Embarking Upon the Great Crusade
Current war date :
|
August 1942
|
Embattled region :
|
Egypt |
Engagements completed :
|
32 (out of 118)
|
Allied victories :
|
16 |
Axis victories :
|
16
|
Combat Commander: Europe is a WWII tactical wargame, and it is my favorite boardgame, across all genres. As I'm writing this introduction, I've logged over 400 plays of CC, and I'm not even beginning to tire of the bloody thing. I've played both sides of every single officially published historical scenario—even the promotional ones published in magazines and sundries. So much so that many of my game components are starting to show some serious, loving wear.
I suggested to my friend François that we start over, playing all published scenarios once more, but this time in chronological order—that is, according to when each particular battle occurred in the actual war.
That's 118 engagements, each clocking at roughly two play hours.
Not only did my comrade in arms accept at once, but he suggested that we perform that crazy run twice, so that each of us could have a chance to play Axis in one instance of the war, and Allies in the other. That was an offer I couldn't refuse.
We flipped a coin for our first run and Fate cast me in the role of the Axis. I can see a lot of German and Italian troops in my future...
Since we don't intend to stop playing other games to make way for Combat Commander (too many good games out there!), we expect to tackle two to four scenarios per month, meaning it should take us anywhere between five and 10 years to play through the entire war twice. And I'll be posting a short recap of every battle over here, each time updating this article, for however long it takes us to reach the ultimate conclusion.
Here we go!
* * *
NEW! [32/118 - played on March 11, 2022]
August 11, 1942 - scenario #23: No-Man's Land - Southern Desert, Egypt (Italian/British)
Awakened in their trenches by a British sniper wreaking havoc on their sentries, Italian troops responded with mortar fire and the occasional bark of assorted small arms. Then, under covering fire, one Italian squad managed to reconnoiter the area and take control of the few locations of any value across the barren terrain. Down to a single squad, it looked as if the British were done for—until a hero rose to the occasion and dashed down the lone road, seemingly dodging every single bullet, to retake Italian positions and win the day in extremis.
(Allies, 1 point)
 |
| Cover be damned—heroes don't fear anything |
[31/118 - played on March 5, 2022]
December 30, 1941 - scenario #5: Cold Front - Starista, Russia (German/Russian)
Outnumbered from the get-go, German troops did their best in freezing weather to contain the Russian onslaught, to no avail. Soviets flooded the German trench system and forced a Teutonic surrender without missing a beat.
(Allies, Axis surrender)
 |
| The demise of this surrounded weapon team forced the German hand. |
[30/118 - played on March 5, 2022]
August 14, 1941 - scenario #122: Barbarossa Sustained - Plyussa River, Narva vicinity, Estonia (German/Russian)
On their way to Leningrad, German units came upon fortified positions manned by well equipped Russian forces—on the other side of the Plyussa River. The bridge had been taken out, which forced the Germans to wade their way through raging waters, only to be picked off one by one. The lucky few who made it to shore couldn't force their way into bunkers and pillboxes, and paid a high price for even trying.
(Allies, 18 points)
 |
| Ain't nothing like a quiet swim. |
[29/118 - played on February 12, 2022]
July 7, 1941 - scenario #15: Armata Romana - Bessarabia (Rumanian/Russian)
Rumanian forces launched an assault on a Russian-held village, thinking numbers were on their side. But the Red Army machine-gunned wave after wave of attackers, with hidden units that jumped out of hiding to block any advance the Rumanians could organize. One particularly heroic squad managed to occupy a crucial building overlooking the entire battlefield, but those brave Rumanians were quickly wounded and captured.
(Allies, 44 points)
 |
| Main building objective, a short time before the Rumanian collapse |
[28/118 - played on February 5, 2022]
July 3, 1941 - scenario #1: Fat Lipki - Lipki, Russia (German/Russian)
It should have been a simple task for the German elements to hold on to their two objectives, but the Russians reached the buildings first and adopted a defensive posture so aggressive that the units in gray fell one after the other—ultimately forcing a German surrender.
(Allies, Axis surrender)
[27/118 - played on January 30, 2022]
June 1941 - scenario #3: Bonfire of the NKVD - Outside Brest-Litovsk, Russia (German/Russian)
Despite the fact that German forces managed to lay down an important volume of fire in the direction of their main objective, Russian units hunkered down in their large building and never broke. Instead, the German kill stack found itself repeatedly pinned down, so much so that time slipped by before any serious action could get underway. German parachuted reinforcements threatened to turn the tide for a short while, but the unit landed in a minefield and was eventually finished off by elements of the Russian militia, compounding the shame of the German defeat.
