So in 1940 CS9 armoured cars had a little insignia on their wheel arch, so a little bit of editing and I have added it to my STL. If anyone wants the file just let me know. #chainofcommand #spreadthelard #stl #wargaming
— Wargaming Things (Andy) (@wargamingthings.bsky.social) 2 May 2026 at 19:41
[image or embed]
If you want the STLs you can find them in the Files.
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Morris CS9 armoured cars of 'C' Squadron, 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales' Own) at Villiers St Simon, 29 September 1939
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I have been thinking further on armoured options available in the Pint-Sized Campaign Many Rivers to Cross and preparing to run it.
The flexibility of the campaign is that you can take any of the 1940 nations and play them against the Germans, selecting support as appropriate. However, there is a twist in this campaign in that the Germans do not have access to any armour or wheeled support until Turn 4 - this means it is entirely possible for the German player to face heavy Allied armour early campaign with pretty much zero capability to drive it off. In my set-up for the campaign, the British could take Matilda II's on the first table and hold it indefinitely.
The campaign needs to be fun, balanced and achievable for both sides and I am a big fan of the mantra "Play the Period not the Rules".
So what armour was knocking around in this area for the 5th Glosters or the Infanterie-Regiment 82?
German armour was limited in the Tournai–Escaut sector in mid-May 1940 because Army Group B was never intended to deliver the decisive blow of the campaign. Its panzer divisions, such as 3rd Panzer Division and 4th Panzer Division, were initially committed in Belgium to draw Allied forces forward (notably at Hannut and Gembloux), but once the breakthrough was achieved further south at Sedan, they were rapidly redirected toward the Channel.
By 18–20 May, when fighting around Tournai and the Escaut was taking place, these armoured formations had already moved away, leaving infantry divisions like the 31st Infantry Division to continue the advance with only light reconnaissance vehicles. The absence of tanks was therefore not accidental, but a direct result of German operational design to concentrate armour at the decisive point, and accept thinner forces elsewhere.
Allied armour was similarly limited in this area because it had either been committed and worn down earlier in the campaign or was positioned elsewhere to respond to the rapidly developing crisis. French mechanised formations, such as the 2e Division Légère Mécanique, had already fought major engagements in central Belgium and were withdrawing in disorder, while British heavy armour like the 1st Army Tank Brigade was concentrated further south around Arras for counterattack operations rather than distributed along the Escaut line.
Meanwhile, British infantry divisions (including those around Tournai) lacked integral tank support and relied mainly on carriers and scattered armoured cars. Combined with disrupted communications, fuel shortages, and the speed of the German advance, this meant that Allied units in the Escaut sector were forced to fight largely unsupported rearguard actions, with little or no effective armoured backing.
So thinking this all though, I propose an amended support list which limits armoured options to Bren Carriers, CS9 and SdKfz 221's. The Germans do have access to heavier Bisons but these are very expensive and a later campaign choice.
I have created a list of support choices with limited armour option in the Files section here.
I am looking to run the 1940 Pint-Sized Campaign "Many Rivers to Cross" from the Lardy Magazine 2018 and wanted to pull together my thoughts on how this would now be run in the brave new world of CoC².
This is as much a reference for me on how I plan to run this PSC as anything, thoughts and decisions are my own and seem to make sense to me, feel free to disagree in the Comment below.
For those not familiar with the campaign, the basic premise is the German's are advancing across six (well, sort of five if you read the campaign) tables with the time pressure to secure the bridge on the final table before their opponent destroys it. Their opponent can be any nation from the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book, in my case I am going for my newly painted BEF who may also call upon any French support options I have too.
What to consider when porting this 2018 PSC over to CoC²?
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Belgian soldiers taken prisoner march pass their German captors in May 1940
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I want to tailor this to real world BEF unit falling back towards Dunkirk and so after a little research I discovered the 5th Glosters fighting against Infanterie-Regiment 82. This allowed me to pin the PSC tables to specific historic locations as the Glosters fell back. In my take on this PSC, there were not any meaningful French or Belgian forces in the area to for the British to call on for support, so the British are on their own.
