After having played 60 Desert War scenarios so far the last year I have found this one to be the best tank battle yet. There was much more to it than just tanks slugging it out though, this one required a lot of manuevering and plotting from start to finish. 'The Tide Turns' is a very befitting title as it turned for both sides back and forth.

To begin with it looks like an easy win for the British simply because of the number of tanks available if you consider the reinforcements of 12 Stuarts adding to the 10 units of the Crusader Is but more important are the Repair Depot forces which can become available, providing Matildas and Valentine tanks to the lot. All of these together will outnumber German armor 3 to 1. But winning the tank battle for the British is not the most important thing. The British victory conditions require just one unit, any unit, to occupy any road hex by scenario's end along with 10 or more German step losses. Eliminating 10 German steps is the easier part.

Unfortunately, the British tanks have low A.T. firepower compared to most of the German tanks and usually with a shorter range. Setting up crossfire is essential for both sides. The British also have no indirect fire support whatsoever, not even a 3-inch mortar unit. This gives the Germans a little advantage with incredible OBA available to them: 1x20,3x16,2x12. Also, Crusader I tanks alone are very vulnerable to INF assaults and almost half of the Crusader I step losses in my game came from INF assaults.

So much went on in this game that I am not going to bother with too many notes, that would be too tedious.

In retrospect I didn't have the best British deployment, I had all initial forces dug-in, including tanks by the road. I should have placed at least half of the Crusader Is by the north edge to link-up with the Repair Depot forces right away. These Repair Depot tanks were a very interesting addition. The scenario rules state: Each turn, the British player may place one of these units anywhere on the North edge (note that they have no tank leaders): 2x Matilda,2x Valentine,2x Crusader I,2x Stuart. So without tank leaders they just sit there unable to move and most likely no German armor units are going to go near them as they are far from the road. So they are brought into play with other tanks with leaders driving to the North edge and moving them into battle. This becomes a struggle throughout the game, Repair Depot forces get moved but then the tank leading them gets eliminated and they get stuck unable to move until another unit with a tank leader can get to them and move them again -fun actually.

The tank battle kept shifting from one side having the advantage to the other but eventually the Germans lost almost all of their armor. Amazingly, at games end the German still had one reduced PZIVE and three steps of PzIIs left. The three German 50mm A.T. guns made a difference in making up for lost panzers because there was no British bombardment fire to knock them out; they survived until they were caught trying to move loaded on trucks and were all eliminated in one turn when an attempt was made to move them closer to the road-blocking units.

Close to midway through the game the Germans were gaining the edge by INF assaults against British armor more than panzers. But at 15:00/turn 15, the tide really did begin to turn. First, the British reinforcements of 12 Stuart units finally arrive but even more, a random event causes a German ammunition shortage and now neither side has any indirect fire capabilities.

As the game neared the end, all British foot units had been eliminated and most British armor units were pushed to the West edge, desperately hanging on for control of the road. However, demoralized and disrupted British tanks began to recover that had been left spread out all over the map and two reduced Stuarts were able to rally and dash towards the Eastern portion of the road while a Crusader I recovered, with a tank leader, and was able to get to more Repair Depot forces that were stranded. Eventually, three other parts of the road became occupied by British units and by scenarios end there was no way that the Germans, with just three mobile units left could catch up with or eliminate them all.

So that is how the British gained their victory, not through winning a tank battle but by being omnipresent. Again, it was strength through numbers, not firepower that won it. As far as the tank battles went the armor casualties were:

Germany: 1 step of PzII; 10 steps of PzIIIG and 3 steps of PzIVE.

Britain: 20 steps of Stuart; 2 steps of Matilda and 19 steps of Crusader I.

The Stuarts played a significant part in this victory even though they were almost all destroyed as they were the only tank that really had decent direct fire capabilties against German foot units. But really, if one looks at the statistics above, if this battle depended on armor step losses it would of clearly been a German win. But the British held on to the road in the end. Overall a brilliant scenario and the only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 rating is that it is slightly biased for the British but this one is definitely worth playing again. With a better strategy and luck, the Germans could have done a lot better.

