All,
Morning, 11 April 1941
Here we are, continuing Kampfgruppe Klink's campaign in Greece. The first battle saw Captain Freitag's 1st Schutzen Battlegroup take a key mountain crossroads manned by members of the British Royal Engineers supported by Armored Cavalry from New Zealand. The fight saw the Germans infantry nearly eliminate the Commonwealth battlegroup, which fell back in disarray. Captain Freitag pressed his advantage, immediately pursuing south down, where it ran into defensive positions manned by the remnants of the New Zealand 21st Infantry Battalion.
Overview, north is left. The Germans will be entering from the north and attacking south, where the Commonwealth forces will be defending, able to emplace anywhere from their baseline up to the patches of trees at top center, center, and left edge of the hill at bottom center. The road is improved (at least in terms of 1941 Greece), there is a small hamlet consisting of three stone buildings at far right, a few patches of trees scattered about, but the dominant terrain feature is the hilltops dotting the countryside (clockwise from left): Hill 190 (top left), Hill 316 (top right), and Hill 243 (bottom center).
I'm playing with very simple terrain so that I can lay it down and scrape it up as quickly as possible, to get in a lot of games as quickly as possible.
I'm playing with very simple terrain so that I can lay it down and scrape it up as quickly as possible, to get in a lot of games as quickly as possible.
I'm playing solo using Too Fat Lardies' Chain of Command, modified a bit. I've bumped it up a level (using multi-based stands, not individual troops), I simplified fire and melee combat, and morale (5Core concepts, as always), as well as movement (I like dicing for movement, but it significantly slows things down for me). I changed the CoC Dice so that it represents indirect supporting fires from Higher HQ, and I did away with the Patrol Phase. I love the Patrol Phase, but it doesn't work for me playing solo, so what I do is designate an attacker and a defender; both sides start completely off table, using their Command Dice to deploy on table (as normal), but where it differs is that I basically give the defender a deployment area of half the table, and he can deploy anywhere in that area, even dug in, so long as it's at least 6" from any attacker.
If you're now wondering, then, why do I still call these rules "Chain of Command," it's because the entire game revolves around the use of Chain of Command's brilliant activation system (command roll/Command Dice), the use of leaders' command initiative, and the 'Force Morale' concept of declining Command Dice and morale to breaking. To me, that's the heart of the system, and it makes for a fun game.
The opposing forces, with Germans on the left and Commonwealth on the right.
I'm playing these games in 10mm using figures from Pendraken and Minifigs UK, roads from Fat Frank, hills from Warzone, buildings from Crescent Root, rivers from Wargamers Terrain, and trees from Gunner at Signifer.
Battlegroup Freitag (AKA, 1st Schutzen): consists of the CO stand (far left), two rifle platoons (a Platoon Commander and four rifle squads, each), a weapons platoon (Platoon Commander, two MG-34s, and two 80mm mortars), and a platoon of three Stug-IIIs.
Captaing Freitag (Iron Cross 2nd Class)
Captaing Freitag (Iron Cross 2nd Class)
1st Grenadier Platoon - 1st Lt Tausch (IC1 and 2)
1st Rifle Squad - Cpl Salz
2nd Rifle Squad - SSgt Aust
3rd Rifle Squad - Sgt Lutz
4th Rifle Squad - Cpl Benzinger
2nd Grenadier Platoon - 1st Lt Klugmann (IC1 and 2)
1st Rifle Squad - Cpl Reiswitz
2nd Rifle Squad - SSgt Sachs
3rd Rifle Squad - Sgt Lehmkuhl
4th Rifle Squad - Cpl Orel
Weapons Platoon - Sgt Creuzburg
MG1 - Cpl Steinkamp
MG2 - LCpl Moen
Mtr1 - LCpl Hager
Mtr2 - LCpl Schiff
MG1 - Cpl Steinkamp
MG2 - LCpl Moen
Mtr1 - LCpl Hager
Mtr2 - LCpl Schiff
Assault Gun Platoon - Officer Cadet Hinkle
V2 - Sgt Kulle
V3 - Sgt Wagner
Commanding Officer: Major Hunt
2 x Rifle Platoon (Platoon Commander, 3 x Rifle Section, Boyes ATR, and 2" Mortar)
Weapons Platoon (Platoon Commander, two Vickers MGs, and two 3" mortars)
Anti-Tank Platoon (Platoon Commander, 2 x 2-pdr ATG)
*They came on with a '2,' so could only move on the table, not move and fire, though I do let defenders deploy and fire on 2s as they are supposed to be in established defensive positions.
*The Germans have also received a CoC dice, and Captain Freitag immediately called for fire on Hill 316.
*I haven't been typing this up, but just so you see how this works, the New Zealanders just lost two Command Dice AND three Force Morale points, putting them in a bad, if not quite precarious, situation.
*Some pretty fancy shooting, and I may have been too generous, should maybe have left the Germans to use only Shock Dice, no Kill Dice, as the guns are dug-in. Hey, I only let them roll 1K 3S...
*For ranging in, I typically roll a D10 for distance (in inches) and a D12 for direction to see where the round lands, then roll Kill/Shock dice as appropriate to the situation. This hit 2" at 4 o'clock from the aim point, so I rolled 1K 2S. Now that they're ranged in, I'll just roll Firepower dice as they're already on target. I don't make the defenders do this, as I presume they've already staked it out and made up their range cards.
