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Combat Commander (CBC) WBC 2022 Event Report
Updated March 23, 2023
28 Players David Pepin 2022 Status 2023 Status Event History
2022 Champion & Laurels
 

Pepin Becomes Leader of Men With an undefeated Championship!

With the return of WBC in 2022 after a 2 year hiatus, 28 would-be leaders of men returned to the battlegrounds of the Foggy Goggle to vie for the crown. Despite lower numbers of players than years past, many returning champions were present . The first round showed them no mercy however as former champs Bob Heinzmann, Jordan Kehrer, Marty Sample and JR Tracy all lost their initial matches. Sample's loss was especially bad as his 1939 Germans, attacking Poles in the classic BLITZKRIEG UNLEASHED , lost via Surrender as Andy Lewis' skilled and aggressive defense changed the course of history. Andy repeatedly sent out units to Melee the Germans; the final two German units lost ( a squad then a team ) falling victim to a lone weapons team.

As the rounds progressed a handful of players amassed perfect records - Michael Kiefte and David Pepin remained undefeated at 4-0, while former champs Larry Sisson and Martin Sample recovered from early losses to remain in the hunt at 3-1 headed into the final matches. Unlike the preliminary rounds which used existing scenarios, the final two rounds would use the Random Scenario Generator, which challenges players to think on the fly and choose an OOB they think best suited for the task at hand.

In the first semifinal, Sample and Kiefte randomly selected Board 18, each choosing an OOB in secret . Sample got a Green Russian Militia Company while Kiefte chose a Romanian Line company. With a higher VP value, Kiefte would be on the attack. Sample belatedly realized that his Militia squads, with a range of only 2 hexes, would be borderline useless defending the 2-hex wide canal running across the board so set up most of them behind a ridge on his side of the canal. He bought 6 foxholes to dig in his MGs and mortars on top of the ridge in hopes they could slow down the mass of Romanians converging on the two bridge hexes where most of the VPs were to be earned. Kiefte advanced carefully in the relatively wide open terrain , with occasional mortar and long range MG fire breaking some units on both sides while he amassed a fire group near the bridge. A timely Wire event broke up one would be fire group as he balanced laying down Suppressing fire with advancing units onto the bridge. However, the many Time triggers drawn by Sample's fire attacks, combined with a Russian squad dashing onto the near end to recapture the near side VP hex proved Kiefte’s undoing.

In the Final between Sample and David Pepin, the randomly determined Board 14 once again offered board edges with sparse cover to both sides. Sample again drawing green troops, chose an American company in hopes the mass and firepower would overcome poor morale. Pepin, with German Line chose a detachment. Augmenting a very skilled defense using terrain, Pepin expertly chose fortifications allowing sheltered troop movement to react to Samples initial set up . Sample's attack barely advanced off his board edge as Pepin's forces laid down a well-constructed web of overlapping fire, breaking one of the American leaders and routing him off the board edge in just the second hand. From there Sample struggled to reform his attack, stuck in poor terrain and hindered by the Wire laid down by Pepin. The game ended with Pepin up with a comfortable 18 VP, making him the newest Leader of Men. Congratulations David on a perfect 6-0 record !

2022 Laurelists Repeating Laurelists: 1
Marty Sample Larry Sisson Michael Kiefte Stan Myszak Nathan Wagner
2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Mark Yoshikawa and Peter Card in an intense fire-fight. Dennis Nicholson giving his troops a rest as he
consults his battle plan (aka rule book).
Bob Heinzmann and BPA Counsel Ralph Gleaton
engaged in a Foggy Goggle battle.
GM Bryan Collars enjoying a game.
GM Bryan Collars [10th Year]