Campaign For North Africa 40D-43

[warspite1]

Turn 17 - Axis Turn
5th February 1941

The Regia Aeronuatica launch everything at the Royal Navy but suffer serious losses in so doing.

[warspite1]

Turn 18 - Round 1&2
8th February 1941

Progress is steady around Tobruk - nothing more. The Italian defenders to the west sit still, waiting to be attacked. This is the best delaying tactic as they remain fortified.

O'Connor believes there is nothing for it but to keep trying to reduce the defenders and so make room to attack the port itself.

Artillery bombardment from sea and land remains the order of the day. RAF Blenheim's are also ordered into the fray.

[warspite1]

Turn 18 - Rounds 3-8
8th February 1941

The two attacks planned, one against the HQ west of Tobruk, and the other against the next fortified square, are successful and see the defenders either destroyed or retreat with heavy losses.

However, the turn fizzles out thereafter. O'Connor is left to rue the delays in getting 7th Armoured to Tobruk....

Meanwhile in the UK, intercepted German signals suggest that the Germans are sending reinforcements to help the Italians....

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Turn 18 - Axis Turn
8th February 1841

The Italians limit themselves once more to aerial and artillery assaults - this time against the 2nd Armoured Division

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Turn 19
12th February 1941

Wow! The Regia Aeronautica has just sent wave after wave after wave of aircraft into the Nile Delta to attack my reinforcements.... Where the hell did they come from???

[Meyer1]

Crete?

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Meyer1

Crete?

warspite1

Why Crete? It's February 1941.

[Meyer1]

Oops. you are right.

[warspite1]

The original post was more of a rhetorical question. Maybe its the Italian equivalent of Shangri-La? [:D]

[warspite1]

Turn 19
12th February 1941

With Rommel not far off entering, and I am clearly not going to achieve what Compass achieved, I think its time to take stock of the situation.

First things first. What do I have and what is likely to disappear in the next say 10 turns?

Turn 21 is when it all seems to kick-off.

There is no mention of the Australian 6th Division here... Maybe this is a mistake of maybe these units are being held in North Africa for game balance I don't know. I have to assume that the below is correct and that I will lose the services of only the New Zealanders and the 2nd Armoured (+ a few other units here and there).

[warspite1]

Turn 19 - Rounds 1-8
12th February 1941

Tobruk falls to a combined Aussie and Kiwi attack with support from RAF Blenheims and the Royal Navy.

In addition the airfield and aircraft at Mechili was taken by the Guards Brigade.

[warspite1]

Turn 19 - Axis Turn
12th February 1941

The Axis are limited to aerial assaults once again, concentrating on airfields and Tobruk. A Free French fighter is lost but overall the RA have done more damage to themselves than to the Commonwealth and Allied forces.

[warspite1]

Turn 20
15th February 1941

Ooohh I say, there's different!

The program told me I had reinforcements but there was nothing in the Nile Delta. Well these are the reinforcements it meant. Tobruk has minefields, strongpoints an' **** [8D]

[Zecke]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Turn 19 - Rounds 1-8
12th February 1941

Tobruk falls to a combined Aussie and Kiwi attack with support from RAF Blenheims and the Royal Navy.

In addition the airfield and aircraft at Mechili was taken by the Guards Brigade.

great post about Tobruk¡:...dont forget to mention the SPANIARDS at TOBRUK who at the first attempt; ROMMEL says never fight before with thouse diablillos; who the hell are this soldiers¡.. that stop me¡

[warspite1]

Turn 20
15th February 1941

Having taken the airfield at Mechili, Norrie is ordered to send his 2nd Armoured northwest to Martuba - and another airfield. A Durham Light Infantry battalion is kept at Mechili will the rest of the division head for Martuba. The airfield falls without troubling the 'Rounds'.

Attention turns back to Tobruk and the efforts to defeat the remaining Italian units to the west of the port.

With the Italians out of supply and plenty of artillery on hand, the ending of resistance proves pretty routine.

The 2nd Armoured head northwest to the next Axis airfield, but they run out of time.

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Turn 20 - Axis Turn
15th February 1941

The Sabratha Division moves about about at the edge of the map, but otherwise the only other enemy activity was the Saharan Detachment that appears to be in retreat.

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Turn 21
19th February 1941

The Kiwis and some of the British tank units have been withdrawn. The focus on this turn is to try and take Derna and the airfields in the Derna-Benghazi-Mechili triangle.

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Turn 21
19th February 1941

The first target is the garrison at Derna (apologies for the fact I can't spell Coldstream [8|]).

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Turn 21
19th February 1941

I can't wait for the Luftwaffe! The Regia Aeronautica are smacking anything that moves!

I then improved my mood by making a mistake when attacking Derna and so running out of Rounds....

Turn 21 - Axis Turn
19th February 1941

The Ariete Division arrives alongside the Sabratha Division on the edge of the map.

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Turn 22
22nd February 1941

O'Connor decides its time to do something about those pesky Italians in the desert. XIII Corps are ordered south to sort them out, 2nd Armoured are ordered to take Derna - and don't muck it up this time - the 22nd Guards Brigade are to assist the tanks by heading toward Benghazi, and finally the Poles are taking some R+R at Tobruk and the 7th Armoured are still trying to recover from their earlier exertions.

The turn went well. Derna fell and while a battalion from the 6th Australian garrisons the port, the 2nd Armoured head off to the next airfield - at Zt. Tert. They find this unoccupied and so begin the journey to El Abiar.

To the south the 70th Division take the airfield at Maraua and then also set off west on a parallel course to the tankers.

In the desert at El Grein, the XIII Corps destroy an Italian battalion and set off toward their next target; a mixed force containing infantry, and artillery.