On the Trigh Capuzzo Desert Rats #48 |
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(Defender)
Germany
(Defender) Italy |
vs | Britain (Attacker) |
Formations Involved | ||
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Britain | 22nd Armoured Brigade | |
Britain | 2nd Armoured Brigade | |
Italy | 132ª Divisone Corazzata "Ariete" |
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Overall Rating, 4 votes |
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3.25
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Scenario Rank: --- of 940 |
Parent Game | Desert Rats |
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Historicity | Historical |
Date | 1942-05-30 |
Start Time | 07:30 |
Turn Count | 40 |
Visibility | Day |
Counters | 150 |
Net Morale | 0 |
Net Initiative | 0 |
Maps | 2: DR4, DR5 |
Layout Dimensions | 116 x 88 cm 46 x 35 in |
Play Bounty | 165 |
AAR Bounty | 165 |
Total Plays | 4 |
Total AARs | 2 |
Battle Types |
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Exit the Battle Area |
Rural Assault |
Conditions |
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Off-board Artillery |
Terrain Mods |
Scenario Requirements & Playability | |
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Desert Rats | Base Game |
Introduction |
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While Rommel gathered his German panzers to crush the isolated 150th Infantry Brigade sitting astride his supply lines, he detailed the Ariete Division to hold back the British tanks. The British Eighth Army ordered its tank brigades back to the attack to save the infantry, and the troops plunged forward with near-suicidal abandon. |
Conclusion |
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The British flung themselves at the Italian line with great courage, but little coordination. Behind a screen of infantry and lighter anti-tank guns, the heavy Italian batteries shot the onrushing tanks to pieces. One battery alone fired over 1,700 rounds, and the two armoured brigades lost dozens of tanks. "What was needed was a deliberate attack," one British participant wrote later, "not one more 'Charge!'" |
AFV Rules Pertaining to this Scenario's Order of Battle |
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6 Errata Items | |
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Scen 48 |
2nd Armored Brigade gets 7 Crusader I's and 6 Grants, not the reverse. (PG-Tank Dude
on 2010 Apr 30)
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Scen 48 |
If one accepts the map set-up and orientation on page 41 as correct, then there are several problems. British set-up in hexes xx25 or greater on maps 4 & 5 places them on the EAST side of the space. Thus the Victory Condition as written make no sense. Presumably, the British are to exit off the WEST edge of the boards (also consistent with history as UK forces were attacking from the EAST). The Italian set-up instructions are either misprinted or broken. As written, Ariete forces must set up in hexes xx10 or less only on board 4. The E/W road on board 5 is 14 hexes away from the map 4/5 boundary. British tanks setting up on xx25-xx28 can exit the WEST edge in two turns whereas the best Italian tank, the Sem. 75/18 takes three turns even to get in range of the road! Thus, all the British need do is run five Crusader I units (movement of 9) along the E/W road on board 5 and off (five units x two steps/unit x double/tank step = 20 "steps" for VC. Now all the British need do to win is kill 10 IT steps without losing 20. They can keep their armor out of it and let the infantry attempt to achieve this result. Totally a-historical. My solution is to allow Ariete to set up on xx10 or lower on both boards 4&5, not just board 4 as given on page 41. (Poor Yorek
on 2012 Mar 07)
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All Bren carriers should have a movement value of 7. (Shad
on 2010 Dec 15)
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Two British infantry have their full strengths printed on the back. They should both be "2-3" when reduced. (Shad
on 2010 Dec 15)
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Ignore the direct fire values. (Shad
on 2010 Dec 15)
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Four counters (ID#s: 1502 to 1506) have the incorrect NATO symbol (infantry in lieu of armor). (Shad
on 2010 Dec 15)
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Too much desert for Ariete to prevent a British exit | ||||||||||||
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I finished this scenario in 18 turns out of a potential 40 with a draw. I thought that with the corrected set-up and deployment that this would be far more enjoyable but still found flaws. There was a lot of action at times, especially with the tank battles, but still found two maps and plenty of time gave the two British forces not much trouble in exiting 20 steps off the east edge; especially as there are east-to-west roads on both maps. I set the whole of the Ariete Division forces up only on map 5; contrary to the original, written scenario's deployment, as this was the only area with limiting terrain with the two hills. Luckily the Italians had plenty of transport as soon enough, 90mms and 47mm guns would be transported to attempt to chase down the 22nd Armoured Division after most Italian tanks were quickly dispatched. However, the remnants of the M13/40s; M14/41s and even a reduced Sem 75/18 that survived the first showdown versus British armour were able to rally and take out a few more Grants before they were finally all eliminated. Surprisingly, the Italian manned 88mms failed to eliminate one step of exiting British armour with rolling a natural '2' and then a '3' on the AT fire table at a convoy of Grants fleeing off the east edge but at the same time, even spotted, British OBA failed to knock out either battery of 88s. Eventually, even after the British exited the 20 required steps Ariete was also able to eliminate 20 British steps as well, forcing the draw. I gave this a low rating of '2' because even fixed, played solo, I didn't get much out of it overall except a lot of counter pushing. I don't think it would be too much better as a shared play either but not the worst scenario; just still something broken about it. If the victory conditions required the British to only be able to exit off the east edge of map 5 then I think it would of made for a better or at least more challenging play. Other than that there is just too much desert area from north to south for Ariete to cover. |
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0 Comments |
Broken as written, but ... | ||||||||||||
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See my extensive errata for this scenario. I believe something is broken in the scenario set-up instructions as the British can achieve half of their victory conditions as written (assuming we correct exiting east to exiting west!) in two turns with essentially no chance of Italian intervention (see my post in the errata). I'm going to try to play this as though Ariete can set up in hexes xx10 and less on either board 4 or board 5. This makes the problem much more of the British having to force themselves through and/or between Italian strong points (as it was historically). To be continued ... |
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1 Comment |