CLE Containers for British Airborne

This week I have completed a set of Drop Cannisters for my 15mm British Airborne troops. I'll use these either as scatter terrain, objective markers or jump-off points for my Chain of Command games. They are from Peter Pig and contain spare packs, Piat anti-tank guns and rifles. 

The CLE Container (Container Light Equipment) was a standardized cylindrical container used by the British during World War 2 to airdrop supplies to troops on the ground. They could be dropped from the bomb racks of aircraft and deployed a parachute pulled by a static line. Fully loaded they could hold between 200-250lb of equipment and were used to support parachute troops on the ground and for drops to resistance fighters. During Operation Market Garden they used different coloured chutes to indicate the nature of the contents;  red for ammunition, green for rations, white for medical supplies, blue for fuel and yellow for communication equipment.

AHPC XI Week 12 - Airborne Tank, Onion Johhnies, Angry Nuns and an Oracle

The end of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is fast approaching and the pace of my painting has picked up as I try to get all my little projects concluded in time. This week has been particularly productive with an eclectic selection of miniatures finished and ready to play with. 

AHPC XI - Week 11 - Civilians

This week I have been working on several side projects, only one of which actually got finished on time. The others will be out during this week and I'll show those here next Wednesday. So the pace will appear to pick up as the Painting Challenge comes to an end but in fact, it's just that I have been working on multiple models at the same time. There are now just two weeks left in the Challenge and although I have hit my Target points I still have several things I want to get done by the end. Once the Challenge is over I'll probably reduce my painting output a bit so I can focus on playing more solo games and working on some new film for my youtube channel. 

French Civilians for WWII

I recently purchased several sets of French Civilians from Peter Pig for use in various 15mm WWII games. I wanted a collection of refugees, farmers, and other non-combat figures to use as 'set dressing' in my games. I may yet devise some simple in-game rules for their use, such as roads being clogged with refugees (restricting traffic) or to represent resistance fighters. 

As with all the Peter Pig stuff the figures are wonderful little sculps that rarely need much cleaning before the primer goes on. These were no exception with minimal flash and mould lines and any that were found were removed in a matter of seconds. 

I have bought a few more packs of other civilians that I missed the first time around on the website, so hopefully, I'll have a few more ready by next week.

The Chambers of Challenge

I haven't made much progress with the side quest bonus rounds, otherwise known as The Chambers of Challenge, due to an unexpected holdup in production. In short, the Postman hasn't delivered my parcel. The next chamber is something to do with a Laboratory. I ordered myself a nice set of mad scientist and assistants from Sally4th but nearly three weeks later and they still haven't arrived. Hats off to Allen at Sally4th because he's resending a replacement parcel, but time is ticking and I'm a bit stuck until they arrive. Postal deliveries where I live have been 'erratic' to say the least since before Christmas so I have no idea when they will turn up. My solution is to jump the blockage and paint the two chambers that follow, and just hold off submitting them until I have my Mad Scientist in hand and painted. So as stated earlier, expect a rush of entries in the last few days of the competition. 

AHPC XI - Week Ten - More Para's and a Pack of Gnolls

The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is continuing apace and true to its purpose it is keeping me on task. Week Ten is traditionally the time when I start closing in on my target and start thinking about what comes next. So it's no surprise that I have hit my target and can now look at what comes next. In the past, I have submitted an upwardly revised target to Curt, but this year I'm just going to enjoy being ahead. I have completed most of the projects I set out for myself at the start of the Challenge and I'm quite content to meander towards the end of the event in three weeks time. I'm still working on entires for the side event, The Chambers of Challenge, and hope to complete the entire quest within the next few weeks. 

AHPC XI - Week Four - British Airborne and the Defenders of Felstead

Four weeks into the Painting Challenge and I'm keeping up a steady pace and starting to get comfortable with my weekly routine. I'm never going to be in the top ten (not by the end at least) but maintaining a position in the top third is quite good so I'm more than happy with that. It has to be said that I have picked up a lot of bonus points by participating in the Chambers of Challenge bonus rounds and I intend to continue in this vein until the end. 

British Airborne 

It's taken a while, but I finally have something Historical to post in this year's Challenge! My big 'lockdown project' last year was learning how to play Chain of Command and adapting my existing 15mm figures for that game. Thanks to a bit of judicious re-basing I was able to get some troops on the table really quickly (ie a few months rather than a few years!). Learning the rules and playing games solo was a great experience and I decided very quickly that I wanted to expand my collection. British Airborne was at the top of my list of candidates. 

Chain of Command is a Platoon plus sized game so I have painted up an Airborne Platoon and a range of support units to back them up. The core platoon consists of an HQ Section with a Lieutenant and Platoon Sergeant, A Piat Team, a 2" Mortar Team and a Sniper. Then there are three sections, two of which have a Seargeant, five men with rifles and one with a Sten, and a Bren team of three. The final section has two Bren teams each with an additional Sten. A total of 37 men. 

