It is with a very heavy heart that I am telling of the passing of Dean Essig. His contributions to the hobby of wargaming are unparalleled. He was a gentleman and a giver to the hobby in the most altruistic manner. The impact is evident by the flourishing of his systems by other designers and I know that this will continue even now. Perhaps the only game that could draw me away from ASL (for a while anyway) is his DAK OCS monster, one in an ocean of unforgettable titles that bear his mark. Thank you for everything Dean. You will be missed tremendously but never forgotten.

Doomed Battalions -Preorder

MMP has announced the pre-order of the fourth edition of Doomed Battalions. No word yet on when it will be released but the good news is that you can pre-order it and lock in a $44.00 discount with free shipping without any payment or commitment now. When MMP is close to shipping to us, we will send you an invoice to complete check-out if you are still wanting the product.

DOOMED BATTALIONS is the Allied Minors Extension to the ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER Game System. This new Fourth Edition (DB4) expands on the Third (which itself included THE LAST HURRAH and eight other scenarios when it was released in 2009) with the addition of eight more out-of-print Allied Minor scenarios previously published elsewhere by Avalon Hill and MMP. Existing errata for all 32 scenarios have been incorporated, and some of the scenarios have been updated to correct issues of balance. This edition also showcases a complete revamp of the artwork for all Allied Minor units, vehicles, and weapons on four countersheets, including the addition of new MMC types for the Poles. DB4 also comes with the new rules for late-war SS, Polish MMC, Rail Cars, and Debris (originally issued in TWILIGHT OF THE REICH), an updated National Capabilities Chart (complete with all those MMC types), and an updated Chapter B Terrain Chart, including new entries for the new terrain. Five geomorphic mapboards (9, 11, 33, 44, & 45) and three sheets of terrain overlays carry over from Third Edition.

Doomed Battalions 4th Edition contents:

• one box and lid
• five 8” x 22” geomorphic mapboards (9, 11, 33, 44, & 45)
• three sheets of overlays
• four countersheets
• updated Allied Minor Chapter H notes
• 20 replacement rules pages for Chapter A & B
• updated National Capabilities Chart
• updated Chapter B Terrain Chart
• 32 ASL scenarios:

• 43 Into the Fray	• 137 Italian Brothers
• 44 The Gauntlet	• 138 Rattle of Sabers
• 45 Revenge at Kastelli	• 139 The Weigh In
• 46 Birds of Prey	• 140 Round Two
• 47 Rude Awakening	• 141 Action at Balberkamp
• 48 Toujours L’Audace	• 142 On the Road to Andalsnes
• 49 Piercing the Peel	• 143 Grebbe End
• 50 Age-old Foes	• 144 The Professionals
• 83 An Uncommon Occurrence	• 307 Maczek Fire Brigade
• 84 Round One	• 308 Riding the Coattails
• 85 No Way Out	• 309 Will to Fight…Eradicated
• 86 Fighting Back	• 310 A Polish Requiem
• 87 Good Night, Sweet Prince	• 311 Vogt’s Ritterkreuz
• 88 Art Nouveau	• 312 Sting ‘em at Zingem
• 89 Rescue Attempt	• 313 Airborne Samurai
• 90 Pride and Joy	• 314 Defeat in Java

Le Franc Tireur 16 – Update and last call on pre-order pricing

We are one day away from LFT 16 hitting the beaches and shipping out to you. DHL has delivery scheduled for this Thursday the 28th of March. Thanks to everyone for their patience. This is going to be a fantastic addition to your PTO kit.

In honor of the 7 year Anniversary of the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit Facebook Page and breaking the 3,500 member barrier, I will be running a sale on all Starter Kit merchandise. The discount will be 10% and is in addition to the already discounted prices. Use Coupon Code ‘FB 7 Years’ for your instant savings. I would be grateful if you would invite your wargaming buddies to join this FB group in an effort to hit 5,000 members. This helps demonstrate that there is a vibrant and growing Starter Kit community worthy of investing R&D to create new products for this incredible stand-alone game system.

N.B. The coupon code will last for 30 days unless we hit 5,000 FB members in which case it will last 60 days from the publishing date of Ritterkrieg Post #122 and will apply to all in-print ASLSK products that we either currently have in stock or can be re-ordered from MMP. Pre-orders Not Applicable.

Rat Pocket Charts – Back in Stock this month!

