Alamein ‘42 Designer Notes
Click on the green hyper-links below and at the end of each section to navigate through these
designer notes. Y ou can also access each section at any time by pressing the "Help Topics"
in the top left corner of the Window.
Table of Contents
I. Designer Comments
Why El Alamein
The Map Challenge
The Order-of-Battle
Tanks by Type
OOB Organization & Command
Air, AAA and AT Guns
Explicit Supply
Interesting Units Components
Minefields
II. The History
Events leading up to Alamein ‘42
Events covered in Alamein ‘42
III. The Scenarios
Scenario Introduction
Scenario List
Scenario Overviews
IV. Bibliography
Page 1
I. Designer Comments
Why El Alamein?
Some 35 years ago, I discovered wargames and my very first board game was the old
Avalon Hill boardgame called Africa Korps! So the Desert War has always held a special place
in my heart. A long time passed before my partner, Dave "Blackie" Blackburn and I, teamed
up with John Tiller to help make computer wargames, and it was Blackie who first suggested
that we look at the desert for a Panzer Campaign. After all, he and I had previously
researched a game idea for another company in this theatre, one that never came to be, but
we had much of this material at hand, including a set of 1:100,000 scale maps which provided
fairly detailed topographical data.
We learned shortly after, however, that Wig Graves was already well on the way with a
Tobruk '41 Panzer Campaign and, as there were only a few games in the series at that time,
we thought the one desert title was perhaps enough. So the idea for the Panzer Campaign El
Alamein game went on to the back burner.
During this "back burner" period a number of new games were created and, with that, a
number of interesting enhancements were made in the game engine, including Explicit Supply
and Strategy|Operations. Also during this time, we designers learned new ways to take set
piece battles, battles such as Kursk '43 and Rzhev '42, where huge amounts of men, tanks,
and guns were amassed along heavily fortified lines, and make a very interesting gaming
Page 2
situation.
And so it is in Alamein '42, we felt we could offer a whole host of interesting options for
battles which included fluid, running gun fights like those near Gazala in May '42, the pursuit
across the desert leading to the early struggle for Alamein in July, as well as the traditional
Second Alamein battle where Monty broke the Africa Korps' back. Furthermore, we had some
neat ideas to involve Malta in an interesting standalone scenario and as a hypothetical "What
If" in the main campaign.
During this time a number of new books covering Alamein were published and these really
began to rekindle our awareness of this game idea. One book, by Jon Latimer, contained a
detailed framework of the Order-of-battle (OOB) of both the sides involved. Stephen
Bungray's "Alamein" was also published at this time, as well as the story of some of the
fighting men told in the book "End of the Beginning" by Tim Clayton and Phil Craig. And there
was Bireman and Smiths' new book, which is in my opinion, misnamed "The Battle of
Alamein". I say this book is misnamed because it chronicles much of the fighting in the period
covered by our game, not just the critical Alamein portion. The arrival of Montgomery is in
Part 4, and Second Alamein in Part 5, so it really encompasses a summary of the desert
war.
All these new books got us thinking again, surely we could make a fascinating Panzer
Campaign from this critical turning point in the desert, where the Western Allies turned the tide
with Germany at an obscure RR stop named El Alamein.
The Map Challenge!
As with any game, before any scenarios can be built you first need two critical pieces - the
Map and the OOB. Both of these presented their own special challenge.
Page 3
To properly cover the fighting in the Western Desert in 1942 we created a map that now
stands as the largest of any Panzer Campaign. It is huge! Fortunately, for the Gazala battles,
we were able to use some of Tobruk '41 game map created by Wig Grave's, with many
thanks to Wig. But we still had a huge area to cover. As previously mentioned, we had quite a
lot of coverage from photocopied 100,000 maps, from a previous project, which helped
tremendously. It is desert terrain, which is more simplistic to make than other maps in the
series, but we used all sources that we could to try to accurately portray the area. Now some
of the references did not always agree, trails are often difficult to find on any two sources that
matched. We also went on an exhausting search to find just where the railroad ran, as it had
been extended by 1942 and almost reached Tobruk. Where sources didn't match, we applied
our best "guesstimates" based on a consensus from all the sources. But of these instances,
few were critical to game play. Suffice it to say, we did not have a map that showed every
patch of broken, or rough ground, so some latitude was used here.
When we first started it was suggested that we make it all the way back to El Agheila, but this
really was impractical because of the distances involved, however, there is still lots of map for
players to use for their own scenarios. Another important point is the use of an "inset" map
for the Malta Operation. We quickly discounted putting in Malta as a separate file, because we
wanted it for a Strategy | Operation in the game, and it wasn't practical to place it correctly on
the map as it is some 960 km ENE of Tobruk and that is a lot of flat blue sea to cover.
We would also like to thank Jason Petho for dusting off some of his unfinished work on Malta.
Jason has been working on "A Battle Atlas: Operazione C3", which is as yet unpublished, but
should be available in 2004-05 as his time allows for working on it. As you will see in the
scenarios, we included Malta as a rather interesting twist on the main campaign as well as an
interesting "What If" standalone scenario.
In the end we were pleased with the results of our map. We elected to make areas on the
south of the map as "impassable", to show the Qattara Depression and areas which were not
useful for the game. The look and feel of the map is a good representation of the area where
the battle took place.
The Order-of-Battle
Page 4
The second challenge that we had to overcome was the designing an Order of Battle that
covered the time period we wanted to cover in the game. It seemed simple enough at the
outset. As previously indicated, we started with Latimer's OOB for 2nd Alamein and it provided
detail down to the regiment, and battalion, which included attachments at the Corps and Army
level. This was very good information to work from.
However, we quickly discovered that there were more units involved in the earlier fighting that
were not included in the detail. What was more confusing was that divisions in the early
fighting were made of different brigades, depending on the time period. The 5th Indian
Division was a very good example of this. Also, at times, some brigades were detached and
functioned as parts of different divisions. A prime example of this is the British 44th Infantry
Division, a unit that made a poor showing as a division at Alam Halfa in August and was split
up, with each brigade serving as the infantry component for an armored division in Second
Alamein.
In the end, we settled on one single Order-of-Battle file, with a section covering the early
battles, (including Gazala up to First Alamein), and a second complete repeat of the OOB for
the Second Alamein battle. In this second part there are some different divisions, different
organizational structure for some units as well as newer tanks are available to both sides.
There is a third component to the OOB and this is the part for the "Invade Malta" option. For
the British this is a completely separate organization so that the Allied aircraft from the Desert
Air Force, based in Egypt cannot fly air support missions in Malta as it is obviously way too far
away. However, Axis aircraft can reach Malta easily by redeploying to air bases in Sicily and
Tunisia.
But it was not just the unit organization that was scrambled from time period to time period.
This period in the desert saw a great transition in the tanks. For example, "the Queens Bay,
2nd Dragoons Guards", were equipped with 2 squadrons of Crusaders and one of Grants, in
the Early Battles, but by second Alamein, this unit was made up of one squadron of
Crusaders, and two of Shermans. So you see, not only the tank type changed, but also the
number of light vs. battle tanks squadrons, that made up the Armored Division organization,
had changed as well. These issues will be discussed in a later section entitled "Tanks by
Type."
The Italians were another story altogether. Y ou can easily find out which divisions were
present and how the Corps were structured. With a little digging you could even find out which
regiments made up which division. But how were these regiments structured? How many
tanks and armored cars were present at each critical phase of the battle? Finding detailed
information in English books for the Italians is spotty at best. So for this we turned to Franco
Agostini, an Italian gentleman who we owe our thanks. Franco came through on the numbers
and provided valuable research and input on the Italian part of the OOB. I met Franco on a
forum when he was taking me to task for issues he felt needed reviewing in the Sicily '43
game. He struck me as a man who knew what he was talking about.
Below are some sample excerpts of information Franco provided. On Armored Cars he wrote:
I rewrite all situations
20/5/42 39 efficient 1 at repair
30/5/42 23 efficient 15 at repair
Page 5
5/8/42 12 efficient 4 at repair (in 5 days)
27/09/42 25 efficient and 22 at repair (but it is all AB at repair not only from III Nizza, there
are 1 other cavalry unit and 1 bersaglieri unit on AB)
Of the Ariete he said:
20/5/42
132° fanteria carrista (Ariete) 107 M13/40, 63 M14/41 efficient; 16 and 7 at repair
132° artiglieria(ariete) 17 75/18 (semoventi) efficient, 3 at repair
So you can see how valuable his contribution was to the project. Franco was always
concerned that his English was difficult to understand, and at times it was tricky to follow, but
there are two things I can say for sure on this point. One, is that his English is far better than
my Italian, and secondly, the Italian portion of the OOB is far better that we could have done
without his insight. For this Franco we thank you.
Tanks by Type
Of all the Panzer Campaign Order-of-Battles I've had a hand helping to make, never before
has the type, and number of tanks by type, been so important. This fact is likely not one that
will be missed by many people. Also there are so many books available, even the dozen or
more I relied on as primary reference, were enough to overwhelm you with details.
Unfortunately some of this detail just didn't always add up.
For example, for the opening battle at Gazala, Delaney says in his book, "Fighting the Desert
Fox", that there were 843 British tanks, a quarter of which were Grants. On the other hand,
Mitcham in his book, "Rommel's Greatest Victory", provides a table showing British 850 tanks,
which is close enough for an operational games purposes and so, given mechanical
breakdowns, is essentially a match with Delaney's 843. But Mitcham puts the total number of
Grants at 167, which is slightly less than a fifth. This is a pretty significant difference, as an
additional 45 Grants is more than twice the total number of German Pz-IIIj's that both
sources say the other side had. With only 19 Pz-IIIj's, and less than 40 Pz IV in service at
this time, according to both Delaney and Mitcham, you can see where 45 more of the best
British tanks will be a factor!
So which source do you believe? And when you decide what information to use and which
pieces to disregard, how do you determine which unit gets what type of tanks? This too varies
depending upon the date.
