The Squad Leader tournament had nineteen players this year with 31 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. Each year, the event draws a core of usual players and a few new players arrive to check out the game. This year saw two new players from Canada at the tables. Both David Pepin and Alain Belisle did well with game play and David played in the Semifinal.
The free form play went throughout the entire week. Without the usual George Bott to help round out play throughout the week, we had to rely on David and Alain to help fill out the game play. Thankfully, both of these players contributed to 8 games played through the week. Though the Semifinal and Final games get all of the attention in the write-up, I can’t pass up tales of the dice. In one game, the dice gave both players fits from a roll of snake eyes, to boxcars, then back to snake eyes! That turn was devastating. Or when you only remember the game that your opponent rolled a combo of 3, 4, 3, 2 on two dice each roll. Forget about the myriad of 6’s, 7’s, and 8’s, those don’t matter!
The four players who qualified for the Semifinal were Bill Thomson, Eric Stranger, Rick Northey, and David Pepin. Rick (German) and Eric (Russian) played Eviction Notion II. This scenario has the Germans defending on board 3 with the 3-hex two-story ‘hotel’ as the victory location. The Russians enter on a modified board 2 (no hills) and must quickly engage the attack in order to push the Germans out of the victory location.
Eric Stranger’s Russians immediately engaged Rick’s defensive line who attempted to hold a perimeter around the hotel and the edges of the village. Eric positioned his SU-122 such that it could start pressuring the outer defensive line and also provide fire support on the hotel. Unfortunately for Rick, his officer holding on to the radio, a key defensive weapon, was wiped out by that SU-122. With Rick’s defensive line broken in the center, Eric filled in the gap with his troops and he was able to make a foothold into the hotel. Rick’s reinforcements tried to push out the Russians, but some well-placed demo charges quickly reduced the fresh German forces. After Rick lost the majority of his force, he conceded the game. Eric advanced to the Final.
In the other Semifinal, Bill (Russian) and David (German) played the Guard’s Counterattack. For the first half of the game, it seemed that the Russians forgot to bring ammunition. The Russian troops kept breaking from the withering fire from David. By turn 3, the momentum of the game switched and now the Russians were pushing back. David began losing more and more troops until it was impossible to hold back Bill’s Russians from taking enough victory condition locations. Bill pulled out a win on the last turn and advanced to the Final.
The Final was the original Eviction Notice scenario with Eric Stranger (German) defending the village and hotel from Bill Thomson (American). Like Eviction Notice II, the Germans must defend the hotel from a mobile and strong American attack force.
Eric set up his troops closer to the hotel with radio support situated in the hotel and his hidden anti-tank gun in a good defensive position.
Bill aggressively brought in his armor to squeeze in Eric’s defensive line. His first overrun was met with some success, only to have the surviving officer immobilize the tank. Bill’s next tank was immobilized. By the end of his turn, his armor force was reduced considerably and Eric’s position was not suffering as Bill had desired. Next turn, Bill essentially lost another tank by breaking its main gun. Without the strength of his armor to back up the advancing GI’s, the Americans soon lost the advantage. With a last hurrah, the Yanks stormed the hotel only to be repulsed by artillery called in at the last minute. Only one American squad achieved to gain a foothold in the building. That was not enough. By game end, the Germans had held on to the hotel and claimed victory. Eric Stranger won another first place plaque for Squad Leader. Bill Thomson received second place, Rick Northey third, and David Pepin came in fourth.
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The Battle seems to be heating up. |
GM Pete Pollard enjoying a game of Squad Leader. |
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Two Squad Leader veterans battling for supremacy. |
Finalists Eric Stranger and Bill Thomson. |
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