Fortenberry announced that the "main objective" of ASLUG was to "report on, and improve tournament play."  A secondary objective was to provide original ASL scenarios and to help ASL players find each other.  However, in its opening issue, Fortenberry also confessed that he was "a little undecided as to what ASLUG should encompass," which didn't necessarily bode well for its vision.  A typical issue of ASLUG would contain two new scenarios, some designer's notes, tournament reports, and an article or two.  The initial issue was only 6 pages long, but some subsequent issues were substantially longer.  In mid-1993, Fortenberry announced that he had acquired the ASL newsletter At the Point and would combine the two into one newsletter.

Today, most experienced ASLers would know that a monthly publication dedicated to ASL would be almost certainly doomed to failure--that is a grueling schedule--but back then folks just had to find out for themselves, as Fortenberry himself did.  By the end of the year, ASLUG had fallen on hard times, with no new issues coming out.  In March 1994, Fortenberry told the ASL News that he would combine it and the ASL newsletter Fire for Effect into a massive 50-60 page ASL magazine to be published 5 or 6 times a year.  This never happened.  In May 1994, Robert Wolkey of Fire for Effect announced to ASL News that he and Ray Tapio would form a new ASL publication, Critical Hit, and had purchased the unfinished scenarios and articles from the "defunct" ASLUG from Gary Fortenberry.  Subscribers to ASLUG were left with their subscriptions unfulfilled.  Later that month, it was announced that Gary Fortenberry would go to Avalon Hill to manage their ASL line of products, insuring that ASLUG was indeed dead.  Fortenberry did not last long at Avalon Hill and was replaced in that regard by Multiman Publishing.

During the brief time that it lasted, ASLUG did, however, publish some good tournament-sized scenarios that continue to be played today.  Some of them were later reprinted as "official" ASL scenarios (particularly during Fortenberry's tenure at Avalon Hill).  Particularly worth trying are ASLUG1 (Beyond the Pakfronts), ASLUG3 (Tough Nut to Crack), ASLUG12 (One-Log Bridge), the classic ASLUG14 (Morgan's Stand), and ASLUG19 (The T-Patchers).

Of the 24 ASLUG scenarios, 21 were later graciously entered into the public domain and can be freely downloaded at http://underworld.fortunecity.com/postal/598/aslwebdex/aslug/aslug.html#.  The remaining three scenarios were designed by Mark Neukom (one of the founders of Kinetic Energy), who has refused to allow republication of any of his ASL-related materials (including Kinetic Energy materials).  Notice that six of the scenarios on this list are not scenarios that appeared in the 8 issues of the newsletter.

Issues

At the Point featured heavy duty ASL content, including Scenario Replays, scenario "crossfires" (established here by Mark Nixon and Robert Banozic, who then--especially Banozic--took this show on the road in all sorts of other ASL publications), tactics articles (such as "Panzer Gegen Panzer" by Bruce Bakken), rules articles, and more.  Hanna was able to attract some of the best ASL writers at the time. 

The earliest known issue of Crossfire is from June 1996; it was apparently designed as a monthly newsletter, but never achieved that.  Early issues, edited by Dave Bardi and Steve Banham, primarily include local ASL news, tournament reports, and scenario AARs.  The content was typically not very substantial, although some of the AARs were good.  The first iteration of the newsletter does not appear to have lasted very long.  However, in 2001, Army Group South tried to start Crossfire up again.  The new version was intended to be published 5 times a year, but that proved wildly optimistic.  A relatively small ASL group to begin with, Army Group South's newsletter frequently contained laments about people not showing up or people having dropped out.  Still, any ASL club is better than none, as every ASLer knows.

The final issue appears to have been Volume 1, No. 3, and that issue actually contained a scenario, Alaric's Return, featuring Germans vs. Italians the day after the Italian armistice was announced.  This issue of the newsletter is currently downloadable at http://users.bigpond.net.au/asl-victoria/crossfire%201-3.doc.  The scenario appears on the last page; however, the formatting appears to be messed up.  Only part of the scenario appears on the page.  To make the whole scenario appear, position the cursor immediately above the visible part and do a "hard return" (control-return).  This will force the scenario down to the next whole sheet of paper and it will be visible and printable.  A hidden scenario!

