Another Go at Chain of Command

[bigjackmac]

All,

I was lucky enough to get another solo game of Chain of Command in this evening.  Once again I gave both forces a starting FM of 9, then I rolled to see who would go first in the Patrol Phase, and the Brits won.  I moved back and forth, alternating sides, keeping everyone within 12" of their friends, a continuous, unbroken line (unlike last time).  The Brits went first, but still got outmaneuvered somehow, ending up with two markers almost on top of each other.  So, deciding I needed some more experience with the Patrol Phase, I rolled again (Brits won again), then went at it again.  Once again, things went places I didn't intend or expect them to, and I still felt like the Germans somehow got the better deal, but I'm satisfied and thus ready to go.


Aerial view of the table.  Germans will again be at the top, Brits at the bottom.


End of Patrol Phase on Brit side.  Sorry the markers are so light, my printer's almost out of ink...


End of Patrol Phase from German side.  The marker 2nd from left looks too far from the one to its right, but it's not, it's just that the one to the left is only about 8 inches away.

Well, everything is set for the re-match.  Both sides have a Platoon Commander (PC) and three sections with a Junior Leader (JL), LMG team, and seven rifles each.  The Brits have a Platoon Sgt (Plt Sgt) and a 2" mortar team, while the Germans have a PanzerSchreck (PzSchk) team.  I gave the Germans an Adjutant as well.

I'm going to try writing this a bit differently, putting the pics first and using them to describe what happened.


The Brits got the first phase, and acted on the far right.  1st Section went in (top left) with the PC (center), while 2nd Section's Bren Group deployed into the ground floor of the building at right.  The Brits had rolled double sixes and rolled again.  Between the two rolls the Brits got three CoC points.


The PC led 1st Section up the hill at the double (1RG and 1BG taking 1 pt of shock each), while the rest of 2nd Section deployed into the building.


The the Germans popped onto the table in force!  Some good command dice rolling got all three squads on the table.  2nd Squad deployed on the far left, 1st Squad in the center, and 3rd Squad on the far right.  All three squads took their shot at the Brit 1st Section (on top of the hill at top center, just below the building holding 2nd Section).  1st Section suffered three dead and six shock, but, as I'd kept the section together, this was all split between the two teams.  Also, the 1st Section Leader was hit, putting him out for the rest of the turn, costing him 1 CI for the remainder of the game, and costing the Brits 2 points of Force Morale (dropping them to 7).


The Brits roll up three 6s, so the turn will end and 1st Section's leader will be back on his feet soon.  The PC uses all three CI to remove shock from 1st Section, while the RG pulls back from the front of the hill.


The Brits get next phase, and the PC uses all CI to remove shock from 1RG, so 1st Section is actually back in pretty good shape very quickly.  1RG falls back a bit more, while 1BG fires to its right on the German 2nd Squad, getting 1 shock.


The Germans get a couple CoC dice points, and bring their PC on to support 2nd Squad.  He removes the 1 shock they just received, and orders both teams to move forward (1st Squad is off camera to the right).


And this is where I made the tactical error that cost the Germans the game (sorry for the spoiler).  Getting cocky, I moved the German 3rd Squad across the road in a wide, sweeping maneuver.  Too wide, it would turn out.  First, they are no longer in a position to support the other two squads, and more importantly, they cannot be support by the other two squads.  Second, and possibly even more importantly, the Brits have kept a Section in reserve, and there is a JOP not far off camera to the right.


The Brits deploy Third Section and the Plt Sgt into the just mentioned JOP, and tear into the German 3rd Squad (6 hits, 3 kills, 2 shock).

Back on the right, the PC continues to pull shock off 1st Section, getting it back in fighting trim, as well as having 1BG fire up the German 2nd Section, getting 3 shock and 2 kills (really good shooting on 7 dice).  The German squad leader is hit, only a light wound, but -1 CI for the rest of the game and -1 point of FM.


Caught in a field with nowhere to hide, the German 2nd Squad pushes ahead with the PC in tow.  It wasn't supposed to go down like this...  The Germans were supposed to have overwhelmed 1st Section, and they did hurt it, but they allowed it to retreat to the bottom of the hill and get back in fighting shape.  First Squad, on the right, tries to move up but ends up with a measly 2" of movement.


