Hunkering Down – Burma, 1944

I swear I play other things sometimes, but it seems like lately my Burma games are the only ones where I take photos...

I had actually planned to have a go at a three-player game of Traitor's Toll this week, but my dad had to bow out last minute, so instead of teaching both him and Gareth the rules in two separate sessions I decided to do another Burma game, but using the jungle terrain rules and having Gareth go on the defensive.

We played Mission 5: Flank Attack, with my British platoon bringing 16 points of support and his Japanese having 11. I brought an Adjutant (1), a pre-game barrage (2), a replenishment point (1), an engineer team (2), a Red Die (2), and a Sherman (4), while Gareth brought a squad prepared position (4), a Ruse (2), an extra submachine gun (1), a rifle grenade launcher (1), and a section of conscripts (3). I rolled rather poorly for morale, and had just 9 against Gareth's 11.

What would make things even more of an uphill climb was the aftermath of the patrol phase, where the angles played more to Gareth's favour than mine. Rather than being cornered in his part of the table, Gareth's Japanese would lie along more or less a straight line set back from the road, while I would really only have two useful jump-off points, one on my left directly opposite one of Gareth's, and one on my right with a bit of a vantage point across the open but partly obstructed by the house. My plan would be to try and force the Japanese onto a narrower front quickly by hitting Gareth's right flank immediately, banking on the barrage to block his deployment.

The Game

Unfortunately, Gareth rolled three 2s on his first Phase after my riflemen and sergeant came out, and he passed his first deployment roll anyway, although fortunately his fire did little damage.

Mine, on the other hand, amazingly caused four casualties including wounding Gareth's corporal, to which he responded by deciding to attempt a withdrawal into the jungle and force me to fight more on his terms. Unfortunately he rolled a 1, meaning his men turned around... and made no progress, exposing their backs.

Not about to give up a golden opportunity, I charged in and won decisively, and with the corporal having been stunned in the action, the remaining men were rounded up as prisoners.

With Gareth's right flank now overrun, it was safe for me to bring out the Sherman (though unbeknownst to me, he never had any anti-tank weapons with which to threaten it anyway, and was mainly banking on me getting bogged down on that flank.)

With my second section out on my right to provide supporting fire, I began moving the first section towards the rice paddies.

I also decided to present a more serious threat to the Japanese left by bringing out my lieutenant with the third section, which would mean I had no reserves left save for my mortar.

Unfortunately for me, this was where Gareth decided to bring out his heavy hitters, as his bunker revealed itself along with six riflemen in spider holes.

This was then compounded by the deployment of Gareth's third rifle section along the bank of the creek, which did at least take a few casualties thanks to both HE from the tank and retaliatory fire from my steady but dwindling rifle section.

Needing to somehow regain the initiative, I sent my second section out in a dash towards Gareth's left... and rolled dismally.

Out sprang the Japanese conscripts, who took down three of my men in one volley despite hitting the dirt for safety.

Short of good options, I pushed my leftmost section into the paddy field for cover and tried to hold firm while I figured out a way to consolidate.

Fortunately, some better rolling by my riflemen in subsequent phases brought a Bren gun to the window of the hut, where it proceeded to roll very badly but at least had a bit of moral effect, while the lieutenant led his troops up into the wood. I reckoned that with six command dice I could probably keep all of my troops under command and put some real pressure on Gareth's remaining unfortified men.

Nevertheless, my recklessness on the left had begun to cost me, as my section was down to just its automatic weapons and both NCOs were now wounded. Still, Gareth had lost more than a few morale points by now, through the loss of his first rifle section, then the jump-off point, and then the NCO of his section in the creek, where he had now assigned his officer to take over command. His initial +2 morale advantage had all but evaporated, and he now sat at 5 against what I believe was 7 for the Allies. Moreover, having lost a Jump-Off Point he no longer benefited from the -1 bonus to Bad Things Happen rolls that the Japanese would otherwise get.

As luck would have it, my next round of fire killed Gareth's officer, and he rolled the worst possible result for morale, a -3. While Japanese morale hadn't collapsed outright, one or two more phases of fire would probably have annihilated the last of the central section and finished the job, so we called it a night.

Reflections

Ironically given what I remarked upon last time, I really should have done more to consolidate my position and figure out my next moves before rushing unprepared into a general attack. Really, once I'd secured my left flank it should have become the base of fire supporting an attack by my right, rather than relying on a reduced infantry section and a tank to launch an attack at what I should have been certain were two infantry sections, one of which would almost certainly be fortified.

Swings and Roundabouts – Burma, 1944

Ivan, a relatively new member of the HKSW, had been interested in getting into Chain of Command, and after a couple of prior games – a Big CoC run where we shared a British platoon on tha attack, and then a 1v1 with him borrowing a German platoon to play on the defence – he got his first taste of the Far East setting on Friday evening. This time he'd take a British platoon on the offensive, while I'd be defending as the Japanese, on Mission 3: Attack and Defend.

