Knowing that the largest Axis naval patrol stack contains six units, the Allies fly a CAP of the P-51 and P-400 from Lampedusa and three Spit 5s from hex 3508 to hex 3628 on the north coast, the landing site for his first naval group. The Spit 5s stage through Pantelleria. Note that airbase capacity only affects how many air units become operative at the beginning of each turn.

Now the British naval group in Tunis puts to sea. As it enters hex 3303 it declares night, which prevents naval patrol attacks but lasts for only 10 naval MPs. The naval group passes through hex 3332, swings around hexes 3429 and 3529, into which the Palermo CD extends, and enters hex 3628 as daylight returns. With five CAP fighters in the hex in addition to CG-ls Seafire, the Axis decides to hold off making any naval patrol attacks yet.

From Sousse the second British naval group moves out. It declares night as he enters hex 4004 and continues to hex 4029, the site of the second British landing, while it is still night. Arriving at night delays identifying the landing site because CAP can be flown in after the group has arrived at the hex, although here the hex is within the interception range of the P-38s at Gozo and the P-40s at hex 463 1.

Two Spit 9s and four Spit 5s from Valletta fly CAP into the next Allied next landing site, hex 4126. From Sousse the first US naval group moves out. Declaring night as it enters hex 4430, it passes through hex 4427. It swings around Syracusa and Augusta. The Allied force enters hex 4126 as daylight returns. This gives the Axis an opportunity to make naval patrol attacks, but he continues to decline.

Catania has a level-2 CD which extends into adjacent hexes. So naval combat between the CD and the Allied naval group must be resolved. This CD has one gunnery point in adjacent hexes, and the Axis player allocates this point to his reserve group. WNTF in this naval group allocates its 12 gunnery points to four shots using the 3-column on the gunnery table. Although it succeeds in getting one hit, it takes two hits during a single combat to damage a CD.

The CD now returns fire. By choosing to fire at the LCs, the CD's one point is tripled to three gunnery points. It takes three shots using the 1-column on the gunnery table and scores one hit on an LC. Although naval combat fire is directed at a specific unit, (because coastal defenses could not know what units were aboard which LCs) the two players agree that the LC to be sunk should be selected randomly.

Into the cup go the five LCs of this group. The Axis player pulls out LC- 11, which is carrying the 4-8 regiment of the 1st Division.

An Allied CAP of two Spit 9s and four Spit 5s fly in from Valletta to the site of their fourth and final landing, Catania. Because CAPs engage in either escort or interception missions there is no AA fire against it.

Second Naval Group

From Sousse the Allied player moves his second US naval group and follows the path of the previous group. It enters hex 4025 as daylight returns. The Axis player still declines to make any naval patrol attack so the next action is between the Catania CD and the ENTF in this naval group.

In its own hex the Catania CD has two gunnery points. The Axis player allocates both to his reserve group. The Allies allocate 16 gunnery points to two shots using the 5-column and two shots using the 3-column and succeed in scoring two hits, enough to reduce the CD to a level-1. With its one point, tripled for firing at LCs, the CD fires three times using the I-column and scores one hit. The victim is LC-18 carrying a regiment of the 3 d Division.

The beginning of the second naval step gives the Axis a new opportunity to make naval patrol attacks. Since the Catania landing seems the most dangerous, the Axis player tries to weaken it with repeated attacks.

He makes the first attack with the naval patrol stack from Reggio. The Allied player brings both Spit 9s and two Spit 5s out of the CAP to intercept and declares that he has the next air mission. That mission will be to refill the CAP.

Because only fighters that are stacked on the same airbase and allocated to naval patrol can escort a naval patrol attack, the nearby Italian fighters watch from the ground as the code-S Ju 88 is shot down and the other Ju 88 and the SM.84 are aborted. The ENTF provides AA for the naval group, but scores no hits. The surviving Fw 190 rolls three times using the 1-column of the bombing table and gets a hit, which must be applied to the ENTF.

The Fw 190 returns to Palermo. The Allied player returns his fighters to Valletta, and flies in four P-40Fs frorn hex 4631 to refill the CAP. On this occasion the Axis player decides to intercept with the Italian G.50bis, Re.200ICB, and MC.202. In the resulting air battle the G.50bis and a P-40F are aborted. The surviving three Allied fighters join the CAP, the two Italian fighters land at Messina.

With the CAP containing only five air units the Axis player rolls for a contact attempt by the naval patrol stack at Naples. It succeeds and six Axis bombers fly in. The Allied player empties his CAP while again declaring he has the next mission. In the resulting combat one Ju 88 is killed and another Ju 88 and the SM.79 are aborted.

AA fire then returns the Z.1007. The two surviving Ju 88s roll for six attacks using the I-column of the bombing table, scoring two hits. The first hit must be applied to the ENTF. The second hit goes to a randomly selected NT, in this case NT-20, carrying four supply points.

