February 16th Game Day at Emerald Knights

[Jim Aikens]

We had 8 members for our February Game Day at Emerald Knights in Burbank this past Saturday. The lower than typical attendance was not a surprise considering WCM is only a few days away. And besides, 8 is still nothing the sneeze at.

Kevin Kiff and Ed Esparza paired up for the Critical Hit scenario “Three Patrol Action”. Things went bad early for Ed’s Americans at the hands of Kevin’s Germans, and they pulled the plug on this dog after only a couple of turns.

Meanwhile, at the next table, Dave Rosner and Dave Nicholas set up “Strayer’s Strays”, but Dave Nicholas’ Americans made short work of Dave Rosner’s Germans. So the switched sides and tried again. But it wasn’t Dave Rosner’s day, and this game too ended quickly. He decided two losses in one day was enough, and headed home. By now Ed and Kevin’s game was over. So Dave N. and Ed paired up against Kevin in “Commando Shenke”. At the end of the day Kevin’s Russians defeated Dave and Ed’s Germans.

In a game that lasted until quite late and went down to the last die roll, Mike Soffa’s Americans defeated Eric Visnowski’s Germans in the Journal 10 scenario “Cradle to Grave”.

Dave Reinking and I paired up, and because we both like early war, went with the new Best of Friends scenario “The Abbyville Bridgehead”. This is an interesting scenario; a company of French Infantry supported by two R-35’s and two B-1Bis have to take two of three different victory buildings. The Germans facing them have two 37L AT guns and a 20L AA gun, and nothing else but guts and grenades to stop the French tanks.

I took the Germans and set up very far forward to try cut up the French crossing open ground. I put one 37L forward, hoping to bag or immobilize a tank early and out of position. As the game unfolded I was able to get some licks in on the Dave’s infantry. And in a foreshadowing of how the entire scenario would go for both of us… all four of Dave’s tanks rolled into range of my forward 37L. “I have him now!” I thought, and tore off a bunch of shots, all ineffective, followed by return fire from one of Dave’s tanks that KIA’d the Gun crew. Dave’s tanks rolled forward with impunity and engaged my MLR. Being the great player he is, I knew he smelled blood and drove his attack home. But he was frustrated by his infantry; they seemed incapable of passing a MC. This back and forth went on turn after turn, with small events making each of us think we finally had the game in hand, only to be denied moments later by a subsequent event.

By the last turn I was feeling pretty good about my chances; I had one squad on the ground floor of the victory building (a single hex stone church) with a broken 9-1, HS and LMG upstairs in the steeple. I knew the broken units could deny control. So did Dave. He was pretty short of infantry, but he still had both his B1Bis’s and drove one into the ground level of the church to overrun my squad. It avoided falling through the floor, but couldn’t break my squad. However, he did succeeded in killing my upstairs units for failure to rout. He advanced his one available squad into the hex with his one surviving leader, but the close combats for both sides were ineffective. On my half of the final turn I got my one available squad next to the building (dodging -2 shots to get there.) “I have him now!” I thought. But then they failed their PAATC and couldn’t advance in. In the final close combat Dave’s units couldn’t kill my squad and I celebrated a hard-won victory. It was one of those epic playings where the fate of every unit, and every DR was critical. What a game! Thanks, Dave, that game is going into the book as one of the most exciting games I’ve ever played.

We had our usual chili dog lunch as Larry’s, and EV and I (the sole survivors of a long day) adjourned for our traditional late dinner at Bob’s Big Boy. Next stop: West Coast Melee XVI!

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