I found little inspiration for scenarios in the battle of Marseilles, in spite of my knowledge of the town, in which I had lived for 17 years. In fact, other than the attacks of the Goumiers (elite Moroccan troops used by the French) on defended positions in Aubagne, most of the combat in Marseilles consisted of street fighting or assaults on fortifications, numerous examples of which already exist in ASL scenarios. Some spirited actions which could still have made interesting scenarios (as in the attacks on strongpoints in the hills of the north quarter, or the assault on Notre Dame de la Garde, in which much bravery was displayed) demanded specific topography, which was impossible to recreate in time for the tournament. As a result, I concentrated on the battle of Toulon. The Provence Pack should really, in some sense, be called the Toulon Pack.

Most of the ideas for these scenarios came to me while reading La Bataille et la Libération de Toulon ("The Battle and Liberation of Toulon") by Paul Gaujac. It was necessary to accumulate a voluminous amount of documentation in order to determine the precise specifications for each scenario; I suspect some will conclude that I am a stickler for detail.

So far as possible, the scenarios are exact depictions of the actual battles, set in historically accurate terrain (as much as possible given the inherent limitations of ASL mapboards) and with historically correct orders of battle. They have been adjusted for play balance by modifying the Victory Conditions and SSRs. A more or less complete bibliography is given at the end of this article. The state of mind that prevailed for the scenario selections was dominated by a desire to portray actions that are underrepresented in "classic" ASL.

In order to have six scenarios for the tournament, I designed a dozen so that I could select only the best. Finally, although the overall quality of the scenarios was uneven, I couldn't resist selecting ten for this publication, primarily because the playtesters’ opinions on which were the best were very diverse.

Cut the Road to Marseille

What attracted me to this action was an attack by outnumbered infantry, well supported by some light armor, against the impressive firepower of a prepared position. In this instance, ASL demonstrates very well the effectiveness of even light tanks when no AT guns are available to counter them. This scenario had an interesting playtest period, with one group of players considering the scenario an unbalanced dog in favor of one side, while another group thought it favored the other side just as much. SSR 7, which permits the simulation of surprise, was hard to put into place, but in the end was kept since it was a relatively simple solution to the balance issue. Lesson number one in scenario design: often the simplest ideas work the best (KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid!). On conclusion of playtesting, after everyone had had a chance to have their say, it appeared that the balance favored the French; this was rectified by adjusting the Victory Conditions to permit a "sudden death" victory for the Germans at the moment that five tanks are destroyed. No other changes were made, outside of the rewriting of certain SSRs to integrate them smoothly with the rulebook.

This scenario is probably not the most interesting of the pack; the Germans have few options, and the high-ROF SW make the scenario a bit dicey. Nonetheless, the Toulouse tournament showed it to be balanced, and the players were not unhappy. It is, in any case, an interesting scenario to play for the French, particularly for players who wish to master the coordination of tanks and infantry. If this coordination is not executed properly, the French player will quickly meet disaster, which historically the French avoided only by the smallest margin.

Supply Detail

This scenario combines two actions that the Germans tried historically to coordinate: the resupply of Les Moulins, which was besieged by the French, and the attempt to destroy the Dardennes bridge. The German pioneers, normally noncombatants but highly skilled as fortress engineers, are designated as Assault Engineers because the first two companies of the battalion were trained as such. The playtest had to be halted the first time around in order to correct a historical error: my trip to the actual battleground revealed that La Poudrière was south of Dardennes, not north (as I had mistakenly interpreted from the map!). The scenario configuration therefore had to be totally revised. The second series of playtests resulted in two changes to this revised version of the scenario. The first restricts the placement of the French heavy weapons to keep them from setting up on the high ground, and the second rewards the German for destroying the bridge and penalizes him if the French should secure it. The large number of options for the two sides in the scenario revived some concern about play balance. It is quite possible that some options escaped both the playtesters and me. Oh well, we had to stop playtesting sooner or later!

It is a scenario wherein each player has to choose among several options and where both sides have to maneuver. The excitement comes from the contrasting capabilities of the French troops and "French" tanks and from the choices to be made regarding the bridge in each player's strategy. It is without doubt an interesting scenario for both players; one that requires each player to make a rigorous plan of attack but to be prepared to modify it (perhaps drastically) based on his opponent's actions. Undoubtedly, the scenario would prove a little long for a tournament.