Full details of this are in the Many Rivers to Cross player briefings as well as Platoon Rosters available from the Files section here.
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Compiling rule updates can cause serious headaches!
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As a fundamental rule, all of CoC² rules are adopted unless noted otherwise where the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book has primacy.
There are a bunch of CoC² rule changes/updates that I will simply include, such as;
Adopting the values from the Master Arsenal on page 48, these will trump any of the individual Blitzkrieg nations Master Arsenals (e.g. 2" mortar does 3 HE not 2 previously, SMGs increased damage, etc).
Mortars and similar have 3 rounds of HE and smoke (where applicable)
National characteristics are as per CoC² for the British Five Rounds Rapid, Concentrated Fire, Smoke Screen and from the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book Keep. For the Germans as per CoC² with Maschinengewehr, Handgranaten and Panzerknacker, I have omitted Pakfront! as this wasn't doctrine early war (and there were only a handful of SPG in 1940 anyway!).
AFV ability to deploy smoke is as per my previous post on early war AFV smoke deployment. As a result, not all vehicles have this capability and often in a different way to later war CoC² description.
Blitzkrieg AFV/APC have 3 morale as per relevant nations, 4 morale can be achieved by fielding a Senior Leader in armoured platoons as mentioned for each relevant nation. I think this reflects the less trained nature of the early war period and the flimsy nature of some of the vehicles.
The Red Dice is treated differently in the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book (p.15) as opposed to CoC² (See 7.7). I propose sticking with the 1940 version requiring the German player to take three non-static support choices (this would include any off-table support choices as being static too).
These remain unchanged from the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book with following exceptions:
Mortars have 3 crew and limited ammunition.
Engineers are adapted to CoC² rules. This means the previous Engineers Mine Clearance Team, Engineers Wire-Cutting Team and Engineers Demolition Team are replaced with a single Engineer Team, 3 figures and the addition of Explosive Charge for Engineers (Max: 2) as Support choices.
It will now cost 2 Support Points to make the equivalent of the 1940 Engineers Demolition Team (if this is deemed egregious then permit one Engineer Team with a free Explosive Charge available for 1 point).
In the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book there is also the Engineer Section with Junior Leader, this would now be defined as two Engineer Teams led by a Junior Leader. Addition of Explosive Charges is extra (although see my previous comment and you may chose to permit a one of the Engineer Teams to have a free Explosive Charge).
CoC² introduces for the first time restrictions on support choices for various scenarios, for example limiting mortars to certain scenarios. This is likely to mean that the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book scenarios would also have had limitations on them. With CoC² mortars are generally only available when the Attacker is attacking a prepared defensive/static line in the "Attack & Defend" (Attacker only) and "Attack on a Objective", fluid battlefield scenarios therefore do not have mortars available to them, I will try and reflect this.
Smoke Barrages: In my research I didn't find much evidence of British artillery smoke barrages routinely being used at this early stage of the war and so I haven't included them as a support choice for the British. Other nations may be different but since I am using BEF that has been the focus of my research. German doctrine had more integrated developed use of smoke barrages (H.Dv. 200/5 – Die Truppenführung (1933/34, still governing doctrine in 1940) and so is a support choice for them in this PSC.
Bren gun LMGs added to Bren Carriers explicitly where appropriate where it wasn't clear or consistent in the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book.
Added in Replen Points, cars, lorries, etc.
The German player has support limitations as per page 24 of the PSC depending on the Campaign Turn.
Stuka availability limited as per page 25.
French players may still take "Additional V-B ammunition for one man" for 1 support, this allows endless ammunition for one man.
My complied list of support choices for Many Rivers to Cross is available for British and German forces on the Files section here.
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Oddly sailors were involved with updating the scenarios?
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The original Attack & Defend scenario is different from the v1 rules so a few tweaks needed to bring it to bring it up to date with CoC² Attack & Defend mission on page 82.
