Operation Torch Nov 1942 to June 1943

 More Unconditional Surrender, this time the Operation Torch scenario. This one has a relatively low unit count but uses a double sized map and is the longest scenario I've played so far, with no less than eight turns (months). 

All set up. The map stretches from Casablanca to Tripoli, but as with Third Reichs treatment of this area, there is only a narrow playable area along the coastal strip, which avoids silly outflanking via deep desert movement of large forces.

The Allies win by capturing every city in French North Africa, anything else is a win for the Axis. This one definitely requires reading some of the more obscure rules on naval landings, naval transport, port supply etc. The Allies can use a captured port as a supply source for two units (including air), while the Axis can only get Low Supply from a port. They can make a die roll to get up to full supply (50:50) as convoys battle their way through. Interestingly the low supply/unsupplied states mirror those I use in my own operational rules, PanzerGruppe.  

The control sheet, there are lots of special events and you will also notice some French will and production markers. As I liked the look of the counters, I went with the optional rule to make the Vichy French stand and fight, so they have to be conquered like any other minor power. I balanced this by using the Allied optional rule of giving them their Ultra and Free French events up front, rather than dicing for their turn of

their arrival.

Vichy has three units, two garrison armies and one field army. Their Will is five so I need to capture either three cities or two cities and destroy their field army to get them to surrender. I'm sure that wont present any problems.

The initial Allied force consists of 1st US Army (motorised) and 1st Canadian Army (Armour). The US get an air wing too, and the British get 9th Army, a garrison unit. Given the length of front, that is a lot of ground for three ground units! The US force is an interesting one, being motorised it gets more attacks in good weather. but lacking armour, although it does have a 'tanks' event, presumably to represent the brief but glorious life of 1st Armored Div.

Tunisia and Libya are interesting. 5th Panzer Army starts in Tunis but cannot activate on turn 1. The Axis airforce is permanently based in Sicily and counts as an air unit with four sorties used, so two sorties are available each turn. Its range reaches just west of Tunis, but not much further.

Equally 8th Army and DAK and lined are up ready to go, but don't enter the game and activate until February 1943, at which point Tripoli automatically becomes Allied controlled. The Africa Korps are already setup on the Mareth Line. Italian 1st Army also arrives in Feb 1943, rocking up at Gabes or Tunis. So this is very much a game of two halves, firstly the Allies clearing the coastal areas west of Tunis, and then the drive from east and west on Tunisia itself.

The Allies land in Oran and Algiers. One of the Vichy units is destroyed, the other retires eastwards with a step loss. I put the British into Oran and US into Algiers to get the air a bit closer to the front. The ground units go in first, then I sea transport the air unit in as it can stack. 9th Army will have to wait for more port capacity.

I am so used to attacking (Axis) player going first, that I played the first few turns the wrong way around!  The Axis should have gone first, which of course is why you cant activate 5th Panzer on the first turn. I noticed what I was doing after a bit and had to re-set some things, but you may notice some narrative inconsistencies.

The other thing is that the weather on the Mediterranean boards in winter is bad, really bad, which largely negates the Allied superiority in armour and airpower.

In December, more bad weather. 5th Panzer Army motors west to conduct a delaying action, but the Vichy French are doing an excellent job of holding up the Allies.

9th Army lands in Oran, while 1st Army and the US fruitlessly assault the French in the  Algerian mountains. The bad weather grounds the air, increases the MP cost of everything and only allows on attack per turn. What I should have done was send 1st Army back to clear Casablanca to force a French surrender, as at this rate Vichy is going to stop the Allies all on their own.

The French and 5th Panzer pull back a hex in January, and once more the Allies fruitlessly assault the French, just pushing them back one hex.

9th Army rocks up outside Casablanca but cant do much against the defended city in the bad weather.

Conscious that February is rapidly approaching, the French and Panzers pull back a bit more. The Allies are losing faster than the Axis are winning.

I take an executive decision that with Algiers and Oran occupied and Casablanca and Gabes now threatened, the French surrender. I've given myself too much of a task to do, and I don't want to reset the entire game back to the beginning.

That leaves the Allies to attack 5th Panzer directly, as they are on low supply this turn. Despite the weather being 'severe' (the worst possible), they manage to push the Germans back.

In the south, 8th Army now activates and assaults the Mareth Line, but the torrential rainstorms preclude any success and Rommel beats them off. Tripoli is now Allied controlled though, and supplies 8th Army and the Desert Airforce.

In their turn the Germans had to fall back as 1st Allied Army had enough movement to slip around the mountains and encircle them. 5th Panzer falls back to Tunis, while 1st Italian Army moves into the mountains to hold the centre.

