FANATIC PACK #1
FE 1 A Victory for Early Polish Armor: This scenario resulted from a reading of an article in the TANKS
online magazine located on the TANKS website. It features an action between the Polish Army and the invading Russians.
The article was fairly detailed with regards to the action and included a map of the battle. I like esoteric subjects
and early war stuff so this was a natural fit. On top of that the scenario features the FT-17 a vehicle that doesnt
often get much use.
I tried to keep the units fairly simple. Instead of designing a whole new system/counter set for one scenario I
decided to use the existing counter mix. The relative strengths feel right given the situation so that works for me.
Removing the special Russian Characteristics of Human Waves and Commissars seemed logical and worked from a design standpoint.
Having the Russian tidal wave across the boards would certainly effect balance in this scenario. The article I read
indicated that the MG's had been removed from the tankettes, thus the SSR on CMG. The +1 for the PAATC should represent
both the hesitancy and unfamiliarity of the soldiers with tanks and prevent the tanks from being swamped too quickly in the
village.
The scenario should play out fairly historical. The Poles were able to push into the town with their armor, the infantry
may find it harder to get in. The Poles should be somewhat secure in the town before the reinforcements come on which
historically resulted in the tanks being pushed out of the town.
The design of the scenario was fairly straight forward except the board layout. The action occurred across gently
rolling hills into a small village. Although the boards as represented to sort of provide this feel it is not the perfect
fit. I just dont get the feel of gently rolling farmland from any of hte boards and IMO board 46 just doesnt cut it it seems
too contrived, but since board 10 gets so much use and 46 was fairly new when I started the design I went with it.
FE 2 Dans La Bataille, Pour La Patrie: This scenario arose from reading an article on a Modeling website.
The action details a part of DeGaulle's counterattack that although was very promising did not have the punch to slow down
the Germans. This scenario features a large French tank force trying to force their way through a small at start
German force reinforced at mid game by a substantial German armored force. The action described in the article had the
French armored force pushing up several roads into the HQ of the German 1st Panzer Regiment.
The article provided me with a fairly accurate OOB for the French vehicles and I researched a number of sources to find
out typical armor that would have been in the area. I think this resulted in a nice action that is relatively rare in
ASL an early war armor/infantry battle.
This one will be tough on the Germans. Not only do they have to prevent the French from exiting they have to protect
their fairly vulnerable armor from becoming easy CVP. The German will have to strive to fight like their real world
counterparts, outmaneuver the French with their great MP and get in close rear and side shots, blow smoke and hide.
The lumbering French monsters will fall, slow and steady and if you can pick off a tank a platoon will slow down considerably.
Use your infantry to target the French motorcyclists, hope they dismount as this will slow them down too. Try to get
long range early shots on the riders to break them early and get some bailing out MC's. Protect the at start tanks from
early kills, use them against the infantry and to lay smoke infront of the heavy tanks to allow your stronger armed and armored
tanks to rush in for a kill or two.
The French should just push, get forward, dont worry about getting CVP they will come naturally, keep together and keep
the exit in mind. The scenario is a lot shorter than you think.
I found this one to be deceptively tough for the French. They appear to be able to walk across the board and initially
I had a VP requirement of around 75 but I consistently found the French moved way to slow, especially with tanks failing nonplatoon
movement DR as these become a factor. The German must be cautious but will be able to, if he uses his assets properly to slow
down the French.
FE 3: The Border Forts: This scenario arose from an article in World War II magazine that described
the troubles Italy had in November 1940. Desert has been an area of ASL that has bececome somewhat neglected in recent
years and I fear with the lack of availability of the desert boards etc, will continue to be. This action occurred in
East Africa and features some early war armor, which is always a favorite of mine. Throw in both sides getting Aerial
Support and WAY COOL!
The design of this one came relatively quickly. The Italians were defending a fort. Well how does one best represent
that? I think the trenches and wire nicely present an obstacle to the British similar to a fort. The British "broke"
into the fort so that is represented by them getting through the fortifications. Earlier I had the British entering
from offboard but too much time was spent traversing the board, which is boring and resulted in a few picked off British tanks,
thus I decided to start em right close to the fort.
