New Since Last Update (11 Jan '04)
-- Added Winter Offensive AAR and pics
-- Added March and April TAG session dates
Mission Statement
TAG is dedicated to bringing together ASL
gamers in the Virginia
Tidewater / Peninsula area for regular
gaming of the most richly detailed
simulation of squad-level WWII combat in
existence. We meet monthly
(usually the first or second Saturday) at
the Deller Basement in
Smithfield for open matches, and encourage
newcomers to join the group.
TAG also regularly updates its Player
Roster, below, so local ASLers can
contact Their nearest prospective
opponents. For further information
about linking up with TAG contact Sean (s.deller@charter.net).
Upcoming Events
February 21: open gaming at the TAG Basement (aka Deller
home)
March 13: open gaming at the TAG Basement
March 19-21: Bitter Ender ’04 tournament in Raleigh, N.C.
Rules for 2003 TAG Cup Competition:
(completed - pending final match between
Chris T. and Vince A.)
1. The intent of this competition is to have
fun while boosting club attendance.
2.
The TAG
Cup competition is open to any ASL player, regardless of skill level.
3.
Each
competitor is required to complete six games, each against a different
competitor,
during the calendar year.
4. Games must be conducted at a designated
TAG session.
5. Competitors may play any
mutually-agreed-to scenario.
6. Competitors may not play any scenario
more than once in the competition.
7.
The
first tiebreaker for a tie in the standings will be the collective record
of the players
opponents. The second tiebreaker will
be a playoff match.
TAG Cup Status:
11 Jan - Vince Alonso (French win) vs. Bret Winters
(J67)
Mark Walz vs. Ryan Schulz (Jap. win) (68)
15 Feb - Dave O’Dell (Ger win) vs. Kevin Taylor
(A28)
Dave Jones vs. Vince Alonso (Brit win)
(SP61)
15 Mar - Jeff Thompson (Ger win) vs. Will
Weissner (G36)
Mark Walz vs. Vince Alonso (DASL A2)
TBD
26 Apr - Will Weissner vs. Vince Alonso (Brit win) (AD7)
17 May - Dave Jones (Pole win) vs. Bill Weissner (84)
Kevin Taylor (Ger win) vs. Joe
Concepcion (SP5)
Ryan Schulz vs. Dave Jones (DBP1)
TBD
7 Jun - David Jones vs. Joe
Concepcion (Ger win) (J24)
Bret Winters (Italian win) vs. Kevin Taylor
(J20)
29 Jun - Joe Concepcion (Ger
win) vs. Bret Winters (J32)
26 Jul - Vince Alonso (Brit
win) vs. Sean Deller (HS32)
27 Aug - Sean Deller (Ger win)
vs. Matt Deller (J1)
- Bill Cirillo (Rus win) vs. Bret Winters (A68)
- Chris Trout (Ger win) vs. Kevin Taylor (T7)
- Matt Deller (Partisan win) vs. Sean Deller
and Bill Cirillo (ToT45)
27 Sep - Chris Trout (Brit win)
vs. Bret Winters (HS from Vertitable ‘Goch ya’)
- Dave O’Dell (Ger win) vs. Sean Deller (FF1)
25 Oct - Chris Trout (Ger win)
vs. Kevin Taylor (Hitdorf on the Rhine)
Roster of Veteran Players
as of 8 Feb 2004
Vince Alonso
Yorktown
(757) 890-2171 (h)
valonso1@cox.net (h)
Mike Balis
Fredericksburg
(contact via e-mail)
Hill253point5@aol.com
Bill Cirillo
Newport News
(757) 596-6206 (h)
(757) 864-1938 (w)
w.m.cirillo@nasa.gov (w)
4cirillos@cox.net (h)
Joe
Concepcion
Norfolk
(757) 461-7901 (h)
Sc4joe@aol.com
Sean Deller
Smithfield
(757) 356-0801 (h)
(757) 836-2291 (w)
(best contact via E-mail)
s.deller@charter.net
Chris Hoff
Williamsburg
(757) 229-7712 (h)
choff@maxitd.com
David Jones
Newport News
TBD
jones.david@siemens.com
Tony Kryfka
Richmond
(804) 739-4233
AKRYFKA@yahoo.com
John McCord
Hampton
(757) 723-8282 (h)
macximus@cox.net
Dave O'Dell
Norfolk
(757) 440-9061 (h)
d.dmod@verizon.net
dod@pilot.infi.net
Ryan Schultz
Virginia Beach
(757) 426-0515 (h)
(757) 518-2508 (w)
Oceanweather@aol.com
Kevin Taylor
Chesapeake
(757) 410-5128 (h)
kdtbtaylor@cox.net
Jeff Thompson
Newport News
(757) 595-1354 (h)
jefrova@cox.net
Chris Trout
Petersburg
(804) 862-8155 (h)
(800) 541-8024 (w)
tktrout@earthlink.net
Mark S. Walz
Hampton
(757) 851-1791 (h)
grognerd@hotmail.com
William S. Weissner
Suffolk
(804) 236-8100 (w)
Weissnerw@earthlink.net
Keats Wilkie
Williamsburg
(757) 229-2718 (h)
(757) 864-1260 (w)
(757) 864-8678 (w-fax)
w.k.wilkie@larc.nasa.gov
Bret Winters
Hampton
(757) 723-5470 (h)
(757) 722-5711 (w)
(757) 723-8079 (fax at work)
Kabor6@aol.com
New TAGers* and Less
Frequent Veteran Players
Matt Deller
Newport News
TBD
pablodell@cox.net
Dennis Hall
Newport News
(757) 872-9859 (h)
drhall4@aol.com
Clyde Longest
Chesapeake
(757) 483-7999 (h)
BKNFAN@aol.com
Larry Maxwell
Montross
(804) 493-9033 (h)
maxwelk1@directway.com
Mark Murray * (beginner)
Newport News
(757) 874-4566 (h)
(757) 788-5834 (w)
murraym@monroe.army.mil
John Pender
Portsmouth
Fardog@msn.com
Wynn Polnicky
7A Ortona Point
Kingston, Ontario K7K 5N8
aslwynn@cogeco.ca
Jon Scott *
Virginia Beach
(757) 468-2233 (h)
ICQ#: 2500855
jonfscott@home.com
Jeff Shields
Gloucester Pt
(804) 642-1915 (h)
(804) 684-7126 (w)
Jeff@vims.edu
www.vims.edu/jeff/asl.htm
Stan
Solomon *
sms408@mindspring.com
AARs – News
21 Jan 04
TAG
made a great show at Winter Offensive '04 this past weekend. Eight
members
played a LOT of ASL: Kevin T., Vince A., Bill C., Mark W. and
his
son Steven, Tony K., David J. and myself. Vince even won a baseball
signed
by Curt Schilling, as well as free game from MMP!
