Sicily 43 DAR (No peeking Herr Antoni)

[cillmhor]

So after being shipped out of Italy after my first attempt at a DAR which fell through after my opponent unfortunately had to pull out, I now have a sterling veteran of TOW, Antoni, opposing me in Sicily this time. And this time I'm going to have a go as the Allies and attack.

I have ready Carlo D'Este's brilliant Bitter Victory on the Sicily campaign and so I'm really looking forward to this one. I know historically that the Allies gave themsevles a hard time by pulling in two different directions as Patton and Monty fought to be the conquerer of Messina. Hopefully with only one commander this time we can avoid all that messy infighting:rolleyes:. But you never know...

I have some good infantry divisions (British, Canadian and US), and Commonwealth armoured brigades and the 2nd US
Armoured division. I also have a healthy fleet to help with the landings and good air power. The Sicily 43 scenario starts with your troops landed which is good as I can concentrate on moving inland instead of trying to fight my way ashore. I am guessing this was done to reflect the weak Italian defenses that awaited the Allies on 10th July.

The toughest enemy units facing me are the Herman Goering, 15th Panzer Grenadier and 29th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, and some assorted German paratroop units. The Italians have some reasonable formations, but also have some very poor ones.

My troops are landed as follows: US 3rd Infantry, 2nd Armoured and independent units at Lizata in the west of the southern landings, my weakest point in the first turn. Then further east at Gela are the US 1st Infantry, 45th Infantry and strong US Ranger and engineers units. And finally the 1st Canadian, 51st Highland, 50th and 5th Divisions all land south of Syrcuse.

My main priority in the first turn is to move inland and try and surround and eliminate the weak Italian coastal units, which I accomplish to a point. You can see below the extent of my main Commonwealth thrust below:



I'm quite pleased with the initial push taking Syracuse, although the coastal battery proved to be a real headache. The US forces have also consolidated and I've eliminated a few Italian coastal defence units and moved US infantry units into contact with elements of HG Division in the west to try and keep them pinned and from retreating to form a line before I can move in force to meet them. I also used 82nd Airborne to surround a couple of Italian units, leaving the paratroopers a little vulnerable too.

That's it for turn 1. Some progress, but the Axis counter may now appear?

[cillmhor]

Turn 2 & 3 11th, 12th July:

The landings are now fanning out into the Sicilian countryside as the Allied superiority in numbers and quality turns the screw on the Axis defenders. It's patently obvious many Italian units have no stomach for the fight as they tamely surrender after being surrounded.



In the far west US troops move to attack the Livorno Division, one of the better Italian formations. Coastal units continue to be surrounded and eliminated and by end of turn 3 I have moved elements of the 3rd Infantry Division over the river to the west of Licata. I don't want to advance too far to the west yet, as my main thrust to the west will go north through the mountains first to try and capture Palermo ASAP. Also further west is a German formation (one of the Panzer Grenadier Divisions no doubt), and so I don't want to tangle with them until I can meet and destroy the Italians.



In the central landings US troops have met and destroyed some key elemnts of HG, panzer grenadiers, engineers, and I by the end of turn 3 have one armoured formation surrounded. I am also moving to surround the remaining elements. If I can remove the Herman Goering Division from the Antoni's defense, he should struggle, if the scenario follows the historical importance of that particular formation.

As you can see US and Canadian troops are also about to link the two landings. By turn three all Italian units between the two landing forces have been eliminated.



The 8th Army continues its impressive push north towards Catania. Syracuse's coastal guns finally fall silent in turn 3 and Italian SP guns are captured at Augusta. The rapid advance allows British troops to rush across the key Primasole bridge and onto the plains south of Catania. There they meet elite units from Brigade Schmaltz, which historically were elite FJs and thrown together with some engineers and other ad hoc formations. They now block the way to Catania in turn 3.

Pushing west are the 51st Highland and 1st Canadian Divisions which are pushing back the Napoli Division. Some units were surrounded and eliminated in round 3, and the German heavy armour and flak guns from HG Division north of Vizzini are now almost surrounded by Canadians and elements of 45th US Division which have pushed up from the south.

