Panzer Grenadier Battles on November 21st:
Desert Rats #16 - The Panzers Pull Back Desert Rats #19 - The Panzers Return
Desert Rats #17 - The Tomb Of Sidi Rezegh Jungle Fighting #7 - Line Of Departure
Desert Rats #18 - A Pibroch's Skirl South Africa's War #5 - Irish Eyes
PG-HQ Library - Panzer Grenadier Hall > Scenarios > AOIt012
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War on the Equator
Africa Orientale Italiana #12
(Defender) Italy vs Britain (Attacker)
South Africa (Attacker)
Formations Involved
Display
Balance:
Overall balance chart for AOIt012
Total
Side 1 0
Draw 0
Side 2 2
Overall Rating, 2 votes
5
4
3
2
1
3.5
Scenario Rank: --- of 940
Parent Game Africa Orientale Italiana
Historicity Historical
Date 1941-02-21
Start Time 06:30
Turn Count 24
Visibility Day
Counters 71
Net Morale 2
Net Initiative 1
Maps 2: 84, 89, 90, 91
Layout Dimensions 86 x 56 cm
34 x 22 in
Play Bounty 183
AAR Bounty 171
Total Plays 2
Total AARs 1
Battle Types
Inflict Enemy Casualties
Rural Assault
Urban Assault
Conditions
Off-board Artillery
Smoke
Terrain Mods
Scenario Requirements & Playability
Africa Orientale Italiana Base Game
Introduction

With the Juba River line broken, the South Africans along with two African divisions began to roll up the Italian positions and advance toward Mogadishu. The Italian colonial troops still had a good deal of fight left in them, and two battalions of them dug in at the village of Margherita, around a Fascist monument marking the Equator. It was an imposing marble construction, though not as imposing as the South Africans would later claim, and the Italian officers did not want to yield it up without a struggle.
Conclusion

The 196th Colonial Battalion did not put up much of a fight, but the 49th more than made up for it and both sides inflicted serious casualties with their artillery fire. But the South African guns were bigger and more numerous, and by mid-afternoon South African officers were posing for photographs with Mussolini’s monument.
Display Relevant AFV Rules
AFV Rules Pertaining to this Scenario's Order of Battle
  • Vulnerable to results on the Assault Combat Chart (7.25, 7.63, ACC), and may be attacked by Anti-Tank fire (11.2, DFT). Anti-Tank fire only affects the individual unit fired upon (7.62, 11.0).
  • AFV's are activated by tank leaders (3.2, 3.3, 5.42, 6.8). They may also be activated as part of an initial activating stack, but if activated in this way would need a tank leader in order to carry out combat movement.
  • AFV's do not block Direct Fire (10.1).
  • Full-strength AFV's with "armor efficiency" may make two anti-tank (AT) fire attacks per turn (either in their action segment or during opportunity fire) if they have AT fire values of 0 or more (11.2).
  • Each unit with an AT fire value of 2 or more may fire at targets at a distance of between 100% and 150% of its printed AT range. It does so at half its AT fire value. (11.3)
  • Efficient and non-efficient AFV's may conduct two opportunity fires per turn if using direct fire (7.44, 7.64). Units with both Direct and AT Fire values may use either type of fire in the same turn as their opportunity fire, but not both (7.22, 13.0). Units which can take opportunity fire twice per turn do not have to target the same unit both times (13.0).
  • Demoralized AFV's are not required to flee from units that do not have AT fire values (14.3).
  • Place a Wreck marker when an AFV is eliminated in a bridge or town hex (16.3).
  • AFV's do not benefit from Entrenchments (16.42).
  • AFV's may Dig In (16.2).
  • Open-top AFV's: Immune to M, M1 and M2 results on Direct and Bombardment Fire Tables, but DO take step losses from X and #X results (7.25, 7.41, 7.61, BT, DFT). If a "2X" or "3X" result is rolled, at least one of the step losses must be taken by an open-top AFV if present.
  • Armored Cars: These are Combat Units. They are motorized instead of mechanized. All have their own armored car leaders, who can only activate armored cars (6.85). Do not provide the +1 Assault bonus (ACC).
  • Reconnaissance Vehicle: 8.23 Special Spotting Powers Both foot and vehicle mounted recce units (1.2) possess two special spotting abilities. The first ability is that they can spot enemy in limiting terrain at one hex further than the TEC specifies for other units and leaders. For example, an enemy unit in town can normally be spotted at three hexes or less, but a recce unit can spot them at four hexes.Their second ability is that they can place a Spotted marker on any one enemy unit they can spot per turn, just as if the enemy unit had "blown its cover" by firing. Such Spotted markers are removed as described earlier.
Display Order of Battle
Britain Order of Battle
Army
  • Motorized
Italy Order of Battle
Regio Corpo di Truppe Coloniali
Regio Esercito
  • Foot
South Africa Order of Battle
Army
  • Motorized
Display Errata (2)
2 Errata Items
Scen 12

Setup calls for an IT 77mm; not included in AII counter mix

(TFGA73 on 2019 Sep 05)
Overall balance chart for 871

Ignore the direct fire values.

(Shad on 2010 Dec 15)
Display AARs (1)
A win, but no prize
Author TFGA73
Method Solo
Victor Britain, South Africa
Play Date 2019-09-05
Language English
Scenario AOIt012

The Situation: The South Africans, all riding trucks with a company of armored cars in support, are gunning for a series of villages and the Italian Equatorial monument (the rules say use an airfield marker to represent the obelisk, but I broke out a small souvenir Washington Monument instead).

Setup: The Italians have a rather strict setup, with about half required to start on one board with some villages and the other half on the board with the monument. Oddly, the two groups also have different morale levels, which became a pain near the end when they began mixing together. For the first group I set them up around the southernmost village I could and tried to use the thorn forest for a little cover. For the others, I dug in most around the monument with a small reserve force in the village just to the north.

Summary: The South Africans enter from the southwest and and split up, with the bulk of the HMGs hitting the group guarding the villages and the armored cars leading the force going after the monument. At first it looked like a rollover, with the Springboks rolling quickly up to the Italian positions and laying down effective fire. But around turn 10 things bogged down, with the eastern force unable to break through to the monument over the course of about eight turns. They simply couldn’t pry the Italians out of their foxholes, and then the three FANs held in reserve were able to work their way in for an assault on the armored cars. They didn’t destroy any, but they kept them busy and allowed the other IT units to work over the SA infantry.

The SA force to the west wrapped up their attack around turn 18 and hurriedly tried to pivot east and help take the monument. But their attack went in piecemeal and the SA force ran out of time.

There are four victory conditions for the South Africans in this one; they got two, earning a minor victory, but they didn’t get the big win and, more importantly, they didn’t get the monument. Final losses were 11 steps for Italy and 5 for South Africa.

Final Analysis: This is a game with a low number of units on four boards, but the action compressed pretty quickly. It’s tough for me to see a way for the South Africans to score a complete victory; they lack the firepower to quickly push the Italians out of the way and take all of the objectives. More of a solitaire game as the Italians pretty much stand in place until the end.
1 Comment
Shad
2019-09-06 10:06

Welcome to PG-HQ, Tommy. Great AAR! Keep them coming!

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PG-HQ Library - Panzer Grenadier Hall > Scenarios > AOIt012
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