www.accademiawargame.it 2 Life's but a walking shadow ... It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signify nothing. W. Shakespeare HIGH COMMAND Grand tactical rules for the second World War Copyright 2005 - 2006 Richard Affinati Game Designer: Richard Affinati (ITALY) Graphics Wizard and Chief Playtester: Mike Patton (USA) Acknowledgments: Norman MacKenzie “Kiss Rommel” Luca Mazzamuto “Alto Comando” Lorenzo Sartori “Dadi & Piombo” Andrew Carless “Translations” Historical Background www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk and www.topedge.com QUESTIONS: Please direct any questions or comments about the game to: Riccardo Affinati: [email protected] CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION: www.accademiawargame.it Dedication: HIGH COMMAND is dedicated as a token of remembrance to the soldiers of the Second World War. www.accademiawargame.it 3 HIGH COMMAND Grand tactical rules for the second World War GAME PHILOPHY For many years we played Napoleonic battles in such a tactical way that warga- mers would never allow us to field more than a couple of Division per side. Then we discovered methods that allowed us to simulate entire battles without them getting too complicated. However today Ligth Tank M.3A1 STUART III that old destructive mentality still ruins our Second World War games, preven- Adolf Hitler was shocked by the defeats ting us from recreating entire battles. being suffered by the Italian Army and in At the most, expert wargamers put a few January 1941, sent General Erwin Rom- more tanks and platoons on immense mel and the recently formed Deutsches tables and worry about tactical problems Africa Korps to North Africa. Rommel and the thickness of armour, without e- mounted his first attack on 24th March xmaning the strategic or gaming aspects 1941, and after a week of fighting he pu- that are implicit in combats between in- shed Archibald Wawell and the British fantry division and armoured brigades. Army out of most of Libya. However, un- With HIGH COMMAND we can play the der Lieutenant General Lesile Morshead entire Normandy landigs, or even the the British managed to hold vital forward battles on the Russian Front or in Africa. supply base at Tobruk. Richard Affinati Aerchibald Wawell attempted a counter- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND attack on 17th June, 1941, but his troops were halted at Halfaya Pass. Three we- When Benito Mussolini declared war on eks later he was replaced by General the Allies on 10th June 1940, he already Claude Auchinleck. had over a million men in the Italian Army based in Libya. In neighbouring Egypt On 18th November, 1941, Auchinleck the British Army had only 36,000 men and the recently formed Eighth Army guarding the Suez Canal and the Arabian went on the offensive. Erwin Rommel oil fields. On 13th September, 1940, Mar- was forced to abandon his siege of To- shall Rodolfo Graziani and five Italian di- bruk on 4th December, and the following visions began a rapid advance into Egypt month had moved as far west as Archo- but halted in front of the main British de- bald Wawell had achieved a year pre- fences at Mersa Matruh. Although out- viously. Aware that Wavell's supply lines numbered, General Archibald Wawell were now overextended, Rommel, after ordered a British counter-offensive on 9th obtaining reinforcements from Tripoli, December, 1940. The Italians suffered launched a counterattack. It was now the heavy casualties and were pushed back turn of the British Army to retreat. After more than 800km (500 miles). British tro- losing Benghazi on 29th January, Claude ops moved along the coast and on 22nd Auchinleck ordered his troops to retreat January, 1941, they captured the port of to Gazala. Tobruk in Libya from the Italians. www.accademiawargame.it 4 Over the next few months the Eighth Army, under Lieutenant General Neil Ri- chie, established a line of fortifications and minefields. Erwin Rommel launched his offensive on 26th May. The Italian in- fantry attacked at the front while Rommel led his panzers round the edge of the fortifications to cut off the supply routes. Ritchie outnumbered Rommel by two to one but he wasted his advantage by not using his tanks together. After defeating a series of small counter-attacks Rommel was able to capture Sidi Muftah. On 12th June, two of the three British armoured brigades were caught in a pincer move- ment and were badly defeated. Two days later Neil Richie, with only 100 tanks left, abandoned Gazala. Rommel returned to Tobruk and took the port on 21st June, 1942. This included the capture of over 35,000 British troops. However, Rommel now only had 57 tanks left and was for- ced to wait for new supplies to arrive be- Erwin Rommel fore heading into