By the end of turn 3 I feel quite happy. Antoni is employing a very passive strategy in defending, and so I am able to push advance units on to surround and cut off, as I know that if I can break out quickly the battle can be won. The big thing which historically hamstrung the Allies was delays, and so I continue the push. Some British Armoured Brigades have now arrived to help add some steel to the Commonwealth push. I also had some planes shot up by Naval friendly fire on turn 3! Spot on as far as history is concerned, as there was a very unfortunate incident where Allied planes with airborne troops were shot down at night by Allied ships as they thought they were enemy planes. D'Este explains well the finger pointing that went on between the Air Force, Navy and Army after that disaster.

Anyway, I'll post another pic to show the situation for turn 4.

[McIvan]

Nice DAR Cillmhor....enjoying it, even though I'm not a TOAW player. Good stuff :)

[Currahee]

Yes, excellent DAR, keep it coming!

[cillmhor]

Thanks for the kind words guys (a real encouragement) and now I see I have the added incentive of bonus points:).

Turn 4, July 13th 1943:

After making significant gains in the first three turns, supply is beginning to pinch in a little (as you may be able to see from the supply bubbles on some of the screen shots, supply is more favourable near the coastal roads and ports, out into the hills and it gets a bit stringy), so I will have to be careful about how I use my units, and nurse reserves for offensives. The good news is that the aggressive strategy has allowed me to all but destroy 3 of the better formations facing me: Herman Goering Division, Napoli and Livorno Divisions. This has also it appears, left a significant gap in the centre of Antoni's defence. His strategy appears to be to slow me down, at the expense of his men, but historically the Axis in Sicily fought a fighting retreat, and seldom fought to the last man. In fact from early on in the battle for the island, they had conceded defeat and were merely buying time for the preparation of Italian mainland defences. Let's see if Antoni's alternative strategy is going work.

Several news flashes come up on 13th July, again mirroring history, and perhaps linked to the game in some cases, hard to tell in one or two cases if they are context-sensitive events? Primasole seized is context based as I have taken the bridge, but then a news flash indicating that Bradley and Monty arguing over the use of the Vizzini road when I have American and Canadian troops camped on the road is a big coincidence. Certainly adds to the colour of this scenario.



In the west I have all but eliminated the Livorno Division (shown before their demise), and now I am poised to move the 3rd Infantry Division into a holding role on the coast while the 2nd Armoured moves north towards Palermo. Now that the Herman Goering has been eliminated, along with 17 powerful Tiger tanks, I will move the US 1st Big Red One to support the 2nd Armoured in their drive to Palermo and the US 45th Division will also move west to provide flank security and a reserve.



In the east meanwhile, the Commonwealth 50th Division has dug in north of the Primasole Bridge with Airborne elements, and I hope to push the 5th Division west to flank the Schmaltz group defenders and take the Gerbini airfield (marked X) which is allowing FJ reinforcements to arrive and shore up the defences at Catania.

I also hope to push the 1st Canadian and 51st Highland Divisions further west and then up the road east of Mount Etna to seize approaches to Messina and further threaten Catania.

[cillmhor]

Turn 5:

Turn 4 for the Axis sees a lot of movement with the arrival of General Hans Hube to assume command of the Axis forces. I assume that Antoni's passive resistance in the previous turns could be a result of his troops being locked in re-org mode until the arrival of Hube?

Some Italian coastal units move into the Catania pocket, and in the west the Assietta Division moves east to counter the 3rd Infantry Division at Agrigento. The 15th Panzer Grenadier Division then moves north to support another Italian Division at Palermo.

To counter I move the US 1st Infantry west to support the 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Armoured will still move north through the pass towards Palermo (see planned route below).



The US 45th Division will now support the 2nd Armoured's thrust, and the battered 82nd Airborne will rest and refit.

In the east all resistance south of Primasole has more or less being eliminated.



As you can see the Catania pocket is being squeezed and a daring raid by elements of the 50th Division and Airborne troops has taken care of the coastal guns allowing me to move my naval support into range. I am now also threatening the airfield at Gerbini and plan to move the 1st Canadian Division north past the western slopes of Mount Etna as planned.

By far my biggest headache is supply at the moment, in many key areas it is no more than 8, which will not allow me to sustain an offensive for long. My hope is though, to cut off Catania quickly before the 29th Panzer Grenadier turns up. Stand by for an all out assault on Catania in the next couple of turns, with my fresh armoured brigades supplying the cutting edge.

