Introduction
This is mission 3 in a campaign following a British company through 1944 France. I am using 6mm forces and playing on a 3x4 grid on a A4 page. The British did not win missions 1 and 2.
Rules
I am using my own rules. I have modified the ones I used in 2017 to be 1d6 for all rolls, rather than 1-3 per attack. They are likely to change slightly as I playtest them on the games. I am using Platoon Forwardto generate the missions.
The rules are here: ww3x4 Advancing Companies V2.0c.pdf
In summary, most units move 1 square and can fire out 1 square and non-firing units are seen at 0 or 1 square. Stacking is 3 units of one side per square. Each turn normally has one square activated (random side but a chosen square) and units in that square can fire, move or rally. Then the other side activates a square. After each side has an activation there is a special melee phase where opposing units in a square fire at each other. Play another turn and keep this up until one side's morale fails.
It is 1944 and a UK infantry force is attacking a German armoured force. The UK mission is a patrol.
The force is tasked with patrolling the No-Man's Land area to your front.
The terrain is hills, with:
Open | Woods |Open
Crops | Hill |1-3 buildings
Open | Hill |Wooded Hill
Hill | Open |Open
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| The battlefield |
Victory is to inflict more casualties than receive or make enemy break-off. Lose if receive more casualties than inflict and enemy does not break off.
Major Victory is achieved if inflict more casualties than receive and make enemy break-off.
The UK force all enter in zone 12. The German force Enters zone 3.
The UK has green morale for its six sections and two leaders. No support units.
Available indirect support is 2x25pdr.
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| Germans |
The German has green morale for its seven sections and one leader. Support includes Heavy Tank – Jagdpanzer 75/L48
Available indirect support is 2x80mm.
No MGs again. Unlucky as it is rare for this to occur.
Troops
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| The British forces |
Co HQ Hodgson (Green)
1 Plt HQ Cole (Green), 1 Plt 1 Sect Burns (Green), 1 Plt 2 Sect Knowles (Green), 1 Plt 2 Sect Davies (Green)
3 Plt HQ Burns (Green), 3 Plt 1 Sect Manning (Green), 3 Plt 2 Sect Hanson (Green), 3 Plt 3 Sect Williams (Green)
Deployment
None – both units start off table.
British goal is to rush to the centre hills and hopefully get into a commanding position before the Germans have a chance to bring their units on – this only way the British can win if by constraining the Germans to one square, or at most two.
The Germans will aim to make it to the buildings and the central hill to stop the British from bottling them in.
The Germans have a tank that the British can only take out by being in the same square. The Germans may have one more squad than the British but they have only one leader. Green troops, as I have found out, are difficult to rally once suppressed.
Game
The British get lucky with two activations and bring on all their forces, 3rd platoon under Burns to the left, and 1st platoon under Cole to the right. For the purposes of the game, Captain Hodgson is with Burns and the second platoon. The Germans move on one Zug.
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| First moves. |
The Germans get to activate and need to make a choice – to they bring on more units (into the wood sin Zone 2) or move the existing units into the building (the only hard cover on the board and a very good defensive position). They move into the building. The British 3rd platoon move up to the wooded hill and fail to spot the Germans.
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| The Germans manage to get to the buildings. |
And it is here we say farewell to the pink document folder. I had been using to protect the game. It was all I had in the house.
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| Good bye |
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| And hello. |
The British get their act together (two activations in a row). I agonised about whether to move the 1st platoon into the buildings or bring up 3rd platoon further. Or send in one section to the building that means I spot the Germans and then call in the 25pdrs? But the section will surely be suppressed and the there is a 50% chance the artillery is busy elsewhere. But then I remembered – 2 activations – the first to move in, the second they can fire. Normally with one activation a side it will happen that one side moves into the square and the other fires back in the next activation. The British move in the 1st platoon and then fire, causing one suppression and one KO. Note that activating the British first platoon with the second activation is against the rules - the second activation must be with a different square and different units. Can't even remember my own rules!
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| The British move into the outskirts of the buildings. |
The Germans then agonise on whether to bring on another platoon (if all their units are KO’d on the table the game is over!), or try and rally the suppressed Gruppe (1/3 of a chance) and fire at the British (1/2 chance of suppression/KO of one unit). They decide to bring on the other platoon.
