Sunday, December 16, 2018

Operation Brevity

My first game of Rommel where all the figures/models are close depictions of the troops they represent.  Stephen went the Axis and I prevailed as the Commonwealth using my superior knowledge of the rules and lucky die rolls (or rather Steve's unlucky die rolls and it was really only his first game with the rules).

 Operation Brevity is one of the introductory scenarios for Rommel.
Here is our setup showing some associated game paraphernalia,
which I crop and edit of of subsequent photos.

 The Commonwealth are attacking and I have sent the Coastal Force to attack Sollum,
while 7th Armoured Brigade Group covers the left flank 
and the 22nd Guards Brigade Group the centre.

A bit of additional research has produced the following names/locations for the objectives: Sidi Azeiz (top left - single figure on the ridge), Fort Capuzzo (centre, just taken by 7th Armoured), Sollum (the solitary building on the right) and Halfaya Pass (held by the Commonwealth, bottom right hand corner). 

To win the Commonwealth need to capture two of Axis objectives and still hold Halfaya Pass.

 7th Armoured had seized the centre objective (where the single figure is pointing),
but immediately come under counterattack.

 In a crafty move the 7th withdrew from the centre objective,
only to strike at the Axis infantry coming up behind.
Meanwhile fighting has commenced around the outskirts of Sollum.

 The fighting at Sollum is not progressing well.
However in the centre there is a real cauldron of bubbling action,
(which accounts for the blurred photo).

 The 22nd have now taken the centre, 
while the 7th in a most ungentlemanly move,
have blocked the Axis lines of communications.

 The Axis launch another counterattack in the centre.
At Sollum, Coastal Force supported by the 22nd,
 have driven the Italians back into the "urban" area.

 Even though surrounded, the Italians fight on heroically.

 Axis reinforcements have arrived and hope to drive off the 7th Armoured.
The Commonwealth have dug in around the centre,
their batteries and line of communication,
just to be safe.

 Sollum is still holding out,
however the Commonwealth are throwing back all the Axis counterattacks in the centre.

 Losses are mounting.

 At Sollum both attackers and defenders are being bled white,
down to their last numbers (of men).

 The loss in German armour has been severe.

 Sollum has finally been taken.
In the centre another round of Axis counter attacks have been repulsed.

 The Commonwealth, in control of Sollum and the centre, sit tight as night begins to fall.

The Axis try one last time to take the centre,
but the Matildas of 4RTR have been superb at defending against the attacks.

I think I can say I have now got the hang of the rules and was able to do some pretty effective things with the forces I had available.

The grey labels are due to a printer malfunction.  I also think I could make those for the armour a bit smaller.

8 comments:

  1. Very impressive looking game Mark. Good to see an Allies win.

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    1. Thanks. The mat is proving to be a good investment. I just need to do a little work on some of the basing to get my collection to blend in nicely.

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  2. Niceset-up; it will be interesting to see the next few games as this develops.

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    1. Thanks.

      The next battle in chronological order would be Operation Scorpion, but I don't yet have a scenario for that.

      So far I've just been learning the rules and building up my forces, but I would like to be able to do an historical campaign (my desire would be Tunisia, although Crete is a possibility). Failing that, doing the battles in historical sequence is an option for 2019.

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  3. Really nice looking set up and I do like the playing surface. Clearly I shall have to get my Battleaxe game report going. This was not a Rommel game...

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    1. Thanks.

      The battle seems to lend itself to being fought with a number of different rule sets.

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  4. Very nicely done, your terrain table looks fantastic. Who is the mat from, it looks much better than the Cigar box one.

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    1. Thanks.

      The mat was made for me by a chap called Lev in my local wargames club. It has quite a bit of texture compared to what I've seen of Cigar Box mats. I've started using the same paints on the bases for my figures, but I'm still perfecting the process, and have a lot I need to redo.
      The terrain bits are mine and reasonably functional.

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