CoC - Spoiling Action At Vitebsk - 1943 – Part 2

For those of you arriving here for the first time, please check out the previous post Spoiling Action AtVitebsk - Part 1 for the AAR of the first part of the game. Part 1 will get you up to speed and provide the lead in to this Part 2.

Picking up where we left off at the end of Phase 25. Russian Force Morale = 8, German = 9.

Phase 26 – Russian roll: 5,5,5,2,1     CoC Dice = 3

Next phase is German. Kap. Muellerov uses the 1 to activate the 45mm AT Gun to fire on Wagner's PzIV for the big side shot. He gets some solid hits! However, the PzIVs armour roll is hot so it survives, just causing a net 1 effect with only 1 shock and a gunner panic. Whew! Wagner was sweating bullets over that one. After that, the 2 is used to have Myshkin's south squad fire at Hirsch's German squad in the crop causing 1 casualty on the Rifle Team, missing Hirsch. (no photo)

Phase 27 – German Roll 6,6,4,3,1     CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is German! A bonus! Hptm. Lowellinski uses a 1 to activate the F.O. to try and contact the battery, but no contact is possible this phase. The 4 is used to activate Jaeger's Command PzIV. Jaeger spends 1 CI to radio Wagner's shocked PzIV for him to order his driver to move behind the building, which he does with a big sigh of relief! Jaeger uses the second CI to radio Eichmann's PzIII for him to order his gunner to fire his MG at Myshkin's squad behind the hedge, causing 2 shock. The third CI is not used. The 3 is used to activate Hirsch's squad in the crop to also fire at Myshkin's squad at the hedge causing 1 shock and 2 casualties, missing Szt. Myshkin. End Phase.

Phase 28 – German Roll 5,3,2,1,1     CoC Dice = 6 Full!

Next phase is Russian. Lowellinski uses a 1 to have the F.O. attempt to contact the battery. No luck for the rest of this Game Turn! He uses a 3 to activate Eichmann's PzIII to order his gunner to fire the coaxial MG at Myshkin's squad again, causing 1 casualty and 1 shock, finally pinning the squad! Seeing this, Lowellinski uses the 2 + 1 to activate Hirsch's squad in the crop to move At The Double into Close Combat with Myshkin's squad! The Germans easily win the Close Combat because the Russians are pinned, but also inflict enough additional shock and KIAs that Myshkin's squad breaks, routing off the table and taking Myshkin with them. The Bad Things Happen Table rolls for both the squad and Szt. Myshkin routing off the table cause the Russian Force Morale to drop by a whopping 3 down to 5! The German squad gets off light with 2 casualties and 2 shock. [Error: we forgot to add a shock to each German Team for moving At The Double but one less German die would still have caused the same Close Combat result] End phase.

Phase 29 – Russian Roll 6,5,4,1,1     CoC Dice = 4

Next phase is German. Kap. Muellerov uses a 4 to activate Lt. Vasilyev and with 1 CI he orders Pashin's squad to fire on Ritter's Rifle Team at the stone wall, causing a shock and a casualty and finally causing it to break, taking Ritter along as well! The Rifle Team and Ritter retreat back into the woods out of LOS. The Germans roll on the Bad Things Happen Table and lose one Force Morale point, now at 8. Lt. Vasilyev uses a second CI to put the AT Gun on Overwatch. Then Muellerov adds the 1 + 1 to activate Szt. Denisov's squad on the north hill. They notice Obgfr. Braun's squad in the crop backed up with Wagner's PzIV and decide to withdraw back behind the hill and over the road.

Phase 30 – German Roll 6,5,5,4,3     CoC Dice = 6 + 2

Next phase is Russian. Hptm. Lowellinski sees Obgfr. Ritter and his broken Rifle Team and wants to get the shock reduced on it before the Game Turn ends, so he uses a 4 to deploy Lt. Klein, his second Senior Leader (SL), in the woods nearby, attached to Ritter's one-man Rifle Team. Then Lt. Klein uses 2 CI to take 2 shock off Ritter's Rifle Team and the third CI to activate Braun's squad in the crop to make a Tactical Move into the crop ahead.

Lowellinski then uses the 3 to activate Hirsch's squad in the south to move over the hedge toward the tasty Russian JOP. End Phase.

Phase 31 – Russian Roll 3,3,3,2,1     CoC Dice = 4

Next phase is German. Muellerov adds a 3 + 1 to activate Lt. Vasilyev who spends a CI to have Pashin's squad fire on Fiedler's German Rifle Team in the south woods but they miss. Then he uses a 3 to order Szt. Denisov's squad in the north to move At The Double toward the centre hill, picking up a shock. Jaeger's PzIV does not Overwatch Fire on Denisov's squad since he is waiting to see what Szt. Torchinovich's T-43 will do. With the last 3 Muellerov activates Torchinovich's T-43 who orders his driver to carefully reverse behind the wooden building, all the time staying behind the abandoned T-34 and out of LOS of Jaeger's PzIV. End phase.

Again we ran out of time for our evening game session so had to mothball the game until our next gaming night. Here is how the table looks at the end of Phase 31.

This session we played 17 phases in 2-1/2 hours so we are improving. On with the "cat cover" and siesta time for the little guys. With the variable ending beginning after Phase 36 there should only be about 8 phases left on average if the game goes to 40 phases, but it could be as low as 4 phases left. Now Russian FM = 5 and German = 8.

Back again to finish off the game! Hautmanns Lowellinski and Pollockstein on the German side gang up on Kapitan Muellerov of the Russians, hoping for a quick German win before the impending game end. [We corrected an error in Phase 28 in our last session by adding 2 more shock to Obgfr. Hirsch's squad in the south woods that we forgot to apply from their At The Double move into Close Combat.]

Phase 32 – German Roll 6,5,5,5,2     CoC Dice = 6 + 5

Next phase is Russian. Not the best roll with only a 2 to work with. The Germans use it to move Hirsch's squad to capture the JOP in the South. End Phase.

Phase 33 – Russian Roll 6,6,5,3,3     CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is Russian! One less move for the Germans before game end! Kap. Muellerov uses a 3 to activate Szt. Denisov who spends a CI to remove the shock and the other to have his squad move At The Double toward the woods on the hill, picking up a shock. Then he uses the last 3 to activate Szt. Pashin on the hill to order his squad to shoot to at Fiedler's Rifle Team in the woods. They take a whopping 4 shock with no KIA's. End phase.

Phase 34 – Russian Roll 5,4,4,3,1     CoC Dice = 6 Full!

Next Phase is German. Muellerov uses a 3 to activate Szt. Denisov who uses a CI to remove the shock and another to Tactical Move his squad into the woods. Then a 4 to activate Lt. Vasilyev to order Pashin's squad to fire on Fiedler's Rifle team again, pinning them with 4 more shock (now at 8) and 2 KIA, but missing Fiedler and Lt. Krause. They are very close to breaking! End Phase. (no photo)

Phase 35 – German Roll 6,6,5,3,2     CoC Dice = 6 + 6 2 Full!

Next phase is German. With 2 turns in a row, this is do or die for the Germans with the first roll for the variable game ending beginning after Phase 36. Overhearing Lowellinski's and Pollockstein's field command discussion, they prefer trying to cause the Russian Force Morale to drop by 5 more to win instead of trying for capture of the Fuel Dump. Their plan is to try and bag Torchinovich's T-34, capture the 2 remaining JOPs, and eliminate the AT Gun. A bold plan! So first, Hptm. Lowellinski uses the 2 to activate Obgfr. Braun's squad in the crop to Move & Fire. The squad advances to their right to get into LOS of the AT Gun on the hill and fire at it with half-rate. The gun shield gives the AT Gun crew hard cover, but despite that they suffer 1 KIA, missing Vasilyev and are now down to 1 crewman! With the 3 Lowellinski next activates Wagner's PzIV, who spends 1 CI to remove the shock and the second to order his driver to move Flat Out toward the north end of the woods and he gets a big 15 inch move. End Phase.

