Gung Ho!

"Listen up Lieutenant!" Captain Middlebrock was irritated. "I'm not really sure what you 90-day wonders know, but you have your stripes and it's time to prove you deserve them! I don't care if you got off the boat yesterday, the rest of us got off our boat the day before that, and the germans didn't give us any time to catch our breath. I have a leaderless platoon and a section of french land I need patrolled! You can do it, they are good men and they long to get some revenge for Lt. Ingram. Oh, yes, he's your predecessor.Unfortunately I can't give you any transport, the last patrol got their halftrack strafed by our own flyboys, and I can't afford to lose any more vehicles. Now get to it!"

The table and entry points.

My second mission in Platoon Forward was Patrol. The mission, naturally, is about patrolling an area, which basically is all of the board. Somewhere along the way you will encounter the enemy.
I rolled up the board and got the outskirts of a village, a small stream, a big area of light woods and a smaller area of heavy woods. I also got an empty area so I put a stone wall in their to create a field. I placed a burning M3 on the road through the village for some flavour.

I planned to advance through the heavy woods, skirt around the field and then sneak along the river. I would try to sneak at the edge of the village and then through the light woods back to my own lines. Hopefully I would avoid detection and get the drop on any enemy troops I encountered. I decided to use both squads so one could support the other if they ran into a problem.



1st squad on the left, Lt. Caulfield and Sgt. Sipowitz  in the middle. 2nd squad on the right lack in camoflague skills!

So my forces are as follows: 2nd Lieutenant Caulfield, grade 1.
Staff sergeant Sipowitz, grade 3, reckless.
1:a grupp, sex man ledda av Private 1st class Dimitriou, grade 1.
2:a grupp, åtta man ledda av Corporal Dever, grade 1, brave.

I got the pre-game event Gung-ho! which means one squad got a bonus in close combat and decided that 1st squad is out for revenge. Since they have lost two men I attached Sgt Sipowitz to them, while Lt. Caulfield went with Dever and 2nd squad.

This time I had some new, american, patriotic dice!

Replacements

Well, time to see who will replace Lt. Ingram who was badly wounded during his first mission. A few rolls of the dice later...

Lt. Gary Caulfield is a Conformist motivated by Wealth. So he's a yes-sayer who doesn't stick his chin out. His temperament in combat is even (neither takes unnecessary risks nor is overly cautious) and he comes from a normal background. Unfortunately I roll low for his skill and he turns out as only a grade 1 leader. I draw the conclusion that he hasn't lead a platoon of his own before, either earning his stripes behind a desk or coasting along on another officer's merits. In any way it is not good for the platoon.

I then rolled to see if anyone from Jenkins' squad will step up while he's away. Hooray, yes indeed! Private 1st class Jeff Dimitriou shoulder's the responsibility. Since Jenkins is grade 2 Dimitriou automatically becomes grade 1, but it's better than nothing as otherwise the platoon sergeant would have had to take charge. (This roll was not a function of PF, but of the rules I play, the WW2 variant of M&B, which specifies the chance of "battle-field promotion"). His personality is Cheap and his motivation is Position just like Jenkins, which I figure is the reason he's stepping up to command the squad. In combat though he's cautious -- a bit understandable after what happened to Ingram and Jenkins!

Finally I roll for the next scenario: Patrol it is. I have to move through all nine parts of the board and if I encounter any opposition I have to drive them off, preferably without too many casualties. Unfortunately there is no support available. I also roll for a pre-combat event and gets Gung-Ho! One squad get a bonus in close combat, and I chose Jenkins old squad now led by Dimitriou. I reckon they want to give the hun a bloody nose as revenge!

So the composition of my little patrol is:

• 2nd Lieutenant Caulfield (grade I).
• Staff sergeant Sipowitz (grade III).
• 1:st squad, six men led by Private 1st class Dimitriou (grade I).
• 2:nd squad, eight men led by Corporal Dever (grade I).

I need to get some more figures based up and do some terrain building before I play the mission. Stay tuned, folks!

FUBAR!

