Tactics in 'South Africa's War'
Scenario 12: 'Driven by Germans'
Part I: 0730 – 0830 Hours
By Doug McNair
April 2007

Here it is mid-April, and the weather report is showing frost on the Bluebonnets in Crawford, Texas. I’ll need to de-ice my car before I can head down to Little Wars. So, a quick trip to warmer climes is in order — but since I’m stuck up here in Minnesota I’ll have to settle for armchair travel. To that end, here begins my first tactics article on our recently-released South Africa’s War scenario book for the Panzer Grenadier series.

As Mike Benninghof said in his designer’s preview:

“Some of the actions of South Africa’s forces are surprisingly little-documented; the battlefield record for the South Africans is fraught with disobedience and outright incompetence. Distrust for British authority was rife in the upper ranks, and more than once South African generals simply ignored orders they did not like or which they thought would put their troops at risk.”

Such political complications led not only to occasional inaction by South African forces when action was needed, but also to highly-creative reporting on actions that did occur. Granted, the South Africans did contribute their share of strange-but-true events to World War II history, such as the one depicted in the Ons is Helsems (“We Are Tough Bastards”) scenario, in which a German tank crew surrendered to a lone, berserk South African lieutenant chasing them in a truck and waving a “sticky bomb.” But in other cases, reports by the opposing sides conflict so badly that it’s nearly impossible to say what really happened out there in the desert that day.

One such nebulous situation is presented in the “Driven by Germans” scenario. While still reeling from news of 5th South African Infantry Brigade’s destruction by Afrika Korps, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade came under heavy shellfire and soon reported a massive incursion by Italian tanks with German crews. The official South African account lists 25 enemy tanks hit and a brave holding action against overwhelming odds. But no wrecks were found on the battlefield, and Italian reports indicate that they themselves were the ones under attack. This makes one question not only what really happened, but also whether any infantry brigade with such badly-shaken morale could really hold off the kind of armored assault the histories describe.

Luckily, there’s a way to find out! And with that, here begins my replay of Scenario #12 of South Africa’s War.

Tactical Situation

“Driven by Germans” is played on Map 5 from our Desert Rats game, with the map laid out upright (the top is north). Two Hill markers are placed in the colored area in the southeast quadrant of the board, creating a large hill with a 40-meter summit.

The South African player has a substantial force at his disposal: 24 infantry platoons, six heavy machine gun platoons, three 3-inch mortar units, three 2-pounder AT gun units, one 40mm AA gun unit, and two 18- and 25-pounder artillery units each. He also gets to start the game with one platoon of British Crusader I tanks, and on Turn 20 (two-thirds of the way through the game) he’ll receive reinforcements including 10 platoons of British Stuart tanks and another 25-pounder unit. The South Africans setup on the southern half of the board, and their mission is to hold the road and eliminate at least 12 Italian combat unit steps (tanks count double).

For their part, the Italians enter the north edge of the board on Turn 1 with a force of twelve M13/40 tank platoons, two Sem. 75/18 tank platoons, nine Bersaglieri elite infantry platoons, three Bersaglieri heavy machine gun platoons, six motorcycle platoons, and 12 truck units. Their mission is to clear the road so that no South African combat unit is within three hexes of it at game end, or to eliminate at least 24 South African steps (tanks count double).

Italian Tactics

The Italians outgun the Springboks on the ground, have higher morale, and have overwhelming armor superiority for most of the game. And, due to the shock of their sister brigade’s destruction just two days prior, South African units are subject to the surrender rule. This means that any or all South African units and leaders in the same hex with a demoralized South African unit may surrender to adjacent good-order Italians if they fail a dieroll.

The Italians shouldn’t have trouble breaching the South African defensive perimeter, but they’ll have to be careful about where they hit the South African lines. This is because the South Africans have substantial anti-tank capability, and the majority of Italian firepower is mounted on thin-skinned M13/40 tanks. If the South Africans set up in a tight defensive perimeter, the tanks won’t be able to rush it along with the infantry for fear of being blown up before they can force a breach. The tanks will have to hang back while the Bersaglieri go to work on the South African forward defenses and the motorcycle platoons drive off-road to hit the South Africans in the flank.

Hopefully, Italian offboard artillery will suppress the AT guns and the motorcycles will break the South African flank and overrun the artillery. Once those things happen, the tanks can move in and brush the infantry from the road. Their main concern will be getting all that done before the British Stuart tanks arrive, because while the Stuarts have even thinner armor than the Italian tanks, they have Armor Efficiency, meaning they can fire twice for every shot the Italian tanks take. Since every tank kill gets rid of a significant chunk of Italian firepower, a late rally by British armor could allow any remaining South African infantry to retake the road and deny Italy a victory.

