Tactics 2 Campaign - The probe at El Habira

After the last short encounter, I did not want to waste the table, so linking it back to the Tactics 2 campaign an opportunity to knock over one of the outstanding games and the battle around El Habira the British had pushed into the town and the Germans saw the opportunity to counter attack.

After the last game taking a core platoon a side, I rolled for additional support for each side. The British had been busy and anticipating a further German attack had thrown up some wire on the exposed left flank and a mine field on the right.

The patrol phase feel worked out well for the Germans with jump off points on both flanks of the village, Infantry massed on the lift, while mortar team peppered the village from the left.

The commonwealth infantry were pinned at the rear of the village scrambling to get to fighting positions.

The Afrika Korps set under the cover of the barrage and rushed towards the outskirts of the settlement.

The Germans were not to have it their own way a section of Indian troops had made it into the lead building and poured fire into the advancing Axis forces. The Germans dived for cover from the Indian fire.

The Germans were caught in a cross fire from an emerging section near the oasis.

With the first section under pressure and pinned down, the second German section assaulted the Indian position, driven back on the first assault, they called down mortar fire and went again finally forcing the Indians back. 

With the main building vacant, the Germans set about moving through the other buildings slowing driving the British forces from the village.

A hard fought victory for the Germans, the village was in Axis hands but at the cost of a couple of valuable sections. 

A fun game lasting quite a bit longer than game one. Nor the paperwork challenge of converting two damaged Chain of Command sections to Bolt Action points. 

Chain of Command 2 - Back to the Desert

The past week or so has almost been as hot at the Western Desert.

Another opportunity to give CoC2 a run out, an encounter between a platoon of Afrika Korp and Commonwealth infantry, I borrowed the infantry stats from the unofficial campaign the Battle of Gazala 1942.

A simple patrol game with a cluster of adobe buildings near an oasis with a platoon each.

The patrol phase pinned the allies back on the outside of the village with the jump off points behind the large dune and the oasis.

The Germans held the cards and using the wadi were able to gain a strong position to the front of the village. The AK advanced forward being caught in the open by HE rounds and Indian Infantry who crested the dune firing into the first squad, the junior leader was killed instantly.

The Germans returned fire driving back the Commonwealth troops behind the crest in the distance.

A double turn for the allies and got back into some kind of order with their senior leader getting the troops back into shape and a concentration of fire into the German position, another junior leader killed.

Despite the Germans having entered the village two leaders down the patrol decided they did not need the village that badly....

One of those games where casualties are light but the unlikely loss of leaders and a couple of CoC Dice change the outcome of the game.

I suspect the Germans will be back.

The Battle of Princeton 1777 - Rebels & Patriots.

The 250th Anniversary of the birth of America tempted me give the AWI forces a roll out. I picked up a copy of the Live Free or Die rules on PDF, the scenario's are great, they come with detailed maps and force breakdowns they need a little bit of work to convert to Rebels and Patriots.

Borrowing directly from the scenario with a slight tweak on the number of turns given the potential for commands to fail within R&P.

The game begins at 7am and lasts 10 turns, until mid morning. 

The British earn a victory if they can maintain control of road exit to Trenton or Princeton and inflict higher losses than they sustain at the end of the turn limit. This would delay Washington long enough for Cornwallis to react. Any other result is an American victory. 

The British deploy first on the left of the table with the US and Mercer command opposite on the main approach.

Washington begins on the table with Cadwalader’s brigade on the far right flank.

The British Light companies and Grenadiers advance knowing the they have to strike an early blow. They advance swiftly taking the fight to the American militia.

Cadwalader’s Brigade starts to take casualties before they had a chance to line out the first militia unit fell back disrupted. 

On the left flank the Mercers small militia brigade was under pressure from the German Jaegers pushing through the wood. 

Reinforcements for both sides start to flood the able the “Recruit/ Convalescent” regiment arrives on Turn 3 for the Brits together with the 55th Foot arriving on Turn 5 crossing the creek/ 

For the US Hitchcock’s brigade arrives from a logging trail on Turn 3. Fermoy arrives in column from Turn 5, and Mifflin arrives in column on Turn 7. 

Things were starting to get interested in the centre as the US pushed forward only to be countered by the experienced British every time the Militia lined out they were brought under fire by the thin red line.

Fermoy's mounted militia rushed forward on the left flank, driving the British backwards.

A vicious fire fight amongst the dense woodland, slowing the Americans gained the upper hand but at a great cost.

The clock was winding down, the British held the field, their Light Infantry and Grenadiers were being whittled down but a numerous American militia units were broken or down to half strength,  History was not to be repeated and the road to Princeton or Trenton would remain closed.

A fun battle the Rebels and Patriot rules flow really quickly, with 4 times the points recommended in the book, but still fought to a reasonable conclusion in under 3 hours. Each brigade was a drawn randomly to to decide who activated and in what order, this created some interesting challenges beyond the risk of activations within each brigade. 

HISTORICAL OUTCOME Heavily outnumbered and surprised to find himself facing the entire Continental Army, Lt. Col. Mawhood put up a tremendous fight. He was unable to defend either road exit, and the broken remnants of his command reunited with Cornwallis that night, at a cost of 400 men, or 30% of his brigade. The Americans pressed on to take Princeton and earned Washington his first victory over British regulars in the field. Remarkably, American losses numbered just 100 men, but famously included Washington’s friend.

Fire Forge Games - Christian Archers.

The marathon painting task rumbles on....

Next up a unit of Fire Forge Archers to add to the march of the pilgrims.

I painted up a number of figure bases from Warbases from their Midgard range these will help with movement of the every growing mass.

