Connections 2019 - FireMove and Exiles' Party (Part 2 of 2)

Phase II: The attack is going in hard on the German right flank. "Bags of smoke and flank left" as I think the British Army expression goes, plus a huge concentration of the British PBI force, three infantry companies attacking to one defending certainly helps. 75% of the British battalion are hitting at this point here .. ouch .. (see below, top of photo, another close combat goes in against the middle German platoon): 

The advance is merciless and methodical ... although momentarily stalled. FireMove does not always produce fluid flowing play as the defenders can with the roll of the dice can produce an unexpected roadblock (see below, the heavy British pressure is held for at least one more turn and time is a factor in this game as there is an implicit fatigue and exhaustion point):  

Note how the British green company has been reduced under the withering fire of the "other" German company and logistics "firing out one platoon". Attacking entrenched infantry at 1:1 of odds, even with two HMG Platoons, does not bode well for the attacker. Meanwhile at the north/top end of the photograph an infantry assault clears another German platoon from table (see below, that is 2VPs for the British and 2VPs for the German in infantry KIA):  

The British infantry advance on towards the German baseline, pressing on, heeding the ancient axiom of "not fighting where you do not have to". One consequence of this headlong rush forwards is the awful intermingling of platoons from different British companies which hinders both suppressive supporting fire and close assault execution. Different coloured companies cannot fire in mutual support or perform mutual assaults together, although a "white" Vickers HMG could - subtle but effective rules (see below, the German baseline is a feast of additional or rather potential VP that are up for grabs):  

A line of VP markers are placed along the German baseline that are "up for grabs" - which serves to emphasise the plight of the German defenders. The German turn is rather quick as the British have done a good job in suppressing them so the only action left open to then is to rally and recover - becoming fresh again (see below, please note the third white platoon on the British baseline is the British scout stand which has chosen to retire, its job): 

For who the dice rolls! In this case a terrible "one", for the Germans. No hits are automatic so a "one" can mean a failure at the most critical of times (see below, I think the roll was probably defensive fire or a German close assault that went horribly wrong, with the action probably fat away from this safe German platoon): 

British Turn (Reinforcement Call - burning 3VPs to bring on some tanks, but risking them [minus 1 VP for any lost] on the assumption in the time remaining they can be driven off the board from 2VPs each): With an opening created and a safe zone cleared by the British Infantry Battalion asks for (as yet unallocated by Brigade) armour support to exploit this opportunity. A favourable dice roll - possibly influenced by imbibed strong beer, sees two |75mm Sherman tanks and a 17 pounder Firefly Sherman appear ominously on the British baseline. Note, also the use of black painted cocktail sticks that denote movement - so a unit cannot fire if it has a black stick on, this was a very useful aide memoire (see below, this really looks like curtains for the German right flank, time perhaps for the German to ask for armour support (?) as he sees this threat develop - see how those movement markers imply the final German platoon in the north is about to be surrounded.):  

The last German platoon in the north is becoming an awkward embarrassment to the British. With clock ticking and the British player burning VPs to bring on his armour "en masse". This turn seems to be stetting the German player up for the kill next turn (see below, the 3" mortar and Vickers HMG's do not have to "pay" the logistic tax, so the southern half of the battlefield seems to be semi-permanently supressed to the German player): 

Discretion can sometimes be the better part of valour, true the German player could possible make a brutal close assault on an adjacent British platoon, but in all probability he would be pinned and lost on following turns (see below, instead he elects to retire while he s able to and also in so doing removes a potential VP from the British coffers): 

Seen from the German perspective the final brake out with an intact British armoured formation being released to wreck havoc in the German rear area, on reflection is a rather depressing viewpoint (see below, all the British armour will have exited in two turns or be in place to try and shoot up his Stug III if he chose to bring it on - which would be on a friendly German baseline hex, not adjacent to an enemy unit. It cannot fire on the turn of its entry so would receive incoming fire. The danger is deemed too great, the gain is too little and the opportunity passed [Note: The German armour could be asked for on the turn after British armour was spotted]): 

Breakout as seen from the British side (see below, four VPs from the German Baseline hexes and six VPs for the British armour exiting off table make a swing of ten VPs which is a crushing victory - a token defending British infantry force in the newly captured farm house [which offers protection as good as entrenchments] can hold off any German counter attack as they would have to leave the protection of their entrenched positions):

Called convincingly for the British. Well played, a gentleman's ending to a fittingly good game between friends, and we are the last ones in the house to boot  (see below, it is not a good sign when your opponent has to move from his side of the table to your right flank to move his troops along your baseline): 

A good end to a great night old in Old London Town! That was a good run out for FireMove and some extended rules, once again thanks goes to teh Exiles for being such great sports.

