Advanced Squad Leader (MMP) ~ "Wintergewitter" A70

Game: Advanced Squad Leader (MMP)
Scenario: "Wintergewitter"
Publication: ASL Annual 95
Participants: Jim "HeavyD", Myself
Time: Fri, 4/6 ~ 6.00PM - 10.00PM

This time around the scenario selection phase fell to me so I went to ROAR. I pulled all of the scenario data down into Excel (record by name) and then sorted on number of games played. Wintergewitter jumped out to me because it's nearly perfectly balanced (251 total playings with a 119/135 [47% Russian] split). I know that I had played it once a long time ago, and at my age that really is the same as having never played it before. HeavyD was in the same boat. We diced for sides and I got the defending Russians.


The Germans are attacking and have to clear out the village on board 12 of all good order Russian MMC and AFV's by the end of the game (5.5 turns). The boards (33, 12, 16) are very open even before you add in the special rules about woods being brush. There is also ground snow and all buildings are ground level only and wooden. Both sides have winter camouflage as well. 


The Russians start with 4 4-4-7s, 2 5-2-7s and 2 2-3-7 HS. They are led by an 8-1 and 7-0. They have one MMG, 2 LMG and an ATR. They can set up anywhere on board 12. On turn 2 they get a platoon of three T-34/M43 tanks as reinforcements. The Germans have 3 5-4-8s and 1 2-3-8 HS, with a 9-2 and 8-1 for leadership. They have a dm MMG and 2 LMGs. In addition to this the Germans have a nice set of AFVs. There are 2 Pz-IVF2s, 2 Pz-IIIJs, 1 Pz-IIIN and three SPW 251/1 with a lone SPW 250/1 bringing up the rear. The Germans also have a 9-1 AL. The entire German force enters the game on the South edge of the board on turn 1.

My set up

Prior to the start of turn 1

I knew that I would be doing very little moving around with my infantry once the game started so I placed a leader in each block of the town. I spread out while putting the MMG, LMG and ATR up in front of the town. The 8-1 is with this group. The smaller group has the other LMG and 7-0 with the two HS as well. Set up is quick, there are no level one buildings on the board thus there really isn't much to mull over, HeavyD can pick and choose where he comes on as all of his forces are either tanks for half-track mounted infantry. 


Turn 1


HeavyD brings the three Pz-IIIs on in the center, two hexes from my collection of concealed MGs. HeavyD then sends his HTs around to his right choosing to keep all but one of them mounted. I cant really fault this somewhat risky plan as I have little to react with and they are mostly out of LOS to my forces. He'll be able to have a lot of options on where and when to off load them in his 2nd movement phase. 

HeavyD moving on turn 1

Advancing Fire Phase, turn 1

The Advancing Fire Phase suddenly turns interesting when HeavyD rolls a 2 on his third area 'acquisition' shot of the game. We have to dig into the rules a bit to make sure we understand if its a CH or not, time well spent it turns out. The shot is an improbable hit and HeavyD rolls a subsequent 1 for the CH. I gack the MC and fail ELR for the squad in O3. One squad down. In this scenario the Russians will be in a fishbowl surrounded by German infantry and AFVs hungrily looking in. Its not likely that I'll be able to have a safe place to rally my guys once they break. My half of turn one takes about five minutes as I do not want to open up just yet, so I skulk where I can and make small adjustments. I am able to move the MMG back one hex and thus into LOS of a German 251 filled with a squad. I leave the ATR up front hoping to get a deliberate immobilization shot at one of the III's in next turns defensive fire phase.

