Battle of Keren 1941

Not sure if that's a heliograph or a theodolite but it is in the mountains at Keren.

Italian East Africa – Operational Game Rules

Logistics

Both CinCs are allocated a set number of logistics at the beginning of the game.  These travel across the table as soft vehicles but are instantly destroyed if close assaulted or fired upon.  They are spotted as vehicles.  They are a prime target for aircraft but a level three priority for any other unit attacking or firing.  They enable units to be in supply when otherwise they would not, they enable +1 firing for pre-planned bombardment and they enable engineering tasks.

Once used or destroyed they are returned to the CinC and put back in reserve.

Pre-planned Bombardment

Every half hour CinCs may submit artillery bombardment plans for the upcoming hour – bombardments may be planned for any specific time after the next upcoming hour.

Extra supplies may be consumed by a regiment to gain a +1 on AI or AT for sustained bombardment – but only for pre-planned bombardment.

Engineers

Engineers are all lorried and have a DEF of 2.  They can only go where vehicles can travel.  Engineering tasks are as normal but require one supply for each engineering task.

Mortars and mountain guns.

Any mortar or designated mountain infantry gun can fire in the direct phase as moving infantry if they have only moved half their distance and they are spotting the target for themselves.

Mountain movement

1.             Supporting units cannot fire through friends on mountains.

2.             Units on mountains are always in -1 cover.

3.             All units firing from one mountain at a target on another mountain suffer a -1 penalty (apparently it was notoriously difficult to judge the range)

4.             Mountain trained troops get a +1 in close combat.

5.             Only support units of 76mm and below in calibre can be manhandled up mountains and move at 1/3 normal movement.

6.             Infantry units move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain (see later for ascending/descending) and cannot fire when moving.

7.             Mountain trained infantry move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain but can fire in the moving infantry phase.

8.             Only howitzers and mortars can fire onto or over mountains.  Calibers of 105mm or less can fire up to two levels.  106mm to 149mm can fire up to 3 levels.  150mm and above up to 4 levels. This is in addition to and not instead of their usual range from other tables.

9.             Units firing from a higher level get a +1 for direct fire.

Aircraft rules

·               Aircraft attacks commence as usual every hour, or half hour by the player holding the airfield table.

·               The CinC will write a flight plan indicating the route to and from the target.

·               All ground attacks will be from the direction of the table edge the aircraft enters from and parallel with the left and right side of the table edges.

·               Any table crossed that has AA of 37mm or greater calibre can attack the passing aircraft.

·               Any calibre of AA on the table that is within range of the final air attack can fire.

·               Bombers attack up to six consecutive units of any type in a 12" x 2" beaten zone and fighter bombers/light attack aircraft attack up to 3 units (but only the first can be armoured) in a 6" x 1" beaten zone.

·               The CinC must also give a mission to each aircraft; Bomb, Escort, CAP or Recon.

·               Aircraft that encounter enemy CAP or Escort fighters will conduct arial combat - fighters cancel out other fighters or fighter bombers, 2x fighters will shoot down one fighter or fighter bomber, one fighter will shoot down bombers and spotter aircraft.

Instead of players automatically selecting the best targets aircraft should have a priority list of targets based on what they can see;

1.             Vehicles moving in the open *

2.             Infantry moving in the open *

3.             Artillery firing in the open

4.             Vehicles stationary in the open
(*Units attacked by aircraft whilst moving in the open revert to hold orders)

Target priority is in the order above and then nearest unit. If there are no other targets then the aircraft return to base without attacking anything - unless there is a Forward Aircraft Controller and then it can guide the attack onto any enemy it can spot, just like an Artillery FOO.  Again, the attack will still be in the direction of entry from the table edge and parallel with the other table edges.

In addition;

·               Each side can attack the other sides off table airfields.  As this is simultaneous it doesn't matter if the defending aircraft is present or on a mission as this represents its base facilities and logistics.  Off table attacks can be against single or multiple targets but each target gets a 40mm AA defence.

