Chain of Command

Ian Roberts and I had agreed to have a go at Chain of Command as the other lads were either involved in competition games or a practice of the Saga game they are putting on for next month's Essex Warriors Open Day - see the website for details.

Ian won the toss and chose the Germans.  The fight was for possession of a village.

We started with the Patrol Phase where both sides "feel their way" and establish where the front line and no-man's land is, as denoted by the German and Allied markers in the pictures.

The British have managed to get right inside the village and occupy a large house and get a foothold in the gas works.

Both sides then deployed their Jump Off Points for the units to be activated from (denoted by a pile of oil drums or stores).  Each side had three of these.

With the higher Morale (11 to my 8) the Germans move first and Ian deploys a Section with Junior Leader behind a hedgerow.

Back behind the village, I deployed a Bren team adjacent to a Jump Off Point.

I also have a complete section with Junior Leader in the large house with Bren facing out of the upstairs window.

Another British section has moved into the Gas Works and got their Bren team upstairs too.

More Germans are deployed and make their way through an orchard.

Whilst a third unit moves cautiously through a field to get to the cover of a stone wall.

The British Lieutenant arrives and gets his Mortar team set up behind a hedgerow.

This is the view from right of the German positions at this stage.

The British Bren teams upstairs in both the Gas Works and large village house are able to pour down some effective fire on the Germans approaching from right of the village and the orchard.

Return fire is now coming from the orchard.

and the MG term behind the wall.

But from their elevated and protected position, the British are out gunning the Germans. The German Junior Leader has taken a hit in this shot and shock is mounting on the unit as a whole.

To the extent that the Riflemen have broken from contact and the remaining MG team are in no great shape either.

But the Brits are not getting it all their own way and gradually hits are scored on the defenders.

Ian's intact unit on his left have managed to get around the Gas Works uninjured

and pour some devastating fire power into the building, killing and injuring several of the British section.

They then followed this up with a charge which finished off the remaining enemy.

This plus the rest of the defenders of the village house getting killed meant that the British morale had collapsed to zero with two out of three sections wiped out.

Here we see the Germans mopping up around the Gas Works

and a solitary British Junior Leader left in the house seeking a way of escape.

This is the unit which wiped out his men.

Absorbing game which looked as if it would be a British win until the Germans snatched victory with some deadly firepower against the house and a successful charge against the occupied Gas Works.

We both managed to forget to use our Chain of Command dice on occasion but thats because we don't  play the game enough - don't leave it so long next time !