David R. Moody  - Feb 14, 2008 1:31 pm (#21861 Total: 21867)  

What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises--no
matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love . . . . It's
not for fighting. 

Last night, met up with Joe Oppenheimer and with John Gibbins at Endgame
in Oakland, CA, for a night of gaming. The original plan was to play the
First Crusade scenario of Onward Christian Soldiers, but Jason Pipes is
the only one in our group with a copy of the game, and he couldn't make
it. So we made other arrangements, viz: a three-person WS&IM scenario
from an old General, a one-off DiF mission (B-25Hs and P-51As striking a
supply depot, intercepted by Tonys and Tojos), or a DYO three player Up
Front game (John had brought his set too). 

After brief discussion, we decided on Up Front. The idea was to have an
elite force defending against two green forces. We would all bid on that
elite force (I suggested the British--paras on Sicily, most likely),
with low bid getting it (and using the points from the bid to build it),
with the second lowest bid getting the substandard Germans and the
lowest getting the even crappier than normal Italians. I got low bid, so
I ended up with ten British paras, led of course by SGT Vasey, and
including an airborne mortar, Bren, and Vickers MMG. Joe got the
Germans--14 of them, including three LMGs and an HMG--while John (sorta
by design, as he's played more Up Front than the rest of us put
together) ended up with something like 26 crappy Italians. 

As I set up my ten paras, with the Vickers covering the left and the
Bren and mortar the right, and I saw the horde arrayed before me, my
mind flashed back to the Sudan, to Haratri and Tamai, to the hordes of
fuzzies bearing down on our squares. This can't end well, I thought. But
we will make such an end, as to be worthy of remembrance. My plan was to
blast the Italians first, as they run away after only 40% losses (11 or
12 men in this game) and since most of them had 1 or 2 morale which got
even worse on the Pinned side I liked my chances. Once they were out of
the picture, then I could deal with the Germans, who, though they had
reduced discard capabilities, were still Germans, with lots of machine
guns. And it worked well at first, as my MMG blasted away at a large
group of Italians moving up in front, hitting them again and again,
killing or routing most of them. The last three in the group, all
Pinned, surrendered. So that was one group out of action. 

But there were a lot more, and they and Jerry kept coming up, the
Germans getting into nearby farm buildings to set up their machine guns.
One Italian group got into a flanking position, and soon mortar shells
began falling on my lines. My right flank group (with the Bren and
mortar) dug in and began lobbing shells, mostly ineffectively, at the
Germans while my center group (with the ASL) advanced into some
buildings as well. Then SGT Vasey led the left flank group up onto a
hill, so as to pour fire more effectively on the advancing enemy. The
MMG kept blazing away, hitting more Italians (some of whom had blundered
into a stream), killing some, making others flee. 

But the hill was too exposed, as the Germans, now with their MMGs in
position, opened up, blasting the Brits. My men began to fall, some
dead, some taking cover. Artillery also began to range in on the hill
(two Wire cards--I like to think of Wire cards, when played on
stationary groups, as long range shelling that forces the men to shift
position). Eventually, only SGT Vasey was left, the other three men in
his group either fallen or taking cover, out of the fight. The MMG was
now silent, and the Italians, now out of the stream and moving through a
dry part of the streambed (Gully), covered by some of their comrades in
nearby buildings, were closing in. 

SGT Vasey rallied, grabbed the MMG, carried it through shellfire
(removed both Wire cards) to a firing position, and blasted away at the
Italians, killing and scattering them, even zeroing in on the ones
covering them in the buildings. Singlehandedly, he drove them back, as
the squad hit its breakpoint and withdrew. Huzzah! Now to deal with the
Germans. Kudos to the Italians for lasting into the third deck, at
least. 

SGT Vasey tried to move over to join his center group, hunkered down in
farm buildings; the first time, he was driven back by heavy German MG
fire. He made it the second time, and got someone to help him crew the
MMG, firing back at the Germans, inflicting some losses. The righthand
group moved up from its foxholes to a patch of woods, there to lay down
more fire, as SGT Vasey's team laid down covering fire. They made it,
but got raked by German MGs, taking losses. Eventually, only the Bren
gunner was left. One more loss, and the squad would break. SGT Vasey
called him into the central group for a last stand in the farm
buildings. Hold until relieved . . . 

And I had been saving a couple high firepower cards for just such an
occasion. Once the Bren gunner joined, my paras poured on the firepower,
blasting the Germans. Now it would come down to who would break
first--Joe or me. It was Joe, for as we neared the end of the fourth
deck, the weight of my firepower inflicted enough losses that his squad
hit its breakpoint. The Germans pulled back, and the rumble of Shermans
announced the arrival of relief from the landing beaches. A glorious,
hard won victory. I was one man away from losing. Awesome awesome game. 

Joe called it a night after that, but John and I played a DiF
dogfight--my two F6Fs vs. his two N1K1-J Shidens off Okinawa. My planes
were on a sweep at High altitude when we spotted the two Shidens at Low
level. Thanks to a Vertical Roll card, we dove down to attack, soon
getting on the leader's tail. But the wingman was aggressive, shooting
up my wingman, while I was unable to do too much damage to the leader. 

Eventually, his wingman flamed my wingman, and I flipped his leader to
Damaged, but was unable to shoot him down. After we both climbed up to
Medium, and he briefly got Advantaged over me, I Scissored back onto him
but was unable to set up for a killing run. Both Japanese fighters dove
away and broke off. A loss, but a fun end to a good night. 

Still solitairing No Better Place To Die at home--the Union right flank
is collapsing, while the attack on Wayne's Hill has begun at the other
end of the line. Also doing WWII Naval PBEM with Joe--Operation
Watchtower. Lots of Japanese land based bombers about.