·               Bombing missions can be pre-planned against an identifiable feature. The CinC must submit a flight-plan a half hour before the mission.

Reinforcements and replacements.

The British CinC may call a halt to the game at any time and roll for replacements for units that are not in direct fire and that have suffered casualties but have not routed. Any unit that is within direct fire of the Italians can freely be moved back out of range in order to recover casualties.

A D6 is rolled and on a 1,2 there is one replacement, on a 3,4 there are two and on a 5,6 there are three.

However, if the British CinC calls for a replacement phase the Italians may reorganise units but not HQs and they can get an extra unit from their strategic reserve list. 

If the Italians require more troops they can call for a unit from their strategic reserve list but this loses them an objective point in the overall game as they are forced to pull troops from other fronts.

Table Layout

For Keren it's a half table layout;

Table 1C

Table 1D

Table 1D

Table 1C

Table 3A

Table 3B

Tips

The Italians must ensure their defences are mutually supporting to get the most from the terrain.  The mountain guns give some flexibility to the defence but limited reinforcements means that their deployment must provide a decisive counter stroke to any British attacks.

For the British it's steady as they go.  A bold drive might secure key objectives whilst unbalancing an unsteady Italian defence but it will be risky with the risk of high casualties.  Like a 1918 attack, limited objectives taken in strength with strong well prepared artillery support should minimise casualties and secure the points attacked.  But time may well run out if they are not pushed quickly.

Engineer support will be crucial to both sides and air attacks may just tip the balance on any of the tables.

Orders of battle

For this game the base unit is a regiment/brigade to enable players to have all the supports without being overwhelmed in the mountains with too many individual units.  Ideally there should be a CinC player for each side and two British players and one further Italian player.

British; The Kaid's Expeditionary Force in Sudan and Eritrea.

CinC Assets

1x Med Art Regt; 1x HQ, 2x 60pdrs.
3x Matildas
2x Bofors
7x Engineers
1x Bomber
3x Fighters
1x Air Recon
1x Transport
1x Battalion of commandoes (x3 bases)
1x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
1x 2pdr Portee
24x Trucks

4th Indian Division; 1x HQ, 1x Engineer, 1x 2pdr Portee

3x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
2x Field Art Regts; 1x HQ, 3x 25pdrs

5th Indian Division; 1x HQ, 1x Engineer, 1x 2pdr Portee

3x Infantry Regiment; 1x HQ, 12x Inf, 1x mortar, 1x MG
2x Field Art Regts; 1x HQ, 3x 25pdrs

(All units are regular, except the commandoes are veteran)

Italian Garrison of Keren

3x Colonial Infantry Regts; 1x HQ, 9x Inf, 2x MG, 1x Mortar (Green) - entrenched.

The following to be attached or committed from the reserve during the game;
3x 65mm mountain guns (Reg)
1x 75mm mountain gun (Reg)
1x 100mm Howitzer (Reg)
2x 75mm Field Guns (Reg)
3x L3/33 tankettes.
4x Engineers.
12x Trucks

And then a further unit from the following list; any further units that are committed will be due to the British calling a halt or will cause the Italians to lose an objective point (as per rules above).

1x Savoy Grenadiers; 1x HQ, 9x Inf (Vet)

1x Bersaglieri; 1x HQ, 1x SMG M/C (recon), 4x Rifles M/C, 2x MG M/C, 1x 47mm A/T (truck), 1x Mortar (truck) (Reg)

1x Blackshirt Brigade; 1x HQ, 9x Inf, 1x MG, 1x Mortar (Random Morale; 1-4 Gr, 5 Reg, 6 Vet)

1x Colonial Div; 1x Div HQ, 1x Mortar, and then 2x Brigades each of 1x HQ, 6x Inf (Green)

Mark does have good ideas!