Objective: The singular Objective is the bridge so this scenario will not have the defending player removing any second objective on the Turn end. Just one rather large, obvious Objective for this table.
Patrol Phase: Attacker does not get any bonus moves before the Patrol Phase.
Support: Constraints for the Defender as per CoC² Attack & Defend mission. Additionally the Defender may not take a Pregame Bombardment.
Wining the Battle: Capturing the bridge by the Attacker triggers either side being able to start the Final Countdown mechanic.
Other Changes: Attacker starts with 1D3 CoC points. If the campaign has got to this stage then the German's campaign has gone serious wrong, Regardless of campaign turn, I would permit anti-tank guns and light infantry guns as a minimum for the Germans to chose from to make the fight memorable.
This is a "Hasty Defence" scenario from 1940 Blitzkrieg Book with a couple of tweaks, there is no direct CoC² equivalent although A Delaying Action" is similar in nature.
Support: Neither side can select Mortars. No Flamethrowers may be selected (see CoC² 20.3).
This is a "Swift to Support" scenario and again will limit mortar choices.
Support: Neither side can select Mortars. No Flamethrowers may be selected (see CoC² 20.3).
This is "Going with a Bang" scenario and again will limit mortar choices.
Support: Neither side can select Mortars. No Flamethrowers may be selected (see CoC² 20.3).
This "Blitzkrieg" scenario (see my notes on this type of scenario here) is unique to the 1940 Blitzkrieg Book and is the very essence of the nature of the early war period.
Support: Neither side can select Mortars. No Flamethrowers may be selected (see CoC² 20.3).
The finale of the PSC and akin to CoC² "Attack on an Objective".
Objective: The objective itself should be 12" in from the table edge, this I think is a minor issue as winning the town will lead to its capture eventually.
Patrol Phase: The Defender places their four starting Patrol Markers in the town square in difference to the scenario text. As noted in the scenario notes, a fourth Jump Off Point is placed on the bridge. I would replace this with the Objective marker but also allow the Defender to use it as a Jump Off Point (with no penalty of a captured JoP if captured though).
Support: The Defender may select Delayed Armour support.
Wining the Battle: Capturing the bridge by the Attacker triggers either side being able to start the Final Countdown mechanic.
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| 1940 BEF Rifleman |
With my French forces painted, I wanted another force to face the Germans and of course the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) seemed like a natural choice, especially as I wanted to run the Many Rivers to Cross PSC with them.
I had backed the Studio Historia Kickstarter For King & Country: Britain at War Vol 1 BEF (1939-1941) so I had the models I needed. I recommend these models but printing at 20mm presented its own challenges as some of the modelling is a little over detailed resulting in some very thin parts of the model in 20mm. I replaced the rifles to get rid of the flimsy rifle straps, thicken up the bits I needed to print and spent way too long trying to get the damned Norton motorcycle squad to print (a personal nightmare). I also edited a lot of the STLs to make them standing and more to my liking, all in all these models took a lot of tweaking.
My required list to play the PSC and also permit me to fill out most of the Support List with is:
Of course any 1940 BEF force had lots of Blanco, in fact Blanco No.97 Khaki Green (Medium) is the Blanco of choice. The standout feature of these early war troops is their green webbing and I wanted to try and get it right if I can.
Largely based on the excellent Painting Panzer's guide...
with a few tweaks by me:
At this point all the dull stuff is done and you will feel disappointed that it all looks a bit pants - time for the wonder of washes!
Give it a wash of 50% Army Painter Strong Tone all over thinned with of 50% Vallejo 71.361 Airbrush Thinner. I usually do two washes as sometimes just one wash isn't strong enough for my liking but each to their own.
Now to the fun stuff that makes the figure really shine. When highlighting I basically repaint back with the original colour and then a highlight colour diluted down so it isn't too strong , some people mix paints but I am too lazy and just dilute with a dab of thinner.
