COC – On Patrol In Romania 1944 – Part 2

The little figures held their positions admirably in a time freeze for the last week and were relieved to “come alive” again. We resumed our game with the German side starting Turn 1 Phase 8. Both sides are still at their starting Force Morale levels of 11 German and 10 Russian. Here are the unit positions at the end of Phase 7.  

Phase 8 – German Roll 5,4,2,1,1          CoC Dice = 5

Russian phase next. CoC dice goes up 1 pip to 5. Rick and Tim use a 4 to activate the SL in the south. The SL spends 1 CI to order the PzSh Team to move up to the stone wall and contest the Russian JOP. Then another CI to also move the Flamethrower Team with the SL attached up toward the stone wall so the SL attaches to the PzSh Team as well. The third CI is used to remove 1 shock from the PzSh Team.

A 2 and 1 dice are added and the 3 is used to activate the JL in the monastery squad who uses 2 CI reduce 2 shock. The remaining 1 dice is not used.

Phase 9 – Russian Roll 6,4,3,2,2         CoC Dice = 5

Next phase German. Still no 5 so the CoC dice holds at 5. Will it hit 6 and allow Brent to move the JOP before it gets captured? Brent uses a 4 to activate the SL, spending 1 CI to put the MMG on Overwatch, and 1 CI to move himself to the south end of the little woods he is in, and the last CI to activate the squad in the same little woods to go on Overwatch to cover the JOP in the crop. Then a 2 dice activates the squad at the church wall to move into the church through the front door, which is safe since the German LMG in the monastery is in hiding while recovering. Seven riflemen and the JL make it into the north end of the church, but the LMG crew only gets to the front door. Lastly Brent uses a 3 die to activate the JL in the squad on the road who spends 1 CI to remove the last shock and the second CI to move them toward the woods. But luck is again bad with a 2 roll. These guys are tough to get moving! 5 dice to go 5 inches! End of phase.

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

Russian phase next. The last 5 pushes the COC dice to 6 and it is now available for mayhem! Tim and Rick add two of the 2 dice together to activate the SL. One CI is used to activate the PzSh Team to move and try and capture the Russian JOP, but they only move 3 inches and stop just short. No Overwatch fire from the Russians (perhaps knowing it will trigger return Overwatch fire from the German squad down south). The second CI is used to activate the Flamethrower Team and attached SL to move into the woods by the church to try for a blast at the Russian squad inside. The third CI order and the last 2 die are unused.

Phase 11 – Russian Roll 4,3,3,2,2     CoC Dice = 5

Next phase is German. Still no 5 so the CoC dice is not full. Brent uses a 3 to activate the JL for the squad in the church. One CI activates the squad to fire at the Flamethrower Team. Since only part of the squad and the JL made it into the church only the first two windows are available. At 2 men per window, 3 men fire rifles and the JL his SMG at close range. Amazingly, only 2 shock affect the Flamethrower Team.

Then Brent uses a 2 and activates the squad in the north woods to fire on the PzSh Team (only the LMG is in LOS) and it completely misses! But this triggers return fire from the German squad on Overwatch down south causing 3 shock on the Russian squad.

Next the squad stuck on the road activates on a 2 and really gets going moving, right into the nearby woods. Finally, using a 4 dice Brent activates the SL who spends 2 CI to reduce the shock on the nearby squad to down to 1 shock and spends the last CI to activate the MMG to move east along the forest edge. End of phase.

Phase 12 – German Roll 5,4,2,1,1      CoC Dice = 6 + 1

Next phase Russian. One pip on the second CoC dice. Rick and Tim activate the SL with a 4 dice. One CI activates the PzSh Team to Tactical Move and capture the JOP. The second CI reduces the shock by 1 on the Flamethrower Team so it gets full rate of fire. The third CI activates the Flamethrower Team to flame the Russian squad in the church. It's gonna get hot in there!

The Russian squad takes only two KIAs and one shock even with the flamethrower firing as if the Russians were in Open Ground. Plus only one six on the original hit roll so the church didn't even catch fire! Sheesh! There must have been some leftover asbestos in the shingles or something. [Note: The shock was edited to show doubled to 2 due to the flamethrower effect – also corrected in next photo until we remembered].

Lastly the Germans use a 2 die to activate the squad in the south woods to fire at the Russian MMG causing 1 shock. Then they add the both the 1 dice to make 2 and try to deploy the last squad. They need a 4, 5, or 6 because the SL is on the table. A 3 is rolled so the squad has to wait for the next German phase to try again. The Germans decide not to use the CoC dice to end the turn and initiate a Force Morale event for the captured JOP. End of phase.

Phase 13 – Russian Roll 6,5,5,3,2       CoC Dice = 6 + 1

Next phase German. Two 5s make a full CoC dice plus 1 so now if the Germans end the turn the Russian can waive the Force Morale roll for the lost JOP. Stalemate. Only a 3 and a 2 dice are available this phase for orders. Brent first activates the JL in the church who orders the 3 riflemen in the two windows and his own SMG to fire on the Flamethrower Team again, getting just 1 KIA, which misses the SL.

Lastly, Brent uses the 2 and activates the squad in the north woods to fire with the LMG on the PzSh Team in the crop, causing 1 shock (Tactical stance saved further damage). End phase.

Phase 14 – German Roll 5,4,3,2,1     CoC Dice = 6 + 2

Next phase Russian. Another 5 adds 2 pips on a second CoC dice. Rick and Tim use the 4 die to activate the SL who uses 1 CI to remove the last shock from the Flamethrower Team. The second CI activates the PzSh Team to fire on the church (hits are doubled if the Panzershreck is fired on a hard target), but it misses (does the expression “can't hit the broad side of a barn door” apply here?). The SL uses the third CI to try and move himself into the nearby building and distance himself from the Flamethrower Team so he is not attached to them. Unfortunately he rolls low and only gets to the outside of the door and is still within 4 inches of the Flamethrower Team so is still attached.

With a clear target, the Germans use a 1 die to activate the Flamethrower Team to fire on the Russians in the church again. This time the crewman got the range.

The Flamethrower Team inflicts 2 more KIAs on the Russian squad but no shock. However, double 6s on the hit roll sets the church on fire requiring the Russian squad to immediately vacate, which they do out the front door.

On a “hot” dice roll streak now, Tim and Rick use a 3 die to activate the JL for the squad in the south woods. He activates the squad to fire at the MMG, getting 1 KIA and 3 shock, pinning the MMG!