With a few games of Chain of Command lined up in the next couple of weeks, I can feel a change coming.... 

Dust & Tears Campaign - Game 2 - A Knights Tale.

Slow progress for the Pilgrim party, having to advanced 40 miles the column reaches the outskirts of Marmistra when they they encountered an enemy raiding party.

The raiders were seeking loot and the camel train was a suitable target, a random roll provided the Saracens raiders with 7 units appearing at random points on the table fortunately for the attackers many of them appeared at what was the Christians one o'clock.

The Christians decided to put their Knights to the front with their foot troops surrounding the camel train.

It did not take long for the Arab forces to lose a degree of control, Islamic Warriors charged forward only to countered by a heavy spear unit, who knew they had to go after the warriors before they could charge in.... Christian luck held as the Warriors failed to counter charge.

Surprisingly the heavy spears were forced to fall back.

However this brief encounter opened the way for a unit of Knights to charge in and batter the unarmoured attackers their religious fervour no match for a heavy lance.

As the Christian Elite and Heavy Cavalry moped up the troops on the flanks, the main Islamic forces had formed up in the centre. A whole bunch of lightly armed spearman. The Christian cavalry had no choice but to launch a wild charge into the massed ranks.

The opening encounter saw the only Heavy Infantry forced backwards but the Knights lost one of the their number. The Arabs cheered any Christian fallen was a victory in this uneven battle.

Knights could not help themselves and raced forwards into the remaining spearmen.

The spearmen fell in droves but one by one the knights fell from the saddle.

Finally the Knights reached the enemy leader and sent him running from the field. A rather one sided victory but it had been expensive and once the Christians had regrouped their cavalry was a shadow of it's former self. The Christians pressed on.

The forces remaining.

1 Knight Unit.

2 Spearmen Units

1 Warrior Units

2 Missile Units

1 Skirmish Unit.

Christian Warriors - Lion Rampant

Another month another batch of figures for Outremer this time Christian Warriors from Fire Forge Games. I went with a more uniform feel for these.

Thanks to a good friend of mine from the Wyre Forest Club I find myself with a whole bunch of reinforcements to swell the Christian lines, slowing but surely they make there way to the table. Thanks again Howard very generous.

They needed a few changes to the basing and a couple of shields swapping out to bring them into line with the rest of the collection. Shield and coat markings also from Fire Forge's transfer range, making the task so much easier than painting by hand.

These Warriors add some real punch to the Christian forces with Lion Rampant, lets see how they stand up on campaign.... I dropped them onto a new Midgard movement tray,  because you never know when they I might have to switch codes :-) 

A rather slow month on the painting front, but a weekend looms so should get another unit done before the end of the month.

Wyre Forest Club Day: A First Look at Chain of Command 2

Sunday was club day and an opportunity to dive into Chain of Command 2 after a few years away from the rules having been playing larger games using Bolt Action with elements of the original Chain of Command I was keen to see what had changed and what has remained.

We played through one of the pint sized campaign games - Scenario 2 from Operation Martlett the 49th Infantry division's push against the 12th SS.

While the foundation of Chain of Command remains solid, several refinements most certainly elevate the experience on the table, the revamped rulebook is an improvement over the original looking through the rule book, rules for similar mechanics are now grouped together, making it easier to find specific information. The comprehensive index is a welcome addition, significantly cutting down time spent flipping through pages.

It's good to see elements of the previous expansions like Blitzkrieg 1940 and Far East make the rules. Light Mortars feel more situational rather than a default option to poor fire on the enemy, the limited rounds make you think hard about when to deploy them.

The Armour damage is a lot cleaner, eliminating reliance on multiple tables while preserving varied outcomes even if I was on the wrong end of a Pak 40.

Herr Fingerbob was not happy about losing their prized IV as soon as it come on the table.

The expanded National Characteristics give more tactical depth, allowing Chain of Command points to be used for special abilities rather than just dice management. 

Fire bonuses now influence tactics more dynamically, the Storm of Steel rules and exploding dice can make certain fire more impactful, the German double MG42 still throw a lot at dice at the advancing allies.

Germans are still mighty tough with Junior and Senior leaders in toe - put out loads of flying lead.

Whilst not used in our game on this occasion a couple of areas in the rules leap out.

• Anti-tank weapons such as mines, grenades, and rifle grenades are more viable, making tanks think twice before rolling ahead without infantry support.

• Suppressing Fire replaces Covering Fire with an expanded role, letting tanks pin down positions more effectively.

Bolt Action continues to give a larger 'game' but Chain of Command makes you have to think more as the commander on the ground would the commitment to authenticity is stronger than ever. New support options—like Mines in Verges for Germans and White Phosphorous Grenades for urban combat—add layers of realism and period accuracy and make fighting through France quite a challenge if it was not in the first place.

Perhaps the most intriguing change is in scenario objectives. Instead of merely draining Force Morale, battles now hinge on capturing objectives. Doing so accelerates morale loss and can trigger counterattacks, leading to more dynamic engagements. This tweak ensures that players focus on positional play rather than just surviving morale checks. It certainly makes you want to pick up the pace.

Final Thoughts: An Evolution, Not a Revolution

Chain of Command 2 doesn’t reinvent the game—it refines, enhances, and polishes it. The familiar platoon-scale tactics remain, but the improved rulebook, adjusted mechanics, and strengthened historical accuracy make battles flow more intuitively and have a more gritty feel.

For veterans of the system, this edition offers a smoother, deeper experience while staying true to its roots. If you're new to Chain of Command, the clearer ruleset makes it easier than ever to jump in without feeling overwhelmed. 

Looks like I might need to reorganise my forces yet again :-)