When I discovered this action, which was really a very minor one in the battle, I was immediately enthused. I've always dreamt of playing a model of a real-life relief operation in ASL, with some troops required to hold and others who arrive in the course of the game to relieve them. The use of two different nationalities on the same side makes the scenario even more elegant. The playtest was a lengthy nightmare, however, with interminable iterations tried in an attempt to make it work. In the end it was Jean-Claude Lallemant, doubtless exhausted after some fifty playings of the same scenario, who found the solution (which verified the first principle of a designer, KISS). SSR 3 was his idea to make the relief process feasible. Another problem was scenario balance, as the Azerbaijanis never seemed to hold the positions in the hamlet. I must thank Sylvain Desne, who found a solution by changing the map arrangement, which not only allowed a closer conformation to historical reality, but also enabled the Axis forces to maneuver in cover behind the hamlet positions and so to better resist the French attack. Balance was also improved by SSR4, which also reflects the fact that, historically, the French units were physically exhausted.

I was quite anxious when I presented this scenario to the Toulouse tournament ASLers, because I had little confidence in its balance, as a result of all the playtesting we had had to do. In the end, though, it was considered the most balanced of all (with a number of games being decided by the last CC of the last Player Turn) and was received enthusiastically by those who played it. The satisfaction I received from this more than made up for all of the effort that I had put in during the development of all of these scenarios.

Peak Hour at the Golf Hotel

Since this action removed an obstacle which was holding up the 1^st Free French Division’s entire attack, I couldn’t ignore it. It involves an assault from all sides on a huge building (making it a 3^rd Level building was easy to justify), heavily fortified with wire and minefields, by a mixed force of elite infantry (the best from three companies), assault engineers, and AFVs. At first sight, not a fun game for ASLers. However, the very restrictive time limit, the presence of the tunnel, and the German ability to maneuver inside and outside the critical building make this scenario interesting for both sides. Playtests showed that the German setup had to be restricted, or the Germans would simply set up all their forces in the main buildings. Also, SSR 2, which forbids German deployment, stops them from creating zillions of half-squads to occupy each Building Location and thus delay the French just by being obstacles to their progress (which would be enough to win, given the limited time the French have to capture building N5). With these modifications, the scenario proves to be balanced.

In all cases, it’s a raging bloodbath that both players should expect to finish with very few units left. The French player should capture and interrogate as many prisoners as possible to avoid spreading his troops unnecessarily in the search for the tunnel exit. It may not be the best scenario in the pack, but the playtesters did like it.

Today We Take Hyères

This is the biggest scenario in the pack. The most interesting part of this situation is the difficult decision that the Germans must make: hold at all costs or evacuate the maximum number of troops. Another point of interest is the presence of the mighty German artillery, represented by the three 88L Guns, which must prevent the encirclement of the town. The French player has two choices: either try to encircle the town and thus block the German exit, or rush into the town, hoping he can deploy fast enough in case of a German exit attempt. The first option could be achieved by either silencing the guns while probably suffering huge losses, or playing cat and mouse with them in the town suburbs by jumping from cover to cover. The second option will also lead to a difficult choice: either charge en masse into the town, hoping that the German will not try to exit troops, or rush forward with a large force, but save an exit-cutting force that will deploy deep in the suburbs.

The first version of the scenario began with the French entering from offboard, which quickly proved to be unplayable. I then decided to start the action later, with the French already on the map and in contact with German troops. Playtests continued to be difficult, with most of the games ending on the CVP VC. This victory condition was then modified, and further changes were made to the SSRs and to the amount of HIP/number of Dummies granted to the Germans. The final version of the scenario seems correctly balanced, although the numerous options offered to both players make it hard to tell.

Whatever happens, it will be an interesting scenario to play. Some German bluffing during setup and the first turns is essential. If the German setup shows his intentions too clearly, the French player will have the information needed to make the right decisions, and if he is aggressive enough, his superior firepower will in most cases grant him the victory. Some playtesters found it the best scenario from the pack. These were usually players who like meaty scenarios, where the game is rarely decided by a few lucky dice rolls.

