Leros, one of the more recent TCS games, offers some interesting problems for each side. The game tends to follow a pattern. First there is the German invasion, with nearly six battalions of infantry, sans heavy weapons but with heavy air support, storming ashore and trying to seize a pier and form a defensible bridgehead.

Large Map 1 (113K)

This phase developes into the British counterattack, where at least one well-supported battalion of infantry tries to smash the German bridgehead. If successful, they can possibly win the game right there. Finally, the Germans build up their heavy weapons and reinforcements and try to take the island. Here are some thought on how to handle the first two phases.

Getting Ashore

At the start of the game, the Germans have the initiative, since it is they who must invade and establish a bridgehead. Available are 17 companies of infantry, with machine guns but little else. All the heavy weapons and artillery got left behind. Let's look at who these troops are and what they have to do, then explore plans for doing it.

Since the heavy weapons must await the second wave, the principle measure of ability for the German invaders is infantry morale. The invaders have five battalions, with two attached companies. Two battalions, the 11-16 and 11-65, are of high quality with a morale rating of 3.

These will be the workhorses of the invasion. The 111-440 and 11-Luftwaffe, with morale ratings of 4 and 5 respectively, are not quite up to the same level. These troops will be able to provide a large volume of fire, but if it comes to actually taking a position, they will spend a large amount of time suppressed. The attached companies are the "Kust" Company, with a morale of zero, and the 2nd Pioneer, with a morale of 2 and the only mortar in the first wave. These two units do not double their morale in assault combat, and will be useful for carrying out the final attacks. The last unit is the l-FJ, a fine battalion of paratroops. More about their role later.

There are several factors at work in selecting an invasion plan. In order to bring on the artillery and heavy flak units necessary to take the island, the Germans must first seize a pier, and then hold it against heavy counterattacks. There are four sets of piers on the island.

Second, shore batteries ring the island, and render most invasion spots prohibitively expensive to storm. Third, the role that the paratroopers have to play must be worked out.

Finally, the attackers will want to avoid excessive casualties, both for final victory conditions and to ensure that any bridgehead established will hold out.

The piers and shore batteries have to be considered together. The northern pier, at Parteni Bay, has only two weak shore batteries covering it. This makes it a prime invasion site, since invading troops can get ashore easily, and the invaders will take out the shore batteries on their way to the pier, thus helping the second wave in.

A paradrop at Liberio on the main road from Leros helps isolate the area from any British reserves in the south, as would a secondary landing near Quaranta in Aldina Bay.

Pandeli Bay

There is a pier in Pandeli Bay on the east coast, and while it has 8 points worth of shore batteries covering it, the adjacent area of Castle Leros and Mt. Appetici is virtually free of shore batteries.

Unfortunately, an invasion here is likely to be flying into the heart of the British defenses, and the invaders must fight up a large hill, take two towns and finally capture another large hill to secure the pier from enemy fire. It may pay to land a small force here now and then just to keep the British player honest, but I can't recommend it as an invasion site.

The third pier, in the town of Portolago, suffers many of the same problems. Shore batteries in Portolago Bay make this a bad place to land, and an overland attack from Pandeli bay will try to cut across the center of the main British laager.

St. Giogio

The final area which has a pier is in the town of St. Giorgio. This will require some fancy planning to use, but I think it is a viable invasion goal. First off, attackers will have to land on the east coast south of Pandeli Bay [zones 6 and 7, covered by batteries Q and T] due to the many shore batteries at Portolago Bay and Serocampo Bay.

The 8 points of shore batteries will likely drive off at least a quarter of the invaders unless neutralized by paratroops. Taking out one of the batteries will drop a column on the shore battery table. Taking out both of them will eliminate the threat. invaders must then fight for about one mile across the island to the town of St. Giorgio.

The paratroops, however, will help screen the northern flank and may keep British reserves from interfering until the attackers have a strong grip on St. Giorgio. The shore batteries at the mouth of Portolago Bay will then have to be neutralized so that follow on troops can safely land at the newly won piers. Paratroopers are again the prime candidate for the job, since they will not have to brave the shore battery fire. As you can see, going for this pier will put heavy demands on the paratroopers.