Connections 2019 - FireMove and Exiles' Party (Part 1 of 2)

Can I set the scene correctly? It is so long ago now. Late at night, in a Gaming Café in South London, underneath Waterloo [I believe, as I did get a little disorientated as we traversed all those London back lanes] in pre-Covid times (2019), four people did meet and bring their own game to a rather special venue. The game was a miniatures table-top version of "Fire Move" by Professor Phil Sabin of Simulating War fame, or at least should I say this was "The London Exiles" variant - as I met up with two of the 'newer' members of the Exiles (my old London Wargames Club), a club who IMHO represent the finest of the Old Guard of the wargaming fraternity (see below, an epic venue, strain your eyes to see some nicely painted 10mm WWII Pendrakon Figures on the table if you can, a scenic flocked battle board, but most importantly of all - the finest of company, good strong beer and beautiful gourmet burgers to boot - had I died and gone to some form of wargaming heaven?): 

The bar, the food and waitress service were exceptional and the "the gaming crew" certainly took an avid interest in our table's game [partly as it did not come out of one of their stable "off the shelf" boxes - in fact I literally wheeled in the components in a suitcase, they were intrigued]. The game had already had two outings that day at the Connections UK 2019 Professional Wargaming Conference held at KCL, but here "Fire Move" was going to be put to its most serious test as yet in my eyes, this being the measure of the respect I have for the Exiles as arbiters of wargames taste (see below, friendly staff and a buzzing atmosphere): 

One final shot of the whole crew and the first dice of the night are ready to be rolled (see below, British attacking from the left with the Germans defending on the right, a standard probing battalion attack at a sector "believed" to be thinly held by a couple of "under strength" German infantry companies):

A first departure from the basic Fire Move game and Connections UK script was the introduction of the "Fog of War" hidden placement and spotting rule - rather than just laying the German defenders out, the British had to find them. They could do this by getting close enough to spot stationary infantry or enticing the Germans to reveal their position by firing on them (see below, the German player was given ten red poker chip tokens that represented "places where the Germans could be in clear LOS" to the British baseline - note the wood below is in a contested "no-man's land"): 

The British player deploys troops from three out of four of his companies (blue[A]-white[B]-green[C]), five platoons in total, in a left-middle-right attack formation with the fourth company (yellow[D]) held back in reserve. The British white counter in the middle of the left baseline is a "recon counter" that can flush out red hidden German "poker counters" - it cannot assault but it can spot, this is in difference to Frank Chadwick's "patrol counter" and is another experimental element (see below, note no pre-game artillery bombardment was opted for, rather and again going away from the basic book version of the game it was going to be available "on call" during the game): 

Turn 1: Nothing spotted or heard from the Germans as yet [are they really there?] so the British infantry move gingerly forwards. The phycological sight of the row upon row of hidden "possible" concealed enemy positions gives a much heavier level of caution to the British plater, a trepidation of the unknown (see below, it was getting a little bit tense at this moment, "I don't like it Sarge! It's too quiet!"): 

On the German turn [3] there is "contact" as three German platoons are revealed, two from the "purple" company [top of photograph - the white piece of card to the front has a series of crosses drawn on it to denotes it is dug-in, something that is not really captured in the photograph well] and one from the "grey" company [bottom of photograph] - as they "open up" on the advancing Tommies. We played if you come within two hexes of a "red poker" counter you can "roll for a reveal" - same odds as shooting but just determining if anything is there or not (see below, the "grey" company platoon attracting the attention of the 3" British off-table mortar for his troubles):  

