Historical Background:
The chaotic Gazala battle could have gone either way. It turned out to be Rommel’s last and perhaps
greatest victory. If Auchinleck had succeeded here, Alamein would never have been fought, and the name
Montgomery would be just a footnote to the history of WW2.
Briefing:
Allied player 6 command cards.
Axis player 6 command cards. You move first.
Conditions of Victory:
12 medals.
Tobruk is a turn-start temporary objective for both sides worth 2 medals.
All other objectives are permanent medal objectives for the Axis.
Special Rules:
British Commonwealth forces command rules, Italian Royal Army command rules and North African desert rules are in effect. In addition Allied armour may only move 2 hexes.
The infantry units with a battle star are truck-borne Infantry
Play as standard infantry except-May move 1,2 or 3 and attack, 5 on road.
May not use bunkers, sandbags, or enter hexes impassable to vehicles.
May discard truck model to act as standard infantry.
(Remove truck model with last casualty)
Place a badge on the axis’s special forces, on the axis’ combat engineers, on the Italian troops and on mobile artillery. When attacking the bunker on the hill, standard infantry reduce the number of battle dice rolled by 2, armor reduce the battle dice rolled by 3 and artillery battle dice are not reduced.
Minefields are laid down by allied player.
Note: if you don’t own two base games, one us artillery unit for the Germans.
Scenario link
Setup Photo:
After a little break I chose to test one of my scenarios. For the first game, I took the Allies side and my opponent took the Axis side. The Axis began with a general advance, capturing some medals in the first few turns. After that, the Allies’ armor arrived, and the battle turned into an armor clash until the Allied armor was defeated. Following those battles, the Axis took control of The Cauldron and got close to the El Adem airfield, but they didn’t capture it. Instead, they eliminated one Allied unit and won the game with a score of 12-5.
End Photo:
For the second game, we switched sides and began the battle. The Axis started with a general advance, but they were pushed back in every sector. The 1st Free French Brigade held their ground heroically at Bir Hakeim until armor reinforcements arrived. Once the reinforcements showed up, they began taking out Axis units, and the Allies quickly racked up 12 medals. The Axis didn’t advance all of their units, and the ones that did push forward were picked off by the Allied tanks.End Photo (12-3):
Conclusion: A fantastic scenario, historically accurate with a wide variety of units. If you’ve played it, feel free to share your experience!