Tactics in 'Afrika Korps'
Scenario 43: Afrika Korps Advances
By Doug McNair
June 2006

Having given the Union a chance at revenge on the Confederates in my last tactics article, it’s only fair that I give the Axis at chance at revenge in the desert after their defeat in my article on Panzer Grenadier: Desert Rats.

This time, I give the Italians a breather and let Afrika Korps have a go at the British in Scenario 43 of Panzer Grenadier: Afrika Korps. “Afrika Korps Advances: 2 April 1941” depicts one of the first offensives launched by the newly-arrived German 5th Light Division. Forward elements of the British 2nd Armored Division tried to hold the road against the advancing Germans while their compatriots desperately worked to repair 2nd Armored’s broken-down tanks on the road to the east.

Setup

The scenario takes place on one of the largest game boards in the whole Panzer Grenadier series. Maps 1, 2 and 3 are laid out upright, left to right in a rectangle. A road runs the length of the board from west to east, with other roads and tracks crossing it from the north and south at various points. There are also salt marshes (dangerous to vehicles) at four offroad locations on the board.

The British units set up on Map 1, within five hexes of hex 1114, which is on the east-west road. The German player enters the west map edge at and adjacent to the east-west road.

Objectives

The German player must exit at least eight combat unit steps off the east board edge at the main road while taking no more than four step losses (tanks count double, trucks don’t count). The British player must either stop all German units from exiting while losing no more than five British combat unit steps (tanks count double), or must eliminate at least eight German combat unit steps.

British Tactics

The British player has a mixed force of infantry, AT guns and artillery, light British tanks and captured Italian tanks. Since he can set up within five hexes of hex 1114, he could either set up a concentrated force as close to the west edge as possible (to hit the Germans hard as they enter), or set up on a wide front north to south and force the Germans to either attack them frontally or waste lots of time slogging through the sand to get around them.

The British player decides to do both. He starts by setting up a strong forward roadblock consisting of an INF platoon, an HMG platoon and a Bren carrier platoon in road hex 0615, six hexes east of the German entry hex. Right behind them in road hex 0714 he puts his heaviest tanks, an A13 British tank platoon and a platoon-and-a-half of captured M13/40 Italian tanks. These forces are tasked with stopping the German road advance and destroying the German tanks and transports as they enter.

He then sets up most of the rest of his forces four hexes east of the roadblock in hex column 11xx, in a line stretching north and south from road hex 1114. Then his two-pounder AT gun platoons set up two hexes east of the line and four hexes north and south of the road, so that they can get crossfire bonuses on German tanks that break through the British roadblock.

Finally, he places his heavy 25-pounder artillery platoon, a Bren carrier and all the British trucks in and around the road five hexes east of the line. These will act as a last-ditch roadblock and provide long-range bombardment and AT fire support for the forward units.

German Tactics

The British have a very strong position, and the Germans have no artillery support and only four INF platoons, three HMG platoons, three light tank platoons, one armored car platoon, one motorcycle platoon and an assortment of support weapons plus transports. They have to enter the board at or adjacent to the road, and will immediately be subject to fire from the tanks and infantry at the roadblock. Trying to offroad it around the roadblock and line is probably futile — the British have three whole maps through which they can pull back eastward, using the road to move faster than the Germans and leapfrogging some units east while others shoot.

So the Germans will have to hit the roadblock frontally, leaving their most lightly armored vehicles behind for a bit to keep them from being destroyed by the roadblock tanks or long-range AT fire from the line. They’ll need to send in their INF, HMG and Panzer III platoons first to engage the roadblock, using the panzers’ superior AT fire range to keep the British tanks at arm’s length.

They should then transport in their 50mm and 37mm AT guns, unloading/unlimbering them on the road to hit the roadblock and line with long-range AT fire. Once the roadblock units are neutralized, the Germans can bring in their lighter vehicles, sending them offroad eastward to hit the north or south flank of the line while the forward German units drive up the road to hit the center of the line.

On the other hand, the German motorcycle unit can move quickly offroad and is immune to AT fire. The German player should send it out to harass the flanks of the British line and threaten the British two-pounder and 25-pounder guns backing the line.

Similarly, the German 81mm mortar unit has the range to hit the British weapon units behind the line, so the German player should bring it in early and send it marching overland until it has range on the British weapon units behind the line. Hopefully, it will be able to disrupt them (or worse) by the time the main German forces break through.

Game Summary

Here’s what happened in a recent game:

Turn 1 — 0945 Hours

The Germans start with an Initiative of 4 while the British have a 3. The Germans roll a 5 + 4 = 9 while the British roll 1 + 3 = 4, so the Germans win by 5 and get two activations before the Brits.

