Battle Report - Chain of Command - Burning Tanks to Keep You Warm

It's cold outside, so warm yourself with this burning Panther, knocked out in "Chain of Command" action...note the pile of shock markers in the top left, marking the last known location of a Russian infantry section...

Winter has returned again to the Canadian prairies.  Winnipeg was hit a few weeks ago with its first snow storm of the season - relatively late in the year by local standards, but the 20cms of snow and winds socked us in nicely and we are now settling in for the long siege that is winter in the city.  Inspired by the snow, I wanted to stage a "Chain of Command" game set in the late-war winter on the Eastern Front.  I broke out the snow mat, and Dallas kindly supplemented this with his great assortment of snow trees. Ready to go!

We played in 15mm, and the scenario was number three from the rule book - "Attack & Defend".  While we did not specify a location or particular battle, a circumstance in the winter of 1944 on the Eastern Front with a group of Germans trying to fight their way back to the lines was not too hard to imagine.  So for this game the Russians would be the defenders while the Germans would be the attackers.

Some recent adds to the collection - IS-2s in roughly-winterized looks

Some of the German forces in the pre-game...

Dallas played the Soviet side.  His forces included an infantry platoon and two beastly IS-2 tanks.  Byron played the Germans, featuring an infantry platoon and a pair of menacing Panthers for backup.

Preparing for the patrol phase - the Russian defensive zone is marked off on the left side of the 6' x 4' table

After the Patrol Phase, the shooting got underway, with the scrap taking shape in the centre of the table.  Dallas managed to move two Russian squads into excellent position against one of the German squads, eventually wiping it out.  Meanwhile, the armoured elements for both sides entered the table and did their best to target some enemy infantry, although they found the "targeting" part to be difficult.

Russian section in position, ready to defend against the fascist vipers!

Even as the German infantry platoon received heavy punishment in the centre, the MG42s managed to dish out a pile of return abuse, and the arrival of another German squad turned the tables somewhat against the Russian infantry. One of the Russian squads broke - only to be cut to pieces by the MGs of one of the German Panthers.

German section takes up a covered position near the road

Looking to get a decisive finish, Dallas moved one of his IS-2s along the flanks and zeroed in on Byron's Panthers.  The move was a success, as Dallas scored a kill and the heavy 122mm shell blew one of the Panthers to pieces.  Meanwhile, Byron was starting to run low on infantry...the morale counters on both sides were slowly ticking downwards...

Russian foot sloggers make a dash toward the woods and new firing position

German infantry in action - this section would soon be wiped out...

Russian infantry squad in action - before MG42s drove them back, and Panthers cut them down

In the centre of the table, the bloody action continued.  Byron got the balance of a remaining squad into action against Dallas' sole remaining squad.   These brave Russians were caught out in the road, with no cover from the rending effects of an MG42...the toll was grim.  Meanwhile, Byron's remaining Panther took revenge on the flanking IS-2, blasting it to pieces with a direct hit from its 75mm gun.

German section takes up a position near a wood-line...

Russian and German infantry sections trade fire, while in the background the German Panthers struggle to target the Russian infantry

No fence will stop an IS-2...but trying to target that infantry in cover is sure tricky!

With the loss of one of the IS-2s, Dallas' morale counter ticked to zero, and the Russians were broken - but only just. It was a close fought game which could have gone either way, and with the unique activation system in "Chain of Command", you can never be sure.  Byron's morale counter was very low - at 2 or 3, if I recall - and the "victory" was a rough one at best, with the loss of one Panther and a significant chunk of the infantry platoon.  Very "Eastern Front", in my view...

Byron's remaining Panther gets revenge, and drives the Soviet morale to the breaking point; the burning tanks will keep everyone warm...

"Chain of Command" is a fantastic set of rules, one of the best out there.  The patrol phase still gives me a headache each time, but overall it offers a subtlety and unique ebb and flow to the action that I find compelling and engaging.   I particularly enjoy playing in 15mm, as the size of the figures and models meshes well with the "look" of the engagement ranges on the table.

This scenario could have been organized in a different fashion with the same models by using "Big Chain of Command" and parsing the armoured vehicles out to be their own platoons.  The tanks would have "done" a lot more, as they would have been able to use their own dice pools to activate. I think that would probably have been a bit too much for two players to keep track of, however, so we kept it at one dice pool per side. I also enjoy how the limitations on the command dice therefore make it a challenge for the players - sure, activate your armour, but maybe that comes at the expense of getting your infantry into a better position?

A big thanks to Dallas and Byron for playing.  Looking at the table still gives me the winter chills - hope we can get some more winter WW2 gaming in while we sit out the f@@%ing polar vortex this season. 

