"Chain of Command Battle Report Part 3" Topic

8 Posts

All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.

Please remember not to make new product announcements on the forum. Our advertisers pay for the privilege of making such announcements.

For more information, see the TMP FAQ.

Back to the WWII Battle Reports Message Board

Back to the WWII Rules Message Board

Areas of Interest

World War Two on the Land
World War Two at Sea

Featured Hobby News Article

New to Pre-Order: Bolt Action Platoon Commander Packs

The Warmongers Convention

Featured Ruleset

Kaiserbosh

Featured Profile Article

Gen Con So Cal 2006 Day 1 Report

Report from Day One!

Featured Book Review

Blood Red Snow

Featured Movie Review

Battle of Blood Island

War Panda	25 Sep 2013 8:32 p.m. PST
Chain of Command Battle Report Part 3 ABOVE With the US Para 1st Squad Rifle Team taking cover behind the Sherman moving slowly towards their objective. To their right the Medium Mortar FO has already made contact with their battery and are waiting for any sign of the enemy. 1st Squad MG have just sprinted through the orchard to catch up with its NCO and the rest of its squad. ABOVE It's German's phase and they roll 2D5's so they gain 2 more Command Dice. Again no troop deployment… ABOVE US roll 4 D6's meaning its the end of this Turn. The US will have the 1st phase of the next turn. A Random Event will be rolled…and this is where I stray from the official rules a little…I use my own Random Deck ABOVE The Random Event does not suit the US who now instantly concede initative to the Germans. ABOVE The Germans roll 2 D6 which means they will have control over the next phase but the D5 also means: ABOVE They have their first Command Dice of the game… timing is everything in war and this is the exact type of opportunity the German commander has been waiting for… ABOVE He springs his ambush…this team is fully armed with submachineguns so they want to close in fast…but they know their enemy is highly trained in the art of close combat so their Junior Leader gives the order to soften them up a little first…the Screaming Eagles regret not having gone tactical… ABOVE The ambush rules state the team be placed within 12inches of a Jump Off Point which keeping a distance greater than 6 inches from the enemy…so the submachineguns will be fired at half their effectivness…a total of 12 dice (close range would give 4d6 each man) ABOVE 1 Kill…not what they had hoped but they still have the next phase to come… ABOVE The D2 will insure the potential of the German ambush can be fully realized… ABOVE The sum of 2 D6's must be at least the distance of the throw…7 means its just about made it… ABOVE 2 D6 are normally rolled but because of the confided nature of the narrow lane 3 d6 are used, causing…2 hits ABOVE the open condition is also used when in a confined space so the potato smasher causes 2 Shock Points ABOVE Having spend 1 Command Initiative to order a grenade assault now the German Team Leader uses his second Command Initiative to activate his full team: Fire and move (wasn't sure in this case whether I could move within 4 inches and then fire or whether that would instantly cause a close combat before they could fire) ABOVE Since they will move the weapons effectiveness will be halved again so only 6 dice (2 dice at effective range)only 6's are hits so 2 Hits ABOVE 1 more dead and 1 Shock ABOVE Both hits result in 2 Shock ABOVE The Germans now move in for close assualt… Germans have 5 men US only 3 left (Leaders are excluded US 3 Ger 5 ABOVE Both sides receive 2dice each for their Junior Leaders US 2 Ger 2 ABOVE Each level difference in troop quality adds 2 die…US are Elite and Germans are Green US 4 Ger 0 ABOVE Subtract -1 on every 2 Points of Shock US -1 ABOVE Aggressive Troops recieve 1 dice per 3 Men (I mistakenly included the Leader here…) US 2 Ger 0 ABOVE Every Dice the enemy moved to engage close combat 1 dice US 1 Ger 0 ABOVE …each Submachinegun adds 2d6 US 4 Ger 12 ABOVE Defenders in light cover 1 d6 for every 3 dice they have already…the US have 15 so that's… US 5 Ger 0 The Screaming Eagle's superior training and defensive position gives them total of 20… The Germans superior numbers in men and machineguns have given them 19 dice …a real chance… ABOVE US only score 2x6's and 2x5's meaning 4 dead and 2 Shock (6's also count as 1 Shock) ABOVE Germans roll twice as many with a total of 8…that means the first German victory… ABOVE …but at a high cost…the Germans have lost their leader and only 2 of their squad survives… ABOVE Now that the Sherman has been isolated the German Commander deploys his Panzerschreck team… ABOVE On the D3 a German Stub IV moves into cover on the hill (deployed at the German table edge on the road the Stug is regular so can deploy 6 inches) ABOVE The crew scan the valley below…this means serious trouble for the Sherman… (I believe I could