The German 3rd Squad, who just got beat up, find themselves in a tough spot.  they probably won't roll well enough to get everyone back out of the kill zone, so they decide to move forward to try to get into the light cover offered by the hedges, as well as to return fire.  The AG moves up and fires, to no effect, while the FG, who was further back, uses all dice for movement in order to make sure they reached cover (it wouldn't matter).

The Brit phase sees them fail to bring on their 2" mortar (the PC and Plt Sgt are on the board), and 3rd Section laid into the German 3rd Squad again, getting another kill and two shock.


2nd Section finally get into position in the building, with 2BG up top and 2RG on the ground floor.  1st Section's BG (in background just above the building) lays into the German 2nd Squad again (top right of photo), getting another kill and another shock.


The Germans roll 1 through 5!  They bring the PzSch team on (two guys in the hedge at far left center) to support the beleaguered 3rd Squad, which fires (weakly) at 3rd Section, getting only 1 shock.

Back on the left, the German PC pulls shock from 2nd Squad, while 1st and 2nd Squads engage the British 2nd Section in the building, getting one kill and three shock.


A good command roll has the Brits brimming with confidence.  The Plt Sgt activates, pulls the one point of shock off 3RG, and nods at the Bren Group, who unleashes a torrent of fire on the German 3rd Squad, getting a kill and two shock.  The time is right (both German teams now have more shock than men, and so are pinned), so he draws a deep breath, lets out a yell, and goes over the top (of the hedge).  The Brits roll 17 dice to the Germans' 7...


And wipe out the Jerry's at the cost of only one man.  The Germans test for the loss of the squad and the loss of their Jr Ldr, losing 4 points total, dropping their FM to 4.


Meanwhile, 2nd Section in the building gets 5 shock on the hapless German 2nd Squad, who, due to my initial overconfidence, find themselves in a position in which they can neither move forward nor move back.  1st Section, on the hill, adds another kill and another shock.  Both German teams in 2nd Squad are now pinned.

The Germans are now down to 4 command dice, and two of them are 5s, so the Germans now have a CoC dice (the Brits have had one for a few phases now).  2nd Squad fires at the building, but due to casualties and being pinned, it has no effect.  1st Squad can't decide what to do; head up the hill and possibly into close combat with a fresh British 1st Section?  Move forward to get closer to the building (leaving their flank open to 1st Section)?  3rd Squad got eliminated so quickly that pulling 1st Squad back to assist didn't really even cross my mind.  So 1st Squad sat tight and fired up the building as well, getting a kill and a shock.  This is rather indecisive and the Germans would be best served by withdrawing from the field at this point.

The Brits roll up and are well on their way to getting another CoC dice, and they got the next phase, too.  The 2" mortar comes on and drops smoke, intending on blocking out the German 1st Squad, but the mortar misses to its right.

On the left, 3BG moves up to consolidate with 3RG, who just won their close combat (see, I do learn from my at least some of my mistakes).  I was thinking about having the Brits drop the CoC dice to end the turn and keep the German 2nd Squad pinned all through the next turn, but I really didn't feel like I needed to.  My only real thought with the German CoC dice was to either use it to dodge a FM test, or use it to move a JOP 18" away from the Brit 3rd Section, who had only the PzSch team in front of it.  In the end, I didn't use the CoC dice for either side as the Brits didn't need it and it wouldn't have helped the Germans anyway...


The Brits had next phase, and so the 2" dropped smoke again, this time on target.  2nd Section, in the building, cut loose on the German 2nd Squad, killing the NCO (-2 more FM pts, dropping them to 2), and causing the LMG team to run for the hills (bottom right), costing them another FM point.  1st Section, on the hill, opened up and got enough hits that I threw in the towel...

That was a fun, quick game (maybe an hour and a half), and if I was playing a campaign it would have been even quicker as I would have had the Germans fall back after 3rd Squad was eliminated as they didn't really stand a chance after that.  I feel a lot more confident with the rules.  I didn't look anything up; I either knew the answer or I knew I was close enough to stick with the spirit of the rules (what I mean is, there was no situation or concept I looked up, but I still used the fire effect, leader hit, and FM test charts.  I am definitely ready for MGs, guns, and tanks.

