Author	treadasaurusrex (Germany, Italy)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany, Italy
Participants	goosebrown (AAR)
Play Date	2023-12-10
Language	English
Scenario	AAAD017

This was an long-extended, _-session play-through with the resourceful & determined, goosebrown leading defending elements of Vichy French 2nd Algerian Tirailleur Regiment. I played the combined arms, Axis Kampfgruppe Pfeiffer of the German 21st Panzer Division with some attached Italian assault guns. After reading other player’s AARs, we agreed to substitute Moroccan units for the French to make the game a more balanced. Both sides drew decent sets of leaders. We played with the FOW, consolidation, smoke/illum, extended assault and excess initiative optional rules. In addition, we utilized the following four house rules: 1) Road Movement for Mechanized & Foot Units All FOOT & MECHANIZED units may move on roads at the rate of 1/2 a Movement Point (MP) per road hex, just like MOTORIZED units, 2) Standardized Movement for Mechanized Units All mechanized units may move through clear hexes at a movement cost of only 1 movement point (MP) per hex, instead of 1 1/2. Add one to this cost if moving up or down slopes hexes, 3) Dug In Units are Automatically in Limiting Terrain in Desert Games Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL units that are dug-in on slope hexes are considered to be in limiting terrain and are spotted if enemy units approach to within 3 hexes, or 4 hexes for reconnaissance units – – unless they are marked with a spotted marker, see 8.22, and finally 4) Enhanced Anti-Tank (AT) Gunnery & Hidden Emplacement Unless prohibited by special scenario rules, ALL dedicated, dug-in, entrenched, or town-occupying, towed AT gun units including Self-Propelled AT guns, may fire in opportunity fire (OPFIRE) TWICE just like tanks in the standard rule set. For example: dug-in, German PaK 36 (37mm); PaK 38 (50mm); or British 6-pdr towed AT gun platoons would therefore be able to fire TWO times per unit in OPFIRE situations. In addition, towed, or self-propelled, AT guns are HIDDEN (see Optional Rules for Hidden Units; Plotting Position; Revealing; and No Hidden Units Specified on Page 37), if allowed to dig-in, or are entrenched, or town-occupying.

The initial session (game turns 1-4) consisted of a night time, relatively rapid, movement-to-contact by the Axis force in 3 major prongs. The starting visibility level was only 2 hexes. The right flank force approached from the north edge of Map 79 to seize the 40-meter hill and immediately begin infiltrating west onto the east margins of the large 60-meter hill mass on Map 76. The second, or central approach was straight west up the road taking advantage of this high speed avenue of approach in the pre-dawn darkness. The third prong featured a lengthy, left flank, combined arms approach using the long east-west ridge and associated hill masses in the southern half of Maps 78 & 79. The first French air strike hit the central column beginning on game turn 3, which caused the advancing formations to spread out along the road’s right-of-way. The French garrison in Faid was spotted by the advancing Germans infantry the following turn, which triggered the first successful Axis air strike before the accursed FOW, ended the session.

Our second session (game turns 5-7) continued in the same key as the first, with the night time German advance continuing with scouting probes by a pair of SPW platoons in the margins around Faid. These probes were covered by suppressive fires at the 4 Vichy French infantry platoons that made up the garrison of Faid. This process revealed five French minefields in the town margins facing the oncoming Axis horde. As it happens, the French lost 2 steps of infantry to air strike and adjacent-hex direct fire as the Axis drew first blood, and the town was now surrounded.

The pre-dawn, third session (game turns 8-9) was mostly about the Axis force taking control of a second hex in Faid (Hex 79-0511) by a combined arms, close assault, as well as contesting the remaining French garrison in the last town hex. Close range firefights spread out on the 60-meter hill mass in the northern portion of Map 76 with the first Axis losses to effective opportunity fire, including a brisk defense mounted by a hilltop, APX-47 AT gun platoon. The updated step loss tally was now 2 for the Axis, and 9 for the French. Two more minefields – one was a decoy – on that same hill mass were discovered by probing Axis infantry. Now, the victory point score was: 2 for the Vichy French and 9 for the encroaching Axis side.

Our much-delayed, fourth session (game turns 10 to the first part of 12) consisted of a continuation if the broad-front Axis advance as Faid finally fell to the Axis force, and the fighting on the 60-meter hill mass became more-focused & intense. Two completely ineffective Axis air strikes were balanced by two that did inflict harm on the French defenders. The French benefited from some excellent morale recovery rolls, as the disarrayed German infantry units began surrounding the five 60-meter hilltop hexes. A single one of these hexes was taken by a German infantry platoon, who then promptly became demoralized in an adjacent-hex firefight. A combined total of only FOUR combat 7-die rolls were thrown this session. We were not able to complete game turn 12, but the step loss tally was now 13 for the French side, and 2 for the surging German side, as the pre-dawn visibility slowly improved.

The 5th session (game turns, final portion of 12-14) was a virtual repeat of the previous session, but with the Axis force closing to decisive engagement range on both the 60-meter (north) and the 40-meter (south) hill masses to the west of Faid. Only a single French step was lost as the sun rose, and visibility improved allowing both sides’ artillery to better observe their targets.

Our action-packed, sixth and final session (game turns 15-16) was a very grim one for the Vichy French defenders who lost an additional 4 steps and a second leader in close-range firefights and close assaults on both hills. At the beginning of game turn 16, my gracious opponent conceded this unbalanced scenario. There were 5 FOW-shortened turns of the 16 we played, and our result differed significantly from the historical outcome.

Good grief, we started playing this scenario online in September and finished it the first week of December! This battle was action-packed & fun-to-play with a challenging opponent, but was quite extremely gamey and overlong. It clearly favors the attacking Axis force. The experimental set of rules we used, did enhance ease of play, and better illuminated the historic actions that characterized this encounter. I give this one a generous 4, but recommend it for SOLO play only. Skip this one in SHARED play.