Author	sagunto (Germany, Italy)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Draw
Participants	treadasaurusrex
Play Date	2022-10-31
Language	Español
Scenario	AfKo046

An extremely, overlong scenario that we played over 6 sessions online to a particularly unsatisfactory draw.

I played the defending Axis Commander, against a seasoned and highly skilled opponent who took the time to explain the game mechanics by example, and who allowed repeated "do-overs" as was the training policy at the old Mounted Warfare School at Ft. Knox. The scenario was decently balanced, with forces that were not quite right for the kind of fighting that ensued, but our play was marred by the unfortunate victory conditions that I felt guaranteed a drawn conclusion, given the number of step losses required and that we exceeded.

It was a costly play-though, with many losses, particularly to the Australian Cavalry Regiment, equipped with very poor Mark VIB light tanks and the company of Italian motorcycle troops. The scenario desperately needed both off map artillery and some air support, to complement the large-scale (3 map boards) maneuvers of both sides. Very poor leader draws effected both side ability to recover morale, and there were many disruptions and demoralization to try and recover. Between us there were 21 combat 7-die rolls and 9 FOW-shortened turns in our game. The play was a seesaw engagement that probably could have gone either was in the end. Reducing the length of the scenario to around 30-34 turns, and rewriting the victory conditions would improve it significantly.

The Allied side drove north under cover of pre-dawn visibility initially and both sides received reinforcements at various times during play -- usually later than occurred historically. Without OBA, the Australians and British had a hard time making a permanent dent on the defending, dug-in Italian units. The Axis suffered from, what was probably too low initiative at the beginning, and which basically yielded the initiative to the Commonwealth side on nearly every turn.

This was pretty clearly a scenario that was not properly play-tested and I give it a weak 3, mostly because it was a good learning experience for me with a decent mentor and entertaining friend. This scenario is much better suited to solo play, than shared play, and I shall try it again in solo mode.