On a positive note, this was not a total Italian defeat, at least not from the overall perspective; after all, though many Italian troops perished they stood what ground they had left and only forfeited one of three hills in the end. Many Italian leaders were lost, including the Colonel but a few actually, if not barely, survived this debacle.

If this were a regular PG scenario I would perhaps of given it a lower rating but the leader characters rules kept it interesting until the end. The LC rules slow play down a bit; this scenario was only 24 turns long but it took 3 days to finish.

As far as the actual battle went, I placed most of my Italian units on the Eastern hill, dug-in, encircling three 75mm artillery pieces, hoping that though it was not the most valuable hill in the terms of V.P.s, that it would keep the horde of British A9, A10 and MkVIb armored units at a distance for a while as it lay between the Southwest and Northern hills. I did what I could with dispersing the remaining troops evenly and made sure to keep the one 105mm, paired with a 65mm as far North as possible but still within sight and range of approaching British units. I was already prepared to lose the Southwestern hill eventually just because of it's proximity and smaller size so I only placed 2 HMG and 4 INF units there, enough to delay an advance for a while at least. This hill with it's paltry yet defiant defenders would hold out until 16:30/turn 15, when it was finally secured through British INF assaults. In the end it would be the only hill secured.

As far as the British attack went, it was almost textbook perfect. Not one Bren carrier, armored car or tank unit was lost though this was through reliance on the lowly INF, HMG and most of all, artillery fire from the 25-pdrs and mortar untils clearing the path for them to casually roll on up without any threat of A.T.fire. By scenario's end the British only suffered 4 steps of INF eliminated and one 25-pdr. That is what made this such a decisive victory, damage control and patience. But of course there were other factors contributing to this win and that was the role of the Leader Characters. Having one British Captain with the mortarman/artillerist skill made a significant difference with a +1 bombardment fire modifier and also, having a Lieutenant with the rifle combat specialist skill, with a +1 direct fire modifier most definitely helped turn some tables.

On the other hand, the Italian LCs did not fare so well; Two were seriously wounded and hospitalized (having to sit one scenario out) and lost many LPs along with morale and combat modifiers. However, that they survived is what made them brilliant in the face of certain defeat. The one Tenente would have been dead had he not purchased the survival skill as the original leader casualty result was a 5, which would of resulted in death or capture but the survival modifier of -1 changed that. The third Italian Tenente actually managed not not only survive getting killed, captured or wounded but trotted off the battlefield scoring a Croce al Merito di Guerra (War merit cross) and got promoted to Capitano, though with not many LPs left to upgrade any skills or abilities. But that is what kept this from being a total Italian loss, that no LCs perished. Halfway through the battle it seemed to be the prime objective -keeping the Italian leaders alive more than holding on to hills.

Anyway, I realize that this sort of PG play may not be for everyone but I have to give it a 5 out of 5 rating from my own personal enjoyment. It's not over for the Italians yet, the defense of Bardia is up next while two wounded Tenentes sit that one out in the hospital together perhaps dreaming of better times and a better Italy at least until Tobruk.