Counter-attack at Bir Kalifa - second remote game

This past Friday I played a couple of remote WW2 Western Desert games with Jon from the Palouse Wargaming Journal. The games moved along at a brisk pace, playing both games took just under two hours. We were using the Tank on Tank board game rules from Lock 'n Load Publishing, with a handful of house rules and some updated unit capabilities.

The rules are fast and decisive, if a unit is hit, it is eliminated. However, this cut-throat combat is balanced by the fact that a player is limited to between two and four activations each turn, with the third and fourth activations having to be diced for.

An activation allows a unit (or units) to fire at one enemy unit, move individually, or make a group move using an HQ. For a useful overview of the board game rules and how it plays, see the review posted by Norm of Battlefield and Warriors Blog (here).

Scenario

The scenario has a German counterattack following a successful Commonwealth advance. As the Commonwealth forces look to consolidate their gains near the settlement of Bir Kalifa, elements of the Afrika Korps launch an attack.

Map

The game is played on a hex grid.

Tabletop set up

Order of Battle

Commonwealth Forces

• 2 × HQs
• 4 × Grant tanks
• 2 × A13 Cruiser tanks

These units begin the game deployed behind the red dotted line. The Commonwealth player deploys first and has the first turn.

Beginning on Turn 5, the following reinforcements may arrive:

• 2 × A13 Cruiser tanks
• 1 × Bishop self-propelled 25-pounder

Afrika Korps Forces

• 2 × HQs
• 2 × Panzer IV (75mm short)
• 2 × Panzer IV (75mm long)
• 5 × Panzer III
• 1 × Wespe (105mm)

The German force begins the game deployed behind the blue dotted line. The Afrika Korps deploy second.

Victory Conditions

The Germans win if, by the end of Turn 9, they either:

1. Destroy all Commonwealth units, or
2. Successfully exit three units from the opposite tabletop edge.

If neither objective is achieved, the Commonwealth player is the winner.

House Rules

For those familiar with the Tank on Tank rules, the following house rules were used in the game:

• Attached HQs – HQs are attached to combat units and may transfer to another unit by spending 1 Action Point.
• Dust – Any unit that moves or pivots in open terrain raises dust. A marker is placed beside the unit to indicate this, and it adds 1 to its defence value unless it already benefits from cover.
• Indirect Fire – Only HQs participating in the shooting action may call in indirect artillery fire.
• Terrain – Hills and buildings are treated as described in the standard rules, while all areas of broken ground provide cover.
• Use solo activation mechanism from the rules - Where the first two activations are free and a 3+ is required for the third activation and a 4+ for the fourth activation. This was because it was a remote game and the usual method requires a bowl and tokens and not suitable for a remote game.

The above unit values were used.

Battle Report #1

For the first game please read Jon's battle report on his blog here. (We decided to split the battle report writing effort.)

I used small sticky notes to attach labels to the back of each unit to help with unit identification for this remote game.

Dyed soft toy stuffing is used for dust markers where units have moved or pivoted, and black dyed stuffing attached to little wooden blocks to show brewed up vehicles where units have been destroyed. The dust did on occasion hide the unit labels - I did not think about that when setting up.

I had a few key takeaways from this first game:

• As the attacker, the priority should always be forward movement, with shooting taking second place unless the odds are overwhelmingly in your favour. The nine turns go by very quickly, so there is little time (turns) to waste.
• The tracks (roads) are important, they provide a useful boost to movement. A blocking unit positioned to on the track can create delays and need to be eliminated.
• Attack with two groups in the beginning and the limited activations should be used with the group able to make the most progress.

It is always easier to be the defender. There is less to think about once the defensive line has been set. Jon was kind enough to take the attacking role first. This was appreciated as when hosting a remote game being the defender makes things a little easier. There plenty of things to be mindful of when running a game for the first time.

Battle Report #2

The second game opened with my Afrika Korps forces advancing towards the settlement of Bir Kalifa and along the left flank. Jon responded by moving a mix of A13 and Grant tanks into defensive positions in and around the broken ground near the settlement, while a second group pushed up around the opposite side of the town.

To keep the forward momentum, my left-flanking force pushed around the broken ground. Jon responded by withdrawing from the position and forming a new defensive line ready to block my advance, using his reserves to reinforce this new position. Meanwhile, around the settlement, I attacked one of the Grant units and successfully destroyed it. Outnumbered, Jon's left-flank group opted to retire back along the road.

Opening moves.

The Settlement of Bir Kalifa is occupied as Commonwealth forces retire to form a second defensive line with their recently arriving reserves.

Pressing forward with both groups, the Afrika Korps left flank engaged the larger Commonwealth defensive line, while on the right flank my forces moved out of the settlement and advanced along the road. The smaller Commonwealth defensive group defending the road was forced further back as it tried to contain the advance.

With the clock ticking, both sides were beginning to lose units in the fighting. However, the Afrika Korps was gradually working its way around the larger Commonwealth defensive line while, at the same time, continuing to inch further along the track.

The tow groups advance on the left flank and out of the settlement.

Nearing the last turn as the attackers are poised to exit the table.

By the final turn, the situation was on a knife-edge. I had four units in a positioned ready to exit the table, two on the left flank and two on the road. With two activations Jon managed to destroy one of them on my left flank. He then needed a third activation with a 3+ on the dice to move a unit into position to block the road and prevent a third unit from escaping using the track bonus to movement (one unit could already travel off road to exit the table).

Fortunately for me, luck was on my side. Jon rolled a 2, leaving the road open. I was able to exit three units from the table on Turn 9, securing a last gasp victory for the attacking Afrika Korps.

Wrap Up

Winning this scenario as the attacker is no easy task, and I certainly needed a little luck at the end to get a victory. These games played very quickly, with the first taking around an hour and the second just 40 minutes. Remote gaming does slow things down a bit at the start until you get into the swing of things.

One of the reasons for running these remote games was so I could to get back into playing Western Desert games using the Tank on Tank rules, keeping them as close as possible to the original rules while making a few small house rules to better reflect the desert environment, such as the use of dust markers.

I have now finally managed to get my own copy of the game, so the next step will be to work through the various scenarios and try to adapt them to the Western Desert. The scenarios are important as without them the game can descent into a shoot out. I am looking forward to seeing how they work on the tabletop.

The game arrived this past week.

What's Next?

I am also thinking about playing a larger campaign using Avalon Hill's old Afrika Korps board game board and may be the counters, with the battles being fought on the tabletop using the Tank on Tank rules and modified scenarios.

I have not yet worked out best to translate the situation on the campaign map on to a tabletop while keeping the overall number of games to a manageable level. I do not want the campaign to become so large that it stops being enjoyable.

This is not my first attempt at a Western Desert campaign. I previously ran a linear campaign starting in early 2020 that continued well into 2021. It was a lot of fun, but I was getting a bit tired of the games towards the end and was quite glad when it ended. You can read about that earlier campaign it starts here.

A second hand game I picked up a couple of years ago always with the idea of using it for a wargame campaign.