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

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.

 

 

A narrative of the scenario described here, played out. The Chain of Command ruleset worked beautifully. The Chain of Command dice added a lot of uncertainty, and the interrupts used by the PIAT team saved the day for the Paras. The narrative flowed naturally from what the dice were doing that day. The mobile patrol inched along except when facing the sentry at the road, so it only make sense that the sentry was in for a dressing-down. The picture above is the Para’s Vickers on overwatch. The picture below, the layout of the ground.

The ground was soft after two days of rain and it squished underfoot as 5 Platoon made its way up to village where the Maquis were sheltering the pilot. The Lt looked as his watch and gave quick and quiet orders and then it all started. The bulk of the platoon stepped into the swollen stream and fought their way slowly through the mud. 2 section made their way to the old stone bridge nearby and quickly hustled over it before dropping to the wet grass. Up ahead, silhoutted by the lights of the town, a sentry lit up a smoke. On the left flank, there was a stone wall with an orchard behind it. Behind that was a German HQ. On the right was an old farm house, and somewhere in the town the pilot.

* * * * *

The oberst laughed loudly as the hauptman got the wine by the window. Karl paused to look outside. It was still raining lightly, which meant that Allied aircover would stay grounded and his troops might have a bit more rest. The reports of resistence fighters in the area was concerning, but he had a platoon out in force tonight. One section beyond the stream, some sentries and roving patrol. Lieutenant Max Schertze had a section with the hanomag, and the mechanics had repaired the STUG and were putting the schurzen plates back on. That should be enough. Karl turned back to the table of officers and forced a smile onto his face.

* * * * *

The unteroffizier moved with a purpose along the stone wall when he saw the young sentry he had posted earlier light up a cigarette. The verdamt fool! He was making himself a target!

* * * * *

2 section watched the German NCO tear into the sentry before leading his patrol down the fence line to the farm to the right. Then it was up and into a ruined house for a bit of cover and a look at their next bound to the old wall ahead.

The Lt pulled himself and the Vickers gunner out of the sucking mud before signalling 1 section to head towards the farm house slowly. He nodded to his sergeant and led the PIAT team up. The sergeant scrambled up the hill and then set up the 2″ mortar and gave the Vickers its arcs.

The Germans had dismounted from the Hanomag and were busy deploying into the crossroads. The armoured vehicle raced towards the lone member of the PIAT team, its MG opening fire. The Lt was sheltered by the corner of the farmhouse and ducked as the rounds came towards him and the PIAT. “Take it out!” he yelled. The PIAT streaked out and hit the front of the half-track, blowing up and causing the vehicle to catch fire. The MG gunner was hit by shrapnel and hung limply from the side of the vehicle.

“Good man!” shouted the Lt, making his way over.

He ducked instinctively as the shot rang out, but it was his own sniper, bagging the unteroffizier at the crossroads. There was shouting and no more MG fire for a moment. Maybe this would go better than he thought.

* * * * *
The smoke round blanketed the edge of the wood on the other side of the crossroads. The oberst had climbed into the staff car nearby and was giving directions to the driver. The sentry thought he heard something about “rapid fire” and at the edge of the ruined townhall he saw bursts of flame and the staff car screeched to a halt as soon as it started. He fired back towards the muzzle flashes, but too high. The oberst threw the door open and tried to run but was cut down by the Tommies. The STUG started to life, too late, and its MG cut into the troops in the woods, one of them falling lifeless.

* * * * *

Lieutenant Max Schertze  moved his troops up, and deployed them quickly, attracting some fire from a Vickers nearby. His men were disciplined though, and in no time his section had shaken out and had laid down an impressive amount of fire. 2 machine guns plus the FJs FG42s cut into the Tommies on the hill and dropped first one, then another, and then the Vickers and the nearby mortar team went silent. Max stared into the night as he heard gunfire to his right. The ‘Hano’ was down but he had the initiative. Then the STUG’s MG opened up in response to some bolt action firing…

* * * * *
The MG kicked up an awful mess as the STUG lurched towards them. “Right boys, let’s get out of here!” 2 Section took off through the trees. No one went back for the body of their buddy as the STUG rev’ed up and began to crash through the trees. The squad doubled through the woods and leapt through the gap in the stone wall as the STUG’s MG continued to fire at them. A PIAT round exploded just beside the STUG and the tank destroyer traversed left and began to seek out the PIAT team. As 2 Section went to ground near the stream they heard and then saw the STUG go up in flames.

* * * * *
“Good man!” The Lt shouted. A hanomag and a STUG destroyed by one wounded man. Just the help they needed to get out of there without more casualties. 2 section was covering the retreat as 1 section and the sqn leader and resistance fighters made their way to the muddy stream to cross over in the darkness. His platoon sergeant was dead, as were the rest of his HQ section, save for the sniper who hurried up, bloodied and shaking his head.

“Over the stream now, quickly!”

* * * * *
Lieutenant Max Schertze swore loudly. 1 dead unteroffizier, 2 dead sentries, plus the driver and gunner of the hanomag. The crew from the STUG survived, but his company commander was now left with little armoured support. At least they cost the Tommies. 9 dead, several wounded. Expensive for a pilot, especially when the Allies had so damn many of them…