Command Decision IV Game: "When Olympus Trembled"

AAR by Ethan Tichenor
Game by Victor Gregoire

Hello gamers, I had the opportunity to go to Vic's house today and play a CD IV game based on part of the Invasion of Greece. The game was awesome, with a stunning Greek Victory. Here's the turn by turn:

Objectives: Germany must capture the road leading to Athens, the level 2 hill, and the town of Akiras.
The Greeks must hold Akiras OR the level 2 hill.

The Germans

The Greeks

The Table

Turn 1.

Deployment:

The Greeks started with one rifle company in the town of Akiras. They also started with two stands of pathetic Railroad Security Personnel stationed anywhere along the railroad, up to 6" away at any point. Being the Greek Commander, I opted to deploy the railroad security troops 6" from the midway point, to guard the bridge leading to the level 2 hill. I left the rifle company in Akiras as per scenario deployment conditions.

The Germans started one company off in trucks, and deployed on the Road to Athens. The other German company stayed off board, awaiting support on turn 2 before driving on Akiras.

The first turn of movement went to the Germans, and the company on the road shot off in their trucks and turned toward the bridge housing my reluctant railroad security speedbumps. Against all preconceptions, they destroyed both platoons of trucks and HALF of the German company in Op Fire.

Much cheering ensued from the Greek side. In General Fire, the Germans failed to hit the boasting railroad security troops, and in the morale phase, the remainder of the German company fled, forced back and demoralized.

Turn 2

The Artillery Phase begins! German and Greek artillery do nothing, since both of them are drunk and their phones are dead.

German Reinforcements arrive on both flanks. A company of Panzer 2s and 3s drive into Akiras and begin laying fire on the dug in Greek Company.

Their fire has no effect, and the trucks containing the German rifle company and 20mm aa gun have no room to enter the board. Having no chance of damaging the tanks, the Greeks dig deeper holes and begin praying.

 Over on the other flank, another German Rifle Company enters the board and drives towards Athens. They are stopped by a cleverly placed Greek roadblock, and their movement ends. They deploy two field guns and some infantry, as well as a forward observer along the road and among the trees.

Now the Greeks have their turn. Heroic Greek soldiers race onto the board towards the Germans and set up a defensive line near the roadblock stretching from a river embankment to an orchard across the vital road. The Greeks open fire on the lead halftrack and the exposed engineers clearing the roadblock, destroying both of them.

Things begin to look grim for the Germans on the road. Just as all begins to settle down the Heroes of Greece (The railroad employees) charge forth and close assault the German Forward Oberservers, killing them. Even more cheering and laughter ensues on the Greek side.

Turn 3.

Back at Akiras the Greeks take their first casualties, mounting fire from the Panzers wipes out half of the Greek company entrenched there. The survivors break and flee deeper into the town. The Germans move their tanks towards the level 2 hill, and the infantry dismount to cleanse the heroic Greeks from the town

Back on the Road to Athens the Germans move up their final company and deploy them behind the trucks. The Greek move sees the last of the Greek reinforcements arrive, and they concentrate on the level 2 hill facing Akiras. With this, the German Panzer company stands no chance of taking the hill. On the road to Athens, the Greeks are emboldened by their wild success thus far, and begin charging the Germans, sweeping up their entire line.

 The game is basically decided at this point, but we go one more turn anyway. Not much happens. The Greeks finish off the remainder of the Germans on the road to Athens, and the Germans fully clear Akiras.
The Panzers make no move on the hill, knowing it would be suicide. In the end, the Greeks lost only 3 stands, and no vehicles. The Germans lost almost every single transport on the road to Athens and 10 infantry stands, not including the 4 stands who surrendered or fled off the board.

All in all it was an extremely fun game. After some discussion, it was decided it was an equal game in terms of chance of success, and the German loss was attributed to the Panzers not moving on the hill on Turn 2 (before the Greeks dug in on it) and some pretty bad dice rolls. The game was ruled a Greek Victory. The highlights including the tanks shelling my poor Greeks to death, a crazy double eliminated artillery shot, the unpredictably invincible railroad employees, and the German Battalion Commander driving off the map rather than dying.

As always Vic was an excellent host and the game was awesome. He will be running this game at HAVOC on Friday night, if you're around jump in, he's a hell of a GM and his games are always fun. 

Stay tuned Gamers!

-Ethan