Western Desert - The Shawaddywaddy Wadi

I haven't posted anything here for a long time. Since my last post I've played one game of O Group but that was an intro game where I introduced the game to a friend using the Attack on Christo scenario from the rule book. A few other games have been cancelled for various reasons but last week I managed to get a game happening.

The battlefield was pretty bare. The Commonwealth forces were deployed amongst the ridge on the east and the DAK were attacking from the Shawaddywaddy Wadi to the west. In between was a small village. I played the British and, my opponent Michael, played the Germans.

The village was divided into three Build Up Areas (BUA). Each BUA could hold one platoon. The dice on the roof of the larger building determined when the sun would rise. The first two turns were in the pre-dawn. Maximum visibility was 18" and all targets were considered obscured. At the end of turn 2 the dice would be rolled. The sun would rise on a 6 for turn 2, a 5 for turn 3, etc... Until the sun rose.

The German start line was the Shawaddywaddy Wadi. 

Still in darkness the German lead elements along with reconnaissance and scouts moved from their starting positions and advanced towards the village.

From the east my own scouts were attempting to get into the village in order to deploy troops. Unfortunately I lost that race. 

While the pre-dawn darkness remained the lead DAK forces managed to get a toe hold in the village as British scouts managed to infiltrate the eastern parts. 

The sun rose early (a 6 was rolled at the end of turn 2 - we decided that or the German attack must have been late getting off their mark). With fighting in the streets of the village both sides brought up armoured support. The German recon had the opportunity to either retreat or fight it out with the British armour. Foolishly they decided to try and shoot it out.

A mortar stonk now fell on the DAK troops in the western section of the village whilst my brave lads now took the 3rd BUA and poured fire onto a platoon of The Bosch approaching from the other side. The Crusader troop took aim at the German armoured cars and blew the entire platoon to pieces in the centre of the town. They should have chosen the retreat option. 

The second Bosch platoon now tried an unsuccessful assault on the 3rd BUA and were repulsed. An attempt to rally them saw them fall back even further. The German assault was getting bogged down.

Hearing reports of DAK armour approaching the village from the west the men of 7th Armoured Div were directed to move out an take them on! The German armour, a troop of panzer III's opened fire on the Crusaders but to no effect as their shots went wide of their targets.

A German platoon advanced on low ridge in the centre of the table edge opposite the village. To counter them I deployed a platoon of infantry with a supporting Vickers machinegun section.

With supporting mortar fire, a fresh DAK platoon moved in and once again assaulted the 3rd BUA - This time with much greater success.

My brave chaps were thrown out of their positions with heavy losses (only one section remaining). 

An artillery stonk came down on the Crusaders. The tanks were not damaged but were forced back to the road.

The Infantry in the town were also caught in the barrage, They were hit hard and they too were forced to retreat away from the barrage.

It was time for a counter attack. A troop of little Honey light tanks, supported by a platoon of infantry, advanced onto the field. They attempted to shoot up the panzer III's in the flank but were unsuccessful. 

At the same time the Crusaders once again advanced and shelled the village. The platoon that was forced to retreat managed to rally and came in to support the tanks. A platoon and a second Vickers section also poured fire into the village.

Unfortunately, a second platoon of of Pz III's drove up and took up hull down positions on the lip of the wadi. They exchange fire with the Honey's with the result being one section destroyed and the other badly damaged. At the same time a second German artillery strike fell on the Crusader troop and their infantry support forcing them back again; this time with some damage.

With all the British armour now retreating or suppressed the German armour moved out of the cover of the wadi. Meanwhile the other Pz III troop sat back and poured HE into the troops on the ridge behind the village.

Mortars hit the British line forcing one of the crusader troops to abandon their vehicle (this isn't specified in the rules but they took damage and were destroyed. Mortars can't really destroy tanks so we thought they must have had enough shelling and decided to abandon their vehicles).

I had a couple of units waiting in ambush and they now came into play and took on the panzer III's coming out of the wadi. A pair of 2pdr anti-tank guns (one a portee and the other a static gun). Both guns scored direct hits on their targets but the superior German armour just shrugged off both hits. 

