Long journey to a “complete” game of CoC

It has taken me a while to get enough elements to prepare a “complete” Chain of Command game. Obviously the adjective “complete” may have different meanings to many people. In my case, I consider a “complete” game when I’m able to play a TooFatLardies Pint Sized Campaign. So, when I have enough stuff to deploy two base platoons plus diverse supports in addition to a properly made terrain and attractive game markers that cover most common situations.

Spring-Winter 2019

The tortuous path began three years ago, in spring 2019. At that time I decided to immerse myself in historical figure wargaming as an excuse to spent less time in front of screens. Back then, my knowledge of the hobby was extremely limited. I had only played some Fantasy Warhammer in late 1990s. Few years ago I had discovered Bolt Action WW2 models in a Stockholm store, Science Fiction Bokhandeln. My natural first step was to order their “Band of Brothers” starter set. 

Unfortunately due to courier issues it took a while to arrive. Enough for me to take advantage of Warlord Games sprue sale and purchase way too many sprues for almost all possible WW2 theaters. Big mistake. I first built a US Paratrooper and a German Grenadier forces.

My base German Grenadier platoon (WIP).

To get to know the rules, I watched multiple videos of gameplays in YouTube. One channel stood out over the rest, Tactical CP. There I discovered Chain of Command. After watching a couple videos I was amazed of how much more accurate it was in depicting modern warfare. While Bolt Action felt like a competition oriented arcade game with a WW2 “skin”, CoC felt like a proper simulation of WW2.

Making the rule-set switch was not easy. It took me some time to convince my main gaming partner. Finally they conceded, so I started slowly adapting my Bolt Action forces to depict the realistic platoon order of battle of Chain of Command. In addition I rebased them from Warlord Games plastic 25mm bases to 24mm metal washers -to give them more heft and be able to have a magnetized storage-. 

After a couple of games Grenadiers vs US Paratroopers, I realized that the disparity of forces made it hard for my partner to learn the rules. That’s why I created a British force, as it’s structurally closer to the German Grenadier platoon. At that time I played in a 4x4 feet table as I lacked anything better, so the fights felt quite close quarters.

Spring ‘21

At the beginning of 2020 with the Covid-19 craze I was forced to take a break from wargaming. Fast forward to the first months of 2021 I managed to go back on the wargaming saddle. At that time I bought a couple of magnificent gaming mats from Deep Cut Studios and a 6x4 feet table. That way I would be able to play the games with enough space. 

The bigger table felt quite empty so I expanded my collection of scarce terrain acquiring new trees, also buildings from Sarissa and Charlie Foxtrot, and even some small stuff from Warbases. Warbases has excellent “1-man movement trays” that are perfect to highlight the junior and senior leaders. Leaders are the base of the Chain of Command -and most TFL- rules, so I found it imperative to have a way to make them stand out on the field. 

At that time I found out that setting small teams and MG teams in a moving tray eases the game and allows us to identify and move them quickly on the table. Triangular 3-men bases for MGs and circular 3-men trays for bulkier supports like light mortars, finally a 2-men base for small teams. They are small enough to fit in most terrain, not affecting much the game. Rifle teams I deploy them individually as being the maneuver element they usually need to fit in tighter spaces.

Unfortunately in Summer 2021 I had to take another break from wargaming because of the birth of my first child. Parenting and work took all my time for many months. Finally in September 2022 I was able to stabilize my agenda and have some free time. 

My British late war platoon (WIP).

Fall ‘22

This fall I tried to make out for the lost time by purchasing a series of 3D printed buildings by Patrick Miniatures and few more trees. I also crafted multiple supports I had on storage (engineer 3-men teams, AT guns, etc.).

Hopefully soon I’ll be finally able to complete my project to be able to play the TooFatLardies Operation Martlet Pint Sized Campaign. I’m now waiting for the arrival of few more tanks and support teams from Warlord Games as well as some extra hedges and fields I ordered from Etsy.

Future plans

While I consider my base forces soon to be finished, there are plenty of updates that I have planned for them. The addition of new support vehicles like the Stuart light tank and additional artillery guns. Add extras to my German platoon to be able to field Volksgrenadier squads. 

Another addition that would be much needed is an AA vehicle or gun for the Germans to play the last scenario of 02 Hundred Hours. 

Back in the saddle & Recap '21

Much has happened in the last year and work and the arrival of a new family member took priority over my hobbies. Finally my life has stabilized again so I can again dedicate some time to one of my favorite and most fulfilling hobbies, historical miniature wargaming. 

I plan to retake my Western European WW2 village project and my Peninsular War Llardona 1808 one. 

Looking at the short term future I'm especially curious about the advent of a 02 Hundred Hours, a new small skirmish game about small night commando raids during World War 2. It was developed by Graham Davey (Grey for Now), one of the main developers of the successful Test of Honour. It's stealth mechanics makes it quite different than any other proposition I've seen on the market.

Another title I'm keeping under watch is Dead Man's Hand by Great Escape Games. It's a simple small skirmish game set in the old Far West, a theme my gaming partner is especially interested in. 

My final wargaming game count for 2021 was:

14x Test of Honour

11x Sharp Practice 2

6x Chain of Command 

All in all, I consider it a decent and variated amount. 

Chain of Command comeback

To get ready for my Chain of Command comeback I decided to choose a balanced force of both British and German troops. The idea is to be able to practice common basic tactics like fire & maneuver leaps. 

