You are here: Home > After Action Report (AAR) of Alpenfestung VIII
Flyer
This was the official invitation for the tournament: Einladung ASL Alpenfestung VIII (.jpg, 410 kB)
Date
The Alpenfestung VIII tournament took place Friday, August 15th until Sunday, August 17th, 2014.
Venue
We played in a vacation home in Alvaneu (Kanton of Graubünden).
Participants
-
Dave R. (United Kingdom)
-
Michael S. (Germany)
-
Daniel T. (Switzerland)
-
Marc B. (Switzerland)
Scenarios
The selection of scenarios for the long round (4.5 hrs.) was:
I. Lambs Led To Slaughter. Germans vs. British in Germany. February, 1945. 5.5 Turns. From Historical Module «Operation Veritable». (4:03 hrs.)
II. Over Open Sights. Americans vs. Germans in Luxemburg. December, 1944. 6.5 Turns. From ASL Starter Kit #2. (4:13 hrs.)
III. The Last Tiger. Germans vs. Russians in Germany. April, 1945. 6 Turns. From Schwerpunkt. (5:05 hrs.)
Download the long Scenarios (2.6 MB).
The selection of scenarios for the short round (3.5 hrs.) was:
I. French Toast and Bacon. Americans vs. Germans in Luxemburg. December, 1944. 5.5 Turns. From Winter Offensive Bonus Pack 2010. (3:31 hrs.)
II. Odd Angry Shot. Japanese vs. Australians in New Guinea. October, 1943. 6.5 Turns. From ASL Action Pack #7. (3:35 hrs.)
III. Taylor Made Defense. British vs. Germans in France. June, 1944. 7 Turns. From Historical Module «Pegasus Bridge». (3:42 hrs.)
Download the short Scenarios (3.0 MB).
Results
First Round
Michael (as the Germans) vs. Marc (as the Canadians) in Lambs led to slaughter. Michael wins (the lambs didn't).
Dave (as the Russians) vs. Daniel (as the Germans) in The last Tiger. Daniel wins.
Second Round
Marc (as the Japanese) vs. Dave (as the Australians) in Odd angry shot. Dave wins.
Daniel (as the Germans) vs. Michael (as the Americans) in French Toast and Bacon. Daniel wins.
Ranking
1st: Daniel (2:0) - Tournament winner
2nd: Michael (1:1), winner of First Round
3rd: Dave (1:1), loser of First Round
4th: Marc (0:2)
After Action Report (AAR)
Dave
My second Alpenfestung, and with an unbeaten record I had everything to lose and only pride to maintain: The pressure was on! A pretty long journey saw me leaving the UK at around 11am, for a 2pm plane, catching the 5:30pm train in Zurich, onto a bus, then another bus and (at least for me) a hike to the B&B. Luckily Marc was on hand to rescue us at Zurich so I was able to do my best impression of a faithful dog, and followed Marc all the way to our venue!
Game 1 was a great scenario, "The Last Tiger" against Daniel. I had a terrible opening two turns, losing 3 tanks, and technically cheated too, but bringing on my additional tank as a reinforcement two turns early, but struggled through the battle with a little more care. It got to the last turn and had things gone a little more my way I'd have snuck the win, but instead Daniel held on for a deserved victory.
Game 2 I played Marc, in a PTO hill based assault, my Australians had to assault a hill complex defended by some stubborn Japanese troops and a light mortar detachment. The dice were in my favour all the way through and with the Fighter Bombers making light work of the poor Japanese reinforcements who momentarily forgot about the threat from the sky, the game was won with a turn to spare.
We had a great time, the food was amazing, and I'm pleased to have made more friends around the world, playing my favourite game!
Michael
The dice gods were fickle with me this weekend. Marc and I played Lambs To Slaughter and a slaughter it was. My 88 FLAK just kept shooting and shooting. Marc got bogged down in the plowed fields and was never able to get out. In French Toast and Bacon, Daniel handed me my head. I was over eager in firing my AT guns and underestimated Daniel's ability to overrun me. Although Daniel has only been playing a short time, he has garnered a wealth of experience and is not to be underestimated.
