The 2 Half-Squads

Rich Spilky joins us in the Broadcast Foxhole. He presents his analysis in the fine tradition of Bob Medrow's mathematical  analysis of various aspects of the game we love, Advanced Squad Leader, that appeared in the old General Magazine from Avalon Hill.  Special shout out to Chris Edwards for his work on the OBA analysis charts.   We have a contest ending January 15th. You need to call in using...

Hope you enjoy the wonderful opening song by with lyrics by Chris Gammon and sung by The 2 Half Squads Singers. The lyrics are printed below. Some great ASLer's chime in like Alan Hume and Scott Mullins through the magic of voicemail. And that gave us the idea for our next contest.  We have a contest ending January 15th. You need to call in using the button on the right side of the web page and gi...

Welcome to a very fun show. Well, at least we had fun recording  it. The letters we recieve provide us with some entertainnig ASL topics for discussion. It's always good to hear from you all. What we've been playin' lately is a lot of ASL. Check out our Twitter feed for the full updates. In this episode we discuss  HS31 Protesting the Speculative  from Multi-man Publishing's  Operation Veritable ....

Dave recounts his vacation to The Great Smoky Mountains, The Shawnee National Forest and Belmont University during the intro talk, while Jeff recounts his recent Sword of Rome game. In the Box is the Starter Kit Expansion Pack #2.  This expansion includes the new Chinese, some new Japanese, and the first overlays for SK Advanced Squad Leader players. Two boards, eight scenarios, and some new weapo...

We welcome Stephen Stewart of VASLING with Stew fame.  Stephen provides a fascinating listen as he discusses the variety of videos that he produces.  They are legion, they are good, and you should check them out on his Youtube channel.          SHOW TIMES 1:00 Banter 3:45 Interview 49:21 Total Running Time   SHOW LINKS Stew's Replay VASLing With Stew #1 The 2 Half-Squads is brought to you by  Ritt...

Here is a fun little show. In the box is the  March Madness Hollis Pack, - Partisans  from the gents in Kansas City.   It's a great scenario pack with a historical board included. Wow! We did not know what we were missing when we missed out on all the March Madness Packs. We always heard great things about them. There is a lot of Advanced Squad Leader product here and we hold a drawing from our Pa...

 If you haven't gotten the new  Rat Pack Charts  from Le Franc Tireur, have a listen to our detailed look at them and see if you don't think you need them afterall.  We have a good time discussing the scenarios we have played lately, HS4 High Water Mark from Operation Watchtower. Dave and Jeff played that one. We also cover scenario HS27 Lawless Ways from Operation Veritable. Dave got a game in wi...

Todays show covers the terrain gems from Onslaught to Orsha II. That includes slopes, culverts, cupolas and a little bit more. We do apologize for the poor audio quality.  Covid is taking it's tech toll.  We follow that up with an in depth report from David Goldman about the ASL Open's first fully remote tournament played on VASL.There is a lot of valuable information in this interview. It's golde...

Finally, we break open that box containing Croix  de Guerre and Dinant and revel in the wonderful  Advanced Squad Leader counters, maps and more.  Dan Dolan must be proud.  This game even has some NEW French counters, The Vichy French and Free French. We finish with a discussion of virtual gaming and the St. Louis Tournament with Jim Burris.       DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE EPISODE ON OUR YOUTUBE C...

Storms in Chicago, disaster strikes, cars stuck on lifts in garages without power, gaming table order attempt disasters on Kickstarter; these are just a few of the topics in Chit Chat. In the Box are both, the new Ritterkrieg Counter Stackers, and the rest of Onslaught to Orsha II (the parts that we didn't get to in our previous episodes).  Add in a look at Scenario HS2: War Without Quarter from O...

This episode is a whole lotta letters covering a ton of ASL, VASL and T2HS topics. Our listeners bring   their ideas, opinions, curses, praises, corrections, tech issues, playing suggestions and much more to our doorstep this show.     DON'T FORGET TO  WATCH THE EPISODE  ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL   SHOW LINKS ASL Map of Players Adam Lunney Interview with Veteran   SHOW TIMES 00:02 Chas's Job Song 4:0...

It was such a pleasure to talk with Michael Koch in our second episode on the ASL scene in Germany. The discussion covers WWII sites to see in Germany when you attend the Grenadier Tournament, the history of ASL, and the wonderful fact that there is just too much good Advanced Squad Leader stuff being published today. What a problem to have! Michael also gives us a detailed look at what it takes t...

