Schwarzes Kreuz erstellt von David Liuzzo

Issue 4

aaminis.myfastforum.org

DECEMBER 2010

Foreword
This is the first time I have had the honor to edit any sort of publication. It has been a little daunting, but also fun. I hope that you will like what we have to offer in this edition. Mr Ziegler has been very productive, writing two very substantial articles for your perusal. As editor I would like to apologise to all you landlubbers. I really only know War at Sea, but I will try my best to make sure that there is content on offer for everyone. I would also like to offer my apology for this newsletter being so late. It was my intention to have it done many weeks ago, but as always real life had other plans. And this is just a hobby after all... right? If that were true, then I wouldnt be apologizing to you guy right now, now would I? Speaking of not taking our selves too seriously, the next set for War at Sea is on the horizon and the news that here will be few more nations this time, there has been the customary beef on the forum. -Swedes? Polacks? But we still havent had the [insert Japanese carrier here] yet! Just kidding of course, but still; I feel that there is room for minor nations, this is after all an international game for an international audience. I doubt that there is a single one nation with a WWII navy that isnt represented on this forum. I for one am happy to see more Baltic navies, maybe because I had no reason to expect to see them at all. I certainly didnt expect to see them when I started out when War at Sea was first released. Makes it hard to know which ships to build next, Mr Baker keeps releasing them as soon as I build them ;) My point being that its good that we all still might have a little something to look forward to yet. Why else would we come to our forum to gripe about what is and what isnt in the next set? We are lucky that there is a next set! Yours truly, Cmdr Clint Dec 2010

In this issue:
p 2-3 p 10-11 p 13 p 14-15

War at Sea: Ranking the Aircraft by jfkziegler Colourising old B&W photos by NeuralDream Product Review: Ability Used Tokens from Chum & Tub Gaming by jfkziegler Defending the Oder: Assault Brigade Wallonie - An AAM scenario by General Hoth

War at Sea: Ranking the Aircraft

by jfkziegler With the recent addition of Condition: Zebra into the War at Sea line, players now have a dazzling array of potential aircraft to choose from. The question is which ones are the best? In this article, I intend to examine the available options and let you know which aircraft are soaring in the clouds, and which are sticking close to the treeline, if you get my meaning. the Wildcat will suit you perfectly well if you need defense. AA 7 and vital armour 9 is nothing to sneeze at. Together, they make the Wildcat the best Allied fighter. the Advanced Fighter ability. Really, the Corsair and the Hellcat are made for different purposes. The Hellcat is for use in an air fleet, where you have bombers to cover and you have carriers available. The Corsair is for use as fighter cover for a nonair fleet. You dont have carriers anyway, so the Hellcat wont be picking up any Expert Dogfighter bonus and it wont be launching every turn. In that situation, the Corsair is a bargain with its superior AA and ability to launch rocket attacks. Heck, it even gets a bonus in shooting down Kamikazes with its Advanced Fighter. For pure power, the Corsair makes a respectable choice at fourth on the list. drop torpedoes that cannot be easily aborted or destroyed, but of course that comes at the cost of not being able to use Expert Torpedoes. The Beaufighter just doesnt shape up to be a very good aircraft. Now that we have seen the Allied fighters, lets move on to the Axis fighters.

2) Hellcat

Fighters

Of course, the most basic part of any air force is the fighter. It attacks, it defends, it escorts; it is the very definition of multi-purpose. If you are going to take just one type of aircraft for your fleet, you want it to be a fighter. So, which fighters are the best? First, lets look at the Allied fighters.

It has AA 8, vital armour 9, and the ability to shoot down fighters. Oh yeah, and it can base on a carrier, too. Whats not to like? Well, the cost is a bummer, but this is a fighter that you will rarely go wrong with. A smart tactic is to take one or two Hellcats to do your escorting work, and use the cheaper Wildcat to fill out the rest of your fighter core.

