Unfinished business - an incomplete 15mm Chain of Command game

A combination of being busy, playing games, and most of all, suffering the worst hay fever in years, has sapped my energy to put finger to tablet. With a nice fan breeze and help of the right medication, now feels a good time to fill in some of the blanks. Myself and Ed played half a game of Chain of Command, with a willingness to finish it the following week (which didn't happen). Here are some snaps of the game:

The pictures tell a little of the narrative of the game. British defence evenly across their own lines. German thrust down their right flank, lead by a PzIII. Firefights in the centre and left, with casualties mounting on either side. A gun duel between a deployed 6 pounder and PzIII, which lasted a couple of rounds, with the AT gun finally wining the contest. At this point the game was halted for the following week...

Ed had bought a lovely Cigar Box mat which we used in the game. Final photo...the mat and terrain:

 

 

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Chain of Command - 15mm British platoon finished

Well, that's a pleasant surprise, a finished wargames force completed in quick time. Here are the Brits, fresh from the paint parade ground. They saw first action on Thursday night, but we're not fully finished. A quick highlight of the details, and basing has seen them ready for full action.

These PSC figures were quick to paint up to a reasonable standard. Pleasurable moments were the character of the H.Q. figures, and the camo added to the helmets. Down moments, basing the laid down teams where sand leaked onto the figures. Next job, the anti tank section with A.T. guns.

 

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Chain of Command. - in 15mm

After still not feeling the love from Chain of Command in 28mm, both Ed and I had a rethink. The scenery just didn't feel right in the two games which we had already played. There was certainly a good game to be had lurking in the rule book, we just hadn't found it.

As I had already a large collection of 15mm WWII kit ready to go, we decided to try the game in the smaller scale. Ed had suggested that the rules were designed in 15mm to be 'true scale' when viewed on the tabletop. For a small fee, Ed bought some Flames of War plastic panzergrenadiers (very nicely posed), and I used my Christmas bought Brits...apologies for the unfinished figures. Here's my standard list, supplemented with a M5 Stauart light tank.

I have to say, the game played much better in this scale. Just by looking at the terrain layout alone, we felt it was 'right'.

In terms of the game, the British patrolled up to the centre of the board (just shy of the green houses), with a slight flanking to the left. Ed's panzergrenadiers prepared their attack from behind the two houses.

From the Brits perspective the battle unfolded with the Stuart entering the central road, with a section to it's left. The Germans took a central position and set up their MG34s ready to stop any forward momentum. The Brits matched this move by placing a section behind the Green houses. A contest between the opposing MGs began, with the Germans getting the better of the fight.

To try and gain some momentum, the Brits deployed their last section on the forward left flank, with the tank switching flanks to lay down some fire on the central German MG strongpoint. The Germans rapidly responded by moving a section into opposing woods, bringing forward the jump off point, and deploying a panzerschreck team...a single shot...which missed the tank. The tank began to exchange fire with this group and the MGs.

The finale to the game came with a German close assault on the British left flank. A decisive engagement which sapped the will power of the troops to carry on..a wiped out section and two wounded leaders which routed from the table.

All told, a fun and interesting game. On reflection, it struck me that Chain of Command, whilst close, is not a true skirmish game; but rather a small action game of little 'groups' of troops. Therefore the use of the terrain in a slightly less cluttered fashion still provided enough opportunities and challenges to make the game interesting. What is certain is that it has provided the incentive to finish painting the British company, build some universal carriers and construct an anti-tank gun!

 

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First play of Chain of Command

I seem to really like games with the word 'command' in...Command and Colours for instance, and I think these rules will be added to that gaming treasure chest. As ever, I'm sure myself and Ed got some things wrong in our first game, but impressions were very positive.

We kept things simple, with nothing special for the list choices (snipers and leaders). The patrol phase made more sense in practically doing it than reading it in the rules. We quickly had our jump off points decided and we're ready to start to deploy troops for action.

After a little confusion between the difference of a squad and a section, the command rules made some sense, and I feel that there are some subtleties to be had in how they are used and interact.

Combat is fairly straight forward, and it feels like the creative energy of the game has gone into the control of the troops, rather than pointing their weapons for them; I certainly enjoy this approach, as other rules cater for those who prefer the mechanics of different weapon systems over the men using them.

Whilst I enjoy the gaming experience of boardgames such as 'Combat Commander' by GMT, these rules certainly strike the balance between visual appeal and playability. Once we began to understand the rules, it became clear that there was too much scenery on the table, as engagement ranges were very short. Consideration for terrain density needs thought to ensure an interesting game with several tactical options.

Thanks Ed for doing the hard graft of learning the majority of the rules, it has certainly helped me to engage with the game; my capacity to absorb new rules seems to get less and less as time moves forward. We will try a different scenario next time, but keep the forces simple again so as to learn the nuances of the rules.

 

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