The
fastest way to improve your game (and have fun doing it) is to attend
an
ASL tournament. We are very lucky to have a number of them nearby
throughout
the year. "Bitter Ender '04" will be in Raleigh, NC from
19-21
March. Who's game?!?
The
next couple of TAG sessions will be on and 21 February and 13 March.
Please
let me know if you can make it.
Cheers,
Sean
Sean --
upbeat about his impending victory
Vince
attacking in Flames of Unrest (his Tiger
in flames)
Kevin – planning diligently like a good Marine Grant tanks take on the
Japanese
3 Jan 04
TAGsters,
Great TAG session this weekend!!! Bill,
Bret, Mark, Kevin, Dave O'D, Matt,
Vince and I fought seven playtests for Bill's
HASL project, "Festung Budapest."
FB features late-war SS, Russians and Hungarians
in an urban dogfight that will
rock the hobby. You can support the hobby
and help TAG help Bill by playtesting
some scenarios for him.
Mount up for Winter Offensive!!!
Cheers,
Sean
25 Oct 03
We
had a small turnout at the recent TAG session on 25 Oct. Chris T and
Kevin
T played "Hitdorf on the Rhine" (Ger win). Tough day for the
Germans.
Here
are the current TAG Cup standings:
Vince
A. 4-0 1 undecided
Chris
T. 2-0
Dave
O'D. 2-0
Joe
C. 2-1
Ryan
S. 1-0 1 undecided
Jeff
T. 1-0
Matt
D. 1-1
Bill
C. 1-1
David
J. 1-2 1
undecided
Kevin
T. 1-3
Sean
D. 1-3
Bret
W. 1-4
Mark
W.
0-1 1 undecided
Will
W. 0-2
The
next TAG session will be on 22 Nov. Grab an opponent and roll them
bones!
Cheers,
Sean
27 Sept 03
Hurricane Isabel failed to Pin the four heroic TAGsters (Vince, Chris T., Bret,
and
Dave) who joined me last Saturday. A last minute
restoration of power
(thanks
to Pam) enabled me to host a TAG session despite the fallen trees
surrounding
the CP. At least one brave TAGster (Chris) attended despite not
having
power himself (maybe that's why he didn't want to leave).
Chris
and Bret duked it out in a TAG Cup match of "Goch Ya" from the
Operation
Veritable HS. Looked like a lot of fun with Valentine Bridgelayers
and
AVREs. I think that resulted in a close British victory.
Dave
and I got a taste of HoB's new "Firefights" pack with FF1
"Rabka-Mszana
Road,"
an early war German-Polish action. This pack delivers six scenarios
designed
for maximum replayability with fast, exciting action (4-5 turns each)
and
variable OBs. Even better...every scenario has its own unique half-board
on
cardstock.
Very enjoyable.
Vince
and I then conducted another playtest of HoB's upcoming Normandy board
pack
by Chas Smith. This pack should include two new bocage-country boards
and
two large overlays.
Mark
your calendar with the following TAG session dates: 25 Oct, 22 Nov, 27
Dec.
Also
note that Winter Offensive '04 will be at Bowie, MD on 15-18 Jan. Let's
restablish
our TAG dominance this year!
Cheers,
Sean
23 Aug ‘03
Yesterday's
TAG session was an absolute blast! We had seven fanatic
members
break in the new command post in style with an east-front
bonanza augmented
by plenty of chow and beer/soda. The three TAG Cup
matches
were followed by an all-night three-way dogfight in The Dogs of
War.
Panzerfausts were still striking targets as the sun rose this morning!!!
Unfortunately
that was my tank that was hit.
Speaking
of dogfights, Kevin T. shot down a fight-bomber in a dogfight in
Hill
253.5! Way to go Red Baron!
Vince,
please add the following results to the TAG Cup competition:
Winners:
Sean, Bill, Chris, Matt
Losers:
Matt, Bret, Kevin, Sean & Bill (Dogs of War)
J1 Urban Guerillas (Ger win)
T7 Hill 253.5 (Ger win)
A68 Acts of Defiance (Rus win)
TOT45 Dogs of War (Partisan win)
Check
out the photo below to see the happy attendees!
Cheers,
Sean
New TAG CP (aka Deller
basement)
7 June ‘03
Today six diehard opponents
(Joe Concepcion, me, Bret Winters,
Tony Kryfka, Kevin Taylor,
and David Jones (taking photo below)
showed up for the TAG
session at the Am. Legion. Also making
guest appearances were Dave
O’Dell and, yes, none other than
SEAN DELLER! Welcome back from the desert, Sean.
We fought out three scenarios:
J24 "Smashing the
Third" - German win
J20 "Guns of Naro"
- Italian victory
A81 "They Fired on
Odessa" – Romanian win
In J20, the Italians put on
a stout defense but were surely being
picked apart piecemeal by
the aggressive U.S. attack directed
by Kevin. The Italians, however were able to cause a
CVP cap
bust after a desperate IFT
shot on the last turn.
In A81, the Russians
attacked aggressively but were picked
apart by 1FP –2 shots during
the first five turns. Although only
a thin picket remained to
defend the Romanian guns, the
remaining Russian squads
simply could not stand the open field
running.
