ANNUAL ISSUE |VERDUN, FRANCE, 21 February 1916: Lieutenant Colonel Emile Driant foresaw a German assault on Verdun, and made himself unpopular in military circles with his gloomy forecasts, He was a prophet of his own doom. Driant's two battalions of ‘Chasseurs-a-pied, the elite of 72nd Division, held two miles. ‘of wooded hills directy in the path of the main German on- slaught. On 21 February, Driant’s infantry were awoken by the greatest barrage ever heard. Every caliber from field gun tothe terrible 210mm crashed down, lifted long enough for the stunned Frenchmen to rise tothe surface, then began all over, again. By midday, 80,000 heavy shells had fallen in an area of barely haif a square mile. Frees were blasted to matchwood:; platoon-sized bunkers had simply vanished; many French- ‘men were buried alive not once but repeatedly. Nevertheless, as the German assault teams advanced to infitrate the French lines, almost half of Driant’s men had survived. Isolated, un- supported, blown out oftheir own fortifications, the Chasseurs, fought on. Prior to his unexpected passing designer and author lan Daglish (dec.) sent in his GWASL module materials, joining the work of other CH designers in the effort to bring another ‘era of warfare to the collection. Losing top men is sad, and they can never, ever be replaced. But their contributions, like authors of yore, can speak to us, and we are grateful to have this chance to make the Great War return for an encore ... on ‘your gaming table. Itis all very straightforward, and the Special Rules give you the handbook you need to maneuver the men ‘and machines, some representing combat systems never seen before, but prominent since. The Chauchet LMG, new French soldiers, Attack a’ Outrance rules and couinters, French tanks and Guns, and more! You receive a full sheet of French MMCISMC/SW, and another sheet of French AFVs/Guns/Ve- hicles. Special rules in color, 3-hole format. And of course, @ collection of color format scenarios (8 in all) that all feature German/French combat. PS sObMiETS REO Bote Cay Outside of VYAZMA, RUSSIA, 6 October 1941: The Soviet Union first deployed the highly secret Katusha rockets against the German forces advancing on Moscow. Along the Smolensk/ Moscow highway. While the rockets were very effective, alone they could not stop the German blitzkrieg. The 42nd Separate Guards Mortar Battalion found itself encircled with over {600,000 red army troops. As the noose tightened the rock- ‘eteers of the 42nd started to take casualties in the close quar- ter fighting that developed. Guards Captain Flerov ordered the ‘men of his battery to attempt to breakout. As they approached the German lines through the woods they surprised a panzer column from the 7th Panzer division. The rocketeers launched a final salvo at point blank range at the approaching tanks. They then destroyed their launchers and ammo vehicles and attempted to escape on foot. Mortally wounded batting the panzers Captain Flerov did not survive his batteries final battle, ‘and only 42 made it to friendly lines This is RUSSIAN Rarities 2: Rockets Red Glare. As the name indicates, the presentation moves the action to On Board RCT Guns and Vehicles, with Russian and German types presented inthis set. And yes, you can count on American, Japanese and ‘more when you load YOUR Katyusha ... on its rails .. by sup- porting Russian Rarities 2 with your purchase. An amazing selection is provided, including aptured American and French vehicles in German service, various Katyusha mounted trucks and APCs, and Ordnance ranging from single-shot, crated rockets to large frames. NEW GEO BOARDS INAP-format throughout! Thats right, gone are the days of discussions about mating new terrain (aka {geo boards) with old AH boards from the 1980's with various wrinkled folds, gaps that top paper failed to cover, brown and, black backing shown ... not to mention geo boards of other manufacturers ... and 0 on.Criticat Hir Critical Hit Tactical Level Gaming magazine brings you its frst CH ANNUAL. Our theory simple: no one wants to put out an Annual, so ‘we will We dedicate this magazine to every man, land man, and other man that has spent the last {ew decades devoted to one hell of a cool and interesting game system ... and kept his head down over the ASLRB, Exira Vietory Points if you still have gaming buddies. Additional VP if YYou made it this far without being an internet Taux-man .. but you ean earn VP also for be coming a born-again dice-roling FTF fun-loving hon Misanthrope gamer. Write the publisher for tips. Critical Ht, Ine. has been publishing non-stop ‘since 1994, You ean reach tis by sail mail at PO. Drawer 637, Brewster, NY 10509, The CH ANNUAL is sold on an issue-by-tssue basis, 0 Subscriptions are offered—and we can't say When the niext one Is coming 80 enjoy this one. Individual Issues may be purchased from local hobby shops—God bless tose valiant folks that sill Keep light on over the plastic models and Boned ames-and book dealers or direct from the publisher, The core of what we do is YOU ... the ASLer. Always has been and we're proud io have pub- ished the works of 100+ crea gure Ad if you were not aware, our longstanding editor nd public poliey is this: CH takes the hea you don't have to. Submissions are weleome an become the property of Critical Hit, Ine. in the absence of other written arrangements—and are Known as voluntary submissions. