Like many of you (I presume), my interest in gaming complements my interest in military history. Which came first would require an interesting "chicken and egg" analysis; I have often found that a well-done simulation game will stir my interest in a particular historical period, and viceversa.

OCS is certainly (in my humble opinion) the finest system for operational simulations that one can find; the system is not terribly difficult for the average "wargamer" to learn once the plunge is taken-but it is quite a challenge to learn to play well. Still, the system works so well-and presents the gamer with so many intriguing choices-that a common reaction among friends whom I've introduced to the system is that you have a terrific time even when you think you're getting the proverbial "thrashing."

As with any good wargame system, you can certainly try "what-if" situations and alternatives in all of the OCS releases to date; however, in my view the best games allow you to watch a period of history unfold before your eyes, while you try to "match" or "better" the progress of your historical counterparts.

When Sicily: Triumph & Folly arrived at my door in July, 2000, I couldn't wait to dig in. Like many of you, I believe in playing the campaign games; you know, the whooooole thing! Small scenarios? Short scenarios? We don' need no stinkin' short scenarios! (My apologies to the makers of Treasure of the Sierra Madre.)

However, one must admit that with Sicily, it can be somewhat tempting to "start" with Scenario 5.5 to avoid the time necessary to set up and conduct the Allied landings. Nevertheless, I had a go at trying to set up an "optimal" load-out for the landings for Scenario 5.4 (the whole campaign) for a solitaire session. If you haven't tried it yourself, well, let's just say it took me the better part of about four hours.

The problem with trying this against a live opponent is that the Axis player has to have his set-up finished first, and then the Allied player sets up and conducts his landings. Unless the Axis player is simply going to go home and come back the next day (or brought a really good book along), that's no way to run a gaming session! Of course, much of the Axis set-up is fairly "rigid," so it's true that one could (as I did) take one's time beforehand to create a "perfect, optimal" set-up for an upcoming face-to-face game.

Being a student of history, I was quite pleased when Dave Demko's article "A Dog's Breakfast: Historical Invasion Plans for Sicily" came out (Operations 38); it was just in time for the TennCon 2000 Sicily event which I was preparing to gamemaster. I used Dave's article as a "starting point" and filled it out with some additional research of my own; as Henry Robinette reported (Operations 40), I also felt somewhat humbled about the prospect of trying to second-guess the professionals who had spent a couple of months planning the actual landings.

There is much to be said about the actual "shoulder-to-shoulder" aspect of the historical landings, and the terrain of the island (and more importantly, the relative distances from the Allies' supporting air bases) really does tend to focus the Allies' initial landings into the historical areas.

When preparing for HomerCon 2001, I made arrangements via the Gamers' e-mail list with Dave Demko and Ric Van Dyke to play OCS Sicily: Triumph & Folly. I had played the game a couple of times solitaire, and once (on the Axis side) in October, 2000 at TennCon in Knoxville (see Operations 40). When Dave expressed an interest in playing the Axis, I was pleased to take the challenge as the Allied player. Dave mentioned the possibility of playing Scenario 5.5 (which starts immediately after the historical landings). However, I had kept my "historical set- up" from the previous year, which saved an enormous amount of set-up time, and Dave seemed curious to see how it would work. Accordingly, we were able to use it and "dig right in."

Ironically, Dave and I live only about 200 miles from each other (Atlanta for Dave, Knoxville for me) yet we each traveled more than twice that distance to go somewhere else to play each other! After claiming literally the last available table and grabbing a quick dinner, we set up the game and commenced the landings. The execution of the actual landings did not take very long, and it was fun to see it "play out."

The British 1st Airborne Division landings were about the same as historical--about 30% losses, but with units in position to threaten the air base at B44.32. The US 82nd Airborne Division, however, saw 100% losses (which in game terms is probably not far off from the historical result!). As things turned out, I really wished at least one of those paratroop battalions had survived to help secure the beachhead! As for the amphibious landings, my ability to roll "2," "3" and "4" on the Amphibious Landing Table was uncanny! The losses in landing craft were truly awesome. Fortunately, only one DUKW, and a couple of arty battalions and SPs were lost.

On the other hand, all of the Beach Assaults were successful; even more importantly (as far as I was concerned) all of the LSTs landed safely. As a welcome balance to my losses, Dave saw two of his Italian Coastal Divisions (the 206th and the 207th) surrender; however, both of the "shaky" Coastal Artillery units decided to fight on for Il Duce.

Still, the British were ashore in force, and the Americans were established in Gela and Licata, and strung out along the coast throughout their sector. After the landings came the inevitable Axis counter-attack. Dave sent Hermann Goering Panzer Division crashing down Highway 117 from Piazza Armerina, aimed at Gela. I had a few P-40's flying interdiction along that road; in hindsight, I should have put more up there, instead of flying the "fighter sweeps" I had planned, particularly as Dave had kept most of his air units out of my reach. HG Pz Div. chewed through my screening units, battering US 1st Infantry Division terribly; when the dust had settled, one regiment of the "Big Red One" had been knocked out, and another had been pushed out of Gela all the way back to B47.08; it was suffering "Exhausted" supply and "Disorganized" and was practically surrounded.

