Allied Corps - British only at FM then at Eisenhower

[Cerberus51]

After US Corps I seem to have got the AAR bug (not as badly as goose_2 though ) so have decided to do one for Allied Corps, British units only, starting in 1940. I have played this campaign before so this is not a blind playthrough, however it is the first time I have attempted a campaign at Field Marshal difficulty. I will be playing with dice chess on. I haven't got my head around video so it will be replay files and turn by turn descriptions.

[Cerberus51]

BORDER RAIDS

200pp

11 June 1940. Given command of 2 squadrons of armoured cars and a light tank unit and ordered to cross the border and destroy Italian supply convoys.

0800 Damaged first convoy and destroyed second. Spotted supply dump near oasis. Finished off damaged convoy.

0900 Destroyed third convoy and attacked supply dump.

1000 Damaged 2 convoys and destroyed supply dump. Spotted enemy unit of armoured cars.

1100 Destroyed fourth and fifth convoys, damaged another. 1st Recon repulsed attack by enemy armoured cars.

1200 Destroyed sixth and seventh convoys and armoured cars.

1300 Destroyed eighth convoy.

1400 destroyed ninth and final convoy.

300pp

[goose_2]

[quote="Cerberus51"]After US Corps I seem to have got the AAR bug (not as badly as goose_2 though ) quote]

yet.

It can be quite addicting.
I did a quick run through of Allied Corps British only on Colonel level to achieve those particular steam achievements.
I never did an AAR of that as it was a quick playthrough.
Blessings on your endeavors

[Cerberus51]

FORT CAPUZZO

900pp

14 June 1940. Received orders to capture Fort Capuzzo. This will require infantry so requisitioned two infantry units with Bren carriers and a unit of 25 pdr artillery.

0800 Destroyed infantry unit guarding the road past the fort and advanced on the SW objective. Recon shows this to be defended by 2 infantry units.

0900 Destroyed infantry unit, discovered supply dump within the fort.

1000 Destroyed second infantry unit and captured SW objective. Destroyed supply dump.

1100 Moved into position for attack on NW objective.

1200 Destroyed 75mm artillery protecting NW objective. Spotted two supply dumps in eastern part of fort.

1300 Commenced assault on NW objective.

1400 Destroyed infantry unit and captured NW objective. British infantry attacked Italian 47mm AT guarding central objective, armoured cars destroyed a supply dump.

1500 Destroyed AT guns, captured central objective and destroyed final supply dump.

1600 Attacked 75mm artillery near SE objective. Other British units moving into position.

1700 Destroyed artillery.

1800 Attacked infantry near SE objective. Italians well dug in and caused casualties to attacking force.

1900 Destroyed infantry. Only one Italian infantry unit remains but they are heavily entrenched.

2000-2200 Artillery bombardment of Italian positions followed by attack. Italians eliminated and objective captured. Fort Capuzzo now completely in British hands.

608pp

[captainjack]

I did an all British play through recently using a custom level (General with slightly restricted prestige and soft cap off). It was good fun and went quite well.
It will be interesting to see how your challenge differs from mine.

[Cerberus51]

I did an all British play through recently using a custom level (General with slightly restricted prestige and soft cap off). It was good fun and went quite well.
It will be interesting to see how your challenge differs from mine.

I have played before, at General, and found the campaign mostly quite easy with some more demanding scenarios. Prestige seemed fairly generous. I actually started a playthrough at Montgomery but stopped when I found it made early prestige so tight I could not afford a second infantry unit for Fort Capuzzo. It is still something I would like to do though.

I am playing at the default Field Marshal settings with soft cap on. I will only purchase British units and if given any US SE units will reload. Expect to see a lot of Churchill tanks.

[Cerberus51]

BATTLE OF GIRBA

2108pp

16 June 1940. Upgraded 3rd Tank to Cruiser MK I, requisitioned Cruiser MK I and 25 pdr.

0800 Destroyed 3 tanks - the Italian L3/35 is no match for the Cruiser MK I.

0900 Destroyed 3 tanks.

1000 Destroyed 2 tanks.

1100 Resupplied.

1200 Orders to push up the road. Destroyed 2 tanks and began advance.

1300 Spotted infantry backed by 75mm artillery, sent tank and recon units to flank Italian position and eliminate artillery. Destroyed one tank.

