CoC-Bloody Bucket Redux (2a)

 

Thursday night, myself and PY started our Bloody Bucket campaign. I am already playing this with my friend Tom but it is such a complex setup I thought having 2 shots at it would be fun. With Tom, I am playing the Americans while with PY, I am playing the Germans. It is also ok, as there is an enormous burden of bookeeping for the American player.

Turn 1

I threw for my first unit and it was a Sturm platoon so I decided to move it to assembly point B, turn 1 over!

Turn 2

This was the game we played Thursday, I felt this was an easier table for the Germans especially if played as the Probe scenario (you have a choice).

Sturm Platoon #2

CD 5 Green FM8

1 SL
3 man rifle grenadier team

2 Sturm Squads w/JL
1 LMG Squad w/JL  
Supports (12)

MMG Team

SL

Adjutant
Sniper

American Rifle Platoon

CD 5 Regular FM 8

2 SL's w/ Bazooka Team

3 Rifle Squads w/JL

Supports

Extra BAR

Entrenched 0.3 MMG team
3x Barbed Wire
Sniper 

This was going to be a bit of a challenge for me as I have not played a Green platoon before, the Alte Kampher rule was going to help though as it reflects the experience of the German NCO's making them harder to hit.

Great looking terrain as usual

American JOP's

German JOP's

It was good that I got a JOP far up the board but the fact that the Americans have one in the stone house make it tricky. It was made even more tricky by the fact PY did the following....

 

So of course, I had failed to take a wire cutting team but at the same time deploying at the forward JOP  on my right flank was going to be tricky because of Americans in hard cover at close range fireing at green troops! This was exacerbated by the fact that PY got a triple phase and another double phase soon after early in the game letting him deploy almost all his troops. I really could not do much expect to make a diversionary feint to my left flank and bide my time to accummulate CoC dice and to await a double phase.....

 

So I placed my LMG team and Sturm team  in light cover and started to creep to the left under tactical movement. I also placed my sniper there, and he was quite successful and picked off an American SL almost immediatedly (I should note that we are using the TT amendements to the rules that I thought worked quite well in respect to Double Phases and Snipers). But of course PY countered with this and the casualties soon piled up.....

 

So now it was getting quite late, we started after 8pm and I am usually in bed by 9, so I became impatient, I had a CoC dice but it seemed I would never get a double phase, so I did this.....

 

I said hell with it, I plopped down my last Sturm team, with the rifle grenadier team, as well as a SL and my MMG team. I threw 18 d6 at close range, with 7 possible re-rolls on a result of 1. I think I got one shock on the Americans! 

I threw a smoke grenade and started my advance around the wire. Got pretty shot up from the Americans behind the hedge fireing at long distance. But I was still mostly intact, I threw a double 6, now was my chance but PY had a CoC dice and interupted my advance with an American squad...multiple casualties, I broke....I withdrew.

So I really got crushed this game, I think I had 17 casualities while the Americans had one. I made several mistakes that hurt me, I placed all my Patrol Markers in one spot as I misread the rules, I should have also readup on the Rifle Grenadier Team, I could have made them pretty effective I had used them correctly and I could have supplied them with unlimited grenades at the cost of 1 support point per man (page 6 FAQ). But I also have to say that PY played a very good game, when you lose just one man you have played well.

The Summing Up: Game 2

Americans lost 1 wounded (table 2, all supports intact)

German Sturm Platoon #2 lost 8 dead and 4 wounded.

Campaign Tracker

Germans

Men's Opinion +1

Overall Commander Outlook Affable

Americans

Not tracked

German Force Position
Assembly A Sturm Platoon 1.
Assembly B Sturm Platoon 2. 

Well that will be it until March for this campaign, PY tells me he will have some snow for the the next turn, I will look forward to seeing it.

Update 8-8-20 Plan to restart campaign this Monday, Sturm Platoon 1 will attack Table 2, in second part of turn 2.