Tactically, I kept the sections together and reaped the rewards of doing so.  I even employed fire and maneuver properly, laying down fire with the Bren Group, charging with the Rifle Group, then moving the Bren Group up following the close combat.  But I lost my Schwerpunk with the Germans!!!  With the initial Brit deployment I again got a little too aggressive, and the 1st Section got beat up, but because I lost focus of effort with the Germans 1st Section was able to regroup, adding its firepower to 2nd Section's in the house to turn the tables on the now very exposed German 2nd Squad.  The deployment of 3rd Section onto the table caught the German 3rd Squad not only isolated, but also in the open (on the wrong side of the wall), where they were raked and then eliminated.

Another error I made was with the PzSchreck team.  I panicked and thought I could get them on the table (which I did) to reinforce 3rd Squad, but it was too late, and I would have been much better served by bringing the 3rd Squad up on the left to put a rocket or two into the British building, which might have had a real impact on that side, allowing the German 1st and 2nd Squads to overwhelm the Brits there despite losing the 3rd Squad.  Besides, maneuver warfare dictates you do not reinforce failure!!!

Well, I had a great time and can't wait to get it on the table again, hopefully, this weekend.

V/R,
Jack

[Ithoriel]

Once again a beautiful batrep supported by informative photos. Nice one.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice report sir

[nikharwood]

Good stuff, Jack 

[bigjackmac]

Thanks guys.  I was laughing at myself about the very first photo.  At top left is the Blackhawk I was going to call for extract if things got out of control...  Also, I need to do something about my telephone poles (put some flock on the bases at least).

CoC has been interesting to me in that I'm primarily a solo-gamer, and I generally like to play solo as 'me against the bad guys' using a 'programmed opponent' (to one extent or another, and that's what you'll see with all the other batreps on my blog), as opposed to the 'just play both sides to the best of your ability' type of game.  What I'm finding is that CoC doesn't/isn't really allowing me to do the 'programmed' thing; it's not that it couldn't, it's just that there are so many decision points it would really screw up the game.  The funny thing is that I'm finding I don't mind, I'm actually enjoying playing both sides to the best of my ability.
Regarding that, you might think it's funny that I keep making rules errors and tactical errors, but there is an explanation (besides my being a knucklehead, which certainly has a place in the conversation).  I'm basically 'speed gaming,' meaning I'm playing as fast as I can to try to help with the solo gameplay.  There is no standing around, viewing everything to figure out every possible angle and course of action.  I'm staying away from that because I think it would make it real hard for me to get surprised by what happens and would lead to a lot of false starts, i.e., start to move this way, the enemy reacts, start to move another way, the enemy reacts. 

Instead, I'm rolling the command dice, and going with a momentum/gut-feeling approach that so far I'm happy with in terms of it adding to the narrative.  I can be a very cautious, patient commander on the wargame table, and I typically am when playing a 'real' opponent, but it's hard to catch yourself out of position if you take 10 minutes to look over the table prior to every move.  So I pick them dice up and get those troops moving, then do the same for the other side.  Moving that fast, often times when I switch sides of the table from the Brits to the Germans I get a totally different view of what's happening and it's immediately clear what I should do, at least from that side of the table.  Upon moving to the other side of the table I'm usually surprised at what the idiot on the other side just did. 
So, between the command rolls, the CoC dice, the Force Morale issues, the changing perspective each phase, and the moving as fast as possible, I'm getting a pretty rewarding solo experience.  I've mentioned a few times I want to start a campaign using Platoon Forward, and I think I may have another novel idea.  Because of the way CoC is playing out for me, I'm becoming invested in both sides in terms of wanting them to win, feeling bad when I make mistakes that get them mowed down, and wanting to follow their exploits.  So I'm thinking about running my Plt Fwd campaign by creating a platoon for both sides.   I'll use the Plt Fwd system the 'normal' way, with the 'known' troops being the attacker and the 'unknown' forces the defender, and I'll handle the Patrol Phase the way Joe Legan advises on his blog.

Regarding the rules themselves, I'm cutting corners here and there to speed things up, and I'm getting more confident in what I know, which really helps me keep up the pace.  The thing I've been thinking about now (after a grand total of two games) is close combat and shock.  In two games I've fought out three close combats.  Twice the attacker eliminated the defender with very few casualties, and once both sides were wiped out because the attacker charged prematurely.  I've eliminated another three teams via small arms/LMG fire only.  So, I think we all accept the real-life premise that you don't want to move into close combat unless your target is pinned.  My issue is that I'm not noticing a big enough difference between pinning (more shock than men) and breaking a unit (shock equals double the men). 

