Operation Crusader, November 1941

 My 15mm desert project has progressed with a vague eye towards some of the larger battles of the desert war (Compass, Crusader, Gazala, Alam Halfa, Alamein etc) to be conducted at an operational level. I finally got around to organising another large Megablitz Game at Tapton, this time covering Operation Crusader in 1941. The elements are battalions, the formations Divisions and Corps with some independant brigades and regiments floating around.

The general lie of the land. This is a big game so I split it between two tables.

Northern half of the battlefield.

And the southern half.

The ground scale is 1" = 1km, so each map square is 12km across and the tables are 10 feet x 5 feet. I had to squash up the ground a bit to get Tobruk in (the desert is BIG) but it is a reasonable representation of the ground. The escarpment runs along the south of the coast road. There is obviously quite a lot going on in the northern map, but I added the various Birs etc in the south the break up the otherwise featureless terrain. I could have added the desert tracks but didn't bother, the crossroads  at the tiny settlements were the obvious features irl.

Units can move between the tables, but it takes a full turn to do so.

Sidi Omar, Halfaya Pass and Bardia are heavily fortified and protected by minefields. I just put Tobruk on representationally as I didn't model the four Italian Divisions besieging it, nor the embryonic 90th Light Div. apart from Regiment 361.

The German OB and setup was pretty much as follows:

In the east Savona, reinforced with KG Bach, 300 Oasis Bn etc held Halfaya and Sidi Omar, while another Brigade held Bardia. These units were reinforced with artillery, Flak etc and had enough dumped supplies to keep them at low supply indefinately.

DAK was concentrated laong the coast road, 21st Panzer between Bardia and Gambut, and 15th Panzer west of Gambut. One of 15th Panzers battalions had been detached to Halfaya. I did represent Afrika Regiment 361 around Sidi Rezegh, as it took part in the fighting. DAK HQ was concentrated around the major supply dumpy at Gambut.

Chris Kemp took on the role of Rommel, Andrew had 15th Panzer, Pete 21st Panzer and Stephen took Savona and RECAM to the south. Both Panzer Divisions recce battalions were deployed in a screen along the Egyptian border.

The south was the province of Tims XX Italian Motorised Corps. This comprised Ariete (Diego) at Bir El Gubi, RECAM (Stephen) at Gabr Saleh and Trieste (Lloyd) in reserve at Bir Hacheim. I had to stretch the map a bit to get Bir Hacheim in. Lloyd was going to be late so would be committed once he arrived.

The 3 and 33rd Recce Battalions were deployed along the border between Sidi Omar and Fort Maddalena, as was RECAMs armoured car company.

The Luftwaffe and Reggia Aeronautica were also present with airfields hosting wings of SM79 bombers, Stukas, Me109s, Gr50s and Maachi fighters.

The Commonwealth deployed an impressive armada against the Axis.

In the north, XIII Corps (John) deployed 4th Indian Division (Phil) along the coast and 2nd New Zealand Div (Simon) against the frontier defences. John also had 1st Army Tank Brigade and Medium Artillery Regiments available for support.

Over in the desert XXX Corps (Tom) deployed 7th Armoured Div (Dave) and 1st South African Div (Bish) plus 22nd Guards Brigade and 4th Armoured Brigade. XIII Corps had been stripped of transport to fully motorise 1st SA Div. With three tank and four motorised infantry brigades, XXX Corps was the equivalent of three armoured divisions, an imposing force. I deliberately split away 4th AB as that was Cunninghams original intention, and irl 7th AD managed to scatter its remaining two armoured brigades across the desert too.

The RAF was also present with wings of B25, B26, Kittyhawks, Hurricanes, Spitfires and recce Spitfires. The major Commonwealth supply dump was at the end of the  light railway constructed into the open desert.

This game took quite a lot of prep, partly because I had to make up all the formations from various scattered boxes of toys as I don't store them as Megablitz type formations. I also had to make some extra bits of terrain, flight stands, test the terrain setup etc, but the main thing was getting it all organised as marshalling a dozen players is no easy task, wargamers being akin to herds of cats. Many thanks to Tim  with his help in setting things up, and the Corps commanders in looking after their player teams.

As I was quite busy on the day, I didn't have time to take loads of photos, but I did take some which follow the broad flow of action. In such a large game, as Wellington noted, one might as well describe a ball as a battle.

The northern table. XIII Corps in the foreground. Each division has three infantry brigades, div artillery, engineers, HQ, supply etc. They don't have any extra infantry transport as 1st SA has it all. 2nd NZ has a Divisional Cavalry Regiment with light tanks and carriers, while 4th Indian has (unusually) its divisional recce regiment configured as Motor Rifle Battalion, which I put in India Pattern carriers. 1st ATB is the bottom right, two Regiments of Matildas and one of Valentines.