See Joe’s excellent AAR
below for J24:
Smashing the Third
Joe (German) vs. David Jones
The Germans have 7 turns to
attain 100 VP's. These VP's may be attained in
several ways: exiting VP's
the length of the boards off the Eastern edge,
controlling the bldgs east
of row X(?), and inflicting CVP's on the
Russians. David attempts to
defend against an exit strategy by the Germans
and spreads his forces
across the two boards from North to South. Here, he
makes his fatal mistake by
spreading his forces too thin that is relatively
inflexible because a
significant portion of his forces have to cross lots of
open ground in order to meet
the German schwerepunkt toward the Northern
village. With only one squad
and one leader and one tank in the North at the
end of Russian MPh turn 3,
David conceded. Pretty exciting scenario with
lots of armor action. Each
side has 10 AFV's and I would definitely not
consider this a heavy metal
scenario considering the fact that it occurs in
August '44... neither side
has superior tank forces. In turn 1, his very
first roll resulted in an
ATR CH vs. a Pz IV causes a burning wreck! My
PzIV's did not destroy ANY
of his tanks. In fact, in one duel, I bounced an
AP round off his armor, then
possibly SHOCKED him, then SHOCKED him again,
then IMMOBILIZED him (he
passed the TC) and then finally SHOCKED him one
more time. Tired of this, I
sent another tank to try and finish him off with
a PB rear shot. In another
duel, one of his tanks drives one hex away from
one of my tanks and stops,
fires, and drives away!! All this after two shots
from my tank and a PF shot
leader directed by a 9-2!! The real tank-killers
in this scenario are the
infantry. One of his tanks was killed by a PsK and
another was done in during
CC. One more of his tanks (besides the
immobilized, shocked one)
was in trouble when he placed it in a bldg with
one of my squads in melee
with it. The squad had brazenly ran up to the tank
and even w/o a PF check,
ambushes him in CC but fails to affect him. Another
one of my tanks drives to
the tank's rear and bounding fires at him and
doesn't affect him either.
In his PPh, he attempts to shoot at my tank and
SHOCKS him, but no wait, the
squad that's in the bldg hex with him prevents
him from shooting out the
hex (but doesn't keep him in melee) and the SHOCK
comes off. The tank is
forced to shoot at the squad and DM's him but doesn't
eliminate him. It still
prevents outbound shots. The ensuing MPh, he
concedes. At this point, I
think that I had 3 squads DM'ed, one tank had
malf'ed his MA, one burning
wreck, controlled all village bldgs but 3 and
had 21 VP's ( I think I had
a rule misinterpretation......... I only counted
the 1pt base for AFV, I pt
for main gun, and 3 pts for AF for a total of 5
pts for each T-34 dead, I
think I should've included 2 pts for the inherent
crew) and was in strong
position to accomplish the exit and/or the other VC.
We made a few mistakes......
he forgot about boresighting and firing his
special ammo for second
shots. I forgot about one important PF check and the
whole idea of ATMM.
I'd recommend this scenario
and would play either side.
Joe
17 May ‘03
We had a great turnout last Saturday at the American Legion with 11 showing
(myself, Dave Jones, Kevin
Taylor, Will Weissner, Tony Kryfka, Ryan Schulz,
Joe Concepcion, Mark Walz,
Steve Walz, Pat VanDerKamp, and a guest
appearance by Bret
Winters). Eight squared off for 5
scenarios, including
three for the TAG cup:
Dave and Will tried out
Round One (84) where Will's German light armor met
their demise against the
Polish 37mm AT guns, quickly busting the CVP cap.
In "Hornet of
Cloville" (SP5) Kevin's German defenders were able to hold off
Joe's Americans for a close
victory.
Finally, in "Bruno's
Flak Attack" (DBP1), the Dave's French Legionnaires were
in the process of pressing
the attack on Ryan's Vietnamese, and the napalm-
toting Helldivers are about
to arrive on the scene! Results are
TBD.
In non-TAG Cup matches Mark
Walz and his son Steve again dueled it out, this
time in "Going to
Church" (G35). Mark does not want
me to post the results <g>.
Tony and I fought to the
middle of "Hill 621" using 3D DASL boards and
miniatures (see the pictures
below). At mid-game both feel good
about their
prospects, but Tony's armor
is currently dominant with 5 GO T-34's on or near
the hill. Only the arrival of the German StuG's this
turn have the opportunity to
turn the tide.
Have a great Memorial Day
weekend!
--Vince
Alonso
Russian Turn 4 – looking from the 75mm PaK on top of Hill
621. The Russian T-34s
sweep around the German right flank.
German Turn 5 – although the T-34s
have gained the hill, the German Looking from the other hill
on board 3 -- left in peace.
Arty finally arrives to
slow the Russian infantry.
26 Apr
AD7 “Lehr Sanction” AAR
For those that have not
played Lehr Sanction I recommend that you do so.
Vince and I had a great time
playing this one at World's Best Comics (on
Warwick) at the ODMS
boardgame demonstration. It was a great
battle,
lasting almost 12 hours to
the amazement of the Euro gamers! Vince
played
the British and I was the
Germans. Turns 1 and 2 started with the
Germans advancing to contact
against little British return fire. But
the
fun started on turn 3, as
the British scored first with their Firefly by
destroying a Panther that
was being a little bold, leaving it a burning
wreck. The Germans soon returned the favor by
destroying an M4 Sherman mit
a PSK. With that exchange the battle was
joined. There were many great
and not so great moments for
both sides. Just when things seem to be
going
your way fate would deal a
cruel blow. I managed to get a Panther
away
from a PIAT only to lose it
2 hexes away to a street fight. Then
Vince
zeroed in his artillery only
to roll boxcar's on a subsequent contact die
roll. In one of the best moments for the Germans
they took a PF shot from
inside a building to destroy
a Firefly and the resulting back blast MC
created a hero. But in the end it was Vince's half squad
that won the day
for him. He had all the luck with 2 half squads from
he#% that I could not
kill or break to save my
life, while my 9-2 leader with a kill stack of 2 x
MMG, 1 x HMG and 3 squads
proved to be a dud, his first attack broke one of
the MMG and the return fire
broke my leader and 2 of the squads. On
the
final turn my fearful 9-2
attempted to lead a squad to CC one of Vince's 2
half squads from he#% but
the 9-2 could not pull it off, allowing the enemy
half squad to withdraw by
ambush. Herr 9-2 has been since
transferred to
the Russian Front!
