Desperation Morale

Contact

  • World of ASL
  • Play Aids
  • Scenarios
  • ASL Museum
  • Misc
  • Blog
Home > Products > Le Franc Tireur No. 7

12.2002 Le Franc Tireur No. 7

Publisher/Date:
Le Franc Tireur (2002)

Product Type:
Periodical

Country of Origin:
France

Contents:
92-page magazine, plus 11 color scenarios on cardstock inserts, sheet of 6 overlays (5 shellhole, 1 building cluster) and 6 unmounted counters (aerosleds in U.S. colors; some copies of the magazine came with another counter-strip featuring the aerosleds in Soviet colors)

Commentary:

Le Franc Tireur No. 7 (LFT7) was almost guaranteed to be popular because of this theme:  Barbarossa 1941.  Additionally, this issue was the first issue that many North American ASLers were able to get their hands on.  As a result, Le Franc Tireur scenarios (all in English) began to see more widespread play with this issue.

The issue features several articles (all articles in this issue are in French) related to the first year of the East Front, as well as the usual series of photographs of areas of action, including several in color.

Additionally, LFT7 contains the usual slew of reviews of recent ASL products, tournament reports, an article analyzing strength factors in ASL (continued from the previous issue), an article on winter weather, an overview (and English rules for) aerosleds, an AAR of an unusual game situation, an analysis of close combat in ASL (including Tom Repetti’s CC flowchart), an article on Cavalry in ASL, a detailed Series Replay of the Schwerpunkt scenario SP81 (Betje Wolf Plein) between Jean Devaux and Xavier Vitry (with commentary by Laurent Closier), and an overview of ASL resources on the Internet.

The scenario cards have an upgrade in their graphics, with the VASL counter artwork of the past several issues dropped in favor of better artwork.

The scenarios include a good mix of sizes.  Almost half are medium-sized, with the balance split equally between small and large (the latter including the massive FT29, The Porechye Bridgehead).  A number of the scenarios feature very interesting situations; among them are FT30 (Death is their Trade), an SS vs. partisan cavalry action; FT36 (The Mongol Ride), a cavalry action featuring Desert/Steppe terrain; FT37 (Siberians are Coming), a Deep Snow/Extreme Winter scenario with Soviets on skis; and the extremely imaginative FT38 (Aerosleds to the Rescue), which takes place entirely on frozen Lake Onega and features Soviet troops zipping around the ice on aerosleds against Germans on skis.  Several of the scenarios are linkable into a mini-campaign (the rules are in French, but were translated into English in Le Franc Tireur #8).

Two of the scenarios have important errata.  In FT32 (Lenin’s Sons), it is hexrows D-Z which are playable.  In the same scenario, the German OB needs to have an additional LMG and DC.  In later printings of this issue, these errors were supposedly corrected.  In FT34 (Borodino Train Station), North is actually towards the BOTTOM of the map, NOT the top (!).

Unfortunately, some of the scenarios seem somewhat unbalanced, notably FT33 (Flanking FTs), FT35 (Last Push to Mozhaisk) and FT32 (Lenin’s Sons).  One of the scenarios, FT29 (The Porecheye Bridgehead), was later reprinted as an official scenario in the ASL Journal (J93), where it has developed a distinct reputation as a dog.  More scenarios from the issue were reprinted in ASL Journal #7, including Borodino Train Station, The Yelnya Bridge, Flanking FTs (as Flanking Flamethrowers), and Lenin’s Sons.  Of these, the latter two underwent changes to try to address balance problems.  Flanking Flamethrowers still seems to be unbalanced, but the MMP version of Lenin’s Sons actually balances the scenario quite well and made it a quality scenario.  The Yelnya Bridge is good in both versions.  What these scenarios suggest is that LFT was coming out with solid scenario concepts during this time period, but that its playtesting and quality control was still somewhat shaky.  To their credit, MMP realized the value in these scenarios and reprinted them.

Like most issues of LFT around this time, LFT7 comes with an overlay sheet.  This sheet features 5 shellhole overlays (Sh1, Sh2, Sh3, Sh4, Sh5) and a cluster of 7 one-hex wooden buildings (FT3).  This sheet also contains unmounted counters for six aerosled counters, oddly in U.S. colors. This seems to have been an error, as some (presumably later) copies of LFT7 also came with a paper slip of Soviet-colored aerosled counters.

