For those of you familiar with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, try playing PG against Mat Cauthon ... a twister of fate.

Below, D = disruption, DD = demoralized, R = reduced, CW = Commmonwealth, IT = Italian

The IT set up was along the 40-m hill line at the East edge. They employed a two-hex; three-hex; three-hex; two-hex grouping with the first two oriented facing South, the latter two oriented facing West: spaces separated each "company". This formed a kind of "box" facing either a direct approach or a western "hook" by the CW. The IT artillery was spread about to avoid the 3-units col shift with the IT 10-1-1 colonel in the middle to assist with morale and/or to combine.

The CW approach was simple and effective. The entire force simply charged north with no delay for "softening up." Unlike some other plays, OBA and 81mm mortars were relatively ineffective, though one INF and the CW 3-in mortars were morale "hit" and eventually one 3-in mortar step was eliminated. Once in the 20m hill LT, they became immune to the self-spotting bonus until they fired (which they did not do until adjacent to the infantry).

The first sign of what was to follow was the incredibly poor fire by IT infantry and HMGs upon CW approach - i.e. OF was relatively ineffective (hurt by the -1 defensive col shift due to the approach being through hill terrain and the lack of IT leaders able to combine fire). Once adjacent, both sides began to take losses, but the higher morale and preponderance of +1 combat leaders for the CW side began to tell.

By the end of turn 9, IT had lost 5xINF steps and 1xHMG. The CW 3xACW + 4xINF + 1x3-inch + 1 Indian major. After this, though, it was all grim for the Axis.

After getting a DD on a CW HMG, the IT tried a mortar attack albeit the unit was next to an assault. After getting an M2 result, the CW proceeds to make its morale check; the IT player rolls for a FF attack; rolls a 5; gets an M1 check against itself; then proceeds to demoralize its assault team losing one step to compound demoralization! Ta'veren at work!

It gets worse: Axis has two 21 and one 16 col attack in sequence with essentially nil effective result. The CW side makes 12/14 M1 checks and the two failed were simply D's.

In desperation, the IT side launches its western wing (leaving their dug-in network) to counter-attack: 30-col and 22-col DF attacks against CW stacks roll a 7 and 8 respectively. The CW, on the other hand, in three sequential attacks, rolled 12, 12, 11. That pretty much put an end to any chance of the IT side prevailing given the large number of turns remaining.

By turn fifteen. the IT player had remaining:

four leaders, only the Col in good order; 2xHMG; 1xHMG-DD; 1xHMG-D; 1xINF-DD; 1xINF; 1xINF-RD; Still had most of the artillery park, but the 81mm were DD or D.

CW loses in terms of steps (easier to designate): Ind-Maj; 1x3-inch; 3xACW; 2xValentine; 4xINF; 1xHMG

Counting tanks as dbl, this was 13 steps.

The IT side surrendered at this point, however, as with nineteen turns remaining; its defensive framework shattered; the artillery park about to be assaulted; the only possibility for victory was to force the CW to chase seven or more IT units Westward across the ridge until game end. This seemed a bit cheesy and probably not practicable given that the surviving IT units were predominantly slower moving HMGs.

I give this a '3' for the combat and play; but a '2' for the VC's which seem odd to me. The CW player could win with his entire force eliminated if in doing so, they reduce the IT force to fewer than seven units (on the 40-m terrain).