Under a Sky of Lead

This is the smallest scenario from the pack. I was seduced by the original action, which involved both sides racing to control a hilltop village under a heavy and highly random artillery fire. The design challenge, to combine random OBA with a small infantry-only scenario, was exciting. The starting playtests were tedious, until Steven Thomas found the right mechanism to take OBA control out of the players’ hands, without making it totally random (which would have been a certain disaster). I put this idea in an SSR, and the playtest’s second session produced a lot of enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the playtests were not sufficient to work all the bugs out, and when the scenario was played at the FireGroup ’97 tourney, it proved biased toward the German side. The participants had no choice but to deal with it and it was kind of them not to lynch me right away. They acted as involuntary final playtesters and I apologize once more for this. After the tourney, the balance was restored by adding a woods overlay on board 41, to prevent the German player from laying a fire lane that would slow down the French advance. French leadership was upgraded since they have to make up for their initial delay in village control. I also introduced HtH CC after reading other battle AARs that showed furious and deadly CC. This should also help the French a bit, although it is a double-edged weapon.

Even with all the modifications, this scenario is still highly random, and the dice may switch from one side to the other at any time. However, a tenacious player will know to pass his personal MC and wait for the next reversal. It’s a game of nerves and patience, where movement, although difficult in the village, is the most important tool. I think it’s a perfect scenario to play in the first round of a tourney; the OBA as depicted by SSR3 is very easy to play and is the spice that flavors the scenario.

A Hunter in a Hurry

This scenario actually depicts the action that precedes the "Toulon’s Gates" CG (still in playtest, this CG will be published later). The situation was very interesting, with a tank column progressing without much infantry support through hostile farmland, under the fire of enemy guns and the threat of panzerfausts.

This scenario OB is the only one from the pack that isn’t totally historical. A squadron of 15 Shermans and a platoon of light tanks composed the real column. But the real OB would have been too large to play in an area of two mapboards, so I reduced the number of units to keep the play more fluid and also to keep the historical feel of the action. Numerous German ATG were also present (two 88mm AA guns and four ex-Russian 76Ls), but a peculiarity of ASL makes guns less vulnerable than they were historically and certainly more efficient. Keeping the historical OB would have led to a boring and ahistorical slaughter: the 15 Shermans would have been wrecked long before they could reach the map exit. Playtests brought very few changes to the initial version, except a restriction of the German setup to north of hexrows H/CC, to avoid allowing the German player to set up an invulnerable strongpoint around the map exit at the start of the game.

This is again a scenario of movement, where both sides should try to find some weak spot in the enemy positions, the French to silence the German guns and infantry, the Germans to try to knock out some AFVs. One AFV here or there hit by a panzerfaust or a gun, and the Victory Conditions will be reached before you know it. The French player can’t afford to be overcautious; with the limited time he has to exit most of his AFVs to the south, he should play his limited infantry very aggressively to open a path for the tanks. FireGroup ’97 participants liked this scenario and ranked it among their favorites.

A Little Bit Closer to Heaven

This is the other playtesters’ favorite. The situation interested me, since apart from showing an assault on a mined hill, followed by a vigorous counterattack, it’s once again an intervention by light tanks that saves the attacker’s day. But this time, the defense is equipped with anti-tank weapons, and the AFV moves are much more risky. This action is also famous in the French Marine Battalion (BIMP: Pacific Marine Infantry Battalion), since it allowed them to give a boost to a stalled attack on the base of the hills that constituted eastern Toulon’s second line of defense. All the hills were taken because of the momentum given by this courageous attack, so I could not fail to do a design based on it.

In this scenario again, playtests led to few changes from the initial version, except for a reduction in mine factors and the delay of the entry of the AFVs to the second turn. I myself have never seen a player, either in playtests or in the tourney, dare to use the SSR4 advantages (giving a bonus if the Stuart platoon leader stays CE). So, if someone does try this audacious move, please send me an after-action report. It will give me great pleasure.

Although this scenario can be a pain to play because of counter density, the playtesters really enjoyed it, some of them predicting that it would become a classic. I don’t want to make any claims about that myself; I’d rather let players decide for themselves if the playtesters’ enthusiasm was really justified.

Night Hotchpotch

I have very few things to say about this scenario. The original idea was to render the feeling of total confusion that followed the night counterattack of the Germans’ arsenal garrison against the overconfident French ‘Choc’ Commandos in a last attempt to break their encirclement. I tested many ideas for mixed and random setup without being satisfied with the results. Then, the idea came to me to force the French player to execute a hidden setup, where neither he nor his opponent know the exact positions of the French units, but instead discover them as the game goes along. The French player should use some free units, helped by some partisans, to discover the rest of his units, and then regroup to hold and repel the German attack. Playtests resulted in few changes to the initial version, except alterations to the setup process and changes in the wording of the SSRs.

