbury Close, West Hunsbury, Northampton, NN4 9UE
Nigel Ashcroft, 5 Grasmere Way, Thornwell, Chepstow, Gwent, NP16 5SS
Clive Haden, 2 The Drove, Taverham, Norwich, NR8 6FT
Steve Joyce, 23 South End Close, London, NW3 2RB
Peter Fraser, 66 Salcombe Gardens, Millhill, London, NW7 2NT
Nick Hughes, 15 Layfield Road, Hendon, London, NW9 3UH
Martin Mayers, 41 Frank Fold, Heywood, Lancs., OL10 4FF
Toby Pilling, 51 Wensum Drive, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 7RJ
Grant Hewitt, 44 Waltham Gardens, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 8FD
John Sharp, 3 Union Street, Oxford, Oxon, OX4 1JP
Alan Anderson, Penmareve, Maddever Crescent, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14
3PT
Nigel Blair, 105 Stanborough Road, Plymstock, Plymouth, PL9 8PG
Paul Rideout, 5 Fisher Close, Stubbington, Fareham, Hants., PO14 3RA
Simon Strevens, 14 Teddington Road, Southsea, Hampshire, PO4 8DB
Justin Key, Flat 7, 41 Nightingale Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, Hants., PO5
3JJ
Simon Hunt, 26 Inhurst Avenue, Waterlooville, Portsmouth, PO7 7QR
Keith Bristow, 11 Coltsfoot Drive, Waterlooville, Hampshire, PO7 8DF
Trevor Edwards, 18 Conway House, Samuel Street, Preston, Lancs., PR1 4YJ
Steve Thomas, 19 Derwent House, Samuel Street, Preston, Lancs., PR1 4YL
Phil Draper, 8 Chesterman Street, Reading, Berks., RG1 2PR
Paul Sanderson, Flat 4, Russell Street, Reading, Berks., RG1 7XD
Michael Strefford, 3 Walton Way, Shaw, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2LL
Roger Cook, 24 Fifth Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 6DL
Dominic McGrath, 19 George Street, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 7RN
Stewart Thain, 55 Lysander Close, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, RG5 4ND
Kevin Croskery, 4 Beechey Way, Copthorne, W. Sussex, RH10 3LT
Bill Hensby, 32 The Vineries, Burgess Hill, W. Sussex, RH15 0NF
John Barton, 194 Chanctonbury Road, Burgess Hill, W. Sussex, RH15 9HN
Keith Graves, 51 Humbar Avenue, South Ockenden, Essex, RM15 5JL
David Higginbotham, 18 Westfield Garden, Brampton, Chesterfield, S40 3SN
Andy Osborne, 42 Atlantis Close, Lee, London, SE12 8RE
Simon Horspool, 28 Crown Court, Horne Park Lane, Lee, London, SE12 9AA
Martin Edwards, 127 Pepys Road, London, SE14 5SE
David Ramsey, 41 Twin Foxes, Woolmer Green, Knebworth, Herts, SG3 6QT
Chris Milne, 19 Redoubt Close, Hitchin, Herts., SG4 0FP
Roger Underwood, 34 Woodside Lane, Poynton, Cheshire, SK12 1BB
Andrew Dando, 26 Constable Drive, Marple Bridge, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6
5BG
Graham Forster, 1 Dalston Drive, Bramhill, Stockport, Manchester, SK7 1DW
Ian Daglish, 5 Swiss Hill Mews, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, SK9 7DP
Steve Crowley, 2 Mossy Vale, Maidenhead, Berks., SL6 7RX
Adrian Catchpole, The Malting Barn, Top Lane, Whitley, Melksham, Wilts.,
SN12 8QJ
Neil Stevens, 26 Larch Road, North Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14
8QG
Jon Williams, 17 Larch Road, Colerne, Chippenham, Wilts., SN14 8QG
Bill Gunning, 14 Eagles, Faringdon, Oxon, SN7 7DT
Chris Riches, 3 Bernwood Grove, Blackfield, Southampton, Hants., SO45 1ZW
James Crosfield, Hughcroft, Church Hill, Buckhorn Weston, Gillingham,