The support units include a couple of additional PIAT teams, a 2" Mortar team, A Bren Team, a Flamethrower Team and a full additional Airborne Section. 

The figures are a mixture of Peter Pig and Skytrex and they work so well together, now that they are painted, I can't tell which figures came from which company. All I can say is they are excellent figures and the two ranges complement each other perfectly. 

Gallery of Ancestors - The Brothers Grim

History tells of three Brothers who lived and fought for the City of Felstead before the Cataclysm. Stalwart defenders of the magical metropolis, their reputation was widely known and rightly so. The secret of their success, however, was not what the legend implied because the three warriors rarely spoke with each other and it was their bitter rivalry, not a sibling bond that drove them to outdo each other's deeds. Time marched on, the brothers aged, their bones ached from years of tough living and one fateful day all three found themselves fighting the same fell construct - summoned by a foolish wizard in the city. They were victorious, but at a great price because all three succumbed to their injuries. Despite their rivalry in life, in death, they would be laid to rest together in the ancestral vault, and for a few years, they had peace. Then the magical cataclysm that buried Felstead in ice for a thousand years came and the city faded into memory and then into legend. A thousand years of cold evil magic has permeated their crypt and given their bones new purpose. Now that the city is being revealed from the ice, and new invaders have come to steal its treasures, the brothers have risen again to defend the city of their birth. 

I have a varied assortment of Skeletons in my collection but not all of them are suitable for conversion and use in Frostgrave, so I decided I needed to paint some more. You can never have enough skellies in my opinion. 

The figures are from Red Dragon Miniatures and came as a set. I really liked the simplicity of the skulpts because they reminded me of some old Games Workshop plastic skeletons I had 'back in the day'. 

German 81mm Mortar Teams

This week I have been finishing off another set of models for my 15mm Germans for Chain of Command. These are from Peter Pig and aren't really suitable for the game, as mortars of this size are usually off-table support and don't require a model. I'd already bought the figures when I realised this so painting these was more a case of "well I've got them now...". Unlike other teams I have painted, I decided to base these on slightly larger round bases to accommodate all three crew. Practical experience has taught me that marking off casualties on these teams is easier than basing them individually. Now that I have finished them it would be a pity not to see them on the games table so I'll have to find an excuse to use them, regardless of what the rules say! 

A simple piece of kit

The 81mm Mortar (the Granatwerfer 34) was designed by Rheinmetall, went into production in 1934 and was used throughout the war with relatively little modification. I think it's fair to say the Mortar is a fairly simple weapon and the design was so elementary it was incredibly similar to the American M1 81mm mortar which saw service in WWII right up to the '50s. I found a great little training manual for US troops which illustrated the similarity perfectly describing to the US serviceman how anyone familiar with the M1 could operate the German equivalent easily, should they capture one and need to use it. 

As with the American version, the Granatenwafer 34 broke down into three parts for ease of transport, with the smoothbore barrel, bipod and baseplate being carried by different members of the team. The aiming mechanism was attached to the bipod and consisted of a traversing handwheel, a cross-levelling handwheel and a panoramic sight for fine adjustments. The weapon had an effective firing range of between 400–1,200 m (440–1,310 yds) and a maximum range of 2.4km (1.5mi) although it lost a lot of accuracy at that range. A well-trained team, with plenty of ammunition, could get a rate of fire of between 15-25 rounds per minute although from what I have read that would rarely be sustained for very long. 

Over 75,000 of these were manufactured so they can often be found in museum displays and I have even seen them for sale at historical reenactment events. I'm not sure if my long-suffering wife would approve if I lugged one of these home. 

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F2

This week I've decided to paint something slightly different in that today's AFV hasn't been painted for use in my Normandy games. I bought this last year for use with What a Tanker! but never got round to painting it until now. To be honest, over the next few weeks I probably won't be painting much for Chain of Command. Instead, I will be working hard to prepare for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge which starts in a few weeks time. Former participants will know that you can prepare your figures in advance of the start date so long as you don't apply any colour (other than Primer). So for the last week or so and probably the next couple I will be cleaning up and preparing models ready for the start of the challenge on the 21st of December. I booked a couple of weeks off over Christmas (pretty much the only holiday I've had this year) and I'm looking forward to having some family time and getting a bit of painting done. 