have used the Junior Leader in the Stug to acivate the it to fire but alas I didn't know this at the time…) ABOVE US have the next turn…3 D5 mean they're closer to having another Command Dice but the Sherman could have used an opportunity to activate this phase… ABOVE The first D1 is used to activate the Mortar FO…he has already contacted the battery and has requested an immediate barriage rather than a ranging shot ABOVE …now on this second activation the point marker is placed and and accuracy is rolled for… 2 d6's are rolled and acheive a 5 and checking Table 9 means the Mortar barriage deviates 3d6's randomly… ABOVE 12 is rolled and the direction will be North along the road…the US are lucky…without theranging shot it could have landed right on them… ABOVE A 18inch square is made with the aiming point at its center..I've used some smoke markers to illustrate the barriage effect area… ABOVE The Panzerschreck Team is caught in the open in the center of the barriage…the Medium Mortars roll 4 hit dice resulting in 2 hits which in turn lead to both of the team being killed… ABOVE The Stug is also hit but on a roll of 3 on table 10 means there is no effect… ABOVE The next D1 activates the MG Team…not wanting to be caught like their rifle team earlier they chose to move tactically…but they only roll a 1 and with having 1 point os Shock this means they won't move this phase… ABOVE German phase again…and because the Stug is rated Regular and the infantry are Green I've added an black dice that can only be used by the Stug (I've no idea how the rules treat a situation like this..) Despite the extra die there is no German activity this phase…perhaps the Stug crew haven't seen the Sherman yet.. ABOVE Another D1 allows the US MG to move… ABOVE But just a roll of 2 means they only move 1 (Shock of 1) They still haven't made the hedge yet… The D3 activates the Sherman who hopes to knock the Stug out before his 75mm locks on to his location… The Stug IV is in cover (needs 7 or more) and is considered low profile (-1) but the Sherman has spent all CI's on the shot(+1) so it requires a 7 or more with two d6's…but scores only 4… ABOVE The shell hammers into the bushes close by..this certainly alerts the crew to the danger below Another terrible German Command Dice roll means no activation for the Stug…and no deployments yet… ABOVE An American Command roll of D1, 2xD3, D4, 2xD5's and deploys the 2nd Squad (D3) and the Platoon Commander (D4) ABOVE The D1 eventually moves the MG to the hedge, although they only moved cautiously they must set up their MG before firing…next US phase then ABOVE German Phase and the Stug finally gets the D3 its been waiting for… ABOVE The Stug's high vantage point gives him a much better shooting position and it's 75mm boosts a higher velocity 75mm than the Sherman's…it only needs a score of 4 or more to hit… ABOVE …and with a score of 9 its a direct hit…the Sherman rolls 6 armour die scoring successful armor defence points on 5 or 6's…scores only 2…the Stug IV's 75mm will roll 9 d6's scoring on 5 and 6's (because its a frontal attack) ABOVE Quite amazingly the Stugs shot only scores once…the Sherman crew can consider themselves very lucky… ABOVE D4 activates the Platoon Commander who leads his men on the double (receiving 1 Shock Point) ABOVE D1 activate the MG who will roll 8d6's on the Germans who are still in the open…(I should have deducted 1d6 due to the 1 Shock it gained earlier for going on the double…) Green troops are hit on 3-6 @ close range =7 hits 3 dead means the German Team are wiped out ABOVE German Morale is dangerously low… ABOVE Another US Command roll gets 2D3, 2D5 and 2D6's means another US activation after this… D3 activates the Sherman again…another shot…7 is scored that means a first hit on the Stug The Sherman's 7 dice rolls 2 hits while the Stugs frontal armor of 7 rolls 2 saves…the equal table dice rolls a 3… ABOVE …the Stug must fire with his next opportunity… ABOVE Another US phase (2xd6's) ABOVE The D3 allows another Sherman shot… ABOVE Sherman's shot hits with a 9 and scores 2 hits… Stug's armor saves twice…that means a draw… ABOVE ABOVE A roll on the equal hits table scores a 5: 1 Shock and Reverse 1 d6 immediately… ABOVE This takes the Stug off the table and out of the game…the shaken German crew obviously couldn't take it any longer…the Sherman's luck has continued… ABOVE The German Morale is now almost at complete breaking point
tberry7403	26 Sep 2013 7:02 a.m. PST
I want to thank you for all the work you have put into this AAR (all three parts). Even with the questions you raise it is an excellent (and detailed) example of how the game works. Tim
No longer can support TMP	26 Sep 2013 8:14 a.m. PST
