Breakout: Normandy — PBeM Tournament #4
Feb. 13, 2006

BKN PBeM #5 | BKN PBeM #4 | BKN PBeM #3 | BKN PBeM #2 | BKN PBeM #1

 

 1st:
Don Greenwood, MD

 2nd:
Bryan Eshleman,
NC

 3rd:
Steve Andriakos,
TX

 4th:
Scott Fenn,
MD

 5th:
Anthony Daw,
UT

 6th:
Tom Gregorio,
PA

Overall: Overall, the Germans won 30 of 48 games; 62.5%, although the Allies fared better in the consolation rounds, winning 7 of 12. The supply bids to play the Germans averaged 13.8 in the first round—weighed down by 11 players who preferred the Allies and, thus, played with no bid at all. This Allied preference shrank quickly with only two surviving into the second round and the average bid climbing to 19.2. By Round 3, the Allied preference players were gone and the average bid rose again to 23.6. It rose still further in the semi-finals to 30.3 before dropping slightly to 30 in the fifth, and final, round. Read the winner’s after-action report.


Round-By-Round Results

Round 1 — Matches ended Jan. 25, 2005, or upon all completion, whichever occurred first. Germans won 16 of 25.

Allies Germans
Bid Allied Supply Points
 Winner
Andy Friedman Paul Nied
0
Germans
Jim Laws Jim Doughan
0
Allies
John Dietrich Bryan Eshleman
0
Germans
Marvin Birnbaum Paul Fletcher
0
Allies
Mark Greenman  Jason Levine
0
Germans
Dave Thompson David Long
0
Germans
Tod Whitehurst Mark Gutfreund
0
Germans
Allen Evenson Larry Meyers
0
Germans
Ken Nied Phil Barcafer
0
Allies
Mark Greenman (Eliminator) Mike Brophy
0
Allies
Bruno Passacantando Anthony Daw
24
Germans
George Young Peter Phelps
22
Germans
Nick Markevich Andrew Cummins
22
Germans
Michael Mandelberg Steve Andriakos
25
Germans
Jeffrey Miller Thomas Thornsen
12
Germans
Don Greenwood Jim Eliason
33
Allies
Chris Byrd Tom Dworschak
17
Germans
Mike Rinella  Dennis Nicholson
23
Germans
Michael Kaye Steve Pleva
18
Allies
Richard Tucker Scott Fenn
13
Germans
Tony Ferrari Nels Thompson
59
Allies
Bill Edwards Ron Fedin
21
Germans 
Bob Jamelli Clyde Longest
18
Germans
Tom Gregorio  Henry Jones
25
Allies
Ron Jacobsen Jim Laws (Eliminator)
0
Allies

Round 2 — Matches ended July 1, 2005, or upon all completion, whichever occurred first.

Allies Germans
Bid Allied Supply Points
  Winner
Mark Gutfreund Steve Andriakos
25
Germans
Marvin Birnbaum Bryan Eshleman
12
Germans
Andrew Cummins Tony Ferrari
23
Allies
Tom Thornsen Anthony Daw
23
Germans
Tom Dworschak Peter Phelps
32
Allies
Ron Jacobsen Ron Fedin
21
Allies
Larry Meyers Scott Fenn
24
Germans 
Clyde Longest Don Greenwood
29
Germans
Ken Nied Tom Gregorio
0
Germans
Mike Kaye Dennis Nicholson
23
Allies
David Long Jason Levine
19
Allies
Jim Laws Paul Nied
0
Germans
Consolation Round
Bill Edwards Jim Eliason
28
Germans
Henry Jones Tod Whitehurst
31
Allies
George Young Chris Byrd
21
Germans 
Paul Fletcher Nick Markevich
18
Allies
Robert Jamelli Mark Greenman
22
Germans
Mike Brophy Mike Mandelberg
22
Allies

Round 3 — Matches ended Nov. 7, 2005, or upon all completion, whichever occurred first.
The Consolation Round ends at the completion of Round 4 of the winner’s bracket.

Allies Germans
Bid Allied Supply Points
Winner
Ron Jacobsen Don Greenwood
28
Germans
Bryan Eshleman Dave Long
14
Allies
Paul Nied Anthony Daw
24
Germans
Mike Kaye Steve Andriakos
21
Germans
Tom Dworschak Scott Fenn
32
Germans
Tom Gregorio Andrew Cummins
23
Allies
Consolation Round
Mike Kaye Henry Jones
20
Germans
Mark Gutfreund Ron Fedin
21
Allies
Clyde Longest Chris Byrd
18
Allies
Tony Ferrari Larry Meyers
17
Allies
John Dietrich Kevin Shewfelt
0
Germans
Bob Hamel Bob Jamelli
7
Allies

Round 4Matches ending Feb. 10, 2006, or upon all completion, whichever occurs first.
The Consolation Round will end at the completion of Round 4 of the winner’s bracket.

Allies Germans
Bid Allied Supply Points
Winner
Don Greenwood Scott Fenn
35
Allies
Bryan Eshleman Anthony Daw
29
Allies
Tom Gregorio Steve Andriakos
27
Germans

Round 5 — Matches ending April 20, 2006, or upon all completion, whichever occurs first.
The Consolation Round will end at the completion of Round 5 of the winner’s bracket.
Tournament #5 will begin upon completion of Round 5. Germans win 2 of 2.

