Table of Contents
WW2 Company Actions
This could do with a snappier title…
I also need to properly organise it, so far it is just an ideas dump of things I thought up over Christmas at my in-laws.
Overview/Introduction
I would like to do a wargame that works with a team of players in the key appointments in a WW2 infantry company. This would cover both the traditional officer roles (platoon and company commanders) and also some of the NCO roles that often get subsumed (i.e. the Company Sergeant Major (CSM) and the Platoon Sergeants).
Each of the units would then have two players, an officer and a sergeant, both with different roles and different rules that would share a common objective. The officers would move units, motivate them and fight the battle. The sergeants would help with the motivation, look after re-organisation after the battle, supplying ammo, food, dealing with casualties and POWs.
In short what I want is a game that captures some of the teamwork involved in battles and also shows the importance of looking after your troops.
Level of Resolution
As always I follow the maxim of 'two down' so for a game where players are the platoon commanders we want to see the rifle and weapons groups that make up the infantry sections/squads. I think it is probably also useful to show the NCOs as single figures as you migth well want to move them separately from their entire group (e.g. to receive orders, take over from a more senior NCO that has become a casualty etc).
This means that for a British Rifle Platoon you'd have a game organisation a bit like this:
- Platoon HQ
- 3 x Rifle Sections
Order of Play
For the basic game mechanisms I'm going to build on my WW1 trench raiding game as I know that those mechanisms do actually work. The bit that I want to get innovative with here is the two player command of the platoon and also the logs side added as an integral part of how the action is progressed.
The Turn Sequence
| No. | Commanders | Sergeants | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Activation | Activation | - |
| 2. | Morale (Attacker morale) | Morale (defender morale) | Morale individual morale |
| 3. | Hand to hand combat | Hand to hand combat | Hand to hand combat |
| 4. | Throw grenades | Throw grenades | Throw grenades |
| 5. | Movement - move infantry - move vehicles - opportunity fire by static groups | Resupply - supply ammo - food & drink - casualties - equipment | Other Actions - call indirect fire - cut wire - place demolitions - minesweeping |
| 6. | Shooting - static groups - moving groups | Grenade effects | Indirect Fire Artillery/Mortars |
| 7. | Orders | Resolve effect of hits | - |
Both sides move simultaneously. If the game is played without an umpire one side should write their orders down prior to the other side moving. See the detailed sections for more on how this ought to work.