Will Weissner
15 Mar
Today six diehard opponents (Mark
Walz, Steven Walz, Kevin Taylor,
Will Weissner, Jeff
Thompson, and me) showed up for today's TAG
session that was forced to
relocate to / invade the Alonso household
due to scheduling problems
at the American Legion.
We fought out three
scenarios:
DASL 3 "Storming the
Factory" - Russian win
G36 "Hill of
Death" - German victory
DASL A2 "Last Act in
Lorraine" - TBD
The latter two matches
counted for the TAG Cup. In "Hill
of Death"
Jeff Thompson's Tiger tanks
chewed up Will Weissner's dug in Russian
infantry on the forward
slope of the "hill of death" at close range. By
Turn 5 there was little left
of the infantry. Will conceded that
defending
the reverse slope may have
been in order, as the massed firepower of so
many 88s is hard to survive. Of course, it didn't help that Will is being
broken in by a string of
terrible fortune in his first couple TAG sessions!
In "Last Act in
Lorraine" Mark Walz's conscript Germans were being
steadied by a few leaders as
two of their four AFVs went up in flames.
However, their morale was
greatly boosted by the early destruction of
three Shermans and
witnessing the riding U.S. infantry bailing out on
entry due to accurate HMG
fire. While the U.S. squads play catch
up
to their armor (all VC
buildings remain in German control), the
Germans pull back from an
overwhelming tank-pure assault on their
left flank, leaving their
two AFV carcasses. As Turn 4 (of 10)
starts
the match could go either
way, but the dearth of U.S. infantry is
daunting. It appears to be a great scenario that
suffers from poorly
worded VCs and SSRs (even
the official errata is incorrect) and one
that certainly needs the
"crews may not voluntarily abandon AFVs"
SSR to prevent sleazy
building control (which we have agreed to
anyway). The match will resume in a future TAG
session.
In the unofficial match the
strong Russian factory presence proved too
tough a nut to crack even
for the SS. By the last couple turns
all
attacking SS had been
ejected from the factory and 3 of the PzIVF2s
remained destroyed adjacent
to the building (mostly victims of Molotovs,
DCs, and CC).
- Vince
15 Feb
We had five valiant TAGsters show up at today’s session: myself, Dave
Jones, Mark Walz and his son, Steven, and a new attendee, Will Weissner
(although not new to ASL). We knocked out four games during the
session, to include . . .
SP61 - Objective Exodus (Brit win)
DASL 1 - Guryev's Headquarters (Russian win)
and two games of SP53 - Thorne in Your Side (two German wins)
SP61 was a TAG cup match between Dave and myself. The Germans
set up strongly on their left flank so the Brits had no choice but to rush
the board 44 hill to gain the VC buildings. Was a close fight until Turn 4
when the German 9-1 leader captured a bunch of Brits and put himself
out of the fight! (His squad, manning the MMG, was previously broken
while covering the approach into town.) The Brit hero and about three
squads were thus able to waltz in and take out the only GO squad at PB
range. This one is typical of the small unit-density Schwehrpunkt tourney
scenarios - when one's luck
folds late in the game it's hard to come back.
DASL 1 saw father and son cream each other during a Russian-front city
fight. The Germans suffered steady attrition attacking towards the final
building and didn't have enough to carry it, surrendering just after mid-
game.
SP53, fought out between myself and Will, is another neat little tourney
scenario featuring four German conscript squads and a MkIIIN tank
defending against five U.S. squads and two Stuart tanks. In the first
match the PzIII, hull down on the board 44 hill, somehow got continuous
rate - enough to lay smoke and dispatch the two Stuarts all within the
first turn! By turn three both sides agreed that the U.S. didn't stand a
chance without armor support
and restarted.
The re-try at SP53 resulted in a similar opening, although the MkIII was
only able to take out one Stuart before being dispatch by his brother. As
the U.S. closed on the position, a lucky -2 LMG shot managed to K/2 the
heroic leader and his MMG-totin' HS, followed by a doubles roll that
resulted in the destruction of both! With only three U.S. squads remaining
against a like number of Germ. conscripts, and the Stuart depleting its
canister after only two shots, the Amis were hard pressed to run them
down. Plus, the German tank crew has survived and run to a distant woods
(requiring the Stuart to track him down). By Turn 6 the U.S. just didn't have
enough MF's left to close with the enemy that had retreated to the board 44
hill (scenario VC's required the breaking off all Germans hiding in the
woods).
Welcome to the club, Will!
-- Vince Alonso
11 Jan
Sean asked me to write this month's AAR as he was given short notice
for a 6-8 week deployment
and will be out of town for the next couple
months -- and yes, he will
miss WO :- (.
Seems most were otherwise
engaged or prepping for Winter Offensive
next weekend as only three
TAGsters showed up for this month's session:
Bret Winters, myself, and
David Jones. Bret and I crossed swords
in the
first TAG Cup match
featuring J67, Ultimate Treachery. Dave
waited
for a couple hours for an
opponent then popped smoke.
J67 is a highly recommended
scenario pitting the Japanese against the
French in '45 Indochina
(Saigon). Seems the Japanese lured the
French
into a sense of complacency
and then attacked on all fronts (you have to
check it out this scenario
if only to read the card notes)!
The Japanese swarmed the
French from two directions after a stunningly
successful preparatory
fire. Against no opposition, the
Japanese gained a
foothold in all the
front-line buildings. By the end of the
second turn the
remaining French green
squads were preparing to surrender, yet pulled out
surprisingly effective
defensive fire during turn three and were able to
counterattack (along with
rallied first-line squads) in the west!