(Allies, 13 points)
They said hiding in the woods would be safe...
[26/118 - played on October 2, 2021]
June 1941 - scenario TBP #10: Barbarossa Unleashed - Outskirts of Minsk, Belorussia (German/Russian)
Right from the get-go, Russian units managed to occupy the battlefield's main tactical location, leaving Germans to inch forward under heavy fire. Each side caused the other some casualties, but most firefights only served to destroy the scenery. The Germans called in reinforcements—more than once!—to little effect: Russian forces kept whittling away at the poorly coordinated Germans.
(Allies, 1 point)
 |
| Heavy fighting around the main thoroughfare—don't cross that street |
[25/118 - played on September 18, 2021]
21 May 1941 - scenario #13: Tussle at Maleme - Near Maleme Airfield, Crete (German/ANZAC)
Despite a relative lack of suitable cover, German units took to the hills and held the high ground, weathering an important volume of fire coming from the New Zealanders. Much barbed wire was unspooled to slow down the ANZAC advance, but Germans were running low on ammo and could only do so much. A blaze quickly spread to one side of the hill, cutting short the German line of sight; ANZAC forces used the wall of flames to flank one of the last pockets of German resistance and send waves of soldiers into a fierce melee made all the more chaotic by the smoke and the nearby inferno. Germans held to the last man and, against mounting odds, won the day.(Axis, tie broken by Initiative)
[24/118 - played on August 21, 2021]
20 May 1941 - scenario TBP#9: Operation Mercury - Rethymnon vicinity, Crete (German/British)
While German forces initially encountered little resistance in their thrust towards their two main objectives, they were soon laden with more wounded than they could tend to. The standstill became a standard exchange of fire from fixed positions until a hero emerged, crawling through barbed wire and gullies in order to reach a valuable hilltop temporarily left undefended by the British.
(Axis, 1 point)
[23/118 - played on May 28, 2021]
7 April 1941 – scenario 19: Metaxas Season – Kilkis, Greece (German/Greek)
[22/118 - played on January 30, 2021]
Fighting through kilometers of barbed wire and seemingly endless mine fields, elite German troops managed to climb a steep hill and capture a heavily defended bunker. Down in the valley, other elements were not so lucky, suffering shelling after shelling from a zeroed French '75 parked on a generous vantage point. A handful of soldiers made it through the carnage to occupy a central building, only to be eliminated in a wave of counterattacks. When a squad of pioneers led by their capable leader finally retook the building and pushed to take the adjacent structure in order to capture a vital objective, time ran out and all of their efforts were for naught.
(Allies 6 points)
[22/118 - played on January 30, 2021]
7 April 1941 – scenario 18: Bridge Hunt – Nisava River, Yugoslavia (German/Yugoslav)
[20/118 - played on April 17, 2020]
[18/118 - played on April 4, 2020]
15 June 1940 – scenario 83: Thrust in the Dust – Ernage, near Gembloux, France (German/French)
[17/118 - played on March 28, 2020]
[16/118 - played on March 26, 2020]
[15/118 - played on January 3, 2020]
June 9 1940 – scenario 84: Seize the Canal – Château-Porcien, West of Rethel, France (German/French)
[14/118 - played on November 15, 2019]
27 May 1940 – scenario 78: By These Deeds They Shall Be Known – Cassel, France (German/British)
[12/118 - played on September 1, 2019]
[9/118 - played on May 1, 2019]
14 May 1940 – scenario 80: Bitter Isthmus – Monthermé, France (German/French)
[8/118 - played on May 1, 2019]
10 May 1940 – scenario 75: Sturmgruppe Beton – Vroenhoven, Belgium (German/Belgian)
[7/118 - played on April 17, 2019]
Sept. 2, 1939 - scenario TB2: Blitzkrieg Unleashed - somewhere on the Polish frontier (German/Polish)
# # #
Having spotted a suitable bridge for the crossing of a critical river by their armored units, German forces rushed towards what looked like a barely defended objective. But Yugoslav reserve units ambushed the invaders and made them pay dearly for their temerity. Caught in the middle of a field with little to no cover, Germans were dropped one after the other. One squad made it all the way to the bridge and valiantly fought in melee after melee, but failed to take control of the bridge. When all seemed lost, and with time running out, one final hand-to-hand skirmish eliminated enough Yugoslav units for the Allies to surrender their precious bridge.