The lodging threw us for a loop at first as we were not sure we were going to have the play area we expected. However, our hosts were flexible and open and were able to make arrangements for us to play on the big table. They even made us a home-cooked Indian dinner! A nice touch on this trip was the opportunity to do a little hiking together on Sunday before we all went our separate way. Thanks for everything, Marc!
You can read more details on my blog:
Daniel
The location was impressive. The house was beautifully done, an old barn, about 300 years old, completely carved out and then rebuilt with lots of glass and a great view into the mountains. I especially liked the kitchen. Best dish were the mushrooms our hosts had gathered in the woods above the village in the morning.
I had a great time playing both Dave and Mike - and got lucky on both games. First I defended in the Schwerpunkt classic "The Last Tiger" against Dave and managed to destroy three of his tanks during the opening moves. Two went down through low odds shots from my Nashorn, positioned hull-down on top of the hills. Another Russian tank went down in the second turn, taking riders with it. Dave played a patient and thoughtful advance and i did not get many shots at him. He also put a lot of pressure on my flanks, using the tanks to great effect. In the endgame it came down to two half-squads holding the victory are. As an IS-2 had turned "The Last Tiger" into "The Late, Burning Tiger" in one of the victory hexes, the blaze had spread and the Russians had limited entry options. I managed to cover these with resid, did not cower, and Dave got very unlucky on his subsequent MCs. Close game, huge fun!
During the second round I played Mike and he revealed his AT Guns too early. As they were situated close to my entry are I was able to OVR them on the first turn. Don't leave those Guns without infantry support, Mike :-) After the AT capabilities were gone, my tanks were pretty free to roam the field and the low-morale American HS succumbed to MCs from Panther machine gun fire.
Marc
The venue of Alpenfestung VIII, Alvaneu, was a tiny village above the Albula valley in the Swiss canton of Grisons (Graubünden). Right from our gaming table, we had a marvellous view of a mountain range of the Alps. We could even spot a large waterfall on the other side of the valley. The house was indeed special - a refurbished and now very cozy hay shelter. It was a little unusual for an Alpenfestung to have the hosts of our accomodation present, but they were a very nice, hospitable and welcoming couple.
In my first scenario against Michael, «Lambs led to slaughter», I felt like an absolute ASL beginner. Before I could even move into a rather lousy attack position, his accurate and deadly 88mm Flak Gun and Machine Gun/Small Arms fire from his infantry just tore my tanks and troops apart. I just managed to suppress some of his relocating squads, but I didn't even come close to mounting a threatening attack. Without the slightest doubt, Michael was the clear winner of this scenario. I fear you have to play this scenario very differently: Set up in an aggressive forward position, smoke the 88mm Gun with your tanks, and assault at the earliest opportunity. The terrain and overall tactical situation just doesn't give any room for any maneuvering in this scenario. Nevertheless, I would really like to play this one again.
My second scenario against Dave played in the pacific. My Japanese defenders tried to hold on to a hill that was charged by Australian infantry. At first, it looked like I could fight a halfway successful fighting withdrawal, but after my reinforcement troops became a victim of an unattended air strike, my lines finally broke and Dave could assault the final rear positions on the hill. I like to play Pacific scenarios - once you become accustomed to the terrain and the oddities of playing the Japanese, PTO scenarios have a very unique feel to them.
Thanks to Dave, Michael and Daniel for another fantastic gaming event - I am already looking forward to Alpenfestung IX in spring of 2015!
Photos
ASL is a fluffy game that requires nimble reactions.
«ROF is NA in the AFPh. Ah... that's what I thought.»
Any idea why this scenario is called «Lambs led to slaugther»? This was a snapshot before the infantry started to move... :oP
A view from Level -1.
Our spectacular view on the Alps - right from our gaming table.
An old house of the tiny village of Alvaneu (pop. 400).
At the start of the second round, in the late afternoon.
«Running up that hill»?
On SUNday morning - what a view!
This was Daniel winner trophy - the fun part is that you have no LOS from this angle to the entrenched miniatures of a 81mm French mortar team inside! :o)
Daniel's idea to take a walk around this beautiful lake in Lenzerheide paid out!
Blue skies on our way to a restaurant that served local trouts.
Did we manage to wet your appetite for Alpenfestung IX in spring of 2015? Please send me a message if you want to be updated about its planning.