Page 6
At this point you have to dig a little deeper. We used whatever we could find on the overall
organization and cross-reference information in the various books, by looking up the reference
to each regiment listed in the index, and then reading each in turn for clues, or mention, of
the type of tanks being used. In researching the battles, Latimer and Perrett indicated, that
by the time of Alamein, the British tank brigades were built around two battle tank regiments
and one light tank regiment. A regiment is made up of three squadrons, each of which
consists of roughly 17 tanks, so there are between 50 and 60 tanks in a regiment. In the
earlier battles, such as those depicted in the scenarios around the Gazala Line, the
organization was the other way around, with two light and one medium regiment. Meanwhile,
the Army tank brigades were made up of infantry tanks that were mainly Matilda and
Valentine tanks.
At this point, the similarities begin to break down. Mitcham says regiments of the 4th Armored
Brigade were made up of one Grant and two Crusader squadrons, while he says the units of
the 2nd and 22nd Armored Brigades were made up of two Grant and one Stuart squadrons.
But it can't be this way for a couple reasons. First of all if there were two Grant squadrons in
the 2nd and 22nd, with one squadron of the 4th Brigade also being Grants, that would be 15
squadrons of Grants, or roughly 255 Grant tanks. But remember, from the information
above, that there were likely 67 Grants available. At 14 Grant tanks per 15 squadrons, there
would still be too many Grants and not enough other squadrons available to make up the
totals of the other tank types to arrive at the grand total of 850 total tanks, given a fixed
number of regiments and squadrons.
Mitcham, in his chart on tanks by type, shows 277 infantry tanks and quotes another source
that says these were made up with 110 Matildas and 167 Valentines. These 277 Infantry
Page 7
tanks equipped the five regiments of the Army tank brigades. But in the text Mitcham says
that three of these regiments are Matilda's and the other two are Valentine's. However, using
three squadrons of 17 tanks per regiment, clearly it must be two regiments of Matilda's and
three of Valentine's for the math to work out.
The net result of all this is was an unending task of shuffling tanks by type around to various
squadrons, all the while keeping the tanks type totals constant. Thus, during the early days of
making the game, while I was in bed reading Clayton and Craig's (2002), "End of the
Beginning", and came across a reference such as " …22nd Brigade had driven right onto one
of the best executed tank traps of the desert war. As Grants and Crusaders burst into flames
…" I would stop reading, get out of bed, return to my computer to make the appropriate
change in the Order of Battle in the interest of keeping the game as historically correct as
possible.
However, while it is important, in Strawson (1967), that we can read that, "A Sqdn of the 8th
Hussar's was made up of Honey's, while B and C Sqdn were Grants", in the big picture, the
game will yield the most historical results as long as the accurate tanks total by type as
documented by authors, such as Delaney (1998) and Mitcham (2001), is respected in the
Game Order of Battle.
I'd be remiss at this point if I didn't single out the early assistance of Rick Bancroft in this
"tank tally" period. I plugged numbers and tank types from various sources into the game
OOB file, Rick knocked together a great working spreadsheet and populated it with the OOB
data, so we could see how the detailed changes we made as a result of our research
reflected the total number of tanks by type.
OOB Organization & Command
One guiding principle in the OOB, that was essential for this game, was to include enough
detail to give the right feel for the game, without having too many units, which would slow
down the fluid action. Panzer Campaigns original design was at battalion level, but the
requirement for company units was demanded by the tanks. As discussed above, British
armored regiments were made up of 3 squadrons of tanks of very different speeds, defense,
and firepower. So company sized or squadron units of around 17 tanks seemed to be the
best solution.
Armored cars on both sides posed their own problem. Previously, in Tobruk '41, these
formations, as well as the tanks, were made up of units as small as two and three vehicles,
as they did often operate in these small units. But this provides so many units that a game
player, with his "God like" point-of-view in a turn based game, can exploit. Y et company sized
units representing the full squadrons didn't have the correct feel either.
What we used here was a lesson learned from the development of the Sicily '43 game with
the deployment of the 82nd Airborne Division. What we desired was a widely scattered drop
of penny-packet troops, which slowly combined to form more effective fighting units. The
solution in Sicily was the "double sized platoon" or "half company" units. This gave the game
the widely spread drop, but didn't dominate the play with double the units like platoons would
have done.
Page 8
Thus for Alamein '42 we went with units of around 9 vehicles per armored car unit for both
sides. A spin-off advantage this provided was the combing units' rule, where when three units
of the same type were combined into a single units, it functions at its best for Battle Fatigue.
With upwards of six units of nine armored cars each, there was an opportunity for players to
have more than one very effective "battalion sized" unit, from a single armored car battalion
in the game.
We did the same thing for the German Panzers, that is used the "half sized company", but
for more than just the reason outlined above for the armored cars. For a start, the Germans
at this time, were simply the masters of the desert when it game to flexible deployments of
their tanks. Like the British, the Germans had a number of different types of Panzers, but
unlike the British, they mixed their tank types within even the smallest platoon formations.
The wide difference in firepower of these tank types can be seen by the values we have
assigned to them in the game.
As the Germans were infamous for creating "adhoc" formations on the fly during a battle, we
did away with the "Battalion" level in the formal OOB Organization. That is, instead of a
Panzer regiment made up of a couple Battalions, each with a few companies of platoons of a
mixed variety of tanks, even at the smallest level possible, we simply made the Panzer
regiment to be made up of a large group, over 20, half sized company units (or double
platoons) of roughly eight tanks.
These panzer building blocks allowed the flexibility to accurately have the correct number of
Panzers by type within the regiment, while allowing for "adhoc" combined units where, for
example, Pz-IIIh's of different companies and battalions fought together most effectively.
But we weren't done completely with tilting the playing field when it came to tanks and the
flexibility one side held over the other. The last thing that we saw that the Germans were
regarded as "Out Generalling" the British Command in was control, so we removed the
Brigade HQ units from the German OOB and left only a single Division HQ, with a very large
command radius, to establish that last missing effect of, "drive the tanks anywhere and
appear as effective fighting units where they are least expected." The Germans can thus
create KG units, and while there are no KG HQs in the game, the Axis player doesn't need to
concern himself with this extra detail. However he will still have to deal with Regimental HQs for
the Italians.
One the flip side, not only do the British lines of command have to run from the fighting units,
to Brigade and up to Division, but the Brigade HQ quality rating is less and the command
radius is lower than Brigade HQ's in other games of the Series. This we felt was fair, because
the British struggled in the desert to find out how to make the best use of their equipment
and men together in an effective fighting force.
The effects of these tank organization and command issues we believe does justice to the
operational feel of this battle and provides similar strengths and weaknesses for both sides.
Air, AAA and AT Guns
Page 9
As was a practice in some games, starting back with Normandy '44, there are a number of
units intentionally left out of the Order-of-Battle. For example, much if not all of the fighter
aircraft have been removed from the Air component. At the start of the Gazala, according to
Bungay, there were 500 Axis Aircraft which included ~200 Bf 109's. These Aircraft
concentrated their effort on the Allied "Desert Air Force" fighters and thus had little direct
impact on the ground war as ground attack aircraft. This has been built into the Interception
rate as defined in the Parameter Data. Many of the remaining aircraft in the Axis air arsenal
were Italian. Because of their lower serviceability, I've reduced the number of aircraft slightly
to compensate. This way the total Air Unit Availability (parameter) for the Axis could remain
stable, and not have a German aircraft unavailable due to Italian aircraft serviceability.
The Order-of-Battle includes only some of the Allied fighters, as these were more prone to be
used in ground attacks, but were kept busy by the German fighters. This fact has always
been a something we had to keep in mind when we considered aircraft in this, a largely
ground based operational game. Allied Air strength in the Middle East combined included more
aircraft that could be called on during the time period covered in the game. However, these
squadrons often had other equally vital duties in the Middle East to fulfill, such as maritime
interdiction of supplies. Thus they were not all available for every mission to support the
ground troops in the desert.
It should also be noted that the Allies prior to the Second Battle of Alamein flew so many
photo air recon mission over the German lines that, according to Latimer, they claimed they
knew virtually every gun position. Y et when the fighting started, despite the heaviest
concentration of artillery up to that point in the war, the Allied were still unable to neutralize all
of the known AT gun and artillery positions. Also, the accuracy of pin point targeting by
aircraft performing level bombing for ground support missions was not up to the standard of
dive bombing support missions like those later in the war, so Allied level bombers such as
Boston’s and Baltimore’s have been designated as heavy bombers in game terms so that
they use the "Carpet Bombing" rules when they attack – thus the scatter my hit another hex
than planned, possibly even a friendly hex.
The Germans too had some additional Recon Air units on the books. Historically, however,
these German air recon units had little influence at this later stage of the battle and their
inclusion was unwarranted. German command at the start of the Second Battle of Alamein
was paralyzed by the ferocity when the barrage opened up, and many communication lines to
the forward units were knocked out. In some other cases, available German air missions were
reduced to account for air strikes being driven off by Allied Anti-Aircraft units, which
themselves are often omitted intentionally from the OOB, particularly the light AAA Guns.
Historically these units spent most of their time in their true AA role, and thus are not needed
Page 10
as many players would not resist the urge to avail themselves of these units for ground
combat uses.
Of course German 88's must be included, as they came into common use as extremely
effective Anti-Tank weapons in the desert. Thus these have been accounted for as
accurately as possible throughout the game. Also, some heavier British Bofors AA Guns have
been included, but by and large most of the Allied AA Guns are represented in the AA combat
values assigned to the ground combat units.
The same can be said of a very a large number of the lighter AT Guns on both sides - Allied
2-pdrs and Axis 37mm. There are guns of this caliber and sometimes larger which were part
of the infantry company units on each side. This is reflected in the game Hard Attack values
of these units and not separate unit counters, as one of our goals was to keep the unit
density as low as possible and yet still reflect all these weapons deployed in their historical
manner. This manner of deployment is factored into the reasoning for the Hard Range as
well. While it can be documented that a British 2-pdr has no less range than a German 37mm
Anti-Tank Gun, it can also be documented that time and again the British armour blundered
into unseen German AT Guns - even at Second Alamein. Thus we've given the German
Infantry units a hard range of 1 and the Allied Units a hard attack range of Zero (thus only
effective when assaulted) because of how these weapons were used and effective historically,
and not just how far they could throw a shell.
Even with the above in effect, there still needed to be some separate Anti-Tank Gun Units
and these have been assigned a higher defense value than in other games such as Tobruk.
The reasoning for this was simply the survivability of the units in a sustained fight. One need
only read about the British defense at the Snipe Position, or the terrible toll German and even
Italian AT Guns took on advancing British armour in various phases of the battle, to justify
these values.