A 30 turn scenario which goes the whole 30 turns, oodles of tanks, both sides with opportunities to attack equals a great scenario. What a game to end a good unbeaten streak for me, this scenario has a strong German force with very good OBDA trying to clear a east-west road. Facing them is a smaller Brit force supported by 10 Crusader platoons. The Brits though get a further 8 platoons of tanks from a nearby repair depot at a rate of one platoon per turn and on a roll of 6 a whole regiment of Stuarts entering from the south. The Brit set up was in two small groups all dug in near the road, with the Crusaders to the north (the reinforcing depot units would need tank leaders to get them to the action) and I hoping to set up some cross fire opportunities later on. The Germans units enter on the road all mounted and speed up the road. As the British commander I hopped the Stuart reinforcements would come on about Game turn 6-10 just as the German player would be launching his first major assault, however they came on GT2 which put me in a quandary, I could and in hindsight should have left them on the edge of the board as a threat for a few turn before sweeping to the east and then the German rear, I in fact flung them into the battle and launched the Crusader's also into a counter attack, this initially brought some good result with three PZIII steps being lost to AT cross fire but this success in true British cavalry style resulted in the Stuarts charging towards the remaining PZIII survivors who calmly and efficiently destroyed several of the British tanks who had to regroup further to the west. Meanwhile after trying to disrupt armour with his OBDA the German commander turned his attention to the first blocking force which was swept away with typical German efficiency. The Afrika Korps attack now gained almost unstoppable momentum and swept towards the final British potions. By now though German losses had crept up to the point where a drawn game would not be an option and although there were lots of wrecked British tanks littering the desert floor time too was slowly ticking away. By now the British tank forces had regrouped and apart from some dug in Maltida's were moving to the east in a bid to deny a German victory by occupying a road hex at game end. Here though the cunning German commander had placed a small reserve of AT guns and reduced PZ111's whose job it was to stop this ploy. This they did with some assistance from the OBDA meanwhile at the front of the assault the PZIVs where methodically shooting up the remnants of the 22nd Armoured Brigade while German MCY's, HMG and INF assaulted first the Maltida's then the final remaining Brit INF. However this took to the last GT to do and I am sure the German commander was rather dreading his next meeting with Rommel should he have failed at the last gasp. This was played in four shortish session against Brett, and there is no doubt the best player won. This was an exciting battle with swarms of inferior British tanks trying to get the upper-hand over their German counterparts. However the key for the German player is to keep the advance on the road going and not get too diverted with the tank battle which is what Brett did. I think this is a pretty balanced scenario, the British tanks are going to get pounded but the VC's are well worded so although I was losing this scenario from about the second session there was some hope I could pull off a lucky win. There could be no better praise about a scenario than me saying at the end of the game "Well I could play this one again tomorrow against anybody with either side".

My second play of this one, this time a shared match with Wayne Baumber via skype. Playing with the Germans I was at first worried as during my previous solo play they were outmanuevered by the Brits and lost the battle even though British armour losses were incredibly high. However I apparently was able to correct a few mistakes that I made before with Germany and perhaps having played this one before gave me a slight advantage.

The details are not so clear to me as this one was played out over the course of a few months in at least 4 sessions. The one thing that Wayne and I agreed on was that in this scenario it's not the best thing for the British to receive their reinforcements of Stuarts too early on, which is exactly what happened in this match. It would of been better for the flotilla of Stuarts to have arrived sometime mid-game after the panzers were either reduced in strength and/or spread-out engaging the other thicker skinned tanks(Crusaders, Valentines and Matildas). One thing for certain was that it was never a sure thing for the Germans until perhaps turn 29 out of 30. The British did fare well early on up against the PzIIIGs and were able to eliminate a few steps of those and also managed to set up a few crossfire opportunities. However, just about everytime the panzers got into trouble well-placed shots of German OBA were able to bail them out in the nick of time, especially against triple stacks of tanks when firing on the 55 column. Also keeping 3 batteries of 50mm AT guns on the move and intact greatly assited the German effort. What really helped also were the motorcycle units combined with a good portion of INF which were able to assault and eliminate the Valentines and Matildas.

The battle stretched out all over the map and it was tough work keeping mobile Britsh units away from the road. Once again I was worried that somehow they would manage to keep just one unit on the road and snag a victory as after midway through German losses had gone over 10 steps lost voiding out any chance of a draw for Germany. Towards the end things became really tense as one platoon of INF refused to yield after nearly all of the British tanks had been wiped out save one reduced and demoralized platoon of Crusaders. I got so nervous that I considered calling down OBA into that last assault hex but held back. Finally, on turn 30, the final turn, the last step of British INF struggling to hold on to the road was eliminated and the Germans were able to win this one with no time left to spare.

