A Shiny Scuffle in Valencia

After an epic Chain of Command game (see previous post) we were short on time so hastily set up a quick Napoleonic game using 'Backpacks and Batons', my version of Stryker's 'Muskets & Marshals' rules from his 'Hinton Hunt Vintage Wargame Figures' blog.

The scenario involved an isolated French garrison holed up in a church ...

... which the Spanish hoped to overwhelm ...

... before the two relief columns could save it.

In all the French force should be capable of crushing the Spanish, as they include some excellent troops, like the Imperial Guard Fusilier-Chasseurs led by Cambronne himself in the column led by Lasalle.

Bessières' column, while smaller included the super-large regiment of 4th Hussars.

The Spanish forces, as well as the main body advancing on the church, included two small bands of guerrillas, one of each of the two hills overlooking the approach roue of the French relief columns. 

But the Spaniards chief hope lay with their newly reinforced cavalry brigade, consisting of the 2o Rgto. Dragones de Almansa and the newly arrived Coraceros Españoles, resplendent in their red uniforms captured French cuirassier equipment.

Realising the Bessières' troops had almost reached the garrison, the cavalry were sent off to halt Lasalle's column.

And to ease their way, one of the Spanish batteries opened fire to soften up Lasalle's lead unit ...

... the 3e Légère immediately feeling the effect.

Cambronne, with incoming roundshot and a cavalry brigade coming straight at him seemed unconcerned feeling it was not necessary to put the 3e Légère to deal with this.

He must have felt a bit less sure of himself as, taking only hit from the French volley the Dragones de Almansa, crashed into his men.

And well he should as the melee was a crushing 3-nil Spanish win!

While this was happening the Coraceros had veered off to attack the French 6e Chevau-légers Lanciers, but not quite come to blows yet.

Away from the cavalry action, some orders issued by a commander who seemingly couldn't tell his right from his left, has seen the Guadalajara regiment hopelessly entangled with the Spanish 12pdr battery.  The result of this was the Princesa regiment found themselves advancing alone and without artillery support against the French 44e and 46e Ligne regiments.

The question was whether, with their general down, they could hold until the confusion to their rear was sorted out?

They couldn't!

Also, taking advantage of the confusion in the Spanish line were the 4e Hussards, who charged the Spanish 12 pounders, but paid a heavy price as five of them were swept away in a hail of canister, before they cut down the valiant gunners.

By the time your correspondent switched his attention back to the cavalry fight, he found he had missed the melee, but the Coraceros had been put to flight by the French lancers who were in hot pursuit.

Next turn the pursuit continued ...

... and the Coraceros and their general were 'eliminated'.

The curse of the newly-painted unit had struck again!

Elsewhere, the French hussars had fallen back to rally but it left the Guadalajara regiment facing insurmountable odds.

With time running short, and with the balance clearly in the French favour they were awarded the win.  The French had lost no units (the 3e Légère had rallied), while the Spanish had lost: the Princesa infantry regiment; the Voluntarios de Valencia skirmishers (outshot by French voltigeurs); the Coraceros Españoles; and, the 12pdr battery, not to mention both generals.

The Spanish had paid the penalty for stretching out their force in line as the two outermost infantry units had hardly contributed anything to the fight.  Also, as a postscript the Alamansa dragoons had pursued the 3e Légère who fled behind the Fusilier-Chasseurs to rally.  The dragoons' melee with the Fusilier-Chasseurs was a draw with both falling back in disorder.  

The rules worked reasonably well, but more changes are required including some slimming down.  One bit that did work well were the skirmisher rules which made the Spanish guerrillas a nuisance but not much more.  The main difference to skirmishers as in M&M are limits on independent action and how close they may approach the enemy, as follows:

A/A+ Class & Rifles: effective range in the open; close range if in cover; and, do not require infantry support. 

B Class: effective range in the open; close range if in cover; and, must have infantry support in the open. 

C Class: long range in the open; effective range if in cover; and, and must have infantry support* in the open.

* Irregular skirmishers e.g., guerrillas, are always C Class, they do not require infantry support but must stay out of cavalry charge range unless in or behind cover.

Skirmishers are supported by formed infantry within 6” of their rear.  

A Truly Epic Encounter in Normandy

My friend Martin bravely came over to my place for a couple days gaming; I say bravely, as he chose to risk catching my rather nasty cold.  One of the games he asked for was another go with Chain of Command as he wanted some practise before playing it at his local club.  He decided he wanted to be British and the attacker - doubly brave!

For this game I took scenario 3, 'Attack on the Hauptkampflinie', from the Too Fat Lardies pint-sized campaign 'Operation MARTLET'.  My version of the table-top set-up for this scenario, as viewed from the attacking, British, side looked like this.

The hedge around the perimeter marks the edge of the playing area and is effectively 'off-table'. 