3) Martlet

1) Wildcat

This Wildcat derivative is cheaper than the original Wildcat, can still escort, is just as good in AA, and is almost as survivable. Rugged effectively gives it vital armour 8.5, which is a healthy total. As an aside, there are few stats on a War at Sea card more useless than the armour value of a fighter. In games I have played, fighters almost never strafe except as a last resort or if the opponent fails to bring any aircraft to shoot down. A fighter could have armour 1 and it would be just as useful as a fighter with armour 7. The two key numbers on a fighter are AA value and vital armour. Everything else is secondary.

5) Sea Hurricane

This slot was very close between the Sea Hurricane and the D.520. However, the Sea Hurricane has one major advantage over the D.520 escort. It is very difficult for opposing fighters to shoot down an escorted bomber. In fact, in many games I dont even bring defensive fighters because I find it is very hard to hit with them. The greatest value of a fighter is its ability to escort. The Sea Hurricane has that, so it ranks above the D.520.

1) Bf-109

Its effectively the Axis Wildcat. It has the same stats except for switching out Defend The Flattop for Interceptor and losing the ability to fly CAP. Since the Wildcat is the top Allied fighter, this must be the top Axis fighter. Since the overall field of Axis fighters is weaker, the Bf-109 stands out even more than the Wildcat does.

6) D.520

I know this selection will surprise many people, as there are many who would pick the Hellcat as the best Allied fighter. However, I see the Wildcat as having one significant advantage cost. The Wildcat costs 3 points less than the Hellcat. Because fighters are normally brought in multiples, those savings add up quickly. In most situations, the Wildcat is just as good as the Hellcat. They always have the same vital armour, and if they are both hovering over a carrier they have the same AA as well. The Hellcat is a better escort thanks to its ability to shoot down enemy fighters, but

4) Corsair

This was a tough choice. I dont like the Corsair. It suffers by comparison to the Hellcat. Its inability to attack every turn and its inability to receive expert dogfighter bonuses make it a weak substitute for the power of the Hellcat. That being said, this is still a ferociously powerful aircraft. It has AA 9, which ties it for the highest natural AA in the game, and it has vital armour 9, so it is very survivable. It can also escort, which is very important for a fighter, and especially for one with

Well, you knew what was coming next. The D.520 is an excellent aircraft. It has AA 7, and with Nimble it might as well have vital armour 9. Its Interceptor ability makes it a good unit to defend against incoming bombers with. The fact that the D.520 is only the sixth best Allied fighter just shows you the depth of fighters that the Allies possess.

2) George

Best AA on an Axis fighter? Check. Best vital armour on an Axis fighter? Check. Can it escort? Check. If it could come out every turn, it would be the best Axis fighter. As it is, its a strong second.

3) A6M2 Zeke

7) Beaufighter

The Beaufighter doesnt know what it is. It is supposed to be both a fighter and a torpedo bomber, but it doesnt do either one well. If nothing else, it does give the British a way to

The two Zekes may seem very close, and the A6M5 may even seem better because its more survivable. Theyre not close, though. The first duty of a fighter is to provide Escort. The A6M5 cant do it, and the A6M2 can, so the A6M2 is the better aircraft. Being one point cheaper doesnt hurt, either.

4) Re.2001

Unlike the Beaufighter, which is a versatile aircraft but isnt really good at anything it does, the Re.2001 is a versatile aircraft that is good at everything it does. If its acting as a fighter, its AA 7 and vital armour 8 make it comparable to the A6M2, albeit without the all-important Escort ability. If its acting as a bomber, its bomb 8 and vital armour 8 make it better than a Val, and probably better than a Stuka as well. You can use it as a fighter early in the game, and then switch it to a bomber when the opponent runs out of bombers. Or, you can use it as a bomber early in the game, and switch it to a fighter if you get hardpressed. The possibilities are almost endless.

Torpedo Bombers

3) Swordfish

Moving on, we come to the torpedo bombers. These tend to be versatile attack aircraft that can deal with battleships and subs effectively while maintaining some ability to attack cruisers and destroyers. Because battleships and subs tend to be the most powerful units, its important for an air fleet to have torpedo bombers to counter them. We begin with the Allied torpedo bombers.

