Quar of Command

 

Not all heroes wear capes. A lone ryhfler faces his destiny!

Milwer Derval ap Brachyn checked on his squad. Huw was on sentry, watching through a gap in the sandbags, his Ryshi 20mm heavy automatic ryhfle close to hand. Nob, his other Ryshi gunner, was snout deep in a ration bag. Yon, was cleaning his Bogen. Podwyn, the youngest member of their squad, and in fact, the entire company, was mooning over a lip-sticked photo of  a girl he'd become acquainted with at Madame Maeb's Beetle Buffet when they were in reserve.

"How's your Bogen, Pudding?" Podwyn looked up. "Pudding" had become his nickname in the squad after their first sortie to the Buffet. 

Podwyn picked up his ryhfle and with practised ease, ejected the magazine and pulled the action back to clear the chamber before handing it to Derval. Derval worked the action, noting how easily the well cared for and clean weapon was working. "Good job, kit. Now help me with these grenades." Podwyn tucked the photograph inside his shirt and dragged a box of grenades towards him.

They were a bomber section, carrying an extra burden of grenades, plus grenades specially adapted to be fired from the heavy Ryshi ryhfles. "Why're we called 'Bombers', and not 'Grenadiers', Derval?" Podwyn asked as he finished fusing a five headed Anti-Tractor Bundle Grenade and setting it down carefully.

"Because," Derval said thoughtfully, inserting the fuse on a ryhfle grenade. "Grenadiers is an old Royalist title. Being all fancy and above other quar. 'Bomber' is just a job, like Daffyd over in 2 section is a machine-gunner. And besides, call us 'Grenadiers' and Nob there would want a big fancy plume on 'is helmet."

Nob looked up from his bag of beetles. "Good for tickling the ladies, a big fancy plume!"

Their laughter was cut short by Huw. "Ancestors! Here they come!"

Patrol Phase

Crusader Jump Off Points

Croftyran Jump Off Points

Croftyrans deploy their M-3B HMG team

Iron Keep rolls on

Section of Armoured Cars arrive on flank

Caerten Bleg and Master Yawdryl Vaark blew their whistles. "Stand to! Stand to!" Vaark grabbed Dervel's arm. "Brachyn! take your squad into the forward post and enfilade any bugger that comes at us!"

Crusaders begin to deploy. Brachyn's bomber section in forward position.

They ran through the trench crouched down as machine gun bullets began buzzing across the tops of the sandbags. They got into the pit, Derval had Nob and Huw on either side, Yon and Podwyn were behind. Their main job was to carry the extra bags of bombs and help load the ryhfle grenades. 

Derval risked a peak over the sandbags, ducking back as bullets kicked up dust around his head. "They've got a machine gun in the ruined farmhouse, about 80 meters." He pointed the direction against the wall of their dug out. The three senior team members propped up their Ryshis at the correct angle for the estimated range while Yon and Podwyn set high explosive, fragmenting bombs into the muzzles.

"Fire!" the heavy weapons banged and the three bombs lobbed through the sky. Before they could hear the explosions, Derval barked "Again! Fire! Again!" The machine gun fire stopped suddenly as they heard the flurry of bangs as their salvos of bombs began exploding among the ruined farmhouse. Huw risked a peak. "That got the ancestorless bastards!"

 

Shower of ryhfle grenades break the Croftyran HMG

"Get those tractors!" Derval ordered. The three of them began blasting away, hoping the heavy rounds from the Ryshis would have some effect on the massive war tractors now rumbling towards them.

Tractor deploys. Armoured car with howitzer begins to open fire on the trenches.

Royalists try a flanking move with a couple of squads

The tractor coming straight for them was enormous, bigger than the house Derval grew up in. It's lumbering slab sided bulk filled Derval's vision as they madly fired, aiming for vision slits and gun ports. Both tractors stopped and spat fire. The smaller tractor mounted a howitzer that blasted the trench behind them. The big tractor had machine guns firing from it's upper level. Derval could see a quar on top of it, waving signal flags directing the attack. He took careful aim, squeezed the trigger while checking his breath, and was satisfied with the Signal Quar's head exploding from his 20mm bullet. 

