Între Acte {B} BKCII Game Conclusion

Location: Halfaya Pass, Cyrenaica, Libya
Date: August 1942
Situation: Deutsches Afrika Korp's 21st Panzers Attacking Halfaya
Rules: Blitzkrieg Commander II {+50% movement/weapon ranges for 15mms}
Modifications: Added FOW dust cloud rules.
Suggestion: Click on images to make them larger.
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While General Pettygree and Muljadhi are in limbo in 1899, please view concluding photos of our Colonial BKCII activities of 30 March 2010. We return to Halfaya to the right side of The Pass where....

7th Armoured Division Crusaders have dashed into a maelstrom with DAK panzers. The ensuing combat went against 7th Armoured especially after....

A pair of Stuka JU-87 dive bombers caused mischief. BKCII uses dice on the ground indicating hits. Four red dice reveal one hit per vehicle. No paperwork! "Saving Throws" can reduce some damage. (One red die formerly had two pips/hits showing.) Hits might cause suppression too. Hits could carry over (optional rule) or as we prefer, they are removed at the end of each Active Player Turn. Easy and fun. 

Meanwhile behind The Pass on the back table, panzers approached the village and supply dump. A forlorn hope of Marmon Herrington Armoured Cars attempted to put up dust clouds to discombobulate this DAK group. It failed to do anything significant especially since the Grant tanks that had been in reserve to use the cover of dust to attack were ineffectual in numbers and range.

Surviving Crusaders retreated to the left side of The Pass gaining the advantage of two more 2 Pdr. AT guns fortified there. The lone surviving Grant (of three) joined the group. This was a good defensive position which might have caused a lot of trouble to the foe but....

Twas to no avail. The 7th Armoured reached "break point" (one over actually) and failed the subsequent and mandatory 2D6 throw to remain in combat. A 1 through 7 throw was needed. Nope. The retreat commenced back to the wire on the Egyptian Frontier. The Pass is off screen at the top as are....

Surviving members of the DAK 21st Panzer Battlegroup consolidating on the ridge to the right of The Pass. The Pass is offscreen to the bottom. Well done Chuck L. and John B. commanding DAK forces!

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CLOSING REMARKS
1. Game concluded 30 March 2010.
2. Try a table covering with almost anything underneath to simulate near real topography.
3. You can do it.
4. House Rule: Dust reduces the probability to hit in the open from 1D6 = 4-5-6 to 1D6 = 5-6.

5. 7th Armoured's battle plan was completely scrapped in Game Session #1 on 23 March because of DAK maneuver. The plan was to mass the nine Crusaders on the LEFT of Halfaya Pass hidden by a loooooong ridge. They would hide waiting for the Marmon Herrington Armoured Car Squadron (6 cars) to zoom out to create dust to cover their eventual advance. Once the dust was up, the Crusaders would dash forward en-masse at 37.5 cms per command throw, assisted by two Hurricanes, a captured and mobile Italian 20mm AA, one 2 Pdr. AT gun and an eight gun battery of off-table 25 pdrs. The hope was to utterly crush one end of the DAK force blitzkrieg style. All rubbish! The problem was...the foe had nobody there to attack.

6. The 21st Panzer Battlegroup massed all forces to attack the ridge to the RIGHT of The Pass. Their right rear flank was protected by a battery of two 88s, a mobile AA and  three 37mm AT guns. Once my Armoured Cars realized this they withdrew. Clever DAK chaps, eh?

7. Hence all units above except the 2 Pdr. raced toward The Pass to engage the foe as seen in Între Acte {A and B}. I positioned four dug in 2 Pdrs. there to slow any DAK attack in a refused wing style. Slowing them with these did happen since they are very hard to knock out when dug in.

8. General Pettygree et al return before the end of April.
9. Comments welcome below.
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Între Acte {A}

Location: Halfaya Pass, Cyrenaica, Libya
Date: August 1942
Situation: Deutsches Afrika Korp's  21st Panzers Attacking Halfaya
Rules: Blitzkrieg Commander II {+50% movement/weapon ranges for 15mms}
Modifications: Added FOW dust cloud rules.
Suggestion: Click on images to make them larger
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While General Pettygree and Muljadhi are in limbo in 1899, please view a few photos of our BKCII activities of 23 March 2010. We commence with a dreaded....

Battery of 88mm AA guns configured for anti-tank operations. They guard the right rear of the attacking panzers which have exited the area in your direction.

Viewed from the rear now, we better see the 88s guarding the right rear of the DAK attack. The tanks have disappeared over the distant ridge. Some kicked up dust clouds are still visible. One panzer is in flames.

