The Cauldron was a position caught between Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie's.fully-supplied army, which vastly outnumbered the Germans, and a minefield which prevented Rommel from reaching his supplies. Rommel had blitzed through British defenses and captured Tobruk, but out-ran his supply chain, which would be a major theme for the German desert campaign. The situation was so bad that Rommel was hours away from asking the British for terms.
British | German | |
Division 1 |
2 Squad Bases 3 Crusader Mk. II Tanks 1x AntiTank |
3 Squad Bases 6 Panzer IV Tanks 1x Medic |
Division 2 |
4 Squad Bases 1 Matilda Mk. II Tank 1x Bravo Unit |
2 Squad Bases 2 SdKfz 251 Half-Tracks |
Strategy Decks | Desert Tactics 1 (Shared) Disruption 1 (Shared) |
Desert Tactics 1 (Shared) Disruption 1 (Shared) |
Starting Strategy Cards | 0 | 0 |
Operations Cards | - | - |
Deployment Zone | Division 1: Any orange hex on map 15B. Division 2: Any orange hex on map 16B The QF 6-Pounder AT gun must be placed in the hex containing the entrenchment marker on map 19B. |
Division 1: Any gray hex on map 14B. Division 2: Arrives as reinforcements during the Status Phase of game round 1 on the marked hexes on map 17B |
Starting Initiative | ||
Objective |
German Division 2 must link up with a Panzer IV Tank from Division 1 to simulate the arrival of the fuel convoy. Once an Opel Blitz Truck ends its movement in a hex with a Panzer IV Tank, all movement restrictions are immediately removed. The Germans win if they control the victory objective marker at the end of any game round after the Division 1 movement restrictions are removed (removing movement restrictions is mandatory). |
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Rounds | 6 | |
Actions per turn | 3 | 3 |
Reinforcements | - | See the German deployment instructions. |
Special Rules |
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Terrain Features | The crevasse running across the board represents the minefield which was trapping the Germans. Treat each crevasse hex (except the bridge hex) as a permanent minefield. |