Phase 36 – German Roll 6,5,4,3,2     CoC Dice = 6 + 6 +1

Next phase is Russian. There will be a 2d6 roll at the end of this turn and if it is an 11 or 12, the game ends! Lowelinski uses a 2 to activate Braun's squad in the crop to fire on the AT gun at full rate. They get 2 KIA so the AT Gun is wiped out! This drops the Russian Force Morale by 2 more down to 3!

The second KIA was heading for Lt. Vasilyev, but the Commissar, Lt. Gorev, bravely jumps in front and takes the fatal bullet meant for Vasilyev. What a patriot! No roll was made for Force Morale. [There are 3 different versions of Commissar rules for nationalities and periods: Winter War, Barbarossa, and Espana. Since there are none so far for the 1943-1945 period I used the earlier Winter War rules where the Russians were on the attack. The Barbarossa period was a desperate defensive stand with more ruthless conditions. We assumed that the Commissar is automatically eliminated without a die roll on the Leader Effect Table since he must "sacrifice" himself before the roll is done. Also with no indication of the consequence after a Commissar sacrifices himself we did not roll on the Bad Things Happen Table for his elimination]

Then Hptm. Pollockstein uses the 3 to activate Fiedler who uses both CIs to remove two shock from his Rifle Team (now 6). Lastly, Pollockstein uses a 4 to activate Lt. Jaeger's command PzIV who uses his first CI to radio Eichmann's PzIII to order his driver to reverse move back into LOS of Pashin's squad on the hill.

Then with the AT Gun threat gone, Lt. Jaeger spends the second CI to order his driver to move Flat Out up the road, straight toward the fuel dump.

Jaeger spends his third CI to radio Wagner's PzIV to order his driver to move Flat Out to the woods near the Russian JOP. Wagner gets a big roll and has to stop at the woods edge because woods are Broken Ground, which only allows 2d6 moves.

This ends Phase 36 and triggers the first roll for the variable game ending. The game will end on a 2d6 roll of 11 or 12. Hptm. Lowelinski rolls a lowly 4 so the game moves on to Phase 37.

Phase 37 – Russian Roll 6,6,5,3,3     CoC Dice = 6 +1

Next Phase is Russian! [Error: After the game I discovered that with a Force Morale of 3 the Russian side's number of Command Dice rolled should have been reduced by 2 down to 3.]

In a surprise move, Hptm. Pollockstein plays a CoC dice to Interrupt the Russian turn and activate Wagner's PzIV to move slowly forward, capture the JOP, and fire with full effect at Szt. Torchinovich's T-34, now within LOS and at point blank range. Lowelinski rolls a 12 on the To Hit roll which is a critical hit! This adds 3 more strike dice for a total of 11 and of these 5 are hits! Muellerov rolls the T-34s six Armour dice and he gets zero saves for a net 5 hits! This knocks out Torchinovich's T-34! We decide that his T-34 explodes without rolling for that event since there were no troops nearby to be affected. The roll on the Bad Things Happen Table yields a -2 so the Russian Force Morale drops to 1!

Continuing the Russian phase, Kap. Muellerov uses a 3 to activate Szt. Denisov to move his squad to the Fuel Dump as a final protective defense. Then he uses the last 3 to activate Szt. Pashin who uses his CI to order his squad to Normal Move down the hill and assault Lt. Jaeger's PzIV with the Molotovs they have. The squad rolls well on the move and gets right to Jaeger's PzIV at the hedge.

Pashin's squad tosses a Molotov onto the top of the PzIV, causing 3 strike hits. The PzIV only rolls 1 armour save for a net 2 hits. This causes 2 shock and because Petrol Bombs have all their shock doubled, this results in 4 shock which causes Lt. Jaeger and his crew to abandon the PzIV! They skulk off through the hedge coughing their lungs out.

There are now two rolls to be made on the Bad Things Happen Table. [No rules could be found for rolls on the Bad Things Happen Table for crews of abandoned tanks so we played that this equates to them being wiped out.] First, for the abandoned PzIV a roll for a Support Team wiped out which results in -2, and then a roll for Lt. Jaeger, a Senior Leader wiped out which results in -3 for a net loss of -5, dropping the German to a Force Morale of only 3! Force Morale is now German = 3 and Russian = 1. Close!

Kap. Muellerov is about to end Phase 37, hoping for a 10 or more on the Variable Game End roll to pull off a Russian win, but Hptm. Pollockstein plays the second German CoC dice to end the Game Turn. This causes a roll on the Bad Things Happen Table for the two Russian JOPs captured by the Germans. One JOP roll is negated by Muellerov playing a Russian CoC dice, but the loss of the second JOP must be rolled for resulting in a -1 dropping the Russian Force Morale to zero, immediately forcing them to withdraw from the battle! This suddenly ends the game in favour of the German side who force the Russians to withdraw from the field! The German second CoC dice play to end the Game Turn prevents Muellerov from rolling to see if the game would end as a Russian win. It doesn't get much closer than that! This is the table at Game End.

 Comments:

1. My reason for recording and posting these AARs in such detail is twofold. First to give other CoC gamers a sense of the game when described blow-by-blow. Second, having to record and describe the action requires me to learn the rules so it is a good way to do that. Future AARs of CoC will be posted with much less detail, more of an overview of the action with photos delivering most of the story.

2. Our wargaming group has warmed to Chain of Command since our first game. I think partly because this second game was a bigger game with a mixture of armour and infantry. We seem to like larger games where the outcome is less dependent on the survival of a single big support unit. However, this makes for a longer game than I'd hoped for. We spent about 6 hours on this game over three game sessions. I'm beginning to think that we just play slow and we'll just have to accept that our games will need at least two sessions. <grin>

3. For other CoC players looking to try big games with lots of extra Support Teams (say 20 - 40 List points), our experience is they lengthened the game by maybe one-third because the same five Command Dice need to activate so many more units. My "guess" to use 36 phases before initiating a variable ending worked out just right, but that is too long a game! I'd like to shorten the game to 25 - 30 phases.

For our future 'big" games we plan to add one extra coloured Command Die to the usual number indicated. This die will act as usual on a roll from one to four, providing the extra commands needed by the extra Support Teams, speeding the game up to the same rate of play as for a regular sized CoC game with normal List points. All fives that are rolled will be disregarded, keeping the CoC dice action the same. The six roll is interesting. If a six is rolled on a coloured die it will be disregarded when considering Player Initiative, so the probability of gaining initiative for each phase will stay the same. However, the six will be included for the Random Event/Extra COC Die and probably we'll also try including it for Turn Ends. Currently, rolling 4 sixes with 5 dice provides a Random Event with a probability of one time in 303 rolls. With 6 dice it drops to once every 115 rolls. A welcome improvement. Regarding Turn End probability, our last game went 37 phases without rolling 3 sixes even once. The probability that a random Turn End will happen is once every 28 rolls for 5 dice, dropping to once every 15 rolls with 6 dice. Elite troops with 7 Command Dice would not count the coloured die for Turn End because that would drop it too much, to once every 10 rolls. Personally I'd like to try some big games with more random Game Turn Ends that show up every 15 rolls on average in addition to CoC generated ones to see how that works.

4. The good news is that our group is interested to play more games of CoC. And for future games since we are a self-contained group (do not play CoC outside of our group) we are free to bolt on or change whatever rules we wish, going beyond the core CoC game rules. Using our group experiences from the last two games, and my half dozen solo games, we now feel comfortable to test out some draft house rules that have been percolating on the back burner. CoC has a good core set of rules but is a bit fuzzy in areas. When at a fuzzy spot in a game where discussion leads to "Play the period, not the rules," if you record the resulting conclusion it sometimes leads to a house rule easily remembered for future games.