Ivan got 12 support points, which he spent on a Stuart (5), a Universal Carrier (3), a pre-game bombardment (2), and an extra 2" mortar (2); while I spent my 5 points on a 47mm gun and an entrenchment for it. Both of us started at a full 11 morale, meaning this would likely be a fight to the death.

The Game

The state of affairs at the end of the Patrol Phase: Ivan seemed to be concentrating on his right, with a forward but uncovered Jump-Off Point. My own position was a little awkward. Barrier growths for the Far East are only minor obstacles for movement, but obstruct line of sight beyond 2" as though medium obstacles, so my middle point was not really supporting my right very much.
(Apologies also for the mess at the back – we've been reorganising the game room!)

Ivan's opening moves had proven quite effective, partly due to good mentorship from James (whom I last played against in this game) who popped by for a bit on his way home from work. With his Stuart laying down covering fire, Ivan had repeatedly frustrated my attempts to deploy against him, and a number of 5s rolled early in the game for him, versus next to none for me, had allowed him some confidence with which to push forward knowing he could hit the dirt for extra cover any time I fired on him.

With a smoke grenade further weakening my LMG, the British advance seemed more or less unstoppable. Shortly after this, I would find myself taking four casualties including my corporal getting wounded, and three points of shock on each team.

So, rather than try to stop it directly, I used what few CoC points I had to reposition my battered section and then had it run behind the next JOP, leaving the now 8-man section at 8 Shock, just shy of being pinned.

In one of those rare moments, Ivan rolled a quadruple six, which resulted in a random event that also gave him an additional morale point. For my part, it also ended his barrage, which would finally let me reliably deploy to my remaining positions.

I believe James left us around this point, expecting that Ivan would comfortably carry the day. Sure enough, with three sections on the field and both of his armoured vehicles deployed, my position was looking increasingly dicey.

But with a bit of luck the situation began to reverse. With a fresh rifle section and the grenade dischargers out in the field (a safe 4" apart) I was able to start laying down fire on the lead British section, which after a succession of extremely unfortunate cover rolls had lost seven men.

Moving aggressively to cover the emerging gap to his front, Ivan sent up the Stuart. At this point, however, I had banked up six CoC points, allowing me to ambush with my AT gun...

To predictable results.

Nevertheless, the situation was not straightforward. Ivan's rearmost section was still managing to lay down covering fire on both of my fighting units, leaving the AT gun the only weapon still firing at full effect. Still, the relative lack of effective return fire from the British allowed me to rally off most of the shock from my first section, although I did take one major loss when the corporal of my second rifle section was killed.

For the last few Phases of the game I brought the first rifle section back into action, whose LMG began raining fire on the second British section at the corner. Although I conserved the fire of my grenade dischargers while the suppression and smoke penalties were in effect, that was still a fair amount of firepower from the two rifle sections that Ivan was simply not going to be able to deal with, and neither was his additional Bren team from the carrier doing very much against my AT gun.

Ivan belatedly brought his third section out of the wood, but it was really too little too late. His second had already lost seven men like the one before it, and while he had both his mortars out in the field they had few infantry left to assist.

The point of view from the British side at the end.

Reflections

We both concurred afterward that Ivan had overcommitted on the left and failed to consolidate before advancing. The position at the corner was one that was exposed to fire from several angles, and sending two sections into it to be shot to pieces one after another was not the wisest move. The Stuart was unlikely to survive even a frontal engagement with the 47mm gun so its loss was really to be expected, but the carrier didn't really do much of note when it might have been used to cover the advance of the third section, which instead came in far too late to rescue the collapsing British line. I had been lucky in getting my first section to safety in such a way it could spring back into action, but the reality was Ivan had forced me into a very tight space and could have taken his time to prepare the coup de grace.

Clash at the Creek – Burma, 1944

To conclude our three-game run of Chain of Command in the Far East, Gareth and I played a round of the Attack on an Objective, which would give both of us the full run of our support options. We had a slightly later start than usual, and Gareth was unfortunately a bit drowsy while recovering fro some health issues, so (spoiler alert) we concluded a bit early before the decisive result.

For this scenario, the attacker and defender roll separately, with the attacker getting 1D6+10 and the defender 1D6+5 points. Gareth rolled a 4 and I rolled a 5, and with rating adjustments that meant the Japanese would get 14 points of support and the Indians 11. Making full use of his budget and possible options, Gareth went for a Type 94 tankette (3), a flamethrower team (3), a Red Die (2), a Ruse (2), and a mortar barrage (4) (I'd actually made a mistake when giving him his support list and it ought to have been 4 points, but he spent 1 point on an SMG he then forgot about so it all came out the same.) I had assumed he might bring in some heavier armour, so I went for a 6-pounder (5) and an entrenchment for it (1), an MMG (3), and a minefield (2).

The Game

The situation at the end of the Patrol Phase. Placing the minefield in the middle helped cover the inside flank of my rightmost position and essentially split Gareth's possible axis of advance down the middle. I was reasonably sure he'd push forward into the rice paddies, but what I wasn't sure about was where the actual attack would come in: on the one hand, it might make sense for him to forge straight ahead against my right, taking advantage of the open ground to move quickly with support from any armour he might have. On the other hand, I had quite an open left flank and I could see him trying to isolate the hut and then move along the road to attack what was essentially the rear of my position.

