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After Action Report (AAR) of Alpenfestung IV

Page history last edited by Marc 10 years ago

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Flyer
Date
Venue
Participants
Scenarios
Results
Ranking
After Action Report (AAR)
Photos

Flyer

This was the official Flyer for the tournament: Einladung ASL Alpenfestung IV (.pdf, 798 kB)

Date

The Alpenfestung III tournament took place Friday, August 24th until Sunday, August, 26th, 2012.

Venue

We played in the «Seeblick» vacation home.

Participants

1. Marc B. (Switzerland)

2. John T. (Germany)

3. Jan L. (Switzerland)

4. Dave R. (United Kingdom)

Scenarios

The choice of scenarios for the long round (5.0 hrs.) was:

A desparate Affair, British vs. Germans on Crete in May, 1941. 7.5 turns. From «For King and Country».
Gabriel's Horn. Americans vs. Germans in Italy in September, 1943. 6.5 turns. From Action Pack #8, «Roads through Rome».
Sherman marches west, Germans vs. Russians in Russia in June, 1944. 7 turns. From ASL Starter Kit #3.

Download the long scenarios (Alpenfestung_IV_LongScenarios.pdf, 4.6 MB)

The choice of scenarios for the short round (3.5 hrs.) was:

88s at Zon, Germans vs. Americans in Holland in September, 1944. 5.5 turns. From: «ASL Starter Kit 2».
The Men from Zadig, French Partisans vs. Germans in France in August, 1944. 4.5 turns. From: «Out of the Bunker».
Ham and bloody Jam, Germans vs. British in France in June, 1944. 5.5 turns. From Historical Module «Pegasus Bridge».

Download the short scenarios (Alpenfestung_IV_ShortScenarios.pdf, 4.0 MB)

Results

First Round

Dave (as the British) vs. Marc (as the Germans) in «A Desparate Affair». Dave wins.

John (as the British) vs. Jan (as the Germans) in «A Desparate Affair». John wins.

Second Round

John (as the Germans) vs. Dave (as the Americans) in «88s at Zon». Dave wins.

Jan (as the Partisans) vs. Marc (as the Germans) in «The Men from Zadig». Marc wins.

Ranking

1st: Dave (2:0) - Tournament winner

2nd: John (1:1), winner of First Round

3rd: Marc (1:1), loser of First Round

4th: Jan (0:2)

After Action Report (AAR)

Marc

My vision to host a challenging yet relaxing gaming event came alive during this Alpenfestung, too. I am especially proud that for the first time, a player from a non-German speaking country joined us: Dave from the United Kingdom.

Regarding the scenarios, the «special» ones turned out to be the most attractive. Both parties selected «A desparate affair» as scenario for the first (long) round, a German airdrop over Crete in the early summer of 1941.
My learnings were:

a) Paratroopers are very vulnerable during the first one or two turns (no fun to recover weapon canisters under fire)

b) A better strategy might have been to airdrop onto the board with hills - these would have given my heavy weapons (mortars and MG's) a great field of fire in the defenser of the landing zone

My game against Dave was very tight, and quite close. I liked the low counter density of the scenario - is uses four (!) full boards. The second scenario against Jan («The Men from Zadig») had a very different feel to it. The task was basically to expell partisans from one big building with four levels (cellar, ground, 1st and 2nd levels). No time or space for maneuver here, just a good solid plan of when and where to rush the building. The visualisation of the different levels wasn't always easy, but the fighting in the building involved many close combats and was therefore intensive and nail-biting.

A highlight were not only the scenarios, but the fun swim in Lake Walensee (see photos) we had in the afternoon of the 'gaming day' on Saturday. A very special and sensual experience in a break from an exciting scenario.

I am already looking forward to Alpenfestung V in spring of 2013!

John

Jan

Once again it was time for Alpenfestung and needless to say it delivered just what was promised: a weekend full of ASL-goodness shared with a bunch of nice people. Even though I could not stay for the whole weekend I managed to play both rounds...

In "A desperate affair" I lost spectacularly due to a bad airdrop and more than one tactical mistake from my side. Nevertheless I of course tried to give my opponent a hard time but as one can imagine it did not turn out well.

Even though I was still recovering from my loss of the first round I rushed into "The men from Zadig" - I kept my ground pretty well but nevertheless managed to loose this one as well. But at least I can say that I tried :-).

Another highlight was the barbecue we had on Saturday evening - the first one in the tournament! So I can only say that I am looking forward to the next installment of this tournament and will gladly accept the invitation if and when it comes!

Dave

What an amazing trip! From the efficiency of the Swiss rail system, through to the great hospitality show by Marc and his wife, Mirjana, the fantastic scenery, great food and fun opponents!

The full write up of the game against Marc is here: http://asldave.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/dropping-down-to-earth.html but in summary, a paradrop that had us both on the edge of our seats throughout the game.

The final, another close game, this time against John, is here http://asldave.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-final.html, and came down to the last turn where, with some kinder dice, John could have won easily.

The location is simply wonderful - it can't be beaten. Our swim was something I'll never be able to repeat at another ASL tournament, and there'll never be a better view whilst playing with our beloved cardboard counters.

An amazing experience - thank you for having me!