Using the last 2 die, The German side attempts to deploy the last squad from reserve. Rick rolls a 5 so the squad arrives behind the hedge in the west, immediately opening fire on the Russian squad in the woods to the north with more “hot” dice causing 4 shock!

End of phase.

Phase 15 – Russian Roll 6,3,3,2,1      CoC Dice = 6 + 1

Next phase German. No addition to the CoC dice. Finally a 1 die roll. There hasn't been a 1 command dice rolled since Russian Phase 5! With great excitement, Brent activates the sniper. He wants to target the German SL but since it is attached to the Flamethrower Team he must target the whole team and hope that if a KIA is achieved it will carry through to the SL (snipers have an increased chance of hitting leaders and shock is doubled). But Brent rolls a 2 and the sniper misses again (must have a bent scope).

Brent uses a 3 to activate the JL in the north west squad in the woods. The JL uses one CI to remove a shock so the squad is at 3 shock. The other CI orders the squad to fire at the German squad behind the hedge. Excellent shooting finally, with 2 shock and 1 KIA. The German JL is hit instead of a rifleman! A 2 die roll means the JL is wounded and cannot activate for the rest of the Turn. [Note: The red shock marker comes off at Turn end & the yellow bead shows one less CI from now on. We played that a 2,3 wound also limits the JL by -1 CI for the rest of the game – comment at end] The wound on a Junior Leader also causes a Force Morale event and Rick rolls a 3 for a -1 to morale, moving the German Force Morale down to 10.

Next a 2 dice activates the squad in the little woods by the church and the LMG fires on the PzSh Team causing 1 KIA and 1 shock, pinning the team.

This all leads up to Brent's main event. Brent wants to see how Close Combat works! First he uses a 3 to activate the JL in the squad just outside the front of the church, the one that had to evacuate, and has the JL remove 1 shock. The squad is not terribly healthy, down to 5 men and 1 shock, but they have had enough of the Flamethrower Team, so the JL uses the second CI to move the squad. They only need to get within 4 inches and Brent rolls high on the move roll causing Close Combat. The Russians have 5 dice from men (leaders don't count and LMGs don't count for the attacker), 2 dice from the JL's SMG and 2 dice from the JL's Initiative level for a total of 9 dice.

The German Flamethrower team has 2 dice for crewmen and since the SL is attached an additional 3 dice for his Initiative level and 2 dice for his machine pistol. Plus 2 more dice for the number of Russian dice used to move in for a total of 9 dice. So 9 against 9, causing a KIA on a 5 or 6, with 6s also adding a shock! [Goof up: we forgot to add for German defending in light cover which is 1 dice for every 3 dice you have so far. This would have added in 3 more for the German making it 9 Russian vs 12 German. But we played it with 9 each.]

The Russians rolled extra crappy only getting 1 hit and missing the German SL! The German rolled 3 hits, with two 6s for 2 extra shock, also missing the Russian JL. This reduced the Russian squad to 2 men plus the JL with 3 shock, and the German Flamethrower team to 1 man with no shock.

Since the Russians lost the Close Combat by a (3 – 1) = 2 dice difference the squad is thrown back 9 inches and must add one more shock raising it to 4 shock. The squad falls back behind the church where they came from and with only 3 men in the squad counting the JL, the squad is pinned! End of phase.

Phase 16 – German Roll 5,5,3,2,2       CoC Dice = 6 + 4

Next Phase is Russian. Two more 5s raise the second CoC dice to 4 pips. Rick and Tim add together the 2 dies to make 4 and activate the SL. With 1 CI the SL moves himself using a Tactical move toward the stone wall attaching to the PzSh Team. A second CI removes one shock from the PzSh Team, leaving only 1 shock. With 1 man in the PzSh team and the SL attached, the pin will be removed if the Game Turn ends.

The third CI activates the Flamethrower Team (one shot left) to boldly move up to the corner of the church with LOS to the pinned Russian squad near the main entrance.

With the last 2 die Rick and Tim activate the south squad JL. The JL uses 1 CI to activate the squad to fire at the Russian MMG plus spends his second CI to invoke the special German ability of Maschinengewehr which allows the JL to direct the LMG adding 2 dice. The already pinned MMG suffers 1 more shock, now at 5.

[Note: We goofed on two rules for this fire. First, to use the Maschinengewehr rule the JL needs to spend 2 CI on ONLY the LMG Team, leaving the Rifle Team not activated to fire. Or the JL can spend 1 CI to activate the whole squad as usual without using Maschinengewehr. To invoke Maschinengewehr and have the whole squad fire would need a 3 die to activate the JL & LMG Team and a separate 1 die to activate the Rifle Team. In this case the dice total went from 14 to 16 dice by mistake. Second, we forgot that pinned units get 1 level of cover added so the MMG was in the equivalent of hard cover instead of light cover. Oh well, previously we forgot to allow the German side 3 more dice in the Close Combat for defending in cover. So it all evens out, right? :-)]

The Germans assess their position now and decide it is a good time to to play a CoC dice to end the Game Turn, mainly because two Russian units will stay pinned for all of Turn 2. Play of the CoC dice results in the following actions.

- The German JL in the west hedge squad regains consciousness and recovers well enough to use 1 CI for the rest of the game. [comment at end]

- The captured Russian JOP is removed causing a Force Morale event and Brent rolls a 1 for a -1 to morale. The Russian Force Morale drops to 9.

- The German PzSh Team checks for shock level and is not longer pinned so the pin marker comes off.

- The Russian MMG and squad at the front of the church check for shock level and both will remain pinned for all of Turn 2.

- Overwatch and Tactical markers are removed.

End of Phase 16 and end of Turn 1 - I had hoped to finish the game this session, but the group had to head for home since the evening was getting late. Again we decided to put the game on “pause” and resume in a week. Once more the “cat protecting” sheet covered the little figures, time-frozen in place. Therefore this became Part 2 of the AAR recording of our game play up to the end of Turn 1. The forces on the table are shown below.

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

Part 3 will resume with Turn 2 Phase 1 Russian.

Comments:

1. Yeah, we are playing this slow for sure with lots and lots of rule look-ups. Five hours so far! I think the game is about to break one way or the other so we should finish next session.

2. Leaders with SMG/Machine pistols are extremely formidable in Close Combat. Without the SL the Flamethrower Team would have only had two dice for men, two for Russians moving, and one for light cover for just 5 dice, almost outnumbered 2 to one on total dice. Of course there is always the risk of an SL being wounded or KIA as well. C'est la guerre.

