Within a couple of months of the release of the World War 2 miniature war game rule set Command Decision 3, most core members of the Mississippi Hattiesburg Kriegspielers had purchased their own set. From that point forward, virtually bi-weekly play testing ensued. All participants were well experienced with the preceding rule set (CD2) so the transition period was all the more difficult. The first thing that most players experienced was numerous contradictions in combat values previously thought to be based in factual statistics. The Lethality Index was greatly diminished in two primary areas. The first area was the probability to hit. Maximum numbers were reduced from 100 percent chance to hit down to 80 percent chance to hit. On Michael Whitman's best day according to CD3, he would only have an 80 percent chance of achieving a first round hit on a stationary goat cart at 50 meters firing from a position under the highest cover. This by itself is inflammatory to most gaming when trying to replicate events established in history. The second area in which lethality was reduced is rate of fire. Over the game turn of 15 minutes, the rate of fire for all weapon systems was reduced by over 50 percent. The final analysis reveals that instead of punishing idiotic tactics with withering fire, less apt players are let off the hook by artificially inhibiting rates of fire. The phenomenon which is produced as a result of this easement is a perpetuation of ludicrous tactics employed by the novice player. With this as the status quo, most games de-evolve into robot-style fantasy games having no basis in reality. Anyone interested in wishing to seriously debate this issue need only run a few simple statistics. For example, if you calculate the number of rounds of 88mm ammunition carried on a Tiger I, the rate of fire (being four) from a stationary, elite, Tiger I (op firing) and the number of rounds (volleys) fired by the five tanks of the Tiger I platoon, you will discover that each shot (of the four) consists of approximately 25 88mm rounds. This makes the whole extravaganza equate to approximately 100 rounds of 88mm ammunition. Of course this is spread over the period of 15 minutes as stipulated by the CD3 turn design. Consider a stationary (regular quality) platoon of IV14A3 Sherman Tanks having stopped in the open in full view of an over watching Tiger platoon. The M4A3 has 1 hit on it already. The crew dismounts the tank and the owning player proceeds to move the patrol/crew stand out of line of sight of the M4A3, With an 80 percent chance to hit, it is conceivable that the unoccupied M4A3 could have 100 88mm rounds impact the ground around it, ( in any combination of 9s or 10s rolled) producing no damage to the M4A3. This at a range under 100 meters. The owning player of the Tiger I will not be content with the outcome of this gunnery. This example could be played off as extreme. I do not think it is, but I rather believe that this lapse of realism taints the final outcome of the majority of gunnery events simulated in CD3. It has been my sustained experience with the CD3 rule set that no matter how skillful a tactician, or to what length one goes to in the setting of traps and ambushes, the representative lethality statistics produce around 60 percent of what would otherwise be assumed to be a settled outcome. With regards to the indirect fire mechanics used in CD3, they are also frustrating but to a lesser extent ( as this game does not focus around battery and counter battery activities). No matter what caliber the 15 minute barrage is, the most damage that a mission can render is one hit (on one Chinese mess kit repair platoon doing calisthenics in a rice patty). Typically one would think that a 15 minute bombardment of 240mm Howitzers would leave not only the platoon completely dismantled, but the earth itself would be rendered unfit for anything until an armistice had been signed. Also the notion that units may have trouble calling for fire over a 15 minute period seems unrealistic in the age of radios, land lines, and semaphore. (Try telling a Napoleonics player that his trained ready and loaded 12 pounders can't fire on the target designated by the owning player.) The best part of CD3 by all player accounts is the improved sequence of play (except for the part where you cannot fire in both the opportunity fire phase and the general fire phase). This stream lines the playability where it becomes feasible to actually conduct 15 minute real time turns. For people contemplating the acquisition of a platoon level World War 2 miniature rule set CD2 offers more detailed, accurate and lethal options. For those unconcerned with accurate tactical simulation, but still wish to call what they do war gaming, CD3 is less cumbersome and plays faster than CD2. CD2 if edited property offers the most realistic gaming available on the tabletop. Until such time CD2 and CD3 can be amalgamated into CD4, we will continue to tweak one or the other with in-house rules that overcome deficiencies, enhance playability, and increase realism. An example of the Hattiesburg Kriegspielers in-house rule amendments will be published soon. Until then keep your powder dry, your dice shinny, and your war gaming temper in check. Back to Dispatch June 2000 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com