Painting a Panzer IV Ausf F2 gives me a chance to try a different paint scheme. It is a much earlier vehicle than the Normandy tanks I normally do, so I've decided to paint it with one of the many mid-war camo schemes used by the Germans. So this vehicle has a base of German Grey with patches of Middlestone. This model is from Peter Pig and is 'battle-hardened' which basically means it has got some pieces of equipment and stowage on the decks as well as items like track welded on the front and the turret. The model probably won't see the games table in a Chain-of-Command game but will be ideal for some What a Tanker action, which is what I originally bought it for. I have even got a Russian T34 somewhere so it might be fun to paint that up just as a something different. Don't go getting any ideas, I'm not about to switch my interest to the Russian front, at least not in the foreseeable future ... never say never! So on with something about the Panzer IV F2

We're gonna need a bigger gun

The original Ausf F1 version started production in early 1941 but after encountering KV1's & T34's in Russia it was decided that a bigger gun was needed. Krupp was given the task of trying to adapt the existing PAK 40 L/46 gun into the turret and the result was the 75mm KwK 40 L/46. This could penetrate 77 mm of armour at a range of 1,830m and would be very effective against Russian Armour. The downside of this weapon was its significant recoil,  so the barrel was given a muzzle break and this combined with the longer weapon made the tank rather front-heavy, reducing its manoeuvrability. Three months after production started, and with a few minor improvements, the vehicle design was redesignated as the Ausf H. That version came with side Schurzen plates but this model is the slightly earlier F2. 

The Aust F2 had 50 mm of frontal armour and 30 mm of armour on the sides. This wasn't necessarily effective protection from a T34 but the main battle advantage this Panzer brought to the game was its gun and ammo combination. The Panzer IV F2 carried 80 rounds of 7.5cm armour-piercing capped ballistic cap (APCBC-HE). This type of armour-piercing shell has excellent aerodynamics and in guns of sufficient muzzle velocity, over shorter ranges, they are incredibly accurate. Combined with the excellent optics found in all German tanks they were a formidable weapon system. 

I'm probably not going to get anything else painted this week so my next post will be Sunday when the next episode of The Quarantined Wargamer will be discussing my well developed (some would call excessively developed!) four coat varnish method. 

Soft-Edged Camo without an Airbrush

I used a new brush on this model and it has been something of a revelation for me. I have been resisting buying an Airbrush for a long time, partly because I haven't had a suitable 'workshop' to use it in but mainly because it's a whole new skill to learn. So for a long time now I have been trying to perfect a soft-edged camo technique using just brushwork. I have tried a lot of different hair types and shaped heads and I have even had a go at trimming a brush to the desired shape, all without much success. Don't get me wrong, I have been satisfied with the results, and its got models on the tabletop, but I have never been completely happy with them. Now however I think I have found something that works.

I recently picked up a pack of the Army Painter dry brushes to try out because the rounded short hair brushes looked ideal for what I wanted. The pack contains three brushes and the two larger ones are a bit big for what I need, but the smallest brush is just about suitable. The brush head is about 6mm and the short soft domed head is ideal for 'stipple dry-brushing' soft-edged camo. Basically, I dip the brush in the desired colour and rub probably 95% of the paint off the brush. Then, rather than stroking the brush over the surface to highlight the ridges, I dabbed the brush vertically onto the surface. This slowly built up a soft patch of colour with nice graduated edges. In the example of this tank, I then brushed solid colour in the centre, producing something that looks very like it has been airbrushed. 

Needless to say, I am very happy with the result and plan on having a play with this brush/technique combo to see how detailed I can make it. I'm on the lookout for a similar style of brush that's a little bit smaller so I can try the technique out in more detail. I can feel a tutorial video coming out of this discovery, maybe early in the new year, so keep your eyes peeled if you are interested. In the meantime any advice or suggestions are welcome, I can't be the only person to have 'discovered' this technique.

Debris of War - Furniture

I have been working on a lot of little items of late to use as 'scatter terrain' or set dressing for a games table. These are items that probably won't serve any purpose from the point of view of gameplay, but will enhance the look of the table. These models from Peter Pig fit that bill perfectly. 

They can be used in amongst the ruins of buildings or piled into the back of carts. I particularly like the upright piano and the chests of drawers. Simple items of furniture that make a ruined building look a little more realistic I think. 

Signposts for Normandy

Today I have another small addition for my 15mm Normandy 1944 terrain. These signposts are from Peter Pig and feature some signpost decals that Model Dads released back in 2014 I think. I'm not sure the decals are sold any more which is a great shame because they are pretty good...and I've finally got some signs to put them on! I have kept a few of the signs blank so I can fill them out at a later date when I have a specific game to use them in. 

The Peter Pig set consists of eight metal signposts, some typical roadside signs and some more ad-hoc affairs presumably put up by the military. You may notice that some of the signs feature the names of locations in the British and Canadian sectors around Caen. "But you have American infantry" I hear you say, which is true at the moment... 

