TUSSLE IN THE TUNDRA 2018
It is that time of the year again: Advanced Squad Leader in Manchester, New Hampshire! My friend Chuck has been running this for a few years now, so I knew it was going to be a fun one!
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| What have I got myself into? |
For those who don't know, Advanced Squad Leader is a board wargame that pits players against each other in tactical battles of the Second World War. It was released in 1985 and is the successor to the 1978 smash hit Squad Leader, designed by the late John Hill. Squad Leader was a revolutionary game, but it had room for improvement. Don Greenwood came along and with a team of gamers took Squad Leader (and its expansions: Cross of Iron, Crescendo of Doom and GI: Anvil of Victory) and amalgamated and updated the system. Thus was born Advanced Squad Leader, aka ASL.
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| Cover of version 1 of the Rulebook, complete with artwork by Rodger MacGowan |
So, the Tussle in the Tundra: what is it? Well, put simply, it is the Northeast's best little ASL Tournament. Typically participation is around 20 to 25, but in spite of that size, the competition is tight. Players come from all over New England, New York and this year from as far away as Virginia and California! It starts on Friday and goes until Sunday, with the option for warm up games on Thursday.
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| New Scenario from Hatten in Flames |
To kick things off, I got off to an early start playing my first-ever ASL opponent, Rob Loper of Vermont. He brought along his brand-new copy of Hatten in Flames, an historical ASL game-set based on battles in Alsace in early 1945. He played the US player and I the German. The game was a tight one, came to the end, but Rob was able to win one for the good guys! It was a great battle and the set, just released the week previous, was a beauty to behold. So, warmed up, the next day would see me fighting a battle set on the Eastern Front in Stalingrad
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| Welcome to Stalingrad |
I arranged things such that I would be facing off against Sean Deller, a fantastic player who has an impressive record as both a player and a scenario designer. Sean is a gentleman and I was looking forward to learning a thing or two from him in this game. For this one, I would be the Germans, attacking the Soviets with a view to capturing a divisional HQ. This is set in October, 1942 about a month before the Soviet counterattack that destroyed the German 6th Army.
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| Putting on the Pressure! |
My initial attack was successful and I was pressuring his HQ building on turn 2. Things were looking bleak for the Soviets, especially since I wounded one of his two leaders. As luck would have it, his initial reinforcements arrived in the nick of time! A Commissar got to the HQ and was able to cycle his broken man back forward into the battle time and time again. Now the pressure was starting to hit me!
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| Too little, too late |
As it turned out, at game end I had four squads in that victory building, but so did Sean. I needed to have more in there than he, and in this I was just shy of the required amount. No matter, this was a fantastic game and I was able to make good account of myself. On to game two!
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| Operation Citadel |
For my next game, I was up against David Kuchta. I had never met David before and this is one of the highlights of ASL: getting to meet people from all over. Not only did we play our battle, set in the USSR in 1943, but we were able to talk and chat about our respective ASL histories. For this one, he would be attacking with the Soviets and I would attempt to defend as the Germans.
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| German counterattack |
In the end, David was very aggressive and got into the objective area in good order and I was forced to try to get around his flank. I did my best, but his gunnery was just too much for me. I made some tactical errors along the way, but most of all, had fun. 0-2 and time to head to bed: Saturday would see me switching over to bolster the ranks of the mini tournament.
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| Day 1 of the war: September First, 1939. |
Round one of the mini would see me in an epic see-saw battle vs Mike Allexenberg in a battle set on the very first day of the war as the Germans invaded Poland. My meager force of Poles would attempt to stop his attack using some very odd Armored Cars, the type that were so poorly protected that machine guns stood a better than average chance to knock them out.
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| Polish Counterattack |
This battle swung both ways. At first, Mike's forces were pushing me back further and further into the village I was defending. Then in an act of brilliance, I started rolling well. I knocked out a substantial portion of his force and it looked as if I would emerge victorious! But then Mike would really put the pressure on me and was able to take out my leader and machine gun nest with one of his pathetic armored cars. So, I was now 0-1 in the mini and 0-4 for the weekend. And as it would turn out, Mike would go on to win the tourney, and I was but a mere speedbump in his path!
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| Early Battle |
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| Here come the Germans |
For the next round of the mini, I was paired off against my old pal Keith Talbot. He and I first played against one another in 2015 when I attended my first-ever ASL tournament. This time I would be attacking his guys in Latvia. My force would have to get through machine-gun riddled streets to try to force the issue by capturing a building well to the rear. I was able to use cover and found myself in his building by the 4th turn. It was a see-saw battle in the building, but in the end, I was able to force his men out of the building. One thing I did was apply what I had learned in my 4 years of ASL play: take prisoners whenever possible! I had a half-squad in the back running around with 3 squads and a leader: the most he can guard at once!
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| "Start spreading the news..." |
I had a long way to go, so I decided to head back to Virginia early. I head out that night around 5 pm and made it to New Jersey, passing through New York City along the way. I had a great weekend and a great time with so many friends along the way. Once again, I find myself at home on a Sunday with fond memories of the weekend past and its battles with tiny men of cardboard.
