Hi everyone, Ponyri has been ordered and should be shipping out to you within the next 3 weeks according to MMP. Amidst still more bugs in the system, all the orders for Ponyri were flagged ‘completed’ without sending anyone an invoice. I kindly request one more time that anyone with a pre-order for Ponyri disregard your pre-order and order the product from the link below instead. As your new order comes in we are deleting the original pre-order from our system. The cost remains at the pre-order price and will be honored now and forever at the promised price for all those that were waiting on this fine product. For those who have yet to order Ponyri, we are still offering it at the reduced prie for a few more days. Thank you for your understanding and again, my sincerest apologies,Derek
We are currently facing a firewall issue regarding our Mannerheim crossing pre-orders that has caused the orders to be marked as completed all though we have not sent invoices or received the game to ship
If you have placed a pre-order for this game we ask that you re-place the order (still at pre-order cost).
MC has begun shipping and will land on our doorstep in about a week. We are sending out the invoices for your pre-orders today. Please check your spam folder if you don’t see your invoice in your email folder.
With it’s Korean War Map and scenarios for Fox Hill and BRT.
Talking to myself: Hatten in Flames CG Logfile:
Puzzle #126:
It is the German Turn 5 of 5 end of Advance Fire Phase in a 5 Turn Scenario. To win, the Americans must have at least 7 CVP worth of Friendly Infantry within 2 hexes of G10. The German player says it’s impossible, the American says there is a way. What is the American player thinking?
Solution to Puzzle #125:
Here is an ASL Classic for you: The poor Italians, finding themselves in yet another jar of pickles deep inside the Soviet Union, are facing down a terrifying Human wave of “Oorah” yelling Mongol hordes sporting PPSH’s. Unfortunately after the first MF impulse of the wave, the HMG fires and Cowers, yet as a saving grace they manage to break one entire stack. Although the right move would be to hold fire until Adjacent or in hex, the leaders panic and give the command to fire now. They did however use a classic trick that increased the odds of survival substantially (hints: there are two subtle clues, one in the previous sentence and one you have to be an ASL fanatic to spot).
The Solution lies in the fact that multiple small attacks have a greater chance of having an effect where the DRM is low (in this case -2) than one large attack. According to the odds charts found in the Classic ASL Magazine, if each Italian stack would split their inherent and MG firepower between the two Russian stacks, they would have a slight advantage. So instead of one stack attacking one opposing stack with a 8 down 2, if each squad attacked one Russian stack and each machine gun attacked the other stack they would have 4 x 4 down 2 attacks. The odds difference is:
2 x 8FP attacks have a 59% chance of a Breaking each unit in a stack
4 x 4FP attacks have a 66% chance of Breaking each unit in a stack
Farewell to Rodger B. MacGowan. Feb 21st, 2025
As a middle schooler, I used to walk down St. Catherine st. to Alexis Neon Plaza, a large three story mall/apartment building across the street from the Montreal Forum. In the mall was a small hobby store (Kangaroo Hobbies; back in the days when we had the right to have an English named store) that I would stop at almost every day before hopping on the subway to get home. This is where I saw my first Macintosh computer loaded with the original Castle Wolfenstein, all the model kits I would one day build, and of course Wargames. I would stare at the box art for over an hour per visit without ever having the money to buy anything. Back in those days of first generation wargames the interior graphics of the components were as horrible as the box art was great. I honestly don’t think I ever would have gotten hooked into the hobby of wargaming had it not been for Rodger’s incredible artwork which threw me right into the battle. I owe him countless hours of fun and friends since then. Thank you and I hope you are watching from above as many of us still stare timelessly at your creations.
Operation ZITADELLE was the German attempt to cut off the Kursk salient and surround five Soviet armies. While Army Group South attacked the southern end of the salient in what would lead to the massive tank battles around Prokhorovka, Army Group Center, led by General Walter Model’s 9. Armee, attacked from the north on 5 July. Lying directly in the path of this assault was the village of Ponyri.