At this time I forgot to keep taking photos. What happened?

The village was squarely in German hands. Michael consolidate his 3rd company in the village and set up an assault on the ridge behind. The troops there had been pounded by HE for a couple of turns and were in a bad way. The British C company came in as support and got hit with heavy casualties from the HE shelling.

The German armour in the centre continued to advance and my 2pdr guns shot them repeatedly and never once hit them again. My A company was almost completely wiped out and my B company did barely anything other than hold their positions. 

By the time we finished I was almost up to 3 FUBAR's and Michael was on 1 FUBAR. My troops were in a bad way and the only option left for the British was to retreat.

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It was a good game after such a long time. I didn't get the win but it was good to lay out the table and put models on it again. This is the first time I've put my desert forces on the table since I rebased them for O Group. I think the overall set up looked good.

P.S: In case you're wondering... Here's a link to how I made my desert table mat: Desert Mat

DAK Re-Base.

Continuing with the re-basing of my figures, the next lot in line are my DAK or Afrika Korps. I had enough figures to convert the lot into a battalion with one exception: I seem to have lost an LMG group somewhere along the line so I painted up a new one.

I pretty much have all the figures needed for most of their support too. In the photo below are 2 MMG bases, 2 AT Rifle bases, 2 mortar bases, FOO +kubelwagon, a sniper and Battalion HQ with a heavy car. If I want I could replace the HQ with an SdKfz 250/3.

The infantry are a curious mix. The majority are AB, with a healthy bunch of Simon's Soldiers (unfortunately these figures seem to gone from their catalogue) there are also some plastics in there from ESCI/Italeri and some PSC late German's converted with the very simple, yet tried and trusted "Paint Conversion" method!

To add to the mix I also have a Pioneer Platoon that can have either a Mine Clarence option or a Flame Thrower for an assault role. The are about 90% AB.

Motorcycles. I did these for Battlegroup and what I have pretty makes up a motorcycle section and/or dispatch riders. For 'O' Group I want a company. Luckily this will be pretty easy to achieve. I've been doing some research and number crunching and the numbers I came up with mean that all I need are two more motorcycle/sidecar combos and a pair of kubelwagons (or heavy cars). I already have the cars and I also have two unmade m/c combos. Dismounted figures is more of an issue as I'll need six LMG teams (12 Figures) and three rifle teams (9 figures). In game I figure I can use them as either Recce or treat them like Panzergrenadiers when they dismount. The single motorcycles will go to BHQ.

So that's what I have in the way of DAK. The infantry side is pretty much complete. Looking at them I figure I could add a shed-load of LMG's and pretty much turn them into a panzergrenadier regiment which would be nice for some big games. (I'd need another 27 LMG stands to do that!... Who makes individual 20mm DAK LMG figures?)

And that's what I've been doing. I'm now on to their opponents in the Western Desert Force. I only have two companies painted and a bunch of metal that got put away last year when I lost interest during our lockdown. One of the finished companies I have is plastic and not very good. I have enough metal AB figures to finish another company but I'll be visiting Eureka on Friday so I can pick up enough to finish off the battalion. I'll still use the plastics but they'll be diverted into the carrier platoon/company/whatever.

Almost Done With These

I've been painting some odds and ends to finish off both my DAK and my single BEF platoon.

For the DAK I've added an assault pioneer section. These can be used for various games. In Battlegroup you can field a full pioneer platoon so I'm thinking that I can just spread these figures out with the regular troops to add a bit of a pioneer flavour.

As I was doing these figures I thought that they would be the last DAK I would need to paint. But then I remembered that I still need to do a few figures for a Kradschutzen (motorcycle) Section. Really, I don't need to do these but if I ever want to do a decent company sized DAK game and incorporate a motorcycle recce section, then I'm going to need them. If I ever want to do a full Kradschutzen platoon, I'll just use the regular figures but I'm gonna need another nine motorcycles!

 Also a flamethrower and mine clearance team.

 A 50mm mortar and a forward observer.

For my BEF I've added a couple of support elements. I'm still waiting on the arrival of some HQ elements and when I get them they should pretty much finish off a 1940 platoon for Blitzkrieg period games.