Suffice to say, we didn't just stumble into the value the way they are presented in the game.
The testers, Ed Williams, Rick Bancroft, Paul Sinatra and Bob Hutchison, tried a number of
potential models, each time weighting the specific effect on a small scale, as well as the overall
effect on the scenario and larger picture of the battle.
All opinions didn't agree 100% with how Blackie and I modeled the values in the final OOB, but
then this is a part of wargaming we've all come to accept. If players wish to modify the units
and combat values in the game, then they are free to experiment with the Order-of-Battle
Editor, as I am sure many of them will. I would, however, encourage anyone with the desire
to tinker with the values to keep in mind the results they get both on the small scale, such as
one unit firing at another, as well as the effect of the casualties, victory and overall strength
of the two sides over the longer period of the battles.
Explicit Supply
Page 11
The war in the desert, at least insofar as the longer mobile campaigns are concerned, was
very much a war about Supply. So here was an ideal place for the Panzer Campaigns Explicit
Supply rules. Explicit Supply, an optional supply rule where players moved actual Supply Trucks
units on the map, has been a part of the series since the fourth title, Tobruk ’41. There are a
few Explicit Supply Scenarios in this game too, and these are noted with the lowercase *s*
after the filename such as #0619_01s_Tobruk_to_Alamein.scn. In general, for Explicit Supply
to have much impact on play, the effect must be felt over time. Thus this option is available
only in the more mobile campaigns, where supply is not only a factor, but where the players,
particularly the German must move his supply forward and selectively decide which units to
re-supply and when.
Determining the amount of Explicit Supply present at the start of a battle, and the number,
size, and frequency of supply as the battle progresses--given the changing size of each
army--has been a mathematical balancing act, based on a formula derived by John Tiller. The
formula has been revised over time and with practice from previous games to arrive at
appropriate levels. But in this title, supply calculations comparable to those used in Bulge ‘44,
Korsun ’44 and Market-Garden ’44 just didn’t work right because of the more running gun
style of battle in the desert.
Therefore we decided to do a few things differently for Alamein. First we dropped the Defense
strength value of the Supply Units due to their vulnerability to air interdiction in the wide-open
desert. Adding to the vulnerability of trucks and in fact to the vulnerability of all units in open
terrain in this game is the fact that we made open terrain "really" open by putting a positive
combat modifier on Clear terrain. Our reasoning is that there are just not as many places to
hide in the desert as in clear hex in Russia, Normandy or Sicily, for example.
While trucks speeds on average were the same, for an added dimension we used different
Unit Quality levels for various truck units, more or less at random, to give a skilled player more
factors to judge when plotting his move. The next thing we did differently was to reduce the
Supply radius in which units become automatically supplied by Supply Trucks in Deployed
Mode. The idea for this came first from accounts in the Alamein book by Latimer, where
there were numerous accounts of tanks leaving the infantry to fend for themselves as they
withdrew to take on more fuel. There were also excerpts concerning fuel trucks been blown to
Page 12
pieces as they ran the risk to move far forward to support the tanks. So the earliest tests
were conducted with the Supply range as low as 1 and 3, so that a player literally had to drive
his supply trucks right up to the unit – or pull the unit back to the truck to draw fuel and\or
ammo. However, values this low made a player too conscious of driving his supply trucks
around and took away from the game so we raised it to a range of 5. This is still considerably
shorter than previous values of around 10, but it showed a new and important consideration
and advantage to the Axis Side.
In this Title, supply has to be tight for the Axis player, and the way the Explicit Supply Rules
work, any unit in need of Supply that is within range of a Deployed Supply Truck is
automatically serviced. Keeping the Supply Range short as we have means an Axis player can
be more particular about who gets supplies. In fact he may be able to better control the
supply, and to funnel it to his most powerful troops, instead of squandering it on weaker units.
There is much information in the literature on Supply in North Africa, including actual tonnages
delivered to port and the amount of fuel required to move the fuel forward for the panzers
fighting at the front. However, if players want a succinct look at supply, refer to chapter
three of Bungay’s "Alamein" which is listed in the bibliography.
During the later stages of testing when we were hammering out the explicit supply levels, I
relied heavily on the input of tester and Korea ’85 scenario designer Ed "Volcano" Williams to
work the kinks out of what we were trying to do here. Thanks, Ed, you were a big help as
always.
Interesting Units Components
In any game there is usually a few units or game components which attract attention and
raise a few eyebrows in players. Examples have included "Magen" or "Ohr" units in Market
Garden ’44, the special "Stomach" and "Ear" Battalions and Goliath remote control tanks in
Kursk ’43. El Alamein ’42 has a few as well, and I thought I would point out some that came
up for discussion during the testing of the game.
On the Allies’ side, of note are the Long Range Desert Group units. These small, fast and
largely combat ineffective units in terms of an Operational Game can still pack a punch, as
they do have an assault value. That is all that is required for capturing unescorted Explicit
Supply units moving forward to support the Axis drive on Alamein. Their presence alone may
mean the German will have to designate some motorized units to escort duty. However, even
in games without Explicit Supply, the presence of these units can cause zone-of-control
effects on the Virtual Supply Lines which follow the vital coastal road, and reduce the flow of
VST Supply to the front.
The Long Range Desert Group units can also spot units moving up – especially those in Travel
mode and thus more vulnerable to attack -- and can call in Air Missions. They are also the
game "Deception Units," and as such they can deploy to interdict reinforcements. In this
game’s Parameter or PDT, these Deception units have higher values than ever before, so
Page 13
they can move around in the desert in a manner befitting the effect of the original Special Air
Service Units.
The Long Range Desert Group units arrive with a high degree of variability near the south
edge of the map. The just "appear" in these non-critical areas, and can scatter wildly in their
entry hex. Their method of entry prevents a Human German Opponent from waiting in an
area for them to show up, even knowing the time and or place. I believe these units will add a
very interesting dimension to an already challenging Campaign Game.
As Deception played a role in the Desert War, the Allied Order-of-Battle for the Second
Alamein contains six units amounting to 108 "Dummy Tanks". What effect these units might
have in play is hard to gauge, but in play between Human opponents, they might just keep
the Axis player from acting with too much haste when considering deployment of his reserves.
There are also some native troops in the Commonwealth ANZAC section. These fierce
warriors are the Maori, made up of natives from New Zealand. There is only one battalion of
these units, so their presence will not dominate the battle. However, you will see they have
some different combat values and a different image in the unit window, will make them stand
out. Some other units which may stand out are Commonwealth units in the 1st Free French,
which represent the Jewish Volunteer Battalion. This unit made a notable stand at Bir Hacheim
in the Gazala Battles.
On the Axis side, part of the 15th Rifle Brigade in what was "Group Cruewall" in the Gazala
Battles is made up of German French Foreign Legion Troops. While I have not been able to
find much detail on these units, I did read that Rommel thought them a largely undisciplined
group, but one he respected as fighters. On a more humorous note, I came across a
reference that indicated Rommel would instruct his driver to "lock up the spare" whenever he
visited them in the field for fear they might strand him in their own self interest by taking
anything that would aid themselves and their unit.
During the month of July, Rommel was facing a serious manpower crisis in North Africa.
Some of the reinforcements sent to his aid were units of Ramcke’s Parachute Brigade which
were flown in from Crete. Of note with these Parachute troops was the abundance of the
brand new MG-42 belt fed machine-gun, made out of a light alloy that was virtually
sand-proof. For this reason the components of this brigade have a higher soft attack rating as
well as a soft attack range of 2 hexes. One of the battalions from this brigade, FJ-Lehr, lead
by one Major Otto Burkhardt, was equipped with a variety of experimental or "Special
Weapons," which included among other things some very early Recoilless rifle, a flare gun
modified to fire an explosive charge, some fully automatic rifles, and a mortar that bounced
Page 14
the round before exploding so as to spread shrapnel at chest height. This unit’s chief
drawback is the lack of motorized transport, may be more apparent in some earlier campaign
"What If" Strategy/Operations where an earlier arrival of Ramcke’s Brigade is depicted.
Minefields
Mines in the Panzer Campaign Series often comes under scrutiny of players who feel that all
mines that are "theirs", thus friendly mines, should remain visible at all times, so the owning
player won't accidentally step on them. On the surface this idea is appealing to players who
think top down. They reason that because they can see them on the map at some point,
that HQ would know where they were and thus all units would avoid them.
True enough. But I like to explain that just because HQ (ie Y ou the player) knows where all
the mines are, doesn't mean that each and every units in the games also knows where each
and every mine. Furthermore, even if each unit on the map were to have a specialty "Mine
Officer" to keep track of them all, then who is to say mistakes wouldn't still happen
sometimes. So for Alamein '42, where mines play such a dominant role, I collected a few
references to illustrate the point that, "There is no such thing as a friendly Minefield."
Here is a good quote from Clayton and Craig - "End of the Beginning" which characterizes the
Page 15
design feelings about Mines:
June 5-14: "Ordered forward toward the Sidra Ridge from the north, 32nd Army Tank Brigade
first ran on to an unmarked minefield laid by British infantry, ..."
June 18-20: ".., their platoon of four 6-pounders had entered Tobruk through the minefield that
surrounded it, a minefield full of mines whose location was by now unknown to the defenders,
and which destroyed the odd portee."
But this next reference says it best. It comes from "Rommel's Greatest Victory" by Samual
W. Mitcham.
The confusion of battle is perhaps best illustrated by the exploit of Maj. C. C. Lomax, the
commander of HQ Squadron of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers. Leading a column of supply
trucks and trying to find the 201st Guards Brigade Box at Knightsbridge, he veered too far
north and got lost in the darkness. Suddenly he spotted a low trip wire, which denoted the
boundary of a minefield. His driver hit the brakes and they stopped a few feet from the wire.
Two sentries approached and identified themselves as Guardsmen. Lomax asked if this was
the Knightsbridge Box, and they replied that it was.
"How very fortunate!" the major exclaimed. "Another few yards and we would all have been in
the minefield."
"On the contrary, sir," one of the sentries replied, "another few yards and you will be out of it."
He and his whole convoy (which was following in his tracks) had passed through the entire
minefield without hitting a single mine!