Egypt. In July 1942, General Erwin Rommel and Over the next six weeks Montgomery be- the Italo-German Panzer Armee Afrika, gan to stockpile vast quantities of wea- (part of the Deutsches Africa Korps) were pons and ammunition to make sure that only 113km (70 miles) from Alexandria. by the time he attacked he possessed The situation was so serious that Win- overwhelming firepower. By the middle of ston Churchill made the long journey to October the Eighth Army totalled 195,000 Egypt to discover for himself what nee- men, 1,351 tanks and 1,900 pieces of ded to be done. Churchill decided to ma- artillery. This included large numbers of ke changes to the command structure. recently delivered Sherman M4 and General Harold Alexander was placed in Grant M3 tanks. On 23rd October Mon- charge of British land forces in the Middle tgomery launched Operation Lightfoot East and Bernard Montgomery became with the largest artillery bombardment commander of the Eighth Army. since theFirst World War. The attack ca- me at the worst time for the Deutsches On 30th August, 1942, Erwin Rommel Africa Korps as Eewin Rommel was on attacked at Alam el Halfa but was repul- sick leave in Austria. His replacement, sed by the Eighth Army. Montgomery re- General Geaorge Stumme, died of a he- sponded to this attack by ordering his tro- art-attack the day after the 900 gun bom- ops to reinforce the defensive line from bardment of the German lines. Stume the coast to the impassable Qattara De- was replaced by General Ritter von Tho- pression. Montgomery was now able to ma and Adolf Hitler phoned Rommel to make sure that Rommel and the German order him to return to Egypt immediately. Army was unable to make any further a- dvances into Egypt. www.accademiawargame.it 5 The Germans defended their positions well and after two days the Eighth Army had made little progress and Bernard Montgomery ordered an end to the at- tack. When Erwin Rommel returned he launched a counterattack at Kidney De- pression (27th October). Montgomery now returned to the offensive and the 9th Australian Division created a salient in the enemy positions. Cruiser Tank Mk.VI(A.15) CRUSADER II Winston Churchill was disappointed by the Eighth Army's lack of success and The British Army recaptured Tobruk on accused Montgomery of fighting a "half- 12th November, 1942. During the El Ala- hearted" battle. Montgomery ignored the- mein campaign half of Rommel's 100,000 se criticisms and instead made plans for man army was killed, wounded or taken a new offensive, Operation Supercharge. prisoner. He also lost over 450 tanks and 1,000 guns. The British and Commonwe- On 1st November 1942, Montgomery alth forces suffered 13,500 casualties launched an attack on the Deutsches A- and 500 of their tanks were damaged. frica Korps at Kidney Ridge. After initially However, of these, 350 were repaired resisting the attack, Rommel decided he and were able to take part in future bat- no longer had the resources to hold his tles. line and on the 3rd November he ordered his troops to withdraw. However, Adolf Winston Churchil was convinced that the Hitler overruled his commander and the battle of El Alamein marked the turning Germans were forced to stand and fight. point in the war and ordered the ringing of church bells all over Britain. As he said The next day Montgomery ordered his later: "Before Alamein we never had a men forward. The Eighth Army broke victory, after Alamein we never had a de- through the German lines and Erwin feat." Rommel, in danger of being surrounded, was forced to retreat. Those soldiers on Allied troops continued to advance on foot, including large numbers of Italian Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. General soldiers, were unable to move fast e- Kenneth Anderson got to within 12 miles nough and were taken prisoner. of Tunis before being attacked at Djedei- da by General Walther Nehring and the For a while it looked like the the British Deutsches Africa Korps . A further at- would cut off Rommel's army but a sud- tempt by the Allies to reach Tunis was den rain storm on 6th November turned halted by bad weather on 24th Decem- the desert into a quagmire and the cha- ber, 1942. sing army was slowed down. Rommel, now with only twenty tanks left, managed General Jurgen von Arnim now arrived to to get to Sollum on the Egypt-Libya bor- take control of the German forces in Tu- der. On 8th Novembre Erwin Rommel nisia. In January 1943 he was joined by learned of the Allied invasion of Morocco General Erwin Rommel and his army in and Algeria that was under the command southern Tunisia. Rommel was in retreat of General Dwigth D. Eisenhower. His from Egypt and was being chased by Ge- depleted army now faced a war on two neral Bernard Montgomery and the 8th front.