How (Not) to Win at North Africa ’41 – Part 2

Zachary Grant,12 January 2025

Welcome back to “How (Not) to Win at North Africa ’41”. In our introductory article, I left you at the beginning of turn two. The 1st Tower Hamlet Rifles had been dispatched and the Axis forces were aiming for the 3 Hussars and the 5th Royal Tank Regiment. It is the start of turn two, so let’s see how the Allied player reacts.

most images can click to enlarge

 

Events of the first impulse

I’m going to gloss over a lot of the Allied turns during this series. Yes, in the long run the Allied turns are important and there is a lot that doesn’t happen along the front line, so boring!

 

The Allied player’s event roll results in 1 Resource Point, (RP) and they begin to fortify the existing groundworks surrounding Tobruk. The Allies use their Naval Transport to move the 22nd Guards directly to Tobruk while moving the rest of their units along the main road from Alexandria to the west, towards the front line, as quickly as possible. Closer to the front lines, the Allies reinforce Benghazi with the 1 Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (RNF) and the 9th Australian 20th Brigade. The 6 Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) falls back to Benghazi too. There is one supply point just south of Ghemines the Brits decide to destroy instead of allowing it to fall into Axis hands. The Allies order their engineers to demolish the port capacity of Benghazi while the 1st King’s Dragoon Guards recon battalion falls back to Msus. In a surprising maneuver, the 5 Royal Tank Regiment and the 3rd Hussars are voluntarily put into “Full Retreat” in order to avoid the Axis forces. Units are either in “Good Order”, “Disrupted”, or “Full Retreat”. Being in “Full Retreat” is very bad, hence my surprise at doing it voluntarily. They don’t get very far, just north of Beda Fomm. I guess the might of the 5th Light Division was just too much for the poor Brits.

The Allies placed a delay marker at Agedabia and removed the delay marker that was a wee bit south and easily bypassed by the Axis units.

 

I randomly roll for an event and get the U-Boat in the Med result. This allows the Axis player to move the Malta convoy modifier making it easier for Axis convoys traveling from Italy to Tripolia to escape interception. The modifier is already at the maximum beneficial modifier for the Axis, so although a good roll, not helpful.

I transport my reinforcements from Italy to Tripoli and they all arrive safely. They need to wait until the next impulse before I can move them onto the map.

It is at this point I decide to return three trucks to Tripoli. My thinking is to get as many Italian units on the map as quickly as possible. It also means the Italian infantry units that were with trucks are going to move a lot slower. Remember what I wrote last turn about only having four trucks? Well, now you can begin to see the Axis dilemma.

 

This is the latest episode in a running playthrough of North Africa ’41 from GMT Games; you can find the links to all published episodes at the end of article, with new ones each Sunday

The Italians are ordered to chase the routing 5 RTR and the 3rd Hussars up the coast line as far as possible. In North Africa ’41, mechanized units in Full Retreat continue to fall back two hexes every time an enemy combat unit is adjacent to it. This happens until the units join other Good Order units, so the Italians push the Brits up to Benghazi. The end result is the Ariete Division has the 7th Tank Bn, the 32 Tank Regiment, the 88 Motorized Infantry Regiment, and both the 4L and 5L tank Bns just south of Benghazi, blocking any potential movement south by the Allies. 

The entire German 5th Light Div advances along the Via Balbia and then heads in the direction of Msus. It is accompanied by the 33 Flak Bn. The Germans can’t catch the 1 KDG recon battalion this turn. The truck I left on the map, Truck #1, becomes a Mobile Supply Unit, (MSU) by loading up one of the supply points and drives off with the Das Afrika Korps, (DAK) HQ unit in hot pursuit of the 5L Division. They easily catch up and stop directly behind the German units. And here dear readers is where I make my first blunder. How you might ask? Sit back, relax and be prepared to be amazed at my lack of forethought and comprehending the rules!

 

Events of the second impulse

The Allies obtain another RP and continue fortifying the area around Tobruk. Next the Allies evacuate Benghazi and defend the two passes along the escarpment leading to the east. These are good defensive positions because attacker strength is halved when attacking up the escarpment and attack strength is doubled when attacking down the escarpment. The Allied player continues to rush more troops further west. Another British brigade of infantry arrives to defend Tobruk and other British troops stop at Mechili and at the crossroads of Trigh el Abd and Trigh Enver Bey. That leaves the 1 King’s Dragoon Guard recon battalion just south of Msus. Seeing the DAK HQ and a supply truck undefended, it evades the German panzer units and attacks!