3. I'm surprised the Force Morale for each side has not dropped more given the casualty levels of 16% German and 28% Russian. I suspect this may be normal at this point in a game with initial casualties needed to bring the unit conditions down into a range where the probability of a unit routing becomes high, triggering large Force Morale drops. Perhaps it could be interpreted, “They don't know what hit them yet.”

4. We felt that since a roll of 2,3 on a leader hit wounds a leader so severely he is not available for the rest of that Game Turn that he should also be -1 CI for the rest of the game, same as for a light wound on a 4,5,6. Perhaps this is our first house rule.

5. One of our group wondered what the motivation was to attack in the Patrol scenario since neither side can lose by not attacking. Most of the other scenarios assign an attacker to one side and indicate if the attacker doesn't achieve his objective, the defender wins. The only reason I can see to attack is that the Patrol scenario is designed to fit the CoC Campaign System where you are really fighting for advantage in the next battle, not the one you are in.

6. Our group agrees that the basic game mechanic for CoC appears solid and all the disagreements we have with rules so far are small enough to be handled with house rules. We like the command dice activation and for the most part like the way it plays. CoC is fun to play and certainly keeps your interest up.

Stay tuned for what MUST be the finale in Part 3!

COC – On Patrol In Romania 1944 – Part 1

All the buzz about the new WWII skirmish rules, Chain of Command, convinced me to give them a test drive. I actually pre-ordered the rules last summer, but hadn't got around to digging into them until lately.

My WWII miniatures preference is for 15mm since I like the scale on the table, and my favourite rule sets are those where each side runs about a reinforced company with a squad or team as the smallest stand. Interestingly, the base units for Chain of Command are still squads and teams, and while each man is accounted for, the accent is on command control and unit condition. Therefore CoC seems to sit part way between skirmish and company level which, for me, makes it worth investigating. And I'm always on the lookout for WWII miniatures rules that allow a game to be completed in under three hours. Could skirmish CoC fit the bill? In any event, our gaming group are veterans of many board and minis wargame rule sets and are always on the lookout for new ones we might like. Only one way to find out!

So I puzzled out a few solo games with my nose in the rulebook and got most of my initial questions cleared up with help from the Too Fat Lardies Forum. Then I introduced our gaming group to a “learning” game of CoC. We took it slow and after going through an overview of the rules we only managed to complete the pre-game Patrol phase and seven phases of Turn 1 before calling it a night. Lots of questions like “How do snipers work?” and “What do I hit if I shoot in this window?” However, we saved all the forces in position on the table and will be picking it up again next week where we left off. Therefore, this posting is called Part 1 with the rest to follow later.

Scenario

I picked the first generic scenario in the book called “Patrol” as our learning game. It is a meeting engagement where Russian and German platoons meet in No-Man's Land. As the rule book says, “...your mission is to deny your opponent this critical ground between the main lines of defense.” But I had to overlay some historical setting, so this scenario takes place in 1944 in Romania with both sides ordered to secure a small village which has already suffered artillery damage. The book calls for a 6x4 table, but I chopped it down to a 4x4 foot section on my table for this first game.

The Russian starts on the east side (top) and the German on the west side (bottom). A church and a burned-out monastery are the main buildings along with a couple of smaller ones. All the buildings and the three stone walls are Hard Cover (no penetration by small arms). The church bell tower is at the three story level while the walls and ground floor are all that remain of the monastery. Woods, hedges, crops, and garden are all Light Cover. The ploughed field and woods are Broken Ground, with the rest being Open Ground, including the gentle hill. Stone walls and hedges are Low so they, by themselves, do not block LOS and are Minor Obstacles.

Force Selection

Prior to the game I assembled the forces for each side. I wanted to do this ahead of time for two reasons, to save time, but also to follow the KISS principle. For this first game I wanted no artillery, or vehicles, just a pure infantry battle. For me the acid test of a rules system is how well infantry combat works.

The Patrol scenario calls for a die roll to determine the support options for each side's basic platoon. I rolled a 4 which allowed both sides to choose an option from Support List 2 (or 2 options from List 1). In addition, extra support for one side may be given if they have a poorer National Force Rating than their opponent. This is meant to try and balance the forces somewhat. The Force Rating for the German is 0 and the Russian is -3 so the Russian gets to choose additional support from Support List 3 as well (or from lower numbered Lists totaling up to 3). The Russian could add the List numbers together and pick one option from List 5, or one from List 4 and one from List 1, etc. but I wanted KISS. No anti-tank or artillery (including Light Mortar) so with 5 support “points” to spend I chose a Maxim MMG from List 3 and a Sniper from List 2.

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: 5 support “points” (options from List #s totaling List 5)

List 2: Sniper Team

List 3: Maxim MMG Team, 5x crew

For the Germans, the only suitable possibilities in List 2 that were not vehicle or anti-vehicle related were a Senior Leader or again a Light Mortar (which I didn't want for this game). I did play with the German Light Mortar in my solo games and I thought they pretty much sucked (production was terminated in 1941, gradually withdrawn from front line service by 1942, and mainly used by 2nd line troops later). I also passed on the Senior Leader since I wanted to see what just one Senior Leader could do first. Senior Leaders are very powerful for unit activation, special orders, and shock reduction. The relative power of the units in each List is quite variable. So I cheated and jumped to List 3 and chose a Pioneer Flamethrower Team as a counter to the Russian Maxim MMG and also 'cause I wanted to see how well they worked <grin>.

German Force: Force Rating 0     Command Dice: 5

Platoon:

HQ: Unterfeldwebel, Senior Leader – machine pistol + panzerfaust, Panzershreck Team (2x crew)

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

Platoon Support: 2 support points - Options from List #s totaling List 2 (mea culpa – I used 3)

List 3: Pioneer Flamethrower team (3 crew)

Logistics

I needed to sort out how to track the number of men in each squad and team. My 15mm figures are mainly based on stands in a group, except for just a few specialty figures and teams which I've put on individual bases. Each German squad has one panzerfaust assigned to it, so when picking figs for the German Junior Leaders I used an individually based rifleman carrying a panzerfaust as a reminder of its availability during game play. Since I am a long way from having individual basing for all troops, I decided to use a marker dice beside each stand to show how many men are in that squad or team. That way the number of figs on a stand doesn't matter. Leaders, LMGs, and hand-held weapon teams are on small bases, rifle teams and heavier weapons on medium bases or larger. The marker dice mess up the table a bit, and it is not as “pretty” of a show as with individually based figs, but they actually seemed to work pretty good in the game with less moving needs than for individual figures.