SLAUGHTER AT PONYRI is a Historical Advanced Squad Leader (HASL) module that portrays the fighting around Ponyri during the three most crucial days, 7-9 July, on a beautiful historical map designed by Don Petros from Luftwaffe aerial photographs, supplemented by on the ground review, and executed by Charlie Kibler. A wide range of 12 individual scenarios, each recreating a portion of the battle on part of the map accompany the Campaign Game that covers the battle in six CG Dates over the three days featuring a familiar CG system covering the battle that was to become known as the “Stalingrad of Kursk.”
SLAUGHTER AT PONYRI includes special rules and counters for German sappers, elite Russian Airborne troops, mine belts, and fanatic outposts with rules kept simple to allow players of all levels to easily pick up the game, leaving the challenge as how to deploy and maneuver combined-arms forces over the large campaign game map. Three map sheets join to cover the battlefield, with a separate fourth sheet covering a central area where two of the main maps join. Included are enough additional counters to conduct the full Campaign Game with nothing other than BEYOND VALOR.
20% off retail price. We don’t know when our stock will arrive but I am hoping for January. Please add another item to this order to break the $30 threshold for free shipping. Thanks and Happy New Year!!!
ASL Journal 15 is a 36-page magazine for Advanced Squad Leader and features articles, the latest errata and scenario updates in the Debriefing, 11 new scenarios printed on cardstock, and three overlay sheets (to replace the versions with no center dots that came in DOOMED BATTALIONS 4th edition).
ASL Journal 15 articles include:
Pete Ponders Ponyri whereinPete Shelling provides some Designer Notes on the upcoming HASL SLAUGHTER AT PONYRI.
My Bags Are Packed, I’m Ready To Go hasJim Bishop discussing what to take to an ASL tournament.
One Long Hillock Jim Bishop examines LOS and Embankment Railroads (EmRR) in HATTEN IN FLAMES.
Brian Plays In The Polder Scenario Analysis of AR2 Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing from the Arnhem 2024 Pack by Brian Youse.
De Haut En Bas (Up And Down) Jonathan Kay traces line of sight between different vertical levels.
Die Panzerwaffe im Angriff Inspired by Panzer Gegen Panzer, Jim Bishop crunches some numbers looking at tanks on the attack.
ASL Hall Of Fame Report by MMP about first six inductees.
Warriors Needed, in Haste! Andy Hershey discusses U.S. Marines in the first months of the Korean War.
Debriefing Errata for ASL rules and scenarios and the scenario updates for DOOMED BATTALIONS 4th Edition
ASL Journal 15 has 11 ASL scenarios:
J257 In Min’s Gang Rumble (North Korean vs American, 12 August 1950)
J247 Kicked To The Curb (Russian vs Polish, 28 September 1939)
J248 Danish Crossroads (Danish vs German, 9 April 1940)
J249 Guerra Relampágo (Ecuadorian vs Peruvian, 25 July 1941)
J250 Priests At St. Cloud (Vichy vs American, 8 November 1942)
J251 Desperate Try (Vichy vs American, 9 November 1942)
J252 Hill 424 (American vs German, 17 September 1943)
J253 Melting Pot (German vs Allied, 31 January 1944)
J254 Hoppers And Hardy (Allied vs German, 21 June 1944)
J255 Not Much Of A Soldier (German vs American, 25 July 1944)
J256 Mortal Wounding (German vs American, 26 February 1945)
Sorry for the short notice but this hit really quickly. Xavier just informed me that my copies were already crossing the pond. This is a project that we have all been asking for as these scenarios have been out of print for over a decade and now are available in English and reformatted. At a little over $1 a scenario, this is a great bargain. Unfortunately the print run is unusually small so please order as soon as possible.