An interesting fight; I think the Germans made a big mistake pushing the two rifle platoons too close together, which the Kiwis were able to masterfully take advantage of by dropping their Weapons Platoon onto Hill 316 to pound them, then drop 1st Rifle Platoon in on Hill 243 for the crossfire. They're downfall was getting too aggressive, thinking they could storm Hill 190 and mop up by dropping in 2nd Rifle Platoon up at top center. It sounds good, but the Germans MGs hadn't been touched, and they absolutely slaughtered them. The loss of 2nd Rifle Platoon and their PC cost the New Zealanders way too much in terms of Command Dice and Force Morale, which made it almost impossible to stage an effective defense. They should have kept 2nd Rifle Platoon in reserve and just continue to pound 1st and 2nd Grenadier Platoons until they broke. Then you get the Stugs scoring lucky hits on the ATG position and the Stuka attack wiping out the mortar position, and it's all over but the crying...
Casualties:
German losses: 35 casualties, 1 Stug immobilized but repaired in time for the next fight (yes, again, very lucky dice rolls)
Commonwealth losses: 25 casualties, 30 captured
Characters:
SSgt Sachs, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece, wounded twice previously, KIA
Cpl Benzinger, veteran of France and Greece, replacement squad leader, KIA
Sgt Kulle, a veteran of France and Greece, WIA and out for the remainder of the campaign.
Awards:
None.
Next up, Captain Freitag and his men are right back in the thick of it, taking on some Kiwis to take a bridge.
V/R,
Jack
Interesting firefight, always enjoy reading about other gamer's campaigns.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with my utter distaste for WW2 Germans, I will always be hoping for their opposition :)
Joseph,
DeleteThanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! And don't worry about pulling for the opposition, even I am! At least for now; soon we're heading for the Eastern Front, and then it's a toss-up! ;) But there's one thing I can assure you: no matter how good they do early on maybe even in the middle and towards the end, it's not going to end well for them.
I don't know why I went and named characters down so far in the roster; in the overall scheme of things, I just wanted a way to play a linked series of battles throughout the entire war, and, honestly, the only way to get through the entire war (in this context, Sept '39 to May '45) was to play as the Germans.
But I will admit that a small part of this was from reading Guy Sajer's "The Forgotten Soldier," the idea being to get away from the politics and the (noncombat) horrors of the war and just focus on the plight of the common soldier. Certainly the case can be made that I should have done that with an Allied soldier(s) (and I am, with "All Americans" and "Blood and Guts," they're just on hiatus for a bit), but remember that I was looking to go from the very beginning of the war (in Europe) to the very end (I'm also doing the same for various Allied units over on my Pacific War blog).
Another aspect of following a German unit from beginning to end, knowing that there is no escape from fighting but death, was to see who of the characters might actually survive. That's why you'll see me calling out the deaths of long-service characters; not out of sentimentality, but simply pointing out his accomplishments and pointing out the law of averages. The big question is will anyone that started with KG Klink on 1 September 1939 still be alive on 8 May 1945? Only time will tell!
V/R,
Jack
Well, I approve of your character naming!
DeleteIndeed ;)
DeleteV/R,
Jack
Your reasoning makes perfect sense, Jack, thanks for taking the time to do that. You are right, in the end it doesn't go well for the Germans. Good, I say! :)
DeleteOh, and I'll take the Russians anyday in WW2 games as they were the ones invaded and the Germans made it a racial war too. Yeah, both governments were god awful run by meglamaniac dictators but I always admired the Russian people in this war.
But in the end, we are gaming this, it ain't real. And it takes two sides to fight! Enjoy.
Joseph,
DeleteNo problem, my pleasure. I have the same distaste for the Soviet leadership as I do the Nazi leadership, but I'm with you on the Russian people. The Russian people just seem to get screwed every chance history gets, yet somehow they carry on.
And yes, it's all just a game, just for fun. My personal wargaming philosophy is to play Hollywood-style games set against the backdrop of WWII ;)
V/R,
Jack
Wow! This was a bloody and very exciting engagement. The Germans attacking such well-prepared positions seemed like folly BUT they pulled it off!
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, Jack!
Thanks, Jonathan, I appreciate it, and as I mentioned, your namesake is doing a lot of the heavy lifting! Regarding the folly of attacking well-prepared positions, I'm afraid that being the attacker with the way I'm allowing the defender's deployment in Chain of Command is going to make a lot of them look like folly!
DeleteOn a side note, I'm about to head over to your blog for some reading, I just noticed you've been posting batreps with Norm's "Tigers at Minsk". Not sure how I missed those, but looking forward to reading them.
V/R,
Jack
There are two entries for TaM BatReps. Hope you enjoy them!
DeleteYessir, I saw that. Forgive me, I didn't comment on the first one, just read through both of them and commented on the second.
DeleteV/R,
Jack
The advance of Battlegroup Freitag continues, but opposition is getting stiffer.
ReplyDeleteYessir, it shall no doubt get uglier for KG Klink. The campaign is humming right along, your concept works like a champ!
DeleteV/R,
Jack
That was a great post. It will be interesting if anybody can survive the entire war.
ReplyDeleteHey Brian, thanks man! And yeah, it's looking ugly when you consider these are the 'happy times.' Just wait until the Soviet counteroffensive at Moscow in December 1941!
DeleteV/R,
Jack
Hello Jack,
ReplyDeleteYes, it was not looking good for the Germans until the NZ'ers got cocky and the Stuka knocked out the mortars. It was a game that could have gone either way (the best kind on solo games).
Hiya Shaun,
DeleteYeah, it's tough. The Commonwealth forces in this campaign are generally weaker than their German counterparts: they're lightly armed, relatively immobile, no real offensive striking power, and they're quantitatively worse as well (affecting orders dice and morale, on account of having arrived in Greece not fully prepared, then having already been beaten up and forced to retreat from their initial line of defense).
This, coupled with the fact I like high drama, means that when they get an opportunity for a high-risk, high reward action to win a fight (rather than simply lose slowly), they're going to take it.
And I agree, it does make for exciting games!
V/R,
Jack