BkC Western Desert 1941

Yesterday evening, Greg, Ben and I played a game of BlitzKreig Commander at Maelstrom Games.

I set up a table and picked both a British and an Afrika Korps force of about 2400pts each. We flipped a coin and Greg would take the British, I would be the DAK, Ben chose to play with the DAK on my side.

The battlefield

The forces were:

British:

Greg takes the British

Qty Troops
1 CO (CV8)
2 Recce Unit (Scout Carrier)

1 HQ (CV8)
4 Tank Unit (A9)

1 HQ (CV8)
4 Tank Unit (Crusader 2-pdr)

1 HQ (CV8)
9 Infantry Unit (Regulars)
3 Infantry Upgrade (Anti-tank Rifle)
1 Support Unit (ATG, 2pdr)
1 Transport Unit (Trucks)
1 Support Unit (Mortar, 3")

1 HQ (CV7)
9 Infantry Unit (Regulars)
3 Infantry Upgrade (Anti-tank Rifle)
1 Support Unit (ATG, 2pdr)
1 Transport Unit (Trucks)
1 Support Unit (Mortar, 3")

1 HQ (CV7)
3 Support Unit (MG, Vickers)

1 HQ (CV7)
2 Artillery Support Unit (25-pdr)
2 Transport Unit (Trucks)

1 FAO (CV7)
1 Field Artillery Unit (25-pdr, 8 gun)

Afrika Korps:

Myself and Ben take the DAK

Qty Troops
1 CO (CV10)
1 Recce Unit (SdKfz 222)
1 Recce Unit (Infantry)
1 Transport Unit (Motorcycles)

1 HQ (CV9)
2 Tank Unit (PzKpfw III, 50mm kurz)
2 Tank Unit (PzKpfw IV, 75mm kurz)
2 Tank Unit (PzKpfw II)

1 HQ (CV9)
2 Tank Unit (PzKpfw III, 50mm kurz)
2 Tank Unit (PzKpfw IV, 75mm kurz)
2 Tank Unit (PzKpfw II)

1 HQ (CV9)
6 Infantry Unit (Afrika Korps Regulars)
3 Infantry Upgrade (Anti-tank Rifle)
1 Support Unit (MG-34/42)
1 Support Unit (Mortar, 81mm)

1 HQ (CV9)
1 Transport Unit (Motorcycles)
6 Infantry Unit (Afrika Korps Regulars)
3 Infantry Upgrade (Anti-tank Rifle)
1 Support Unit (MG-34/42)
1 Support Unit (Mortar, 81mm)



We rolled off and Greg took first turn. The game started quite well for the British, in their first turn both the 25pdrs and the CV8 infantry battalion double one'd but the CV7 infantry battalion and the MG company failed to arrive. The Germans also countered with a double one on the left flank PanzerKompanie who then stalled.

Despite a blunder in the next turn, Bens left flak Panzers were soon in the game and knocked out the 25-pdrs while his infantry took the center and drove off the Vickers MG company. Meanwhile my Panzers tangled with the Cruisers and Crusaders but eventually there one A9 Cruiser and one Crusader facing off against two PzIII.

The Afrika Korps infantry held on to the town without loss and were able to break up the sluggish British infantry. The CV7 British infantry put in a poor performance, not even arriving at the battlefield until turn 6.

By the end of the game, it was definitely going the way of the DAK.

The British start to advance

Right flank Panzers

Left flank Panzers

25-pdrs in a AT role

DAK infantry take the village

Panzers and Crusaders go head to head

More DAK infantry enter the village

A9 Cruiser  bottleneck going into the pass

The DAK infantry truly ensconced now

More DAK infantry cover the hill

The first Crusader is knocked out

The A9s join the tank fight

It gets quite destructive

The view from the minarets

At the end of the game

More Cruisers and Crusaders knocked out than Panzers

But still quite a few Panzers accounted for

Apart from the hills which belong to Maelstrom, all the troops and terrain are from my collection. The infantry are all Adler Miniatures and the vehicles are all GHQ painted by myself.