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| The German bring on the other force. |
The melee phase occurs in the building square. It is deadly as no cover bonuses, all units can fire at +1 to the dice (although suppressed units don’t get this bonus). The Germans suppress two sections but the other Gruppe is suppressed. All the German units in the square are suppressed and there is one unsuppressed enemy and so the Germans must retreat one square. The British 1st platoon hold the building. Must not forget though – the goal is maximum casualties!
The rules are working really well – I ponder a lot on every activation on what is the best thing to do.
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| The Germans retreat from the building. |
The Allies use their activation to concentrate fire from 1stplatoon in the building into the German Zug in the woods (they managed to spot them). One section fired and Lieutenant Cole successfully called in the 25pdrs. The sum effect was one suppressed. The reason to fire on the woods was the slightly better choice – one Gruppe is out of action and will only rally on a 6 (green and no leader). The unit on the field would have been a better target for the 25pdrs as they would have been classed as in the open but they are already suppressed and only a ½ of a chance of rallying. And this would be the sole activation for the Germans. All up, reducing the woods square attack potential is the thing to at the moment.
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| The British fire at the German Zug in the woods. |
The Germans bring on the last Gruppe and the Panzer.
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| The tank arrives. |
The Allies move 3rd platoon into the wooded hills. From the building the 1st platoon fires at the newly arrived Gruppe and it routs.
“Artillery? Hello, artillery?”
Lieutenant Cole call for the 25pdrs fails.
The Panzer fires at the buildings and supresses the only non-suppressed section.
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| The tank suppresses the section in the building. |
The Germans move two Gruppe in the building. The British cannot fire back as they are suppressed. Instead, they move the 3rd platoon onto the hill. The only German unit that could fire at them is the tank- all the remaining units are suppressed.
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| Germans move in, British move up. |
Now it is the melee phase where all hell breaks out in the building. Three Vs two but the British units are all at -1 for being suppressed. The German’s KO two sections of the British 1st platoon! The British only suppressed one. The remaining section with Lieutenant Cole retreats.
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| The building belongs to the Germans. |
The tank fires and supresses two units on the hill. Things are really not looking good for the British on patrol.
Then Lieutenant Burns on the hill calls in the 25 pdrs that hit with devastating effect (lots of 6s). And the lone section fires as well (with a 6 as well).
The tank is KO’d by the barrage. This covers a wide range of results but basically the tank is no longer in action, and the two other units rout as well.
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| Tank gone, as well as all the other units. Don’t sit in a field! |
The Germans have lots over half their forces and their leader and decide to retire from the field. The British can claim a major victory – inflicted more casualties and forced the Germans from the field!
To be honest, at the start I did think it was going to be another loss for the British. A string of 6s in the last turn helped. And using the artillery!
Post-battle status
1 Plt HQ (Cole) 2XP gained.
1 Plt 1 Sect (Burns) 2XP gained.
1 Plt 2 Sect (Knowles) routed during the mission and are ok to continue. 1XP gained.
1 Plt 2 Sect (Davies) routed during the mission and are disbanded.
2 Plt HQ (Ross) had no troops prior to battle but have received replacements.
2 Plt 1 Sect (Turner) was not in the battle.
2 Plt 2 Sect (Wade) was not in the battle.
2 Plt 3 Sect (Hartley) had no troops prior to battle.
3 Plt HQ (Burns) 2XP gained.
3 Plt 1 Sect (Manning) 2XP gained.
3 Plt 2 Sect (Hanson) 2XP gained.
3 Plt 3 Sect (Williams) 3XP gained (an additional XP for good shooting)
Verdict
12 squares, a couple of pages of rules and only a handful of units. It was supposed to be quick and easy. These games are taking longer than the equivalent on a 2’x2’ table. But in a good way. The focus is so much on each and every activation – what one decision to take? – rather than movement and firing. It is what I was looking for and why I went back to the 3x4 grid.
Green units are terrible to rally – once they are suppressed it is a 6+, or 5+ with a leader present to rally. Regular units are 5+ and 4+ respectively. At least with regulars there is half a chance. I find with the Green units once suppressed they stay there. Cannot wait until some of the sections are Regular and units may actually rally.
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