Even when crossing a known "Friendly Minefield", in a lane swept clean to allow friendly troops
to pass, there were mishaps as illustrated by this reference from Jon Latimer's "Alamein":
On the route following 22nd Battalion came the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry on a mine-free track
cleared and marked by the Kiwi infantry. 'Lurch, clank, bump. Up comes the dust again and
before we've gone few yards we're back in the "pea-souper" once more,' recalled the,
Yeomanry's historian as the precious protecting darkness dissolved. At 0600 hours the lead
squadron was well forward of the infantry and thus became the only armoured regiment to
break out beyond the infantry on the first day of the battle. But it was at a heavy price. Those in
the rear of the column have been speculating about the origin of a new addition to the carnival
of noise which is going on around them. Something different, this one. Deeper and more
earth-shaking than the rest. Woomph! This is quite unmistakable. A very sinister sound.'
Mines' - despite the declaration that the lanes were clear. The armour ought to have been clear
of the minefields, but 'Woo-umph! There it goes again And this time there is no mistake. A
spurt of flame appears in the distance through a gap in the fog and quickly grows into a flaming
mass.
So accidentally running into mines, be they in "cleared lanes", or stumbling into a minefield,
even a known minefield was not uncommon. Therefore, when you run a unit into a hex
containing a mine - even one of your own - one that you wouldn't have run into had the hex
been marked, because you had another unit in the line-of-sight a few turns ago, then think
nothing more of it. These sorts of things happened, not only here in the desert, but in all
theaters of WWII.
With mines in the game unseen in hexes when they disappear from the players view,
Page 16
understand that this is not a bug or a problem that needs to be fixed. This is just part of the
game, all be it one aspect that some players find frustrating, due to the fact that had they
see the mine on the map at some point from their "God-like" overhead perspective.
BE WARNED! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FRIENDLY MINEFIELD
If you step on a mine during game play, you might be lucky like Major Lomax was in the
reference above. If you're moving units near to known mines, but in places you thought were
clear, and you step on a mine, well that happens, even if you are delayed and you lose some
units, well that happened too. Mines are just part of the game, and they sure can be
frustrating when you run into them when you least expected to, with a unit you really needed
somewhere, that is now delayed, disrupted, or weakened, because of that damn "friendly
minefield."
Click here to jump to The History Section
Page 17
II. The History
As a wargamer and a history buff myself interested in the Desert War, names and battles like
Alamein, Tobruk and Crusader are certainly familiar. But details of the events and the order of
things tend to become less clear when one has been playing games and reading on other
fronts. And while there are numerous published sources anyone could access at a public
library, I thought it prudent to include a very brief synopsis of events leading up to the period
covered by this game and a few brief facts to help frame the action and scenarios included in
Alamein '42.
For this I would like to thank Garreth Hughes from "World War 2 Timeline" (
http://www.worldwar-2.net/ ) for the use of his dates and facts. Players interested in all the
details are encouraged to visit the full list of events at his website under Timelines => War in
the Desert, and then select the year.
Events leading up to Alamein '42
1940
August:
Five Italian divisions and 200 tanks in Cyrenaica under Marshal Graziani, cross the
Libyan/Egyptian border and advance toward Sidi Barrani in Egypt. Italian advance in Egypt
continues as they capture Sidi Barrani, 60 miles from frontier. At this point the Italians halt
their offensive and begin to construct a number of fortified camps.
December:
The Western Desert Force which is 30,000 strong and under the command of Wavell takes to
the offensive 'Operation Compass'. While pursuing the retreating Italians, the British forces in
North Africa take Sollum, Fort Capuzzo and several other crucial Italian defensive positions.
They also capture another 38,000 Italians along the way. Mussolini requests German
assistance for his hard-pressed troops in Cyrenaica, asking for a Panzer Division, Luftwaffe
Page 18
units and various logistical support.
1941
January:
Tobruk surrenders to British and Australian troops who capture 25,000 Italians, along with 208
guns and 87 tanks. Combined British and Australian losses were about 450. The British
government now orders Wavells XIII Corps to capture Benghazi.
February:
Italian forces make repeated attempts to break through the weak British blocking forces at
Beda Fomm, but cannot. Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel is appointed to command the
German forces being sent to Africa. The Italians surrender 20,000 men, 200 guns and 120
tanks to just 3,000 British troops.
Lieutenant General Rommel arrives in Tripoli and two weeks later, reconnaissance elements of
the German 5th Light Division clash with British forces for the first time in Africa, at Nofilia near
El Agheila.
March:
Rommel, conducts a limited offensive to recapture El Agheila from the British, which succeeds
with startling ease. This encourages Rommel to push forward towards Mersa Brega.
April:
Elements of the 5th Light Division capture Mechili and threaten to cut of the 9th Australian
Division which is withdrawing at speed towards Tobruk along the coast. Derna is captured the
5th Light Division along with Generals Neame and O'Connor later in the day.
Rommel makes an attempt to capture Tobruk off the march. However, the 9th Australian
Division repulses the attack, forcing the Germans to think again. By now the Germans are
pretty exhausted after 3 weeks of continuous action and their vehicles in serious need of an
overhaul
German advance spearheads capture Sollum. Rommel receives orders from Berlin that he is
to consolidate on the Egyptian frontier and concentrate of capturing Tobruk. Only then will he
be allowed to push into Egypt. But the German troops cross the Egyptian border and capture
the Halfaya Pass, forcing the British to pull back to a defensive line running from Buq Buq on
the coast to Sofafi, some 50km in to the desert. The British also begin construction of a
major defensive line in front of Mersa Matruh. (This Defensive line will play a role in the
Alamein '42 game 14 months later)
May:
The British Army under Auchinleck, launch an offensive, operation 'Brevity' against the Afrika
Korps and manage to recapture Halfaya Pass, Sollum and Capuzzo.
The Afrika Korps counter-attack against the British and retake Sollum and Capuzzo, although
the Halfaya Pass remains in British hands. Berlin orders Rommel to leave Tobruk to the
Page 19
Italians and to concentrate the Afrika Korps near the Egyptian border.
June:
The British Army begins 'Operation Battleaxe' to relieve Australian held Tobruk and then
advance towards Derna. However, they meet fierce counter attacks by the Afrika Korps and
are unable to make any headway.
July:
General Wavell is relieved of his command as C-in-C of the Middle East, by General Sir Claude
Auchinleck.
August:
A brigade of the 9th Australian Division which is besieged at Tobruk is relieved by sea, as
Polish reinforcements arrive. After demands from the Australian Prime Minister, the British
agree to relieve the remainder of the 9th Australian Division from Tobruk.
September:
General Sir Claude Auchinleck begins planning forthcoming British Offensive, 'Operation
Crusader'
November:
'Operation Crusader', the British Eighth Army's offensive to relieve Tobruk begins. Rommel,
who arrives back from Rome that day, is caught by surprise, allowing the British XXX Corps to
advance 50-miles and capture the axis airfield 10 miles south of Sidi Rezegh.
The Tobruk garrison links up with the Eighth Army and the Siege is lifted
December:
The German and Italian forces withdraw to a defensive position at Gazala. The Eighth Army
attacks. Rommel, fearful that the British will outflank him, orders the retreat. The British
retake Benghazi.
1942
January:
Rommel's battered forces reach the Tripolitanian frontier having evaded all British attempts to
cut them off.
Without consulting higher authority, Rommel launches a counter-offensive against the 8th
Army. The 21st Panzer Division quickly seizes Mersa Brega,
German troops capture Msus, which threatens the 4th Indian Divisions position at Benghazi.
Lieutenant General Ritchie, orders the 4th Indian Division to withdraw to a line running from
Derna to Mechili, but this order is countermanded by General Auchinleck who wanted the 8th
Army to counter-attack. However, the 8th Army was to widely dispersed and Rommel’s forces
were advancing to quickly.
Page 20
February:
After just over 2 weeks of frenetic action, Rommel's counter-offensive comes to a halt in
front of the Gazala line, a series of self supporting fortified boxes running south from Gazala
for a hundred miles to Bir Hacheim. Although not complete, it presents too much of an
obstacle for the Afrika Korps who by this time are running low on fuel and reserves.
http://www.worldwar-2.net/
Events covered in Alamein '42
1942
May:
The battle for the Gazala line begins (Operation Venezia), as the Afrika Korps thrusts around
the southern end of the Eighth Army's defensive positions towards Tobruk. However the Free
French forces at Bir Hacheim manage hold up this advance.
The battle of the 'Cauldron' begins as Rommel attacks the fortified box in the Gazala line that
is held by the 150th Brigade of the British 50th Division. The Italians attack from the west as
elements of the Afrika Korps attack from the east. Meanwhile Rommel's anti-tank gunners,
repulse a number of British armoured counter-attacks against his position in the 'Cauldron'.
However, Lieutenant General Ritchie is hampered by his inability to concentrate his armour and
so is unable to relieve the 150th Brigade.
June:
The Eighth Army launches a counter-attack against the Afrika Korps forces that are inside the
'Cauldron. This is codenamed 'Aberdeen', but went disastrously wrong from the start, with an
infantry tank brigade being destroyed in minefields and an Indian infantry brigade attacking
the wrong positions. This left the remainder of the force, the 22nd Armoured Brigade to be
repulsed easily by the untouched German defenses. British losses for this operation were 150
tanks, 133 guns and 6,000 troops
Page 21
German and Italian troops captures Bir Hacheim finally from the Free French, who had been
totally cut off since the 26 May 1942.
Lieutenant General Ritchie gives General Norrie permission to withdraw XXX Corps past Tobruk
and as far as Mersa Matruh to re-equip. General Gott's XIII is ordered to take up defensive
positions on the Egyptian frontier. This left the city exposed to another siege, for which its
defenses were inadequate, having been allowed to deteriorate during the winter.
The Eighth Army's withdrawal reaches the Egyptian frontier, leaving behind the 2nd South
African Division to form the basis of a 30,000 strong garrison at Tobruk.
The Germans isolates Tobruk by cutting the coast road at Gambut.
Rommel turns and launches a surprise against Tobruk. This throws the garrison into confusion
which allows German troops to breach the outer defenses. The fortress falls in one day with
the capture of 32,000 prisoners and tons of fuel and food
German advanced elements reach the Egyptian border. Rommel signals Kesselring for
permission to continue the advance in to Egypt, pointing out that at Tobruk his forces has
captured large quantities of fuel and supplies.
