Aims of the battle : The Allies are to hold onto by game end three specified hexes that cover the crossroads where the desert map.2 roads all meet, these represent the paths. The Axis are to clear all enemy from within 5 hexes of the crossroads. Any other result is a draw)

As the planned assault on Tobruk approached, Rommel ordered troops forward to secure the frontier between Libya and Egypt to prevent the British interfering once the attack began. Accordingly, following shelling and air-attack on the 25th, a mixed German-Italian force attacked the British battalion holding the top of Halfaya Pass. The position’s capture would force the withdrawal of the entire frontier force along the coast and at the same time provide far better defences should the British attack.

The British, in the guise of two battalions from the Durham Light Infantry would defend the pass and it’s crossroads. A giant Wadi layed at their rear. They had cleverly deployed in a hedgehog formation, four hedgehogs in all with Australian AT gun support in the centre. The Germans, rather than choosing the option of a frontal assault decided that a flanking attack would serve them better. By running along the British left flank and forcing the hedgehog nearest the crossroads, this would ‘turn’ the other hedgehogs and force a withdrawal from those positions. Capturing this particular hedgehog would also open up the road that ran through the Wadi Pass and assist the speed of the German incursion. With decent artillery support that wiped out a third of the Australian AT guns early on, the attack was launched at 1115 hours.

The Afrika Korps used a company of motorcyclists and a small task force in Hanomags to speedily make the flanking move. These would be supported by a platoon of PzIII tanks. Meanwhile, a battalion of Italian infantry also advanced from this flank with the mission of hitting the target hedgehog around the same time that the ‘flying force’ had drawn the DLI’s into a firefight. One other company of German infantry were kept in reserve far to the West to be used as a problematical advancing force on the British right flank later on.

The German artillery, other than causing casualties to the allied AT guns did not make too much of an impression after that despite a constant use for two hours. In reply, British artillery, short on shells and always with the threat of running out of ammo harassed the attackers, including destroying local mortar support and inflicting a few Italian infantry casualties. By 1330, the flying force was engaging the DLI’s and a firefight ensued with the defenders doggedly dug-in.

This struggle on the target hedgehog lasted for some two hours! The British MG support was neutralised with some losses, and slowly, the German infantry firepower (that also took advantage of the Wadi below them), APC support, artillery and the few tanks began to get the upper hand as some 230 losses were inflicted on the allies. With this amount of pressure, time told and the hedgehog was finally taken and the road to the crossroads opened. At the same time, the battalion of Italians had also joined the fray and were gamely adding their weight to the attack too with noticibly good officership inspiring their men.

The British lines to the front of the main battle, as planned had to, as a whole pull out from their other dug-in hedgehogs and gravitate to the crossroads to prevent a complete loss of position. The German reserve company and a platoon of PzII’s then began an outflanking move on the other British flank.

The Germo-Italian forces had successfully forced the British from their lines as hoped and to an extent had opened up the road by forcing the British off of it. What they had not done though was remove the British from the location completely. The clever interwoven and mutually supporting hedgehogs had ensured that there would be no over-run of the location and yet more battle would have to follow by the two sides perhaps on the morrow.

Axis losses were 45 German soldiers and 5 hanomags, Italians lost 100 infantrymen. (Or in game turns German = 1 step MTR, 1 step MTC, 1 step Sdkfz 251, Italian = 4 steps INF) The Allies were 230 British Infantry and a battery of Australian AT guns. (8 Steps INF, 2 steps HMG, 1 step 3pdr). The battle would be judged as a draw as the Axis troops had taken the crossroads but not forced the Allies far enough away.