The Italian 132nd “Ariete” Armored Division, positioned 37 miles south of Tobruk, received intelligence that an assault was imminent and prepared its defenses behind areas of low-lying ground turned boggy by heavy rains. Skillfully camouflaged, its men and guns stood ready for the first British Crusader tanks to appear. . .
Attacker: British (3rd Country of London Yeomanry)
Defender: Italian (Reinforced elements of IIIº Battaglione Bersaglieri and elements of VIIº Battaglione Carri M)
10 turns
Players: 2 OBA: Italian Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:0.0 D:8.0
AFVs: A:14
Crusader I x 6 Crusader II CS x 2 Crusader II x 6
AFVs: D:16
M13/40 x 16
Guns: A:0 D:5
Cannone da 47/32 x 3 Cannone-cc da 37/45 x 2 Fucile-cc S x 2
A grind. The British did not have the dice in their favor and the Italians were rolling out of their minds.
2020-06-25
(D) John Gorkowski
vs
Bill Stoppel
Italian win
My Italians narrowly defeated Bill’s Brits in this classic desert armor battle that could be much more interesting IF the British player makes a bold, unconventional move. Bill scored 53 of the 56 required DVP, only one vehicle short of the win. Ergo, if one dice roll had been higher or lower I would have lost. Our game spanned only four turns with the British in constant motion, Italian AT guns firing wide, and M13/40s scoring six kills for Ariete. Ergo, our match, like many others, was a desert dice fest, but it did not have to be. The British can make a strategic decision that will turn this scenario decisively in their favor; more on that later.
Bill skirted the Italian left with a dash for the board 29 edge. But left, right, center, it’s all the same in this one. Fourteen always-moving British tanks pierce or skirt a semi-circular Italian position defined by five dispersed Italian AT guns, most of them firing at crazy long range (25+ hexes) from the other end of their long line. The deirs are bog traps with a false promise of hull down since Italian AT guns will no doubt be on the lips and able to see into the dips. A clever Brit might avail the infinite smoke of his 76mm close support tanks and/or get good mileage from smoke mortars. In any case, the must-use-red-number Italian AT guns will take lots of shots followed up by the 14 must-stay-buttoned Italian M13/40 tanks. Since they are moving, Brit tanks will get few shots. Indeed, my tanks drove about 20 hexes from the north edge to the 31/29 seam and stopped to open fire on the still moving British "fleet." One of Bill’s immobilized Crusaders did kill an M13/40, but that was the sum total of Italian casualties. My AT guns rolled poorly, knocking out only one British tank! On the other hand, My M13/40s rolled well and killed six! But that could easily have been reversed with lots of hits by the AT guns and far fewer by the tanks. The point is, any British approach near or through the deir cluster requires constant motion and invites an avalanche of mediocre Italian shots, some of which will find their mark and kill British tanks leaving the dice to decide who wins.
The British could change all that by making a hard-right turn immediately after they enter the playing area. They could then drive toward the northeast corner before making a hard left along the seam between boards 26 and 31 to redirect toward the west edge! This seems crazy, a big out-of-the-way pivot, but that’s why you have 10 turns to play with. This wide swing in front of the Italian position would enable the Brits to close with the Italian tanks far from the Italian AT guns. Therefore, the Brits could stop for an extended shoot out with the Italian tank force. With smaller silhouette’s, better guns, the ability to fire while CE, and better leaders, stationary Crusaders would smear the M13/40s. After knocking out the Italian tanks, the Brits could then dash for the west edge of board 29, with their better-armored fronts facing Italian AT guns, and exit for the 28 DVP win since they would have killed some many Italian tanks.
The balance provision, which expands the British exit area northward to include board 31, would make this wide flanking maneuver even more feasible. That’s why that seemingly irrelevant balance provision is there. To stack the odds in their favor, and reduce the roll of luck in this one, the Brits need to first turn away from the enemy, ride parallel, and then pivot to drive for the board edge. Along the way, they can pause for a duel with Italian armor.
2020-06-05
(A) Dan Best
vs
Paul Works
Italian win
2020-06-05
(D) Paul Works
vs
Dan Best
Italian win
Scenario is definitely pro-Italian. We played with the British having the balance and it still did not matter. Only chance for the British seems to get a couple fire phases with multiple ROFs to take out most of the Italian tanks. The British skirted around to the north to avoid the AT guns - a good idea because the AT guns are much harder to suppress than killing M13/40s. The AT guns still were able to cause havoc; their 3 ROFs allowed them to have lots of shots - even with a 3 or 4 To Hit #, they will eventually get a few. This scenario is fun - lots of tanks and... how often do you get to fire 33(+) range shots? I think with a few tweaks it could also be balanced.