Rommel is made a Field Marshal and launches attacks against Mersa Matruh. Meanwhile,
Kesselring, Cavallero (Italian Chief of Staff in Rome) and Bastico (Italian C-in-C in Libya) arrive
at Rommel's HQ and give permission for him to continue his advance in to Egypt. Mersa
Matruh falls after heavy fighting
Rommel spearheads reaches El Alamein.
July:
Rommel captures 2,000 prisoners from the El Alamein 'box' but loses 18 of his 55 remaining
tanks.
The British hold El Alamein despite heavy attacks, Rommel is now down to 26 tanks.
Due to exhaustion and lack of supplies, especially fuel for the armoured divisions, Rommel
orders his German and Italian forces to suspend all offensive operations before El Alamein and
begin constructing defensive positions.
August:
Montgomery takes command of Eighth Army.
The Afrika Korps fails to break through the British 8th Army's lines and advance toward
Alexandria, 120km away in the battle of Alam Halfa. The German lose about 30 tanks and are
forced to withdraw
Page 22
September:
Rommel is back to the positions held on the 31st August, having lost a tenth of his panzer
force.
Field Marshal Rommel takes a medical leave and hands over command to General von
Thoma.
October:
Montgomery issues the final plan to senior commanders for the Second battle of El Alamein.
The Second Battle of El Alamein begins with a 1,000-gun bombardment. The Eighth Army
gains ground on a 6-mile front and repulses Axis counter-attacks.
Rommel returns to take command of the Afrika Korps!
November:
Operation 'Supercharge', the breakout at El Alamein gets under way. Rommel has only 32
Panzer's left intact
Rejecting out of hand Field Marshal Rommel's proposal to withdraw the Afrika Korps, now
down to about 40 tanks, to the Fuka line, Hitler orders him to stand and fight.
The Italian 20th Motorised Corps is destroyed. Rommel re-issues his orders for retreat with
only 12 tanks left. 10,724 Axis prisoners are taken by the British, including nine generals.
The British attack Rommel's rearguard, which is now almost 100 miles to west of El Alamein.
Meanwhile, to the west in Morocco and Algeria, Operation 'Torch' begins with Anglo-American
forces under Lieutenant General Eisenhower landing against minimal Vichy French resistance.
On the same day on the Alamein front, Mersa Matruh is re-taken by British and the long run
back across the desert begins.
Click here to jump to The Scenarios Section
Page 23
III. The Scenarios
Scenario Introduction
From a scenario design point of view Alamein ’42 offered its own challenges which were
different from most other games of the series. In previous titles such as Sicily, Bulge or
Kursk, the game usually depicts a single battle, most often with a clear start and end point.
As previous noted in the Order-of-Battle Section with the tank upgrades alone, such a single
phase battle wouldn’t work for Alamein. In reviewing the Historical Timeline section above, one
can readily see a clear division of time after the advance to the Gazala Line. But in reading
various sources it is not so clearly defined when the battle for the Gazala Line ended and the
drive from Tobruk to Alamein.
Therefore, to tell the story in the Desert War for 1942, it was essential to begin with Gazala
and this earlier phase of the battle in 1942. The Equipment upgrade was not a problem at this
early juncture, but it was decided not try and continue the campaign from Gazala and follow
through to Alamein for two principle reasons. The first reason for this was time. Using the 2
hour time period for each turn, attempting to combine the Gazala Campaign to the pursuit to
Alamein would cover to long a time period to be playable and be impossible to test.
Secondly, the different style of the close action during the month long struggle around the
Gazala Line demanded a different recovery factor in the game parameter data to account for
the huge difference with the ability, particularly of the Germans, to recover panzers and press
them into service in more stationary battles. In early June, German panzer strength improved
dramatically in short spaces of time as German recovery teams hauled in and repaired many
AFV’s. These same levels of recovery were not possible in the long drive to Alamein and so a
second parameter data (PDT) file was required. Of course each scenario can only have one
parameter file assigned to it, so this along with the sheer length of a combined campaign was
enough to warrant handling both phases of this battle separately.
As with previous games in the series, scenario files names begin with numbers using the
format mmdd_xx where the xx portion represents the scenario number on that particular
day. There is also a couple introductory scenarios 00 and 01 so as to appear first in the list
out of chronological order. Some scenario numbers are ended with a lowercase "a" or "s".
The scenarios with the "s" are those that have Explicit Supply units available.
When we test these games we play almost exclusively against the AI but a number of the
testers are avid Play-by-Email fans and they could see where certain scenarios could be best
duplicated with a second copy of the scenario optimized specifically for Head-to-Head (HTH)
Play. These scenarios are designation with the "a" after the number. Players interested in the
challenge of play against another human can find a great bunch of guys at mainly two clubs
which handle Panzer Campaigns.
First of all "The Panzer Campaigns Club" isn’t a normal or traditional ladder. Rather than tell
you about it myself, I asked Joseph Alberti Jr to give me a few words about his organization.
Joe says:
"Panzer Campaigns Club: ( http://www.panzercampaignsclub.com/ )Is a on-line wargaming club
Page 24
dedicated to the HPS Panzer Campaigns and Squad Battles WWII titles. More than a ladder
where members advance in points by the number of games played and victories won, club
members can role play positions within the various Allied and Axis Armies. Club members can
advance from battalion to army level command through active club participation and gaming.
Comradeship between members of the same army is encouraged and fostered. The club
sponsors a number of tournament events between the armies, and there is an active training
center and war college where tactics are taught and discussed. By joining the club, one can
enjoy playing the games against worthy opponents, discuss WWII tactics and topics on the
message boards, and have real comrades in one of the club armies."
The second club of note is "The Blitz", which hosts a more traditional Ladder style, and to
speak for them I asked Paul Sinatra, the Panzer Campaign Forum Custodian to tell us about
his club. Pauls says:
"The Blitzkrieg Wargaming Club: ( http://www.theblitz.org ) If you like your wargaming
uninterrupted by banners, pop ups, spy ware, or membership fees, than The Blitzkrieg
Wargaming Club is for you. Established in 1999, The Blitz is one of the oldest and most active
clubs supporting on line and PBEM war gaming, and is home to over 3400 active war gamers
from 80 different nations, over 400 of which are involved in playing HPS Simulations Panzer
Campaigns and Modern Campaigns series of games. The Panzer Campaigns/Modern
Campaigns community is particularly active, and the forums are visited on a daily basis by
many of the fine developers, scenario designers, and play testers who produce these fine HPS
products, not to mention the Internet's highest caliber PBEM players. In addition, The Blitz also
supports other fine HPS products such as Squad Battles, and their American Civil War and
Napoleonic series of Wargames."
The Blitz without a doubt hosts the most active Panzer Campaigns discussion forum so even
if your not interested in playing another human, do check it out as a great place to visit, ask
questions of discuss the games. Another place to be aware of is HPS Tech Support guy Rich
Hamilton operations an Unofficial HPS Forum site
Before moving on to the list of scenarios and designers, I’d like to thank a few people for their
ongoing support with the Panzer Campaigns Series.
Mike Avanzini for his Campaigns Maps found in a folder under the Start menu.
Adam Parker for his assistances in preparation of the written and graphical components of the
STARTED.HLP file that introduces every new player to the games.
And finally the most over worked bunch of guys who thankless give up tens if not hundreds of
hours, playing, replaying and then playing again the various scenarios we design until we get
them right. To Bob Hutchison, Ed Williams, Rick Bancroft and Paul Sinatra – Thanks Guys –
we couldn’t do it without you.
Page 25
We sure hope you all enjoy Alamein ’42 – we had a lot of fun bring it all together for you.
Stop by the HPS Website from time to time to ensure you get the latest update for this or
any of the games in the series. Also, drop by my own Unofficial Panzer Campaigns
Homepage if your looking for more information on this series of game or if you would like to
ask me a question by email rather than using one of the above mentioned public forums.
Scenario List
#00_Started.scn
Getting Started: "Up in the Blue"
#01_No_Mans_Land.scn
01: No-Man's Land
#0527_01_Gazala.scn
0527_01: The Gazala Gallop Campaign
#0527_02_Bir_Hacheim1.scn
0527_02: Round the Horn
#0527_03_Bir_Hacheim2.scn
0527_03: First Try for the "Dogs Well"
#0531_01_Sidi Muftah.scn
0531_01: The Destruction of the 150th Brigade
#0605_01_Cauldron.scn
0605_01: The Cauldron
#0619_01s_Tobruk_to_Alamein.scn
0619_01s: The Tobruk Stakes and the Race for Alamein
#0619_02s_Tobruk_to_Alamein.scn
0619_02s: Tobruk to Alamein (stronger Allied)
#0619_03s_Tobruk_to_Alamein.scn
0619_03s: Tobruk to Alamein (stronger Axis)
#0619_04s_Tobruk_to_Alamein.scn
0619_04s: Tobruk to Alamein (both stronger-unfixed)
#0620_01_Tobruk.scn
0620_01: The Fall of Tobruk
#0622_01_Malta.scn
0622_01: Operation Herkules
#0622_01a_Malta.scn
0622_01a: Operation Herkules (HTH Balanced)
#0626_01s_Matruh_to_Alamein.scn
0626_01s: The Race for Alamein and Beyond
#0626_02s_Matruh_to_Alamein.scn
0626_02s: Matruh to Alamein (stronger Allied)
#0626_03s_Matruh_to_Alamein.scn
0626_03s: Matruh to Alamein (stronger Axis)
#0626_04_Mersa_Matruh.scn
0626_04: Right Hook
#0626_04a_Mersa_Matruh.scn
0626_04a: Right Hook (HTH Balanced)
#0630_01_1st_Alamein.scn
0630_01: The First Battle of Alamein
#0630_02_Alternate_1st_Alamein.scn
0630_02: First Alamein with Axis Airborne Operation
#0701_01_Deir-el-Shein.scn
0701_01: Ice Cold in Alex
#0701_01a_Deir-el-Shein.scn
0701_01a: Ice Cold in Alex (HTH Balanced)
#0703_01_Alam_Nayil.scn
0703_01: The Charge of the Ariete
#0710_01_Tel_el_Eisa.scn
0710_01: Crumble at Tel el Eisa
#0710_01a_Tel_el_Eisa.scn
0710_01a: Crumble at Tel el Eisa (HTH Balanced)
#0721_01_Ruweisat_Ridge.scn
0721_01: Ruweisat Ridge
#0830_01_Alam_Halfa.scn
0830_01: Alam Halfa Ridge - Last Try for the Nile
#1023_01_2nd_Alamein.scn
1023_01: 2nd Alamein - The End of the Beginning
#1023_02_2nd_Alamein_Setup.scn
1023_02: 2nd Alamein - Variable Allied Setup
#1023_03_Lightfoot.scn
1023_03: The Point of Attack
#1023_03a_Lightfoot.scn
1023_03a: The Point of Attack (HTH Balanced)
#1023_04_Bertram.scn
1023_04: Diversion in the South
#1102_01_Supercharge.scn
1102_01: Operation Supercharge
Scenario Overviews
Page 26
Getting Started: "Up in the Blue"
Up in "The Blue" - west of the Gazala Line, January 17th 1942: After the second British
victory in North Africa, Operation "Crusader" around Tobruk in 1941, Panzerarmee Afrika was
forced to retire to the Mersa el Brega position, having given up the Cyrenaica. But the
pendulum of battle was about to swing once more, and with the fiery breath of a Khamsin
wind, Rommel was on the move again determined to take Tobruk. Meanwhile, the British 8th
Army, led by General Ritchie, was thinly strung across the Cyrenaica. Ritchie was preoccupied
with Axis units trapped in his rear when Rommel struck. What followed was a series of small
scale running gun battles "Up in the Blue" - the soldiers' name for the open desert - as units
scurried back toward the safety of the Gazala Line. [Size, small] *Designer Note: This
scenario was created only for Human Axis play vs. an Allied AI Opponent with FOW ON.