End of German turn 1

Turn 2


HeavyD doesn't do any prep fire to open turn 2. He opens by moving two of the Pz-III's over a few hexes in front of my concealed ATR squad. Then he takes the remaining III over on his right and puts it between me and his half tracks. I take a deliberate immobilization shot with the ATR needing a six to hit and miss. HeavyD then gets a little crazy and takes one of his 251's and enters my hex via bypass in O6. I elect to stay concealed (I have a 7-0 and 2-3-7 HS in the hex) and not do any street fighting or reaction fire.  HeavyD then proceeds to deploy his other squads mostly across the street in safety, I do take one MG TK shot with the LMG behind the wall and hit but to not penetrate. The MMG though has better luck and kills the half track in its sights as the squad is unloading. The crew survives while the squads runs into a street hex where I break it with first fire. The two Pz-IVs make a run to cover the Northern approaches to the town.

Start of German turn 2

Adventures in Vehicle Bypass Movement

Impressive Advancing Fire, from the same Pz-IIIJ - turn 2

Once again we have an exciting time in the advancing fire phase. The Pz-III that repositioned into the center of the town CH's the LMG squad behind the wall, I manage a 12 on the MC so I am now a convict HS. The next exciting event is CC where I fail (needing a 7) to get the half track in bypass, all I am able to do is immobilize it and these guys (the crew) are not impressed, choosing to stay in their track and duke it out. 

Start of Russian turn 2

German Defensive Fire phase - turn 2

On my turn, I start off in prep fire by breaking my MMG taking a shot at the immobile HT. My T-34s make an entrance and draw some long range low odds attention from the IVs on HeavyD's right. I am able to get the three tanks into cover out of LOS of the IVs and in decent defensive spots should HeavyD decide to get aggressive next turn.  In Defensive final fire HeavyD breaks my melee crew (7-0 + 2-3-7) and also knocks out my ATR squad. My infantry has done little and is breaking left and right. I might have passed one MC thus far in the game, failing all the others including a couple ELR failures. To be fair HeavyD is shooting quite well tonight so these are usually 1 or 2 MC's that I am failing, so I have that going for me. We are also getting a good workout on the CH and improbable hit rules and that's also a good thing. 

Turn 3

Start of Turn 3

HeavyD again has a light prep fire phase to open turn 3. HeavyD moves two of the III's up a few hexes and manages to DM my broken squads whilst doing so. In a strange move, HeavyD moves a leader and HS into the street next to a concealed 5-2-7 (and the broken 7-0 + 2-3-7) and I manage to break them (Woohoo!). The 9-2 and squad move into the street as well and during final fire I mange to break the 9-2 with the repaired MMG, but the 5-4-8 that he's stacked with rolls a 2 on its MC and goes fanatic and procs a hero to boot. HeavyD's half track drivers are of course made of stern stuff as the bailed out crew charges into the row house next to the MMG whilst the immobilized crew keeps on manning its AAMG with the best of them. HeavyD decides to play it cool with his remaining tanks, not forcing a fight with my T-34s. Its easily the right play here and the way he's mowing through my infantry there is little pressure on him at this point. 

German Movement Phase, turn 3

My half of turn 3 opens with me definitely starting to feel the pressure. I need to get the T-34s into the action to try and inspire my disinterested infantry back into the fight. I am down to only three good order squads at this point and there's little chance of the broken ones coming back because they are easily going to be kept DM by HeavyD. I decide that I can make a move on a lone Pz-III in the center of the town. I will roll up and park two hexes away. I have my 11 frontal armor protecting me against the 13 (+1 for range) penetration of his 50L. HeavyD does have a nice supply of APCR though but at this point I have few options and its about time for me to cash in some of this karma that the dice goods have been depositing into my account. Thus with confidence I drive my T-34 into place two hexes away from the Pz-IIIJ and WHAM, he CH's me! He didn't even call out an APCR shot he was so confident in his crewmen. For those keeping track this is about the 6th CH that his tanks have scored to date (and we are not done by a long shot, kids). 

