Mechanised War in the Desert

Jim's Commonwealth force (Oz inf + Brit armour) v. Chris' Italians.
The Italians are defending the oasis.  The attackers have a 15% points advantage.

The Italian infantry & artillery are dug in around the oasis.  The Commonweath forces are mainly coming on from near the far RH corner, but they are allowed a flanking force of up to 3 platoons to come on in the near corner.  The Italian armour has hidden deployment.  The mini playing cards denote possible deployment areas.  The hidden units starting with the figs off table have a matching card placed face down with them denoting where they actually are.

The Commonwealth have 3 Matildas, 3 Valentines & a infantry platoon coming on from the flank (at the far left in this camera angle).  Their main force has advanced either side of the rocky ridge with 9 Crusaders leading on the right.

The Brits suffered an early set back when the Italian howitzers destroyed their 25pdr battery before it had completed deployment on the plateau.  The Oz inf have de-trucked on the edge of the escarpment.  5 M14's have appeared among the palm trees to oppose the Crusaders.

The Commonwealth flank attack was met with 5M14's & 5 Semoventes hidden behind the rocky ridge.

The Commonwealth's flank attack was totally destroyed by the Italian armour's counterattack  The Oz infantry on the left have dug in on slope rather than advance without artillery or armour support.   On the right the 9 Crusaders are battling it out with 5 M14s which are in cover with artillery support.  In the centre, Oz inf supported by 4 carriers have broken thru the Fucileri & taken one of the houses. 

On the left the Oz inf made a last throw of the dice type attack on the Italian inf, but were beaten off.  On the right, the Crusader have finally overcome the M14's but have suffered significant losses themselves.  In the centre, the Semoventes have arrived having disposed of the Matildas on the other flank & have destroyed the bugs.   Next turn the Oz inf in the house are destoyed & the Commonwealth force fails army morale.    

Our new house rules for WWII are designed for mechanised battles on a large table & we think they do it really well.  It's a much faster game than either FOW or BA, with simpler rules that allow for larger forces to be used without player fatigue.