Operation Battleaxe - Day 2 - The South Flank
16/6/41
On the 15/6/41 British forces in the Desert launched operation Battleaxe, a fine sounding name for a poorly executed operation. The British objective was to punch through the Axis forces on the Egyptian/Libyan border and relieve their besieged comrades in Tobruk
On the south flank was the 7th Armoured Division, whose striking force consisted of the 2nd RTR with a mixed bag of old cruisers and 6th RTR with a complement of the new Crusader tank. On day one these forces assaulted the German defences around Hafid ridge - and lost. The British tanks attacked piecemeal without any meaningful artillery and infantry support and were repulsed by what was basically a reinforced German company, though the panzers did arrive later
The British tanks took a fearful pounding and by day two were at roughly half strength. Their were grandiose plans to renew the attack the next day but the Germans beat them to it as 5 Leichte Division pushed east. A running battle evolved as the British tried to stem the German advance, now badly outnumbered and out fought by the veteran Germans.
We join the ongoing battle at 10am as the German forces approach the wire delineating the Libyan/Egyptian border.
Map and Order of Battle
German Deployment
I Abt 5 Pz Regiment and 3 Panzer Aufklärungs Abt are deployed in the box shown on the map delineated by pink hashed lines. The box extends from the table corner 24" along both table edges
Stab & II Abt (plus the 88's) 5 Pz Regt are a reinforcement for turn 6, they arrive on the table edge from point D to point C. Point C is half way along the edge.
No reinforcement can arrive within 18" and LOS of an un-demoralised enemy AFV stand. If entry is impossible, the reinforcements can enter a turn later up to 12" from their indicated entry location. If entry is still impossible move 12" further away every turn until entry is possible.
British Deployment
2nd RTR and 6th RTR are deployed in the areas indicated by the pink dashed lines. For the most part the westernmost line is 24" from the wire. Point C is halfway along the table edge
The Support Group and HQ 7th Armoured Brigade is deployed east of ridgeline AB.
3Tp B Sqn 11th Hussars may not start in the 2nd or 6th RTR's deployment zones and must start over 18" away from the nearest German stand
Terrain
The table is 5ft x 10ft if playing 1"=50m
Mostly open desert devoid of any cover
The brown dotted lines are ridgelines. They break LOS to stands over 6" away from the ridgeline. Any AFV stand within 6" gets hull down (-2 cover) vs fire which crosses the ridge and which is fired by stands over 6" from the ridge. Always measure to the nearest point on the ridge for both target and shooter not along the line of fire.
The grey dotted line is the border wire, this is a fairly impressive obstacle. Infantry can cross it but must start adjacent and spend an entire 2xBMA to do so. They will not clear a gap. Engineers are no faster at crossing but will create a gap. All vehicles will get tangled in the wire if they attempt a crossing
The marked gaps (45 and 46) are circa 4" wide
Air Support
Each side rolls d6 every turn. On a 6 they get a ground attack plane. A Stuka for the Germans and a Kittyhawk or Hurricane for the British
Special Rules
Game starts at 10am. The battle was oddly stilted and both sides had replenishment difficulties which slowed the tempo of the action. Turns are therefore 1 hour long rather than the usual 1/2 hour. The game lasts until turn 10.
Victory Conditions
For a German victory there must be no British tanks in good morale to the west of ridgeline AB. British tanks touching the crest do not count as being to the west of it. If the Germans fail the British win
The British commander can feel extra chuffed if he has tanks in good morale west of the wire
Good morale means not shaken and not demoralised
References
The primary reference for the game was Tank Combat in North Africa by T. Jentz
Additional info from the 11th Hussars war diary: http://www.warlinks.com/armour/11_hussars/index.html