Start of Russian Turn 3

Scratch one T-34

 
The fun continues in the defensive fire phase as the immobile HT breaks the squad next to them with a 6+2 shot (rolling a 3). Next up an 5-4-8 with LMG zaps my guys in P2, reducing the broken squad and turning the concealed squad there into a Berserk squad (really the last thing I need right now...). It does prove thought that my dice are capable of rolling a 2, so I am encouraged at least. Next up one of the IVF2 CH building hex Q8, where a bunch of my broken guys are taking refuge. Despite the shellacking HeavyD is handing out to me, we are both having a good time, giggling like school girls with every new CH that HeavyD inflicts upon me. I am guessing that I have a 2.3% chance of pulling this one off, but I stick around because I just know that the dice Gods will have the revenge on HeavyD soon.


Turn 4


Turn 4 starts off with a bang as the Pz-IV's are now getting in on the CH action. The same tank that CH'd Q8 at the end of last turn shoots another one in there, this time shrinking the population of the hex down to a sole HS. Rate of fire eliminates this HS on the next shot. Next up the Pz-III breaks my MMG squad with yet more impressive marksmanship (this tank has a couple CH's to its credit already). I am now down to a single good order 8-1 and a berserk 4-2-6, all the rest of my infantry are preparing to enter the labor camp population in their post war careers. 

Start of German Turn 4

Bounding Fire Mayhem

HeavyD opens the movement phase by driving his Pz-IIIN next to the building housing my 8-1 and berserk squad. Strangely HeavyD decides to bounding fire instead of wait until the advancing fire phase. He obviously knows what he's doing though as the tank misses with its MGs but gets a hit (and rate) with its MA (75*). I mostly survive these MC's then HeavyD delays a MP and (wait for it...) rolls another 2 on his 2nd shot, BOOM a CH, well the possibility of one that is. We're laughing as he roles the subsequent dr to see what happens, a 1. This CH kills everything in the hex except a lone 2-2-6 Berserk HS, as it was a 2KIA result he checks for rubble and the building comes down and with it my last remaining non-broken infantry unit. We are laughing in the isles now and these are some amazing Germans that HeavyD has brought to the table tonight. I see no point now in continuing, we have had about as much fun as we can with this one. I concede and HeavyD accepts. 

Final Positions

So, even though I was literally blown off the board by HeavyD's laser like application of firepower I had a great time. This was some very entertaining ASL, even though it was largely one sided.

Advanced Squad Leader (MMP) ~ "Gabriel's Horn" AP75

Game: Advanced Squad Leader (MMP)
Scenario: "Gabriel's Horn"
Publication: Action Pack 8
Participants: Jim "HeavyD", Myself
Time: Sat, 3/3 ~ 11.00AM - 3.30PM

HeavyD and I have been on an ASL shame cycle. Each of us has had a scenario we would have liked to forget. I started it off by misreading the SSR's to AP78 "Crossfire". This was uncovered on the 3rd turn and I promptly threw in the towel as it was a catastrophic misread. I thought that the row house black bars were not there, making each row house a cluster of single hex buildings. This prompted me to set up based on this and it wasn't until the third turn that my error was uncovered. HeavyD followed up on our next try while playing "Point d'Appui" (U5) by performing one of the most interesting assaults using half tracks and squads. It was a spectacular failure and we stopped on the second turn. Despite these two failed attempts at playing ASL at a competent level we are both fully infected with ASL fever and thus selected another scenario from AP8 for our next scheduled game. 


It was my turn to pick and I selected "Gabriel's Horn". This is a medium sized scenario with an impressive ROAR record (9 to 9 when we played it). As with the other scenario's in this Action Pack, it's got interesting and somewhat complex victory conditions. HeavyD and I are both a fan of these even though they increase the risk of us failing the Victory Condition Task Check which can occasionally lead to a embarrassingly short game. This scenario has the US player as the defender. There are two groups of Americans of roughly Company size. One group sets up on hill hexes of board 5A (one of the new maps that came with the pack) while the other Company sets up in the town (board 60) about a half a map away. Each Company is a mix of 1st line and Green units with a good assortment of support weapons and fairly average leadership. The Company that sets up on the hill can set up in Foxholes. The Germans have a little more than a dozen squads (4-6-8 and 4-6-7), good leadership and average support weapons. This infantry force is supported by four StuG's that enter the board on turn 2. The German player also has a module of 80mm OBA directed by an off board observer. 


