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This was a fun-filled, oft-delayed, but action-packed, 11-session play-through with the cleverly determined, Capt. Chaos leading attacking elements of the veteran German 21st Panzer Division (Battle Group Stenkhoff), while I played the defending American contingent of the relatively green US 1st Armored Division. This was a large-scale, maneuver-heavy, combined arms fracas. We played with the FOW, consolidation, smoke/illum, extended assault, tank riders and excess initiative optional rules. In addition, we experimented with the following four 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, and 2) Standardized 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, and 3)Dug In Units on Slope Hexes are Automatically in Limiting Terrain in Desert Games Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL units that are dug-in on slope 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 are marked with a spotted marker, see 8.22, and 4) Enhanced Anti-Tank (AT) Gunnery & Hidden Emplacement Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL dedicated, dug-in, entrenched, or town-occupying, towed AT gun units including Self-Propelled AT guns may fire in opportunity fire (OPFIRE) TWICE just like tanks in the standard rule set. For example: dug-in, German PaK 38 (50mm); or British 6-pdr towed AT gun platoons would therefore be able to fire TWO times per unit in OPFIRE situations. In addition, towed, or self-propelled, AT guns are HIDDEN (see Optional Rules for Hidden Units; Plotting Position; Revealing; and No Hidden Units Specified on Page 37), if dug-in, are town-occupying, or entrenched.
The initial session (game turns 1-2) featured a broad-front, near-flawless, Afrika Korps movement-to-contact from the eastern edge of Map 77. Four probing German SPW251 units were hit and destroyed by long-range AT fire, as were an American M-3/75 tank destroyer unit and a dug-in M6/37 portee platoon. Step losses were tied at 4 apiece as the German advance began to slowly take shape and split into a 2-pronged left & right attack.
Our lengthy second session (game turns 3-4) was characterized by continued divergent movement of the German thrust into distinct left, and right flank approaches. A great deal of long-range AT fire was exchanged along with bursts of OBA and a Luftwaffe airstrike. Forward elements of the US force began falling back as fast as they could, and the first tank-led close assault began on the south margin of the southernmost 40-meter hill mass on Map 77. The Americans threw FOUR utterly useless combat 7-die rolls this session, and the updated step loss tally was now: 7 for the attacking German side, while the Americans had lost 4.
The costly, third session (game turn 5) included a drawn out exchange of both OBA and AT fire as the Germans continued probing on both flanks. Two steps of Pz-IIIJ tanks were eliminated, along with an American 37mm AT gun platoon, a section of M-3/75 tank destroyers, and the powerful M-1 90mm gun emplacement. German fire & maneuver in the southern (left) flank created a pair of potential cross fires against a dug-in US tank company in disbursed positions on the south half of Maps 77 & 78. Landser infantry surged forward in support of the German armored spearheads. The revised step loss tally was now: 13 for the attacking German side, while the Americans had lost 6, resulting in the Axis initiative level falling.
Our very costly, fourth session (game turns 6-7) was a deadly one for both sides with a combined 35 step losses! The session started off with a bang with a remarkably successful America close assault that eliminated 3 steps of PZ-IIIH tanks on the 20-meter margins of the east-west ridge on Map 77. This was followed by a massive exchange of long-range, AT and OBA fire that eliminated a large number of AFV steps and pre-empted a pending German infantry attack in the center, while an entire company of Lee tanks now lay burning in the smaller of the two wadis on Map 78. The longest duration, German, combined arms close assault finally cleared off the last remaining dug-in US infantry platoon in the Southeast corner of Map 77 at the end of game turn 7. Multiple German tank platoons were halved by sharpshooting US tanks and the few remaining AT guns. The updated step loss tally stood at 30 for the German attackers, and 23 for the embattled American defenders at the end of this bloody session. Both sides’ initiative levels were now at zero, and there were THREE combat 7-die rolls thrown by the Boche.
The fifth, fun-filled session (game turns 8-10) was another grim episode for both sides; particularly for the advancing Germans who lost 15 additional steps, mostly among their scattered panzer units. Highlights included a great deal of long-and-medium range AT fire into the contested wadis and close assaults in adjacent 20-meter hill slopes, that accounted for another 8 steps of US units. At session’s end, there was only a single section of demoralized, US Lee tanks remaining on the board, and all the German Pz-IVH & IVF2 tanks had been eliminated. The last Lee tanks were eliminated in the long east-west wadi south of the road. The gap between the German armored spearheads and the forward elements of the accompanying infantry had shrunk dramatically as the second echelon of Boche infantry caught up to their depleted tank force, in the south and center of the battle map. The step loss tally now stood at 50 for the 21st Panzer attackers, and 33 for the remaining American defenders at the end of this bloody session. There were a combined NINE combat 7-die rolls thrown this session.
