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 [F] CSW Forum  / Boardgaming  / *INDIVIDUAL GAMES AND GAME SERIES Discussion  / Era: World War II (GAME SERIES)  / Tactical Combat Series-TCS (The Gamers)

All about the Tactical Combat Series published by The Gamers. Many titles published, including Screaming Eagles, GD' 42, Bloody Ridge and more.  Currently Goose Green is the only available title for sale from MMP in the series.


Series of TCS tutorial videos

Replay of a double-blind game of GD '42


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Markus_St - Jan 11, 2017 5:28 am (#14032 Total: 15967)  

 
[Markus_St]
The second GD'42 scenario that Chris and I played was 4.1 (The Center Gives Ground). (Click on the links at the end for full resolution on the photos.)

I set up the German II Bn in depth, three lines all the way back to the bridge. I kept them a bit back from the frontline to prevent too much damage from Russian artillery, at the price of not having anyone in position to spot the Russians in their approach. What was noticeable was that there is not enough German infantry to provide covering fields of fire and have some depth, so I accepted that in many situations, individual strongpoints would be left to their own devices.

I did not notice that the impassable terrain in front of the German right didn't extend to the river (those impassable hexsides don't stand out very well), and so I basically left that flank open - there was only a MG section in the way. The 1 and 2 Pionier companies held the left flank, the Marder companies were in reserve in the woods in the center, behind the mortars. (The last being a really bad choice as it turned out.)



The Russians came in two prongs. The preparatory rocket barrage killed a number of steps, and the preparatory artillery suppressed several of the frontline German units. The right prong (49 Tk Bn) slowly encircled the 1 Pio positions; an infantry gun there opened fire on some tanks and was silenced.

By 7:40 the German artillery, unleashing some fast fires, achieved its first tank kill, and another tank coming out of the woods on the right flank was killed by an AT gun in Noviki at long range. The Russians on the right became much more cautious from that point, but the military crest kept the AT gun in Noviki from shooting down into the valley and no further tanks were lost to it.



The Russians promptly pushed through the woods on their left, but the MG section kept spotting for a series of continuing barrages that kept them at bay, even while inflicting some losses on the unit itself. The Russian infantry instead swarmed over the slope and took out the infantry platoon close by. In the meantime, the Pionier platoons on the German left were slowly being surrounded and attrited. German artillery eliminated two more Soviet tanks. The Russians were very careful to accompany all tanks with infantry units which keeps opportunities for AT rolls to a minimum.


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Markus_St - Jan 11, 2017 5:37 am (#14033 Total: 15967)  

 
[Markus_St]
At 9:00, snow started blanketing the battlefield. Two more tanks were lost. The Soviets assaulted the last 1 Co Pionier platoon and eliminate it, although with high losses. The Pionier battalion morale reaches 2. While the snow lasts, there is much less artillery being fired due to a dearth of spotted targets.



At 9:20 another two Russian tanks are lost to German artillery, although close in German artillery also kills a German infantry step, and another is taken out by Russian artillery. The left Russian push is largely held up by a single strongpoint on top of the ridge, but the 49 Tk Bn has now pushed into the valley in front of Noviki.



At 9:40 there is a dramatic development as some Russians tanks bypass the II Bn strongpoints and push into the woods in the center, threatening the German mortar positions. (There is just not enough German infantry to protect all avenues of advance but I assumed the mortars would be reasonably safe in the woods in snow from a quick advance. But the mobility of the T-34s, aided by some forest paths, is incredible. The Germans immediately set the reserve Marders in motion and they managed to get in front of most of the mortars, but for two mortar sections in a forward position they came too late. The other mortars will be out of action for several hours as they trudge towards safer rear area positions. They, too, are significantly slowed down since it continues to snow for another hour.


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Markus_St - Jan 11, 2017 5:41 am (#14034 Total: 15967)  

 
[Markus_St]
By 10:40, in a furious crossfire, the Soviets eliminate the last German strongpoint on top of the ridge. Their left flank also eliminates the first defense line's last position next to the river. The Soviet infantry is now free to continue the advance, which is important since the Soviet tanks, though assembled to mpressive strength in the woods in the center, have been held up by the threat of the Marders, and another tank has been eliminated by artillery. At 11:00, the snow stops and the weather returns to Clear. (Miraculously, the ground conditions also improve immediately.)