The first of 22.  This represents a British Infantry Brigade with HQ, 3 x Infantry, 1 x AT and 1x mortar.

A few weeks ago Mark and I pretested the operational game for the JoS.  He suggested using a large movement tray on which a number of individual bases can be temporarily stuck to quicken the game and give a better impression of a unit that will be representing a brigade.  I initially pooh-poohed his idea as this would require extra prep which I was trying to avoid.

Well, I gave it some thought and came around to agreeing with him.  I had some mounting card which I cut to 6" x 4", glued on some sandpaper, painted, dry brushed and washed - and there you go!

I think this might be a good process for doing town sectors, minefields etc.

.....and the moral of that story is never pooh-pooh Mr Shakespeare!

Soviet Reinforcements

A few shots of the latest additions to my Soviet WW2 forces.  They will upgrade my 1941 Tank Corp into a 1942 Mech Corp.  With an additional cavalry or infantry division I'll be able to put together an offensive force to simulate the massive offensives around Kharkov in March 1942.  

I actually bought these at Salute back in 2016 after we played our first operational game.  With an imminent return visit next month I thought I had better clear the stash before buying more figures from H&R!

T34's!  I didn't go overboard with these in my 1941 list but I really need them in 1942.

The first of the lend lease M3 halftracks used to equip the recon battalion.  Not as good as the German halftrack infantry as these fire at a range of 6 inches rather than 9" - but with enemy infantry unable to hit them back at over 3" they are still rather handy.

A tracked 203mm howitzer - that garrison on 1C is going to get it!

Corp assets - 152mm howitzers with an 85mm AA in the background.  Stalins organs to the front ready to bombard those suspect woods on 2C.

T28 bridge layer.

I have used a new basing technique with sandpaper which is much faster.  I also adapted my painting technique with a base spray of olive, heavy dry brush of Russian uniform and a lighter dry brush of mid grey - all done in a week which for me is very quick.

I still have a pack of SMG infantry from this original order but I think it's time to get on with some more Iran-Iraq War air assets.

Mountain Warfare Rules

I had these excellent figures in 1/72nd scale and always think of them when contemplating mountain warfare.

I've been very busy, with the help of Russ and Mark, building up mountain terrain this summer.  I am aiming to expand the scope of my existing desert terrain and give further options for operational games in East Africa, Tunisia, Sicily, Southern Italy and Iran.

The terrain is progressing well but at my usual slow pace and I am ready to put on a Thursday night trial game now, and should be operationally ready by September.

With this in mind I thought it would be a good idea to post some outline ideas on rules for mountain warfare.  I want to keep them simple and obvious but cover all the peculiarities that will make fighting in the mountains different from other games - so here goes;

Amended Spearhead Rules for Mountain Warfare

1. Supporting units cannot fire through friends on mountains.
2. Units on mountains are always in -1 cover.
3. All units firing from one mountain at a target on another mountain suffer a -1 penalty (apparently it was notoriously difficult to judge the range)
4. Mountain trained troops get a +1 in close combat.
5. Only support units of 76mm and below in calibre can be manhandled up mountains and move at 1/3 normal movement.
6. Infantry units move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain (see later for ascending/descending) and cannot fire when moving.
7. Mountain trained infantry move at a max 1/2 normal movement when on a mountain but can fire in the moving infantry phase.
8. Only howitzers and mortars can fire onto or over mountains.  Calibers of 105mm or less can fire up to two levels.  106mm to 149mm can fire up to 3 levels.  150mm and above up to 4 levels. This is in addition to and not instead of their usual range from other tables.

It's probably simpler if I illustrate how mountains are ascended (and descended).

The units movement ends immediately once in contact with the mountain.  At this stage if it has moved up to half its normal movement rate it can fire in the moving infantry phase.

On the second turn the unit can begin its ascent.  The rear of the base is placed on the level and the rest is lent against the mountain (the first mountain base is equal to two levels).  This is a full move.