Panthers in Winter: 15mm Chain of Command Battle Report

Conscripts Hugh and Frederick are rapt as the Hand of Greg points back towards Berlin 

Last week I had a notion to play a game with a winter theme, so I imposed upon Conscript Greg to run a Chain of Command Eastern Front game on a wintry table. He obliged with a game using the "Big Chain of Command" (Big CoC?) variant.

The scenario was pretty straightforward - the Germans are being pressed back and need to relieve pressure, so a counterattack has been ordered. The German attackers need to seize the crossroads (pictured above at the centre of the table) and the Russians must stop them and keep the general offensive rolling.

Here's the objective, surrounded by a small farming village, woods, snowdrifts and a couple of icy ponds. And a knocked out Panther.

After the Patrol Phase (and I am so glad that Greg knows what he's doing with that because I STILL don't have a clue) we deployed our Panthers along the road. Off-road was pretty bad going and we knew time was of the essence.

Some supporting infantry (or "dismounts" as Conscript Hugh calls them with a tanker's disdain) deployed in the woods.

After taking a few shots at the T-34 that appeared at the very top left on the road, the Panther platoon commander ordered all ahead full and left his subordinates to deal with the enemy, which they, being good subordinates, did.

Meanwhile, some Russians deployed in the houses around the crossroads. You can see some Shock markers placed by German infantry fire.

Panther commander steams up the road as friendly infantry scrambles to redeploy to an open flank.

Here, some more Russian tanks have appeared (on road to left of building at top, and just above the woods at right) and the Panther platoon redeploys to address this.

Endgame. While the two T-34s at top left have deployed to face down the German infantry, the tanks have almost reached their goal - the crossroads. The combined fire of the tanks and the infantry (especially the section at right) finally wore down the Russian defenders to the point where the Germans could use a Chain of Command die to end the turn, and the game - if the turn ends while a unit has more shock than surviving members, it disappears.

I enjoyed the game a bunch - it looked superb with Greg's lovely models and swell terrain from Miniature Building Authority and the "Battlefield in a Box" guys, supplemented by a few Lemax Christmas trees - still the best value in wargaming ;-)

Thanks again to Greg for rolling out a fantastic game and to the lads for coming out. Oh and to Conscript Kevin for bringing out a 15-pack of Lucky Lager which we will continue to enjoy this week! :-D

Skin The Cats - A Chain of Command Tank Battle

"I guess we'll walk back to the front lines then..."

Last week was a fun one for gaming.  Not only did we get to try Dave V's cool Death Star trench run scenario for Star Wars, but I was able to test a new Chain of Command scenario with the help of conscript Byron M on Friday. The figures and terrain are all 15mm.

Patrol Phase complete - Byron made me some laser cut wood markers for Chain of Command, and I painted them up; I like the effect

I am a major league tread-head - tank battles are pretty much my favourite games.  Games like "Flames of War" certainly give you a chance to shoot up a whole bunch of tanks in a short game, and that can be fun - a lot of fun - but I am always on the lookout for a set of rules that could provide players with a more involved perspective of tanks and armour without bogging everyone down in needless (and boring) details.

Russian Patrol Marker

German Patrol Marker

With its unique activation mechanics, Chain of Command fits that bill. In the basic/original rules, however, tanks are add-ons to a force, so it could be hard to keep them moving/firing due to limitations on the dice pool - you can only roll so many dice, and activate so much different stuff, at one time. 

Russian Platoon moving out - the fellow with the yellow token has been hit!

T-34/85 deploys in ambush

Enter "Big Chain of Command".  Released earlier this year by the Too Fat Lardies, these slight alterations to their popular new Chain of Command rules  allow for multiple platoons on one or both sides of the game.  It also provides a bit of a quick overview and some extra clarity on how to employ an armoured platoon as an element in the game. This feature immediately drew my attention, and I have been plotting for scenarios ever since...

Fire! I like to use markers to try and show the dust etc. kicked up when these big main guns fire

Byron M agreed to help me test how a tank-vs-tank scenario would play out.  The scenario was simple, set in the late war, Eastern Front, 1944.  A platoon of Panthers, having held the line while others fell back, must now fall back themselves.  Making their way carefully back to the lines, they encounter a force of T-34/85s - battle ensues, each force out to break the other.  I used "Scenario 3 - Attack and Defend" as the basis.

