In the fall we introduced a friend (Mike) to Chain of Command and he had a blast! We fought over Villons Les Buissons, using basically the same set-up we had used here. As Lucius and I were familiar with the terrain it made it easier to guide a new player through the game itself. As always, click the pictures to see them fully – in gallery mode they don’t always show up properly otherwise. Also – a quick edit here. It looks like the captions on the pictures don’t show up when you read this blog on email. If you’re a subscriber and want to see some more context in the future, please check out the blog post (here) via a browser.

I sent the following pictures to Mike as photo recon and passed him the situation: On the 6th of June, the North Nova Scotia Regiment, supported by the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, raced south pushing back resistance until it stiffened near the town of Authie. One town in that path was Villons Les Buissons (which will feature later as a key point in the defence against a German counter-attack). Our scenario then, is one where the North Novas attempt to capture a cross road at the edge of town. The town is being defended by elements of 642 Ost Battalion, seconded to 736 Grenadier Regiment. The Ost Battalion, like many others, had been assigned to construction duties when the invasion hit. You will command a platoon of North Novas against the Jerries!

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When the game started, the patrol phase was uneventful. I did have a minefield in the centre of the table, blocking off the road at German edge of the wheat field. Mike put a section on each side of the road, 1 Section in the wheat, 2 Section facing the church. He held back from the primary hedge row on the left but moved up to establish a base of fire on his right, facing the church. I wasn’t sure which way the attack was going to come, but figured that I wanted to hold the manor house and ensure that I didn’t lose the empty field in front.

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It was novel for Mike to see unanswered phases as I let him advance, but then when he approached the empty field, I deployed on my JOP near the manor and managed to get enough fire downrange to force 1 Section to pull back. A Sherman arrived and supported the infantry, but wasn’t able to do much. Smoke from the Canadian 2″ mortar complicated the issue so I rushed on my Panzerschrek but it missed the mark and withdrew quickly.

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With the Canadian section in the wheat field pausing as a Vickers MMG came up, I decided to swing my squad right and try to flank the Canucks in a counter attack.

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3 Section showed up and they closed with and destroyed my squad. Now my flank was vulnerable. I brought on a squad behind the manor house to keep pressure on the centre and keep Mike guessing as my second support option (after the minefield) arrived: an MG42 team.

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My MG team even the odds and the morale deficit was felt. The Canadians had lost 2 Junior Leaders and rolled poorly for morale when I had made 1 Section break earlier. Mike didn’t feel like his troops could winnow me out without overwhelming losses. My AT capability made him cautious, as did my as of yet uncommitted 3rd squad. With a burst of MG42 fire to emphasize this, the Canadians withdrew to regroup and attempt another attack.

Mike had only played Warhammer prior to this, and he was cautious about historical wargames, hearing horror stories about people being very pedantic about models or ranges etc. He very much enjoyed Chain of Command and said it felt like he was the platoon commander having to make the decisions. We’ve chatted about the narrative feel of the game a fair bit and I’m sure we’ll see him back around the table in the future!