This is the fourth time I have played or umpired this scenario, the second time using hexes. The club games day came up so fast I was lucky that I still had everything labelled from last time, even though it was six months ago. This time I took the Afrika Korps and Simon the Allies.
21st Pz on the left, 15th Pz on the right.
15th Pz go into action against the 161st Indian Motor Brigade
which has been pushed forward to seize the northern(?) most objective.
The 6th NZ Brigade has taken the objective to the south on the Ruweisat Ridge line.
After receiving a bloody nose on its first attack,
15th Pz again attacks, only by now the Indians have had a chance to dig in.
15th Pz keep attacking, their objective is to isolate the Indian troops on the high ground.
Meanwhile 21st Pz has advanced against the New Zealanders.
DAK operations are cut short by a poor roll for ops dice
(ones are a fail).
The British 23rd Armored Brigade has now arrived.
21st Pz attack!
After a pause 15th Pz resume the attack.
DAK Reserve have arrived.
In a battle of maneuver,
23rd Armored have by passed 21st Pz and are heading for the other objectives.
However 21st Pz is not going to let the Valentine equipped British pass
without inflicting some casualties.
After another repulse suffered by 15th Pz,
the DAK Reserve make an attack on the northern objective.
23rd Armored have taken one objective.
They also then take the second objective in their sector.
At this stage the Allies hold all four objectives.
The DAK Reserve again attack.
21st Pz attack to try and retake the objectives captured by 23rd Armored.
The northern attack is reaching its limits of sustainability.
21st Pz seems trapped between the New Zealanders and the Valentines.
Luckily it can trace its supply lines through the Axis minefields.
The climax of the battle is upon us.
15th Pz and the DAK Reserve press their attacks.
21st PZ seems to be getting the upper hand against 23rd Armored.
15th PZ have broken through,
isolating the Indians holding the northern objective.
A final attack carries the position, sealing an DAK victory.
21st Pz mops up the last of the Valentines.
Victory was achieved on the last turn.
So close and yet so far for the Allies.
ReplyDeleteThe low strength Valentines can't cause enough casualties on the German tanks to keep themselves in the fight. What the New Zealanders and the Indians said about the British tankers is not fit to be printed.!
Another good game of Rommel.
I read somewhere that the Allies had other armoured units they could have committed but chose the newly arrived, i.e. green, 23rd Armoured. Not sure what tanks the other armoured units were equipped with. Research continues.
DeleteIt is a good game that hangs in the balance to the end and this scenario has certainly replayed well.
Cool looking desert armored warfare.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Challenge is to keep the labels practical but not too intrusive. The scale is each hex is one km, meaning total playing area represented 8 x 12 kms.
DeleteGreat looking action - and seems to have been a very satisfactory 'near run thing' in the best war games tradition.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I took more photos this time and tried for more of a narrative.
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