World in Flames 50

I think this is just about it.

The Black Sea front.

Threatened, but stable.

The Gomel pocket.

Gone.

The Leningrad breakout.

Contained.

The Caspian Sea.

There is a 12 factor SS armoured corps under the aircraft.

The Italian is also prepared to interdict the vital flow of oil from Baku to Siberia.

The Persian oil fields have been captured by the Japanese.

Italians are posed to invade Iraq.

The Siberian front has collapsed.

The Soviets are low on fuel.

It's grim.

GAME OVER!

Marian Romans versus Gauls

This week at the club I was fortunate to be able to run one of Mark Woods' fabulous 6mm armies.  A dice roll determined I would be the Romans.

It is the first time the chariots are on the table.  It is also a first for my lake (which represents impassable terrain)

.

Deployment.

The armies are flanked by a wood, a lake and a marsh.

Flanks secure!

The armies advance.

The Roman light cavalry attempted to run down the Gallic skirmishers,

but were obliterated!

The impetuous Gauls charge,

but were met by a murderous shower of pilia

that seriously compromised their attack,

to put it mildly.

The Romans start mopping up.

All over.

Note: 

Red markers signify disorder and associated reduced strength.

Green just represents losses (i.e. unit is no longer at full strength).

The Gold marker identifies which unit the General is with.

Just look at that detail!

Holland'44 - 3Q20 - Turns 18 to 20

The games concludes...

But first the cloudy morning turn

The Allied left flank.

There at least is a German presence.

The Germans hold one VP, the Allies 4.

The Allied right flank.

The Germans have just made a surgical strike

 and with extreme luck, took out a US paratroop.

The Germans hold 2 VP locations.

Where it matters.

It is a race against time for the Allies to take Nijmegen.

The Germans hold 3 VPs and the Allies 2.

Then the clear weather afternoon turn.

Not much happens on the left.

Or the right.

For the Germans to get another kill they would need to get a two step loss on a unit.

Not going to happen as the most you can inflict in one attack is one step 

(unless the unit is surround etc).

Disaster for the Germans!

The Nijmegen garrison takes casualties in the attack 

and then is wiped out in a determined defence.

This was in the penultimate turn.

The Germans at least attack on the right.

And on the left.

But the Allies are now clear to get supply into Arnhem.

Stacking is 9 steps and so Arnhem is home to one 3 step paratroop unit 

and three 2 step non paratroop units.

The Allies hold 7 VP locations.

Nightfall

There are three in supply non paratroop units across the Rhine gives the Allies another 3 VPs.

Automatic victory for the Allies is 10 VPs.

The Germans only get VPs for destroyed Allied units and had 8 VPs, but given the Allies had achieved an automatic victory, that doesn't count.

Nijmegen was the key, but the trick was breaking down units so they could all fit into that one hex of  Arnhem held by the Allies.

Excellent game.

The Soviets Are Coming

Perhaps not as catchy as "The Russians are coming" but more accurate given the demographic makeup of the forces facing the Axis on the Eastern Front.

I have been watching for a Soviet army for sale and when I saw this on The Australian Historical Wargamer Trading Post on Facebook I pounced.

These images are what appeared on Facebook.

455 professionally painted troops - still in packaging from painter
4 x 4 horse carriages
120 pieces of armour trucks etc - built and in base coat
23 arty pieces - painted crews are in the troop packs.

All up 10.6kg!

Djedeida 29 November 1942 Tunisia - Preliminary

The excellent Hexes and Squares site has recently added a Rommel scenario for the battle of Djedeida (which I think is pronounced Jay-day-da) which can be found here.

I converted the square map to hexes.  Djedeida is E9 and Tebourba is at D2.

While assembling the forces and bits of terrain, I thought I would look up the battle and see what extra information was available.