(Axis - Allied surrender)
 |
| Axis map edge at left |
[21/118 - played on January 23, 2021]
16 March 1941 – scenario 115: Dongolaas Ravine – Eritrea (Italian/Indian)
Facing a frontal assault by Indian troops, Italians defenders entrenched on
the hill managed to slow the attack to a crawl. One of the allied leaders met his demise early on, which threw his troops into disarray. On the opposite flank, an ongoing firefight laid waste to the area while ensuring nobody either gained nor lost ground. The Italians maintained control of the hill objectives and won the day.
(Axis 24 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
[20/118 - played on April 17, 2020]
12 August 1940 – scenario 24: Six Hills – Tug Argan Pass, Somaliland (Italian/Indian)
[Details lost to the sands of time](Axis - British surrender)
[19/118 - played on April 10, 2020]
25 June 1940 – scenario TBP#8: Codes in the Sunrise – Le Touquet, France (German/French)
British commandos quickly infiltrated the area and forced German defenders to retreat. Some elements got caught in a crossfire that caused enough confusion for a squad to sneak behind enemy lines and capture an important objective. Unfortunately, time ran out on the Brits before they could capitalize on their improved position.
(Axis 3 points)
(Axis 3 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at left |
[18/118 - played on April 4, 2020]
Superior German firepower and matériel were thrown against urban defenses on the outskirts of Gembloux; but what the Wermacht possessed in armament, they severly lacked in mobility. Despite a veritable carnage that had French losses mounting at an alarming rate—and threatened to break French morale—the invaders couldn't manage to take vital objectives in time.
(Allies 2 points)
(Allies 2 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at left |
14 June 1940 – scenario 82: Hidden Guns Lash Out – Farm of Sart-Ernage, near Gembloux, France (German/French)
[Details lost to the sands of time]
(Allies 2 points)
10 June 1940 – scenario 85: Striking the Hammer – Perthes, South of Rethel, France (German/French)
[Details lost to the sands of time]
(Axis 17 points)
[15/118 - played on January 3, 2020]
While French troops did their best to prevent German forces from even entering the town, the Wehrmarcht marched right in and started blasting away from building to building. Several close-quarters firefights and bloody melees later—plus a squad of French soldiers pinned down trying to cross the Aisne river back to safety—and the Germans had taken control of the town, securing their much-needed bridgehead.
(Axis 5 points)
(Axis 5 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at left |
[14/118 - played on November 15, 2019]
The advancing Germans were stopped
dead in their tracks and confined to an assortment of small buildings and
clumps of brush terrain. British forces repeatedly attempted to deploy smoke in
order to disrupt German firepower, to no avail. The result was a static
engagement where casualties were kept to a minimum on both sides, but were
still costly. The German emerged victorious with a tiny sliver of an edge over
their British foes.
(Axis tie breaker)
 |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
[13/118 - played on November 15, 2019]
21 May 1940 – scenario 77: The Crucible of Fire – Petegem, Belgium (German/British)
Hiding in foxholes in the center of
the battlefield, German forces put up an unbreakable resistance that prevented
the British from gaining any ground. One Bren carrier attempted a breakthrough
but failed to reach the German kill stack and eventually suffered a weapon
malfunction that took out its main gun.
(Axis 26
points)
 |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
[12/118 - played on September 1, 2019]
15 May 1940 – scenario 76: A Most Gallant Dirty Little Imp – Dyle River Line, La Tombe Vicinity, Belgium (German/British)
[Details lost to the sands of time]
(Allies 2 points)
[11/118 - played on September 1, 2019]
15 May 1940 – scenario 16: The Blitzkrieg Checked – Gembloux, France (German/French)
[Details lost to the sands of time]
(Allies 16 points)
[10/118 - played on May 22, 2019]
14 May 1940 – scenario 81: The Bottleneck – The Road to Chehery, South of Sedan, France (German/French)
Fragmented notes recovered from a French soldier's diary:
Accurate German snipers slowed down our tank advance... but not enough. Lots of blazes in nearby woods!
Accurate German snipers slowed down our tank advance... but not enough. Lots of blazes in nearby woods!
(Allies 20 points)
Difficult terrain made this skirmish
a complicated one to read, as Germans and French took turns attacking and
defending inside and out of this heavily wooded area. German forces managed to
secure several objectives before the French could get to them, however, leading
to a stalemate that would end up costing France the day.
