The following game took place in Sweden in early September 1995 and was played from Jul I 1943 until Nov II 1943. Both players had control of their Western Theaters, but only a Mediterranean campaign was conducted before the game was ended.

The purpose of this battle report is to give SF players some tactical hints on how to conduct a campaign in Italy.

Actually two games were played; in the first the Allies tried to launch their initial assault in the Messina-Catania sector - out of range of most of their fighter cover. This invasion suffered a fate similar to the Spanish Armada and the players agreed to start over. It is the course of our second game I describe here.

Game Events

JUL I 1943

The Allies launch their assault in two sectors: a US landing at Licata- Agrigento and a British landing at Syracusa.

Both landings are conducted on a two-hex frontage. The Axis player has garrisoned each Italian minor port with some 4 to 5 strength points (SPs) and each standard or major port with some 7 to 8 SPs, concentrating flak and AT at Messina-Catania.

The German HG and 15th PzG XX are deployed in reserve on the rough ground just northwest of Syracusa but fail to react to the Allied landings.

Allied air strikes sink the Axis LC/RR-ferry at Messina, thus stopping the Axis from reinforcing Sicily with more Pz XXs. (Note that this game was played before John Astell and Rich Velay, in TEM 48, recommended changing the Messina Straits ferries to narrow straits hexsides for Axis use.)

Catastrophically for the Axis, the Luftwaffe fails to detect the Allied convoys. The landings are conducted with no enemy air interference at all. The Axis c/m forces on Sicily begin to form a defensive position based on Mt. Etna.

JUL II 1943

US forces are turned back by stiff Italian resistance at Palermo (an AR result). British forces capture Augusta and advance slowly on Catania. The Luftwaffe, again, fails to detect and interfere with any Allied naval movement.

AUG I 1943

The Allies launch a combined airborne-amphibious invasion of southern Sardinia. Italian forces retreat northwards. Followup forces exploit to the north. Several Allied infantry and armored divisions transfer from the ETO to Sicily.

A determined Axis defense stops a second attempt on Palermo in the outskirts of the city (AS result) but the British capture Catania. Axis c/m units withdraw by naval transport from Messina in order to protect them from annihilation by the now combined US and UK forces in the next turn. Luftwaffe aircraft finally sink some Allied LC and NT in the Catania region.

AUG II 1943

Finally, the US forces capture Palermo and move troops and LC/NTs into the harbor during the exploitation phase to prepare for an amphibious landing in mainland Italy Sep 1. Meanwhile, the British capture Messina despite moderately effective resistance (HX).

The Germans regroup in Italy and prepare to diarm the Italians in case of their surrender. Italian units, heavily reinforced with flak, defend the mainland side of the Messina Straits while mixed stacks of German and Italian units defend the interior of Italy, with the main line in the Naples-Salerno area. Minor garrison forces and a reinforced PzG XX are in reserve and defend the heel of Italy. the Axis move troops from Corsica to Italy by NT.

SEP I 1943

The British 6th Airborne XX lands at hex 26:3015 while the US 82nd Airborne XX lands at Bari. The US launches a four division amphibious operation under heavy air cover against Catanzarro and on the northern part of the toe of Italy. This cuts off the Italians and the German I Parachute Corps (1st Para-inf XX, HG Pz XX, and four independent c/m III) deployed there to support them. The Allies occupy the rest of Sardinia.

The Italians can see no purpose in continuing the war and surrender. The Germans rapidly disarm the major part of the Italian troops and move two panzer corps by strategic rail into Apulia.

A local counterattack forces 6th Airborne to retreat towards Catanzarro.

SEP II 1943

The Allies reinforce the Bari bridgehead with a British corps, heavily supported by AT and heavy AA. These units attack vigorously from the Catanzarro area to Taranto. A smaller combined amphibious/airborne operation captures all the harbors on Corsica. The troops are spread out to cover the entire area, however; this makes them vulnerable to an enemy counterattack.

The Germans leave a small garrison in Taranto and make a tactical withdrawal to a line three hexes north of Taranto. An armored counterattack on Bari fails to dislocate the British from this vital harbor with an AS result. Another Allied infantry corps (2x Inf XX, 2x hvy AA III) transfers from the ETO.

OCT I 1943

Still enjoying the good weather, forces of the US Fifth Army attack along the west coast towards Salerno. British Eighth Army liberates Taranto and makes contact with the corps in Bari.