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any man- ner, electronie or otherwise, without the express Wweliten permission of the publisher. Most game umes are the trademarks ofthe companies pb hing those games. Use ofa trademark to len ya product without mention of trademark sta: tus doesnot imply the sponsorship of the Wade. fark holder and should not be construed as a challenge (o that trademark. Retail and whole: Sale dealer inquiries should be directed to Maureen at 848-278-9125. ‘Note: Critical Hit ne. has supported a seletion of great charities, including one of our favorites, the New York City Rescue Mission... our wargames have been tuned tio ploughshares for years via their mission to feed the indigent andl hungry. our brothers. FEATURES 4 aso Lifestyle and Dating by The Skipper of the ‘Glory Sea’ An experienced designer lives on a houseboat in sunny Florida while teaching the game 15 Gor-Gor Heretical Variant by The Greatest ASLer Who would have thought . Champion of more ASL® tournaments than any other living human also hosted a Heretical Variant Rules Mini Tourna- ment at ASLOK 18 the wolf and the Bear Sce- nario Trilogy by Mike Klautky When you put together the following ingredient Mike + Eastern Front + Old School geo boards ... you get .... TANKS 23 Helicopter Rules O&A by Ken Brennan Ken was there at Fort Rucker when they wrote the book on helicopter gunnery and was kind enough to review our Helo Variant Special Rule: 25 Remembering Operation Lam Son 719 by Bob Davi Bob's Brother Don Davis lived it and Bob is here to tell the story of true heroism 3O 12 X-RAY HISTORICAL MODULE on Brown [original scenario designs) What's an issue without a full-I -blown historical module—rules and scenarios to go with the map and counters bundled with the issue byJe www. Tactical-Level-Gaming.com CHANNLINCOMING Ray Thought Ii share these—a couple pictures of the SU-H and the SU- 1007 in the Kubinka Tank Museum in Moscow (not sure how the young lady got into the last picture - but a good refer ence forthe size ofthese beasts:-). Spent aday there last summer, just prior to visiting Prokhorovka on the 7Oth Anniversary of the Bale for Kursk Interesting thatthe Chap H vehicle notes state ‘hat only one of each was built but there are five counters foreach. Then again, some ofthe Russian armor references 1 have here at home say that several of each were used up through the 1941 campaigns Enjoy. Matt Zajac Matt promised you your pics would be shared ‘and appreciate your note. Just erank your eves tothe righ column, In terms ofthe counter-mis in Russian Rarities 1, we provided some additional AFVs—beyond the quantity manufactured by the Russians...for ‘a simple reason. The aim isto facilitate DYO, ‘and allow you guys tobe axcreative as you wish in your home brew gaming efforts Speaking of Prothorovka, keep youreve ou for CH’: Hisiorical Module covering that arte ater in 2015, By the time vou have this Annual in your hands .. Russian Rarities 2 wil be on the Ray. Forgot tell you and Maureen that your pack: age arrived, WOW! I eant believe how generous ‘you ae, That alone was much more than hoped for. 1 can't even begin to process the custom mmini-module cnteibution, See you soon, We hold our rafle hetween games 3 and 4 on Saturday usually around 4-Spm, Everyone ‘who wil be athe tourrament will be there Sal lrday by noon to one..ven one day players ‘We ask that everyone stay forthe raffle and not 20 off to eat but some do, who we tr 10 tack down and get back into the room ( must he present to win,.though some players leave their tickets with someone if they leave). Joe Leoce 2 = CHANNUAL 2015LETTERS FROM THE FRONT Joe! Okay, for those that lon know; Joe rans the NY 'ASL® Open in Albany, New York—it runs around the Jirst weekend in December every year. [ad the chance 10 ‘tend this year and the bottom line is. Joe sevent isa BIG TIME game tournament that has grown over the years. He is ably assisted by Sieve Pleva anu Gary Tresza ‘and Joe's baby has grown to 70+ paricipams. That is impressive .. and from what Ps this event is begin hing to rival my fondest memories of ASLOK ... and provides a viable alternative for East Coast guys Here isthe scoop from Joe's site hip/Inys-ash.comy: The [2th annual NYS ASL championship will be taking place December 4th-h in 2015, TD is Steven Pleva in 2018. All games are assigned by the TD and are at his dsere- tion. If you let me kos, you can set up at game forthe first round ons. Let me know if there is anyone you wan to play during the tournament. Must play in ALL five rounds to compete forthe wood or diorama by Joe Leoce. Players dice and HIP sheets are subject 10 TD inspection. Please show your HIP sheet 10 our opponent when possible during the game. We would Tike al players to. use precision dice if possible. SP and Bautleschool dice are not allowed unless your opponent lets you use them, {we have only TWO undefeated players going into Round 5, those two players will place Ist and 2nd. Tiebreakers will deve 3rd and 4h place. Ifwe have THREE unde- Jeated players going ino Round 5, the player lft standing ‘ar 5-0 wins it and ALL others are placed using our tiebreaker system as follows: T-Head to Head Play 2-Total Points (10 per win, I point per opponents wins) (ex f beat Ron and Ron ended up with 3 wins, get 3 pons added to my toal points) 3.Sirength of schedule (opponents winning % that you beat) (SEE PAGE 6 FORAN EXAMPLE OF THE PLEVA BIDDING SYSTEM TO GET READY FOR THE NY ASL® OPEN FOR 2015.) Ray, ‘The Backhand Blow module with the Big ASL® counters is AWESOME! Well done! Don ¢. Donald E. Carlueci, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist (S US.Army ARDEC RDAR-DSM Dont First off, thank you for your service, consider me biased... in YOUR favor. Can help it And 1 like a man tharcan wrivea succinct, to the point note. Imagine all he internet bandh thal could be saved ifmore men were like you nor to mention we'd havea safer world! Peace roll low everytime ‘continued on page 17. NEWS AND NOTES Welcome to the first CH ANNUAL issue of Critical Hit Tactical-Level Gaming Magazine