The main feature of each issue of Dispatches is its scenarios; each issue typically contains two to three tournament sized scenarios.  Its scenarios cover a range of actions, but Dispatches likes to group them into series.  Series initiated so far (up through Issue #23) include the Sergeant Rudolf Brasche Series (6 scenarios), the Leibstandarte Series (5 scenarios), the Bougainville Series (3 scenarios), the East Front Series (4 scenarios), the DASL Series (4 scenaros), the Tunisian Series (8 scenarios), the Thunderbird (45th Inf Div) series, the Grossdeutschland Series (1 scenario), the Lorraine Series (4 scenarios), the West Front Series (1 scenario), the Philippine Series A (2 scenarios) and B (2 scenarios), and the "Independent" Series (5 scenarios).  

Issue #23 introduced the Valor of the Guards Series, with 3 scenarios designed to be played on the historical map included in the HASL module Valor of the Guards (the people involved with Dispatches from the Bunker were the people who designed and playtested the module as well).  However, the Bunker crew was a little too optimistic about MMP's ability to get the game out--when Dispatches #23 came out, Valor of the Guards was still nowhere to be seen.  Eventually, however, all was well.

A number of the 50+ scenarios that Dispatches has published so far have established good reputations.  These include DB001 (Brasche Encounter), DB005 (The Marketplace at Wormhoudt), DB012 (First Clash in Tunisia), DB021 (Crisis on the Abucay Line), DB025 (Avril Action), DB036 (First Crack at Hellzapoppin' Ridge), and DB049 (Wetlet). 

The newsletter does have content other than the scenarios, although much of it is typically scenario analysis for the scenarios included in the issue.  Other content can include tournament news, tactical tips, and scenario analyses.  Unfortunately, much of this content is formatted in justified columns enclosed in boxes, which often makes it difficult to read.  A lot fewer lines would make the newsletter a lot more readable.

With its low subscription price, Dispatches from the Bunker is one of the best buys around for ASL scenarios.  A four-issue subscription costs only $15 ($18 outside the U.S.).  Make checks payable to Vic Provost; send them to Vic Provost, Dispatches from the Bunker, P.O. Box 2024, Hinsdale MA 01235.  He also accepts PayPal to PinkFloydFan1954@aol.com.  Provost's e-mail address is aslbunker@aol.com.  The Web site is http://www.aslbunker.com. This site includes free downloads of issues #1-10.

Issues

Though extremely short lived, In Contact paved the way for a host of newsletters that would shortly follow, including the Rout Report, Fire for Effect, At the Point, ASLUG, and more.

It is hard properly to characterize OAF.  On one hand, it was undeniably a crude publication, both in terms of production values (well into the 1990s it was printed on a crude early Macintosh printer) and writing (articles tended to be both short and poor).  On the other hand, it was a true pioneer.  It was the first, and for some time the only, source of ASL scenarios and variants outside of official sources.  It also brought many ASLers together from around the country long before the Internet made it easy.  In evolutionary terms, OAF was that fish that crawled out onto dry land.  Unfortunately, eventually there were all sorts of cool dinosaurs running around, while that fish was still crawling around in the sand, gulping air through its gulls.

Issue #62 (January 1988) is a fairly typical OAF issue.  It was 12 pages long and featured a letter to the editor, a scenario analysis by ASL veteran Rick Troha, an option for Recon Leader (itself a variant published in OAF), a scenario analysis by Vic Provot (who, many years later, would start his own ASL newsletter, Dispatches from the Bunker), a Recon Leader scenario, want ads, one ASL scenario (a tournament scenario designed by Rick Troha with the help of luminaries such as Mark Nixon, Bill Conner, Bill Sisler, Kurt Nordquest, Ed Schroeder, Russ Hall and Troy Galloway), one SL scenario (also a tournament scenario), and a morale check play aid.  Typical of a latter-day OAF issue is Issue #105 (February/March 1993).  It included a scenario design contest, an article helping SL players transition to ASL, Allied Minor gun listings, playtester updates, tournament announcements, two ASL scenarios (P02, Chesty Puller to the Rescue, and a DASL scenario, A Gleam of Bayonets), and a page of crudely printed unmounted Allied minor gun/vehicle counters.

