Author	treadasaurusrex (Britain)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Draw
Participants	NBGB (AAR)
Play Date	2022-11-21
Language	English
Scenario	DeRa019

This was a 8-session play-through with the thoughtful and wily, Ron Motley, as the German Commander with orders to clear off a dug-in, combined arms British force on the Map 4 escarpment We used the optional Fog of War, smoke/illum, excess initiative and extended assault rules. I played the defending British side.

The first session (game turns 1-6) was a nearly bloodless cat and mouse situation in which the Tommies huddled in their fox holes while mostly futile German artillery concentrations fell in their vicinity. The only step losses in the first 6 turns were the capture of a German Lieutenant and the elimination of a motorcycle platoon that ventured too close to the east-facing, crescent-shaped British defensive position – meagerly-held by a scratch force of a handful of infantry platoons and their assigned universal carriers. Crusader I tanks of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment reinforced the defensive crescent on turns 4-5. The bulk of the German force stayed out of range waiting for the Brits to fire on their holding positions.

The 2nd session (game turns 7-16) started with an exchange of long range artillery fire in the last 30 minutes before visibility began to decrease. This scenario mostly became a bombardment and DF die rolling competition, punctuated be the occasional moves by scouting elements of both sides as darkness set in. A second German leader was captured by some enterprising Crusader tanks. Later, the first close assault in this scenario was attempted by, of all things, a Bren platoon against a demoralized Afrika Korps infantry unit as visibility fell.

The third session (game turns 17-21) continued the cat and mouse game as night fell on the battlefield. A third step of German motorcycle troops was eliminated in this session in a close assault, but that was the only casualty. The Germans formed a 3-pronged combined arms movement-to-contact as they began closing in. The first illumination rounds were fired to allow additional Axis OBA fire. The Afrika Korps motorcycle battalion began circling the British defensive crescent to the north and southwest, making effective use of the ridge terrain in the growing darkness.

The 4th session (game turns 22-24) was focused on the beginnings of intense, mostly close-range, nighttime operations. Artillery-delivered, illumination lit the sky over the British positions as the German tanks moved into crossfire positions south of the escarpment, and the Tommy’s sole AT gun was eliminated by accurate OBA.

A Pz-II on a suicide mission lost a step while pinning down a remaining platoon Crusader that had failed to pull back when the others did on the south edge of the defensive crescent. Repeated Allied armored close assaults on the German motorcycle platoon NW of the crescent failed, as did British OBA aimed at the remaining 37mm AT gun unit on the escarpment. German armor continued to spread out and advance to the southern lip of the escarpment, as the British armor pulled back to the north, west and east. By the end of this session, step losses were: 5 for the Germans side, and 1 for the defending Tommies.

The abbreviated fifth session (the continuation of game turn 24) was artificially truncated by an internet outage in Wisconsin. In combat, two additional Germans steps were lost, bringing their total losses to seven, and resulting their initiative level falling to 3. There were no additional British losses, though the Germans improved their approach against the remaining Tommy positions be moving the veteran, 8th Machine Gun Battalion west and up and onto the highest portion of the escarpment, east of the Allied crescent position.

In the 6th session (game turns 24-27) we completed the 24th turn and plowed on into the gloomy night for a rather grim session for the rapidly advancing Afrika Korps. Accurate British OBA & AT fire accounted for 9 of the 15 steps that the Germans absorbed in this session, including a second platoon of Pz-II light tanks. A hotly-contested close assault was won by an intrepid Bren (Universal) Carrier company on the upper shelf of the escarpment, NE of the crescent. Three more steps were lost by the defending British, including a section of dug-in Crusader tanks and a Bren Carrier platoon, bringing their total to 4. Remarkably, only 2 futile, combat 7-die rolls were recorded in this 4-turn session. By the end of game turn 27, the British crescent on the escarpment was nearly surrounded and the Germans were about to decisively engage the northeastern margin of the crescent with their infantry.

The seventh session (game turns 28-31) was a costly one for both sides with multiple close assaults and a great deal of long range AT fire. It was especially grim for the British side as German long-range tank fire began to score under illumination against multiple, dug-in Crusader tanks. An intrepid German Pz-IIIG platoon was eliminated by close-range AT cross fire when it tried to rescue an infantry company on the higher portion of the escarpment, north of the crescent. Gradually and inexorably, the Afrika Korps was developing a lethal grip on the remaining defenders of the crescent and was slowly destroying the NE portion of the position by close assault. By the end of turn 31, step loss totals were 21 for the attacking Germans and 15 for the defending Tommies. Amazingly, there were a combined 14 futile, combat 7-die rolls were recorded in this 4-turn session.

The 8th and final session (game turns 32-34) was fought on the 80th anniversary of this actual battle in Libya! It was a relatively grim session for the defending Tommies and total step loses by the end were: 27 for the marauding Germans and 30 for the plucky-but-doomed British side. Inexorably Afrika Korps infantry close assaults unhinged the remaining Tommy positions in the center of the crescent in spite of heavy DF and sporadic OBA fire. Other highlights included a highly mobile set of close assaults by the remaining British universal carrier and tank platoons that managed to knock out 7 more steps of Axis troops. However, this brave set of counter attacks that was completely undone by accurate, and well-directed, Afrika Korps’ AT fire when the German armor surmounted the upper terrace of the escarpment, NE of the crescent. The desperate & exhausted British Commander offered a draw at the end of game turn 34. This was accepted and the game ended on a high note for the German side. A combined SIX combat 7-die rolls were thrown during this session. In all, 15 turns were artificially-shortened by the FOW rule.

Suggestions for Better Scenario Play:

Most Desert Rats scenario are overlong. I suggest that future players decrease this scenario to around 28-32 turns. In addition, as written, the victory conditions require that all British units on Map 4 be eliminated and that the German side not lose more than 8 steps. This makes this scenario virtually impossible for the Afrika Korps to win outright. As this encounter was a part of the November 1942 Operation Crusader Offensive, perhaps the low number of German step losses required for a British victory is appropriate, but it seems too low IMHO. Probably, a higher total would be more realistic, say around 16-18 steps – if playing with the reduced scenario length that I suggest.