The Italian units are fairly typical rear area defenders, not the best Italian available but the 7 morale should allow
them to stand up a bit to incoming firepower, the 2 ELR seems about right. The AT Guns seem appropriate and since this
is East Africa I went with the ancient 70* INF Gun. Remember you dont gain acquisition with that bad boy.
The British get a decent group of infantry. I had considered using 447's but I thought with the relatively low ELR too
many 436's would come into play thereby really slowing down the attack. Given the need for some strength in fighting
into the fort I went with the greater range. There is a big difference between the non-cowering 457 and the cowering
447. The tanks are a fairly typical group of early war desert vehicles. I intentionally limited the number of
Lt MTRs. I wanted to prevent a board covered with smoke blinding the Italians. That will have to be done with a liberal
and intelligent use of vehicle dust.
FE 4: Whirling Dervishes: I am especially proud of this scenario. This action is esoteric and
features some rarely used vehicles in a unique action. When designing I frequently look for a "hook" for the scenario.
The "hook" for this one was the rescue action. I found this action in a World War II magazine. The article was
fairly descriptive in its OOB and TO&E which was useful in developing each sides units.
I used a different technique for the "fort" from FE 3 which I believe is more appropriate for the action represented.
The fort walls should prevent the French and Italian vehicles from getting into the fort. The Garrison was made strong
enough to defend itself but not pose an unacceptable risk to the French.
This one will test your abilities with Chapter H. The Italian Autosaharianas have PP capability. HINT: try
to use that in getting units offboard! Both sides have some potent yet brittle weapons. The light dust was added
to assure that the vehicles aren't blasted away too quickly and should give each side some maneuverability with them.
This one plays out as a challenge for each side. The French have to cover a wide area, keep the Garrison contained
and avoid encircling attacks. They do get the quality troops and the advantage of getting the first shot in. The
Italians have a slight advantage in numbers and get EVP bonus. Look for a charge to the fort by a sacrificial lamb to
release the garrison followed by a break for the board edge.
FE 5: Beyond the Call of Duty: This scenario went through the most revisions of any in the pack, several
years ago I came across a brief description in a book (the name escapes me at the moment) which I THINK was the American Army
study of the German Baltic campaign by an Author named Blue, I could be wrong on that one. The reason it went through
so many changes is that on the face of it a bunch of green Allied Minor squads shouldnt be able to stand up against 1st line
German squads with Assault Engineers but I found that consistently the Germans were getting beaten around quite a bit, the
reason primarily was the unique combination of fortifications, MG's, guns and concealment. The Germans had a tough time
of balancing aggressiveness with caution and the result is a fairly tense scenario.
Originally this scenario had a couple of hill boards on the southern side but I removed them as it took the tanks too
long to get into the action. I think boards 11 and 18 nicely represent the hilly terrain in the area of the battle.
The OOB's were based on my assumptions for the border guard and for a front line Kampfgruppe in early 41. I think green
troops represent fairly accurate the quality of the troops in Yugoslavia at the time, even a 2 ELR seems generous but I didnt
want the squads disrupting too readily. A few cheesy guns rounds out the units. The book said the pillboxes were
poorly constructed as were the AT ditches therefore the reduced Pillbox TEM and my decision to give the HT the ability to
cross the trenches.
The source for this scenario described the Germans as a Kampfgruppe and IIRC included some engineers. The presence
of the engineers may have resulted from the description of the Germans destroying the pillboxes.
This scenario has been on the back of my computer for 4 or 5 years now and I am glad I was able to get it into print.
Again this scenario really has an enjoyable level of tension in it. The Gerries are under a limited amount of time to
cross the board. They will be getting hit by long range fire from nasty popguns. Hope for a tank to come in view
of your 251/10 or ATR for some CVP.
FE 6: Cavalry Charge at Mussino: Another scenario that has been sitting in my computer for a LONG time.
Several years ago I considered creating a scenario pack featuring cavalry. This was one of the scenarios. Some of its
companions include Fort Kassala and Race for Freedom published by Critical Hit, both of which are cavalry scenarios.