Editors Note: Hello to all the loyal readers of Le Franc Tireur! At a time when all ASL products are drastically increasing in price, we have decided to release From the Cellar issue Number 13 (FTC#13). There are several reasons for this. Given that we will soon be celebrating more than 20 years of existence, most of our early publications have been out of stock for a very long time; for instance, only a few hundred copies of our first magazine, Le Franc-Tireur issue Number 5 (LFT#5), were ever published back in 1999. Same goes for FTC #1 and 2, a few years later. When our buddy Jean “5+2” Devaux passed away, we were working on LFT#9, on the topic of Yugoslavia; that was also the year we decided to give up on the use of the French language and publish LFT in English. Likewise, only a few hundred copies of LFT#9 were released. As a matter of fact, all these scenarios are little known to the vast majority of ASL players that were not living in France. No cheese, no wine, no LFT scenarios to play? Some French people like Sgt. Baguette or Cpl. Camembert would say “What a miserable life!”
These four LFT publications contained 35 scenarios. Thus, we have now updated them, applied some changes in order to improve the balance as well as incorporating the few existing errata and changing all the counter forms to incorporate our LFT counter artwork. We have also added to the scenario cards, thanks to a wise suggestion from Philippe Duchon (a.k.a Phil_D on the French ASL Forum), the Chapter H Note Number of each Gun and Vehicle in use below the counter itself. Our old eyes are starting to require some help, and this is one way to ease the sorting out of the necessary counters for playing a scenario. At a price of roughly 1€ per scenario (more or less USD 1 $ as well), we think it is a very good opportunity for new comers or people who do not know LFT to get quite a solid bunch of scenarios at a very attractive price. Nothing more to say but… enjoy this issue of From the Cellar, and roll low!
It is with a very heavy heart that I learned of the passing of Mark Ruggiero. The gaming world is much poorer with this news. Sincerest condolences to Mark’s friends and family, he will be truly missed.
Puzzle #126
Here is an ASL Classic for you: The poor Italians, finding themselves in yet another jar of pickles deep inside the Soviet Union, are facing down a terrifying Human wave of “Oorah” yelling Mongol hordes sporting PPSH’s. Unfortunately after the first MF impulse of the wave, the HMG fires and Cowers, yet as a saving grace they manage to break one entire stack. Although the right move would be to hold fire until Adjacent or in hex, the leaders panic and give the command to fire now. They did however use a classic trick that increased the odds of survival substantially (hints: there are two subtle clues, one in the previous sentence and one you have to be an ASL fanatic to spot).
Solution to Puzzle #125
So the Germans need 2 more VP for the win. They can secure this by taking the Russian in I5 prisoner but in order to accomplish this they will need to expose themselves to that nasty MG nest. So instead what if they… Move to H6-G6-F5 and E5(CX due to Conscript). They will admittedly face a 2+2 attack from G1 but as long as the Squad doesn’t Disrupt or the Leader doesn’t pin or Break (less than 6% chance) they will be able to Rout the Squad (voluntary Break) with the Unbroken Leader in tow to A7 (Free from Interdiction as both the Russian Squad and LMG are outside of normal range) and then Advance the Leader off the Board for the needed 2VP and the win.
Trip to Europe with Ulrich
I had always promised both of my boys a Father/Son Trip. I have taken Lazi on two now, one to Canada to play pond hockey and one to drive from LA toward NC on old Route 66.
Driving back from LA on old Route 66 with Lazarus after Hockey Nationals
When Ulrich was ten years old he decided that his trip would be to Normandy. Twelve years have since passed since then and finally we were able to hop the pond and embark on our voyage.
We arrived in Paris where Xavier and two of his daughters, Tamara and Laura picked us up at the airport and we drove straight to Ste. Mere Eglise and then off to Pointe du Hoc.
Left to right: Derek, Laura, Tamara, Xavier, Ulrich.
The Dirk Diggler of Anti-Tank Guns
Church at Ste Mere Eglise.
We stayed at a beautiful BnB in Bocage country and the next day we visited Gold Beach and the Batterie de Mereville. We then headed back to our gracious hosts house in Compiegne where we spent the next couple of days with Xavier’s lovely family playing ASL and Secret Hitler in three languages (English/French/Cambodian).