 

There are no combat modifiers and the final combat odds are 2:1. The Allied player rolls a 5 which results in DRX Adv 2. This is NA41 speak for, “both sides lose a step and if there are any defending units remaining, they must retreat two hexes. If there are any attacking units remaining, they can advance two hexes.” The truck is a non-combat unit and is eliminated. The DAK HQ is also eliminated. Both units go to, wait for it, the Axis Eliminated Box. Drat! On the bright side, the 1 KDG is also eliminated.

 

There is stunned silence for the Axis. How do I reconstitute the HQ? How is this going to impact the German advance? After referencing the rule book I discover that I can bring both units back from the eliminated box; however that requires Resource Points and time. So much precious time.

With the Allied attack complete it is time for the Axis impulse. Fortunately, the event roll is for a RP, which I’ll need to replace the DAK HQ. I do this immediately. When HQs are replaced after being eliminated, they are considered Depleted, which means it can’t provide any combat supply. It will need to grab a Supply Point to return its ready status. This is bad enough as it is; however, it gets worse. The HQ isn’t reconstituted in Tripoli. It is rebuilt in Italy, which means it will take time for me to transport it from Italy to Tripoli and there’s a chance it could be intercepted and sunk by the British Navy.

 

With Benghazi unprotected, the Italians advance and capture it and advance to engage the British defenders at the northern pass of the escarpment. All the Italian infantry abandoned by their trucks begin marching north along the Via Balbia with a couple battalions marching in the direction of Antelat. The German 5 Div just south of Msus races out in an attempt to cut off the two defending British units. The 8th Infantry battalion and the I Panzer battalion almost reach Tecnis. They are backed up by the II Panzer battalion at Charruba. The rest of the German and Italian units cover the potential eastern approaches, screening any possible Allied counter attacks. No more lone British units are sneaking up on this Axis player!

 

Events of third impulse

As I wrote earlier, I’m glossing over much of the Allied movement. The Allies realize the Axis could trap their two defending units along the escarpment and decide to retreat the 6 RTR and to leave the 1 RNF to defend the northern pass alone. The Allies continue to consolidate a defensive line with Tmimi as the northern defensive point running south along the Trigh el Abd track. The 11 Hussars recon battalion anchors the southernmost point of the defensive line. Units that were disrupted recover to their ready status and the Allied player places a delay marker along the southern route to Tobruk.

 

This is the final impulse of turn two, and the Axis is looking to advance as quickly as possible. OKW sends me another Resource Point during the event roll and I use it to rebuild the truck unit in Italy.

 

I continue to shuffle Italian infantry north along the Via Balbia toward Benghazi, promising all those Italians a wonderful seaside holiday once they arrive. I maneuver Pavia’s 28th infantry regiment and the Ariete’s 32nd tank regiment to attack the 1 RNF from the south to avoid attacking at a disadvantage across the escarpment. The 5th Light Division advances both panzer battalions and an infantry battalion to engage the 6 RTR. The German 3rd recon battalion aids in cutting off the line of supply for the lone British battalion defending the escarpment. No Axis advances against Mechili or the slowly growing Allied defensive line for now.

 

The Italians launch their attack against the 1 RNF and successfully cause the Brits to retreat; however the Italians take a step loss in the process. The Brits try to conduct a Determined Defense, which will allow them to ignore the retreat if successful. They succeed and also take a step loss in the process and are eliminated. The Italians can advance two hexes and move to Barce. This essentially ends the third impulse.

 

Conclusion & Discussion

Turn 2 started fine. The Allies retreated and the Axis advanced along the Via Balbia; however, leaving the DAK HQ and the MSU unprotected was disastrous. How did I let that happen? Easy, I thought the DAK HQ and the MSU counted towards the stacking limits and therefore couldn’t stack with the German 5th Light Division units. I was wrong. The rules clearly state they DO NOT count towards stacking limits. This blunder means I lose the benefits the DAK HQ provides, such as providing attack supply, serving as an airfield and acting as an entry location for units returning from the Eliminated Box. I used precious Resource Points to bring the HQ and the truck unit back into the game, which meant those Resource Points couldn’t be used for other tasks. The astute Allied player only lost a recon battalion, which although important, was a very good exchange for both the HQ and the trucks.

That ends this week’s installment. Be sure to tune in next time to see the next exciting blunder!

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NORTH AFRICA ’41 AAR
PART 1 ~ PART 2 ~ PART 3 ~ PART 4 ~ PART 5 ~ PART 6 ~ PART 7 ~ PART 8

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