The objective in this game was the crossroads, and to take this the British had 20 points of support available for their platoon[1].

Martin's British spent their 20 support points on: a Sherman Firefly (7pt.s), an M4 Sherman (6pt.s), a Sniper (3pt.s), a PIAT team (2pt.s); a Medic (1pt.); and a Replen[ishment] point (1pt.)[2].

To defend against this the Germans had a weakened Panzergrenadier platoon (Waffen SS in the scenario but I used a Heer platoon) with an attached PzkpfW IV Ausf G/H.

For my support I selected: a second senior leader (2pt.s) to support my platoon commander; an Adjutant (1pt.); and, a Forward Observer (FO) who can call in an off-table 81mm mortar bombardment (4pt.s).  

The pre-game dice rolling gave both sides a Force Morale of 9, while the Brits only got 1 CoC point to the Germans' 3.  The Brits also gained 1 extra patrol move and started the patrol phase which unsurprisingly saw the British leaning to their right flank away from more open terrain to their left.  The resulting jump-off points (3 each) can be seen below (the British have one of left table edge, one behind the wrecked Jeep on the road and a third hidden behind the large banked hedge to the right of the road).

The Game

As this was a practise game for Martin, and not part of a campaign, I didn't intend to write a detailed blow-by-blow account of the game so intentionally took fewer photos and notes than normal.  However, as it turned into such an epic, with so many bizarre results, I felt it warranted a full account.  Or at least as full as I could manage.  

The Brits, as the attacker, took the first phase; the record of each phase is headed by: the phase number, the nationality of the active side and the command dice scores in parentheses.

1BR(1,3,3,4,5): Immediately the British deployed their No.1 and No.2 sections.  This was followed by a senior leader (the Platoon Sergeant)  and 2" mortar team which laid smoke to block off any potential line of sight (LOS), and consequent line of fire, along the road.  Deploying the smoke after the troops was a bit risky, as the smoke might've landed in the wrong place, but they got away with it.  

2GE(1,2,3,3,5): A bold deployment called for an immediate response and the German III section deployed from the JOP in the small wood next to the Home Farm Stables and, with some incredible dice-throws, opened a devastating fire.  The storm of steel hit the British lead section (No.1) and killed their section leader (Corporal) and two men in the Bren team (3pt.s of shock were also inflicted).

This horrific opening to the action saw British Force Morale drop from 9 to 8.  And, to give them something else to worry about, I brought on my Panzer IV, the commander, an Unteroffizier (junior leader), placing both gunners on overwatch.  Was this game going to be over almost before it started?

3BR(2,3,5,5,6): No.1 section tried to escape into the cover of the nearby copse only to fall short thanks to some poor movement dice (with three points of shock and no Corporal (junior leader), going at the double was deemed too risky).  With their other actionable die they countered the appearance of the Panzer IV with the deployment of a Sherman Firefly.  

The two tanks were now poised facing each other down the road waiting for the intervening smoke to dissipate.

4GE(1,2,4,5,5): To try and finish off the badly hit No.1 section, I deployed my supporting senior leader (a Feldwebel) into the wood to direct the fire of III section.  While far less deadly than the previous round, as the Brits Hit the Dirt, it killed the last remaining Bren gunner and inflicted another point of shock leaving the surviving rifle team on the verge of being pinned.  

British Force Morale remained at 8 unaffected by the wiping out of the Bren team.  The Panzer IV driver was activated using the '1' to take up a firing position offering partial cover in the event of the smoke clearing.

5BR(3,3,3,3,5): The Brits deployed another Sherman and their final section (No.3) onto the increasingly congested road; No.2 section having closed up behind the Firefly to free up some space.

All of this armoured firepower struck back hard at III section in the wood, who despite hitting the dirt, suffered 3 killed and 1 point of shock.  Unfortunately, for me, one of those killed was the recently arrived Feldwebel and German Force Morale crashed from 9 down to 6, somewhat changing the complexion of the game.

Nonetheless the British were left cursing their command dice which gave them no way to get the remains of No.1 section into cover ... until they discovered the option to Reposition a unit using CoC points.  This raised the question of what happened to their Tactical posture if Repositioned?  We decided it should remain unchanged as they hadn't been activated (CoC2 section 7.3), but if anyone reading this knows different, please let me know in the comments.

6GE(1,3,5,5,6): Being able to take the hint, III section promptly fell back through the wood to a safer position.  

At the same time, the Panzer IV, able to see No.1 section around the smoke, fired an h.e. round at them.  It only inflicted 1 point of shock, but this was enough to pin them.

7BR(1,2,2,4,6): The Platoon Sergeant removed another 3 shock from the No.1 section survivors, and my notes don't list anything else happening in this phase.  