German squads have two separate teams, a 3-man LMG Team [error in photo below - should show 3] and a 6-man Rifle Team. Russian squads are all one big 9 man “team” with 7 riflemen and 2 LMG crew, that behaves like a squad.

When I bought the CoC rules I also got the bundled Game Token Set as well 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. The red Shock markers are pretty, but you will need a lot more for a game than the dozen included. I ran back to my game closet and pulled out my old Wound and Pin markers from I Ain't Been Shot Mom and used those for marking shock in our game. They worked great.

Pre-Game – Patrol Phase

Rick and Tim take the German side deciding to gang up on Brent who takes the Russians. My role will be to explain and moderate the game. Both sides roll for Force Morale and the Germans roll a big 6 for a Morale of 11, while the Russians roll a healthy 5 for a Morale of 10. Victory will go to the side that forces their opponent's Force Morale to go to zero while maintaining Force Morale level of at least 3. Since the German side rolled highest, they will place the first Patrol Marker in the pre-game Patrol Phase. I divided each opponent's table edge into three sections of 18 inches. On die rolls of 1-2 their Patrol Markers will enter in the south section, 3-4 the middle section, and 5-6 the north section. The Germans roll a 2 so start in the south sector. The Russians roll a 5 so start in the north sector (stars on map).

Then all the Patrol Markers (octagons on map) are moved, one by one alternating sides and jockeying for position, with both sides advancing hard on their individual right flanks until all the markers have moved to 12 inches of an enemy marker and become locked in position [See comment at end about 3 markers locking on 1]. Then the Jump-off Points (Xs on map) were chosen and coloured beads placed on the table to mark their positions, blue for German, red for Russian.

Game Start – Turn 1

With higher Force Morale, the German goes first. Both sides will always roll 5 Command Dice in this game.

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

With no 6s, the next phase will be Russian. The 5 advances the Chain of Command Dice to 1 pip, always a plus. Not being shy, Rick and Tim use both 3s to deploy two squads. The first squad deploys to the edge of the south woods and the Junior Leader (JL) spends his 2 Command Initiative (CI) points to put both the LMG and Rifle Teams on Overwatch looking north. The second squad deploys into the burned-out monastery with the 2-man LMG Team to the north end and the 6-man Rifle Team to the east side. The JL puts both teams on Overwatch out the north and east windows and doors.

Rick and Tim pass on using the 2 or the 4, holding the last squad and Senior Leader (SL) in reserve.

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

What a way to start! Already 4 pips on the CoC dice. Brent is thinking, “Do you spell Ambush with a capital A?” The 4 is ignored since the Senior Leader stays in reserve. No double 6s so next phase is German.

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

Next phase will be Russian. One more pip for the CoC dice. With no opposition showing up anywhere on the table, Tim and Rick decide to commit more strength to the south woods. Both 1s are used to deploy the 2-man Panzersheck Team and the 3-man Flamethrower Team. The 2 is used to activate the nearby squad and using a Tactical Move for improved cover, the squad advances further south in the woods at the tree line, ending up facing north. The 4 is used to deploy the SL to the south woods as well.

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

With two 6s the Russian will go first next phase! And one more pip to the CoC dice too. Brent just uses the 1 to deploy a sniper to the east woods to keep the Germans in the south on their toes.

The sniper fires but misses (not sighted in yet).

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

Next phase is German. No luck in getting the 6th pip on the CoC dice. Using the 1, Brent deploys the Maxim MMG into the woods at the north end with a clear fire lane down the road to the monastery.

The Maxim fires at the German LMG Team in the monastery window. There was some discussion at this point if the hits should be divided with half going to the Rifle Team further back in the building, but we decide the Rifle Team men would not be manning the north window so they should be excluded. [Note: We got this right since a team cannot be targeted if it is not in LOS of the firing unit] The LMG crew is hit with 1 KIA and 2 shock. The attached JL is missed so the LMG Team is now down to 2 men. Since the LMG is on Overwatch it returns fire with 1 less die due to shock, getting 1 KIA on the Maxim crew.

Brent then uses both 2s to deploy two squads into the small woods north of the church. All of the first squad and 7 men of the second squad are in LOS of the LMG Team in the monastery. One squad fires and misses completely, not even administering any shock. The other squad fires getting 1 KIA and 2 shock, missing the JL. The German LMG Team is in trouble with 4 shock and down to 1 crew, both causing reduced firepower (see photo in Phase 6 below). [Note: If the LMG Team was alone it would break, but since the 6-man Rifle Team is within 4 inches it can share the 4 shock among the whole squad of 8 men (including the JL) and not even be pinned]  

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

Next phase will be Russian. Two more pips for the German CoC dice! Rick and Tim use a 2 to activate the squad in the monastery and move the LMG Team away from the north window to hide in the corner out of LOS. The squad's JL and Rifle Team also reposition so the Overwatch is lost. The JL cannot reduce any of the 4 shock or transfer a man from the Rifle team to the LMG Team since he is not activated.

Tim and Rick then use the 4 to activate the SL in the south woods who spends 1 CI to activate and move the Panzersheck Team “At The Double” to the corner of the hedgeline, picking up 1 Shock. The SL uses his last two CIs to put the Rifle and LMG Teams in the nearby squad on Overwatch.

The last 2 is not used since the German side wants to hold the third and last squad in reserve.

Phase 7 – Russian roll: 6,4,2,2,2      CoC Dice = 5

Next phase will be German. Brent uses the 4 to deploy the SL to the north woods and activate the Maxim MMG to go on Overwatch since it has no current targets in LOS. Then he uses two of the 2s to activate both squads on the table. The first Russian squad moves out of the small woods up to the church wall toward the road. The second squad attempts to move At The Double across the road to the west and rolls three 1s, going only 3 inches and ending in the middle of the road with 1 shock! Then Brent uses the last 2 and deploys the third squad from reserve into the just vacated small woods, and with the LMG in LOS of the distant German squad in the south woods, opens fire with no effect. No return fire from the Overwatching German squad.

We had to halt the game at this point since it was getting late. We decided to put the game on “pause” and resume the game the next week, so the table was covered with my “cat protecting” sheet to patiently await our return. Therefore this recording of our game play up to the end of Phase 7 is called Part 1. The forces on the table are shown below (one German squad still off-table in reserve).