Welcome to the first CH Annual, a continuation of a publishing tradition that began in August 1994. Since day one the approach has remained the ‘same: publish the designs of YOU and your fellow ASLers. It's worked ‘over the years, and continues to work as you likely know, in the form of scenarios, modules and magazines. And that is somewhat of an under- statement, as at the heart of many an ASLer is a designer (researcher, military history junkie). There is no other way to explain the flow of work, here and elsewhere ‘The earliest issues of CH Magazine provided just that: a magazine. Start- ing with Volume 6, No. 4, counters were introduced to juice things up. That issue was also the first to contain a map. Since then, the presenta- tion has included counters and maps fairly often. This brings us to the newly-branded CH Annual. Starting with this, the first issue, EVERY AN- NUAL wil include the equivalent of a ‘mini-module’, with color, die-cut counters and map(s) to make things fun, ‘The reader will find a plethora of World War I-themed scenarios in this issue. That's as planned. A total of 11 scenarios, designed by the likes of, Dave Lamb and Mike Klautky, are found here, and that's quite a batch of, actions .... from two of THE MASTERS of the genre. Isit coincidental that they both come out of the Detroit-area design hotbed that brought us the likes of Peter Mudge, Bob Davis and Bob Gray? The answer is no, be- cause that hotbed was heated up by the mutt-talented Kurt Martin, former publisher of The Rout Report... and a guy that has delved, successtully, into everything from home remodeling to public relations... to growing the popularity of bicycling in the USA. There are also a couple of other guys I'd like to call out here. One of course is Steve Pleva, an ASLer that has brought a ton of legitimacy to the hobby by way of his study-of, and mastery-of, the ASLAB and every- thing that can ... and in his case does ... low from tactics. Steve is the last person to boast (and that is an understatement), so we'll just ‘state the facts, Mam’... in the form of more tournament wins than any other ASLer, not even close. How does this bring legitimacy to the hobby? Simple, just as chess is legitimized by the flow from study > mastery > outcome, Steve's work has pointed up that the same routines stand in ASL®, continued on page 6. Bob Gray (dec.), Managing Editor Emeritus’ Sign Off: To all our readers, designers, the guys and gals who have been or are now serving ina combat zone, our hearts and minds here at the CH family are with you. Keep safe and God bless you. Take care, roll lots of snake-eyes, and thanks for your support of our ASL-ing thing here Critical Hit. CH ANNUAL 2015 3ASL® LIFESTYLE AND DATING Can a man have it all and still embrace this “Jifestyle game” or “Iam an ASL® monk”... by Mike Klautky heading ofthis anil choice they got married. Why. I would ask, Well. you know .. kids, the ry chuckle, Itreminded me of akin to MSNIC’s social internet column int prea ex with your mate of mo or Geico "can you really save a least 15% on your ca Because they picked up A ” Ldoubtit. Evenif they did typically ASI. or any hobby for that mater that someone enjoys isnot the root of their problem in the relation So, cana man have it all and still embrace ASL. (oF VASLas the ase _ ifthe hobby becomes an escape may be)? Like so many answers... itdepends! On what? Well, primarily he problem only co perceived lackluster life routine Then, problems wont be limited to lationship with your significant other. IT you have a passion for —inany case pe actos 10 lationship with your spouse fe heard some For those of us martied, human nature dictates that in the batle for words we'd like 1 .. well, just like in ASL, win! Problem is that the From the Skipper: Here area couple of pictures [thought might give the right flavor o Glory Sea: The Anchor (aka my wife Laura); The Bullh myself: The Key Grip (aka Ni Runner (aka Ezra, 2.5), 1) On the Bow: Crew names of our MY{Travler 2): The Lookout (aka Hannah, 10): and The 4 HFemale gender is wired 1 have the ed ¢ when it comes to cataloging forgotten by us) 1 be «dredged up, sometimes ever so inconspicuous, to ve you a double ake ‘on what just happened. All of this, of eourse has nothing to do with the tame oF whatever hobby you might be pursuing, but everything to do with your spouse's perception of your attention span with her. I woul be lying iin my wife's repertoire of choice words the name ASL didn't ‘exis, hut atleast I can rest comfortably in the fat that she just threw a smoke seen, which is my eve that there may be a deeper issue, Now 1 better pay attention or that storehouse will tun into Mood gates storehouse of your misdeeds (some often lon In the twenty seven years of being married. and six kids later (one we had tobury), we have learned a ot about living together sharing together, and yes puting up with om ore successfully than at other times. My wife knows that Hove the game of [ASL but she has also come to appreciate that ts a healthy way for me to decompress from the routine that is part of lif. In turn Fve learned to listen and 0 se beyond the smoke sereen in order to refocus my attention to whatever is important to her... in the end, the ony thing that matter, if you don't want o find yours looking into an empty bag one day. 1 ‘can say "the only thing that matters" only because we've found a healthy hualance in recognizing and making room for each others incerests and desires, What we've leamed to do right in spite ofthe many times we've gotten it wrong, has les to do with doing the right thing fr its own sake, hut more todo with he sincere desire to include your partner in "sharing" your life. Por those of you dating or back into the From the