1400 Damaged both artillery. Spotted more enemy units.

1500 Destroyed tank and artillery.

1600 Destroyed 3 infantry and an artillery.

1700 Destroyed several enemy units.

1800 Destroyed infantry. Italian force completely eliminated.

1206pp

[Cerberus51]

ITALIAN OFFENSIVE

1606pp

13 September 1940. Requisitioned Hurricane squadron.

0800 Orders to hold initial positions. Destroyed recon.

1100 Some damage from Italian artillery and infantry attacks. Assigned a Hurricane squadron.

1400 Ordered to new positions near Buq Buq. Destroyed infantry.

1700 Destroyed recon and shot down CR 42. Took replacements.

14 September.

0800 BA 65 attacked tank. Destroyed infantry and shot down BA 65.

1100 Orders to hold positions. Forced surrender of one infantry and destroyed a second.

1400 Destroyed two L3/35.

1700 Came under naval gunfire and air attack. Ordered to new position west of Alam el Deb. Forced surrender of one infantry and destroyed a second.

15 September.

0800 No action.

1100 HMS Liverpool engaged Italian cruiser San Giorgio.

1400 Italian medium tank sighted. 3rd Tank gained D+2 hero.

1700 Orders to hold position. Destroyed CR 42 and recon.

16 September.

0800 Sank San Giorgio. Forced surrender of M11/39.

1100 Ordered to new positions in front of Sidi Barrani. Forced surrender of M11/39 and infantry.

1400 Destroyed CR 42.

1700 Destroyed L3/35.

17 September.

0800 Forced surrender of one L3/35 and destroyed two more.

1100 Orders to hold position. Forced surrender of M11/39, destroyed L3/35.

1400 Orders to evacuate all units. Forced surrender of M11/39, destroyed L3/35. Successfully evacuated all units.

2082pp. This scenario is notable for the many opportunities to force surrenders as the Italian units quickly outrun their artillery and press up against the successive British defensive positions leaving their front line units no room to retreat.

[Cerberus51]

TARANTO RAID

2432pp

11 November 1940. What am I doing here? I'm a general, not an admiral. Still, if Mr Churchill wants me to command this operation I am not inclined to argue, that is a quick way to commanding a supply depot on the Hebrides. Prior photo reconnaissance has located 6 battleships at various moorings around Taranto harbour (I found a note of their map locations from a previous playthrough).

0800 Attacked Vittorio Veneto and Littorio.

1000 Second wave of Swordfish arrived.

1200 Third wave of Swordfish arrived. Attacked Guilio Cesare and Andrea Doria in the inner harbour. Second attacks on Vittorio Veneto and Littorio. Shot down CR42.

1400 Sank Guilio Cesare and Andrea Doria. Attacked Conti di Cavour.

1600 Combats with CR42's.

1800 Shot down CR42. Sank Vittorio Veneto.

12 November.

0800 Shot down CR42. Attacked Caio Duilio. Sank Littorio.

1000 Attacked Caio Duilio and Conti di Cavour.

1200 Sank Caio Duilio and Conti di Cavour. 6/6.

2352pp

I make no apology for prior knowledge of where the targets are. Historically the attack was based on very detailed photo reconnaissance and without the information it would be quite easy to fly round the harbour under fire from fighters and AA until you find a target.

[Cerberus51]

SIDI BARRANI

3052pp

9 December 1940. Requisitioned Beaufighter and upgraded both infantry to Engineers, both artillery to 6" and both tanks to Mk IV.

Split into two equal groups and began attack on the coastal road and southern fortification VH's.

10 Dec. Sandstorm. Captured coastal road fortification, forced surrender of 105mm artillery near southern fortification.

11 Dec. Captured southern fortification, destroyed 75mm artillery near central fortification. Italian counterattacks damaged a recon and an engineer.

12 Dec. Shot down CR42. 7th Tank gained A+2 hero. Destroyed infantry, AB40, 47mm AT and M11/39.

13 Dec. Attacked central fortification. Damaged Italian light cruiser.

14 Dec. Shot down BA65. Captured central fortification. Destroyed 105mm art and 47mm AT and captured airfield near Sidi Barrani.

15 Dec. Sank light cruiser. Destroyed Bersaglieri and captured Sidi Barrani.

16 Dec. Forced surrender of two L3/35's near Buq Buq. Sent aux engineers towards Sofafi. Re2000 damaged tank.

17 Dec. Shot down Re2000 and destroyed M11/40.

18 Dec. Destroyed infantry in Buq Buq and captured airfield. Will hold off occupying Buq Buq until capture of Sofafi. Sent artillery to take up positions north of the escarpment from which they can bombard the Italian units near Sofafi.