[cillmhor]

Turns 6 & 7 (15th and 16th July):

Well I'm ahead of schedule as far as the 8th Army push is concerned, with Catania now falling and the remains of Brigade Schmaltz being mopped up. Historically the Allied Airborne troops were still fighting over the Primasole Bridge until 18th July. I slowly pushed the edges of the Catania pocket in, avoiding turn burn by using the units that were in position to attack at the start of the turn, and then later in the turn used the full force of the attacking forces to collapse the pocket.

In the west Antoni countered with the Assietta Division which moved to Casteltermini where they have now encountered the 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Armoured, and are in danger of being surrounded. Antoni also pushed some Italian coastal units west to meet my onrushing US infantry.



The picture below shows the collapsing Catania pocket:



As of turn 7 my 8th Army units now face the push up the thin coastal strip to the east of Etna which will be tough as there is no room for flanking. With that in mind, I have pushed the 51st Highland Division to the west of Etna where they have met weaker Italian units, and I am going to push the 1st Canadian Division further west to the opposite coastal road so that I will have a three pronged approach to Messina, I am gambling that Antoni cannot protect all three routes.

In the west I am mopping up the Assietta Division and other coastal units, and am poised to strike towards Palermo where the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division waits. I still have not seen the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division, but I know historically they arrived in Messina. Reading D'Este again, I see he points to the fact that Monty allowed Axis defenders to retreat and form the Etna line, which was the main area of Axis resistance until the last days of the Sicilian campaign. I hope that my constant pressure has prevented Antoni from dong that. Looks good so far, but supply is still a problem. I need to be near a port on these narrow coastal roads, and that is not always possible.

[cillmhor]

Turns 8 and 9:

I have mopped up the Assietta Division and now move the US 7th Army west and northwest to surround Palermo where Antoni has assembled one Italian Division, the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division and at least another division's worth of low-grade Italian troops to defend the historic town.

In the east the 8th Army stalls on the slopes of Mount Etna north of Catania , however, the 1st Canadian moves up the western approach to Messina and the 51st Highland moves through a mountain pass trying to flank the Etna defenders.



Supply shortages beset me everywhere, not sure if the scenario has an event which improves the Allies situation? Once again, this is spot on historically, as it was a lack of trucks and supplies which stalled the invasion in the early days. Many of my forces are down to 33% readiness and have very limited supplies.

They will not attack some of Antoni's units trapped on badlands and hill hexes, not sure why? They are infantry units, and so I assumed they would attack units on hills. Is it due to the lack of readiness, does anyone know. I tried to find it in the manual, but I could not find anything. It just means these units of Antoni's are trapped on the badlands, but I cannot eliminate them either. The units that cannot attack onto hills, can attack onto clear.

I now stand at an overwhelming victory, but I have not taken the two key objectives of Palermo and Messina, which doesn't feel right given the importance of these two towns. I could now just sit tight in defensive positions and gain a victory. But with 34 turns to go, I think I will refit and then attack. So stand by for a few turns with little or nothing happening. I will give some sporadic updates.

[Currahee]

Mobile-type units are unable to attack into badland hexes (and the hill hexes you're having trouble with are probably also badland); this is due to their mobile equipment, such as trucks etc. Only straight, non-mobile infantry can attack in; or HQ's or arty, which actually used ranged fire to attack the hex. It is possible to finally eliminate those enemy units, with HQ's and artillery only, alto it may take a bit of time.

Above is also true of Alpine, I don't have the scenario in front of me, but looking at your screen capture, Alpine may me the culprit there, as well as badlands.

This is really a designer issue; the badland and Alpine hexes must be used selectively, they absolutely prohibit movement to mobile units, and in the case of Alpine, I believe all movement is prohibited, except along roads or trails.

[cillmhor]

Thank you for the swift reply. At least I now know that it is not a readiness issue, I just don't have the right kind of troops to dislodge them. I'll have a look round my forces to see if I do have any straight infantry. It does show the historic difficulty of the Sicilian terrain, however, it's quite an annoying aspect of the game engine that you cannot move mobile units into badlands and other similar hexes, at a huge movement cost to simulate them leaving their trucks behind to root out the enemy. Or the game engine could allow a limited attack to simulate attacks by mobile infantry without their transport. The irony is that historically supposedly mobile allied British infantry in Sicily had an acute shortage of trucks:conf:.