The Battle for San Pietro, Italy 1943 - Game 1: A Sharp Little Action

Now nearly two months into the lockdown (I know it's hard to believe) and I'm struggling to find the motivation for many things that I normally enjoy. Even gardening has become a bit of a chore because that's all I've really been doing of late. This feeling has been prefectly summed up in Bob Cordery's latest Blog post. Nice in a way to know that I'm not alone though.

I have had some ideas for a mini-campaign using Blitzkreig Commander floating around for some time but just haven't been able to summon up the enthusiasm to start it. However last night with the weather due to be rather cold today (it is!) I set up the first game. This campaign is inspired by Operation Baytown, part of the Allied invasion of mainland Italy in September 1943 which I have used for the broad setting of the actions involved. 

British OOB
2 x Honey Light Tanks
1 x Humber Armoured Car
1 x Crusader AA Tank
4 x Bren Gun Carriers
1 x 6pdr ATG & Tow

Italian OOB
3 x L3/35 Tankettes
2 x Ft-17 Light Tanks
3 x Infantry
1 x MG Unit
1 x Mortar Unit
1 x ATG & Tow
1 x AA Gun on Truck

Scenario

The British have orders to 'Advance North with all speed' to try and secure the town of San Pietro. They have sent a small reconnaissance force in advance to 'make contact' with the enemy. The Italians, aware of the importance of San Pietro to their defences, have sent a battlegroup forward to take up defensive positions astride the road to try and slow the Allied advance and to give them time to prepare.
 

Deployment
Both sides start the game off table and use Mobile Deployment. The Italians are on the Northern edge, the British the Southern. The terrain is hilly and criss-crossed by stone walls and small fields, ideal for a defensive battle.

An overview of the table.

A view down the road that the British will advance along.

The British force.

The Italian force.

Turn 1
Both sides rolled to see who would go first and the Italians won. The infantry made good progress, occupying the farmhouse and the walls alongside it as their ATG moved onto the hill and deployed, with a good view of the roads. The tankettes failed to show but the CO moved the Ft-17's into good positions supporting the infantry and covering the road the British would have to advance along.

As the British AFV's moved along the road, they come under fire from the Italians, who singularly failed to hit a thing! This forced them off the road and they managed to hit and suppress the Ft-17 on the road. As the Carriers arrived, they moved behind the orchard but failed to de-bus and move to support the Honeys. The CO ordered the 6pdr ATG forward with the Crusader AA tank on the left flank, with the latter being suppressed by the Italian AA unit.

The end of Turn 1.

As the British come under fire, they deploy left and right off the road.

The Honey engages the Ft-17, suppressing it.

The Italians only manage to suppress the Crusader AA tank.

Turn 2
Italian intiative fire manages to hit one of the Honeys but fails to suppress it. The Italian infantry HQ blundered, leading to a -2CV for the next Turn. Not good given the British armour were able to be engaged by the ATG on the hill. The Tankettes arrived on the right flank and moved smartly forward but stayed below the crest of the hill. In the centre the Ft-17 by the bomb craters managed to hit and suppress the towed 6pdr ATG, but takes a hit in return from Opportunity Fire.

Initiative fire sees another hit on an Ft-17 but then the Recce HQ failed its command roll. The infantry de-bussed from their Carriers but once again failed to move forward. The CO then managed to get through to the Recce AFVs and with some combined shooting, finished of the two Ft-17s as well as forcing the ATG on the hill back suppressed. The Crusader AA Tank and the Italian AA Unit continued to shoot at each other, with both sides taking hits.

The end of Turn 2.

The view along the road towards the burning Ft-17s.

The Honeys at the junction have taken control of the situation with the Italians left with little with which they can oppose them.

The British left flank has taken hits but not lost any units.

The Tankettes on the flank but below the crest of the hill are in a position to threaten the British flank.

The Italian ATG withdraws down the hill suppressed and nearly destroyed.

The view from the Italian left flank.

End of the Game
With the sudden loss of their Ft-17's and the ATG suppressed and withdrawing, the Italian postion had become untenable. With the British infantry still deploying to support their armour, they wisely decided to withdraw back towards the bridge and San Pietro. The British would take time to get their units ready to advance again and so were unable to keep up with the retreating Italians.

Post Game Thoughts

A sharp little action that reminded my of some of the accounts I have been reading in Delaforce's book on the 11th Armoured Division, albeit it in NWE. It was over much more quickly than I expected, largely due to some good command rolls and shooting on the British side. Still I enjoyed it a few thoughts as always:

• It was one of the games where when the Italians could have caused some damage on the British, their command rolls failed and their shooting was poor. It could easily ahve been different and they could have given the British a bloody nose. Alas 'twas not to be in this game.
• The lack of range of the Ft-17's guns was a hinderance, but then I knew that, yet they were in a good position. The lack of hits was their undoing, but equally this could have been true of the Honeys and Humber Armoured Car.
• Both sides had some good and poor command rolls, with the British just gaining the edge when it mattered.
• The L3/35 tankettes got in a good position, but just having machine guns were not really in a position to inflict any meaningful damage on the British. If they had arrived on the first Turn things might have been different.
• So even though it was a very quick game, it has set things up nicely for the next action and narrative, which is the fun part of a campaign. Being part of a campaign the Italians had to take the 'long view' and not fight to the last man, needing to preserve the troops. The same is of course true of the British.

Things are broadly ready for the next game, which I hope to play in the next day or so. Let's hope the Italians have a bit more luck and you never know, they might get some air support or other nice things, but we'll have to wait and see. So until next time...