Right on! Panther start to find the range

Byron took command of the Russian force - two platoons of three T-34/85s each.  I played the Germans, a nasty platoon of 4 Panthers.  For ease of play, everyone was rated regular.  Even though no infantry was present, we set up a patrol phase etc. as the jump-off points might prove useful for capture etc.  Byron also suggested a useful rule allowing vehicles in the defending force to attempt to deploy on-table via a jump-off point.  Basically they made a D6 roll to deploy, needing a 4+.  If they failed, they had to wait for another phase and enter along a table edge as normal for vehicles.

Byron's tankers move into the centre of the table

We got our platoons into action in fairly short order - Byron successfully deployed one tank on the table, with the rest rolling on the board.  My fellows entered along the opposite table edge.  A knife-fight with high-velocity tank guns was underway...

A Panther draws a bead from a covered position - this was a lucky cat...for most of the game...

Now THAT is an armour save! How can we lose?

Every luck streak runs out, however...

What I enjoy most about Chain of Command is how the activation system creates an ebb and flow to an engagement you cannot find with a conventional IGOUGO system.  Byron had some good luck initially, knocking the main gun out on a Panther, and generally moving into position.  But his luck on shooting was terrible - he missed something like seven straight shots by a single pip on the dice!

The action develops in the centre

Then momentum switched and went the German way for a few phases. The Panthers started to knock out the T-34s.  After a few phases Byron's six-tank force was down to just two runners. Sounds like an easy victory looming, right?  I had two tanks - the platoon commander included - in great position and they moved into the centre of the table to take the surviving T-34s in the flanks.  It would be no problem at all...

The Panther platoon commander engages targets from the flank - and they burn!

Nice! Flank armour cannot stop 75mm high-velocity shells.  The Panthers have this one in the bag, right?

Er, not so much.  Byron's gunners suddenly found the range, while my dice-luck deserted me.  In two quick final phases Byron's last two T-34s cooked two Panthers (!) and seriously damaged a third.  I went from three runners to one - and it had no main gun! Alas, the fate of many German rear-guards...these panzer crews would be finding their way back to the lines on foot, if they found their way at all...

Russians do not give up...

Hey!!! This Panther is immobilized and takes shock from a point-blank hit...uh-oh...

I quite enjoyed the Big Chain of Command system and really loved this game - it was a very involved and engaging tank battle without needing tons of tanks on both sides.  There are some nice extra details to tank command in Chain of Command, without having too many of them, and Big Chain of Command is a good way to get them on the table. By far this is the most fun I have had with a tactical tank engagement. I hope to tweak the scenario a little bit and try it again sometime soon with the main Fawcett Avenue crew...

There goes the Panther command tank...

Thanks to Byron for serving as guinea pig, and for bringing along some awesome terrain to help the table pop.  That is one key thing for these armoured engagements...you will want a lot of terrain if possible, otherwise it will be a gun duel at the edges.   On this table we managed to have a mix of fields and towns and things to slow things down that looked OK.

Up next - some painting stuff. And a new scale for me.  Because I'm dumb like that.

WW2 Chain of Command Platoons in 15mm and some 28mm Ruins

I have been on a bit of a Chain of Command kick lately, having built up a whole lot of 15mm terrain and now needing some proper forces to fight over it.

Last time out with Chain of Command we used Greg's awesome Germans, but I felt I needed to get in gear and paint some of my own up. 

A German Rifle platoon, made up of a commander,
3 sections and a separate machine gun.

Each section has a rifle team made up of 6 men, a machine gun team of 3 men, and a junior leader. 
This section also shows the platoon commander with them.

Also, since I have been working on some Stalingrad terrain, I thought I should do up a Russian platoon as well, so that the Germans will have someone to fight once the terrain is done.

The Russian platoon only has LMG's in each section, and therefore less firepower than the German section. 
Even worse they do not come with a support squad for the section.

Each section consists of a junior leader, 7 riflemen, and the LMG with 2 crew.  Unlike many other nations
though, the Russian sections are not made up of teams and must stick together.

So, now I three 15mm platoons based up for Chain of Command (my Canadians and these two).  I need to get some support elements built for each of them now.

Also completed in the last few weeks are some 28mm ruined buildings for use with my WW1 forces for Through the Mud and the Blood.  While I picked them up long ago, I never got around to painting them until now.  I cut some bases for these our of MDF added some sand and rubble and got to work.  These buildings are a plastic set made for Bolt Action, and while meant for WW1 or WW2 games, they really can be used for just about anything.

The set can make between 3 and 6 buildings.  I chose to make 1 larger and 4 smaller ruins.

Based on cut MDF sheets these should stand up for a long while.  I did the outer area to match my Canadian basing for WW1, and the inner area in a different brown and grey to make it distinct from the outer area.