[Desert War] Unpleasant surprise at Point 171 - May 27, 1942

Unternehmen Venezia - Italian division Ariete crushed the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade.
Mediterranean Theater By: jdrommel - Last update: 05/30/2019
Axis Player: Allied Player:
x6 x6 x5 x6
first You play first    


Historical Background:
On the 26th of May 1942, Rommel begun Operation Venice (Unternehmen Venezia), to bypass by the south the Gazala line with his army composed by the Deutsche Afrika Korps and the XXe Corpo italiano. In the morning of the 27th of May, the Brigadier General Filose, commander of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, just settled at point 171 (at 10 km south of Bir Hakeim), sent a message to General Messervy that he is facing to "a whole bloody German armored division". In fact, it was the Italian armored division Ariete which discovered too the presence of the Indian Brigade "box". After one hour of fierce fighting, the 3rd Indian motor brigade was partly destroyed. Only some hundred of Indian soldiers with Brigadier General Filose could escape in the desert while Italian tanks continued their way to the north and incidentally to the Free french "box" at Bir Hakeim.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Axis player [Italy] : 6 command cards, you move first.
Allied player [India] : 5 command cards.

Conditions of Victory:
6 medals.
The HQ of the Indian Brigade is a permanent medal objective for the Axis player.

Special Rules:
- Use "BCF Command" rules (Nations 5) to all Allied units.
- Use "Royal Italian Army" rules (Nations 6) to all Axis units.
- Use "Specialized Units" rules (Troops 2) to all Italian infantry units.
- Use "Antitank Weapons" rules (SWA 1 & 2) to Allied infantry units with SWA badge.
- Use "North African Desert" rules (Actions 9).
- The Allied player lays out the minefields (Terrains 29).

Scenario Bibliography:
- Magazine "Batailles & Blindés" hors série n°8 - Afrika Korps, tome 2.

Warning:
Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.

Set-up Order
1
10
4
9
1
7