Counter-Counter Attack at Mortain: A Chain of Command/ At the Sharp End solo campaign AAR

This is the first in a series of AAR's using Too Fat Lardies Chain of Command rules with their excellent campaign add-on "At the Sharp End." I chose the American counter attack after the battle of Mortain for the campaign setting. Using a period map I found on the inter-webs I set up the "half-ladder."

I am using a regular US Platoon to led by Lt. Isiah Morning.

I will be facing a green German platoon. I chose to use green troops mostly because I wanted the Germans to get lots of neat support not because of any historical precedent. 

The first battle in the campaign is a patrol scenario just outside Barenton, France. 

The scenario map from the overall campaign map.

The Americans roll 9 for morale and the Germans are at 7. American support is a 3 and the choose a 60mm mortar. The German support is a 9 so they choose a sniper and a Pz III. 

The table after the initial American phase. Cpl Lance Henderson deploys at the crossroads and the 60 mm mortar sets up in the woods (I know, unpainted mini's on the board!)

Cpl Henderson sends a scout team ahead towards the German Jump off Point (JOP)

The Germans deploy a squad and promptly break the scout section and inflict enormous losses on Henderson's squad eventually breaking them and then they use a Chain of Command (CoC) die to remove the squad. The American morale drops by 2. 

Cpl Billy Ford's squad move toward the bocage, hoping to take the German flank.

The German sniper deploys

Cpl Ford's squad finds another German squad and a fierce firefight erupts!

The Germans bring out the heavy metal...

A Yank bazooka wounds the panzer leader and the tank is effectively neutralized.

With a little help from Cpl Jackson's squad, Cpl Ford forces the German squad to retreat and captures the German JOP ending the game with an American victory. 

The Americans ended up taking 5 casualties 2 KIA, 2 wounded, and 1 returning for the next battle. The Germans took 9 casualties 4 KIA, 3 wounded, and 2 returning for the next battle. Lt. Morning's Co's opinion rose to 1 and the men's opinion of him jumped to 2. 

The badly painted figures are a mix of Plastic Soldier Co., Italeri, Caesar, Esci, and the mortar is Fantassin. The Tank is a paper model from bestpapermodels.com Most of the terrain is scratch built with a few store bought trees and the Dave Graffam crop tiles.

Part II to follow...