A highlight
was the Japanese tank-hunter
hero exploding a ATMM against the side of
the fearful French F-17(M)
tank, shortly before being mowed down by HMG
fire. The tense conflict lasted until the end with
a Japanese rush for the
remaining victory locations
being mown down by French MG fire.
Ended up
being a great city fight!
-- Vince
17 Aug
TAGsters,
We had a light turnout last
Saturday with only three players (Tony K.,
Bret W. and David J.). Tony sent me this recap:
J47 They're Here! Reverse! Dave and Tony
A108 Sudden Death Bret and Tony
“A108 went right down to the
wire but Bret pulled it off. J47 we
ended
after the second turn due to
them wanting to leave the VFW.
It didn't matter due to the
British getting some fantastic shooting the
second turn and flamed 40%
of the Italian force. Desert
rules were pretty good first
game for both me and David. The
tactics
are totally different.”
-- Sean
20 July
Gentlemen,
Our recent TAG session saw
the usual cast of characters (Vince,
Bret, Wynn, Ryan, David
Jones, Dave O'Dell, Tony and me) hammer out
a whole bunch of ASL action,
including:
one Guadalcanal HS scenario
(H16 I think)
SP43 Deadeye Smoyer
TT12 Signal Hill
...and a number of others I
can't remember
The highlight of the session
was a farewell presentation of a WWII book
about the Canadian forces to
Wynn Polnicky who is returning
to Canada. Thank you Ryan for picking that up.
No, there is no truth to the
rumor that I threw my game with Wynn just to
make him feel better about leaving.
Next TAG session will be at
the American Legion Post 31 in Hampton on
Saturday, 17 August. Please let me know if you plan on
attending.
Thanks,
Sean
8 Jun
Last Saturday's TAG session
saw 5 TAGsters (Vince, Wynn, Joe, Tony
and David J) played 4 games:
DASL A6 Breakout
TAC Himmler's House
SP The Last Tiger
83 Uncommon Occurrence
I am going to have to postpone the long-awaited grand opening of the
new TAG Command Post from 29
June to Saturday 13 July. I propose
to host that Saturday's TAG
session at my house. If anyone would
rather
play at the American Legion
that day, please let me know soon.
Otherwise, I will cancel our
request with them.
The grand opening will be a
massive all-day/night ASL fest. Depending
on the interest, I would
like to play a monster game such as "The Last
Bid" or "Beast at
Bay." Sides and Cdr-in-Chiefs will
be randomly
selected. Food and beer will be in abundant
quantities. Winners get
first dibs on guest
beds. Losers sleep on the floor (bring
your sleeping
bag O'Dell). Please RSVP.
Thanks,
Sean
18 May
Finished our 18 May TAG day. Great day to play ASL as it was windy,
rainy outside, even a two hour storm-induced power outage did not stop the dice
from rolling! Four attendees showed (Wynn P., Bret W., Joe C., Ryan
S.). Only Bret showed up to defend the honor of the Peninsula
ASLers. Much skill was displayed today, and all attendees were good
looking, charismatic, handsome types.
Two scenarios were played.
J34 Men of the Mountains, Ities vs. Partisans, 1941. Partisans must
attack across the length of board 3, over one hill, through the center village,
and up another hill to capture an Italian Gun. Game went down to second
last turn, turn 7, where Partisan defensive fire finally broke the Italian
defense. A well fought action on both sides. Partisan win.
J48 Blood Enemies, April 1941. Croats with Stukas vs. Serbs with two fearsome
FT-17 tanks. Got to love red 5 MP radioless tanks with a 4 CMG MA. Serbs
have some punch and movement ability until the Stukas show (automatic arrival,
no die roll, on turn 4). Both sides suffer from low broken side morale
and an ELR of 2 so care must be taken in preserving troops. Croats win.
-- Ryan
24 Feb
We
had a great session last week, with 10 members (Wynn, Bill, Bret, Joe, John,
Tony, David J., Mark W., Sean and Jeff Heisman)
playing
6 scenarios. Jeff Heisman made a
noteworthy debut by deafeating a veteran TAG playtester (who shall remain
nameless...but
it
wasn't me or Bill or Bret or John or David or Tony or Mark or Joe).
G14 Tiger, Tiger (Ger win)
G14 Tiger, Tiger (Rus win)
SP18 An Arm and a Leg (US win)
AD3 Back to School (?)
A
Few Rounds (Can win) -- an Opn Veritable playtest with a
Sturmtiger!
The
Devil's Free to Have a Try -- a Festung Budapest
Led
by Wynn the "Mad Magyar," TAG has become a hotbed of playtest
activity. Help Wynn help the hobby by
hooking up for a game with
him.
We
have a "home-grown" HASL in playtest as well. Bill Cirillo's "Festung Budapest"
will rock the ASL world with a visually-impressive map of the city and wild
late-war scenarios. Bill has playtest
kits available for those who can help out.
Post
31 will host "The Wall That Heals" on the first weekend of May
(3-5). This is a half-scale replica of
the Vietnam Wall that travels the country and will be a big event. In gratitude for the Post allowing us to use
the facilities free of charge, I encourage you to volunteer some time that weekend
to help them out.
Thanks,
Sean
22 Jan
Congratulations to the TAG team at Winter Offensive ’02 in Bowie,
Maryland last weekend, posting the highest
recorded team percentage of wins to losses (the official winning team
was the D.C. Conscripts, with the most number of wins). Sean D., Bill C., Tony K., Mark W., and
Vince A. were participants. Also
congrats to Bill C. and Vince A. for winning mini-tournaments in the first two
days. We need to increase our participation
for next year, so mark your calendars!
8 Dec
Besides the usual suspects (Vince, Wynn, John M., Bret, Mark W., Bill
and myself), this weekend's
session saw David Jones and his nephew,
Thomas, return for more ASL
action. There was also a Pooka sighting
as
my brother, Matt, emerged
from hibernation.