***SEE STARTED.HLP***
01: No-Man's Land
Libyan Desert, 1940-43: The armored car regiments were very important in the battles of the
Western Desert for a number of reasons. They had a very long range compared to other
units and were used for independent missions. As soon as Mussolini declared war the three
squadrons of the 11th Hussars were unleashed into "No-man's Land" with the orders "to raise
hell, keep the enemy on edge and report what he was up to". Off they went and created
havoc behind the Italian lines. So much so that a small force of Italian infantry, armor, and
guns were sent to try to confront the marauding cars. Unfortunately they were spotted early
and the 11th called in their buddies from the 4th Armored Brigade to join the party. [Size,
small] * Designer Note: This is a "What-If" scenario as far as the units used.
0527_01: The Gazala Gallop Campaign
Gazala, May 27th 1942: After recapturing the Cyrenaica early in the year, Rommel and the
Afrika Korps paused to catch its breath. Facing them, across a minefield stretching from the
Mediterranean Sea to the French stronghold at Bir Hacheim some 65km to the south, was the
8th Army led by the ever-tentative British commander, General Ritchie, a staff officer who
had never commanded anything larger than a company in battle. Ritchie deployed his infantry
in a number of defensive boxes along a static front line with an open left flank. This position,
known as the Gazala Line, was backed with the only mobile formations, the armored divisions
that represented his reserves. Everyone at 8th Army HQ expected Rommel to drive down the
main road along the coast. So Rommel provided a diversion in that direction to keep the British
command occupied while he lead the powerful Panzer divisions, and the best of the Italian
mobile formations, around the end of the line into the British rear area. Dawn found the Axis
forces "galloping" around the Gazala Line, slicing through the screening armoured car recon
units Ritchie had deployed to cover his open flank. This would be a battle where the British led
8th Army was once again out maneuvered. The position Rommel placed the Africa Korps in
was very tenuous for a number of days, however, due to the poorly coordinated British
counterattacks, Rommel was able to turn a bad situation into one of the greatest victories in
his career. [Size, large]
0527_02: Round the Horn
Page 27
SE of Bir Hacheim, May 27th 1942: "The first victim was the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade", as
Mitcham in his book "Rommel's Greatest Victory," describes events. This unit was spread out
over the southern flank, covering the area from Bir Hacheim to Bir el Gubi. Many of the men
were eating breakfast when the Afrika Korps suddenly appeared at dawn. They, and their
supporting units of armoured cars and artillery, were quickly overrun, while both the 8th Army
and XXX Corps HQ seemed frozen with disbelief at the events that were taking place. One
armoured brigade had even pre-planned their battle positions on ground of their own choosing,
but events overtook them before they had an opportunity to occupy the positions. However,
all did not go according to plan for the Afrika Korps either. The plan called for the Italian Ariete
Division to capture Bir Hacheim (Dog's Well) from the 1st Free French Brigade, an opponent
that Rommel and the Italians regarded as a rebel unit made up of Jews and
Legionnaires......they were in for a big surprise! [Size, medium]
0527_03: First Try for the "Dogs Well"
SE of Bir Hacheim, May 27th 1942: As the Africa Korps rounded the bend and cut in behind
the British, not everything went according to plan. The Italian Ariete Division was assigned the
mission to capture Bar Hacheim, (Dog's Well) from the 1st Free French Brigade, an opponent
that Rommel and the Italians regarded as a rebel unit made up of Jews and
Legionnaires......they were in for a big surprise! [Size, small]
0531_01: The Destruction of the 150th Brigade
The Encircled 150th Brigade at Sida Muftah, May 31st 1942: By the morning of the May 31st,
Brig Gen Hayton, in command of the 150th Brigade of the 50th Infantry Division, knew he
was in grave danger of losing his entire command. He withdrew his southernmost battalion
into the main box defensive position, where, supported by some tanks from the 44th Royal
Tank Regt. and some additional artillery assets, he continued to interdict Rommel's supply line.
It was "do or die" time for the Afrika Korps with Rommel declaring, "The 150th Brigade must
be evicted!" Meanwhile, 40 km to the east, 8th Army HQ was slow to respond to the growing
crisis, then it reacted with a number of uncoordinated efforts to breakthrough to the
beleaguered defenders. [Size, medium] *Designers Note: The area marked as impassible, at
the north end of the map is occupied with units that were not available for the action that is
the subject of this scenario.
0605_01: The Cauldron
The Cauldron, June 5th 1942: By early June, both sides were down to less than half of the
tanks they had at the start of the battle. During the lull in the fighting, Rommel hastily
recovered more battle-damaged tanks for his next move. But before he could act, Gen
Ritchie at 8th Army ordered up Operation Aberdeen, the goal of which was to annihilate the
Africa Korps in the Cauldron. [Size, medium]
0619_01s: The "Tobruk Stakes" and the Race for Alamein
Near Tobruk, June 19th 1942: After winning "The Gazala Gallop" Rommel was faced with a
situation very much like the one he was in at this time in the previous year. The 8th Army
was in retreat to the Egyptian frontier leaving a sizable force garrisoning Tobruk. Rommel
knew he could not sustain a deep drive toward Cairo and the Nile without first securing his lines
Page 28
of communication. This meant capturing Tobruk, a prize that eluded him in 1941, and using
the port as a basis for supplying a drive to the east. So with 8th Army in retreat and his
weary panzers hot on their heels, Rommel disengaged his army, turned and attacked Tobruk
in a run one author called the "Tobruk Stakes". The fortress fell in a single day's fight in what
was a staggering blow to British prestige. With his rear secured, Rommel was free to
concentrate his army on the ultimate objective of the campaign - Alexandria, Cairo, and the
Nile. But his army was badly depleted from the previous month's fighting. Many of the
panzers were broken down or disabled across the wide expanse of the desert battlefield. His
men had already gone about as far as any commander could have expected. Y et Rommel
still had another race to run - the Race to Alamein and beyond! [Size, large]. *Designer Note:
Explicit Supply is possible and if used the Axis player will get more supplies if he captures
Tobruk. Selecting the option to invade Malta will result in an additional bonus supply convoy
landed in Tobruk, but the Axis player requires Tobruk captured to receive it. Using VST Supply
there is a Supply bonus for the Axis for capturing Tobruk.
0619_02s: Tobruk to Alamein (stronger Allied)
Near Tobruk, June 19th 1942: This scenario is the same as 0619_01s with the addition of two
Allied divisions. First, the 4th Indian Division was in North Africa and too part in campaigns in
1940-41. During this 1st Battle of Alamein this veteran division was dug-in on the Nile. The
second division was the British 44th Infantry. This unit was on route to North Africa and
arrived after the 1st Battle of Alamein and was deemed to be in need of training after it had
arrived. Both units are deployed in a FIXED state with possible release and are intended as a
last hope defense of Alexandra and the Nile, particularly for Axis Human Play against the Allied
AI. [Size, large]. *Designer Note: Explicit Supply is possible and the supply conditions from
0619_01s are in effect here but there is no additional Explicit supply for the additional units.
0619_03s: Tobruk to Alamein (stronger Axis)
Near Tobruk, June 19th 1942: This scenario is the same as 0619_01s with the addition of
extra Axis units, including the German 164th Light Infantry Division, the Ramcke Parachute
Brigade as well as the crack Italian Folgore Division. These units historically arrived by air in the
middle of July and given the desperate state of both sides at that time, it is interesting to
speculate about the effect these units could have played. [Size, large]. *Designer Note:
Explicit Supply is possible and the Axis player receives the bonus supplies at Tobruk,
regardless if he invades Malta. Also note, the Folgore Division is only available in North Africa if
it is not used to Invade Malta. If Malta is invaded, the Bologna will arrive early.
0619_04s: Tobruk to Alamein (both sides reinforced - unfixed)
Near Tobruk, June 19th 1942: This scenario is the same as 0619_01s with the addition of
extra Axis units for both sides from 0619_02s and 0619_03s. These include the German
164th Light Infantry Division, the Ramcke Parachute Brigade as well as the crack Italian
Folgore Division. There are additional Allied Divisions two. Furthermore, most later releasing
Allied units are Unfixed at start allowing for more flexible play. However, Axis units at the start
of the scenario remain Fixed to encourage a historical development of the beginning of this
battle. [Size, large]. *Designer Note: Explicit Supply is possible and the Axis player receives
the bonus supplies at Tobruk, regardless if he invades Malta. Also note, the Folgore Division is
only available in North Africa if it is not used to Invade Malta. If Malta is invaded, the Bologna
will arrive early.
