CoC Bloody Bucket campaign (completed)

[Digits]

It is definitely challenging for the Germans, I know as we are playing Bucket too, but against the odds it seems, I have managed a couple of victories without the bridge being open!  Somehow I’ve snatched victory from defeat a couple of times.  Sure I have to go back and mop up table 1, for which I most certainly need a tank...but I’m becoming more convinced a tank is not necessarily the answer on some tables.   It makes the German order of battle predictable and thus relatively straightforward to counter.

Sure I’ve had a little luck, and in my last game, I was able to capitalise on what I considered a questionable deployment by the Americans.   American firepower, especially with those re-rolled “ones”  combined with green German troops is nasty, but can be countered. 

I’m loathed to say what tips I could give just yet (I still have to try and win this. Campaign and Jamie may be reading this!  ) but for certain, knowing he is likely to hold everything back until the last minute, as German...you need to be aggressive in your early phases.   Get yourself into positions to deny his effective use of key positions.  Get your overwatch in place to make him think twice about deploying without adequate support.   He may wait for those perfect deployment dice, but whilst he does, use the time to your advantage.   It is imperative to take a second senior commander to do this effectively.   Don’t forget your few smoke grenades, they may not be as useful as British smoke, but are still handy.  And if you can spare the points, never leave home without a sniper.....getting rid of the odd junior commander, effectively determines where the senior officers need to be.   Make their use predictable.   As I said earlier, predictability is often the key to countering....good luck to your “ German” buddy!

[DonFabrizio]

Another great AAR!
One question that that has arisen after several of your AAR's: why does Dave bring his Infantry Gun so far forward in several of the games? It makes the gun crew rather vulnerable, right? 

Looking forward to you 1940 invasion of the Netherlands campaign! Let me know if you need feedback on campaign or terrain related design issues, I do live there:)

[has.been]

Thanks for posting all of this.
Would have been interesting at any time, even more so
as two buddies (Digits & Private Buzz) are playing Buckets
at the moment. I am pretty sure Digits has already shot his
chief of engineers, following his failure for far too many moves
to get the bridge open.

[Shahbahraz]

The Wehrmacht is riddled with traitors!

I've actually been painting up Germans for this campaign, but there's a distinct shortage of US troops in Winter uniforms to use for opponents, other than the Warlord Games ones.

[Digits]

I actually like the warlord winter US.   You could mix in some Artizan?

[Digits]

I am pretty sure Digits has already shot his
chief of engineers, following his failure for far too many moves
to get the bridge open.

He has been sent East.....

[TacticalPainter]

Thanks for all the comments. While I do think this is tough for the Germans I do think Dave may have been a bit conservative in his tactical thinking. His attacks have become a little formulaic and while I’ve come with an American response that seems to work, he’s yet to find one for the Germans.

A few early defeats where his Volksgrenadiers were mauled badly made him a little over cautious. His attempted coup de main with the jeep was actually based on an idea I bounced around after one of our early games. I think there’s mileage in trying more of this and looking at taking two PzIV instead of the single Panther as often US AT assets are limited and not that powerful. German tanks are unlimited for this campaign so they can be used quite aggressively to try to break an American position and let the Volksgrenadiers close in. Easier said than done of course.

[TacticalPainter]

The Wehrmacht is riddled with traitors!

I've actually been painting up Germans for this campaign, but there's a distinct shortage of US troops in Winter uniforms to use for opponents, other than the Warlord Games ones.

Ah, if you’d only settled on 20mm you’d be getting all excited about AB’s new range of winter Americans (too late for my campaign unfortunately).

[Shahbahraz]

Ah, if you’d only settled on 20mm you’d be getting all excited about AB’s new range of winter Americans (too late for my campaign unfortunately).

All true, and as I think I said, when I was living in Oz, it was all 1/72, but when I got to the UK, I went 28mm. Partly so I wasn't buying repeats of what was already in my stash in Oz, but also because, 'postage charges - lack thereof' and everyone else locally having 28mm stuff.  I don't regret it (much) - although i do miss browsing the Barton sculpts at Eureka.

[TacticalPainter]

Another great AAR!
One question that that has arisen after several of your AAR's: why does Dave bring his Infantry Gun so far forward in several of the games? It makes the gun crew rather vulnerable, right? 

Looking forward to you 1940 invasion of the Netherlands campaign! Let me know if you need feedback on campaign or terrain related design issues, I do live there:)

Thanks and I could very well take up your offer. The PSC is very generic so we are exploring a few real units and engagements to try and add historical flavour.