South African Tactics

Though they’re outgunned and have lower morale than the attacking Italians, the South Africans outnumber the Italians on the ground and have a big advantage in leadership and artillery. They have a total of 16 leaders at scenario start while the Italians have only nine, and most South African leaders have higher morale and morale bonuses than the Italian leaders. This means that the South Africans will get leadership bonuses in most assaults, and will be better equipped to form fire teams and recover from demoralization. Also, the AT firepower of the South African artillery way outclasses the armor of the Italian tanks, and even their two-pounder AT guns will score kills on Italian M13/40s on an unmodified roll of 10 or more. That plus the long range of the 18- and 25-pounder artillery units will let the South Africans frustrate the Italian advance for a long time.

The South Africans should set up the majority of their units in a defensive perimeter that has its right flank anchored on the hilltop east of the road, and its left flank dug in on the road itself. The rest of their units should form a roadblock farther north that bristles with HMGs and AT guns, forcing the Bersaglieri to dismount from their trucks and make a long hike toward Italian lines under fire. More importantly, it will make the Italian tanks think twice about joining the infantry for an assault on the roadblock. The tanks could offroad it around the roadblock, but with a movement allowance of only 6 or 7 they’ll be doing that for quite a while before they can help the motorcycle troops hit the South African flank.

And either way, South African artillery will be able to pound Italian infantry for a long time, with +1 column shifts on each shot for being able to spot the targets themselves. That plus the dearth of morale bonuses to be had from Italian leaders should help break-up and weaken the Italian advance. And if the Italians do manage a coordinated tank-and-infantry assault on the Allied lines, the South African infantry should take every opportunity to counter-assault the Italian tanks, because a demoralized tank is useless and also tough to rally (since it can’t benefit from leadership bonuses). The more Italian tanks that are disrupted or demoralized when the Stuarts show up, the easier it will be for the Allied troops to take back any Italian gains before game end.

Game Summary

The South Africans place their four artillery platoons in four separate hexes on the hilltop, effectively doubling their spotting range. The INF and HMG units ring the artillery with a perimeter as described above, and the three-inch mortars stack with the artillery to augment their close-in firepower.

The roadblock is centered on road hex 1119, where an HMG platoon and the 40mm AA unit setup flanked by INF and two-pounder AT guns. Three hexes to the east another HMG unit stacks with the Crusader I tank platoon on the extreme north slope of the hill, and three hexes west of the roadblock another HMG unit stacks with the third two-pounder AT gun. The effect is to create a very wide field of AT fire which will help keep most of the Italian tanks at a distance until the roadblock is broken.

Turn 1: November 25, 1941 — 0730 Hours

Italian initiative at game start is 3, while South African initiative is 1. The Italians win initiative by one activation, and all their trucks enter the north board edge on the road The lead units of the column move ten hexes south, and they and all the trucks behind them unload 9 x BERS and 3 x BERS HMG platoons plus six leaders on the road. If the lead trucks got any closer to the roadblock before unloading they’d expose themselves to long-range opportunity fire from the AT guns, and if any Italian infantry were to stay loaded on trucks they’d give the South African artillery on the hilltop an extra column shift against them. They unload on the road and make ready to march on the roadblock.

South African offboard artillery responds by hitting the road hex containing the highest-ranking Italian leader that the major at the roadblock can spot. It rolls a 12 on the 12 column of the bombardment table and scores an M2 result! The capitano is disrupted, along with two trucks and a BERS unit. Only one BERS unit remains in good order. That breaks the chain of command from the maggiore leading the Italian advance, since the capitano was in the hex next to him and a disrupted capitano can’t activate the tenente and sergente on-point to his south through subordinate activation.

Then, the six Italian motorcycle platoons plus the remaining three leaders enter the north board edge, bypass the trucks and infantry on the road, and turn left off the road just outside the seven-hex opportunity-fire range of the 40mm AA gun at the roadblock. They’re taking the shorter but more heavily fortified route toward the hilltop and the South African artillery.

The South African colonel replies by ordering all of said artillery to fire at the motorcycle units, while they’re still just barely too far away to spot the firing artillery. The first 18-pounder is ineffective against the two trailing MTC units, but the second one scores an M result, and both MTC units in the target hex fail the morale check, with one becoming disrupted and the other demoralized! Then the 25-pounders go to work on the two lead MTC stacks, and the last shot scores an M1 result on the lead units. Unfortunately for the South Africans, the leader and both units hold morale.

Then the tanks start rolling in. Those with the heaviest armor — the Sem. 75/18s — bypass the entire motorized column and take up point position on the road, just outside the six-hex full-strength AT range of the two-pounder guns at the roadblock. The two-pounders could fire at the Italians at seven hexes, but at half-strength with a –1 dieroll modifier for a range of more than five hexes, they’d have no chance of scoring a kill. M13/40s fill-in on the road behind, and that puts the entire Italian force on the board.