The captain commanding the forward German units activates all his troops in a group through subordinate activation, and they enter. The three HMG platoons enter first just south of the road, moving into firing position on the roadblock while taking advantage of their five-hex fire range to stay outside the fire range of the roadblock units. They keep off the road so the shorter-range INF and the tanks can move east on the road toward the roadblock.

The INF platoons then do so, advancing to within two hexes of the roadblock with leaders accompanying them to provide morale bonuses. When the first one ends its movement the forward roadblock units open up with opportunity fire, rolling a 3 on the 22 table and scoring an X result. The INF unit takes a step loss and both it and the lieutenant leading it become demoralized. The second INF unit makes its morale check against the second opportunity fire from the roadblock, and then the tanks backing the roadblock hold their fire so they can hit the German tanks later on their own activation.

The rest of the infantry comes in unmolested, and the PzIIIF and PzIIIG platoons come up the road behind them, staying just outside the four-hex range of the captured Italian M13/40 tanks behind the roadblock (the panzers have an AT range of 7). The 81mm mortar unit moves two hexes east from the edge, and the motorcycle unit moves six hexes southeast from its entry hex south of the road.

The British 25-pounder opens fire on the HMGs south of the road, but they both make their morale checks easily. The German player passes, and then the British tanks behind the roadblock fire on the panzers. The M13/40 platoons can fire at 150% of their range at half strength (AT firepower of 2), and one of them just barely misses on a modified roll of 9. Then the A13 platoon at the roadblock fires twice at full strength (it has armor efficiency and a range of 5), but misses as well. Then the German player brings in his AT guns on trucks (he wants to protect his APC from tank fire) and unloads them in the board-edge hex, just outside the range of the roadblock units.

The British player decides to leave the line in place for now, and the turn ends with the Germans having taken one step loss and the British having taken none.

1000 Hours

The Germans win by two activations again, and the panzers open fire on the roadblock tanks. They concentrate on the higher-firepower M13/40s, and the PZ IIIG (with an AT firepower of 3 to the M13’s armor of 2) rolls a 12 + 1 = 13 to eliminate the full-strength M13/40 platoon. Then, not to be outdone, the PzIIIF rolls an 11 and wipes out the half-strength M13/40 platoon, leaving only the A13 tanks at the roadblock.

The German lieutenant with the HMGs south of the road then combines their long-range fire on the INF units at the roadblock, but rolls a 7 and does no damage.

The British 25-pounder fires, shifting its target to the AT guns that just unloaded on the road. The captain leading them and the 50mm AT gun make their morale checks, but the 37mm “door-knocker” becomes demoralized, as does one of the truck units there.

Then the German infantry on the road activate. The demoralized lieutenant and INF unit in the road both fail to recover and flee west, with the lieutenant exiting the west board edge and thereby leaving the game (the INF unit makes it to the board-edge half-hex north of the road). The remaining INF on the road fires at the roadblock while the rest move up, and the British fire plus German opportunity fire at the advancing British INF is ineffective.

The remaining British A3 tank platoon behind the roadblock opens fire on the panzers, and one of its two shots rolls an 11 and kills one step of the PzIIIG platoon, disrupting the other step.

The German motorcycle unit then runs a long dogleg outside the range of the INF units on the south flank of the British line. The British respond by pulling back the south-flank units two hexes, where they can hit the motorcycles with opportunity fire at any point west of the salt marsh.

The German 50mm AT gun unlimbers at the west board edge, and the demoralized 37mm gun and the truck both recover morale. The 50mm has an AT firepower of 4 with an eight-hex range, and this is a very severe threat to the lighter British tanks in the line. Rather than sit there and be shot at, the British player decides to pull the line away eastward, starting with the A13 and INF platoons south of the road and north of the INF that pulled back to counter the motorcycle threat.

The German mortars move east as does the rest of the British line, with the two-pounder guns that were behind the line limbering and loading on trucks in preparation for moving east.

The Germans have now taken three step losses (the tank step counts double) and lost one leader, and the British have taken six step losses.

1015

Each side loses one initiative for every three steps lost, so German initiative drops to 3 and British initiative drops to 1. The British win initiative by 1, and the 25-pounder bombards the German AT guns again but is ineffective.

The AT guns then activate, and the 50mm gun misses the A13 tank behind the roadblock while the disrupted 37mm gun platoon unlimbers its guns and the trucks fail to recover morale.

The A13 tanks open up on the panzers again, missing this time. The panzers return fire, and the disrupted half-strength PzIIIG platoon gets its revenge on the A13s, rolling a 12 and scoring a step loss on them, disrupting the other step.

