Italy LC

[Mobhack]

Its been a long while since I fought an Italian LC.

Basically, I simply gave up on armour, bar a platoon or 2 of m13/40 as a mobile sweeper up of objectives in the end game (They would hide with pride behind a ridgeline till then, basically).

The core force was therefore an infantry battalion, with mortars, MG and ATG plus a battery of off map support. I got rid of any rifle-only infantry ASAP, and took sections that included an LMG instead.

That kept the overall points total relatively low, so the UK OPFOR did not have zillions to spend on the nasty infantry tanks. (Cruisers are manageable).

Later on you can have some panzer 3, and so that is a no-brainer to swap the tank platoons to. Then very late, you get some useful Semoventes with a long 75. But again, not worth going for a mechanised force and sticking with infantry.

Of course, you could take some of the 90mm units, but those were in reality as rare as hens teeth, so I tend not to.

They do have a good 81mm mortar, which the Brits used a fair number of as the 3in sucks. Their field artillery is a mix of WW1 antiques, and some decent stuff. The ATG are not exactly fantastic, though you get access to some German stuff later on.

About the only thing you could say of Italian armour, is that its better than the Japanese...

(I did change the AI pick for the UK vs Italy to go for a cruiser choice more often against Italy in the Desert so as to give players more chance.)

So, I'd tend stick to an infantry Bn core with just a little bit of mobile armour for "sweepers up". 1 or 2 sections of Semovente with short 75 can provide useful fire support, once Brit armour is neutralised (otherwise, lob HE from medium to long range, and duck behind a hill when done, with an ammo supply nearby?). In the attack, stick tightly behind a creeping barrage, to stun defenders and screen your troops from fire, and slap your mortars down on any ATG that reveals itself, while your few tin cans hide from it.

The Italian army needs a skilful player and best suits an infantry-based approach. An Italian armoured campaign probably requires a very skilled and cautious (paranoid?!) one.

Cheers
Andy