Again deviating slightly from the book, as I allowed the British to call down a 25 pounder smoke barrage to conceal their advance from direct fire. This was a LOS impediment which saved the British from withering fire - one shot spans two hexes rather than a point-to-point attack. I like the diverse nature of this spread of fire as opposed to most miniature game systems. Works best with hexes for sure. Chain of Command in effect does something similar by spreading casualties across a group in LOS, albeit with a different mechanic (see below, the beer is being drunk as casualty chits mount up, from strained memory we played every eighth casualty a platoon was removed, likewise the British had an ammo restriction which removed platoons to get replenished - so they could not be over zealous in their shooting. The above two rules make it a very different game from the normal WW2 tactical game experience):

From various cheap "number and word" games you can find in the high street shops that sell budget games for kids (Sudoku, Bingo and the like) I cannibalised "number chits" (see markers to the left and right of the board). These are used as casualty as logistics counters for the British and (decreasing) mortar allocation points. Also note - the new white British counter that has appeared on the baseline is the Vickers HMG platoon that has come down from a higher echelon for the attack to complement the organic battalion 3" mortars as support weaponry, once placed it cannot move (see below, the attack has reached a critical "reveal" stage, over half the British forces are on the table and most, but not all the German forces are shown - the British player can now choose his "main point of attack):   

The British player commits his last company (yellow [D]) to attack in the North (top), therefore reinforcing the success of blue company but still continuing the pressure in the South (green company). The British player has taken losses but not had to remove a platoon to date - logistical or by enemy fire (see below, note the German player has lost one platoon from an infantry assault, the only way the Fire-Move rules allow an entrenched platoon to be removed from play - it can be hit and suppressed [so it cannot fire back] any number of times): 

The British attack progresses and the final German counter is revealed. Two infantry assaults are prepped to "go in" on the next British turn unless the German suppressive fire can register hits this turn - making the British spent and unable to go in. Just off camera, a second Vickers HMG platoon has appeared. The infantry advance in the North is complemented by intense suppressive fire in the South, it is starting to look grim for the German (see below, nothing is guaranteed until an assault or fire hits .. a one is always a miss and it is so suppressing how many times a one comes up when statistically unexpected on a d6 .. Lady Luck is a cruel mistress):

Useful playing aides: Caught on camera are the "painted long stem coffee stirrers" which I used to help the players "get the rules right". In particular direct fire and assaults can only be supported by friendly stands from the same company (or the British HMG stand). Without remembering in a semi-permanent form (as in lasting over the turn) this is easily muddled up in the heat of "game play" (see below, I also think it gives the player an aide for forming his "fire plan" rather than letting organically grow, and be wasteful of ammunition, which does play a significant part in this game): 

To be continued ... the second half as the attack is pressed home.

Normandy 1944: Chain of Command Game at The Exiles (Part 2 of 2)

Things are looking a tad "dark and dangerous" for the Brits.

British perform a Dunkirk style tactical retreat (aka mad scramble away from the enemy, as quick as you can), with thankfully relatively effective and good defensive fire (courtesy of the Bren, it does have its merits in skilled hands or rather good dice) on both centre and southern areas, followed up with a "quick call" for reinforcements from the Third Squad in the north. Annoyingly for the Germans they are left rather pinned in the woods which somewhat stifles their creativity and means more of a rebuild option. (see below):

Germans try and hold it together in the middle and press on to push an advantage in the south but then started a rather hideous run of strange dice (and it was not just me getting the rules wrong this time. The British kept getting flip-flop rolls of double sixes on their "Chain of Command" dice. Once was good fortune, twice was laughing in the face of adversity but three consecutive times was like slapping the German Commander across the face. That way shock can really build up on the Germans (see below):

Bang it then just goes pear shaped for the Germans as the unwashed northerners storm the woods and the Germans take to flight which sends them straight through "friends" which does not help the German morale and cohesiveness situation. A German jump-off position is in dire danger on being overrun and that would be very bad for German Force morale (see below):

As German forces tend to do the Germans rally and counterattack which shocks the British but then the British Commander does his favourite flip-flop trick and a whole German squad and the senior German Commander disappears from the Axis Order of Battle, Definitely not good for the German Force morale (see below):

As the British recover it is clear that a "rout the enemy" is in progress. The best the Germans can do is to relocate a jump-off point (this is just putting off the inevitable) bu tas their force morale is really flagging, having e lost a whole squad and a host of officer types (well a NCO, Medic and Senior NCO), the best they can do is form an Alamo hunkered down in a salient (see below):

At this moment in time discretion seems to be the far, far better part of valour and the Germans quietly slip off the board so this one goes down as a British win.