This is another one I am glad was able to see print, although this one was a lot easier to develop the FE5. This came
from a Cavalry of World War 2 book which had a page or so on this battle. It generously gave both sides OOB so that
made it a lot easier. I went with elite squads for the Russians as I think the Mongolians were better troops and that
cavalry are typically higher caliber soldiers. That with the limited range of firepower that is think is appropriate
for mounted soldiers made this a good fit especially with the design consideration that I wanted to limit the Russians ability
to fire from afar. The four tanks seem appropriate for reconnaissance units at the time so thus the Russian OOB.
I chose a number of appropriate guns for the time frame for the German OOB. The supporting infantry was developed
as a balancing force and changed somewhat during Playtest as I got a feel for how brittle each force was. The OBA was added
to give the Germans some much needed killing power but as it is OBA it is fickle and its loss wont necessarily spell doom
for the Germans.
One thing about the mist, the description of the action mentioned the mist in the area so it was included it also helped
from a design standpoint in that it helps the Russians close.
FE 7 - FE 10: The Dutch East Indies Campaign.
I had contemplated the creation of a HSASL featuring the Netherlands East Indies campaign for submittal to MMP for publication.
This contemplated HSASL would feature 12 +/- scenarios along with a number of special rules and some rare Japanese and Axis
Minor Vehicles. The special rules included Native Partisan Troops, Landstrom Troops (essentially Allied Minor Native
Troops) and new unit types for Allied Minor Cavalry. I believe that although the project had merit and would have presented
some interesting stuff I dont think MMP would have given it high priority, considering the other interesting stuff they have
going. So I decided to use four of the more interesting scenarios in Fanatic Pack #1. I tried to select a decent
variety of the scenarios that I had developed for the NEI HS.
The primary source for this was the Netherlands East Indies website, which is an excellent resource for this area of
World War 2.
FE 7: Quick & Dirty: That describes both the play and the design of this scenario. The Japanese
are unloading on Java and send a reconnaissance detachment to secure some bridges. The Dutch arrive shortly before the
Japanese and there is a race for the bridge. The information I had available described the units and armor available
so it was easy to generate the OOB.
One aside is on the armored cars used by the Dutch, they had two other armored vehicles on Java that were more
prevalent then the MH-III. The Overalwagen which is an armored truck and the excellent Alviss-Strassler Armored Car,
both of these vehicles I hope will make it
into the vehicle counter mix some day.
A simple meeting engagement on the excellent board 47. Smallish in size I hope this is a good tourney scenario.
Dont just look at the OOB and give the scenario to the Japs, yes they are powerful but they lack AT weapons and the 8 FP on
the Dutch AC is pretty devastating, try to get the Dutch ATR to a position to get a side shot. If the Jap player is
worrying about the ATR he isn't attacking your infantry. A lucky break with a toss of the DC on the bridge could win
it for you. That was the goal of the Dutch (to destroy the bridge) thus the sudden death VC.
FE 8: Soebang Serenade: A redux of an Annual scenario (Defeat in Java I believe) where I utilize more
appropriate units. I borrowed a couple of the boards from that scenario IIRC and added the airfield board as the action
covered an assault on the airfield.
Unfortunately we dont have the Overalwagens to use which were actually there but this was the only major armored engagement
of the Java campaign so I put in all of the Dutch toys available. The information I had indicated there was a
force of 100 Japanese in the town including a couple of Guns so that part of the order of battle was clear. The Japanese
had secured the airfield then moved into the town so a signficant portion of their force was still at the airfield.
The Dutch attacked the town in a series of assaults and in one had reached all the way to the airfield before being pushed
back. Late arriving Jap armor aided in the defense. The Japanese were initially surprised by the Dutch attack
therefore the Turn 1 Pinning. The VC reflect the Dutch attempt to capture the town.
A meaty PTO scenario with realistic potential for armor vs. armor action, I really like this one.
FE 9: Blackforce Counterattack: The Dutch weren't the only force fighting on Java. I even have a scenario
in development featuring Dutch, British and Americans fighting the Japanese! In this action the Japanese had forced
a river crossing and established a bridgehead. The British tank force that was on the island launched a counterattack
and push back the Japanese, wiping em out.
The OOB was worked out through Pting, I found the Japanese were able to break the Brits too much keeping em out of the
victory area, so I both reduced the Jap to Brit ratio of forces and gave the Brits a couple of -1 ldrs to help with rallying.