I have just bought a load of British Airbourne troops for battles in the eastern end of the Overlord lodgement, which I'll be painting in the Analogue Painting Challenge over the winter. A mix of very nice figures from Peter Pig and Skytrex are sitting on my desk as I type this. I'll be cleaning them up and preparing them for the challenge over the next few weeks... but more on that in a later post, closer to the time. 

Citroen Traction Avant from Peter Pig

I have been looking for a few small items as 'scatter terrain' for my 15mm Normandy setting and wanted to get myself some civilian vehicles. Peter Pig make this nice looking Citroen and I decided I needed to get it. It's a generic version of the Traction Avant family of cars which began production in 1934 until 1939/40 (resuming again after the war). This Citroen featured front-wheel drive, independent suspension and unlike many of its contemporaries, it avoided the need for a separate chassis (on which the 'coachwork' was built) by adopting a welded unitary body approach. This made the vehicle lighter (70kg lighter than equivalent vehicles) and more fuel-efficient. Its lower profile also gave the vehicle a much sleeker and stylish aesthetic which was quite unique when it first came out. In short its a beautiful looking car. 

Production was temporarily halted during the war but resumed again in 1945 and the series continued in production well into the late '50s. Designed for mass production is was cheap enough that a well off farmer may well have been able to afford one so it won't look out of place parked in front of my 4Ground farmhouse. 

I went for the simple black bodywork because it looks so elegant with its chromed bumpers and fittings. Yellow headlights and green number plates finish the look. As usual, I gave it a couple of coats of gloss varnish but instead of finishing off with a flat matt varnish I only applied Matt varnish to the tires. And unlike my military vehicles, I didn't add any mud splashes...this car has been looked after by its proud owner! 

Dragons Teeth for Normandy

I was supposed to have a Panzer finished for today but I got a little bit sidetracked because a very nice parcel arrived a couple of days ago. I ordered some scenery items from Peter Pig and they turned up quicker than expected, including these rather nice dragons' teeth. I don't know why, but I had it in my head these were going to be hollow, but they're not. A very nice, solid and quite sharp set of teeth, so I'll have to make sure I don't drop them on the floor. These babies will make stepping on LEGO look positively comfy.

Dragons Teeth (or Drachenzähne in German) are a form of static defence that was first deployed in WWII. Their purpose is to restrict the movement of tanks and sometimes (as in the Seigfried Line) funnel those vehicles into preprepared killing zones. Along the Atlantic Wall, they were often used in conjunction with landmines, anti-tank walls and ditches. Although they look like they are individual concrete blocks they were often laid as part of buried concrete 'mats' so they couldn't just be bulldozed out of the way. There were also some 'mobile' versions that could be moved and this sort of obstacle wasn't exclusively pyramidal in shape, although these are the most common. This type was typically 3-4ft tall, enough to ground any tracked vehicle that tried to cross them. 

Like other concrete defences from this period, many survive to this day, simply because their removal is too expensive or complicated but also because there are so many of them. Variations on this design were - and still are - a common sight in the south of England. Most were constructed in the summer of 1940 when an invasion was a very real threat. They were used to restrict access to strategic points such as checkpoints, railway junctions and bridges. They are still a common sight around railway embankments and along the south coast, particularly around potential landing grounds. Indeed there are some only mile or so from where I live, along the embankment of a busy rail link into London. These are large pyramidal blocks with flat tops but in other areas of the country there are conical versions sometimes referred to as 'pimples'. Whatever the design, they all serve the same purpose, restricting the movement of vehicles, but in particular tracked vehicles. 

These blocks were used around a Kent railway junction. The Pole in the top was used to hold barbed wide. These examples were relocated to Fort Amherst in Chatham.

These Bouy type blocks were designed to be used on roads and would have been chained together in pairs making them very hard to move. 

This set comes with ten individual teeth and I deliberately kept the bases 'muddy' so they would blend in if I used them with my existing country roads or in the fields either side. Having now taken some pictures I think I'll add some grass to half of them so I can mix and match depending on what terrain I use them. 

Battle of River Cottage

I have a few days off work this week and decided that I would try to get a couple of solo games in to occupy myself. Back in January the wife and I had been discussing various trips, including some long weekends, to coincide with games shows or exhibitions we wanted to visit. Needless to say, these fell to COVID one by one, leaving just this week as the last possibility for a trip away. Sadly the closer we have got to the week, the more unlikely has seemed a break, and in the end, we decided it just wasn't worth booking anything. Our area has recently entered the High Tier of Covid restrictions and the places we wanted to visit are in the Very High Tier...so unnecessary travel seemed a little foolhardy. The half-term holiday has therefore turned into Groundhog Day again, and we are trying to keep ourselves busy at home. At least I have my little metal men to keep me occupied! 