19 Dec. Broke through minefield immediately south of escarpment and destroyed 75mm artillery.

20 Dec. Destroyed L3/35. Began bombardment of Sofafi.

21 Dec. Drove Bersaglieri out of Sofafi, occupied the town and destroyed Bersaglieri. Occupied Buq Buq.

Triumph 2457pp.

[Cerberus51]

That completes the easy scenarios of the 1940 tutorial section of the campaign. The next two, Bardia and Beda Fomm, offer a bit more of a challenge before Crete, the first "interesting" scenario. So far it has really been about developing a core army and maximising prestige (which is why I have been trying for surrenders whenever possible).

SE units are now possible and I am really hoping for a Spitfire soon as without one Crete is more challenging.

[Cerberus51]

BARDIA

3957pp

5 January 1941. Purchased Matilda II. Plan is to attack in one place, directly towards the centre outer VH so minimising the number of minefields and strongpoints that have to be dealt with.

0800 Destroyed 2 strongpoints. Pushed artillery forward in transport which was attacked by a L3/35 for 5 damage. Had not expected that level of aggression.

0900 Destroyed L3/35.

1000 Destroyed 2 minefields and 47mm AT. 5th Infantry gained D+1 hero.

1100 Sank destroyer, destroyed fort, infantry and L3/35. Occupied centre outer VH.

1200 Damaged AA, fort and infantry. Occupied southern outer VH.

1300 No significant action.

1400 Destroyed 47mm AT.

1500 Destroyed M11/39 and L3/35. Occupied northern outer VH.

1600 Destroyed infantry and fort.

6 January.

0800 Destroyed AA.

0900 Destroyed Bersaglieri and 105mm artillery. 9th Fighter gained A+1 hero.

1000 Destroyed strongpoint on Bardia airfield. Occupied NW Bardia. Italian attacks reduced aux engineer to 1 str!

1100 Occupied Bardia airfield.

1200 Destroyed fort.

1300 Destroyed Bersaglieri. Occupied Bardia port.

Triumph 3377pp.

Took more damage then I would like simply due to the number of forts surrounding Bardia.

[Cerberus51]

Decisions, decisions?

I have to make some fairly important decisions regarding purchases and upgrades over the coming scenarios, a couple of the choices I am uncertain about. So if anyone has thoughts about the following please feel free to comment.

I am not purchasing or upgrading anything for Beda Fomm. I received a SE SAS unit which I have upgraded to a Commando. Not the Spitfire I was hoping for but it does give me a late war infantry unit (with significant hard attack) in 1941 rather than 1943.

Crete/Crusader/Cauldron

Infantry - I do not plan any upgrades or purchases of infantry at the moment. I intend to buy a third engineer eventually, unless I get another SE SAS/Commando in which case I will look to buy a fighter instead.

Tanks - I will purchase a second Matilda II for Crete. Parking Matildas on the centre and eastern airfields makes them very difficult for the Germans to take. I plan to upgrade and purchase tanks for Crusader so I have 6 Churchill II's. They are somewhat OP but British self propelled artillery isn't that good so their tanks have to do more of the heavy lifting compared to other armies.

Recon - I intend to upgrade both armoured cars to Humber AC for Crete. The slightly better Daimler AC becomes available at Cauldron. I would be interested to know if anyone thinks the LRDG unit is a viable choice.

Artillery - This I am unsure of. I currently have two 6" with a rate of fire of 80%. The 7.2" becomes available at Crusader with higher attack values but a RoF of only 70%. Later the 5.5" becomes available with lower attack values than the 6" but a RoF of 90%. Just to complicate the issue the M7 Priest becomes available at Cauldron and I intend to buy 2 or 3 and bench my towed artillery until later in the campaign. I have no interest in any of the British range 2 artillery and will not be buying US units so what to do?

AA/AT - I have no intention of buying AA or AT units.

Fighters - Fairly straightforward. Upgrade both Hurricanes to Spitfire VB at Crete, go with Spitfire family upgrades and eventually have to decide Tempest or Meteor.

Tac Bombers - I will upgrade my Beaufighter to a Mosquito IV at Cauldron, buy a second Mosquito at some point and take the Mosquito family upgrades as and when.

