From: "Chas Argent" Subject: [consim-l] Tunisia '43 Replay pt 1 Hello Folks- I've finally found some time to dive into Moments In History's "Tunisia '43" game. For those unfamiliar with the title, it is the 3rd in a series of operational games designed by Dirk Blenneman which began with "Triumphant Fox" (the Gazala battles) and was followed by "Piercing The Reich" (the US assault on Aachen). Each game in the series has been an evolution of its predecessor, so learning one doesn't mean you've learned all three. This particular game depicts the German operations called "Morgenluft" and "Fruhlingswind", the last gasps of the Afrika Korps which resulted in the battle at Kasserine Pass. In a nutshell, the heart of the game is the Operations Cycle, where groups of units (called Formations) can be activated to perform various Operations. When a Formation is Activated it rolls 2d6 to determine how many Operations Points it receives, based on its parent organization and the time period. Better quality units are more likely to receive a larger total of Operations Points. These Points can then be spent within the Formation to conduct Operations. Units selected for Operations receive a certain number of Action Points (APs) based on their AP rating. APs can then be spent on any of 4 Actions: Movement, Combat, Irregular Combat (vs artillery only), and Prepared Position. More than one Action can be performed by units in the same Operation, but no unit that was part of a previous Operation during the current Formation Activation is eligible for subsequent Operations. In other words once a unit's APs are gone they can't be activated again until a later Formation Activation. All of this is handled very cleanly in a terrific rulebook. To me, this is a hallmark of Blenneman's games. On the surface this looks like a complicated game but it's not nearly as daunting as first glance would indicate. There are some excellent examples of play that really make a huge difference. I decided to play Scenario One, "Faid Pass", which is intended as a learning scenario. It plays out over a 3-day period (each game turn = 1 day). The Axis want to control Faid Pass and the town of Faid for a Minor Victory. Controlling 2 other hexes as well gives them the Major Victory. Five French strongpoints in Prepared Positions guard the area. These units are essentially immobile for the duration of the game; if forced to retreat they are eliminated instead. The real Allied power comes from the US Combat Command at Sbeitla, about 40 miles from the action. note: "DR" = 2d6 roll January 30, 1943: 1st Initiative: (since the Axis are considered to have won the first Initiative DR, they conduct Operations first) Axis Operations Points DR 6 = 10 OPs -I/5 & 580 Movement Action; move to 5929 to attack the Scola strongpoint (SP) at the next opportunity -1/104 Movement Action; moves to 6425; 155 arty to 6525, where it is in a good positon to support several potential Axis attacks -III/104 & the Italian 557 AG Movement Action; move to 6424 -I/104B & the Italian 92 Inf Movement Action; move to 6422. 2nd Initiative: Allied DR 8(+2) = 10; Axis DR 6; Initiative to the Allies Allied OP DR 6 = 2 OPs -CCA/1 & 1/6 choose a Movement Action & move to 5423. 3rd Initiative: Allied DR 4; Axis DR 5(+2) = 7; Initiative to the Axis Axis OP DR 5 = 9 OPs -I/5 & 580 perform a Combat Action vs the Scola SP; they declare a Hasty Attack (at a cost of 1 AP +1 OP); this is then upped to a Prepared Attack (+2 APs & +2 OPs); because the Scola SP is in Hills it will receive a bonus of +2 Anti-Tank points; also because it is an undisrupted SP it will automatically use the Prepared Position Column of the Combat Chit. I/5 provides 8 Tank Points minus the 3 Anti-Tank Points of the SP (1 +2 bonus) = +5 Armor Superiority DRM for the Germans. In Combat Strength Determintaion the Germans wind up with a Battle Strength of 45 vs 2 for the French, for and odds ratio of 22.5 :1, which rounds down to 19:1 on the "Hill" line of the CRT. The German rolls a 6 and add the +5 Armor Superiority DRM for a total of 11; this results in a "1/-7" for the German and a "3/+5" for the French. The defender must apply the combat results first, and normally an Effectivenes Check would come before any Combat Hits are applied; but since the French SP only has 2 steps and may not retreat it is eliminated by the "3" hit result anyway. The Germans could only fail their Effectiveness Check and become Disrupted if they roll an original 12. But they roll a 5 and pass. The German I/5 unit must take the first combat hit since it contributed Tank Points; so it is reduced from 10 to 9 steps. So the Germans achieve Battle Victory because they were the side with the lower Combat Hit number. They take Exploitation as their bonus and continue up the road to 5928, which costs 2 APs. They still have 3 APs left from their Activation & decide to move to 5826 where they will be in a good position to interdict any American reinforcements while also having the bonus of being on a Major Road. -The Axis still have 4 OPs so I/104 Activates & receives 6 APs; he chooses a Combat Action and declares a Hasty Attack vs the Guinet SP for 1 AP & 1 OP; this is then upped to a Prepared Attack (+2 APs & +2 OPs); since neither side has Tank Points there is no Armor Superiority determination. The 155 Arty unit will add a +3 Artillery Support DRM. Combat Strength Determination gives the Germans a Battle Strength of 24 and the French 4 for a 6:1 odds ratio, which rounds down to 5:1 on the "Mountain" line of the CRT. The German gets lucky and rolls a 12; the +3 Artillery Support DRM is added for a total of 15; this results in a "2/-4" for the Germans and a "2/+2" for the French. Again, since the French SPs can't retreat the Guinet SP is eliminated. The German I/104 rolls an 8 (-4) for his Effectiveness Check and passes; he also takes two Combat Hits to reduce to 6 steps. There is no Battle Victor since the number of Combat Hits was equal. I/104 still has 3 APs remaings; since the hex that was just attacked (Ain Rebaou, 6326) is a Victory Hex the Germans wish to control it; so I/104 enters it at a cost of 1 AP, then uses the 2 remaining APs to continue on to 6425, where it will contribute to an attack on Faid Pass (6324) during a later Activation. Since there are no more OPs this ends the Axis Initiative 4th Initiative: Allied DR 9(+2) = 11; Axis DR 4; Initiative to the Allies Allied OP DR 7 = 2 OPs -1/6 performs a Movement Action; it moves to Faid Pass (6324) to reinforce the French Lachaud SP there -91 SP artillery performs a Movement Action; they join CCA/1 in 5523. More to come soon... Regards, Chas Argent aslplayer@earthlink.net