The Victory Conditions tell us that its going to be a bug hunt and the American player is the Bugs. The Germans have to control all of the level three hill hexes on board 5a as well as controlling three more three-hex stone buildings on board 60 then the Americans. Then Germans also have to score twice as many CVP's then the Americans. Simple right? My ASL self confidence was low so prior to the game I Googled the scenario and read through several AAR's (something I don't usually do until after I play a scenario) and found some good ones. These helped my get my bearings while at the same time presenting several different options for each player.

Set Up

HeavyD set up first. He elected to put the Company on the hills together on one hill instead of spreading them out (to the extent that the set up will allow). The Company in the town is more restricted in their set up and thus they were tightly packed in the center of the town. The Germans can set up Concealed (regardless of terrain) at least two hexes away from the hill top American Company. It's pretty clear that I am going to have to take down the hill based Company first and then clear out some of the town. I liked HeavyD's set up, I didn't want to risk setting up too far away on some of the level 3 hexes because I would be too far away from the action. His set up thus forced me to set up mostly in open ground down slope from him. I selected two sides from which to attack and set up the other third of my force to make a run into the town on the first turn. I knew that I wanted to send some troops into the town to force him to defend it and to distract that group from supporting the defense of the hill with their two mortars. I planned on having the StuG's arrive on the North side of the map to help crack the hill (as needed) while also going straight towards the town. 

Start of American Turn 1

German Advance on the Hill (Turn 1)

I started off by realizing that I failed to make use of the preregistered hex and my ASL id plummeted! I recovered though as my AR didn't drift off map and I drew a black card. The two MMG based fire groups I had set up broke their targets but others remained good order so I was forced to play it extremely cautiously during my movement phase. I was able to get into Melee on one of the foxholes while I mostly did one hex assault moves for the rest of my force. HeavyD's return fire broke only one of my squads. My other group ran their buts off towards the town. They were able to get into the town unobserved and via the advance phase make good progress. 

Cat and Mouse in the Town on the Hill (turn 2)

German Artillery impacting the American Defenses (turn 2)

 HeavyD's turn saw him shift a couple of squads over to support the two that were facing my tired group in the town. The mortars in the town didn't have any good targets to fire on so HeavyD started to move them down the hill into better terrain to get an LOS on to the hill and allow them to fire (because they started mostly in buildings). On the hill HeavyD was able to break some of my troops while the Melee failed to produce a victor.  My OBA came down nicely on the North side of his defenses and did some serious damage with a CH on one hex. HeavyD was able to rally most of his broken guys though.


Turn 2 was still very cautious for me. In the town I carefully advanced using the stone buildings and concealment where I could. We were almost even on squads here so I was only trying to tie up his guys and didn't want to invoke anything too risky at this point in the scenario. I needed this force to still be around in a couple turns when (hopefully) my other group will be coming over from the hill. I sent three of the StuG's towards the town. I regretted this as I spent my last stop MP as it occurred to me that one lucky mortar shot would yield HeavyD 6 or so CVP's that I would then have to double to stay in front. The odds were good though as my StuG's were only a few hexes away shooting at HeavyD's mortar crews in the +1 TEM cactus terrain. This also prevented him from supporting his forces on the hill. 

Start of American turn 2

Turn 2 was lively on the Hill. My OBA continued to perform well as I adjusted fire one hex over and blasted another couple of hexes worth of HeavyD's defenses. My Southern section suffered a couple of broken squads but I was able to clear the Melee hex giving me LOS to the whole top of the hill. I was also able to get a squad into the foxholes on the other side of the hill as well. Lastly I sent one of the StuG's up the hill and would be on position to drive right up on top on the next turn as I had broken his squads that had BAZ's. He's was down to only a couple good order units and routing was becoming very difficult for him. HeavyD's 2nd turn went well for him in the town. He was able to break a couple of my squads. My StuG's broke both of the mortar crews though and they routed up and into the town.