By the end of the turn, it was getting late, and Dave and I were both weary from the day of travel, setting up, and the exhaustive combat! We decided to go ahead and do the "allimportant second turn initiative dice rolls"-so that we would be able to sleep better and mentally plan the next day's events. I don't remember the rolls-and there may have been a "tie" or two, to add to the tension-but I won the roll (and quickly elected to take the initiative) so that the "second wave" could come ashore and try to salvage the situation. Despite my landing craft losses, I expected the second wave to bolster the beachhead significantly.

Landing Strategy

As for landing strategy, I am nervous about trying to land the LSTs too often; in my view, they are simply too valuable to risk losing by rolling more than once for them on the ALT. Naturally, I am assuming that the wise Allied commander will pick beaches for them which are unopposed, close to (or better yet, on top of) rail lines and/or good roads, and safe from enemy coastal artillery and other counter-attacking units. I believe it's imperative to get them ashore safely (in the first wave), and then be able to use their "port capacity" for bringing in much needed SPs and/or reinforcements in subsequent turns. Even with the much-heavier- than-normal landing craft losses which I suffered, I had the entire "Floating Forces Box" cleared out within about four turns, which to my mind is evidence that there are plenty of landing craft available. Accordingly, I think there is little pointand much to risk-in trying to use the LSTs more than once. The key here is to remember that the LSTs are the most vital pieces of equipment the Allied player has: guard them at all costs!

On the next day of HomerCon (Friday), our third player (Ric Van Dyke, from Detroit) arrived. Ric is an experienced SCS gamer but an "OCS rookie." He had read the rules, but had never tried actually playing the system. We volunteered to walk him through. I believe he found out that the OCS is as many of us have said: really not difficult to learn. All of the systems and sub- systems "make sense," and are based on some "common-sense" approaches (see Ric's article). just remember that you actually have to provide supply for your mechanized units to move, and for everybody to engage in combat-and the rest is "fairly typical wargame stuff."

In any event, Ric was assigned the role of "Monty," and before long he was very much into the "semi-role-playing" spirit of things-continually whining to "Ike" (my alter-ego, along with "Patton") that "if the Bloody Americans would quit hogging all the supply [he] could make much better progress in [his] sector"!

In a typical game using the historical landing areas, the British will be fairly secure; the danger generally is for the Americans, who are usually within reach of some powerful Axis units. As mentioned above, protecting the LSTs is vital; they must be defended at all costs. In our game they were an obvious Axis target during the first two turns. However, by the end of the second turn they were safe, as the Axis counterattack had for the most part played itself out. In my opinion the key here is to bring US 2nd Armored Division ashore in sufficient strength--and with sufficient supply--as quickly as possible, such that it threatens to encircle and destroy the counterattacking Axis units. When the Axis player sees the danger he'll probably pull back, and your beachhead will be secure. Then the Allies will be ready to consolidate, build up, and break out!

The situation at the end of the second turn looked promising for the Allies. Progress was slow in the British sector (a problem which would continue throughout our campaign), but the British had consolidated and secured their sector, and were in possession of everything from the Anapo River SW to the Ragusa- Scicli rail line axis. The only pocket of resistance comprised some surrounded and besieged defenders grimly hanging onto the air base just south of the Anapo. The Axis units were grouped around Syracuse, Giarratana and Comiso, and none of them were very powerful. But for the initial 1st Airborne landings, the British had taken no casualties.

In the American sector, however, there had been heavy combat, and the "dead pile" count was pretty grim for both sides. By the time the dust had settled, US forces were holding on in Licata (in the face of repeated Axis counterattacks), had captured Butera, Biscari and Vittoria, had retaken Gela, and had begun to form a double envelopment around the remnants of HG Pz Div. near Ponte Olivo.

After a few more turns (which included constant, determined Axis counterattacks) the American forces had finally taken the air base north of Licata, had destroyed HG Pz Div., the Italian Napoli Div. and several KGs, and had advanced and consolidated their sector, linking up with the British in the east at the Ippari River, with a line running roughly along the Palma River- Mazzarino-Caltagirone-Biscari axis. The cost: a regiment of the Big Red One (lost on the first turn, described above), and approximately half of the 2nd Armored Division. The British and Canadians had been able to advance against light resistance, and had cleared Highway 124 all the way from Grammichele to Floridia; however, they were still bogged down in front of Syracuse.

The next area which Dave chose to defend was the line running roughly from Cannicati to Porto Empedocle. I think he was a bit surprised at the speed with which I was able to change direction with my units (particularly 2nd Armored Division), and using that good old American mobility to its best advantage, I was able to threaten an encirclement around his defenders. He chose to retreat, instead, west along the coast highway (Highway 115) and north toward Caltanisetta (along Highway 122). Here again, however, the greater speed of the US units paid off, and the pursuit quickly bagged even more Axis units.