Our movement-filled & attritional 6th session (game turns 11-12) was tough for both sides, but the heavier casualties were German, and included an over-eager Marder III platoon on a recon-by-fire mission in the open. German infantry was still catching up with their armored spearheads. In a spirited 3-turn, close assault the Landser infantry finished clearing off Allied troops on “bloody ridge” south of the road on Map 77. Accurate German OBA and air strikes scattered the concentration of US Mortars & leaders on the northmost, 20-meter hill on Map 78. A pair of combat 7-die rolls were thrown, and the updated step losses were at: 57 for the German side, and 36 for the embattled, and slowly-weakening, Americans. This scenario has basically shifted from a wide-open battle of maneuver, to an attritional push-and-pull slugfest in the north & south margins of the battle map.
The stimulating & fun, seventh session (game turns 13-16) was another grim, attritional episode for the attacking German side, which resulted in the loss of an additional 9 steps, primarily of scattered armor units on both flanks. In the south, the terrifying Tiger tank company rolled forward and immediately destroyed 3 steps of Sherman tanks with long-range AT fire. The long, east-west wadi in the center of Map 78, became the focus of attention, as the Germans began infiltrating a reinforced battalion of shock troops to the west accompanied by 3 sections of Pz-III tanks and a combat engineer platoon under the cover of well-placed, creeping smoke screens. A company-sized American combined arms counter attack began moving east in the northwest quadrant of Map 78 aiming for the still-contested, kidney-shaped wadi in the vicinity of Hex 78-1006. The few remaining American armored units began leapfrogging into new fighting positions screened by the Axis smoke and natural terrain. Highlights of this session included: a successful OBA strike that halved the sole German engineer platoon, the capture of another two German truck outfits on the central road, as well as the desertion of a US Captain in a failed morale recovery. Step losses were now: 67 for the Germans, and a shocking, 43 for the rapidly-dwindling, American side. Only a single Luftwaffe air strike found its target and the US Commander managed to throw EIGHT, utterly useless, combat 7-die rolls!
A high-maneuver eighth session (game turns 17-20) was slightly less grim with only 6 steps lost for both sides in spite of many adjacent-hex fire fights and close assaults. There were also a handful of relatively successful artillery strikes as the Teutonic Horde inexorably advanced to the west across the southern half of the battle map. Highlights included a successful American counterattack in the central wadi north of the road on Map 78, along with a spectacular extended assault by a company of Tiger tanks on the southernmost 20-meter hill on the same map. The last German SPW platoon was eliminated on the road, creating a second wreck, and a single Sherman tank platoon in the north managed to miss a section of Pz-IIIH tanks a total of 8 times! The revised victory point tally was now 49 for the Germans, and 73 for the battered Americans. A total of SEVEN combat 7-die rolls were thrown this session.
The much-delayed ninth session (game turns 21-22) featured fewer casualties and only FIVE combat 7-die rolls – but crucially – there were 2 additional FOW shortened game turns. A series of long-range AT shots, including several cross-fires, all failed to produce additional armored step losses in the central & southern portions of the battle map. An accurate Jerry artillery strike eliminated a platoon of GIs in a wadi, and an adjacent-hex fire fight eliminated a Germen unit as well. The updated victory points were now 53 for the Germans, and 76 for the battered Americans. A total of FIVE combat 7-die rolls were thrown this session.
Our tenth session (game turn 23) featured some fierce fighting with plenty of long-range AT shooting, some risky “danger close” OBA strikes, multiple adjacent-hex firefights, as well as a trio of close assaults. There were 4 additional German step losses including a section of Pz-IIIJ Special tanks, while the 3 American steps lost consisted of: a section of US T-30 SP howitzers, a towed mortar platoon and a standard M-3 APC platoon. Unexpectantly, this turned into a consolidation session, with the Jerries taking up defensive positions in the east-west wadi, south of the road on Map 78, and the US force scrambling to maintain a somewhat-mobile defense in the central & southern portions of the battle map. The updated victory point tally in this longish scenario was now around 56 for the Germans, and 79 for the GIs.
The eleventh & final session (game turn 24) featured multiple, short-range firefights, the loss of a section of Tiger tanks that were departing an assault hex, and the GIs still holding Sbeitla (3-town hexes), while also managing to keep the 21st Panzer from exiting the west side of the battle map. The final step loss tally was: 54 lost by the American side, and 72 by the Germans. The victory point totals were: 106 for the victories GIs, and 54 for the Third Reich – an unexpected. American major victory. There were 8 FOW-shortened game turns of the 24 played.
I give this very-fun-to-play, but with slightly gamey victory conditions, a solid rating of 4.
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