Howdy,
Just a quick ARR from a recent game of Blood and Guts (RB2) with my long time nemesis Jay Harms.
Let me start by saying I will be moving to the Detroit area next week and this will probably be the last game Jay and I play for awhile. We have been weekly gaming buddies for the last almost 5 years. It pains me to have to leave such a good partner. However, the ASL Gods smiled on us both as we sat down to play this scenario from Red Barricades. We were going back to our ASL roots.
Over the years we have played 3 different Red Barricades CGs with Jay spanking me no matter what side he played. It was always a learning experience and lots of fun. In fact, Jay beat me in almost every scenario we played which like the CGs were good learning experiences and lots of fun.
During our last two meetings, in a Kung Fu like twist of fate, Little Grasshopper (me) finally took the Rubble (this is Barricades) out of the Masters hand and now I have to leave and go the the frozen north. It saddens me to depart. Jay, I salute you and look forward to waxing you again at ASLOK later this year or maybe next year. <Sniff>
As for the the game:
I would definitely recommend this scenario for those wanting to try out the Red Barricades board. It gives a good feel for what to expect during a CG. Basically, 2 big kill stacks trying to stay out of each others LOS, Germans trying to dig out fortified Russians, DCs and FTs on each side, lots of fortifications, HTH CC, lots of point blank fire, most shots are at least +4 DRM, etc. All the things we know and love about RB and playable in about 6 hours. Heck, the Germans only have to go about 3 hexes to achieve victory. How hard could that be?
As the Russians, I dominated the first half of the game. Despite the rain, my 10-2 lead 458/HMG,458/HMG,458/.50 cal stack in M24 caused the Germans a lot of problems as they pushed out of the Q13 factory into the S18 factory and the rubble around P21. It quickly became apparent that the Germans were going for the VC that requires them to control all stone locations north of the alternate hex grain V20 and G20.
The second half of the game was dominated by the Germans. Jay's 10-3 lead kill stack rolled snakes against my 10-2 stack wounding the 10-2, reducing one squad and breaking the rest. The 8 ML prevented any ELR failure. My Commissar would eventually rally the troops only to have them break again before could fire. Jay's 9-2 slogging through the S18 factory battle hardened and went heroic. After that, he had little problem clearing the factory.
As I sat watching the S18 factory fall and knowing the rubble would not be far behind, I noticed Jay had left the H19 building empty. It also dawned on me that it was the only real chance I might have of holding a stone location north of the V20/G20 hex line. Since I still had a few squads in the I22 and J22 buildings, I dispatched 4 of them to secure the building and had hopes of taking the H15 building also. When the little group moved out, Jay scoffed "Yea, what ever". Being the good sport I am, I suggested he reread the VCs. It was a very pleasant experience watching his face turn pale.
On turn 6, I had squads in each building. During the last German turn, we had CCs in each building. The Germans won the H15 CC. In the H19 building, their was mutual destruction leaving the Russians in control of the hex and securing my victory. We were both exhausted.
This is just the way it should happen every time win or loose. It was one of those out comes that makes you remember why we play this game. It is certainly one I will never forget.
Walter "A Southerner at Heart" Eardley
Houston, Texas -- For a few more days
