Author	goosebrown (Germany, Italy)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany, Italy
Participants	treadasaurusrex
Play Date	2023-02-01
Language	English
Scenario	AAAD034

I led the attacking combined Italian & German Battle Group in the pre-dawn gloom. Treadasaurusrex (Septisaurus as it turned out... ) led an outnumbered, scratch rearguard of Combat Command B of the US 1st Armored, in what turned out to be a fun-filled 1-session play-through. We ignored the FOW, but used the smoke/illum, consolidation, excess initiative, extended assault and strategic movement rules. As has become our pattern, we experimentally used the following five house rules:

1) Road Movement for Mechanized & Foot Units, All FOOT & MECHANIZED units may move on roads at the rate of 1/2 a Movement Point (MP) per road hex, just like MOTORIZED units

2) Standard Movement for Mechanized Units, All mechanized units may move through clear hexes at a movement cost of only 1 movement point (MP) per hex, instead of 1 1/2. Add one to this cost if moving up or down slopes hexes.

3) Dug In Units are Automatically in Limiting Terrain in Desert Games Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL units that are dug-in on hill, slope or wadi & gully hexes are considered to be in limiting terrain and are spotted if enemy units approach to within 3 hexes, or 4 hexes for reconnaissance units – unless they fire or move.

4) Tank Leader Forward Observation, Efficient tank leaders (full strength only) may spot for ALL artillery & air strikes in accordance with the normal spotting rules (8.0, page 19). Just as in the case of leader units spotting, this action does not require an activation. Nonefficient tank leaders may also attempt to spot for ON BOARD ARTILLERY ONLY by throwing a single die per attempt to spot a target. This action does require an activation. They spot the intended target on a die roll of 4-6.

5) Anti-Tank (AT) Gunnery Enhancement, Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL dedicated, dug-in, entrenched, or town-occupying AT gun units including Self-Propelled AT guns may fire TWICE just like tanks in the standard rule set. For example: dug-in, German PaK 36 (37mm); PaK 38 (50mm); or British 2-pdr and 6-pdr towed AT gun platoons would therefore be able to fire TWO times in either AT fire or OPFIRE.

My esteemed enemy set up what few units he had in depth along the north and south of the board with a Stuart and a 37mm portee ATG in the center to block the roadway. He placed infantry more toward the center and a rear area reserve in the wadi at the far west of the map.

OK. So this all happens at night... 5am to be exact with dawn at 7:15. So know how grandma says nothing good happens after midnight? Well Grandma was right.

In pregame discussion, Treadasaurusrex pointed out that using strategic movement at night meant that the Germans and Italians could move across the entire board in one or two movement segments. It seemed a little "Gamey" to try that but it made sense with the victory conditions. I didn't have that many troops, they were all mounted and my opponent didn't have enough troops to cover all the routes across the board as I could stay out of their spotting range of 3 and their firing range of 2 (based on the die roll for visibility).

So off we went. The Italian column from the Centurato division moved along the north edge of the map to a patch or rocky ground in front of which the Italian infantry and mortars offloaded and got ready to dig in. The armor followed closely behind but left enough space to respond to a Stuart deployed on the hill closest to the Italian infantry.

In the south the German recon forces from the 33rd Recon Battalion pushed straight across the southern edge of the board with one platoon exiting the west edge and three more platoons ending up within 3 hexes. The halftracks followed gamely along getting a little over halfway across the board.

This is all in the first turn.

Treadasaurusrex was now in a position where he had to divide his forces and attack in strength to the north or the south. Since the Germans were most of the way across the south board edge, he chose to consolidate there and move the rest of his forces to the north to counter the Italians. Treadasaurus moved in his mechanized infantry and built a hedgehog around the Italian front and developed a defensive position. Using artillery, he then proceeded to throw 4 combat 7s yeilding almost no results but a small set of morale losses which the Italians more or less shrugged off.

In turn two, I continued moving the Germans off the board edge, technically winning the game at the end of the turn. In the North though I resisted activating my troops until he had activated most of his focusing on the Italian infantry in front of the rough patch at the top of the board. Once his forces had substantively moved, I peeled my armor from its supporting deployment on a wild night charge down from the north to the center of the board avoiding all his armor and preparing a movement strait up the centeral road to the western board edge.

I really enjoyed shifting my whole schwerpunkt south from the map edge into his now lightly defended center along the road.

In turn three the Americans were tied down in the north and consolidating in the south, but tried to move mechanized infantry and one of the Stuarts into a blocking position on the east-west road in and on the edges of the wadi at the western edge of the board. The Italians successfully made a lunge around the end of the defensive line and exited more armor.

At this point, my opponent and I agreed to end the battle in a decisive Axis victory as most of the forces had already exited and there really weren't that many left to shoot at.

I really enjoyed the low unit density and the ability to fix my opponent and then maneuver into a new axis of attack. So often it seems these scenarios are slogs through assault after assault. Here there was very little fighting but a lot of interesting maneuver. If this battle had been in daylight it would have ended a lot differently.

Thank you Treadasaurusrex as always for an interesting game and a memorable evening.