US vs Germans Chain of Command
Two games were completed in this gaming session, which took place in the second week of January 2024. My thanks to Tom P for the report and pictures.
Two games were completed in this gaming session, which took place in the second week of January 2024. My thanks to Tom P for the report and pictures.
Just for a change we’ve moved to WWII and Chain of Command rules.
In the first game the Americans have the initiative in an Attack on an Objective scenario, They only roll a 4 for extra units, choosing to add an HMG support option. The Germans choose two minefields as their limited support option. The result of the scouting phase is that the Germans get jump off points in the fields on either side of the crossroads, with another on the right hand flank in advance of the road (to threaten the American flank). They place their fourth mandatory jump off point in the church. The three American jump off points are located to the right of the central road. The Americans choose to place their minefields on the far side of the road around the building and in the field.
The Americans deploy their first section on the far right using smoke grenades to cover their move through the gap in the minefield only to get caught in the fire of the German platoon in the field on the other side of the road and a second LMG based in the churchyard. The Americans bring up two more sections in support and inflict heavy casualties on the advanced German section, which choses to retire to the churchyard before they got wiped out. However, this is not before the advanced American section is routed and the Germans use a COC die to end the move, causing the American section and Junior officer to be removed, together with all the American smoke. In response, the Americans deploy their Bazooka and MMG teams to fill the gap, only to get caught by heavy fire from the German LMG's with both teams getting wiped out (the Germans rolling 5's & 6's to convert every hit into a kill or shock) and breaking the American force morale.
The second game was an American delaying action. The Germans roll and get ten extra points of support and choose two sections of Panzer Grenadiers (two LMG's per section). The Americans choose an HMG team as their support option.
The result of the scouting phase is to give the Americans a jump off point in the field to the left of the crossroads and another behind the building on the far right. Their third jump off point (the German objective) is deployed in the field behind the church.
The three German jump off points are one on each table edge and the third in the centre of the table to the left of the road. The Germans deploy an infantry section on each of the jump off points on the left side of the table and move forward towards the road to draw the American deployment.
In response, the Americans deploy a section on their right flank and move it forward to hold the building on the road. On the German right they deploy their Panzer Grenadiers, the first section moving into the building opposite the American jump off point and, after receiving over watch fire from the Americans, they open up with two LMG's with a Senior Leader and Junior Leader using their initiative to raise the attack die by five.
The Germans, using a Chain of Command die to allow for an interrupt fire from one of the LMG’s, quickly gain a fire superiority, wounding the junior officer twice and forcing the American 1st Platoon to rout at which point the Americans were forced to retire from the field.