How to Play Combat HQ – German Mission Briefing

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Jim Bambra

Divisional Command has identified two objectives: one located on the central hill and the other in the field to the east. US infantry are in front of your position. You are to seize the two objectives and then drive the enemy from the table.

You are in command of three grenadier companies and a weapons company.

German Battle Group Statistics

UnitsCommandStaff OrdersMoraleRally
135D3114D

German Battle Group Units

1x Weapons Company (-)1x 12cm Mortar Platoon + Truck
3x Grenadier Companies3x Grenadier Platoons
1x Grenadier Support Platoon

Initial Forces

All your units are present on the table.

Deployment

You deploy one of your Command Groups units first. Your opponent then deploys one Command Group. Continue to alternate Command Groups all have been deployed. Units are deployed anywhere in your Deployment Zone.

First Command Pulse

The first Command Pulse goes to the player who rolls the most 6s, etc.

Victory or Defeat

You win by causing an enemy Morale Collapse.

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How to Play Combat HQ – US Mission Briefing

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Jim Bambra

Divisional Command has identified two objectives: one located on the central hill and the other in the field to the east. German infantry are in front of your position. You are to seize the two objectives and then drive the enemy from the table.

You are in command of a weapons company and three rifle companies.

US Battle Group Statistics

UnitsCommandStaff OrdersMoraleRally
134D4114D

US Battle Group Units

1x Weapons Company (-)1x 81mm Mortar Platoon
3x Rifle Companies3x Rifle Platoons
1x Support Platoon

Initial Forces

All your units are present on the table.

Deployment

The German player deploys one of his Command Groups first. You then deploy one Command Group. Continue to alternate Command Groups until all have been deployed. Units are deployed anywhere in your Deployment Zone.

First Command Pulse

The first Command Pulse goes to the player who rolls the most 6s, etc.

Victory or Defeat

You win by causing an enemy Morale Collapse.

Objectives

An objective is controlled when you move a unit onto it and there are no enemy units within 4” of it. You continue to hold an objective until the enemy moves onto it and there are no friendly units within 4” of it. Control then passes to the enemy.

At the end of each turn that you control an objective and you do not have Zero Morale, you receive one Morale (two Morale for both). If you have Zero Morale, you suffer a Morale Collapse and the game ends.

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How to Play Combat HQ

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Jim Bambra

This is a run-through of how to play Combat HQ using Mission 1 from the rulebook. Written as an After-Action Report between the US and Germany, it includes commentary on the rules and why certain decisions were made.

 

 

 

 

MISSION 1 – MEETING ENGAGEMENT
This introductory battle is a straight-up infantry fight that introduces the core rules of Combat HQ.
Time: October 1944
Location: Northern Europe

The map is for a 6’x4’ table and shows the layout of the terrain for the battle. Don’t worry  about re-producing it exactly – near enough is good enough. The important thing is that the woods and hills break up line of sight and that the objectives are placed towards the centre of the table. If you are playing with a larger or smaller table add or remove some terrain.

Woods: The woods are Broken Ground (half speed) and provide light cover (+1D).
Hedges: Hedges cost a Fixed Move to cross and provide light cover (+1D).
Hills: The hills are Broken Ground (half speed).
Objectives (Black Dots): The two objectives are strategic targets that each generate one Morale at the end of each turn.
Deployment Zones: The German Deployment Zone is at the bottom of the map and the Allied one at the top. Units are deployed in their respective Deployment Zones.

Objectives are marked with yellow chips to make them obvious. Normally, I’d either place a more discrete marker (eg a small stone) or simply state that the hill and the field are the objectives for this game.

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Reaction Dice in Combat HQ

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Jim Bambra

There are two types of Reaction Dice (RD) in Combat HQ:

  • Firepower (FP)
  • Anti-Tank (AT)

Infantry are FP targets; Armour are AT targets. While on similar scales, they do vary.

Infantry RD are morale-based. Armour RD are morale + armour.

Armour can’t be affected by FP. Infantry can’t be affected by AT.

When an M4 75mm fires it makes no difference as both its AT and FP are 7D.

A Tiger II has FP: 6D and AT: 11D. While it can really dent an M4, it has less chance of hitting infantry than the M4.

RD & Morale

Morale forms the base of the Reaction Dice calculation. Regulars have a base Reaction of 4D, so most infantry units have a Reaction of 4D. Armour units are similar, but Reaction is increased the more armour a unit has. But no matter how good the armour is, there is always a chance that the unit can panic under fire. A 57mm gun has little chance of penetrating a Tiger II’s armour, but tank crews don’t always know what’s hitting them.

The M4 75mm has 7D AT vs the Tiger II’s Reaction of 12D/11D. On average, at effective range, the M4 scores 3-4 hits vs the Tiger’s 6 successes. Most of the time, the M4 platoon has no effect. However., if the M4 platoon rolls three successes; and the Tiger II platoon rolls none, the Tiger II platoon is dispersed. The Tiger II crews panic and bail-out or they slam their tanks into reverse and rout. It’s often glancing rounds and jammed turrets that cause tank crews to fall back, not the wholesale destruction of vehicles. Either way, the Tiger II platoon is out of the game.

The Tiger II platoon has AT 11D vs the M4 platoon’s Reaction of 6D. With an average five or six hits vs three, the Tiger II easily wins most of the time. If the M4 platoon can get to short-range with a 3+ TN, it has more chance of hitting the Tiger II as its average hits rise to five. But the Tiger II is still shrugging off most of the damage. If the M4 platoon manages to get a flank or rear attack at short range, it hits on 2+ TN. With luck, all 7 of its dice will score hits.

Suppression

Suppression also plays a big part. Once a unit becomes suppressed, it can’t fire and its Reaction is increased to 5+ TN. Hit in the flank/rear, the Tiger II platoon’s sloped armour gives it a Reaction of 11D for an average of four successes. It can be in big trouble as seven hits will Disperse it. With morale forming part of Reaction, it’s always possible for the smaller tanks to beat the big tanks.

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SU-85 Battery Added to Articles and Stats

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Jim Bambra

Click the box below to view on full article.

http://wargamesdesign.com/wiki/su-85-battery/

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