Allied Oct II 42 Turn

In the Initial Phase the Allied player replaces the British 201st Guards Brigade, the British 150th Brigade, the Indian 10th, and 20th Brigades. The British brigades will re-assemble the 7th Armor and 50th Infantry Divisions into all-British outfits. The Indian brigades are shipped to the Near East, passing the British 5th Division on its way from the Near East to the Middle East. The Allied player also re-directs the British 56th Division, aboard ships somewhere off the east coast of Africa, to the Middle East instead of its original destination of the Near East.

The Allied player plans to attack the fort in hex 2019 in the center of the Axis line with the 1st, 7th, 8th, and 10th Armor Divisions, and the 50th and 51st Infantry Divisions. The Axis player flies in a CAP of 4 fighters, which the Allies match. The Axis player flies in 4 groups on DAS, all that can reach, and the Allied player flies in 8 on GS. The Axis and Allies drop their fighters out of CAP, but the Allies miss on 3 of the 4 bypassing Axis fighters. The Axis fighters kill an A-30 in exchange for a MC.200 aborted. Allied AA aborts 2 Italian bomber groups of the DAS, leaving just 2 groups of Stukas. At odds of 3:1, -1 the Allies roll a ‘3’ for a bloody EX result. The Axis put 2 small Italian divisions, the Ramcke para brigade, 3 artillery regiments, and 2 AA battalions in the Replacement Pool. The Allies reduce the 50th and 51st Division and eliminate the 23rd Armor Brigade and a 2-1-10 recon battalion. The Allies advance a 31-pt full armor stack into the hex, destroying its fort.

Axis Oct II 42 Turn

The Axis give no thought to counterattacking, which the brief Europa as History in the design notes of the ‘End of the Beginning’ suggests they historically did, resulting in an AH. A small Italian division and artillery unit can only reach hex 1919. The German 164th Division can only reach hex 1719, and the Italian 185th Para Division, an artillery regiment, and a tank battalion can only reach hex 1720. These will have to do as road blocks as the rest of the Axis army runs away. The Axis retreat almost every unit back into Libya except the Italian 102nd Motorized Division, which can only retreat 3 hexes past Matruh, and the 133rd Armor Cadre, which can only retreat 2 hexes past Sidi Barani.