I'm sure there will be more, but our current "hot" list of fuzzy spots that we will be developing and testing house rules for are: Defensive Fire, Forward Observers, LOS hindrances (hedge, wall, crop), Smoke LOS, and Molotovs.

***

OK, it's time to put the toys away for summer. These last games were played during winter temperatures as low as -35 C with a wind chill of -50 C. Easy to stay inside and hibernate with hobbies. Now it's melting outside and I've just kicked the snow plug out of the cave entrance. Time to soak up some rays, ride my motorbike, throw some beer in my little sailboat, and swat mosquitoes around the BBQ. See you next fall!

Gary

COC – Spoiling Action At Vitebsk - 1943 – Part 1

For our second game I was encouraged by veteran CoC players to play according to the standard rules before making any modifications. So I started to religiously set up the scenario, determined to go "by the book." But I fell off the wagon right away when choosing forces, feeling like a kid in a candy store. "I'll have one of these, and one of those, and oh... I gotta have one of those too." Then I added it all up and saw the huge total. Ouch! There is nothing more sobering than a cost estimate. But I just couldn't put most of it back because it was too tasty, so I said to heck with it and decided to use almost all of it. So much for adherence to the book. Anyway, this scenario has artillery, tanks, Molotovs, satchel charges, and an anti-tank gun.

Scenario Description & Patrol Phase

Wanting a defined objective I chose the generic Attack On An Objective scenario from the book as a basis and overlaid some historical background.

The scenario takes place in late June, 1943 near Vitebsk. Operation Citadel in the south is imminent while the front is quiet this far north. Stavka has ordered a series of small jabs along the northern front to tie up local German reserves and keep them from moving to support the impending battle at Orel/Kursk. Russian trucks have brought drums of fuel to a forward position at a small village to supply a forthcoming raid on Vitebsk.

German intelligence patrols report a lightly guarded Russian forward fuel dump in a small village just east of Vitebsk, and Army Group Centre has ordered a spoiling attack to capture and recover the valuable fuel. An initial attack has broken through the Russian lines and a small force has been detached to capture the fuel dump. If captured (after the scenario) a convoy of transport trucks is waiting in the rear to advance and transport the fuel drums back behind German lines before Russian reinforcements arrive.

The victory conditions require the Germans to either be in possession of the fuel dump JOP at the end of the game (the fuel dump can't be destroyed), or force the Russians to withdraw due to loss of Force Morale. If they achieve neither, the Russians win. I was concerned about instilling a sense of urgency in the attacker. CoC does not make provision for time urgency other than that provided by Force Morale, allowing a game to find it's own tempo. I wanted to force the German attacker to push hard to "beat the clock." In other games this is done by limiting the number of game turns, but this doesn't work in CoC since a game turn is variable. So I put a limit on the number of phases allowed, with a variable ending. The excellent CoC Forum had a posting showing porting of Skirmish Campaigns scenarios into 3 CoC phases per game turn. I felt maybe this was a bit too low but 4 phases per turn maybe a bit too high. So I settled on trying it with 36 phases (before a variable ending). At the end of Phase 36 the defender rolls 2D6 and if an 11 or more is rolled the game ends. After Phase 37 it ends if a 10 or more is rolled, etc. Theoretically this should average about 4 more phases.

The rest of the scenario was set up according to the book with intent to adhere to the rules during game play.

The Russian is defending the east edge (left) and the German attack comes from the west edge (right). The village has a church and three buildings plus just foundation ruins from another. The church, the two western buildings, the foundations, and the three stone walls are Hard Cover (no penetration by small arms), while the eastern building is wooden. Woods, hedges, crops, and garden are all Light Cover. The ploughed field, ruins, and woods are Broken Ground, with the rest being Open Ground, including the gentle hills. Stone walls, foundations, and hedges are Low so they, by themselves, do not block LOS and are Minor Obstacles. Woods are dense with bushes so block LOS across them but allow visibility of 4 inches into them and 6 inches when inside them. The fuel dump objective is in the centre near the Russian edge.

The German side rolled a 5 so got to move a Patrol Marker for four free moves before the Russian could move their first one. After locking down all the Patrol Markers the Jump Off Points were defined as shown on the map, blue beads for German, and red beads for Russian, with an additional Russian JOP on the fuel dump.

Force Selection

To save time, prior to the game I assembled the forces for each side. Rather than roll for support levels, I just assigned them, keeping to the scenario formula. With an attacking German Force Rating of 0 and defending Russian of -3, the Russian support points needed to be half the German's then add 3 more. But the support levels were about three times more than allowed.   I called it tweaking the support levels somewhat. <grin> Apparently looking for a larger game I gave the German side 32 points and the Russian half that with 16, adding another 3 points for Force Rating difference to make 19. This level of support is way larger than called for by the scenario, but I couldn't resist. This game needed to include some artillery, tanks, and squad anti-tank weapons!

German Force: Force Rating 0 Command Dice: 5

Platoon:

HQ: Leutnant, Senior Leader – machine pistol, Panzershreck Team (2x crew)

Squads 1, 2, and 3, each with: Obergefreiter Junior Leader – machine pistol + panzerfaust, LMG Team (MG42 + 2x crew + 1 rifleman), Rifle Team (6x riflemen).

Platoon Support: 32 support "points" - Options from List #s totaling 32

From List #

1: Adjutant

2: Senior Leader – machine pistol

4: Regular Infantry Squad: Obergefreiter Junior Leader – machine pistol + panzerfaust, LMG Team (MG42 + 2x crew + 1 rifleman), Rifle Team (6x riflemen).

4: Forward Observer & 8cm Mortar Battery

5: PzIIIL - radio

7: PzIVG - radio

7: PzIVG - radio

2: Panzer IV Platoon Commander - Senior Leader

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32

Russian Force: Force Rating -3 Command Dice: 5

Platoon:

HQ: Leytenant, Senior Leader – pistol

Squads 1, 2, and 3, each with: Serzhant Junior Leader – SMG, 1x LMG (2x crew), 7x riflemen.

Platoon Support: 19 support “points” (options from List #s totaling 19)

From List #

2: Commissar ( I downgraded him to List 2 because I thought him less useful than a Maxim. Hah!)

4: 45mm L46 Anti-Tank Gun

1: Satchel Charge ( I also threw in 6 Molotovs, 2 for each squad, to have some infantry AT capability)

6: T-34/76 - no radio

6: T-34/76 - no radio

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19

The German has real punch here with an extra squad, tanks, and artillery. The Russians are strong on anti-tank, but less so against infantry. I felt the loss of the lone Russian Senior Leader (SL) would be more of a game breaker than the loss of a Maxim, so I went with a Commissar instead.

We played on a 4x4 foot section of my 4x6 table. So far I'm finding 4x4 to be perfectly OK for 15mm games of CoC, needing side board room for tracking markers & dice. I'm using forces based mainly on Flames of War stands with a few add-on leaders and specialty teams based individually. Dice show the number of men in each team. I used the CoC Game Token Set which has very useful oversize Chain of Command Dice and some neat Tactical and Overwatch markers. The Overwatch markers show the 90 degrees of coverage very well. Since there are so few of them the set's red Shock markers were only used to mark a "stunned" leader (2-3 roll). My old Wound and Pin markers from I Ain't Been Shot Mom were used for shock, pins, and artillery markers. I wondered how to track the various levels of damage to tanks. This prompted me to make a set of markers the same size as my previous IABSM ones. It turned out these worked really well. The table gets a bit cluttered, but at least we know what is going on!

