"Playtesting Skirmish Elite Sicily Campaign" Topic

Gents,
We're in the final round of playesting for the soon-to-be-released Skirmish Elite campaign book "Combat Jump: Sicily", which focuses on the actions of Co. A, 1/502nd PIR, 82nd Airborne Division during the first three days of Operation Husky. The following is an AAR from the playtest of the second scenario in the campaign, which represents the initial jumping-off of the Italian Gruppo Mobile E counterattack toward the Gela beachhead. This scenario (along with the rest of the book) was extensively researched using official documents as well as published material, and references include the paper prepared for the US Army Infantry School by the A Company Commander, CPT Edwin Sayre, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during this period. Sayre figures prominently in every scenario in the book.

This scenario pits a reinforced US para platoon against what is essentially an Italian tank-infantry company team. The Americans have to prevent the Italians from pushing their tanks through towards the beachhead by fighting a delaying action, but they also have to get some of their force off the board in order to move out to their real objective (which is in the next scenario). The Italians, obviously, are trying to get their tanks off the board…in the right direction…

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I think everyone agreed last night's game was a good one…even if it was highly frustrating for the Italians.

For those who weren't able to make it, here's how things worked out:

The American paras, having gotten an MMG team as their variable attachment, set up secretly in their ambush positions – which included two MMGs on the ridgline: one in the southern bunker and one in the trench. Down below, hiding in the brush, one para squad set up in the gully and the second in a row of foxholes just behind the gully. A bazooka team took a position on the left flank, behind a stone wall and covering the bend in the road.

The Italian Bersaglieri Reconnaissance Group, which started the game on the board strung out along the road in the northwest corner, were – amazingly – not spotted until they had been able to make one move further down the road. The motorcycle rifle team was in the lead, followed by the motorcycle MMG team, and the motorized command team brought up the tail end of the unit. Unfortunately, when it WAS spotted it was spotted by Doug's two MMGs on the ridgline and began to take withering fire. The lead motorcyclists were hit hard in the first blast, with about three KIA and several more broken. Doug then got another card in short order and laid down covering fire that interdicted the road and cut off the head of the column. As if that wasn't enough, both the US naval gunfire AND the Italian random artillery landed squarely on the motorcycle rifle team, too! Dead Italians littered the highway, and the broken motorcyclists were desperately trying to get to cover or get off the board.

Alvin, in command of the Bersaglieri, got the remaining combat effectives into the cover of a stone wall near the road and tried to organize a base of fire. The Motorcycle Rifle Team leader went valiant and rallied several of his men, but was then broken while moving to organize the emplacement of the Motorcycle MMG team behind the wall when the driver of his motorcycle/sidecar combination was killed by Doug's MMG and the motorcycle crashed. In the subsequent round of morale checks for the members of the unit, most of the remaining riflemen broke as well. However, the MMG team was still in fairly good order and preparing to set up their gun…when they got hit by 5 in. naval gunfire again!

So far, the Bersaglieri command element, still mounted in their truck, were pretty well unscathed. They moved into the cover of the wall, as well, and jumped out of the truck, preparing to deploy their MMG and AT rifle. Unfortunately, once again the 5 in. naval guns hit the same area, and that fire combined with the American MMG fire, decimated the unit before it could accomplish anything more than pulling its gear out of the truck. By this time, the Bersaglieri had spent two full turns on the board all alone, at the epicenter of a veritable firestorm, lashed by MMG and rifle fire and pounded by both friendly and enemy artillery. They finally gave up and ran for their lives. At which point the rest of the Italian force began to arrive….

Meanwhile, during the first two turns the Americans had begun their retrograde, and Roy's squad (Yellow) had fallen back from the gully to occupy the foxholes vacated by Joe's squad. Joe's squad (white) pulled back to the copse of light woods on the southern side of the road, preparing to counter any Italian effort to either "shoot the gap" on the road or slip around the American left flank and head off the board cross-country. That turned out to be a very good idea. Doug's MMGs, working in close cooperation, kept up continous covering fire on the road, slowing the Italian advance to a crawl.