By noon, the Russians now focus on their advance on the left, encroaching on the 2 Pionier platoon holding the German right flank in the forest. However, it is slow going as fear of the Marders keep the tanks from advancing, and much of the infantry is still busy reducing the last strongpoint before the forest. When the troops are finally paralyzed, it is only a matter of time. However, the Germans are breathing a sigh of relief as the II Bn's surviving mortars have finally reached what appears to be safe new firing positions. Unfortunately, for the moment, no units of II Bn are under attack, so the only targets available for the mortars is a Soviet concentration in front of Noviki which is essentially already out of the battle. But at least if the Soviets go for the next defensive lines in front of the bridge, fire support will again be available. The other positive news is the arrival of 1 and 4 company as reinforcements who are slotted into the defense of the bridge. They will not be dug in, but with better battalion morale, they may actually provide for much stiffer resistance than the near panicked II Bn.



The Germans, belatedly, start firing smoke to make it easier for their infantry to conduct AT rolls. (Should have done that from the start.) And they promptly take out another tank of the 253 Tk Bn, the first one by AT roll. However, the Russians finally eliminate the last platoon of II Bn directly in front of the woods and can now advance on a broader front. II Bn's morale has now reached 3, which means their strongpoint occupants are now much easier to flush out. However the Soviets focus the push on the center, apparently to stay within the protection of the woods for as long as possible.


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Markus_St - Jan 11, 2017 5:43 am (#14035 Total: 15967)  

 
[Markus_St]
At 13:00, the Pioniers manage to drop their battalion morale to 1. The II Battalion's morale remains at 2.

Russian infantry creeps forward into the no-mans land in the woods. This finally forces the Marders to fall back a hundred yards or face the risk of seriously dangerous AT rolls (since the Germans have no infantry units in the vicinity to protect the Marders).



Ironically, at 13:20 the Russians begin firing smoke as well, trying to cover the infantry crawling up to the Marders, but it scatters. The Germans keep firing smoke to help the Pioniers with AT rolls, but no further tank kills occur.

At 13:40, both sides took stock of the situation. There were only four turns left until the end of the scenario, and given the speed of the advance so far, it was extremely unlikely that a mad rush for the bridge would have given the Soviets a chance against the AT gun and troop concentrations around and behind the bridge, especially since both major tank formations had already passed vehicle morale checks and were increasingly unlikely to keep doing so. Also, the Germans had about half their artillery ammunition left for the moment when the Soviet tanks would have had to come out into the open. The Soviets conceded.



German losses were 48 infantry steps total, mostly in terms of destroyed units: 6 infantry/pionier platoons, 3 MG and 2 mortar sections and a couple of infantry guns. Soviet losses were 46 steps. Although no Soviet battalion had gained battalion morale, i.e., no platoon had actually been eliminated, this came at the cost of many platoons with reduced strength - only a few platoons would have remained in full strength for a final push on the bridge. The 49 Tk Bn had lost seven tanks, the 253rd four.

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Fred Schwarz - Jan 11, 2017 9:07 am (#14036 Total: 15967)  

 
[Schwarz, Fred]
How long did it take you to play this?

Vince Hughes - Jan 11, 2017 10:55 am (#14037 Total: 15967)  

 
[Hughes, Vince]
How long did it take you to play this?

Superb AAR and photos. Very easy to follow the battle Markus.

Ethan McKinney - Jan 11, 2017 1:29 pm (#14038 Total: 15967)  

 
[McKinney, Ethan]
If you still have them, could you post the Op Sheets for both sides (or at least the Soviets)? I'm interested in the level of detail in the sheets.

So, one thing we've learned: the Soviets can't afford to be this methodical. It won't be pretty, but they're going to have to use mass, take chances, and accept casualties. Just be sure to maintain a exploitation reserve with infantry, so that you have a fresh force of infantry (no battalion morale) to push across the river and seize a bridgehead.

This is Ethan's blog (and Armando knows it).

Karl Mueller - Jan 11, 2017 1:29 pm (#14039 Total: 15967)  

 
[Mueller, Karl]
Excellent AAR indeed.

Bill Wood - Jan 11, 2017 2:58 pm (#14040 Total: 15967)  

[Wood, Bill]
Newbie questions..probably been asked before

So, we started with Matanikau and we are headed to Bloody Ridge - and the issue of Prepared Defense is in front of us.

First off, version 4 rules for Manatikau basically replace the rules for Banzai! as they are in Bloody Ridge - but the Americans at Night rules are still different between the two games.

Question One - Basic TCS.

Can a Prepared Defense Order include Reserves? I find it fuzzy contradictory info out there...though it seems to me that they can include Reserves BUT Reserves do not Dig In.

