Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

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MikeGreen
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by MikeGreen »

Axis 10th Army Main Effort Detailed Combat Report Screen (cropped to exclude excess area)

As you can see my combat ratio was great but I had negative odd shifts for training and Shock. I reduced the odds shift with my Main Effort (+2) shift. Tanks would not have helped my attack since it was uphill.


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Timian
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Timian »

Post #29

Turn Twelve / 11 Dec 1940 / 1800

Selby Force and 7th Indian Brigades - both Brigades “Green” Heart, Strength, and Supply – kicked-off their Counter Attack. Selby Overrunning (odds 50+:1) an Italian Reconnaissance Troop and 7th Indian Attacking an Italian Artillery Battalion + Infantry Battalion.

16th Indian Brigade Attacked and Destroyed the Remnants of an Infantry Battalion and an Artillery Battalion (both Black for Supply).

In the West, 4th Armored Brigade loses two A-13 Companies to a Strong Italian Attack, while its A-13 Battalion and Anti-Tank (AT) Battery are Attacked as well. In part, the A-13 Battalion + AT Battery are able to Hold because the Italians are Attacking up a Ridge. The two A-13 Companies lost by 4th Armored Brigade were at the bottom of the Ridge / No Ridge benefit / Same elevation as the Attacking Italians.

7th Armored Brigade, in the Center, together with 7th Support Group (far Left) and 11th Indian Brigade (in the North) are hit by both Italian Artillery Barrages and Attacks by Italian Infantry Battalions supported by Artillery.


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bootlegger267
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by bootlegger267 »

Good stuff here! Thanks guys!

Bootlegger
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MikeGreen
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by MikeGreen »

Turn 12

The next to last units of the 4 Lib Regiment are destroyed. They have been cutoff from almost the start. Only a lonely Battalion of armor remains.

Selby Force has started to push back My 158 Regiment is taking the brunt of Selby’s counterattack. It looks like I pushed it out too far and too disorganized and it is getting hammered. I just hope to use it too slow down the relief of his pocketed troops. Besides Selby, his 7th Indian is pounding on the 158’s AA and Artillery units.

In the central region, I have reoccupied some minefield positions and have sufficient forces to stave off attacks. It is just the southern area that offers opportunities for the Allies to relieve the pocket.

In the pocket I eliminate 2 companies of armor form the 4th Armor Regiment. This brings my VP due to kills to 50 versus his 379. Total victory points Axis 266 to 379. Destroying his out of supply nits is proving difficult. He is now defending from on top of a ridge line and has superior troop quality.



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Alan Sharif
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Alan Sharif »

This is very interesting. Thanks for posting.
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Timian
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Timian »

Post #31

Turn Thirteen / 12 Dec 1940 / 0600

Day Five of Operation Compass: Fuel = 402 and Ammunition = 32.

Selby Force and 7th Indian Brigades will Attack again this Turn.

o Selby – with Support from its two Machine Gun Companies – will Attack a lone Italian Infantry Battalion (with a +3xOdds Shift “Tank Fright” Command option).

o 7th Indian will Attack again the same Italian Artillery Battalion + Infantry Battalion it Attacked last Turn.

16th Indian Brigade will Attack to Destroy the Remaining Unit (an Isolated, Italian Tankette Battalion) on of far Eastern end of Camp Tummar.

7th Armored Division and 11th Indian Brigade continue to Hold.



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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by MikeGreen »

Axis Turn 13

The 158 Regiment of the widely separated Cirene Division (the dark green striped units) is being kicked around by Selby. I am attempting to withdraw to the ridge line

Elsewhere I manage to eliminate the badly battered AT guns isolated by the other regiment of the Cirene Division is attacked by the 233 Regiment of the Marmamarica Division (the grayed out units). It is an overwhelming attack 25 to 1 attack.

My other attacks meet with various success mainly doing moderate damage (10 to 25% to Readiness and 5 to 10% Strength). The exception is the other set of AT guns to the south of the pocket. It severely damages but do not eliminate the AT units of the 7th Armor Brigade. It is detailed in the following post.

Victory Points Axis 312 (78 from eliminated units) Allies 424 all from elimination


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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by MikeGreen »

Details of Attack on &th Armor Brigade AT Guns

Italy's 233 Regiment attack on CW's 7th Armor Brigade's unsupported anti tank guns went well. Normally the AT guns would have provided 4 Shock Defense against the tanks, their reduced Readiness State and low supplies reduced them to -2. The They are trapped so they cannot retreat. Thus the Shock provided by the Italian armor more offset the -2 odds shift from the CW's better Quality of units. They will be fair game for elimination next turn.

Note that the Intensity of the attack is set by the Attack and Defense orders of the appropriate units. However, it is limited by the average quality and readiness of the attacking units. Unfortunately the quality of my units limit the intensity to low.



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Timian
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Timian »

Post #33

Turn Fourteen / 12 Dec 1940 / 1200 / Two Turns Left in Scenario

So far so good.

