Author	treadasaurusrex (United States)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	United States
Participants	OldPueblo
Play Date	2024-04-09
Language	English
Scenario	HaSi003

Others have described this ambush scenario in detail so this will be a shortish recap of this 16-turn battle. We played it over 5-sessions of fun online, with me leading the attacking GIs and Old Pueblo ably-playing the defending Russian convoy commander. This was an armor-piercing and close assault carnival from virtual start to finish. Lots of cover & concealment for the Americans to use to get into decisive range. We played using the FOW (starting on the 8th game turn), extended assault, consolidation, excess initiative and smoke/illum. In addition, the 3 house rules used were: 1) Tank Leader Forward Observation Full strength, efficient tank leaders may spot for ALL artillery & air strikes in accordance with the normal spotting rules (8.0, page 19). Just as leader units may spot, this action does not require an activation. Nonefficient tank leaders may also attempt to spot for ON BOARD ARTILLERY ONLY by throwing a single die per attempt to spot a target. This action does require an activation. They spot the intended target on a die roll of 4-6, 2) Road Movement for Mechanized & Foot Units All FOOT & MECHANIZED units may move on roads at the rate of 1/2 a Movement Point (MP) per road hex, just like MOTORIZED units, and 3) Standardized Movement for Mechanized Units All mechanized units may move through clear hexes at a movement cost of only 1 movement point (MP) per hex, instead of 1 1/2. Add one to this cost if moving up, across, or down slopes hexes. We both felt that this was a rule set that enhanced playability and reduced unnecessary complexity.

The M-18s were a delight to use in shoot-and-scoot mode during the bulk of this play-through. These vehicles made setting up cross fires much easier to arrange for the hapless Soviet AFVs -- along with the steady set of consecutive US initiative activations -- and the infantry & supporting weapons did great execution among the loaded trucks. US ground troops fearlessly engaged in repeated adjacent-hex firefights and close assault against the strong Soviet AFV force. In spite of the slow increase in visibility as the fight progressed, American OBA managed a number of key demoralizations & unit losses, once the Soviet were out of their vehicles.

The final Soviet step losses were 41 steps and 5 leaders. The US step loss was only 17 and 2 leaders, resulting in a major US victory.