6. The Turn Sequence

Chain of Command’s unique Turn sequence reflects the uncertainties of war and the fleeting nature of opportunity on a chaotic battlefield.

The sequence of play is broken down into Phases, a variable number of which make up each Turn. One player is active in each Phase of play, deploying or activating their Units. How many Units they can activate is determined by the Command Dice rolled in that Phase and how they chooss to use them. See Section 7, Command & Control.

6.1 Beginning the Game

Unless the Mission states otherwise, the force which has the higher Force Morale is the active force in the first Phase of a game. If Force Morale is equal, the Attacker is active in the first Phase.

6.2 The Turn Sequence

At the start of each Phase, the active player rolls the number of Command Dice currently in their hand. . As well as determining which units can be activated, it also determines the Turn Sequence and which player is active in the following Phase.

If one or no 6’s are rolled, their opponent will be the active player in the following Phase.
If a player rolls two 6’s, their opponent will immediately gain one Chain of Command Point. The active player will remain the active player in the following Phase.
If a player rolls three 6’s, their opponent will immediately gain one Chain of Command Point. The current Phase will be the last one in the current Turn. The active player will remain the active player in the following Phase.
If a player rolls four 6’s, their opponent will immediately gain one Chain of Command Point. The current Phase will be the last one in the current Turn. At the end of the Phase, the active player gains one complete Chain of Command Dice and rolls on the Random Events table, applying the result immediately. The active player will remains the active player in the following Phase.

6.3 The Turn End

A Turn ends, either as a result of a player rolling three or more 6’s, or by spending a Chain of Command Dice. This represents a significant break in the action. Consult the table below and apply all effects listed.

The Turn End
All Stunned Leaders now recover.
All smoke, other than Mortar Bombardments and Smoke Barrages, is removed from the table.
Any Mortar Bombardment or Smoke Barrage loses one round of ammunition.
All Tactical, Overwatch and Suppressing Fire markers are removed.
Any Jump-Off Points which have been captured are removed and a Force Morale test occurs.
Pinned and Broken Units are checked and their status amended where necessary.
Test for Immobilised vehicles
Check any Units in unstable or collapsing buildings for casualties.

6.4 Pinned and Broken Units

Units that were Pinned or Broken are now checked.

Broken units will Rout from the table and be removed from play. Leaders with them are also removed, causing a Force Morale test for a Leader Routing from the table.

Units with twice the amount of Shock as the number of figures are Broken and removed from the table, along with any attached Leaders.

Units with more Shock than figures are Pinned and have a Pinned Marker placed with them. See Section 4.1.1, Pinned Units.

Units that have Shock equal to or less than the number of figures can act as normal. If they were previously Pinned or Broken, any markers showing that are now removed.

6.5 Random Events

A Random Event occurs when a player rolls four or more 6’s on their Command Dice in any single Phase. Roll a D6, applying the result shown to the right.

1. Fire
The building (or flammable feature) nearest the centre of the table catches fire. Roll for wind direction using the template on page 60 and immediately place a 6" by 6" area of smoke in that direction. At the end of each of the next two Phases, an additional 6" square area of smoke is placed, extending further away in the same direction. The 6" by 18" smoke screen remains for the rest of the game. This smoke blocks Line of Sight.
2. Reinforcements
1D6 riflemen join the player’s force. The player can immediately allocate these to any Unit in their command that has suffered losses. If no losses have been suffered, or all losses have been replaced, the figures may be added to full strength Teams at a maximum of one figure per Team.
3. Fifth column
The player selects one of their opponent’s Jump Off Points. This is Blocked until the end of the following Turn. No Units can deploy from it, nor can the JumpOff Point be moved.
4. Heavy Rain
Heavy rain. Visibility is reduced to 18" for the remainder of the next Turn. At each Turn end, roll a D6. The rain stops on a roll of 3 to 6. On a 1 or 2, the rain continues. Test at the end of the each Turn to see if it ends.
6. A Fine Vintage
You discover a cache of fine wine buried by its rightful owner and intended to be dug up at the end of the war. Sadly for them, it won’t be there when they return. Fortunately for you, your Force Morale increases by> one point. Cheers!
6. Mortar strike
A random mortar Bombardment drops on the battlefield. Roll using the following grid to determine the area affected. Roll 3D6 for each Team or vehicle in that area. A roll of 1 to 3 has no effect, a 4 to 6 adds a point of Shock. No Units of any kind may move in the affected 24" square area in this or the next Phase. Jump-Off points in the affected area are Blocked for these two Phases.