Question Two - Manatikau specific for 4.0 rules - should the Marines at Night rule in Mana be replaced by the one in Bloody Ridge?

Thanks,

Bill

Bill Wood - Jan 11, 2017 3:00 pm (#14041 Total: 15967)  

[Wood, Bill]
If you still have them, could you post the Op Sheets for both sides (or at least the Soviets)? I'm interested in the level of detail in the sheets.

I would like to see those as well.

Awesome AAR.

Markus_St - Jan 11, 2017 6:49 pm (#14042 Total: 15967)  

 
[Markus_St]
Thanks, guys.

How long did it take you to play this?


We don't play very fast. As a rough estimate, 12-15 hours. It was played over 11 sessions and these days we generally play 90 minutes per session although it can be as low as an hour or as long as 2. During the earlier part we would get a couple of turns in per session, later it was up to four.

We don't know what happened to the Soviet opsheet (we finished a couple of months ago, but I've been distracted by events and just got around to writing it up). I'll post the German one.

Mike Connolly - Jan 11, 2017 10:21 pm (#14043 Total: 15967)  

 
[Connolly, Mike]
Excellent AAR. The specifics of the narrative and the accompanying photos clarify the flow of the game mechanics.

Fred Schwarz - Jan 11, 2017 11:16 pm (#14044 Total: 15967)  

 
[Schwarz, Fred]
We don't play very fast. As a rough estimate, 12-15 hours. It was played over 11 sessions and these days we generally play 90 minutes per session although it can be as low as an hour or as long as 2. During the earlier part we would get a couple of turns in per session, later it was up to four.


Thanks Markus. I find TCS to be a slow playing game. I think it is the combat systems. They seem to take time to resolve, and there can be a lot of combat when the forces engage. What do you think makes this system play slow?

Ethan McKinney - Jan 12, 2017 1:54 am (#14045 Total: 15967)  

 
[McKinney, Ethan]
Fred, I agree, there's a lot of wristage (and I'm responsible for quite a bit of it ...). I have found that when you get rolling, you find yourself making the same sort of attack over and over (infantry platoon at a certain range, Sherman firing at Panther), and you begin to remember certain results. "Oh, yeah, this P-fire hits on a 36 or better."

The other factor is that a fire and maneuver system takes time and care to execute properly!

This is Ethan's blog (and Armando knows it).

Lee Forester - Jan 12, 2017 8:53 am (#14046 Total: 15967)  

 
[Forester, Lee]
Newbie question

Yes a Prepared Defense Op Sheet can have units on reserve, not a problem.

On marines at night for Matanikau, I would leave them as is, not sure what would happen if the rules from BR were introduced. You can try it if you like, but I have no experience in that...

Markus_St - Jan 12, 2017 8:54 am (#14047 Total: 15967)  

 
[Markus_St]
Hi Fred,

I'd put it a bit differently. TCS games take a long time to play. I think there are multiple reasons for this. Yes, the combat system is fiddly (I was surprised that 4.0 has added to this - more about that later).

Partly it's the extra morale checks that happen all the time. Partly I think it's because it simply handles many factors more carefully than most systems at this scale, at least when it comes to infantry fighting. Partly it's the unlimited overwatch fire. But in the end I think the main factor is that TCS shows complete actions at platoon level in their historical size, when virtually all other platoon level system just selectively scrunch together the central hot moments using a selected subset of units without trying to get scale, units, or the rhythm of planning and maneuver right to fit the scale of the game.

This scenario was essentially a full day scenario showing two tank brigades on the attack. It's arguably bigger than the first day of Bloody 110. And it covers 25 turns. For platoon level games such a scenario is pretty rare, the only one that does try to cover the actual duration of a WW2 action is Panzergrenadier, and it does a much worse job of it, and ends up just as slow and very bland and boring to boot.

So I think that to a certain degree this is simply the case if you want to play out regimental or even division level actions at platoon level in a realistic fashion.

Fred Schwarz - Jan 12, 2017 10:31 am (#14048 Total: 15967)  

 
[Schwarz, Fred]
Thank you Markus. I agree that TCS shows platoon level in a detailed fashion that my seem realistic for "platoon level" game. And thus is where i have issues with it as TCS is not a "platoon level" game but a battalion, regiment/brigade, division level game depending on the size of the scenario. To me, the level of a game is the level of command that player is primarily playing.

