Publisher/Date:
Sherry Enterprises/Schwerpunkt (2017)
Product Type:
Scenario Pack
Country of Origin:
U.S.A.
Contents:
10 scenarios on cardstock, 2 pages of scenario notes
At the end of 2017, Schwerpunkt released a new themed Rally Point scenario pack with 10 scenarios (RPT131-RPT140) focusing on the battles in France and the Low Countries in May-June 1940. The pack also includes brief notes with strategy tips for each side in each scenario.
Of the 10 scenarios, five take place in the Netherlands and pit Dutch troops against German troops. Three take place in France, with French and German combatants, while one takes place in Belgium, also with French and German combatants, and one takes place in France, but with British and German combatants. The poor Belgians, who had a much larger army than the Dutch did, and who fought for much longer, are nowhere to be seen. One of the reasons for that is that a number of Dutch histories have been translated into English, aiding English-language ASL scenario designers, while virtually no material on the Belgian battles is available in English. French ASLers ought to help out the ASL world by designing scenarios based on Belgian sources.
To play all the scenarios, the following boards are required: 10, 16, 17z, 19, 33, 38, 41, 66, 69, 71, 72, 75, and 76. Board 75 is used in four scenarios and Board 66 is as well, so players really need to have those boards for this pack.
Of the scenarios, about half are small in size. There are a few larger scenarios, but most of these will probably play quickly, being Dutch-German scenarios with no vehicles. Two scenarios have OBA; none use Night rules or Air Support. Half the scenarios have overlays.
This scenario pack is unusual for Schwerpunkt in that six of its 10 scenarios feature no AFVs (Schwerpunkt is, shall we say, very “vehicle friendly”). This is primarily because of the inclusion of the Dutch scenarios. The Dutch had few AFVs and the German forces arrayed against them didn’t have many, either (they were used in more important battles in France and Belgium). Even more importantly, the German troops in four of the five scenarios set in the Netherlands are parachute or air-landing troops, who would naturally not have AFVs.
All the other scenarios feature German Panzer divisions and/or motorized troops. The French have AFVs in three of the scenarios, including two featuring the dreaded (in 1940, anyway) Char B1-bis, which ought to let the French get a few licks in. The Germans are on the attack in six scenarios; on the defense in four.
Several of the scenarios look interesting, though unfortunately some ASLers will be turned off by the Dutch scenarios, regardless of quality. Also perhaps because of its subject matter, the pack’s scenarios have not been played as much as one might think they would have, given its 2017 release, with the exception of RPT139 (Mauled at Merdop), a tight 4.5 turn scenario featuring a largish German attack, with 13 squads and 10 AFVs against a defending French force with 9.5 squads, a gun, and 5 AFVs. It may have been used in a couple tournaments; in any case, it seems balanced and fun.
This pack probably deserves more of a look by ASLers than it has so far gotten.
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