A Boys AT Rifle, a 2" mortar and a Lewis MMG.

And lastly, a set of PSC Opal Blitz for blitzkrieg period.

El Adem Road - April 1941

Today was the day my North African kit got deployed onto the table for the first time in a cracking game of Battlegroup. The scenario was set on 10 April - The day before the first attacks against the Tobruk garrison historically took place on Good Friday, 11 Apr 1941. The El Adem Road runs south-west from he most southern point of the perimeter.

This was a delaying action along the El Adem Road with 2/17 Battalion - 20 Brigade of the 2nd AIF fighting for time against 5th Panzer Regiment, 5 Light Div -Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK). The Aussie's mission was to stall the DAK for 12 turns to allow time for the preparation of the defences.

I was in command of the Aussies and my opponent was Pete - AKA, Oberst Jenkers was in charge of the German forces. I had a platoon of infantry with support from a pair of guns from 1RHA and a mobile reaction force consisting of  a carrier section & a troop of Matilda II tanks from C Squadron, "Tobruk Tanks."
Oberst Jenkers, had a reinforced schutzen platoon (4 sections) with pioneer support, a troop of Pz II's, another of Pz III's and a strong recce element with a motorcycle patrol and SdKfz 222.

Aussie Defences:

My troops started with the infantry, guns and supports on the table in prepared positions. On turn 4, I would roll 1d6 to see how many turns the reaction force would arrive. The second line of dugouts (in the pic) are actually on a low ridge which is difficult to see. There is a large cactus patch in the center and a minefield on my right flank. I had two section in the center and the third in the stony area overlooking the minefield. There is a 2pdr AT gun on my extreme left and two 25pdrs on my right. I have a mortar pit in the center.

 A wrecked AT gun to make the barren desert look a bit more interesting.

 The initial DAK deployment. Recce, Pz II troop and HQ elements.

 Here they come, stirring up the dust.

Initial Moves:

The Pz II's moved forward. In the center the motorcycle patrol moved up and deployed in the cactus patch. An Sdkfz 222 moved up on my left flank. The first shots rang out and it was my 2pdr AT gun which fired at the 222. Its first shot missed but the second hit but only managed a glancing hit. Mortar fire hit the motorcycles in the cactus and pinned one team.

My Morris armoured car ten moved forward in the center followed by a Daimler Dingo.  My 2pdr portee raced over the ridge to take a shot at a PzII and missed.

The panzers continued their advance. The SdKfz 222 replied to the 2pdr and opened up with it's 20mm auto-cannon to devastating effect. Two of the gun crew were killed (failed their hard cover saves) and the remaining man abandoned the gun when he became pinned (last man standing rule). In front of the minefield the schutzen platoon moved up, disembarked from their trucks and deployed in the dust. 

I'd lost the AT gun but my defence was still looking okay. Now the RHA guns took aim at the PzII's out front and, over open sights, managed to take one of the tanks out of the picture. Well done!

 I moved the destroyed 2pdr terrain piece into the gun pit because the gun

model has the crew attached to the base. It's looks better this way too.

At this time Oberst Jenkers stopped the advance of his panzers, took proper aim and dealt out some serious damage to my defence. I lost my 2pdr portee and Morris A/C to the Sdkfz 222 and one of the panzers. The other tank attempted to shoot up the 25 pdrs and did cause some casualties but failed to pin the gun. A 80mm mortar targeted my central section and inflicted some casualties and also pinned them. to my right the DAK pioneers moved toward the wire and the dismounted infantry started giving my forward section near the wire a lot of attention.

One of my losses resulted in my drawing a Mine Strike chit from the box. I placed this onto the assault pioneer truck. This resulted in the destruction of the truck and the two pioneers killed. Good work! My defensive actions were not having much effect. I was inflicting some damage but not enough. Likewise the Germans were not inflicting a lot of damage but what they did manage, I couldn't afford.

Turn 4 - A German pre-timed mortar barrage came in and was aimed right at the center of my defences. But luck was on the Aussie's side and the stonk went wild and landed in the cactus patch. This took out the remaining motorcycle troops. Unlucky for me, one of the chits drawn was Air Strike!