Game Start

Hauptmann Pollockstein takes the German attacker side and Kapitan Muellerov the Russians, while I moderate and record. Both sides roll for Force Morale and the Germans roll a big 6 for a Morale of 11, while the Russians roll a medium 3 for a Morale of 9. With higher Force Morale, the German goes first. Both sides have 5 Command Dice.

Phase 1 – German Roll 5,5,5,3,2      CoC Dice = 3

The next phase will be Russian. Already 3 pips on the CoC dice! Hptm. Pollockstein uses a 2 to deploy Obgfr. Fiedler's squad on the nearby hill top. Then he uses the 3 to deploy Obgfr. Wagner's PzIV who spends 1 CI to put his gunner on Overwatch. End Phase.

Phase 2 – Russian roll: 6,5,4,3,2      CoC Dice = 1

Next phase is German. Kap. Muellerov spends a 3 to deploy Szt. Korzhakov's T-34 on the road who spends 1 CI to put his the gunner on Overwatch. Then, being cagey, he passes on the 4 and 2, waiting to see what Pollockstein is up to. End phase.

Phase 3 – German Roll 6,4,3,2,1      CoC Dice = 3

Next phase is Russian. Hptm. Pollockstein uses a 3 on Obgfr. Fiedler's squad deployed last turn spending 2 CI to put both his Teams on Overwatch, then a 2 to deploy Obgfr. Hirsch's squad in the open on the south slope of the same hill. After that a 4 and a 1 to deploy a Senior Leader (SL), Lt. Krause, and a Forward Observer (F.O.) Team on the same hill in the woods near the squads. The F.O. Team contacts the mortar battery automatically. End phase.

Phase 4 – Russian roll: 6,5,2,1,1     CoC Dice = 2

Next phase is German. Muellerov sees the Germans lolling about in the open and uses a 2 to deploy Szt. Pashin's squad on the east hill to fire at the German squads causing 2 casualties plus "stunning" Obgfr. Fiedler (red marker) in one squad, and wounding Obgfr. Hirsch in the other squad (yellow bead), but no shock. Good shooting! The Obgfr. Fiedler's Rifle Team on Overwatch returns fire and misses the Russians completely! End phase.

Phase 5 – German Roll 4,4,4,1,1      CoC Dice = 3

Next phase will be Russian. With a 1 Pollockstein activates the F.O. Team who places an Artillery Request marker on Szt. Pashin's squad on the hill. The F.O. Team calls for a Ranging Shot instead of an Immediate Barrage, but the Ranging Shot is way off target and not kept. The Artillery Request is left open for the next F.O. Team activation with a +1 DRM on accuracy. With another 1 die Pollockstein deploys a Panzershreck Team at the hedge near the squads on the hill. With a 4 he activates Lt. Krause (SL) who uses 1 CI to move Obgfr. Fiedler's squad ahead to the woods, and another CI to move Obgfr. Hirsch's squad down the hill behind the hedge.

Then Pollockstein uses the last 4 to deploy Lt. Jaeger's Command PzIV. Jaeger spends 1 CI to order his gunner to go on Overwatch, and a second CI to issue a radio command to Obgfr. Wagner's previously deployed PzIV and has him order his driver to move flat out up the road. End phase.

Phase 6 – Russian roll: 6,5,4,2,1      CoC Dice = 3

Next phase is German. Seeing the threat building on the Russian left flank to the south, Muellerov passes on using the 4 and uses the 2 + 1 to activate Szt. Korzhakov's T-34 who spends 1 CI to order his driver to fast move south along the east edge of the table behind the woods. End of phase. (no photo)

Phase 7 – German Roll 6,5,5,3,2     CoC Dice = 5

Next phase will be Russian. Pollockstein uses the 3 to activate Obgfr. Wagner's lead PzIV who uses one CI to order his driver to move flat out up the road, getting a good roll, and the second CI to order his gunner on Overwatch, concerned about the T-34 engine noises ahead. The 2 dice is used to deploy Obgfr. Ritter's squad behind the stone wall near Wagner's PzIV and he orders his squad to fire on Szt. Pashin's squad on the hill causing 1 casualty, 1 shock, and "stunning" Szt. Pashin. End phase. Some payback for the damage dealt out to the German squads! End phase.

Phase 8 – Russian roll: 6,6,4,2,1     CoC Dice = 3

Russian goes again next phase! Muellerov uses a 4 to deploy Lt. Vasilyev, his Senior Leader (SL) to the hill, attaching to both Pashin's squad and the AT Gun. With 1 CI he removes the shock from the squad, and with a second CI activates Pashin's squad to fire their LMG on Ritter's German squad behind the stone wall (they miss), and the squad's remaining riflemen to fire at the F.O. Team on the hill getting 3 hits. The nearby German SL, Lt. Krause, is out of LOS due to the intervening church so not a target, leaving the F.O. Team is on its own. A 6 is rolled in the effect rolls requiring a further roll for damage to the F.O. A 3 is rolled and the F.O. Team is eliminated! Ouch! This is a head-shaker since we all felt the F.O. should be safe, having deployed in cover, without moving or firing to advertise his position. We needed to address this before proceeding, so we decided for this game to call the F.O. initially out of LOS so the fire effect was negated or a "miss," and to query the CoC Forum. [An independent F.O. has a 36% chance of being eliminated with a full enemy squad fire and is 3 times as vulnerable to elimination as an unattached Leader. This concern is discussed on the Forum if you wish further info. From Forum discussions, we plan to try a draft house rule: If an F.O. deploys in cover he is hidden until he moves or is spotted by an enemy Leader spending 1 CI for his squad or team to successfully attempt to spot the F.O. on a 4-6 roll. Also the F.O will have the same probability of elimination as a Leader]

After that sour moment, Muellerov uses the 1 die to deploy a 45mm AT Gun on the hill top and orders it to fire at Obgfr. Wagner's PzIV in the open. The AT Gun just needs a 5 to hit which should be easy, but rolls a 4 and misses! Wagner's PzIV on Overwatch returns fire with H.E. with hits split between the AT Gun and Pashin's squad. The gun takes one shock and Pashin's squad 1 casualty, missing Szt. Pashin. Muellerov passes on using the 2 die. End phase.

Phase 9 – Russian roll: 6,4,3,3,2      CoC Dice = 3

Next phase is German. Since Wagner's PzIV is no longer on Overwatch, Muellerov uses a 3 to activate Szt. Korzhakov's T-34 and gets a big roll to boldly move flat out up to the road behind the hedge.

This doubles the threat to Obgfr. Wagner's PzIV!  Now Muellerov uses a 4 to activate the SL, Lt. Vasilyev, who spends a CI to remove the shock on the AT Gun squad on the hill, and both remaining CIs to activate the AT Gun to fire at Wagner's PzIV again with a +1 DRM. Since the PzIV is an acquired target for +1 that is +2 total. It hits but only rolls 1 strike and Wagner's PzIV rolls 2 armour saves for a ping.

The second 3 is used to deploy a second tank, Szt. Torchinovich's T-34 at the road edge, while the 2 is used to activate Pashin's squad to shuffle closer to the AT Gun for a better angle on Obgfr. Ritter's German squad at the stone wall. End phase.

Phase 10 – German Roll 6,6,3,2,1     CoC Dice = 5

The German goes again next phase! Szt. Korzhakov may regret his bold move with his T-34! Pollockstein uses a 3 +1 to activate Lt. Jaeger's Command PzIV who uses 1 CI to order his driver to slow move up into LOS of Korzhakov's T-34, and one CI to order his gunner to fire at the T-34. He rolls boxcars! This is a critical hit giving 3 more strike dice for a total of 11! But then Jaeger only rolls 3 hits and Korzhakov's T-34 rolls 2 armour dice for just 1 net hit. The effect roll is a 4 causing engine damage and 1 shock.

