Chain of Command '30 Day's to Dunkirk'

One of my regular opponents, Jerry, has written a pint-sized campaign about the actions of the Royal Irish Fusiliers in May 1940. Gary and I agreed to play a run through of the first scenario with Jerry as umpire. Also observing was Richard, the rules author, who is interested in turning Jerry's campaign into an 'official' one!

I took the BEF force while Gary took command of the Germans. We both rolled low for support so choices were limited. I went for a pre-game barrage, two crew for the Boy's anti-tank rifle and a sniper. Gary had an Sdkfz 222, a pre-game barrage of his own and a shabby Nazi trick.

The scenario had the Irish defending a Belgian Anti-Tank Gate. I had no idea what this was but apparently it looked like this:

I'm not sure how that would stop a tank but I suppose 1940's tanks were small. The Irish first had to wait for a Bren Carrier to turn up then use the carrier to close the gate.

The gate was positioned on a road between two houses.The patrol phase went well for the Irish who got three jump off points around the two houses. The Germans started further back:

The first German squad deploys by the destroyed house. The British barrage was very effective in stopping the Germans deploying:

Number 1 Section lines a stone wall and awaits the German attack:

Number 2 section joins them in the upper story of the house. They have a poor field of fire from here though as there are no windows facing the direction the Germans will come from!:

The Germans creep forwards but come under fire. The Irish mortar starts laying smoke:

The shabby Nazi trick is revealed! A fake French officer appears at one of the British jump off points:

The German armoured car arrives and drives through the smoke. The German squad creeps forward again but take more losses from the remarkably efficient shooting of Number 1 section:

The Boy's AT rifle takes a shot at the Sdkfz 222. It hits home damaging the gun sight and putting a shock on the crew:

A second German squad arrives and runs forward:

They continue their advance. The Irish will need to do something about this soon:

The initial German squad has been almost wiped out by the marksmanship of Section Number 1:

Section Number 3 arrives and pours fire into the advancing Germans:

The mortar manages to put some smoke in front of the Sdkfz 222. The advancing Germans hop into the enclosure to get away from the Irish fire:

The survivors of the first German squad attempt to regroup:

The final German squad has deployed and joined its comrades in the enclosure:

The Bren carrier moves up to close the Belgian gate:

Section Number 2 has moved out of the building and round to support Section Number 3. The Lieutenant personally supervises their fire on the Germans in the enclosure. BEF marksmanship again pays off with the Germans dropping like flies:

A German rifle team makes a dash for the gate covered by the Sdkfz 222 and the remaining Germans in the enclosure:

Five of the Germans are shot down and the sixth bayoneted in a charge by Number 1 Section who also manage to throw a grenade into the Sdkfz 222!:

German morale has collapsed and they retreat leaving the Irish to close the gate and retire themselves:

As a scenario it seemed to play well. I think Gary had by far the worse luck, the British barrage repeatedly stopped him deploying and the Irish shot with remarkable accuracy and effect. The armoured car could have been more effective for Gary but didn't do much and was repeatedly hit by the anti tank rifle. Even Gary's mortar ran out of ammunition the first time it fired!

Losses were very one sided, the Irish lost 2 men from Number 1 Section, 4 from Number 2 Section and 2 from Number 3 Section. Given that there was a 9 difference in force morale all my losses would have come back for the next game. Gary's three sections were pretty much wiped out so his platoon would not have been much use in the rest of the campaign.