Game Report Thursday 11 August

On Thursday this week, I had a game of Chain of Command WW2 with a regular opponent, JB.

We set up the table as a rough version of the Battle of the Bulge - a King Tiger and the standard CoC German Panzer Grenadier platoon, versus two US Shermans and an Armored Infantry platoon for the US. The Germans have slightly fewer men per unit but make up for it with the large number of machine guns - 2 per section or 6 per platoon, as against the US platoon, which has two "rifle sections" and a single MG section comprising two tripod mounted mg's. The Germans also have a Panzerschreck AT weapon and several Panzerfaust, while the US have a single bazooka, and the quality difference between a King Tiger with an 88mm gun and two Shermans is reasonably obvious!

We completed the patrol phase and set up the jump off points, and as the aggressor, the Germans had the first roll of the CoC command dice.

The view from behind the German Tiger on its start line on one of the short sides of the table

A longer view from the same end at the start of the game

This was the view from the opposite end, where the US forces commenced the patrol phase of the game

Another view from the US table end

The Tiger starts to roll forward

Two sections of the US Armored infantry platoon deployed in the cover of woods

The two Sherman tanks head along the road to cross the river by the only available bridge

One Sherman has crossed the bridge, whilst the second stops on high ground and somewhat rashly and optimistically engages the King Tiger frontally at long rage.....

The Sherman shell bounced off the Tigers armour, but irritated the crew sufficiently for them to return fire, resulting in a direct hit and the Sherman exploding

The Panzerschreck team then engaged the second Sherman with a similar outcome - scratch the entire US armoured contingent before the battle had even properly commenced!

The Tiger then hung back for a while, whilst two sections of Panzer Grenadiers engaged one section of Armored Infantry plus a 30cal MG in a fire fight. One German section was gradually whittled down to an NCO and a couple of riflemen, but the US were taking casualties steadily too.

The King Tiger advanced very cautiously down the left flank whilst the second Grenadier section swung across from the extreme right. The US bazooka team bravely sprinted from cover and got onto the flank of the Tiger...but disaster, they rolled less than 6 on two dice and missed their shot entirely!

The King Tiger pivoted through 90 degrees to bring its co axal MG to bear and wiped out the plucky bazooka team!

We called the game at this stage after about two hours of play. The final scene from the German right flank showing the Sherman destroyed by the Panzerschreck burning in the foreground whilst the second section of Panzer Grenadiers moves forward. The US troops can be seen in the rear, occupying the woods where they skulked for the entire game. The Germans won the tactical victory although they paid for their victory for it - 12 dead compared with 9 Americans