Jaeger's Command PzIV spends the last CI to radio Obgfr. Wagner’s PzIV and has him order his gunner to fire on the AT Gun with H.E. causing a casualty on the gun, plus a shock and a second "stun" on the squad's JL, Szt. Pashin.

Then Hptm. Pollockstein uses the remaining 2 to activate Ritter's squad at the stone wall to fire on the AT Gun and Pashin's squad, getting a massive 11 hits! This causes 2 shock and a further casualty on the gun, plus a whopping 5 shock on Pashin's squad, missing both Pashin and Vasilyev. End phase but the next phase is also German! It's looking bad for the Russians on the hill! End phase.

Phase 11 – German Roll 6,5,3,1,1     CoC Dice = 6 Full!

Next phase is Russian. Pollockstein uses a 3 +1 to activate Jaeger's Command PzIV, who spends 1 CI to order his gunner to fire on Korzhakov's T-34 again, causing another shock (now 2) and a "Commander Panic," which means Korzhakov has "lost it" for a moment and his T-34 can't activate in the next phase. The second CI is used to radio Obgfr. Wagner's PzIV and has him order his gunner to fire at the AT Gun & Pashin's squad again causing another casualty on the AT Gun crew.

The last 1 die is used to activate the F.O. who places a Ranging Shot marker on the hill near Pashin's Russian squad. The roll for deviation is on target so the Ranging Shot marker is kept for a future barrage. End phase. (no photo)

Phase 12 – Russian roll: 6,6,1,1,1     CoC Dice = 3

Next phase is Russian again! Perhaps a reprieve! Muellerov uses a 1 to activate the AT Gun, hitting Wagner's PzIV but the shot just pings. Then adding 1 + 1 he activates Pashin's squad on the hill and fires at Ritter's German squad at the stone wall causing a casualty on the LMG Team and 1 shock on the Rifle Team. Korzhakov, the T-34's commander, recovers from his panic attack. End phase. (no photo)

Phase 13 – Russian roll: 6,4,2,2,1     CoC Dice = 3

The next phase is German. In a surprise move, Hptm. Pollockstein plays his CoC dice to activate the F.O. to bring down an FFE mortar barrage! This pins the AT Gun, Pashin's squad and Vasilyev, and the barrage causes 1 shock to the AT Gun (now 3) and 1 shock to Pashin's squad (now 7), plus a wound to Szt. Pashin himself.

Muellerov resumes the Russian phase by using a 4 to activate Vasilyev (SL) to spend 2 CIs and remove 2 shock from the AT Gun (now 1). The third CI activates the gun to fire at Wagner's PzIV on the road. Despite a -2 DRM for pinned he does get a +1 for acquired target and hits the PzIV. However Wagner's PzIV rolls equal saves and the effect roll is a 4 which only requires his PzIV to engage the AT Gun in the next phase. 

[Edit: We made a major game goof here - that an FFE barrage does not block LOS!  10.3.1 clearly indicates an FFE barrage blocks LOS the same as a smoke barrage. We didn't become aware of this error until late in the game so the AAR continues with LOS allowed.] 

Kap. Muellerov then uses a 2 + 1 to activate Korzhakov's T-34 who spends one CI to remove a shock and the second to order his gunner to fire the Coaxial MG on Ritter's squad by the stone wall. They are in the open and suffer 1 casualty and 1 shock on the Rifle Team, 1 shock to the LMG Team, plus Obgfr. Ritter is lightly wounded. End Phase.

We had to call it night at this point with a plan to continue the following week (13 phases in 2-1/2 hours). So the "cat cover" went on and held all in stasis until then. Here's how the table looked at this point.

The German attack is pushing hard down the road and on the right flank with the mortar barrage pinning the Russians on the hill. But the Russians are being cagey, holding back on deploying more squads until the main thrust is fully defined. Meanwhile the Russians are buying time and has the German forces on the road tied up. The clock is ticking and the original Force Morale levels, Russian 9 and German 11, are still untouched!

We resumed play the following week with Hauptmann Pollockstein unable to attend to play, so I, Hauptman Chappenstein, bravely assumed command of the German attack.

Phase 14 – German Roll 5,4,1,1,1     CoC Dice = 1

Next phase is Russian. Using a 4, Hptm. Chappenstein activates Jaeger's Command PzIV who spends 1 CI to order his gunner to fire on Korzhakov's T-34, hitting with a net 1 hit for 1 shock (now 2) and another engine damage. [After the game session I realized damage is supposed to be cumulative so perhaps the 2nd engine damage should have immobilized the T-34, but we played that it had no further effect] With a second CI he radios Wagner's PzIV to have him order his gunner to fire on the AT Gun and Pashin's squad again as a required target from last phase. Using H.E. he scores 5 hits! The AT Gun escapes damage, but Pashin's squad takes 2 shock and a casualty, but missing Szt. Pashin. Then the 1 + 1 + 1 dice were added to activate Obgfr. Ritter for the squad at the stone wall using his one CI to remove a shock. End Phase. (no photo).

Phase 15 – Russian roll: 6,5,4,3,3     CoC Dice = 4

Next phase is German. Muellerov activates the SL, Vasilyev, who spends 2 CI to take 2 shock off Pashin's squad. The third CI activates the AT Gun to fire at Wagner's PzIV. Despite being pinned the gun hits and scores a net 1 damage, causing a shock and "Commander Panic" so Obgfr. Wagner "loses it" for next phase! Then Kap. Muellerov uses a 3 to activate Korzhakov's T-34 who spends both CIs to issue orders to both the Coaxial and Hull MG gunners to fire on the German squad in the open by the stone wall. The LMG Team takes 1 shock, the Rifle Team a shock and 2 casualties, plus Obgfr. Ritter is "stunned." Muellerov uses the last 3 to activate Szt. Torchinovich's T-34 to move up the road. End Phase. (no photo - I forgot 'cause I was playing!)

Phase 16 – German Roll 6,4,4,3,1     CoC Dice = 1

Next phase is Russian. Chappenstein uses a 4 to activate the Jaeger's Command PzIV spending 1 CI to order his gunner to fire on Korzhakov's T-34 again, hitting with a solid net 2 effect causing 2 more shock, raising the T-34s shock level to 4 requiring Szt. Korzhakov and his crew to bail, leaving it abandoned! Yes! One down! [Correction: During game play we forgot to roll on the Bad Things Happen Table for the loss of a Support Unit after the T-34 crew abandoned. After the game session I rolled a 1d6 getting a 3 which is a loss of -1 to the Russian Force Morale, reducing it to 8.]

With a second CI Jaeger orders his driver to move his PzIV up the road. (I can't spend the third CI because the PzIV's commander, Obgfr. Wagner, is in a panic and his tank could not be activated.)

Another view from the Russian side.

Then Chappenstein used the second 4 to activate Lt Krause (SL) on the hill spending all three CIs to move himself, the PzSh Team and Obgfr. Hirsch's squad by the hedge, all straight east toward the Russians.

Then Chappenstein used a 3 to deploy another little surprise for the Russians, Obgfr. Eichmann's PzIIIL enters at the road edge. Obgfr. Wagner recovers from his panic attack. End Phase.