9 for homemade Secret Hitler. My absolute favorite party game.
Wednesday we hopped a high speed train to Marseille for my big brother’s wedding to my new sister Morgane. We stayed in Marseille and the resort they rented until Sunday which involved so many new friends, a whole lot of music with my whole family, Dylan (older brother) on Pedal Steel, Morgane (brand new sister) on fiddle, Omar (younger brother) on Piano, Ulrich and my mom singing, and me on guitar) and a few games of Secret Marine Le Pen with all of their friends over much wine and beer.
Dylan and my brand new sister Morgane
Castle Hill
One of the many dugouts on the winding road to the Abbey.
Ulrich, mom, Omar, me. Pax…Oh that’s ironic
The Abbey in the background. Anyone for a quick climb under mg, mortar and OBA fire? Oh and the trees were not there so nowhere to hide. Yeah, no.
Sunday we began our drive to Italy along the coast road. We picked up my brother Omar and my mom in Rome who flew in from Marseille and were off to Monte Cassino. This was my mom’s absolute favorite part of the trip as you can get lost in the museum of the Abbey for days, while the three boys talked endlessly about the battle, where we would set up our MG and mortar nests, and even climbed into some caves that were blown into the granite by the Germans only to be chased away by the local polizia. Ulrich and I then dropped them back off in Rome and stayed the night in Milan (yuck!).
Staring at Hexes VV44 and WW45 from our flat in RR47 on the Dinant map. More like “Any DR other than a 2 and you Fall”.
Anyone got a match?
Wednesday Morning we traversed 6 countries (Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany,, Luxemburg, & Belgium) on our way to Dinant with notable stops in Hatten and Rittershoffen, and Merzig in the Saarland (home of my family). Dinant was incredible and well worth the visit. All those that worked on the HASL did a marvelous job but I have to say, there is no way anyone could climb those cliffs. I feel like I cheated now when I think how I got all those squads up there.
Next we were off to the Stoumont region, visiting the three sites of the KGP historical CG’s. We were blessed that there were no tourists there this day so we had Stoumont, La Gleize, PZKW VIB 213, the museum, and the bridge at Cheneux all to ourselves. The KonigsTiger was bigger than I could have imagined (it is bigger in every dimension and heavier even than the Elephant!!!). You really can’t appreciate the size until you are standing next to this monster. It is in fantastic shape (the exterior at least) and battle damage is evident on the front armor plate of the hull. The museum has much more than I expected and unlike a teaching museum, it is more a collection of weapons and uniforms exclusively from this battle. The Bridge is much as I would have expected it, beautiful stone construction over a small river, Peaceful and flanked by forest line and pastures. You can picture the squads emerging from the tree line while tanks rolled through the fields. I could have stayed at that little bridge daydreaming until the sun set.
We then drove back to our hosts in Compiegne, finished the scenario we had started the week before and got ready to return home. What a fantastic trip with great friends and family. A huge thank you to Xavier, his lovely wife Serrin, his sister in law, and his children for hosting and entertaining us.
Regrets… Xavier lives but a few KMs from the location of the railcar where the German and French surrendered in 1918 and 1940. We had agreed that we would pose in front of the railcar with the loser of our scenario signing the other’s surrender paper. As we ran out of time, we were unable to get the photo. The outcome of the game will remain a mystery to all until I visit again and we can get that photo. to be continued…
The contents of the Cave Complex are not shown as they are on the Cloaking Sheet to the right.
Hot off the presses into your mailboxes and onto my table. My first impressions of this all cave scenario pack and campaign. Well I guess you can call it an ambush. Not of Tim’s Marines but Tim himself. He showed up innocent and unaware for our Tuesday night game only to be lunged into the barren wasteland of Okinawa’s nastiest battle. Tim had never read the Cave or BD rules let alone had he ever played this ASL delicacy. To be fair, I believe I have only played caves once myself over a decade ago against Anthony Flanagan at the Bitter Ender on a 3D map, so I may not have been the teacher that Tim deserved. So we struggled a little with the concepts but by turn 3 I think we had most of the rules down although we surely missed many of the nuances that only come with experience.