The next Italian unit to join the fight was CB's regular rifle squad, whose truck hugged the wall trying to stay out of effective MMG fire from the ridgline. With the fleeing remnants of the Bersaglieri still on the board in front of them, the fresh squad couldn't move very far, and wasn't about to dismount only six inches into the table and right in the middle of the ambush kill zone. CB's plan was to wait for the tanks to enter, then try to use them as rolling cover to "get off the X".

The six R35 tanks came in soon after CB's squad, and trundled straight down the road under Jonathan's command. The R35s, however, were so slow that CB's squad had to continue waiting behind the wall for the tanks to advance far enough that the truck could be able to slip across the road and get behind them. Another agonizing two cards for the squad, though thankfully the range and the cover of the wall made the American MMG fire fairly ineffective and they suffered only one broken riflemen (despite looking like one, big, fat chum-wagon…).

In the interim, the other two Italian rifle squads rushed onto the board in their trucks, and managed to maneuver into position on the outside of the tanks to take advantage of the "rolling cover". The plan seemed to be working, and Alvin's truckload of infantry managed to get through the American MMG covering fire with modest losses…but was then hit hard by the other MMG before it could get to further cover.

By this time, CB's truck-borne squad had also managed to dash across the road and into cover behind the tanks, remarkably without taking another loss in the process. Alvin's squad had not yet been hit, and so things were looking up for the Italians. With a bit of luck, it appeared that the entire rifle company might be able to deploy on the left flank of Roy's yellow squad and be in position to roll them up – with the support of the tanks, of course. Even after Alvin's squad got smacked, it still looked like CB's and Sean's squads could make it through the MMG gauntlet and follow through on the plan…but then the 5 in. rounds fell again. This time, they not only failed once again to deviate to another registration point further south, but landed right between the two fully-loaded trucks. The chumwagon had finally arrived, in spades. Both squads were essentially annihilated. On the other hand, the Italian Company Commander, who must have been enjoying a late breakfast off-board, was able to dash all the way to the head of the column in his Fiat staff car before deciding that discretion really was the better part of valor and that he and his three riflemen really weren't going to be able to stop CPT Sayre and his doughty para squad from close assaulting the leading tanks. The Fiat made a sharp turn to the right and skedaddled off the table, depriving the Americans of three victory points and saving a magnificent leader for future greatness in the army of the Italian Socialist Republic (RIP 1944).

The R35s, having by sheer luck avoided fiery destruction at the hands of the bazooka team, were progressing as rapidly as their little tracks could carry them to the southwest corner of the board (and thus on to victory and the Gela beachhead). Sayre knew what he had to do, though, and his little band of brothers made a steadfast advance directly into the path of ex-French (miniature) behemoths. Jonathan, fresh from the glory of having – in turn 5 – fired the very first Italian shot in anger (by which he succeeded only in creating with his coax MGs two American para heros!), was preparing to employ the vaunted "Meat Plow" maneuver on Sayre and his hard-bitten handful of hearty hellions. The Italians raced their 2-stroke engines, and the paras prepared their anti-tank grenades. The first R35 turned the corner around the last stone wall and ground over several of the young paras – Jonathan had redeemed Italian honor and finally put the Duce on the scoreboard!

Then it was the paras' turn.

With the heroic Sayre in the lead, the boys were fearless. They surrounded the leading three tanks and loosed a barrage of antitank grenades, immobilizing ALL three! The Italian tankers, however, must have been inspired by their glorious overrun attack because all three crews refused to abandon their tanks, and instead they began to lay waste around them with thier coax MGs. More paratroopers fell! Glory to the Legions! Glory to the Duce! Viva Italia! Viva Mussolini!!!

