I asked ChatGPT for CoC tips…

[dpadams0]

I asked for tips for going on the attack and it said

“Fire and Movement:
Move your units in pairs or fire teams. One team provides covering fire while the other advances. This helps to maintain a continuous and effective firefight while minimizing exposure.
Bounding Overwatch:
Use the bounding overwatch technique, where one team moves forward while the other provides overwatch. Once the first team reaches a covered position, they assume overwatch, and the other team advances. This leapfrogging method helps maintain momentum while reducing the risk of casualties.
Utilize Cover:
Take advantage of terrain and cover. Move your units from one piece of cover to another, minimizing the time they spend in the open. Use hedgerows, buildings, and other terrain features to shield your troops.
Suppressive Fire:
Use support weapons to lay down suppressive fire on enemy positions. This helps reduce the enemy's effectiveness and can create opportunities for your units to advance with less risk.
Flanking Manoeuvres:
Try to outflank the enemy whenever possible. This not only exposes your troops to fewer enemy firing positions but can also force the opponent to divert their attention, creating opportunities for your main assault force.
Deploy Smoke:
Use smoke grenades or other smoke-producing assets to obscure the enemy's line of sight. This can be particularly effective when approaching key objectives or when trying to cross open ground.
Focus Fire:
Concentrate the firepower of multiple units on a single enemy unit or position. This can overwhelm the enemy and reduce their ability to respond effectively.
Utilize Support Teams:
Make effective use of support teams such as snipers, mortars, and machine guns. These units can disrupt enemy formations, suppress key targets, and create opportunities for your main force.
Careful Use of Leaders:
Leaders play a crucial role in "Chain of Command." Ensure that leaders are positioned effectively to issue commands, boost morale, and coordinate the actions of your units. Leaders can also help reduce shock through good leadership.
Reserve Units:
Keep some units in reserve. These can be used to exploit opportunities, reinforce a successful assault, or counter enemy flanking manoeuvres.
Prioritize Objectives:
Focus on achieving mission objectives rather than engaging in unnecessary combat. Assess the battlefield, identify key objectives, and plan your tactics accordingly.
Effective Use of Overwatch:
Use the Overwatch command judiciously. By placing units in overwatch, you can respond to enemy movements during their turn, potentially disrupting their plans and minimizing casualties.
Covering Fire:
Utilizing the covering fire mechanic in "Chain of Command" is essential for successful Bounding Overwatch and other tactical maneuvers. When a unit provides covering fire, it simulates the suppression of enemy units, making it more difficult for them to effectively engage the advancing team.”

Not a bad answer, but bounding overwatch seems v difficult in CoC because single teams can accumulate shock and be picked off easily. Do people actually use that tactic? I saw that one recent poster said in another thread (speaking of sections rather than teams) :

“However in my experience it’s quite difficult to carry out a traditional section attack -. one section moves whilst the other provides covering fire, and vice versa.- as it’s hard to maintain a line of fire that avoids your advancing colleagues as you close with the enemy. (bear in mind you can’t fire within 2” of friendly troops Rule 8.2 ) This might be a problem of scale; I play in 28mm and there’s less room between the two sections.

Also, if the team advancing has a good roll for movement, it’s easy for the two teams to become isolated leaving the enemy free to concentrate all of his fire on one of them. Sensibly this will be the one without their Junior Leader and they will either become pinned or carrying a lot of shock, making movement difficult.”

[Truscott Trotter]

I have seperated my sections into separate teams once in 8 years of playing. Just to see, its doesnt work ands it didn't in RL either.
Rich did demo a tactic where he left two LMG teams behind to give covering fire and got a SL to take two rifle sections on a flanking manoeuvre, that worked better.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

As I understand it, standard British (and I assume also Canadian) platoon tactics in the latter half of the war involved splitting off the Brens and forming them into one section to give overwhelming fire support, and forming the riflemen into 2 or 3 groups who would "fire and move" onto the target from front and flanks. I don't think I have ever seen a CoC player with a British/Commonwealth force ever do this, even though it would - theoretically - be possible to organise your platoon this way prior to the start of the game.

Thoughts?

[Truscott Trotter]

You can do that using both SL if you want to but in game terms 18 shots vs 15 for a full section is not worth reorganising your platoon for.
In reality LMG were much better at suppression fire than 6 rifles.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

Indeed - I gather that the main (only?) shortcoming of the Bren was that it was too accurate and didn't produce the same sort of "cone of fire" as other section automatic weapons.

[Truscott Trotter]

Thats what the wargamers say.
Reading the first hand accounts you get a different impression.
The Bren operatirs soon lesrned to walk their shots.
Also its not just the Bren its not worth grouping most LMG with the exception of maybe the German ones.

[Peter]

It is what my Dad said: no wargamer but a junior subaltern in the DLI.

[Tomm]

It is what my Dad said: no wargamer but a junior subaltern in the DLI.

Did you see they closed the museun?

Tom
Durham Wargamer

[Peter]

Unfortunately. I wanted to find out more about his service.

[Tomm]

Ah, you may be okay then. They still have the archives. In... Spennymoor maybe?

https://www.durham.gov.uk/dlicollection