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PBeM #1
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1st:
Don Greenwood, MD
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2nd:
Bryan Eshleman,
NC
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3rd:
Steve Andriakos,
TX
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4th:
Scott Fenn,
MD
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5th:
Anthony Daw,
UT
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6th:
Tom Gregorio,
PA
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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
|
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Consolation Round
|
| Bill Edwards |
Jim Eliason |
28
|
Germans
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| 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
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Round
4 — Matches
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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