The South Africans have fired all their units that can hit targets at the moment, so the Italians end the turn by aiming all of their offboard artillery at the central roadblock hex. They roll an 8, which scores an M result on both the 21 and the 30 columns (the AA gun gets hit at a +1 column shift, which wipes out the –1 column shift for it being dug-in). The South African major and the HMG unit in the hex pass their morale checks, but the AA gun rolls a 12 and becomes demoralized. That forces it to try to recover morale, and it just barely recovers up to Disrupted status on a roll of 6, due to the +1 morale bonus given it by the major. The crew doesn’t abandon the gun, and the roadblock stays intact as the turn ends.

Turn 2 — 0745 Hours

The Italians win initiative by one activation, and the lead four motorcycle units gun it for the hill before South African artillery can hit them again and stop their advance. They sweep wide left to stay outside the opportunity fire range of the HMG and Crusader tank unit on the forward slope of the hill, hoping to drive deep into the South African rear and hit the hilltop from the south. The disrupted and demoralized MTC units they leave behind roll to recover morale, and the disrupted one becomes good order but the demoralized one rolls an 11 and fails. Luckily, it’s outside the direct fire range of all South African units, so it doesn’t have to flee.

South African offboard artillery is ineffective, and the lead Sem. 75/18 tanks move three hexes south off the road to give the infantry room to pass, and to bring the roadblock within the tanks’ direct-fire range. That also puts them within range of the two 2-pounder AT guns and the disrupted AA gun at the roadblock, but with the tanks’ armor of 3 the AT guns will only hit on rolls of 11, and the AA gun can only hit on a 12 until it recovers morale.

The South African hilltop artillery opens fire on the motorcyclists northeast of the hill. One 18-pounder and 25-pounder shot each hits each enemy-occupied hex, and the first 25-pounder shot scores an M2 result and disrupts the entire lead stack, including its leader. The other 25-pounder scores an M1 result on the trailing stack, but they all hold morale.

The hilltop artillery is now spotted by the leaders with the MTC units, but since they’ve shot their wad this turn the Italian offboard artillery decides to try and wipe out the disrupted AA at the roadblock so it can’t use long-range opportunity fire on the advancing infantry. It rolls a 10, scoring an M2 result on the AA gun and an M1 result on the HMG and leader with it. Once again the leader and HMG hold morale and the AA gun becomes demoralized.

The AA gun crew tries to recover morale before an Italian tank can rush up and demand the surrender of their whole stack next turn, and they just barely succeed again on a 6 (their leader’s morale bonus has saved their bacon twice now). Then the lead Italian infantry units begin the march south without having to worry about long-range opportunity fire from the AA gun (their trucks head to the north board edge). The Crusader I tanks and the HMG platoon on the north slope abandon their dug-in position and move two hexes northeast and confront the motorcycle units, and the lead three M13/40 tank platoons counter by turning left off the road and moving to support the motorcycles. The two-pounder AT gun on the right flank of the roadblock shoots at the Sem. 75/18 tanks to their north but misses, and the rest of the Italian infantry move south toward the roadblock (the disrupted BERS unit on the road recovers morale while its Tenente and two trucks fail).

The other AT gun at the roadblock fires — and rolls a 10, just barely missing an Italian tank. That brings a stack of three M13/80s south on the road and adjacent to the Sem. 75/18s, and if the Italians get initiative next turn the five tank units will be able to pour massive fire into the roadblock.

Three more tank platoons turn right off the road to follow the others supporting the motorcycles’ beleaguered flanking maneuver, while three more remain on the road in reserve. The last South African AT gun on the far left of the roadblock misses on its long-range shot at the M13/80s, and the turn ends.

Turn 3 — 0800 Hours

The Italians just barely win initiative, and the lead tanks all open fire on the roadblock. The three M13/80 tank platoons roll a 4, just barely missing an X result because the roadblock units are dug in. But all three units in the hex make their morale checks! The Sem. 75/18s also roll a 4 against the units on the right flank of the roadblock, and this attack does much better, demoralizing the 2-pounder AT gun and disrupting the INF unit with it (their lieutenant makes his morale check).

The roadblock units activate and their two undemoralized AT-capable units fire on the M13/80s, while the units that just got disrupted and demoralized try to recover morale. The two-pounder hits with a roll of 10, killing a tank step and disrupting the other step. The AA gun misses, but the disrupted and demoralized units on the right flank both recover due to their major’s morale bonus.

Not wanting the tank to have died for nothing, the Italian infantry heads south toward the roadblock before enemy artillery can hit it again, and the just-recovered motorcycle unit motors southeast to join its sister units attempting to reach the hilltop (the demoralized MTC unit recovers to disrupted status).