"I have a problem, Lieutenant!" Captain Middlebrock said, "We have taken the beach and the nearby villages, but we must drive further inland before the hun has time to gather his defences. There's a bunker covering some fields I want you to check out. The navy boys claim they have knocked it out with them big guns of theirs, but I'm not so sure. This goddamn country is too flat and open for my taste, so it can seriously hamper us if it's still occupied. The question is wether Fritz has run away or is still hunkering down inside it!"

"Don't look so alarmed, I'll lend you a .50 as cover. And you don't have to knock it out, just check if there are any germans in or around it. I suggest you go tonight, questions? Good, dismissed!"

My first mission turned out to be Point Reconaissance. I rolled on the relevant tables and got a bunker, yay! Each mission has information about what your objectives are, any opposition and so on. There are also tables for laying out your board if you don't want to decide yourself (perfect for lazy unimaginitive games like me). Unfortunately for Lt. Ingram I managed to roll three completely empty fields on the side his little force would enter the board. I added some hedges to the fields to break them up somewhat and a road between the buildings seemed logical. I also turned a light woods into an orchard as it fitted better in the area.

The board as decided by the dice. Note the bunker in the middle of the board, covering the road and fields, and the entry point of forces.

Platoon Forward specifies how strong the enemy forces are through a number of blinds. Each blind can either contain troops or be empty, so you don't really know where the enemy will be. Objectives tend to have troops though :-) In this case there were nine blinds: four type A (infantry), three type B (support) and two type C (vehicles). When spotted or when they wish to fire you roll on a table and see wath, if anything is there. For this scenario specified an A blind in a shell crater in the field in front of the bunker and an A blind on the hill directly behind the bunker. I then placed a B blind inside the bunker and a pair of A+B blinds in each of the built up areas on the sides. The C blinds were placed in the orchard and behind the bridge respectively. The objective is to spot at least half the blinds (so five) preferrably including the bunker. 

Lt. Ingram only took one squad accompanying him, led by Cpl Jenkins. As it was a recon mission he didn't want to get into a firefight anyway. The .50 was a random addition and I decided to let it cover the bunker hoping it would be able to supress it a little bit if needed. The squad would advance on the other side of the hedge, hopefully without being detected. (Apologies for the unpainted lead...)

The game begins with the squad sitting tight while Lt. Ingram tries to spot the buildings on the left side. No luck, so he decides to advance carefully along the hedge. But disaster strikes, one of them trips in the dark and goes down wildly cursing! The german listening post in the field realises something is afoot and starts to run towards the german lines. Alarm! Alarm! Der Feind kommt!  (I rolled box cars for their spot.)

Deciding that the game is up anyway the Browning team opens up and cuts down two of the fleeing germans. Hopefully they will draw attention away from the squad.

Move! Move! Move! Hit the dirt! Cpl. Jenkins urges the squad forward and they all hug the ground at the end of the hedge. Nervously Ingram pops the lens caps off his field glasses and manages to deduce that the nearest house is empty. Two blinds spotted, three to go. Maybe there aren't so many germans here after all?
(Note that I'm using german markers and dice, I didn't have a US set...)

The german card comes up. The B-blinds at the intersection and the bunker are both within medium range and they have LoS to the US squad. The bunker has a worse field of fire since there are lots of hedge in the way, but they will try to fire anyway. To my horror both blinds turn out to be Medium Machine guns. The bunker had a 50% chanse of being real while the one at the intersection only had 20% chance. Before resolving the fire I move up the C blinds and one of the remaining A blinds to better positions. Note the card on the bridge which is one of the C blinds. (I do try to play both sides to the best of my ability.)

Two americans go down, caught in the murderous crossfire. I also recieve a shock point (the round marker). Since it was dark and the squad had gone to ground earlier they came off relatively unscathed. Unfortunetaly Lt. Ingram was one of the hit! Rolling for damage he was Badly Wounded and out of the game. His men would have to carry him off the board -- unliked leaders get left where they lie though.