The Germans leave a strong mechanized force to delay the US on the west coast and position two infantry corps (4 divisions) delaying in the mountainous center region (one division and one AA regiment per hex). The panzer corps are concentrated in the open plains in the eastern part of the peninsula, maneuvering for a counterattack.

The most spectacular event is a surprising German airdrop by the Lehr FJ III on Bastia which eliminates the US infantry battalion there. The operation is followed up by a fortress brigade to secure the city. The Allies fail completely to interfere with the operation since all air and naval assets are tied down in southern Italy.

OCT II 1943

Bad weather reaches northern Italy, but in the Salerno-Bari area the good weather still prevails. US forces make a one hex advance and now stand only two hexes short of Salerno.

British forces try to break the German "panzer-line", achieving an HX, reducing a German panzer division and a panzer grenadier division. An Allied armored corps exploits this success just south of Foggia, but guards its flanks with infantry, supported only by light AT.

The Germans quickly grasp this opportunity and in best style they counterattack the infantry corps, reducing two British infantry divisions to cadre and eliminating five other REs.

NOV I 1943

US forces break through just south of Salerno, unhinging the entire German western flank and opening the road to Naples.

British and Commonwealth forces restore the situation south of Foggia. They attack toward that city, but achieve only DRs.

The Allies also transfer two XXs from North Africa to Corsica to wipe out the occupants once and for all. Mud makes this operation slow, however.

Finally, they begin to prepare the now released troops in North Africa for a giant amphibious operation aimed at Rome, to be executed in Dec II or Jan I. (Anzio bridgehead, you say?)

The Germans leave a small garrison in Naples and withdraw to the river line just north of the town to make a new stand around Monte Cassino. The heroic troops on Corsica are reinforced by the HG depot brigade, brought in from France to attract the attention of as many Allied resources as possible.

Unfortunately, our game had to end here.

Aftermath and a Helpful Idea

As we expected, the rules work very well, but you must be familiar with the naval rules to play the Allied side well. Otherwise you will lose at once.

We also used locally invented "Convoy Displays" to reduce the number of naval markers on the mapboard and to help track NMPs. We think they worked very well. Make convoys markers by photocopying the template below and mounting them on board. Use them on the map to represent any group of LCs and NTs. Make a convoy display track on a sheet of paper, with one row of numbered boxes per convoy, similar to that shown below. Place the actual LCs, NTs, and their cargo on the convoy display track similar to the example provided. Mark NMPs used by each convoy for various tasks on the left of the corresponding box on the Convoy Display Track with pencil.

Conclusions

We learned a number of lessons from this game which we would like to share here.

Allies:

Use the initial surprise game turn to bomb the Axis air force or force it to fight. Thereby you can eliminate a good portion of these assets, freeing up valuable fighters for GS missions during the landings in the regular phase.

Make a number of level-4 harassments to slow the movement of Axis c/m units. This hinders their concentration and escape abilities and they will be easier to destroy next turn. Don't let the enemy make a prepared stand around Mount Etna. It will take time to break this barrier!

Conduct amphibious landings within fighter cover - or you might be destroyed before you even get a chance to land.

Keep a floating reserve on LCs so you can go around stiff enemy resistance on coastlines. A good tactic on Sicily!

Keep construction capable engineers close behind the front busy with building and improving airfields or you will very soon run out of air protection.

Destroy the Axis RR-ferry at Messina as soon as possible so he cannot reinforce the island (note rules change TEM #48 FW).

Guard your precious harbors with plenty of AA or they will be destroyed by Axis bombers so you cannot land reinforcements!

Axis:

Defend Messina and the Mount Etna position at all costs. It will delay the Allies for a number of turns.

Concentrate AA in Messina and the tip of Calabria so it will cost a lot for the Allies to bomb out the RR-ferry. This ferry is the lifeline of any troops you would like to extricate from Sicily unless you want to hazard NTs.

Place the maximum amount of air on Naval Patrol from July through September. This will catch the Allied troops when they are most vulnerable - in their NTs!

Retain short-ranged aircraft and fighters primarily for DAS when the Allied player tries to make an attack with little air support and outside his short range fighter cover. Your air losses will otherwise mount quickly.

Deploy German and Italian units together so you will be prepared for the Italian defection - you can gain a lot of RPs if you have made good precautions!

Try to distract the Allies by secondary operations such as the Corsican adventure described above. This will tie up Allied ground and naval assets which could otherwise be used against you in mainland Italy - or the NTs could have brought in more troops from the Middle or Near East.