The British tanks are expendable (note the errata that dictates the tank FP is na for the Victory conditions) so they are
used aggressively and tend to fall prey to the Japanese AT weapons. But again, just having a PTO armor action is cool
unto itself.
Another smallish scenario designed for tourney use, I hope you enjoy.
FE 10: An Abandoned Army: This is another one of those scenarios I am especially proud of. This
one features a HIP Dutch force ambushing the Japanese. The twist is that like Urban Guerrillas (J1) the Japanese will be helped
by randomly occurring partisan units popping out of the jungle and kunai. I admittedly stole the idea but imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery.
The Dutch are described as an Abandoned Army so naturally are depicted with mostly Green Squads. A few 457s are
added to give them some muscle. This is more for prevention of ELR failure disrupting them then for benefits of range as the
action should mostly be at close range. The Japanese force was a second line division used to mop up North Sumatra so
thus the 347's.
Play won't generate too much in the way of partisans but a HS or hero are likely to appear at the odd time to cut routs,
ambush etc. The scenario looks tough on the Japanese but if he can get a squad or two with a leader through the defense
and rush him off board he in almost halfway to the required VP and trust me there will be lots of dead soldiers in this one.
Dont forget Civilian Interrogation a suddenly revealed squad could mean the difference between life and death for the Japanese.
FANATIC PACK #2
FE 13 Defeat at Seroczyn: I came across this action on a Polish 39 Campaign website on the Internet. What attracted
this to me was the combined arms village assault and river crossing. This quickly yielded the appropriate boards 40 for the
river and 12 for a small village/town. The OOB was pretty well spelled out for the Poles including the AC platoon and light
armor present along with a couple of artillery pieces firing in direct support. I added a medium sized infantry force and
there was my Polish OOB. The Germans were a typical reconnaissance element of the time frame, a few armored cars and a light
tank. The source mentioned an AT Gun so this was added. The action also mentioned specifically that the AC could not cross
the stream/river so thus the river crossing restrictions and the source also mentioned some soft ground. Initial playtesting
indicated the scenario was a tad too long giving the Poles ample time to get into the village. I toyed with the idea of making
this a 6.5 turn scenario but figured the Germans should have the last say as they were able to push back the attack. This
should play pretty interesting as the Poles will initially smack the Germans hard but will find crossing the water slow going,
once across the stream they will be fighting close quarters with lots of destroyed armor. The pole has lots of options for
where to cross and the German will therefore have lots to do in concentrating to repulse at the river and counterattack in
the town.
FE 14 Stab in the Back: This action also came from the Polish 39 Campaign website. This scenario is in the same vein
as ASL 50 Age Old Foes. I think the Polish Campaign has a great deal of potential for scenario design with lots of interesting
and unique options. If I recall correctly ASL 50 is the only Russian vs Polish scenario and that is a shame. Especially since
I think that, although AOF is a good scenario it doesnt quite capture the flavor of the fight between the Russians and the
Poles. This scenario went through a great deal of revisions, especially with the terrain and the OOB's. My understanding of
the Polish army at the time of the Russian invasion was that it was a patchwork of forces. Therefore I opted to include the
variety of forces, cavalry, truck mounted infantry, wagon bearing conscripts, light armor and the more substantive 7TP tank.
The method of entry and VC reflect the Poles fleeing and their desire to escape the war. The Russian OOB was established to
represent a blocking action with reinforcements coming to annihilate the Poles. This combination offers each side a lot of
tactical options. The Russian will initially be greatly outnumbered but will have enough tools to slow down the Poles. The
Polish player will have to decide whether to push for the exit or to throw a blocking force in front of the Russian reinforcements.
Much of the playtesting involved striking a balance giving the Russians enough to slow down the Poles but not be either swamped
or becoming an impenetrable wall in front of the Poles. The terrain was selected as typical Polish rural land with board 50
being selected to slow down the truck borne Russian troops. The stream overlays also slow down the Poles.
