Combat Infantry: A WW2 Squad Level Game Worth Adding to Your Shelf

Pictured: Combat Infantry, WestFront 1944-45 by Columbia Games 

“Combat Infantry” was a badge awarded to U.S infantrymen who participated in combat under hostile fire. It’s also a new, fast-paced, World War 2 squad level block game from Columbia Games. From the publisher:

“You command a German or American infantry battalion, composed of three infantry companies and attached heavy weapons including mortars and tanks. Innovative and interactive rules for Fire Combat, Assaults, Morale, and Leaders make this game sophisticated, yet very playable.”   

The game is comprised of the following components, all reflecting the usual quality people have come to expect from Columbia:  

• 2 color geomorphic maps (16.5’’ x 22” each)
• Blocks: 66 green, 66 black 
• 22 yellow wooden markers 
• Unit Label sheet (1)
• 6 scenarios 
• 4 x d10 dice    

What’s best about Combat Infantry is that it accomplishes what it sets out to do: achieve a level of depth-of sophistication-while never sacrificing playability. What it also manages to do in the process is to give gamers a new squad level WW2 tactical game worth adding to their shelf. Here’s why:         

Those Wooden Blocks            

Because Combat Infantry is played with blocks instead of counters or miniatures, it provides two features which add to the realism of gameplay: Fog of war and Step Losses. These upright blocks, labels facing the owner, help to capture the essence of WW2 tactical combat. As is the case with other block games, opponents experience the risk of not knowing which enemy units they will encounter in battle, or how strong they might be.                     

The Scale of the Game 

Combat Infantry includes units for one American and one German Infantry Battalion, as they were on the Western Front in 1944-45. As noted by Columbia, “This was considered the smallest force capable of attacking or defending major objectives.”   

Most blocks represent rifle squads of only 9-12 men, approximately 3 men per step. Machine guns, mortar teams, and other heavy weapons are teams of 2-3 men per step. Tanks & artillery are individual crews and vehicles. Compare this with games such as Bobby Lee or Napoléon where infantry blocks are at the brigade level, each step representing approximately 3,000 men. Additionally, each hex in Combat Infantry depicts 100 meters.          

Pictured: Solitaire game of Combat Infantry 

The Structure of Gameplay

Unlike other WW2 games, there are no cards or Combat tables to consult. Movement and battle is generated from command units, either by Company Headquarters (CHQs) or Platoon HQs (PHQs). Additionally, leadership rules require players to maintain platoon integrity (e.g. Company C has platoons C1, C2, and C3, each with their own rifle squads and heavy weapons).     

Game turns in Combat Infantry are divided into 8 player turns (4 each), comprised of the following:   

• HQ Command, 1 per Company per player turn.
• Commanded units can either Rally, Fire, conduct Special Action (blow up a bridge, etc.), Fire at enemy units in another hex, Move (limited by a block’s movement points & terrain effects), and HQ Action. 
• Assault: resolve any and all battles from direct movement into an enemy controlled hex.         

After each player has conducted 4 turns (8 total) the Game Turn ends the next one begins. There is real tactical depth within this format. Players decide which units to activate per player turn, cognizant of terrain restrictions, possible unit limitations, and (often) unaware of the enemy units before them.             

Replayability 

Combat Infantry provides players with 6 initial scenarios which recreate American and German firefights in the Normandy campaign. Though not based on specific historical battles, they do a good job of simulating squad level fighting in the weeks and months following D-Day. The scenarios range from 4-8 game turns and take anywhere from 2-4 hours to play. Scenario 6 (Last Stand) makes for an excellent introduction to the game. With only 5 turns and 20 blocks per side, it plays fast and benefits from a low block count. The diversity and scope of these scenarios, with the expectation of more to come from the publisher and their fans, means great replayability for Combat Infantry.  


Is Combat Infantry for you?   

If you are looking for a fast paced WW2 squad level game with strategic depth, Combat Infantry won’t disappoint. I would like to make one suggestion and one observation while wholeheartedly recommending Combat Infantry: 

First, play through it several times (and I would suggest several times with scenario W6) before making up your mind about Combat Infantry. I have found my appreciation of the game increasing significantly with each additional play. The pace of the game continues to pick up as well, something that is important to me.    

Second, make sure you seek out Combat Infantry forums at BoardGameGeek and on Facebook. While the rules are generally well written, I have found myself confused at times about a few (relatively simple) elements of play. Thankfully I’m apparently not the only one. Columbia Games has even uploaded an FAQs at their site.  

Lastly, if you like the game, go review it at BGG. I’m a little surprised by the limited number of ratings it has. This is a well conceived game and it deserves a bigger following than it currently has. 

Photo credit: Brian Williams 

How a Good Block Wargame Simulates Military Logistics

Pictured: Shenandoah: Jackson’s Valley Campaign by Columbia Games 

General Omar N. Bradley, the United States Armed Forces last five star general, once noted: “Amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics.” General Dwight Eisenhower and the Allies were so acutely aware of this that they made logistical support a top priority in the days immediately following the Normandy landings on D-Day. The famed Red Ball Express, a truck convoy comprised primarily of African American drivers, helped to keep those advancing troops supplied. They did so in part by exclusively dedicating two routes from Cherbourg to Chartres for supply purposes. The northern route was used for deliveries, the southern for returning trucks. Neither road was open to civilian use.

In block wargames, supply points serve as an effective mechanism for simulating the important role that logistics play in war. As I noted in a previous post on strategic principles:

“Most of the block games involve some rudimentary economic considerations as damaged units are repaired and new units formed. Often the availability of resources or supply points rely upon territorial control. What may seem a lower priority during earlier turns will likely increase as the game moves on.”

Before continuing, however, I do have a confession to make. When I first began playing block games, the supply phase was largely an afterthought. It was far less interesting than the command phase and troop movement, and not nearly as compelling as the resulting battles, replete with dice rolls, drama, and suspense. Remember, amateurs are all about tactics.

Over time, however, I soon came to realize and to appreciate the elegance and nuance of supply points. What’s more, block wargames introduce this additional depth to a game without sacrificing pace or playability. This is accomplished through two basic means: 

• During each game-turn players receive a set number of supply points. The amount of points given often reflects the historical and logistical challenges (or advantages) that a particular army faced in that battle.    
• Those supply points are then used to restore steps lost on specific blocks, either due to commands given (in the case of HQ blocks), or damage incurred/steps lost in battle. The question of which blocks should receive these restored steps is part of the strategic depth and beauty of block games. (In some games supply points can also be used to bring new units onto the board).

In Shenandoah: Jackson’s Valley Campaign, Columbia Games explains that the Supply Phase of the game “simulates a complex variety of battle effects, such as restocks of ammunition, and resting and rallying of troops.” This is the concern of the professional soldier. Battles are lost when logistics fail. A supply line cut can lead to attrition of forces and blocks lost. 

Games such as Shenandoah further capture this by designating supply bases for each side, such as Charlottesville and Staunton, Virginia for the CSA player. Rules also require that blocks being resupplied must be able to trace their (continuous) supply lines back to base. In the case of Napoléon: The Waterloo Campaign 1815, another game from Columbia, the French occupation of Allied supply cities results in immediate attrition for the Anglo-Dutch (-1 unit) or Prussian (-2 units) forces. 

From fog of war and step reduction (which I’ve written about before) to supply points and attrition of forces, block games do an amazing job of simulating battlefield challenges without slowing you down or sacrificing playability. While you may not necessarily learn to love logistics, hopefully you will now have a greater appreciation for supply points the next time your favorite block game makes it to the table.