The Germans have to make out their Op Sheets before the British set up, so they can't see where the weakest invasion site lies ahead of time. Realistically, both Parteni Bay and St. Giorgio will have strong defenders, with a battalion waiting in the middle of the island ready to strike out in their defense.

Go for Both

Since sending all your troops for one pier runs the risk of the sneaky British player guessing right and strongly fortifying that one area, I'm going to recommend going for both areas. This gives you two options, and will force the British to face a choice of what to do with their reserves. Here are two plans for you to consider.

Plan One: Parteni Bay. This plan strikes hard for the easier northern pier, while still putting strong forces in the south. 11-65,111-440, and 2nd Pioneer land at Parteni Bay in order to seize the pier, while two companies of paratroops land around Liberio. This puts nine companies of infantry on the ground, isolates Parteni Bay, and will hopefully lead to a secure pier in short order.

In the south, II-16, II-Luftwaffe, and the Kust Company land south of Pandeli Bay, while the third company of paratroopers lands at Mount Palella to take out the shorebatteries covering the mouth of Portolago Bay. II-16 and Kust move on St. Giorgio while II-Luftwaffe screens the northern flank. In this case, St. Giorgio, and indeed, Portolago and the pier in Pandeli Bay, are strongly threatened.

The attackers here will take a few losses from shore batteries, and they have a tough time taking St. Giorgio, but they are a strong distraction to the British. If they fail to take St. Giorgio, they can with draw south to Mt. Gortoro and establish a strong defensive perimeter, all thewhile threatening the southern flank of the British defenses. Plan Two

Plan Two: St. Giorgio. This plan focuses more on the southern piers, while still providing a credible threat to the pier at Parteni Bay. 11-16, III440, and the Kust Company land at Pandeli Bay, while two companies of paratroops land to take out Batteries Q and T at Mt. Viglia and Mt. Eurcona.

Large Map 2 (103K)

The third company of paratroops lands at Mt. Palella to take out the shore batteries covering Portolago Bay. In this plan, more invaders will make it ashore at Pandeli Bay, and the British reserves will have to fight through the paratroopers in order to interfere with the main attack force.

Meanwhile at Parteni Bay in the north, II-65 and the 2nd Pioneers storm ashore. They may or may not be strong enough to take the pier, but will at least strongly threaten it. The II-Luftwaffe lands at Aldina Bay, and conducts a sweep along Clidi ridge, eventually choking off the road to Parteni Bay at Liberio and taking the high ground above the pier. The IILuftwaffe can then turn north and assist in taking the pier at Parteni Bay.

While this second plan is riskier, it can catch a British player off guard. The northern pier is much easier to take, and if he overcommitted in this area or wasn't prepared to move his reserve battalion south, it has an excellent chance of success.

Obviously, with nearly five battalions of infantry and one of paratroops, the Germans have a wide variety of choices in their invasion site. These range from the easily contained "everyone ashore at Parteni Bay" I tried in my first game to the above plans to ones so intricate they defy easy description. Here, I'm trying to give players something to think about, as well as keeping them from getting stuck in a rut when they play Leros.

Staying Ashore

Once the German forces are ashore, they have to take their objectives and then establish a perimeter. It is necessary to do this in a timely manner, but not to rush it so much that excessive casualties are taken.

You will note in the two plans I suggested that the flanks of the attack and the actual landing area are usually covered by paratroops or another landing. This will forceany attacking reserves to deploy early and fight through the flank guards before molesting the main force. This gives the main force more time in which to take the objective and then establish a hasty defense.

In the meantime, the attackers engage in a methodical, though rapid, assault. The attackers don't have anything heavier than a machine gun, so it will take a little longer to suppress the defenders. They should just accept it, and not try any human wave attacks just because all they have is infantry.

