Author	treadasaurusrex (Ethiopia)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Ethiopia
Participants	CavDo (AAR)
Play Date	2023-08-15
Language	English
Scenario	COOE007

This was a 5-session slugfest, with tragically little maneuver and without armor. As others have noted, it is a tale of 2 nearly separate battles on 2 different map boards. I led the 2-part, dug-in, defending Ethiopian force, and the hard-fighting, CavDo had the attacking Italian colonial allies/mercenaries in this decently-balanced - but very muddy - African shoot 'em up. We used the FOW and excess initiative optional rules in this exotic scenario, and both sides drew crummy leaders. There were 7 FOW-shortened turns in this play-through that once again materially benefited the defending side, especially on the southern half of the battle map, where they held the village for the entire game. This was repeated on the ridge in the north map, where a lengthy, seesaw fight saw the Ethiopians eventually prevail over the Italian mercs, thanks principally to their attack sequences being discombobulated by the FOW and the back-and-forth struggle over the entrenched fort. There were an amazing number of disruptions & demoralizations in this fight on both fronts that we lost track of. With a couple of exceptions, Italian air strikes were remarkably ineffective, and leader casualties in close assaults were heavy for both sides. In the south, the Italian approach to the village was direct and costly. I the north, frequent disruptions and the westerly approach combined to undermine the strength of the Italian allies by the time that they were decisively engaged.

In the end, The Ethiopian garrisons held the fort & the village, resulting in a major victory for Ethiopia. This one could have gone either way and truly hinged on the Italian air support failing to locate their targets, and the endless number of morale recovery rolls whose successes tended to favor the Ethiopian side. Close assault rolls also slightly favored the Ethiopians, though the step losses were high for both sides. A stronger focus on a single objective might have yielded an Italian victory, or at least a draw, since the Italian allies are faster than their Ethiopian counterparts. Here the deciding factor was actually the turns that were lost to early FOW throws, which, when combined with the effects of the mud, decisively slowed the Italian tide. I give this one a generous rating of 4, since it was fun to play with a challenging & determined opponent, though the special scenario rules made it a bit of a slog. IMHO, this frustrating scenario is best played in SOLO mode