Part 2 will resume with German Phase 8.

Comments:

1. A question came up in the pre-game Patrol marker phase when three German markers moved to be 12 inches from one Russian marker so all three were locked and “closest.” How do you determine the Jump-Off Point (JOP) in this case? The question is not covered in the rules. Later I found the same question posted to the TFL Yahoo site and interpreted an answer that makes sense. Draw a line from the centre German marker though the Russian marker and extend it until the line is at least 6 inches from the Russian marker and in cover. Somewhere on that line is only location that satisfies both conditions for finding a JOP when separately considering the “right hand” set of two German markers and the “left hand” set of two German markers. It turned out that we placed the Russian marker pretty much on that line by coincidence.

2. It's too early to give any opinions on the rules, but the group is interested to finish the game which is encouraging. The big question for each of us is, “Do I like playing with this rule set?” As we all know, there is no “perfect” rule set, so hopefully the CoC rules will just have a few minor pecadillos. The main questions being “Can you live with them?” or “Do the rules work well enough to invent house rules where needed?” We haven't played nearly enough to answer any of these questions.

Stay tuned for “On Patrol In Romania 1944 - Part 2”, hopefully in about a week, unless my daughter-in-law blesses me with another grandchild in which case I'll be BUSY! <big grin>

BGPG - Berezina Bridgehead

Back again! The previous three AARS were linked into a Barbarossa campaign titled “Initial Clashes,” adapted from the Skirmish Campaigns' scenario book “Russia '41 – Drive on Minsk.” That campaign chronicled the German 3rd Panzer Division's advance from June 22nd to 24th. It seemed natural to follow this campaign with a river assault action by 3rd Panzer that occurred a few days later. You don't find too many river assault scenarios and I was anxious to try this one called “Berezina Bridgehead” from the same book. This scenario is mainly an infantry battle in cover terrain that promotes close assaults. We used the Battlegroup Panzergrenadier V2 rules with some house rules added in. The next version of these rules, Battlegroup Panzergrenadier Deluxe, is currently in the works and is on my “must buy” list. Those just tuning in for the first time can check out a review of BGPG V2 here, and a detailed example of play, here.

Map and Objectives
On June 29th lead units of the 3rd Panzer Division were already at the Berezina River south east of Minsk. The bridge had been destroyed by the retreating Russians but enough remained to be worth rebuilding. The 394th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross the river and establish a bridgehead. Meanwhile, elements of The Russian 8th Airborne Brigade were rushed to the area and have arrived on the east bank with little time to prepare detailed defenses.

The terrain east of the river is mainly light woods, medium high crops, marsh, low hedge, and a low stone wall, all blocking LOS. A low wooded hill offers limited LOS advantage. The woods are passable to vehicles at half-rate (no Bog Check). The two gullies and the marsh are Difficult Terrain.

To try and shorten the game time I set the game length to 6 turns on a 4x4 table. To minimize deployment time the German begins Turn 1 with a pre-set deployment on the west bank of the river with the first wave of troops already loaded in assault boats. The German objective is to establish and control the bridgehead (no Russian infantry unit within 18 inches of the east end of the bridge), AND control the stone cottage (no Russian infantry unit within 4 inches). The Russian defender's deployment is also pre-set with all units hidden and entrenched east of the river. The Russian objective is to prevent German control of the bridgehead (maintain at least one unsuppressed infantry unit within 18 inches of the east end of the bridge), AND control the stone cottage (no German unit within 4 inches). 5 VP are awarded to the side that meets their objective at the end of Turn 6. Additionally the German gets 1 VP for each Russian unit eliminated and the Russian gets 2 VP for each German unit eliminated (there always seems to be fewer German units eliminated!).

The total point cost of the units assigned to each side was German 1255 and Russian 760 for a ratio of 1.65 in favour of the German attacker. However the total point cost of the combat + support units available to each side on just the east side of the river (the PzIIs cannot cross & HQs are not included) is German 760 and Russian 530 for a ratio of 1.53. This ratio of east bank forces was deliberately set to see if 150% attacker strength would yield a relatively balanced infantry scenario. This will also be the first scenario played with Russian better grade airborne troops that are regulars (rally on 7) and with an HQ having a +1 for initiative rolls.

We diced for who would play on each side. Tim and Brent won German with Rick and I playing Russian.

German Force & Pre-Set Deployment (Lt. Von Pollockstein and Lt. Mueller)

Battlegroup HQ (+2 bonus on initiative roll, veteran)
FOO (regular)
Off-Board Artillery (3x missions of 105mm artillery)
Company Command (veteran)
Schutzen Plt (command, 3x squad + 1x LMG, regular)
Schutzen Plt (command, 3x squad + 1x LMG, regular)
Schutzen Plt (command, 3x squad + 1x LMG, regular)
Schutzen Plt (command, 3x squad + 1x LMG, regular)
Pioneer Plt (command, 2x assault SMG squads, 1x LMG, 1x flame-thrower, regular)
Recon Light Tank Plt (command PzIIC, 3x PzIIC, regular)
Assault Boats (11x Sturmboot 39)

The Germans deploy with all Russian units hidden except for a 76mm infantry gun that was destroyed previously by artillery. The Russian markers show areas where Russian troop movements are suspected. No Russian troops are visible near the river, no doubt due to the massive artillery barrage on the east bank that has just lifted.

German first wave of assault boats ready to cross! I've always wanted some assault boats and decided to scratch-build these from 110 lb (199 g/m2) cardstock. The design took a few template mock-ups to finalize. They are pretty much to scale lengthwise for a Sturmboot 39 but much wider to accommodate a FoW medium base unit. They also have a North American style motor instead of the Kovats motorized “steering oar.” I'm calling them nationality “generic” for future river-crossing games. <grin>

Russian Force & Pre-Set Deployment (Lt. Lowellinski and Lt. Chappevich)

Battlegroup HQ (+1 bonus on initiative roll, veteran)
Company Command (Kommissar, regular)
Rifle Plt (command, 3x rifle squads, regular)
Rifle Plt (command, 3x rifle squads, regular)
MMG Team (1x Maxim MMG, regular)
Light Mortar Teams (2x 50mm mortar, regular)
Sniper Teams (2x, veteran)
Light Tank Plt (1x command T-26A, dual MMG turrets, regular)

This is what the Germans don't see. Having just arrived and seeing the east bank under heavy artillery barrage, the two platoons of infantry hastily dig-in about 100 yards back from the river, out of sight of the German guns softening up the landing zones. A second line of defense, an MMG and two light mortars, are positioned further back. The T-26A is held in reserve, careful not to get in LOS of the PzIIs across the river. Two sniper teams have prepared hidden trenches near the river edge the previous night and have already crawled into position after the barrage lifted.