On the third move the unit is placed on the initial level area.  This is a full move.  Movement around this level is according to the rules above at 1/2 rate.

The unit is required to continue its ascent. Again the rear of the base is placed on the level straight away without stopping at the base and the rest is lent against the second tier of the mountain (the second mountain base is equal to one level).  This is a full move.

On the second move the unit is placed on the top of the second tier.  This is a full move.  Movement around this level is according to the rules above at 1/2 rate.  The mountain top is impassable and counts as a fourth level for calculating arc of fire for howitzers and mortars.

I hope I have made the above clear but I would welcome any comments or additions that anyone may have.  Phil, if I could borrow your book on winter and mountain warfare I could check for any other details I may have missed.

Cityscape Terrain Board part II

I was a bit jealous on Saturday hearing everyone else on WhatsApp getting on with projects but I managed to find some time on Sunday and Monday in my all new workshop!  Also, I ordered some ruined buildings from Gamecraft (looking forward to seeing Mark's Stalingrad factory) and thought I should get ahead with the base boards for the cityscape.

I was aiming for an effect that looked like a fought over urban area with dust and debris subtly turfing up the desert ground but blending into my other boards.  Generally, desert scenics require a consistency regardless of the ground type but I wanted something a little more dynamic for our urban fights.  I thought I would make one 1'x2' section with separate town sectors to see if I could achieve the "look" and create something to game on and try out a few rules ideas.

The base boarding using a 1'x2' section alongside two other boards.  This would be an urban strip within one half of a standard operational board. 

The same board giving a variant on the above set up.  Of course, I could use three boards and make the entire table urban.  But one section could be open cultivated simulating debris with some visibility limitations (like a marshalling yard) whilst another section could be more difficult ground like woodland simulating a variety of light destroyed buildings..  The third section only may  contain buildings.  This would give maximum flexibility.

Added town sectors blend in with the background and allow infinite variations.  I just need to add buildings to complete the overall look.

I'm quite happy with the finished result, and for me, it didn't take very long.  I will knock up another one or two boards but I think I will need more town sectors - Mark do you have any more wardrobe panels?

Just waiting for the delivery of my ruined Mid-East buildings and I will post more pictures.

Cityscape terrain board

Inspired by Mark's game from a few weeks ago and my new "workshop" facility, I have begun experimentation on new city boards.  Phil's posting on his personal blog has also thrown up some ideas.

I am taking the 1980 siege of Koramshahr from the Iran-Iraq War as my inspiration as I want to use a devastated city in the desert and integrate this with my existing boards.  I can also use them for Tobruk, future battles in Tunisia and, when I have my mountains finished, I may use them for a Monte Cassino scenario.

Mosul after last years fighting - this is what I want the base boards to represent.

My current thinking is to create a base board that blends into the surrounding desert boards but has more blacks, greys and light beiges to simulate more intensive fighting, urban material etc. The whole board would represent broken ground or rough ground.

On top of these I would place variously sized urban sectors, more intensively coloured with extra debris.  Troops would move from them and into them as in the spearhead rules.

Any suggestions always welcome!

WW2 city fight

Thursday nights game 

Spearhead WW2, 2x American infantry battalions ( regular) with Sherman tanks as escorts, German 3x volksgrenedier battalions (green) with 2 Hertzer tank destroyers.

The idea was to just play a meeting engagement game and hash out any inner city rule additions that we felt suited the game

Americans entering from the bottom, with the Germans entering from the top

 Slow approach by the Americans would cost them, they didn't get much further than the first line of buildings.

 Germans on the other hand advanced boldly to take up forward firing positions

 Firefight ensues.