Back to Top

Tagged: Campaign Game(s), East Front-oriented, French Language, Linked-Scenario Campaign Game, Magazine, Third Party Overlay(s)

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Search Site

All Categories

  • ASL Newsletters
    • Newsletters with Scenarios
    • Newsletters without Scenarios
  • Avalon Hill Products
  • MMP Products
    • Unofficial Periodicals
  • Official Publishers (Avalon Hill & MMP)
    • "Core" Modules
    • Accessories
    • Foreign Language ASL
    • Miniatures
    • Non-WWII Expansion Modules
    • Official ASL Starter Kit Products
    • Official DASL Modules
    • Official Historical Modules
    • Official Mini-Scenario Pack
    • Official Mini-Scenario/Map Pack
    • Official Periodicals
    • Official Rulebooks
    • Official Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Official Scenario/Map Pack Plus
    • Official Software & On-Line Products
    • Official Solitaire ASL (SASL)
  • Scenario Packs
  • Third Party Publishers
    • Abdicated Despot Company
      • Periodicals
    • Action Terrain
      • Accessories
    • Advancing Fire
      • Historical Modules
      • Scenario Packs
    • ASL Cards
      • Accessories
    • ASL News
      • Periodicals
    • ASL Sweden
      • Periodicals
    • Battleschool
      • Accessories
    • Bill Wilder/First to Fight Variants
      • Counter Supplement
      • Scenario Packs
      • Solitaire Rules
    • Bounding Fire Productions
      • Historical Modules
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Break Contact
      • Scenario Packs
    • Broken Ground Design
      • Counter Sets
      • Mini-Scenario/Map Packs
      • Scenario/Map Pack
    • Countersmith Workshop
      • Accessories
    • Critical Hit
      • Accessories
      • Campaign Games
      • Counter Packs/Counter Sets
      • Historical Modules
      • Map Packs (no scenarios)
      • Periodicals
      • Rulebooks
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Dare-Death
      • Periodicals
    • Derek Ritter
      • Accessories
    • Desperation Morale
      • Manuals
    • EastSide Gamers
      • Scenario Packs
      • Zombie Stuff
    • ELR
      • Scenario Packs
    • Encircled Productions/Kansas City Irregular ASLers
      • Scenario Packs
    • Fanatic Enterprises
      • Accessories
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Flying Pig Games
      • Periodicals
    • Friendly Fire
      • Friendly Fire Scenario Packs
    • Front Line Productions
      • Historical Modules
    • Hazardous Movement
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
      • Scenario/Map Pack
    • Heat of Battle
      • Historical Modules
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • JagerSoft Games LLC
      • Historical Modules
    • Kinetic Energy
      • Counter Pack
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Le Franc Tireur
      • Accessories
      • Historical Modules
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Lone Canuck Publishing
      • Historical Modules
      • Scenario Packs
    • Minden Games
      • Rulebooks
    • Mister T
      • Accessories
    • New England Volunteers
      • Scenario Packs
    • New England Volunteers & Yankee ASL
      • Scenario Packs
    • North Texas ASL
      • Scenario Packs
    • Panzer Press
      • Scenario Packs
    • Partisan Publishing
      • Scenario Packs
    • Sherry Enterprises (Schwerpunkt)
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Southern California ASL Club
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Southern Cross
      • Scenario Packs
    • Stavka Archives
      • Scenario Packs
    • Struijf-Mazzei
      • Scenario Packs
    • Swedish Volunteers
      • Scenario Pack
    • Tactiques
      • Periodicals
    • Taktyka I Strategia
      • Periodicals
    • Texas ASL Club
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • The Tactical Wargamer
      • Periodicals
    • View from the Trenches
      • Campaign Games
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • War-Oboe Publications
      • Scenario Packs
    • Windy City Wargamers
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Winnipeg ASL Club
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
  • Wargaming Magazines with ASL Scenarios