Game

Turn 1 Initiative R7, G3 – Russian wins and chooses to have the German side go first.

German off-board 105mm artillery opens up, one mission to the hill top which misses the hidden light mortar but the second lands on the river edge where the north sniper is hiding and he is dispersed!

The Recon PzII Platoon activates and each tank recons the three woods across the river, seeing nothing on poor dice rolls. With no other enemy revealed by the artillery mission near the dead sniper the north Schutzen platoon revs up their boat motors and races across the river, expecting Defensive Fire. Nothing! They land unopposed. The Schutzens are singing Bruce Cockburn's song “Wondering Where The Ivans Are!” The Pioneer platoon doesn't cross, just moves downriver a bit, waiting for the first platoon to scout inland and report back on where they are needed most. The 2nd wave Schutzen Platoon moves up to the shore line, ready to board the boats when they return.

The south Schutzen Platoon is ordered to race across and land at the south woods, planning to flank the objective? But the first boat out gets hit by a revealed sniper that yields a Retreat result. (House rule: If a boat is hit with a suppressed, retreat, or abandon position result, it still keeps going, but lands its passenger at the destination shore with the fire result applied. A destroyed result eliminates both boat and passenger.) Therefore, the squad lands suppressed and damaged.

The other 3 boats cross, land, unload, and enter Close Assault with the sniper team. Since snipers cannot enter Close Assault they just conduct a voluntary retreat move. So the sniper team retreats back into the forest and is suppressed [sniper unit should have had a yellow bead]. Back on the west side, the 2nd Schutzen Platoon moves up to the shoreline, ready to board. End German Orders.

Despite a huge pile of CPs to draw upon, the Russian gives no orders in Turn 1. The sniper is suppressed, and the light mortar is at maximum range for a chance shot at the German troops in LOS on the west bank. Best to just hold positions and stay hidden. In the Rally Phase the sniper fails to rally and stays suppressed. [Error: A unit that conducts a voluntary retreat cannot attempt to rally that turn.] End Turn 1.

Turn 2 Initiative G7, R2 - German Initiative.

The PzII Platoon recons both swamps and the centre woods with good dice rolls that reveal nothing anywhere! Where are those pesky Russians? Lt. Mueller decides to send the north Schutzen Platoon forward to probe the woods ahead. The first squad scouts out the south end of the woods but, after getting within 2 inch LOS, runs into a dug-in Russian squad and is suppressed by Defensive Fire at close range. Finally seeing a Russian target the remaining 2 squads and command charge forward in Close Assault and suddenly find themselves facing a whole platoon of Russians commanded by Lt. Lowellinski! Defensive Fire disperses another German squad! The remaining German squad and command enter Close Assault with the Russian platoon. The Russians win the dice, dispersing the command, and causing the squad to retreat suppressed and damaged! Each Russian unit then rolls for damage and due to their better airborne troop quality, only one is damaged.

A serious initial setback for the German. The Russian plan is working so far! Seeing the resistance, Lt. Mueller orders the Pioneer platoon to cross the river and land in the marsh to outflank the Russian position. He sends the Schutzen boats back to the west shore where the 2nd Schutzen platoon embarks.

Meanwhile, Lt. Von Pollockstein orders 2 squads of the south Schutzen platoon to scout into the woods ahead while the command stays behind to rally the damaged squad. The squads race forward, one encountering the suppressed sniper team, eliminating it. [Error: We played that the sniper team was automatically eliminated in close assault because it was suppressed and couldn't conduct a voluntary retreat. However, the rules do not prevent suppressed units from retreating voluntarily. Therefore the sniper team should have retreated again, maintaining suppression with no rally attempt this turn. Snipers are only eliminated in close assault if they have no retreat path.]

The south Schutzen boats are sent back to the west shore where the 2nd Schutzen platoon embarks. End German Orders.

For Russian Orders Lt. Lowellinski considers close assaulting the suppressed infantry in the north woods which would disperse them surely. However this immediate success would soon be shattered by the PzIIs deadly 20mm fire or possibly an artillery mission shedding them in return. Plus they would be too close to the Pioneer platoon, easily out-flanked. So he wisely just holds position. The Russian squad fires on the suppressed German squad in LOS and misses. In the south, the hidden light mortar on the hill reveals and tries a long-range shot at the boats on the west bank, but misses. End Russian Orders. In the Rally Phase, the German south squad rallies, and one of the two squads in the north woods rallies. End Turn 2.

Turn 3 Initiative G5, R5 - German Initiative (German wins tie).

The German side sees not much action by the Russians last turn so orders the Russian to go first. The Russian orders are the same as Turn 2 for the same reasons. The Russian squad fires on the suppressed German squad in LOS and again misses. In the south, the light mortar on the hill tries another long-range shot at the boats on the west bank, but misses again. The hidden T-26A idles behind the cottage, waiting to rush to the hot spot. End Russian Orders.

In the north, Lt. Mueller orders the second wave of Schutzen across the river. The Pioneers send their boats back to the west shore where the Company Commander and FOO embark. The Pioneers then advance toward the Russian position but it is slow going in the marsh.

Meanwhile, Lt. Von Pollockstein orders the second wave of Schutzen to cross the river to the centre woods. They encounter no Defensive Fire.

The Schutzen platoon in the very south continue their flanking move through the woods. The command and rallied squad at the shore move toward the south hill top. The remaining two squads are out of LOS and therefore must activate independently. One moves toward the light mortar but cannot reach it. The other moves swiftly and Close Assaults the light mortar, easily dispersing it. However, the German squad is damaged in the combat. The platoon is now well positioned to provide flanking fire and advance on the cottage.

The PzIIs activate and move closer to the bridge to provide fire support down the road gap in the woods on the east bank. End German Orders. The remaining German squad in the north woods rallies. End Turn 3.

At this point the game is half over and the Russian positions are holding well so far! However, the concentration of German forces in the north forest is formidable!

Turn 4 Initiative: G7, R6 - German Initiative. German side makes the Russian go first.