The carnage included:
J36 The Bridge of Verdalsora (Ger win)
HG4 Cohort and the Phalanx (Greek win)
T2 The Puma Prowls
PBP26 Steamrollers (Ger win)
RR13 Hervorst Hell (Ger win) - playtest
Wynn
"Playtesters-R-Us" Polnicky shares this insider info:
Reiley's Road 13: "Hervorst
Hell", Canadian attackers vs. German
defenders. Cool scenario with two Crocs, two AVREs
(Armoured
Vehicle Royal Engineers),
150 ART in pillboxes for the Germans, set in
Feb 1945.
Note: I expect RR will be the next "Historical Study"
after Op
Watchtower; I think it's
closest to being done (counter sheets being
proofed), and will come with
a small HASL map similar to Guad
One of the premier ASL
events of the year is a short drive away!
Join
your fellow TAGsters and
assault Winter Offensive 2002!!!
Email me for details.
Sean
3 Nov
Yesterday's housewarming TAG session was a big
success. Our hosts,
American Legion Post 31, were extremely
hospitable. The hall
has plenty of tables and
chairs, coffee and a soda fridge.
We had 7 players tackle the
following:
On the Brink of Extinction (a Valor of the Guards playtest)
Retaking Vierville (a Coastal Fortress playtest)
TOT23 This Close to the Sharp End (British win)
TOT5 Retrograde Out of Stoumont (US win)
Stay tuned for our December session
announcement.
Sean
25 Aug
Today's session rocked with 9 TAGsters (Vince, Dave, Bill, Ryan, Chris S,
Chris
H, Mark W, Joe, Sean) blasting away in 7 scenarios
(could
have been 8 if another TAGster showed up to play John M):
G33 The Awakening of Spring (Ger win)
A69 Brioch Bash
(US win)
55 Retribution
T5 The Pouppeville Exit
(Ger win)
The
other scenarios were playtests of the Budapest HASL that Bill is
working
on. Three playings of "Crossing
the Bloody Meadow"
resulted
in unanimous cheers for this awesome project.
The map is
beautiful
and this scenario was great fun to play.
Please support Bill
and
the TAG Budapest Team and help playtest.
Sean
16 Jun
Thanks for making this
month's TAG session one of the best in recent years!
We had 8 members (me,
Vince, Bill, Bret, Joe, Mark, John and Tony) and
two guests (Mike Balis
and Tom Meier from FFE) knock out 9! scenarios:
J37 Tretten in Flames (Brit win)
J57 Guards Artillery (Brit win)
BRT7 Didn't Have to be There (USMC win)
T2 The Puma Prowls (Rus win)
T8 Aachen's Pall (Ger win)
T1 Gavin Take
(Ger win)
T6 Dead of WInter (Ger win)
J33 The Slaughterhouse (Ger win)
A13 Able at Cesaro (Ital win)
Mark
it on your calendar: the long-awaited
TAG-DC Conscript death-match
will
occur on Saturday, 21 July in Fredericksburg!
Let me know if you would
like
to participate.
--
Sean
19 May
Four TAGsters (Sean, Vince, Wynn and,
briefly, Bret) were on hand to welcome
John McCord to the group and generate a
lot of action:
1 Fighting Withdrawl (Finn win)
AP14 Ace in the Hole (US win)
J40 Might Makes Right (Norwegian win)
The Good Shepard (Brit win)
"The Good Shepard" is an MMP
playtest, but you may never see it published as
Wynn is convinced it is a dog infected with
Mad Cow disease.
I brought a copy of Journal #3 for review
and the consensus was "awesome." FYI,
Campaign HQ had to be the first retailer
to receive it as Vince and I had copies a
full week before anyone on the ASLML
mentioned it. Campaign HQ is supporting
ASL and our club by stocking the new RB
and handing out club flyers provided by
Vince. Their prices are the same as MMP's
website, so you may want to "help them
help us."
Next TAG session is 16 June and our
comrades from Fredericksburg will be joining
us. PLEASE let me know if you are planning
to attend and whether you would like to
play one of the Freddies. Let's have a
good showing for them!
I am also coordinating for a TAG-DC
Conscript team match. I am zeroing in on a
Saturday in July. Please let me know:
1. If you want to participate
2. If any July dates are good/bad for you
3. Whether you prefer to to play in DC or
Fort Monroe (a reciprocating trip in the
future is implied) OR if you prefer to
meet
"halfway" (in Fredericksburg).
4. What the format of this team match
should be like
If there are certain ASL products you are
interested in seeing (for future purchase),
announce it to the TAG group so someone
will bring it to the June session. I would
like to see the "Hell's Bridgehead"
module if someone would kindly bring it with them.
Thanks!
Sean
28 Apr
Sean Deller, Tony Kryfka, Vince Alonso,
and Wynn Polnicky trekked to
Fredericksburg to demonstrate a scenario
on the Russian Steppe featuring
the largest tank battle in history, Kursk
on 12 July vicinity Prokhorovka.
We recreated the opening of Clash on the
Psel (A51) in its full glory using
a specially created, large hex Steppe map
and microarmor. Time restraints
forced us to end after turn 4 but the
outcome was in little doubt. Judge for
yourselves below:
……
----- 18th Tank Corps at start, end Turn 2
--------------------- 1SS Pz Rgt enters, end Turn 2 ----------
……
-------- Kryfka, Polnicky, and Deller ----------------------- Sean
debates the action with Tony ---------
……
--- Situation at end of Turn 4, last T-34s enter ---- ---------- Same
turn, total destroyed: -----------
---and Russians have closed with SS right flank ---------- 3x MkIII, 1x
StuG, 1x T-34, 2x T-70 ----
------------------------------- Close up of the Turn 4 action
-------------------------------------
21 Apr
We had a great TAG session yesterday! Five
veterans (Vince, Dave, Bret,
Wynn, and Tony) welcomed three new 90-day
wonders: Mark Murray,
Jon Scott and Christopher Schrank. We even
had a Mark Walz sighting!
