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.
Continue reading “Chain of Command AAR: FJs vs North Novas”Category: Chain of Command
Chain of Command Delaying Action Part 2, Part 2?
Okay, that’s a little confusing for a title. But here’s the conclusion to the 2nd delaying action that Lucius and I played.
We left off with my forces pulled back, trying to get re-organized to make a final push on the objective. My left flank was stable, with my field gun slowly moving forward, and 1 section with the platoon 2IC (unteroffizier) holding the line. On my right, 3 Section bailed out from the Hanomag with the Commandoes to the front. Unfortunately, I had left my platoon commander out in the open (where he was trying to encourage the 3 section weapons team before they broke), and the pinned Commandoes shot him, luckily only dazing him for the turn. My 3 section opened up on the Commandoes, killing another one and making the remaining 4 break due to excess shock.
On the left, Lucius brought on the Vickers and rallied yet more shock off using his platoon commander (who was so inspirational that he was gazetted Captain based on his performance).
With my 1 section, I tried feinting right (pretending to want to go through the house) and then move back, but the Vickers was almost always active and able to face the direction of my attack. I’d have to get into hand to hand combat with the remains of the Canadian 1 section plus an MMG with 5 crew from the front after rolling 3 dice to charge in. Not good. It was time to pull back and let 3 section secure the flank to divide and conquer.
It took forever, but I managed to get 3 section up and moving (and rejoining with the scared remaining member of the wiped out weapon’s team). Lucius meanwhile managed to rally off shock and get the 4 commandoes back up to the fight.
I activated my field gun when I could, attempting to get 3 “6s” to blow up the building on the left flank (more for fun than for any tactical purpose, though I figured it would make my opponent guess). Meanwhile, it took a few phases to get my Panzerschreck on (as both my senior leaders were on the table).
The commandoes were guarding the wall ahead. So my 3 section moved right to take the JOP while my Panzerschreck team sprinted up towards the commandoes. I ended the turn on the most exposed JOP with a chain of command die, but Lucius played one of his and avoided the test. Drat. He then shook the Commandoes out towards the woods behind the house on the right and went on overwatch. I managed to get just outside the arcs and put a bit of hurt on him, but he returned the favour and wiped out an LMG and crew. Drat.
3 section pulled back but stayed close enough to threaten the last JOP on the right while the platoon commander made his way up. The Panzerschreck made it to the low wall where the commandoes were sheltering before. They were going to use their rifles to take a shot at the Canadian platoon leader but were engaged in close combat by the commandoes. I played an interrupt but the Kar98s missed. In close combat, well, once again everyone died. I rolled a 1 and avoided losing any morale but Lucius lost his JL killed and the section gone. Down to 1 morale and the JOP on the right flank was removed. Lucius was down to 2 dice but fought on.
I moved 2 section up to be ready to get into hand to hand combat, effectively fixing the Vickers to face me. Meanwhile, 3 section moved back up. The Canadian officer was exposed and was injured. Morale shot, the plucky North Novas left the field, unable to face an attack from both sides and with their beloved leader bleeding.
Conclusion
Quite the fight! The North Novas had forced me back twice before being finally overwhelmed, and a few chance dice rolls would have made things very different. Another close run thing and my first victory with this rules set (Lucius has won the other 3 or 4 games we’ve played).
Looking at “At the Sharp End” and the ending force morale, the FJs would have permanently lost 8, with 5 missing the next fight and 4 returning to fight immediately. The 34 man platoon would be down to 21 for the next fight. This would be only a full section plus HQ and a few extra men. Not a lot. Additionally, the Hanomag was a loss, and those were not always easy to replace. The delaying action fought by the North Novas cost the Germans!
The heroism of the North Novas was also expensive. 15 men were permanently lost, likely dead. 8 were out of the fight for the next battle, and 7 would limp into the lines ready for the next battle, leaving the newly promoted Captain to command 13 soldiers out of 36.
I think we’re happy with our knowledge now, and are going to do the Arnhem campaign in WSS 74 in October. Playing a full campaign will be fun and will add some complexity to the fights. Had this been a campaign game I would have likely conceded the field when I lost my Hanomag. Next time we’ll have to think about more than just the ground in front of us, and keep the overall mission in mind.
