DAR: Italy vs. GB - North Africa 6/40

[RERomine]

Turn 27

Matilda I seems to have bugged out of Alpha's sector or they have moved low, because I can't see it anymore. Continuing to push back into the gully with the units I have available.

Moving four tanks from Charlie's sector into Bravo's. Since the Matilda II is in a cloud of smoke, they are safe and capped one Matilda I. There are two or three left, depending on what happened to the tank in Alpha's sector. Mortars are still dropping rounds to keep the any enemy infantry in the area suppressed.

Charlie's sector is quiet.

All of Delta is joining the attack with Echo and Foxtrot. The enemy tank threat was greatly reduced with the destruction of three Matilda Is. Four are still in sight. A squad pushed up and put the torch to the abandoned Matilda II, so that threat is gone. The last one in the area has infantry and tanks swarming like sharks and they smell blood. The enemy is still active and firing, but their attack is done. My mortars and enemy mortars are still throwing shells into the mix, but the enemy has lost their chance.

Casualties

Friendly: Estimated 5 casualties.

Enemy: 1xMatilda II and 4xMatilda I tanks destroyed. Estimated 10 casualties.

[RERomine]

Turn 28

Alpha is slowly regrouping. If the battle lasts long enough, I'll go after that A10 as long as it hangs around.

Tanks in Bravo's sector took out another Matilda I. There are two left. The one from Alpha's sector showed up. It doesn't look like they plan on hanging around. One is routed and the other is retreating. Bravo is going to try to pull enough troops together to get the immobilized Matilda II.

One enemy infantry unit turned up in Charlie's sector, so I moved up my two remaining tanks and raked him with machine gun fire.

Enemy attack in Delta sector down to two tanks, both Matilda Is. Two Matilda Is and the last Matilda II were destroyed. There are still trucks with infantry moving up in penny packets. My units have been too busy dealing with the enemy shooting at them to deal with trucks at the moment. Delta and Echo are moving forward, while Foxtrot is holding in the wadi and salient. I'm plotting a third mortar section in this area, since the enemy is just about done up north.

Casualties

Friendly: Estimated 5 casualties.

Enemy: 1xMatilda II and 3xMatilda I tanks destroyed. Estimated 10 casualties.

[RERomine]

Marginal Victory!!!!

Turn 29

The British say, "No mas!"

Alpha moving four squads toward enemy A10. Enemy artillery hit west of the gully making life miserable for Alpha refuges. A mortar also dropped rounds into the gully hitting one of the four squads moving forward.

Maneuvering Bravo infantry to surround immobilized Matilda II. Supporting Matilda Is are bugging out. Shifting three tanks to come around behind the tank once attack started, but the battle ended before everyone was in position.

Squad in Charlie sector sent running. Another one showed up and sent packing, also.

Scratch one more Matilda I. There is one left in Delta's sector. Pushing Delta and Echo on line and moving forward, supported by five tanks. There was a lot of small arms fire back and forth, with casualties on both sides. Foxtrot solidified its position in the wadi and continued to cover the ground outside the salient. Two enemy trucks were moving up and destroyed by two tanks in this area. Three friendly mortar sections hit the enemy line and in the gap between wadis. This sent them back in groves.

Casualties

Friendly: Estimated 10 casualties.

Enemy: 1xMatilda I tank destroyed. Estimated 15 casualties.

Total Casualties

Italy

Men: 399
Artillery: 1
Soft Vehicles: 0
APCs: 0
AFVs: 19
Air Transports/Helos: 0
Aircraft: 0

GB

Men: 814
Artillery: 0
Soft Vehicles: 8
APCs: 17
AFVs: 71
Air Transports/Helos: 0
Aircraft: 0

Score

Italy: 7252
GB: 1001

Final Comments

This is one of the toughest battles I've fought, mainly because of the Matilda IIs. Obviously, I came up with a way to kill them, but it wasn't easy. To start with, they had to be separated from their infantry support. My tanks are vulnerable to the British infantry AT weapons, so I couldn't risk pushing my tanks into uncleared areas. Then I had to make the area smaller with smoke. Next, pound the Matilda IIs with small arms. This suppresses them and causes them to respond, soaking off shots. Finally, my tanks scoot to the rear of the Matilda IIs, put the gun right on the armor and shoot. This all takes time to pull off and the right terrain helps. I need to give some careful thought to how I refit my core.

The Matilda Is were only difficult when they were close to Matilda IIs. My tanks still needed to be close and square on to one aspect, but could destroy them from even the front at 100m. They really aren't very good tanks. The armor is nice, but without a tank killing gun, the are fairly easy to deal with.

I've been critical of the AI's artillery use and while it did finally start spreading its off-board artillery out some, it really didn't use that massive power it had effectively. When it finally did hit some of my strong points, they started to come apart. Had it done this more often, my line would not have held. During the course of the battle, 25-pdrs hit Alpha's main line once, Bravo's strong point once and the Echo and engineer's attack once. The rest of the fire seem to be scattered at targets that were either no longer in the battle for one reason or another. There were some attempts to hit positions that would have been useful, but they were off target. That's fine, because everyone has fire that is off target once in a while. It is possible that I'm assuming the AI knew more about my position than it really did. What the AI really knew is anyone's guess.

Overall, I'm pleased with how this battle turned out. Getting a victory, marginal or otherwise, is still a victory. Achieving it with the totally outclassed Italian force makes it that much better. My line bent, but didn't break. You can't ask for more than that.

Time to refit. I'm going to take my time an and try to figure out what is best. With 19 tanks knocked out in this battle and a few more in the first one, I've got a lot of stuff to replace.

Attached is the save just before the game ended. Enjoy!

[a_ver_est]

Originally Posted by RERomine

Marginal Victory!!!!

Overall, I'm pleased with how this battle turned out. Getting a victory, marginal or otherwise, is still a victory. Achieving it with the totally outclassed Italian force makes it that much better. My line bent, but didn't break. You can't ask for more than that.

Fully agree, there isn't anything better than winning knowing that initially the enemy had the upper hand.

Congrats !!!