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| Cpt. Cholmondley-Warner is judging your painting! |
To help identify figures on the table, I have gone for painting edges of the bases
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| Section almost finished with just the basing left to do |
I hope you have enjoyed this guide and happy painting the sea of beige and khaki!
I will post some more pictures later of more finished figures.
Connoisseurs of the early war period and devotees of the TFL "1940 Blitzkrieg 1940 Handbook" will doubtless be aware of the scenario Blitzkrieg! and it's rather confusing victory conditions and support qualifications.
I caveat this statement with the fact that I found it confusing, it may be crystal clear to many but to me I was playing it the wrong way for several sessions until a post on the CoC Facebook page led me to take a second look at it.
In the spirit of sharing my thinking and hopefully helping others to understand the scenario I thought I would share my thinking and explanation. I do not claim to understand Rich's design thinking, this is my interpretation of the logic behind the scenario and how to play it on the table.
So let us start with the source of my confusion, in the Objective for the Blitzkrieg! scenario:
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| The Blitzkrieg! Objective and source of confusion! |
So I interpreted this as:
This inevitably led to discussions around would some of the defender's Support choices appear before two CoC dice were played? Think of "Pre-Game Barrage", "Roadblock" or "Minefield" - do these not appear until two CoC dice are played by the defender, that doesn't seem to make sense as they are present at the start of the game usually?
Usually this resulted in some of fudge and a feeling of something not being quite quite right. Players would eye each other nervously and agree to never play this scenario again!
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| Top minds at work on deciphering the true meaning |
However, the scales fell from my eyes when I took another look at the scenario and it all became clear to me, well, at least, I think it has!
Let us look at the narrative behind the scenario, this is Blitzkreig! The enemy, usually German, is pushing aggressively forward and seeking to breach enemy lines, to exploit weakness and push further on in to the rear areas of the defender. The defender seeks to delay them and stymy the advance until they can call upon their reserves to plug the gap, halt the blitzkrieg and prevent the break through.
In this context, let us take another look at the mission Objective.
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| With context this time |
The objective of the attacker is clear - push on aggressively and exploit the advance and get two units off the defender's table edge. Time is the key here, push on fast and drive deep in to the rear echelons of the enemy before they can organise a defence. Drive fast and drive hard and don't let the defender's get the chance to recover. The playing of their own Chain of Command points represent the delay to the defender's attempt to reorganise.
For the defender this is a different story. They need to marshal their resources and try and halt the blitzkrieg until their rear echelons can organise and block the enemy thrust. This is represented by their playing of two full Chain of Command dice.
Unlike the "Swift to Support" scenario, which explicitly states that the defender cannot deploy support until Turn 2, the Blitzkrieg! scenario has no such restriction. The phrase "call up support" in this scenario refers to a specific narrative victory trigger.
The defender wins the game instantly if they can successfully play two full Chain of Command dice before the attacker exits two units from the table. In effect, the playing of two full CoC dice represents the defender successfully alerting higher headquarters and bringing the "main body" of their force into the area, effectively ending the attacker's chance for a rapid breakthrough via blitzkrieg.
The attacker can delay this by using one of their own full Chain of Command dice to reduce the defender's accrued Chain of Command points by three.
So the defender can deploy their support choices from the beginning of the game, with a sort of "ticking clock" mechanism of two CoC dice being played for their victory which the attacker can blunt and delay by using their own dice while racing to get two units off the table.
I hope this helps those players who have been confused by this scenario, I know I was!
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| Panzerknacker or is it "Geballte Ladung"? |
With the advent of Chain of Command² rules there is the addition of the new German National Characteristics of "Panzerknacker":
"Where a section has three hand grenades available, it can convert them to a compound charge with which to attack an AFV or APC."
The Army Lists in CoC² represent late war forces circa 1944 onwards, so I wondered if this Characteristic was also present in the early war period covered by the Blitzkrieg 1940 Handbook?
First of all, let's be clear, we are talking about an adhoc improvised explosive device here and not the later war Panzerknacker or Hafthohlladung. Whilst Panzerknacker just means "tank breaker", it is an all encompassing term for any explosive charge used on enemy armoured vehicles.