The Russian position in the north woods is heavily outnumbered so should they stay and fight the imminent German close assault or withdraw to the gully, woods, or garden? Since victory depends on maintaining units within 18 inches of the bridge, plus the added not-so subtle threat of being shot by the Kommissar, Lt. Lowellinski decides the platoon will stay and fight “For Mother Russia.” The platoon activates and one squad fires at the nearby German squad in LOS, suppressing it. At least it won't be assaulting. The hidden MMG decides to not reveal and fire at the Schutzen platoon on the hill since it is flanked and only gets a +1 cover mod for return fire, plus it would then be out-of-arc for any Defensive Fire to the west and north. Better to wait hidden for now. The T-26A holds position since the PzIIs have LOS down the road. End Russian Orders.

With two command units in the north woods, Lt. Mueller activates the Schutzen command to form a Combat Group of two infantry squads and has them move toward the Russian position. Close range Defensive Fire from two Russian squads results in a Retreat Test for one and an Abandon Position Test for the other. Both Russian squads roll high and pass, getting Obey Orders results! The squads stop, not wanting to close assault, and fire back getting two Suppression Tests which the Russians pass. However, now that the threat of Defensive Fire is reduced, the Pioneer command is activated, forms a Combat Group with the remaining 5 units (3 Pioneer, 2 Schutzen), and declares a Close Assault. Defensive Fire from the last Russian squad forces one Pioneer squad to retreat back into the swamp with damage (a break for the Russians since we find out later that this Pioneer squad is secretly carrying a flame-thrower team which gives an additional +3 factor to any close assault!). The rest enter the melee. The German side wins the first round by a difference of 2 (I didn't record the factors), for the result “They Don't Know They've Lost!”, which means one Russian unit is suppressed and a second round is fought immediately. For the second round, the Russians have 4 factors and the German has 8 factors for a difference of 4. [Error: We forgot to include the +1 Pioneer bonus]. The Russian rolls poorly with a 3 and the German rolls a 7 so the final total is German 15, Russian 7. A difference of 8 less one for the Russians being Tenacious, leaving a 7 which means Losers Routed! The Russians have 2 squads dispersed, and the remaining two retreat to the gully damaged and suppressed. Two German units take damage from the melee.

[Note: I should have read the rulebook more carefully when we got to this first big close assault since I made a major goof here, discovered after the game ended. I thought the first units that make base-to-base contact had to be nominated as the lead assault unit for each side, which also affects targeting during Defensive Fire. This is totally incorrect since the rules state after all units are in contact, each side nominates a lead assault unit which can be ANY unit that is involved in the assault. Therefore had we performed this correctly, the Russian side should have nominated the command unit as lead assault unit (factor =3) with 3 supporters for a total of 6. The German side should have nominated a Pioneer squad as lead assault unit (factor=4) with 4 factors for supporters, plus one factor for first round, and 1 factor for Pioneers for a total of 10. Note the difference in factors for this case turns out to still be 4 so the outcome of the close assault would still be the same as occurred in the game. We were doing it wrong but happened to achieve the same result!]

The Germans now control the north woods and look formidable on the north end of the board! Only one squad plus command, the light mortar, and MMG in their path. The German Company Commander and the FOO cross in boats to the east side.

Meanwhile, Lt. Von Pollockstein orders a squad from the Schutzen platoon in the centre woods to advance and scout the woods ahead. The squad runs into a hidden Russian platoon which Defensive Fires causing the German squad to retreat suppressed and damaged. The remaining squads just move up and consolidate in the woods out of Russian LOS. Then the Schutzen Platoon on the hill activates. Seeing a newly revealed Russian squad in the centre woods in LOS one squad fires and misses. The remaining 2 squads move up and reposition to the south end of the hill then both support the LMG which also fires at the Russian squad, rolling boxcars! An automatic Dispersed result. Ouch! Another Russian squad bites the dust.

Next the PzIIs move to have LOS on the Russians in the gully and all fire, all miss (-2 to hit when suppressed). End German Orders. In the Rally phase the two Russian units in the gully both rally, and the Pioneer squad with the flame-thrower in the swamp rallies with a 12, becoming Battle Hardened (+1 to all dice rolls)! End Turn 4.

Turn 5 Initiative: G7, R3 - German Initiative – German goes first.

Big Ukrainian head slap! A sudden realization that when the German platoon moved to the south end of the hill last turn, more Russian units would be visible to them. The T-26A is in LOS, and the MMG and Company Commander (Kommissar) could be seen as well. I place them all on the board, and then immediately realize that the Company Commander and MMG were in entrenched in cover so they should have stayed hidden until they fired, moved or were discovered by an enemy unit contacting them. However, now that they are revealed they must stay that way. Here is what the Schutzen platoon on the hill can see.

Lt. Mueller orders a smoke barrage on the Russian platoon in the centre woods, which lands right on target, completely covering the Russian platoon and negating any possibility of Defensive Fire. Rats!

Seeing the beautiful smoke screen, Lt. Von Pollockstein activates the centre Schutzen Platoon and declares a Close Assault, moving in untouched. Russian has 4 factors (2 squad + 3 supporters) and the German has 6 factors (3 command + 2 supporters, +1 first round). However, the Russian again rolls a crappy 3 on the close assault, same as last time while the German rolls a normal 7. The difference of 6 is reduced to 5 for Tenacious which is Losers Routed! This causes the 2 remaining squads to be dispersed and the command to retreat suppressed and damaged to the crop behind! Sheesh! Looking bad! 

[Note: Same comment here as for the previous close assault. However, if we had correctly used the Russian command as lead (factor=3) the net result would have been 1 less and only one unit, the command unit, would have been dispersed so the 2 squads would have retreated instead to the crop, both suppressed and damaged. It probably didn't alter the final outcome in this game.]

The PzII platoon fires on the Russian units in the gully again and all miss again, one getting Low Ammo. The Schutzen platoon on the hill activates and fires on the MMG suppressing it! [Comment: The rules say they should have fired on the Company Commander because it was the closest unit, but since the command unit has no ranged fire capability, I agree with them having the choice of MMG as target since it is the nearest threat.]

Lt. Mueller now activates the Pioneer commander who orders one Pioneer squad and 2 infantry squads in the north woods to move up. They get a poor movement roll but move toward the woods edge enough to get LOS and fire on the Russian squad and command in the gully, suppressing them. Defensive Fire misses. The Schutzen commander is activated next with the remaining squads. Most move up to the woods edge, but 1 squad has enough movement to Close Assault the suppressed Russians in the gully. The MMG is suppressed so can't Defensive Fire. The German rolls high and easily disperses both Russian units. The Pioneer squad (with the flame-thrower) in the marsh independently activates, tries to move out of the marsh, but rolls low and makes slow progress. End German Orders.

