The Gamers' OCS release, Sicily, features an opening opposed amphibious landing supported by ill-fated airborne drops. The Axis setup is a given, while allowing some leeway, but what about the landing and its ancillary airdrops? What is the Allied player to do? Many an inexperienced OCS player will feel intimidated by the seemingly endless possibilities opening before them. The multitude of choices, perceived by veteran OCS gamers as a guarantee of replayability, is likely to confuse many. This article aims to present some of the fundamentals involved in landing in Sicily while presenting possibilities to explore.

What to look for in a Beach Party?

First and foremost, you must locate a good beach. But what attributes does a good beach have? It must have good terrain both for the initial landing and the upcoming exploitation. It must possess good and preferably numerous harbor facilities nearby to provide good logistics. Large capacity harbors facilitate supply deliveries while in good operating conditions. Numerous facilities minimize air strike effects as each (1T) port can receive one ground unit per turn, irrespective of size.

Similarly, the availability of nearby airfields is crucial both for the basing of Allied fighters and for paratrooper and supply deliveries. Whenever airfields are located within striking distance from a beach, coups de main should be planned to seize them as part of the initial landing. Dismount DUKWborne shock troops directly on airfield objectives to achieve this.

The best beaches are those located within 10 hexes of Naval Release Points (NRP) because this allows the slow landing ships to unload their cargo on their turn of arrival (at the NRP). Beaches located further require naval task forces to spend one or more phases 'at sea' under the gaze of the omnipresent Luftwaffe/Regia Aeronautica.

Where to hold a Beach Party?

The Western Sector is blessed with several beaches: Licata/Gela accessed through the B52.06 NRP, Porto Empedocle through A49.22 NRP, Capo Bianco through A49.22 NRP, and Punta Granitola through A46.08 NRP. The Eastern Sector is not so fortunate: Golfo Di Noto relies on B54.34 NRP, and Capo Scaramia on B60.14 NRP. The Eastern Sector also hosts two beaches requiring a risky sea voyage to reach: Golfo Di Augusta, and Golfi Di Catania.

Each beach holds promises and risks. Choose poorly and it will be a long, hot summer under the harsh Sicilian sun. Let us analyze the Western Sector first.

Western Sicily

The Licata/Gela beachhead is most tempting, especially since it was the site of the historical US landings. It sports a major harbor (Licata), a port (Gela), and airfields at B47.03 and B46.11. The terrain is open, both on and off beach facilitating movement. Both are linked by a railroad that points to the Sicilian interior like a dagger, while a secondary road leads away from Gela. The only threat consists of the Herman Goering KG and Livno infantry division located nearby. A landing here must be compact and must include a greater proportion of fighting units than elsewhere due to the risks of being attacked early on. Overall assessment: a relatively safe beach sector with good exit options, favorable to the big US 1st armored division.

Next comes Empedocle with its major harbor. The beaches themselves are open while the surrounding countryside is mostly low hills crisscrossed by multiple rivers. Although this has the drawback of impeding breakout, it affords excellent protection during the landing phase. The road/railroad network extending from Empedocle is also first rate: the railroad shoots straight up towards Palermo and also westwards towards Marsala. A secondary road forks out directly above Empedocle pointing directly at Palermo on the left hand and towards the vast interior on the right hand. Empedocle is however devoid of any airfield nearby. Overall assessment: a safe landing area with excellent transportation network. A landing here is well suited to a strategy of cutting off Sicily in half at the earliest opportunity.

The next two beaches can be analyzed together as they are very similar in outlook. Both have good beaches and surrounding terrain. Port facilities are poor with only the minor port of Sciacca available. Airfelds are present at A40.16 and A36.10 and should be snatched without much difficulty. The road/railroad network is excellent over the entire Western Sicily, leading up to the capture of numerous harbors and ports. Overall assessment: a very safe sector that is unfortunately out of the 'main picture'. Landing here will place the Eastern Sector in dire jeopardy since major Axis formations will be available to re- deployment there. However, as a secondary landing site, these are probably unsurpassed and should meet with total success.

Eastern Sicily

Forces landing in Eastern Sicily will have a rougher time of it (than their Western Sicily counterparts). The only good beach readily accessible is Golfo Di Noto which the 206th Coastal Division can heavily defend. Only an all-out assault will succeed here or anywhere else in the Eastern Sector for that matter. Only the port of Avola is available to supplement beach operations, although Syracuse should be 'liberated' shortly by an aggressive Allied Player. The terrain here favors the defense, as the coastal corridor is very narrow until Augusta is reached.

