Stuttering to Victory at Maltot

Firstly, an apology for getting sucked into the game again and not taking enough photos, hence the use of some dodgy ones.

Game 6

So, with the table all set (see last post) we quickly did some die rolling to see if John's Germans recovered any casualties, and how many elite SS panzergrenadiers would rock up as reinforcements.  They answers were: none and the maximum possible - John rolling a '6' for reinforcements so gained 15 panzergrenadiers.  With a replacement drafted in for his senior leader, captured hiding in an outhouse in the last game, John's platoon was now organised as follows:

• 1 junior leader with panzerfaust and a reinforced LMG team of 5 men (army).
• 1 junior leader with 2 LMG teams of 4 men and 1 panzerfaust (SS).
• 1 junior leader with 1 LMG team of 5 men and 1 panzerfaust (SS).

My British platoon was fresh and at full strength (36 leaders and men)

The Force Morale rolls saw the Germans start at '10' and the British at '9' and the following patrol phase resulted in the jump-off points (JOPs) shown below.

The British then diced for support, hoping for a generous amount as received in the two previous games, but...

So, just 2 points of support for the Brits and 1 for the Germans, who respectively opted for a 2" mortar team and a stretch of barbed wire.  The Germans went first but, as defenders, held off deploying until they had a better idea of what the British were up to.  

Over the next few phases, the British deployed one section in the 'Shot-up House' and one in the 'Stone Station' with the two 2" mortars deployed alongside the latter.

The mortars soon enveloped the 'Old Rectory' in smoke.  Then, with all in place, the final section deployed from the Shot-up house into the road[1] and, in the next phase, started to cautiously (tactically) advance towards the Old Rectory.

The Germans decided to let them come closer before reacting.

In my phase, I started to have second thoughts about what he might throw at me and how I would respond.  And, ooh err, on careful reflection, I realised my chaps were pretty much out on a limb as the two 'covering' sections, in hard cover, had poor fields of fire and could offer little support.

Realising my plan was a stinker, I seized the window or opportunity offered by the delayed German response, plus the luxury of three attempts to take the objective to win this scenario, and withdrew my platoon to start over again. 

Net result: no casualties to either side and on to Game 7 with the same forces and the same scenario / table.

Notes.

[1.] This was an error, with a section in the Shot-up House I mistakenly forgot my JOP was behind the house not in it, and thus couldn't deploy this far forward.  Luckily it had no real impact on the game. 

Game 7

This time the British got off to a better start rolling a force morale of 9 to the German's 8.  This allowed the Brits to go first in the patrol phase which helped to offset getting only 2 free moves instead of the four they had in the previous game.  As a result, the JOPs were in almost exactly the same place as before, the only difference being a JOP behind the Stone Cottage instead of in it.  

This time, on rolling for support I got 7 points and John got 3 (half the attacker's support points rounded down).  I selected the Churchill IV tank and, as before, an additional 2" mortar team.  John opted for an entrenchment for a team, another length of barbed wire and a minefield which, added to the barbed wire still in place from the last game created quite an obstruction[1]:

I took the first phase and immediately rolled an 'end of turn' and not much else.

In my next phase, the first of the second turn, I managed to deploy the Churchill and my 2" mortar teams by the Stone Station as in the previous game.

Then John in his first phase of the game, rolled an 'end of turn'!  However, this early in the game he decided to hold fire and wait for the British to advance into a more exposed position.

After this the action settled down along the lines of the previous game with the British saturating the Old Rectory with smoke while the Germans patiently waited for the British infantry to advance out into the open. 

The difference this time was that my two covering sections were in the Stone Cottage (as before), but the other was now in the Stone Station instead of the Shot-up House.  Also, the PIAT team had deployed with the platoon sergeant in the Shot-up House and the platoon commander with the section in the Stone Station.  While this was taking place, my Churchill slowly crept forward, with the gunner on overwatch, not wanting to get too close to all those panzerfausts.  

Now, feeling much happier about the level of fire support available, the section in the Shot-up House once again ventured out into the road and in the next phase went tactical.

In the very next German phase, they rolled another 'end of turn' and the smoke covering the British section in the road promptly vanished, and me, without a CoC die to my name, unable to do anything about it.  In the German's next phase, John, after rolling two '6's(!) on his command dice, used his CoC die to spring an SS LMG team ambush[2] from the far side of the crossroads.  This seemed a heaven-sent opportunity for the Jerries, as all my covering units had lost their overwatch status at the turn-end. 