Strat Bombers - My second dilemma. I am quite keen to purchase a strat bomber for Crete to help deal with naval transports and any armour that gets ashore but only the Stirling I is available. The Halifax I (no meaningful improvement on the Stirling) becomes available at Crusader and the Lancaster I (better than either of the others) becomes available at Cauldron.

All three have an improved family upgrade available in 1943. The Stirling III is available first but has the least ammo. Next along is the Lancaster III (probably the best all round) and finally the Halifax III (which has slightly higher attack values). On previous playthroughs I have held off until the Halifax is available and eventually had a Halifax and a Lancaster. Another option is to defer buying a strat bomber and get another Beaufighter instead. That is particularly attractive if I don't get a SE fighter quickly. Again, what to do?

[captainjack]

I'm usually very pro-strategic bombers but for me if I had a recon unit with a spotting hero, the tac bomber's greater vulnerability to AA is reduced a bit since you can see more. The air attack of most of the Britsh the tac bombers makes them a bit more flexible which is a plus in since the number of core units is a bit limited in Allied Corps.

So, a slight edge for the tac bomber, and a bit better still if you have a recon with spotting hero.

It's also a fairly low-risk strategy as if you change your mind later, the relatively quick experience gain of strategic bombers means you won't lose out too much by starting it later in the game. In contrast, the lack of experience from buying a tac bomber later could be a problem.

[Cerberus51]

BEDA FOMM

3877pp

5 February 1941. Awarded SE SAS unit. Upgraded this to a Commando.

0800 Destroyed 3 trucks. 3rd Tank gained I+1 hero.

1000 Destroyed 3 trucks. Occupied Beda Fomm.

1200 Destroyed truck.

1400 Destroyed 2 infantry and a Bersaglieri. Occupied The Pimple.

1600 Destroyed truck and infantry. Forced surrender of AB40. 1st Recon gained D+1 hero.

1800 Destroyed truck and L3/35.

6 February

0800 Destroyed M13/40, M11/39 and L3/35.

1000 Destroyed 20mm AA, Sahariana and L3/35. Destroyed truck.

1200 Forced surrender of AB40.

1400 Destroyed 2 M13/40 and an infantry.

1600 Sandstorm. Forced surrenders of M11/39 and M13/40.

1800 Destroyed M13/40, M11/39 and 2 trucks. 7th Tank gained I+1 hero. Retreated Engineer from The Pimple after damage from repeated attacks by tanks. Moved Commandos onto The Pimple.

7 February

0800 Destroyed Bersaglieri and infantry.

1000 Destroyed infantry and truck.

Triumph, 3875pp.

For me, the key to this scenario is to destroy the initial trucks quickly and get infantry , backed up by artillery, onto The Pimple and into Beda Fomm with a Matilda II parked midway between. The Italians have nothing that can deal with the Matilda II and no artillery or airpower to weaken your infantry. The rest of your forces can then manoeuver around these three points.

I'm not too sure about the heroes I got during this scenario. Def+1 on a recon is nothing special although it isn't bad, especially as I am going to be using my recons a lot for mopping up damaged enemy units. Ini+1 on both of my most experienced tanks isn't much at this stage. Will have to see if it helps against the high initiative panzers after upgrading to Fireflies at Cassino.

[Cerberus51]

I'm usually very pro-strategic bombers but for me if I had a recon unit with a spotting hero, the tac bomber's greater vulnerability to AA is reduced a bit since you can see more. The air attack of most of the Britsh the tac bombers makes them a bit more flexible which is a plus in since the number of core units is a bit limited in Allied Corps.

So, a slight edge for the tac bomber, and a bit better still if you have a recon with spotting hero.

It's also a fairly low-risk strategy as if you change your mind later, the relatively quick experience gain of strategic bombers means you won't lose out too much by starting it later in the game. In contrast, the lack of experience from buying a tac bomber later could be a problem.

Thanks for the comments. Not getting a fighter as my first SE unit means I only have two for Crete. Knowing the Axis have no AA at Crete and not much at Crusader and that the Beaufighter can look after itself air to air as well as having a decent naval attack made me finally decide to get a second Beaufighter. I haven't done that before with this campaign so we will see how it goes.

[Cerberus51]

CRETE

5775pp

20 May 1941. Purchased Matilda II and Beaufighter. Upgraded both Hurricanes to Spitfire VB and both Rolls-Royce AC to Humber AC..

