Rahman Noodles

Played the El Alamein Rahman Track scenario at the weekly game noght.

As per my usual practice, I adjusted the OB to take advantage of the units available in the newer sets, but this was one of the last official scenarios published, so few cahnges were required.

On the Axis side I substituted two DAK Infantry for the Mauser 98K and Wehrmacht Veteran infantryman of the original scenario. The points were the same and using the actual DAK was an obvious choice now that they are available.

On the Allied side changes were likewise minimal. I replaced one of the Grant I tanks with another M4A1 Sherman because I only have one Grant model and I prefer not to use proxies if they can be avoided. As it happens, the 9th Armored Brigade comprised a mix of Shermans, Grants and Crusaders, so the change was historically justified. The small difference in point value was ignored.

The British deply first, so I placed the Crusaders on the right flank planning to scoot them foward while the Grant and Sherman would go up the middle.

The Axis placed all three infantry units on their left flank where they could advance through the brush while the 88 and two Italian ATG's deployed in the center. THe Axis were planning to advance the ATGs and therefore they were not under cover at first, which proved to be unfortunate. THe 88 was on a small knoll, however, and could benefit from cover rolls.

Things went poorly for the Axis in the initial going. Poor shooting all around meant that the 88 was able to damage the Grant and one Crusader was destroyed by the 47s, but all three anti-tank guns were also lost. The infantry was able to hunker down in the brush successfully.

When the Axis armor arrived on Turn four it found itself badly outnumbered -- the Allies still had three of their original AFV and five more showed up on Turn four.

The Axis decided to mass on the left flank and try to distract Allied fire by moving the infantry out, but the British were able to win a couple of key initiative rolls which allowed them to set up fields of fire that limited the number of Axis shots while nearly all the Allies got a clear shot at something.


Turns 5 and 6 saw a fierce exchange of fire that left the Axis all but wiped out and Allied losses manageable. When the final Panzer II died on Turn 7 the massacre was complete.

The Entire Axis force was destroyed. British losses were three Crusaders destroyed and one Sherman and the Grant damaged.

Sometimes it's just not in the cards ... . Memoir '44 session

Today is the 70th anniversary of the battle of Beda Fomm, where the pursuing British blocked the fleeing Itanian Army in North Africa and bagged 150,000 prisoners.

Game Store Tony, as is his custom, took the historical losers and commanded the Italians while I took the Briitsh. The night before, after setting everything up to make sure I had all the pieces I had played through the scenario solitaire. It was a crushing British win and I felt pretty good about my prospects.

But I sure didn't draw the same cards and as a matter of fact I was nearly crippled -- four of my six cards to start were probes and recons on the Right Flank (where the Brit infantry was). In retrospect I probably should have spent a couple of turns to clear out some of that baggage, but I never really felt like I had the time. Tony's Italians seemed to be drawing the cards THEY needed and he made a very determined and aggressive push against the roadblock. I never felt like I could let him have a couple of unopposed turns over there so I used every card that let me do something on that side. He jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but the real killer was when he played a Counterattack in response to my Armored Assault. My attack did some damage, killing one unit. In contrast one of his armor units fired and wiped out a 2-tank Brit unit in the center, while a second Italian armor exited off the map for medal No. 5.

His final two armor units concentrated on an elite British tank on an adjacent hill. First shot was a hit and a flag. British retreat and Italians armor assault onto the hill and attack again for two more hits a and another retreat. The final shot from range picked off the last tank and Medal No. 6 -- and game. Final score was 6 - 2.

I'd like to blame the cards -- and certainly they could have been better -- but I think I probably should have taken the time to improve my hand rather than rushing forward into battle range.