It seemed like Plan A was in motion: Gareth had gone for the old reliable Type 94 to cover his left, while bringing out infantry in the centre and the right. Little did I know that this was not Gareth's plan.

In no small part because I'm not sure he knew either. For whatever reason he decided it was vital to clear the minefield, and that it was better for the unit doing it to be in front of the one providing its covering fire, and to bring his flamethrower out before he had anyone in the area to cover their movement.

As the Japanese infantry worked out what on earth they were doing, I used a CoC die to ambush with my 6-pounder, to suitably fatal effect (though it is worth noting that Japanese tankettes are both small and low-profile, so I needed to roll a 7 on 2D6 rather than the usual 5. While 7 AP against 2 armour is basically fatal, smaller vehicles like this can lean on luck a bit more than their heavier counterparts.)

Still, Gareth's losses and positional errors weren't all fatal. The simple fact was that I'd spent over half of my support points countering less than a quarter of his, and Japanese platoons are big things with a lot of men in them. While I could bring out an infantry section to start laying down fire on his leading troops, Gareth could still concentrate a lot of force against my rightmost point, especially as the hut containing the objective only had one window looking out over the main Japanese approach. Considering the threat posed by the as yet undeployed Japanese knee mortars, I was wary of deploying anything there unless absolutely necessary, as any sort of high explosive attack would quite literally demolish it.

The good news was that fire from various sources was chewing up the Japanese, whose advance had become a bit of a piecemeal affair. The bad news was that Gareth revealed his last support choice, a mortar barrage. While his initial ranging shot veered off course, I now knew that my position on the right was in real danger.

And so it began. The bombardment would give Gareth some reprieve by allowing him to bring out his remaining infantry and also get his Senior Leaders to where they could start rallying off some of the Shock his men had accumulated. 

By the end of it, my infantry section on the left was down to just two submachine gunners and their Naik (corporal), and I'd lost a gunner and taken 6 shock on the AT gun, ensuring it would remain Pinned after the barrage was over. There was, however, one slight silver lining: Gareth had rolled a double phase, which meant that the effects of the barrage would clear at the end of his phase rather than mine.

In the meantime, my machine gun revealed itself on the left and scored a tremendously underwhelming two hits, but then Gareth managed to roll sixes for effect on both of them, losing two men from that section.

Although it had moved up in preparation to attack across to the AT gun, Gareth's left section found itself under fire from a fresh section of Indian troops, who inflicted enough shock to pin it, while the Bren inflicted some shock on the section now closing on its flank.

Nevertheless, things could go both ways. Gareth had brought out his grenade dischargers who had ranged in on my MG team, and I would have to either abandon that position or let it get bombed to oblivion. My losses had already taken my initial morale of 9 down to 7 while Gareth had only gone from 11 to 9, and he was coming in with another fresh infantry section as well as potentially being able to rally the shock his flamethrower had taken when I decided to fire some HE at it earlier.

True enough, the Japanese sergeant managed to use his one-off ability to take 5 shock off the lead section, and if Gareth wanted to trigger an end-of-turn he would be able to unpin his section while my AT gun would remain disadvantaged. It was at this juncture that, back over by the paddy, Gareth ordered another of his famous Banzai charges.

And, true to form, he managed five hits on ten dice, while I managed just five hits of my own despite rolling twenty-one.

That said, there is a fairly meaningful difference between four kills and one shock and four shock and one kill, even if in my case that kill was actually a wound on my Havildar (sergeant) that dropped my force morale again to 6.

On the second round, I scored eight hits against just one for the Japanese, wiping out the section. In our assessment, while the rules seemed to suggest the lone officer would flee back into the paddy fields, we thought it appropriate that he took the honourable way out. Japanese morale had gone down to 7 with the loss of the section, although we decided that letting the officer die with honour rather than live in shame warranted not taking a morale check for him.

That said, regardless of whether the officer in fact lived or not, we'd hit our limit for the evening and called it a winning draw for the Allies.

As we wrapped up, we talked through our respective chances of success. In my view at least, it could still swing both ways: the simple fact was the Japanese had two fresh infantry sections in the field and the Indians were at serious risk of losing two more support units, which meant between 3 and 6 morale at risk between the weapons themselves and the junior leader on the gun, at a time when they were already teetering at 6. The Japanese were at some risk of losing their lead infantry section and possibly their sergeant in the process, but given the number of variables they could come out with their morale still in decent condition. Nevertheless, having expended most of their supports and with the Indians still having some reserves, I can see why Gareth thought he probably couldn't make another attack successfully.

Lessons Learned:

This game and the last have really impressed upon me how decisive close combat is. To be frank, my dice rolling was utterly disastrous throughout, but for that reason both rolls this time were utterly nerve-wracking. But it's also got me thinking a bit about how the second edition of CoC has given quite a few more modifiers in favour of the defender that the attacker really needs to negate before closing in.

Plans for next week are up in the air but I'm sure there'll be something.