The planned Japanese attack
J76 - ULTIMATE TREACHERY
Zeb Doyle defending as the French
ROAR
(F:J - 32:24) - 31st March, 2007
Played with 45 VASL logfiles
(April - May 2008)
With 2 games down (J69, J70) in my playing of the Journal 4/5 Thai Campaign scenarios the Allies and Axis are standing at 1 win each. This one seems to be pro-French but I am determined to turn those ROAR stats around. The first time I attempted this game it was against JP, but the dice were so biased in one direction that the Japanese were almost wiped out by the end of Turn 2, this sort of crap is hardly AAR-worthy. Since JP and I are now playing the Operation Veritable CG I put out the call for another opponent to help me finish these next 2 games.
My first thought was "Wow... what a lot of pieces in such a tiny map!" We are
using less than half a map board here and even though we are in Indochina we are
not using PTO (i suppose because it is actually a city fight)
The Japanese have to take 45 or more of the 74 available building locations on
this map while the French can force a win if they take at least 18CVP.
To hold the line and bleed the Japanese aggressors the French have a 50/50 mix
of Green and 1st line troops, 2 leader (-1 total) and a HMG, MMG and LMG. They
do, however, have a FT-17M.
While the Japanese have no AFV they do have a fairly potent force with 1st and
2nd line troops and 3 leaders (+0 total thanks to a 10-1 and an 8+1 leader).
Their SW are a pair each of LMG, MMG and Knee MTR. They are unfortunately barred
from Banzai Charges due to SSR3 and this includes T-H Hero Banzai
Charges; I assume this means that T-H Heroes can only be created by the
'In-Hex / Adjacent Method'.
Zeb has gone for a very spread-out defence, he has not
even got LOS to many of the positions which I am to setup on this will
give me the option to attack without interdiction and then be facing him
down with Concealment.
He has placed the HMG in Z2(2). This is an
interesting location as it forces me to come to him... though I can help my
chances by Encircling him since he is on the upper levels.
The MMG is in EE4(1). Again an interesting location, it stops me flanking him
to the East but is otherwise there to gain concealment and stop me
taking this building with ease.
His tin-can AFV is situated in BB5. I suppose
from here he wants to stop me forcing the infantry away from the road and
then attacking down the centre. I have plenty of Street Fighting
opportunities with him here though.
All his other units are spread out and mostly
in row-houses and therefore unable to Fire group! This is great, as I am
sure I can crack his front line by the end of Turn
2.
With his men being spread out and also unable to support each
other in the East due to the row-houses I am going to find this an easier
attack than I had dared hope for. The dice will very influential in this
game thanks to the need for the Japanese to move in the open and move fast. My
plan is simple, I need to hit him hard and keep the pressure on until the
line cracks, then I can hound him to
death.
The
T7(1) unit was placed to stop him gaining Concealment and while most of mine
were able to be concealed this will be ultimately irrelevant due to the
aggressive movements I have
planned.
My 10-1 and his 2x MMG 228 will be sited on the level 2 of T4 which will give me
plenty of options to hit him hard should he stand and fight.
The planned Japanese attack
The game begins with
some Prep Fire from my MTRs; the first attempts SMOKE but fails to have any, the
second is successful and is able to hit his CC8 LMG position with +3 SMOKE. With
ROF I am able to cover another hex with SMOKE and in doing so open the door
for my men to rush into possible CC in the first turn. Movement sends IJA
MMC rushing forwards and I use the 2nd Line troops as Storm Troopers
to draw fire and get nice and close to his men; I end up with 1x 347
stripped from this little adventure. In his defensive he smashes my MTR HS with
his HMG for the first shot and then gets a breakdown with the HMG as he goes for
the CR... that is bad luck as I think the French are already under pressure
from the ferocity of the Japanese attack. My Advancing shots make no
headway against the French in their Stone Buildings, but I am able to kill
a HS in CC and claim a row house hex.
Rain starts to fall
and cancels out my SMOKE. He deploys a Squad but fails to repair his HMG which
is a huge bonus for me. His moves are all in one direction, backwards. Only 2
dashing units expose themselves to my fire and I am able to get a Pin
result on one of them. Defensive Fire is otherwise hampered by the lack of
targets or their good TEM. He moves back into line and prepares for me to attack
his next line of defence.