OAF wasn't just rough around the edges, it was often rough right through the middle.  Scenarios were frequently unpolished, not infrequently inadequately playtested, and sometimes not playtested at all.  Articles tended to be poorly written and short.  Yet for all that, OAF was a great innovator, accepting of any sort of variant, optional rule, or new way to play ASL.  Among the things that appeared in OAF over the years were a set of Sturmovik rules, Recon Leader, a play by mail system for ASL,  mini-Campaign Games, Personal Single Man Counters (sort of like the SL campaign game), an Operational Level ASL campaign game (Armor Leader Normandy), an Eben Emael mini-HASL game (with black and white historical map), French ASL counters (before Croix de Guerre), scenarios for Korea and Vietnam, a Japanese scenario (before Code of Bushido), Solitaire ASL scenarios (before SASL), new DASL AFV cards, overlays (sort of), the Central Railway Station mini-HASL, Allied minor counters (before Doomed Battalions), and more.

Because OAF wasn't widely distributed, because it was published in the pre-Web days, and because, quite frankly, many of its scenarios were not of great quality, most OAF scenarios have not been widely played.  Some of the better ones were republished by Critical Hit in its OAF Pack 1 (there was never an OAF Pack 2). 

In 1997, after 123 issues and 15 years of publication (not to mention nearly 300 scenarios for Squad Leader and Advanced Squad Leader), On All Fronts ceased publication.  The apparent reason was simple burnout; Treadaway told subscribers that "Fifteen years is a long time to devote to publishing a newsletter and I feel that it is enough."

Content included product reviews, tournament news (full of insider jokes and old boy network references), and a smorgasbord of other offerings, often indescribable (how does one categorize this headline:  "Dreaded ASL Gene Found!  Pennsylvania Gamer Found without a Life!  Doctors say 'He can't be alive--his genes are shaped like dice!'"  Perhaps it is enough to say that, although the newsletter was published by DAGGER, exactly what DAGGER stood for tended to vary considerably. 

As a result of all the humor and in-jokes, the newsletter is rather dated for someone approaching it fresh, these many years later--far more dated than its contemporaries such as At the Point or ASLUG, which featured many articles on gameplay (something Rout Report eschewed).  Unless one is familiar with the early 1990s Detroit and Cleveland ASL scenes, unless one knows the first names of Messrs. Mudge, Ginnard and Nixon and the real name of "Fort" (FYI:  Pete, Dave, Mark and Gary Fortenberry, respectively), then one will miss many of the topical references.  Kurt Martin had a habit of referring to almost no one by their actual full name (thus Dave Lamb becomes Dave Lambkin and Brian Youse becomes Ryan Louse, etc.).  Probably the least dated and most useful articles are the reviews of various ASL products and the discussions of different scenarios.

The real strength of The Rout Report was its scenarios (40+ of them), many of which were fun to play and a few of which became genuine ASL classics.  Inexplicably numbered (with various Mx, Ox, Xx, and Zx designations), they represent some of the best of the early third party scenarios. 

Many Rout Report scenarios were later reprinted as "official" ASL scenarios in the ASL Annual '95.  Even more Rout Report scenarios were reprinted by Critical Hit in Rout Pak 1 and Rout Pak 2 (the third Rout Pak does not contain any scenarios that appeared in the Rout Report, despite its title). 

Noteworthy Rout Report scenarios include X1 (Fire and Rain), X3 (Piats and Panthers), X4 (No Quarter), X5 (Morning in Mouen, a classic), X7 (Victoria Cross), X8 (The Glory Road), X10 (Distinguished Service, very balanced), Z5 (Brandenburger Bridge, but the Critical Hit reprint is better), Z10 (Riding Shotgun), Z11 (Slam Dance), Z16 (The Knife Edge of Defeat), Z19 (The Trap at Targul Frumos), and Z28 (Soldiers of Construction, also one of the best ASL scenario titles ever).

The last six scenarios, Z23-Z28, from the last issue of the Rout Report (which was the only issue to also be published on-line, at the dawning of the Internet age) are available for free download at http://ic.net/~kmartin/toc.htm.

Each issue also contained scenarios; it is not clear if they were playtested.  Trench of Death #2 contained the following scenarios:

This newsletter is probably something that only a real completionist would want.