Allies Germans
Bid Allied Supply Points
Winner
Bryan Eshleman Don Greenwood
28
Germans
Steve Andriakos Tom Dworschak (Eliminator)
32
Germans


Winner’s After-Action Report
by Don Greenwood

Having finally won one of these marathon sessions, I suppose I should provide some type of commentary on my road to the crown. Unfortunately, one doesn’t expect to win when one sets out on such an endeavor, and so no notes were kept on the many twists and turns encountered along the way.

Many details have already faded beyond recollection, so I must apologize in advance for any inaccuracies contained herein. Before I launch into that attempt, however, I should congratulate all my fellow players for their excellent sportsmanship and dedication. Such an effort travels at the speed of the slowest player and to successfully navigate 47 players through life’s maze in an event lasting nearly 18 months without any casualties along the way is quite extraordinary.

When I first got into this hobby in the 60’s and got my first taste of competitive play with play by snail mail, disappearing opponents were more the norm than the exception. We’ve come a long way since then and those of us who are left have risen to a higher standard. It’s a pleasure to have gamed with you.

Round 1: I figured I would not be long for this tournament when I drew Jim Eliason in the first round. Jim is a past WBC champ who has gotten the better of me on several occasions. Although he says we are even, I can only recall losing to him—not beating him. Both losses were burned deep into my sub-conscious by their very nature. The first game was every Allied player’s nightmare and the game was lost from the getgo with a terrible start but I kept going since we were at D-Day with nothing else to do between rounds. Amazingly, it only got worse. I’ve never seen such dice disparities before. Not only was he winning all the big rolls…he was winning all the rolls period. I think we played four days before I could take it no longer and gave up. In that time I think we counted maybe five times that I had rolled a 7 or higher. Bad as that was, the second loss hurt even more.

This time I was the Germans and seemingly had the game well in hand when he rolled a “2” Weather Change on a cloudy day and totally turned the game around. It was a classic case of how quickly this game can turn. I offer that by way of background because I simply can’t recall much of what happened other than my Allies got off to such a great start that Jim threw in the towel relatively early—on the 7th or 8th. I guess fate decided it was time to pay me back for those earlier lop-sided losses.

Round 2: Clyde Longest’s Allies nearly did me in during Round 2. He got off to a great start with a deep penetration through Bretteville on the 6th which had me on the ropes early. He remained firmly in command through mid-game and things looked grim for me. My saving grace was that he was running out of time…not game time—but tournament time. It looked like he would lose the game by time limit while holding a commanding position. At that point he made several dangerous assaults which both failed and promptly conceded although I think his position was still winnable. This was not a win to savor as I got the distinct impression that his sudden risky tactics were more a result of the time limit than my defense. This impression was reinforced when I played him later in the D-Day finals where he played a nearly flawless game against me. A fine player who I suspect I was able to best only with the aid of time pressures.

Round 3: I played Ron Jacobsen in Round 3 and was able to win as the Germans without much difficulty through a combination of hot dice and his relative inexperience. A relatively new player, Ron nonetheless hung in there without much help from the dice.

Round 4: This game against Scott Fenn was the one that won the tounament in my opinion. My Allies took Caen with a boxcars roll to start June 10th for 11 Victory Points but it was hardly the usual grind it out defense of Caen you normally see when Caen falls. The game was a real roller coaster with Scott faring poorly with Interdiction on both land and sea while my assaults were blunted by cold dice—winning only one and tying two of my first 13 assault rolls. I came close to throwing in the towel when I rolled a pair of -7s on assaults of Carentan and Caen on June 7th. Desperate, I used the Advantage for a 7-8 assault of Caen by a single armor brigade that successfully contested Caen and saved the day. The move was one of pure frustration rather than inspiration and would have been followed by my concession had it failed, but my luck mproved thereafter. Even so, I had to gamble all on the Caen assault to pull out the win. I can’t recall ever taking Caen against fresh defenders without preparatory bombardments before.

Round 5: With three of us left, we had to call in an Eliminator to prevent a bye. Once again, Tom Dworschak—the top AREA-rated player did the honors. I was relieved not to draw him since he eliminated me in the same situation in the prior tournament and I have never beaten him. Instead, I got Bryan Eshleman, a past D-Day champ who has always played me tough. I believe we’ve split four prior games. The only real difference between us is I happen to be in a good karma zone at the moment while his is heading in the opposite direction. I won the recent D-Day tournament while he was going an uncharacteristic 1-4.

When Dworschak defeated Andriakos early on the beaches, Bryan and I were left vying for the championship. True to recent form, his allies got off to a bad start and lost the magic bridge, but recovered with a strong 7th. Nevertheless, my new friends—the dice—kept pulling for me and I thought I was in a commanding position until I woke up on the 10th Regroup and realized Foret was in danger of being encircled. If that happened, he would regain the Advantage and the game. Unit poor in the center, I took the drastic action of totally abandoning Foret to prevent any chance of his killing three units to regain the Advantage. Fortunately for me, his luck in St Mere got no better and I was able to hold the area until Impulse 3 of the 12th. When he rolled snake-eyes two impulses later, the game ended with him a VP shy and I finally had won an email tournament.

All I can say is it’s great to be lucky.

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