My France 1940 project has taken inspiration from several sources. Today, I want to take a look at Chain of Command from Too Fat Lardies. These are an innovative set of platoon-level rules for World War 2. The core strength of any set of TFL rules is the depth of research that Rich and his team invest in each publication. The basic rules concentrate on the later WW2 period, but TFL offer some of the best resources in the business. The first is a supplement called At The Sharp End, which provides a framework within which a whole campaign can easily be created.
The other TFL resource is actually a series of resources. Twice a year, TFL publish specials that are packed with all sorts of interesting content. In particular, the Summer 2014 and the Summer 2015 Specials each include a potted campaign for France 1940, designed to be used with At the Sharp End.
The Summer 2014 edition includes a campaign called Strawberries for Elephants which follows the exploits of the 2nd Durham Light Infantry on the River Dyle that I mentioned in my last post. This time it is covered in more depth with 11 scenarios (more if the first battle is inconclusive). The Summer 2015 edition then looks at the retreat of the Welsh Guards towards Boulogne. Each of these campaigns provide background, force lists (although Chain of Command doesn't use a points system) and some brilliant maps.
I can't recommend TFL products highly enough. The rules allow the player to think about the problems with which a small-unit leader would have to contend, and are also of the right size - I can easily play these games of a 3' x 4' table.
Bye for now.
Well, the last few years have flown by. I'm told that tends to happen when you have kids, but I guess you're never fully prepared for it. Anywaaaaaay...
My mini-board as I'd originally planned it never actually happened, mainly because something better came along! My father in law listened to my plans and said "What if I made you a bigger board?"
Well, I wasn't going to say no, was I?
So, a trip to Wickes and a couple of hours in Ted's shed resulted in a 3' x 4' table made up of two locking 2' x 3' boards. I finished them with a bit of flock, and I'm quite pleased with the result.
Once the table was completed, I needed to start gaming. When I last posted all those years ago, I had a collection of 20mm Vietnam stuff, but I came to the conclusion that I couldn't play the kind of game I wanted to within that period. I started looking around for a new challenge.
Chain of Command is a platoon-level skirmish ruleset from TooFatLardies, and is designed to be played with 28mm figures on a 4' x 6' board. I worked out that if I scaled everything down and used 15mm figures, then my 3' x 4' board would be perfect. At about the same time I discovered the early WW2 figures and vehicles from The Plastic Soldier Company, and so my next project seemed to decide itself - France 1940.
As a result, I have sold all of my Vietnam stuff and I now have a complete platoon each of German and British infantry already painted, along with some supports. I've even had a game or two.
Here's a quick shot of some of my first efforts, I'm hoping to improve!
Bye for now!
