Thursday, December 30, 2010

Command Decision West Front Game

This was a Command Decision game we played in December. It is a fictional scenario set in the Western Front, late 1944, Germans vs. Americans.

We have a system we've come up with to allow players to select their forces then draw mission cards to determine what their victory conditions will be. The forces the player takes will give them an aggressiveness factor. Otherwise force set-up is as in the Test of Battle rules, with the force being divided up as evenly as possible into a Holding Force, a Reserve Force, and an Assault Force. If one player has an aggressiveness much higher than their opponent, then they draw two of the mission cards and must take the more aggressive of the two missions. For instance, if they drew a hold card and a breakthrough card, they would have to play the breakthrough. This system allows players to choose what they want to use (within the TO&E structure for their formation) but balances it out if they take more heavy tanks, guns, etc, since they will usually have slightly more difficult victory conditions. We also do not reveal the mission card until a player achieves their objectives so there is a bit of uncertainty as to what the other player needs to achieve.

I was playing the Germans and I drew a probe mission, which meant I did not get my Assault Force. This eliminated my artillery support and a company of panzer IV's. This would be a tough one as at the end of the game I would have to have stands within 6 inches of all four objectives, or hold 3 objectives. Greg had a simple take and hold mission, so in the end he would have to hold 3 objectives.

We also still use a hidden deployment, with the position of units represented by flags. Once spotted the units are placed on the table. Since I haven't gotten around to making American flags yet Greg was using our Soviet ones to represent the positions on the American units.

An overview of the table from the American's side. Two objectives are in the center of the table, one on the bridge and one at the crossroads. The rules usually have objectives separated by at least 18 inches but when the terrain suggests otherwise we aren't adverse to making adjustments. We wanted a good slug-fest in the center of the table so set things up that way.  Another objective is to the bottom left-center of the picture on the edge of the ill near the woodline. This was a good vantage point, especially for artillery spotters. The fourth and last objective is a second bridge over the river (not seen in this pic).

View from the German side. The fourth objective (represented by a stack of crates) can be seen in the bottom right of the photo.

An overview of the town in the center of the board, from the German side, showing both objectives.  Despite the seemingly close proximity of the units they cannot spot each other yet as we are considering the whole town as a built-up area, with a spotting range of 2 inches.

First Contact: a German infantry company runs into the lead elements of the American mechanized infantry company.

Another view of the first contact.

View from the American Assembly Area showing the American reinforcements moving onto the board.

The main American reinforcement column moves into the town. Shermans on the left flank of the Americans support their attack into the town, covering the road from the German side leading into town. This would make it difficult for the German player to move reinforcements of their own into town. This wasn't a problem, as I had none.

The view from the south with the supporting Shermans. They exchange fire with some Panzer IV's on the edge of the town moving up to support the German infantry company. What Greg doesn't know is directly  to his rear, in a woods, is a company of 75mm ATG's supported by another infantry company. The range is a bit long, however, and the Shermans have a hull-down position on the ridge, so I hold fire to wait for him to make a move for the second bridge.

Two more close-ups of the battle in the town. Another Sherman has moved up to support the American assault.


Fire is exchanged. A couple of stands are lost on both sides and a few stands fall back from the fire but it is still a draw.

The Sherman company and a company of Stuarts make a move for the second bridge. Here my usual luck with dice rolls catches up with me and the close proximity of the American armor pins my ATG's in the woods. I will not get opportunity fire at the tanks and will have to take general fire at a penalty.

More American units pour into the town as the Germans desperately try to hold the bridge. German units pin up but hold their ground. At this point I knew I could not achieve my objective so my efforts would now go to denying the Americans theirs.

The German ATGs and a panzershreck stand open fire. A Sherman and a Stuart are lost. I was hoping for better results but will have to settle on hoping that morale goes poorly for the Americans and the Germans rally a bit.

The Americans pass morale but the Germans fail! The gun crews abandon the guns falling back into the cover of the woods while the German infantry company holds the position.

The Americans put more pressure on the Germans and launch their assault on the first bridge.

Another view of the action at the second bridge. In the background the Shermanswoodline.

An overview of the second bridge.


The game ended with an American victory (Greg actually won one! :P ) A good game; very gritty and up in the air until the very end. Morale played a huge role in this game. If the German ATG crews had not pinned, later falling back, then the results would have been much different.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Diposable Heroes Late War Game

This game was run about two years ago. The scenario was an American assault on a German held village in Normady. The rules used were Disposable Heroes/ Coffin for Seven Brothers. The American force was roughly twice as large as the defending German force, though the Germans had a Tiger tank prowling the village. There were three players: one German and two American.


The Americans to the East of the town. The American forces were broken into two groups and attacked from two different sides.

A view from the west of the village looking east into the village. The Tiger tank can partially be seen near the town center.

The view from the southeast. In the background can be seen the mill.

The view from the north looking south into the village center.

The view from the west looking into town. A Stuart tank moves slowly up the road scouting the path ahead.

 The rest of the American force to the west moves up supported by an M10 tank destroyer.

A German LMG team and a rifle section take up position in a ruined house covering to the northeast. They would do a fair amount of damage to the attacking US forces.

 A quad 20mm German AA gun located near the mill and the church.
 A view of the town square showing the Tiger and a PzKw IVH occupying the town center.

An overview of the town from the southwest.
 The initial American deployment on the west side of the town.
 An overview of the town from the east. The small cottage in the foreground at the angle in the road has a 75mm ATG in it.It was quickly knocked out by the Sherman tank.
 The town square from the east-southeast. The cottage containing the hidden 75mm ATG is seen in the foreground.
 Another view of the village.
 Overview of the town center. The tanks have adjusted their position in response to movements on the outskirts of town.
 The Stuart makes contact, getting taken out by the Tiger! A US BAR team takes heavy fire as they try to move into the town and seek shelter in the buildings and the edge of the street.
 The Sherman and a scout car move up the road into the east of town. The ATG fires and misses and is taken out by the Sherman.
 Another view of the quad 20mm AA. The American player drops mortar fire on it, causing some casualties.
 The M10 tries to sneak into the town but is taken out by a panzershreck!
 The Tiger looking imposing in the center of town.

Unfortunately, we got really involved in the game and forgot to take anymore pictures!(This was one of the first games we played where we tried to take pictures for an AAR).  But eventually the American pushed into town, taking out both German tanks. German panzerfausts and panzershrecks tore up the rest of the American armor, however.

The game ended in an American victory with the Germans wiped out but the Americans took heavy casualties.

The German tanks have since been re-painted. I wasn't happy with the paintjob and redid them with the airbrush. They are much nicer now.

All buildings are from the Miniature Building Authority. Figures are a mix of Bolt Action, Battle Honors, West Wind, and Crusader. I've found once they are all painted up and based they don't look too bad together. Some weapons look a little out of kilter with each other but you really only notice it if the figures are right next to each other.

Future plans involve making some better roads. The felt works okay but just doesn't cut it.