ASL First Fire

MMP's sixth ASL Journal is out and now being received by subscribers (it was actually first released in limited numbers to the participants in last month's Winter Offensive). The big attraction this time is the first historical map with accompanying scenarios to be included in a Journal since the second issue, more than five years ago. Although irrelevant to reviewing the actual content, this issue does include one of the nicer cover paintings used in quite a while. The back cover provides an advertisement for Fire in the Sky, MMP's planned reprint of a Japanese game on the war in the Pacific and which is currently on their preorder page. The remaining pages are all given over to ASL material. Overall, this is a nice looking magazine and very good to see. MMP appears very optimistic about this year's schedule of releases, and hopefully this will prove to be the first in a large series of products for both the new and the experienced ASL gamer in 2005.

As admitted by the editors, the Table of Contents looks a bit skimpy, but this is a 48 page magazine nevertheless. There are only three articles, but each is considerable, thus accounting for the appearance of the Table. First up is a Series Replay of scenario J73 "Tired and Unsupported," published in Journal 4. The players are J.R. Tracy and Paul Sidhu, with commentary supplied by John Slotwinski, all of these being familiar names in the ASL community. As pointed out by the participants, this scenario nicely demonstrates the Wall Advantage and Bocage rules as laid out in the 2nd edition of the ASL Rulebook. As always, the article provides a step-by-step listing of every action taken during the playing of the scenario, allowing the reader to set up the pieces and play along at home. While the scenario was a little one-sided, it looks like a nice demonstration that should be of benefit to new players and to anyone interested in the WA and Bocage rules. Plus, anytime you read about the play of a particular ASL scenario, you're likely to have some rules pointed out that you may tend to overlook. Did you remember that a sniper counter must be initially placed in an unoccupied Location as per A14.2? I'd forgotten that, but it's pointed out in the setup comments. Looks like a nice replay, and if anyone's interested I can suggest a couple of articles to browse before reading it.

The second article is by David Olie, and is a "nearly exhaustive" review of Fire Lanes and Residual FP. Given the importance of using these tactics to defend in ASL, both by channeling an attack and by protecting vulnerable routes of attack (such as streets), this article should be of benefit to any ASL player. Helping to clarify things even more, the article is accompanied by a two page "Comprehensive Example" to illustrate the concepts David lays out in the text. Like the previous such comprehensive examples, this appears to be very thorough and should be quite instructive.

The final article is the one most likely to elicit grumbling from some ASL players, but happens to be of a type that I like. Charles Markuss has written several extensive historical articles in the past dealing with the nationalities depicted in ASL. His earliest was entitled "Tommy Atkins at War" and appeared in Volume 25, Number 6 of Avalon Hill's magazine The General. The article discussed the British troops and weapons and their portrayal in ASL. The article in Journal 6 is intended as a follow up and revision of the original article, given the new historical material that Charles has come across since the original was published. It is also the first part of a two-part article, with the second part to appear in Journal 7. I like historical articles. While some players undoubtedly like wargames primarily for the gaming aspect, I have always found the historical context to be very important, seeing wargames and printed historical material as being very much complementary in my desire to learn more about military history, something that has been true since I first found Midway on a toy store shelf shortly after reading Walter Lord's Incredible Victory. I understand that articles like this may not be for everyone, but I am looking forward to reading this and to reading the second part when it comes out.

