'O' Group - Solo - First Try

The troops are ready and it was time to try the new 'O' Group rules by David C Brown via the Too Fat Lardies stable. Being totally unimaginative, I decided to try the attack on the town of Cristot scenario in the rule book where everything is set out and I have all the models and figures required. So I set up a rough approximation of the map and got down to it. My table is a 6' x 4' and it may be a little small for 20mm but it works well enough for me.

Looking at the table, the British will be coming on from the right and their first objective is the farm near the center of the image. The town of Cristot is center left. The British consist of a battalion of the 6th Green Howards with support from the 7th Dragoon Guards (two tank platoons). The German defenders are elements of the 12th SS Hitlerjugend.

From the German perspective: The German HQ and FO are dug in on the high ground at the bend in the road. First Company occupies the farm on the left and patrols from 2nd Company patrols are approaching the farm on the right. The Brits are spread out with the only units on the table being an infantry platoon supported by a carrier with a Vickers MMG approaching their first objective (the farm on the right). The British HQ is located behind the ruined house behind their start line. The farm BUA's (Built Up Areas) are designated by the building plus fenceline. Cristot is made up of 4 separate BUA's.

The Germans rolled three Ambush deployments but only placed two and their was no interdiction so they could arrive on the board easily. The British rolled three 1's which resulted in the loss of one platoon from the German 2nd Company and the loss of a Battalion Order.

The Brits win the first initiative. A patrol from B Company approaches the farm on the German right and an infantry platoon deploy on the Combat Patrol (CP) marker. They expect to be fired upon and the platoon has much better staying power than the patrol marker which will just vanish.

The deployed platoon from A Company make a dash for the objective (Rapid Move and they got a 5 &6 for an 11" move). The Vickers moved up in support whilst another platoon deployed on a CP in the center fields.

With the objective taken so rapidly, the German CP falls back into the orchard and an infantry platoon deploys. It opens fire on the Brits with no effect.

The platoon approaching the other farmhouse are met with a hail of fire from a hidden MG34. As they hit the ground (miraculously unharmed) an infantry platoon from 1st Company deploy and open fire from the nearby orchard as mortar rounds start to fall amongst them causing the platoon to become suppressed.

A second MG34 opens up from the upper story of a cafe in Cristot targeting the platoon in the objective/farm. Their fire has little effect. The other Brit platoon from A Company takes advantage and moves across the fields while the MG is otherwise occupied.

On the other flank another platoon from B Company deploys and fires on the orchard.

The Vickers carrier moves into position and shoots up the platoon in the orchard who's fire has managed to inflict Shock on the platoon in the objective. The Vickers supresses the Germans and combined with close range shooting from the platoon in the farm results in a KIA section for the Germans.

However, the German retaliation is quick and an artillery stonk hits the farm and the surrounding fields. The barrage has some effect by inflicting some Shock on the two platoons in the area.

A German platoon now reveals itself and pours fire into the British advancing through the fields.

No sooner do the German guns cease than British mortars take their place. But despite the accuracy of the British barrage (Critical Hit!) the effect on the enemy is negligible.

As the dust settles, the British take the time to rally their troops in an effort to force the center.

On the opposite flank rounds fly from both side with the center platoon of B Company just managing to hold on, out in the open.

The Vickers Carrier has been causing trouble so the commander of 1st Company sends out a panzerschreck crew to deal with it.

The panzerknackers work their way forward and take steady aim. The round hits home and the carrier explodes in a tremendous fireball. 

Up the road a rumbling can be heard and a Panther moves forward. It takes aim at the farm house and blasts it with HE but has little effect.

German mortars now target the objective causing some shock. The platoon in the field decide to attempt charging the Germans opposite but get bogged down in the tall wheat (they rolled badly for movement).

British Company B deployed their third platoon. They spotted a German patrol in a small woods opposite and fired up on them to drive them away.

The British armour now arrived. The lead Firefly immediately took aim the the distant Panther but it's shot missed completely. The Sherman section following fired HE on B Company's farm house

On the B Company front, British shooting proved effective and suppressed the platoon occupying the orchard. Using a Company Order, the same platoon charged into combat. The Germans attempted to retire but were caught flat footed. 

The British drove the Germans out and KIA one section in the process. The British themselves, took shock but not enough to suppress them.

Back in the fields outside Cristot, the other British attempt to assault was hit hard by MMG and rife fire. They lost one section KIA and decided to make their way back to cover.

At the same time, a 75mm Pak 40 revealed itself and took aim at the leading British tank. It's hit was uneffective but cause some Shock. (The was placed as an ambush unit prior to the first turn. Because I'm playing solo I just placed some markers that I made for Battlegroup with the Ambush Unit written on the bottom - There's no use trying to pretend to fool myself).