TCS veterans know the drill. Suppress the defender, move up to a better position, suppress him again, and then maneuver him out of his position or close to assault. And if the defender isn't suppressed, don't go charging across his overwatch field of fire! Wait a turn and do it right! Even though every hex on the island is at least Partly Protective, affording cover from both fire and overwatch, the British will have enough heavy weapons in important areas to make any rash moves dangerous.

The Luftwaffe will be the key to success. Use airstrikes to suppress strong positions so the infantry can move up on the vbjective. If the British reserves are in motion, a strafing run on the head of their column by Me-109's should slow them down and buy the invaders a few more turns.

The concept is straightforward. Clear the area, take the commanding high ground, and then look to your defense. Hold a solid perimeter on the reverse slopes overlooking the piers. Keep the shipping busy bringing on the heavy weapons and battalion mortars. Start those hasty defense orders as soon as you have a feel for what you are facing in each area, and then hold on until the heavy units show up. The area needs to be secure before the British reserves can come up, otherwise things will get very difficult, and efforts may have to shift to the secondary pier.

The British Defense

First, I'll say a few words about the initial British setup. The player's notes are fine, and I just wanted to elaborate on a few points.

To start with, Parteni Bay is a prime invasion spot. It deserves at least two companies of infantry and a fair amount of heavy weapons. Second, St. Giorgio is not easily approachable due to the shore battery configuration, and can be defended more lightly. If defending against Plan Two given above, a company in St. Giorgio with heavy weapons and a company around Mt. Eurcona may delay attackers enough for the reserves to get into the action.

Establishing a central laager on a triangle from Portolago to Castle Leros to Rachi Ridge with one battalion is an excellent idea, both to establish a secure area in good defensive terrain and to cover two of the four piers. Most of the anti-tank guns are probably best kept as a reserve in the central laager.

They are not very effective against infantry, and will be much better used deploying against German flak vehicles later in the game if the British counterattack fails.

Finally, the shore batteries must be defended. They are great places for AA guns, since they usually have a good field of fire overlooking the coast and are hard to take out. In fact, some spots, like Battery T on Mt. Eurcona and Ba ttery B at Parteni Bay can dominate their local area if manned by an AA gun and some infantry. Some areas, like Battery G on Clidi ridge, and Batteries N, O, P and R at the mouth of Portolago Bay, are too out of the way to warrant significant garrisons, yet should be protected from easy assaults by paratroopers.

I recommend putting the SBS and LRDG units in these areas, perhaps supported by a machine gun. These tough troops may not prevent the batteries from being siezed, but they will keep them from being taken out for free by paratroops. A German player counting on the paratroops taking out a key battery before he storms ashore may be in for a rude shock if these units are at hand.

Counterattack

Despite all the preceding discussion, I think the most critical part of any Leros game is the British counterattack. The German invasion is important, as is the defense of the British troops around the piers, but what the British do next will determine if tne invaders can safely build up until they are ready to overrun the island or if they are too shattered and disorganized to accomplish this feat.

Quite simply, the goal is to force a German surrender by the second day of the battle. The reserves must be committed rapidly for maximum effectiveness, and they have to act forcefully and quickly.

Where to place the British reserves is an important decision. I usually find them rushing either north or south from the central area around Leros. After a few games, I've decided that I like to use a full battalion, with two companies around Portolago and the remaining two companies and heavy weapons around Rachi Ridge, closer to the weaker northern sector.

This way they can strike north or south, rather than being committed from the start to one part of the island. (That's great if I can guess right, otherwise it spells disaster). With this setup, I can get half the battalion into action within about an hour of them accepting their orders. The rest of the battalion can close up on the lead elements within three or four turns.

This setup of the reserves does lead to the temptation to send half the battalion north and half of it south. Unfortunately, this results in two weak, ineffectual counterattacks rather than one strong one.

The setup is designed to commit some of the reserves quickly with a second echelon about an hour later or murder any assault on the central laager, not to protect the whole island. British players are urged to determine where the German main effort is, and then commit the reserves to counterattack that area, trusting to the two companies of defenders at the other zone to hold out long enough for help to arrive.