The centerpiece of this issue is, of course, the Primosole Bridge (PBr) map, accompanied by three scenarios and a Campaign Game portraying the fighting around that Sicilian objective during July, 1943. The map itself is a very nice Kurt Miller creation, depicting the bridge itself with a large area of vineyards next to it. The hexes are the larger size as has become standard in most historical products. Included with the map is a 20 page supplement to the ever-expanding Chapter Z containing rules for using the map along with three Campaign Games. No new terrain types are introduced, although the map contains a new depiction to represent vineyards, previously represented as an "alternate terrain type" in Chapter F. The Chapter Z supplement reprints the rules for Vineyards and Olive Groves from Chapter F, along with the rules for Barbed-Wire Fences and Irrigation Ditches from Pegasus Bridge, all of which are found on the enclosed map. As stated above, there are three Campaign Games ranging from three to 12 Campaign Dates. Two of the CG (which cover the initial landing) have British troops entering the battlefield both by Paratroop Landing and in Gliders. Three scenarios are included as well, with a promise of more to come in the next issue of the Journal. Overall, this a nice module, consistent with MMP's established standards. The only complaint I have is that there is no historical summary provided. In fact, the only historical information provided is the standard prelude and aftermath information on the three scenarios which use the map (one of which doesn't have an aftermath listed). Perhaps that is why MMP has included a brief overview on the Journal 6 page on their website:

What is "Primosole Bridge"? The Primosole Bridge was a key bridge on the Sicilian coast near Mt. Etna which the British required, intact, to continue their drive along the coast. They executed a rather brave plan, seen later in the war at Arnhem, of dropping airbourne elements to sieze the bridge and wait for front lines to catch up. The problem is the Germans realized the importance of the bridge, and landed their own Fallschirmjaegers nearby to hold the bridge and reinforce the Axis units in the area. With such crack troops on hand the battle was fierce with the British nearly collapsing when their ground troops came to their rescue and drove off the Fallschirmjaegers to fight another battle...

The Chapter Z supplement does have an extensive bibliography for the battle, but I was surprised not to find at least an overview of the circumstances surrounding this action, given that I doubt it is widely known to the wargaming public.

As for the scenarios, there are 12 total, three of which involve action on the Primosole Bridge map. They appear to be a nice mix of actions, including PTO, West Front, East Front (both early- and late-war) and even a desert scenario. They are as follows:

J90 "The Time of Humiliations" - French forces desperately defend against the Japanese in French Indonesia. Two boards and the railroad overlays are used.
J91 "The Sooner The Better" - Three-board desert action with Australians and Germans fighting near Tobruk in 1941.
J92 "Your Turn Now" - Filipino troops try to hold off the Japanese in Cebu City during the Phillipines campaign in April, 1942. Two half-boards are used.
J93 "The Porechye Bridgehead" - 1941 East Front action with an encircled German force reinforced by armor holding off a Russian counterattack. Three boards are used (including board 52).
J94 "Kempf at Melikhovo" - Small two half-board action from Operation Citadel in 1943, Russians defending the board 3 village against the Germans. One of Ola Nygårds' "On Top ASL" scenarios.
J95 "Typical German Response" - First of the PBr scenarios, depicts the battle for the approaches to the bridge, with the British defending the German counterattack. Uses an approximately 12 by 12 hex area on the map.
J96 "Another Bloody Attack" - Second of the PBr scenarios, taking place the day after J95, with the British trying to retake the bridge following the successful German counterattack. Uses about one third of the map.
J97 "A Nice Morning for a Ride" - Third PBr scenario, the British now holding the bridge yet again and trying to expand their bridgehead. Uses about half of the map, and features a British hero on bicycle riding to alert the reinforcements.
J98 "Lend-Lease Attack" - Two board action with Germans (including two Tigers) defending against a mobile Russian force containing lend-lease vehicles. Another of Ola's scenarios.
J99 "On to Florence" - New Zealand troops try to take the board 10 village from the Germans in Italy in 1944.
J100 "For a Few Rounds More" - Americans face Germans with Sturmtigers on board 3 in 1945. From Scott Holst.
J101 "The Coconut Plantation" - Australian troops try to clear Bougainville of Japanese in 1945 in a half-board-sized PTO battle.

This looks like another well-done magazine, with only a few minor problems. I would have liked to have had an historical article for PBr as stated earlier, and there are a few typos, some of which are corrected on an errata sheet included with the magazine. Overall a very nice product.