Campaign For North Africa 40D-43

[warspite1]

Turn 8 - Axis Turn
4th January 1941

The Italians refuse to give up Cyrenaica and continue to give O'Connor, Collishaw and Cunningham problems. West of Bardia the Australian right wing is actually pushed back. A force also moves into the Halfaya Pass. To the south the 8th Hussars suffer at defeat at the hands of a clever attack in which the Italians coordinate their tanks and anti-tank units.

Annoyingly (from a game perspective) the AI has left two HQ out on their own....

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - Royal Navy
8th January 1941

Cunningham's task force returns to Egypt and is replaced by another centred on HMS Valiant. Cunningham takes larryfulkerson's advice and sends a destroyer ahead to check for enemy air activity. All clear [:)]

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - Reinforcements
8th January 1941

I made a bit of a faux pas with the rail move. Seems that using normal movement I can get just as far in a turn as using the rail to Mersa Matruh.

By the start of the 8th January O'Connor has substantial reinforcements. The faster units of the New Zealand 2nd Division are at the Halfaya Pass (with the slower units on their way) and the Polish Brigade are just east of Buq Buq. The 2nd Armoured Division is concentrated at Mersa Matruh.

Armed with these newly arrived units (which will be in position for operations in the next few days) O'Connor believes he can now order maximum effort from the 7th Armoured and the 6th Australian to crush remaining resistance from the Cirene, Marmarcia, Sirte and 4th Libyan Divisions. A well earned bit of R+R is promised once these units are surrounded and destroyed.

[John B.]

This continues to be a very enjoyable AAR and I'm also impressed at the fight that the AI is giving you.

[Curtis Lemay]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I made a bit of a faux pas with the rail move. Seems that using normal movement I can get just as far in a turn as using the rail to Mersa Matruh.

Probably, but you'll burn up supply and readiness doing so. Rail movement doesn't cost any supply or readiness.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Curtis Lemay

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I made a bit of a faux pas with the rail move. Seems that using normal movement I can get just as far in a turn as using the rail to Mersa Matruh.

Probably, but you'll burn up supply and readiness doing so. Rail movement doesn't cost any supply or readiness.

warspite1

Ah yes, thanks - when I'm back on the computer I will have a look at that and post on the AAR. Thank-you as ever.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: John B.

.....and I'm also impressed at the fight that the AI is giving you.

warspite1

Hi John B. There are two schools of thought here:

a) The AI is challenging
b) The AI is okay - but that warspite1 is a *********.

I know which one my money is on.... [:D]

[warspite1]

Turn 9
8th January 1941

As Curtis Lemay says, there is quite a marked effect on readiness and supply (and thus overall health) for those units that got to the front by road (left and middle) compared to the unit that let the train take the strain (right).... I guess the trade off is the time to get the units to the front - there are only two units per train per turn.

[larryfulkerson]

there are only two units per train per turn.

How much of your rail capability each unit uses is determined by the
weight of the unit. Check your Unit Report dialog and look for
how much it weighs. That's how much the rail will deduct from the
amount of rail capability you have remaining. I'll post a picture.

EDIT: Here's the unit report dialog from the editor....I happened
to be in the editor at the moment, hence the picture.
Notice please that the weight of the unit is given in the description
of it's properties. You can see that it's about 441. That's how much
rail it'll take to embark it.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

there are only two units per train per turn.

How much of your rail capability each unit uses is determined by the
weight of the unit. Check your Unit Report dialog and look for
how much it weighs. That's how much the rail will deduct from the
amount of rail capability you have remaining. I'll post a picture.

EDIT: Here's the unit report dialog from the editor....I happened
to be in the editor at the moment, hence the picture.
Notice please that the weight of the unit is given in the description
of it's properties. You can see that it's about 441. That's how much
rail it'll take to embark it.

warspite1

Thank-you. I've word searched the manual and read the documentation (for this scenario) but can see no reference to what the actual rail capacity is. Any idea where I would find it?

[larryfulkerson]

Thank-you. I've word searched the manual and read the documentation (for this scenario) but can see no reference to what the actual rail capacity is. Any idea where I would find it?

I found it on page two or three of the situation briefing. You have to look for it, it's kinda buried in the verbage.

[warspite1]

Great thank-you. I have not commented on - because I haven't actually paid much attention to - the Situation Briefings and the News Summary. I shall do this each turn starting now.

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - News Summary
8th January 1941

It looks like the News Summary is a log of recent events, that show key events - e.g. places captured, what happens if certain objectives aren't captured/defended within specific timescales and also key data - in this case one can see how the Italian penalties are reducing over time.

I hadn't realised the point in Green.... maybe a good idea to read this stuff.....

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - Situation Briefing
8th January 1941

Had I looked at this I would have known the rail transport capacity....[8|]

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - The Aussies
8th January 1941

The 6th Cavalry carve through the Italians, slicing their forces in two. The objective is to encircle the whole for, but the problem is the lack of units to achieve a watertight ring. A reinforced Italian brigade at Halfaya Pass complicates matters...

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - Artillery and Naval Bombardment
8th January 1941

O'Connor orders all artillery - inc naval - to be unleashed against the Italian defenders (see crossed swords symbols). This is likely to take about 30% of the turn, but should pay dividends later.

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - Artillery and Naval Bombardment
8th January 1941

The bombardment is generally pretty devastating - indeed the 3rd Battalion of the 116th Infantry simply disappears under the weight of shells falling on their exposed positions. True to the forecast this took 30% of the turn.

[warspite1]

Turn 9
8th January 1941

The follow up attacks are very successful. The Italian forces in the south are almost wiped out, and the remains of the Sirte and 4th Libyan Divisions are in trouble west of Sollum. The table below pretty much says it all.

[warspite1]

Turn 9 - Axis Turn
8th January 1941

The Italian air force continue to fight back, but the results seem to provide ever diminishing returns. The Air Panel states the Commonwealth lost 3 aircraft to the Italians 30. The Regia Aeronautica's attack on the RN task force off Bardia caused no damage for the loss of 7 bombers.

The Italian artillery continued to fight back and the last remaining unit in the southern pocket caused some casualties to the Commonwealth forces surrounding them.

The only real success was west of Bardia, where the Australians slightly over-extended themselves trying to get the Italians surrounded. A few Aussie units were forced back, and south of Sollum the Australian 20th Infantry Brigade was defeated.

[warspite1]

Turn 10
11th January 1941

The British and Australians get some more reinforcements from the Nile Delta. As per larryfulkerson's helpful post, I can see that both of these together are within the CW's rail capacity and so send them to Mersa Matruh.