The initial Japanese assault is
successful
Building Locations Controlled: 2
French
Losses:
227
The rain
continues and he manages to repair his HMG. My men charge forward and
though he gets a few hits the damage is light to me (2x Strips, 2x 127
Break)... a pair of SAN results breaks a 437 and kills a 7-0, so that is a win
to me. My own Advancing Fire is terrible though... I miss with most
shots and even when I do hit he passes his MCs with ease but most of
the targets I shot at he Voluntarily Broke anyway, so alls well that
ends well. In the Advance Phase I jump into CC all along the line and end
up killing 3x Squads for the loss of a single HS! This battle is
easily slipping towards the Japanese and as expected I have really cracked
his line open now.
Rally Phase brings
out the brutality in my 8-0 Leader, he manages to ELR both HS down to
Conscripts... sigh... Zeb doesn't Prep, he runs again and this is now a little
more dangerous as I have units covering likely escape routes. My attack
rolls are pretty impressive, but I have yet to roll a MC fail for him yet -
so at least the luck evens itself out there. In passing a MC he called in a Hot
Japanese Sniper and this guy finished off a broken HS. Neither of us have any
Routs and in CC he manages to kill a HS of mine while I do not get any luck
in return.
The French continue to fall-back while
the Japanese surge forward
Japanese Losses: 2x
237
Building Locations
Controlled:
17
French
Losses: 227, 437, 2x 457, 7-0
French
CVP:
2
The poor French
just cannot take a trick. When the H2H CC was won in the AA2
building (through a 6,6 which also allowed his 457 to withdraw) I
think Zeb sensed a possible bit of good fortune coming his way,
unfortunately another 6,6 during Rally came along to turn his smile into a
frown. I also lose a HS as my Japanese Leader shows that neither he, nor
the Emperor, will take "no" for an answer. My men surge forward against the
almost non-existent resistance; he has pulled back to beyond the BB1-BB9
road, with only 2x GO Squads and a 8-1 and HMG in the AA2 building.
Unfortunately this is the turn when his dice decide to go crazy and 2x 1,1
results manage to wipe out 3CVP of my units, luckily the 1,1 results also caused
Cowering so he was unable to use his ROF to advantage. My advances are to push
up as far as possible but the road stops me from getting adjacent to
him, I am not willing to go to that extreme yet... I attack his AFV with
Street Fighting and continue with the run of CC luck, the AFV
is Wrecked.
A pair of consecutive
1,1 pop up in Rally for Zeb (that is 4x 1,1 and 2x 6,6 in about 12 rolls
for Zeb) and he has a 457 HoB to a 458 and a 227 HoB to a 237. Again he turns
and runs, though he also transforms his position in the AA2(1) location
into a formidable fortress with 2.5 Squads, a HMG and a 8-1 leader. He leaves me
no shots, but I do gain Aqr with my MTRs to on the Stone Building
at CC8 to make sure I can SMOKE him out should he move into there and
should the rain stop!
The French in the Western building
have a formidable position
The Japanese assault in the Centre/East is halted
momentarily by the roads open terrain.
Japanese Losses: 2x 126,
347
Building Locations
Controlled:
34
French
Losses: 227, FT-17M
French
CVP:
5
TURN 4
The French are facing
me down as I must now cross the road to get to him in CC, this turn will
really be the one that decides the outcome, if I fail badly here then
all I shall have is a pair of MTRs to stop him running back to reclaim
buildings, if I hold the Melees or force him to run then I shall
easily have the required number of buildings and can defend from this point
on. I start the turn poorly with a WP roll - pity it is still raining!
Prep Fire erupts along the whole line but my rolls are so bad, and the only
time I hit he manages to pass the 1MC... I have been so badly
done-by with the French MCs (which I have rolled for him since it is a VASL
logfile game!). When it comes to my movement I wonder to myself how much
money I would have if I got a dollar for every time in a logfile game
that the dice ran super-hot for the defender and super-cold for the attacker in
a sure-fire win situation for the attacker... the French don't miss a
single shot and the Japanese pass just a single MC, even getting a 6,6 to make
sure that a 347 suffers a CR break from just a MC... and even when MCs are
passed they turn out to be Pins... perfect for the defenders! At least there is
a bit of poetic justice when an Advancing Fire shot scores an unlikely result.
