Campaign For North Africa 40D-43

[warspite1]

Turn 57
25th June 1941

Wavell must decide on what to do next. The good news is that all three Italian divisions are engaged, their supply is low in many cases, and they have had some of their armour destroyed. The not so good news list is just as long. It's a good job Wavell didn't wait for the 2nd Armoured Division to be ready.... he would still be waiting.... The artillery is low on supply and this is needed if the Kiwis are to hold on open ground, there are a lot units reorganising and the loss of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade takes away some of the mobility from the left flank.

[warspite1]

Turn 57
25th June 1941

Notwithstanding the supply situation it is decided in Cairo that the attack should continue and to not let up on the pressure being applied.

In the south the Kiwis left flank now extends to Fort Maddellena, while the Indians have been ordered to join with their antipodean brothers to attempt the severing of the two forces once again.

The first barrage that goes in is against the main Ariete armour and the Italians receive moderate loss (5%). moving south along the line the next barrage causes 7% loss to the Italians, then 15%, and then 10%

At Sidi Omar the divisional HQ comes under attack (6%)

The surrounded Ariete battalion in the north is utterly destroyed

South of Menastir the Italian decision to remain at Bardia is looking more foolish by the minute. A massive barrage goes in that destroys most of the remaining infantry. Tobruk is on the receiving end of a 19% loss.

[warspite1]

Turn 57
25th June 1941

As can be seen the artillery units are all but out of ammo. It is vital that the British armour breaks their Italian opposite numbers this round.

The turn could not get off to a better start with the bombardment by the RN at Tobruk. 43% losses including the total wiping out of the 2nd MG Battalion, 15th Panzer Division and a regiment of the Pavia Division.

The remnants of the 15th Regiment are destroyed south of Menastir.

To Battleaxe and the last of the Kiwi artillery shells are expended against the Sabratha HQ, west of Bir el Sheferzen - 12% losses are inflicted, with a similar number against the units almost surrounded west of Sidi Omar. However the key attack then follows as the 7th Hussars brush aside the I Tank Battalion, which retreats west toward Sidi Omar itself. This means that the main offensive power of the Ariete Division is now surrounded - 132nd Regiment HQ and the IX Tank Battalion and the 8th Bersaglieri Regt. HQ and its 5th Battalion.

[warspite1]

Turn 57
25th June 1941

Pre Rounds. The 11th Hussars engage and force to retreat, the I Tank Battalion, thus increasing the gap between the main Ariete units and safety.

An attack by the 7th Hussars and the 42nd RTR (with the New Zealand 26th Bn. and 27th MG Ban. in support) makes that gap even wider as they push the Ariete cavalry back.

Away from Battleaxe there is an artillery dual at Menastir that results in honours even (7% loss each). At Tobruk its another 23% - its all pretty routine now.

We now reach Round 7. Pre-Round the 7th Hussars destroy a Luftwaffe ground unit and the Ariete cavalry.

At Menastir the last of the Savona resistance is removed. At Tobruk there is another 17% loss to the Axis.

The only attack ordered as part of Battleaxe is in the centre of the line where the Sabratha HQ comes under attack from a largely Kiwi force (with assistance from the Indian KEO Cavalry and the 7th Armoured Brigade HQ). The Italians are pushed back and are in danger of being broken into three or four pockets.

The turn comes to an end with another 25% hit against the Besieging units of Tobruk and the almost complete annihilation of the Ariete trapped units.

That can be accurately described as a good turn for Wavell and the Desert Army....

[warspite1]

Turn 57 - Axis Turn
25th June 1941

Predictably the turn gets off to five attacks against Tobruk which amount to little. The attack on the fleet causes damage to Valiant - but comes at the cost of 59 aircraft! The Italians also attack the naval force off Bardia to no effect.

More relatively dismal results against Tobruk follow...10% being the highest, but in the context of what they need its just small fry.

A half decent result against Tobruk (16%) for a change!

More Tobruk barrages, but only one gets into double figures.

Another desultory set of attacks on Tobruk....

Another desultory set of attacks on Tobruk....

Slightly better round, but the numbers being achieved are simply not enough and I don't know if the Axis even have the units left to mount an attack.

The turn ends - at least the Germans caused 18% loss in their final barrage.

Interestingly the AI did nothing on the Italian Front???

[DanNeely]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Interestingly the AI did nothing on the Italian Front???

