June DFW Gameday (and AARs)

Ed Beekman

Our June game day had a very specific Stalingrad theme.  

Jim C and Tracey decided  to  play S18 Breaking Bread again since  they felt they made  too many errors  last month.  Again Jim's Russians were  able  to  repulse Tracey's Germans to keep control  of  the Bread  Factory  buildings.

Ralph challenged Matt for  the Chair and they selected DASL2 Berserk!  Matt's Germans came at Ralph's Russians hard and heavy and got away with it due to the luck of the dice.  Ralph's MMG stack went Berserk and charged to their doom.  Then the tide turned as Ralph started to  whittle down the attackers and then he counterattacked, resulting in driving back and reducing the German force, leaving them no chance to get  to the Victory Building.  Ralph will  be Chairman next  month.  

We were expecting another player but real life interfered.  I had set up RB3 Bread  Factory #3 in preparation and Ralph and I  played it after his  first  game  was  complete.  There was a brief battle  for one of the Victory Buildings as Ralph first ambushed and killed a defending squad and then broke half  my  counter attack force but then  the squad was Pinned and CRd by a Booby Trap allowing me to eliminate them in a HtH ambush.  The German main force approaching the Admin block caused my HMG squad, best leader and a broken unit to go berserk.  One charge later and a quarter of my on board OB was eliminated.  Then the German leader went Berserk with a squad.  The leader quickly died but the squad cleared the second victory building, driving all my defenders to FTR death.  My reinforcements entered as the last of my units were dying or fleeing.  Three turns to go and it would take at least that long to get to the victory buildings.  My units walked into a meat grinder and were chopped up just shy of being able to reach the VC.  My last turn I had one squad locked in melee and a concealed leader surrounded by Germans on 5 hexsides.   I announced my move for the win and assault moved the concealed stack away from the Bread Factory and out of encirclement.  Ralph was confused.  He looked over the scenario and remembered I had a HIP unit.  I still controlled one of the victory buildings with the HIPsters in the upstairs location that he never moved through.  His "recon by fire" revealed the HIPpies but could only Pin the leader and my win was preserved.

Have you figured out the theme?  We played three different versions - Starter Kit, Deluxe, and Historical - of the battle for the Bread Factory just south of the Red Barricades.  The Russians won all three games.

Look forward to seeing you at Austin or next month at my place.