Skipper: "that’s no LOS son, Teaching Noah the finer points of ASL using DEX-3D hoards and miniatures as an aid. wincing whenev you necd/should give up your hobby for the sake of your new found love, you're dooming your relationship with hat attitude from the start. You are potentially paving the way for a tedependent relationship for eitherboth yourself and your sweetheart Ho .. say what? This brings me to the last portion of the ASL lifestyle and dating segment of this article which Il rephrase slightly intoa question: AM | ‘an ASL monk? Linles you ike the companionless lifestyle, you've Fallen into a trap if you believe that your sweetheart would be hetler served by rot pursuing your hobby. You are seting yourself up forall kinds of iscontentment down the road. and unwittingly given your sweetheart and possibly spouse to he. even worse, should that happen. Hightning rex! attracting only frustration, which she would never want to have. i she could have foreseen the consequences of your misplaced motivation, ‘Wha's wrong here is that you've given up a part of your life that you really like (even if only temporary, but now you've set pattern For future dealings to come) ina perceived trade-off foran expectant greater happiness with your partner. IUs simply not sustainable in the long run and the more passionate you were about what you've given up for this {greater expectancy", the tw hold your partner accountable For its failure (unfaiely, because your ethis to + your eventual misgivings and tendency partner was never included in your private ruminations of get that bargain). In time both of you will find yourselves in an endless ‘expectant le for cycle of bargaining for concessions for the sake of that happiness” that suddenly one day appears less and less «4 CH ANNUAL 2015 5cither side, Codependency can be a difficult and elusive problem to relationship. Ti not like a disease that happens on you, bt itis something you will to happen through your dependeney on your ners actions. Foe the female gender slipping into codependency ean beahard habit to break and usually not without athied partys perspective (a.k.a, counseling), but guys are not immune to this either. Tt just takes another form, For example, om the female side with a codependency problem, she would make you emotionally responsible For her happiness ‘tal, indeed impossible order to lil nthe fong term, and doomed 10 failure. Although wired differently the male coud Fal into the same roe, ya usually his less emotional temperament takes on another form ...one ofretrea or escape froma world that he finds hand to cope with otherwise The retreat inthis case, could well take on an unhealthy appetite for his hobby. for example So. in conclusion, what's the answer here? Isthere one? Yes. Ueieve that there isan that you can indeed have ital (and you should) and still tembrace ASL of whatever hobby you find enjoyment in. Hf you want to havea share in ruc companionship, then find a healthy balance between your passion nx responsibility. That responsibility isto promote mutual respect in one anothers interests and the sincere desire to idemify your partner's wants and needs. Work on upholding the enjoyment of your ‘mutual happiness, Note this is not the same as making your pariner esponsible fort. Given tha there are no extraneous circumstances in the lationship or in other words, both sides are within reason socially adept ‘there sno reason that one should sock their ole fulfillment in life through ‘one person or other singular means. Learn and respond to what makes ‘your partner tick, and you will have your cake and eat it 100! ...continued from page 3: (Once upon an internet time (on the G.E.N.LE. network, yel= low text ona deep blue background) the consensus was that ASLers could not stomach anything by World War Il That is. an opinion, and as the intemet has expanded exponentially since the mid-90's, there have been and continue to be lots of those bandied about. That's all well and good (or maybe infantile and bad; o both, alternating at times). But when things stray into conflating opinons into... alleged facts, then we have an intellectual and creative disconnect. So let's treat some facts, and leave the opinions (most entertaining when one purports (heatedly) to speak for many, very common). Fact: CH has delved into more non WW II module and sce- nario topics than any other publisher catering to ASLers. Now if youll flip back to page 3, paragraph 1, you'll discover a hint at what that means. Okay, sticking to the facts ... it means that among YOUR fellow hobbyists there are a creative bunch that doesn't (as in never did) agree with the oftstated opinion regarding WW II being the end-all, be-all of the system. Asa publisher, we just chose to support these guys. And support them for real, color, die-cut counters, commisson original military art. and in the new presenation (that is being used to update the entire catalog) .. color scenario presentations, S-hole color Special Rules. The works, not scissors and pa- per at Ebay. Now back to the ‘facts vs. opinion’ question. Itis an estab- lished fact that CH has published GENESIS (O'Connor), DIEN BIEN PHU (Noguera), GWASL 1 and2 (Daglish, Ramis and more), TOKTONG PASS (Winslow), and PORK CHOP HILL (Winsiow). Which begs the question: Is the ASLRB capable 6 ~~ CHANNUAL 2015 PBS (PLEVA BIDDING SYSTEM) EXAMPLE: FB 13-Don't Economize (Pleva vs Trezza) “This scenario favors the Russians. id Russians giving 4 points. Pleva bids Russians giving up points. Pleva wins the id ashe is giving up more points to play the Russians (iit were a tie, you dice off for the Russian). ‘A.