• Michael "6+3 Conklin

Pointe du Hoc is about the landing of the 2nd Ranger Battalion against the gun emplacements in the title location. Include are a historical map, 132 mounted counters, 5 scenarios, and a PL campaign game.

The map is great, though on glossy paper. No terrain is questionable, the hexes are standard board sized (for use with the ocean overlays). The fortifications are identifiable, and with the shell holes and large craters, the area near the beach looks almost like a lunar landscape. New terrain is featured in the form of Large Craters (pretty much one hex gullies), Weapons pits (a form of entrenchment), and Bunkers with interior compartments. A playing aid is given for the Bunkers, this is the only part of the map I have a problem with. The rest looks good, lets start the boats up.

The scenarios are in CH’s standard layout and none of them use the FL Wg B-2(f), these actually look like fun.

The campaign game is seven firefights long, and thats about all I can tell you about it.

With the counters, I run into real problems with the set. I will explain the counters, and later I will go into what I feel are the prose and cons of some of the design decisions. The counters include 32 7-6-7 ranger squads, 24 SMC BAR operators, Rope and Portable Launcher counters, 2 SFCP counters, 18 German 5-4-7 squads, a turn counter, 1 and 2 level scaling ladders, Extension ladders, Crater crest, Gun Bunker, Cliff rubble, crater, weapons pit, a German FL Wg B-2(f) flame throwing French Tank, and a destroyer counter.

Now my what I don’t like, and how I’m going to try and get around it.

First the Germans. The 5-4-7 SMG squads, when they deploy, do as 2nd line squads (per PdH’s SSRs). If you recombine, they recombine as 4-4-7’s. Not only do they lose a point of fire power, but a full class level, without a shot being fired. Doesn’t make since to me (if you are going to create a new class of unit, give me the appropriate half squads, not SSR that say use this one).

Now the Americans. The 7-6-7, when it deploys as two 3-4-7 half squads and a 1-6-8 BAR SMC. If it recombines without the BAR SMC it becomes a 6-6-7. The morale befitting their status is underlined. I have real problems with the BAR SMC in general. The idea of being able to send a single man on a mission of offensive nature goes against what ASL represents (except heroes and you get those by random). Nowhere in my reading does it show that the BAR was used as a single man attack force or a one man Horatio at the Gate. The idea that I can create a hero like unit at will (obviously except for the Japanese) doesn’t historically make sense. The smallest unit of manoeuvre usually was the squad, maybe a half squad at times. Game wise, this 7-6-7 can produce a 1-6-8 to be used to cut of route paths, scout, etc with any cost to it self except for 1 point during Close Combat. Heck, at that rate none of my squads would have BARs. The fact I can spit out 24 John Wayne at a will is not only, wrong, but unbalancing. The BAR is part of the squad, and taken into account in the 6 fire power. If you have to have the BAR as a separate entity, make the squad with out the BAR a 5-6-7. That way, there is a price to be paid for releasing him. I do however like the Shore Fire Control Party Counters.

Real quick. If you want to figure in the chance that the man that goes heroic has the BAR, follow a hero creation by a BAR dr. If the dr = 1 then the hero has a range of 6. Squads which created a BAR hero would of course have a +1 drm.

I think that the scenarios and probably the campaign game would play just fine using 6-6-7’s for the American Rangers, keep the underlined morale. For the Germans, either use 5-4-8s with one reduction in their ELR or use 4-6-7s. Either would probably work fine.

[Sound of my soup box being moved]

I would like to state a few things, against trends I have noticed recently from TPM. The game ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it. While I love new counters, and hate unmounted counters, I would rather use the forces all ready in the game, rather than have a whole new set of counters used for one product. This is not only CH, but also HOB, TOT and anyone else working on historical modules. Counters for vehicles that were not include in the game are fine. Is it really necessary to give us a whole new type of American squad. From what I gather since the BAR SMC first appeared in All American #3, CH feels this should be normal for all American squads. I am willing to wave the flag as much as the next man, but running off alone with your BAR was not the norm. Heat Of Battle’s New Zealanders where nice, but I’m not sure that they were necessary. I don’t feel that CH’s Rangers and German SMG squads are necessary at all. I don’t want counters for the sake of counters. By the way CH, if you are going to change the counter layout, place an explanation somewhere in the rules. It took me a while to figure out what the little SMG on the counter meant. Please don’t stop innovating, just try to keep the changes to a minimum, don’t change things for the sake of changing them. It ain’t broke, please don’t try and fix it.

[Off the soap box]

Thanks for listening to my Rant. After all of that I would still recommend this, the scenarios look like fun, but I will try them with the changes I recommended, not with the provided counters.

• David Prasse burgess4@gte.net

After reading D-day & Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose, I really like the BAR dudes.They are mentioned A LOT in D-Day as having a big impact in the local situation.They were trully HERO status as far as ASL goes, IMHO. Now if CH! had only MOUNTED them in the AA series :-(

On the plus side--the cammo on the Mk IVC counter is cool ! Now if CH! would go back to non-gloosy maps with big hexes in,I'd really like the maps .

• Tate Rogers lrogers@arrow.com

The PdH module is setting a dangerous and unacceptable precedence in my opinion. The addition of those odd ball counters which can only be used for PDH was not a good idea. They could have used 667 Ami's with some LMG instead of those new funky Ami counters. As well, for the Germ's,they could have used 447's with more LMG. I specifically didn't buy PdH because of the of these counters.

The intent seems to be to produce self-contained modules that include map and all counters needed to play. The only thing one would need is the ASLRB. Thus, a newbie would not need to buy all the other "Official" counters, boards, etc. That means a lot of potential new blood won't be putting the money in to the hobby to keep it going. IF a newbie could buy the ASLRB and then only 5-6 modules like PdH why go out and buy all the original counters, boards, notes, etc. I just don't see this as good for the long term health of ASL.