One real turning point came when Dave attempted to set up a defense along the Platani river, at the coast. Once again, he simply was not "out of range" yet, and did not have enough units to defend the river line adequately. The US lst Infantry Division was able to infiltrate into his rear at Capo Bianco, thus unhinging his line and eliminating more Axis units. On the next turn, the 1st Infantry raced ahead to Campobello di Mazara, the Italian 202nd Coastal Division surrendered, leaving Highway 115 open all the way to Marsala. Fortunately, I had left the entire 3rd Infantry Division in Reserve, and it quickly exploited the breach and liberated Marsala. (By this time, we could envision the crowds welcoming the Americans as liberators, not conquerors!). In the east, the British finally took Syracuse, and had advanced upon Augusta.

While the 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions were pushing along the Coast Highway (115), the 2nd Armored Division had run hard through the center of the island along Highways 122 and 121, and had reached Cefalu and Baghenia, clearing the rail line and roads behind them as they went. (We could envision Patton standing along the road, pushing the troops hard!). The 45th Division had followed, and it began the siege of Palermo from the south and east.

Then, we ran out of gas (literally!)

I had stretched my supply line as far as I could, but the earlier battering of 2nd Armored was beginning to tell--I simply did not have enough units to provide security for the real estate I'd taken. Dave pounced on an opening along Highway 120, and knocked out the 2nd Armored HQ at A22.31. Yes, I know I was negligent in not properly garrisoning the HQ! All I can plead in my defense is that my division was literally stretched to the limit. In hindsight, had I put up sufficient interdiction along Highway 120, I probably would not have had a problem.

However, this was not the disaster that I had feared at the time. Sure, it's a "gut-wrencher" to see one of your HQs go under-but fortunately for the Allies (given a fairly good replacement rate) the loss is not critical. With the OCS you'll make mistakes and suffer setbacks; the key is to avoid panicking, take a deep breath, and figure out how best to salvage the situation. The loss of the HQ did have the effect of slowing down my advance, but I had really reached the point where I needed to regroup in any event (as I kept telling Dave and Ric!).

Fortunately, the next turn saw enough replacements available to rebuild the lost HQ, though getting the replacement from Tunis back to its needed position would take time. Meanwhile 2nd Armored "hunkered down," and elements from that division and the 45th hunted down and punished the raiding Germans.

[Ed. note: That unit was the heroic bicycle battalion from KG Korner.]

Also by this time, the remainder of the 82nd Airborne had been airlifted onto the island, and given their mobility in the heavy mountain ranges, they were sent into the Petralia-Nicosia sector in Strategic Move Mode. Ric had meanwhile (thankfully!) sent the Canadians over to protect my right flank. In the west, the 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions had arrived at Trapani. Meanwhile, "Monty" Ric succeeded in capturing Augusta, and was deploying well throughout his sector.

By Saturday evening we had played through almost to the end of July. On Sunday morning we finished up, and had gotten to the July 29 turn. By this time, the situation looked roughly like this: Except for the "Palermo Pocket" and Corleone, the entire western and southern portions of Sicily were now in Allied hands. Dave had one lonely Italian AT unit guarding a small SP dump at Corleone; they were being kept in check by a detached arty unit and the French Goums.

In addition, there was a ragtag bunch sitting in and around Palermo, eating supply faster than it could come in. Allied bombing had reduced Palermo's "Port Capacity" to the minimum, and the city was besieged by the (by-now-back-atfull-strength) Ist and 3rd Infantry in the west, and the 45th Infantry in the south and east. The 1st and 3rd had already begun making significant progress in penetrating the Italian defenses. To the east, the 2nd Armored Division was rapidly "beefing up" with replacements, holding a line along the Pollina River, facing some weak Italian units. 9th Infantry was beginning to come ashore in the Licata sector.

The 82nd Airborne (less the 505 RCT, of course!) was taking up positions along Highway 120 in the area between Petralia and Nicosia. To their right were the Canadians near Enna; beyond them was the rest of the British sector.

By this time "Monty" Ric had a good line from Enna, along Highway 117 (atop the ridge) south to Piazza Armerina, and then east along the Gornalunga River to the Lentini River. The next strategic objectives for the Allies were to capture Palermo (which would free up three US divisions for the push along Highways 113 and 120) and Catania. "Monty" Ric was preparing for his grand assault near the Malati Bridge, when time ran out for the convention! See Ric's article for a description of his last bold attack.

Because the Allies were somewhat farther along than had been the historical situation (except in the British sector), and because Axis casualties (including air units) were fairly high, Dave graciously conceded the game at this point. All agreed that it would have been very interesting to see it played through to the end. Throughout the game, Dave's play was outstanding; we had several tense combat situations, and he surprised me several times with his bold counter-thrusts. Axis play in Sicily is surely a challenge-but then, so is Allied play (in my humble opinion).

All in all, it was a memorable gaming experience, and I'm "chomping at the bit" to play Sicily or any of the OCS games again as soon as possible. Many thanks to Ric and Dave for the terrific time we enjoyed at HomerCon 2001, and many, many thanks to Dean, Sara and all the others who helped make HomerCon a wonderful gathering of friends.