Dorset, SP8 5HS
John Fletcher, 191 Trent Valley Road, Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 5LE
Ronnie Tan, 250 Hydethorpe Road, Balham, London, SW12 0JH
Julian Blakeney-Edwards, 1 Elmbourne Road, London, SW17 8JS
Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, 49 Edgecombe House, Whitlock Drive, Southfields,
London, SW19 6SL
Christopher Chen, Flat 11, 14 Sloane Gardens, London, SW1W 8DL
Jonathan Pickles, 115 Wavertree Road, Streathem Hill, London, SW2 3SN
David Tye, 35 Redburn Street, London, SW3 4DA
David Otway, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, South Kensington,
London, SW7 2AY
Jean-Pascal Paoli, 51-60 Evelyn Gardens, London, SW7 3BH
Chris Courtier, 17b Hargwyne Street, London, SW9 9RQ
Paul Case, 12 Park Street, Dunster, Minhead, Somerset, TA24 6SR
Carl Bedson, 5 Allerton Meadow, Shawbirch, Telford, Salop, TF5 0NW
Nick Law, Flat 4, 12 Boyne Park, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8ET
Mike Batley, 2 The Gables, Argos Hill, East Sussex, TN6 3QJ
Bill Eaton, Dart House, 20 Bridgetown, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5BA
Phil Nobo, 6 Milton Road, Ickenham, Middx., UB10 8NQ
Nick Quinn, 7 Woodgrange Avenue, Ealing, London, W5 3NY
Dave Booth, 47 Dunnock Grove, Oakwood, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6NW
Robin Langston, 105 Little Bushey Lane, Bushey, Herts., WD2
Paul Ryde-Weller, 44 Farm Way, Watford, Herts., WD2 3SY
Sandy Goh, 12 Mornington Road, Radlett, Herts., WD7 7BL
Ulric Schwela, 19 Siddow Common, Leigh, Lancs., WN7 3EN
Michael Murray, 34 Bell Road, Walsall, West Mids., WS5 3JW
Ian Price, 19 Upper Green, Yettenhall, Wolverhampton, W. Mids., WV6 8QN
Michael Clark, Wold View, East Heslerton, Malton, N. Yorks, YO17 8RN
David Murray, 29 Middle Street, Nafferton, Driffield, S. Yorks, YO25 4JS
Wayne Baumber, 1 Crabmill Close, Easingwold, N. Yorks, YO61 3BX
SCOTLAND
Tony Gibson, 107 Queens Den, Hazelhead, Aberdeen
Martin Vicca, 37 Dean Gardens, Westhill, Aberdeen
Ian Percy, 1 Polmuir Road, Aberdeen, AB11 7SP
Steven Trease, 2 Charlestown Circle, Cove, Aberdeen, AB12 3EY
Paul Saunders, 59 Grampian Gardens, Arbroath, Angus, DD1 4AQ
Michael Green, 27 Rotchell Park, Dumfries, DG2 7RH
Mark Chapman, Flat 7, 265 Gorgie Road, Edinburgh, EH11 1TX
Garry Ferguson, 30E Forrester Park Avenue, Edinburgh, EH12 9AW
Bill Finlayson, 19 Taymouth Road, Polmont, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, FK2 0PF
Andrew Kassian, Flat 14/2, 20 Petershill Court, Glasgow, G21 4QA
Ellis Simpson, 4 Langtree Avenue, Whitecraigs, Glasgow, G46 7LW
Oliver Gray, 117 Upper Dalgairn, Cupar, Fife, KY15 4JQ
Garry Marshall, 24 Allardice Crescent, Kirkcaldy, Fife, KY2 5TY
Andrew Cowie, Elizlea, High Street, Errol, PH2 7KJ
Jonathan Swilliamson, Da Croft, Bridge End, Burra, Shetland Islands, ZE2
9LE
WALES
Paul Jones, 9 Cwm Nofydd, Rhiwbina, Cardiff, C F14 6JX
Kev Sutton, 1 Gorphwysfa, Windsor Road, New Broughton, Wrexham, LL11
6SP
C. Jones, Deer Park Lodge, Stepaside, Narbeth, Pembrokeshire, SA67 8JL
Emyr Phillips, 2 Cysgod Y Bryn, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 4LR
If there are any mistakes, please let me
know so I can correct them for the next
edition.