We have received in very limited quantity what is probably the last restock ever for Rat Charts. This is the Version 3 with the laminated cover.

Puzzle #122.1

It is the final Player Turn (German) of the game. The Germans have managed to secure the final VC by capturing Building O6 but are within 3 CVP of the cap and defeat so must not lose a Panther to the three IS-2M’s in the DFPh. What should the German player do to have the best chance at Victory?

EC are Normal with no Wind. Night Rules are in effect with a base NVR of 5 (no clouds).

Solution to Puzzle #121

So to recap, the Russian must get 5 CVP in his final turn for the win…and does with DR streak of 12, 12, 11. This is how he did it:

RPh: Self rally R7 (DR 12) causing CR and failure to rally).

PFPh: No shots. At the end of the phase AT Gun pivots CCW one hexspine to face the Panther without taking a shot (C3.22).

AFPh: AT Gun fired (no longer paying the Case A +6 DRM C3.22), broke the Gun but not before the shell managed to secure a rear Hull hit (C2.28 & A9.7) with the exact number needed (Base 10 — DRM are -1 Case L (Point Blank), -2 Case N (Acquired Target), -1 Case P (Target Size Modifier), +2 Case B (Fire in AFPh) = Net -2. TK is 27 (100L), -6 (Rear Armor), +1 Rear Penetration) yield a Base TK # of 22. The 11 on the TK Roll is enough to destroy the Panther (creating a burning wreck in the process) and win the Game.

Lesson Learned: In the rare case where you are not vulnerable to Defensive Fire, it may be advantageous to wait until the AFPh to shoot. In this case it increased the Russian odds for a win to over a 97.2% chance (a hit was guaranteed and so long as it wasn’t a dud, the Panther was going down).

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BFP has announced that their new module Bitterest day is about 4-6 weeks out. We are taking orders now at a very special pre-order price of $71.

Bitterest Day sends players into the Okinawa, fighting through the mountainous terrain.

Bitterest Day includes the following:

• 9 Action-Packed Scenarios.
• 1 full sheet of counters, depicting more units, weapons, vehicles, and planes that are depicted in the scenarios.
• One HASL map sheet which represents the historical situation in Okinawa.

Ownership of the following Advanced Squad Leader^© components are required to play all 9 of the included scenarios: Nationalities – Americans & Japanese.

We are expecting LFT 16 in limited quantities with their 80 page magazine and 15 new scenarios within the next cople of weeks. The price has been reduced to $60 shipping included. Note that the maps and the overlays are only available through Le Franc Tireur.

Huge Ritterkrieg Restock

We are pleased to announce that have had restock on almost all of our OOS items that have been a wee bit hard to aquire lately including tall stack tweezers, Lone Canuck Publishing, March Madness (new one available this summer), China Burma India pack, LFT 15, Stack Guards, and RAACO. Unfortunately there is no news on Dice but we will keep trying.

MMP has announced their ASL production forecast for 2024 and it is jam-packed with goodies.

Marco Polo Bridge HASL

Slaughter at Ponyri HASL

Doomed Battalions Core Module Reprint

Spanish Civil War (Scenario Pack ?)

Burma Action Pack

Drop Zone: Chef du Pont HASL

Solitaire ASL Core module Reprint

Contest #121

In a super exciting ‘Action Packed’ scenario, the final German Turn found a roller coaster of emotion as the 100L AT Gun missed both it’s First Fire shot and an Intensive Fire shot against the Panther as it drove past at Point Blank Range. Incredibly, the ATR scored a CH causing the Panther to Shock, before the manning Infantry was itself broken by the German MMG.

Now it is the Russian Final turn and he needs 5 VP for the win. The Russian player rolls three times (after the WC DR) during his turn with a streak only Tim Brieaddy could be capable of, with a 12, 12 and a 11 in that order. The Russian wins. How? Hex U6 is OG and hex U8 is Woods.

Solution to Contest #120

This is the simplest of all contests if you know rule C5.11 (Last sentence). If the uppermost Sherman moves into U5, the 75L ATG will have to pivot to take the shot and lock it’s CA in direction S6-T6 for the remainder of the MPh allowing the other Sherman to waltz off the map for the ‘W’. Remember this counter?

It is similar to and on the reverse side of the MMG/HMG CA restriction counter. I was at the Atlanta tournament one year and every single player we asked was unaware of this rule except Brian Abela who set us straight.

Very short video on my method of attacking in ASL…Always (I really am a one trick pony).