Gembloux Gap campaign

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MLB
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Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by MLB »

With the 1940 Handbook, a bunch of new PSC's set in France and my opponent Dave eager to use his early war French and German platoons we decided to give the Gembloux Gap campaign a go. Great to use some of the new rules and additions, all add more flavour and nuance. The campaign starts off with a tough assignment for the German infantry as they try to dislodge the French from the village of Perbais. Full AAR here https://thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com ... ff-at.html

No pictures I'm afraid for some reason the admin is saying it is only allowing two links per post (must be to deter our spammer friends), yet I only have one in this one??
Last edited by MLB on Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:05 pm, edited 10 times in total.
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BaronVonWreckedoften
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by BaronVonWreckedoften »

Did it catch you performing a "falsification de balle" perhaps (eg using a red die with fewer than three support units)?

(Hint: always remember to hide the sandpaper.....)

Another stonking AAR, well done. Useful to compare this with the three-part Lard TV version; they had a slightly different terrain set-up (eg the petrol station was in the centre of the village, not on the outskirts) which left the Germans with less open ground to cover on their left flank. I wonder if them using 28mm troops to your 20mm (I'm assuming, as that's your usual scale/size) makes the distances on their table look a bit smaller/shorter?
Last edited by BaronVonWreckedoften on Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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7dot62mm
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by 7dot62mm »

MLB wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 12:14 am With the 1940 Handbook, a bunch of new PSC's set in France and my opponent Dave eager to use his early war French and German platoons we decided to give the Gembloux Gap campaign a go.
Excellent, as always! I was already experiencing some withdrawal symptoms since the previous campaign. Now I have more great AARs to look forward to...
No pictures I'm afraid for some reason the admin is saying it is only allowing two links per post (must be to deter our spammer friends), yet I only have one in this one??
The other one is in your signature.
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by Quackstheking »

Great report Mark. It really is a tough ask for the Germans in the first game as the village is a great defensive position and there is a lot of open ground to cover especially with no armour. We tried in the absence of Rich to see if we could better than him in the first game - unfortunately the German player who took 2 mortars and a LeiG to get the Red Die, was blown away by the French firepower!.

As you found, Stuka attacks can be a double edged sword!

Look forward to attempt 2!

Don
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by BaronVonWreckedoften »

Apologies - just realised that the three support units requirement for choosing a red die does not apply to the Gembloux Gap PSC.
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by john de terre neuve »

Great report as usual. I am hoping to play this one next.
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by MLB »

BaronVonWreckedoften wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:26 am Apologies - just realised that the three support units requirement for choosing a red die does not apply to the Gembloux Gap PSC.
Don’t worry you weren’t the first to point that out. I can’t find any reference in the PSC pdf to that ruling though, we just decided to make a house rule, but Rich confirmed it was indeed the case in a reply on Facebook.
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Capt Fortier
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by Capt Fortier »

Excellent reportage - and a lovely table and photos - as always. Will be keen to see how the campaign develops, and interested in your thoughts on any differences in early war fighting.
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by MLB »

BaronVonWreckedoften wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:18 am Another stonking AAR, well done. Useful to compare this with the three-part Lard TV version; they had a slightly different terrain set-up (eg the petrol station was in the centre of the village, not on the outskirts) which left the Germans with less open ground to cover on their left flank. I wonder if them using 28mm troops to your 20mm (I'm assuming, as that's your usual scale/size) makes the distances on their table look a bit smaller/shorter?
Yes, I noticed how much more crowded the Lardies table looked and how much shorter the distances. For example the wheat field on the German left flank was about 12" wide in the Lardies game where as ours was 24". This makes a big difference as it puts units behind the opposite hedges at effective range rather than close range. It also takes the Germans longer to cross. In the Lardies first game I noticed Rich had a squad move at the double across that field, but I would consider a ploughed field with crops as broken ground where moving that fast is not permitted. So where as Rich crossed the field in one movement phase (cheating as usual LOL) it will take my Germans several more, moving no faster than normal and covering a greater distance.

A 28mm building is 50% bigger than its 20mm equivalent, which is a significant increase in the footprint on a 6x4 table. I often look at 28mm tables and the area of action always look smaller and more crowded. Of course Rich says that 15mm is the most accurate to CoC's ground scale.
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Re: Gembloux Gap campaign

Post by MLB »

Quackstheking wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:10 am Great report Mark. It really is a tough ask for the Germans in the first game as the village is a great defensive position and there is a lot of open ground to cover especially with no armour. We tried in the absence of Rich to see if we could better than him in the first game - unfortunately the German player who took 2 mortars and a LeiG to get the Red Die, was blown away by the French firepower!.
Yes, it's a tough call for the Germans, but note the other comments on this thread and elsewhere that Rich has clarified that the Germans do not require three support units for the red dice in this particular campaign.
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