panzerblitz   

Updated 11/30/2011

Grognards Pre-Con
2011 WBC Report  

 2012 Status: pending 2012 GM commitment

Greg Tanner, AZ

2011 Champion

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Event History
1991    Bart Rigg      12
1992    Johnny Hasay      10
1993    Tom Kearney      12
1994    Johnny Hasay      12
1995    Dave Giordano      10
1996    Eduardo De Nuccia      14
1997    Dave Giordano      20
1998    Chuck Leonard      16
1999    Dave Giordano     16
2000    Bill Scott     20
2001    Bill Scott     12
2002    Marty Musella     18
2003    Bill Scott     16
2004    Chuck Leonard     34
2005    Marty Musella     21
2006    Greg Tanner     19
2007    Bert Schoose     22
2008    Bert Schoose     23
2009    Rich Northey     23
2010    Rich Northey     25
2011    Greg Tanner     25
 
PBeM Event History
2005    Eduardo DeNucci     19
 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Marty Musella      VA    11    143
  2.  Bill Scott         VA    11    136
  3.  Chuck Leonard      PA    11    120
  4.  Bert Schoose       IL    11    103
  5.  Greg Tanner        AZ    11     80
  6.  Rich Northey       MA    10     74
  7.  Dave Giordano      NJ    01     47
  8.  Alan Arvold        IL    11     42
  9.  Eduardo DeNucci    ag    05     26
 10.  Johnny Hasay       PA    05     21
 11.  Donald Webster     MD    05     21
 12.  Tom Cooper         OH    05     15
 13.  Bill Thomson       TX    10     12
 14.  Peter Bertram      GA    05     12
 15.  Dave Talmage       VA    01     12
 16.  Jay Zollitsch      WI    00     12
 17.  Steve Andriakos    TX    07      9
 18.  Joe Avinger        GA    05      8
 19.  Matt Spitznagel    MD    03      8
 20.  Tim Greene         TN    00      8
 21.  Randy MacInnis     NJ    05      6
 22.  Kurt Kurtz         OH    03      6
 23.  John Sharp         FL    05      5
 24.  Fred Schwarz       MI    05      4
 25.  Mark McBride       OH    02      3
 26.  Bill Riggs         VA    03      2
 27.  Tom Shaw           MD    02      1

2011 Laurelists                                       Repeating Laurelists:

Bert Schoose, IL
2nd

Chuck Leonard, PA
3rd

Marty Musella, VA
4th

Alan Arvold, IL
5th

Bill Scott, VA
6th

Past Winners

91: Bart Rigg, KY
93:
Tom Kearney, NC

Johnny Hasay, PA
1992, 1994

Dave Giordano, NJ
1995, 1997, 1999

Eduardo DeNucci, ARG
1996

Chuck Leonard, PA
1998, 2004

Bill Scott, VA
2000-2001, 2003

Marty Musella, VA
2002, 2005

Greg Tanner, AZ
2006, 2011

Bert Schoose, IL
2007-08

Rich Northey, MA
2009, 2010

Rick Northey and Greg Tanner in a battle of two-time champs.

Board member Ken Whitesell plays fellow tread head Johnny Hasay.

41 Years & Counting ...

When my gaming friends and I first played this classic 41 years ago, at ages 13-15, we were in awe of the game's elegance. This year, 2011, my first as GM, I enjoyed introducing PanzerBlitz to several younger and not so younger players. In addition to the regulars, we greeted the curious with enthusiasm and voiced appreciation of their interest. For a game that was designed four decades ago, we saw that simplicity has its value. When asked by gaming friends and family why I don't go for all the accurate, computerized simulations, I reply that I like to sit down to a relaxing game of thought akin to chess with another live human being on the other side of the table!

After seven days of games played, dice rolled, victories savored, and defeats endured, the final four qualifiers stepped forward. Greg Tanner, Bert Schoose, Chuck Leonard, and Marty Musella, past champions all, prepared their battle plans. Alan Arvold was the #1 seed, but he opted out to play in another Final. Bill Scott, who was the #3 seed, also had other obligations, so the gauntlet was passed to a couple of former champions to battle once again.

Greg and Chuck decided to rank their preference for the historical situation to be played. On review of player choices between the five situations, 1A, 14, 45, 51 and 52, situation 45 was selected with Greg taking the German side. This situation, which is entitled "Burning Tanks", 5 May 1944, is a prelude to Operation Bagration, East of Minsk. The Russian seeks to annihilate the German defensive force while sustaining as few losses as is practical in the shortest possible time. This one reminds me of the wisdom of Sun Tzu: "Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack." In the game, Chuck moved his tanks up to surround Opustoschenia and open the siege with overwhelming firepower. The German defensive fire took out four Russian tank companies and a guards rifle company, while pinning a fifth tank company. Chuck's Russian tanks opened up on spotted targets in the town with deadly effect, no 6s rolled here! This put the Russian attack in full swing, but with maybe one company too many losses after two turns. German AT batteries targeted the stationary tanks that had participated in the barrage of Opustoschenia, taking out three companies. At this point in the battle, the Russians had been reduced by a tank brigade. Amidst the chaos, the Russian commander rallied his troops forward, overrunning a platoon of Marder assault guns. At the point of the spearhead, a defending rifle platoon in front of Zabvenia was decimated. This brought the Russian attack to the enemy. As the Russian armor moved past a ford in a small river running past Zabvenia, German gunners relentlessly picked off tanks. Chuck had two more turns to play, with a score of nine destroyed units for Greg, including one of Chuck's valuable SU152 assault guns, good enough for a tactical victory. Chuck had to eliminate nine more units to achieve a decisive victory, considering that the German player wins ties in victory levels, a tall order. After positioning his forces to surround both Zabvenia and the woods to the west, Chuck was able to destroy14 of Greg's German units, not enough to grab victory. The final score was Chuck 14, tactical and Greg 12, decisive, a victory for Greg in a hard fought game.