Hill Overrun (Turn 3)

Turn 3 saw the American defenses on the hill broken. I was able to break most of the defenders with Prep Fire and drove the StuG up on the hill cementing the collapse by forcing most of the broken units to surrender. I shifted the OBA over to the town where I drew a black card (after drawing a red). I had a good rally phase on this side and was able to re balance the situation there. I even started to turn his flank as well. With the collapse of the hills defenses and the progress I made in the town HeavyD conceded. I had 4 complete turns left to just take a couple of the buildings having already met the other two victory conditions.

Game End Positions (End of German Turn 3)

Both of us were a little relieved that is appears like we are coming out of our collective ASL funk. My OBA really turned the tide on the Hill getting two CH's. This hastened the collapse of the defenses there and sealed Heavy's fate there. I also had a very good Rally phase on turn three getting nearly all of my broken guys back in the town. While I wouldn't call this and outright dicing, they certainly helped my cause. Both of us felt like we both played a fairly good game and we also agreed that this is a tightly balanced scenario.

1914 Twilight in the East (GMT) ~ 29.5 "The Tannenberg Campaign"

Game: 1914 Twilight in the East
Publisher: GMT Games
Scenario: "The Tannenberg Campaign"
Participants: Bob H, Myself
Time: Sun, Feb 26th ~ 2.00PM - 5.00PM
         Sun, Mar 4th ~ 2.00PM - 5.00PM

At long last, our return to Tannenberg. This game and specifically this scenario has already provided many hours of enjoyment for both Bob and I. We have played this scenario at least three time, and have seen each side win, sometimes in dramatic fashion. This is a game that both of us really like and one that is smack in the middle of our collective wheel house. Bob is attracted to anything that features the Austo-Hungarian Empire. I find the tightly written rules and competitive nature of the game appealing. The artwork is first rate as well. I have read 6-8 books on WWI that I would likely not have read had I not played this game. So it is with these high expectations that we start another playing of Tannenberg. 

For those that are not familiar with Tannenberg (and I was one of these prior to this game) it is an amazing piece of history filled with drama and huge consequences. The campaign opens with the Russian 1st Army set to invade Prussia while the 2nd Army hurriedly tries to get into the action further South. The Russians outnumber the Germans but this is deceiving as your average German Division is quite a lot more potent then it's Russian counterpart. The Russian player is also saddled with the pre-war Strategic Objectives which greatly restrict the movement of the two Russian Armies. However once the Russian 2nd Army gets into the fight the German player will have his hands full if he hasn't dealt a strong blow to the 1st Army. 

This scenario is ideal for learning everything about this system. The Campaign is a very manageable one map affair with a fairly low counter density. The Campaign also puts heavy emphasis, indeed stresses many of the games operation themes (supply in particular). You will become a railroad baron at the same time that you master the art of an early 20th Century quartermaster. Unlike the vast majority of operational scale games I have played, you will open your thought process thinking about repairing RR tracks and what your supply line needs to look like at the end of the turn. Once you have considered these options you are then able to think about committing you Divisions to Battle. The German player is under constant pressure on two fronts, trying to hold off two Russian Armies with too few units. The Russian player has to operate within the restrictions of his Strategic Objectives while at the same time extending his supply lines far enough to support his advancing units. The game is nothing at all what I would have expected in a Division level game covering WWI. This Campaign does an amazing job at capturing this drama in equal amounts for each player. 

At Set up with Army Objective highlighted

As I was the German player the last time we played, I took the reigns of the Russians. Having just played the excellent "Battle of Ivangorod" scenario (replay here) from the recently published Journal (also highly recommended) I was amazed at how rusty I still felt as we sat down and began. This coming after spending a good amount of time re-reading the rules as well. As the rust started to give way, recollections of prior games started to creep back into my consciousness. In our prior game the Russians were dealt a catastrophic defeat very early in the game that they were unable to recover from. This was weighing heavily in the opening turns and as a result we both played a very conservative first three turns. 