Many thanks to "The Exiles" for their hospitality and generosity, as well as the good game. Hope I can stage another game sometime in the future,

 ;)

Normandy 1944: Chain of Command Game at The Exiles (Part 1 of 2)

One extra added bit of spice to the UK Connections Conference was that it allowed me to visit my old London wargames club "The Exiles" situated just round the corner from KCL near Waterloo, my wargaming "Alma Mater". This is where "I won my spurs and "came of age" as a wargamer. It was my delight to host a simple Chain of Command WW2 Skirmish Game, scenario one "The Patrol in No-man's Land", to some old faces and some new. I hope the pictures are not too confusing, a large hex based play mat with smaller mini-hexagonal terrain pieces inside them representing Line Of Sight (LOS) obstacles.  The houses are 15mm FOW and trees from the terrain collection of "The Exiles" than spans nearly thirty years of wargaming history [from spikey Xmas tree decorations to state of the art vignettes] (see below, the empty CoC game board waiting for the troops to appear):

Note/confession: I was responsible for many times  misinterpreting various Chain of Command dice rolls during the night (alas my memory for the rules blurs, CoC does not yet have one of those nice quick reference sheets [Hint: A pointer to one would be appreciated]), but the players were blissfully unaware and carried on in great spirit. I think it was the "strong London beer" at work, coupled with advancing age so I will term it, alcohol induced "Fog of War" (see below, this should have been 'End of Turn" but I interpreted it as a 'Random Event' which meant that there were probably one too many random events on the night - aka Heavy Rain fell twice when in reality it should not have appeared, but it made for an interesting game):

Much fun was had figuring out the Patrol Phase and the placement of "Jump-Off" markers. The sides (Brits/Germans) came at off-set ends which meant through game play that the Germans were clustered to the bottom-left of the picture (central wood and the rough above and below on the LHS) while the British had three points spread to bottom (top-right, central house and bottom-middle-right). The British got on first and tried a dash from the central house with covering Bren team, to the (at the time) unoccupied central wood. As they did so the first Germans appeared at the wood line and hosed them down with MG42 fire. The resulting fire-fight saw the British  "shocked but not routed" desperately seeking to make it back to the relative safety of the central house. Meanwhile the other British squads were slinking round to the South in a "cunning plan" sort of way (see bottom of the board/photo) while others were massing in the North (see below):

The Germans stabilised their position in the south by bringing on a second squad up to strategically defend their jump-off point. They were also making it very uncomfortable for the Brits trapped just outside the "safe" house in the centre. Uncomfortable but not killing them (see below):

Can you spot the difference (from the above to below)? Answer: It is the chilling effect of the second British Bren team opening up and taking out two Germans in the central wood. Just when the British troops stuck in the open seemed to have their "goose cooked" some good shooting put the jitters up the Germans and the British began to rally (see below):

This wave of British optimism was instantly washed away on the next German turn as the Germans deployed their final third squad south (to disrupt on the dangerous flanking move) and sent in their senior commander to the wood to take charge. He quickly straightened things out, reduced/removed all the accumulated shock and let forth a devastating fire killing (KIA) three Tommies and thus pinning the rifle team, i.e. more shock [5] than remaining men [3]. Worse still the British rifle team down south was also caught in the open with their pants down, losing two men but just avoiding the same deadly "pin" result (see below):

From the initial thoughts of a 'bloodless' quick win, the British commander was facing two thirds of his "rifles" being subjected to one way traffic
. The open bright spot seemed to be that the Germans seemed to have left the garden gate open to his squad situated at the top of the board. If only he could get them in the game, but they seemed to be a long, long way away and woudl everything be over by the time they showed up?

Can the British regroup or will the Germans get a "quick win" instead.