Camp Cromwell 20/10/06

Maharajah 2006 1st Qualifying Final

Jim's Fucilieri v. SteveP's Strelkovy
2000 pts Encounter Mission on Eastern Europe terrain (flat as a tack with a few rivers, villages & fields).
Umpire: SteveJ.

The Ities deployed Fucillieri, HMG, 75mm Art, Pak 40s & German 105s. In Delayed Reserve they had Itie 105s, L6s & 3 Fucilieiri.
The Russians deployed 2 Strelkovy hordes plus the GOW & AA. In Delayed Reserve they had 3KVs, 4 A/tank & Scouts.
Both sides had air - Limited Sturmos & Sporadic Stukas.

Things looked grim for the Ities as the Red Horde poured forward towards both objectives. On their right the Itie HMGs lived a charmed life. They lost just 1 HMG while continually unpinning & pouring murderous fire into the Ivans. Then a Fucilieri Platoon arrived nicely on the right flank on turn 5 to launch a counter assault and finish them off. On the Itie left, the Guastatori couldn't stop the Horde, but the L6s turned up on the first opportunity just in the right place. 2 L6s were taken out by Sturmos, but 4 was enough to stop the rot. The Ivans melted away under their MGs.

The Pic above shows the Ivans about to assault the Guastatori over the fords. How fortunate were the Ities to have their L6s turn up in that corner next turn?

The Ities were saved by early arrival of their reinforcements - they had them all on the field by turn 6.
But the Gods of War were still there supported by the A/T & A/A on the Russian left and the KVs and Scouts had eventually arrived, so it was far from over.

Both sides now advanced on their right as the artillery pounded away. The Gods of War looked scary, but the Axis had 3 batteries and now had too much fire power for the Russians. The last Russian hope evaporated when the German 105s popped the Command KV & stopped their advance. The Scouts were shot up by the Fucilieri. The AA were hunted down by 75s & rmg fire. The A/tank & GOW were destroyed by the 105s. The Russians failed army morale at the same time as the Fucilieri gained an objective.

An epic struggle that the Russians came soooo close to winning on about turn 4. But the L6s of doom saved the day & then the sheer firepower of the Axis finished the job. The Regio Aeuronautica did well for once - they didn't kill much, but 3 interceptions paid for them. The Sturmos got 2 L6s, but really didn't do enough. The open terrain was a big bonus for the Ities as it favoured the defence & the Axis artillery advantage forced the Russians to attack. One day Steve's going to get a bit of luck going his way & someone will be in Big Trouble.

The pic is taken at the end from behind the Russian left. The Umpire is pointing at the Command L6 still bogged in the ford. The 2 KVs on the far table edge, the adjacent Scout team & the HQ by the creek in foreground are all that remain of the Russian army. The Ities haven't lost a platoon (though the Guastatori are down to 1 team).