Beat the Designer at his own Game
...
19 players turned
out for Tigers in the Mist on Wednesday and Thursday,
an increase of three over the previous year. The tournament ran
very smoothly. A years worth of experience seems to have made
quite a difference in my GMing skills. Murray Cowles and Bill
Alderman provided invaluable support as assistant GMs. This year
we played three rounds on Wednesday, with a fourth scheduled
for 9 am on Thursday. When the smoke cleared, we had two unbeaten
players, so a fifth round was played to determine the championship
as well as who would get the third place plaque.
A total of 26 games were played, with six players playing
at least four games each. The Germans won ten games, the US 15,
and there was one tie. Side bids were made in nine of the games.
In a dramatic change from last year, no one bid for the Germans.
The average bid for the US was 0.94, with the range being 0.5
to 1.5. In games with bids, the Germans record was 3-5-1. Three
players who played at least three rounds specialized in one side.
Winner Rob Mull went 5-0 with the Allies. Jack Morrell scored
2-2 and Bobby Clinton 2-1 with the Germans. The most telling
statistic however was that of the seven players who scored at
least two points (two or more wins), the record as the Germans
was 7-8 whereas the Allied record was 15-1!!! The basic US strategy
that evolved this year was to keep the Germans from entering
Bastogne until 18-2, allowing the 101 Airborne to hold this crucial
VP town for a couple of extra turns. I expect that next year
bids of 1 to 2 for the US will proliferate.
Jim Winslow and
newcomer Rick Young faced off in round 5 for third place. Jim
has obviously improved greatly since last year when he compiled
an 0-3 record! Jim's lone loss this year was to Ray Freeman in
round 3. Rick lost to Rob Mull in round 4. Jim bid 1.5 for the
US.
Rick cleared both Marnach and Holzum on the first impulse
and repaired the Holzhum bridge, although somehow the unit in
Vianden held against two attacks. The main road bridge at Marnach
stubbornly stayed down until 16-3. German success continued through
the 17th, but Jim piled 10 SP into Bastogne on 18-1, but at the
cost of an early release of 2 SS Panzer (on 18-2). A couple of
high odds attacks against Bertogne and Werbomont failed to carry
these areas and a 10-10 attack on Bastogne on 19-1 did little
damage leaving both sides with seven SP. Then a 1 SP unit held
out in Moircy on 19-3. Jim bailed out of Bastogne on 19-3, leaving
a 1 SP rear guard behind as a delaying unit. The 21-1 reinforcements
enabled Jim to hold a solid line on 21-3, ensuring the victory
although Marche fell on 22-1. After the bid Rick only had 8.5
VP.
Robert Mull and Ray Freeman met in the championship match,
with Rob selecting his preferred US side. The German first impulse
attacks were very effective except at Marnach (naturally) and
Ray got off to a good start. However, he was unable to fully
capitalize on the situation and perhaps played the17th a bit
too conservatively. After the German 17-1 attacks, Rob had only
three units on the map. On 17-3, the Germans had to decide between
a 9-3 attack on Longvilly and a 6-1 attack on Doncols and chose
the former. The US held, the dice seemed to change sides, and
Rob's position slowly improved to a virtual lock by the end of
the 20th. Ray had a good shot at releasing 2 SS Panzer early,
but the four SP armor of the 7th AD held
Vielsalm for two days and then the bridge over the Salm at Trois
Ponts blew. No early release. Bastogne held out until the 20th.
The first German attack on Bastogne was on the 18th when seven
German factors were massacred by ten Allied SPs. In the middle
portion of the game, the German artillery totally disappeared.
This coupled with excellent US shooting led to very
high German losses and the offensive quickly ran out of steam.
When various desperation attacks failed to rip open the American
lines on 21-1 along the line Ouffet-Marche-Wellin, Ray threw
in the towel.
Round by Round Results
Round 1
Freeman defeated Hein
Cowles def Richtmyer
Morrell def Pavy
Mull def Smith
Clinton def Kaye
Yound def Eshleman
Winslow def Kramer
Hiemenz tied Nagel
Round 2
Freeman def Clinton
Young def Cowles
Morrell def Hiemenz
Mull def Kramer
Winslow def Nagel
Round 3
Freeman def Winslow
Mull def Cowles
Young def Morrell
Kaye def Pavy
Eshleman def Wong
Clinton def Hiemenz
Hein def Alderman
Round 4
Freeman def Morrell
Mull def Young
Cowles def Hein
Winslow def Treadway
Round 5
Mull def Freeman
Winslow def Young
For more info on Tigers in the Mist see their webpage at http://members.home.net/rayfreeman3/index.html.
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