Next, Jenkins card comes up and I have a choice. Retreat, mission unaccomplished, or try to carry on. Since the MG's had revealed themselves I only had to spot one more blind. And Jenkins is Reckless and motivated by Position so it would be in character to try and continue. Furthermore, retreating backwards would not take the squad out of fire from one of the MG's, but advancing behind the ruined building would shield them from both MG's. From there the squad could try to flank the MG and spot the C blind on the bridge. It would be a bit risky since if the blind turns out to be anything heavier than a halftrack I have nothing but guts to throw at it, literally! But then again, Jenkins is reckless. So the US squad leaps up and tries to sprint across the field, dragging Lt. Ingram with them.

Again the dice gods laugh at me. I didn't roll high enough to get across the field. The squad is out of range of the bunker (because it's night) but recieves more shock from the other MG. Luckily no hits, this time. The "Heroic Leader" card comes up, and I decide that Jenkins will try to lob a grenade at the MG. The card is a double edged sword which lets you try something ridiculously dangerous and heroic, but if you fail you have to pay the price. I give Jenkins a whopping 70% to succeed (because I'm biased, so there), having to roll four or more on a D10.

...naturally I roll a one!!! Jenkins leaps down into a crater, frantically unpins a grenade and leaps up again, just to be struck by a burst. Jenkins collapses back again and the grenade explodes harmlessly on the road. Turns out he is only lightly wounded, but it's still enough for the wind to go out of the american GI:s. They manage to get in behind the building and out of the fire, and then slink back to the US lines.

After the game I rolled for replacements and random events. Turns out that I won't be getting any replacements this time, except for a new Lieutenant. Ingram will be travelling back to england on a medical ship, who knows when he will be back? To add insult to injury Jenkins will be away resting for the next three scenarios. Punishment Jenkins calls it, but it's the captain's orders. I dice to see if anyone in Jenkins' squad steps up to replace him; and it turns out that indeed, someone does. So next time I will generate another Lieutenant to replace Ingram and Jenkins' squad won't be leaderless, just two men short.

Big Red One

So okay, I got Platoon Forward and have been reading it thoroughly several times now. I am intending to use it with "Chain of Command", the WW2 version of TooFatLardies "Through the Mud and the Blood". The game is still in it's playtest stages but this will be an excellent method of generating games for testing the rules.

I was procrastinating a bit before I decided I would play a US platoon from the 1st Infantry Division in Normandy. They were called the Big Red One, and landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day, taking some 30% casualties. To reflect that, and because I don't have many US figures (yet!) the platoon will start with only two squads. Any support weapons heavier than a BAR they will have to get from the company or batallion assets which means they will be rolled for on the appropriate tables in Platoon Forward.

• The platoon is led by 2nd lieutenant Charles Ingram. He is liberal and motivated by wealth, from a privileged background. He turned out to be a grade III leader (on a scale of one to four). He is basically a good guy who wants to do his duty, but his family's connections got him into West Point and he is destined for a career as a lawyer after the war.
• Second in command is staff sergeant Andy Sipowitz. He is corrupt but has the motivation government, which means he believes in the system but thinks it's ok to earn an extra buck here and there. He too is a grade III leader and is reckless in combat. So he's a good leader but takes risks. I decide his parents immigrated from Poland at the beginning of the century but he is born and raised in Ney York with little feelings for his old country.
• Corporal Richard Jenkins is leading 1st squad. He is idealistic and motivated by position. He is grade II and reckless as well.. I'm starting to see why the platoon has suffered a lot of casualties, maybe he and sergeant Sipowitz are trying to outshine eachother?
• Corporal James D. Dever heads up second squad. He is haughty and motivated by religion. Only a grade I leader but bold (the Lord is his shepherd after all). He is the only leader in the platoon who recieved a negative trait which will affect his interactions with other people. I decide he's from the bible belt and has -- according to himself -- high standards and morale. He'd rather preach about his men's faults than listen to their needs and looks down upon those who cannot live up to his standards. He is not particularly liked by his men.
• Finally I rolled up the company commander since he's the person the platoon has to deal with. Captain Keith Middlebrock is generous and hedonist, which is quite an odd combination. He is also from a privileged background so I decide he's quite an adventurer and mercenary who has seen a lot of action around the world before the war and totally lives for the moment.

So, our actors are ready, and the scene is set. Our saga will begin on june the 8th, 1944.