"CoC Gembloux Gap 1940 Scenario 1 Palm Off at Perbais" Topic

The publication of the 1940 Handbook for Chain of Command has led to a flurry of campaigns set in France and we really like the look of 'Taking the Gembloux Gap' and the attempt by 3 Panzer to breakthrough in Belgium.

This is the first scenario 'Palm Off at Perbais' as the German infantry attempt to push aside the French defenders and clear a path for the tanks. The full AAR is here Palm-Off at Perbais

Excellent! Finally new AAR of my most favourite AAR author. I love those. Wholeheartedly thank You for Your time put into creating. :)

It's a nice game, and a great AAR. Historically, Gembloux was the biggest of the few French tactical victories in 1940, so it is no wonder it is a tough one for the Germans.

And now for the closeup view -

Time to scatter from that scatter! (another great scenario and with excellent board terrain)

Cracking AAR – read this on your blog and came here to let you know how much I'm pleased to see more of your CoC campaigning as I can't on the blog itself.
This was a tough one and two UXB for two bombs seemed extremely unlikely – I guess it was really cr*ppy dice throw?
I was also disappointed by how ineffective the le.IG18 was at that range I would've expected it easily outshoot the rifle grenades both on accuracy and rate of fire.
I can't wait to see how you crack this one as I'm out ideas – is there anything special in the support list?

Excellent AAR on a fascinating battle during the French campaign. It prompted me to download the Scenario book itself. For those who haven't seen it, it is a very well-written account of the attack on the French main defensive line. Worth it for the historical detail alone.

Cracking AAR – read this on your blog and came here to let you know how much I'm pleased to see more of your CoC campaigning as I can't on the blog itself.
This was a tough one and two UXB for two bombs seemed extremely unlikely – I guess it was really cr*ppy dice throw?

Yes, not the best day for the Luftwaffe and not the best showcase for what the Stuka bombardment can achieve in a scenario. The French had AA MGs which reduce the effectiveness and then the rest was bad luck. The bombs hit but didn't explode, then the turn end came too soon and so French deployment wasn't disrupted as much as it might have been. On another day it could have been a very different story.

I was also disappointed by how ineffective the le.IG18 was at that range I would've expected it easily outshoot the rifle grenades both on accuracy and rate of fire.

The gun was facing two French squads, the 60mm mortar and the rifle grenades. I was trying to suppress the squads to help out my squad in the wheat field, there was simply too many French to deal with. If it was just the rifle grenades it would have been a different story (plus they had some good fortune when they killed two of the gun crew, that was just a lucky shot).

Excellent AAR on a fascinating battle during the French campaign. It prompted me to download the Scenario book itself. For those who haven't seen it, it is a very well-written account of the attack on the French main defensive line. Worth it for the historical detail alone.

Agree, the historical preamble in all the campaign booklets is always excellent and does a great job of putting the campaign in context. I find Chain of Command really shines in the campaign context, tactics become more historical and the whole narrative really works well.

Only slight quibble found so far in the Gembloux scenario book is:

'All of the Schützen were truck mounted, apart from one company which had the much coveted, but extremely rare, SdKfz 250/1 half-tracks.'

There were no 250s in France – the first 250s were issued in July 41. I think Chain of Command mean the 251, but even in relation to 251s 3rd Panzer was one of two panzer divisions (the other was the 9th) that did not have a company mounted in 251s – they were issued to 3rd Panzer in Aug 40.

Cheers

Michael

I forgot to ask in my earlier comment, but are those railway lines just bog standard Triang/Hornby track mounted on an aggregate base?

I forgot to ask in my earlier comment, but are those railway lines just bog standard Triang/Hornby track mounted on an aggregate base?

Yes. The cheapest rail tracks I could find. I told the guy in the model railway shop that I didn't need anything fancy, in fact they didn't even have to work and he produced these in 3 foot lengths and they only cost around AU$14 each. I mounted them on strips of 3mm MDF that I coated with a model rail scatter ballast material.

TP01, where are you located in Australia please? I'm in Sydney, Eastern Suburbs

I'm in Sydney, Eastern Suburbs

Then we're neighbours, I'm in Surry Hills. Dave, my regular opponent is in Neutral Bay. We've been playing mostly board games on the first Saturday of every month at Paddo RSL for twenty years, but lately we've also been playing CoC, Sharp Practice and even a couple of games of What a Tanker.

Very good. I'm in Woollahra. Might pop down to Paddo RSL in September. Cheers