As it has been a while since we played Chain of Command, Lucius and I wanted to get back into the rules before hopefully playing the Arnhem mini-campaign in WSS 74. So we threw some terrain down, diced for who was attacking and started a delaying action scenario. I was to take a jumping off point (a place that allows for the deployment of troops) that was in a zone near his table side.

I was to attack with my Fallschirmjagers. They are a very powerful force with 2 x MG42s in each section, and importantly, 2 senior leaders to keep the attack moving. For support I took:

• a pre-game barrage;
• a 5cm mortar team; and
• a Panzer II Luchs.

Lucius had a platoon of Canadian infantry (the North Novas), and took:

• a Vickers HMG;
• a sticky bomb; and
• a flamethrower team.

The patrol phase went well enough, with Lucius putting a JOP tantalizingly close to mine. My force morale started at 9, the Canadians at 8.

My plan was to use the pre-game barrage to reduce the number of troops on the table, push up to grab the forward JOP. My mortar would be useful in putting shock onto troops that I presumed would be in hard cover (mortars can ignore some cover if it’s not overhead). I would then establish a base of fire from the mansion and use the tank and a squad to assault the exposed JOP on my right flank. If the North Novas were still in the fight by then, I’d then attack from both sides. Even considering my objective was the one JOP that I wasn’t aiming for, that plan seemed sound. I couldn’t assault the JOP in the orchard without some significant casualties so I’ be aiming to win by force.

Despite my reasonable plan, it didn’t pan out the way I wanted it to.

My first roll ended the pre-game barrage (and the first turn – which seems to be a routine occurrence for me). Drat. A senior NCO and section got on the table, followed by the Panzer II and the mortar.

I rolled poorly to get up to the hedge and didn’t change my plan to adapt to the new reality, which was not a good move.

Lucius deployed a Vickers on overwatch, looking right over the JOP I wanted and meaning I’d have no cover when I got to the hedge.

He also deployed a section and rushed towards the mansion on my unguarded right flank.

I got my section moving at the double, shaking them out into line. I figured with 2 MG42s I could win the firefight against the Vickers. I then brought on my panzershreck team – not to act as anti-armour, but to put 2 rifles on and try to do something as my mortar lacked any eyes on and I wasn’t going to need to use it for an anti-armour ambush.

His section goes on overwatch, covering my guys in enfilade. The rules didn’t cover this situation, but Lucius was trying to hold me in place rather than knock me out.

I pivot my section, Lucius opens fire and I only get some shock. I return fire and in a few phases come out on top, the superior firepower of the FJs really told, despite the shock I had taken.

My Panzer II moved up and put some fire at the troops in the ruins on the right.

Lucius was feeling the pressure as the section on the far right became pinned. Smoke was attempted but it fell behind the tank. The only options he had to hurt my little tank was a PIAT and a sticky bomb. My tank was just too far for his troops to get to, and my sections were going to make it hard to get his PIAT out. He attempted to do MG fire against the tank, but it didn’t crack any scopes or anger the crew at all. I deploy a section on my right to press my advantage. I wanted to take the mansion and get back on my original plan.

My section finally wins the firefight with the help of the mortar, and the pinned Canadians break. Rather than consolidate and pound the troops to my front in the ruins, I pushed forward with my tank, which was a mistake. I could have waited, advanced my sections and their MGs and pounded away with my mortars for a coordinated assault.

In any event, my tank crossed the bushes and tried to knock out the Vickers while sitting on a JOP.

The tank was somewhat covered by the MG team behind it on overwatch, but it also blocked line of sight. Before my tank could fire again, there was an ambush and the PIAT team blew the Luchs to pieces.

My force morale dropped. The MG team on overwatch killed the PIAT team, but there was no impact to the Canadian force morale – I guess the PIAT team was unpopular. They certainly were to me! In every game he’s used them, his PIAT has hit, whereas my panzerschreks and panzerfausts seem to be incapable of hitting anything.