I gave this one a "4" after first solo play because I believed then that it slightly favored the British but now have to raise it up to a "5" after the second play, shared. There is more than just play balance to consider in rating this one. It is very challenging for both sides and also will test your nerves on either end. I would definitely have a third go at this one playing either side in a shared match. This was my first win with Germany in a shared match and it was not an easy win but regardless of the outcome I would of still rated it as high. I can't remember ever having to fight so hard to keep an attack going before in any previous play.

Author	treadasaurusrex (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	NBGB (AAR)
Play Date	2022-07-10
Language	English
Scenario	DeRa029

This was a 7-session play-through with the hard-fighting and able, Ron Motley, as the British Commander seeking to block the German 15th Panzer Division on its way to Tobruk. We used the optional smoke, consolidation, excess initiative and extended assault rules, We chose not to not use the Fog of War rule. I played the Germans attempting to penetrate the multi-battalion, armor-heavy, screening force guarding the single – 37-hex long – road atop the large east-west ridge. The stringent victory conditions required the Germans to clear and hold the entire road! No British units must occupy even one hex of the road at game end. This required a fast German movement-to-contact, followed by a rapid deployment of an anti-tank and garrison screen along the road going west. Wisely, British Commander deployed his infantry and scant AT artillery directly on the western reaches of the road, thus forcing the Germans to over-extend their meagre force of infantry with very limited armor support along a very long and vulnerable ridge top. Fortunately, ample German OBA was able to pin the Allied infantry force in their foxholes for most of the game, and also managed to eliminate their sole AT gun platoon and a single INF unit in the early going.

Tragically, twelve Stuart platoons of the British 4th Armoured Brigade arrived on the south edge of the map in the second game turn and were almost immediately engaged by the German AT guns and a mobile tank screen. This brave, but unsupported, armored attack on the southern flank was rapidly countered by German armor and 7 platoons-worth of Honey tanks were destroyed in short order over the next 6 turns, in spite of the British Commander’s best efforts to evacuate the scattered formation of light tanks to the west and out of harm’s way. German Pz-III and Pz-II platoons vigorously pursued the retreating Stuart formation across the southern half of the map board in a sweeping counter attack that carried to the far western edge of the map.

In the meantime, an extended series of fierce, and costly infantry close assaults beginning on the eastern edge of the long, British-held string of dug in positions in the western half of the map ensued. Little German armor support was available to support this effort, and there were multiple, well-sited and dug in British tanks in support of this defensive effort. The going was very slow and bloody for the attacking Germans and this thrust was constantly menaced by both, the emerging threat of British tanks deploying from off-board in the north, and by clever reinforcement, limited counter attacks, and frequent successful morale recoveries engineered by the British Commander.

From the start of the game, a force of repaired British armored elements began entering the north edge of the map. These were met by a set of British Crusader tanks with tank leaders who guided them into the growing fray in the central portion of the map. Stretched-thin, German spearheads facing this thrust rapidly fell back to positions higher on the ridgetop in hopes of avoiding becoming decisively engaged by this stout force of tanks. Surprisingly, the British Commander began husbanding this armored force and reinforcing this force with multiple platoons of refugee Crusaders moving from the main fight on the road surmounting the southern margin of the main east-west ridge.

By the end of game turn eight, British step losses had reached 49, at a cost to the Axis of 7 steps. Allied losses continued to mount in the next two sessions, culminating in 70 steps lost by the end of game turn 12. At that point, the German side had lost 7 steps, mostly in a series of fiercely contested close assaults on the main British defense along the road, and in the extended armored advance south of the ridge-top road. Additional dug-in, Allied infantry positions began to fall as the Germans relentlessly pushed west down the road. The British continued to concentrate their armor on the lower slopes and open ground on the northern margins of the ridge. Cleverly, the Tommies spread out their remaining tank leaders so that the reinforcing armored units would eventually be able to overwhelm the Germans on the main ridge mass. German AT and infantry units slowly moved forward to setup a typical Afrika Korps defensive gun line on the forward (south-facing) slopes of the main ridge.

The 6th session (game turns 16-17) was an unexpectedly, costly affair for the Tommies that was marked by a dramatic change in strategy, some incredible bravery on the part of their last infantry platoon, and multiple very brave Crusader tank leaders. The Allied Commander resolutely pushed about half his remaining armor forward and up the central ridge in pursuit of two close assaults to prevent AT crossfire situations from developing on the high ground. An extended set of unfortunate die rolls plagued the Tommies in this session! One of the British-initiated, tank-on-tank, close assaults ended with the loss of all 3 Crusader platoons involved, as a result of a determined German counter attack.