In this, the British player is limited by a command prep rating of five which will probably result in a one hour delay in getting the reserves moving, allowing time to ascertain the invasion's main effort. As you can see from the two plans suggested above, the placement of the paratroops will often point to the main effort.

Reserves Blockewd

The reserves are likely to find their way to the main invasion site blocked by paratroopers or a secondary landing of poorer-quality troops. Poor troops or scattered paratroops are not a great obstacle, but they must be overcome. Speed is crucial here, since the reserve battalion has to get through to the besieged pier before the Germans can overrun it.

It is better if they catch a German assault in the flank than if they try to force their way through a German kill zone. Even one or two companies arriving before the invaders are done cleaning up the battlefield can tip the balance against them.

How to force the reserves through quickly? British troops may notbeknown for stormtroop tactics, but this is not the time to be stodgy. The British, unlike the Germans, are not missing their heavy weapons at the start of the game.

The reserves should have a few extra machine guns from the MG battalion, allowing them greater firepower and extra units to move against blocking forces. The MG's can lay down a base of fire while the infantry moves up and through the blocking forces. Each battalion also has three 3" mortars, capable of laying smoke. Use them to aid maneuver against blocking forces, and use the two 2" mortars for extra overwatch and suppressive fire.

If the defenders at the pier do not need the fire from the sole British artillery battery for a turn or two, use a few artillery fires or some smoke.

Finally, after outgunning the blocking forces, the reserve battalion must push on through to the main battle area rather than stay and clean up the mess they made. It is easier to aid the pier's defenders with a side attack than it is to carry out an attack singlehandedly.

Once reserves arrive on the scene, they will have the task of throwing the invaders back from the pier, or barring that, hurting them badly so that a night assault (when the Luftwaffe can't fly) can carry the position. The original defenders should have been equipped with enough heavy weapons to slow the invaders at long range, and have enough strength on the ground to hold out for several hours.

The goal is for them to act as a base of fire to support the commitment of the reserve battalion. If the defenders have been recently overcome, the attack should still go in before the defense can stiffen.

Rat Fight

Welcome to a real rat fight. If things have worked out for the British, the disorganized reserve battalion will take the disorganized invading battalions in the flank while the weakening defenders hold the invader's attention. Both sides will be desperately trying to evict the other, and the British should use their more numerous heavy weapons and artillery to try to defeat the exposed Germans. The Luftwaffe support for the Germans may prove decisive, as may the cohesion of theirforcesafterseveral hours of assaulting dug-in defenders.

The British should not press home an attack that is not working. This may be do or die for the German invaders who must have a pier to land their heavy reinforcements, but the British will have several more chances at the German beachhead.

Pull back, reorganize, and decide when the attack should be launched. Since surrender criteria depend on killing enemy units, this time may be better spent cleaning up wayward paratroops or chasing down straggling units from a secondary landing. Alternately, it may be more efficient to gain the high ground above a pier than to actually retake it.

In this way invaders may be brought under continuous mortar, artillery, and MCI fire. A night attack is also a viable option, especially once the Kents battalion can be brought over from the nearby island of Samos. The many British 3-inch mortars will then be useful in pumping out starshells.

The British will have a day or two to evict the Germans. After that, the momentum shifts back to the other side. Then the British have to dig in and wait to be attacked. If they did their job well, even though the Germans didn't surrender, they will lack the strength to force the British defenders from the island.

On the other hand, if the German invasion plan and subsequent buildup worked quickly and efficiently, they will have no trouble forcing a British surrender within a brief period of time.

It gets increasingly difficult to give strategy tips for the following phase of the game, since so much depends on the interaction of the invasion and subsequent counterattack. Hopefully this article has helped Leros players formulate more effective plans for the start of the game, leaving them in a good position for the end game. As always, I would enjoy seeing additional articles on this fine game, so that I can see other players' invasion and defense plans.