The MMG fire aimed at the center platoon of B Company became to much and they lost a section KIA.

After a duel with several shots being fired by both sides the Panther finally got the best of the Firefly section. (It was good to see that the whole affair was not decided by a single shot from the big German cat. Both the Panther and Pak 40 took shots and put 2 shock on the Firefly. The Firefly's shots were awful - Snake eyes for one of them -  and they didn't hit a thing.)

Opposite B Company the Germans pulled out of the farm and tried to take up a new defensive position. Unfortunately for them the company became Hesitant and the troops got caught out in the open

The Germans brought on their reserves: 3rd Company. The platoon of B Company closest to the road and now supported by a section of Sherman tanks, advanced to the road and fired on the platoon just coming into play. 

The British fire caused some Shock but they failed to notice a second Combat Patrol within the small wood where they had previously driven off a German patrol. On this Patrol Marker a German platoon now emerged and, at close range, poured rounds into the British flank. Using a React Move, the B Company platoon fell back to cover to lick their wounds.

However the German reserves fired on the supressed platoon and one section became KIA. This caused the first FUBAR of the game for the British command. To do this the German commander pulled everything out of his hat and reduced his Battalion Orders to zero.

The Brits now called in their artillery. The final German reserve platoon had deployed into Cristot so the area was rife with potential targets for the big guns. The German platoon on the road and the MG34 in the cafe were both suppressed, The 75mm pak 40 was destroyed and the German command now received their first FUBAR. (For the uninitiated: Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition - That's the clean version. In the game it represents the command starting to fray and could lead to eventual collapse as more FUBAR's are meted out.)

A newly deployed A Company platoon now moved forward to keep up the pressure on the orchard beside the first objective. Successful shooting suppressed the enemy taking cover in the trees. 

At the B Company farm the Germans who tried to form a new defensive line were caught and another infantry section were KIA. 

To keep the pressure on, the A Company commander issued a Company Order for the new platoon to assault the orchard. Supported by armour the men of A Coy assaulted. They destroyed one section and the remainder routed. The Germans now had a second FUBAR to deal with and the only troops protecting that flank was a panzerschreck section, 1st Company HQ and the Panther.

By this time the German command was in dire straights. What was left of the 1st Company became hesitant and a continuation of the British artillery bombardment inflicted further casualties on the beleaguered company.

On the opposite flank only a lone MMG section stood between two platoons and the German HQ and that MG section was suppressed.

The Germans were only 2 kills away from receiving their third FUBAR which would have seen the command collapse. In a final effort the Germans put out some desultory small arms fire and called in a final mortar stonk to cover their retreat. Cristot was now in British hands.

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Conclusion: 

Well, that was my first game of 'O'Group and I hope to have many more against a real opponent. I really liked the larger scope of the game as opposed to the platoon level games I'm use to. Events in the rules are abstracted but I have to admit that I do like the way that a single "lucky" shot/hit isn't likely to change the course of the game with one dice roll. 

I didn't report all the little things that happened throughout the game. There was a lot of shooting, rallying, tanks firing HE and various other minor scuffles. I only included the more significant happenings. I didn't even report the British C Company entering the table because they had no effect on the final result.

A funny thing happens when I play solo. I try hard for the best for both sides. When the Firefly v Panther duel happened I found myself wanting to destroy the enemy from both sides. I just wanted a devastating destroyed result and I was barracking for whose-so-ever dice I was rolling at the time.

I like the more general movement as opposed to the sort of "precision movement" that usually occurs in skirmish level games. I much prefer general movement and a 'close enough is good enough' approach and I think these rules deliver that kind of ethos.

I read the rule book and I watched all the videos put up by the The Lardies so I had a general idea of how the rules worked but I found myself looking through the book often. But this was a leaning game for me and I expected that. There is a fair amount of detail throughout the rules and I wanted to try and get things right. There were a couple of things that I couldn't find or work out but I'm sure I'll get those things sorted when I try another solo effort some time soon.

Overall, I really like this game. It's on a larger scale than I'm use to for WWII but I want that. Platoon level seems wrong. It's either: One infantry platoon and whole load of other stuff all lumped in just for the purpose of using it because it's a WWII game. On the other hand there is: One infantry platoon and various other assets seemingly arbitrarily assigned to them. O Group seems to make a lot more sense: An infantry battalion with realistically assigned support assets.

One game I don't like at all is Flames of War. Every time I see that game it looks like a tank exercise with loads of tank models moving around in Napoleonic line formations with barely any infantry involved. To me it looks totally ridiculous.

So, I'm looking forward to more games of O Group. If possible, I want to make this my WWII game of choice and I'm thinking that later in the year I might start to gather the forces and make terrain for several Crete scenarios.