Mission: Get "der Knirps"

Inspired by articles in the Lard Christmas 2015 special and the 2019 Lard magazine I thought I'd create my own Chain of Command scenario with a twist. I didn't tell my opponent about the twist, so he was under the impression it was a regular Chain of Command scenario where the Germans just had some unknown support available, to be revealed later in the game.

Briefing for the American paratroopers: 

June 1944 D-Day -1 

A US airborne platoon is tasked to capture or kill high ranking German officers which are reported by the Resistance to be in a country house in Normandy. Intercepted radio communications refer to an individual code-named “der Knirps”. Allied intelligence believes this to be Hermann Göring himself.

Available support: Sniper team and Medic 

Expected enemy strenght: 1 Fallschirmjäger platoon with unknown support. 

Deployment: per the Strike from above scenario from the 1940 handbook, but without the "first retrieve the weapons from the jump off points" and enter at random places part. The US paratroopers have already collected their gear and made their way onto the grounds of the country house, eliminating 1 FJ squad. 

The twist: 

In reality the site contains a staging facility and laboratory for new Vergeltungswaffen. Doctor Spitzenfinger has recovered from his wounds inflicted by a British commando (read all about it here). Bent on revenge he has temporarily paused his Schmetterling project and returned to his old biochemistry research (rumoured to be based on a manuscript by a certain doctor Jekyll). Incorporating results obtained by colleagues of questionable reputation, he has created enhanced super-soldiers from “volunteers”. They are faster, tougher and stronger but unable to perform more complicated tasks like driving a vehicle, operating a radio transmitter, etc. One of Spitzenfinger’s special projects is code-named: “Der Knirps”. This is a subject enhanced and transformed into a hulking monstrosity, the size of an armoured car. Spitzenfinger is planning to unleash these vergeltungswaffen on British coastal towns as revenge for being shot in the head by the British commando. 

In the game "der Knirps" counts as a vehicle with AV = 3, no ranged weapons but counts as 10 men in close combat, is aggressive and a die-hard. The other Vergeltungswaffen troops count as 2 men in close combat, are agressive and die-hards. Half of them are armed with SMG's, the other half has no ranged weapons. 

The Game: 

All seems quiet in the early morning of 5 june 1944.

     

General von Klinckerhofen is taking an early moring stroll.

But then all hell breaks loose.

Deployment

A squad of US paratroopers deploys near the truck threatening the main house. Fallschirmjäger rush from their barracks to the main house making good use of a double 6 on the command dice roll.

The second US paratrooper squad deploys on the other side, covering the barracks. The second Fallschirmjäger squad manages to deploy just outside their overwatch arc on the road and lays down MG42 fire on them.

The US sniper behind the shed takes aim and drops the German squad leader. But he is only wounded.

 

The US mortar team deploys and fire on the Fallschirmjäger squad. They turn out to have only one mortar round with them (rolled a double 1) which does little damage.

The US paratrooper squad is taking hits from the double MG42's on the road and makes a break for the barracks. Meanwhile 4 sixes have been rolled on the command dice, triggering a random event: heavy rain, reducing visibility to 18".

The hidden support is now revealed and the US paratroopers can't believe their eyes when a group of big, heavily mutated soldiers emerge out of the rain.

They are commanded by doctor Spitzenfinger himself, together with his trusted assistant Helga.

The paratroopers get their act together and open fire, but the mutants keep coming. One bullet finds Helga however and she is killed, enraging doctor Spitzenfinger, who urges his mutants to take revenge.

Close combat wipes out both the paratroopers and the mutant, leaving only Spitzenfinger and the US medic standing. 

Looking at the slaughter, rage is building inside the US medic and he charges the hysterically laughing Spitzenfinger, trying to bash his head in with his helmet (you can't really do this according to the rules, but it seemed to fit the story). Spitzenfinger evades the blow and sneakily jabs the medic with a syringe. 

While the US medic is slowly transforming into a mutant, Spitzenfinger runs to call "der Knirps".

"Der Knirps" makes short work of the remaining paratroopers near the barracks.

Unfazed, a paratrooper bazooka team uses a full Chain of Command dice to ambush "der Knirps" first and then deploys to fire again, putting 2 bazooka rounds in him and immobilising him for the rest of the game.

At the other side of the table, the Americans left their position to support their buddies, allowing the Germans to overrun their jump off point.

Things were not going well for the Americans. Morale was dropping and they had only one squad left, so I revealed my second surpise en sent my opponent some help by way of Michelle of the Resistance.

They drove the Fallschirmjäger squad off the road, but weren't able to turn the tide. 

With US morale at 2 and German morale at 6, the paratroopers withdrew to make sure Allied high command was going to be informed about these new German Vergeltungswaffen.

Doctor Spitzenfinger emerged from his hiding place behind a hedge, vowing revenge for Helga's death, but pleased with the performance of his Vergeltungswaffen soldiers....

It was a fun and very dynamic game with lots of squad movement and quite different gameplay then in our Winter Storm campaign. Spitzenfinger will certainly return in future games with nefarious plans to exact his revenge.