Both Selby Force and the 7th Indian Brigade’s Attacks - to Re-Open a Supply Line to 7th Armored Division and 11th Indian Brigade – have been successful.

Losses to both Selby and 7th Indian have been light.

Given what I know right now*, I need to Destroy five Italian Units to Open a Supply Line free of Italian Zones of Control.

* Mike and I have “Fog of War” toggled-on, so my Intel may not be correct.

First (Turn 14) 7th Indian Brigade must Attack the Italian Tankette Battalion and Infantry Battalion due East of Nebeiwa.**

** With a +2xOdds Shift “O’Connor Forward” Command option.

Next, after first moving adjacent (during Turn 14), Selby must Attack (on Turn 15) the Italian Infantry Battalion and Artillery Battalion one hex West and then Southwest of it’s A-13 Company.

The last Italian Unit that must be Destroyed, is the Infantry Battalion just North and East of Ineba. But not sure if I can get enough of 7th Indian adjacent to make a High Odds Attack during Turn 15. Depends what happens with the 7th’s Turn 14 Attack, but the 7th Indians 25 lb Battalion will not be in Position to Support (the planned Turn 15) Attack; Out of Range.

7th Armored Division and 11th Indian Brigade continue to Defend, but 7th Armored Brigade’s two Northern-Most Anti-Tank Batteries are Overrun (25.4:1).



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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by MikeGreen »

Axis Turn 14

This is the penultimate game turn. I finish off the 7th Armor Brigade's Engineers with little trouble. Elsewhere I make some reckless attack and mainly do ore damage to myself than the enemy.

11th Indian and Selby Group is doing a number on the 158th of the Cirene Division. A lone battalion of the 116th Regiment of the Marmarica Division is in position to stem the tide. The remaining two infantry battalions of the 116 may be able to setup a defense line on the ridge line. Fortunately the 116's HQ and artillery have survived Selby's meat grinder.



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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Timian »

Post #35

Turn Fifteen / 12 Dec 1940 / 1800 / Last Turn

As I mentioned in my Turn Fourteen update, in order to get supply to 7th Armored and 11th Indian Brigade:

1) Selby must Attack the Italian Infantry Battalion and Artillery Battalion two hexes East of the “Stands Alone” Italian Infantry Battalion and

2) If I can get enough of 7th Indian Brigade adjacent to make a High Odds Attack, the “Stands Alone” Infantry Battalion.*

* Unfortunately, 7th Indian’s 25 lb Battalion will not be in Position to Support “Stands Alone” Attack; Out of Range.

Below is a screen shot of my planned Turn Fifteen Moves / Attacks.


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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Timian »

Post #37

The screen shot below pretty much captures the Commonwealth positions at scenario end.

Selby’s Attack (using 2xColumn Shift for “Main Effort”) was successful.

However, I was unable to get a High Odds Attack vs. “Stands Alone”**.

** The screen shot shows one Infantry Battalion from 7th Indian Brigade next to “Stands Alone” and two Recon Companies.

Victory Point wise, it was a Tactical Commonwealth Victory (424 Commonwealth Victory Points to 356 Italian). But Pyrrhic with all of 7th Armored Division and 11th Indian Brigade – with its three Matilda Companies - cut-off.


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Benedict151
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Benedict151 »

Well played both, I confess that I thought this one was going to go to the Italians

Many thanks for sharing this, very much appreciated

regards
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MikeGreen
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by MikeGreen »

Apologies, I have been under the weather and finally feeling good enough to get all my thoughts together.

Turn 15
The Italians are still facing superior Quality Troops . They also need time to regain Readiness with many units down 30%. My combat supply is also running low. I am down to 2 turns worth of input and would have to husband resources to continue attacks by multiple formations. Combat supply dramatically increases your attacking power quadrupling artillery and doubling other units.

I manage only a few rather low odds attacks on units that I have isolated for the longest time in hopes of a kill. I have no luck however.

Results Allied Minor Victory 424 (all Kill) to 356 (86 from kills)

I will talk about my thoughts on the scenario and game in another post.

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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Timian »

Post #39

Commonwealth Final Thoughts . . .

1) (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) Should not have committed 4th Armored Brigade to help secure 7th Support Groups Western Flank. In addition, I should have pushed 7th Indian Brigade up vicinity 4th Armored Brigade -- once it was Released from Strategic Reserve (a.k.a., “FIXED”) on Turn 8.

2) It only costs Movement Points to “Enter” a ZOC / Not to exit:

o So, provided you have the Fuel (which the Commonwealth has in abundance) and holding terrain is not important (Commonwealth Victory Points were Awarded for Killing Italians), then…

oo Falling back using Move-to-Defend (Green Move Icon) vs. the Move-to-Attack (Yellow Move Icon) or Road March (Blue Move Icon) is a viable option.

oo And if you’re using both Move+ and Combat+ for Supply, there’s a good chance you’ll have no problem Breaking Contact in “Good Order”, or (said another way) Outrunning the Italians to better Defense Terrain, like a Ridge or the Escarpment.