The Setup

My first game is for Chain of Command and as is my way I created the setting first before looking at scenarios to play. The layout of the table took me a couple of days of tinkering to get it looking how I wanted it and ironically it turned out that I spent more time designing the layout and setting up than it took to play the actual game! (To get more from it I'm going to re-use the layout for a game of What a Tanker). The scene opens on a Normandy farm nestled against the banks of a small stream. Chalet de Riviere was only recently abandoned by its owner Monsieur Hugh as the front got nearer. The recent bombing of the road just outside his property was the final straw so he gathered his family together and they fled in their ageing Citroën. 

With the scene set, I had to pick a Scenario from the rulebook. I picked Scenario 3 'Attack and Defend' so it was clear that someone was going to find themselves in the farmhouse and associated buildings. I rolled a dice to decide if it would be the Americans or Germans, and as in the previous game (here) the Germans found themselves on the defensive. Both sides rolled well and started the game with a Force Morale of 11. Should one or both sides drop below three the game will end. 

The next step was to decide on what support the platoons would have. I rolled 5 for the Americans so I picked the M5 Light Tank which I recently painted. This would give them access to another MG and of course some HE to use against the buildings. The Scenario says that the defenders have half the support of the attackers (rounded down) but because the german platoon has a force rating one below the Americans I can add one point of support giving them 3 points to spend. After a bit of thought, I decided to take another Senior Leader (an experienced NCO) to give the Germans some additional flexibility. I used their last support point on a Medical orderly because I had a feeling they were going to need it.

US Rifle Platoon with an M5 Light Tank as Support

German Infantry Platoon with an additional Senior NCO and a Medical Orderly

The Scenario states that the Germans can place their Patrol Markers up to 18" onto the table edge but because my table is small I made this 12" instead. Then the Americans place their markers on their table edge and roll to see how many patrol moves they can make before the Germans respond. I rolled two moves. As in my previous game, I reduced the patrolling movement to 6" rather than 12" because of the table size but even that brought the Americans within 12" of the enemy, locking them down. The jump-off markers are then placed away from the enemy, in cover, so for the Germans basically inside the buildings, and in the Large Wood on one flank and in the Bocage on the other flank. The Americans were able to set up jump off markers in the small wood and in various fields on their side. All fairly predictable given the constraints of my small table. 

The Action

The Americans go first as they are the aggressor in this scenario. As before I'll list the Command Dice rolled at each stage so you can see how I chose to use them.

Turn One

(A) 66441- Well the Americans keep the Phase but as I don't want to bring on my Bazooka Team or a Senior Leader yet I decide to hold any actions and go straight to rolling the command dice again.

(A) 64421 - Again I had no desire to bring on a Senior leader just yet but I combine the two and one to allow me to bring on a Junior Leader. The M5 Light Tank comes on at the end of Green Lane, but without any clear targets, I decide not to fire the main gun. 

(G) 65321 - The Germans gain one Chain of Command Point and decide to start deploying Squads to defend the Farm. I imagine the site - on the main road and with easy access to the phone lines - would make a good forward command point and is, therefore, worth defending. Squad One deploy to the upper floor of the Farmhouse which not only gives them good all-round visibility from an elevated position but also gives them an advantage if they need to defend in hand to hand fighting. The Second Squad deploy to the upper floor of the Granary, again giving them an elevated position with good forward visibility. Now I decide to take a chance and deploy the Panzershrek Team out in the yard. From here it has line-of-sight on the tank and it is worth the risk of exposure if they can take that out quickly. The range is effective and the target is partially obscured by intervening terrain so I need to roll 8 on 2d6 to hit the target. I roll a nine! Now I roll Thirteen hit dice knowing full well the M5 only has thin armour (he gets to roll just 4 armour dice for a save). Out of 13 dice, only one hit and the M5 saves two...the shot skids off the tanks frontal armour! 

(A) 55432 - The Americans start this phase with two extra Chain of Command Points. They then deploy Squad One into the small woods (marked Les Copes on my earlier map). Unlike the last game, I made sure these deployed more than 4" from the front of the wood so they wouldn't be targeted by any Germans in the Farmhouse. I also deployed the Platoon Sergent with them to give them the flexibility I think they will need for their location. I then deploy Squad Two in the long field between South Lane and the Stream. They are just able to reach the tree line behind what turns out to be a bush covered bank (possibly the remnants of earlier bocage) which will give them some hardcover. 

(G) 66551 - The Germans retain the next Phase and gain two Chain of Command points. This just leaves the Panzershrek team to have another pop at the M5...This time they miss the tank entirely! 

(G) 63222 - It's clear the Americans in the small wood plan on taking up a firing position against the Farm so the German Player (that'll be me of course) decided to try to outflank their position by deploying the third Infantry Squad behind the bocage on the edge of the Upper Wheatfield. It's a strong position in hardcover and in combination with the fire from the farmhouse - both penetrating up to 4" into the wood - means the Americans can't 'hide' in this bit of terrain. They open fire immediately and while no Americans are killed they do take 4 points of shock. Meanwhile, the Squad in the Granary open fire on the infantry in the long field and despite the hardcover manage to inflict one kill on the newly arrived squad. 