8GE(1,1,1,6,6): A double-phase and some useful command dice, one of which was immediately used for another h.e. round from the Panzer IV, this time killing one of the 2" mortar team.  It was only then I realised the missed opportunity from the previous German phase and used another '1' to deploy my FO while the Brits were still stuck in a traffic jam.

He called up the mortar battery requesting a bombardment on the aimpoint indicated by the small crater, somewhat improbably placed atop the hedge.

The initial ranging shot fell well off target, so no fire for effect was requested.

It now seemed my failure to recognise this golden opportunity for a mortar bombardment in my previous phase was rewarded, as I was now on a double-phase and the Brits would have no chance to move before the FO corrected the fire and tried again.

9GE(1,2,3,4,4): The '1' saw the next ranging shot land directly on target with an immediate bombardment being called in, which encompassed every deployed British unit.  Surely the Brits were now doomed?

Unfortunately the first round of the bombardment failed to meet expectation with only No.3 section's Corporal being stunned.

Just to rub it in, I realised I should have tried another h.e. round from the Panzer IV before correcting the mortar fire mission, which now blocked its line of sight - a useful 'what not to do' lesson.

10BR(3,4,5,6,6): A double-phase and not much they can do with it while pinned down by the mortar bombardment.  Nonetheless the Platoon Sergeant rallied off another 3 shock from No.1 section and the Firefly advanced out of the bombardment.

11BR(3,3,5,6,6): Two more '6's for what will now become a triple phase.  This time the Firefly advanced further down the road and placed suppressive fire on Home Farm.  The other Sherman pivoted on its tracks to allow it to attempt to cross the hedge and escape the bombardment.  

12BR(2,2,2,3,6): With all the sections pinned, the '3' was used to drive the Sherman over hedge.  Bad movement dice saw it poised half-way, not immobilised, but still needing another phase to complete the crossing.

13GE(1,2,3,4,4): The '1' was used to maintain the bombardment, which despite everyone now being pinned (and hit the dirt) managed to a kill a rifleman in both No.2 and No.3 sections as well as inflict some shock.  It also placed a point of shock on the Sherman crossing the hedge.  

14BR(1,1,1,4,5): The Corporal (junior leader) in the stranded M4 took all the '1's to remove the shock and get his tank across the hedge and into field beyond.  Another bad dice throw saw it over but still in the hedge[3].  With the Platoon Sergeant pinned in the bombardment and not needed to remove any shock the '4' was left unused. 

15GE(1,2,3,4,5): The final round of bombardment was delivered, this time only inflicting some shock on the infantry sections.  Nothing else was attempted.

16BR(1,3,5,6,6): Another double-phase so soon?  This one saw a sniper deployed behind the wrecked jeep on the road and the Firefly advance through the smoke to take on the Panzer IV.  But, moving cautiously to allow its main armament to be able to fire, it failed to clear the smoke.  See the photo below, unfortunately the is sniper completely obscured by the Jeep.

17BR(3,4,5,6,6): Another British treble-phase, when will it end?  The Platoon Sergeant, now free to move, advanced and started to rally shock off No.2 and No.3 sections.  The Firefly's Corporal directed his driver to slowly creep forward emerging through the smoke ...

... to be confronted by the Panzer IV ready to interrupt with a CoC die (and the FO I had forgotten to remove after the mortar bombardment ended).

Was this going to be the turning point of the battle?  I rolled the 2D6 only needing a total of 5 or more to hit, and what did I get?

Snake eyes!  With the Brits also having the next phase I was surely doomed.  The Firefly fired back, needing 8 or more (as it had moved and the target was partially obscured) but only scored 7, a miss.  

18BR(2,2,4,5,5): No way the Firefly could fire again with these dice, what a let off.  But here I made a dreadful mistake in conserving my last CoC die and not interrupting to allow the Panzer IV to fire again.  I thought I didn't need to as the next phase was mine, I'd overlooked the ability of the Brits to interrupt my phase.

Elsewhere, the Platoon Sergeant removed yet more shock, undoing the effects of the bombardment, and No.2 section advanced down the road while the Germans were fixed by the Firefly. 

19GE(1,3,4,6,6): A double-phase for the Germans, the Firefly was surely now doomed.  Then the penny dropped as Martin interrupted my phase for the Firefly to fire again - I felt an idiot.  It fired and just scored a hit on the Panzer IV, but the resulting 2 'net' penetrating strikes only caused 2 points of shock and no other ill-effects.  

The Panzer's Unteroffizier then rallied off both points of shock to allow the gunner (on a '1') to fire and hit the Firefly, causing 1 point of shock.  This tank duel was clearly going to last longer than I'd thought.  

20GE(1,2,2,3,5): All I did was attempt to finish off the Firefly.  This time I only needing 3 or more to hit[4], but threw another double-one!  Missed!