Phase 17 – Russian roll: 6,6,3,2,1     CoC Dice = 4

Next phase is also Russian! Kap. Muellerov uses a 3 to activate Szt. Torchinovich's T-34 who spends 1 CI to order his driver to move up the road into position behind the abandoned T-34 such that it is out of LOS of the two PzIVs but in sight of Ritter's squad on the open by the stone wall. With his second CI he orders his gunner to fire the Coaxial MG on Ritter's squad, but he misses them. Muellerov then uses a 1 to have the AT Gun fire on the Wagner's PzIV, but being pinned, misses again. Lastly he uses the 2 to attempt to deploy a squad which fails. End phase. (no photo)

Phase 18 – Russian roll: 6,6,4,2,1     CoC Dice = 4

Again the next phase is Russian! Three in a row! With a 4 Muellerov activates the SL, Vasilyev who uses 3 CI to take 3 shock off Pashin's squad and the AT Gun. Then he uses a 1 to fire the AT Gun at Wagner's PzIV which which hits but bounces off the front armour! The last 2 is used to attempt to bring on a squad, which is successful. Szt. Myshkin's squad arrives behind the hedge on the Russian left where Fiedler's and Hirsch's German squads are making a determined push. Myshkin immediately has his squad fire on Fiedler's LMG Team and the PzSh Team at the woods since Fiedler's Rifle Team is out of LOS, getting 1 shock on each. Lastly, a 2 is used to successfully deploy the last squad commanded by Szt. Denisov at the Russian right flank behind the hill. End phase (no photo)

Phase 19 – Russian roll: 6,4,4,2,1     CoC Dice = 4

Next phase is German. And they will need it! A 4 is used to activate Lt. Vasilyev (SL) to take 3 more shock off the AT Gun and Pashin's squad. Then using the 1 the AT Gun fires again at Wagner's PzIV. This time very lucky, rolling boxcars! A critical hit giving 3 extra dice to the strike dice, But the PzIV rolls good for armour only causing 1 shock and a gunner panic. The last 2 activates Szt. Myshkin's squad which fires again at Fiedler's LMG Team and the PzSh Team adding 2 more shock on each. The LMG Team is OK since he can share shock with the Rifle Team, but the PzSh Team is dangerously close to breaking! End Phase. (no photo).

Phase 20 – German Roll 6,5,2,1,1     CoC Dice = 2

Next phase is Russian. A pretty crappy roll since Chappenstein needs 4's for his leader to remove shock. The biggest problem is the almost broken PzSh team and LMG Team, so adds the 2 + 1 + 1 to activate Lt. Krause at the woods and spend all his CIs to take off 3 shock, leaving 1 on the LMG Team and 2 on the PzSh Team. End phase.

Phase 21 – Russian roll: 6,5,2,1,1     CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is German. Sensing a potential kill, Muellerov uses a 2 and activates Szt. Myshkin's squad to fire again at the LMG and PzSh Teams, this time breaking the PzSh Team which retreats back behind the hill! Lt. Krause does not retreat with the PzSh Team because he is also attached to Fiedler's squad. Rolling on the Bad Things Happen Table, the German Force Morale drops -1 to 10. Muellerov now uses a 2 to move Szt. Denisov's squad in the north to the top of the hill. And the 1 activates the AT Gun to fire at Wagner's PzIV again but misses (again!). End phase.

Phase 22 – German Roll 5,4,4,1,1      CoC Dice = 3

Next phase is Russian. Hauptmann Lowellinski shows up to play! We take over command of the German side together. With a 4 Hptm. Lowellinski activates Lt. Krause in the woods who spends a CI to remove a shock from Fiedler's LMG Team, and a CI to order Fiedler's squad to go to Tactical stance for better cover. The third CI orders Hirsch's squad in the crop to fire at Myshkin's Russian squad behind the hedge. He rolls a whacking 11 hits causing 5 shock!

The second 4 activates Jaeger's Command PzIV who radios Obgfr. Wagner's PzIV (with 2 shock) to order his driver to reverse (2d6) out of the fire of the AT Gun. The second CI orders Jaeger's own gunner to go on Overwatch.

With the third CI Jaeger radios Obgfr. Eichmann's PzIII and has him order his driver to move flat out toward the right flank, past the broken PzSh Team to support the troops in trouble there.

Lastly, the 1 + 1 is used to deploy the last squad, commanded by Obgfr. Braun into the crop on the left flank to counter Denisov's Russian squad just over the hilltop. End phase.

Phase 23 – Russian roll: 6,6,5,4,1     CoC Dice = 6 Full!

Next phase is Russian! Muellerov uses the 4 and activates Lt. Vasilyev who spends 3 CI to remove 3 shock on Pashin's squad. All the shock has now been removed from the squad and AT Gun! The 1 is used to fire the AT Gun at Wagner's shocked PzIV which hits but again just pings off the armour.

Then Muellerov plays the CoC dice to end the Game Turn! The barrage lifts and all "stunned" leaders become conscious again. The Tactical and Overwatch markers come off. Troops all test for being pinned and all are OK except the PzSh Team which is eliminated since it is broken. End Phase.

Phase 24 – Russian roll: 6,5,4,3,1     CoC Dice = 0

Next phase is German. Muellerov plays the 5 to deploy the Commissar, Lt. Gorev, with Lt. Vasilyev. Then the 4 to activate Vasilyev to spend 1 CI to order Pashin's squad to fire on Ritter's German squad at the stone wall, getting a massive 9 hits! The LMG Team is wiped out but rolls low on the Bad Things Happen Table so no change to the Force Morale. Lt. Vasilyev spends his last 2 CIs to enhance the fire of the AT Gun on Wagner's PzIV but, once again, just pings a shot off its front armour.

The 3 is used to activate Szt. Myshkin's squad in the south who spends 1 CI to remove a shock (now 4) and the other to fire on the LMG Team in the woods, getting 6 hits and finally wiping it out! But the fire misses Fiedler and Krause. The German Force Morale drops by 1 more, down to 9. End phase. A very good one for the Russian! (no photo)

Phase 25 – German Roll 5,5,4,2,1     CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is Russian. Hptm. Lowellinski uses the 4 to activate Jaeger's Command PzIV who spends 1 CI put his gunner on Overwatch and a second CI to radio Wagner's shocked PzIV to order his driver to move flat out behind the building to recover before it can get knocked out by the AT Gun. However, he rolls disastrously short and Wagner's driver pulls up early so the PzIV is left open to a side shot from the AT Gun next phase!

Pic CoC2 Vitebsk P25 G PzIV Move.gif

With the third CI Jaeger radios Eichmann's PzIII to order his driver to move flat out toward Szt. Myshkin's Russian squad ahead.

Lastly Hptm. Lowellinski uses the 2 + 1 to activate Obgfr. Wagner, commander of the shocked PzIV, to spend 2 CI to remove both shock. The upcoming side shot may be deadly! End Phase. [Error: Wagner's PzIV was already activated to move this phase by Lt. Jaeger using radio. A unit can't be activated twice in one phase! We thought individual crew members were activated separately and didn't realize until much later in the game it is the tank commander being activated who then orders his crew. When discovered later, we made no adjustments since the 3 would have been used to have Hirsch's south squad fire on Myshkin's squad instead.]

I deliberately halted Part 1 of the AAR at this point. The entire AAR will be too long for one posting, so I'm just posting Part 1 up to Phase 25 now. The remainder of the game will be posted as Spoiling Action At Vitebsk - 1943 - Part 2 within a couple of weeks.

The Russians are holding on, slowing the German advance, causing significant German casualties. The German Force Morale is 9 and the Russian's at 8. The 45mm AT Gun is hanging in there and along with Szt. Torchinovich's T-34 they still command the centre of the battlefield. Now that the mortar barrage has lifted and the game about 2/3 over, can they hang on and win or are they doomed to a sudden collapse? Meanwhile, I'll leave you in suspense on the success of the side shot on Obgfr. Wagner's PzIV!

Tune in later!