Italian (player) morale rose another level as the Semovente da 90 rolled onto the board in Turn 6. It rolled right onto the ridgeline, presenting a serious threat to the flank of the American positions in the bunker and trenchline. Despite the fact that the crew had to spend two actions to both stop and then dismount in order to serve the gun, they managed to get into action without mishap as the paras took too long to re-orient their MMG in the trench. The big self-propelled 90mm AT gun put a round right into the bunker with a "can't miss" shot, destroying the fortification along with the other American MMG. The para crew serving the gun emerged from the dust and rubble, dazed and confused and minus one man. Another great victory for the Duce! Urrahhhhhhh!!!!! The rest of the paras must have been particularly well camouflaged in the trenches, however, as the Semovente crew were totally unable to spot them. So, the crew fired another round at a random spot in the trenchline… Another para bites the dust! Urrahhhhhh!!!

But then…

The remaining American MMG raked the Semovente, disabling the crew and putting the gun out of action.

About this time great consternation began to arise in the American ranks. Somebody had forgotten the plan, and it looked like they might not be able to exit 20 men before the game ended. After a quick consultation with his staff, LTC Gorham realized he was going to have to count on an extra game turn if he was going to have any chance of accomplishing his mission. Yellow squad got orders to move out "most ricky-tick" and run like hell for the south board edge!

Alas, as the game clock wound down there was no more time added. Yellow squad didn't make it off the board. Three Italian tanks, however, did rush off for the beach, giving the Italians three extra victory points.

In the final tally, the overall score was Americans 22, Italians 15. Not bad at all considering the horrendous pounding the Italians took from the naval gunfire and the initial ambush of the Bersaglieri. And, since the Italians accomplished their victory conditions and the Americans did not, the Italians received 2 attachment credits.

Total for the campaign so far: Americans 42, Italians 33.

For those interested in the "box scores" for this scenario:
American leaders lost = 0 of 11 (0%)
American infantry lost = 12 of 47 (26%)

Italian leaders lost = 2 of 8 (25%)
Italian infantry lost = 18 of 91 (20%)
Italian AFVs destroyed = 0 of 7 (0%)
Italian AFV crewmen lost = 2 of 14 (14%)
Italian softskins destroyed = 1 of 5 (20%)

For the entire campaign so far (percentages based on total strength numbers for all 8 scenarios):
American leaders lost = 1 (2%)
American non-leaders lost = 29 (8%)

Axis leaders lost = 7 (13%)
Axis non-leaders lost = 29 (8%)
Axis AFVs destroyed = 0 (0%)
Axis softskins destroyed = 1 (13%)

Interesting fact 1: The percentage of non-leader troop losses are currently exactly the same for both sides.
Interesting fact 2: In this scenario, the Americans actually suffered a higher casualty rate among riflemen than the Italians – 26% vs 20%.
Interesting fact 3: Despite the fact that the scenario rules for the naval gunfire include a die roll modifier that should move the fall of the shells down the table as the game progresses, ALL but ONE mission fell on the same registration point -- that is 6 of 7 missions of four tubes of 5 in. HE, all falling right on the heads of the Italians every turn (until we stopped the game). If that fire had landed further south just once or twice, it very possibly would have caused a good number of casualties on the American side and evened up the score considerably, just a swing of 4 would have made the score ITALIAN 19 to American 18.

Considering all that, I'm very happy with the playtest and I think the scenario is well-balanced despite how tough it feels for the Italian side.

Thanks to everyone for a good game! Looking forward to the next one!
CB

That sounds great, CB! I'v been wishing for some books of the seemingly forgotten Italian Campaign for a long time. Good to see it's you and the AoF regulars who are doing some finally. I look forward to perhaps playing some of them at Historicon.

This one has been in the works for about two years. We all got a bit sidetracked with the development of CY6!, but I think Scott plans to release the Sicily book at Cold Wars or Fall-In.

This sounds great. I've been hoping that a Sicily or Italian campaign book would come out. But, wasn't the 502nd in the 101st AB? I think it was the 505th PIR which was on Sicily. But, I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.

-Mike