Page 29
0620_01: The Fall of Tobruk
Tobruk, June 20th 1942: By the June 14th June, Gen Ritchie had accepted the fact that the
battle for the Gazala Line had been lost, and ordered the units remaining on the front line to
break off action and withdraw. The Axis closed in at once and surrounded Tobruk by the June
18th. The Australians had held out through a long siege the previous year, so the upper
echelon expected the same result once more. The Tobruk Garrison was roughly the same
size as before and was organized around the 2nd South African Division, but the fortifications
were not near as strong. Many of the mines had been pulled to be re-sewn on the Gazala
Line, also many minefields were simply lost track of through the changing of the garrison. As
before, Rommel bypassed Tobruk and drove the 8th Army back across the border into
Egypt. But on the night of the June 19th, Rommel disengaged his tanks at the front line and
doubled back to strike at Tobruk. When the attack began, General Klopper thought the first
strike was a diversionary attack and, thus, he was slow to react with his reserves. Before he
could, it was too late. The front line was broken in a sector held by the 11th Indian Brigade's
Cameron Highlanders, and Mahratta Light Infantry, arguably two of the best regiments in the
8th Army, that were, as it turns out, stretched over too much frontage. The fortress of
Tobruk, having withstood the siege for months the previous year, fell in a single day's fight. It
was a staggering blow to Britain and in particular their leader Winston Churchill, who was said
to have muttered, "Defeat is one thing, disgrace is another!" [Size, medium]
0622_01: Operation "Herkules"
Malta, June 21st 1942: This quote, from Italian Count Ciano, sums up the situation of 1st
Panzerarmee in North Africa, "Because of the revival of Malta as an air base and the
numerous sinkings in the Mediterranean, supplies for the First Panzerarmee have fallen far
below normal requirements. Unless Malta is weakened or paralyzed once more, this situation
cannot be remedied." The plans to take Malta had long been on the drawing board, indeed,
some Axis strategists deemed it essential to crush this island for the war in the desert to
succeed. [Size, medium]
0622_01a: Operation Herkules
Malta, June 21st 1942: This quote, from Italian Count Ciano, sums up the situation of 1st
Panzerarmee in North Africa, "Because of the revival of Malta as an air base and the
numerous sinkings in the Mediterranean, supplies for the First Panzerarmee have fallen far
below normal requirements. Unless Malta is weakened or paralyzed once more, this situation
cannot be remedied." The plans to take Malta had long been on the drawing board, indeed,
some Axis strategists deemed it essential to crush this island for the war in the desert to
succeed. [Size, medium] *Designer Note: Victory Levels optimized for Human vs. Human
play.
0626_01s: The Race for Alamein and Beyond
Mersa Matruh, June 26th 1942: With victories in "The Gazala Gallop" and "The Tobruk
Stakes" under his belt, final victory in the desert had still eluded Rommel. With his battered
Panzer Army he still faced an 8th Army that was battered, but not yet beaten. Ritchie had
been removed from command and leadership fell to the Commander-in-Chief of the Middle
Page 30
East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck. The Army had been positioned for a stand at Mersa
Matruh, but the new commander could see that it was best to surrender ground and make a
stand at Alamein. Here the defense could be positioned at a narrow neck between the
Mediterranean Sea and anchored inland at the Qattara Depression. While the 8th Army was
demoralized and disorganized, the Afrika Korps too was almost at the end of its tether. This
last push by Rommel was a gamble to reach the Nile, before his supplies, his panzers, and
men ran out! [Size, large]. *Designer Note: Explicit Supply is possible.
0626_02s: Matruh to Alamein (stronger Allied)
Mersa Matruh, June 26th 1942: This scenario is the same as 0626_01s with the addition of
two Allied divisions. First, the 4th Indian Division was in North Africa and too part in campaigns
in 1940-41. During this 1st Battle of Alamein this veteran division was dug-in on the Nile. The
second division was the British 44th Infantry. This unit was on route to North Africa and
arrived after the 1st Battle of Alamein and was deemed to be in need of training after it had
arrived. Both units are deployed in a FIXED state with possible release and are intended as a
last hope defense of Alexandra and the Nile, particularly for Axis Human Play against the Allied
AI. [Size, large]. *Designer Note: Explicit Supply is possible but there is no additional Explicit
supply for the additional units.
0626_03s: Matruh to Alamein (stronger Axis)
Mersa Matruh, June 26th 1942: This scenario is the same as 0626_01s with the addition of
extra Axis units, including the German 164th Light Infantry Division, the Ramcke Parachute
Brigade as well as the crack Italian Folgore Division. These units historically arrived by air in the
middle of July and given the desperate state of both sides at that time, it is interesting to
speculate about the effect these units could have played. [Size, large]. Designer Note: Explicit
Supply is possible and the Axis player receives the bonus supplies at Tobruk just like he would
had he invaded Malta in the 0619_01 scenario.
0626_04: Right Hook
Mersa Matruh, June 26th 1942: Rommel was chasing the 8th Army across the desert sands
he had retreated over a few months previously. Tobruk had fallen easily, after the frustration
of the year before and the Allied commanders just couldn't put it all together, the chase was
on. Gen. Ritchie had decided to make a stand at Mersa Matruh in order that the ground
around El Alamein could be readied for defense. In reality, Rommel was almost at the end of
his tether, he was using all the supplies he could capture, and his daunted Afrika Korps was
getting to be quite thin on the ground. This was a desperate gamble to push the disorganized
8th Army in front of him, all the way to Alexandria, before his supplies... and men... ran out.
[Size, large]
#0626_04a: Right Hook (HTH Balanced)
Mersa Matruh, June 26th 1942: Rommel was chasing the 8th Army across the desert sands
he had retreated over a few months previously. Tobruk had fallen easily, after the frustration
of the year before and the Allied commanders just couldn't put it all together, the chase was
on. Gen. Ritchie had decided to make a stand at Mersa Matruh in order that the ground
around El Alamein could be readied for defense. In reality, Rommel was almost at the end of
Page 31
his tether, he was using all the supplies he could capture, and his daunted Afrika Korps was
getting to be quite thin on the ground. This was a desperate gamble to push the disorganized
8th Army in front of him, all the way to Alexandria, before his supplies... and men... ran out.
[Size, large] *Designer Note: Victory Levels optimized for Human vs. Human play.
0630_01: The First Battle of Alamein
Alamein Station, July 1st 1942: Rommel believed he had the 8th Army on the run and that he
could easily break through the opposition and continue in triumph all the way to Alexandria and
Cairo. He drew up plans to send the DAK on an end run to the south, as at Gazala and Mersa
Matruh. He knew his weary troops could not withstand a protracted battle and, with only 55
panzers left, he wanted a swift end to hostilities. Here though, things did not go right from the
start, the enemy were not where expected, the Desert Air Force threw wave after wave of
aircraft at the DAK, and his men were getting more and more exhausted. [Size, medium]
*Designer Note: Scenario best for Human vs. Human but certainly possible for Human vs. AI
Play too.
0630_02: First Alamein with Axis Airborne Operations
Alamein Station, July 1st 1942 This scenario is the same as 0630_01 with the addition of extra
units, including the Ramcke Parachute Brigade as well as the crack Italian Folgore Division.
These units historically arrived by air at the start of the game. The Allied Player may receive
additional forces as well [Size, medium]. *Designer Note: Scenario best for Human vs. Human
but certainly possible for Human vs. AI Play too.
0701_01: Ice Cold in Alex
Alamein Station, July 1st 1942: Rommel believed he had the 8th Army on the run and that he
could break easily through the opposition and continue in triumph all the way to Alexandria and
Cairo. He drew up plans to send the DAK on an end run to the south, as at Gazala and Mersa
Matruh. He knew his weary troops could not withstand a protracted battle and with only 55
panzers left he wanted a swift end to hostilities. Here, though, things did not go right from the
start, the enemy were not where expected, the Desert Air Force threw wave after wave of
aircraft at the DAK, and his men were getting more and more exhausted. [Size, medium]
0701_01a: Ice Cold in Alex (HTH Balanced)
Alamein Station, July 1st 1942: Rommel believed he had the 8th Army on the run and that he
could break easily through the opposition and continue in triumph all the way to Alexandria and
Cairo. He drew up plans to send the DAK on an end run to the south, as at Gazala and Mersa
Matruh. He knew his weary troops could not withstand a protracted battle and with only 55
panzers left he wanted a swift end to hostilities. Here, though, things did not go right from the
start, the enemy were not where expected, the Desert Air Force threw wave after wave of
aircraft at the DAK, and his men were getting more and more exhausted. [Size, medium]
*Designer Note: Victory Levels optimized for Human vs. Human play.
0703_01: The Charge of the Ariete
Page 32
South of the Ruweisat Ridge, July 3rd 1942: The Afrika Korps' chances of snatching a victory
at the First Battle of Alamein were rapidly dwindling. Although the 8th Army was fighting as
individual units, the Axis forces were thoroughly exhausted with their supplies and
reinforcements lying hundreds of miles to their rear. Rommel was roaming far and wide trying
to get his troops to give their all in one last, final push, but with the DAK down to a tenth of its
strength, it was not to be. The Italian part, on this last day, was the Ariete Division to
advance to the south of the Ruweisat Ridge aiming at the Alam Nayil ridge. Little did they
know that this would take them right into part of the well rested, although a little below
strength, 2nd New Zealand Division. [Size, small]
0710_01: Crumble at Tel el Eisa
Tel el Eisa, July 10th 1942: As the German attack petered out, 8th Army adopted a plan to
'thrust and parry' along the front in order to tire and wear out Rommel's remaining the panzer
reserves. Fighting had lapsed into a virtual stalemate with the Allies holding the upper hand,
but with no impetuous, or energy, to carry on the assault any longer. By the 10th, three days
had passed without Auchinleck being able to muster any sort of offense. The lull was broken
with the arrival of the 9th Australian Division. Fresh from reserves, this formation launched a
major offensive on the Coastal Road which shattered the Sabratha Division, leaving the road
held only by HQ Panzeraramee Afrika to hold the line. HQ troops and AA guns were deployed
across the road and they successfully held the initial attack, but in the process lost a number
of irreplaceable Wireless Intercept specialists. 15th Panzer responded with vastly reduced
strength from the south, but the day was saved with the arrival of the 382nd Regiment, the
lead unit of the 164th Division, the first reinforcement dispatched to Africa in months. This
'Crumble at El el Eisa' signaled a change in fortune for the Afrika Korps. [Size, small]
0710_01a: Crumble at Tel el Eisa (HTH Balanced)
Tel el Eisa, July 10th 1942: As the German attack petered out, 8th Army adopted a plan to
'thrust and parry' along the front in order to tire and wear out Rommel's remaining the panzer
reserves. Fighting had lapsed into a virtual stalemate with the Allies holding the upper hand,
but with no impetuous, or energy, to carry on the assault any longer. By the 10th, three days
had passed without Auchinleck being able to muster any sort of offense. The lull was broken
with the arrival of the 9th Australian Division. Fresh from reserves, this formation launched a
major offensive on the Coastal Road which shattered the Sabratha Division, leaving the road
held only by HQ Panzeraramee Afrika to hold the line. HQ troops and AA guns were deployed
across the road and they successfully held the initial attack, but in the process lost a number
of irreplaceable Wireless Intercept specialists. 15th Panzer responded with vastly reduced
strength from the south, but the day was saved with the arrival of the 382nd Regiment, the
lead unit of the 164th Division, the first reinforcement dispatched to Africa in months. This
'Crumble at El el Eisa' signaled a change in fortune for the Afrika Korps. [Size, small] *Designer
Note: Victory Levels optimized for Human vs. Human play.