[arshak]

I have followed all your campaign and always enjoyed reading the reports. Moreover, the Bulge is among my favourite periods, but it is easy to understand that, if the players find no more interest, then it’s only natural to change…
on the other hand, it seems to me that it is the first time that you and Dave get into this feeling of repetiveness, so I am wondering what makes this campaign different from the other ones that you gamed… apart from the many things already mentioned, I would like to ask what opinion you (and Dave) have on the troops classification (in connection with the frequent remarks on the weaknesses of the VG squads). The reason is that I have the impression that the average level in the German 26th and in the US 28th was not so different as the respective classification as Green and Regular means in game terms (especially for the performance under fire due to the mechanics of CoC, at least for what I understand of them, but I only have a superficial knowledge of the rules). The 28th was in the Ardennes to recover after the bloody involvment in the Hurtgen just a few weeks before, and, in my view, the idea that attrition and worsening of troop quality affected only the Germans is misplaced. Certainly the Germans kept on having losses that were more and more difficult to replenish, but also the US divisions were subject to wearing. I don’t know, all VG troops as Green reminds me of all SS elite….
Of course is a personal impression, i.e. subjective, but would like to know what you think after the experience of the campaign. Thanks in advance.

[TacticalPainter]

You make an interesting point. The Volksgrenadiers suffer from two issues, the small squads soon degrade after a few casualties and the biggest problem with their green rating is it makes them easier targets. In the latter case this is made more of a problem because they often need to cross a lot of open ground. Historically I do know that the Americans often reported the Germans crossing fields in the open and getting cut down, so this may reflect a historical situation.

While the 28th division was not in a great condition it is true that small groups put up a very determined resistance. They were combat veterans so had more experience than the volksgrenadiers, so I guess the campaign has tried to find a way to address that.

I think Dave may have tried to use the Volksgrenadiers as regulars and perhaps the campaign calls for a very different way of using them, which is why the use of armour becomes so significant in these games. It’s a puzzle that’s for sure.

[Shahbahraz]

I actually think that's what makes this PSC so interesting. You have overwhelming firepower at close range, so how do you deliver this ​on target?

I do wonder about the 're-roll ones' for the US reflecting semi-automatic weapons, when the in-game effect is that (as far as I can see) - the US troops re-roll ones, but the German troops with much superior weapons, don't.

In my own view it's a simple equation. What are my troops better at? So I have armour that is better at a stand off role. I have infantry better at a close in shoot out, so stand off, shoot the infantry in.

[arshak]

Thanks. My doubt/question came not so much from the idea of fielding all-winning Germans, but to have less one-sided games. I still think that a Regular grading for the Germans would not transform the campaign in an easy ride for the Germans. Indeed, the historical outcome in the case of the 28th was (crucially) delaying the Germans, but the Division did not come out so well in shape at the end of the process. The troops in the German first wave, those who infiltrated, were –unsurprisingly- expressly (by specific instructions of the German command) taken from the most experienced available to the divisions. We can decide that this does not necessarily mean a lot, but I think that making them so clearly more inexperienced than their US counterparts, who were also absorbing new recruits in rebuilding their division, is somewhat extreme…  German attacks in the open in sort of human-wave style are reported by US witnesses even in Anzio in February 1944, so it might be due to various factors...moreover, one is left to wonder if this can really be mirrored in the game mechanics at the level of CoC... not to mention things such as the grading of the US Sherman crew as regular in BB, whereas the German ones start as Green, despite the repeated complaints of US infantry in the Bulge about their tank troops frequently retreating on receiving news of nearing German armor...

at the end, in CoC terms we have an attacking platoon whose three squads include as many troops as two squads of the defenders, so, leaving aside supports, the attack has to be conducted against an enemy in possess of buildings with a force that is 150% of that of the attackers. These defenders can include an additional BAR per squad at 1 point, further increasing their standard firepower. My impression is that there is no need to grade the Germans as Green to reproduce the historical outcome. On the other hand, it might perhaps be a bit less one-sided and not become repetitive after a while.. but it is only a hypothesis..

apologizing for the long post, I will close with a question: have you ever thought of trying any of these scenarios as Big CoC, with, say, two platoons per side, to see the effect? Just as a curiosity…

in any case, I liked a lot to read your reports of the campaign, I will miss them ….

[gamer Mac]

Great campaign report
Looking forward to your next one, eary war?