AVBCW: Chain of Command Patrol

Byakhee JP has acquired the relatively new rues set Chain of Command by Too Fat Lardies which is a set of rules covering skirmishes in WW2, so near enough the AVBCW (1938). I’ll cover the rules in a posting later, as I had the most sketchiest of introductions and no time to read the rules beforehand so currently only have a 5 hours of gaming to comment on !

The Patrol Scenario

The basic engagement scenario…
Following the events at The Bridge Over the Wye, both sides are taking stock and carefully probing to find each other’s lines on south central Herefordshire’s rolling countryside.

We set the table up – we were playing at JP’s gaff, and there is Evidence(TM) that my ulterior motive in giving him scenery is working as I only had to take a couple of boxes worth of stuff. 😉

the game started with the partol phase, where essentially we probe forward and scout out the enemy’s position. This then determines where the “jump off” points are – where our forces can deploy, so no fixed zones of control exist and this is as tactical as any other rules system is when determining how you set up if not more so. Each of uas had 30 men plus a small command section. the board was about two and a half foot wide by about three and a half foot long.

JP either got lucky with the board layout or was better and ended up controlling half the board straight off with units behind good cover. he then got lucky as he had two “rounds” one after the other when I did nothing – that’s the way the dice rolled.

However, he came off worse, when he rushed his Anglican troops forward and got shot up by my BUF. When the shooting started, the generic markers I’d bought came in handy. They soon mounted up and I was glad I’d bought 50 of each of them ! For bigger games you could probably do with yet more.

A firefight on my right resulted in me driving back the Anglicans, and a bunch of shotgun toting farmers were seen off on my left. This resulted in his morale dropping fast.

However, his local fox hunt cavalry penetrated into my centre and captured one of my (unused) jump off points resulting in my morale dropping as well !

But the cavalry were surrounded by two units and hightailed it away rapidly.

As did the shotgunners who were were massacred.

At which point his morale broke and he conceded defeat. The BUF were combing the countryside of traitors !

The game lasted from approx 11am to just after 1pm, so not long – this includes important interruptions from JP’s daughters and a nice lunch cooked by his wife. We then had a second game as we were now beginning to get the hang of the game mechanics and racing along !