21BR(1,3,3,3,6): I immediately spent last CoC die to interrupt and fire again at the Firefly.  In complete contrast to the last attempt, I rolled a double-six, to not only hit the Firefly but gain two extra bonus armour penetration (AP) dice.  So, now I was rolling 11 AP dice instead of the normal 9.  I only managed 2 hits and the Firefly's armour roll saved one of them, but as well as taking one shock the commander was stunned.  

Worried for his temporarily leaderless Firefly, Martin activated the driver to reverse to safety, but with a point of shock in place had to roll 3+ for the driver to respond - he didn't.  The rest of the phase saw his other Sherman advancing across the open ground and No.3 Section advance to line the hedge facing towards Home Farm.

22GE(2,2,2,4,5): My turn to be frustrated by the command dice preventing my Panzer from shooting at the Firefly.  Nothing else seemed worth trying at this stage.

23BR(1,3,4,5,6): This time Martin elected to activate the Firefly's gunner to shoot, but like the driver he too failed to respond - clearly the crew were badly shaken.  Desperately needing to distract me away from his ailing Firefly, he ordered his other Sherman to motor flat out towards the derelict farm and the Platoon Sergeant remove the last of the shock from No.3 section.

Martin then spent a CoC die to end the turn.  So at the end of the phase, No.3 section's stunned Corporal recovered, as did the commander of the Firefly.  We didn't realise at the time, but the Firefly commander would've recovered from being stunned at this point anyway - AFV commanders are only stunned for one phase[5].  

24GE(1,3,4,5,5): Yet again, the Panzer IV fired at the Firefly and hit it, but the all the penetrations were saved by the Firefly's armour roll - I made another mistake here[6]. 

25BR(1,1,2,3,6): The Firefly hit the Panzer IV which saved all but one hit and it got away with just 1 point of shock.  This tank duel was starting to feel silly.  

The other Sherman continued flat out and skirting around the derelict farm.

On the road, a PIAT team deployed by the wrecked Jeep.

An overview of the table at this stage is shown below.

At this point, as Martin 'eased springs', I seized the break in the play to take a bunch more photos to make up for the lack of any over the last few phases.  This is why this phase is so well supplied with them, and here's a few more I took; I hope the narrative so far makes it clear what they show.

26GE(2,3,5,6,6): A double-phase and a CoC die.  Never any doubt about what to do with that as I immediately spent it on an ambush.  The rifle team from my undeployed I section appeared with a Panzerfaust for a perfect close range, flank shot, against the Sherman.  Unlike the indecisive tank gunnery this was successful first time, knocking out the Sherman; British Force Morale fell from 8 to 7.

Bizarrely, after the photo-fest on the last phase I completely failed to take any of this incident.

Next, the Panzer IV Unteroffizier removed the shock from the tank and fired to hit the Firefly again, and again it saved all the hits and we missed the 'equal hits and saves effects'.

27GE(3,3,3,5,6): I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking I am making this up, but this time my Panzer IV managed 3 AP hits and the Firefly saved them all and more, so at least this time hits and saves had not equalled each other.

With the British infantry now starting to get close, it was time to act, so I deployed II section in the wood at the same place where III section had seen off the Brit's No.1 section (hence the bodies in the photo).  

They opened fire against No.2 section lining the low hedge around the ploughed field.  The effect, courtesy of maschinengewehr, was to wound their Corporal, kill a rifleman and inflict 2 points of shock on the Bren team; British Force Morale was unmoved at 7.

I made yet another mistake here, as I neglected to treat them as a bunched target due to the PIAT team behind them.  

28BR(2,2,2,6,6): The command dice again conspired to give Martin a double-phase yet render his Firefly inactive.  For the rest, the Platoon Sergeant removed the 2 shock from No.2 section and got them to fire back but to no effect.

29BR(2,2,6,6,6): Not only now a triple-phase but an 'end of turn' (EoT), albeit this time there was nothing affected by a turn ending other than further limiting the number of actionable command dice.  No.2 Section fired again at II section in the wood and again inflicted no harm.

30BR(1,5,5,6,6): A quadruple-phase, if Martin was ever to get this lucky with his shooting I'd be in serious trouble.  But, luckily for me, that was not the case as the Firefly missed the Panzer IV.

31BR(1,2,2,3,5): The Firefly, only needing a total of 5 or more on 2D6, rolled 4, and missed.  Similarly, No.2 section managed only 2 hits against II section and rolled two '1's to achieve nothing.  No doubt figuring the taking of life was not his forte, Martin deployed a Medic to try saving life instead; he can be seen in the road wearing his red-cross brassard.

32GE(2,3,4,5,6): This time the Panzer IV achieved 4 hits, the Firefly's armour only saved 2, and, as well as 2 shock, its optics were damaged.  This would reduce its ability to hit a target (not that it could get any worse).  Was the end of the tank duel in sight?