The German Army had a long history of using ahdoc grenade based explosives, even using them in the 1st World War as bombs dropped from aircraft.
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| Cover of the 1936 Luger/Stick Grenade manual |
According to the 1936 dated manual "Die Stielhandgranate 24 und ihre Handhabung" ("The Pistol 08 and its Handling, the Stick Grenade and its Handling"), a compound charge or "Geballte Ladung" could be made of any number of grenade heads, just so long as they were firmly connected to each other.
Apparently there's clear evidence that there was an early use of such cobbled together weapons in 1936, but was there any documented use in the early war period?
The Osprey book German Pionier 1939–45: Combat Engineer of the Wehrmacht (drawing on period imagery and manuals) illustrates that Geballte Ladungen were formally part of German combat engineer German Engineer Training Manuals (Pioneers) and their doctrine.
There is a documented used of Geballte Ladungen by Pionier-Bataillon 12 der 12. Infanterie-Division when destroying the door of a French bunker.
In the Military Intelligence Service, War Dept, Washington D.C. Special Series No. 14 German Infantry Weapons, May 25, 1943 the use of grenades in an antitank role is explictly described;
Given that this document is dated 1943 it is reasonable to assume that it describes the use of German weapons since the beginning of the war. Whilst a majority of the evidence is primarily focussed on their use in a demolition role it is also mentioned in an antitank role.
And as if more proof was needed, a video of someone in Ukraine fashioning a modern equivalent using Polish grenades but also covering the history of the use of Geballte Ladungen. Sadly there is a need for these items even today.
In summary, yes the Geballte Ladung or in CoC² terms a "Panzerknacker" is appropriate for the 1940 setting as a National Characteristic, use it at your own risk though!
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| A crack British section assaults a nearby cake shop |
In my experience the vicious charge in to close combat usually results in the attacking squad getting their butts handed to them, especially when the defender is in a house or other hard cover. So just what can you do to improve your chances of success, what statistically might work?
Let's find out. I have taken the opportunity to run the numbers and chances of success of close combat and the factors that might improve the odds.
In this example, I have taken a standard British section of a Junior Leader, 3-man Bren Team, 6 riflemen attacking a regular German section of a Junior Leader, 4-man LMG Team, 5 riflemen. The plucky British are moving a visible 2d6 to get within 4" and initiate close combat.
To add some flavour, let us imagine this is the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard led by the rotund Cpt. Mainwaring attacking a standard platoon of dastardly Jerries delivered by U-Boat!
Just how can Captain Mainwaring succeed?
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| "Hello Walmington-on-Sea Analytics Department?" |
British Base: 9 dice (figures) + 2 dice (Leader orders) + 1 die (Sten SMG) = 12 Dice total.
German Base: 9 dice (figures) + 2 dice (Leader orders) + 1 die (Machine Pistol) + 3 dice (LMG in Arc of Fire) + 2 dice (2D6 fully visible movement) = 17 Dice total.
Neither side is deemed to be Aggressive, Stubborn or Green.
On the face of it the two Sections are pretty balanced but let us add in some defensive terrain and other factors and see how radically this changes the chance of success.
Statistically, each Combat Die has a 33% chance of causing a hit (of a 5 or 6).
So let's start with the various chances when assaulting different levels of cover. The following statistical percentages represent the probability of the British Attacker winning the first round (scoring more hits than the German Defender).
The Germans are ensconced in a building. When attacking Hard Cover, the British dice pool is halved (12 becomes 6). Statistically, it is nearly impossible for 6 dice to out-roll 17 dice when both need 5s or 6s to hit.
Statistical Expectancy: British expect 2.0 hits vs. Germans' 5.6 hits
The British are more likely to be "Defeated by Four" or more, which results in a total surrender or being wiped out. Not a smart move there Cpt. Mainwaring!