19 THE TREXlHES
ON TH CONVNTION TRAIL
There are more and more ASL tournaments cropping up all over the world. In fact, it is possible to be involved in an ASL tournament at least once a month,
often more, if you were so inclined (and had the financial means to live such a life - I wish!).
If you plan on holding an ASL tournament, please let me know and Ill include the details here, space permitting.
If you contact anyone regarding these tournaments, please tell them that I sent you!
MAY
2003 MONTREAL ASL FESTIVAL
When: 17 18 May.
Where: Days Inn Montreal Metro Center, 1005 Guy Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3H 2K4. Phone
1-800-567-0880 toll free or (514) 938-4611 for rates and reservations. There is a special $99.95/day if you
reserve before April 9; mention Michelle Jodoin. Most rooms have 2 double beds. All rooms are air-conditioned
and have color television. The hotel has a restaurant and is near a variety of restaurants, as well as shops and
nightclubs. Indoor and outdoor parking available (charges apply for both).
Fee: $17.00 (US) or $25.00 (Canadian). Single day entry is half the full fee. Pre-registrants will receive
tournament information and scenarios around mid-March.
Format: 5 time-limited rounds of action starting on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Each round will have a choice
of three scenarios, with scenario substitution possible by mutual player consent and TD approval.
Contact: Bruno L Archeveque, Montreal ASL Festival, 2294 Fauteux, Laval, Quebec, H7T 2S6. Email
[email protected].
LOGCON SWEDISH ASL TOURNAMENT
When: 29 May 1 June.
Where: Tornadoskolan, Skarpnck, Stockholm, Sweden. There is room at the site to sleep (bring a sleep-
ing bag!) or there are plenty of local hotels (900SKR / 100 per night) and hostels (250SKR / 25 per night).
Fee: 200SKR / 25.
Format: 5 round Swiss format with three scenarios (and ABS) to select in each round. Thursday is
available for free gaming with the tournament starting late Friday morning.
Contact: Peter Rogneholt, c/o Svedin, Rotevagen 4, 74696 Skokloster, Sweden. Email him at
[email protected]. The latest information can be found at www.algonet.se/~rognholt/logcon.htm.
JUNE
AUSTIN ASL TEAM TOURNAMENT
When: 19 22 June.
Where: La Quinta Inn Round Rock 2004 North I-35 Round Rock, Texas. Tel 512-255-6666. When
reserving rooms mention you are with the Central Texas ASL Club and you will get a discounted rate of $65.99
plus tax per room. This rate is good until June 6th, 2003.
Fee: $27.50 prior to 1 June, $35.00 thereafter.
Format: The Team Tournament is really two tournaments in one. The main tournament has two person
teams of all skill levels compete teams will be randomly assigned at the beginning of the tournament. You must
register by 1 June to be eligible. The tournament inside the tournament has players challenging for the coveted
10-3 Award, which goes to the individual who perseveres throughout the weekend and bests all comers. For those
on a tight schedule there will be a Saturday only Texas Heat mini-Tournament starting at 9AM entry for this
is only $17.50.
Contact: Mike Seningen at [email protected]. Checkthe web site at http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/
seningen for the latest details.
SEPTEMBER
A BRIDGE TOO FAR - ARNHEM ASL TOURNA-
MENT
When: 12 14 September.
