Tunisia Campaign, Apologies and Wrap up.

So what happened to that firestorm Tunisia series we were doing? I can only apologize because what happened was avoidable. I had overestimated the records we had kept and when it came time to write round 2; I realized I would not be able to cover round 2 in the same level of detail. This led to much humming and hawing over how to proceed, other projects started to pick up and the write ups of the Tunisia campaign fell off the priorities list. So my apologies, here I will summarize the rest of the campaign and provide some thoughts on it.

Round 2 February

The Axis capitalized on their victories in the first round, striking at the Allied buildup in Algeria. In particular the Axis attacked the southern Kasserine sector and ejected the American defenders while also carrying their attack forward to Tebessa through the north. However, the allies held and prevented the troops in the southern Kasserine sector from being cut off and destroyed.

The Italians and their German allies crash through the American lines in the Kasserine Sector

Meanwhile to the north the Axis executed a daring raid deep into allied lines, capturing the westernmost coast of Tunisia. Despite the victory, the move was ultimately indecisive. No firestorm units were destroyed and the position was not valuable in and of itself until the final turn.

Round 3 March

The main centers of battle became Tunis and Tebessa. The allies tried to strike out, stop the flow of axis firestorm units, and claim the Tunis victory point. In a brutal pair of 8-1’s (one for the allies, one for the axis) a unit of Afrika rifles was destroyed but it was essentially a draw. Meanwhile battles continued to rage in the Algeria area. The axis lost a tiger firestorm to some brave tommies but the axis again took the position and this time did destroy some american rifles.

Round 4 April

The British 8th army has arrived and immediately assaults Gabes in force across the mareth line. Despite another pair of 8-1’s, the axis destroyed a platoon of M4 shermans, a battery of M7 priests for no loses and held the line. The allies scored a minor victory in the Algeria sector, keeping the Axis out of Tebessa for the time being. The struggle for Tunis continued with the Axis rebuffing the allied attack once again. Not only did they hold their ground, the Axis destroyed a battery of American 105mm field guns and a platoon of M10 tank destroyers.

A bloody month for the allies with two major attacks being beaten back with heavy casualties.

Round 5 May

In the final turn, the axis successfully held both Gabes and Tunis despite determined attacks from the Allies. The Axis were also the victors in the Algeria sector, threatening the allied line of retreat by seizing Tebessa.

So the campaign ended in a minor Axis victory. The British 8th army was held back at the mareth line and the Americans failed to take the all important port of Tunis. Worse yet, the axis nearly encircled the entire American force, forcing them to withdraw from Tunisia all together.

Final Scores

Note that some players did not play all 5 games and other players were subbed in.

Conclusions

First and foremost, next time I need to keep better records. You'll notice that a lot of the time I was forced to say "Algeria area" and such because I simply do not know what the exact provinces were contested.

If we end up doing a custom map based event again, we'll need real markers.

If we were to run this campaign again we would need to take another look at balancing the firestorms. The Axis started strong and with the dice on their side, they took almost no casualties while the Allies bled considerably. This meant that it was uphill the entire way for the Allies. Of course we've only run the scenario once so it's not like we're working with a big sample size. Regardless I think the more linear method we used for Leipzig is the way we'll be conducting events going forward. There are simply too many variables in a firestorm.

Tunisia Campaign Round 1

Turn 1 

January 1943, upon hearing of the allied Torch landings, the Deutsches Afrika Korps is forced to withdraw from Libya behind the Mareth line in order to protect their supply lines flowing from Tunis. Never one to give up the initiative, Italian Chef of the Defense Staff Darko attacks the allies across the entire Northern front from Beja to Kasserine. The battle for Tunisia has begun!

Map and Force Distribution

Table 1 Beja A

Ben vs Jordan 8-1

StuG's are in fact Semoventes

Table 2 Beja B

Dean vs Jack 8-1

German armoured cars routed British infantry and their American allies, who both proved unwilling to stay and fight in close quarters against them. A British parachute rifle firestorm unit was destroyed as a result of this battle. 

Table 3 No Retreat at El Kef

Tyler vs Gary 8-1

Heavy Italian bombardment weakened entrenched Americans enough for a concentrated light armor push and a lightning victory. A British humber armoured car firestorm unit was destroyed as a result of this battle.

Table 4 Kasserine North

Cynthia vs Marko 7-2

Cynthia: Germans flanked the Americans on the right with infantry and tanks.
Marko: First game ever says it all.

Table 5 Kasserine South

Kyle vs Morgan 3-6

Italians attack the American lines but the Americans and free French hold out long enough for their armour to show up and push the Italians back.

The allies are forced back across the entire front with heavy casualties, only the Southern Kasserine sector was able to hold out against the Axis onslaught. Next time we will cover turn 2, February and we will see if the Axis can maintain their momentum.