The second semi-final game was played with situation 1A. This battle represents an interdiction of German supply lines by Russian cavalry, armor, and partisan units typical of the final stages of the Moscow counteroffensive of early to mid 1942. Marty, the German player, must defend a road on a wide front with a mobile force and protect three supply depots. The Russian player must use feints of maneuver to fluster the German defense. "All warfare is based on deception." Sun Tzu. After Marty set up his defense, Bert moved up a concentrated force on the east side of the front. The German line was then reinforced in and around hill 129 with carefully designed fire lanes such that a frontal assault would be costly. Burt swung around to the center of the board on Turn 2, penetrating the German lines with some armor and piggy-backed infantry. A cavalry charge succeeded in destroying a halftrack near hill 129. To try and close the gap, Marty protected key positions such that any frontal assault would have to come over open ground. Several German tank platoons took up positions in the woods and town atop hill 132. The Russian tanks and riders moved to flank the supply depots in Bednost and adjacent woods. Infantry deployed on a slope on the west side of the hill. The German Turn 3 had Marty moving to block the Russians on the slope from marching into the woods near Bednost and threatening the supply depots. Bert then committed his Russian forces, cavalry advancing toward hill 129 and the armor moving into the woods on the east side of Bednost deploying the riders to block the E-W road. Now Marty had to form a hedgehog like defense of the supply depots. A small German diversionary force moved on the Russian 82mm mortar batteries that had established firing positions covering the supply road. By Turn 6, the Russians had several T34 tank companies wreaking havoc to the rear of the German lines, Cavalry charging up hill 129, and infantry holding several points on the E-W road effectively cutting German supply. A cavalry unit also broke lines and returned to defend the mortar position. A firefight on Turn 7 had the German destroy three Russian companies, but it was not enough to stop the Russians from controlling the supply road and winning the game.

Situation 14, chosen for the Final, is a classic fighting withdrawal of a German recon battalion behind enemy lines in the face of the Russian offensive in mid 1944. The German forces seek to destroy an undefended Russian HQ, while escaping encirclement by reinforcing armor brigades. "Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate." Sun Tzu. Greg set up his small Russian garrisons in the two villages of Golad and Bednost, and prayed for the dice Gods to deliver 6's. Bert's Germans rushed hill 132, and moved to surround Bednost. A recon company of armoured cars swung around to block the road leading to the hill. Russian defensive fire only succeeded in pinning down a tank destroyer platoon. On Turn 2, the Germans opened up on Bednost and destroyed an ATG battery, two HMG's and two garrison [recon] platoons. German mobile units take up positions to delay Russian reinforcements moving up the road from the east. The assault on the town fails to disperse the remaining ATG's. Return fire then maintains a pin on the tank destroyer platoon. Russian tanks with riders penetrate to the hillside and threaten to overrun German units on the hilltop. On Turn 3, the Russian HQ is destroyed on the first shot, good luck for Bert! German forces maneuver to try and block Russians from flanking the north side of hill 132, and from taking hill 129. Bednost is taken. Russians then range in on engineers and infantry remaining in the environs of Bednost with a 120mm heavy mortar battery, dispersing them. The pinned down jagdpanther tank destroyer platoon is then overrun and destroyed by tanks. Infantry assault the dispersed units near Bednost to finish them off. The Germans then abandon the Bednost area and form a defensive line to the north of hills 132 and 135. Greg's Russians close with Germans. Sporadic mortar fire disperses German infantry blocking roads and approaches to the north. At this point, Turn 5, Burt decides that his force is in peril of being surrounded by Russian rifle companies in trucks taking up positions in Golad and the main force of Russian armour rolling up the roads from hills 132 and 135. So the Germans make a run for it over hill 129 into an attack on Golad. German armored cars go up in flames, hit by direct fire from Russian T34/85s and su100's positioned on hillsides. Following up with assaults, the rifle companies go into action against German mobile units trying to seek cover, dispersing several platoons. The remaining Russian tanks move to form a strong line to the north and west of the depleted German forces. Burt looked at the position, and seeing no escape with three turns remaining, graciously resigned his position, handing Greg his second title and a handsome diorama created and donated by Rich Northey.

Bert Schoose and Greg Tanner play for the title.

Methinks he likes Panzerblitz.

 GM      Rick Northey [1st Year]  NA 
    geppeddooo@aol.com   978-590-6820

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