South African artillery keeps pounding the infantry on the road, not wanting the tanks to get infantry support anytime soon. An 18-pounder shot disrupts a BERS unit with the maggiore commanding the advance, another disrupts a BERS in an adjacent hex and demoralizes a second one, a 25-pounder shot demoralizes a BERS unit with the just-recovered MTC unit on the road, and the last one misses (thank you so much).

Desperate pleas for a counter-barrage finally get answered, and one of the leaders with the motorcycles spots for bombardment on one of the 25-pounders on the hilltop. The fire rolls a 7 on the 30 column, and there’s no effect.

The two-pounder AT gun west of the roadblock takes a long-range shot at an M13/80 and misses, and then two MTC units northeast of the hill drive south, closing on the hilltop and trying to draw opportunity fire from the Crusader I tanks so that the approaching M13/80s can move in unmolested. But the tanks hold fire and let the HMGs with them shoot, and the fire misses and lets two MTC platoons to close to a point five hexes away from the hilltop (the disrupted leader and two MTC units recover). That brings them into range of the South African mortars on the hilltop, so all three of them fire. They score an M1 and an M result, but Italian morale holds against both.

The southernmost group of three offroading M13/80 tanks move to within firing range on the British Crusader I’s on the north slope. South African offboard artillery misses, more tanks move south toward the Crusaders, and then the Crusaders take two shots against the encroaching M13/80s (using their Armor Efficiency ability). One shot rolls a 12, killing one tank step and demoralizing the other! More M13/80s move toward the Crusaders, and the turn ends on recoveries.

Turn 4 — 0815 Hours

The Italians win the all-important initiative roll, and the M13/80s open fire on the Crusaders. They roll a 6 and a 5, nowhere near enough to hurt the British tanks, and the demoralized Italian tank unit fails to recover and flees north. Then the two-pounder AT guns at the roadblock open fire while the AA gun holds its fire to support opportunity fire against Italian infantry coming down the road. They miss, and the Sem. 75/18 tanks north of the roadblock shift their focus to the Crusaders at long range. The first one hits, rolling an 11 to destroy one tank step. But the other step holds morale, and the second tank’s shot misses. Still, the Sem. 75/18s are taking shots at the Crusaders from outside the Crusaders’ range, so the British tanks will have to withdraw rather than take more shots at the incoming M13/80s.

But before they do that, the South African mortars and artillery combine for the first time to hit the motorcycles nearing the hilltop. The 25-pounders both roll 7s and miss, but an 18 pounder and a mortar score an M1 result, disrupt the leader in the target hex and demoralize an MTC unit. The last 18-pounder hits another MTC stack near the Crusaders, and that shot disrupts that stack’s leader as well. The flank attack is going nowhere this turn.

Italian offboard artillery hits the central roadblock hex again to try to suppress opportunity fire on advancing infantry, and to hopefully demoralize a unit that can be forced to surrender next turn. The roll of 8 scores an M result, and the HMG unit in the hex rolls an 11 and becomes demoralized. That’s a huge break for the Bersaglieri, and the HMG tries to recover morale before Italian tank fire forces another morale check and obliterates them. It rolls a 5 and succeeds, and the roadblock keeps holding.

The two good-order M13/80 platoons north of the roadblock open fire again while the disrupted one moves off the road to let the infantry by. Their fire is ineffective, and so is South African offboard artillery on the infantry coming down the road. They do come down the road, with an HMG unit replacing the disrupted tank in the stack with two other tanks, and a tenente with a +1 combat bonus moving in with it to form a massive fire team of tanks and adjacent HMGs next turn. Then Bersaglieri move past the tanks toward the roadblock, and opportunity fire from the roadblock is ineffective. Most of the units which were disrupted and demoralized by artillery last turn recover.

Then the Crusader and HMG unit on the north slope pull back into the hills to get outside the fire range of the Sem. 75/18s that killed the other Crusader step, and also to avoid getting shot-at by motorcycle units who are waiting around for their leaders to recover morale. More Italian tanks chase the Crusaders south, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll before any of those leaders can recover!

After the first hour of combat, the roadblock is shaky but holding. Its AT guns plus the Crusader tanks to the east have killed two Italian tank steps, disrupted another and demoralized a fourth. And the South African artillery on the hilltop has done a magnificent job of breaking up the flank attack of the motorcycle units while slowing the main Italian infantry advance to a crawl. But the British tanks have also taken a step loss and are in retreat, and numerous Italian tanks are chasing them south while more are forming fire teams with Italian HMG north of the roadblock.

The South African outer defenses will be hit harder than ever next turn. Can they keep holding? Tune in next time and find out!

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