Lady Luck, obviously felt sorry for me as John only managed 2 kills and one point of shock; one kill was on the Bren team and the other turned out to be a light wound on the section leader (I'm using the red pin marker to remind me the section leader is wounded). 

My luck held as I rolled a '1' on the bad things happen test and avoided any impact on my force morale.  At this point, John decided not to withdraw his ambush team but leave it in place to take advantage of a third turn on the trot.  Just to rub it in, his command dice for his third phase rolled another two '6's!!!  But just as he was feeling he could do no wrong, Lady Luck promptly sucker-punched him in the gut as the LMG team failed to score a single hit (5+ needed at effective range)!    

In his fourth consecutive phase, he finally threw less than two '6's on his command dice (phew!), and the LMG team managed another kill and point of shock on the exposed section.

In retrospect 2 dead, a wounded junior leader, and 2 points of shock seemed a small price to pay for three rounds of MG42 fire in the open.

At last it was my phase, and with a rather spiffing command roll, I could get in plenty of retaliation.  Firstly, the senior leader in the Shot-up House took off both points of shock from the shot-up section and told them to fire back and see if they could roll the '6's necessary to hit the elite SS panzer grenadiers.  And yes, they could!

The section in the road was then promptly screened again by some more smoke before their shooting was added to by the section in the Stone Station and the Churchill firing high explosive (HE).  This left the SS looking a bit subdued with one dead and just one point of shock short of being pinned.

Realising they had bitten off more than they could chew, they tried to fall back out of sight and rally, the German platoon commander (senior leader) even deploying into the church to rally off more shock[3].  However, their movement dice betrayed them and left them open to more fire, which saw them pinned and dropping like flies (photo taken a little later, after the shock had been rallied off and yet another German 'end of turn' had removed the pin marker). 

While this was going on the section in the road had fallen back into the Shot-up House so were unaffected by the disappearance of their protective smokescreen.  However, as the SS LMG team had still not managed to escape the British arcs of fire their fate was all but inevitable...

...and the resulting bad things happen tests for a section wiped out and a junior leader wounded, and then killed, saw the German force morale plummet from 8 to 4!  The Germans were now reduced to just 4 command dice and with only their senior leader on the table deploying any more troops would be problematic. 

Feeling a lot more confident, the British now set about restoring their smoke screen to cover the resumption of the weakened section's tactical advance to the Old Rectory.  This time they were accompanied by the senior leader (platoon sergeant) and the PIAT team.  This elicited no response, so in my next phase the sergeant seized the bull by the horns and ordered his men to double up to the Old Rectory.  A good set of movement dice saw them advance right up to it, close enough to shut down the JOP inside.

With Old Rectory occupied the only exit from the church holding the German senior leader was covered leaving the senior leader trapped inside (again!).  Also, as the JOP in the Old Rectory had been captured the Germans would have to think twice before using their CoC die to end the turn to remove British smokescreens.  The Germans decided not to deploy any more troops at this stage so the Churchill fired HE at the church and in one blow inflicted 3 kills, killing the senior leader inside.  

John spent his CoC die avoiding the resulting morale test, but I then played mine to end the turn which removed his captured JOP bringing the German force morale down to '2'.  this meant I could remove another of his JOPs and he was reduced to just three command dice.  At this point John conceded and the campaign was won.  

And to finish, a quick view of the field of battlefield, as at the end, from German side (the absence of smoke is due to my ending the turn with a CoC die to eliminate the JOP I had captured).  And sitting in the middle, the German's nemesis, the Churchill tank.

So ends our learning campaign, I think this last game has reinforced the imperative to eliminate the other side's armour, if they have any.  John had a few opportunities to try, but they were risky.  On the other hand, the price of leaving the Churchill to do its own thing was catastrophic.

Now, after a short break we'll have to start another campaign.

Notes:

[1.] I was surprised that John opted for more static defences and then didn't place these to impede the approach I had explored in the previous game.  Equally surprising was his decision to, again, not choose an adjutant.

[2.] As an ambush is only a single team, I think we might've made a mistake in deploying the junior leader with it, but as it was a one-section team it doesn't seem unreasonable. 

[3.] With no adjutant, the remaining three, off-table, German sections would now need to roll 4+ to successfully deploy when called upon. 

Final Objective in Sight

Our Maltot Chain of Command (CoC) campaign has reached the 6th game and the 5th and final map / scenario on the ladder.  A win here for British, and they will get three attempts to do so, will win the campaign for them.  To escape the jaws of defeat, the Germans must prevent the British from taking their final objective, the church.

The terrain is now all set up and ready for the games to begin on Monday morning.

The view from the east, the British enter from the right and must take the church on the left.