FE 15 Contested Landing: I came across this action on the Internet on a Fallschirmjager website. I like the thought
of Paradrops and Glider assaults. Having a glider assault land in the middle of the scenario is especially cool. I admit I
took some artistic license in this aspect the glider troops actually landed in transport aircraft but I didnt think the complexity
of new rules to represent the transport aircraft was justified. The terrain came together quickly. The airfield is standard
as this is an assault on an airfield. I chose board 13 because it is vastly underutilized and IMO is pretty cool and also
represents the Dutch terrain pretty well. The forces came together pretty quickly. The 548s and 468s represent well paratroopers
and elite glider troops, respectively. The Dutch force represents garrison troops. The AA Guns were pretty effective against
the paratroopers and thusly were the subject of the Victory Conditions. Playtesting indicated that the Dutch needed some tactical
options so I removed a few squads from setting up on board to entering as reinforcements.
FE16 Where the Bullet Meets the Bone: How cool is this one?! Partisans with armor attacking Italians with armor! I
love this esoteric stuff. This came from some information I have on Yugoslavian armor in World War 2. Tito's partisans attacked
and wiped out the garrison in Lastra. The OOB for each side is pretty much straightforward. Playtesting revealed the proper
balance for each side. The VC were selected to reflect the Partisans attempt to capture the village and kill Italians. The
SSRs include typical Partisan rules. The partisans will fight themselves on board. If you are the Italians you will be tempted
to protect the high CVP armor but this will likely backfire as they have some serious firepower to help fight the attackers.
FE 17 The Philippine Scouts at Mabatang: This was one of the first scenario designs I ever tried. I
came across this action in a book entitled Bataan, Our Last Ditch. This book is an excellent study of the Bataan Battle.
I took some artistic license with this one. First, board 16 very nicely represents the terrain over which this battle
occurred. The large grain field represents a cane field that the Japanese attacked through. Board 17 was added to give some
depth to the defense. The area around Mabatang was mostly jungle and I thought the woods on board 17 would fit fine. The OOB
were pretty straight forward. A large Japanese force against dug in Philippines. I took some artistic license giving each
side armor. The Philippines did have some 75mm guns firing direct fire and the Japanese did have light tanks in the area.
I thought this would give the scenario some nice spice. Note that the Philippines were plagued by a complete lack of 60mm
MTR ammo and had very little 81mm MTR ammo. They used very old 75mm MTR ammo that had a high percentage Dud rate. Therefore
I added the SSR giving the MTR a +1 TH. The battle saw the Japanese break through the Philippine Line and stopped by reinforcements.
Therefore the VC were geared to give the Japanese victory if a significant force breaks through the defenders line. I think
this action nicely represents the actual battle.
FE 18 The Bear Battalion Attacks: This battle was depicted in a very popular Guadalcanal history book. This was also
an early design of mine that saw a great deal of revision. Extra boards were removed, force size changed numerous times and
the VC also changed dramatically. I originally had a small platoon of Marines near the Japanese entry hexes with the Japanese
entering in column. This lead to the Japanese getting bottled up and bogged down clearing the platoon. I felt some artistic
license was warranted here as well with the Trip Flares. Yes they are out of date for ASL but I used them to represent the
swamping of the Marine outpost. Again the 2 orders of battle came together relatively quickly with playtesting helping provide
the right numerical balance. These were very good Japanese soldiers fighting on Guadalcanal thus the 8 morale. The VC were
chosen to represent the Japanese goal in this action, the capture of Henderson. This is a nice little tourney sized night
scenario that should play pretty quickly. The first couple of turns should go quick but once the lead starts flying it will
get nasty pretty quick.
FE 19 Lemon Bridge: This action is from Bitter Victory, the study of the battle of Sicily. I wanted to include a few
infantry only scenarios in this pack and this one worked out nicely. Boards 16 and 44 nicely represent the Sicilian terrain,
and provide the Brits with their biggest challenge, the Open Ground. The force differential is pretty significant nearly 2
to 1 in infantry with both sides having 8 morale troops. It took a lot of playtesting for me to be comfortable with that much
of a differential, as I was concerned that the Germans will have to be dispersed to cover both victory buildings. However,
repeated playings showed the Brits taking a beating. On top of this the stream will seriously slow down an assault. Where's
the Lemon Bridge you ask? Well this action occurred down stream from the bridge. The British will definitely need there mortars
to lay smoke.