Where: Arnhem Stayokay Hostel, Diepenbrocklaan 27, 6815 AH, Arnhem. Next to an excellent gaming
room, the Hostel offers its own restaurant, bar and various amenities. Accommodation is offered on a full board
basis, which includes breakfast, packed lunch and dinner. The rooms accommodate 6 or 7 people and have their
own shower and toilet facilities. The rates are 105 for Thursday to Sunday or 80 for Friday to Sunday. Please
make your reservations for accommodation as early as possible with the organisers. The down payment is 60
(50 for Friday to Sunday). Bank transfers and Paypal are our suggested means of payment - please contact the
organisers for details. For those who prefer to stay in a nearby B&B or unable to get a room at the hostel the
organisers will be happy to assist in finding alternative accommodation near the venue.
Fee: 20.00.
Format: Five round Swiss style tournament with three scenarios to pick from in each round. There are two
rounds on Friday and Saturday and one round on Sunday. The gaming room will be open from Thursday after-
noon for friendly games.
Notes: On Thursday, September 11th, interested participants are invited to join a Battlefield Tour, which
will cover the Oosterbeek Airborne Museum, Drop Zones, War Cemetary, and of course the famous Arnhem
Road Bridge. The costs for the Battlefield Tour will be shared among participants, so please advise the organis-
ers well in advance to organise this.
Contact: Peter Struijf at [email protected]. For more information you can also visit the website at
http://www.xs4all.nl/hennies/.
OCTOBER
INTENSIVE FIRE 2003
When: 24 26 October.
Where: The Kiwi Hotel, West Hill Road, Bournemouth, England, BH2 5EG. Telephone (01202) 555 889
or fax (01202) 789 567 to arrange accommodation.
Fee: 6.00. Players pre-registering will receive a tournament program in September.
Format: Three round Fire Team tournament (two rounds on Saturday, one on Sunday). There will also be
some single day mini-tournaments on the Friday. Open gaming is available for those who do not wish to take part
in the tournament.
Notes: Prizes are awarded to winning players and the Convention Champion, who is the player judged to
have had the most successful tournament with all games played over the weekend being taken into consideration.
Contact: For more details or to register contact Pete Phillipps, 23 Jean Drive, Leicester, LE4 0GB. Phone
(0116) 233 5896 (evenings only) or email [email protected].
attack is blessed with a shellhole. When trying to place your own shell holes
enemy trench and foxholes are valuable targets. Accuracy is limited to a DR
of 1, selecting an initial hex surrounded and containing the maximum useful
spots for a shell hole is sensible. Stripping G13/G14 of cover would be nice,
but settle for less than this.
With only five turns to develop an attack you must maintain a good
pace to your attack. Accept higher casualties by driving hard with your troops
to gain terrain or kill PAVN, risk the tanks a bit, go CX when their is a
potential for gain. You should not be reckless with every unit, every turn, it
should be enough to do one or two risky things a turn, building to a mad
minute on turns four and five.
French firepower, and Leadership, backed by Armour will provide
the basis for your attack. A plan of how you will move onto Elaine 1 will
help. If you can maintain the momentum of your attack, and carefully judge
what risks and casualties are acceptable you should win.
Conclusion
This is the first use of the Champs Elysees Map, with the action more
like a medieval siege, than a 20th Century Conflict.
A gruelling slug fest for both players. The French must push hard
and fast after some fierce prep fire. The PAVN must endure numberous IFT
attacks, round up broken squads and try to maintain a presence on the Hill.
At times a key hex will become the focus of the action, especially in the
closing turns. Set up is important for both sides, later on staying focused
and outfighting your opponent will lead to Victory. If you enjoy close range
combat and/or Melee with a high body count you will like All in Vain a
lot.

DIEN BIEN PHU PART DEUX

Continued from page 15
NOVEMBER
GRENADIER 03
When: 6 9 November.