 

The view from the west, the British enter from the left and must take the church on the right.

The Germans have finally decided to call up reinforcements in the shape of SS panzergrenadiers, and the British have withdrawn the remnants of 12 platoon and will field the fresh, and full strength, 16 platoon, both from the 5th Wiltshires.

Maltot - a Delaying Action (CoC)

This was the 5th game in our Chain of Command campaign, with my much depleted 12 Platoon, 5th Wiltshires, pursuing John's equally depleted German platoon after breaking through their main defences in the previous game.  I'll apologise now for the lack of photos as again I got sucked into the game so didn't have many to choose from but have added a few posed, post-game, shots to try and make up for it.

So, how was 12 Platoon going to tackle this one?

Both sides had a starting Force Morale of 9 so diced for who went first - the Germans.  The patrol phase went as expected, with the German jump off points (JOPs) scattered across the objective area, and the British JOPs under cover in the derelict farm[1] complex and adjacent wood.

Once again, as the British, I rolled for, and got, the maximum level of support (10pt.s) and again opted for a Churchill Mk IV, a FOO with supporting 3" mortar battery (off-table) and a 3-man demolition team.  I would've liked to try something different i.e., two Churchills but I only have one model[2].  The 3-man demo team was just an attempt to provide a few more men for platoon which was had only one full section plus a second consisting of two LMG (Bren) teams.  All topped off with a 2-man 2" mortar team placed under the surplus junior leader (Jnr Ldr).

The Germans opted for the near obligatory adjutant and an SdKfz 250 carrying an elite four-man LMG Team.

For a long time the Germans sat tight keeping everything off-table, even when they rolled a double phase.  After throwing lots of 5's I got some better command dice and finally deployed my 'fire' section (2 Bren teams) out from the woods to occupy the 'shot-up house' as an initial covering position.

This was move was backed up by the Churchill entering up the road behind them.

Then, with these in place and on overwatch, the FOO deployed into the first floor of the derelict farmhouse.  In my next phase my 'manoeuvre section' (a full 10-man section) and 2" mortar team under a Jnr Ldr, deployed into the farmyard.

With still no response from the Germans and the 3" mortar laying smoke to cover them, the fire section left the shot-up house and advanced to the 'compressor building' which they entered and set up on overwatch (sorry no photos).  

The next phase the 3-man demo team deployed into the farmhouse with the FOO and with all pieces in place, there was no putting it off any longer so, the manoeuvre section took a deep breath and moved to the edge of the farm and prepared to advance across the open ground.

This bold move (foolishly not even moving tactically) stirred the Germans into action, playing a CoC dice to spring an LMG ambush...

...  on my manoeuvre section, the consequences of which were truly appalling, 3 dead including the Jnr Ldr, but no shock - a theme that was to run for some time in this game.

The ambush party immediately withdrew after this opening burst of fire.  This felt like a body blow, and partly my fault as, I had been so obsessed with risk of ambush against my Churchill, I had failed to consider one being sprung against my infantry.  I had thought they were safe as the Germans couldn't deploy into a fire position against them but ambushes can be deployed further out from a JOP.

In the following phase the Germans doubled down and deployed one of their depleted sections (reduced to a Jnr Ldr and LMG team) to apply pressure to my fire section in the compressor.  Annoyingly, I had set up both my Bren teams on overwatch facing the same, wrong, direction, so they were able to move into position in the 'orchard' without being fired on.

In reply, all I was able to do with my stranded manoeuvre section, was to move up my platoon commander (left behind by mistake) to a position where he could at least get the section moving - tactically this time. 

At the same time my FOO contacted the off-table mortar battery, and the platoon sergeant rearranged the fire section in the compressor house to engage the LMG team in the orchard.  Despite only one Bren being able to fire at reduced effect, having moved, a kill was scored. 

The Germans then deployed another Jnr Ldr and LMG team to the 'tractor shed' and, together with the other team in the orchard, both opened fire killing two of my men in compressor house. 

In my next phase, and panicking slightly, I called in an immediate barrage, without a preliminary ranging shot.  Annoyingly, I did this before my Bren teams in the compressor house returned fired thus missing an opportunity to inflict further casualties on the German LMG teams before the barrage came down.  Even worse, the barrage didn't come exactly where requested and hit the compressor house as well as the German LMG teams!  Everyone in hard cover came out of this scot-free, but the German LMG team in the orchard lost another man killed; the seventh fatality in the game and still not a single point of shock inflicted on either side!

My platoon commander also caught up with the manoeuvre section and advanced them up to the 'stone station'; covered on one side by the barrage and on the other by smoke and the Churchill which had moved across for this purpose.