The Iron Keep ground closer. A steel rain fell among them and clouds of dust rolled over top. Derval's squad fell around him, screaming and clutching at wounds. Miraculously he was unscathed. "Stretchers!" he bellowed, and began to desperately wrap dressings over fountains of blood.

The giant tractor continued grinding towards them, spitting fire, and ready to crush everything in it's path. Podwyn gasped and garbled, blood flowing from his shoulder. Derval wrapped a dressing on it, tying the knot tight over the wound. "Hang on Pudding! We'll get you out of here. STRETCHERS!!" 

The stretcher team grabbed Yon, who was closest, and dashed away, ducking under the streams of machine gun fire.  The enemy tractor would be crushing them before everyone could be evacuated. 

Royalisrs get a couple of double turns. Tractors start whittling down the trench defenders. Crusader HSG team is wiped out.

Squad on left is about to be broken by Bogen and LMG fire from the trench.

A black rage fell upon him. Seizing an Anti-tractor grenade in each hand he leapt from the pit and dashed towards the wire. Bullets splashed up dust around him. He pulled the pins and hurled both grenades with an inarticulate howl. They exploded against the front of the tractor. The giant machine stopped with a lurch and smoke began billowing from the driver's vision slit.

Crusaders get a triple move. Milwer Brachyn runs forward to throw two Anti-tractor bundle grenades at the Iron Keep, putting on four shock and immobilizing it.

Derval came to his senses, standing by the wire. Death filling the air around him. Royalist troops were emerging from the back of the tractor. He became aware of Vaark shouting. "Get back here you mad bastard! Covering fire! COVERING FIRE!"

He turned and ran back to the trench, leaping over the sandbags. Picking up his Ryshi again he began firing at the squad that was now attracting all the Crusader's ryhfle fire.

Squad deploys for back of the Iron Keep. The Royalists are losing Command Dice now, limiting their options and giving Milwer Brachyn a chance to run back to his trench for more AT Grenades..

The two enemy gun tractors were still firing explosive shells at the trench behind him, but small arms fire was dropping off as the Royalist infantry were suppressed among the shell craters. Derval grabbed their last AT grenade and jumped over the sandbags again to attack the Royalist tractor a second time. When his bomb exploded against the armoured hull, hatches popped open and the remains of the crew jumped down and ran for the rear. 

Seeing their command tractor abandoned and smoking, and their infantry fleeing, the remaining Royalist tractors turned around and retreated. 

Last Croftyran Ryhfler squad is broken, plus the Iron Keep takes two more shock causing it to be abandoned. Royalist Force Morale is 0. Milwer Brachyn will be getting the Medal of  Insanely Courageous Foolhardiness, also known as the Star of Valor.

Derval was still standing at the wire as Vaark lead a patrol forward to check the enemy dead and inspect the lifeless tractor. Vaark stopped beside him and offered his tobacco pouch. Derval found his pipe and wordlessly got it going. "Maddest, bravest thing I ever saw kit" the old veteran softly said as they puffed.

"I had to save the boys" Derval whispered.

"You saved every one of us, lad."

So ended a solo game of Quar of Command played out over three evenings. I used Karl Lowthian's and Andy Skinner's notes for adapting Chain of Command to the world of Quar. I also used the WW1 adaptations for CoC, found in the 2014 Christmas Special. Other than that, I didn't do anything special for solo play, the Command Dice adding enough friction and limiting my options.

My take aways are I need to refamiliarize myself with Chain of Command. I need to be able to distinguish Junior Leaders better. And I need more troops for each side. And more Support Options. Even though I've ordered some more figures during Zombiesmith's sale I'll still need 5 or 6 plastic sets if I want two full platoons for each side! I am aiming for something that can handle up to six players using Xenos Rampant as well as personal games using Chain of Command. 

Fortunately, in the "official" Quar fluff, a Company is 4x 10 quar sections plus a Support Weapons section. Which equates rather well with most First World War platoon organizations, or a platoon plus reinforcements/Support Options in Chain of Command.

I think once I get the plastic set, I need to make a Derval ap Brachyn figure, AT bundle grenade in each hand, as a Big Man.