( point) Delete a Russian DC B-(2 points) Exchange Russian 9-2 for a9-1 C-C points) Russians get 6PP instead of TPP in SSR 6 D.G points) Delete a 4-4-7 E-G points) Delete a 45-8 ‘Trezza is playing the Germans since he lost the bid but ‘Trezza gets o pick the 5 points from the above table that ill weaken the Russian chances for victory and balance out the seenario, Trezza picks A.C and D for 5 points. ‘Trezza seis up asthe Axis and Pleva is playing Russians minus a DC, minus a 4-4-7 and receiving only 6PP per SSR 6. ‘The player losing the bid can pick any amount of points ‘up tothe bid number (5 points inthis one) from the above able Each balance provision can only be picked one time. Cross bids willbe honored, ‘ZERO bids fora side and NO BIDS are legal ‘You will needa good grasp ofthe scenarios inorder to bid correctly and balance out the scenarios if ned be. of being used as a core for multiple eras? See, webelieve the answer is yes. And not ‘yes’ as in the cheapest, throwaway variety of opinion-issuing .. an internet post (or thousands of them... some guys we see out there have thousands of posts, to their screen-name). No, our opinion is simple: WE BE- LIEVE IN THE BOOK. And back that belief, and those that share it, as stated earlier. ‘Okay, 50 you may think that pushing forward a bit. back to WW I is ‘easy’. I's not, just not as hard as ‘one’ might, think .. But what would REALLY test that belief? Imagine taking the ASLRB back... baaaack .. tothe American Civil War? As you likely know, that is already in the rearview mir- ror and was very successful, by the way). Sure, ASLCW 1.0 got some feedback, some tweaks are coming ... but it didn’t any more break the system (nor ‘break the interent) that, Great War... and Arab-Israeli Wars... did. Allof this brings us to the original scenario designs of Jason, Brown, He brought us the adventures on LZ Xray of Hal Moore and company, made famous in the movie, “We Were Soldiers™" starring Mel Gibson. You'l find the counters in the baggie, and the map, in two folding panels. The scenarios, and variant Special Rules are found later in this issue. We hope you enoy them and also take note of how easily the ASLRB handled the material ArWHO SURROUNDS WHOM? CHA #1 T eRUSSIAN Sets Up Fiat TIE I se SE ib wa 1/2|3|4 5,6|7/8 “gL ements ofthe 2nd Hungarian Armored Division (ELI: 3st up econ anywhere on bas 10 aor 4 (SAN: 4) = I ATR MTR | CH413 | CH wo i ne fr |e a | ore | Set | ei) [58h fa [Pi [PE | A LLRs 5 2 2 ener ote Lt Felder Pree warp Ss #2 an lata r me | [ety] My] a. | a. |= %1 | | Br | ir | aio | es Js euge | esaa | U fe na 33 2 ements tthe Is Panzer Divi x [ous a sion sot op off board por SR #2 tty | Se : ier = nse zt 4 | z | lements of Mechanized cup is anyher nad (SAN) * wwe | am [Otgen Jenn u2 Jor, 19 ] Gru 2- Elements o Wy | be | Be wrote | | aR ae | eth | te stn Gonrds Tak mee | BA LRM |e ote | im | pam [Be | we fet up off board sual Es a ite a” | Srsenaans Group Bement of he th Guards Tank Army Se up ard per SR 2 and ae To we | arn em tia | Ble | As | hee [mor | Se mee ef ae aS. | 3 2 Le | VARIATIONS: Panzer Divison portion ofthe German Of =] Pe Replace one T-34/M43 with a T3485 slong an edge, Afterall | OBJECTIVE! SPECIAL RULES: he sie with the most CVPs at game end wins the PasGmn PHH: Grp | ~ 6th Gals Tak Ist Pe forces enter along the west edge on adr of 4 Replace one Pe IVH for a Pe VG in the Ist edge ona, south edge ona 6, The Russian forces sel up off the south edge on niry board ede forces for entry in the same order ofthe rolls. All forces enter on game Turn Grp 2- 6th Gls Tak. German east edge on adr of 3-4, north er pace the ©: ye made after the al, andor out 2 Alter placing the on-board forces but before determining which player S. Hungarian forces do not have Panzerfaust capability ‘moves first, players will conduct a dr for board edge entry i PUSPOKTADANY, HUNGARY, October 10, 1944 During the Fist wovk of October, General “Maximilian Feeter-Pico was facing near disaster as Marshal Rodin Malinovsky's armies of the 2nd Ukrainian front began to penetrate his Sih Army near Debrecen, Hungary. However, an ‘opportunity for counterattack arose when General I.A.Pliex's Mechanized Group became over: fextended, ‘Seeing the opportunity to es on the Russians, Fretter-Pico ordered the [3th Panzer Division (o attack From the east and the Ist Panzer Division from the west (0 ‘complete the encirclement of Pliev’s force. Soon, the Feldheranhalle Panzengrendier Division Centered the fray. Sensing that victory was about tur into defeat, Malinovsky committed the ‘6th Guards Tank Army to break Pliev's free from encirclement. Suddenly all the forces were in ‘contact in a running fight without flanks, and no one was sure who had encircled whom, Designer Prod Sehware is onder: _ 6, Thre is neither a Scenario Defender nor Auacker © 2015 Critical Hit InDECIMATED AND DAMNED CHA #2 [fe GERMAN Sets Up First or RUSSIAN Moves First (py Bement ented Reon DSS Nord Din als me Ir | Xfm) be Oe |e | ms | > e2ze | 2746 232 2 2 weseny 9 Support Elements of the 10th Panzer Divi along the west e mn one group (only) enters on Turn fe [ae | dee Growp2: Grup es | Meee | or | Megs or | 3 St * ‘ : 50 as So a5 a z ements of the 24th Army [ELR: 2] - setup on hoard 57 in hexes numbered < 3 and/or enter onfalter Turn | along the east ede: ae ly ‘HMG MG LMG ATR MTR wey we te < Bh ae | Hae | Bia | ee | ioe eee [ee eo | | ya rear | caze | i en |e nen [ee | minzs | raz [aber een Ne Se excl eua ane ‘AMG 116° cS S| or He or 2 16 2 | He ate een STATON ae le N PE Increase Russian ELR to 3 ‘sith them, 3. Both players secretly choose their OB “support group” prior to all setup. Starting on Turn 2 the Germans receive one module of 8O+mm battalion mortar OBA (HE and Smoke) with Scarce Ammunition. The radio may be ‘exchanged fora phone, The Russians receive one module of |20¢mm OBA (HE only) with one Pre-Registered hex (CI.73) directed by an OfTboard “The Russians win at game end if they Control all woods Observer (C163) at level 2in hex STO! OBJECTIV: hexes with base level of level 3 '5. No Quarter(A20.3) is in elfect and both sides may declare Hand-to-Hand SCENARIO RULES: c U2.3)). TEC are Dry. with a Mild Breeze blowing from the east, Place overlay GS.on _ 6, The Germans receive Random Air Support (E7.; see B7.2 fr arival in the S7W2XI., and G4 on S7YSIZS. Place rubble counters in STHI, S7H3, 5713, formot 2x°39 FR w/Rombs on adr = 3:33°"39 DB on ade = 4: they are 572, 57P2,$1Q2, STR2, 5183, STT1, 5702, 57U4, and S7WS, Place Burnt. automatically Recalled aftr thre full game turns ‘Out Wreck counters in S7T2, $7Y 1, S7X4, and S787. 