I set up most of my defenders in the Caves of Sugarloaf East while my 81mm Mortar, AT Gun, and HMG were HIP on Half Moon hill across the valley.
Tim rightly guessed the danger from Half Moon hill and blinded me with Smoke before I could even get a shot off. To make matters worse I rolled snakes on the WC DR of turn 1`which resulted in his Smoke and WP drifting North to South 2 and 3 hexes. With the cover his leathernecks managed to get to the top of SL by Turn 3 only to be beaten back by a 448 on the reverse slope just as he was lowering a DC into my Cave and some timely hits including a CH by the Mortar. It was 10:30 by this point and we decided to call it a draw.
I was pleasantly surprised at how quick the scenario played and how much easier it flowed than my past experience. I think that Chad managed to simplify the Cave rules and make it more playable without taking away any of the atmosphere. Two examples are Broken Hill Crests which afford both concealment and TEM, and pre-printed Cave Complexes. The former makes the Crest lines very defendable, encouraging the Japanese to come out and play and the latter saves a lot of time and bookkeeping while setting up and playing the scenario. The complexes are printed right there on the map so there is no need to continually consult a separate cave set-up sheet.
After about three hours we called it a draw on Turn 4 with both sides sustaining bloody noses. We are now ready to spelunk again with a little more confidence. I really suggest giving this a try.
We received a few copies of BD that were damaged in transit and Sam has authorized us to sell them at half price. The module is complete and completely usable without any tears, just some scuffing/bending at the corners. I will be sending them best to worst dependent on who’s order comes in first, with the best hardly any noticeable damage and the worst still completely functional.
Best
Worst
Bitterest Day:3D map Preview
It has been years since I have made a 3D map and although I already made a How-To video, it was for a non-ASL map (GMT’s Operation Dauntless), so I thought I would give it another go, this time with Bounding Fire’s new module ‘Bitterest Day’. The reason I was so keen to do this in three dimensions is that it fits the criteria of what makes a good 3D map. Lots of topography with very few buildings and woods. Also, I feel like the Caves give a lot of weight to the hills and the visualization using 3D will bring out the feel of the battle. This one has 9 levels so there is a lot of cutting and sanding to do. Here are some photos but when complete I will post the video to Youtube (don’t forget to subscribe to my channel) and to my next post. I plan to bring the finished map(s) to ASLOK, so if anyone wants to borrow it to play a scenario, just come find me.
The scroll saw cuts a 1/16″ contour around the artwork as the base will have a bigger footprint than the top. This is long and tedious and some turns are impossible because of the arm getting in the way thereby requiring the use of the more crude jig saw or band saw. I much prefer the look and feel of MDF over foam although it is exponentially more work.Using a pole sander at a 22 degree slant to create a slope to somewhat alleviate the plateau look.Not quite the final product but getting there. Note that these are only 3 of the 9 levels that we will have once completed. Also note the dusty finish. This is just saw dust and will have a satin Mod-Podge finish once complete.
Fight For Seoul – Back in Stock. Very limited quantities. These will be out of print very soon.
As usual, the last German turn of the game (Starting with the PFPh). To win, the German player is two VP short which can be exit VP or Casualty VP. What should the German player do to have the greatest chance of success? Note that the 2 squads, leader, and AFV have all already exited the map.
Hi everyone, because BFP has finally announced a price increase, I have with permission from BFP decided to do a sale as a last chance to get some goodies at a discounted rate. Everything is $10 + 10% off retail pricing with free shipping. I will run this sale for about two weeks (or until current stock runs out) and then I will raise the prices to full retail per the wholesale agreement with BFP. Click on the photo for all 12 BFP products. Also note that we have some copies of Bitterest Day with bent ears at half price.