The Germans tried to close assault a combined Valentine/Matilda group, but only managed to chase them further downslope to their original positions. The final close assault on the last of the original, dug-in British infantry units on the main road was finally successful for the Germans on game turn 17.

BY the end of turn 17, step losses totaled: 15 for the Germans, and 104 for the British side. Of the latter, all 14 Honey (Stuart) tanks platoons had been eliminated along with 7 platoons of Crusader I cruiser tanks, 6 infantry units, and 5 Bren Carrier units. Hopes for a German victory remained tied to the elimination of the remaining British tank leaders to help prevent the occupation of the required road hex as per the scenario’s gamey victory conditions.

The 7th session (game turns 18-20) was somewhat anticlimactic as by then, 4 of the seven remaining British tank platoons were decisively engaged by German infantry in several costly close assaults that were supplemented by long-range AT fire from multiple directions. Mercifully, the British Commander chose to withdraw his few remaining tanks at the end of the 20th game turn, as both sides agreed that there was no longer a hope of securing an Allied victory. Thus, a hard-won victory for the Afrika Korps. Was the end result. The final step losses amounted to 120 for the British, and 15 for the Germans.

This scenario was fun-to-play, exciting – unbalanced in favor of the German side – but with lots of maneuver and many decision point for both sides. I give this scenario a rating of 4 for fun, and not a 5, due to the gamey victory conditions and excessive length.

Suggestions for Better Scenario Play:

Add a special scenario rule that allows the AT gun platoons of both sides the ability to fire twice in their activation as though they were efficient tank units. Play as we did, with dug-in units on the ridge being in limiting terrain, so that they are not visible to units over 3 hexes distant – or 4 away – in the case of recon elements. Decrease the game length to around 24 turns, and require that at least 8 steps of British combat units end the game astride any hexes on the road, for an Allied victory. Also, expand the requirement for German step losses to at least 15, that must be eliminated for the British side to claim a victory. Any other result is a German victory.

Author	NBGB (Britain)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	treadasaurusrex (AAR)
Play Date	2022-07-10
Language	English
Scenario	DeRa029

See Treadasaurus's review for some of the rules used, and other recommendations for this scenario.

I had a great time playing against Felipe. He mopped up the floor with me on this one. I usually play pretty aggressively in PG, as games can really go long if you don't use FOW. Using FOW would help to balance this scenario out some as perfect command and control allows for a completely methodical, chess match type of game. I was outclassed this time in that department.

These are my notes from the first part of the game:

First Vassal play in a long time. We are not using fog which is unusual for me. I also don’t play much in the sand recently. You need to be flexible and open to other ways. I setup with a forward defense. I had my right flank lightly protected by Bren’s and my left had some Crusaders. I held (2) platoons of Crusaders in reserve. The Crusaders on the left were to use their leader to help bring in the wandering maintenance unit tanks from the north. This area was the high ground and I also wanted to guard against an attack from this advantageous position. I get 12 platoons of Stuart’s to enter from the south (right) flank on a die roll of 6. I figure I may never see them so plan on a pretty static defense. My units will dig in immediately because of the strong German artillery. My infantry occupies road hexes in individual platoons to force as many tough rooting out attacks as possible. I’m guessing that Treadasaurus will bring in motorcycle scouts to spot for artillery and soften me up as much as possible. Without Fog he can always be sure of his plan being able to unfold slowly and methodically.

Turn 1-Scouts were brought up and artillery called in. I am already suffering demoralization on my 2lb. AT gun. His AT guns appear to be being set up to guard against a middle and rear infiltration to get to road hexes late in the game. PzIV’s are being brought forward and Pzlll’s are layered behind.

Turn 2- Lost my AT gun and demoralized a digging in infantry closest to the line. Brought in a Matilda from the North. A segway here. My interpretation of leaderless armor is that nothing can see or hurt it so it should be able to have freedom of movement as long as that condition exists. My opponent said that the Matilda could not move from its enter spot without a leader. That put a big crimp in my plan but that’s the way we played it. That allowed him to not have any units in the northern area to prevent me from moving forward without a leader. I managed to get dug in with most of my units. No Stuarts yet. He is setting up AT guns and tanks in a layered defense using his advantage of longer range to help in defense if needed. He is moving a recon by force with the motorcycles and an MG unit. 2 Crusader platoons and a Bren are blocking and 2 Matildas have joined 2 Crusaders in the North to help pressure the recon.

