Author	treadasaurusrex (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	goosebrown
Play Date	2025-06-28
Language	English
Scenario	DeRa014

This was a 5-session play through with the cunning & stimulating goosebrown leading defending elements of the British 7th Armoured Division’s, 4th and 22nd Armoured Brigades during Operation Crusader in November 1941. I led attacking elements of the 8th Panzer Regiment of the German 15th Panzer Division. It was very fun to play.

We played using the FOW, consolidation, smoke/illum, excess initiative, and extended assault, optional rules, as well as these 3 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, across, or down slopes hexes, and 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.

Our high-maneuver, first session (game turns 1-10) included extensive movements-to-contact approaches for both sides that snaked across both the map boards. The Crusaders of the laggard 22nd Armored Brigade turned up on game turn 9 and immediately moved to the northern margin of the long north-south ridge on Map 4, while the 12-unit covey of 4th Armoured Brigade Honeys pulled back in extended order to the adjacent valley just west of the long ridge. No casualties were sustained be either side in this cat & mouse game, so far.

The second session (game turns 11-12) the Desert Rats shifted their positions back to the west in the valley. The Germans slowly followed and began placing their Landser infantry and AT guns along both sides of the long, 40-meter, north-south ridge on Map 4.

Our action-packed and very costly, third session (game turns 13-14) featured both sides maneuvering wildly in search for crossfire AT opportunities, while a handful of Wehrmacht units began digging in along the long ridge’s 40-meter contour line. Step losses rapidly accumulated with the Afrika Korps scoring first in the south as the Brits pushed east onto the lower slopes of the long ridge. Multiple, Honey light tanks were hit in the process, as well as 3 steps of PZ-IIIG German tanks. In the north, the Brits advanced bravely in the face of a considerable amount of AT fire losing only a few steps of Crusader I tanks as the passed to the rear of the main German positions on the ridge. By the end of this session, the step loss tally was 22 for the intrepid, Desert Rats and 6 for the Afrika Korps.

During the rather bloody, fourth session (game turns 15-17) the combined step losses were 24 – all inflicted on fast-moving armored units! The Brits charged east with their right flank prong, up and over the crest of the 40-meter ridge. Their much smaller left flank attack slowly dwindled as it passed over the northern sector of the ridgeline and pushed into the margins of valley to the east. German AT fires was lethal in the first two game turns of this session, before the enterprising Tommies organized a series of very effective crossfires. Both sides suffered dramatic, initiative level decreases as the step losses mounted. The updated victory point totals were now: 16 for the intrepid Tommies, and 36 for the scrambling Jerries.

Our very costly fifth session (game turns 18-20) was a high maneuver, shoot in the Libyan desert that the fates surprisingly decreed to the German’s way. The British side conceded at the end of the 20th game turn when we decided that a victory was no longer possible given the high casualties that the Tommies had suffered in the free-wheeling tank-on-tank action. There were 10 FOW-shortened game turns of the 20 played, and the final victory point total was: 19 for the Desert Rats, and 50 for the 15th Panzer.

This was a longish, high mobility and extremely entertaining play-through that rates a 5, IMHO. It was played with a challenging & flexible opponent – which enhanced the game – as did the 3 house rules that we added to the optional rule mix. I recommend it as suitable for both SHARED & SOLO play.

Author	triangular_cube
Method	Solo
Victor	Germany
Play Date	2022-12-17
Language	English
Scenario	DeRa014

On the surface this looks like another poor scenario with the Brits taking on a combined arms force with nothing but armor. It actually does play differently, which made it somewhat interesting.

Brits start with a long, thin screen of Stuarts opposing entering German armor. Similar to the past, there are IIs, IIIs, and IVs. The IIs hide in the corner while the IIIs and IVs advance into the Stuarts. The Stuarts immediately fall back and try to keep their gaps. The hope is that they can establish the flanking shots for crossfire once their reinforcements come in.

The Stuarts keep dancing, and the Germans keep chasing. I may have been a bit overconfident in the German armor after the last few scenarios, and drove the Stuarts right up to the edge of the map, well ahead of their reinforcing infantry support. The fleeing rabbits even spread the Germans out a bit, as I said, I played to aggressive. Then they hit their reinforcement roll.

Bad as they may be, 32 steps of armor surging onto the board is a lot more than you realize until it is there :). Brits are able to force their way in and cause chaos on the western board through sheer numbers. They end up knocking out most of the IIIs and half of the IVs before the German fall back to their infantry cover. As night begins to fall it ends up in a stalemate, as the Brits have enough tanks to scare off the German armor, but still cant move the infantry bodies off the board.

If the VCs only measured the steps, with Germans counting double, this would be pretty fun and balanced. Unfortunately the Brits also must clear all Germans from the board, so while both hit their step loss requirements, it ends in a German victory due to INF bodies.