Its armour and vital armour are really, really bad, and its not nearly cheap enough to reflect that. That said, if you can manage to use it as an ASW platform, its not bad. Keep it away from enemy fighters and ship AA, though, if you dont want to lose it.

2) Kate

4) Devastator

This is just a bad aircraft, which of course is completely realistic. Its torpedo dice are lousy, its ASW is miserable, and it dies easily. The fact that it can make itself a target is a little helpful, but since it cant draw ship AA fire, even that ability leaves a lot to be desired. Leave this one at home. Here are the Axis torpedo bombers, one of the few places where the Axis can be said to have rough parity with the Allies in aircraft.

This would be a very good aircraft is not for the low vital armour. In one game I played, I had three of these shot down in one sector on one turn! Still, the three torpedoes are very respectable, even if the ASW leaves something to be desired. The major problem the Kate has is being over-costed. Why would you want a Kate for 13 when you could have a Jill or Avenger for 14?

3) Fi-167

5) Folgore

The fact that it is Land-Based is unfortunate, since it can only come out every other turn. Its also not good at shooting down opposing aircraft, with its weak AA value. However, its relatively cheap and it can provide Escort, meaning that it has some value. Put two on your land-base and alternate them for an inexpensive escorting force for your bombers.

This is sort of the Axis Swordfish, although a little harder to abort thanks to its armour value of 4. Still, theres not a lot to like here. The three torpedoes are nice if you ever get to use them, but it cant even adopt the Swordfish tactic of being mostly an ASW platform because its ASW value is low. I suppose if youre desperate for a Euro-Axis torpedo bomber you could play it, but its a last resort sort of piece.

1) TBF Avenger

6) A6M5 Zeke

This aircraft doesnt know what it wants to be. Advanced Fighter 1 is a perfect ability for an escort fighter, because it can take pot shots at opposing fighters while they are shooting at the bombers. The problem is that the A6M5 doesnt have Escort, so theres no point in sending it along with your bombers. Thus, it becomes a defensive fighter, and AF1 isnt very useful for a defensive fighter, since youll be shooting at bombers rather than fighters. Overall, the lack of purpose makes the A6M5 the worst Axis fighter.

This is without a doubt the best attack aircraft in the game. It will normally be attacking battleships, so it will normally have a base torpedo attack of 4, and thats before it gets an Expert Torpedoes bonus or a Shadowing bonus. This is the only torpedo aircraft in the game that probability says should be landing a torpedo every turn. Thats not all, though. It also has the games best ASW value amongst aircraft, with a value of 4. If it needs to deal with cruisers, destroyers, or carriers, it also has an Alternate Payload of 7. Top that all off with an almost impossible to hit vital armour of 9 and you have a powerhouse. The Avenger has only one weakness. Its armour of 5 is very hittable, meaning that it is fairly easy to abort. Still, this is a musthave for any Allied air fleet.

Dive Bombers

Moving on, we come next to the dive bombers. While these dont work very well against battleships and subs, they are deadly against other ships, and they are clearly your best bet for taking out opposing carriers (especially ones with Torpedo Defense). They tend to be a lot less frustrating to use than the hit-or-miss torpedo bombers, and they are amongst my favorite units.

1) Jill

2) TBF-1 Avenger

It isnt quite as good as its cousin, coming in with ASW 3 and a torpedo value of only 2, but its survivable with a vital armour of 8 and the Rugged ability. Its not a great choice, but it will do in a pinch.

Its not the TBF Avenger, but its an excellent aircraft in its own way, and far superior to its predecessor the Kate. 3 ASW and 3 torpedoes are both nice, and its vital armour of 8 is a big improvement over the Kate. However, the real gem here is the long-distance torpedo. Particularly when combined with a Shadowing Emily and Scout Planes from Chikuma, this is a potent weapon. Kamikaze Attack is an interesting lastditch sort of ability, but I have rarely ever seen it used.

