J183 A Real Barn Burner (or, the worst game I have played in a long time)

 

Well, this will be a short AAR.  J183 was easily the worst effort I have put forward in an ASL scenario in a long time.  I had no plan, no idea what I was doing, or why.

I like playing the French, so I asked for them.  My opponent took the Germans, took the scenario card, rolled it up and beat me with it.

J183 is a scenario that I know got plenty of play since it was released, so I figured I would have a go.  My French have a small force in the compound on board 43, 2.5 Elite squads, with eight dummy counters, the squads are fanatic, and I can deploy all of them if I wish.  Their job is to hold on to one of two buildings inside the compound.  The kicker is that I have ten first line squads that have to come to their rescue.  To win, I have to have one of the buildings, but at least one of the rescuers have to be in the building at the end.  

My opponent has nine 1st line German squads with the typical arsenal of support weapons and leadership the Wehrmacht generally gets in ASL.  In addition, he gets a Doorknocker AT gun that can not set up HIP.  He will achieve victory by denying my conditions.

Two of the buildings are on fire, giving the scenario it's name.  I have 4.5 turns to get it done.

The first thing I do is run a half squad out to bump the German unit closest to my woods units, he gets unceremoniously KIA'd.  I try to move out as individual squads, leaving my light mortar in the woods to try to duel with the AT gun on the board edge.  They fire away for two turns with nothing to show for it, so I abandon it and start out towards my guys in the complex.  I quickly break the front squad, but it takes me forever to reduce the other unit in the foxholes.   Meanwhile the gun has started plinking away at the buildings.  Those fellows are holding well, as the Germans close the noose.  The foxholes up by the complex have a machine gun and promptly lay down a firelane.  It is already French turn 3, so I have a turn and a half to get in there.

Turn 4 and I have to cross the road, the firelane takes a toll, the Germans have the compound reduced to a half squad, I have broken people littering the board.  My opponent has the road now covered from the compound wall and the firelane.  Still needing to survive his defensive fire, prep fire and then defensive fire again, I cry uncle and surrender.

This game was a French disaster from the beginning.  I was moving without a plan, I struggled with everything, couldn't remember numbers, like TEM, Hinderances, couldn't do basic math.  The game was ugly, my opponent punished my French as he should when the French player is bumbling around the map.  I appreciate his patience, and wish I could have given him a better game.

It's definitely not the scenario that caused my issues, the French have a healthy 90-63 lead on ROAR.  Every once in a while I have a game like this.  Nothing works, my head isn't in it, and I lose track of what I'm doing.  Thankfully they don't happen very often.  Thanks to my opponent for sticking with me to the end.

Thanks for reading.