Historical Background: Giarabub is an oasis in the middle of the desert, 200 kms far from the Mediterranean coast, near the border between Egypt and Libya. Because of the British Operation Compass,the Italian garrison of the oasis was isolated behind the British lines. Besieged by troops of the 6th Australian Division, the 2 000 Italian soldiers (or Ascaris) resisted during several months, waiting their freedom by an Axis counter-offensive. On the 17th of March 1941, general Rommel, just arrived in Africa, sent them a message about their imminent liberation. But on the 21st of March, an Australian major attack reduced every Italian strongpoints around the oasis and the garrison surrendered with more than 500 losses during the last battle. The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Briefing: Allied player[Australia] : 6 command cards, you move first. Axis player [Italy] : 4 command cards.
Conditions of Victory: 6 medals.
Special Rules: - Use "BCF command" rules (Nation 5) to Allied units. - Use "Royal Italian Army" rules (Nation 6) to Axis units. - Use "North-African Desert" rules (Action 9). - Use "Oasis Recovery" rules (Action 10). - The Axis player lays out the minefields (Terrain 29).
Scenario Bibliography: - Wikipedia - Article Battaglia di Giarabub. - "La seconde guerre mondiale au jour le jour" - Ed. France Loisirs.
Official scenario of FFM44. Played during the tournament in Le Mans on the 26th of December 2011.
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.
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Set-up Order |
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3 |
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3 |
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1 |
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13 |
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4 |
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4 |
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4 |
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12 |
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3 |
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