1) Helldiver

Yes, its relatively easy to abort. But it makes up for that in pure power. Its base bomb value is better than the Dauntless, and it can improve upon that with Finish Him Off. Its armour of 5 is respectable, and it goes up to 6 when attacked by a fighter (yet another reason why ship-based AA is superior). Vital armour 9 is key, given that this and Avenger are the only carrier-based bombers that have it. This is the only dive bomber that has a substantial chance to damage a battleship, given that it is able to throw fifteen bomb dice at a damaged unit if it has Expert Bomber 2 from Enterprise and Shadowing from Catalina. All in all, an excellent unit.

4) Vindicator

2) Dauntless

One of the best things about dive bombers is that they are hard to shoot down. Before Condition: Zebra, there had never been a dive bomber with a vital armour less than 7. Unfortunately for the Allies, that changed in CZ. The Vindicator is a respectable dive bomber if it survives, but thats the dilemma. With a vital armour of 6, it is not likely to survive many attacks. Like the Barracuda, the best thing for the Vindicator might be to get aborted so it can use Press the Attack and avoid future AA fire. Bomb 8 is a respectable value, and a 7 point dive bomber isnt bad. Still, Id rather have one Helldiver for 14 points that is going to survive than have two Vindicators for 14 points that arent going to survive. We continue with the Axis dive bombers.

2) Picchiatelli

I thought long and hard about the choice between this and the Stuka. Ultimately I decided that Press the Attack is important enough to justify the extra point of cost. This is especially true because the low armour of the Picchiatelli means it will get aborted a lot. Vital armour 7 is lower than I like to see it, but its beneficial that the Aquila gave the Picchiatelli a chance to become carrier-based. Coming off a carrier, its bomb value of 9 and vital armour of 7 make it better than even the Val, and for two points less.

5) Val

The Val is not particularly effective with a bomb value of 8, its easy to shoot down with a vital armour of 7, and it doesnt have any unique abilities like the Jills range-1 torpedo to make it worth using. It does have a couple benefits, such as the ability to be carrier-based and Press The Attack, but as a whole its too expensive for what youre getting. Use a Judy instead.

Patrol Bombers

3) Stuka

If the Helldiver is the number 1 dive bomber, than the Dauntless might very well be 1A. Its a very small downgrade from the Helldiver to the Dauntless. The Dauntless doesnt have the gaudy stats of the Helldiver, and its easier to knock out of the sky, but it has one big advantage. The Dauntless can still attack after being aborted by ship-based AA. Since ship-based AA is the primary threat to dive bombers, this is a tremendously useful ability. It almost forces your opponent to attack it with fighters to try to keep Press The Attack from being usable. An escorted Dauntless is a hard unit to stop.

When this unit was first released, I was very impressed by it. After all, why would I pay 13 points for a Dauntless or 10 points for a Val when I got have a Stuka for a mere 7? Today, I still view the Stuka as very cheap for what it can do, but I am more cognizant of its limitations. It is easy to abort, and easy to destroy. That makes it a bomber that is best used in large numbers. Thankfully, thats easy to do with its cheap cost, although the land base limitations can sometimes get in the way. Of course, the fact that it can now base on the Graz Zeppelin AND the Aquila makes it even better. Overall, its a bomber that gives you a lot of bang for the buck.

Finally, we come to patrol bombers. These are the hardest to rank, because different patrol bombers have different functions. The Emily is a utility plane, while the Airone is an ASW plane, and the Sparviero is a combat plane. Here, the standard I applied was how often a particular plane should make your fleet. This led to some interesting results, as you will see below. As always, we begin with the Allied patrol bombers.

4) Kamikaze 1) Judy
No other Axis dive bomber is close. Its the only one with vital armour 8, making it the only one with decent odds of survival. It also features Press the Attack, and its bomb value of 9 is almost equal to the Dauntless. Quite honestly, I think the IJN player is always wise to forsake the Val and spend the extra 2 points for the Judy.