7. Despite the date ofthe scenario, the Russians may use Riders (D6.2), USHAKOVA, RUSSIA, July 24, 1941: Barbarossa had heen underway for nearly a month now. On July [sth the 10th Panzer Division and Das Reich Division were able to occupy Yelnya and therefore achieve the farthest point tothe east during the summer offensive. A pocketing of two Soviet armies around the city of Smolensk was also achieved with this capture. Unwilling. yield, both armies attempted to escape a the same time as three more armies atacked to open a pat co rescue. Meanwhile, the SS troopers occupied the high nnd near Yelnya against Fierce opposition. They also managed to capture the village of Ushakova. Under the merciless hot, summer sun, the SS consolidated and trod to rest."The Russians didnot provide any rele, 3s wave after wave of Russians attacked to retake the high ground. The fighting was savage and ions, with them taking the hills only to be thrown back off by SS counterattacks supported by P the 10th Division. The lighting continued for four weeks before the Russians would finally break off any 4s. By then, the SS would be decimated and in need of rest and rep further at shiment of ther anks, ‘Original Design: Dave Lam (© 2015 Critical Hit, IneCUTTING THE CORRIDOR CHA #3 $O ALLIES Lp 1l213 [4 [5 [6 + [RMAN Moves First ements ofthe 2nd Battalion, 306 Parachute Infantry Regiment Fromenas oF ane TEL st se upin wholehatheweson Dard #2: [SAN 3) eae wr bu lee i’ Boat | Bow an 4 Pitan [mes — aed Tae 6 Elements of the 44th RTR enter on Tum 3 in hexes 41ASIAG: ce yieea 3, rales Sh) Se eee7 | 4 thao | wee Tu | 1 ae 2 2 BG rcron boars i 1SAN 8) wae (EER | Mts AS | Res | Reo | (ar [=e fee |e | iu a oogs | rea7 38 | uae | meee a 6 ox Walther enver Turn 2 in hex 13: Elements of Kampfgruppe | ay a BOARDLAYOUT: The American portion of the Aid OB may set up 5 2 squaeguvalents and any SMCISW stacked with them using HIP Ada 1-49 Hero and an $1 Armor Leader tothe Turn 1 Geeman OB, 7 SCENARIO RULI 1. EC are Wet, with no wind at start. All non-toad henes are considered Soft Ground (D8.21), with all AFVs paying an additional MP per hexside crossed. All streams are Deep (B20.43).All- level Valley exes (B22,) are considered Bog terain (D821), 2, The Americans may use HIP for $1 squad-equivalent and any SMC/SW Stacked with it OBJECTIVES: The Germans win at game end if they have 2 3 AFV (mo- 3 Both sides are considered Elite (C8.2) for Ammunition Depletion purposes. bile, with functioning MA) and/or Good Ordee (non-crew) MMC north of Stull 42 AFVs are equipped with Schuerzen (D112), the board 41A6-41P road, 4. German $$ 8-3-8 squad-equivalents are As. (only hextows A-P ae playable) VEGHEL, HOLLAND, 22 September 1944: Desperation had set n for bath the Allies and Ger mans, The Americans were seeking to keep the supplies and reinforcements flowing along the highway. in order to aid ther comrades further north at Nijmegen and Arnhem. Recognizing the ‘precarious situation facing their enemy, the Germans threw everything against this thin corridos known as “Hell's Highway". Coordinating stacks from both sides of the corridor proved nearly impossible. Ad-hoc batle-groups were formed from both veterans and stragaers. Two such groups Richter and Walther - were formed out of elements of eore elements of the LO7th Panzer Brigade, The Kampferuppe became separated during the advance with slower elements falling behind as they advanced across difficult tertain and against fierce resistance from the American SO6th Parachute iment. Despite this, Kampfgruppe Richter came near to the railway bridge overthe Aa river Concurrently. battalion ofthe US 327th Glider Regiment supported by a S7mm motorized anti-tank platoon arrived in the middle ofthe melee. Aided by a troop of British tanks from the 43th TR. the German attack ran out of steam. Heavy losses were inflicted against both men and vehicles, asdeadly AT, ile, and artillery shattered both Kampferuppe. With most oftheir commanders dead, the Germans withdrew ~even as onders were drawn up and reinforcements gathered to resume the attack the nextday. Original Design: Dave Lamb (© 2015 Critical Hit In:_ THE FINAL CUT CHA #4 Howmurns | 1]2|3]4|5 |e |g ve | pee] me || © Jie |e | er) ban | tt] ee] fg ‘Fe | va | mee 60> | 2 3 3 2 5 ocr cH 13 [ow Blements of the 44th RTR enter | “Mon a) et ‘on Turn I along the east wee og Mia | ft egea | a7 5 a BOARDLAYOUT: VARIATIONS: © Aad another Sherman HC (2) AFV to the British portion of the Aid OF, Replace the 9-1 infantry leader inthe German OB with «9-2. 