Panzer Grenadier Battles on April 28th:
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Operation Brevity
C&CV2: The King's Officers #8
(Defender) Germany
(Defender) Italy
vs Britain (Attacker)
Formations Involved
Britain 7th "Desert Rats" Armoured Division
Germany 15th Motorcycle Battalion
Italy 8º Reggimento Bersaglieri
Display
Balance:



Overall balance chart for CCV2008
Total
Side 1 0
Draw 0
Side 2 1
Overall Rating, 1 vote
5
4
3
2
1
3
Scenario Rank: --- of 913
Parent Game C&CV2: The King's Officers
Historicity Alt-History
Date
Start Time 05:45
Turn Count 20
Visibility Day
Counters 128
Net Morale 0
Net Initiative 2
Maps 1: 3
Layout Dimensions 43 x 28 cm
17 x 11 in
Play Bounty 162
AAR Bounty 171
Total Plays 1
Total AARs 1
Battle Types
Road Control
Conditions
Minefields
Terrain Mods
Scenario Requirements & Playability
Afrika Korps Maps + Counters
C&CV2: The King's Officers Base Game
Introduction

The Allied Operation Brevity was launched in May 1941 as a limited attack in preparation for a later major offensive. It was not very successful, ultimately only capturing the Halfaya Pass. In this scenario, the Allied forces attempted to capture part of a road system for use in a later offensive.

Conclusion

A dash to the road in which the British are understrength for much of the game and will likely get bogged down early. For once the entire Axis force has good morale, so it will be imperative for British Leader Characters to have purchased as many combat skills as possible by this time in the campaign.


Display Relevant AFV Rules

AFV Rules Pertaining to this Scenario's Order of Battle
  • Vulnerable to results on the Assault Combat Chart (7.25, 7.63, ACC), and may be attacked by Anti-Tank fire (11.2, DFT). Anti-Tank fire only affects the individual unit fired upon (7.62, 11.0).
  • AFV's are activated by tank leaders (3.2, 3.3, 5.42, 6.8). They may also be activated as part of an initial activating stack, but if activated in this way would need a tank leader in order to carry out combat movement.
  • AFV's do not block Direct Fire (10.1).
  • Full-strength AFV's with "armor efficiency" may make two anti-tank (AT) fire attacks per turn (either in their action segment or during opportunity fire) if they have AT fire values of 0 or more (11.2).
  • Each unit with an AT fire value of 2 or more may fire at targets at a distance of between 100% and 150% of its printed AT range. It does so at half its AT fire value. (11.3)
  • Efficient and non-efficient AFV's may conduct two opportunity fires per turn if using direct fire (7.44, 7.64). Units with both Direct and AT Fire values may use either type of fire in the same turn as their opportunity fire, but not both (7.22, 13.0). Units which can take opportunity fire twice per turn do not have to target the same unit both times (13.0).
  • Demoralized AFV's are not required to flee from units that do not have AT fire values (14.3).
  • Place a Wreck marker when an AFV is eliminated in a bridge or town hex (16.3).
  • AFV's do not benefit from Entrenchments (16.42).
  • AFV's may Dig In (16.2).
  • Open-top AFV's: Immune to M, M1 and M2 results on Direct and Bombardment Fire Tables, but DO take step losses from X and #X results (7.25, 7.41, 7.61, BT, DFT). If a "2X" or "3X" result is rolled, at least one of the step losses must be taken by an open-top AFV if present.
  • Closed-top AFV's: Immune to M, M1 and M2 results on Direct and Bombardment Fire Tables. Do not take step losses from Direct or Bombardment Fire. If X or #X result on Fire Table, make M morale check instead (7.25, 7.41, 7.61, BT, DFT).
  • Closed-top AFV's: Provide the +1 modifier on the Assault Table when combined with infantry. (Modifier only applies to Germans in all scenarios; Soviet Guards in scenarios taking place after 1942; Polish, US and Commonwealth in scenarios taking place after 1943.) (ACC)
  • Tank: all are closed-top and provide the +1 Assault bonus, when applicable
  • APC – Armored Personnel Carrier: These are Combat Units, but stack like Transports. They can transport personnel units or towed units. They are not counted as combat units for the +1 stacking modifier on the Direct Fire and Bombardment Tables (4.4). They may be activated by regular leaders and tank leaders (1.2, 3.34, 4.3, 5.43). They do not provide the +1 Assault bonus (ACC).
  • Armored Cars: These are Combat Units. They are motorized instead of mechanized. All have their own armored car leaders, who can only activate armored cars (6.85). Do not provide the +1 Assault bonus (ACC).
  • Reconnaissance Vehicle: 8.23 Special Spotting Powers Both foot and vehicle mounted recce units (1.2) possess two special spotting abilities. The first ability is that they can spot enemy in limiting terrain at one hex further than the TEC specifies for other units and leaders. For example, an enemy unit in town can normally be spotted at three hexes or less, but a recce unit can spot them at four hexes.Their second ability is that they can place a Spotted marker on any one enemy unit they can spot per turn, just as if the enemy unit had "blown its cover" by firing. Such Spotted markers are removed as described earlier.