Without the tricky setup concept, this scenario would just be another urban night-fight; the artifice adds a lot of spice to the game, especially in the first three Game Turns. Some may find that the whole idea is cumbersome and unnecessary chrome that adds nothing to the game’s interest and that the long SSRs are superfluous. It’s possible, and this scenario is probably not a future "must play," but the setup idea is now in the air... I guess we will see how it will be received.

A Cab for Sainte-Anne

This scenario is the only one that I could make from the last days of the battle for Toulon. The other actions being mainly attacks on fortresses, I didn’t see any way to design interesting scenarios from them. What made the action in this scenario especially interesting is that several platoons, attacking deep into the midst of dispersed enemy units, pushed too far and risked getting isolated, counterattacked, and probably slaughtered. Support was sent on all available vehicles, but its volume was insufficient to reinforce the attack in time enough to avoid all surprises. This led me to design a scenario where transport vehicles are essential and where the player should optimize their use. Since up to now I’ve never seen an ASL scenario where troop transportation was so critical that the loss of a truck could seriously lower victory chances, this design seems to me innovative and interesting. Playtest brought some modifications, to the Victory Conditions (to prevent the German player from hiding a crew in a Marsh hex), to the SSRs, and to the board configuration (the addition of OG2 on board 41 keeps the German from conducting a low-cost delaying action). Also, more rubble counters were granted to the French player, to protect his transportation and ease his attack. Beware anyway, since the rubble setup may be double-edged.

This scenario is my personal favorite. I’m still surprised by unexpected options when I play it, and I could replay it many times. Its development was the exact opposite of "Le Viet Relief", which was so painful to adjust, and which I played until feeling sick. "A Cab for Sainte-Anne" proved from the beginning to be pleasant and full of options, where both sides may attack, bluff, infiltrate, irritate the opponent–in short, a little gem. I think it should be played more than once to appreciate it fully. It’s also possible that I will be the only one to like it so much. I don’t care; as long I like it, it’s OK with me!

 La Bataille et la Libération de Toulon – Paul Gaujac – 1994 – Nouvelles Editions Latines

 Histoire de la Première Armée Française – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny – 1949 – Plon

 La Bataille de Provence – Paul Gaujac – 1984 – Editions Lavauzelle

 Guerre 1939-1945 : Les Grandes Unités Françaises : Historiques Succints : Volume 5 : Campagnes de France et d’Allemagne (1944-1945) première partie – Service Historique de l’Etat-Major de l’armée de Terre – 1972 – Imprimerie nationale

 Guerre 1939-1945 : Les Grandes Unités Françaises : Historiques Succints : Volume 5 : Campagnes de France et d’Allemagne (1944-1945) deuxième partie – Service Historique de l’Etat-Major de l’armée de Terre – 1973 – Imprimerie nationale

 Guerre 1939-1945 : Les Grandes Unités Françaises : Historiques Succints : Volume 5 : Campagnes de France et d’Allemagne (1944-1945) troisième partie – Service Historique de l’Etat-Major de l’armée de Terre – 1976 – Imprimerie nationale

 Guerre 1939-1945 : Les Grandes Unités Françaises : Historiques Succints : Volume 4 : Campagnes de Tunisie et d’Italie, Opérations de Corse et de l’ile d’Elbe (1942-1944) – Service Historique de l’Etat-Major de l’armée de Terre – 1970 – Imprimerie nationale

 La 1^ère D.F.L. Les Français Libres au Combat – Yves Gras – 1983 – Presses de la Cité

 Mémoires de Guerre – Charles de Gaulle – 1954 – Plon

 Riviera to the Rhine - Jeffrey Clarke and Robert R. Smith – 1993 – Center of Military History U.S. Army

 A Chacun sa Guerre – B. Destremau – 1983 – La Table Ronde

 Les Forbans Magnifiques – J.B. Derosne – 1947 – Edition des Deux Sirenes

 Les Fusiliers-Marins de la France Libre – Georges Fleury – 1980 – Grasset

> Le Petit Chef : Carnet de Route 1939-1945 – R. Gunther – 1991 – Edition Pierron

 Le Grand Beans – R.Bartoli – 1972 – La pensee universelle

 Magazines 39-45

 Magazines Historica