3) After 11th Indian Brigade Attacked and destroyed the Italian Units vicinity Maletti Group’s Camp (just West of Alam Nibiewa), I failed to Breach their Minefields.

o 11th Indian Brigade had an Organic Engineer Company that could have accomplished this.

o When Mike Counterattacked vicinity the Maletti Group ‘s Camp, he was able to place units behind those (unbreached) Mine Fields.

o This somewhat complicated Selby Group’s and 7th Indian Brigade’s (especially 7th Indian’s) efforts to open-up a Supply Line to 7th Armored Division and 11th Indian Brigade.

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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by MikeGreen »


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Axis

My Impression of the Game System:
I really like the limited intelligence and the WEGO systems. It really adds a great deal of tension into the game. They make the game distinctly different from the chess-like nature of most other systems.

The unit strengths and weaknesses seem right. I am fairly knowledgeable in the period. I could probably quibble about the factoring of some units/equipment but someone else would just quibble the opposite. :)

The UI is decent. The Hot Buttons must be used to play. They thankfully work well. The button to bring up the Hot Button summary is very useful. As always, some people will want to remap the buttons. This might be something for a future patch.

My impression of the scenario:
From the Italian view point the scenario is difficult. Your forces are Fixed for essentially the first 3 turns. This is frustrating but historically accurate. The CW gets to pick out and destroy any camps that he wants to.

Once your forces are free you can attempt to change the absolute disaster that occurred in real life. You also have a fighting chance to really damage the CW if you play well.

Thoughts on my game:
I think I responded well in stopping any attempt for the CW to reach the coast road and thus being able to reduce Sidi Barrani. I also was able to maintain control of the coast road from Buqbuq to Sofafi allowing me to move forces into my encirclement attempt.

The problems with my play were:
• I failed to pay attention to my troop quality. Overall I have lower Quality troops than the CW. Historically this is because of training and equipment issues. For my attacking force I should have made sure to use my higher quality troops. My lower quality troops would have been better used as defensive/blocking forces

• I failed to pay attention to ridge lines, thus reducing the effectiveness of my attacks even more.

• I should have tried to keep better divisional integrity to allow for better lines of communication and better coordination in attacks.

• I should have swung more units into my encircling forces. I had plenty of fuel and could have used road mode to get them into the drive.

Scenario Victory Conditions
The CW originally envisioned O'Conner's attack as a raid to spoil Axis plans. Poor Italian response and aggressive action by O'Conner turned it into a Strategic Victory.

Judging the results of my battle with Don as a Raid, I agree it is a Minor Allied Victory. Selby Force/7th Indian would relieve the pocket before much more damage could be done to the trapped forces. Both sides would probably then withdraw to defensive positions to renew the fight later. Just looking at VP for Destroyed units it was 424 to 86, a 5:1 ratio in favor of the Allies. If Don had started withdrawing around turn 8, the ratio would have been even higher and a greater victory condition would have been deserved.

On the Strategic level I would consider the results a Draw. The CW would have to wait for further forces to drive the Italians out of Egypt. The Italians would have had to reinforce before even considering a drive on the Canal. There are Political and strategic decisions that are outside the purview of the game (Would Rommel be committed to NA? Would the CW send troops to Greece?)

Scenario designers might consider having multiple types of victory for a battle game like this.


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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by bcgames »

As the scenario designer, I have to say--I never saw it coming out this way. Mike's aggressive counter-offensive was a dramatic tide-turner. I was sure it was all wrapped up and in-the- can for the Italians--then Don's counter-counter offensive with Selby Force and 7th Indian Brigade kicked in. I thought for a moment I was at a basketball game--up down in out--score, score, score. In the end I want to throw up the flag and say they both won! What a great play by both sides.

On the "win" side? I think Mike is right--a win here equals no Rommel in North Africa. Not in 1941 anyway. So what does that mean strategically?

Great game guys! Thanks for sharing your combats and insights.
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Rosseau »

This is a difficult game to categorize, which is a great thing. From what little I've read, it's like TOAW IV and SSG's Decisive Battles series meshed together by VR Designs. Now that's saying a lot, and it might not be quite that good [;)]

Replaying SSG's games sort of shocked me in terms of how little the industry has progressed in terms of AI. But this game, Campaign Series ME, and one or two others gives me hope to see a challenging and non-cheating AI before I die.
Benedict151
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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by Benedict151 »

A most enjoyable series of posts with the game in the balance until the end

I especially liked the summary posts at the end from both sides

Many thanks for sharing this with us

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RE: Desert War: Game In Play - Into The Blue

Post by BletchleyGeek »

This was a great AAR for a great game, I am sure you guys had lots of fun. I somehow managed to miss it.

It is pretty amazing to see how the game, quite naturally, allows for this kind of fluid engagements. The results was indeed surprising, probably the VP weren't allocated expecting this kind of turn around. My congratulations to mikegreen and my conmiserations to Timian, really. This was an Italian win, Forza Italia!

Good luck to the team with the release, I look forward to get my hands on Desert War.
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