When we have more confidence in the rules I want to delve into one of the Too Fat Lardies pint sized campaigns. The option that better suits the forces and setting seems to be  Operation Martlet. That one simulates the historical fight between the British 49th Division and the 12th Waffen-SS division "Hitlerjugend" around the Rauray Spur. 

Depending on how successful this campaign is, I may mull adventuring into its sequel the Scottish Corridor.

Figures

At this moment I'm working to finish a line infantry platoon both for the British and the German (Wehrmacht Heer). 

As mentioned, the campaign is designed for a Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier platoon -the infantry that followed the panzer units be it on trucks, half-tracks or even riding on the tanks-, but it can really be played with Heer Panzergrenadiers as they are pretty much organized and equipped in the same way (with the added bonus of being less controversial* to certain people). Said that, immersion and realism is always a plus, so time permitting I may work on some of my Warlord Waffen-SS figures. 

*For those unaware, the Waffen-SS was the "private" military branch of the NS-DAP party. Initially composed of nazi fanatics and careerists from Germanic nations, it later became an international multi-cultural but politically-driven volunteer force. At the very end it even included conscripts. Some of its units were infamously involved in numerous war-crimes.

Vehicles

In my collection I have already a ubiquitous Panzer IV, a Panzer VIA Tiger and a British Sherman Firefly but I would like to acquire a nice British tank like a Warlord Sherman V,  Churchill or a Cromwell.

In addition I also have in my "to do" list to build a Bren carrier. 

Terrain

My main goal terrain-wise is to be able to gather enough buildings to be able to recreate a countryside farm or a tiny village. If possible with buildings that could be at the same time representative of western Europe - especially France's Atlantic Coast and Benelux- and America in the last 2-3 centuries. 

A key building for every town in Western Europe is the local church. So far I have been looking for a nice small church / chapel without much success. 

As the campaign also involves countryside terrains, I'd like to acquire a farm building with at least one of its typical side buildings: barn and stables. I have found different possibilities:

- Sarissa La Belle Alliance

- Charlie Foxtrot Farmhouse 

- Charlie Foxtrot Dormer House 

As a side buildings:

- Charlie foxtrot outside wc

- Charlie Foxtrot Workshop / store to represent a barn.

Although those don't represent properly the most common buildings in Northern France that were made of stone walls (no plaster). 

Finally some modern industrial buildings to represent the outskirts of a Western European town. And that could also be used to represent Eastern factories. 

- Sarissa factory office 

- Sarissa factory unit 2

On support terrain I would like to find a solution for minefields as well as finish some of my resin fortifications.

Last but not least, some scatter terrain:

Charlie foxtrot memorial needle and graveyard set.

Markers

Marker-wise I have been pondering how to create a nice marker to display the injured status.

In addition I'm also thinking on how to build nice unique jump-off markers for the British forces, as at this moment I use parachuted containers that suit airborne troops better. 

Plans for 2021

 After my comeback I've been mulling what's the best way to start steady. As it's usually said, it's better to start small and simple and then transition to more complexity. 

Test of Honour: Sengoku

My first goal will be to rediscover Test of Honour, and its brand new expansion: Sengoku. I want to dedicate the year's first months to work on my Japanese backlog and relearn the Test of Honour rules as well as immerse myself in the new expansion book. Probably adding a few new figures and terrain to the collection -to avoid having to use western placeholders-. 

As its title hints, the expansion is about the Sengoku period (15th-to-17th century) when Japan faced near-constant civil war. It gives special rules for the clans of the era, new weapons and mechanics, as well as a bunch of new thematic scenarios.

Rethinking terrain

Now that I had a bit of idle time to think properly about my wargame needs and manias, I realize that I may have gone too far with my granular approach. Having ten thousand different items (tress, barrels, bushes, small buildings, etc.) to compose each battleground forces me too much time when preparing a game. So my goal will be to build small based dioramas that can be used as "scatter" terrain. 

Back to the breach

When I achieve a good amount of proficiency over Test of Honour, my plan is to work a bit on my insanely big backlog of WW2 stuff. Especially focusing on terrain and supports for TooFatLardies Chain of Command. 

I've been a "huge fan" of WW2 history since I was a kid. I blame Indiana Jones PC games that I discovered at the tender age of 5-7 years old. So naturally they have been one of my main interests in wargaming and built a -way too- big stock of plastics and metals. 

To be precise, my goal for this summer will be to work on the -overly done- Western front in 1944, from the Calvados Coast to the Ardennes forest. Especially focusing on the operation Overlord, operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.

In Fall I plan to evolve to the Eastern front with the addition of a Soviet platoon, some buildings, and maybe even some Finns.

Exploring other systems

As history is not only about Japan and WW2 -even if it may sometimes seem so-, I want to explore a couple of small skirmish systems like Mortal Gods and Baron's War. I personally like small story-driven skirmishes' games because it allows me to have shift games in small spaces without having to use many overcomplicated rules -nor buy & paint a huge amount of figures-. Both could be considered spin-offs of Test of Honour. 

Mortal Gods. Is a close derivative of Test of Honour set in ancient classical times. Perfect to scratch the itch of Mediterranean Greek fights. I really hope they expand to include Rome and the Gauls. 

Baron's War. It's an unreleased skirmish wargame that seems to build upon the Test of Honour base to achieve a more elaborated game. 

Another large skirmish system I'm considering is Sharp Practice. Has been on my sights for quite a while now, and it would allow fast pick-up games due to the unit bases it uses.