The Germans are hiding behind a hedge. When attacking Light Cover, the British dice pool is reduced by a third (12 becomes 8). Statistically, it improves the odds slightly but this is still unlikely to result in a British successful assault
Statistical Expectancy: British expect 2.6 hits vs. Germans' 5.6 hits
The British are most likely to be "Defeated by Three," which adds 2 Shock and forces a 12” retreat facing away from the enemy.
Assaulting in the Open means it is a straight British 12 dice versus 17 German dice.
Statistical Expectancy: British expect 4.0 hits vs. Germans' 5.6 hits
While the odds are better, the German LMG bonus and the +2 dice for the British movement being visible still give the Germans a 3:2 advantage. This is likely to result in a "Draw" or a "Defeated by One" for the British.
So cover is a key factor in the chances of Cpt. Mainwaring being successful here, so what other factors can he skilfully deploy to increase his odds.
In these examples it is assumed the Germans are still in hard cover as this is the worst case scenario.
Shock reduces the German pool by 1 die per 2 points (for Regulars), so narrowing the gap to 14 German dice versus 6 British. Narrowing yes, but still not enough when in hard cover.
Statistical Expectancy: British expect 2.0 hits vs. Germans' 4.6 hits
A German Section with 11 Shock becomes Pinned. Starting with 17 dice, subtract 5 dice for 11 Shock (leaving 12), then halve the remainder for being Pinned, resulting in 6 dice.
As a result, even with the British halved for the German's Hard Cover (6 dice). This is likely to result in a "Draw".
Statistical Expectancy: British expect 2.0 hits vs. Germans' 2.0 hits
The British have a 38% of winning, 24% of a draw and fighting again.
Cpt. Mainwaring has effectively "suppressed the position" enough to make the assault viable.
In this example the German's have no shock at all. Manoeuvring to the rear is the most powerful tool in the British arsenal, so if Cpt. Mainwaring can lead the lads around the back of the Germans he can probably win.
Manoeuvring to the rear provides two massive benefits: the attacker does not halve their dice for the enemy's cover, and the defender's pool is halved for the first round. This gives the British 12 dice versus 8 for the Germans'.
Statistical Expectancy: British expect 4.0 hits vs. Germans' 2.6 hits
This is the perfect attack carried out by Cpt. Mainwaring with no need to roll any dice, let see how that is worked out.
If the Germans have 11 Shock and are considered Pinned and then hit from the rear, their pool of 17 dice (after Shock reduction to 12) is halved twice (12 → 6 → 3).
Statistical Expectancy: British expect 4.0 hits vs. Germans' 1.0 hit
Because the British have 12 dice and these are four times the German 3 dice, the Overwhelming Numbers rule applies. The Germans surrender or break immediately without any dice being rolled and the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard are victorious! Cups of tea and promotions all round!
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| After a successful close assault, time for a small celebratory drink! |
To emulate the tactical genius of Cpt. Mainwaring you need to do the following to have a greater than 50% chance of success in all your close combat dealings.
A commander must ensure at least one of the following is in effect before launching the assault:
I hope you enjoyed this nerdy deep dive in to the perils of getting up close with the enemy!
On Saturday 24th January 2026, we held our Lardy Day called "Come and have a go if you think you're LARD enough" or rather paradoxically CAHAGIYTYLE for short?!?
With over forty attendees and more than a dozen games, it was chance to run my scenario of the Battle of Biville-la-Baignarde 1940.
We ran a morning and afternoon session which saw the Germans come close to winning the morning game but ran out of time, and in the afternoon some magnificent aggressive German advances that ended in their destruction by high explosive!
The scenario is a tough one for the Germans but winnable if they choice the right support options and chose the right time and place to press their attack.
I will post the scenario here and on the Facebook groups when I have finished the play testing and balancing.
You can read about the historical battle and the design process on previous posts.
Anyway to the photos of the day taken by fellow gamers and reproduced here. If you want to see my table (and others) on our Lardy day it is on Youtube here (3:57 time stamp for Biville).
Enjoy!