The Ju 88s and Z.1007 return to Reggio while the Allied fighters return to their original airbases. The Allied player flies in a new CAP of two P-40Fs and from 4631, and the P-38G from Lampedusa. The Axis player gamely flies in the naval patrol stack from Palermo after a successful roll on the contact attempt. The Allied CAP intercepts joined by a P-38G from Gozo. In the ensuing air combat a P-40F is aborted, and the Fw 190F and Z.506 are returned. Flak aborts the Ju 88, leaving just the Fw 190A, which scores one hit. That hit is applied to ENTF giving it a total of 3. The Z.506 returns to Reggio, the two Fw 190s to Palermo, and the Allied fighters all return to their original bases. The Allied player does not refill the CAP and the last naval patrol unit, the BR.20 at Foggia, fails its contact attempt, thus becoming inoperative.

Still at the beginning of the second step, next is another round of combat between ENTF and the Catania CD. The Axis player allocates his one gunnery point to his reserve group. The Allied player fires two shots using the 5-column and one shot using the 3-column, which lands two hits, enough to knock out the CD. Note that a complete step, not just 30 continuous MPs, are needed to replenish, so every unit not engaged in disembarking units replenishes during this step, except ENTF, because it engaged in naval combat. At the start of the third step the three Allied TFs prepare to provide NGS.

At the beginning of the fourth step the Allied player airdrops the two British brigades on hex 3930, the Is' Air Landing (4-5) Brigade carried by gliders, the V Parachute (3-5) Brigade by the two C-47s towing the gliders. Dropping at night, both units are disrupted and one C-47 is aborted on the night landing roll.

During the fourth step, the first wave units complete disembarkation, and as each unit is placed in its hex the Allied player rolls for LC damage. At hex 3628, where there is only a 1/6 chance of damage, the Allied player starts out poorly, damaging LC-I and LC-2. At hex 4029, where there is an equally small chance of damage, LC-6, LC-8, and LC-9 are damaged. At the US landing beaches the hexes are enemyoccupied. This increases the chances for damage. LC-13 and LC- 14 are damaged at hex 4126, but only LC-20 is damaged at hex 4025.

Invasion Reaction

After all the disembarkations the Axis player rolls for his invasion reaction. For hex 3628 he rolls a 5. He must make his reaction movement before going on to the next roll and decides to move 15t' PzG's 5-10 from hex 3531 into hex 3628. His roll for the landing at hex 4029 is a 6. He reacts the 13 1st Tanks (4-2-8) from hex 3730 to hex 3628. For the two US beaches the reaction rolls fail.

Meanwhile, the landing craft damage forces the Allies to make choices. At hex 3628 he transfers the breakdown brigade, the 5th Division HQ and 231st Infantry Brigade into LCs. He will not be able to unload the armor, so NT-22 and the two damaged LCs return to Tunis. At hex 4029 the Allied player transfers the Canadian breakdown brigade and HQ into LCs. NT-6, finished disembarking the Royal Marines, sails for Sousse, while the damaged LCs and NT-24 with the armor brigade sail for Tunis. Although the two British beaches have become friendly, the second wave units and supply points may not begin disembarking until the exploitation phase.

At hex 4126 the Allied player transfers the 2nd Armored breakdown regiment and 36' Artillery into LCs. The two damaged LCs depart for Tunis, the empty NT- 10 for Sousse, and NT-26 with the armor regiment for nearby Malta. Finally, at hex 4025 the Allied player transfers the breakdown regiment, 1st Division HQ and 17th Artillery into LCs. The damaged LC goes to Tunis, the empty NT- 15 to Sousse, and NT-27 with the armor regiment to Malta.

The transfers complete by the fifth step. From the British beaches the Allied player sends NT- 1, NT-2 1, and NT-7 to Sfax and NT-23 with V Dragoon Guards still aboard back to Tunis. From the US beaches NT- 11, NT- 16, NT- 17, and NT- 18 all sail for Sfax while NT- 25, with 91h Division HQ still aboard, sails for Malta. Meanwhile the three NTs which carried the intrinsically amphibious units have arrived at Sousse. There they begin embarking the 0-2-6 AA brigade, the 1-3-6 port construction unit, and a resource point for delivery to Malta. This is the last step non-c/m units can be embarked. Note that an activity such as embarking or disembarking can extend from the movement phase to the exploitation phase but may not extend from one turn to the next.

More Operation Husky

Operation Husky 1943: Introduction
Operation Husky 1943: Allied and Axis Set Up
Operation Husky 1943: Movement Phase
Operation Husky 1943: Combat and Exploitation Phases
Operation Husky 1943: Allied Naval Movement Table: Jumbo (111K)