At last - a "proper" game ! Chain of Command at Hartlepool Gaming Group

I think I misjudged just how much Covid, lockdown and all that impacted on my gaming. It wasn't just the lack of games, it was the type of game I was playing now the restrictions were lifted - ie skirmishing or small scale games with a dozen figures or less. I've played quite a few - Luna (still superb IMHO) Space Station Zero (worth it just for the innovation) to name but a few. And Blood Red Skies of course, which is probably my go to pick up game. 

But that is sort of the problem. These are all really short games - small forces and done in an hour or so. I was pining for something a bit more in depth. 

Rescue came, as is often the case, in the pub. Slight digression, the pub in question is "The Rat Race Ale House", on Hartlepool railway station. This is the second micropub established in the UK and is very much worth a visit. Check the opening times however as they're a bit "exotic" or possibly erratic. Best experienced rather than explained. 

http://www.ratracealehouse.co.uk/

Anyway I was in there last week relaxing after a bit of a stressful day, and who walks in but Andy T. Andy is a stalwart chap who used to be a member of the Hartlepool club but has since left. We sit and have a chat - and a pint or so in says "would you like a game of Chain of Command on Saturday at the Gaming group??" (this is a community gaming group that meets Saturday nights in a dance studio - they play mostly board games plus a fair amount of BloodBowl, some role playing games and there is a small 40K and Middle Earth Fantasy group). They're a great group and very friendly. 

Hartlepool Gaming Group on Facebook

"Yes please!" says I. We drink up and agree to meet Saturday. Andy will bring 1942 Soviets, I will bring 1942 Germans. As neither of us have played for quite a while we had a gentleman's agreement not to bring mortars or flamethrowers, which can sometimes be a bit "un fun" if on the receiving end. 

One of the problems with the Gaming Group as a venue is terrain - they don't have any. Luckily I had sort of bought some terrain as a self inflicted Christmas present the year before last - a double sided mat and some boxed terrain from a company called "Monster Fight Club". This stuff is probably worth a post on it's own. It does look a bit "plastic" because, well. it's plastic, but it's also lightweight, packs up small and appears to be almost indestructible in normal usage. This , combined with some Russian buildings I inherited from Andy P which I repaired and "tarted" up quickly, should be more than enough, and along with the rules and my Germans would be reasonably portable. It was also the first time I really had a chance to use it so I thought "why not?" I also chucked in some lightweight plastic hills from Kallistra.

So Saturday night arrives and we set up. We agreed to play the Patrol mission. Andy has a four squad Platoon with a Maxim in support, I had a standard three squad Platoon with an MG34 on sustained fire mount and a medic to balance out. The Patrol phase went ok - we were both clearly "ring rusty" and made a few miss steps, but we were soon into the game. I wont go for a blow for blow report, but it was a good game. 

The main action evolved on the German left flank, where a squad pushed up to capture a barn that was (I thought) a good point to pivot and roll up the Soviet flank. Sadly Andy had the same idea and we both rushed squads up to the barn then realised neither of us could do much to get around it to get to contact without taking a lot of fire from the opposition forces in the centre of the table who were mostly engaged in shooting at each other, and anything that stuck its head around the corner of the barn. Technically the Germans were outnumbered 2:1 as the Sovs had ran two squads up to it, however there wasn't really enough room behind it so they were taking casualties from an LMG that had a narrow but viable shot at one corner. He tried to push around the other corner but ran into the German Squad's MG34 team which caused predictable carnage as he was in the open at close range, and the survivors ducked back to "their" side of the barn. Andy surprised me mid game by wheeling his Maxim into the open to get a shot at the squad hiding behind the barn. That hurt, hitting the NCO and wounding him, and killing a couple of riflemen. The NCO rallied and threw a smoke grenade to provide some cover, and the now exposed Maxim team was assaulted by the German Platoon leader and a handful troops who responded to his call of "Handgrenatten! Follow Me!". They wiped out the gun team in short order, but in doing so were caught by some vicious covering fire that broke the squad and forced them to retreat. At the barn the German medic arrived and patched up the leader. The leader then rallied his troops and taking his lead from the Platoon leader assaulted around the corner of the barn. This went well at first, rapidly routing one Soviet squad. The second squad however was having none of that and piled in. This should have been ok for the Germans, who had a firepower advantage, but the dice were not kind and the Soviets broke them and drove them back. That put the Germans on break point, and gave the Sovs a costly victory. One final mention must go to the Soviet squad who were on the far right of the German line. Their NCO must have been called Marx - Groucho not Karl, as he ordered his squad out of a building to race across and shore up the centre, where the Germans were starting to win a fire superiority. They got out ok, but then declared they were going to run (3d6) and scored three ones, picking up a point of shock in doing so, then tried again and managed to cover an inch or so total - obviously tripping over their clown shoes :-) pics below

Germans head for the barn

Soviets head for the barn

Marx and his comedy squad 

Final German positions - note the sole survivor retreating from the barn!

Great game, great opponent, and plans for another soon.