German battalions have 3 platoons of rifles and 6 of SMG.

the SMG might be good for close combat but at only 3" range struggle to add to the firefight

 3rd German battalion uses the centre city blocks to advance and split the Americans

 End game

Germans have taken the centre block, numbers are beginning to tell 

Rule additions for city boards

1. All town sectors are classed as villages with a -1 to hit

2. stepping from one sector to another within a block takes a full turn

3. Units can step out of a sector into open or step into sectors from open but not both on the same turn.

4. Indirect fire is not very effective, it is 11/12 for less than 150mm and 10-12 for 150mm and over.

5. Sector capacity is based on the longest edge of that sector, so a 4"x 3" sector would have a capacity of 4 units. A city block may be made up of single or multiple sectors .

A good game Gents 

a different game again showing that green troops in numbers can hack it.

city boards are another place to let your design instincts flow with the addition of parks industrial sectors etc and a good colour board it makes for a challenging game.

Encounter in the desert

So once again we delve into the operational battles with an encounter in the desert circa 1942.

On the allies side were

Frank "Hannibal" Reynolds

Phil "Mad Murdoch" Broders

Mark "face" Shakespeare

The Battle

The South African division of 2 Brigades were dug in at the centre top table commanded by "mad Murdoch"

A brigade of the Northampton division was behind them guarding the two passes and holding the divisions artillery.
The rest of the Northampton division would secure the airfield and open up the route to the South African division.
"Colonel Hannibal" took 1 No regiment of valentines and 1 of Matilda's to relive the cut off 1st Northampton's and then pushed forward with the valentines to link up with the SA division.
In the meantime the axis were pushing units down either side to take strategic positions and to relieve the Italian division stuck in the fort.
At this point the allies only controlled the centre two tables and the airfield.
The valentines were then pushed up to reconnaissance the top right table  to cut off supplies to the fort and all axis units down the right hand side.
This elicited a large response form the axis as first a recon battalion appeared followed by a Panzer regiment and then a panzer grenadier regiment.
The valentines at this point fell back at this point to the SA division having done their job of forcing the axis to commit some of their reserves.

At this point "Hannibal" proposed a bold move, The 1st armoured division ,currently in reserve would move up passed the airfield and thru the passes picking up the Matilda regiment and attack the top left table isolating any units down the left hand side .

The attack rolled in, but the axis had an anti tank gun line waiting on the hillside for this type of manoeuvre, Just as the tanks rumbled into range the heavy drone of RAF bombers could be heard and a carpet of bombs fell on the hillside neutralising many of the anti tank guns.
This was the start of the main battle of the day, as 1st  division drove towards the hill and the waiting bridge behind axis reserves were called in from off table and then from their right flank and finally from the forward right position.
The day was fast running out and the allies needed to secure some strategic positions so the 7th armoured division was released from reserves to move up the left hand flank claiming strategic positions as it went .
The axis sent in a recon battalion from the fort to the airfield to reveal the strength of the defenders,
which was found to be too strong and were driven back to the security of the fort by the airfield defenders.
The allies had no intention of attacking the fort as we believed that the defences were too strong.
The valentine regiment was sent back to the top right table to put the fort defenders out of supply but it ran into another panzer battalion equipped with some Pz4 F2 and an 88 battery. These made short work of the valentines, but their purpose was served, by not allowing the axis time to develop their attack.

With light fading the axis launched a final attack against the SA division but it was too late.
"Hannibal" and the 1st armoured were slowly getting ground down  by increasing axis pressure and would not last, but by engaging the enemy so far forward they shielded the SA division from attention for most of the day and allowed 7th armoured the freedom to take strategic positions unopposed.

And so another successful operational comes to a close with an allied victory

Thank you gentlemen for a fine day 

Ian, the tables and troops looked awesome. 

Operation Harpoon - Massacre in the Med (day 1)

So we replayed Operation Harpoon (or at least Day 1 of Operation Harpoon) where a British convoy ran the gauntlet of the Italian Navy and combined air attacks by Italian and German aircraft.  Rules are General Quarters with a slightly amended aircraft rules bit.

The different parts of the battle were sequenced (see here) and we played them in the same sequence (obviously).  Myself and Frank were the Axis Powers, Jon and Mark the plucky British.

