#86 – Croix De Guerre – Konigsberg – Winter Offensive 2020 – Interview with dan dolan

Croix De Guerre

Croix de Guerre is hot off the presses and MMP is currently shipping to pre-orders.  We should be getting ours out to you within a couple of weeks.  In this module, the French get a much needed face-lift with all new counters (9 sheets).  Also included are many new and old scenarios, maps, and the campaign game covering Rommel crossing the Meuse at Dinant in 1940.  We are keeping the price 20% off until we get all the pre-orders out so if you missed your chance, jump on it before it goes back up.

Winter Offensive Bonus Pack 11 (2020)

The new Winter Offensive bonus pack will be in our hands shortly. We are selling this at exactly our cost ($15 + $4 (Box, Paypal fees, Shipping) of $19.00 as all proceeds go to charity.

Konigsberg – The Bear’s Revenge

Lone Canuck Publishing has released it’s biggest project to date.  This is the 7th campaign game frm LCP and the first two map product.  It has 6 scenarios including a very small one (I played it in less than an hour) and a huge one (think ‘The Last Bid’).  The map is an urban inferno.  Rubble, gutted buildings, gutted factories, wide city boulevards at every turn.  I managed to play a good sized scenario at Winter Offensive against Dave Reenstra which ended with me trying to rubble a building with a DC for the victory.  Although I couldn’t pull off the ‘W’, it was by far the most fun I had all weekend.  Now Tim and I are setting up the 15 turn monster. 

Interview with Dan Dolan, creator of Dinant Historical Module.

This interview is an hour and a half long. The sound quality improves over time. The first two minutes can be skipped over as I am trying to contact and improve the audio. I will try to edit this and replace it. If there is a volunteer that would like to do it for me I’d be very appreciative.

https://recordings.tapeacall.com/t/TcWbKhoSw7zs

ASL Fiction

A shot disturbs the eerie silence of a deserted city street, punctuated by the frantic footfalls of men seeking cover. One of Kruger’s last veteran nco’s lies motionless in the street. The remnants of the dead man’s squad are nowhere to be seen—scattered in nearby houses and gutters—all thoughts the advance abandoned with the stunned demise or their leader…the compulsion for revenge obviously overcome by their instinct for self-preservation. Off to the right, Kruger’s own men have located the source of the lethal shot and are laying down a steady stream of fire on the church steeple directly ahead. The absence of responding fire suggests that the lone Russian marksman has beat a hasty retreat of been victimized by the withering fire of the German retort. Kruger has seen enough. He is to occupy the church and set up a regimental observation post at once. His orders leave no leeway for delays by a single sniper. He gives the signal to rush the building. Obedient their training, his men, veterans of France, the Balkans, and 18 months of fighting in Russia, spring to their feet. Seconds later the sharp, staccato retort of a Russian machinegun concludes the assertiveness of death itself that this time Kruger was wrong… (back of original Squad Leader box).

Talking with Tom Kearney at Winter Offensive, he described how much fun it would be to hear recounting of scenarios told by the participants on the ground (or on the cardboard) in the style of the  words on the back of the original Squad Leader box.  It got me thinking about writing a short story as witnessed by one of my surviving leaders after the completion of the scenario.  And then I realized that I have no writing skills whatsoever.  So I am forwarding the challenge to you.  If you think that this is a good idea and would like to participate, I will accept submissions and print and store them right here on this website for everyone’s enjoyment.  Please include a preface of the scenario played, the opponent played, and the outcome.  It would be exponentially more interesting if we could get both players to write their own perspective of the same scenario played.

Winter Offensive 2020

Just back from Bowie, MD where record crowds (over 200 I believe) gathered for MMP’s annual get together. So many old friends and new faces. Here is a rundown of my extended weekend:

Ray Woloszyn and I arrived Thursday afternoon where I jumped right into ‘One eyed Jaques’ from the new W.O.11 pack against my good friend Dan Stanhagen. I was the German player and Dan played the French. Those 1/2″ 37* French guns are a real pain. I think I take them for granted because of the size of the counter. Really fun scenario where the French keep guessing the German intentions to achieve victory.

Friday morning saw my second game which was against Sam Tyson. We played Feast Day (W.O.34) from W.O.11. I played as the British against Sam’s Germans. In this one, the British have to take a bunch of real estate in a city fight.

Friday afternoon I got to play David Goldberg (Chicago ASL Open) in ‘Ultimate Treachery’. David’s Japanese attacked my French garrison in late ’45. This is a wonderful scenario if ever you get a chance to play it.

Saturday morning I played Keith Spurlock in a Rally point scenario. I didn’t write down which one but my German’s were needing to take two small buildings and exit some points with 2 x PzII’s and 2 x PzIII’s. Like most RP and Schwerepunkt scenarios, you prep fire, you lose. Move at all costs. Do not stop for anything. Keith is a great player and an instant old friend. We chatted as much as we played and I can’t wait to see him again at ‘Where the Iron Crosses Grow’ in March.

My Fifth game, on Saturday afternoon was KBR2 from the new Konigsberg pack was a tiny scenario. Jim Thompson and I finished it in a about an hour but ohhhhhhh what an hour it was. 3 German squads with the help of some fortifications have to hold off what seems like the entire Russian army. As I moved the winning 4-5-8 squad toward the finish line for the big W (all of his squads had fired and could not FF because of a closer KEU, I heard a ‘click’. I had stumbled into a well placed German minefield which blew my leader along with his movement bonus onto the carpet next to the table. Well played Jim.

My last game was against Dave Reenstra in KBR5 – Artillery Economy Building. I had so much fun playing the previous Konigsberg scenario that I wanted to play another one. This one was much meatier and into the city instead of the suburbs. Again the German’s had seemingly little to stop Russian ISU 152’s, FT’s, 9-2 leadership, 6-2-8 AE’s, but once again those darn fortifications slowed and killed me just enough for victory to slip from my grasp. It ended up coming down to a hail mary DC placed at the base level of one building hex hoping it would rubble and have falling rubble into another hex that I needed to clear.

Last Russian turn

Sunday morning we decided to head back to NC after breakfast. I was lucky enough to sit with Dan Dolan and we had an incredible discussion about Dinant. Not just the CG that is included in Croix de Guerre but also his stories of when he visited the famous site of Rommel’s crossing when he was researching for the game.

And now I am home and dreaming of Where the Iron Crosses Grow, Bitter Ender, ASLOK, and then W.O. again. I hope to see you all there.

On Deck

Winter Offensive 11 (2020) – End of January

ASL Deluxe Redux – End of January

Fight For Seoul (Restock) – Beginning of February

Croix De Guerre – Middle of February

Onslaught to Orsha – Middle/End of February