That probably means you've battered them all into reorganization. Keep chopping them up into splinters until the survivors surrender.

[Zorch]

I just can't get used to Italians in grey. Does TOAW let you change them to yellow?

I am hung up on the 'traditional' colors - British red, French blue, Russians brown, Germans grey/black, US green, Italians/Japanese yellow.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Zorch

I just can't get used to Italians in grey. Does TOAW let you change them to yellow?

I am hung up on the 'traditional' colors - British red, French blue, Russians brown, Germans grey/black, US green, Italians/Japanese yellow.

warspite1

Yellow??? [adopts best Alan Partridge voice] Get out! I assume you meant Light Green? There's always one spoils it for the rest of us.

British - Red in times of the Thin Red Line, but Beige since the turn of the 20th Century (Dark Blue worked too in World In Flames (although was too difficult to see). I agree with Brown for Russia, although Red can of course work for them too - and Napoleonic Russia has to be Green.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: DanNeely

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Interestingly the AI did nothing on the Italian Front???

That probably means you've battered them all into reorganization. Keep chopping them up into splinters until the survivors surrender.

warspite1

Ahh... I was thinking I would see the orange bar if reorganising. That makes sense thanks.

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

I just can't get used to Italians in grey. Does TOAW let you change them to yellow?

I am hung up on the 'traditional' colors - British red, French blue, Russians brown, Germans grey/black, US green, Italians/Japanese yellow.

warspite1

Yellow??? [adopts best Alan Partridge voice] Get out! I assume you meant Light Green? There's always one spoils it for the rest of us.

British - Red in times of the Thin Red Line, but Beige since the turn of the 20th Century (Dark Blue worked too in World In Flames (although was too difficult to see). I agree with Brown for Russia, although Red can of course work for them too - and Napoleonic Russia has to be Green.

Light Green Italians? What game(s) have that? I'm thinking a pale yellow for Italy, bright yellow for Japan. Or orange.
If Austria-Hungary is around, they can be yellow and Italy pale something else.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

I just can't get used to Italians in grey. Does TOAW let you change them to yellow?

I am hung up on the 'traditional' colors - British red, French blue, Russians brown, Germans grey/black, US green, Italians/Japanese yellow.

warspite1

Yellow??? [adopts best Alan Partridge voice] Get out! I assume you meant Light Green? There's always one spoils it for the rest of us.

British - Red in times of the Thin Red Line, but Beige since the turn of the 20th Century (Dark Blue worked too in World In Flames (although was too difficult to see). I agree with Brown for Russia, although Red can of course work for them too - and Napoleonic Russia has to be Green.

Light Green Italians? What game(s) have that? I'm thinking a pale yellow for Italy, bright yellow for Japan. Or orange.
If Austria-Hungary is around, they can be yellow and Italy pale something else.

warspite1

Austria = White

Who has light green for the Italians?

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

warspite1

Yellow??? [adopts best Alan Partridge voice] Get out! I assume you meant Light Green? There's always one spoils it for the rest of us.

British - Red in times of the Thin Red Line, but Beige since the turn of the 20th Century (Dark Blue worked too in World In Flames (although was too difficult to see). I agree with Brown for Russia, although Red can of course work for them too - and Napoleonic Russia has to be Green.

Light Green Italians? What game(s) have that? I'm thinking a pale yellow for Italy, bright yellow for Japan. Or orange.
If Austria-Hungary is around, they can be yellow and Italy pale something else.

warspite1

Austria = White

Who has light green for the Italians?

Looks like yellow-green to me. [:D]

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch



Light Green Italians? What game(s) have that? I'm thinking a pale yellow for Italy, bright yellow for Japan. Or orange.
If Austria-Hungary is around, they can be yellow and Italy pale something else.

warspite1

Austria = White

Who has light green for the Italians?

Looks like yellow-green to me. [:D]

warspite1

Nah its greeny-yellow [:D]

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1


warspite1

Austria = White

Who has light green for the Italians?

Looks like yellow-green to me. [:D]

warspite1

Nah its greeny-yellow [:D]

What color is Spain? Yugoslavia? Greece?
This is like the 4 color map conjecture.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch



Looks like yellow-green to me. [:D]

warspite1

Nah its greeny-yellow [:D]

What color is Spain? Yugoslavia? Greece?
This is like the 4 color map conjecture.

warspite1

It depends. There are some mods out there. For example the Dutch are Red white and Blue, but someone made an orange mod. The Spanish Nationalists are actually pink... I use a mod that makes them brown. The Portuguese are a sort of dirty yellow colour but I use a mod that makes them Red white and Green.

