The Last Hundred Yards (LHY) Vassal Ladder is an ongoing monthly tournament in which players are matched up roughly by skill rating. As players win or lose, they move up and down on the ladder. There is nothing particularly “official” about the ratings and we welcome players of all skill levels. We currently have about 20 -22 regular participants. Players can join, leave, and re-enter the ladder each round as they have available time. The LHY Ladder players are located around the world in many different time zones. A small subset of the players competes by Play by Email only (PBEM). Everyone from the game’s designer to brand new players participate in the ladder. Players of all skill levels are welcome. The Ladder is a great place to learn the game and to improve your play.  A typical ladder mission should last between 90-120 minutes. Players should be familiar with the rules but can certainly discuss and help one another learn them better. A typical ladder round lasts for about four weeks so there should be plenty of time to schedule and play a match. Once the mission is completed, players are responsible for providing mission results and a short After-Action Report (AAR).

In addition to becoming more familiar with the game and improving your play, players can expect to meet a variety of friendly competitors from around the world! If you would like to participate in the LHY ladder, you contact Mark Buetow at buetowmt@gmail.com.

The following three AARs are from the most recent ladder mission played, Mission 1.0 Own Their Own.

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AAR #1 by Slava Zipunov

Round: #14
Mission Played: Mission 1 On Their Own
Attacker: Slava Zipunov (Ger)
Defender: Mike Denson (US)
Final Time: 39min
CDL Marker Location: Defender 1 (-4)
Final Score: 35
Match Winner or Draw: Slava Zipunov (Ger)
Was the Loss a CDL Loss? US Loss by the final score

Here is a timelapse video (~1min) of the match.

German Plan

Germans equally divided forces between east and west flanks and decided to move around the forest in the middle. The reason was that moving along the east there is a string of buildings that will be easier to control. Units on the West flank should press toward the Church and wait for the Eastern platoon for the mutual enveloping assault from west and east.

US Plan

Hidden US deployment more or less corresponded to German expectations. So there was no surprise.

The Game

Initial German advance went according to plan and soon Germans occupied 4 buildings in the south and east (12 minutes at the game track). Then situation drastically changed. Germans lost their initiative for most of the following turns. As a result, their mobility was lost and for another 27 minutes, the German advance become a slow attritional slugfest. Outnumbered American units well managed their protective fire, making Germans constantly recover disrupted troops. But German advantage played its role. Even half disrupted Germans exchange losses for American casualties. Each side was losing step after step, yet causality differential stayed near zero all the time.

The second phase of the match was characterized by the sheer number of game events. But sides restored their steps by the arriving medics. The key factor in the game was Germans heroes. 3 times German squads became heroic and lead other squads into the victorious assaults.

The game finished with the massive coordinated assault from all sides at the American hold church. With a great streak of luck, the Germans rolled 10 with a +1 modifier, and this decided fate of the match. Having time track at 39 Germans managed to kill one extra US step achieving a -4 score modifier which resulted in the final score 35. Germans barely won staying within victory range just barely.

I have to add, that even with this “introductory” scenario I had non-introductory fun. The game was nail-biting on countless occasions. I had to swiftly adapt to an ever-changing chaotic situation.

It was a great game.

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AAR #2 by Andrew Williams

Round: #14
Mission Played: Mission 1 On Their Own
Attacker: Andrew Williams (Ger)
Defender: Jochen Kehoe (US)
Final Time: 20min
CDL Marker Location: Defender 3 (-9)
Final Score: 11
Match Winner or Draw: Andrew Williams (Ger)
Was the Loss a CDL Loss? German win by CDL

The German setup was with a strong attack through the middle and bottom of screen, leaving a lone section to take the top building then threaten others. On turn 2 the Germans overwhelmed an MG nest in the trees, then 3rd platoon pushed through to the other side of the trees, while 2nd platoon got bogged down around the building in E11. Losing the initiative for a few turns, 3rd platoon moved forward to threaten assaults, while 2nd platoon had to reorganise and then push forward along the road. Meanwhile most of the US troops made their presence known, causing disruption of most of the 3rd platoon units. Unfortunately for the US, this led to two German units become heroic and charging into assault, causing 2 casualties and the end of the mission.

As usual you never know what will happen, and there are interesting tactical decisions to be made every turn. Great game, great opponent, thanks for the game, Jochen.

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AAR #3 by Bay Chang

Round: #14
Mission Played: Mission 1 – On Their Own
Attacker: Bay Chang (Germans)
Defender: Jack Lopez (US)
Final Time: 39
CDL Marker Location: Defender 3 (-9)
Final Score: 30
Match Winner: Bay Chang (Germans)
Was the Loss a CDL Loss? Yes

The German forces advanced cautiously at first, but with no fire from the buildings in J10 or E11, they quickly took control of them and began to round the forest screening the village. Unfortunately they lost the initiative at that moment and were caught in the open, and hidden American forces in the center of the village opened fire at the Germans. However, American die rolls for the first half of the game were ineffective, and the Germans were able to scoot into cover, except for a few laggards who could not see the action.

The Germans took position in the main forest around G9, while a contingent went around the western side of the village, succeeding in taking the unoccupied church. Both sides traded potshots to little effect until a barrage of German fire disrupted nearly all the American units in the village.

With the Americans busy recovering, the Germans dashed across the open ground to prepare for an assault.

But the Germans foolishly left the church vacant, allowing the retreating Americans to retake it. However, the American’s sole leader, Jackson, was killed during the melee, paralyzing the American troops.

This set off a series of vicious assaults and counterassaults as the village convulsed with close fighting.

The key fight for the Germans was in the church – winning that would have won the game. It was a full strength German squad against a disrupted American squad, but this time the Americans’ luck changed. They lost all the other assaults but won this crucial one.

Several turns later the American leader returned to action, rallying his troops in the church, exhorting them to hold it at all costs. He was a little too effective in his exhortations, however, and both squads declared that holding the church wasn’t enough; they needed to kick the Germans out of the rest of the village! Heroically they dashed out of the church toward the strongly held village. In response the Germans piled into the impending melee, with an extra German unit joining with heroic fervor. One of the Americans was to suffer a casualty from a lucky shot on the way into the fight, bringing the Americans one away from a casaulty game end…

The heroic Americans were defeated in the melee and with too many casualties, the game was over.

I think this was Jack’s first Last Hundred Yards game! Jack performed admirably as the Americans in a tough scenario, suffering from a dearth of dice luck for much of the game. Welcome to LHY and to the ladder, Jack! Looking forward to playing you again.

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