In the wood II section fired back at No.2 section.  With additional, maschinengewehr, direction from the Leutnant (the platoon commander) who deployed in this phase, plus taking account of the bunched target, this promised to be extremely deadly.  But the bucket of fire dice only delivered 1 point of shock on the PIAT team!

33BR(1,1,2,5,5): The Firefly's commander (activated on '1'+'2') removed both shock and the gunner (activated on the other '1') to fire at the Panzer IV, only to miss due to the -2 to hit because of the damaged optics.

34GE(1,3,3,4,6): The Panzer IV's gunner again missed, recording his third 'snake eyes' shooting at the Firefly, plus ça change.  All the remaining command dice were used to maximise II section's firing against No.2 section.  Again the nearby PIAT team suffered, losing 1 man killed and taking 2 points of shock.  But this time No.2 section was also hit, with 2 points of shock and the section's Corporal killed outright.  British Force Morale sank from 7 to 6, level with the Germans' Morale.

35BR(2,3,5,5,6): The Firefly tried advancing cautiously to improve its angle of fire against the Panzer IV, but only rolled a '1' for distance which changed little.  However, the movement combined with its damaged optics, unsurprisingly caused it to miss.  No.3 Section advanced under cover of the roadside hedgerow to a position where it could support No.2 section in the firefight against II section in the wood.

I put the dearth of photos around this time down to fatigue as this game was turning into an endurance contest.  That, and visually not much was changing.

36GE(1,3,3,5,6): Martin used a CoC die to interrupt, and the Firefly, YET AGAIN, missed the Panzer IV.  In return the Panzer IV hit it, with 2 AP hits neither of which were saved.  The Firefly took 2 shock and the commander was wounded, and the commander's wounding saw British Force Morale drop from 6 to 5.  II section in the wood again engaged their opposite number (No.2 section), to put 2 points of shock on the rifle team.

37BR(3,4,5,6,6): Another British double-phase just when I thought a bit more pressure could break them.  The Firefly commander used his one order to get the driver to reverse to escape from the stubborn Panzer IV, but with two points of shock on the tank the driver failed to respond.  On the road the Platoon Sergeant removed 3 points of shock from the PIAT team (just one man) as if he moved away from No.2 section he would break from the shock.

38BR(1,1,2,6,6): Not another triple-phase!  This time the British sought to draw the curtain on the tank duel by using the 2" mortar to drop smoke between the combatants.  It landed perfectly on target.

The only other action was the medic making his way to the Firefly to treat the wounded commander.

39BR(2,2,2,3,5): The medic continued towards the Firefly, but just failed to reach it - Martin's movement dice rolls were almost as bad as his fire dice.  No.3 section again suppressed II section in the wood, but this time No.2 section joined in, firing for effect and inflicting 2 points of shock.  

Almost as a despairing after-thought, the Firefly commander ordered his gunner to see if he could do better firing on the German section in the wood, but like the driver before him, the shock on the tank, meant he failed to respond.

40GE(3,3,3,4,5): While unable to engage the Firefly owing to the smoke, the Panzer IV Unteroffizier adjusted his position slightly to stay a partially obscured against a cautious advance by the Firefly.  This was an ill-conceived move as it left the Panzer IV more jammed in than before and reduced its field of fire down the road, something the British infantry were to exploit later.

After this, both leaders with II section in the wood combined their orders to direct the fire against No.2 section in the road, killing a rifleman and inflicting 3 points of shock. 

At this point I ran out of British casualty figures, so sent on a stretcher party[7] to start recycling some of the earlier losses.

41BR(1,3,3,5,6): As medic reached the Firefly, the British sniper made his presence felt, firing at the section in the wood and wounding the Leutnant with them.  In response, German Force Morale fell from 6 to 5.  This was not a good day to be a leader, especially a German senior leader or a British junior leader.  To limit any reply No.3 section also laid down suppressive fire on the wood.

42GE(2,4,4,5,5): The '4's were now looking less useful as my last senior leader had just been wounded.  Nonetheless, no doubt while clutching his wound, the Leutnant was still able to direct II section's machine guns which, being suppressed, only inflicted a single point of shock on the 1-man PIAT team in the road

43BR(1,2,2,4,5): The medic finally clambered up onto the Firefly[8] to treat the commander.  Meanwhile, the Platoon Sergeant rallied 3 shock from the No.2 section and the PIAT team; the sniper killed a II section machine gunner in the wood; and, No.2 section kept them under suppressive fire.  

44GE(2,2,3,5,6): II section inflicting 1 kill and 1 point of shock on No.2 section was the only achievement.  I think both players and troops were getting a bit weary by this point.

45BR(1,1,2,3,3): The sniper to fired again but this time missed.  The Platoon Sergeant removed another 3 points of shock from No.2 section who then fired on II section killing another gunner.  Finally, the medic treated the Firefly commander to allow him to recover from his wound at the end of the phase.