Destroyed fallschirm. Bf109E attacked tank but hit for 4 damage by Spitfire. Damaged fallschirm attacked AA and was destroyed.

21 May Found submarine. Destroyed 2 fallschirm on the ground and one in the air. Shot down Bf109E.

22 May Destroyed 2 fallschirm near Heraklion (eastern airfield). Sank submarine.

23 May Sank destroyer. Shot down Bf109E.

24 May Sank destroyer. Started sweep for German naval transports. Destroyed fallschirm. Shot down Bf109E and Ju87R. 11th Tactical gained Mov+1 hero.

25 May Destroyed sdkfz222 and kradschutzen in naval transports. 10th Fighter gained D+1 hero, 9th Fighter gained D+3 hero. Shot down Ju87R. Destroyed gebirgs in glider. Gebirgs destroyed Greek mtn inf near Heraklion.

26 May Destroyed kradschutzen in naval transport near Heraklion. Destroyed fallschirm. Gebirgs destroyed Greek mtn inf near Heraklion.

27 May Damaged inf in naval transport near Heraklion. Destroyed fallschirm near Suda.

28 May Destroyed fallschirm in Ju52. Destroyed 2 gebirgs.

29 May Destroyed inf, destroyed gebirgs in glider. 10th Fighter gained D+1 hero. Destroyed fallschirm.

30 May 2nd Recon gained D+3 hero.

31 May Destroyed gebirgs in glider.

1 June Destroyed fallschirm. Germans starting to run out of units.

2 June Destroyed fallschirm. 12th Tank gained A+1 hero. Destroyed inf.

3 June Destroyed gebirgs and fallschirm.

4 June Forced surrender of gebirgs near Heraklion. Destroyed fallschirm.

5 June Destroyed fallschirm. Occupied Heraklion.

6 June Destroyed kradschutzen. Occupied westernmost town.

Triumph, 2924pp.

The waves of German units just keep appearing for the first half of this scenario but have nothing capable of really hurting the British tanks. Matilda II's parked on the airfields are basically untouchable even without artillery support.

The Beaufighter was a good choice, four air attack capable units let me destroy several German units in air transports and seriously damage others. That, plus the light cruiser and aggressive use of recons made the difference at Heraklion.

My units gained quite a few heroes this time out. Mostly defence, out of 14 heroes 7 are defence, but that is still a lot more useful than spotting in most cases.

[Cerberus51]

CRUSADER

6924pp

Now that this campaign is past the easy tutorial scenarios and becoming more of a challenge I will be trying to give more detail, particularly about how the battlefield develops. Crusader is a good place to start this as the action moves up and down a line from the 'A' hexes in the SE to Tobruk in the NW.

Awarded a second SE Commando. Damn! I really need to get another fighter started on gaining experience but can't spare a slot in this scenario (with hindsight I should have bought a fighter and left one of my experienced fighters out). Disbanded Matilda II with 23 exp for 374pp and purchased 3 Churchill II's at 380pp each. Upgraded 2 Cruiser MkIV and a Matilda II (all with at least 1 hero) to Churchill II. The Churchill is relatively expensive but its high ground defence means less damage so fewer replacements.

The plan is to leave the new Commando to garrison the Gebr Saleh VH. The 3 aux inf in the SE move onto the A hexes backed by the aux 25pdr. Three paratroops drop to deal with airfield B, supported by a recon, then re-embark and join the fourth para to help capture and garrison the 3 VH's SE of Tobruk (Sidi Rezegh, Belhamed and El Duda). The rest of my core units will take the 3 VH's then escort the Service Corps units back to A.

18 November 1940. MC200 Saetta attacked para in C47 covered by Spitfire. MC200 -6, para -1.

19 Nov Shot down MC200, destroyed PzIIF. Kradschutzen attacked Tobruk strongpoint.

20 Nov Destroyed Krad. Closing in on Sidi Rezegh and airfield. 2x PzIII and Pzjgr reduced Humber recon to 3 str.

21 Nov 8th Artillery M+1 hero - excellent! Destroyed 2x PzIII and Pzjgr.

22 Nov Sandstorm. Destroyed 5 str Pioniere near B. Destroyed K18, Sig 33, 10/4 AA, It 75mm art and infantry near Sidi Rezegh. Occupied Sidi Rezegh. Completed positioning aux units to guard A hexes.