No more Chain of Command until next month. Priority now will be getting terrain ready!
After another RPG play report, I’ll be turning over the next WW2 post to Lucius and he’ll be showing his North Novas platoon.
BT
Chain of Command Delaying Action Part 2
Background
A little while ago Lucius and I played a delaying action to get better acquainted with Chain of Command. It was a close run thing and we decided to switch sides and try a re-run over the same terrain.
The Forces
I played my Fallschirmjager and had 14 support points, Lucius had 7 for his North Nova Scotia Regiment. Note that we were using the core-rules only (not the arsenal that can be found at Tiny Hordes and other places). Lucius was an armoured officer so I hemmed and hawed and out-thought myself, figuring that he’d bring some armour or AT to the field. With 14 points I could field my new Tiger II. His PIAT wouldn’t do anything against that. So, I reasoned that he would have to take a 17pdr, or a tank-hunter. In order to get around that, I went with a pre-game barrage, a 5cm mortar team, a Sdkfz 250 (hanomag) manned by half of my 3 section, and a Sig 33 infantry gun.
It turns out that Lucius bought a sniper and a Vickers MMG. Of course. Had I shown up with a Jagdtiger or any sort of heavy armour he’d have been overrun in minutes. But such is life and wargaming! It really shows that you need to make sure you plan for maximum flexibility. Last game we only had 2 sections, but this time we each fielded 3. Lucius brought 2 sections of North Novas with 1 section of Commandos as the North Novas were a little short. The added firepower from those many SMGs were made up for by my force rating.
The Battle
We played for about 3 hours and things moved quickly at first, but got bogged down in casualties after a bit. I started with a force morale of 10, Lucius had 8.
The patrol phase was uneventful, with reasonable JOPs for both of us. I needed to take a JOP in a specific swath of land at the far end of the table, and only one of the JOPs was there. So, the left flank was my priority. I was going to see if I could rush it, or if not, pin down resources there while my hanomag and remaining troop did an end run around the woods. In red below are the Canadian JOPs. #1 is my real goal.
The pre-game barrage did its trick and I brought in 1 section on the left flank and pushed up past the wood. The non-tasked squad from 3 section put covering fire into the woods on the right flank near the JOP there as 2 Section moved up.
There was no response from the Canucks. It took until the third Canadian phase for some movement to happen at the far end – 1 section deployed near the JOP on my right flank. My 5cm mortar started its impressive kill count and killed one of the 2″ mortar (which I hate; that thing and its smoke!). My 1 section rushed the house at the double and fell short. Twice. 7 measly inches forward on 3d6.
And then the turn ended and Lucius got a double-phase with three 6’s rolled. Great. Shortest turn I’ve seen in Chain of Command and now my boys were strung out a little too far forward from their supports and I still hadn’t managed to get my hanomag up to do an-end run around the woods on my right side or get my big infantry gun to put some hurt on the Canadians.
Lucius’ sniper showed up at the start of the turn, caused some shock and then in the next phase killed the JL in 1 section – the section that was SOOOO close to the house and the key JOP behind it. Force morale goes down. My dice failed me and I couldn’t move 1 section either back or forward with their JL dead, so I brought my Sig 33 on and my hanomag while pushing forward on the right flank.
The sniper fired again at 1 section, as did some of Lucius’ troops on my right flank. Another section appeared near the house on the left.
My boys were leaderless, gaining shock, unable to see the sniper, taking fire from their right flank and having a full section of enemy appearing to their front. This wasn’t good. Added to that, the silly little 2″ mortar dropped smoke in front of my Sig 33. Great.
I deployed my platoon 2IC (unteroffizier) on my left and pulled back 1 section as my 5cm mortar killed the 2″ mortar! As far as I was concerned, that was a win for the entire game. My right flank stuttered forward (2″ on 2d6) but I sensed that I was getting into the right place. Lucius was putting his section on my left flank in front of the house there, in line of fire of my field gun. On my right, I had 1 and a half sections moving up, one group always on overwatch. The hanomag was getting ready to support, and my 5cm mortar was dropping rounds to weaken the enemy on that side. So I ended the turn with my only Chain of Command die (at that time) to take away the smoke in front of my Sig 33.