(Axis 11 points)
 |
| Axis map edge a left |
As Belgian forces launched a
counterattack to recapture the strategic bridges of Vroenhoven and Veldwelezt, German
troops stood their ground. Assault after assault brought the Belgians ever
closer to the enemy, but parachuted German reinforcements sealed the deal and
inflicted a costly defeat upon the Allies.
(Axis 25 points)
(Axis 25 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
10 May 1940 – scenario 74: Sturmgruppe Granit – Fort Eben Emael, Maastrict Vicinity, Belgium (German/Belgian)
Despite being encircled almost from
the start by German parachute troops, the Belgians offered an impressive
resistance. The Germans quickly reorganized after a scattered drop and
assaulted the bunker complex, making silencing its large gun their first
priority.
Belgian leader Rousseau held out as
long as he could, wounded but still able to outmaneuver his tormentors...
before being taken prisoner and allowing the Germans to secure a hard-fought
victory
(Axis 1 point)
 |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
[6/118 - played on April 17, 2019]
26 Apr. 1940 – scenario 79: Battering Ram at Kvam – Kvam, Norway (German/British)
Despite very light cover, the Germans
were ordered to assault the British position and drive them out, whatever the
cost. Smoke screens could only do so much—the Brits dug in deeper and use their
mortars to lethal effect. The Germans failed to take advantage of the cover the
plateau offered and failed to accomplish their objective.
(Allies 25 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at left |
[5/118 - played on April 17, 2019]
24 Apr. 1940 – scenario 110: Arctic Assault – Narvik Front, Norway (German/Norwegian)
Deep in the Gratangen Valley,
Norwegian forces launched a counterattack on the German occupiers in an attempt
to regain lost territory. The blizzard enveloping the area made manoeuvring hazardous,
and attacking downright reckless. Despite a brave Norwegian attempt at
encirclement, the handful of Germans held fast and dealt their northern foes a
severe blow.
(Axis 32 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
[4/118 - played on April 14, 2019]
12
Dec. 1939 – scenario 20: A March in December – Tolvajarvi, Finland (Finnish/Russian)
A highly organized detachment of
Finnish soldiers ambushed Russian troops on a road cutting through the woods,
throwing Molotov cocktails left and right. But the Russians maintained
cohesion, took several prisoners and pushed back through melee after melee. With
both sides teetering on the edge of surrendering, the very last melee would
determine the outcome of the engagement. Just as the Finnish troops were trying
to reorganize, exhausted elements of the Red Army executed one last push inside
a zone controlled by the Finns, and emerged victorious.
(Allies 21 points — AXIS SURRENDER)
  |
| Axis map edge at bottom, and an overflowing casualty track |
[3/118 - played on April 14, 2019]
[2/118 - played on April 10, 2019]
Sept. 15, 1939 - scenario 14: At the Crossroads - Sochaczew, Poland (German/Polish)
Late
Nov. 1939 – scenario TBP 2: Signals in the Snow – Karelian Isthmus, Finland (Finnish/Russian)
Initially surprised by the bold
Russian push right down the frozen plain, the Finnish forces managed to halt
the enemy’s advance when their column reached an opening between two stretches
of dense forest. The choke point erupted into a never-ending firefight, but the
Finnish, determined to defend their home, held to the last man.
(Axis 8 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at right |
Sept. 15, 1939 - scenario 14: At the Crossroads - Sochaczew, Poland (German/Polish)
It was supposed to be a Polish counterattack, but the engagement turned instead into a static duel of mortars across an idyllic orchard. Attrition slowly did its job, but hidden and infiltrated units kept pouring in, renewing the veterans’ hope. In the end—while a handful of Poles did achieve their objectives—it was a decisive German victory.
(Axis 20 points)
[1/118 - played on April 10, 2019] |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
Sept. 2, 1939 - scenario TB2: Blitzkrieg Unleashed - somewhere on the Polish frontier (German/Polish)
While the Germans intended to set up
shop with a heavy machine gun atop a wooded hill overlooking a small town, a bunch of angry Poles emerged from said town and quickly derailed the
aggressors’ plans. The hilltop was lost—along with several of the machine gunner’s
fingers—and the Germans beat a hasty retreat. A few quick beats later (the Sun
was sprinting through the bright blue sky) the engagement was over, with
Germans scattered in isolated pockets kept in check by the heroic Poles
(Allies 22 points)
(Allies 22 points)
 |
| Axis map edge at bottom |
# # #