46GE(3,3,3,5,5): II section split its fire with one MG42 attempting to drive off the Firefly (it failed) while the other continued firing at No.2 section, putting just 1 point of shock on its rifle team.  This was not getting me anywhere, I needed to get rid of the Firefly so my tank could go on the rampage.  I had been hoping for an end of turn to come up on the command dice to save my CoC dice but I couldn't afford to wait any longer, so I spent one to end the turn and get rid of the smoke.

47BR(3,3,6,6,6): A really cruel twist of fate, not only another British double-phase but also an end of turn that would've removed the smoke if I hadn't just spent a CoC die to get rid of it.  At least I could now use my last CoC die to interrupt and get in the first shot.  The Panzer IV fired, hit, and scored 3 AP hits[9], and the Firefly's armour only saved 2 so it took 1 shock, it was now had 3 shock, just one more and the crew would abandon the tank. 

The newly patched-up Firefly commander, knowing the next phase was his and the Germans were all out of CoC dice, kept his nerve and cooly removed 2 of the shock.  No.3 section rounded off the phase by inflicting a point of shock on II section in the wood.

48BR(2,3,6,6,6): EOT AGAIN?  The Firefly commander removed the last of the shock, and with damaged optics and a history pathetic dice rolls chose to reverse around the barn to escape the duel.  But the dice struck again and he didn't make it to safety as the photo below shows (No.2 section in the road, and No.3 section behind the hedge and barn can also be seen, note also the medic still perched atop the Firefly).

Luckily for him, and frustratingly for me, the next phase was his so he was unlikely to pay for exposing himself to a flank shot in this way.

The only other action was a mistake with No.3 section putting suppressive fire down on II section; it was wasted effort as II section couldn't fire anyway in the next phase as that was yet another British phase.

49BR(2,2,3,5,5): The Firefly completed its reverse to safety behind the Derelict Barn.

No.2 section killed another II section gunner and inflicted a point of shock, while No.3 section realised their previous mistake and put it right with more suppressive fire on the wood. 

PLAY STOPPED: It was now gone midnight, so we stacked for the night to restart the following morning.

A NEW START: Being refreshed we'd hopefully make fewer mistakes.

50GE(1,3,3,3,4): It was time to save II section before it was annihilated so the Leutnant and the Obergefreiter, jointly withdrew it back to safety in the wood and removed 3 points of shock.  The Panzer IV, with the Firefly now safely hidden, turned its attention to the British infantry firing h.e. at No.2 section to inflict 2 points of shock.

51BR(1,3,3,4,5): The Platoon Sergeant removed 3 shock from No.2 section.  No.3 section, now the Germans in the wood had retired, advanced towards the derelict farm.  Lastly, the medic snatched a spare command die to climb down from his precarious perch on top of the Firefly.

52GE(1,2,3,5,6): The '5' gave me a CoC die so I was feeling a little safer now I had regained the ability to interrupt or ambush the Brits.  But with the British No.3 section so close to the derelict farm, and out in the open, I felt compelled to deploy my last unit (I section) into the Derelict Farmhouse.  No more ambushes, but I section served me well killing a No.3 section rifleman and inflicting 2 points shock[10].  To finish the phase my Panzer IV fired at No.2 section again killing a rifleman inflicting 3 points of shock.

53BR(2,6,6,6,6): WHAT!!!  This is the first time I've ever encountered four '6's in a game, perhaps I should've expected it with the dice Martin had been throwing.  Anyway, being limited to just an actionable '2', No.3 section quickly moved to get the barn between them and I section.  But not fast enough as I spent my CoC die to interrupt and fire again.  This was deadlier, killing the last Bren gunner and a rifleman and causing 2 points of shock, albeit one of those disappeared with several others as the Bren team was wiped out.  The loss of the Bren team dragged British Force Morale down from 5 to 4, and reduced them to 4 command dice.  Things were definitely looking up.  

At the end of the phase the turn ended which didn't have any effect on play.  Then looking up the consequences of four '6's, we found Martin gained a whole CoC die and had to roll for a random event, which turned out to be 4 additional riflemen who he promptly attached to No.3 section.

54BR(4,4,4,6,6): So, just the regular two '6's this time, I was so inured to this that I failed to notice, as anyone still bothering to read this might have, that the Brits were still rolling 5 command dice instead of 4.  

But with only '4's to play with the Lieutenant (the senior leader commanding the platoon) finally deployed on the road, and with his Platoon Sergeant, removed shock and ushered the troops in the road over to the hedge running down to the Derelict Barn.  My repositioning of the Panzer IV now came back to bite me, as its field of fire was unable to target anyone along that hedge.

