Last Ally, Last Victory ETO (id:#59887)
Multi-Man Publishing (ASL Starter Kit #3 ID: S26)   [next]   [previous]
Designer: Pete Shelling
Starter kit scenario?:    Deluxe scenario?:
 
Balance:
GermanRussian
29.411764705882%

Overview:

As the Red Army steamrolled towards Hungary, heavy German tank formations were increasingly rare. By the end of September, Cavalry-Mechanized Group Pliyev had crossed the border near Oradea, and was threatening the agricultural center of Debrecen. To make matters worse for the Axis cause, many Hungarian units were beginning to defect to the Soviet side. The Germans needed a victory to stop this, and the 6th Armee under General Maximillian Fretter-Pico reformed with three Panzer Divisions just as Marshal Malinovsky was driving into Hungary's northeastern plains with the three corps of Cavalry-Mechanized Group Pliyev. Neither side was aware of the other's disposition as Germany's campaign to save her last ally reached fever pitch.
Attacker: German (1st Panzer Division/SchwerePanzer Abteilung 503 and 23rd Panzer Division)
Defender: Russian (33rd Rifle Corps/6th Guards Tank Army/71st Heavy Tank Regiment, 6th Guards Tank Army)  
6.5 turns
    Players: 2     OBA: None     Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:15.0 D:16.5
AFVs: A:8
PzKpfw VG x 3
PzKpfw VIB x 2
PzKpfw IVJ x 3

AFVs: D:9
T-34 M43 x 2
IS-2 x 3
T-34/85 x 4

Guns: A:0 D:1
57mm PTP obr. 43

Victory Conditions:

Exit VP: Building Control VC: Area Control VC:
Unit Based VC: LOS Style VC: CVP Cap:
Misc Rules: Russian 6-2-8 Elite units are not subject to ELR.
Map Board(s): t u v
Overlays: NONE
Errata (source)
Players wanting to play this game/Request a match:

Scenario info

Last Played:
DateReporterOpponentResultComments
2022-09-01(A) Jack Wilson vs Ken Walsh Russian winMy first FTF with this one. Some consider it the "Final Exam" for SK1-3, and is, IMO, the closest thing SK3 has to a monster scenario: eventually there will be 31.5 SE, 17 AFVs and one hidden AT on the board. As a result, it plays slow, but is still interesting. As evidenced by the recorded plays, this one is heavily tilted toward the Russians. Which is too bad, because it has all the makings of a great scenario.

As usual, Ken had an excellent setup. I came on the board a little too aggressively and paid the price. By turn two I was down to 1 Tiger and 1 Panther, while the Russians had only lost 1 of their cruddy T-34s. Ken hid his 57LL in an ideal ambush location. Combined with my ham-fisted maneuvering, his rate tears and low TH DRs, it alone knocked out four tanks including one Tiger. Ouch!

I made a little bit of a comeback, and by turn 4 had knocked out two more tanks. But my infantry forces were pretty much shot to pieces. I only had about eight squads in position to try to capture the last 7 VC buildings. Buildings, btw, brimming with Russian infantry and shielded by Russian tanks. I resigned at the end of my turn four.

Having learned the error of my ways, I would play this again with the Germans (taking the balance) with a more cautious and deliberate approach. I think the key for the German is to protect his infantry with a screen of armor to give them a chance to cross the large swaths of OG, and not get drawn into tank battles until those squads are safely into the edge of the village.

Again, fun scenario. Win or lose, you will find it a helpful tool for working on infantry-armor combined tactics.
2022-02-19(A) Tony Fermendzin vs Mark Dennehy Russian win

(VASL Log)		The battle would begin with the Germans bringing in their eastern force, the Panthers providing over-watch, while the infantry looked to run up into the woods and over the hill on the southern end of the map.

A tank battle between the Panthers, the two T-34 M43’s, two T-35/85’s and two JS-2’s quickly ensued. The German Panther platoon leader (clearly a rookie!) made a number of tactical mistakes early. First bringing one of the Panthers on in a position that left it unable to support the other two tanks; then going CE and managing to get one his tank commanders wounded (shocked); and finally by doubling down on his mistake, panicking upon seeing the hoard of Russian tanks headed his way, and taking ill-advised intensive fire shots, leaving two of the Panther tanks with malfunctioned MA. Lots of lessons to be learned there!!