John seemed paralysed by this turn of events and did nothing in his phase other than bemoan a lack of a command die to bring on his SdKfz 250.  Was he really giving up, or did he have a cunning plan?  Taking advantage of the absence of any German counter, my manoeuvre section, covered by some well-placed smoke, advanced up to the stone station without further mishap.

Just as I was feeling things were well back on track, John used a CoC dice that got rid of all my smoke and overwatch, but not the barrage as I responded with a CoC die to keep that going.  Thanks to lots of 5's in the early phases I still had a couple of CoC dice more than John, who had used one for the ambush, and I had been deliberately hoarding them for the express purpose of maintaining the mortar barrage when called in.  But, with the smoke gone, John deployed his Panzerschreck team!

They let fly at my Churchill and missed!  But then in my phase so did everything I could fire at them!

John's following phase was unsurprisingly a repeat performance, the Panzerschreck crew took careful aim...

...and, scratch one Churchill!

Things were looking a bit more in doubt, but both my sections were safely in hard cover.  On reflecting further, I realised that my manoeuvre platoon could've ignored the stone station and advanced further to close down two of the German JOPs while their third was still in the middle of my mortar barrage.  This would've wrapped up the game.

However, for John things were still looking grim, my barrage was still coming down and as I had a handful of CoC dice there was little chance of it stopping any time soon.  So, with the realisation that the barrage would be moving soon John deployed his elite LMG crew in the SdKfz 250.

Over the next few phases these tried to get at my manoeuvre section in the stone station but were driven off by machinegun fire (special rule for machineguns firing at vehicles).  Also, by this time the German Jnr Ldr and LMG team in the orchard had paid the ultimate price for getting stonked by mortars in an orchard.

With this threat eliminated, my barrage was now adjusted to cover the 'station row cottages' and 'stone cottage' pinning everything except John's SdKfz 250 that had been forced to retreat back to his table edge and the weakened LMG team in the tractor shed.  

Realising there was no escape from the overwhelming mortar barrage John called it a day and voluntarily withdrew before he lost everything.  But, with many of his men now pinned by a mortar barrage they had to roll a D6 to see which managed to escape to fight another day.  In a shockingly bad spate of die rolls, of those figures that were pinned:

2 got away unhindered

5 (including a Jnr Ldr) were dispersed (missing the next game); and,

4 were captured, including the senior leader (Snr Ldr) seen here emerging from the outhouse in which he had been sheltering (hiding?) from the barrage.

Overall, the losses suffered in this game were:

British: 1 Jnr Ldr and 4 men killed or wounded.

German: 1 Jnr Ldr and 6 men killed or wounded; 1 Snr Ldr and three men captured; and, 1 Jnr Ldr and 4 men missing (dispersed to return after the next game).

After calculating those battle casualties that could be patched up and returned to duty (RTD) the respective strength of the two platoons was now:

British: 2 Snr Ldrs, 2 Jnr Ldrs and 12-13[3] men.

German: 1 Jnr Ldr and 5-6[3] men.

             (plus 1 Jnr Ldr and 4 men RTD after the next game). 

It would seem that both platoons have fought each other to a standstill.

It is now a racing certainty that, the British will swap out 12 Platoon to be replaced by the full-strength 16 Platoon and, the Germans will call for reinforcements which at this stage of the campaign would consist of 9 + D6 replacements so, a total of 10-15 elite Panzer Grenadiers!

As yet no date has been fixed for Game 6.

Notes.

[1.] The building names are those of the Hornby Skaledale models used, with the exception of the 'Shot-up House' which Hornby entitled 'Derelict House'.

[2.] Note to self: I must make up my other Churchill kit!

[3.] In the campaign, the British only recove a quarter of the most lightly wounded i.e., those that would normally return to duty in time for the next game.  We have diced for farctions during this campaign.  Also, if the Germans lose the fourth scenario (this one), they lose their aid station and suffer from the same limitation on casualty recovery.  Both the British and Germans would normally have got one casualty back immediately so they both have a 1-in-4 chance of getting a man back for the next game.

CoC Maltot Campaign Game 5 - Terrain

So, with my terrain updated, I set out the table for the next game in our campaign which takes place two days' time.

German Defence                      <= British Attack

British Attack =>                      German Defence

View from the British Start Line

View from German Lines

All in all, this looks like a tough nut for the British (me) to crack, especially for an understrength platoon.  In reality I reckon this would be, at the very least, a company objective. 

Any suggestions on how best to crack this one would be very welcome...