0721_01: Ruweisat Ridge
Ruweisat Ridge, near El Alamein, July 21st 1942: The 8th Army had been whittling away at
the remaining Axis forces for some weeks. Any chance to bleed some strength from the
Afrika Korps was taken. So it was, on the night of July 21st that the 161st Indian Bde, and
the 6th New Zealand Bde, attacked to the west along the ridge towards El Mreir. The attack
went well and by early morning the New Zealanders were firmly in possession of the El Mreir
Page 33
depression, well inside the Axis lines. However, to hold against the expected counter attack,
both 15th and 21st Panzer were in the area, armor was needed. The job fell to the newly
arrived and inexperienced 23rd Armored Bde, who charged onto the waiting Axis anti tank
screen, losing valuable tanks in the process. [Size, medium] *Designer Note: This scenario
has some non-standard (unusual) reinforcements in order to simulate the arrival of both 23rd
Arm'd Bde and the anti-tank screen.
0830_01: Alam Halfa Ridge - Last Try for the Nile
El Alamein position, August 30th 1942: Rommel was frustrated by his lack of supplies,
receiving only a fifth of the requirement. It would have made sense to withdraw to Fuka to
shorten the supply line, but Hitler would not let any of his commanders give up any ground for
any reason. On the other hand, he had received some replacements and the two sides were
at the most balanced they would ever be in the Desert War. The longer he waited, the more
solid the Allies line at El Alamein became, so for Rommel the only alternative was to attack
while he still had the strength left to make the attack. Montgomery had used time well to
prepare his new command for defense, and this time the Allies would be waiting for the "right
hook". [Size, medium]
1023_01: 2nd Alamein - The End of the Beginning
El Alamein, October 23rd 1942: Two years had passed in the struggle for control of the
Western Desert. Each side had won, and each side had lost, neither side had managed to
inflict a decisive defeat on the other. The two sides had frequently been compared to two
boxers, each tied by the elastic rope of their supply line, as one moved further from the
supply source, the stronger the pull his rope exerted to get him back to his corner. The
balance had now passed back to the 8th Army, close to its supply and getting stronger each
day, while the Afrika Korps was at the end of its rope and getting weaker. Montgomery had
planned a deliberate bleeding of Rommel's daunted troops, attacking here and there to cause
them to react and burn precious fuel in constant movement. The time was now ripe to finish
the Afrika Korps once and for all. Monty's plan was for XIII Corps to mount holding attacks,
while XXX Corps delivered the main blow in the north. Two corridors were to be secured so
that the armor of X Corps could move through the extensive minefields and destroy the Axis
armor. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the Allied victory at Alamein "The End of
the Beginning!" [Size, large]
1023_02: 2nd Alamein - Variable Allied Setup
El Alamein, October 23rd 1942: The Second Battle of Alamein was Monty's Battle - his effort
to select the battle ground and destroy the Africa Korps once and for all where it stood. Part
of this plan was to confuse the Germans as to where the main effort was to be using a series
of diversionary strikes. In this variation of the Second Alamein battle, the Allied player can pick
from one of four different battle plans in an effort to keep the German player guessing as to
where the main attack will fall. This scenario features historical forces, but variable Allied Setup,
using the Strategy|Operations feature, so that the 8th Army player can pick from the options
for a variable setup of the attack force. Axis forces begin the game Unfixed and thus they
can respond at will to Allied probes and attacks. [Size, large] *Designer Note: Even though the
number of hexes with troops vary within each possible Operation, all the Allied Setups contain
exactly the same force. Furthermore, the entire Axis line is equally fortified so it is up to the
Allies to outwit the German with probes and main attacks. Please note, that while the AI can
Page 34
play the Allied side in this scenario, there are no scripted AI Orders for the Allies because you
can't specify a objective for a division when the setup position for that division can vary as
widely as can be the case here. Special thanks to Rick Bancroft for assistance with the Allied
S|O Setups.
1023_03: The Point of Attack
El Alamein, October 23rd 1942: The start of the Allied attack on at El Alamein was
code-named "Operation Lightfoot". This main event was to last just one night, or so Monty
thought. The infantry went in first, it was known that many of the anti-tank mines would not
be tripped - hence the code-name "Lightfoot". Behind the infantry, engineers had to clear a
path for the tanks coming up in the rear, but first they had to clear sufficient gaps through
their own mines to allow for safe passage of troops, as well as supplies, before moving
forward to clear the German mines. It was an awesome task and one that essentially failed.
The attack on the Axis lines started with a great artillery barrage and, legend has it, that the
noise was so great that the ears of the gunners bled. This scenario depicts XXX Corps' part in
the battle to secure the corridors in the main area of the attack. [Size, medium] *Designers
Note: Additional "Bunker" hexes added to provide the Allied Human Player more challenge
when facing the AI Axis Opponent.
1023_03a: The Point of Attack (HTH Balanced)
El Alamein, October 23rd 1942: The start of the Allied attack on at El Alamein was
code-named "Operation Lightfoot". This main event was to last just one night, or so Monty
thought. The infantry went in first, it was known that many of the anti-tank mines would not
be tripped, hence the code-name "Lightfoot". Behind the infantry, engineers had to clear a
path for the tanks coming up in the rear, but first they had to clear sufficient gaps through
their own mines to allow for safe passage of troops, as well as supplies, before moving
forward to clear the German mines. It was an awesome task and one that essentially failed.
The attack on the Axis lines started with a great artillery barrage and, legend has it, that the
noise was so great that the ears of the gunners bled. This scenario depicts XXX Corps' part in
the battle to secure the corridors in the main area of the attack. [Size, medium] *Designers
Note: Victory Levels optimized for Human vs. Human play.
1023_04: Diversion in the South
Southern sector, El Alamein, October 23rd 1942: To throw the Germans off the scent,
Montgomery launched 'Operation Bertram'. This plan was to convince the Afrika Korps that
the full might of the Eighth Army would be used in the south. Dummy tanks were erected in
the region. A dummy pipeline was also built, slowly, so as to convey that the Allies were in no
hurry to attack. Monty's army in the north also had to "disappear". Bertram worked and when
Rommel, who was away sick when the battle began, returned to command the army, he was
convinced that the attack would be in the south. But to hold the Axis reserves in place in the
south, a strong push had to be made, or the deception would be quickly disregarded. [Size,
medium]
1102_01: Operation Supercharge
El Alamein, November 2nd 1942: Montgomery was keeping to his schedule. He now planned
Page 35
what he was hoping to be the death stroke of Rommel's army. Operation Supercharge would
be delivered north of Kidney Ridge in three phases. Phase 1, breaking into the enemy's
forward defenses on a two brigade frontage, east of the Rahman Track. Phase 2, destroying
the AT gun screen and breaking through the main position on the Aqqaqir Ridge, west of the
Rahman Track. Phase 3, bringing to battle and destroying the armor, then breaking out into
the open desert. Montgomery left his subordinates in no doubt about the losses to be
expected, he was prepared to accept 100 per cent in the opening phases to get out into the
desert. [Size, medium]
Click here to jump to The Bibliography Section
Page 36
IV. Bibliography
Books:
Bierman, John, and Smith, Colin, The Battle of Alamein: Turning Point, World War II, (2002)
Bungay, Stephen, Alamein, (2002)
Ceva, Lucio, Storia delle Forze Armate in Italia" (1999)
Information translated by Panzer Campaign fan, Franco Agostina
Churchill, Sir Winston, The Hinge of Fate, (1950)
Clayton, Tim and Craig, Phil, End of the Beginning, (2002)
Delaney, John, Fighting the Desert Fox, (1998)
Foss, Christopher, The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles, Amber Books,
(2002)
Gabriele, M., Operation C3: Malta, (1965)
Interpretation by Jason Petho
Hamilton, Scott S, and Smith, Gregory M., HPS Simulations Encyclopedia of Land Combat
(1997)
Hogg, Ian V., The Greenhill Armoured Fighting Vehicles Data Book. (2000)
Latimer, Jon, Alamein, (2002)
Lucas, James, War in the Desert: The Eight Army at El Alamein (1982)
Macksey, Maj. K.J., Africa Korps: Rommels Desert Soldiers (1968)
Madej, Victor, Italian Army Order of Battle 1939-1943, (1981)
Mitcham, Samuel, Rommel's Greatest Victory: the Desert Fox and the Fall of Tobruk, Spring
1942 (1999)
Nafziger, George F. German Order of Battle: Panzers and Artillery in WWII. (1995)
Nafziger, George F. German Order of Battle: Waffen SS and other Units in WWII. (2001)
Perrett, Bryan, Iron Fist: Classic Armoured Warfare, (1995)
Petho, Jason, A Battle Atlas: Operazione C3. (unpublished - coming in 2004-05)
Pitt, Barrie; The Crucible of War, Western Desert 1941, (1980)
Strawson, John, The Battle for North Africa, (1969)
Games:
Page 37
Avalon Hill, Air Assault on Crete,
Click here to jump to the Table of Contents
Page 38
Page 39