A double phase for me. The Sig then fired and evaporated 2 of the bren team facing me on the left flank and wounded the JL. 1 section moved forward and laid more hurt on the Canadians to my left. On my right, wanting to try out this Handgranaten rule, I charged into the smaller Canadian section.
I only got 1 grenade in but we won. Or lost. I’m not sure. We both killed everyone. Except for the leaders. Morale goes down to 6 for both of us. I was within 4″ of a JOP there though, and my weapons team from 3 section was close by.
Lucius added some shock and a kill to my Sig 33 from the section and sniper on that side, but not enough. My field gun replied at the section it could see, and with 1 section under the command of my platoon 2IC killed the bren team and all but 1 rifleman and the wounded junior leader, leaving them running with 11 points of shock between them. 2 Section goes on overwatch. The sniper fires and I see him! And kill him. All that action brings force morale down to 4 for the Canadians. Left flank steady.
Nothing except 2 scared soldiers and a platoon lieutenant between 1 section and the JOP! Except for the Vickers and a squad of Royal Marine Commandoes who haven’t shown up yet and could ambush me. Huh. Okay. Focus on the steadying up my right flank and slowly push up on the left. No crazy stunts.
On the other side the 2 JLs engage in hand to hand combat and both fall. That wood is now called Bois-du-mort. 20 men lying there now, and more to follow shortly. Lucius plays a Chain of Command die to avoid a force morale check or he’d be on the wire. He also brings on the Commandoes and wants to get in close combat with my 3 section weapons team. I back them off, bring up my hanomag onto overwatch.
As I had backed off from the JOP, and hadn’t managed to capture it, it’s used to launch a PIAT ambush at my hanomag. Double 6s are rolled and the hanomag brews up but my men get out unhurt. 3 unanswered kills for that PIAT. My next great foe…
The commandoes then charge into fire at my weapons team at close range with their SMGs. I play an interrupt to fire at them, which whittles them down, but they still rip into my men. I get everyone on that flank firing and 1 of the teams break but I stabilize the situation overall. There are 5 commandoes left facing 6 of my guys plus a mortar. I outrange his SMGs so I should be able to break him. I still have a heavy field gun with 4 crew plus JL, but the challenge will be to get this beast into action (it takes the lower of 2d6 rolled to move).
On the left the heroic Canadian platoon lieutenant rallies enough shock off of the remains of the section I massacred that they join him behind the wall near the JOP. I have 8 men from 1 section plus my unteroffizier 2IC. Should be fine. Except that the Vickers hasn’t shown up…
We left off there. 20 Canadians lying dead or wounded. 17 Germans. I haven’t brought on my Panzerschrek, and Lucius has a Vickers team and his PIAT still off the table. This will be a near-run thing! My left flank is okay, but vulnerable to the Vickers. Support is a long way behind. On my right I’m pretty evenly matched. I’ll need to be clever or lucky (or both) to win this.
Chain of Command – Delaying Action
Lucius and I played a game of Chain of Command over two afternoons recently. It was great fun, and a needed refresher on the rules. The total play time was about 4 hours, but that was a lot of looking up rules and figuring out how to best employ our troops. It was a very friendly game and quite fun. We chose the delaying action scenario from the rule book, threw some terrain down, and started off with small platoons and some armour for good fun.
Here’s how it went down.
Background
Allied forces have pushed inland from the Normandy coastline. A platoon of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders with some Sherbrooke Fusiliers in armour support is racing ahead. They have been spotted by a unit of Fallschirmjagers who are headed west towards Brest. The FJ platoon is tasked with holding off the Canadians for as long as possible. The Canucks must capture 1 Jumping Off Point (JOP) to win.
The table was 4 x 6, with play down the long axis. There was a lot of terrain on the table, as we wanted to improve our knowledge of the rules and make it a bit easier to advance to contact.