Crossing and descending the same ridge the panzers have been surprised by dug in 2 Pdr. AT guns and a squadron of Crusaders in the Pass itself. One AT gun was knocked out after it took out a DAK armoured car in the upper right.

RAF Hurricanes try to stop the panzers but it is up to....

A squadron of Crusaders trying to get closer. The 2 Pdrs. near you are out of range.

That's it lads! Come on and good hunting!

A Crusader on the left has been lost to 88 fire but the rest used cover and dust to escape more losses. The red dot toward the upper right is a point of light from a laser pointer. We use actual slopes and line of sight just as if we are outside. No conventions. LOS is real for us and fun. Usually our eyes are enough but occasionally we use a laser pointer.

This is the British rear directly behind the Pass and the Crusaders - on a back table. A squadron of Marmon Herringtons have retreated to the village. Looks like they will block the RHA 25 Pdrs. in front of them if they don't move out of the way soon. In the village are three Grant tanks, one of  which is out of action from the panzers on the ridge off screen to the upper left.
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CLOSING REMARKS
1. Game resumes 30 March 2010.
2. Try a table covering with almost anything underneath to simulate near real topography.
3. You can do this too.
4. Comments welcome below.
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Chapter 30: Battle At The Camp

Date: 16 October 1899
Time: Dawn as the sun rises in our photos.
Location: Entrance To The Secret Valley?
Situation: Battle For The Camp
Sirs, images enlarge when clicked.
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THE BATTLE FOR THE CAMP

Reviewing Chapters 28-29 will be beneficial. Suffice to say in the dark hours before dawn enemy horsemen are attempting a coup de main on the Imperial camp. Will they succeed? Find out as the sun illuminates more and more of the valley. We return now to Lt. Byron beside the Tower and....

Byron: "Form line here! Bring THAT gun up too, behind me. On the double!"

As the sun continues to rise, the first arriving Seaforths get into line whilst the 15 Pounder prolongs forward. Below the ridge men of the 1st Sikhs race out of camp to form line as well.

Why? Two bodies of enemy cavalrymen are heading for the camp to score a coup de main. The familiar Red Sash Horsemen lead followed by a strong reserve from the elite Household.

Here they come. Only one company of Sikhs has been able to form line. Meanwhile, Lt. Byron orders the formed Seaforths to the edge of the ridge joining the 15 pounder already there. Colonel Archibald Sinclair has arrived on the scene as more Highlanders form to his right.

The piquet line of Sikhs and two 2.5" guns of the 1st Indian Mountain Battery fire.

Ohhhh, WELL DONE Berkshires! They are formed and marching out to deploy at the back of the camp. General Pettygree, Colonel Blackeney and Correspondent Pearson observe the march. The other 15 pounder is just coming in to support the line.

The Sikh battle line fires but half the battalion closest to you is still disordered.

All available Seaforths line the ridge and fire. Sinclair peers into the enemy mass saying..."It's....

KHAN!" --- shouting new orders to his horsemen.

Who suddenly turn in the manner of Ancient Parthians to fire on the Imperials.

The two sides fire at each other.

As the Seaforths watch from above, the horsemen finish their 180 degree turn riding back from whence they came. Do they hope the Imperials will break ranks and pursue them to their doom?

This ruse de l'guerre fails to tempt the Sikhs. The mountain guns fire parting shots as the Berkshires turn toward the combat area. 

 Two Seaforth piquets are the last to engage the foe.

The horsemen abandon the field riding as fast as they can taking some of their wounded with them.

The turncoat Rajah of Bebara also decides to depart. The battle is over --- or --- is it?

The General has ridden forward to speak with Col. Buckingham of the 1st Sikhs and Major Mitchell.
Pettygree: "WELL DONE SIKHS!

Buckingham: "What was the point General?"

Pettygree: "It was a close run thing Colonel. Had your men not gotten into line I suspect the Tugs might have ridden your people down and ransacked the camp.

Mitchell: "They hoped for confusion and a coup de main. Had the Red Sash chaps gotten in, their Household Reserve might have been too much of a shock for us.

Pettygree: "Aye. Had they succeeded, I suspect the Berkshires would have had a prodigious mass of fugitives heading toward them; a very great trouble. We were lucky."

Mitchell: "True, but General, if KHAN is a student of the Parthians, then the rest of the enemy force awaits us back along our route of march. With the escarpment to our front and the Tugs in our rear, he may think we are trapped."
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CLOSING REMARKS
1. And now dear viewers we must even more seriously ponder the treachery of The Rajah of Bebara. It was he who led The Column into this valley blocked on one end by the sheer escarpment and on the other by his cunning associates. The pursuers have now become the pursued --- and --- they are trapped.