Greece are dark blue and light blue, Yugoslavia are white.

[DanNeely]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: DanNeely

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Interestingly the AI did nothing on the Italian Front???

That probably means you've battered them all into reorganization. Keep chopping them up into splinters until the survivors surrender.

warspite1

Ahh... I was thinking I would see the orange bar if reorganising. That makes sense thanks.

Nope, you don't see the orange/yellow bars on enemy units.

[warspite1]

Turn 58
28th June 1941

They say a week is a long time in politics....well not as long as a week on the battlefield it seems.

Operation Battleaxe is far from over, but with the best of the Ariete Division blunted, the two remaining infantry divisions between Sidi Omar and Fort Maddelena are in for a rough ride.

With the clearance of the north, an unexpected bonus for Wavell has been the release of the Australian 9th Division. The question now is how best to exploit this situation? The first thing Wavell does is to check the Expected Reinforcements schedule. This tells him that late in July he will lose the use of the 150th Infantry Brigade and the few battalions of the 5th Indian Division. Some of the latter are only just arriving and so, like with the 70th Division battalion a while back, he won't even bother moving them to the front.

The 150th Brigade will need replacing as they are the only infantry at Bardia. Wavell's mind is thus set. He will deploy the Australian 9th in the north on the coast road and use the British armour to cut off the Italian units to the south. The ever disappointing and under performing 2nd Armoured will provide cover to the Australians.

[warspite1]

Turn 58
28th June 1941

To the big picture. On balance Wavell decides that he might as well use those new arrivals to try and flush out the Axis units in the southern desert.

Note: the divisions and smaller units do not appear to attach to specific Corps - these are just named here for a bit of historical nicety. The Corps do have their own corps assets e.g. artillery, and I will try and keep this as closely aligned as possible.


Proposed set up of the Desert Army

[warspite1]

Turn 58
28th June 1941

The first of the Polish 1st Brigade replacements are ready at Alexandria. They are shipped to Tobruk but there is no room at the inn. The troops are sent back to Bardia which will be used as a waiting facility for any replacements required. The opening up of Bardia also means that 18th Brigade units (which were originally designed for Tobruk) can also make their way there for future departure to Tobruk.

Round 1

The attacks planned are three-fold + 2 bombardments:

- 2 x bombardments of the enemy at Tobruk (west and east of the southern strong point).

- An attack against a battalion of the 16th Savona Infantry Regiment west of Menastir

- West of Sidi Omar the last of the Italian Ariete resistance is hopefully to be overcome

- The Kiwis and Indians form a pocket of Italians northeast of Fort Maddelena. Attempts to start reducing this pocket begin.

Note artillery supply is near to exhausted hence the Commonwealth units are heading straight into the attack.

The 1st Royal Tank Regiment leads the charge against the Ariete and, unsurprisingly given their hopeless situation, the Italians are quick to throw in the towel. This attack now frees up whatever armour the 7th Armoured have left.

Northeast of Fort Maddelena the Italian pocket is reduced to one small piece of fortified real estate as Indian units from the 3rd Motor Brigade and the 4th Indian Division force back units from the 39th and 40th Infantry Regiments of the Bologna Division.

The utter futility of the Savona 16th Regiment's actions in heading east toward Bardia is confirmed as all three battalions simply evaporate under the strength of the attack by the British infantry and Australian cavalry. The Italians also lose 5 aircraft in the attack - although the CW lose 9.

At Tobruk 19% and 9% losses are inflicted.

[DanNeely]

ORIGINAL: warspite1
With the clearance of the north, an unexpected bonus for Wavell has been the release of the Australian 9th Division. The question now is how best to exploit this situation? The first thing Wavell does is to check the Expected Reinforcements schedule. This tells him that late in July he will lose the use of the 150th Infantry Brigade and the few battalions of the 5th Indian Division. Some of the latter are only just arriving and so, like with the 70th Division battalion a while back, he won't even bother moving them to the front.

I disagree here. You should send them forward and slam them into the teeth of the axis somewhere until they're withdrawn. IF you can make room in Tobruk, put them on the front line to eat German shells for a few turns. If not use them as shock troops in your attack towards the port.