All Tags

  • A Bridge Too Far material
  • Action Pack
  • Advanced
  • Afrika Korps Series
  • AFV Cards
  • Airdrop/Glider
  • Alternative Counter Color Scheme
  • Alternative Map System
  • Alternative Rules System
  • Alternative Use of HASL Map
  • Amphibious
  • Arab-Israeli Wars
  • ASLSK
  • Battle of the Bulge
  • Blood Reef Tarawa materials
  • Bonus Pack
  • Burma
  • Campaign Game(s)
  • Chaco War
  • Chapter H Pages
  • Chinese Civil War
  • Chinese-language
  • City-Fighting
  • CONSUMER ALERT
  • Contains material for Hatten in Flames
  • Counterfactual/Fictional Scenario(s)
  • Critical Hit Normandy Series
  • CWASL
  • DASL
  • DASL Boards
  • Desert War: 1941 series
  • Desert-Oriented
  • Design-Your-Own
  • Dice
  • Digital
  • DM High Recommendation
  • Downloadable
  • Dutch-language
  • East Front-oriented
  • Exceedingly Rare Shit
  • Extra Stuff for 3rd Party HASL
  • Extra Stuff for Official HASL
  • Extra-Large Counters
  • Festung Budapest materials
  • Fog of War Scenarios
  • France 1940
  • French Language
  • Gary-style geoboards
  • Genesis III series
  • Geoboard Campaign Game(s)
  • God Save the King materials
  • GWASL
  • Has components for LFT's The Green Hills of Inor
  • Historical Map(s)
  • Indochina-Vietnam Wars
  • Introductory
  • Irish Wars
  • Italian-language
  • Italo-Ethiopian War
  • Japanese-language
  • Kakazu Ridge materials
  • Kampfgruppe Peiper materials
  • King of the Hill materials
  • Korean War
  • Kursk
  • Linked-Scenario Campaign Game
  • Magazine
  • Manuals
  • Market-Garden
  • mini-HASL
  • Miniatures
  • Misc Conflicts 1920-1929
  • Misc Conflicts 1930-1939
  • Misc Conflicts 1941-1955
  • Misc Conflicts 1956+
  • Misc Conflicts Pre-1920
  • Module-Specific Manual/Guide
  • Monster Historical Scenario
  • Monster Product
  • Newsletter
  • Nhpum Ga materials
  • Nomanhan
  • Non-DASL Large Hex Map/Board
  • Non-Geomorphic Generic Maps
  • Non-historical/contemporary map
  • Nonstandard Geoboards
  • Normandy
  • Official Geoboards
  • Official Overlays
  • Official Rules Pages
  • Operation Veritable materials
  • Operational Subsystem
  • Partially-geomorphic board(s)
  • PBDYO
  • PDF Only
  • Pegasus Bridge materials
  • Platoon Leader Campaign Game(s)
  • Polish-language
  • Postwar Anti-communist Partisans
  • PTO-Oriented
  • Rare Vehicles
  • Recon Leader
  • Red Barricades materials
  • Requires GWASL components
  • Russian Civil War
  • Russo-Polish War
  • SASL
  • Satire
  • Software
  • Spanish Civil War
  • Spanish-language
  • Squad Leader Scenario Conversions
  • Stalingrad
  • Strategy Manual
  • Third Party Counters (Not CH)
  • Third Party Geoboard(s)
  • Third Party Overlay(s)
  • Three Player Scenario
  • To the Volga series
  • Tournament Friendly
  • Tournament Prize Pack
  • Unit Study
  • Uses ASLN1 Geoboard from ASL News
  • Uses ASLSK geoboard(s)
  • Uses Berlin Fall of the Third Reich Components
  • Uses Beyond the Beachhead 2 boards
  • Uses Beyond the Beachhead 2 rules
  • Uses Beyond the Beachhead components
  • Uses BFP A geoboard from Into the Rubble
  • Uses BFP H geoboard from High Ground 2
  • Uses BFP I geoboard from High Ground 2
  • Uses BFP J geoboard from High Ground 2
  • Uses BFP M geoboard from Crucible of Steel
  • Uses BFP N geoboard from Crucible of Steel
  • Uses BFP-B geoboard from Into the Rubble
  • Uses Blitzkrieg in the West: North Campaign components
  • Uses Blood and Jungle counters
  • Uses Broken Ground counters
  • Uses CH W# Boards from Fire and Ice
  • Uses CH1 geoboard from Gembloux II
  • Uses CH2 geoboard from A Few Rare Men
  • Uses Chosin/Chosin Few Components
  • Uses components from Forgotten War
  • Uses Components from Kampfgruppe Scherer
  • Uses components from Onslaught to Orsha 2
  • Uses components from Poland in Flames
  • Uses counters from Poland in Flames
  • Uses Critical Hit Afrika Korps Map(s)
  • Uses DASL geoboards from LFT's Deluxe Pack #1
  • Uses Decision at Elst components
  • Uses Desert War: 1941 components
  • Uses DW-1a/1b geoboard(s) from Blood and Jungle
  • Uses FE1 geoboard from Budapest Pack
  • Uses Festung Budapest map
  • Uses Festung Budapest rules
  • Uses Finland at War Counters
  • Uses Forgotten War components
  • Uses Friendly Fire Geoboard
  • Uses geoboards from BFP's Poland in Flames
  • Uses geoboards from Blood and Jungle
  • Uses geoboards from Crucible of Steel
  • Uses geoboards from Deluxe Pack #1
  • Uses geoboards from High Ground 2
  • Uses geoboards from Into the Rubble
  • Uses geoboards from Into the Rubble 2
  • Uses Guerra Civil Components
  • Uses High Ground geoboard(s)
  • Uses Into the Rubble overlays
  • Uses Into the Rubble rules
  • Uses Kampfgruppe Peiper I Map
  • Uses Kampfgruppe Peiper II Map
  • Uses Kampfgruppe Peiper rules
  • Uses Kursk: Devil's Domain maps
  • Uses LFT1 geoboard from LFT11
  • Uses LFT2 geoboard from LFT12
  • Uses Nhpum Ga map
  • Uses Operation Cobra counters
  • Uses Operation Merkur components
  • Uses Operation Veritable map
  • Uses Pegasus Bridge map
  • Uses Pegasus Bridge rules
  • Uses Recon by Fire #4 counters
  • Uses Red Barricades map
  • Uses Red Barricades rules
  • Uses Red October/Red Factories components
  • Uses Red October/Red Factories Map
  • Uses SCW2 geoboard from Condor Legions
  • Uses Special Forces! counters
  • Uses St. Nazaire map from St. Nazaire
  • Uses Swedish Volunteers components
  • Uses Sweet 16 geoboards from CH
  • Uses Sweet 16 Winter geoboards from CH
  • Uses Total Axis Pack I Components
  • uses Valor of the Guards counters
  • Uses Valor of the Guards map
  • Uses Valor of the Guards rules
  • Uses Wacht Am Rhein 1 components from LCP
  • Valor of the Guards materials
  • winterized
  • Winterized Boards/Maps
  • Zombies

