Rommel in 6mm - Ruweisat Ridge

We had our first game of Sam Mustafa's Rommel wargame using my 6mm Afrika Korps (DAK) and British 8th Army minis, trying out the Ruweisat Ridge scenario from the online compendium of Rommel scenarios. I commanded the Allied forces and my opponent, whose first game this was, chose the DAK.

The scenario

Ruweisat Ridge runs roughly east-west and is key terrain for the El Alamein battlefield. The battle takes place 1 July 1942 as part of the First Battle of El Alamein. To win, the DAK must capture the objective on Ruweisat Ridge and at least two other objectives and hold them until day's end, in order to open up the Allied flank south of the El Alamein box. The British must simply to prevent this from happening.

The scenario map I made using the map editor function in the Panzer Corps computer game and LibreOffice Draw. Obviously we use hexes rather than squares.

The forces

DAK has three very much weakened but nevertheless balanced division elements: 15 Panzer Division to the north of the ridge, 21 Panzer to the south, and 90 Light Division, coming on from reserve from the north. 8th Army has two infantry brigades (18th Indian and 1st South African), and two armoured brigades (one of which, 4th Armoured, comes on from reserve) and some army assets including Robcol (elite infantry) and 25 pounders. Being short one Panzer III model, I substituted a StuG IIID (5. Kompanie, Sonderverband 288) for 90 Light Division. I couldn't find an Order of Battle for 22nd Armoured that matched the scenario, so I subbed in 23rd Armoured.

The German attack

15 Panzer moved toward the northern hill objective while relentlessly attacking 18th Indian Infantry Brigade's northern sector (11th Sikhs), using their Pioneer infantry to good effect eliminating entrenched positions. 21 Panzer's infantry cautiously skirted the minefield and positioned itself to attack 18th Indian's southern sector held by the 3rd Gurkha Rifles, while the division's armoured component raced west to engage in a swirling series of tank battles with 23rd Armoured. The Luftwaffe was called in and bombed the Allied troops in their trenches. A sneaky use of the Intercepted Signals event caused the 18th Indian's artillery (157th Field Regiment) to think they were retreating and move out into the open desert to the southwest - putting them out of position and at risk to 21 Panzer's armour for the rest of the game.

The British respond

1st South African Brigade raced into position to shore up the Allied northern flank, with the Natal Carbineers taking up a strong defensive position on the northern hill and the Transvaal Scottish with supporting Matilda IIs holding off 15 Panzer on the flat ground. 11th Sikhs attempted a counterattack against 15 Panzer, but this was beaten back. 23rd Armoured inflicted heavy losses on 21 Panzer's armour but were eventually destroyed, along with the aforementioned 157th Field Regiment, which had been tricked by German sigint into retreating to a vulnerable location. Allied P-40s and Hurricanes tore up the German tank columns, helping to weaken their further attacks.

GHQ miniatures on vinyl tile bases with printed paper unit cards, cellotaped to allow use of whiteboard markers. The smoke is where an M3 Grant unit used to be (they were wiped out).

Panzerregiment 5 defeats 23rd Armoured after a tough tank-on-tank engagement.

15 Panzer and 21 Panzer assault 18th Indian Brigade in their trenches, bending back their line to the north and inflicting very heavy losses. (The 's/f' tokens are for tipped units, and the black smoke is from the flamethrowers of the German pioneers). The minefield is visible at left (small lumps of Selleys on vinyl tile and painted).

Reinforcements arrive, and the Germans gain the upper hand

4th Armoured Brigade eventually arrived to reinforce the Allied northern flank, but ended up spending much of it's time driving back and forth trying to protect the Allied MSR from the tanks of 21 Panzer, which had broken through. However, they did help 1st South African Brigade counter 90 Light Division with Sonderverband 288, which arrived at the same time from the north.

The infantry and tanks of 15 Panzer eventually succeeded pushing back the 11th Sikh Regiment to the foot of Ruweisat Ridge, while also dealing with the 1st Transvaal Scottish, which fought well but not well enough. The last of the infantry's Matilda II support was destroyed in this series of attacks.

21 Panzer's infantry finally overwhelmed the hitherto sturdy 3rd Gurkha Rifles and took the central objective, moving forward along the southern edge of Ruweisat Ridge.

The Sikhs, Gurkhas and Transvaal Scottish are pushed back to the ridge.

The Natal Carbineers and Duke of Edinburgh's Own managed to hold off repeated uphill assaults by the infantry of 90 Light Division, now to be known as 'Carbineer's Kopje.'

The South Africans, almost surrounded, hold Carbineer Kopje.

Late afternoon on 1 July - the Germans have broken through in the south and advanced in the centre, while the British still hold the northern hill and Ruweisat Ridge itself. Tanks from 4th Armoured (right of picture) desperately attempt to keep the British MSR open to prevent the whole force from being outflanked and cut off.

Final assaults at dusk

With the sun going down and just 2 turns remaining (and game time running out IRL, both I and my DAK opponent realised the main objective, Ruweisat Ridge, was still not taken. Without the ridge objective, the Germans could not win. Therefore they rushed into attack Robcol, which was now reinforced by the Transvaal Scottish. Using the Their Finest Hour tactic, and with the aid of favourable dice rolls, Robcol and the South Africans managed to hold off flanking attacks and bring the game to a close draw, though an operational defeat for the Germans, as they would not be able to outflank the Alamein box.

If the battle had continued for a second day it is very likely that the encircled and worn down Allied troops would have been defeated. However, it would greatly depend on the relative supply and reinforcement situation. The Germans were short of both, and had taken substantial losses to their best units, while the Allies had more troops and fuelled-up vehicles on the way. This outcome was satisfactorily close to the real history of the battle.

Positions at dusk: the Germans attempt but fail to take the ridge, and Carbineer Kopje still remains in Allied hands.

                                        

General scheme of the battle, including final positions of units.

Schutzen Regiment 200, which already wrested the central objective from the Gurkhas, attempts to take the ridge but is beaten back by Robcol and the Transvaal Scottish.

At the end of the day, with Robcol and the South Africans surrounded, 4th Armoured in turn surrounds the very worn out Jager Regiment 155.

Discussion

The game showcased the Rommel ruleset and really demonstrated the need for commanders to focus on the key objectives while retaining a broader situational awareness to win the game. There were also some great moments of heroism and tactical skill be various formations, which I think indicates the value of including unit names on the cards and gives a hint as to how great Rommel could be for campaign games.

My opponent really enjoyed the game - he was inspired by the Little Wars TV Peleliu campaign to try out bigger games - grand tactical or operational. I will now be looking into various hex and counter wargames set in the North African theatre to find material to create a Rommel campaign with the miniatures I have available.

I do wonder though about different ways to handle the Tactics and Events in Rommel - whether cards would work better, and whether there should be more instances of particular tactics or more variety of effects than just combat value increase and shifts up or down. I'm sure all alternatives were play-tested, but I'm always thinking adjustments, expansions and house rules anyway.

The losses taken by both sides. (One of the tanks fell of its base, but no worries, it's safe).