Any landing in Golfo Di Noto ought to be supported by airdrops near Augusta to slow down the German response. Otherwise, the invaders might finds themselves boxed in early on. Airfields are present at B44.32 and B54.30. Overall assessment: the 'safest' of the Eastern Sector beaches, it requires a major assault to secure early on, followed by an aggressive exploitation towards Syracuse and Augusta to succeed. Such a landing is likely to lead to protracted fighting for the capture of the Primosole and Malati bridges.

Landings in the Golfo Di Augusta area require spending some time at sea under the greedy eyes of the Axis air forces, allowing the defenders to re-deploy forces to the beaches themselves. Inexperienced players should avoid attempting such feat of arms.

For the more adventurous, sailing up the eastern coast of Sicily holds much promise, and much angst. First, the enemy air force must be fought off while an opposed landing is sure to greet our intrepid warriors.

Undiscovered Beaches

There is one out-of-the-way beach area that is a sleeper: Sicily's undiscovered Northern Beaches. Since the approach to these beaches will take seemingly forever, the Axis Player will be forewarned of your intentions and is likely to react aggressively to any attempt to enter Sicily through the 'back door'.

Still, once the Luftwaffe/Regia Aeronautica has been reduced somewhat, and beaches have been secured on Sicily's Southern Coast, drawing away many if not most of the Axis Army, the possibility to deliver a division near Palermo may tempt you.

Enter your Naval Invasion Task Force at NRP A46.08 on a turn where you move second, reach the STL entry point at A42.01 in one phase, and re-enter at A2 1.01 later on. The intrepid Allied commander must face the aerial gauntlet that awaits the Fleet and accept losses stoically. Should the fortunes of war award you a double move, strike fast and hard. Only fools and the lucky will sail on towards Messina.

The attempt is for experienced amphibious commanders only. Timing, and luck, is everything in this venture. The mere fact that you could attempt it should keep the Axis commander honest and require the positioning of Axis reserves near Palermo.

What faux pas to avoid at a Beach Party?

Avoid crowded beaches, if you can. Landing amidst a plethora of coastal artillery guns and even low-grade local troops can ruin your day. A good example of this is Golfo Di Noto that is defended by the 206th Coastal Division. Although susceptible to 'go home' after the initial landing, this division, if emplaced at the water's edge, can generate nasty DRM's against any invader. The Licata/Gela area although inviting at first glance is within striking distance of the Herman Goering KG and Livno Infantry Division.

Landing in large groups is also a no-no. Because of the roundup rule, landing in 3-step gaggles is to be avoided wherever possible (you would lose 2/3 versus 1/2 of the troops involved upon a 50% loss result). The standard combat load is 2-step.

Avoid early fighting unless the rewards are great. This will save on supplies that are bound to be scarce upon landing. The time-honored OCS tradition of 'surround & starve' should be your motto in Sicily.

Act friendly towards the 'locals'. Speak softly and try to convince the Coastal Divisions that it is in their best interest to I go home', leaving you to fight it out with the Germans. Tell them that the Germans will fight for Sicily 'to the last Italian', which will turn out to be true enough in the weeks ahead.

What to bring to a Beach Party?

Everybody is in a rush to'hit the beaches'. In your panic to get there, you should never forget to bring along some surface vessels for Naval Gun Support (NGS) that does not consume supply, unlike those big guns of yours. If you can talk the Royal Navy in lending you a carrier or two for air cover so much the better.

Warning: carriers should not be risked lightly and should operate within land-based fighter cover wherever possible.

Supplies, lots of supplies: you can never go wrong by loading up on supplies. Supplies will be required to support initial combats (remember: minimize early fighting). They will be required to sustain (e.g., feed) the forces ashore unless you are fortunate enough to capture a harbor nearby or can establish that LST port. On that last point, never rely on your LST surviving the initial landing. Embark enough supplies to feed the troops in the eventuality that the LST develop a leak while at sea. Although you should plan on walking as many units as possible after landing, to save on fuel, all armor and mechanized formations require fuel to move, even a short distance. Should the Germans pull back, taking advantage of fleeting opportunities requires petrol.

On the subject of LSTs, I do not recommend landing any LST against any but the flimsiest of opposition. They are far too precious to lose carelessly in an opposed landing. The first wave ashore should consist entirely of combat troops and SP's. Only after a perimeter has been secured should you commit LST's to land. This leads to inefficient SP usage in the early going, but losing an LST severely restricts supply flow for the entire Sicily Campaign. If you go ahead and lose an LST upon landing (other than against a freak die roll), don't say I didn't warn you.