Ship formations took a bit of artistic liberty - the British in the latter stages pretty much had the convoy touching each other....didn't make much difference though!

Basically the British had to get 8 supply points through to Malta (each ship carrying I think 4-6 each) so basically 2 ships have to get into harbour unscathed for the British to win.

June 13th - Submarine P-43 (Unbeatable Class) attacks Italian 7th Cruiser Division

Submarine rules in GQ are fairly straightforward.  The submarine player chooses a square on the table (2ft square) in which he places the attacking sub(s).  The opposing player then chooses which channel his ships are coming down.  So the sub can be in the right spot or not to attack.  If in the right spot he can sit there waiting for targets or have to move to get there (on the surface which is not a good idea).

Anyway the British put their sub in the right place and wasn't spotted until ti attacked - but as there was only 1 sub and the Italian division was moving at full speed, the torpedoes missed.

And then the Italian ASW sank the sub.

Axis 1 - Allies 0


June 14th 
02.00 - Italian submarines Uarsciek and Giado attack the Convoy

We thought we'd be clever and split the submarines onto both channels.  I chose the right channel so Frank had to move his sub across (luckily it was nighttime so he wasn't spotted).  In GQ subs have to be surfaced at night to attack - and so are easier to spot if you use searchlights - which the Allies did.

They had a screen of small destroyers with full searchlights on (which would have made life short but interesting had the Italian Cruiser Division been nearby) but made a sneak attack virtually impossible.

My sub got spotted and sunk by the nearest destroyers.

Frank managed to blast away (using his sub's gun) at the nearest destroyer and caused it considerable damage.  With nerves of steel he waited and waited and waited as searchlights played over his sub -  until the nearest merchant ship hoved into view and sent 4 tubes into it.

The slow speed of the ship made it a bit of a sitting duck and it essentially disappeared as 3 of the 4 torpedoes found it.

Frank's view of his handiwork

Discretion being 99% of Italian tactics, he then crash dived and headed home for his medal.

Axis 2 - Allies 1


10.00 - Convoy attacked by 8x Italian CR42 biplanes

For the next 8 hours nothing happened.  Then 8 Italian CR42's turned up.  As they approached the convoy they were 'bounced' by some Hurricanes chucked up as CAP from the British escort carriers (off table).

My heroic CR42's return home

The leading elements dropped their bombs early to have a better chance in combat and (if memory serves) shot down one flight of Hurricanes and lost one of their own flights as well.  The remaining Hurricanes flew back to re-arm so the remaining 4 CR42's took in the attack and picked (obviously) on the nearest merchant ship.

British escort carriers wondering why their planes aren't coming back

Mark was confident that his ship placement gave superb AA cover for the merchants - until Frank got the tape measure out and showed Mark that only one destroyer was actually providing any cover!  As a result the biplanes went in unscathed and plastered the merchant ship, blowing it out of the water!

Merchant ship pays for Mark's lacklustre approach to measuring

I was as surprised as everyone else!  The Allies had lost two of the six merchants in two attacks!

The pilots flew back to base with the promise of pasta, a fine Chianti and medals galore awaiting them.

And worse was to come for the British....

Axis 3 - Allies 1


11.30 - Convoy attacked by 10 x Cants (bombers) and 12 x SM79 (torpedo) with 12 x fighters.

Actually I think Ian the ref forgot that the bombers were accompanied by fighters otherwise it would have been even more desperate for the British.  

Even as it was the SM79's put up a good show of seeing off the fighter cover (which was drawn to the torpedo bombers as the more dangerous opponent). The SM79's lost a base but so did the British and 9 torpedo planes pressed home the attack.  The CANT's did a stirling job of shutting down the British AA by attacking the nearest escorts to the targeted ships.  This meant the Sparvieros got a virtually untroubled run and split their attack (two flights into the nearest merchant ship and one into the cruiser).

Sparviero's line up another merchant ship...

