So i decided to went to the tournament location to see what else could be done. On my arriving Michael Hastrup-Leth just had opened the playing area and the players begun to infiltrate the area. Good thing was that Michael offered me his second sleeping bag and so i hadn't to think about this any longer.

The tournament started at 14:00. Each round you have had three scenarios to choose on from. Every scenarion came with three Balance entries per side and you could bid for a side according to the Australian Biding system. So higher you bid as more do you give away.

There where meanwhile around 38 players mostly from Denmark and Sweden, but also some English players. The first round matched me against Klas Malmstrom whom i know from his Grenadier participation three years ago. We both wanted to play "Tretten in Flames" and I bed German 2 which deleted a 247 HS from the initial German force and exchanged the British 6+1 with an 8-0. My skiers moved around his left flank and my main force crushed into his right flank. I pushed him hard and all went well for me until i IF my gun, broke it and eliminated it in the next RPh. This gave him 2 VP's. In an desperate (but well done) manouver he ambushed my 8-0/467 stack, eliminated them and withdraw. Within one game turn he was back in the game because he now had accumulated already 9VP's. This was on the second last game turn. This was also the beginning of al Melee between two German 247's with an 8-1 against a 457. If he would kill the 247 with the leader he win immediatley, while i still had to grab four building hexes in my last MPh. I achieved this task so all depend on the last DR. He need to roll four or less to be sure. But he rolled to high and so the game went to me. 1:0.

In the second round i played against William Hanson a nice fellow from the states living now in Denmark. We selected "The amazing Tominiac" and i got the German. Setup is pretty easy in this one because there are not that many choices for the Germans. In his first MPh he moved his troops gainst the lonely 236 w/lMG covering the Roadblock. But despite being conscripts they were tough. They broke two 667's and in FPF against the 9-2 with two 667's they broke both squads. While being to happy about this success i forgot to shift my troops to my left flank (his obvious approach route). When he then came very fast at me i had not much in his way. Luckily he parked his Sherman in sight of my HIP marder and got killed in my PFPh. William then went Beserk and moved all his units (and i really mean 8 squads and two leader) through open ground and Res FP hexes. After the dust lifted we counted 4 dead squads, the 9-2 dead and the rest broken or pinned. 2:0 in a game i had mentally already give away because William should have had three turns to kill my two HS and a 447 which were near/in the victory location.

Having ended this round very fast i played against Michael Hastrup-Leth a friendly game of "Bad Luck". I took the US Defender and managed to preserve my forces very good, but was unable to kill one of his tanks while all my tanks went down. In the end i hadn't enough squad Equivalents to make the win. Sure thing that i only had led him win because he gave me his sleeping bag (Grin). So it was late when i lay down at the floor in an upper room where four other alreday were sleeping. I heard the snorling already when i was on the staircase. Good god, how can a living man make that loud noise. I spare out the details of the rest of the night.

Morning sees me drinking a lot of coffee and I felt astonishing good until i realized that the next round would be that one i liked less when preparing the scenarios at home.

It called PTO round, but please tell me what the scenarios "Ayo Gurkhali" or "Strongpoint 11" have to do with PTO. Oh yes. One side has yellow counter and their break mechanism is different. The third scenario offer "To their last strength" should have been taken by me, but the bad ROAR record made me feel bad about this, so i dropped it.

As if things hadn't been bad enough in this round I was to play against Toby Pilling, one of the English top players. As much as i like winning much more i want to have fun with a scenario i play. If i have to sit for four or more hours on a chair around a table for thinking "What are you doing here" then something went really wrong. This was my feeling when having to choose which scenario to play in this round. Lastly it runs out to "Strongpoint 11". I bid for the Japanese to have at least some fun by moving around.

The fourth and the fifth round had very good scenarios to choose from. I was really forlooking to play them, so i don't worry to much about the third round. But if i have to complain something on this weekend it would be the (of course only my opinion) bad scenario choice in the second and third round. (especially the third).

Round four let me play again old fellow Chris Mazzei from Suitzerland. We choosed "Flaming of the guards" and i bed for the German. I had some plans how to attack and was excited to see Chris's setup. My plan was to bring as soons as possible one Panther through the gully within the victory area.

This tank was supported by a platoon of Infantry. My other tanks stayed out of possible harms way. My attack went very well and when i still have had two complete turns, Chris was down to one ATG and roughly 10 VP's of Infantry. Chris conceded at this point because his troops were mostly encircled and unable to move anywhere. Chris had some bad rolls in some moments, but the overall German pressure was also very strong. 3:1

Immediatley after having won this as the German I setup as the British again against Patrick Manling in a friendly game. I must say that a scenario which offers you so many different strategies is really a good one. I lost with the British mainly due to my inability to kill the Panthers even while hitting them (but only in the hull). Then i made a mistake in my last turn with my 9-2 which probably cost me the game. But who cares, it was really fun against a good opponent.

The last game ended around 24:00 and i drunk some beer and went asleep. The last round on sunday matches me against Rasmus Jensen. We both wanted to play "The last Tiger". I would have probably bid for the German side when i was up for the tournament win because i think they have a little advantage, but because it wasn't, I took the Russians, because they have some nice tanks to move around. Rasmus setup three concealed vehicles on level 2 hill hexes. So I knew after my first squad had moved where which AFV was positioned. This is an huge advantage for the Russian player. I moved all my forces on my right side around the hill. Only one platoon of Infantry an the ISU 152 went on the left side. To make it short. Rasmus was slaughtered. I lost one tank (against the HIP Tiger) and a HS. Game over when i still had two game turns, because the onliest GO Infantry he had was a 447 /MMG and a 9-1 with a 467 and a HS. This is alos a scenario i cannot recommendate enough. Lot of options for both sides. While wandering though the tables during setup of Rasmus i saw at least six complete different setup strategies. Very interesting.

The tournament ended around 15:00 and the winner was Jes Touvdal who won the last round against Toby Pilling. I went third place together with George Tournemire from France. I was very satisfied with the weekend and found it a well organized event. Thanks to Michael Hastrup-Leth and his organisation staff for this fine weekend.

Initially it was planned to have six rounds to play. I'am happy that the third round on saturday was cancelled because three tournement rounds on one day are surely to much.

The food was excellent and the playing area was large enough for all players. For my taste i found the beer to be very expensive and some tournament scenarios no good choices. All in all a very good ASL experience and a lot of nice guys whom i never had met otherwise.