The Russians would eventually win the tank battle in the east, dispersing the German infantry and taking out two of the Panther tanks at a cost of two T-34/M43’s and one JS-2 tank. One German Panther with a malfunctioned MA, the 9-2 & 9-1 German leaders, and a few squads would escape to the west heading towards the town. One of the Russian T-34/85 would malfunction its MA in the fight. The start of an unfortunate trend for the Russians, as a number of Russian tanks would end the game with malfunctioned guns.

The German force coming in from the west would fare better, methodically grinding towards the town. The King Tigers would control the battlefield, taking out a JS-2 and a T-34/85, and chasing off the remaining Russian tanks in the west, while the Pz Mk IVJ’s supported the German infantry as they advanced up the middle of the map, pushing the Russians out of the buildings on the southwestern edge of town.

The reinforcing Russian infantry would beat the Germans into the town, but would do so with a number of squads broken as they crossed the open ground at the edge of town. This would prove costly for the Russians.

Turn five would see the Germans make their push into the town. Short on infantry, the Germans would use their tanks to flank the town, and to tie down the Russians by driving straight into the buildings they occupied. A number of the broken Russian squads in town would be eliminated by FTR, leaving an opening for the German infantry to push into the town.

As advertised, the battle would “swirl and rage around the town” as the German infantry pushed into the town from the west, the south and the east, while the Russians counter attacked from the northwest.

Fortune would favor the Germans in the last few turns, and the start of their last turn would find them in control of six out of the nine buildings required to win, with an opportunity to grab three more. Everything would need to go as planned for the Germans to pull it out! However, the German force tasked to take one of the buildings would all break after the Russians, coolly waiting until seeing the whites of their eyes, hit them with a point-blank shot in the defensive fire phase making it impossible for the Germans to obtain the victory.

Mark played a great game and really deserved the victory in this one. Some good luck let the Germans get a bit closer than they probably should have in the end, but it did make for a great game down to the final shot.
2021-04-13(D) Craig Renier vs Rich Matheson Russian winThe German initial push was shocked when the Russian AT gun revealed behind the German AFVs, taking out one. This was followed by an aggressive Russian movement bringing tanks to bear against the other two German AFVs advancing from the East wreaking both before Turn 3 was over. The Russians were less effective on the West, but did eliminate one Panzer. Without armor, the German infantry on the East side was cut down as they tried to cross open ground to any cover they could find. By Turn 4 the Germans had few Good Order squads remaining and still needed to capture 7 buildings.
2021-02-24(A) Jonathan Townsend vs Myself Russian winDespite knocking out most of the Russian tanks the Germans lost through just not quite having enough time.
It just goes to show that the harrassing action of the Russian tanks, despite resulting in great losses to themselves, was a very useful tactic in that the German tanks could not all concentrate on infantry support.
2021-01-11(D) Dave Mareske vs Craig Renier Russian winThe German big tanks did a number on all the Russian tanks, eventually knocking the last one out on Turn 5 with a PSK. The German advance was cautious and the Russians stayed out of the line of fire for the most part. So, most of the Russian infantry were still in the village towards the end. It was a great game that lasted several VASL sessions.
View all
ActionDate
Jwil2020 Added a playing2022-09-02 00:03:30
hoxson1 Linked the scenario to ROAR2022-05-09 21:31:14
acfe Added a playing2022-03-22 02:05:12
MoriQuessir Linked the scenario to ROAR2022-01-06 00:56:08
Heloanjin Added a playing2021-04-13 02:16:52
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(!germ-soviet.png)Imagehoxson1568
PzKpfw VG - "Panther" (PZ VG panther.png)Imagehoxson1585
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VASL Log file (S26 Mark vs Tony Turns 2-7.vlog)VASL Game Logacfe94
(S26.jpg)Map ImageTwirling937
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PzKpfw VG - "Panther"
 
Statistics:
Avg Rating: 7.74Votes: 35
Views: 3076
To-Play list count: 5
Estimated Play time: 9.3 hours
Recorded Games: 30
Archive recorded plays:
German8
Russian21
Drawn:1

ROAR Data: (as of November 2021)
Last Ally, Last Victory [Confirmed]
[A] German 12
[D] Russian 27
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