Display Order of Battle

Britain Order of Battle
Army
  • Motorized
  • Towed
Germany Order of Battle
Heer
  • Mechanized
  • Motorized

Display Errata (3)

3 Errata Items
Overall balance chart for 869

All Bren carriers should have a movement value of 7.

(Shad on 2010 Dec 15)
Overall balance chart for 855

Two British infantry have their full strengths printed on the back. They should both be "2-3" when reduced.

(Shad on 2010 Dec 15)
Overall balance chart for 871

Ignore the direct fire values.

(Shad on 2010 Dec 15)

Display AARs (1)

Bersaglieri get tossed off the tracks but prevent a total rollover; a narrow victory for Britain.
Author Brett Nicholson
Method Solo
Victor Britain
Play Date 2013-08-18
Language English
Scenario CCV2008

This was a very close match, Britain winning it by a mere 3 V.P.s. Here's why:

The victory conditions have a loophole which gives Italy a chance to claim extra V.P.s, a giveaway possibly. The victory conditions state, for Italy: 5 V.P.s if neither track running from the South edge to the road is free of undemoralized Italian combat units and/or minefield points at the end of play. Well, neither the British deployment force or the reinforcements have ENG units in their rosters. So, unless the Italian player chooses not to place minefields on the track hexes, they easily gain 5 V.P.s at the end of the scenario. I suppose a way around this would be to allow normal British INF or HMG units to try to remove minefield points by making them spend 6 turns (twice the amount required for ENG units), undisrupted or demoralized. Most likely that wouldn't work either. In this case, those 5 V.P.s did not turn the tide for Italy however.

Half of the Italian force set up at a junction where the two tracks connect with the road, below the ridge, dug-in and place eight, randomly drawn minefields on most of the vacant track and road hexes surrounding them. The other half, along with the German armored units and artillery, set-up on the hill hexes. 47mm's and the 20mm are set-up for crossfire but up against Matildas, not much can be expected from them.

The British spend the first two turns advancing, undetected from the cover of the Southern hill areas. Extra time is spent later by digging-in the two 3-inch mortar units at the base of the hill for added protection as the mortars are the only fire support without OBA in this scenario, at least until reinforcements arrive with another 3-inch.

At 06:15/turn 3, the Italain 105mm's begin to fire on the advancing foot units who have left the cover of the hills but only disrupt one unit to start off and the British attack force stays together. At 06:45/turn 5, two units of German Sdkfz 231(6) armored cars take out two steps of British INF with opportunity fire, boosting Italian morale. At 07:15/turn 7, the British gain the initiative and retaliate by easily eliminating 3 steps of those armored cars with their Matildas before they are able to retreat back to limiting terrain. At 08:15/turn 11, one of the Italian leader character Tenentes is hauled off the battlefield for compound demoralization (gets lucky and is reprimanded). British superiority in numbers start to wear down the defending Bersaglieri morale and some actually begin to flee towards the hills.

At 08:45/turn 13, the British reinforcements begin to appear from the South but by this time they become more of spectators and for whatever reason don't go rushing forward to assist their comrades, who seem to have the situation under control at this time. So far, British losses have been very light and they prepare to make assaults. At 09:15/turn 15, the minefields have some effect and a few British INF lose steps and get demoralized. At 09:30/turn 16, the British begin their assaults and soon another Italian leader character Tenente is removed from play with a serious wound and will sit the last campaign scenario out, Halfaya Pass, hospitalized. By 10:00/turn 18, some of the mobile reinforcements had moved close enough to unload a 2-pdr and take out a step of PzIIs who had escaped the wrath of the Matildas earlier and at this point it was more of a clean-up operation for the reinforcements.

At 10:30/turn 20, the British deliver one more stunning blow to the axis by overunning the two 105mms and eliminating both of them and then time was up. The British win this one but not by much. The one thing preventing them from a major victory was one disrupted step of PzIIs who managed to not only survive but hold on to a road hex, depriving the Britsh of an extra 15 V.P.s and adding 10 V.P.s to the Italian total.

So ends Scenario 8 out of 9 in the campaign, which sits with the British holding 264 CPs and the Italians 206 CPs; the Britsh leading the campaign by 59 CPs. Likely, with the final engagement at Halfaya Pass, the British will have won this early Desert War campaign unless the Italians are able to literally wipe-out the entire British defending force there, as that is what it would require in terms of V.P.s and C.P.s. But then again, this is Panzer Grenadier so that feat is not entirely impossible, though quite unlikely.

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