3) Barracuda

This aircraft is versatile, and that would score it major points if it wasnt fragile. Like the Kate, this is an easy aircraft to shoot down with its weak vital armour. On the plus side, it does have an ability similar to the Dauntlesss Press the Attack. Determined Attack makes it hard to abort the Barracuda. Ironically, the best thing that can happen to the Barracuda on most turns is for it to be aborted. Once it is, it cant be fired at anymore, and it can still make its attack if it succeeds on its Determined Attack roll. Overall, the Barracuda is a good unit that could be a great unit if it was a bit tougher.

Okay, technically its not a dive bomber, but its certainly not a fighter, so this seemed like the most appropriate place to put it. It is good at what it does, which is helping to fill up your air swarms. Even better, it starts becoming available just as your other bombers are getting blown out of the sky, so it has good replacement value. It wont get through very often, but when it does it has a fairly good chance of doing damage to anything other than a battleship. One disadvantage is that its technical status as a fighter means it cant benefit from Escort. For three points, the Kamikaze is a lot more valuable than the four point Subchaser. As long as you remember that its just a filler unit, it will serve you well.

1) Catalina

This should almost always be in an Allied build that includes aircraft, or at least bombers. Shadowing is important to enhancing both torpedo and bomb attacks. Even the Catalinas relatively frail airframe isnt a big deal, because it should usually be the last aircraft you deploy, allowing it to avoid both enemy ships and enemy fighters. Add in the fact that it can come out every turn without a carrier and the fact that it is a solid ASW platform, and the Catalina is the best allaround Allied patrol bomber.

2) Sunderland

Like the Catalina, the Sunderland has the ability to come out every turn thanks to Loiter. Its real value, though, is different than the Catalina. While the Catalina is valuable for its ability to Shadow, the Sunderland is valuable for its Mines ability. Some people advocate mining objective sectors, but I disagree with this. You want to get to the objectives, too, so why put your own ships at risk? Instead, I prefer to drop mines near islands, to create a wall that ships have to divert around. This can delay your opponent and allow you to claim the objectives first. In addition to Mines, the Sunderland functions as a halfway decent dive bomber with bomb 7 and a good ASW platform with ASW 3. It took a while for the British to get a flying boat, but when they did they got a good one.

2) Emily

5) Halifax

3) Mitchell

This is a very powerful attack plane. It has a miniKondor attack with its Heavy Strafer ability, and Skip Bomb makes it a threat to every type of surface ship, including battleships. Vital armour 8 makes it survivable, and Defensive Armament makes it hard for fighters to abort it. I have only two complaints. First, the fact that it can only come out every other turn makes it of limited utility. Second, the low armour rating makes it fairly easy for ships to abort it. If it can get through, the B-25 likely to do some damage. The trick is getting it through.

The problem with the Halifax is that it doesnt have any effective attacks. Its bomb value is substantial, but the effectiveness is largely negated by Hi-Level Bomber. Its ASW value of 2 isnt high enough to really pose a threat to most submarines. Thus, the only thing it really has going for it is its toughness, but thats not worth very much if it doesnt have an effective way to attack. I have also found ASW Pinpointer to be a generally useless ability. If it worked within range-2 like normal Pinpointer, it might have been good, but the current incarnation just isnt powerful enough to make the Halifax a legitimate unit. Now, we finish up with the Axis patrol bombers.

Its like a Catalina that can take a hit! Yes, its three points more, but those three points buy you two entire extra points of vital armour, plus Defensive Armament. If it has an escort, the Emily can duke it out with an enemy fighter and survive. Even without an escort, it has a decent chance of survival. Unlike the Catalina and Kondor, which should never subject themselves to opposing AA, the Emily can act as an extra attack plane if things go bad. And if it does, it can use its Shadowing ability to enhance its own attacks. It also makes a respectable ASW platform in a pinch, which is valuable because the Axis doesnt have many good aerial ASW options. Throw in the fact that it can come out every turn, and this is an aircraft to be reckoned with.

4) G4M1 Betty

The idea of aircraft is to be able to do as much damage as possible to the opposing fleet. To be able to do that, you need to be able to hit them as often as possible. The G4M1s Excellent Endurance ability lets you hit your opponent more often than its cousin the G4M. Because it can put more torpedoes on target over the course of a normal game, its a better aircraft, and deserves the number 4 spot.