Opening (turns 1-3)

1st Army Opening Positions

Before I start on the narrative it is important to talk about supply as it drives everything in the game. In order for a unit (generally Divisions) to be in full supply (and thus able to use its Artillery) is has to be within range of its Corps supply train unit. Each Corps usually contains two and sometimes three Divisions. Each Corps has a supply train counter, the counter represents the Corps supply hub. In order for a Division to use its Artillery in a battle, is HAS to have access to a supplied Corps train. A Division without Artillery is at a severe disadvantage as Artillery drives losses in the combat process. Corps Trains need to be within range of an Army Depot. Each Army usually has two, a major and minor. The major depot allows unlimited AP (artillery ammunition) while a minor only allows 4 APs per turn to flow through it. A Corps fighting a battle in which one or both/all of its Divisions is fighting and using their inherent Artillery will use one AP point. Army Depots are restricted to RR lines, they can only move along RR lines over the course of a turn (at most 12 hexes). In order for a depot to move further then that it has to pack up and move, causing it to be unable to provide supply for two turns after it has relocated. Further complicating the situation are the two sides different RR gauges. Each player has a limited supply of RR engineer points that he can use to convert track over to his sides use. You are forced to pay close attention to this in order to plan a successful campaign. Most of the time I am spending at least as much time if not more thinking about supply and RR lines then I am about moving units and fighting. Don't confuse this long description with dissatisfaction with the mechanics, to me (and Bob) this is one of the best parts of the game.

1st Army, start of turn 2

Start of Turn 2

The 1st Army is best suited in the opening turns to start off being aggressive. I elected to play it safe and make sure that I advanced my supply lines along so that I would be able to concentrate my forces against Bobs. Two of the Russian 1st Army Corps (2 and 4) start further South then the rest of the Army and are tied much closer to the limited rail lines located there. In the North I had two Corps (3 & 26) that start very close to the main rail lines and are very close to the 1st German Corps. In prior games we usually see some fighting here in the opening turns, but Bob and I were having none of it this time. We were both very slow in this area. I focused on marching the 2nd and 4th Corps closer to the main line of advance, leaving the other two Corps basically in place while I moved in the two Corps from the South. The Corps train units are not allowed to force march so its very easy for the Infantry to run far in front of the trains and this can lead to trouble. 

13th and 6th Corps start out across the Swamps

2nd Army Minor Depot redeploys to support the 1st and 15th Corps Advance

The 2nd Army is in worse shape then the 1st Army. First off it doesn't even move on the first turn, then most of its Corps trains have an incomplete-2 marker on them. This limits their range until you spend a turn reducing the marker, in all it takes two entire turns for the trains to loose these markers and be operating at full efficiency. The terrain in the 2nd Army's area is also very restrictive. There is a big gap between your units and the Germans. The terrain is either swampy or mixed (swamp/rough/woods). There is only one rail line that leads towards the Army's objective yet most of the Army starts 8-12 hexes away from this RR line. As I had done in prior games I moved the 2nd Army's minor Depot over to this line as soon as I could. I send two Corps (13 & 6) into the swamps in a direct line to the nearest Strategic Objective. The other two Corps (1 & 15) advanced along this rail line leading towards Tannenberg. 

Opening Salvo, 1st Division attacks a lone Brigade

It wasn't until the third turn that we saw our first Prepared Attack. This happened in the 2nd Army's area as the 13th Corps emerged from crossing the swamp to destroy a German brigade. When I made these attacks I was at the very limit of my supply line. Bob rushed the 20th Corps into the area quickly and launched his own attack against the 13th.  In the 1st Army sector, the 2nd and 4th Corps were starting to close in with the rest of the Army and I started to finally advance across the boarder into Prussia. Bob only had two Corps (1 & 17) in the area and slowly pulled back not wanting to give battle. 