The British pull back their northern two-pounder platoon, and then the German HMGs combine fire on the roadblock but are ineffective. The Brits pull back their twp-pounders south of the road, moving them northeast and away from the motorcycle unit, and then Germans and British exchange fire at the roadblock, with everybody making morale except the German lieutenant who was combining the fire of the INF units in the road (which they can’t do now that he’s disrupted).

The German mortar platoon advances to within range of the British 25-pounder, so the Brits send an A13 tank platoon southwest from the line to engage it, keeping it just outside the range of the 50mm German AT gun back west. Then the motorcycle unit decides to charge between the south British flank and the salt marsh to get within striking distance of the British weapon units behind the line. British opportunity fire from the two INF units on the south flank is ineffective, and the motorcycles make it to three hexes south of the retreating two-pounders on the trucks.

A British INF platoon pulls back from the line to interpose itself between the motorcycle troops and the British weapon units, and the fleeing German half-strength INF unit at the west edge just barely recovers morale before it exits. The British units from the center of the line also pull south so their lieutenant colonel can combine fire on the German motorcycles, and then both sides pass and the turn ends.

The Germans have still taken only three step losses while the British have taken eight.

1030

The only way the British can win now is if they eliminate five more German steps, while the Germans can only win if they exit eight steps off the east edge and don’t take two more step losses. The British must be aggressive while the Germans have to play it safe.

The Germans win initiative by two activations, so the tanks and AT guns activate. The 50mm AT gun rolls a modified 11 and destroys the remaining A13 tank step at the roadblock while the “door knockers” and their trucks recover morale.

Then the half-strength, disrupted PzIIIG platoon destroys the Bren carrier at the roadblock (eliminating its six points of direct firepower), and the PzIIIF platoon moves offroad four hexes to the southeast to engage the British A13s threatening the German mortars. The British 25-pounder then hits the AT guns again but is ineffective. The HMGs then combine fire on the roadblock again, disrupting the lieutenant and the HMG platoon and demoralizing the INF platoon.

The A13s sent to engage the German mortars decide to switch to the higher-value target and fire at the PzIIIFs sent to engage them. They need an 11 to hit . . . and roll a 10 and a 9 (a loud chorus of GROT! is heard echoing inside the A13s). The disrupted German lieutenant east of the roadblock then tells his men to charge it, and opportunity fire from the disrupted HMG at the roadblock disrupts one incoming German INF unit.

The two south-flank British INF platoons the German motorcycles bypassed move west to an assault position on the Germans, forcing them to fire or flee. If they were to fire the British INF, HMG and light tanks to the north would come south and surround them, so they flee. They drive east around the British units to the north with the intention of doubling-back west and charging the 25-pounder from the rear, but opportunity fire from the HMGs etc. disrupts the Sergeant leading the motorcycles before they’re done moving east.

The demoralized INF unit at the roadblock fails to recover and flees north away from the Panzers. The German player brings up a Captain from the rear to lead the assault on the roadblock next turn. The British send INF from north of the road southwest to form a new roadblock six hexes west of the 25-pounder, and then the German player finally brings in his light tanks, armored cars and APCs, sending the PzIIs up the road and into the hex with the infantry about to assault the original roadblock, and the armored car and APC just north of it to provide preparatory fire.

Seeing this, the British player sends one of his two-pounder AT guns west overland on its truck and unloads it, looking to get long-range shots on the lightly-armored APCs and armored cars. The German mortar unlimbers, and the other two-pounder rides its truck up to just behind the new British roadblock and unloads. The last German INF platoon fires ineffectively on the westward roadblock, and the turn ends.

The Germans are holding steady at three step losses while the Brits have now taken 11.

1045

German initiative is still 3 while British initiative is down to zero. The Germans win initiative by one activation and attack the roadblock.

The prep-fire from the light tanks and APCs is ineffective, and the combined-arms assault (with the INF and PzII plus a captain) gets a bloody nose, doing nothing to the roadblockers, while the German INF unit gets disrupted and the PzII gets demoralized.

Then the A13 shifts its target north to the German armored cars and APCs north of the assault, hoping to hit them at long-range before they can jump into the assault hex next turn. It needs a 10 or better to hit either of them . . . and rolls a 10, doing one step loss to the Sdkfz 231(8) armored car unit and demoralizing the other step.

Then the PzIIIF platoon south of the road opens fire on the A13s. They need a 10 to hit, and roll a 9 and an 8, causing the panzers to echo with a heartfelt VERDAMMT!

The British HMG and lieutenant in the roadblock assault recover morale, and their captain jumps in to join them. The German AT guns fire at long-range on the A13 tanks that just blew up the German armored cars. The 50mm and the 37mm need an 11 and a 12 (respectively) to hit, and they roll a 10 and a 9 (the AT gunners use language I can’t print here, even in German).