Lucius now had the initiative and put heavy fire onto my section on the hedge line. I moved my Pl 2IC up to help and pulled the troops back. I needed something to stabilize my left. My right flank had a full section, which I had split up. I put an MG team in the mansion, but they were obscured by smoke. The 2^nd MG team and the JL traded fire with the Canadians by the ruins on the mansion side, finally destroying the broken section (which had used the lull to rally off shock). The return fire from the ruins was accurate and casualties mounted on both sides as the firefight slowly went on. Until the smoke in front of the manor cleared out, that flank was basically stationary. So on came my last section, but I deployed it centrally, being unsure about where to put it. Sadly, this meant that they needed to pass through some Bren fire but the managed it mostly unscathed.

Lucius responded by moving up a section near the ruins by the orchard, meaning that I was in real danger of having my left collapse. His troops and Vickers went on overwatch as he moved his leaders to be able to take the bloodied hedge row my boys were hiding a bit behind. I captured the JOP and ended the turn, causing the battered section on my right to rout with their JL, which really hit the Canadian’s force morale.

My newly arrived section became terribly sluggish, and wouldn’t move more than 3 inches a phase. I had prepped the last of my first section, backed up by my Pl 2IC and the full strength section and was going to draw fire from the Vickers with my battered guys and then pound them with my fresh section. Sadly, I wasn’t able to coordinate it. I did draw fire, I ended up losing one my MG teams, and the other became pinned. The full strength section just wouldn’t get into battle and left the wounded guys exposed!

To make matters worse, my force morale, which had been holding well above the Canadians was starting to drop rapidly.

As my section finally moved up Lucius ambushed me with his flamethrower team. My section took 1 casualty but so much shock it fell back broken. Then the Vickers hammered the remaining MG team in the centre which broke back to be in the line of fire of the other Canadian section on my right. Things were not good and my force morale had dropped down to 3.

I rallied off some shock, re-engaged my MG team outside the mansion (now down to 1 gunner and the JL) while my mortar fired to good effect. As we both had so few dice, the turn wouldn’t end, meaning that blasted smoke from the 2” mortar wouldn’t go away!

I did manage to get my left flank rallied and they finally moved to the hedge. They broke the Vickers and put some hurt on the section in front of them. Lucius then was going to fire back but I played an interrupt. It meant that I finally managed to get a section to lay down full firepower at close range and it devastated the section it targeted. The JL alone survived and rather than finish him off (which would’ve brought the Canadian’s morale to zero), I moved in the following phase because I had simply not thought things out properly. Lucius then dropped smoke in between us. Luckily, I had a shot at his mortar team and wiped them out. That was it, and the remaining Canadians fled.

There were pretty heavy casualties. I lost 15 men plus a Panzer II, and Lucius lost 30 (including supports). The difference in force morale meant that I would’ve permanently lost 6 men with 4 missing the next game and 3 more returning duty; effectively leaving me with 2 full sections plus my Platoon HQ. The North Novas would have 14 permanently lost, with 8 missing 1 game and 3 returning to fight, leaving them with an only an understrength section and needing to be pulled off the line.

I really found my mortar was a great support option. It really was the MVP, slowly whittling away the opposition. The tank wasn’t so hot the way I used it. I had considered a tripod mounted MG, but Lucius loves to drop smoke, so I wanted more mobile firepower. If I were to do it again, I may have taken an extra section rather than the tank, or at least used the tank properly, in concert with infantry support.

Overall, it was a good game. If we were indeed playing a campaign, we would’ve fought a bit differently, so we are both eagerly getting ourselves ready for Arnhem. We made a bunch of mistakes throughout, and in making those mistakes and recognizing them was one of the main goals of the game, so mission accomplished. We routinely forgot to include shock into the firing (but strangely not for the movement). I think I’m going to make little bases to hold dice so we don’t have tons of shock markers clouding the table. We need to amend our rule books with the published errata too, but I feel that we are getting to know the system better and better. I also figured out what I needed to do to take notes. I had used pictures, but doing so meant that my shots were rushed and only useful for writing and not for looking at. I also missed some of the action as I had figured that my shot would capture it. In any event, a learning game but a very fun game nonetheless.

I think we’ll do 1 more practice game, this time with me defending, before we get our campaign started.