7 SCENARIO RUL aD 1.EC are Moist, with no wind at start. All non-toad hexes are considered Soft rt Ground (8.21), with all AV paying an additional MP per hexside crossed All Grain is treated a Sand (F7). No hill exis, teat them as level 0 Sand terrain, All walls are hedges, Place overlay X19 00 42C6/C7, and GS on 438 C1. Building hex 42Co6 asa 2nd level Steeple (31.2, (only hexrows A-P are playable) 2.The Germans have one module of 1204+ OBA (HE only) with Searce Am OBJECTIVES: The Allied player wins if at game end there are no Good Note: Replacement of German 5-482-3-8 MMC is for 44-72.3.7 MMC and (Order German MMCIAFY ovadjacent to the 42A6-P3 rod. vice-versa {othe western sie ofthe corridor. Hastly formed remnants of several units based on the core element ofthe 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment, were assembled to raid the corridor ncar the town, ‘of Eerde, Reconnaissance showed that Berde was only lightly defended. Ther atack began by ‘overrunning a line of outposts held by the US S01 Regiment that were established in the sand «dunes outside the town, Even as German tank rounds struck the church stople, hastily um: ‘moned reinforcements gathered to repel the attackers. Nine Sherman tanks from the British 44th RTR jockeyed into firing positions, even as 88mm shells smashed into the two lead tanks setting them ablaze, A third tank was struck by artillery fre and also burst into flame. The remaining Shermans were reluctant to join the fray, as American paratroopers counterattacked anda savage hand-to-hand melee developed inthe dunes outside Eerde. Meanwhile, marauding [p Jagdpanthers struck at stalled columns of vehicles stalled on the highway outside of town. B Within minutes, hge writhing pals of blak oly smoke were boiling up into the sky. At nearby Koevering, similar attacks resulted in over fifty vehicles, including three Shermans, were de- sroyed during the next few hours. Over 40 men were taken prisoner, and two fully operational tanks were capture. Two companies of US paratroopers managed to secure and hold the town but the highway remained cut hy Jasdpanthers and German paratroopers astride the highway. It would be nearly 36 critical hours before these raiders would be repelled - oo late to save Market Garden and the British paratroopers trapped near Atmher. EERDE, HOLLAND, 24 eptember 194: The focus of activity on this day had now switched (© 2015 Critical Hit, Ine (Original Design: Dave LambMUSSOLINI’S FIASCO CHA #5 jommcsrwnn —____________l4a/o|/3l4/5/6 © Elements of the 27eme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpin [ELR: 3] sel up in exes numbered > 4 on board andlor anywhere on boards band e (See SR #2): {SAN: 4} { Foxhole ts | x asi mn we Hw | es 7 HAG | K- | BA | Ror] Bee la ro Me | SP | Sut BY [case | ezae | 220 BP | stew | it ze | "5 Be | rem | tos ant | | Onset, A, 5 2 = 2 0 2 2 4 [Trench 4 2] set up on board hin hexes numbered $ 2: [SAN:2} Hl HHI Wee | tte | Mee age] MMe |, ume [oe au Moa | rea) ee | iy ten [nar [aad jl ew [A 2s | Oe, 3 a 2 — 2 z a oH 96 oy 2 nh ae | OS itaennr | rs ar BOARDLAYOUI VARIATIONS — > Je |e Wy Aatsnone De he Haan Om y © Relics one Fresh MMC with an MG SCENARIO RULES: 1. ECare Moderate, with no wind at start, Treat Gr ‘ut of season: ORJECTIVES: The Halians win immediately by amassing = 1S EVP by 2. No Fortifications may set up HIP. The French player must set up both «exiting units from the west edge. For every French 105 L-mle 13 $ Anillery _pillboxes (with Gunvianning crews IN thei) in level 2hexes on hoard e.A~ Gun capturedeliminated. reduce EVP requirement by 4 (EXC: Any Gun P Mines may not he exchanged for AcT mines. ciminated by (French) repair attempt is added to Halian EVP] 3ultalian 447 MMC are Assault Engincers (1.22) MENTONE, FRANCE, 21 June, 1940: Mentone iva litle French own on the coast, close tothe lian border. The French 27eme Batallon de Chasseurs Alpin was tasked to build bunkers at Ponte f S. Luigi which controlled the coastal oad at Pilon. Behind Menton were two great forts at Cap “Marin (on the coast), and at Mont Agel, both of which were well equipped with artillery and P capable of Firing into alin territory. The Ralian advance on Menton along the coastline had heen ven to the Inantey Division Cosseréa with some artillery and Aemored car support. The Halian attack started at 0900 AM on June 21st, but it was immediately stopped by fortifications at Ponte 5. Luigi talian infantry managed slip between French positions und reach the gates of Menton by ‘evening, but due to heavy French Amillry fre from For Pilon, te Italians had to leave behind their ‘own anillery pieces as French anillery was pounding ltalian support columns. On June 23rd, while the Malians faced tough urban fighting in Menton, the Italians did sueeee in taking Fort Pilon and were finally able to enlarge their breech enough to send some support to units into Menton, By the 2th of June, French resistance ended with the advent of the Cease-Fire between France and lly. But for a few miles of land, the Halians had paid dearly nd Orchards. being Designer: Seot HolstOPERATION BEOWULF &:=::0»0» ie RUSSIAN Sets Up First 1121314 5/6/17 4 AXIS Moves First amb CHA #6 ty | Me Se] |e cpae | 1e67 vv | ase | usa] at | tn | ola BM [ates |= oe (2 toe | [Ere i tsag | th 138 | toot ‘aei|| eee? |? v3 | toot i : ve [mas | ume | sare Chet a t a fn ¢ oo |e Cae | he 2 Ss, x its [ate [55s [Sta [Eis [2 | Elements of Naval Infantry Co, setup in building $C ements of 13th Indepen Coastal Bn. set up as per on,_we [OH , a 7 gee | i fa ane | 5 ant pore oe 30 ‘O10; and Wd34 on 4483772, Each player may alternately place up to five rubble counters inuldng exes [EXC.hulding 82 lor ote pros a Fins on 167 sat oro 468 qats MDE S® in the German portion of tie. Asie OB, 2. The Russians may use HIP for < | squad-equivalent and any SMC/SW/ “HE replace he Reh 9-1 eer wih 2 92, frelon sacked wth het inthe same Lean, Orie 0 fotos maybe st HIP (EXC. Mies cE - German 88a nega Ansa Engineer (2), Geman {8 and Estonian £7 MMe we consid oe Commands (4124 a Sapper (23) atnan ute are Ans Mines (A258) {The Geman civ one Moule 0 1s0stm NOBA CHE ant Smoke) le tiated by an Aerial Obscraton Pane (7.0) andthe LOM orhe NOBA OBJECTIVES: The