Vive La Resistance!

Last week at the club we played a game of Chain of Command to introduce new players to the rules. The game was also an opportunity to use Bill's lovely French Resistance figures.

Background

It is the day of the Normandy landings. The Germans have been caught off-guard, having expected the Invasion to have taken place further north, closer to the pas-de-Calais. Believing Normandy to be a diversion, Hitler was slow to release formations from the armoured reserve, which meant that only 21st Panzer Division, based in the wider area of Caen, was immediately available for a counterattack, though many of its units were dispersed.

At the edge of the village of Airan, just over three miles south-east of Caen, two miles north of a muster area for tanks from 21st Panzer, there is a small bridge over the Muance River. Too small and too far from the coast to be a target for air landings, the bridge was nevertheless considered important as a possible route for Panzer reinforcements moving towards Caen. It was important that the bridge was destroyed, and this task was assigned to a resistance cell in the area.

During the previous week, telegraph lines to Airan were destroyed in an attempt to isolate the village, and later, a Lysander landed in darkness in a remote field and weapons and explosives were passed to members of the Resistance.

Now, it is the early hours of the morning of 6th June. Timing their activity to coincide with the landings at Gold beach, resistance fighters approach the village of Airan, their objectives to place charges and blow the bridge before the arrival of armour from 21st Panzer, and thus to help the allies capture Caen before the end of the day.

Unbeknown to the French, on June 5th a German platoon including field engineers who had been tasked with repairing broken communications lines were moved to Airan.

Game Setup 

Bill surveys the battlefield while Alan has a sly nap. The houses of Airan are off to the left beyond the river. The bridge just in the picture on the left in the objective; the French enter from the right table edge.

The houses along one table short edge represent the outskirts of Airan, with a road running through them. Another road leads out roughly along the table centre-line, crossing a small river about 1/4 of the wall along the table from the village, within a band of marshland. Hedges and farmland with isolated trees, and a farmhouse, cover the rest of the table with some small woodland blocks at the table far side.

• The Germans have a basic platoon with no support points, but two Marders of 21st Panzer Division (each with a Junior Leader) are on the way towards the village along the main road. Each of these becomes available to move onto the table along one of the roads in the village when one Chain of Command die is expended before command dice are rolled for that phase - that's one die per tank.
• The French begin the game with 8 points of support. They can spend up to two of these points to give them one or two extra Phases at the start of the game, though they are not allowed to shoot or fight, or set explosives, during either of these Phases.
• The game starts at the point where the alarm has been raised in the village. Somehow, the Germans have become aware of Resistance activity in the area.
• The Resistance get the first Phase.
• The bridge is the objective. To blow the bridge at least three Resistance fighters, which must include a Junior or Senior Leader, must start their Turn on the bridge. They must spend one Chain of Command die to place explosives. At the start of each subsequent phase roll a die. On a 6, the bridge detonates. At the start of each subsequent phase, add another die to this, so the chance of the bridge lowing increases each Phase. If the Turn ends, the bridge will blow.
• The Germans can stop the bridge from blowing if at the start of one of their turns they have at least three engineers plus one Junior of Senior leader on the bridge and they expend a Chain of Command die.
• The Resistance force is comparatively fragile, and begins the game with 8 Force Morale points.
• Regardless of Force morale, the Resistance win the game if the bridge is blown.

The Game

Apologies for the quality of the photos and the general lack of them, which makes the story of the game a little abbreviated. The Germans deployed in houses and ahead of the river behind a hedge, while the French came on from the opposite table edge, advancing boldy despite enemy fire. Their chances looked slim, but luck was on their side...

The Resistance deploy in the woods

And around the farmhouse, with their vehicles

Advancing, they come under heavy fire

They rush down the road towards the bridge in their vehicles. The driver of the Citroen is shot and it ends up crashed in the hedge, but the truck continues toward the objective despite the heavy gunfire.

Despite suffering a lot of shock, the French make it to the bridge, having seen off the Germans in advance positions. They lay charges on the bridge

BOOM! The bridge unexpectedly explodes, killing everyone nearby, and even causing the photo to be out of focus. Many French died to bring Victory to the Resistance!

Despite the Resistance success, if I were to play this again I would add some rules for night fighting to make the approach to the objective less fraught. It makes sense that the French would try to get close to the objective before sunrise, and some mechanism by which the alarm can be raised by the Germans would raise the level of excitement.

But overall, this is a great set of rules, giving a real sense of playing out something out of a classic war film. A very enjoyable game as well and very satisfying to have played it easily in an evening.