It is in CC though that the Japanese really start to make the French
suffer... I have 4 separate attacks and kill all my targets (5CVP
worth) while he is only able to kill a single Japanese 347 in return, also the
result means that I now have him encircled in the AA2
building.
The French have their
final turn and it is a non-event, I had expected them to rush at me and try to
win back some territory, but they did not, instead they chose to defend the
territory they had already taken and to not put their men in any more danger.
With this we accepted the inevitability of the Japanese victory and although we
could have taken it though to the last turn to be sure we both accepted the
result and stopped them game (Though, for Zeb's pride's sake I am more than
willing to accept that this game came down to the last
turn!)
Japanese Losses: 237,
347
Building Locations
Controlled:
48
French
Losses: 2x 227, 237, 457
French
CVP:
9
The
Japanese control >44 of the Building Locations
ALLIED
VICTORY
Conclusion
There
is a bit of controversy that came up for us at the end of this game and I
am thankful to Zeb not only for pointing it out to me but also for the way in
which he handled it. It is here that I would like to point out that this
game will be memorable for the gentlemanly and respectful fashion in which it
was played... a number of rules questions and controversies came up
(often I was the one who was wrong!) but in each and every case it was
handled in a mature and sportsman-like way. This kind of opponent is a
'keeper'!
The
victory conditions state that the Japanese must control 45 or more
building LOCATIONS... now maybe I am just ignorant and have spent
my life playing other ignorant opponents, or maybe there are few VC that are
worded this way, but I have never before noticed that although one
can Control a Building one still has to take all the Locations within
that buildings to fulfil this sort of
VC.
A26.14 states that "An armed, Good Order Infantry MMC ...
in any hex of the building can gain Control of the building... as long as the
conditions of 26.11 are fulfilled." Ok, I think to myself, than
all I have to do is waltz though his empty buildings and they are mine...
which is true... BUT not true for the Locations within
them!
Again, the rules (A26.11) state: "... a side gains Control
of a Location... by occupying it with an armed, Good Order Infantry MMC without
the presence of an enemy ground unit..." and later " After successfully
securing a building by Mopping Up (12.153), a player gains Control of the
building and all its
Locations."
In other words, the Japanese have to either walk through EVERY one of the 45
hexes they aim to control, or Mop Up the multi-hex buildings (which is a Prep
Fire action leading to a TI MMC and cannot be done if No Quarter is declared) to
win this game, while attacking a numerically similar French force in good
Defensive terrain in just 4.5 Turns! Man... no wonder this is so heavily biased
towards the
French.
When we discussed this at the end of the 4th Turn we both had independently
agreed that the achieving of the 45 Location minimum was something that the IJA
could easily do, so complete was their dominance by this point - however, I
would hate to have to lose/win any game off of a rule like this, and I
shudder to think about playing this sort of game in a tournament. I would also
have to note that although it is a 'reality argument' and thus irrelevant to The
Game I cannot see how one can Control a building and yet NOT Control the
Locations within it... what is the point of Controlling it but not Controlling
it?
We
now have to analyse how the Japanese managed to win this
game...
Without a doubt the French setup gave the Japanese a HUGE advantage... it lacked
concealment and it was not able to mutually support in the East due to the
Row-houses blocking multi-hex fire grouping. As my friend JP (a master of the
Defensive Arts) says "Setup decides the first half of the game and can take
away the initiative before the battle begins"; in this case the Japanese had the
initiative and never really lost it for the whole game. Also Zeb continually
pulled back to new Defensive positions, which is normally excellent tactical
advice for a Defender, but not when the Attackers have limited Time and need to
take terrain. The Japanese are ferocious in attack and that might have had a
large part to play in his tactical withdrawal (they won about 90% of the CC in
this game) but a few MMC being left behind as speed-humps might have slowed the
Attack down enough. Also the AFV did not move from its location during the whole
game and thus it was fairly impotent except when the Japanese chose to close for
the attack. Certainly losing the HMG for a turn early on was a blow to the
French, but they gained 1.5 MMC back from amazing Rally rolls to form a lethal
hedgehog in this building and they also benefited from the Rain which stopped my
SMOKE usage.
I
enjoyed this game, though against a less friendly opponent it might have been
frustrating. However, considering the poor balance issues I cannot say that I
would be in a hurry to play it again... if it was about Controlling buildings
and not Locations then this would be a much better balanced scenario, but as it
stands I think it is going to be a French win the vast majority of the
time.