As we roll into March, the weather improves slightly and 8th Army attacks Mareth again with air support, but bounces off again.  1st Army attacks 1st Italian Army and the US pursue the Germans taking a long odds shot at Tunis which duly fails. The Italians repel the British too. 

The exposed US Army is now 'Kasserined' by Italian 1st Army, the only Axis unit in full supply in April. I would have done it with the Panzers, but they are on low supply. The US are surrounded by ZOC and the Italians throw in their 'tanks' event. Both sides commit their airforces and the US uses its Ultra advantage. The US are very fortunate to defeat the attack, as a loss could have severely weakened or even destroyed the US as it is unable to retreat.

Montgomery finally defeats the DAK, pushing them back to Gabes with loss. As Tom Hanks might say "That guy is overrated".

The Allies now have a strategic choice, relieve 1st US Army or open up the south. Exploiting success 1st British Army moves through the mountains to attack DAK in the rear as it retreats, this also isolates Italian 1st Army.

DAK, surrounded and out of supplies, surrenders. All the Axis can do now is hang on. 9th Army has meanwhile reappeared after a lengthy road march from Casablanca and opens up a supply route to the US Army. I completely forgot about the strategic movement rule which would have moved it rather quicker! 

In June the first clear weather of the game opens up the map to mobile warfare, 8th Army storms north supported by the Desert Airforce to attack Tunis and manages to take a step off 5th Panzer Army. The US now join the fight and both sides throw in everything they've got - planes, tanks, special events. I assume the German 'tanks' are the Tiger battalion. 

The Germans are weakened, isolated and at reduced strength and finally succumb. Tunis falls.

The Allies now occupy all cities on the map. In July the remaining Italians are on low supply but not completely cut off. Algiers is open to attack, but due to Allied ZOC the Italians would have to detour through the mountains and can't quite retake the city.  

 

As it is impossible for the Axis to win now, I call it there with an Allied victory. Just in time to invade Sicily, but that is a whole other game.

I really enjoyed that, despite making a number of mistakes. It took a while to play so I didn't try it again, but it gave me a good feel for Allied offensive operations. I suspect that is also a good tryout for the Italian campaign, which also features narrow fronts, rugged terrain and dreadful weather in winter. I'd like to try that again but feel I need to move onto Italy as the next logical step. It was good to have the Axis on the defensive for a change, and the game was completely transformed in a couple of turns very late in the day by the sun putting in an appearance. Great stuff.

Joy of Six 2026

 Made it to Joy of Six this year, and for once it doesn't clash with COW. WD Display Team (North) put on 633 Squadron, and as I've missed every other run of it this year, I was glad to be able to help out. The venue is close to where I live, so a short 25 minute walk into town. 

The welcome team at the entrance. I encountered a couple of slightly lost people who were obviously wargamers wandering the streets of Sheffield on the way and directed them to the venue. The Sheffield Hallam campus is quite  big and confusing.

Getting one of the halls ready. This show is very different to eg Partisan as it is mainly games with just a few traders.

Very quick Battle of Lens. Huge bases with lots and lots of figures on each, the Baccus demo/participation game. 

Operation Daquet, 1991. The French participation in Gulf War One in 1991. That feels a very, very long time ago now and rather exciting at the time.

I spent an awful lot of time peering at the NATO toys trying to work out what they were before I actually read the game blurb which explained they were French!

Battle of Santiago de Cuba. The Spanish were run by the umpires while the players took the US fleet.

This one was very clever 'Urban Warfare through the Ages' with three boards set up adjacent each covering city combat in different eras.

This lovely Norman era table was set up near the WD stand. I cant remember which battle it was, but the terrain just looked amazing although it was a simple furry cloth over some hills with various bits of scatter terrain.

Sheffield and Rotherham Wargamers put on this rather grand sci fi game.

A beautiful city and some Mechs. I think this stuff is mostly Brigade Models?

The troops line up for battle.

This was also near our table, Gaines Mill (ACW) participation.

The troops deployed, the Union are heavily outnumbered and defending so the players (generally) took the Confederates.

South London Warlords put on this fabulous Marne 1914 game.

The French artillery deployed to confound the Boche.

Froeschwiller/Worth. Another lovely table, custom made this time. It reminded me of Bruce Weigles setups for '1870' (he came to Triples some years ago and put on some games there).

Unlike "1870", the troops are on quite  big bases. These are just skirmish formations, everything else is out of sight for now.

Richard Crawley/Cold war Commanders Calais 1940 game. I just love the custom French style place signs. The scenario is from the Tac:WW2 Blitzkrieg scenario book, I helped playtest a couple of them with Richard.