Gary

COC – On Patrol In Romania 1944 – Part 3 Conclusion

Our group resumed play with Tim as German (Rick was away) and Brent as Russian, determined to end the game this session since game play is getting faster after getting the hang of the rules. Part 2 was paused for a week at the end of Phase 16 German which also ended Turn 1 with the following statistics.

Russian Force Morale is (10 - 1) = 9      Casualties = 9 men of 32 at start = 28%

German Force Morale is (11 - 1) = 10    Casualties = 5 men of 32 at start = 16%, 1 wounded JL

The Russian MMG and squad at the front of the church were checked for shock level and both will remain pinned for all of Turn 2. Here are the unit positions at the end of Turn 1.

Resuming:

Turn 2 Phase 1 - Russian Roll 6,6,6,5,4        CoC Dice = 6 + 2

Three sixes ends the Game Turn 2 at the end of the phase and the Russian keeps Initiative! 1 more pip to the second COC dice for 2. A pretty short Game Turn! Brent just activates the SL to spend 2 CI remove 2 shock from the squad by the church so the squad will unpin at the end of this phase and Turn 2. The SL spends the last CI to move himself close enough to the MMG to attach himself to it across the open field.

End of Turn 2, the squad by the church unpins.

Turn 3 Phase 1 - Russian Roll 5,5,4,4,2        CoC Dice = 6 + 4

Next phase is German. Second CoC dice is up by 2 pips to 4. With a 4 die, Brent activates the SL to remove 2 shock off the MMG and spends the last CI to activate the squad by the church to fire on the Flamethrower Team, causing 1 KIA and wiping it out. The Force Morale roll caused a -1 so the German FM = 9.

Then Brent uses the 2 die to activate the north squad to fire on the German squad in the hedge, causing 1 shock and a KIA on the Rifle Team and 1 shock on the LMG Team, missing the JR. End of phase.

Turn 3 Phase 2 – German Roll 6,4,3,2,1      CoC Dice = 4

Next phase is Russian. Tim activates the SL who uses 1 CI to remove the last shock on the PzSh Team, 1 CI to move the PzSh Team to the door of the building, and 1 CI to move himself into the building.

Then Tim uses a 2 and activates the squad in the south to fire on the Russian MMG causing 1 KIA and pinning the MMG. [Note: No test was done for a hit on the attached SL since he is across the clearing in the little woods and out of LOS of the firing German squad. According to the rulebook insert diagram on page 30 the SL cannot be a target if not in LOS.] Then a 3 die activates the now recovered JL with the squad at the hedge and uses his only CI (he is wounded) to have the squad fire on the north Russian squad, causing 5 shock! These two squads are slugging it out as a separate mini-battle.

Using the 1 die, the Rifle Team in the monastery activates and moves out the west door and along the wall to the north, ending the phase.

Turn 3 Phase 3 - Russian Roll 5,3,2,1,1     CoC Dice = 6 + 5

Next phase is German. 1 pip to the second COC for 5. Brent uses the 3 + 1 dice = 4 to activate the SL to take 3 shock off the MMG. Then he uses the 2 + 1 dice = 3 to activate the JL in the north squad to take off 1 shock (to 7), and fire at the German squad in the hedge causing 1 shock to each Team (3 each). The Russians play a CoC dice to end Turn 3 and the MMG becomes unpinned.

Turn 4 Phase 1 - German Roll 4,3,3,3,1      CoC Dice = 4

Next phase is Russian. Lots of good activation dice to work with. Tim plays a 3 to activate the JL of the south LMG Team who spends both CIs to activate and fire the LMG Team with 2 extra dice using the Maschinengewehr special rule. Then a 1 die to activate the Rifle Team to fire with them. Both fire at the MMG but that big fire only nets 1 KIA and 1 shock. The MMG is not pinned but down to reduced fire with only 1 crew left. [No leader hit test – out of LOS]

Tim plays a 3 die to activate the JL to have the squad by the hedge fire on the Russian North squad again, causing 1 shock (they are at 8 now). The 4 die is used to activate the SL who has the PzSh Team move into the building and then moves himself out the west door toward the monastery to bolster the main action in that area.

Then another 3 die activates the JL in the monastery to spend 1 CI to reduce the LMG Team shock by 1 and the second CI to move the Rifle Team behind the stone wall across from the church, ending the phase.

Turn 4 Phase 2 - Russian Roll 4,3,2,2,1     CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is German. No 5s so no change in CoC dice. Brent plays a 4 to activate the SL, spending 3 CIs to remove 1 shock from the MMG (to 0), 1 shock from the squad by church, and order the squad in the little woods by the church to fire on the German south squad, causing 1 shock.

Then a 3 die activates the JL of the squad in the north west woods to remove 1 shock (to 7) and fire on the German squad in the hedge, causing 2 shock on each of the Teams in the squad (both at 5), and pinning the squad! It is getting desperate for the German squad!

Brent spends a 2 die to move the squad by the front of the church back into the woods to give LOS from the riflemen in the other squad in the little woods to the German squad at the stone wall. They activate on the last 2 die, fire and miss the German squad in hard cover there.

The last die, a 1, activates the sniper for a shot at the German south squad but he misses again. Snipers are supposed to be hit and miss but in this game so far they are “miss.” End of phase.

Turn 4 Phase 3 - German Roll 5,4,3,3,1      CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is Russian. One more pip for the CoC dice. Tim activates the SL with a 4 to move at the double across the road toward the monastery and the squad in trouble behind the hedge. Then uses a 2 dice to have the pinned German squad in the hedge fire on the Russian squad to the north, causing 1 KIA (missing the JL).

Tim plays a 2 die and activates the JL for the monastery squad and spends 1 CI reduces the LMG Team shock to 0, the other CI has the Rifle Team behind the stone wall fire on the damaged Russian squad by the church, causing 2 more shock (up to 4) pinning it [The pin is an error. With 4 men including the attached JL and SL the squad would have needed 5 shock to pin.] Then a 3 die activates the JL in the south squad using 1 CI to remove the shock and the other to have the squad fire on the MMG, causing 1 KIA which wipes out the MMG! The Force Morale roll is -1 so the Russian FM is now 8. End of phase.

Turn 4 Phase 4 - Russian Roll 4,2,1,1,1       CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is German. No addition to CoC dice. Brent plays a 4 die to activate the SL and remove 3 shock from the damaged squad nearby. Then he adds a 2 and 1 dice together for a 3 to activate the JL in the north woods. One CI to remove a shock (to 7) and the other to fire on the pinned German squad in the hedge, dealing a nasty result of 2 KIA + 1 shock to the LMG Team (1 crew left with 6 shock) and 1 KIA to the Rifle Team (4 riflemen with 5 shock), but missing the wounded JL. The squad is very near to breaking! Finally Brent adds the 1 and 1 dice together for a 2 and activates the squad by the church to fire at the Germans behind the stone wall, missing them completely. The game is coming down to a real slugfest!

Turn 4 Phase 5 - German Roll 6,4,4,4,1         CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is Russian. No addition to CoC dice. Tim plays a 4 to activate the SL who spends 1 CI to move and attach to the squad by the hedge, and the other 2 CI to remove 2 shock from the LMG Team (to 4). Then he uses the 1 die to activate the Rifle Team behind the stone wall to fire at the damaged Russian squad, but misses. End of phase

Turn 4 Phase 6 - Russian Roll 5,5,4,4,4        CoC Dice = 6 + 1

Next Phase is German. 2 more pips on the CoC dice complete one and starts a second one. Brent plays the 4 to activate the SL. One CI to remove the last shock on the squad by the church, one CI to move himself at the double toward the squad in the north woods, attaching himself to them, and the last CI to have the squad fire at the pinned German squad in the hedge, missing it completely (pinned = hard cover). Constant firing back and forth there for the last few phases. Who will get a lucky fire first! End of phase.