From North West Africa - Seizing the Initiative:

The Allied drive toward Tunis reached its climax on 29 November. The 11th Infantry Brigade Group renewed its assault on Djedeida after a half-hour's artillery preparation of high explosive and smoke shells at dawn, followed by an attack of the 5th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, and a dozen American tanks of the 2d Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment. The enemy leaped to his guns when the barrage lightened and hit the tanks with antitank and heavy machine gun fire as they came over a ridge and rolled down the forward slope. Enemy airplanes were extremely effective. Tanks which pulled back to defilade found no cover from repeated dive-bombing in the open, rolling countryside. Enemy air attacks, more intense than those of any previous day, also harried the infantry as it broke off the assault. These attacks continued as one portion of the infantry organized a defensive line at the ridge while the remainder withdrew to Tebourba.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_campaign:

By late 26 November 11th Brigade had taken positions in and around Tebourba, which had  been evacuated by the Germans, preparatory to advancing on Djedeida. However, on 27 November the Germans attacked in strength. 11th Brigade tried to regain the initiative in the early hours of 28 November, attacking toward Djedeida airfield with the help of US armour. On 29 November, Combat Command B of US 1st Armored Division had concentrated forward for an attack in conjunction with Blade Force planned for 2 December. They were forestalled by an Axis counter-attack, led by Major-General Wolfgang Fischer, whose 10th Panzer Division had just arrived in Tunisia. By the evening of 2 December, Blade Force had been withdrawn, leaving 11th Brigade and Combat Command B to deal with the Axis attack. The attack threatened to cut off 11th Brigade and break through into the Allied rear, but desperate fighting over four days delayed the Axis advance and permitted a controlled withdrawal to the high ground on each side of the river west of Terbourba.

And from Osprey Campaign 312 Operation Torch

The following morning, November 29, the reinforced 11th Brigade Group attacked again. Forced to advance through open ground, 11th Brigade Group was savaged by Stukas. Enduring the relentless dive-bombing, a British Army captain conceded, “Like all things German, it is very efficient and goes
on much too long.” Unknown to either side, Torch had reached its high water mark; Tunis’ minarets were faintly visible from Djedëida, “to remain a haunting memory through many tough days ahead,” recollected a US tank commander. The Allies would not again come so close to Tunis until May 1943.

 The assembled Axis forces, just missing a towed 75mm gun.

 And the Allies - just missing three M5s.

The joy of retail shopping.  

Found what I needed in Tactics.  

Yeah!

With the terrain, just need to make some bridges for my new river segments, perhaps some small rocks/shrubbery to hide/secure the joins, palm trees (although I think the areas are more olive groves) and two suitable buildings for the urban areas.  Simon has signed up for the palm trees and could have and still might, supply the M5s.  Then it's just a matter of finding the time...

Nikephorian Byzantines versus Sassanids

At the club my Byzantines confronted Mark B's Sassanids.

 Outscouted, the Sassanids knew exactly where the Byzantines where.

 But the Byzantines got in the first hit 

(unit of Sassanid cavalry far left)

 The Byzantines then closed for the kill,

but after the Sassanids survived on a throw of a 1,
a betrayal was announced.

It failed miserably when they threw another 1.

 Turn two and further bow fire saw more damage to the Sassanid cavalry.

 The Elephants made a mess of the legions

but it is not going all the Sassanids' way 

with yet another of their cavalry units getting mauled.

 The battle reaches its climax:

there is an infantry battle next to the vastly diminished elephants 

and then there are two generals stuck in a cavalry battle.

It was a close run thing, 

but the Byzantines triumphed!

Phew!

Holland'44 - 3Q20 - Turns 14 to 17

After this session, one more day remains.  It is very close, but the pressure is all on the Allies to take more VP locations and get across the Lower Rhine and not lose any more units.

 During the night of the 21/22 September 

the Germans have made an incursion on the Allies' left.

 The Germans look like they are also getting ready to attack on the Allied right flank.

 The Germans are busy trying to constrain the Allied presence on the Betuwe.

 The Germans are now threatening both flanks of the highway.

 While the Germans are still managing to restrain the Betuwe bridgehead,

the Allies have now isolated Nijmegen.

 The German flank incursions seem to have stalled.

 The fighting rages on in the Betuwe.

The Allies have brought up more engineers to ferry over their troops.

In addition the Polish paratroops have arrived,

along with other US paras, freshly dropped after a bit of a delay.

 The Germans are now on the defensive in the Betuwe.

They have blown the railroad bridge west of Arnhem.

 The Allies are working hard to stop the German flank attacks.

 The night of 22/23 September and the German defenders of Nijmegen refuse to surrender.

What's the German for "nuts!"

Lower Rhine defences look at little sparse now that the Allies have been able to finally push the Germans back in the Betuwe.

There might still be some fight in the German counterattacks on the flanks...