23 Nov Destroyed hangar and occupied airfield B. Destroyed Krad and 5 str inf to clear this area. Destroyed grenadier. 2x M14/41 approaching Sidi Rezegh from SW.

24 Nov Destroyed M14/41. Began airlifting paras to join main force. German units from NE trying to get behind the units at Sidi Rezegh.

25 Nov Sandstorm. Reduced 105mm artillery near Tobruk to 1 str. Destroyed M14/41, Pz1A and SE inf. Occupied Belhamed.

26 Nov 2nd Recon D+1 hero. Destroyed 105mm. Destroyed It inf, PzIIC, PzIVD and Ger inf near Sidi Rezegh.

27 Nov Destroyed grenadier, It inf and Bersaglieri. All enemy units between Tobruk and area A now eliminated. Started Service Corps units towards area A.

28 Nov German units approaching area A.

29 Nov Destroyed grenadier in Sidi Omar near A.

30 Nov No significant action.

1 Dec Destroyed Pzjgr and Sig 33 near area A. Italians attacking Tobruk perimeter, also advancing on Sidi Rezegh from the SW - I had left a Churchill and a recon to deal with this attack.

2 Dec Destroyed It 75mm AA near Sidi Rezegh. Destroyed 2 inf near Tobruk and occupied El Adem. Destroyed PzII, PzIII and PzIV near El Gibni (W of area A). Reoccupied El Gibni, Sidi Omar and area A airfield. Enemy units heading for Gebr Saleh VH.

3 Dec Destroyed 149mm art and Bersaglieri near Sidi Rezegh, 75mm art near Tobruk and inf near El Duda. Destroyed PzII and 10.5 art near A. Destroyed grenadier near Gebre Saleh. 1st Recon A+1 hero.

4 Dec Destroyed inf near Tobruk, 75mm AA and 75mm SP art near Sidi Rezegh and Sdkfz232 and inf near Gebr Saleh.

5 Dec Occupied Bir el Gubi and destroyed 2 grenadiers and an infantry nearby.

6 Dec Destroyed 5cm Pak near Sidi Rezegh, 3.7 Pak and 7.5 FK 16 near Gebr Saleh.

7 Dec Moved Service Corps units onto A hexes. Occupied Gasr el Arid. Destroyed Bersaglieri near area A.

Triumph, 4734pp.

I could have won the scenario a few turns earlier but held off for the kills and exp. A lot of the units destroyed in the last 6 turns were destroyed in trucks or half tracks where they were relatively easy to take out. If it seems confused it was with battles taking place in 3 or 4 different areas of the map. An enjoyable scenario nevertheless.

[Cerberus51]

CAULDRON

8734pp

Upgraded both Spitfires to IX and bought a third, both Beaufighters to Mosquito IV, both 6" artillery to 7.2" and both Humber AC to Daimler AC. Purchased three M7 Priest and a Lancaster. 5243pp left. (I can't deploy all these units but will need them over the next few scenarios).

Two objectives. To eliminate the 88's requires artillery so I will commit two M7's and my movement hero 7.2" for this and aim to roll up the line from south to north. To save 150th Bde requires early reinforcement by sending units north of the escarpment as soon as the initial German panzers have been dealt with.

29 May 1942 Axis attacks, mostly against minefields. Shot down SE Bf110F, destroyed M13/40 and L6/40 in east.

30 May More Axis attacks on minefields. Pioniere destroyed nr 150 Bde. Spitfires don't have the range to really be much use over 150 Bde position - 2 turns out, one attack and 2 turns back so the Mosquitos have to do most of the air work that far out. Destroyed 7.5 FK 16 and infanterie nr Bir el Harmat in S, destroyed two PzIIIH nr Knightsbridge. That clears the way to send the relief force for 150 Bde.

31 May Pioniere destroyed nr 150 Bde.

1 June Attacks on 150 Bde 6pdr AT. Shot down Ju87R. Destroyed first 88.

2 June Destroyed PzIII and M14/41. Relief force destroyed grenadier nr Sidi Muftah and reoccupied the town.

3 June Shot down Ju87 and MC202, destroyed 88.

4 June Shot down SE Bf109E. Destroyed K18, 88, M14/41, 2 Pioniere and forced surrender of Sig 33.

5 June 150 Bde HW inf destroyed. Forced surrender Kradschutzen, destroyed M40 SP art nr 150 Bde. Shot down BA65. Destroyed 88.

