Before... and after...
...a wild time was had in the old town today!
After an interesting first play of classic original Squad Leader Scenario #4 "The Hedgehog of Piepsk" against an opponent [click] I dug deeper into the scenario and how to play it using the resources in the p.1 post.
Armed with tactics from the better experienced and better informed, I gave it a go, SOLO, which required a few adjustment and mechanics.
As a reminder, this is what the Sov player sees of German deployment:
One has to BE the Sov player and see the empty board to appreciate how intimidating it can be - and the possible overcautious creeping that can result.
The Germans have few but effective forces which I organized in five groups as per below. The 8-0 became my designated hidden radio operator. The HMG went with the best leader and two squads [in case one Broke]; a -4 modifier against moving infantry can be devastating. The other three groups are also dangerous to a clumsy or careless Ivan.
At bottom, I organized the rest of the force to wield the MGs as effectively as possible. One of the 9-1 leaders is supposed to be an 8-1, actually.
What I did for Germans was put about 10 "?" Concealment counters on the board in likely places to set up - except the 2-level building, N2-3 which had the 9-2, HMG and 2 Squads automatically [but I didn't know which hex it was in, N2 or N3]. Also, the Artillery FO was placed with no concealment marker, and subsequently left off-board unless he moved [which I wasn't going to do, anyway].
When the Sovs get in LoS of one of the "?" markers [or adjacent to one] I flip it. Only 3 have writing on the back, "TI", the rest are blank. If it has TI, I roll to randomly place one of the remaining German stacks on the map. Below is what it looks like:
Quick and easy. I've surprised myself twice now, with the Germans being farther forward than I would have ideally placed them, but it makes for a great game!
Below, the hord-a Russkies. The two 8-0 leaders will become rally points in suitable spots. The 9-1 Leader may actually be useful and DO something heroic!
Turn 1. The Sovs enter blocked from view by Hill 522. The markers show the potential Line of Sight from German "?" in the town.
Defensive Fire: German HMG reveals its location and takes out a squad - technically this means I shouldn't have revealed the "?" counter's identity, oh well...
They drop a Spotting Round near the Russians, but it is inaccurate and drifts a few hexes away from the Soviet cluster.
Sov Turn 3. Artillery is shifted to new hex. Sov squad is taken out by HMG fire before revealing any possible Germans in U6 wooden building.
Russians keep creeping forwards. But the target rich environment means I need to check N3 since it has LoS to Russians...
Russian squad moves adjacent to a "?" and it is an MMG stack! They open Fire and break the Unit, but no KIA. Not my ideal position for it, but could really slow the Russian horde down, depending on how the dice go.
Russians continue their advance, and reveal... ANOTHER squad stack! Quite a coincidence that 2/3 of the remaining force shows up along the main Soviet avenue of advance. Fighting will be up-close and brutal.
The downside is that the Russians are right in the teeth of the Germans, so something dramatic is going to happen one way or another.
...it is a squad stack with lotsa LMGs! They open fire. The 2-Level building is now my village fortress, but where are the other two stacks??
German Spotting Round deviates 5 hexes into the German lines - ugh!
German Turn 3. They roll an '11' and lose radio contact, double ugh! Meanwhile, the German squads in building S8 retreat across the road to the safety of the village and a stone building!
Russkie Turn 4. Another Spotting round, an unchecked Soviet advance. The German squads are not shooting as effectively as they might, but still, two Russky squads Break, and one goes Berserk!
German Turn 4. Another Artillery Request. Prep Fire broke some Sov squads, but Defensive Fire breaks the German stack! Hopefully Artillery lands somewhere useful...
...and Russian Turn 5 it does - several squads break and Rout in all directions! Unfortunately, Russian Firepower is driving the Germans back.
Turn 5. Russians continue to advance in the face of Fire, but the front line of German defense is too weak to stop them. Fire from Fortress Piepsk does break some squads which are awkwardly scattered around the Russian lines.
Still... Turn 5, half the Germans are "dead'r fled"!
Firepower Analysis
...and only about 1/3 the Russkies are - altho they lost their best leader.
***** BREAK ****
I began noticing that when I lose a German squad, I often lose the actual MG [abandoned] or the ability to man it. The rules require 5 German squads to fire the 7 MGs. Analysis of losses in terms of Firepower losses at this point:
Fritz: 32 infantry & 22 MG factors = 54 / 16 infantry & 12 mg lost = 52%
Ivan: 128 infantry & 10 MG factors = 138 / 44 factors lost = 32%
So in terms of Firepower, the Germans are at >50%, the Russkies at 33%.
Something worth thinking about...
**** CONTINUE ****
Russkie Turn 6. They are overrunning the village, but still have to take fortress Piepsk! They also need to rally about 7 squads.
Turn 7. Russkies Break the 9-2 Leader and a squad!
...and in retaliation, Fritz breaks half their LMGs in N3 - take that, Ivan!
Turn 8. More Sovs work their way into buildings in range of N2-3.