(A) 65322 - The Americans gain another Chain of Command Point and sense an opportunity... Squad one was going to move to the front of the wood and take up a position along the wall that separates it from the small pasture (now home to dead cows). However with the Germans on their flank, its clear this plan would be virtual suicide. Instead, they keep the bulk of the woods like a shield between themselves and the farmhouse, and move to the western side of the wood, overlooking the Upper Wheatfield. Moving means that when they open fire it is at half effect this turn, but they still manage to inflict some shock and a kill on the Germans. Then the Americans deploy their last remaining infantry squad to support the position. The BAR team deploys against the wall overlooking the field and opens fire, inflicting another shock and a kill (the Obergefreiter manages to avoid injury...I haven't forgotten to check for leader casualties this time!). I realise that now the German Squad is facing two American Squads and is in an unequal firefight...not the first time I have managed to outwit myself in a solo game!! 

Just when it looked like this was already developing into a significant phase in the game (possibly a decisive one) the American 2nd Squad in the long field opens up on the Granary. These citizen-soldiers must have really been paying attention in their training back in the States because they are deadly accurate. They inflict two kills on the German defenders and one is a hit on the Obergefreiter. I roll on the wound chart and, you guessed it, I roll a one... killed outright! I consult the 'bad things happen' table and the Germans lose their first force moral point. Worse still this squad is now leaderless.

(G) 65541 - Two more Chain of Command points are small comfort after that last phase. I bring on the Senior NCO (one of my support options) and deploy him to the Granary to take command of the Squad in there. I decide not to take any chances and also deploy the Medical Orderly in here. 

(A) 55311 - The American Commander (also me!) is anxious to deal with the German infantry over by the Upper Wheatfield but also wants to use the tank this turn. I could combine the double ones into a two and activate a whole squad but instead, I decided to activate the BAR teams from each squad. The BAR gets to re-roll 1's which may give them an edge when shooting against an enemy in hardcover like bocage. I make the right choice as the re-roll option turns two misses into hits and after rolling for effect the overall result of these teams firing are two kills and point of shock on the German 3rd Squad. 

Then the Junior Leader in charge of the M5 light tank acts. He is getting more than a little rattled by seeing incoming rockets from the Panzerschreck. His tank's armour is no match for a shaped charge designed to breach much tougher vehicles and so far they have been lucky not to be destroyed. The prospect of losing his men, or being burned alive if the tank explodes, galvanizes him to action. He decides not to move forward but instead orders the bow gunner and the main gunner to target that Panzershreck team before they are themselves destroyed. A hail of bullets and a HE shot from the main gun kill one infantryman in the German team and seriously rattle the remaining guy with two shock inflicted.  This unsurprisingly Breaks the team. The remaining man remembers his training and keeps hold of his rocket launcher but quickly flees to the other side of the Farmhouse and relative safety. 

(G) 55421 - Things aren't going well for the Germans but they pick up two more CoC points (giving them one full dice and starting on a second) and ponder their next move. I deploy the Platoons Unterfeldwebel to the Farmhouse to support the Squad in there. He immediately instructs the MG team to open fire on the US infantry in the long field. I needed to use a laser pointer at this stage to check they had line-of-sight between the trees, but they could see the target and opened fire...to absolutely zero effect! Meanwhile, the beleaguered Squad Three (on the main road overlooking the Wheatfield) open fire on the Americans in the small wood, but again with little effect.

(A) 44331 - The Americans bring on their Platoon Leuitenant who orders Squad 2 in the long field to continue to fire on the Granary. This inflicts another kill and point of shock on the occupants. Then the Senior NCO, the Sergent with Squad One, orders them to lay down covering fire against the Germans across the field. The Rifle team provide the covering fire, while the BAR team continues to pick away at the enemy piling on another point of shock. Then the Junior Leader in the tank, still feeling relieved at seeing off the Panzershrek, orders his tank forward. Progress down Green Lane is cautious but as they move they put a HE round into the Farmhouse sending dust and plasterwork flying. None of the Germans inside of the building are killed, but that are shocked by the impact. Then the Americans deploy their Bazooka and, for want of a better target, it also fires at the building. However this time the round hits the outside and aside from shaking free some dust it has no effect on the defenders. 

All Squads, Teams and Leaders have now been deployed by both sides. 