The Forces
The Canadians fielded 2 sections of North Novas, with a Command section (PIAT team, 2″ mortar team). Support points went towards a medic and armour. Of course. While the AVRE was almost chosen, Lucius went with a Mark V Sherman and a Firefly.
The FJs had 2 sections, a Command section with a panzerschrek, and a STUG. I had seriously considered a flamethrower and sniper, or a PAK 40. In retrospect, either might have been a wiser call…
The Battle
The patrol phase was uneventful. I managed to push out aggressively which wasn’t that useful as it made me want to take ground and I ended up placing my JOPs too far forward. Considering that they were Lucius’ objectives, that was my first mistake and I later had to move them back and eat up precious Chain of Command points.
The action started off with the North Novas moving up 1 Section to advance on the right flank towards JOP 3 as their armour made an appearance and moved up to go hull-down behind the first hill on the road.
I responded by bringing up my Panzerschreck and a section of infantry. This was my biggest mistake in the game. Not having the ability to bring this where needed later made me eat up a lot of command resources trying to get it into action. Having it in my pocket to spring as an ambush when the armour closed might have changed the outcome.
In any event, I put some hurt onto 1 Section until smoke rounds blocked me.
The North Novas followed up by leaving the tanks in the centre with 2 section deploying on their left flank and moving up aggressively towards JOP 1 (which was behind the house in the picture above). I placed a section in the house to their front and put an MG team upstairs. I managed to put some shock on 2 section before drawing an ungodly amount of fire from the Firefly.
My team scampered away from the upstairs and calmed down under the guidance of the platoon sergeant while on the other flank, my platoon commander pulled the section by JOP 3 back after moving the JOP to the rear. The presence of that section by JOP 3 effectively held down the Canadians there for most of the game. I wasn’t able to counter attack despite bringing my STUG on to support that plan due to the presence of the PIAT and an every increasing amount of smoke blocking most avenues of advance. I wasn’t willing to charge forward unsupported.
The battle by JOP 1 was brewing up, with the Canadians making 2 charges towards the house, but were beaten back both times leaving most of their section on the field having fallen victim to the MG42 that had relocated downstairs. I played an interrupt to fire a panzerfaust as the Firefly closed to get a better line of sight to pound the ground floor, but I missed! Drat. To make matters worse, I had divided the section on that flank, with 1 team in the house, and 1 on a hill behind it. I was certain that Lucius would rush up with his armour and troops, and I wanted to have the ability to defend the JOP behind the house so that left my last panzerfaust safely in the rear. Sigh.
More tank rounds went in to that house as I moved my STUG and Panzerschreck up (which took forever). The Firefly then went on overwatch with the remains of 2 section and the Sherman advanced up the road. I figured it was time, so I opened up with the remains of the section in the house, did a good job cutting down the Bren team as my Panzerschreck rushed to take a shot. An interrupt was played and an HE round killed both members of the team. Drat. I now had only 3 anti-armour rounds and 1 STUG. So that went forward in the next phase. Lucius played his last Chain of Command point and shot first.
Now I was in trouble. I had inflicted far more casualties than I had taken, but I had only 3 panzerfausts for 2 tanks. And the Sherman rushed down the road as 1 section went away from JOP 3 towards JOP 2. I moved my troops in response and had a panzerfaust ready for the Sherman on the road. It missed. Double 1s. Oh dear.
I managed to lay the hurt on 1 section in a last hurrah and then called it. I had downed 18 of the 27 Canadians for 8 of my 24 FJs but I had no effective anti-armour ability left.
Thoughts
The game played very well and it seemed very realistic, with tank fire supressing the defenders until close range, smoke obscuring the defenders, and the terrible toll of being caught out in the open facing a dug-in foe for the final yards of the assault. If I could have added mortars to my force, I think I would have ground down the infantry and broken them. Mind you, if the Allies had brought up an AVRE, I would have been hooped. Flexibility is key, and on that front, a PAK40 is far more flexible (for deployment and survivability) than a STUG is.
I think that the next battle will be a switch. Lucius defending the same town, and me advancing. It should be fun, and if nothing else will expand our ruleset knowledge before we press on with our Arnhem campaign. It also will give us time to finish painting up our forces!