Advanced Squad Leader

Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is a War game which simulates actions of small scales being held during the Second world war. It is not only one play but also a detailed system of rules which comprises approximately 200 official scenarios. A player can in addition create a scenario. ASL offers a vast panel of possibilities covering all the theaters, periods and nationalities having taken share with the war.

The play was first of all published by Avalon Hill in 1985 as a successor of the popular series of the Squad Leader whose supplements made the system of play difficult by adding rules which entered sometimes in conflict with the preceding rules. Just like the first plays of Avalon Hill bearing the name “Advanced,” (others being Advanced Civilization and Advanced Third Reich), it uses the same charts as Squad Leader and of the similar rules by the spirit. But it is indeed a play with whole share. It is distributed today under license of Hasbro by Multi-Man Publishing, a company of play started by Curt Schilling and its partners to preserve ASL and other plays of Avalon Hill.

An important world community of active players articulates itself around ASL and organizes tournaments, Community Web sites, clubs and Fanzine Of the same S., a market of second hand makes it possible to the participants to get versions of occasion of modules ASL. ASL can also be played through the Internet by using a Free software called “VASL”. In the same way, a certain number of third organizations, like Critical Hit or Heat off Battle publish modules and scenarios.

Traditional modules

All the hardware requirement for the play of ASL is contained in modules sets of themes which cover each one the battle order of the various nationalities implied in the world war.

Beyond Valor

Beyond Valor contains the German, Russian and Finnish battle orders. It covers mainly the face of the East. This module is essential to play ASL because all the other modules depend on it. This module indeed contains all the generic pawns necessary to the play.

The 2nd edition of Beyond Valor also contains the contents of the historical module Red Barricades . The third edition, most recent to date, does not contain any more Red Barricades but contains flexible charts and more scenarios.

Charts contained: 20,21,22,23. The third edition also contains charts 1,2,3,4,5 and 8.

Paratrooper

Paratrooper covers the Bataille of Normandy in June 1944. It contains of the American and German infantry and had the role to be used as introductory module. The design of introductory modules of type Starter Kit largely made null and void this initiative.

Charts contained: 2,4,24

Pre-necessary: Squad Leader.

Yanks

Yanks contains the complete American battle order. It also delivers additional rules like the rules of night or meteorology. This module puts in scene only conflicts located in the European theater. The conflict vis-a-vis Japanese is described in the modules Code off Bushido and Gung Ho.

To note that Yanks is required by certain modules not putting in scene American troops because of the great number of American material lent to the other allied nations.

Charts contained: 16,17,18,19

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor.

In favor!

Partisan! at the same time the infantry of the minor allies of the Axe and resistance contains. This module is made obsolete by the module Armies off Oblivion .

Charts contained: 10,32

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor.

West off Alamein

West off Alamein contains the complete British battle order as well as rules and charts covering the theater of North Africa (gold operations against Italy, which is introduced into the module Hollow Legions" "). Is not produced any more: For King and Country replaces it, for the British battle order and Hollow Legions will be republished with the rules and the hardware requirement to cover the theater of operations of North Africa.

Charts contained: 25,26,27,28,29

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks.

For King and Country

For King and Country contains the complete British battle order. It is about a republication of West off Alamein without the rules of desert nor the charts of desert.

This module was designed to return available the British battle order to the players not wishing to play of the scenarios in the desert. A future module will contain them as well as the contents of the module “Hollow Legions”. On the other hand, For King and Country contains many exhausted and republished scenarios.

Charts contained: 1,7,8,12

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks.

The Last Hurrah

The Last Hurrah contains the infantry of the minor allies or the neutral countries invaded by the Germany (Norway, Poland, Belgium, Yugoslavia,…).

Charts contained: 3,11,33

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks

Hollow Legions

Hollow Legions contains the battle order Italy complete N. The scenarios included in the box cover mainly the theater of North Africa.

Charts contained: 30 31

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks, West off Alamein

Code off Bushido

Code Bushido off contains the Japanese battle order and introduces the Guerre of the Pacific by the addition of rules specific to this theater of operations. The provided charts represent ground specific to the continents Asian or oceanic, but the whole of the charts of the system are interchangeable of a theater of operations to the other.

Charts contained: 34,35,36,37

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks, West off Alamein

Gung Ho!

Gung Ho! , covers the battle order Chinese as well as the American Marines and the war Amphibie.

Charts contained: 38,39

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks, West off Alamein, Code off Bushido

Military Cross

Military Cross contains the French battle order former to the capitulation or the battle order of Vichy (the free Forces French being comparable with the British which historically re-equipped them). The module contains several scenarios specific to the theater of North Africa.

Charts contained: 40,41

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks, West off Alamein

Doomed Battalions

Doomed Battalions contains the vehicles and artillery of the allies minors, whose infantry is contained in The Last Hurrah . A republication of the module also including/understanding the contents of The Last Hurrah is envisaged.

Charts contained: 9,44,45 (for the 2nd edition)

Pre-necessary: Beyond Valor, Yanks, The Last Hurrah, Hollow Legions

Armies off Oblivion

Armies off Oblivion contains the complete battle order of the minor allies of the Axe. It also contains part of the contents of the module Partisan (which is not printed any more). The Hungarians are differentiated from the other units of the Axis (bordered of feldgrau), because at the end of the war, they clashed with the Rumanian forces.

Charts contained: 48,49,50,51

Pre-necessary: the whole of the range

ASL Choke Kit

To answer an increasing demand of beginners rejected by the complexity of the rules has, Multi Man Publishing published two additional modules bound for the beginners, containing the organized essential rules in a way more coherent and specialized on a particular aspect of the rules:

1 - ASL Choke Kit 1 : German, American and Russian forces. Infantry.
2 - ASL Choke Kit 2 : forces German, American, Italian, British, allied minor minors and allied of the axis. Artillery.

A third choke kit containing the vehicles is envisaged.

Historical modules

Modules concentrating on a theater of precise action were also introduced with the range. They provide a historical chart not Géomorphique, based on the real ground where proceeded the described actions.

Red Barricades : engagements around the Barrikady factory with Stalingrad
Kampfgruppe Peiper I : confrontations between American divisions and an armor-plated division of the 6th army Pz S at the time of the Battle of the Ardennes
Kampfgruppe Peiper II : continuation of the preceding module
Pegasus Bridge : British parachuting for the catch of the bridge PEGASE on the channel of Caen at the time of the Débarquement of Normandy
has bridge too far : British parachuting for the catch of the bridge of Arnhem, at the time of the Operation Market Garden
Blood Reef: Tarawa : American unloading on the atoll of Betio in 1943
Operation Watchtower : combat with Guadalcanal
True Operation : engagements between Canadian and German on the edges of the the Rhine at the time of the true Operation
Valor off the Guards : combat with Stalingrad around the station of railroad (envisaged for July 2007)

External bonds

International forum ASL on the site Gamesquad
page ASL of Multi-Man Publishing
VASL, makes it possible to play to ASL via Internet, on line or by email
the French-speaking site of the fans of ASL
French Forum attached to Cote 1664

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