(G) 52221 - Another chain of command point. I decide not to use the full CoC dice to end the turn because the Panzershrek team is still Broken. If I can get the shock reduced I can get them back in the game later after ending the turn. For now, Squad Three is sticking to its position behind the Bocage. They open fire at half effect (due to the suppressing effect of covering fire) but they still manage to inflict two kills on the Americans. Squad two in the Granary continue firing on the Americans in the long field, inflicting more shock. Meanwhile Squad One in the farmhouse has few targets to choose from. Only the MG team has something to shoot at and this turn he goes for the Bazooka team, sensing an easy kill. One of the two-man team is killed but the Bazooka will work as well with one man so it's not out of action yet. 

(A) 64311 - The Americans keep up with their existing targets but fail to hit home or inflict any shock this phase. A welcome, but brief, respite for the Germans. 

(G) 65332 - Another Chain of Command point is added to the collection. The Platoon NCO in the Granary opens the door, pokes his head out and shouts encouragement and orders down to the Panzerschrek team in the road. One point of shock is removed and the team is no longer Broken, 'just' Pinned. Meanwhile, his squad continue to fire down on the Americans in the long field killing another infantryman. The 3rd Squad continue to exchange fire with the GI's across the field but are having a hard time dodging covering fire and taking shock. The squad is looking dangerously tattered and probably ought to withdraw. 

(A) 44432 - The Platoon Seargent with Squad One continues to order his men to lay down covering fire while the BAR team tries to take out anyone it can see. However, the real punch is about to be landed as US Squad three managed to get into position the last turn. The whole squad now opens fire on the Germans across the wheatfield, killing the last of the rifle team. This brings the whole squad down to breaking point and they fall back off the table and are lost. Worse still this precipitates severals rolls on the Bad Things Happen table resulting in the loss of 3 Force Morale points. The Germans are now down to just five morale. 

(G) 65554 - Three more CoC points give the Germans two full dice to use. I decide to activate the Senior NCO in the Granary again and he is once again able to remove a point of shock from the Panzerschrek team. They no longer have equal men and markers but will remain pinned until the end of the turn. The NCO then uses another command initiative to activate squad 2 in the Granary and orders them to continue firing on the Americans in the long field, inflicting another kill and another point of shock. Then I  use one of the Chain-of-Command dice to end the turn. The Panzerschrek team can now remove the Pinned marker and I plan to get them back in the fight if I can. 

Turn 2

There is a brief lull in the shooting. The Germans are shocked at the loss of one of their squads but they know how important this location is and are determined to fight on. Ammunition is passed around, words of encouragement are spoken and men on both sides brace themselves for the fighting to resume. This is the situation at the start of Turn two. 

(A) 53321 - The Americans now have a full Chain of Command dice which is a useful asset to have when the battle is going your way. The Tank moves forward again while pumping another HE round into the Farmhouse. Smoke is coming from the broken windows so it must be having a deleterious effect on the men 'sheltering' inside. 

Meanwhile, the Platoon Seargent orders Squad One to move from the western side of the small wood to the wall that runs along the north. They can't all make the move but a few of then get far enough to shelter behind the wall looking east. The BAR team also doesn't have enough movement to get into position this phase but next time it will be in a strong position and will enable the whole squad to start laying down fire on either the Granary or the Farmhouse. Behind them, Squad three crosses the wall into the wheatfield with the intention of swinging around and supporting the final assault on the farmhouse...if the fight lasts that long. 

(G) 54221 - Yet another Chain of command point is added to the pile. Both Squad one in the Granary and the MG from the Farmhouse train their fire on the Yanks in the Long Field dealing two more points of shock on them. This Squad is close to breaking and the Germans can sense it. 

(A) 44421 - Combining the two and one give the US player (still me!) a chance to utilise all his main assets. The M5 Light Tank stays in position this time, fires another HE round into the Farmhouse increasing the dust and smoke hovering around the building. The bow Gunner targets the windows with his Hull MG. Meanwhile, Squad two, while looking a bit battered still has some fight in it yet. The Platoon's Leuitenant orders them to continue targeting the Granary, dealing another point of shock. Then, over in the small woods, the Platoon Seargent directs Squad One to use the rifle squad to lay down covering fire on the Farmhouse while the BAR team gets into position along the wall. 

(G) 55322 - The Germans get two more Chain of Command points. Looking at options I decide to combine the double 2's to allow them to activate a senior leader. The Senior Leader in question is the NCO in the Granary, who rallies some shock from his squad. Despite coming under covering fire they also manage to inflict two points of shock on the Americans in the long field, finally Pinning them. As this happens the MG in the Farmhouse picks off the Bazooka Team down by the bridge. The remaining riflemen in the Farmhouse, also suppressed by covering fire, still manage to kill one infantryman in the small woods. The German options seem to be dwindling but they still have teeth and are ready to fight on to the bitter end. 