Turn 3- Here come the Stuarts. The game is afoot. I decide to be very aggressive and try a north-south pincer movement with the Stuarts and Crusaders forming crossfires on the PzlV’s. The Stuarts can keep moving and turn NW to meet the Crusaders coming from the North and hopefully cause some losses to eliminate armor efficiency. Also, to completely blow apart his forward positions and force the recon units back. He is also moving adroitly and has xfires setup on my Stuarts. He also has a 2 point initiative advantage going in to turn 4. This next turn will be critical as I may lose a lot of steps. I also may cause a lot of havoc.

Turns 4-7 Turns 4-6 went very badly for me. Turn 7 saw some slowing of the bleeding. Tread’s crossfire on my marauding Stuarts was very effective. It could have been worse, but I decided to turn tail and run back to my defensive lines. He is in pursuit and done some more damage, but I believe I have managed to save a chunk of my force to fight another time. On the northern side of the road I am bogged down in an assault with 3 armor units against a cycle unit. I am slowly winning this and I could get 2 more step losses on him. His artillery continues to hit my dug in units on the road with about average effectiveness. He made his first medium mistake bringing a PzIV into a questionable assault. This allowed me to set up a crossfire with Crusaders and I was able to knock out a step. He is trying to keep his recon forces re-inforced with infantry to go around the north and take any advantage that artillery may open up. Also fixing the front line with dug in units and his advancing armor which is chasing my Stuarts. That’s about done as my units are coming under friendly fire cover. I am going to go over completely to the defensive now and dig in my armor to support the infantry on the road and be able to reinforce any attempted assaults. My ace in the hole are the northern maintenance units that are gathering in force. I have 7 platoons of tanks up there right now. They can either help on the defensive or stay out of the fray and swing around to his rear. I need him to commit as much to the front as possible to really strike hard there. I expect a well-coordinated, methodical attack that will put me to the test. I need to stay flexible and patient. I’m down 25-4 in losses. Losses don’t count against me except initiative which I’m down -3 right now.

Those notes were my on the fly thoughts. Felipe gave an excellent review. That covers the rest of the battle.

Things I would change:

• Hold back the Stuarts and use more for infantry support. They suck for tank battles.
• Use the tank leaders more creatively. I was easy to predict.
• Find more effective xfires to eliminate German armor efficiency.
• Stay further away from infantry even when it seems necessary to violate this rule.

The Germans enter the map from the east, along the road on the lower part of the hill which runs east-west across the entire map. The objective was the clear and maintain the road for the whole of the map, without losing too many steps. We played this scenario with the 4th Edition rules, which meant that the hill terrain was not limiting. As the German player, I just had to get my officers forward to turn my off board artillery onto the British infantry and Bren carriers. That part of the plan worked a treat. The Germans chased the enemy all the way to the western edge of the map, where they died a slow death.

In the early turns the Pz III's and IV's also had a lot of good fortune racking up Stuart kills, and the German infantry even managed to assault a group of three Crusaders and eliminated them too. However, all was not what it seemed. I had been careless with the 50mm guns. Two were destroyed whilst limbered, and the third was lost after it had fired but 2 or 3 shells at the enemy. And whilst the Germans were rushing to kill the Stuarts, Crusaders and infantry, the slow build up of Crusaders, Stuarts, Valentines and Matildas to the north of the map would spell trouble. The Matildas, with their 6-rated armour, proved particularly difficult as I needed cross-fire opportunities to stand a chance to eliminate them. Every Pz III and PzIV lost step meant that was becoming progressively more difficult.

The British reinforcing force was able to cross the hill and occupy the road along from the eastern edge, and there simply wasn't the time to come back to clear them. My poor German infantry ran the length of the map and back halfway. German combined arms numbers might have told were there another 10 turns or more, but after the early turkey shoot the battle became one of cat and mouse with the British always able to threaten any probe or, more often, just withdraw to a safer position as time was on their side.

If I were to play this scenario again I would make two changes:

1. The hill terrain should revert to being limiting terrain, as per the 3rd edition. This probably applies to all of the Desert Rats scenarios, but it's a must for those with OBA.
2. As the German, I would protect the eastern end of the road from the start, probably using the 50mm guns to set up a screen of the road supported by a group of infantry and one of the PzIII's to enable cross-fire opportunities.

