Sicily 43

[John B.]

It's been awhile since I've hauled out TOAW IV so I thought I'd give Sicily '43 a go. I'm the Axis and the allies have just launched their invasion. Lot's of bashing the hapless Italians but I sense a few opportunities in the center with the HG division. Goering himself may be fat and lazy, but his division is not. Otherwise, I'll be marching to the sound of the guns and trying to dig in and hold on!

[John B.]

Here is the situation at the end of the first turn in which I learned the important lesson to not have my harbor defense attack allied ships. HG is not in the best position although it did roughly handle an allied battalion. On to turn two!

[John B.]

It's the start of turn four and things may have stabilized just a bit. The Allies did wipe out a Tiger battalion of the HG division but the Axis retaliated by destroying an allied armor battalion. As you can see, the Italians and Germans are fighting bravely to hold the primosole bridge on the eastern coast and the river lines there. Intel puts british readiness at 50-60%.

[John B.]

Down in the South the Italians are also holding the river line. The Americans are making progress, but it's taking time and the Italians are able to at least dig in a bit.

[John B.]

The heaviest losses are in Italian infantry and weapons with the sad loss of almost all of the tigers.

[John B.]

Here is the picture that should go with the last post.

[John B.]

I don't know what enemy losses are, but from the looks of things, they are taking some nice hits. My guess is that their units are worth more VP-wise so the loss of the entire armor battalion is going to sting (and lead to lots of bad movies in the 1950s).

I'm sure that they'll liberate many more towns, but my current plan is to keep the Germans in a position to fall back on Messina while holding the current river lines as long as possible.

[John B.]

Day 5 dawns and in the south and center, the allies make some gains with penetrations against the Italians along the coast and the the HG division in the center. I was a bit disappointed that the Italians retreated from a fortified position, but, then again, the Germans were entrenched in a town and could not hold it. The main question here is do I pull the HG division back or try to hold here as long as possible. I hate to lose these units!

[John B.]

Meanwhile, in the north, the Brits are grinding through the Italian fortified line. I've got a number of German paratroop units from Brigade Schmaltz just to the rear and it looks like they'll set up the next line of defense. The allies are 10% of the way through the game so there is a long time to go!

[John B.]

I seem to have the biggest problem in pushing the right buttons to get the picture to post!

[John B.]

So for turn five the order went forth "if you have shovels use them!" We dug in up and down the line. The greatest danger is in the center where there is nothing behind the Italian division that is circled. And, the allies are putting a great deal of pressure on the HG division. I'm trying to extricate it but the units keep getting engaged. Things are tougher for the allies on the coast. The Germans are fortified and there are still units of airborne brigade Schmaltz in reserve.

[John B.]

Down in the south the Italians continue to dig in and they've started work on the next river line. Let's see how good Patton is on doing a recon in force through these boys!

[John B.]

More hard fighting during the allied turn 6. The Italians may not be willing to fight for Mussolini but they are standing firm to defend their homeland. Even the allied victories were costly given the number of units they often attacked with.

[John B.]

No news on the eastern coast but even with two turns in a row (I guess I should not make fun of Patton, his spirit was not happy) the allies were not able to get a break through in the center. But, they are breaking in. It remains to be seen if I can seal off these pimples in my line. There are no reserves behind these units so perhaps I need to send the rest of brigade Schmaltz that way.

A number of fortified Italians held their ground which is very good to see!

[John B.]

It's turn 7 and in the East, as you can see, the British and the Americans have each pushed deeper into the Axis lines. I think that lead British armor battalion is due for some push back since it' in the red and surrounded. I can also see the two american divisional HQs in the center (the 45th and 1st divisions). the HG may send an armor battalion and a KG out of their trenches for a little counter attack there as well.

On the coast the British are stymied and have some nice overstacks that will be the target of the Italian shore guns up in Catania.

[John B.]

In the West the Americans pushed a little further but did not make significant progress. I'm also set up to have the Italians be a pain by recapturing some towns along the American supply lines.

[John B.]

Turn 8. If the allies are going to leave their supply lines open then the Italians will send in company sized parties to take important towns and at least slow the allies down for a turn or so. And, if these troops have a little "chat" with those residents who welcomed the allies with open arms, well, then that's just all for the good isn't it. Doesn't that one american armor battalion that is nearly surrounded on the southern coast look tempting?

[John B.]

Up in the north and center a German counter attack pushed back the two allied HQ but I'll probably lose an HG panzer battalion for my troubles. I just hope it interferes with allied supply here in the center. I did push back the advanced british battalion and cut down their penetration on this front. And, reinforcements have arrived!

[John B.]

Turn 8 went well for the Axis. In the south, an Italian attack on an armor battalion was beaten back but in the center there was more success. Two American battalions were pushed back with heavy losses and in the attack on the right the Germans regained the river line and broke apart one British battalion.

[John B.]

On the coast another British salient was pushed back and the Axis managed to shorten its line. The Allies then failed a force proficiency check so the Axis can continue their attack or dig in and consolidate gains. I'm likely to stand pat in the coast an push some more in the center. I've also just gotten elements of a new Panzer Grenadier division and a fresh battalion of the HG division. Oddly, there has not been much news from the allied airforce in a couple of turns.