This scenario was played as a team event by my gaming group. I act as moderator and facilitator for each game, and I do not participate directly as a player. My listing of “winning” is based on the PG HQ site cannot support a neutral role in AARs.

In this scenario a small German force, heading for the highway running alongside a wadi near Derna, runs into a British reinforcing column of approx double the size. While the Brits outnumber the Germans, the Brit force is made up of infantry, artillery, a mix of APCs and trucks, and one platoon of tanks versus a German force with twice the tank strength supported by armored cars, one platoon of infantry and one battery of light anti-tank guns transported via APCs. Victory conditions were based solely on the number of British steps to exit the end of the map, 6 or 7 for a draw, 8 or more for a Brit victory, 5 or less for German victory.

The Germans caught the upper hand on initiative rolls, and managed to get forces into a blocking position before the Brits could gain much distance. While this put the Germans in an excellent blocking position, the position was weakly manned and the Brits only need punch a hole in the German line. The Brits responded with a brilliant rush of loaded transports right into the teeth of the German line while the Germans, having already activated, could not use opportunity fire to blast them to bits. Then the Brits gambled. They offloaded half their force to engage the Germans, while leaving the balance loaded, to include the most devastating anti-armor weapon on the entire board. If the Brits won initiative they might be able to push a hole in the German line and exit sufficient force for victory.

But they did not win the initiative. And the Germans began blasting loaded trucks, to include the ones with the most devastating anti-armor weapon on the entire board. But the fire was less effective than one would expect, giving the Brits a chance to redeem themselves. Alas, they continued to leave the loaded trucks lined up in front of German armor and attempted to attack a position with even odds. The British tanks kept themselves mostly in reserve, failing to take any aggressive action. While several German units were tied down in the resulting assaults, the British attackers were too weak to force a hole, and the Germans pounded the loaded transports into burning hulks, flaming troopers still sitting in the backs. British assaults again failed to open a substantial hole, and their tanks continued to hold back. The Germans began reinforcing the assaults against weak British resistance. While the Brits did manage to open a hole, the casualties were heavy, while German losses were light. With the hole opened, the British tanks hightailed it off the board (2 steps), leaving the infantry and artillery to die. Another loaded truck made a break for it (carrying two steps), and was almost at the point of escape, when the heretofore unused German armored cars popped over a dune and turned the road into the Highway of Death. At this point the British did not have enough remaining steps to force a draw (only three left), and surrendered.