Well, Jeff Sewell handed me ass-whoopin number two out of two in the early stages of playing the Blood and Jungle scenarios. Until I get my act together, I expect that to continue for two reasons:
The biggest reason. Jeff is a far better player than I am.
Second, I seem to have a concentration issue. I get in a hurry with my log-files and miss things I shouldn’t, and I don’t think ahead.
Both of these issues cost me in this game, but honestly, I probably lost when I set up.
Chapei Chockblock is set in 1932 on two half boards (a little less actually) featuring my troopers from the Chinese 60th Infantry division, defending some multi-hex buildings from Jeff’s Japanese Naval infantry. A quick check on ROAR shows the Chinese with the slimmest of leads, but you wouldn’t even know they were competitive from my handling of them. Eight turns was plenty of time as Jeff took it to me, getting the job done and taking the five buildings he needed at the end of turn six.
The Japanese get five tanks and an armored car, and I roll in two FT-17s on turn 5.
Jeff would have to immediately cross a road to get to my Chinese, so I made an up front set up to try to get some neg modifier shots, I got a pair of infantry guns which I really wasn’t sure where to put, so I stuck them in the center of the board in front of the big stone building hoping to get some point blank shots. Two roadblocks went in on the sides in the back to prevent the armor from getting around that way and some trenches also in the rear for my turn five infantry reinforcements to have a way into the buildings as they acted like Red Barricades trenches for building entry if connected to one.
My only real goal was to try and not get infiltrated…….aaaaannnnndd I got infiltrated. It looks like a lot of Chinese, but almost half of them are conscripts. Jeff’s Japanese aren’t the best troops themselves, second liners in fact, but there are a lot of them, backed up by the armor. The pathetic amount of firepower even against Japanese in the street is just not enough to strike fear into any of them.
Jeff wriggled his Japanese into my lines and I was barely able to extract a few of my troops. He jumped into close combat at every opportunity. My Chinese didn’t fare too well. Japanese flankers went down the sides after sniffing out my dummies, with the tanks making slow progress threading around the buildings using bypass.
I tried to get some fire on him as he crossed the second road, but it was barely a dent. The Japanese advance was executed with a purpose, my second line of defenders were in danger of being infiltrated. My two heavy machine guns were back in the rear stone building I knew if I had them forward that I would lose them. As it was, the Emperor’s troops forced me back, and back.
I moved a leader, crew and HMG to the right hand wooden building but as was so typical in this string of games, a sniper killed the leader and broke the crew on the LLMC, basically delivering the HMG to the enemy.
My reinforcements were a long way away, and the Japanese were bearing down. My rear gun was revealed and I figured it was time to get one of the crews into the building, so I spiked the gun and backed up, leaving the forward gun on it’s own and looking for a close target.
The forward gun got a shot, but no effect. and the crew was swallowed up. It was looking bleak as my on-board force was almost eliminated and my reinforcements were due to enter. Jeff however, had that covered.
My reinforcements made a play using platoon movement but got chopped up and starting on turn 6 with only a single crew in the last building and Japanese mobs banging on the doors, I surrendered.
I allowed myself to get infiltrated on the first line. I have a bad habit of waiting for the perfect shot and my fire discipline hurts me more often than not.
I played a better game this time, but Jeff really knew what to do and when to do it. I’ll keep trying to get a solid game with him, but the next one is Marco Polo Bridge and according to ROAR I have the dog side…… by a lot.
We’ll see.
Thanks for reading
Cardboard Warrior 