As it was the merchant got obliterated - ironically from the only torpedo that managed to hit!  The cruiser got away unscathed.  But the CANT's too managed to inflict damage on the escorts and so whittled down the surviving AA support.

Axis 4 - Allies 1


18.20 - Convoy attacked by 12 x Ju88
As a consequence to what had happened to date, the British decided to sacrifice the security of the escorting force (i.e. the escort carriers and their attendant ships) and put all CAP over the convoy.

This was bad news for the next flight in as the 4 bases of Ju88's (coming in to dive bomb) got massacred by the CAP of Hurricanes and Fulmars.

JU88's about to get mullered

I think they managed to shoot down some Hurricanes.  I can't remember - but they certainly got no chance to attack the ships.

Never mind - their comrades were about to make up for it..

Axis 4 - Allies 1 (planes don't count)


20.00 - Convoy attacked by 20 x SM79s, 10 x Ju88, 15 x Ju87

Yes - you read that right.  The skies around the convoy were darkened as the Ju'88's and 87's attacked from one side and the SM79's from the other.  The CAP was swamped by the sheer number of planes and the British decided (probably correctly) that the Stukas were the most dangerous target and all British fighters attacked them

What's that coming towards us?  Oh poop!

A number of Stukas went down but Frank managed to shoot down some Hurricanes and managed to get his remaining Stukas (and the Ju88's in).  As we had time to spare we circled briefly until everyone was ready to pounce.  The dive bombers again shut down the escorts' AA allowing the Sparvieros an untroubled run in.

Frank sank 3 of the escorts in the attack (a couple being blown asunder by 1000lb bombs landing amidships) and in the ensuing massacre the Italians sank the remaining merchant ships.

More victims of the Italian Air Force

Axis 10 - Allies 1  - no wait....

Or at least we thought they had.  Jon claimed they were still afloat (i.e. they had not yet sunk) and so the British sent two destroyers alongside the two floating hulks.  The convoy was slowed to 3 knots (i.e. stationary).  So we decided to play on for a bit.

21.00 - Convoy reinforced by 4 x Beaufighters from Malta.

21.15 - Convoy attacked by Italian submarine Alagi.

21.30 - Convoy attacked by 8 x CR42

In all the fun of blowing the convoy to Kingdom Come we missed the sequence of the submarine attack (which we should probably do when we reconvene next week) as a sub attack against destroyers lashed to sinking merchant ships should prove interesting.

The CR42's dropped their bombs to engage the remaining CAP (supplemented by the Beaufighters) and didn't fare too well (I think some Beaufighters were shot down).

At that point we called it a day.  Frank and I claimed a moral victory anyway as the British only had 6 cargo units left and the convoy was virtually dead in the water before dawn of the 15th.


June 15th

05.00 - 4 x Beaufighters reappear to support the convoy.

06.20 - Convoy attacked by Italian 7th Cruiser Division

06.30 - The Beaufighters withdraw.

07.00 - Convoy attacked by 8 x Italian Ju87

08.40 - Italian 7th Cruiser Division withdraws.

10.30 - Italian 7th Cruiser Division attacked by 2 x Beauforts and 4 x Albacores from Malta.

10.40 - 4 x Spitfires reinforce the Convoy from Malta

11.20 - Convoy attacked by 6 x Ju87 and 6 x SM79.

11.30 - 4 x Spitfires withdraw.

13.55 - Convoy attacked by Italian 7th Cruiser Division.

14.25 - Italian 7th Cruiser Division withdraws.

15.20 - Italian 7th Cruiser Division attacked by 3 x Albacores.

18.00 - Convoy reinforced by 6 x Beaufighters and 6 x Spitfires 

19.10 - Convoy attacked by 12 x Cants.

20.40 - Convoy attacked by 12 x Cants.

All survivors of the convoy are attacked once by uncharted mines before entering Valetta Harbour.  Historically, two freighters reached Malta.