55BR(2,4,4,6,6): The newly reinforced No.3 section now got properly into cover behind the Derelict Barn and lined the hedge.  Then the Lieutenant ordered the 2" mortar to drop its last smoke round in the gap between the Derelict Barn and the Derelict Outhouse blocking the line of sight that had allowed I section to decimate No.3 section.  

56BR(*,*,*,*,*)[11]: HANG ON!  I finally spotted we were using the wrong number of British command dice - an honest error and definitely NOT cheating, but nonetheless a re-throw was called for.

Take two - 56BR(4,5,6,6): I DON'T BELIEVE IT!  This is going to be a quintuple-phase?  I can only thank my lucky stars it's happening this late in the game when the Brits are close to defeat.  Also, with only 4 dice rolling two '6's it doesn't leave them much else to work with.  

For some reason (the dice re-roll?) the only notes I have for this phase record the use of a CoC die to advance a JOP.

57BR(3,3,3,6): No.3 section's Corporal rallied off 2 points of shock, nothing else was attempted, although to be fair, the Brits were running short of junior leaders at this point.

58GE(4,5,5,6,6): A double-phase, the first of many I hope.  This time the Leutnant rallied off the last shock from II section and sent III section marching off towards the crossroads.

59GE(2,3,4,5,6): While III section moved in and occupied Home Farm, the Panzer IV switched its fire to the 2" mortar team behind the hedge.  Despite hitting the dirt both of the mortar team members were killed together with a nearby No.1 section rifleman.  Wiping out the team was what I was aiming for to bring down the Brit's morale but their Force Morale stayed unmoved at 4

60BR(4,5,6,6): Even rolling 4 command dice Martin maintained his uncanny ability to roll two or more '6's.  This time the Platoon Sergeant removed 2 shock from No.3 section.

61BR(1,3,5,6): A second PIAT team deployed on the advanced JOP[12].  

Clearly Martin must've have been worried about German armour to have bought an extra PIAT in addition to a Firefly and a Sherman.  No.3 platoon now moved across from behind the Derelict Barn to the Derelict Outhouse.

Realising I had taken few photos recently I took an overview of the table at this point.

62GE(1,1,1,3,3): III section in Home Farm opened fire on the newly deployed PIAT team at the advanced JOP, killing 1 and placing a point of shock on the survivor.  The Panzer IV, now the 2" mortar team was wiped out, continued firing at the same spot in an attempt to do the same to what was left of No.1 section.  Only 1 point of shock was inflicted.

63BR(2,4,5,5): While No.2 section put down suppressive fire on II section in Home Farm, the Lieutenant removed 2 shock from No.1 section and ordered them to move away from their exposed location, they didn't manage to move far enough.

64GE(2,3,3,3,5): The Panzer IV immediately punished No.1 section for their lack of progress killing another rifleman.  The wounded Leutnant then moved out from the wood, with the depleted II section, and headed towards the crossroads. 

Finally, despite being suppressed, III section killed the last member of the PIAT team at the advanced JOP.  This brought British Force Morale down from 4 to 2, reducing them to only 3 command dice.

65BR(3,3,6): The British still refused to acknowledge defeat and withdraw, instead choosing to fight on[13].  No.3 section now climbed in through the back windows of the Derelict Outhouse[14] and the Firefly reversed into the field as it sought a position from where it could support them.  

66GE(2,5,5,5,6): All I could do with this was to get I section to fire at No.3 section in the Derelict Outhouse.  They killed 1 rifleman and inflicted another 2 points of shock.

67BR(5,6,6): SERIOUSLY!  Down to three command dice and still throwing double-phases?  But nothing they can do with it other than chalk up another CoC point.

68BR(1,5,6): The original surviving 1-man PIAT team moved down the road, no doubt with a view to taking on the Panzer IV.

69GE(4,5,5,6,6): My turn for a double-phase, and my wounded Leutnant with II section continued to move along the front of Home Farm towards the crossroads.  

70GE(1,1,3,4,6): III section in Home Farm, urged on by the Leutnant issuing directions through the window managed to kill another No.1 section rifleman.  By comparison, I section's fire from the Derelict Farmhouse was devastating, killing 4 and inflicting 2 points of shock on No.3 section which pinned them.  

71BR(2,3,5): And still the Brits fought on, c'est magnifique mais ce n'est pas la guerre.  The Firefly advanced to support the pinned No.3 section in the Derelict Outhouse, but its line of fire was now blocked by the smoke that had stopped I section firing into the field.  My notes also say the PIAT operator also moved to help out No.3 section, this was IIRC a repositioning as the Brits were awash with CoC dice but desperately short of command dice.

72GE(1,1,3,4,6): The Panzer IV and III section between them put another 3 shock on No.1 section.  If it weren't for the presence of the platoon leader they would've routed long ago.  I section killed 1 and inflicted 1 point of shock on No.3 section and this was enough to break them.  British Force Morale slumped from 2 to 1, and reduced them to just 2 command dice.  Game over?

