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Thread: SND Week 2: "That's Not Gone Well".

  1. #1

    Default SND Week 2: "That's Not Gone Well".

    Apologies for the late reports -- I try to wait a bit before posting these, as I think most people have seen what happens when I post "in the heat of the moment".

    This week saw the Germans attempting the "Iron Hand" -- a concerted assault on a balloon position, not just to destroy the balloon, but the surrounding "infrastructure" in order to render the whole position unusable.

    Said position is based on the balloon defense from the older game _Richthofen's War_: 4 AA cannon, 4 AA single-MG. (There would be 6 or so "dummy" positions if there were more than one player; as there's only me, they can be dispensed with.) A "standard" deployment was used -- the eight positions are distributed on the four primary compass points, and the 45-degree points between, all within 1-ruler distance (to allow supporting fire). In the cases following, the cannons were at the compass points, the MGs at the 45s. The ground defenses are hamstrung in that the cannons may not place a shot marker in a position where it could damage the balloon (defending fighters are on their own :) ).

    For purposes of the game: Defending fighters remain off-board until the attackers have destroyed one cannon, or two MGs; at the beginning of the next full turn following the turn the condition is fulfilled, the defending fighters enter from the side nearest the destroyed cannon or second MG. (This confronts the attacker with a choice: Leave the AA and go for the balloon and support gear, or swat the guns and have to face a foe who can maneuver.) The attacker may enter from any side; the balloon is in the center of the field (the table I use is square, so there's no advantage to one side over another).

    First attempt, the AA got lucky. The Germans sent a 3-pack of D.Vs -- lots of HP, and A-decks all around. They went for a concentrated assault on an AA gun, and knocked it out in one pass. Unfortunately, they neglected the MGs, which also focused their attention on one D.V, and took it out with two consecutive "engine" criticals! The day did not improve for the Germans; they made a firing pass at the balloon, then tried to put the balloon between them and the incoming defender fighters (a pair of A-deck Hanriots). One of the D.Vs was sieved by MG fire -- and then took an AA strike at close range; with an engine hit, a pilot hit, and down to under 50% HP, that fighter de-assed the area with the quickness (or as much as it could muster with a crippled engine). The remaining D.V was last seen heading for the hills with a pair of Hanriots on its tail turning it into Swiss cheese.

    The result was quite clearly an Entente victory; however, it was also clear that losing 1/3 of its strength in the first turn of combat pretty-well torpedoed any chance the Germans had. So I re-racked, and tried again.

    The second battle was close. The AA weren't near as fortunate; in one sweeping pass, the Germans wrecked all three gun positions on one side, while taking minor damage to one D.V. However, this summoned those Hanriots again -- and I was reminded why I so dearly love the Hanriot: It is a bit slower than the D.V, but my God, it can dance. And those two Little Skirmishers did a fandango on the D.Vs [let's see who can get this ref without looking it up :) ] -- first forcing them away from the balloon, then swatting one of the D.Vs with a four-A-card volley. This did allow one of the D.Vs to make a couple passes at the balloon doing noticeable damage; however, it left the other D.V staring down the wrong end of the "2:1 odds" barrel; the pilot was killed in a hail of fire, but not before giving one of the HD.1s a pretty peppering. The final D.V did its best to take out the balloon, and was within a couple points of inflicting half-damage when the HDs showed up. To his credit, the D.V did manage to disable one HD (second engine hit), but it was a Pyrrhic victory as the HDs gave a far-less-obscene meaning to the phrase "gang-bang", and shot him down.

    At the end of the fracas, the Entente had managed to keep the balloon, but it would require some patching up; they also had to replace an AA cannon, and two AA MGs. The Germans, for all the damage they had inflicted, lost three acft., plus the pilots (one definitely dead, the other two most-likely dead). I called this one a draw -- in the words of Pvt. Sam Watkins, 1st Tennessee Infantry (CSA), speaking of the Battle of Perryville in 1862, "If it had been two men wrestling it could have been called a 'dog fall'. Both sides claiming the victory -- both whipped". In the final analysis: I know I tend to go on about the Hanriot, but this fight illustrated why I'm such a fan -- a less-maneuverable, or less-well-armed, or both, unit could not have held its own against the D.V; and had the draws been a bit better, the Germans using two fighters to tie up the defending fighters while send the third after the balloon might have worked (incendiary ammo might also have helped, but given the disputes over its use, I had the Germans using basic shot).

    Final score: Entente: 1; CP; 0; plus one no-score draw.

  2. #2

    Default

    Thanks Chris. Nice to see the Entente claim a win, even if you may not have wanted it.

    Will add this to SND week.2 (plus accumulator).



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