But they take some gas in the process.
The Russkies then break their only MMG, just to show Fritz that his isn't the only army that can break Support Weapons in time of need. However, they quickly fix it!
Russkies make some close Morale Checks - that helps!
And continue the pressure on the Germans.
However, they can't keep it up, and then break their base of fire stack!
Alas, the Germans have some poor morale rolls, and also break the HMG!
Turn 10. Germans managed to rally some squads, but Ivan has several right at the stone wall around the objective! Also, about half the Russkies are ready to fight thanks to the efforts of their 8-0 leaders - unsung heroes that they are.
Game End. Germans finish with two squads and a leader in N2-3, surrounded by MGs that are out of ammo, and Ivan at the gates. Hardly a great victory, but a win nevertheless!
Interestingly, all my plays of this scenario - four at this point - have reflected the below in "Aftermath". Today, the Russkies took about 50% casualties, and only the time limit prevented them from winning, IMHO.
However, the artificiality of a scenario time limit can legitimately reflect real-life situations like the arrival of German reinforcements, nightfall, etc.
It's also great that there are some suggestions for ways to add replay value to this scenario. Obviously, most of them can be used in any of the original 12 scenarios.
This is a tough scenario for both sides, and can go either way with a few good choices and / or a few good die rolls. The Germans are definitely more vulnerable to the fickle nature of Lady Luck as they have a smaller force that is more morale dependent for success.
The Russians also are more resilient because their firepower is mostly in squads, who can't break their weapons. Their large numbers also make them more resilient if the 8-0 leaders are placed and used carefully to Rally Broken Units and not just to move faster [which doesn't seem necessary anyway].
This is a great scenario for both new and experienced players, and should provide a lot of tension and replay value either head to head or with solo play [improvising a few mechanics along the way - obviously there's other ways to skin that cat].
ANALYSIS
Scenario #4 is an important scenario because it introduces Hidden Initial Placement.
It reflects an ongoing tension in tactical games, one that continues today: playability v. reality. In real life, considerable effort is expended to scout and gather intelligence regarding the enemy forces on hand, they capabilities and - most important for game play - their actual locations / dispositions.
Scenario #1 "The Guards Counterattack" has all units visible on the game board. This can be realistic. It represents constant full contact and engagement with the enemy, resulting in their dispositions and capabilities being well known. And note how close most of the forces are - across the streets! That being said, it is not realistic to have all scenarios be like this in that it doesn't reflect the common Soldier experience of having limited knowledge of the enemy's dispositions, composition and capabilities.
Scenario #2 "The Tractor Works" has half the Russian units under "?" Concealment counters. This can be realistic. It limits German knowledge to the force composition [as both players will have seen the scenario sheet, most likely] and *likely* locations of Russian units as Russian Units can NOT be in a hex empty of counters. With 18 "?" counters, it is pretty easy for the Russian player to significantly deceive the German player with fake stacks. This represents the Germans having general knowledge of the composition and capabilities of the Russians in the Tractor Works, but NOT their actual dispositions.
Scenario #4 "The Hedgehog of Piepsk" has all German forces set up using Hidden Initial Placement. This can be realistic. It represents the Russians knowing the German force and capabilities [likely from the civilian population telling them, as well as scout observations] but having NO idea of the German dispositions. That being said, the German player will almost certainly deploy in the only 2-Level Building, N2-3, unless he's trying an unusual tactic. The advantage gained by occupying that building is considerable. While I could see two experienced players going head-to-head for the 3-4th time wanting to try something different, at some point the Germans will occupy N2-3 even if they don't start there, IMHO. And that is about all the Russian player knows.
My assessment of classic original Squad Leader introducing these three states of intelligence - complete, limited, and very limited - in the first four scenarios is that it shows real game design genius.
While Concealment and HIP require a bit more rules overhead, they reflect the critical questions EVERY squad leader is going to want to know: what is the force and its capabilities, and where are they deployed? Omitting the rules for vehicles and on-board guns, one can play a heckuva lot of great Squad Leader games with just the rules in scenarios 1-6. Adding in the rules for Mines, Wire, Entrenchments and Bunkers completes nearly all that one needs for a lifetime of interesting historical scenarios.
So, if I was on the game design team, I would have insisted that vehicles not be introduced until Game Set III, probably scenarios 11 and 12, then give ways to incorporate them in all the preceding scenarios. This way the first 10 scenarios would be focused on infantry, their leaders and weapons, and their various means to fortify positions. Then you can replay scenarios 1-10 with recommended vics and guns to see how differently they play out with those assets.
And let's remember that you can incorporate Concealment and HIP in any scenario you design, also. Both add considerable tension to the game, as well as greater realism, so they are always worth considering. Generally, I'd prefer smaller forces but using Concealment and / or HIP to large forces on the boards using neither - that just becomes an exercise in die-rolling.
Hope this solo play was useful to you, and that it inspires you to get your game back on the table, solo or with a friend!