The big grey oblongs in the distance are blinds, which may, or may not be, Panzer Divisions. One of the Commonwealth objectives was to find and destroy the German Panzer Regiments.

The southern desert from the east. 4th Armoured Brigade on the right with XXX Corps HQ behind, then 7th Armoured Div to left, 1st SA is off camera. The German recce screen is dimly visible in the distance, as is Rommel looking thoughtful.

The Italian units are deployed on table, I couldn't be doing with having them hidden too. Possibly in a smaller game.

Closer view of XIII Corps.

Closer view of the Halfaya/Sidi Omar position. Six Italian and two German battalions, plus artillery, 88s etc. Bardia is the small enclave on the coast.

DAK HQ, including medical and repair units (my converted Bergepanzer III). Chris had brought his own personal Fiesler Storch and Grief command halftrack!

Trieste at Bir Hacheim. Three motorised Regiments, plus artillery, engineers etc.

Ariete at Bir El Gubi, 3 x battalions of M13s and one of L3s plus its Bersaglieri Regiment on motorcycles. Inevitably it has a battalion of SP heavy AA guns on lorries.

XXX Corps HQ and 4th Armoured Brigade. I configured 4th AB as an independant unit, although in theory it was part of 7th AD. It has an integral Motor Battalion (from 22 Gaurds Bde),plus LOG, HQ, Recce Squadron etc. plus 3 x Regiments of Stuarts.

The Corps HQ has a Dorchester ACV, Ambulances, Repair column and a couple more supply columns.

7th AD, which has two armoured brigades with six Regiments of Cruisers, although some of 7th Armoured Brigades tanks are rather old.... 22nd AB has shiny new Crusaders, but sadly, shiny new crews too. 7th Support Group has two Motor Battalions, AT, Artillery and Engineer Regiments.

1st SA is on the left, two motorised Infantry Brigades, and 22 Guards Brigade behind with two motor battalions in carriers and a combined Artillery/AT Regiment.

The Bardia Garrison, attached to Savona, Chris had kindly brought his Landwasserschlepper (yes, DAK did have some of these), but floating in the sea seemed to be the best place for it.

Dawn on 18th November. 7th AD starts rolling forwards. The XXX Corps plan was quite straightforward, clear and secure the desert flank, then swing north and relieve Tobruk via Sidi Rezegh.

4th Indian commenced a formal assault in Halfaya Pass, supported by 1st ATB, all the Corps artillery and the RAF. This was a hideously bloody struggle through the minefields and strong defences.

While 4th Indian pinning the defenders frontally, 2nd NZ worked around the flank. Marching infantry in the desert are quite slow, made slower as much of the approach was executed in tactical mode, rather than marching along with a recce screen in front.

By the 19th, things got fairly exciting out in the desert. 4th AB took on RECAM and Ariete on its own! Although 22nd Guards later turned up to help. Meanwhile 7th AD continued its stately progress across the desert.

The force ratios were not in favour of the British, and 4th AB was hammered, losing most of its tanks, and 22 Guards also suffered heavy losses. I'm not sure what the British were hoping to achieve with this, reconnaissance in force?

Back at Halfaya, both sides threw in the kitchen sink. All the planes turned up for this particular round of fighting. The weather was generally good, but occasionally there were torrential storms which grounded all the planes. Tim had helpfully printed out a load of sticky backed medals and was handing them out by the plateful to the various plucky Italian commanders.

Having cleared Gabr Saleh, 7th AD turned north towards Ariete and 4th AB. 1st SA continued to march across the desert towards Bir El Gubi. 7th AD was admirably avoiding the temptation to split its brigades up, unlike real life.

At Halfaya, 4th Indian finally broke through with hideous losses. 2nd NZ meanwhile assaulted the defences at Sidi Omar, which were more lightly held than further north. 1st ATB fanned out and began attacking the Italian AA and Artillery positions. However, eagle eyed readers will notice 15th Panzer Division has just revealed itself at Fort Capuzzo! I'm surprised DAK was split up like this, but 'Rommel' does discuss his strategic decision on his blog (Not Quite Mechanised).

Rommel was actually commanding the entire Axis, whereas the British Corps were each fighting largely independent battles, much as I'd envisaged.

2nd NZ Div at Sidi Omar, the green counter is a breach in the minefield. There were only two weak Italian battalions in this sector and they didn't stand much chance, although the New Zealanders took losses fighting through the fortifications.

Meanwhile 21st Panzer is engaging 7th AD and the monumental struggle between 4AB, 22 Guards and Ariete continues. 21st Panzer had made an epic march across both the tables to get here. On its own 21st Panzer and 7th AD are fairly evenly matched, although the Germans benefit from better combined arms tactics. To decisively beat the British, it needed both Panzer Divisions in action.

