BG Tobruk AAR - Crusaders R Us (Battlegroup style!)

In a few weeks my local group will be starting a 1941 Desert War campaign centred around Operation Battleaxe, using the Battlegroup rules and an appropriate map. More about that later: in the meantime, my brother has never played a desert game of any sort so what better time to practice?

A couple of quick forces were thrown together, my brother opted to play Germans and took the DAK: mostly Panzer III Gs with a platoon of Panzer IV Ds and some Recce (8-Rad, Panzerjager PaK38 and PzGren Foot Patrol). The British fielded Crusaders, two Troops of the Crusader Mk I. (Unreliable) with a Crusader I Forward HQ and additional tank. Also a Motor Infantry Platoon, a single 3" Mortar and a 2-pounder ATG.

No Recce as I don't have anything period-appropriate: we're going in blind! My plan then as the British was an old-fashioned cavalry charge with (hopefully) overwhelming force on one side (which ever looked more promising) while refusing the other with the infantry, 2-pdr and maybe a tank or two if necessary. The mission was Flanking Attack....and I got to start in the "this corner is all rocky ground" corner. Lovely.

(expand for larger versions)

The British start. The shaded are is all rough terrain (rocky ground): it took a while to get through it
and really get going, thus the Germans were able to take up good positions early on.

The German right: moments before this picture was taken, the PaK38 near the Sd Kfz 10
took a direct hit from the 3" mortar and the crew were wiped-out. Lucky!

Aerial view of German left. My keen senses detected the classic German double-envelopment plan developing...

Panzers on German left in hull-down positions.

Crusaders come on from reserve and charge the ridge: a lucky hit sees a Panzer III G KO'd.
Roll a 6, then roll two more. Simples!

The British left: the 2-pounder managed to miss everything all game, but at least *seemed* threatening.

The near Crusader....the Hero Crusader: deflected a 5cm hit and then passed a BTCOD test to surge forward,
hitting both Panzers on the ridge but failing to do damage to either! Long range gunfire KO's a Crusader, while the Hero Crusader is hit *twice*...

...and has somehow survived the return fire (unbelievable...).
Offered a second opportunity for life he now destroys a Panzer III G.

The Germans respond on their right, wiping-out the 2-pdr with the 8-Rad and long-range HE fire while the
foremost Panzer III manages to hit and destroy the British FHQ Crusader....sad!

The Hero Crusader KO's his third Panzer before being Immobilised on a 1 (Unreliable).
Now stuck, but the damage is done.

The rear Crusader KO's the Panzer IV near the rocks, but is in turn Immobilised (damn Unreliable!).
That leaves the Troop Commander to press on alone to claim the rear objective...

...because the other (non-broken-down) tanks are needed to counter on the left.

The tank-fight on the left quickly moves to close-range but neither side can hit much of anything.
A section of Motor Infantry moves up hoping to Close Assault the Panzer III.

The infantry assault but fail to do damage, lose a man and are pinned. Tank fire is pretty abysmal, only managing to Pin the Panzer III. Long-range Bren and Rifle fire lights-up a supply truck that became a little too bold.

German return fire is wholly ineffective, and the last Panzer III is shortly thereafter destroyed by a Crusader,
breaking the German force morale. The British were 35/37 BR...so a close game as the Britsh were drawing many 4s.

CdlT