In the military our rule of thumb for awareness of what is going on is "one up, two down." thus a regimental commander is concerned about company sized actions/effects and what his division commander is doing. He directs his battalion commanders what do mission wise with an eye on the companies for planning purposes. He trusts the battalion and company commanders to commander and supervise the lower levels of platoon and squad. This is why many "platoon level" games do not go into detail of each action of fire but the sum of the platoon actions for that turn.

Now to make wargames interesting, especially the tactical ones, there needs to be some flavor provided by detail and to show different weapons effects. So detail can aid the fun factor. But as you note, TCS can get bogged down in the detail of squad level and individual tank level combat due to steps, overwatch fires, indivual artillery missions and so on. Thus, it takles too long to play. TCS has a great C2 system for its higher level functions, but too much detail at the lower levels to distract form the higher level C2 it seems to be focused on. After-all, what is the difference in effect, that the Bn and Regt commander need to be concerned about? One that takes 12 rolls and 24 chart consultation to tell me a platoon suffered losses and retreats, or two rolls and two chart consultations to tell me a platoon suffered losses and retreats?

I think TCS needs a complete streamlining of the combat results systems to make it playable in a reasonable amount of time. I so think with streamlined combat systems, you will still be making the same regimental/division decisions and execution of plans (and disruption of those plans by the enemy) that you do now. The key is finding the sweet spot of just enough detail for flavor and playability. Currently, I think TCS is far from that sweet spot.

I would love to play out the full scenario in GD'42, but i don't have the time nor energy to do so for weeks of trying to figure out what the platoons are doing to each other. It simply is not my role as a division commander to so . if i want to do that for these actions, i'll pull out ASL which is focused on the platoon and company level with squad mechanics.

I fully advocate for a TCS 5.0, with the current C2 mechanics but a completely streamlined platoon combat system. You could call it an option if you want, or "TCS lite" and still let the detail oriented guys keep 4.0.

As an experiment, I took the 1st GD '42 scenario, and used it to design a PanzerBlitz scenario, using some of the "new" maps available on line. I used my Panzer Warrior rules that consolidated PB & PL It played out pretty much like the real battle and took me two relaxed afternoons to do so. It took me almost two weeks of frustrating play to play out the TCS one. PanzerBlitz... go figure.

No, there is no provision in PB to play out the full divisional battle as TCS can do in GD '42, but one could maybe overlay the C2 system with some effort... and map making, to do so. But I would rather see a TCS that is more focused on the level of Command that it's C2 is designed to put you in instead of making you many tank commanders, many platoon leaders and company commanders as well as the rgimmental and/or division commander.

John Kisner - Jan 12, 2017 10:54 am (#14049 Total: 15967)  

 
[Kisner, John]
Fred,

There are always simple/fast and long/complex choices. TCS has some interesting mechanics that show platoons moving and fighting in the context of 20 minute turns and 120 yard hexes. PanzerBlitz has hexes twice as big and turns half as long, and its mechanics are geared toward that scale. I am not sure if PanzerBlitz ever attempted to portray an action that lasts the better part of a day, like the one Markus played out.

Markus made a very interesting observation about how TCS shows a battle in its entirety, but most games at this scale compress the action in various ways.

Bill Wood - Jan 12, 2017 11:56 am (#14050 Total: 15967)  

[Wood, Bill]
Speeding Up play

One:

Tell Vernon to hurry the hell up!

Two: Roll all the dice for combat at once - say red and white for combat table and yellow/black for the maybe Morale check.

The CRT might be simpler - instead of column shifts I initially thought those mods were add/subtracts to final combat values - I do wish it would work that way. Column shifting is a pain.

Lee, thanks for the Newbie Answers!

Ethan McKinney - Jan 12, 2017 1:06 pm (#14051 Total: 15967)  

 
[McKinney, Ethan]
Fred, someone was working on a company-level TCS (Markus? Matthew K.?). If you want it: write it! In all seriousness, you need to at least draft up ideas for how things should work.

All that said, I have felt the same as you during really big, long games (and AFH certainly qualifies). On the other hand, our AFH game went on for well over a year and we had a blast ...

As Bill says, roll all of the dice at once. Frequently, you can say, "OK, 31 on the fire dice, 14 on the morale check ... Yeah, they're OK." No need to memorize the fire table, just the feeling that you need to have quite a bit of firepower to do better than a morale check on a 31, and that a 14 almost always passes.

Bill, using column shifts is very important in getting the results right. Because of the way the fire table is constructed, they give you non-linear results.

This is Ethan's blog (and Armando knows it).


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