5) G4M Betty

3) Sparviero

Its not a fabulous aircraft, but its serviceable for six points. It can give you a couple torpedoes, a weak ASW attack, or a small bomb attack once a game. Its not likely to survive much AA, but thats why you deploy it in swarms. Its good point filler if nothing else.

1) Kondor

4) Liberator

The Liberator is substantially better than the Halifax. Yes, its bomb value is lower and its vital armour is lower. But heres the key difference the Liberator actually has an effective attack. No, its not likely to ever do much as a bomber, but as an ASW platform its very solid. For only 6 points, you can get a relatively survivable ASW platform. And not only that, but also once per game it can come out two straight turns thanks to Excellent Endurance

Theres a reason this thing sells for $15 and up on Ebay. It has tremendous synergy with the rest of the German fleet, especially submarines. At the beginning of the game, it can lay waste to opposing destroyers with Anti-Ship Missile, and then later on it can enhance your submarine attacks with Pinpointer. Yes, its fragile. But the key is to remember that it shouldnt be in harms way. If youre putting your Kondors over opposing ships, youre using them wrong. You should place all your other aircraft first, and then place your Kondors in the places where enemy fighters arent. This is one of the few Set I pieces that is still competitive with later set pieces.

Without a Shadowing bonus or any other type of bonus, this aircraft can sometimes throw six torpedoes a turn: four at the first target, and two at the second. Thats impressive firepower. Team it up with the Japanese for Shadowing and Scout Planes and you could have a sick amount of torpedoes being thrown in non-historical games. With vital armour 8, its got respectable staying power as well. I cant imagine a reason you wouldnt bring this in an Italian aerial battle.

6) Ju-88

I may have this unit ranked too low. It has very interesting abilities, but Ive never been able to find a good use for them. It strikes me as a unit that could potentially have devastating combos with other aircraft, but Ive never been able to find those combos. Its a respectable unit, but I want better than respectable for a unit that can only attack every other turn and costs nine points. Let me know if you have found a good use for this one.

7) Z.506 Airone

I cant find anything good about this plane. It gives the Italians aerial ASW, but its lousy aerial ASW. Its easy to kill, and it doesnt have much offensive capability. Even at just six points, its a bad investment.

I hope you have enjoyed the aircraft reviews. I know many of you will disagree or have your own opinions to share, so please feel free to discuss in the forum.

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Colourising old B&W photos

by NeuralDream Are you impressed just like everyone else with the naval colourisations at http://blog.livedoor.jp/irootoko_jr/ ? The following is a quick list of steps you can use to start your own colourisations. Normally you need to spend several hours, but you can start with an easy 30-minute example, such the Greek floatplane, Velos.

Use Recolored to add most of the colours

Original B&W photo

Use Neat to make the photo less grainy

Use Photoshop or Gimp to make the image cleaner. Cover ugly spots by copy-pasting from healthy nearby parts of the photo.

Use Photoshop or Gimp to overlay parts from a fake sky and then play with contrast, colour balance and details. More details and examples at: http://greek-war-equipment.blogspot.com

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Golden Battleship awards

Danaussies

Product Review: Ability Used Tokens from Chum & Tub Gaming
by jfkziegler A few weeks ago, I wrote to Chum & Tub Gaming and suggested that they might want to supplement their Mine tokens with Ability Used tokens. I was impressed that they responded to me quickly and were very amendable to my suggestion. I was even more impressed that just a couple weeks later, they already had the tokens for sale up on their web site. They were nice enough to send along a free sample to me because I had made the original suggestion, so I thought I would share my thoughts in this review so that the War at Sea community can make an informed decision as to whether they want to purchase these tokens or not. The first thing that should be said about these tokens it that they work well alongside the Gale

