‘The Bloody Wood!’

Another chance for a game of ‘Chain of Command’ this weekend. This time Colin took on the German Heer Platoon to face up against my US Airborne.

The Germans decided to attack and gained 8 Support Points from the dice roll, plus another 4 from the US Airborne with them being ‘Vet’ and all.

For their support options the Germans chose an extra Senior Leader, an IE 18 Infantry Gun, a Sniper and a 50mm mortar team.

The US Airborne chose to invest their 4 points in a Forward Observer with 81mm mortar.

The patrol and deployment stage proved interesting with the majority of Jump off Points grouped around a wood (top centre above).

The Germans gaining the initiative deploying on to the table and with a couple of double 6 rolls manage to deploy the majority of their forces early on in the battle.

The US Para’s play catchup and manage to deploy their meagre forces not far from the gathering Germans.

Just when it’s really needed the US Para’s aerial recon malfunctions (The camera dies due to a flat battery) and have to reply on written reports for the rest of the battle!

With German forces converging on their objective in the woods the American desperately try to get enough forces together to form a defensive line. The first squad takes up positions while the Squad leader from the second splits his men in two groups. He leaves the MG squad behind to protect the right flank and takes the rest of the men in to the wood to bolster the defences provided by the first squad.

The Germans steadily make their way through the wood, triggering the American Para’s overwatch but suffer only slight casualties. As they continue their advance they come in to contact with the Para’s and close combat entails.

The defensive positions taken up by the Para’s and their aggressive fighting style wins them the day although at a heavy cost to both sides. Both sections of Germans along with one of their Senior Leaders is wiped out with the Americans fairing a little better but still loosing 10 men.

Over the next few phases the Americans manage to recover the levels of shock on their troops to a manageable level as well as bringing in a mortar barrage on the remaining German troops, hitting the infantry gun, remaining section and sniper at the same time!

Slowly the remaining German troops are worn down and with their morale dropping to a dangerous level they decide to withdraw from the battle.

I think the main lesson learnt from this battle was that close combat really is a meat grinder! Especially when you’re facing aggressive troops in cover. This is where you really need the advantage of numbers and the opportunity to inflict lots of shock before going in.

In all, this was a very enjoyable game, for both sides! The terrain setup by Colin was a refreshing change from the usual road and village setup with its use of crop fields and woods scattered across the board.