6 June 150 Bde inf driven out of position. Shot down MC200. Destroyed M13/40 and forced surrender of 105mm art nr 150 Bde. Destroyed last 88 and StugIIIB.

7 June Destroyed inf allowing 150 Bde inf to reoccupy B hex. Without the relief force (I sent a Churchill II, a M7, a Daimler AC and both Commandos) 150 Bde has no chance, but with the artillery and armour it can hold out (it felt close at times though). Destroyed Bersaglieri and Marder II in centre of map.

8 June Destroyed supply dump (no prestige!), grenadier, 10.5 FH18 and truck.

9 June 11th Tactical D+2 hero. Destroyed PzIVE. Destroyed pioniere and grenadier and reoccupied all B hexes. Destroyed truck.

10 June Shot down Bf109F, destroyed PzIIIJ. Main force now close enough to help 150 Bde.

11 June Shot down Ju87 - getting to the end of the Axis airpower. Destroyed PzIIIH and truck. The trucks are a bit of a nuisance but do give easy kills.

12 June 18th Tank D+1 hero (getting a lot of defence heroes still. 14th Tank picked up a D+2 during this scenario). Destroyed 47mm AT. Shot down MC202.

13 June Sandstorm (where was that when the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica were bombing the **** out of my troops?). Drove 75mm AA off SW airfield and occupied it.

Triumph 4405pp.

[Cerberus51]

FIRST ALAMEIN

7405pp.

No purchases or upgrades. The "plan" is not to fight for the SW VH initially but concentrate on retaining the other three and try and retake the fourth one at the end.

To simplify my account I am going to refer to the VH's by number with number 1 at the SW end of the line running through 2 and 3 to 4 (El Alamein) in the NE.

1 July 1942 Axis forces attacked and captured 1. Destroyed Sdkfz222 and AB40.

3 July Marder II attacked Churchill on 3. Mosquito destroyed Marder. Destroyed Sdkfz222 near 4.

5 July Shot down Ba65. 15th Tactical (Mosquito) D+1 hero.

7 July Destroyed Kradschutzen near2, It inf near 4.

9 July Shot down He111 near 2. Destroyed grenadier near 2 and M14/41 and M40 75mm near 4.

11 July Destroyed Bersaglieri near 2. 12th Tank D+3 hero.

13 July Sandstorm. Destroyed PzIIC near 3. Finding it difficult to finish units off as I have to keep my units spread out along the front to prevent the enemy from slipping through (if they get into the rear I don't have enough units to hunt them down and maintain a defensive line). I don't want to push my air units too far forward for fear of AA.

15 July Destroyed L6/40 and PzIIC and forced surrender of PzIIIH near 4. Shot down Bf110F near 3.

17 July Shot down Ju88 near 3. Destroyed L3/35 and It inf near 4.

19 July Destroyed 10.5 FH18 near 3/4.

21 July Destroyed Sahariana inf near 2 and Sdkfz232 behind 2. 17th Tank A+2 hero.

23 July Axis units have moved round south of 2 and are trying to get behind my forces, probably heading for the airfields. Destroyed Sig 33 near 2, grenadier near 3 and Ger inf near 4. 5th inf D+1 hero.

25 July Looks doubtful whether it will be possible to destroy the enemy units near 2 in time to recapture 1. Destroyed Pz near 3, Marder III and grenadier near 2, StugIIIB and PzIIIH behind 2 and M14/41 near 4.

27 July Destroyed Ger inf near 2. Resupplied as many units as possible in anticipation of Axis surge in the last three turns.

29 July General axis advance/attack all along the line. Destroyed Marder II near 3, 88 in transport near 4 and Sig 33 and SE PzIIIJ near 2. Forced surrender of Sdkfz232 near 4. 6th Artillery A+1 hero.

31 July Destroyed SE PzIVE and Sdkfz7/1 near 3, grenadier near 2, 10.5 FH18 near 3/4 and AB41 near 4. Forced surrender of Sdkfz222 near 4. 13th Commando I+1 hero. Sent Mosquito to recon 1 - only defended by an inf so moved some units towards 1.

2 August Axis surge has not broken through. Forced surrender of Sdkfz222 near 4. Destroyed SE Ger inf near 1 and recaptured the VH.

Triumph, 6642pp.

The key to holding a defensive line is undoubtedly the high defence value of the Churchill tank. The Crusader can do more damage but takes more as well and the Churchill seems to suffer fewer multiple attacks as it survives the first attack better.