These tokens are also durable. Ive tried bending them and they seem to hold together very well. They have just a little bit of flex to them so that they wont snap easily, and though they could scratch if cut with a knife or something, they arent likely to scratch in everyday gaming situations. The price on these tokens is nearly unbeatable. A full set of twelve tokens (six Allied and six Axis) will cost you only 99 cents. Compare that to the price you would pay for a similar set of tokens from Litko, and you can see how good a deal it is. Moreover, the need for these in War at Sea is obvious. More and more units are coming out that have once per game abilities, and oftentimes those units can have game-breaking consequences. For example, it is very important to be able to keep track of which of your Kondors have already used their Anti-ship Missile abilities and which havent, or whether your Kidd has already used its Desperate AA. Keeping track of it mentally can lead to mistakes, and writing it down is cumbersome. Tokens are in many ways the perfect solution to this problem. If I had to criticize this token set, there is only one thing I might find fault with, which is the size of the tokens. They are small by comparison to the GF9 tokens (maybe 2/3 the size of a GF9 Objective token), which to me makes them a little harder to handle and keep track of. Of course, theres an upside to this as well, as they take up less space in a sector, which can be a benefit in already over-stuffed War at Sea sectors. Overall, I would give this product 4.5 stars out of 5. I would highly recommend it to anyone who plays War at Sea, and quite frankly I dont think you can go wrong for the price. While youre there, I would also encourage you to check out the Mine tokens that Chum and Tub have put out, as I have also found my set of those to be quite helpful. All of these tokens will doubtlessly improve your War at Sea gaming experience.

Trophies Donated by:

Reacher

Sharpe-Approved: No munchkins were badly hurt druing the production of this propaganda.
(well try harder next time!)

c
c

Force 9 tokens. Much like the GF9 tokens, they have a felt backing that makes them easy to pick up off the table. They also have a semi-gloss front, which is not quite as smooth as the plastic front on the GF9 tokens, but looks good next to them on the gaming table. While these tokens could also be used with Litko tokens, theyre a better fit with GF9 tokens. They would also fit in fairly well with the Starter tokens. In terms of appearance, the Ability Used tokens have either a red border for Axis tokens, or a blue border for Allied tokens. Inside the border, there is a circle with four stars at the cardinal directions. At the center of the token, there is an anchor surrounded by the letters AU, obviously for Ability Used. The tokens are subtle enough to not become a distraction, and yet distinctive enough to look good on the gaming table.

i [ \

12-7Games
www.12-7-games.com

Sponsored by:

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Defending the Oder: Assault Brigade Wallonie

An AAM scenario by General Hoth Stettin, Germany, 18th April 1945. Reduced to less than a few hundred men, the once mighty SS Wallonie assault brigade lead by the infamous SS Degrelle finds itself defending the Oder River line at Stettin, north of Berlin. The situation in Stettin is hopeless. The new german recruits are thrown into the trenches with few weapons and little training. The battle of Berlin is already raging further south but the orders are to hold at all cost. Across the Oder the soviet 65th Army outnumbers the defenders 10 to 1 and is ready to assault...

Soviets:

65th Army:

Tanks and halftracks set up east of the river on Map 4. Infantry units set up adjacent to the river west of it. This is the soviet bridgehead... T34/76 x3 BA 64 M5 lend leased halftrack x2 76.2mm gun x2 Veteran NCO x2 Commissar Maxim MG x2 Ppsh 41 x3 Soviet conscript x2 Mosin nagant x4

Maps:

East - map 4 - map 1 - West on map 4 replace the forest hexes with city tiles. This city hexes are the major city Stettin. Also replace the pond hex with a forest tile.

Germans:

Remnants Panzer Grenadier division Wallonie Set up anywhere on Map 1. Sandbagged MG team 7.5 lel G18 Pak 40 Disciplined spotter 81mm mortar Panzerfaust x2 Veteran infantry Mauser x4 SS haupsturmfuhrer

Reinforcements:
Stug G x2 Sdkfz 251 Kubelwagen Veteran infantry SS panzergrenadier

Enter on turn 2 from any western hex.

Victory Conditions:

There are 10 city hexes on Map 1. Each hex is worth 1 point. At the end of turn 6 count each sides points. The winner is the player that holds more city hexes.

Sources:

Front de lest- Lon Degrelle The battle of Berlin- Tony le Tessier

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