Something rather different today! Steve, my main wargame opponent, has a wonderful collection of models and figures for the early years of the North African Campaign of WW2, German, British, Italian and Free French. We had a game today using the Rapid Fire rules. The scenario was pretty simple: the British and Free French were holding some positions near and oasis, but lacked any AT artillery, and were attacked by the Italians and Germans with tanks and motorised infantry. However the defenders could count on some heavy armour reinforcements, which were rolled for to arrive in separate groups on each turn after Turn Six.

The game lasted fifteen turns, by which time the Italians had captured the oasis and ridge from the Free French, helped by some very accurate and punishing off-board artillery support, but the arrival of the British Matildas and Valentines forced the Axis troops, especially the Germans, into a hasty retreat.

The table was 6 feet by 4 feet, with about 100 figures per side, the Allies having six tanks and three armoured cars, the Axis nine tanks, one self-propelled AT gun and twelve lorries, with two kubelwagens for the artillery OPs. Offboard artillery for the Axis was a battery of 105mm howitzers; for the Allies a mortar platoon and a half-battery of 25pdrs.

Yellow counters mean the infantry has gone prone (counts as soft cover under the rules); white counters mean they are in foxholes (counts as hard cover under the rules); green counters mean light damage on a vehicle; black counters mean heavy damage on a vehicle.