Vince and Bret coached Mark and Jon with
an excellent training scenario
"Retaking Vierville"
(downloadable from the Coastal Fortress website),
while demonstrating the veteran's approach
themselves. I highly
recommend this scenario for training as it
is simple, quick, fun and replayable.
The rest of the squad took on some meatier
fare:
Retaking Vierville (1 US, 1 German win)
TOT5 Retrograde Out of Stoumont (US win)
Another Bloody Morning (Ger win) (Op
Bagration HASL playetst)
AP12 Cream of the Crop (Ger win)
A HS of TAGsters will patrol north next
Saturday to recon the Fredericksburg
ASL club. Contact Vince or I if you'd like
to go.
Cheers,
Sean
24 Mar
Five TAGers (Ryan Schultz, Vince A., Tony
K., Wynn P., Brett W.)
linked up at Blg 98 and played four
scenarios including another top
secret playtest. Not much to report other
than we beat up on each
other fairly well!
24 Feb
Six fanatic TAGsters (Tony K., Chris H., Sean
D., Vince A., Wynn P.
and Mark W.) knocked out six scenarios in
celebration of Mark
Walz' return from the "Land of the
Morning Calm." Welcome back,
Mark!
We played:
"Fire From the Hole" playtest
(Rus win)
A41 "OP Hill" (Brit win)
A60 "Totsugeki!" (Japanese win)
A59 "Death at Carentan" (Ger
win)
SP5 "The Hornet of Cloville" (US
win)
CH? (Partisans vs. SS, German win)
This session's lesson was: if you take an
unnecessary shot, it WILL HoB
your target AND generate a "1"
sniper. Trust me.
The playtest scenario was from a Bounding
Fire / MMP HASL design of
Operation Bagration. Looks like a great
Ger-Rus battle without 157
rubble hexes.
-- Sean
16 Jan
2001 Winter Offensive, 11-14 Jan
Seven *T*A*G* members (Bill Cirillo, Jeff
Thompson, Sean Deller,
Vince Alonso, Tony Kryfka, Dave O'Dell,
and Chris Trout) attended this
year's Winter Offensive at Bowie, Maryland
sponsored by MMP. Over
120 participants battled for the top spot,
in up to three matches per day
during the grueling ASL open-format competition.
TAGers fared well,
accumulating 33 wins. Our team also won
the Kursk mini-campaign,
fought by Bill Cirillo and Jeff Thompson.
Bill put in two marathon sessions
in the campaign, averaging two hours sleep
a night! He rightly deserved the
top raffle prize, a framed, limited
edition Pentland print depicting Tarawa
action. Honorable mention also goes to
Dave O'Dell who made it to the top
of the field with six official wins. Tony
K. finished with 5 wins, Vince A. -- 4,
Jeff T. -- 3, and Chris T. -- 2 (Jeff and
Chris had to leave early). Our own
Sean Deller won the Eastern Front
mini-tournament Thursday and then went
undefeated against top ranking contenders
to engage rival DC Conscript
Kevin Valerian for the championship.
Sean's AAR follows the pics:
*****
---- Dave O. pushing SS in
"Urban Guerillas"---- Turn
2 of same in a 13-hour marathon match --
*****
********
-------- Vince A.'s tanks get brewed ----------------------- An
impressive Tarawa CG Scen 3 -------------
------------ in "Barkmann's Corner"------------------ as the
Marines converge to gain beachhead ------
****
Sean D. - highly motivated as he sets up Germans in "Acts of
Defiance" for the championship
**
****
Sean, here much more subdued as his attack bogs down
Dave Goldman and Scott Drane, former victims, look on -------- "Acts
of Defiance" mid-game --------
I would like to extend my congratulations
and thanks to all of my opponents this
weekend:
1. Eric Boring (PS1c Brave Little Emchas):
Eric's Jerome Bettis-like, smash-
mouth style of play had me scrambling for
my life in this SS-Russian late-war DASL
alley fight. His Turn 1, sniper-kill of my
best leader made me wonder if my best
hope for winning something was with my ASL
Bingo card.
2. Andy Robin (PS3 Friday the 13th): one
hot Russian AT Gun was the undoing of
Andy's well-planned German attack. Andy's
keen tactical sense correctly identified my
Gun's placement, but ROF trumped tactics
this time.
3. Dave Goldman (PS2 Desperate Dash): hot
defensive dice and charging cavalry do
not mix well. Dave's skill and
perseverance nearly overcame the initial damage
inflicted on the Russian breakout force.
4. Thomas Rae (WO1 Blood Enemies): Thomas'
well-crafted Yugoslav attack was
betrayed by the ice cubes he was tossing
in his dice cup. My Croatian defenders
hung on, bolstered by some timely Stuka
support.
5. Gary Mei (WO2 Grebbe End): one for the
highlight reel! Gary whacked the
soon-to-be-game-winning squad in CC with a
lone Dutch SMC, only to have it
taken away by my subsequent
leader-generation DR. Luck overcomes skill again.
6. David Croome (DB20 3rd RTR in the
Rain): Upon getting matched against
the OARS-dude, I realize I'm in over my
head. Our battle confirms this, as the most
effective weapon I had was David's
triple-malf yahtzee (MA, BMG, CMG) of his
last panzer. Well, maybe it was that ATR
CH. Where can I buy a lottery ticket?
7. Scott Drane (DB21 Crisis on the Abucay
Line): Scott and I actually played two
games in one. My Philippine Army obstacle
belt and defense chewed up his main
attack, while Scott's flanking attack had
a feeding frenzy on my left side. Not only
was Scott the only opponent to break my
morale, I also ELR'd. Fittingly, Scott and
I both achieved our Victory Conditions.
(Un)Fortunately, one was "instantaneous,"
while the other was "At game
end..."
8. Kevin Valerian (A68 Acts of Defiance):
After a 30-minute, late-night, beer-
soaked group brain-storming session, a unanimous
consensus was achieved that this
scenario was a good choice for "all
the marbles." A coin toss gives me the Germans.