This is a disastrous turn for the Russian! The front line positions are shattered and the infantry eliminated, plus the MMG is suppressed. It looks grim! Lt. Lowellinski activates the light mortar which manages to suppress the German squad in the gully.

Faced with deciding the greatest threat, I decide it is the Schutzen platoon on the hill that could pour fire on the troops in the crop and threaten to take the cottage. So I move the T-26A up in front of the cottage and let fly with both MMG turrets at 2 Schutzen squads. One is a miss, but the other causes a squad and LMG to retreat suppressed and damaged.

This ends the Russian Orders since there is nothing left to order! In the Rally Phase, the German squad on the hill rallies, but the squads in the gully and at the shore line do not. The Russian MMG and infantry command both rally. Whew!

The Russians have lost more that half their force so need to pass a Battlefield Withdrawal Test to proceed to Turn 6, otherwise the game ends immediately. The Russian rolls an 8 and with the +3 mods passes the test so the game continues. End Turn 5.

Turn 6 Initiative: G6, R3 - German Initiative - German goes first.

At this point Rick and Brent have to leave so Tim and I continue the game.

Roll for smoke endurance and it disappears. The centre woods Schutzen platoon tries to activate but rolls a 3. Lt. Mueller is not willing to authorize spending 4 CPs from HQ to activate the platoon. However, he does spend 1 CP to successfully activate the non-commanded squad and LMG there. The LMG and squad fire at the MMG and miss. Next the Schutzen squad on the hill activates and the LMG and squad fire on the MMG getting a Suppression Test which the MMG passes OK. The third squad moves up to the hilltop and fires at the MMG also getting a Suppression Test which the MMG passes again! Moving to the north woods, The Company Commander attempts activation and rolls snake eyes invoking Command Confusion! All German CPs are gone! The German side holds on to the initiative with a good dice roll. Lt. Mueller now attempts to activate the Schutzen commander and rolls another snake eyes! The snake eyes after Command Confusion invokes FUBAR! ending the German Orders Phase and possiblty saving the Russian bacon!

In the Russian Orders phase, the MMG activates and fires on the LMG and squad in the centre woods causing it to retreat damaged and suppressed.

Next the T-26A moves up into close range and lets fly with both MMGs at the two nearest Schutzen squads on the hill, suppressing one.

In the north, the light mortar suppresses the squad in the gully again. End Russian Orders. In the Rally phase, all 3 German squads rally, 1 on the hill, 1 by the shoreline, and 1 in the gully. The Russian rolls high for the Battlefield Withdrawal Test and passes, so the game ends at the end of Turn 6!

Tallying up the score:

The Russians have the MMG and the infantry command in the crop within 18 inches of the bridge and they are not suppressed, so the Russians are awarded 5 VP for meeting their objective! The Germans did not meet their objective of controlling the cottage and clearing the area within 18 inches of the bridge of all unsuppressed Russian infantry. However, the Russian losses were huge!

The Russian side lost 10 units for 1 VP each so the German side is awarded 10 VP. The German side lost only 2 units for 2 VP each so the Russian side is awarded 4 VP for losses, plus 5 VP for the objective for a total of 9 VP. Perhaps a very marginal German win on points! Perhaps a Russian marginal win for holding the objective. It is pretty much a draw. Historically the 394th Schutzen secured the bridgehead but endured heavy counterattacks for the next 24 hours.

Observations:

1. The ratio of about 150% attacker vs 100% defender unit points resulted in a fairly even match when tied to the time constraint of the game. Lady Luck stepped in with thumbs down on both sides, first with Russian 3s in both major close assaults and then double snake eyes for the German activations in Turn 6, essentially negating a turn. It is important to note that the German had TEN damaged units at game end so their force was quite fragile for any continuance of the game.

2. The Russian infantry squads were supposed to get one LMG each but we forgot to put them on the board when the platoons were revealed. We also forgot that both LMGs and the MMGs (the MMG team in the crop and the 2 in the T-26A) are eligible for Sustained Fire which allows them to fire at multiple targets in both Defensive Fire and Orders Phase. Who knows what difference that would have made, but any tilt toward a Russian advantage would have been overshadowed by the impact of the Pioneer flame-thrower had it not become mired in the swamp!

3. The game was much shorter due to the 4x4 table and only 6 game turns, lasting about 3 hours after we got going. I'd like to shave another half hour and will consider how to achieve that. Maybe try 5 turns on a 4x4 table with pre-set deployment. Perhaps the streamlined Battlegroup Panzergrenadier Deluxe rules that are due for release in the next few months (?) will help...

4. This was the first “all-infantry” game our group played with these rules. Especially in close terrain that mandated large close assaults to take strong positions. I think the rules worked very well for pure infantry vs infantry combat and I feel that BGPG is an “infantry first” rules set. It will be interesting to explore infantry close combat vs enemy positions and enemy held terrain features in future games with the learnings made in this game.

Our gaming group seemed to really enjoy playing this scenario, which is the whole point really! This scenario will be the last one we play from the Skirmish Campaigns “Russia '41 – Drive on Minsk.” book, chronicling the actions of 3rd Panzer Division. Another excellent reference source for 3rd Panzer Division in Barbarossa is “Panzer Wedge” from the Stackpole Military History Series.

The next WWII miniatures gaming night will be some time in January 2014. I have no idea about the scenario or game to be played. Tune in late January for the next AAR! Meanwhile, Turkey Day is getting closer and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! (or its equivalent in whatever belief system you have!) - Gary

[Edit: The boats seem to be a hit, so here's how I made them. The template below (actual size) was cut out (solid lines) and all the folds made (dotted lines).  

For each boat I traced around the outside of the template onto blank card stock, then still holding it in position, traced around again with the flaps (F) & folds all up to show where to fold.  After cutting out, just white-glued it all together.  Then I traced and cut out a second “bottom,” trimmed it just a little smaller, and glued it on the outside bottom for a double-strong thickness there and to hide the bottom flaps.  The top needed a bit of trimming after to get the sides even.  Then a bit of filler into all the cracks and black spray primer inside & out to seal the paper (sticky tack to hold them down).  Two coats of grey craft paint and light gray drybrush.  Then the side numbers, the black trim & brown on the gunwales, and a brown floor. The motors were made from dowel & painted metallic grey. 

A finished close-up.]