Game 147 : Battleaxe 1941

This was a first for the Situation Room. We were doing Operation Battleaxe, late 1941 in the desert!!!

The main tables were covered with desert terrain, 12" squares. To do the table took 276 boards!!!! In addition, all the kit was new and of course all the basing was done for the desert. In total that added another 10 Divisions to the WWII inventory.

The above shot is taken along one of the main tables. The results looked excellent, even close up. The whole project had taken 7 years to bring it to fruition, mainly in fits and starts for a variety of reasons.

Action along the whole front. The top is the Allied right flank resting on the coast and with Bardia to the front. The British 4th Indian Division is attacking here. Defending is an Italian infantry division.

The centre has 2 British Armoured Brigades, with limited infantry support, pushing in the centre. Defending is the 21st Panzer Division. The fighting in both the above sectors would reach a stalemate. The Germans reinforced Bardia, hence making infantry assaults costly and in the centre, a line of tanks and ATGs, all excellent quality would counteract Allied tank numbers.

 

The above shows the Allied left flank. Here, 7th Armoured Division assaulted. The defenders were 2 btns of Italian infantry, well dug in. Eventually the position would be forced but allied losses were heavy. The scenario did show that lack of operational preparation, in this instance enough engineering assets, hampered the allies enormously.

More of the same. Ding dong fighting along the front, but now the German 5th Lt Div (really an AD HOC Panzer Div) has arrived making Allied progress impossible. The Germans are also out of position, so counter-attacking aggressively is not an option.

The game ends with a historical outcome and includes, in casualties, at least 4 gamers with the lurgy!!

I can't say we all look normal!, but we nearly do!! Next stop Trafalgar!!!