Same Stuff, Different Day

 I wanted to try using the off-table artillery rules in Contemptible Little Armies. So, Friday night, I set out one of my favorite scenarios on a 38" square table, treating each unit of 12 as a battalion. 

And it looked and felt all wrong to me.

The bigger table. The units representing battalions. All of it.

Saturday, I reset and set up a 24" square, and called each unit of eight figures a company. Immediately this looked better to my eyes and soothed my brain.

I gave both sides tactical ratings of 4 and morale ratings of 4.

The scenario, once again, is "Late Arrivals" from One Hour Wargames.

The Italian order of battle:

• Commander
• Defensive Barrage with Foward Observation Officer
• Two infantry units
• One machine gun unit
• One field gun unit

They started with one infantry company and a machine gun unit holding the trench north of the village. Reinforcements are scheduled to arrive on turns 5 and 10 (two units each time). However, I am using the suggestion from CLA that they have to roll their morale or lower to arrive as scheduled - otherwise, check again the following turn.

All's quiet on the Southern front.

The Austrian order of battle:

• Commander
• Static Barrage of High Explosive Ammunition for turns 1 through 4
• Four infantry units
• One field gun unit

They arrive on the northern table edge via the road. Because movement in CLA is determined by rolling a die or two, the entry point is severely congested, and units arrive in a delayed manner. Unlike the Italians, they are not reinforcements and so no morale check required.

The lead Austrian company arrives.

CLA has complex turn sequence where each turn has 12 phases - although many require nothing other than noting that phase has come and gone. Off-board artillery arrives after all movement for the turn has completed, but before direct fire shooting starts. 

The static barrage is assumed to be sighted-in, so no roll to hit is required. For HE, a single die (representing one battery) is rolled for each figure within a 4" radius of the target point (which was the center of the trench with the Italian infantry company). On a 6 a figure is removed.

Success!

Two figures eliminated right away, and I began to think maybe having only two infantry units would not be enough to stop the Austrian tide. Spoiler alert: those were the only two figures removed by artillery.

Dramatic shot of Austrians in the crosshairs of the Italian MG unit.

In CLA, shooting is figure-to-figure not unit-to-unit. I realized during one of my many games that I wasn't quite handling MG fire correctly - I was rolling all six dice every time and then allocating to the target unit - essentially unit-to-unit shooting.

After reading again, and paying more attention, I noted that MGs can roll six dice, yes, but one die per target figure, and each figure targeted must be within 6" of the first. This can reduce the effect of the MG (not a terrible thing if you're the target).

This got me thinking about how much more I prefer the way GASLIGHT handles shooting. Each figure shoots but the target is a unit (so figure-to-unit) with casualties determined randomly (it's possible for a single figure to be hit more than once - frustrating for the shooting unit but more interesting for a narrative) and I may bolt that on to CLA.

Even so, the shooting by the MG, combined with the rifles in the trench, nearly wiped out the first Austrian company before they made contact. 

But contact was made! Just not much of it. And the first Italian reinforcements arrived.

Wider shot of the same. The third company had moved up in support. Second company had maneuvered through the woods, slowly, to take up a position opposite the Italian MG. 

 

I also discovered I had lazily returned to rules from some other system. In CLA, no regular infantry unit, mg, or gun, can move and fire in the same turn. However, I was allowing MGs to fire in the next turn. 

That is not the case in CLA. In CLA, MGs and guns cannot fire in the turn they move (or rotate) or in the next turn. 

I like this as it again provides a check on the power of the MG. Unfortunately, this time it didn't matter as the Austrian infantry took forever to get through the woods thanks to terrible die rolling.

The Austrian field gun arrives as does the Italian commander. The latter arrived on turn 6 after failing to arrive on turn 5 due to failed morale check. Typical.

Third company reaches the Italian held trench, supported by the fourth company. Shots from the second company in the woods were ineffective against the Italian MG unit.

Austrians penetrate into the trench line, but it is still heavily contested. The assault from the woods begins and the two lead platoons are nearly wiped out entirely.

The MG unit is destroyed in close combat, but the cost was high. The Austrian unit failed its second morale test and can no longer advance towards the enemy - they can't take the trench! The Austrian commander meanwhile is stumbling blindly through the woods (rolling 1s and 2s to advance).

The Italian counterattack on the Austrian right drives devastates fourth company. With nothing left to take either trench or the village, and with the Italian FOO and Field gun on the scene, the Austrians call off the attack.

An extremely satisfying game. 11 turns before I called it. 

It's not an easy scenario for the attacker using OHW rules, but I believe I still don't have the balance right for CLA - the issue being that in CLA the trench gives -2 to rolls to determine the result of a hit. with a 4+ total needed to remove a figure. That is, the attacker needs a 6 to remove a defender in a trench. 

Then again better artillery usage, and maybe throwing an MG against the defenders might help. As would treating the ground as open not difficult (2d6" vs 1d6" for infantry).

Using eight-figures as a company felt right and is the plan going forward (for CLA). I might expand to nine or ten eventually, but at eight figures, I still need to paint up two Italians and and an Austrian if I want to field four companies simultaneously. Once casualties start mounting though, I can just recycle them - which is how I handled it here.

Hopefully, I'll get to play again soon - perhaps maybe I'll play a different scenario even!