Chain of Command Campaign (8)

Another chance for General B. and I to continue our CoC campaign as Steve was preparing for yet another interview in order to get his 4th, or possibly 5th new job of the year.

The American forces are falling back in disarray in the face of the German counter attack and have now been caught in a flanking attack whilst attempting to set up defences on the outskirts of Boisclair.

Learning from my mistakes I pushed forward with the Americans, firing whenever possible.

One German squad was caught in the open, and despite the arrival of a Stug the forces of Uncle Sam wiped them all out.

Unfortunately this didn't result in the German Force Morale dropping quite as precipitously I had hoped.

In the village my mortar threw out entirely ineffectual fire. How I wished I'd taken the .30cal instead.

The other full strength US squad forced the attacking Germans to take cover.

However after sneaking round the back I made a fatal error. Not wanting to get caught in another firefight with the superior German weaponry I tried to push on. But couldn't resist taking a pot-shot on the way.

Inevitable the shooting had no effect and the movement roll was poor. So the squad were stranded, looking down the barrels of not one, but two MG42s.

And then Ballzimmer rolled 2 6s and got to go twice.

My squad was pinned and them massacred where they stood.

There was nothing left but for yet another withdrawal.


A great game - and one where (at least at first) aggressive US tactics forced the Germans on to the back foot.

Same result though. And so now it's on to the end game in the middle of Boisclair itself.

And now a sepia version of one of the above pictures, just because I'm pleased with how it looks

Celts v Fomorians with James and Martin

On Wednesday evening James and Martin came round for a game of James' heroic fantasy game rules. The working title of the rues is Midgard and they're aimed at creating reasonably big battles for heroic mythical settings. In this case we'd be fighting Celts against Fomorians.

I won't say much about the rules as they're still work in progress, but they worked very well and gave a quick and easy game with a good balance between units and their heroic leaders.

If anyone is interested we'll be showing off the game (and James' fantastic collection of soldiers) at the Hereward show in Peterborough on Sunday 1st September.

 The Fomorians are mostly from Alternative Armies with a few Northstar ones in the mix.

 The Celts are mostly from Northstar

 The game uses base widths and half base widths for movement - hence the measuring sticks

 James' Tuatha de Danaan are Red Book of the Elf King models

We were testing chariot rules. Wouldn't be bronze Age Ireland without some javelin hurling from chariots, would it?

The battle was finally resolved when Nuada cut down the Fomorian witch.

Great fun to play and really good company. It'll look even more spectacular on James' fab Celtic scenery.

TMWWBK at Partizan

This simple but effective TMWWBK game (using the "Skirmish Kings" reduced model count rules I spotted earlier in the year at the first partizan.

This time i remembered to take a few pictures.

Chain of Command Campaign (7)

Hello TMP fans of colossal cockwomble Tango.

When we last managed to get Steve out of the way so General B and I could play Chain of Command (back in April!) the Americans were firmly on the back foot.

After a good hard probing by the Stug the German counterattack is firmly under way (in fact they're perilously close to the top of the ladder and ultimate campaign victory.

With my commander and my men's opinion tumbling I was in all sort of bother. Ballzimmer meanwhile rolled decently for support and decide to keep the narrative running by taking a Stug which could continue to drive on up the road.

My forces had fallen back on the hamlet of Boisclair

We started quite cagily. Apart from the ominous rumbling of the Stug engine.

One of my squads leaped into the house, aiming to use tht to blunt the German assault.

However Ballzimmer had other ideas and pretty soon his men had seized the crossroads and began to shoot the building up.

More Heer began to appear.

Whilst the house defenders began to regret their advanced and isolated position.

Twice the US Bazooka team emerged from ambush and fired on the Stug. The first time too hastily, blasting wide of the tank. The second striking home to take out an MG and add some shock.

But it was little use against that advancing grey tide.

Finally as the Germans showed their hand more Americans deployed.

However a lucky shot killed their junior leader - making things decidedly dicey.

The Germans leapt the wall and assaulted the small number of American survivors. With their inevitable death my force morale plummeted and I decided once again to cede the field.

A brutal experience for the one American squad.
I'd forgotten (if I'd ever really learned) that the important thing with the US troops is to keep them moving and mobile and try and get doubled up on the Germans. In a straight firefight MG42s mean the Yanks are always out gunned, so getting two squads firing at one is the best course of action.
Sitting in a house whilst a full German squad and supporting Stug pours fire into you is only ever going to end badly.
I think I also got a bit obsessed by the Stug and the idea of blowing it up with the bazooka.

Unsurprisingly my commanding officer and my men's opinion of me has fallen through the floor. I'm know as "the Butcher" and my men would like to see the back of me.
Not sure if i can pull off a comeback as the rampant Germans continue their ferocious fightback.

Anyway, a great game as always with CoC and General B.