Ci Arrendiamo, a retrospective
May. 9th, 2005 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterbadgerSo, people not interested in Advanced Squad Leader, or World War II combat, will probably not want to .
The scenario I played yesterday is one in which a motorized force of British troops, rushed into position to block an Italian retreat, get slammed hard by a much stronger force of Italian tanks and infantry. Historically, the Brits held out just long enough for the Italian's morale to collapse; the web-based ASL stat sheet suggests that more often than not, the Brits win this scenario.
To win, the British have to prevent the Italians from accumulating a certain number of victory points. The Italians acquire these by eliminating or capturing British troops, guns, and vehicles; they do not lose points for the troops, guns, and vehicles they lose int he fighting. Basically, the Italian column has to wipe out the British blocking their way. If they succeed, presumably, the rest of their division can escape, even if they don't.
Set in the Libyan desert, the scenario has a minimum of terrain. Lots of packed sand, with occasional bits of scrub and hammadda (a kind of extra-rocky patch dangerous to wheeled vehicles which otherwise like the desert). A paved road runs across the playing area; the British wait approximately in the middle of the board, hoping to block the road. A few low sand dunes cluster in a semicircle, making a perfect ambush point (or as perfect as it can be, in a flat, open wasteland).
The Brits have a collection of armored cars mounting anti-tank rifles (ATRs), two "portees" (trucks with small antitank guns loaded in their beds), a pair of howitzers, and a small infantry company with various machineguns, mortars, and hand-held ATRs. They've been in position long enough to dug rudimentary fighting positions and lay a few small patches of mines.
Coming hell for leather down the road at them are about a dozen tanks (well, most of them are what--honestly--were called "tankettes," light tanks with small crews), some armoured cars, a Bersaglieri unit (Italian elite troops, originally riflemen like the Royal Greenjackets) mounted on motorcycles and and a large company of infantry with heavy weapons (machineguns and small mortars) in trucks. The Italians have artillery support (a limited supply) on call, too.
I set up utilizing the sand dunes for cover, with some of the mines across the road and on either side (all antitank mines, since I figured that was where I wanted to block the tanks the most--minefields are more a deterrent than a way of really inflicting damage) and then a few patches of antipersonnel mines in front of my infantry fighting positions (in case he detrucked his infantry and tried to rush me). I set up my howitzers in perfect position to cover the center of what I hoped was a fire sack, with the armoured cars and the portees flanking them (the guns could be hidden--the vehicles could not), and the infantry in three portions: one in the center backing up the guns and then one each on the flanks to support the vehicles.
The scenario I played yesterday is one in which a motorized force of British troops, rushed into position to block an Italian retreat, get slammed hard by a much stronger force of Italian tanks and infantry. Historically, the Brits held out just long enough for the Italian's morale to collapse; the web-based ASL stat sheet suggests that more often than not, the Brits win this scenario.
To win, the British have to prevent the Italians from accumulating a certain number of victory points. The Italians acquire these by eliminating or capturing British troops, guns, and vehicles; they do not lose points for the troops, guns, and vehicles they lose int he fighting. Basically, the Italian column has to wipe out the British blocking their way. If they succeed, presumably, the rest of their division can escape, even if they don't.
Set in the Libyan desert, the scenario has a minimum of terrain. Lots of packed sand, with occasional bits of scrub and hammadda (a kind of extra-rocky patch dangerous to wheeled vehicles which otherwise like the desert). A paved road runs across the playing area; the British wait approximately in the middle of the board, hoping to block the road. A few low sand dunes cluster in a semicircle, making a perfect ambush point (or as perfect as it can be, in a flat, open wasteland).
The Brits have a collection of armored cars mounting anti-tank rifles (ATRs), two "portees" (trucks with small antitank guns loaded in their beds), a pair of howitzers, and a small infantry company with various machineguns, mortars, and hand-held ATRs. They've been in position long enough to dug rudimentary fighting positions and lay a few small patches of mines.
Coming hell for leather down the road at them are about a dozen tanks (well, most of them are what--honestly--were called "tankettes," light tanks with small crews), some armoured cars, a Bersaglieri unit (Italian elite troops, originally riflemen like the Royal Greenjackets) mounted on motorcycles and and a large company of infantry with heavy weapons (machineguns and small mortars) in trucks. The Italians have artillery support (a limited supply) on call, too.
I set up utilizing the sand dunes for cover, with some of the mines across the road and on either side (all antitank mines, since I figured that was where I wanted to block the tanks the most--minefields are more a deterrent than a way of really inflicting damage) and then a few patches of antipersonnel mines in front of my infantry fighting positions (in case he detrucked his infantry and tried to rush me). I set up my howitzers in perfect position to cover the center of what I hoped was a fire sack, with the armoured cars and the portees flanking them (the guns could be hidden--the vehicles could not), and the infantry in three portions: one in the center backing up the guns and then one each on the flanks to support the vehicles.