Ariete vs 4AB and 22 Guards are also fairly evenly matched, so there are going to be a lot of heavy casualties on both sides.

View from the rear echelons of 21st Panzer. It has reclaimed its Recce units now. They very wisely fell back in the face of the massive armoured battle. 4th AB and 22 Guards have broken off from Ariete now, with most of their units reduced to 0SP. IRL it was 22 AB which got a bloody nose from the Italians. Ariete may not have great kit, but their crews were German trained, and it has the full gamut of divisional services, unlike 4AB, which at the end of the day is just one Armoured Brigade.

Ariete dug in (Static Mode, indicated by the S order chit), victorious over the British Armour. Diego got lots of medals for that one.

Meanwhile 4AB and 2 Guards are in full retreat, having taken a right pasting. If only Ariete could help 21st Panzer.

All the infantry and armour replacements went to 7th AD to maintain the fight with 21st Panzer, leaving 22AB to wander the desert chasing possible enemy troop concentrations, This one turned out to be a dummy,  

Meanwhile 2nd New Zealand mopped up Sidi Omar, and 4th Indian ran slap bang into 15th Panzer Divisions counterattack. Lots of planes came out to play while the weather was good. The remains of Savona occupied the trench lines to the west and fortified Fort Capuzzo.

Rommel mounts his 'Dash to the Wire' ! I think this is around the 20th November? 21st Panzer, Ariete and Trieste fell back to the northern board having crippled 4AB and delayed 7AD and 1st SA. They then drove aggressively as far east as the Egyptian border. This prompted 2nd New Zealand to hurriedly take up defensive positions around Sidi Omar. Rommel can be seen supervising operations from his Storch.

Unfortunately for the Germans, 15th Panzers counterattack at Halfaya failed - it was defeated at great cost to 4th Indian, and the Indians with their supporting Matildas resumed the advance past the burning Panzers. 15th Panzer was reduced to a mere rump, which fell back to Fort Capuzzo.

Faced with this catastrophe, the rest of  DAK turned around and fell back away from the frontier.

21st Panzer, Ariete and Trieste formed a line from Fort Capuzzo across the the area in front of Sidi Rezegh. 7th Armoured and 1st SA came storming north, and the Axis troops fell back slowly before them, avoiding contact. The Indians and New Zealanders were still sorting themselves out in the Halfaya/Sidi Omar box. The western flank was held by the remains of Savona and 15th Panzer, while the Bardia Garrison blocked the coast road south of Bardia. 

Eventually the Axis had to stand and fight. Ariete and Trieste took the brunt of the Commonwealth attack, which raged through the afternoon of the 20th and into the 21st. All the planes came out to play, but curiously the Commonwealth completely avoided 21st Panzer.

After 24 hours of intense combat, Ariete had finally had enough and retired towards Gambut. 7th AD advanced to the escarpment east of Sidi Rezegh but was delayed by the bad ground. In front of Sidi Rezegh, Trieste was still fighting furiously against 1st SA, and the British even threw in a (slightly) revived 4th AB, but South African Marmon Herringtons were already probing the tomb itself and Triestes flanks were in the air.

Finally the whole of Panzergruppe Afrika was motoring along the coast road and Axis Bypass heading westwards while the exhausted XXX Corps looked on from the escarpment and Sidi Rezegh.

On the frontier the New Zealanders cleared the last trenches around. Sidi Omar, and the Indians took Fort Capuzzo and just Bardia was left occupied by the Axis. The Siege of Tobruk was over!!

Blimey, that was a busy day! Great fun though, and huge thanks to all the people who helped and took part, some of whom had never played a game of this magnitude before. I'm delighted we achieved a vaguely historical result, albeit with a certain element of time compression. The players picked up the game fairly quickly, and after a few turns was essentially running itself with only occasional umpire intervention required. The main thing was keeping everyone coordinated so the turns didn't get out of synch.

A few things for future consideration - I forgot to emphasise that you can't switch from all Modes to all others (eg from Assault to Static), it does actually make quite a big difference to game play. I also need to figure out how to streamline the logistics at a more strategic level, I'm minded to borrow some of the mechanism from my 'Panzergruppe' rules, as in a big game like this there is a bit too much bean counting. Some of the combats took an age to resolve as  some players struggle with counting out lots of dice and interpreting the results. That is always an issue with buckets of dice combat systems, and I haven't got a solution for that except to use a completely different combat mechanism, in which case you are playing a different game. On the whole though it rattled along very well and we got through five entire days of combat and a conclusion in plenty of time to pack up for tea and buns.