2. It was a matter of one turn that made the difference. As the Tugs closed, Buckingham ordered the line back. Only half the battalion previously had sufficient time to become ordered; the men arriving on the firing line first. Later arrivals were only scarcely in line when the retrograde order came in. They never had time to remove "disorder." When they fired, a -1D6 reduced their fire effectiveness.

3. As for KHAN'S plan, a 1D6 throw decided his final option at the last moment.
1, 2, 3, 6 = Parthian Shot. 4, 5 Charge home into the Sikhs. (The throw was 1)

4. Sikh Losses: 2x KIA and 1 wounded man taken to Dr. Watson.
5. 1st Mtn. Battery:  1x wounded man taken to Dr. Watson.

6. Red Sash Horsemen:
11x KIA, 9x wounded rode away, 7 wounded captured and 2 wounded recovered immediately.

7. Chapter 31 will appear in March.

8. Meanwhile, your remarks are welcome. Click on Comments below, if you please.
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Chapter 29: Lt. Gill Crosses The Rickety Bridge

Date: 15 October 1899
Time: Very Late Afternoon And Soon Tis Time To Make Camp
Specific Location: Entrance To The Secret Valley?
Situation: The Next Twelve Hours
Images Below Expand When Clicked. It's Good Form.
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LT. GILL CROSSES THE BRIDGE

Previously, A Troop 2/9th Bengal Lancers cautiously approached a rickety bridge crossing a deep chasm whilst Lt. Gill silently decided his next move. "A Troop will await the arrival of B Troop and then cross the rope bridge, one man at a time. I will go first and signal to confirm that the men may follow. Once across the bridge the troop will move to a position sheltering behind the palisade gate. B Troop will remain at the near bridgehead and provide covering fire if the enemy appears."

Lt. Gill: "All set then, Haidari?"

Jemadar [Lt.] Haidari: "Yes. Troop A is posted ahead with B close behind but you should not go first."

Gill: "I shall lead from the front - as always. -- Right. Off I go."

Gill: "Sowars [cavalrymen]! Load and cover me."

They do.

Will the rope bridge hold as Lt. Gill slowly moves ahead?

He makes it across.

Arrives at the palisade gate.

He tries the latch.

The first sowar is called across. On a 2D6 throw of double ones, the bridge will yield -- perhaps causing the lancer to shockingly fall into the abyss.

The next man starts to cross. He aims his carbine to save a second should a foe appear.

 The bridge continues to hold as more cross.

Jemadar Haidari and B Troop continue to provide support as ordered by the Ressaldar [Squadron Commander] Gill.

A Troop opens the first gate and presses on. No trouble is seen or heard.

They ascend the Gate House and survey the area. Nothing. All quiet. A small mercy to be sure. Indeed the Gate House is overgrown and appears unused for years.

A runner is sent back across to report all is clear. This news will reach General Pettygree within minutes. He is not far behind with other senior officers watching the progress of Ressaldar Gill's  dismounted lancers.

As a result several companies were later sent across the bridge, The Column encamped, sentries were posted, the men went about their various duties, the evening meal was made, night fell, most bedded down and we now arrive at....

THE NEXT MORNING JUST BEFORE SUNRISE

The Imperial Camp before sunrise. Seaforths guard the flank near the tower while a screen of 1st Sikhs guard the far edge of the camp. At the end of the valley a soft morning mist hovers above the distant shallow stream.

Shadows appear on the landscape. 

An unseen animal emerges from the mist, after a cool morning drink.

The Seaforths guarding the flank of the camp vigilantly go about their protective duties. Atop the tower a heliographer and his officer train perspective glasses out yonder.

Heliographer: "Sir, vedettes posted farthest out are not in sight and...."

Heliographer: "Horsemen are emerging from the mist."

Heliographer: "A lot of 'em Sir! Com'n this way an' increasing the pace!"

Standing a foot away Seaforth Captain Fraser remarks: "Aye. Tugs and our supposed ally, The Rajah of Bebara, is with them. Make no mistake, its treachery.  Bugler! Sound the alarm. "STAND TO!"

The bugle sounds while Captain Fraser rapidly bellows out orders.

Fraser: "BYRON! -- I SAY, Lt. Byron, get the laddies out of the tower and form up to give fire into the valley below. Sergeant Drummond. Dash down the hill and tell The General!"

Drummond: "Sah!" 

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Closing Remarks:

1. This is going to spoil breakfast.

2. Seaforths and tentage kindly on loan from the celebrated collection of Der Alte Fritz.

3. Gate House and Rickety Bridge are from Miniature Building Authority.

4. Your remarks are very welcome below.

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