{"id":7418,"date":"2018-02-25T03:06:56","date_gmt":"2018-02-25T03:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bucksurdu.com\/blog\/?p=7418"},"modified":"2018-02-25T03:06:56","modified_gmt":"2018-02-25T03:06:56","slug":"combat-patrol-at-jj-con","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bucksurdu.com\/blog\/?p=7418","title":{"rendered":"Combat Patrol at JJ Con"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bunch of us participated in “JJ Con” in January. \u00a0My laptop died the next day, so it has taken me a while to get the pictures off my camera and post a few. \u00a0JJ Con is an annual gaming event, hosted by my high school buddy JJ. \u00a0It has become a three day gaming weekend \/ reunion of buddies. \u00a0In addition to some X-Wing<\/em>, chariot racing, a fantasy variant of Blood and Swash<\/em>, and the old Flying Buffalo card game, Nuclear War<\/em>, we played several games using Combat Patrol(TM)<\/em>. \u00a0Not only is Combat Patrol(TM)<\/em> the best set of rules ever written, but running five games using the same set of rules was easier for the guys who only game once a year. \u00a0This way, they didn’t have to learn a new set of rules with each game.<\/p>\n

Poland 1939<\/h2>\n
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Early in the game, the Germans were still mostly hidden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JJ ran a Combat Patrol(TM)<\/em> scenario from the Skirmish Campaigns<\/em> book based in Poland in 1939. \u00a0I was on the Polish side, and we were attacking. \u00a0Our objective was to capture two of the three buildings or knock out all the German vehicles. \u00a0The Germans began the game mostly hidden, and then a bunch of tanks arrived as reinforcements.<\/p>\n

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The scrum in the woods on the Polish right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I advanced with three tankettes and an armored car (represented by the light tank in this picture) to outflank one of the German-held buildings, but I ran smack into a German AT gun and some infantry. \u00a0The Germans kept trying to toss grenades into the tankettes while I kept trying to maneuver and machine-gun the infantry. In the end, Duncan’s infantry and AT crew knocked out all but one of my tankettes.<\/p>\n

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Two German tanks advance out of the woodline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The armored car was able to get off a couple of shots, knocking out an advancing German tank. \u00a0In the picture above, the yarn was denoted woods. \u00a0When the German tanks came out of the woods, I took a reaction shot. \u00a0In Combat Patrol(TM)<\/em>, there is not opportunity fire rule, per se<\/em>. \u00a0Instead, figures have a reaction number. \u00a0A figure may attempt to interrupt enemy movement by drawing an Action card, looking for a result lower than his reaction number. \u00a0In this case, I succeeded and hit the Pz II with a 37mm shell and knocked it out.<\/p>\n

In the end, the game was a German victory. \u00a0We Poles were advancing steadily, but we had no hope of capturing two of the three buildings — we just didn’t have enough infantry — or knocking out the last German vehicle.<\/p>\n

Boer War<\/h2>\n

The next game was a Boer War game. \u00a0Dave Wood has been working on a Boer War supplement for Combat Patrol(TM): WWII<\/em> for a couple of years. \u00a0This scenario, which he’ll re-run at Cold Wars in March, is based on the raid that is discussed in the movie Breaker Morant, in which Morant’s commander is killed.<\/p>\n

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British advancing across open ground against Boers in defensive positions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dave had to take heavy license with the historical battle. \u00a0We British were advancing through the open at dawn to capture the Boer commander. \u00a0All of us failed out player morale after about two turns as were were getting slaughtered by long-range rifle fire, and there appeared to be no hope of success. \u00a0Unbeknownst to us, Dave had a surprise. \u00a0British irregulars, some of whom were Boer deserters, entered the table behind the Boer position. \u00a0This provided the support we needed to give us hope of success.<\/p>\n

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The forces on the British left advanced as far as the last bits of cover and then became hopelessly pinned down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the end, we British still lost, but there we made a fight of it.<\/p>\n

Dave really only made a few changes to the rules. \u00a0Most had to do with how he handles command and control, since the units of this day were quite large, not organized into small squads like in WWII.<\/p>\n

War of 1812<\/h2>\n
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War of 1812 game using the Napoleonic supplement to Combat Patrol(TM): WWII<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next game involved American sailors landing to seize supplies from a British port in the Caribbean during the War of 1812. \u00a0Duncan has run this game before, and it is always fun. \u00a0Many of the British begin the game asleep, which gives the Americans an early advantage, but they quickly awake and put up a stiff defense.<\/p>\n

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American sailors landing on the shore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The battle hinged on fight in the compound where the supplies were being stored. \u00a0The British were asleep in the compound when the Americans arrived. \u00a0The Americans attacked. \u00a0Then the British reinforced, and so on. \u00a0The battle seesawed back and forth throughout the game, with melees and short range fire.<\/p>\n

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The scrum in the supply compound.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Melee in Combat Patrol<\/em> uses essentially an “opposed die roll.” \u00a0The British and American forces had essentially the same abilities. \u00a0The outcome was in doubt until the end. \u00a0When the smoke cleared, it was declared a British victory. \u00a0We still held the supplies.<\/p>\n

Moros in the Philippines<\/h2>\n
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Early in the Moro game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We used the same terrain from the Napoleonic game to run a similar Moro game. \u00a0In this case, a band of Moros was advancing from the jungle to seize the supplies in the compound. \u00a0The Americans and Filipinos began with a few units near the supplies, but many were out in the town and had to race back toward the compound and safety.<\/p>\n

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Moro constabulary try to slow down the onslaught<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I made a mistake in the scenario by not making the male train protected by Americans move a little slower than the infantry. \u00a0This made it difficult for the Moros to catch them in the open. \u00a0 As usual, the Moro players feel disadvantaged by their small number of firearms. \u00a0The Moros had 50% troops than the Americans, and they could afford to lose a few in charges, but players don’t seem to like to have to play that way.<\/p>\n

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A Moro datu strikes down an American officer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the Moros, I use the Japanese Action Deck from the South Pacific supplement. \u00a0The only difference between these decks and the original Combat Patrol (TM) Action decks are the morale results. \u00a0To represent Japanese morale in the South Pacific, these cards have more unit morale results and fewer individual results. There are a number of cases where on the original Action Deck one or two figures would sprint toward the enemy, but on the South Pacific decks, the entire unit conducts a Banzai charge. \u00a0This seems to work very well for the Moros in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

I also added a rule for juramantado. \u00a0These were Moro assassins who conducted suicidal charges. \u00a0Taking the idea from the movie The Real Glory, I gave each of the four Moro players one juramantado figure. \u00a0This figure had an increased Endurance attribute and enjoyed the benefits of the Banzai charge rules from the South Pacific supplement . \u00a0They had to charge toward the American overall leader to try to kill him.<\/p>\n

This was the second time I ran this scenario. \u00a0The first time it was a swirling melee and a running retreat across the table. \u00a0This time the Americans raced to the compound and then went into Fort Apache mode. \u00a0In the end, it was a narrow Moro victory, which was ironic, since the Moro players felt like they were losing the entire game.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

I think that using one set of rules for most of the games worked well. \u00a0It made it very easy for the folks who game once a year at JJ Con. \u00a0By the end of the second game, they infrequent gamers had mastered the basics of the rules and could focus on the game. \u00a0All of them were able to easily grasp even the nuances of Combat Patrol(TM)<\/em>, and they really enjoyed the rules.<\/p>\n