Battle is Joined (turns 4 & 5)



The 2nd Army's 1st Corps is making good time advancing on Osterode. Bob nearest Corps is over facing my 13th and 6th Corps who have emerged from the swamps and engaged them. I am able to run up and attack a couple of Brigades in the rough terrain a couple hexes South of Osterode and push them back. The 6th Corps on the 2nd Army's right takes up the fight after the 13th is badly shaken by its attacks on the German 20th Corps (I failed my EL checks). In the center of 2nd Army's area the 15th (the pink guys) are making good progress to towards Allenstien (an objective of the 2nd Army). Bob trains in a Corps (1R) to this area from the 1st Army's front and suddenly I am uncomfortable about how exposed the 15th is. Its all in at this point and I should be able to make attacks on two of the three 2nd Army objective next turn. 

2nd Army, Combat phase turn 4

1st Army, end of turn 4

In the 1st Army's front Bob is digging in behind a river line a few hexes in front of Intersberg (the 1st Army's Objective). When he shifts the 1R Corps South to face the 2nd Army I am left with a 3-1 advantage in Corps. I have my Cavalry ranging North of the main line of advance pushing Bobs Cavalry back and trying to drive off an approaching Brigade marching down to reinforce his lines. I have a couple more Divisions arriving and marching to the front as well. I will have little choice but to launch frontal attacks on his dug in troops behind the river line, but that's ok as I have more troops and am hopping to grind him down. 

Start of turn 5

Turn 5 is very busy on both fronts. In the South, 2nd Army is attacking two of its three Strategic Objective. I only need to occupy one of these to meet my plan for the 2nd and score some nice VPs. More importantly this will lift the restriction on my movement. While an Army is under Strategic Objectives its combat units are restricted in their movement, if they move they must move AT LEAST ONE HEX closer the an Army objective. Thus once you get close to your objective you are really tied to them and lack any room to maneuver. Bob on the other hand is free to run around as he sees fit. 

2nd Army launches two 3-1 attacks on Objective hexes

1st Army starts to assault the trench line

Bobs reaction movement phase see's him detrain the 1R Corps and make a lunge at the 15th Corps 8th Division. I have left this unit back to cover the Corps train and I am glad I did and its looking like Bob is planning on going after it. My two attacks on the Strategic Objectives (Allenstien and Osterode) are stopped cold despite 3-1 odds. I merely needed to roll a six or less on 2d6 to have taken one of the two hexes. 

Bob quickly gets the 1R Corps into action on the flank of 15th Corps

Bob flanks and routes the 2nd Corps on the 1st Army's left

 On Bobs next turn he unloads a division near Osterode and pushes one of the 1st Corps Divisions back one hex. The 1R Corps attacks my 8th Division (15C) which is only two hexes away from its Corps train. The 8th holds thankfully with neither inflicting much damage.


The 1st Army's front is not without drama either. My attacks on Bobs two dug in Divisions don't do much except cost me men and EL level. Bob counters by sending his 1st Corps around my Southern line and attacking the 2nd Corps. This was a close one as Bob could have force marched after my Crops train but instead chose to attack the two Divisions. I would have gone after the train as that would have really caused me some problems that would likely have forced me to abandon my Strategic plan earlier that I would have wanted to. The attack goes well and I am forced to retreat two hexes taking some heavy losses in the process. My reaction movement allowed me to move the two trains in the area out of immediate danger though. My Calvary gets into some trouble on the right side of 1st Army's line and a couple of brigades have to high tail it out of there in a hurry as Bob's lone Brigade from the North lunges in. 

We stopped here for the day. Each of my Army's are either adjacent to or a couple hexes away from their objectives while at the same time facing threatening flanking movements. The next couple turns should be very exciting for both of us.

End of Turn 5