I don't care that my Goliath fails to drop
the bridge. My initial confidence is unfazed
by my Brumbar's lack of smoke and inability
to hit what I correctly guessed to be his
hidden observer; however, it is shaken by
Kevin's rock-solid defense. I pressed
forward, but Kevin is too elusive and my
progress is way too slow. With the clock
ticking down I get aggressive (reckless)
and Kevin grinds me up. A well-deserved
victory for the nicest guy I have ever
played against. Congratulations!
Kudos to Chas Smith, Pete Shelling and
Kevin Meyer for the great new scenarios they
designed. "Brave Little Emchas"
and "Blood Enemies" are future gems.
Tidewater ASL Gamers (T*A*G) attended in
force and made a strong showing,
including:
----- 2nd place overall
----- One mini-tournament winner
----- One mini-tournament runner-up (Dave
O'Dell)
----- Winning team in the Kursk relay
(Bill Cirillo & Jeff Thompson)
----- AND, the impressive framed Tarawa
artwork door prize (Bill Cirillo)
WOOF!
OK, OK...the door prize was pure luck, but
T*A*G is still proud of it.
Thanks to the MMP crew for hosting a great
tournament. The classy door
prizes and a generous pizza party were
greatly appreciated.
By the way, the championship match was
played by two ruggers.
Coincidence?.......I think not! ;-)
Ruck on, Kevin!
-- Sean Deller
2 Jan
New Years Eve ASL Bash at Bill Cirillo's
House
Six *T*A*G* members (Bill C., Jeff T.,
Wynn P., Vince A., Tony K., Ryan S.)
showed and played four scenarios. Play of
the last scenario ended about 2030
after starting at 0800 sharp.
TT7 Don Company's Canal (Australian vs.
Jap. 45) from the new Tropic Thunder
pack. Jap win. Allies seemed a little hard
pressed to meet stringent CVP
requirement as they attack a small Jap.
force over board 23 canal (deep stream
by SSR) and onto hill of board 11. Suggest
dropping the Australian CVP a tad
to balance.
SP62 Ils ne Passeront Pas (Schwerpunkt GE
vs. UK in Italy 43). Did not get a
chance to watch closely. Canadian win.
GtF2 Bitter Day (CH Fr. vs. Ger in 40 of
course). Lots of armor over a four
board monster. Play of this one took all
day with swings in advantage back
and forth as expected with lots of armor.
Use of Vince's painted microarmor
tanks and trucks really made the scenario
come alive and look awesome! Ger
win.
--------Tony Surveys the Carnage at
GtF2 End ---------------------------- Mid-Game; Panzers in Trouble
--------------
TT9 Frogs in the Pocket (Australian vs.
Jap. 45). Another one from the Tropic
Thunder pack. At first glance another
Munda Mash but this is a false
impression. A small Jap. force hides on
rugged boards 36 dense jungle
terrain. Australian supported by two flame
throwing Matildas and other
armor. Tough one on the Australians I
think as time is so short and lots of
places to hide. Bill C. played an awesome
game and pulled out a win as the
Australians.
--------------- Ryan and Bill Finish
TT9 --------------------------------------------- Situation on Last Turn
------------------
Thanks to Bill for hosting us at his house
and providing some awesome chili
and dogs.
-- Ryan
9 Dec 00
Great session yesterday, with seven
attending:
Vince and Chris T. slugged it out in J5
Bizory Loves Company (Ger win).
Ryan and Wynn hammered through a Chas
Smith design, OB11 Hoffmeister's
Charge (close Rus win by adjudication).
Bret and I shot each other up in a
Hungarian versus Russian scenario
playtest (to be continued), depicting an
interesting late-war Hungarian
breakout attempt.
In addition to all the cool playtest
material (thanks, Bill!) Vince Alonso
provided a special visual treat. He had a
full-color, deluxe-sized snow board
with complete miniature vehicle Orders of
Battle for his scenario with Chris.
It definitely enhances the ASL experience.
Hope you have a safe and happy holiday
season.
-- Sean
27 Nov 00
Tidewater ASL Gamers (*T*A*G*) just
completed a session in Virginia
Beach, VA, 6 players, 4 scenarios:
A93 - Faugh A' Ballagh (Brit win) tough
battle in rubble
17 - Lost Opportunity (Ger win) large
crummy German force against a few
Ami para's
A - Guards Counterattack (Ru win) always a
bloody one
OB11 - Hoffmeister's Charge (playtest, Jun
1944 Ru vs Ger east front)
(Ger win) lots of German AFVs and assault
troops, Russians look a little thin.
-- Ryan
18 Nov 00
Today we had six attendees (Bret, Ryan,
Dave, Vince, Wynn and myself)
who played four games:
U12 Riposte (US win)
D15 Barkman's Corner (US win)
J22 Oh Joy! (Ger win)
J6 St Barthelomy Bash (Ger win)
Vince spiced up the two DASL games (D15
and J6) with his Micro Armor
Panzer IV, Panther, Sherman and Stuart
miniatures.
The next TAG session will be held on
Saturday, 9 December at Fort Monroe.
Don't forget Ryan Schultz is hosting an
Open Play day at his home on Friday,
24 November.
Come on out and play!
Sean Deller
23 Oct 00
We had a great session last Sat, 21 Oct,
with 5 members playing 3
scenarios. Bret Winters and I test drove
one of his Kohima HASL
scenarios and it promises to be a
fantastic design. Wynn Polnicky and
I also playtested a scenario for Chas
Smith (formally of Bounding Fire,
now of MMP). Chris Hoff and Vince Alonso
clashed in the ultimate cage
match: The Guards Counterattack! (Rus win)
In case you haven't heard, the 2nd edition
rulebook will soon be released
(probably at Winter Offensive). This
momentous event will certainly
generate some new interest in the area and
we should prepare for it.
Additionally, we'll need some volunteers
to drop off some TAG flyers
at the local hobby stores, so the store
owners can hand them out to people
who buy the new rule book. I am all ears
for any bright ideas, folks.
The next TAG session will be Saturday, 18
November at Fort Monroe. Please
inform me if you plan to attend.
Cheers,
Sean Deller
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