Shifting Sands 13: After Action Report

Shifting Sands 13: The AAR

On January 12 and 13th Gamers descended on Mesa, AZ to determine the fate of Shifting Sands 13: Battle of the Bulge ( www.azdrfow.com ).

For pictures of the Armies please see this post The Armies!
For pictures of the tables see this post  The Tables!
For random pictures of battle see this post  Combat pics

Shifting Sands 13 used a modified Firestorm campaign as the heart of the event.

Day one saw the arrival of the players on a cold Arizona morning. we had 29 players show up (one no-show). Chris D, one of our own Desert Rats, graciously pulled from the tournament to keep the numbers even and acted and assisted in running the tournament. Mark Francis also stepped up to help balance our Axis and Allied players by switching to the Allies after the first round.

Our Bulge event started in mid-stream German attack and the German team would have an advantage in initiative on round 1.

At the Start of the campaign the Allied and Axis Generals looked over the Firestorm map to formulate their strategy. Then they had a short planning session with their teams to decide their strategy. Then we randomly called each pair of players up to the board to roll initiative and make their Firestorm move.

 One of the unique aspects of the game is that the players can't discuss strategy with their Generals once they are at the Firestorm table. Following their Generals orders was the goal but striking out on their own or misinterpreting their General's wishes were common much to the chagrin of their commanding officers

The Firestorm map

Round 1

The Germans, added by a +2 initiative roll, were conducting the majority of the attacks. Striking north and west. The Allies tried their best to weather the initial storm but  with initiative stacked firmly against them only manage to win one initiative roll.

The Mission was No Retreat in snow conditions. Germans would win 8 of the 14 battles including a revenge victory for Mark Francis and the 150th Panzer Brigade over Mike Haught’s Combat Engineers.

The Germans, with overwhelming initiative this round, launch a series of attacks across the entire Bulge. They launch two assaults into Bastogne and Rochfort but crucially they leave Stoumont alone.

The Germans end round 1 strong, they win 8 of the 14 total games. However a couple of crucial events occur. The Germans attacks into Bastogne are bounced. however the Germans do manage to capture Rochfort. Several German Victories push the Germans within Assault range of Huy. Several Failed German attacks leave most of the German Spearhead out of supply for the next round.


Round 2

The Mission was Fighting Withdrawl and the weather got worse with Snow, Ice and Frozen River rules in effect. Also in effect was the Fuel Dump rule. Tournament officials strategically placed fuel objectives on all the tables in which the Germans would be attacking. An extra Fuel Objective was provided for each table as well so that each player could take one home with them after the event.

On the Firestorm Map the Allies would win the majority of the initiative rolls this round, putting the Germans on the defensive across the front. Being Out of Supply hindered both sides  The Germans launched attacks into Verviers and Stoumount, while the Allies attacked into Das Burg and St. Vith. It would appear that the Allies were making a concentrated effort to cut off the German spearhead!  Results this round were pretty even with 7 German and 7  US Victories    
              


Round 3

The mission this round was Encounter and the weather turned even worse. A blizzard was in effect!  

The Germans would take a pounding this round. Losing most initiative rolls. The German’s would only win 2 battles this round, while the Allies claimed 7 wins.


Round three would mark the end of Day 1 of Shifting Sands! The players got to take a nice break before reporting back Sunday morning for more battle!


Round 4

Breakthrough was the mission and the Weather was clear... no snow on the group and the sky was open. This allowed the American General to place 2 P-47 and 2 AOP Firestorm Units in any Allied Controlled Zone.

This round was all about positioning. The Germans needed to capture at least one of the Cities on the River Muesse. This high point value Cities are crucial to German success.

German successes were mixed, winning only 5 games to the Allies 7 but importantly the German’s held one Zone still in striking distance of Huy.

Round 5

Weather rolled in on Turn 5 and Free For All would be played under Snow Storm conditions. The Firestorm Campaign was coming to a point and the Germans were losing. To win they needed to capture Huy, plus hold on to or capture multiple cities.

The first result back was the German out of supply attack into Huy. It was a close pair of battles but the Germans were successful Huy falls to the Germans!

With Huy Captured there were 3 other cities up for grabs.

La Roche was next. This Allied Controlled city was the site of two battles and ultimately fell to the Germans.

A quick check on Victory points showed that the Germans would have to control both of the two remaining cities for a minor German Victory.



The Germans manage to hold Malmedy from determined Allied counter attack, however it would be Mike Haught and his “Damned Engineers” that would thwart the German advance. Repulsing a German attack into Stoumount and giving the American side a minor victory!

Here is the final Firestorm Map

Overall the Germans struggled to come to grips with their American opponents. Of the 70 games of Flames of War played 34 were won by the Americans and 28 to the Germans.

The Results were as follows

Mike	Haught	25	Best General
TJ	Weller	24	Best German
Cliff	Gleason	22	Best Allied
Marco	Quesada	22	Best Allied
Mark	Francis	21	Best Painted
Thomas	Tobin	21
Andrew	Haught	20
Jacob	DeMenna	20
Byron	Sinor	19
Tim	Parker	19
Art	Mehler	18
Steven	Owens	18
Anthony	Nagel	16
Daniel	Wilson	16
Jeff	plaine	16
Peter	Haderlein	16
Hugo	Montes	15
ira	gray	15
Jake	Halter	15
Alexander	Knapp	13
Anthony	Pham	13
Michael	Knapp	13
Sam	Mijal	13
Tim	Knapp	13
Mike	McLane	12	Pivotal Player
T.G.	Buzzard	12
Matthew	Ayze	11	Dunkirk
Ross	Stamper	10	Sportsman

Prizes were provided from a combination of Entry fees, and from local Game stores.

Special Thanks to...

Imperial Outpost ( http://imperialoutpostgames.blogspot.com/ )  for providing providing prize support and loaning us terrain.

Game Depot ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/Game-Depot-AZ/113890828639879 ) for Providing Prize Support and giving us a discount on out prizes.

Prize Table

Special Thanks also to Bryan Wade and Outrider Hobbies sales@outriderhobbies.com for providing terrain and prize support.

Thanks to everyone for making this a great event!
Shifting Sands would not have been possible without all the hard work put in by all the Desert Rats.  From creating special lists, playtesting, building themed tables and molding special markers the members of our Group truly went above and beyond.

Jon