Cousteumont 1940 - Big Chain of Command

 My wife and I recently hosted some gaming buddies for a game of Big Chain of Command, set in Cousteumont, Belgium - 11 May 1940. This is the location where 1. Panzer Division broke through one of the French 5th Cavalry Division's delaying lines in the vicinity of Neufchateau in the Ardennes. The delaying line was the railway embankment to the east of the village, which was broken by Panzerregiment 2. The main road goes under the embankment into the town, which may conceivably have been a bit of a chokepoint. Our game played out the plausible infantry push to clear the town and wood to allow the bulk of the panzers to pass under the railroad without worry. Whether or not this infantry action took place, I cannot say. 

That said, our game pitted two shützen platoons (with a Shabby Nazi Trick, an Engineer Flamethrower Team, and a Panzer IV in support) against a dismounted French cavalry platoon and a Reconnaissance Motorcycle Fusilier Platoon (supported with extra VB grenade ammunition, a Francs Tireurs, a 25mm AT gun, and an AMC Shneider P-16). The scenario was the Hasty Defense setup from the Blitzkrieg 1940 handbook by the Too Fat Lardies, which separated the two defending platoons to opposite ends of the map. The Germans were tasked with pushing one unit off the defended edge while simultaneously clearing two thirds of the defended half of the board - a tall order.

One of my gaming buddies brought the French MC platoon and one of the shützen platoons, while I provided the dismounted cavalry troops and the remaining shützen platoon.

Below are the pictures I referenced in designing the map for our game. Lastly, I'll plug Karl-Heinz Frieser's "Blitzkrieg Legend," which was the book I referenced for French and German OBs, the French delaying plan in the Ardennes, and maps and detailed accounts of how those actions actually occurred. I can't recommend his book enough. 

The 1:100,000 chart - depicting the area south of Neufchateau, to include Coustemont

The 1:50,000 chart - The Cousteumont area itself

Present day Cousteumont viewed through Google Earth with an overlay depicting a 280 x 200 yard area (essentially a 7 x 5 ft board).

The railway embankment as viewed from the east, or the direction of German approach

The railway embankment as viewed from the west, or the Cousteumont side

Cousteumont viewed from the underpass - illustrating what a vulnerable position any advancing armor would be in while entering the town

At this point, I used Google Earth street view in conjunction with the above charts, from 1943 and 1938 respectively, to gage which buildings were recent constructions versus those that would have been there in 1940. Ultimately this was a bit of guesswork, but using the resources, I believe we were able to accurately represent what would have been the general layout of the town at the time.

Instead of the usual narrative format that I enjoy using when writing the AARs, below is what essentially is a photo dump. Playing with four players (with a five month old), I wasn't able to take notes to recreate the game. What matters is that, despite not bringing the game to a conclusion, we all had a fantastic time.

My representation of Cousteumont - the railway embankment, the village to the north, and the wooded stream to the south

The Patrol Phase: the Germans pushed hard on their right into the town, but sacrificed their left flank

The German right flank - another look at the Patrol Phase

German patrols breach the town

The initial French defense: the VBs and the armored car

The German base of fire finds their position untenable

The German advance elements push into the town

The base of fire element takes casualties from a crossfire...

...the VBs and armored car to their front, and the cavalry VBs to their left

The dismounted cavalry puts pressure on the German left flank in the woods

The cavalry VBs and rifle team suppress any German attempt at a base of fire

The base of fire leaves their position and pressures a French JOP hindered by a fifth columnist

A new base of fire sets up, only to find similar pressure on the exposed embankment

Cavalry troops press into the town to support the motorcycle-borne fusiliers

Mounted motorcyclists race into town...

...looking quite fashionable in their sidecars

The assault force organizes for a push through the backyards

The Panzer IV rumbles up to the underpass to support the assault

He trades shots with the armored car, missing. The armored car scores hit, shocking the crew

The armored car disengages from the fight, so too does the panzer

French cavalry troops cross the embankment, pressuring the German rear areas

They navigate the small stream

As the panzer backs off to deal with its shock, the armored car supports the advancing fusiliers

The fusiliers race forward while the German attack works on getting organized

The assault platoon begins moving forward, leading the way for the flamethrower team

The motorcyclists dismount, only to be harassed by German grenades...

...and close range fire, as the flamethrower moves to meet them

And that's where we had to leave the game - just as key moments were waiting to be decided, but real world things came up and we had to call our game early. We had a fantastic time with good food and even better conversation!

Caleb