(A) 63321 - Once again the American Player (moi!) combines the two and one to enable activation of all the combatant squads. Starting with the M5  it once again slams a HE round into the farmhouse and opens with the hull MG. This kills one german and inflicts another point of shock on the occupants. Then the Jnr Leader of Squad One in the small woods orders his rifle team to continue covering fire on the farmhouse while the BAR team targets the Granary. This deals another point of shock on the beleaguered occupants. Finally, squad two continues to put down covering fire on the Granary. The Americans are inching towards a position of fire dominance and its just a matter of time before they break the Germans. 

(G) 55331 - The Panzerfaust team has finally moved to a position where it can get a shoot at the American Tank....and he misses again!! This guy needs a job in the Canteen because he's clearly not cut out for combat operations!! Both the Squads in the Granary and the Farmhouse try to fire but both are dodging covering fire and manage to hit nothing this phase. Their morale is flagging and is about to take the final knock. 

(A)  64443 - The American Leuitenat rallies a point of shock off squad two and directs their fire against the Granary. The fire from here has become more and more desultory and he senses the unit inside must have taken significant casualties and is close to breaking. A few dozen yards away Squad one in the woods also targets the Granary. Between them, they manage to inflict another point of shock which finally breaks the unit and kill another German, finishing the rifle team. This is decisive as the unit has now been broken and lost a team so there will be two rolls on the Bad Things Happen table. While the German commander (yep, me) tries to use one of his Chain of Command dice to avoid one Morale check its a bit pointless because the unit flees from the table taking the NCO with it initiating yet another Force Morale test. 

The German Force Morale now has fallen below the threshold for this scenario and the remaining unit in the Farmhouse beat a hasty retreat. 

Analysis

That was a fun game to play out, especially as I managed to surprise myself... quite a feat when playing a solo game! I'm keener than ever to get this game in the Shed-o-War for the Rejects, although that's likely to be some time away. 

Once again I don't think I made any serious errors with the rules, but I'm open to comments if you think I missed something. The only downside to this game was that I spent more time setting up the terrain than it took to actually play the game... Which leads me to an idea. I'm going to keep the table set up but switch to a game of What-a-Tanker later in the week. They can fight over the same ground with a different set of rules by TooFatLardies, so expect another BatRep probably early next week. 

US M2 Flamethrower Team

This week I finished another support team for my US forces in Chain of Command. The M2 Flamethrower is both a terrible and terribly effective weapon when used against fixed fortified positions like bunkers or pillboxes. Its effectiveness is all the more surprising given that the US didn't start the war with any flamethrower weapons in its arsenal. Instead, they threw together a temporary weapon (it took just 90 days to go from design phase to production), but even before it was issued to troops, plans were already afoot to build its successor. The Army then went out and acquired examples of German, French and British equipment and designed something better ('better' is a matter of perspective, given these are designed to burn people to death!).

The resulting weapon, the M2 went into production in early 1944 and saw service through the rest of WW2, into Korea (where it became the M2A1) and even saw service in Vietnam. When filled, it weighed 70lb and held 4.75 gallons of fuel providing about 6-7 seconds of firing time. When using liquid fuel it's effective range was about 20 yards, but when filled with a gelled fuel (napalm basically) its range was doubled to 40 yards. 

The unit is made up of a backpack and a gun attached by a pressurised hose. The backpack consists of three tanks. The two larger ones contain the fuel (filled from the valves at the top) while the smaller tank contained compressed Nitrogen at 1500psi which pressurised the whole system to about 300psi via a regulator valve at the bottom. If the valve failed for any reason, there was a pressure release valve, which in the M2 consisted of a small valve and tube assembly on top of one of the fuel tanks. The later M2A1 moved this to a less exposed location at the bottom of the unit but both versions were designed to release pressure (and fuel) safely away from the operator. The harness also had a quick release buckle so the unit could be dumped quickly in an emergency. 

The Gun part of the unit was connected to the tanks by a multi-layered high-pressure hose. The Gun itself consisted of two triggers. The rear one was a handle grip trigger that realised the pressurised fuel into the gun and opened the valve at the front allowing the fuel to be released towards the target. The Forward trigger (which looks like a regular trigger) ignited the fuel. Hollywood flamethrowers often have electrical arcs igniting the fuel but these don't work very well in damp conditions and not at all when the battery dies. The M2, however, used a cartridge of five mini flares, each of which would burn for a few seconds. This means the operator had a maximum of 5 'shots' with the M2 with a combined maximum of 6-7 seconds of fuel capacity. 

Later in the war, the use of armoured flamethrowers like the Crocodile made the use of man-packed weapons less prevalent in Europe, however, they continued to be effective in Jungle fighting against the Japanese. Eventually, all flamethrowers (indeed the use of all incendiaries against people) were banned by Protocol III of the Geneva Convention, but this did not come into effect until 2005! As I said earlier a terrible weapon, but also a terribly effective one which is why pretty much everyone had variations of these in their arsenals.