Rich returns to the Remote Broadcast Foxhole and has a serious conversation with Jeff about the state of some young Americans lack of historical knowledge.  They also discuss Churchill's books on WWII. The meat of the show is a look at Rich's involvement with the development of  Onslaught to Orsha II  by Bounding Fire Productions. You get a chance to hear the designer of the new charts included th...

What better way to start episode #150 than with the witty lyrics of a new song by Dennis Donovan.  Then the studious Rich Spilky joins us and presents his amazing analysis of both, RB5: The Last Bid, and RO5: Men of Steel from Red October. Advanced Squad Leader at its finest. We are now going to attempt to post most of the episodes with more visuals on our website.  The video version of this episo...

Mike Ryzy joins us once again in the broadcast remote foxhole. The NEW Rules segment themesong makes it's debut, thanks to Aaron Kleinschmidt and The Two-Half Squad Singers. Can a machine gun kill a lightly armored vehicle? Find out right here and right now. Then  break out your cover of   Onslaught to Orsha 2    for the return of Box Art Review.      SHOWTIMES 1:00 Banter 14:00 Rules! 51:00 Box A...

Wow, it's been a long time since we put up an ASL Extra for your enjoyment. This one was recorded last year.  Dave Timonen faces off against Chris Walters, who is playing his first game in many years. It's amazing how the rules and tactics come back to him so quickly.  Advanced Squad Leader is like learning to ride a bicycle, once you learn you never forget how to do it.  Dave and Chris are playin...

Mike Ryzy joins us once again as we banter about the film Gettysburg and more. We are always thrilled with the quality of the letters that our listeners send, and the ones we read on this episode, are no exception. VASL tips abound within them. We have quite a few scenarios that we have played lately.  All of them on VASL of course. Take a listen as Mike explains the "connected scenario" scoring s...

Well, Skype seems to make Dave's voice sound like he is on a telephone. Which, we guess, he technically is.  In the box is Adam Lunney's wonderful book "We Together".  Give it a read. We recount our playing of  AP 118 Wise's War on VASL of course. And then we thought it would be fun to explore the controls on Virtual Advanced Squad Leader live on the air.  We thought it would be fun but you may th...

Here is a show produced entirely in the Kleinschmidt household. We cover a bunch of back logged letters, dating back to February. Shame on us for being so delinquent. But at least here they are now and they are read by our guests Aaron and Laura Kleinschmidt.  Did we ever mention that "Operation Schmidt" should have been called "Operation Kleinschmidt"?           In the digital box is the newest i...

The promised show about ASL in Germany is here. We have a few letters then we jump right in with the delightful and knowledgeable Kris Koch, joining us in the broadcast remote foxhole for a great interview. Mike Ryzy returns also to help us along.  Enjoy! SHOWTIMES  1:00 Brief Chat 3:00 Letters 25:30 Interview with Kris 1:02:20 Total Running Time   SHOW LINKS Conscripts Tourney in Germany Grenadie...

Hey, really short write up for this show.,  It truly is, almost, well practically, 100% or so, dedicated to the Greatest Game in the World, Advanced Squad Leader.  We have our knowledgeable, loyal and true friend, Mike Ryzy on hand to help us explain our rookie foray into Virtual Advanced Squad Leader, otherwise known as VASL.   Did you win the British counters from Broken Ground Design?  Listen t...

Lock down continues. The Skype recording is a little sketchy on Dave's end but acceptable. Since we recorded this show the ASL Open has canceled as have most of our tournaments.  The Texas ASL tourney is still on as of now.  It is not scheduled to happen for several months yet.  We open the most excellent New England Volunteers Pack as well as an interesting gift from Dennis. Subsequent First Fire...

The enthusiasm of Derek Ritter is contagious and it makes for a wonderful interview even though Jeff and Dave were not in the broadcast foxhole together for the first time. Skype seems to suffice as Derek calls in to tell us all about the gaming stuff happening in North Carolina area, the tournament there, and all the new products that have hit the ASL market lately.  There is a lot to hear here s...

Learning often happens best by repetition, so why not give our past shows a listen while you wait for the latest one to drop?  Tolkien's Letters, 1917, and The Witcher are the core of the discussion in the 0% ASL part of the show. Take a look, along with us, at the new game by Lone Canuck. It is The Battle of Konigsberg: The Bear's Revenge. Wow! The maps in this game are surely a step up from most...

Our banter includes a little bit about long range guns and such in WWI and buzz bombs in WWII. Some random thoughts occur on systems of government; their meaning and intent. If you are going for broke on the Broken Ground Design British counters, please note that your entry is due by March 15th at the latest. Listen closely for the specific instructions to get into the drawing. Jeff takes us on a...