73BR(2,5): No, they're still fighting on!  Again CoC points were used to reposition troops and the '2' used to fire at III section, killing 2 and wiping out an MG42 team.  The German's were unimpressed by this spiteful and futile continuation of the killing and their Force Morale was unmoved at 5.  

Shocked by the refusal of the Brits to conceded defeat, and kicking myself for not doing so in my phase, I spent a CoC die to end the turn.  This meant No.2 section and their leader routed off the table and the resulting Bad Things Happen test finally saw British Force Morale collapsed from 1 to 0.

Game Over: and the table at the end looked like this ...

... and this.

The Butcher's Bill

Largely irrelevant as it's not a campaign game but a quick count suggests only 11 survivors from the original 36-strong British platoon.  The Germans only lost 7 men but quite a serious loss for a 22-man platoon.

Post Mortem

This was a strange game marked out by a couple of unusual phenomena (and I don't mean all the mistakes I made):

1). The relentlessly indecisive tank duel between the Firefly and the Panzer IV.  By my count the Panzer IV took 11 shots, missed with 3 (all double-ones!) and hit with 7 but still didn't destroy the Firefly.  In return the Firefly attempted 9 shots, 2 didn't happen because the gunner failed to respond owing to shock, 6 missed (3 of those after the optics were damaged) and just 2 hit.  This seems unreal to me and I am seriously thinking of taking up the advanced option in Edn.1 of the rules that lowers the AP score for a penetration by 1, but probably only for tank and anti-tank guns as infantry anti-tank weapons seem fine.

2). The extraordinary number of consecutive phases the British had: 2 doubles; 4 trebles; 1 quadruple and a quintuple!  With the Germans only getting 5 double-phases, they had 13 phases fewer than the Brits (the game started and ended on a British phase).  In hindsight, that may not be that significant over 73-phase epic.

 ........... 

The Next Game

After packing away this game we moved on to a what had to be a fairly quick, and less intense, Napoleonic action with my vintage 20mm Napoleonic collection.  But that will have to wait for another post.

Notes:

[1.]  The 2-man 2"mortar team in place of the usual 3-man team was because I stuck to the forces listed in the campaign, which pre-dated 2nd Edn. CoC with its updated orbats.

[2.]  Replenishment points are a 2nd Edn. addition, so not available in the campaign support lists, but as the rules now limit British smoke for their 2" mortars, I thought it only fair to allow them as a support option.

[3.]  We deemed the obstacle to only be crossed once the centre of the tank passed the centre of the hedge, so the Sherman had had to twice move as if crossing an obstacle.  Then once it had crossed but was still in the hedge it was deemed to be in Broken Ground.  All courtesy of Martin's dreadful movement dice scores.  Was this correct / reasonable?

[4.]  Using 2 orders from the commander to fire, and having hit with the previous shot with neither vehicle having moved since.

[5.]  I think the rules use of the term 'stunned' for AFV commanders is poorly chosen as the effect is different from that for 'stunned' infantry commanders.  It would have been better to say the AFV commander is 'dazed' and unable to activate in their next phase to reduce the chance of confusion.  While on the subject of wording, IMO I think it's less confusing if the meanings of 'phase' and 'turn' were the other way around.  Likewise, I much prefer the term 'normal' for middle of the three vehicle movement speeds (as in infantry movement) rather than 'rapid', which sounds the same as 'flat out' to my ears - but then I am half-deaf.

[6.]  I forgot that 'Equal Hits and Saves' can still cause harm to an AFV; I only remembered later when using a machine gun to try and repel the Firefly. 

[7.]  The stretcher party plays no part in the game, but as I have one it was a good excuse to use it.

[8.]  We agreed he would have to effectively embark to treat him, and that would take a full phase.  

[9.]  Using hits to both describe the process of hitting an AFV and how much damage might result (dependent on the armour saves) is another example of the poor use of language in CoC - see note [5.] above.  AP 'damage' might be better than AP 'hits', as the target has already been hit at that point.

[10.]  No.3 section only consisted of its leader and rifle team as the Bren team had been wiped out. 

[11.]  I didn't record what was thrown on the first attempt at Phase 56 using 5 command dice.

[12.]  With no senior leaders undeployed, and no adjutant, this should've been tested for as a hesitant deployment.  Despite having had a night's sleep we were still making plenty of mistakes.

[13.]  I think this illustrates the benefit of playing games within a campaign scenario, as in this one-off game, the decision to fight on is without consequence for the player.

[14.]  I probably made another mistake here, treating this as a major obstacle, as rules allow repositioning over minor and medium obstacles, AND ground floor windows - so they probably ought to be medium obstacles?