Where: Oberbettingen, a little town in the German part of the Ardennes. There is a railway station in the
village and a train to Cologne every hour (travel time about 50 minutes). The location offers sleeping rooms for
45 persons, a huge kitchen (where our Marketenderin Andrea will continue her cooking business for us), a big
playing area and an additional separate big room which we will use for eating. Rooms are mostly three and four
bed rooms with shower. Bed and breakfast is 30 per night.
Fee: 5 per day (2 for Sunday).
Format: The tournament will be again a Swiss style five Round tournament. We will offer again an event
for players who dont want to participate in the tournament.
Contact: Christian Koppmeyer, Hagebuttenweg 9, 41564 Kaarst, Germany. You can email him at
[email protected]. Check out the Grenadier web site at http://www.asl-grenadier.de for up to
date information.

I I
I IIXTEXSIYE XTEXSIYE
XTEXSIYE XTEXSIYE XTEXSIYE F F
F FFIRE IRE
IRE IRE IRE 2003 2003
2003 2003 2003
24 - 2 Bczonru 2003 24 - 2 Bczonru 2003 24 - 2 Bczonru 2003 24 - 2 Bczonru 2003 24 - 2 Bczonru 2003
IMTEMSIVE FIPE is fhe Uk's Iongesf running fournomenf dedicofed fo fhe pIoy of )@L=?A@ 5GK=@ A=@AH.
This yeor sees fhe 9
fh
IMTEMSIVE FIPE ond pIoyers of oII sfondords ore invifed fo offend.
Fouxaz Fouxaz Fouxaz Fouxaz Fouxaz
The weII-esfobIished Fire Teom Tournomenf is fhe moin evenf ond offers fhe chonce for compefifive pIoy on
fhe Sofurdoy ond Sundoy. In oddifion fhe Fridoy mini-fourneys offer fhe chonce for gIory in more specioI-
ised fieIds of worfore. LikeIy fopics for fhis yeor incIude SfoIingrod sfreef fighfing 'Fog of Wor' ond espe-
cioIIy for fhe inexperienced pIoyer fhe Troining Comp.
For fhose nof inferesfed in fournomenf pIoy or nof obIe fo moke if for fhe whoIe weekend fhere is oIwoys
room for pick-up gomes ond friendIy pIoy.
Y YY YYrntr rntr rntr rntr rntr
The kiwi HofeI cenfroIIy Iocofed in 8ournemoufh offers bofh exceIIenf goming fociIifies ond reduced occom-
modofion rofes (]3I per nighf for o singIe room or ]Zo for o doubIe room). The hofeI is wifhin o shorf foxi-
ride of 8ournemoufh roiI sfofion ond ompIe porking is ovoiIobIe. To book confocf fhe hofeI on (0IZ0Z) bbb 889
(+44 IZ0Z bbb 889 from oufside fhe Uk). You con oIso book onIine of www.kiwihofeI.co.uk.
For foreign visifors Iiffs con offen be pre-orronged fo ond from mojor oirporfs. For fhose confempIofing on
exfended sfoy 8ournemoufh offers on exceIIenf bose for fhe miIifory hisforion being wifhin eosy reoch of
imporfonf miIifory museums of 8ovingfon Comp Winchesfer Porfsmoufh ond AIdershof.
losz losz losz losz losz
Weekend regisfrofion for fhe fournomenf cosfs jusf ]7. The fournomenf progrom Iisfing fhe weekend's
scenorios ond evenfs is ovoiIobIe from Iofe Sepfember fo onyone regisfering in odvonce.
Ftuznru Brzatts / Rrotszuazton Ftuznru Brzatts / Rrotszuazton Ftuznru Brzatts / Rrotszuazton Ftuznru Brzatts / Rrotszuazton Ftuznru Brzatts / Rrotszuazton
Confocf Pefe PhiIIipps Z3 Jeon Drive Leicesfer EngIond LE4 008. TeIephone (0IIo) Z33 b89o (+44 IIo Z33
b89o from oufside fhe Uk) or emoiI ifvfff.co.uk.