Stew’s Replays: Fighting Withdrawal (1)

AAR by: Stephen Stewart

Stew’s Replays: Fighting Withdrawal (1)

Here’s the historical situation:

Date: September 2, 1941
Location: Sestroretsk Road, Terijoki, Finland
Attacker: Finnish (Elements of 1st Parachute Regiment)
Defender: Russian (Remnants of 131st Border Battalion)

The Finns, seeking restitution for the Winter War of 1939, had erupted across the borders and breached the Soviet Karelian front even as the crisis to the south of Leningrad came. In a desperate attempt to salvage something and form a new defense line along the Sestra River, orders went out to break off and retreat southward. One such unit was the 131st Border Battalion, which was to serve as a rearguard. At 1530, orders arrived releasing them to save themselves. . .if they could. Behind them a bakery was on fire, the town hall was ablaze, and ammunition was dwindling. Nevertheless, their young officers organized a fighting withdrawal towards the hills in an attempt to reach newly established lines.

Although there are many other sites available for reference, I haven’t found any to include a turn by turn, move by move, detailed view of an ASL Scenario AAR (After Action Report).

It’s a fantastic game, Advanced Squad Leader, but watching it leaves something to be desired. The game is far too long to watch live and thus gives birth to these replays. I take games that take 4-8 hours to play and break them down focusing on key points in the game at hand. Dice come and go so actual results are not displayed, but sometimes identified when needed.

No one plays perfectly and I’m certainly the poster child for that cause. Making people realize that other players make the SAME mistakes they make, and then some more, will help us approach other players with more of an open mind. We are each other’s mentors in this world of ASL.

I encourage all comments to help improve the delivery of my videos and content. The more ideas, the better the results.

Thanks for watching!