Germans win immediately i they captureeliminateall traced from hex 8QIO. four ‘coastal guns’ listed in SR #6 or immediately upon Controlling ether 8. Hand-To-Hand CC i available v» Commandos, Berserk and Russian units building 812 oF 44D6 and eapturing/liminating any three coastal guns. only. The Russians may not exchange the 8.0 leader fora Commis SCENARIO RULES: 6, Place a 14547 pillbos/tenehferew and a 122/152 “coastal gun’ IN the 1. EC are Moist, with no wind at star. Al river exes are Ocean (21.14; _ pillbox in each of the following hexes: BKS (CA: K6VLS): 882 (CA: SVT2) 13.12) Islands and land hexes south of the board 8 and north of board 7 703 (CA: N3VO4): and TW4 (CA: WSIX4). These Russian crews may not rivers ar ‘Ocean hexes. All marsh is brush Pace overlay 6.on4O9/_voluntarily break or Ahandon (A413) manned Guns. SVORBE PENINSULA, SAAREMAA | STONIA, 28 September 1941: An essential aspect of the German conquest of Estonia in the summeriautumn of 1941 was the need {0 ‘contol the Moon Islands off the coast. Using similar invasion plans dusted off from use in World War I the German invasion suffered froma mixture of luck, The landings oa neighboring Muiu Island were detected, and though assault forces were successfully landed, unfortunately the Finnish Coastal Battleship “lmainen”, which was also participating in this operation, ‘an into a Soviet mine and quickly sank, The German Kommando reconnaissance mission also suffered mishap, and was forced to withdraw: All throughout the battle on Saaremaa island, the Germans were making slow, but steady progress. By 21 September 1941, the town of Kuressaare had heen reached and occupied by the Germans. On 22 September 1941. the men of the 61 Infante division were ready to altack the Soviet positions on the Sworbe hall peninsula, The Soviets resistance efforts were immense, forthe Germans had to Fight hard for every square yard Saaremaa, Fierce hand-to-hand combat situations, which the Germans generally detested. forced them to proceed with great caution everywhere. By 0S October 1941, the last remaining pockets of Soviet resistance on the southern edges of Suarema had been neutralized, 4,000 Soviet prisoners were take.BACKS TO THE BALTIC =o CHA#7 gomenmniyre 1]2/3]4|s[6l7 Elements of 23rd Infantry Regiment [FLR: 3] st up on/west of hexrow 7DS4DD: (SAN= 4} ine ry Regiment [ELR: 3] set up [SAN:4) 7 malt vc ome [owe [sk Yi mT cH we || “Ir Hey Bes | Ros Me se pee [zc free | 2 | Se mar Mea | te asia | 3a |rotea | aise | rem | ealeanu za fins Eo cH owe | Trench “arpitch | Roedboc tet oie | Moat, | Ge | ae Aroich_|Roaslock — i lot oa oe | oe eee | 4 ane | SP pet E ua = Seat 2aP Elements ent, nd 202d Assault Gun Brigade enter on Tur 3k the west ‘te, px] OC [ow “Ss 7 1 rw Te | re | ES eu no 12a | at Oz] & |e 3 3 3 © 2018Ctiel Hi Ie Turn {along the east edge: (SAN: 3) me [une = fer | Boe [ee [te | tor ng EM LTC [ieee [onaeay | one aa a 8.8 z 2 3 Gig, [egg | Ener on Tum alongthe 7 t Ret | ged | castedze cata oh Ta | Be ‘ 72 BOARDLAYOUT: a SCENARIO RUL 1.EC are Moist with no wind at start. Al iver exes are ocean hexes sands A Replace 1 4-6-7 squad with 2 446+ and land hexes south ofthe board & river, ax north of hoard 7's river are 8 squads in the German OB, leeated as ocean hexes All marsh s treated is brush, Place overlay 6 on A409 (010, Wa34 on 448.712. Each player may alternately place up to five rubble ling hexes [EXC: building 8I2 andor 0449] prior to play uent-out wrecks in hexes 24M9, VB, Y10, and Z2. 2. The Germans may use HIP for = 1 Squad-equivalent and any SMC/SW/ fortification stacked with them. Otherwise, no fortfiation may be setup tllizing HIP [EXC: Mines. 3. German 8-3-8 and Russian 6-2-8 are Assault Engineers (H.22) 4. Prior to play the Russians may pr ission of 120¢mm ei Rocket OBA (HE only). which i fired during the Russian Turn | PEPh 5. The Germans have 150+ NOBA (HE/Smoke) directed by an Aerial Obser Vation Plane (E7.6). This aireraft may aot direct NOBA fire during turns i whieh enemy airrait are on map (See SR 6). The Russians win at game endif they Control exes B12 and 6 The Russians receive Air Support in the form of two “44 FB (with bombs) nee beginning on any turn in which they make a di< he curent turn These 46 orimmediatly ypon Cntoling one of those hexes and amassing = Penning an any cumin which dhey make a dr < he cugent urn. Test 35 EVP [EXC: Prisoners do not count for EVP] by exiting units from the $NA (ET 23), west edge 7. Both sides may use Hand-To-Hand CC (32.31) I Replace the 9-1 karin the Rassan Ooh 92 a tanned to make these istands into "Festung Eviland.”Practicality forced the local commanders to abandon al plans to defend any island but the main ‘one, Soviet forees landed on Saaremaa between the villages of Jaani and Keskvere. Despite receiving unexpected reinforcements, slowly the Germans were forced 10 retreat from the northern sides of | Saaremaa. Kurresaare fell 1 the Soviets on 20 October 1944 and with that loss, the Geemans began retreating towards the Svorbe peninsula for their final stand. Surprisingly, though smal in number, the ‘German defenders had many suecesses, At the end of October, the Soviets penetrated at five points in the main blocking position (knowns the Leo Line), but fearsome counterattacks by mixed batle-groups repelled every attack. Eventually he Soviets succeeded in breaking the German lines. On 23 November 1941, the German defenders on Saaremaa requested permission to by evacuated. General Schoerer gave ‘the onder to evacuate Saaremaa Island, Operation “Delphin” amazingly removed the surviving Germans defenders (only 25% ofthe original German defending force survived to he rescued), anda ofthe wounded from their defensive positions around the far westem ends of Saaremaa Island,