Thomson Returns With Win!

Squad Leader play resumed after a two-year hiatus. The tournament had twenty-one players this year’s with only 32 games played. The majority of the games played were at the Squad Leader level, but a few games were played at Cross of Iron and Crescendo of Doom levels. Bill Thomson returned after a multiple year break and made up for that lost time by playing eleven games throughout the week.

The free form play went throughout the entire week with many of the games played Thursday and Friday, prior to the time cutoff for the final scoring for the Semifinal play on Saturday. The four players who qualified for the Semifinal were George Bott, Michael Day, Eric Stranger, and Bill Thomson. The two games started at 9AM Saturday with Bill and George playing Hitdorf on the Rhine while Eric and Michael played The Guards Counterattack.

For the Hitdorf on the Rhine game, Bill Thomson’s American forces quickly found the German minefields and cleared them, allowing for a strong American entry into the village. Meanwhile, George Bott’s leader broke his radio for artillery support. The German leader became so frustrated with his malfunctioning radio, he threw it out the window and the Germans never received any off board artillery for the game.

George’s Germans received armored support and bolstered the flagging morale of his troops. The Germans attempted to push the GIs out of the village, but the Americans made quick work of the German tanks and held on. Seeing the futility of another German attempt to wrestle control of the village, George Bott conceded and declared Bill the victor.

The other Semifinal game had Eric Stranger’s Germans defending their foothold in Stalingrad against Michael Day’s Russian troops. The initial volleys of fire had little effects as both sides hunkered down inside their stone buildings. Michael advanced up some of his guards units to gain a better firing position but paid dearly by some low rolls on Eric’s shots. By turn 3, the Russian guards casualties reduced their effectiveness by around 50%. Michael decided to mount an assault and pressed on towards Eric’s positions.

Michael’s attempt to gain access to the K5 building was squashed as the German well-aimed fire (snake eyes shot) killed the 9-1 leader and squad. The guards did gain a foothold in the F5 building and entered into close combat with the remaining defenders. Close combat did not go well for Michael, his guard died while trying to rest control from the Germans. With much of his forces killed or broken, Michael retreated from the battlefield, thus allowing Eric to advance to the final game.

The game for the third and fourth place game pitted Michael Day’s Russians against George Bott’s Germans in Alan Yngve’s Beta scenario “Hasty Assault”. George’s attack on the village met with fierce Russian defensive fire. A pitched battle began with both sides trading good shots. The Germans advanced into the village, forcing a close combat attack. However, the Russians prevailed, forcing George to muster up another assault.

As the Germans prepared to attack, the Russians scored another KIA on a couple of squads. The German force has been reduced by five squads, if they lose another they must retreat from the battlefield. George pushes his Germans troops forward and when it looked hopeful, they took one more loss, securing a Russian victory. Michael Day received 3rd place in the tourney and George took home a 4th place plaque.

For the Final, Alan Yngve’s Beta scenario “Hasty Assault” was played. Eric Stranger was the Germans and Bill defended the village with the Russians. Eric split his force into two main groups with the larger group to the south, supported by machine guns and the better leader while the other group maneuvered to the north to put pressure of the Russian flank.

Bill’s forces were concealed in the village and his strength was to the north, waiting to spring the trap on Eric’s support group. In the south, Bill traded time and space with his remaining troops, slowing down Eric’s advance. The Germans did gain a foothold in the south, at the cost of losing the engineer squad. At time was running out, so was Bill’s tenuous hold on the village.

The Germans made one last assault on the few Russians holding out in the last victory building. The game came down to the last attack, a close combat assault to obtain the last hex for control of the building. Both forces were eliminated, allowing Bill Thomson to claim victory on the last turn.

The tournament ended with Eric Stranger receiving the 2nd place plaque. For Bill Thomson, after away from WBC play for many years, earned the 1st place plaque and t-shirt. An excellent end to a great week of playing Squad Leader. Congratulations to the final four and to all of the players who made this tourney a wonderful time.