In August 1937 hostilities broke out between Chinese troops and Japanese Marines posted in Shanghai. The Japanese escalated the conflict by large-scale troop landings outside the city and took the coastal town of Baoshan after a brutal siege. Japanese forces then advanced toward a line of fixed defenses near the key road junction at Luodian, manned by 300,000 Chinese soldiers. The Japanese massed more than 100,000 troops, supported by overwhelming firepower of naval guns, artillery, tanks, and airplanes. The carnage and ferocity of the ensuing battle earned Luodian the Chinese nickname “grinding mill of flesh and blood”.
Attacker: Japanese (35th Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Brigade, 9th Division and 5th Tank Division)
Defender: Chinese (18th Infantry Division, 16th Artillery Regiment, and 2nd Tank Battalion)
My 2nd Winter Offensive game of 2025 against the great player and great guy Paul Schaeffer. Paul talked me into playing this one. and since I'm generally up for any challenge, I agreed to play the Chinese defenders even though I had never played the Chinese in ASL at all. My setup of buried French Renault tanks was ok, but the setup of my guns was not very good at all (too far to the rear). Paul's Japanese generally walked all over me, and even destroyed the armored cupolas (both of them) in close combat. Still, I'd play it again now that I've learned a thing or two about this scenario, the Chinese, armored cupolas, etc. PS. There's a reason the French sold these crappy tanks to the Chinese. They suck.
2023-07-28
(A) Shane Pask
vs
Japanese win
Definitely a grinding mill that went down to the last CC and a lucky roll for the Japanese (won a 1:4 HtH CC with a roll of 3). After this, the Chinese only had a 7-0, a broken conscript HS and 3 tanks (counting one surviving dug-in Ft17). Japanese did not have much more with all of their tanks lying in ruins and their only remaining leader wounded. Reliability cost the Chinese with their MMG and HMG malfing on the crucial last turn - a total of 10 Chinese malfunctions for the game but only 1 (Vickers CMG) disabled. One Jap was hung up on wire for 2 turns right in front of a Chinese gun but refused to even pin.
I remember hearing that a good game is one where both sides constantly think they are losing. For most of the game I did not give the Japs much chance - especially when my FT blundered into a minefield and disappeared in a red mist before even firing a shot.
2023-06-18
(D) Lawrence Spangler
vs
Charles Watson
A
Chinese win
2021-12-01
(A) John Garlic
vs
Jean-Pierre Pouget
Japanese win
[Imported from ROAR]
2021-08-21
(D) Rich Weiley
vs
Dave Wallace
Japanese win
I think my initial setup was flawed and while the opening Japanese bombardments were relative ineffective (reduced, ELR'ed squad and a 6 minefield and MMG destroyed) I felt I was always on the backfoot as the Chinese force was steadily attritted and Japanese losses weren't that heavy.
I built a trench network in the village that was more or less a waste as the Chinese squads seemed to break everytime they exited a trench to enter a building and then the unoccupied trenches (a pet peeve of mine that trenches don't automatically connect to buildings) became relative safe avenues for the Japanese to exploit in their advance.
I did manage to put together a semblance of a defence with the reinforcements and held out until the last Japanese turn before my last squad in the victory area succumbed.
One little vignette to share - I used my tanks in turn 5 to move into the hexes of a japanese two tank platoon. This worked well at first as I prevented these tanks shooting at my skulking infantry and DM'ing my rally pointing and one Japanese tank malf'ed and then permanently disabled its MA. My infantry was abler to relocate and my now non DM'ed rally point was able to bring most of its units back in the next Rally Phase.
All this good work was undone immediately in Japanese Prep Fire as the remaining Japanese tank took out the Vickers in its hex with a critical hit. Turned its turret and firing out of smoke hit and destroyed the second Vickers, and retaining rate again turned and hit and broke everyone in the rally point. Such is ASL.