The toys all laid out on OB sheets. Elements are platoons and manouvre units companies and battalions, rather like Command Decision. iirc 3rd RTR vs 1st Panzer Division outside Calais.

If you look carefully you can see flames and smoke coming out of the German engineers flamethrowers. Figures and vehicles a mix of Heroics and Scotia.

The Ilkley Irregulars put on Borodino using Bloody Big Battles. One of the Tuesday Irregulars (Tim C) played this. Like the the real thing, a rather bloody slog!

Greek City State warfare.

The Battles with MDF team put on a huge demonstration of their 6mm MDF figures, which look very grand en masse.

More of a close up. They do look a bit wooden (sorry!) close up, but to my mind I actually prefer the look of these to the very artificial looking Epic strips which are shoulder-shoulder.

It was only fairly late in the day that I discovered another entire room full of games and stands.

Baccus, as main sponsors of the show, had a huge stand, as well as running the raffle and doing basing demonstrations.

Rapier Miniatures were in attendance and it gave me a chance to have a really good look at their stuff close up. Lovely figures, excellent value for money but very much epic scale '6mm', similar in size and proportions to Baccus. They still have printed catalogues though, which get a big thumbs up from me.

The WD stand for 633 Squadron.

All set up and ready to go. This is the highly portable version of the game using a 1/300th Mosquito. John managed to bring all this down in his rucksack. I added my RAF Officers side cap for period colour.

We managed to run the game 24 times during the day, it was busy in the morning and late afternoon with a bit of a lull around lunchtime.

The bombers reach their target. 23 of 24 missions were successful (the failed one needed anything but a '1' for his last plane and duly rolled disastrously). One very skilful/lucky pilot managed to reach the target with all nine aircraft! That had never happened before. 

I managed to not spend any money on toys during the day at all, although there are some manufacturers whose websites I will be visiting. I need some more 6mm aircraft and I feel a distinct lack of armoured trains... Despite that I came away with a 2mm Mosque (thank you Richard C), a pack of paint pens (thank you John A) and half a dozen dice (thank you South London Warlords and congratulations on the VC).

That was a geat show, nice to be back again. As I said earlier it has a very different vibe to Partisan, Fiasco etc and well worth a trip if you fancy something a bit different for a change.

 

Panzer Replacements - HQ Company

 Next up for the new 15mm early war German armour is the replacement panzer 'battalion HQ company', as before, all the models are from battlefield 3D.

A recce Panzer II and a command Panzer III.

This is a Pz IIIe command tank with a bedrail aerial. I've wanted one of these for years and even contemplated trying to convert one, but coming up with a workable design for the aerial (in 0.5mm brass) defeated me. This one is based on the Pz IIIe model I showed in a previous post, but has the turret moulded in place. The aerial is quite fine so I stiffened it up with some PVA. Otherwise, the tracks are separate.

I went for an open hatch option (much easier than trying to cut down the Zvezda cupolas and adding hatch covers!) as it is a command tank, and loaded up the rear deck with stowage - some cases and an oil drum, all Skytrex. Loading the deck up seems to have been a popular past-time with command tanks.

I gave it HQ markings in red and white but didn't bother with balkan crosses as they are virtually inaccessible behind the  additional aerial rails (beautifully printed as always on a resin 3D print with nice separation). If you look carefully you can see that even the grab handles on the turret top have gaps under them.

I did this in grey/brown camo based on the famous colour photo of one of these crossing a river in Russia in 1941, you can see bits of the camo on the mudguards etc. I expect it will get used as a normal gun tank in early war games, and it can join my very old SDD Panzerbefehlswagen 1 as a dedicated command vehicle as required. 

The 'recce platoon' is a Panzer IIa, and what a beautiful little model it is. A two piece print, hull+turret. The 20mm cannon is a fair bit smaller than on the II F, I wonder if it was just mounted differently with more of the weapon inside the turret, or if it really was shorter?

It is a fair bit smaller than the Pz II F, and from the back looks more like a Panzer I. I did this one in grey/brown too and for both vehicles did pinwashes on some of the details after the main paint job.

You can see the lovely track and other detail on the side. It has a very pre-war feel to it, the Pz II F looks far more modern. It reminds me a bit of a Renault 35. As the hull sides are so low it was common to put all the markings on the turret, so I put the crosses and turret numbers on there. Strictly it should be a solid cross for a very early vehicle, but I don't have any solid decals and I didn't fancy painting them.  

Here it is next to one of my (QRF) Panzer Is, you can see how small the Pz IIa is but still a bit bigger than the Pz 1. Having done these new vehicles I'm minded to go over the Panzer Is again with a new paint job. I'm not planning on replacing those at the moment.