First Chain of Command game from Too Fat Lardies, hosting a platoon of Japanese against US Marines.

We use a standard 120 X 180 cm2 table. Terrain is divided into six 60 cm side squares. Squares A,B and C on the japanese side, D, E and F on the US:

• A: jungle
• B: huts and fields
• C: jungle
• D: sparse vegetation and small hill
• E: jungle
• F: sparse vegetation

Scenario is Patrol.

Figures in 15mm from Vittorio. this is our first attempt to the rules, which seem very attracting.

The skirmish

A view of the battlefield. Lot of vegetation, the settlement of the far center right.

The two japanese officers appear in the photo, the one on the right with the katana is the platoon commander. They have the possibility to get a level-1 and a level-3 supports. They decide to ask their higher level commander a heavy machinegun and a light tank.

The marines can only get an adjutant officer. They would need a bazooka team to fight the tank, but in a probe scenario this cannot be obtained !!

The scout phase was quite interesting. It requires much more thinking than we thought at the very beginning of the phase. It ends with the america player reaching the outskirts of the village. The japanese player instead stops on the village line, along left and right sides.
The US commander has the possibility to move freely for two moves. A squad runs for the village and stops on the surrounding wall.
After a brief firefight, two marines get killed, the quad retires. Many japanese troops appear on the high grass just in front.
the american jump points are mostly in the jungle. Some squads arrive and are placed in opportunity fire, but they are targeted immediately by well hidden japanese troops.
A lone japanese tank arrives. the americans have only AT grenades to oppose it. The referee decides to give a chance to the marines. they will be able to call in a bazooka team with one of the Command dice, as soon as they produce one.
More japanese in high grass. They firefight is not conlcusive on this side, very few casualties are taken by both sides.
Japanese squads fire form inside the huts and are revealed.
The tank is armed only with a machinegun, but manages to hold the right flank from attacks.
One squad of marines rushes to a hill on the far left, to gain a good field of fire.

Troops firing. Some casualties are seen on the high grass terrain.

The tank keeps advancing, but a bazzoka team has just arrived…

No casualties in the village.

Some of the japanese squad are fired upon, no pinning fire yet.

Finally the marine squad reaches the high ground.
Other marines advance cautiosly.But the troops on the small hill are fired by the tank and two japanese squads! Here is one.
The squad gets five killed in a single japanese salvo, they run away in panic. This is too much for the marines, which leave the field in japanese hands.Very interesting game using the Chain of Command rules. Mechanism gets simple after a few turns. At the beginning troops do not seem to get harmed much, but as soon as someone gets a good field of fire, and fire is concentrated, troops get pinned down easily, or worse.We will play more games using these rules. Next one might be a 28mm scale Germans vs US scenario in Normandy.