I could be wrong but: You don't add a dice for the Stug. It may have an average crew, but the overall command is still green/poor so you have to use the 4 dice still. I think you can still use a 1 (or maybe it's a 2?) to activate a crewman in the Stug. That is, you can use it to activate the Stug gunner to shoot. Note that the Stug would need to be actually pointing at the Sherman because you have not activated the driver, so you wouldn't be able to turn the Stug. Also, you can add dice together to activate at a higher level. So, those 3 1s could be added together to create a 3 and activate the junior leader for the Stug.
Not A Member Anymore	26 Sep 2013 8:35 a.m. PST
Another excellent and exciting report which really brings out how the rules work. I thought at first you had made an error not including the junior leader when calculating the initial close combat dice but on checking the rules I realised I have been doing it wrong. Good to know. Not sure where a fully SMG armed team comes from in a German list for this period, but thats over to how you structure your scenario. One thing though I don't think they could have opened fire on the Paras when first deployed from ambush because the high hedge would block line of sight (p31) unless the Paras had been firing from it which they don't appear to be. Nor by my reading of the rules would they have brought a junior leader with them unless he is integral to the team as is sometimes the case, eg on an AT gun. An alternative ploy would have been to deploy your Pzshrek team from ambush, fire on the Sherman then take them off the board before the Paras could have reacted since they were not on overwatch. Another time perhaps. Be that as it may it was an exciting bit of reporting. John
War Panda	26 Sep 2013 12:21 p.m. PST
siggian : I think you can still use a 1 (or maybe it's a 2?) to activate a crewman in the Stug. That is, you can use it to activate the Stug gunner to shoot. I did not know that…that would have changed things in a major way… siggian: you can add dice together to activate at a higher level. So, those 3 1s could be added together to create a 3 and activate the junior leader for the Stug. I actually knew that but by that stage of the game I was tired and stupidly forgot :( siggian…both of your points would have dramatically changed that clash…Thanks for your observations…very helpful :) archduke: Not sure where a fully SMG armed team comes from in a German list for this period, but thats over to how you structure your scenario. Yes I took some serious liberties there…poetic licence …I blame watching "Where Eagles Dare" too much when I was a kid..:) I did want to change the dynamic too and see how the system would deal with it… One thing though I don't think they could have opened fire on the Paras when first deployed from ambush because the high hedge would block line of sight (p31) unless the Paras had been firing from it which they don't appear to be. Absolutely right John…after reading my hard copy (which arrived yesterday :) ) Rule Book: If LOS is interrupted by a high feature, such as a building, "DENSE HEDGE"* hill or high wall then the unit may not be targeted unless they are using it as a firing position, in which case they may be targeted…." *emphasis mine Nor by my reading of the rules would they have brought a junior leader with them unless he is integral to the team as is sometimes the case, eg on an AT gun. On p16 of Rule Book it states: "If one of the Section's Teams has already deployed onto the table as part of an ambush then the balance of the Section will arrive with its Junior Leader" With my original "quick" reading of this I had interpreted it as the Leader accompanying the ambushing team not the "balance" of the squad as it states… …again many thanks for pointing those out…its been very helpful… tberry7403 You're very welcome …I just wish I hadn't made so many mistakes as I did but at least I think most of them have being pointed out which is great…I hope its helped get a more concrete image of the game being played out…I know its going to help me…mainly thanks to all the feedback… I'm really looking forward to my next game…possibly using 15mm scale… John
No longer can support TMP	27 Sep 2013 5:33 a.m. PST
"I think you can still use a 1 (or maybe it's a 2?) to activate a crewman in the Stug. That is, you can use it to activate the Stug gunner to shoot." Rereading the rules, I'm not sure I'm correct. You can definitely activate the junior leader in the tank on a 3. You can also activate one position on a leaderless tank on a 1. I had just treated a tank like any other section with three teams (gunner, driver, assistant driver/radio dude/hull MG). But I'm not sure that is correct. Time for a question in the forum I guess.
No longer can support TMP	27 Sep 2013 10:59 a.m. PST
Looks like the forum opinion is that it takes a 3 to activate a tank (via activating its junior leader). But you can combine dice to get that 3.
War Panda	27 Sep 2013 1:32 p.m. PST
Thanks for clearing that up siggian…I'll be a lot more prepared for my next outing…