Turn 4 Phase 7 - German Roll 6,3,3,2,2         CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is Russian. No addition to CoC dice. Suddenly, Brent decides to play his CoC dice to interrupt the German phase and activate the Russian squad in the north woods to suddenly fire on the pinned German squad in the hedge, causing 1 KIA. The roll for a leader hit is a 1 so a leader is hit! Since both the SL and JL are attached a dice roll reveals it is the JL that is hit, and the JL roll for effect is another wound. Since he is already wounded, the second wound is equal to his CI level, so he is KIA! The Force Morale roll results in a -1 so the German FM drops to 8.

The German SL is certainly in the right place now. Continuing with the German phase, Tim adds the two 2 dice together to make 4 and activates the SL to spend 2 CI remove 1 shock from the LMG Team (to 3) and 1 shock from the Rifle team (to 4), and with the third CI has the pinned squad fire at the Russian squad (LMG also at reduced rate), missing it. Tim then uses a 3 die to activate the JL in the monastery squad, spending 1 CI to move the LMG Team out the west door and north along the wall. The second CI activated the Rifle Team at the stone wall to fire on the pinned Russian squad by the church, missing it.

Lastly, Tim uses a 3 to activate the south squad to fire on the Russian squad in the east end of the church, causing 1 KIA and 2 shock. End of phase.

Turn 4 Phase 8 - Russian Roll 6,5,2,2,2      CoC Dice = 2

Next Phase is German. 1 more pip on the CoC dice. Brent uses a 2 to activate the squad in the little woods at the east end of the church. The LMG fires on the German south squad, causing 1 shock. The 6 riflemen fire on the German Rifle Team at the stone wall, and miss.

Then Brent adds the 2 and 2 dice together to make a 4 and activates the SL with 2CIs used to remove 2 shock and the third CI to fire on the German squad in the hedge, getting 2 KIA on the LMG Team and 1 shock on the Rifle Team! Since there is only one crew left in the LMG Team two KIAs mean it is wiped out even if the SL takes a hit on one of the KIAs! The Force Morale roll is a -1 so the German FM drops to 7. The SL must also roll to see if he is hit as well and the roll is a 1 so the SL is hit! The effect roll is another 1 so the SL is KIA! Another Force Morale test and Tim rolls a 6 which is the worst roll you could make for -3! The German FM drops to 4! A disastrous bit of dice luck at just the wrong time. End of Phase.

Turn 4 Phase 9 – German

Tim decides to end the game at this point by Withdrawing. He sees that his SL is lost, the pinned Rifle Team is on its way to breaking with no rescue, and his Force Morale is in the basement while the Russian Force Morale is still high. While he still has two squads, one is far to the south and the other at the monastery is very exposed to Russian flank attack with no SL support available. Best to order a Withdrawal and avoid further losses. Here are the troop dispositions at the end of the game.

Statistics:

                Force Morale    #Men

                 Start     End     At Start     Casualties       Units KIA

Russian      10         8          32             14 (44%)      MMG Team

German      11         4          32             13 (41%)      SL, JL, LMG Team, Flamethrower Team

Game Length: 28 phases taking 6-1/2 hours over 3 sessions (first learning game, lots of discussion)

Comments & Evaluation:

1. In Part 3 of the game AAR all the squads on the table mainly continued in a heavy firefight with their opposite enemy, with SLs racing to the hot spots. But it was the fierce firefight between the two western squads at close range that decided the game, with the dice favouring the Russian on key leader hits. Input from a veteran CoC player on the CoC Forum explained that squads pairing off and engaging in firefights until one side breaks is normal for a first game. He explained that concentration of fire and flanking movement tactics become more successful once players become familiar with how to use the JOPs to best deploy units at a location and at an optimum time in the game. So for our group's first game of CoC to just learn the rules and try things out, I felt it was pretty successful. The game is very engaging and we all quite enjoyed it.

2. However, while playing though the last part of this game we uncovered some situations where we feel that the CoC game mechanic falls short. I am somewhat reluctant to comment on these in detail since CoC is obviously a successful and well liked game. Miniatures game rules fit each wargamer's fantasy of simulation differently and one man's gold is another man's bronze. That's why there are so many rules systems out there, each with strong advocates.

On the other hand, I can't post this game AAR without including both the “plus and minus” comments from our group. So please take these observations with a grain of salt, they are the way we see the game. We do find CoC a worthwhile game, so if we can invent some house rules to handle them, then I suspect CoC will stay in our stable of frequently played rules.

These are some of our concerns, with ideas that we are considering (completely untested):

Big ones:

- KIAs don't cause shock. One would expect the death of a squad member or attached leader to be a significant morale blow to that individual unit. We'd like to try a game with each KIA in a unit also adding one shock to that unit and the KIA of an attached JL or SL adding one shock to the targeted unit he was attached to. [Edit: I've now shelved this idea. See my reply to Richard's (rim66) comment at the end of the post.]  

- Movement in LOS of an enemy unit can be done without risk. Overwatch covers this to some degree but does not seem to go far enough. If an enemy unit does not get the required die roll to be ordered onto Overwatch, then friendly units can move in their LOS with impunity. Additionally, it seems odd that a unit needs to be told to go on Overwatch again each time after it fires. We're interested to try playing with all units, without being ordered, allowed to Defensive Fire at half rate against moving enemy units in their LOS, once per phase (half rate to reflect spotting and reaction readiness).

Others: [Edit: After considering advice from veteran CoC players, I've put house rules for the points below and Defensive Fire above on the back burner for now. We'll re-evaluate their need after we have more play experience.]  

- No replacement for the loss of a JL or SL. Military command structure always makes provision for a more junior leader or veteran member of a unit to assume command if their leader is KIA. We'll try a game where if an attached JL is KIA the model stays on the table and a man from the attached unit is “promoted” to be the JL with a CI level of 1 for the rest of the game (still 2 wounds to eliminate). And if an SL is KIA his model is moved to the nearest JL. That JL is then promoted to SL (CI = 2) and the vacant JL position filled with a man promoted from his unit.

- Support Teams are only commanded by the SL. We feel that Support Teams should also be able to be commanded by any JL, with some conditions.

- A sniper can't shoot at a moving target. We'll try playing with a sniper allowed to have Defensive Fire at full rate (1D6) at a moving enemy unit.

3. On the positive side, things we really like about CoC are the Patrol phase with the JOPs for deployment, the command dice system for unit activation, the random movement rate for units, and the CoC dice for that extra flavour. So far we are looking forward to playing CoC again to explore it further, with some of our ideas thrown in.

4. One other interesting idea came up from a member of our group. The current dice command mechanic for activation is 1 - team, 2 - squad, 3 - JL, 4 - SL, with addition of lower dice allowed to total a larger dice. This makes the game a command driven game with more capability for Leader activation. If you wanted to make this a Team and Squad driven game, what if it were reversed? Like 1 - SL, 2 - JL, 3 - squad, 4 - team, still allowing the addition of lower dice allowed to total a larger dice. All of a sudden orders would become more scarce and therefore more valuable with less capability for reduction of shock. This would reflect more difficulty of command in the face of combat. It is an interesting idea for playing COC a completely different way. If we get the basic game sorted, then perhaps worth trying.

5. The four members in our wargame group rate Chain of Command with three 7s and a 6-1/2 out of 10. All want to play it again. I would push my vote higher if we can resolve our concerns with some house rules while keeping the game play interesting and exciting.

I hope you have found this AAR to be interesting and perhaps it may be of some help to those looking to try out Chain of Command.

Hmmm...    Not sure what game will be next or when the next game AAR will be posted. I suspect it will likely be Chain of Command and some sort of Attack/Defend scenario.

Until then, 

Gary