Rommel "Operation Ochsenkopf" February 1943

Andy and I thought we would try playing some historical scenarios for a change and opted for "Operation Ochsenkopf" set in Tunisia in 1943. I took the Germans while Andy had the British.

The objective for the Germans was to hold 4 out of 6 objectives by nightfall (including 2 British objectives) and the force available were two infantry regiments (754th and 755th) plus Kampfgruppe Lang, an armored formation including a single mighty Tiger!

The British had three infantry brigades, the 11th, 128th and 138th with support from some Churchill tanks from the North Irish Horse.

Examining the map the Germans came up with the following plan:

Kampfgroup Lang would take the middle Allied objective while the 755th Infantry took the one on the right. The 754th Infantry would be available to support either as required. The initial set up:

Kampfgruppe Lang attempts to quickly overwhelm the Allied objective using the mobility of it's tanks and the single armored Panzer Grenadier battalion it possesses:

The 755th Infantry assault the other Allied objective held by some isolated units of the 11th Brigade. Speed is of the essence in both attacks before the Allies can reinforce the troops holding the objectives:

The 755th capture the objective while the 754th move up in support. Two attacks by Kampfgruppe Lang have been repulsed with heavy losses though:

Losses for the 755th are relatively light:

A second assault by Kampfgruppe Lang supported by the 754th Infantry almost but not quite captures the centre objective. Kampfgruppe Lang's tanks have taken a battering and will struggle to be effective in attack again:

The Germans fight on and a third assault captures the objective. They have taken heavy losses though while the Allies have not been damaged so badly:

The Germans holding the centre objective are now in a salient with only rear support. They are too weak to take the flank sectors and will suffer from being flanked by the Allies almost surrounding them:

The battle rages on with the Germans holding on for now and in a winning situation but night is a long time away and they are being whittled down:

On the left the 755th has had a quiet time since taking their objective. The Allies appear to be preparing for a counter-attack though:

Needing to hold on to their own objective the Germans have too few units available to support the front line of the 755th Infantry who come under attack from three directions:

The German position in the centre is starting to crumble with the Allies breaking through to the German baseline, isolating the 755th Infantry and threatening the artillery support:

The 755th Infantry are struggling to hold on:

 The German line has collapsed but they fight on:

The 754th Infantry holding the Allied objective are being overwhelmed. The remaining units of Kampfgruppe Lang supporting them are pretty much spent and unable to intervene:

On the right three so far uncommitted units of Kampfgruppe Lang make a desperate attempt to break through to the third so far uncontested Allied objective. They fail to overcome stubborn Allied resistance though:

The German position is falling apart, the centre Allied objective has been lost as has one German objective. The Germans have nothing left to counter attack with. Night will fall soon and the only question is can they hold on for a draw?

 The 755th Infantry in the left Allied objective desperately hold on:

As night falls the Allies launch one last attack on the battered defenders of the left German objective. The attack succeeds and victory goes to the Allies!

Another great Rommel game, the preponderance of infantry in the scenario made it rather different to our usual tank-heavy games. The scenario seemed very well balanced and swung from side to side with the Germans initially successful, the Allies counter-attacking and regaining the initiative leaving the Germans desperately trying to hold on for a draw.

Andy is a tough opponent and used flank attacks with great success to wear down my units defending the objectives. He also kept going with great determination right to the end and was rightly rewarded with a victory.

I made a number of errors I think, I spread my forces too thinly and became fixated on defence once I'd taken enough objectives which passed the initiative to Andy.

I wasted units holding objectives in my rear when they should have been supporting their comrades further forward in a solid line which would have made Andy's flank attacks harder to achieve.

Really looking forward to our next game and I've invested in Russians (it was inevitable really) so they might make an appearance in the New Year. They look like they will play differently to the Germans or Allies as they seem to have poor co-ordination between tanks and infantry, small formations and in the Mid-War period green tank crews. They do have a massive amount of artillery though this is limited by how they can be employed. I reckon this will require a different approach....