GM Wagner Repeats as Champion!

To help boost lagging attendance in recent years, in 2025, the Combat Commander: Europe Tournament was changed from a Class A event to Class B event, offering a demo. There were five attendees at the demo, four of which participated in the tournament.

This year we had 33 participants, up from the previous year. GM Nathan Wagner provided the demo with the aid of Assistant GM David Pepin.

In addition, we also offered a coached game during Round 1 for inexperienced players that attended the demo. Thereafter, the gloves came off. Still, we had two recruits play three rounds, and one new recruit who played all four rounds!

To also help further boost participation in the tournament we held a raffle of Combat Commander schwag due to the generosity of Kai Jensen and GMT games, who donated a copy of the new Combat Commander Battle Pack #8: Minor Nations Battle Pack. Eligibility for this raffle was limited to those new to playing in the tournament or who had not played in the tournament since 2020. Raffle tickets were earned for each round of participation. Participants also earned an extra ticket each round they won. Congratulations to John Gitzen for winning!

After four rounds we ended with one player with 4-0 record (Joseph Kelleher), and three players with 3-1 records (Nathan Wagner, David Pepin and Bill Dickerson). As a result, no tie breakers were required to determine who was advancing to the Semifinal.

Bill Dickerson was selected randomly to face Joseph Kelleher, while Nathan Wagner and David Pepin would face-off in the other Semifinal. Since there were only 3 plaques to be awarded this year, the losing participants of the Semifinal matches would need to face-off to see who would go home with a plaque. For the Semifinal and Final, the scenario was selected by the lower seed (from the available scenarios played in the Swiss rounds or the Tournament Battle Pack), while the higher seed choose the side to play, Axis or Allies.

Semifinal: Joseph Kelleher vs Bill Dickerson

Bill chose to play Hurtgen Forest scenario, and Joe chose to play the Americans. Early, on turn 3, the US lost its Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) after only a couple of bursts. The US was still able to reach Objective 5, which was worth 2 VPs. The Americans tried to split their forces and march down its left flank but was blocked by a German force. Lots of time was spent on both sides probing for weak points, with shots fired and hoping not to be hit be incoming artillery. This was especially true for the Germans who were not just dealing with the special scenario rules regarding off-board artillery, but also against the US acquired 10FP radio from a support roll. The off-board artillery broke a couple of German units, but crippled the Americans, breaking their 2 strength leader, squad and team. The Americans spent over ten card draws looking for a recover card, and when it finally came on Turn 8, the rally attempt resulted in a suppression of the leader and failure to rally for the squad. The American stack was eventually eliminated with a 21 fire strength attack which came from a scrounged American HMG, a German Light Machine Gun (LMG), and two sustained cards to juice the attack. The rest of the battle was made up of the Germans trying to keep the US at arm’s length. In its final action, the US initiated a melee against odds, and the Germans holding the initiative card. The game ended with a Turn 9 concession. Germans had 10 VPs and Bill advance to the Final. Joe suffered his first defeat of the tournament and would now be playing for the 3rd Place plaque.

Semifinal: Nathan Wagner vs David Pepin

Nathan and David had faced each other in the Swiss Rounds, resulting in Nathan’s only loss. The Scenario selected was One Steppe Beyond from the Tournament Battle Pack. David chose to play the Germans. In the opening of the match, the Germans discarded twice. The Russians meanwhile advanced, taking objectives 2, 3, and 5. The Germans attack with a huge fire group that included an HMG, and rolls a jammed, and passing the initiative card to avoid breaking the HMG. The Russians respond with a devastating mortar attack breaking the German stack with his HMG and 2 valued leader. The Germans attack Russians in Objective 5 with a large fire group which jams all the LMGs. A subsequent sniper attack eliminates the LMGs. The defending Russian squad does break, but fortunately the hero of the Soviet Union rallies the unit before he could be eliminated. Eliminated units were worth twice the VPs, which could have made the difference if the Russian squad didn’t recover. In the end, the Russians forced many time triggers with constant fire attacks, and with sudden death on Turn 11, the game was over quickly. The Russians win with 7 VPs, and Nathan advancing to the Final.

Third Place Match: David Pepin vs Joseph Kelleher

David selected One Steppe Beyond from the Tournament Battle pack as the scenario to play. Joe chose to play the Germans. David defeated Joe. From the start, the Germans took up positions in a raised wooded area offering an excellent firing position. This didn't prevent the Soviets from capturing Objectives 2 and 5 for 4 vps. Strategically, Objective 5 was crucial for the Allies, as it corresponded to their secret objective. The Allies were sufficiently motivated to hold Objective 2 despite the heavy German fire. Time ran out quickly following the numerous firefights. Unable to retake the Allied-held objectives, the Germans were never able to reduce the Allied advance. David won as the Russians, securing a third place plaque.

Final: Nathan Wagner vs Bill Dickerson

Nathan was the considered the lower seed due to Bill’s advancement in the bracket defeating the top seed. Again, the scenario selected was One Steppe Beyond from the Tournament Battle Pack. Thinking that Nathan may have some advantage of just playing that scenario in the semifinal round, Bill chose to play the Russians. The Russians moved to take objective 5 on the hill, but within striking range of a significant fire group that included an HMG, Esser (2 value leader), and a team with LMG. The Germans split their fire group in two attacks. The first fire attack broke all the Russian units that moved into the hex. The second attack eliminated the units. Afterwards, a German squad moved onto the center hill. The Russians fired their mortars continuously at the German squad, burning through the deck to advance the time marker – that is until a blaze appeared blocking LOS. Sudden death came shortly thereafter, with the Germans winning with a 2 VP margin of victory. A close match worthy of a Final. Nathan repeats his championship title from 2024, and Bill earns his first plaque in the Combat Commander: Europe Tournament.

I would like to begin by thanking David Pepin and Ted Lyng for serving as assistant GMs who helped with rulings, administrative support and permitted the GM to play. I would also thank all those who participated and contributed to making this year’s tournament fun.