037 Totensonntag

Written by Jack Greene. Posted in African Front

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Total plays 1 - Last reported by pino on 2021-05-24 23:27:57

In North Africa, there was far more desert than there were troops and equipment available to hold the terrain, so the opposing "lines" were often a series of loosely connected outposts, fortified camps, and bands of vehicles that formed defensive rings at the end of the day's fighting.
As a column of tanks and support vehicles moved, it watched for dust clouds that indicated potential enemy columns (just like the clouds their columns produced, thereby warning the enemy of their approach). The speed of the advance was determined by the mission, but the tankers always had to be wary of potential ambushes by enemy anti-tank guns that were able to stay hidden until they fired.
Operation Crusader in November 1941 saw exactly this sort of fluctuating and unpredictable combat environment, where rear-area units sometimes encountered enemy advance parties that were just as suprised as the rear-echelon troops when contact suddenly occured.
Here we have a typical dilemma for just such an Allied force, which did not realize until almost too late that the dust cloud approaching them was made up of German vehicles.
The race is on!

	British	German
Division 1	1 Matilda Mk. II 2 Bren Gun Carriers	1 Panzer III 1 SdKfz 251 Halftrack
Division 2	2 Crusader Mk. II	2 SdKfz 251 Halftracks
Strategy Decks	Command 1 (remove the "Heroic Leadership" card from the deck).	Disruption 1 (remove the two "Dispupt Medical Supplies" cards from the deck).
Starting Strategy Cards	3	3
Operations Cards	-	-
Deployment Zone	Division 1: Any of the hexes with an orange border on map 13A. Division 2: Any of the hexes with an orange border on map 19B.	Any hexes on maps 21B and 15A.
Starting Initiative
Objective	The side with the most Victory Points at the end of Round 7 wins. Each side recieves 2 victory points for each enemy tank heavily damaged or destroyed. Each side gets 1 victory point for each enemy half-track or truck heavily damaged or destroyed. The British recieve 1 victory point for each British truck that exits off of the map by the road on the east edge of map 21B. Hints for players The British player must not hesitate! They will lose tanks, but their sacrifice is essential to enable the trucks to get away. Run and live to fight another day. The German player has a fantastic opportunity to inflict heavy losses on their enemy, but reckless pursuit will only result in unnecessary losses to their force.
Rounds	7
Actions per turn	2	2
Reinforcements	Status Phase Round 1: British Division 1 recieves 2 Bren Gun carriers and 3 Bedford OY Transports on any reinforcement hexes on map 13A. British Division 2 recieves 3 Matilda Mk. II tanks on any hexes along the west on any reinforcement hexes on map 19B.	Status Phase Round 2: German Division 1 recieves 3 Panzer III's on any reinforcement hexes on map 19B. German Division 2 recieves 1 SdKfz 251 Half-Track and 2 Panzer IV's on any reinforcement hexes on map 13A.
Special Rules	Optional rule: Give each side an equal amount of Squad Bases and Regular Infantry carried in the Bren Gun Carriers and German Half-Track reinforcements. Extend the game lenght to 8 rounds. Note this will slow the play of the game.

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Posts in discussion: 037 Totensonntag

alecrespi replied the topic: #726 5 months 1 week ago

Posting here some comments found online.
www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/37980/tid...1-player-comments-ba

This one seemed to favor the Germans.
A gamey strategy for the British would be to place their units on the reinforcement entry spaces, so the Germans wouldn't get any back-up. I think this would break the scenario.
An unusual race-and-chase scenario. It's very difficult to get any trucks off the board when the defence is determined.
Race-and-chase element gives lots of fun. It's also quite quick thanks to lack of infantry.