What I mean is, in my two successful close assaults, I won because the enemy was pinned (halving their dice).  But the truth is, I really didn't need to carry out a close assault, I could have just remained in position and fired on them and probably would have gotten the one or two more shock I needed to break them and send them fleeing (with the additional drop in Force Morale), without exposing my troops to the hazards of close combat. 

Am I making sense?  If you've got a gun team of (or reduced a rifle team to) three men and they have four shock, they're pinned.  I can now charge into close combat and wipe them out, but probably lose a couple guys.  Or, I can sit tight, roll my firing dice (7 or 9 for my LMG team, depending on whether mag or belt fed, or between 7 and 11 for my rifle team, depending on SMGs/range).  I don't expose my guys to hostile action, and if I get two shock or a kill and a shock, the bad guys are running.  So really I'm just close assaulting because I want to because it's cool, but the better tactical move is to sit tight and reduce the enemy by fire.  Am I missing something in the rules, or is anyone else having this problem, or is it not an issue to you?

This isn't a gripe, I just want to make sure I'm not messing it up.  I really do like conducting close assaults in my games, and last night was particularly rewarding in that one of my Brit Section's deployed onto the table catching a German Squad in the open, and shot it up pretty good.  Then in the next phase the Brit Plt Sgt had the Bren group fire them up, pinning them, before the Plt Sgt led the rifle group into close combat, eliminating the German squad (at the cost of one man).  The following phase I brought the Bren group up to consolidate.  It was a little bit of tabletop magic that left me feeling all silly inside...

Can't wait to get back on the table, hopefully this weekend.  I'm ready for tanks!
V/R,
Jack

[Leon]

 

[Ithoriel]

Interesting view from a solo gamers perspective.

Doesn't immediately sound like you're doing anything major wrong with Close Combat.

My own view on close combat is that I tend to do that rather than fire when I really need to take the area held by the defenders rather than just drive them off/ wipe them out.

Of course sometimes I do it because I've got a bit gungho and then I find that having hurdled the stone wall and bayoneted the enemy behind it my people are now caught on the wrong side of hard cover facing a heavy machine gun or flamethrower team 

[bigjackmac]

Ithoriel,
   "...sometimes I do it because I've got a bit gungho..."  That's my point.  It's a maxim of modern warfare that fire is used to fix the enemy, who is then eliminated via close assault/combat.  I don't want to charge because I'm tactically inept and just like to, I want to charge because that's what I'm supposed to do/need to do to win.  I feel like I'm getting off kind of cheap in that I can just sit back with my LMG and rifles and pound the enemy into submission, and I want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong (again) before I start messing with the rules.

I've been having a great time though, and can't wait to get back on the table!

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Very enjoyable and interesting Jack.
Thanks for sharing !
Cheers - Phil.

[Wulf]

It's a maxim of modern warfare that fire is used to fix the enemy, who is then eliminated via close assault/combat.  I don't want to charge because I'm tactically inept and just like to, I want to charge because that's what I'm supposed to do/need to do to win.  I feel like I'm getting off kind of cheap in that I can just sit back with my LMG and rifles and pound the enemy into submission, and I want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong (again) before I start messing with the rules.

Remember the time & distance scale though. Even if a unit routs off the table, it may only rout another hundred yards or so then recover and dig in. Even if Force Morale breaks and the entire platoon routs, it's only one platoon...

What the game depicts is only a small part of any bigger action. Certainly it's made more dramatic than is realistic, although far less so that many games, but still, it's only a little rout...

[bigjackmac]

Wulf,
    Sure, I get all that, and at this scale I'm much more interested in the dramatic, which is why I want my bayonet charge, I just want it to make tactical sense to do so.  We could make this very realistic but unplayable (or at least un-enjoyable) by having an FO with the lead squad, and is soon as we draw fire, pull back off the table and pound the whole grid square with 155s.  That's not the game I'm looking for; I'm trying to walk a fine line of having a war-movie experience with at least a couple toes still grounded in reality.

V/R,
Jack