The British lieutenant colonel combines the fire of his HMGs, light tank and INF unit west of the German motorcycles and disrupts the motorcycle unit. Then the German HMGs move east toward the roadblock assault, and the two British INF the motorcycles bypassed move west and adjacent to them. The motorcycle troops recover morale but the sergeant leading them doesn’t (Schultz rode one of those, right?), and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll. This is somewhat good for the Germans, as the two-pounders east of the light tanks and APCs couldn’t unlimber, but the failure of their roadblock assault has put them in a pickle.

The Germans have now taken four step losses while the British hold steady at 11. If the Germans take another step loss their hopes for victory are destroyed, and if they take four more the British win.

1100

Initiative is the same, but the British win by one activation! The roadblockers counterassault, hoping to get the demoralized PzII tanks to fail morale again and take step losses, which count double. They don’t — all German units make morale, but so do all the British.

Then the Germans assault back, bringing in the APC from the hex to the north, but only a British lieutenant is disrupted. The demoralized PzII light tank in the assault hex fails to recover and exits the hex, moving west (thus saving itself from more morale checks in assault).

Then the A13 platoon that’s been trading shots and oaths with the Germans fires on the PzIIIFs but misses, and the PzIIIFs reply by hitting the A13 platoon and destroying one of its steps, but NOT shaking the morale of the other. The infantry southwest of the 25-pounder assault the motorcycle unit, but both sides roll 1’s on the 9 column and do no damage. However, the motorcycles are now tied down and won’t be hurting the 25-pounder anytime soon.

The AT guns fire on the remaining A13 step and miss, and then the 25-pounder shifts target to the HMGs west of the assault hex but is ineffective. The German HMGs move adjacent to the roadblock assault, and then the British two-pounders start unlimbering while other units head west from the line to screen them and engage the Germans. The demoralized German armored car unit fails to recover morale and flees off the west board edge and out of the game. More British units head west, and the turn ends.

The Germans are holding steady at four step losses while the British are up to 13.

1115

The Germans win initiative by one activation and send more units into the roadblock assault while their HMGs hit the British units advancing from the east.

The German assault gets a 1 result and scores a step loss on the British HMG in the hex, demoralizing its captain but not the HMG. The Germans suffer an M2 result but they all make their morale checks. The HMG fire on the Brits coming down the road from the east is ineffective.

The A13s south of the road open fire and miss the panzers, and then the German 81mm mortar finally gets the range of the 25-pounder and rolls a 2 on the 16 column (+1 for hitting artillery and +1 for spotting the target itself), scoring an X result and destroying it.

The two-pounder on the road east of the assault hex then fires into the assault hex and destroys the German APC there, nearly killing the German lieutenant as well. The disrupted PzIIIG west of the roadblock fires on the Rolls Royce light tank advancing from east of the roadblock, needing a 9 to hit but rolling an 8 (they’re disrupted so they swear incoherently).

The captain leading the assault against the motorcycle units to the east brings in another INF platoon but does no damage, while one of his own units is disrupted. The AT guns split their fire between the A13 and the Rolls Royce, but neither hits.

The Rolls Royce and its accompanying INF units advance westward and adjacent to the roadblock assault, and the panzers south of the road miss the Rolls Royce. Then the two-pounder north of the road rolls an 11 and hits the demoralized PzII light tank that exited the assault hex last turn, doing one step loss to it and leaving the other step still demoralized.

The German lieutenant west of the roadblock sends another INF into the assault hex, more British units head west, and the demoralized half-strength PzII unit recovers morale. The sergeant leading the beleaguered motorcycle units recovers morale so he can get the hell out of there, the British send a Bren carrier south to block his way back west, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll.

The Germans have now taken seven step losses while the Brits have taken 15.

1130

German initiative drops to 2 but they win it by one activation. They can’t win now (having taken more than four step losses), and they lose if they take just one more, so their best bet is to withdraw. But several of their units are tied down in assaults so it will be a tricky, but they do their best.

The reinforced German roadblock assault attacks to try and eliminate the British so that the INF units can exit the hex without the British getting a “free shot.” But neither side in the assault does any damage. Then the A13 south of the road goes for the quick win, firing on the PzIIIF south of the road but missing.

The German AT guns miss the A13 and the Rolls Royce next to the roadblock assault, and then the British INF with the Rolls Royce pile into the roadblock assault. The British player attacks on the 13 column and needs to roll a 5 or 6 to score a step loss and win. He rolls a 5 — and the British win!

Click here to buy Afrika Korps now!