In my turn I rolled for my reinforcements - They would arrive on turn 7. In the meantime, my defensive fire was below average. The 25pdrs targeted the PzII's and infantry beyond the wire but they were having little effect. With the Pz III troop now on the table and moving forward I needed to start inflicting more damage.

Next turn the Air Strike came in and it was a Stuka. It attempted to hit my guns but the bombs drifted. Not far but far enough to save one gun. Unfortunately it wasn't so good for the infantry section in the center who took the brunt of the bombing. They were wiped out, one gun routed and my 2" mortar was pinned. All of a sudden there was a big hole in my line.

STUKA! STUKA! STUKA!

Yes, I know it's not a Stuka. But I don't own one. Yet.

All this excitement managed to blind my opponent to the movement of my Boys AT team into the front line. They took up a position and took a shot at the PzII's out front. They gained some hits but failed to do any damage. But they also survived retaliatory fire and lived to keep the fight going.

I can't say the same for my remaining 25pdr. One of the PzIII's took aim with HE and took out most of the remaining crew. It was also pinned and again, the Last Man Standing rule saw the gun abandoned.

I moved my Vickers HMG down to the front defences and maneuvered the Dingo into a defensive position in front of the minefield. More shooting and more destruction and the Boys team, with some skillful shooting managed to take out the SdKfz 222. The 222, along with the Stuka, was probably Oberst Jenker's most effective unit.

Somewhere along the way, I drew another chit and drew another Mine Strike. I played this one on a PzII and it was blown up. Good thing too. Take that, Gerry!

I stripped the infantry from the left and moved them to the center. The Bren team made it to cover but the rifle team got caught in the middle of a mortar strike. They lost some men and the resulting morale test got them a Beyond the Call of Duty activation which got the remainder into cover.

By this time the German pioneers had advanced to the wire and cleared a path through the minefield. They'd taken a pounding on their way in but were still able to do their job with only four of them still standing.

Somewhere, somehow, the last PzII bit the dust. I have a feeling it was the Boys ATR again but I can't remember. The Dingo and Vickers managed to slow down the schutzen advancing though the minefield, but it was time for the infantry to pull back. They'd done all they could to stall the DAK and now the armour would have to do some of the work.

 Then the cavalry arrived. The tanks of C Squadron arrived on the field.

Retreat!

At this time we called the game (turn 8) as it was getting late in the day. The Aussies had limited success but they didn't manage to stop the DAK to any great extent. They did manage to destroy one armoured unit and all the recce support and I'm pretty sure the Matilda's would be able to hold off the panzers until turn 12.

As far as Battle Ratings were concerned, neither side was close to breaking. I was on 16 out of 43 BR and Pete was on a bit more but he had 53 BR. Admittedly I did draw two 1's and two Mine Strikes. If I'd been less lucky I could have easily added to an additional 10 or more to my BR loss.

Conclusion:

It was an interesting and different game. It's been a long, longtime since I last played a Western Desert game (and we're taking early 1980's here!) so I wasn't sure how to go about it. But, for a first I think it worked out well. The battle was, of course fictitious, but it fitted well within a general concept. However, I did forget to pack the El Adem Road in with my terrain so we didn't have an actual road! Never mind.

As for the rules, I got a bit lost with the Air Strike as I've never done this before. I'm certain I got it some of it wrong. It worked out okay but I'll have to read up on it and get it right next time. But... And this is a big but... I got to put an aircraft on the table. Not the right one because I don't own a Stuka, but an aircraft nonetheless. And that, my friend overrides anything else as far as I'm concerned because image is 90% the game and it looked good!

I also got to use a whole bunch of other things that I've been making, such as the sandbag emplacements, cacti and barbed wire. I also got to use my newly made desert mat. It still smells a bit like coffee but that will fade in time. At least it's an appetizing smell.

EDIT:
And once again after I've finished this and published I found some much better pics courtesy of Russel at NWA. A man who takes much better photo's that I can attempt.

 My new DAK command. I finished this the Friday night before Saturday's battle.

 The Stuka attack I

 The Stuka attack II