"High level command..." Topic

Hi,
I want to move to 6mm/10mm WWII on a 4'x 4' tabletop.

I don't want a lot of terrains on it and I'd like to try out a high level of command.

Any suggestion for a suitable ruleset?

Roby

Hi Roby

What do you mean by "High Level Command"?

Cheers
David

Hi,
sorry. I was too vague.
I was thinking of the player as a Battallion or Divisional Commander.

Thanks

Roby

I've tried 'Great Battles of WW2' rules recently and they give a good flavour of Divisional Command for late WW2.

I quite like them.

Overview:
TMP link

Available from:
canuckwargamer.wordpress.com

Spearhead works nicely and I still do have a love for Command Decision for divisional level combat

An interesting level of command. Most rules are set at platoon commander or company commander. Battalion command is very different and probably worthy of more sets of rules. I would expect there will be many replies here recommending rules not suitable for what you want! i would think that battalion and higher commanders would use entire platoons as the basic manoeuvre unit.Interesting quest, hope you get some good leads.

martin

Big difference between battalion and divisional command.

You might try Command Decision for battalion to brigade level, or 5Core Brigade Commander for Brigade.

Pz8 do a free set of divisional rules high fit on a 4x4.

Test of Battle (Command Decision) would be a good call.

A decade or so ago we designed a set of WW2 rules at a divisional level crowns, Eagles and oak leaves. Then we did a divisional and corp level called Stars and Marshall batons. I can send you files if you want.

You could try Brigade Commander from Nordic Weasel. It is available for download on Wargame vault.

Each stand = 1 company so you can easily drive a regiment with supporting arms on a 4 x 4 table.

I use it for cold war gaming on a small table but it is designed for WW2 to present. You can see some games on a small table here: link

Good luck with your project, I have found it very rewarding to downsize my playing area and I actually get more games in!

I'd second the recommendation for Command Decision, TEst of Battle. Using 6mm with cm's instead of inches a 4'x4' table should work well.

Chris

I do it at army level.

I do it at army level.

I sneer at army level. Real men do it at army group level.

I actually did play in an army level game with platoon stands…..whats more, I did it more than once…

Rob:

Not sure how high a level of command you want. If battalion level (ie each player controls about a battalion and each stand represents a platoon) would (of course) recommend Combat Command (Command Decision and to some extent Rapid Fire are also pitched at this level).

To play on a 4X4 you would need to use CM instead of inches.

If you want to go higher level you may want a system where a stand represents a company. Combat Command is pretty light on its feet though and players can run Regiments with a bit of experience.

TomT

If you want to roll a Brigade, as has been suggested Brigade Commander will do just that.

It's aimed at being on the faster side, rather than a heavy simulation, but you can play with a relatively small number of stands and in an hour to hour and a half.

link

Try PanzerKorps, may be just what you are looking for
panzerkorps.com

Not sure how you do this. The real wolrld at army level has lots of terrain. Most of it vital. Proably a couple of key bridges/rivers at high weight, potentailay 1 bridge per 4 sq km with a critical weight limit limiting what can use it. A few Key hills like (112 in Normandy). You may need to define what you need in a more structured way.

Battlefront:WW2 for Battalion command.
Spearhead for a Brigade per player.
Megablitz or Panzerkorps for higher level (although good luck figuring out how to play Megablitz from the rules).

"Not sure how you do this. The real wolrld at army level has lots of terrain. Most of it vital."

Indeed it does, however I take heart from the published sets of military wargames rules (e.g. 1956 British Army Tactical Wargame, the US Army 'First Battle', which both cover divisional/corps sized actions) who rather skate over this and focus instead on the terrain features which impact operations.

Good going, bad going. Roads, linear obstacles, cover, elevation. There are task charts for engineering activity.

Some of them don't even have movement tables because, as one of my acquaintances who gets paid to do this stuff for real said "Everyone knows how long it takes to move a battlegroup from A to B".

Martin,
That is the key point roads are vital as it says. Hedges and ditches make for bad going/linear obsticals. Rivers and mud bottomed streams with 3 ft banks are serious and need engineering. They are the terrain and they do impact operations. Hence these things are critical to your table.