Load up redundant units. You need to have an established perimeter at the conclusion of your initial landing, no if's nor but's. Plan for losses: not everybody will make it. If you plan it'too close', with every unit needed for some critical task, you are courting disaster. If it turns out that more units made it than anticipated, then you will be in a position to go after targets of opportunity or you can set-up a better-than-planned defense.

Sure paratroopers are crazy to jump off those planes like that, but guess what? They can get to places that you and I would never dream of getting into. Make sure that you integrate them into your strategic planning. They can be extremely useful, until their untimely demise that is.

There are two schools of thought with respect to vertical envelopments. The conventional approach consists of dropping the paratroopers in close support of the initial landings. Their objectives should be transportation choke points (e.g., passes and bridges) and high value targets such as harbors and airfields. The goal of the paratroopers, other than surviving the initial drop, is to seize and hold objectives against all comers until relieved by fast moving ground troops.

The more aggressive approach is bolder in its vision and implementation. Look at the big picture. The Axis troops must maintain trace supply in order to be effective. Identify a location deep in the enemy rear that threatens that vital trace supply and drop several battalions to seize it. The enemy is now caught between two threats: an amphibious assault poised to consolidate and exploit if left unchecked, and an airborne threat that is cutting their windpipe while preventing a speedy and clean getaway.

The area around Caltanisetta B35.04 represents such a sensitive area.

Be prepared to dedicate C-47's transports to re-supply paratroopers dropped away from trace supply. If the initial drop is successful, reinforcing success may be in order, depending on Axis reaction. In any event, those boys are 'forlorn hopes' in that they cannot be expected to survive in large numbers. Make sure their sacrifice is not made in vain.

What to do at a Beach Party?

There's always plenty to do at the beach and rarely enough time to get it all done. Therefore you must prioritize. The first order of the day is to form a tight perimeter: hard on the outside, soft of the inside. All those high-value targets must be protected: HQ's, LST harbor, supplies, trucks, etc.

Next, act upon those real estate deals you laid the foundation for: capture nearby airfields and ports, secure vital crossroads and bridges, link-up with paratroopers if possible. Take some risks. Sure, the enemy can hit you hard sometimes, but the Axis Player rarely has enough troops to really hurt you upon landing, unless you've suffered terrible losses, or were careless in your planning and execution.

Once these high priority tasks are done, have a chat with the 'locals' as mentioned above. An Italian soldier that goes home is one less Italian soldier you have to kill. A probe may be all that is required to' turn' an entire division.

What to do after the Beach Party?

After all the excitement of the beach party is over, what do you do? The watchword should be: consolidate. Stock up on as much supplies as possible. Bring in the reinforcements because they are sorely needed to expand the beachhead.

Make yourself comfortable (and secure). Bring in some fighters at your local airfields to provide mutual support. Integrate carrier TF within the Friendly Sky Network.

Clean up the place. Amphibious landings can be messy. Sometimes small enemy pockets may linger on, especially if the enemy air force decides to re-supply them under your nose. Disposing of stragglers reduces your security force needs.

Proceed with highway/railroad clearance. OCS is dominated by logistics. Sicily is no different. You will need to advance along major road/railroad corridors.

Long Term Prospects

A smart Allied Player will immediately start prosecuting an aggressive Air Campaign with the stated objective of driving all Axis fighters from the island, save perhaps for the Messina area where flak can be most damaging.

Airborne troops will be flown in at airheads wherever these might be located, to supplement local landings, especially in the early going. Never, never lose track of the fact that those paratroopers walk wherever they are going, thereby saving you precious fuel.

Supplies must be brought in by whatever means available, including air transports. Those C-47 with a range of 320 can make two trips per turn to most airfields, bringing in 2T/turn each.

Naval bombardments come at no charge to the Allies. Hit whatever is in range of the coast. This applies particularly well to the Eastern Sector where the Axis must defend close to shore.

Beyond these generic tips, there isn't much one can say as everything depends on developments leading up to that time. Essentially, the Allies should go after what the Axis leaves open to them. The campaign is likely to evolve into a sluggish affair once the fight moves into the Etna area, unless you are so bold and fortunate to trap large enemy formations into the interior where they can be starved to death.

Conclusion

Make no mistake about it, opposed amphibious landings are tough. Plan the works. Work the plan. Don't cut it too close: leave some fat just in case. Be bold. A long and painful summer awaits the timid. Respect the Axis but do not fear them. They can jab with the best of them, but staying power in on your side. If you can establish a firm perimeter and can get the supply where it's needed, you have little to fear but fear itself.