Chain of Command Musings

I have been idly thinking which is usually a dangerous thing to do. Way back in the recesses of my memory I remember that the TooFatLardies did a Stalingrad Games day. (Just looked it up Summer 2005!?! Surely not that long ago. Crap I am getting old). They did a game based on an 'M' shaped table. The game was played where there were multiple games played on each of the branches of the table. Support elements were shared between games but if used up, they were gone. Troops could move to support one another as well. That makes me wonder if the same could not be done for Chain of Command.

With the table layout above you can see it involves 4 6x4' tables. Three are the advancement corridors for the attacker and the joined end is the defenders base line. To make this work, there are actually 3 separate games going on with individual command dice. What is different is that the support elements would be shared between games. That way, if the attackers have a platoon of tanks in support and table 1 uses them first, tables 2 & 3 would not have access to them unless they move off the table toward the other table.

Patrol Phase
The patrol phase should be conducted on each table as normal. This would give unique starting points in each of the games.

Inter Table Movement Movement between tables would need normal activation to bring in the element that moved off table on one table would arrive at a jump off point that is closest to where the element left the other table. In addition, the player would have to dice to see if the element has made it when they try to activate it as if there was not a Senior leader present to attempt to bring them on.

Support Elements
Supports, since at this point it becomes a company level action fought across three games, each side gets a company command element to serve as an "adjutant" role in moving troops forward. So if we look at a sample British Company circa 1940 (BEF), we can see that the company HQ has a Company Commander and his second in command. That gives the possibility of 2 adjutant type figures to assist in feeding troops in. That means that one of the platoons will not be able to use an 'adjutant' as a support element. in the support "pool" that three platoons will draw from, they immediately gain free elements from the organic support from their parent company. For the BEF, the rifle company would have as support elements a truck and 10 guys who ordinarily would serve as cooks and clerks. That is not too great for them. But say a German company of the same period would not only have a baggage train but a machine gun section as support. Or likewise with a Soviet Rifle company circa 1941. Additional supports may be drawn by pooling the points from each of the three platoons and then selecting the possible elements. For example, say our ubergame takes place in 1940 and is a German attack on British positions in France. The overall scenario is an attack and defend scenario from the main rulebook. The Germans as the attackers would ordinarily have say 10 points to use for support. Instead there would be a central pool of 30 points to use for the scenario. This would make some of the potential options that would be expensive otherwise slightly more attractive as you still have plenty of points for other items. These forces would be called upon by each table. Once deployed to a table, they will stay there unless they leave the table by a table edge and then must be activated by the next table. Elements that attempt to move from table 1 to table 3 must first cross table 2. So it is important to be careful on how you deploy your support elements.

Players and Command/Control issues
Using the TFL Stalingrad Games Day as the model for this exercise, each side should have one overall commander. This player is in a unique position as they must move between games to monitor the flow of the action and should suggest (force) players to take a given support element or deny them access to one if it is needed elsewhere. They will be in a management position for the purpose of the game. They should be experienced players who know the rules and can assist the umpires for each game. Each table should have from one to three players at most per side to run that action. Each player should control anywhere from the whole platoon to a squad depending on the number of players per game. My personal opinion is that the game plays faster with just one player per side. Having an umpire for each game would also help speed play.

Anyway, this was bouncing around in my head. What dop ya'll think. Any suggestions?