Apr I
Allied: The attack continues, British and Commonwealth units flood across the map. A lonely Italian Armoured Battalion tries valiantly to stem the flow before Derna but is swept up by the Allies with barely a pause in their march. South of Ain el Gazala, the 22C Art III is attacked by Greeks and Poles and disappears from the desert into the PoW cages. (6:1 = DE) In the exploitation phase the Allies ooze around the defenders of Derna towards Benghasi.
German: In the Desert the retreat continues towards Aghelia. Benghasi port is destroyed and the 15th Pz Cdr scurries along the coast to Tripoli. To show he is not cowed or defeated by the loss of eastern Libya, the German CinC launches his invasion of Malta. A German paratrooper regiment and Italian glider regiment lands amongst the 1st Malta *X defending west of Valletta, who, as they turn inwards to deal with this threat, are surprised by the mass landings of Italian Infantry along the shoreline. Air power is lent in heavy amounts from the LW and Italian Air Force. Despite their advantage in position, the overwhelming numbers and airsupport crush the defenders to the delight of Rome and Berlin. (5:1 -1 rough = DE). The 3 Malta *X in Gozo is now cut off from Valletta.
Apr II
Allied: Benghasi is snapped up by advancing Allied units. At Malta, the garrison commander blinks nervously like a bunny in the headlights of a truck and sits still, waiting his fate.
German: Libya – The 5th Pz HQ reforms and advances to Aghelia where Italian infantry occupy the prepared fortifications. German Armoured and motorised forces retreat past Agedebia and pause, daring the allies to attack, confident they have temporarily outrun their supply lines.
Malta – Italian units, specially selected and exhaustively trained for months, execute their attack on the city of Valletta. With overwhelming air support, the port falls to the Italians in an orgy of bloodletting and destruction. (6:1 – fort =DE) The Central Mediterranean is now an Italian pond! From his transportable HQ, currently a caravan bouncing along the coast road past Sirte, nefarious laughter is heard from the CinC.
France – Vichy. Marshall Petain is summoned to a meeting with Hitler at Paris. The meeting is quick and simple. France is to be no more! its failure to defend its interests in Syria in 1941 have indicated that it lacks any ability to operate outside of total National Socialist domination. As they speak German and Italian units occupy the rump state in mainland Europe. The Marshall is escorted from the meeting by the Gestapo. Across the North African colonies an alert goes out. Unfortunately only in Casablanca is the alert received, where the order is given to round up the usual suspects.
Tunisia – At Bizerte, French infantrymen and AA crews sleepily man their guns in the early dawn light. Since the fall of France a couple of years ago, there has been little to occupy the North African Garrison. The crews are surprised to hear the low throb of engines – perhaps some air units flying in from Algeria? But wait, these planes appear to be arriving from the north-east. The planes begin to disgorge small figures that blossom into parachutes, behind them swoop in bombers that attack the barracks of the defenders. Germany and Italy has violated the neutrality of France! Sacre bleu! In a daring operation, two parachute IIIs seize Bizerte in a sudden coup de main. AA fire is ineffective. The paratroopers land with no disruption. (8:1, -1 fort = DE) Other Italian bombers fly into Algeria and attempt to isolate Tunisia from the remainder of North Africa. The rail lines around Constantine are hammered repeatedly but only two hits are made, allowing a convoluted route for reinforcements to reach Tunis. Further south the Italian 5th Army (yes, it still exists having sat outside Tripoli since Dec 1940) crosses the border and races north, the newly rebuilt 15th Pz XX in the van. At Gabes the Pz XX breaks down and the Panzer III heads to Souza while the 310th Mot III heads across the Algerian border towards Tebessa. In Sicily, units of the Italian Special Operations Group wait patiently for transportation to Bizerte.
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