Author	tlangston28 (Britain)
Method	Dual Table Setup + Voice Chat
Victor	Britain
Participants	Bangla (AAR)
Play Date	2020-10-23
Language	English
Scenario	DeRa029

This scenario has a combined DAK force attacking British contingents with Armor reinforcements along a Desert Road. The Germans have a large battery of Artillery and are tasked with clearing the Road and not losing 10 steps. The British have to prevent the German conditions.

First off, as in most of these Desert games released under the 3rd Edition rules or before, the scenarios have become severely affected by the 4th edition change in the rules of hills not being limiting terrain. In effect, the entire map are always clear hexes except for slopes, which makes artillery the king of the map.

But I digress, and so as the British player, my plan was to keep the infantry as far as possible from the German leaders that could spot them for as long as I could while I waited for the reinforcements to arrive so that sheer numbers could be used to setup necessary crossfires for the UK tanks. with 2 sets of 42 strength artillery batteries, the Germans made short work of the British infantry and carriers and the slow arrival of reinforcements and the limiting factor of the tank leaders lead to situations early on where the British were losing tanks at an alarming rate. However, numbers would soon prevail and after a few exchanges where the British shots were lucky or cross-fires were obtained, the firepower of the German armor slowly dwindled.

At about the halfway point, The British had to keep the remaining Stuarts and Crusaders at arms-length while the Valentine and Matildas rumbled (slowly) to provide speed bumps for advancing German armor. However, there were enough losses where the initiative difference was enough to cause the British to be extremely cautious. For most of the second half of the game, the British turn mostly consisted of "Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, FOW, Pass, FOW..." while waiting for the German to commit his armor to either moving or firing, at which point, I could try to get into advantageous positions, IF fog of war did not hinder that. Ultimately, the cat and mouse game worked and the British were able to gain a foothold on the road at the east end of the map (where the Germans entered) with the Germans out of range to get any killing shots.

With all of this said, I still enjoyed the puzzle of trying to maintain the Armor advantage (!) that the British had in simple numbers and trying to setup a cross-fire and we had great fun with a mostly armored battle at the end but ultimately it did not feel like a victory - most likely due to the step loss differential: 94 UK Losses to 30 German.

I do think that Desert Rats and Afrika Korps, if played with 4th edition, should retain the 3rd Edition rules concerning hills (limiting terrain). It would make a closer game and a more believable result.

We play face to face using almost all optional rules but skipping logistic shortfall ;-) We also have assumed that all hill hexes were limiting terrain (3rd Ed rules). As the British commander, I’ve set up a force of tanks and infantry in the middle of the map around the road + another one as far as possible from the incoming Germans. The idea was to profit from the German necessary movement turns to dug in everyone and every tank. Some British Crusaders (with tank leaders) were also sent to meet and accompany the leaderless British tanks appearing (one platoon per turn) on the map edge, in the German flank. The German advance was rather careful as they began to fight with the flanking British tanks (Matilda) to prevent British crossfire advantages. Then, the large force of British reinforcements (Stuart tanks) appeared on turn 2. Given the impressive number of available British tanks, British counterattacks were launched through the German lines. A company of Crusaders tried to overrun two isolated German leaders but failed to eliminate them; they then pursued the PzIIs, killed two steps of them and missed the rest before being finally destroyed. The German infantry then assaulted one Matilda platoon and spent several turns to eliminate them. Since the German player had the initiative most of the time, he fired smoke rounds on every occasion (offboard artillery) to prevent all crossfire situations set up by the British tanks. Since one of the victory conditions of the British player is to reach 10 German steps eliminated, it seems a very lengthy process: 4 German steps were eliminated by midgame… British counterattacks are doomed if you use Stuarts: their armor is simply too weak and if I send a large number of them, the road defence will be compromised. Given the situation, the game didn’t changed much from one turn to the other. From turn 10 to 20, it became very static. Moreover, I got tired of these firing « possibilities » that only give results if you roll double-6…(or snake eyes in assault). The persistant need for such extreme luck whatever you do is not funny in the end. On turn 20, the German player began to dug in along a solid line barring the battlefield. Not a tank battle: it was Verdun in the desert! To that point of the game, the only tactic possible for the British would have been to wait for the last turns - when the German have no more chance to conquer all road hexes - to launch a suicide attack to try to reach the 10 casualties total. Too gamey… We decided to stop the scenario on turn 21 (30 max) and assume a draw. The scenario seemed interesting at first but the victory conditions are not the best possible since the initial situation is a draw and will stay that way unless one of the players becomes really careless…