World of ASL

  • World of ASL Main Page
  • This Year's Releases
  • Avalon Hill Products
  • MMP Products
  • Third Party Publishers (all)
  • Recommended

Play Aids

  • Mini-IFT and Setup Sheets
  • Reminders/Checklists
  • Terrain Related
  • Subject Specific
  • HASL Aids
  • AFV Aids
  • SW Aids
  • OBA Decks
  • Sniper Reminders
  • Contributor Section

Scenarios

  • WCW Scenario Pack
  • Michicon Scenarios
  • Tactiques Scenarios
  • Southern Cross Scenarios
  • Gun Duel Scenarios
  • Sir Roger Mercenario

ASL Museum

  • Dice Towers/Cups
  • Rulebooks
  • Counter Storage
  • Play Aids
  • Clothing
  • Mapboards
  • Miniatures
  • Prizes/Trophies
  • Travel Kits
  • Misc.

Misc

  • About this Site
  • Scenario Designers Guide

Blog

  • How to Learn ASL
  • MMP and the Stewardship of ASL: A 25(+) Year Perspective
  • The Road Not Taken: An ASL Poem (with apologies to Robert Frost)
  • Quality in ASL: A Reconnaissance in Force
  • ASL and the Pandemic: Social Responsibility and Board Wargaming

Contact

  • I welcome all comments & feedback.